Chapter 8: The Veiled

Gertrude Northguard

Sometimes it feels like I could navigate the entirety of this castle blindfolded. Every hallway, every hidden passage, every pillar etched into my memory, so it's not difficult to find the quickest way to the barracks. Father assured everyone that the remaining forces are capable enough to withstand another attack should it come. But I would rather see these remaining 'capable forces' for myself before I meet Commander Arthur.

Low and subdued voices echo from the barracks as I get closer, my instincts guide me as I weave through the shadows, intent on hearing what they are saying. It doesn't take me long to find a nice dark corner close enough to the two men talking, both ignorant to my presence. They both look vaguely familiar, one man tall with light brown hair and a lean build, the other shorter but stockier with hair a darker shade of brown and who also appears to be significantly older than the taller man… a lieutenant perhaps.

"… shouldn't speak that way about our king." I catch the tail end of what the older man was saying.

The younger man sighs, his fits clenching and unclenching. "I didn't hear you say you disagree with me. It was foolish pulling all of the Vanguard away from Kamrion."

"Kamrion's forces are the greatest among the Northern Kingdoms and our king knows that." The older man sighs. "It can survive without the Vanguard for a while."

"The king's sees our forces for what they were before, not what they are now." The younger man argues, clearly frustrated as he hops on to his feet and begins pacing. "10 years ago perhaps, 20 years ago he would have been right, but we are not what we once were."

The older man sighs, for a few moments looking even older. I don't make a sound in my dark corner, pondering the words that are being exchanged. Much as I hate to admit it the younger knight has a point. One of the reasons the alliance between Kamrion and Illis was so important is because our strength has dwindled over the years.

Not that anyone would ever admit it in public.

"Such dangerous words in such dangerous times." A third voice breaks up the arguing between the two nights.

Commander Arthur marches in to face the two, a stern look in his wizened brown eyes. The two nights instantly stand at attention and salute him, the younger man clearly shaken.

"Commander, I…"

"I cannot fault you for having doubts." Commander Arthur states, voice even. "But whatever doubts you may have keep them to yourself. Words can go a long way in breaking our already unsteady morale, both among the knights and the people, remember that."

"Commander"

"Commander"

They both salute again. Something in Commander Arthur's demeanour changes as his eyes hesitate over the corner I have hidden myself away in. I resist the temptation to give him a little wave, knowing the other two knights are still unaware of my presence.

"Your dismissed." 

The two knights shuffle out of the room quietly, leaving just me and Commander Arthur. He waits until the footsteps have fully faded into silence before he fully turns towards me and offers a bow.

"Princess."

"Commander."

I step into the light, keeping my expression neutral. "How did you spot me?"

"Your mother often sent me to fetch you for dinner when you were younger." He responds with a fond chuckle. "You were elusive even back then, I suppose I simply grew accustomed to finding you."

I reply with a contemplative hum before wondering over to the weapons rack, gently tracing my fingers along the various hilts. The silence between us continues to stretch but I'm in no rush to put an end to it.

"If I may, my princess." He starts, sounding only slightly hesitant. "I don't think I recall the last time you visited the knight's barracks. Is there perhaps a purpose to your visit?"

I let out another hum. "I had some concerns as to the capability of Kamrion's forces as they are now. From the little I've gathered, things aren't looking very encouraging."

I fully turn to face him, keeping my expression impassive just as I was taught. To the commander's credit, he appears unshaken by my statements. In fact, he looks resigned.

"Aye, princess." He nods. "I can't pretend my confidence in our ability to defend ourselves is particularly high. Most of our knights are new recruits, inexperienced. Most of our older and more capable are with the Vanguard."

I don't try to hide the frown that creeps its way onto my face.

"Surely the rest of our forces have experienced individuals too." I prod, are we really this vulnerable?

Commander Arthur sighs again, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "We haven't had new blood in the ranks for a long time, my princess. Over the years, decades we have depended on the same people and they did their tasks very well, so the king never saw it necessary to update the ranks. But those people are gone now, either dead or too old to fight anymore, hence we were forced to hastily train new recruits to fill in the numbers."

This time it's my turn to sigh.

"I see…" I trail off.

"To be perfectly honest, princess, the only assurance I had that we could repel another attack is the presence of yourself and Prince Finnian."

Such a bleak picture of our current state.

"Apologies if I spoke out of turn, princess." The commander bows.

"Don't apologise for stating things as they are." I wave off his apology. "It's actually quite refreshing."

Another brief silence stretches between us. I spare a glance outside, it's almost sundown. We both sit in companionable silence, his thoughts likely just as occupied as mine. I don't even know how long it's been before one of the knights, likely one of the new recruits judging from how young he looks, rushes in and offers Commander Arthur a rushed salute, not even noticing me.

"Commander, the Prince Finnian and Princess Luthera have returned." He reports, clearly out of breath.

"Very good, lad. Perhaps you should offer a greeting to the princess." The commander suggests, eyes stern but also slightly amused.

The knight's shoulders tense before his head snaps in my direction. "My princess!"

His eyes widen in shock before he immediately bows. He obviously put too much force into the bow as he tips forwards and falls onto his hands and knees, almost meeting the floor face first.

I find myself coughing to mask the laugh that threatens to erupt out of my throat.

"I believe it's time to go receive my brother and new sister, wouldn't you say, Commander?" I ask.

"Indeed, my princess." He bows his head lightly before directing his gaze to the knight who still hasn't picked himself off the floor yet. "On your feet, lad."

He scrambles to his feet, a torrent of mumbled apologies flying out of his mouth. I should stop him, but in all honesty it's far too amusing. The new recruit runs ahead of us as The commander and I take a slower pace, falling into idle chatter as we make our way to the castle entrance.

When we make it to the entrance I feel myself tense. Finn has just dismounted his horse and is helping Luthera off of her own but something is clearly off with them and it becomes clearer the closer we get to them.

It's less obvious with Finn, his shoulders are raised and slightly tensed, there is an ever so slight limp in his steps and his eyes…

Now that he is only a few paces away, the look in his eyes is something distant… contemplative.

Luthera's distress is far more apparent. She looks slightly pale, her eyes are unfocussed, peering at nothing in particular. Her steps are slow and deliberate, as if she is afraid she might fall over at any moment, though it must be more due to exhaustion because she doesn't appear to be physically injured.

I quicken my steps to meet the two of them first, meeting Finn's eyes as I do. A thousand words are exchanged in a single glance, just from that one look, I know we need to talk and we need to talk now.

I turn back towards the commander who is eyeing the couple with concern. "Apologies commander, I know this task is below your station but could you please send a request to the kitchen to bring something up for my brother and his wife, I'm sure they must be famished."

Commander Arthur appears hesitant, still eyeing Finn and Luthera. Finn plasters a reassuring smile on his face, though to me it looks quite forced, before nodding to the commander.

"If you would please, commander." He says smoothly.

"You'll manage on your own?" The commander questions, eyes drifting to Luthera.

Luthera's eyes finally snap back to attention, the lost look fading as her eyes meet the commander's. She doesn't try to force a smile though.

"We'll be fine, commander." She reassures him, keeping her voice even. "I'm afraid I merely overestimated the heights of my stamina, I'm quite exhausted. Finn will help me back to our chambers, I'm sure."

That seems to be the final push our commander needs, he clears his throat before offering each of us a small bow and making his way back into the castle.

I walk alongside the couple as we make our way towards their chambers, Finn supporting as much of Luthera's weight as he can without outright carrying her. I want to refrain from asking anything until we get to their chambers but my curiosity gets the better of me.

"I take it things didn't go exactly as planned." I inquire in Eldian.

Finn lets out a humourless chuckle. "One might say so."

"You're not wearing your outerwear" I point out, prodding a little more.

"Yes, well, they were a bit of a mess by the time we decided to return." He explains.

"They were covered in blood." Luthera cuts in, voice flat and slightly distant, her Eldian tongue flawless. "Mutant blood."

I stop my line of questioning and give Luthera a weary look before sparing a glance at Finn who sends me an equally concerned look. We make our way through the castle, up to their chambers. Finn immediately sets Luthera down on the chair at their dining table. I peer down the hallway before closing the door, making sure no one can overhear. Finn takes the seat next to Luthera.

I draw closer, leaning against the chair opposite Luthera, not really feeling like sitting down. A beat of tense silence passes between the three of us, everyone waiting for someone else to break it. In the end Finn appears to be the most uncomfortable with the silence.

"I take it nothing happened while we were gone." He inquires, meeting my eyes.

I shrug casually, playing along. "Just a few interesting and troubling revelations, but I doubt it's anything as immediately concerning as what you two found."

Finn looks curious but appears to be keeping himself from asking. He shares a weary glance with Luthera before letting out a short sigh.

"We found this." He pulls out a burnt scrap of paper and hands it to me. "It was the only thing we could recover from an abandoned campsite… along the borders of Merridor."

I feel my eyes scrunch in confusion. "How did you find yourselves that far north?"

"Luthera had a few friends pick up the bandits trail." Finn explains, a small knowing smile growing on his face just as quickly as it vanishes. "They lead us to the campsite, it seemed long since abandoned, we believe that scrap of paper is all that's left of a letter, there seems still be a little bit of wax on the corner."

I run my fingers across the edges of the paper as I explain. Bringing my hand up, I see what he is referring to, a sticky blue residue coated on my fingers.

"Curious…" I mummer to myself, I could use this actually. "Based on what I've seen I assume the campsite was not as abandoned as you presumed."

"Indeed it was not." Luthera cuts in just as Finn is about to answer, surprising both of us. She's been quiet ever since we walked in. "We were attacked by mutant bandits; I cannot say if they are the same one's that attacked you a few days ago."

"If they weren't the exact same ones they were from the same group." Finn points out, concern still in his gaze directed towards Luthera. "I don't think there are many random bandits running around forests with bronze daggers. Speaking of which, could you show it to Gertrude."

Luthera's eyes shift to meet mine and they don't wander as she reaches to her side and unclips the dagger before extending it towards me.

"I figured the veiled would be able to analyse the dagger and the paper." Finn explains as I gently take the dagger from Luthera. "Perhaps determine where they came from. I know it's not a lot to work with…"

"We've been forced to work with less." I assure him, unsheathing the dagger.

I let out a curious hum, the craft is actually quite refined. I balance the dagger on the tip of my finger. The balancing feels near perfection. Then there is the sticky black liquid covering most of the blade, I can only assume it's one the mutant's blood, that may also be useful.

"I should be able to get something substantial with these." I mummer before glancing over the two of them once again. "Are you truly alright?"

Something sparks in Luthera's eyes. "Luthera?"

"The Questing Beast." Her voice in low, almost a whisper.

I feel my eyebrow quirk, a Questing Beast, I've heard of it from word of mouth but from what I understand they are extinct or made up, one or the other.

"That creature we saw just before we left?" Finn inquires.

"A creature that shouldn't exist anymore." Luthera mummers. "They were dangerous and vicious creatures, my grandfather hunted them to extinction decades ago after a pack of them ravaged dozens of our outlying territories."

"Apparently they are a little less extinct than your grandfather intended." I point out. "I trust your intuition, so I won't question whether or not you are sure of what you saw."

Finn shoots me a curious look before schooling his features, turning back to Luthera. "But what does it mean though? The Questing Beast."

Once again, Luthera's gaze grows distant, eyes unfocused and as she speaks her voice is barely above a murmur. "It could mean a multitude of things, all the texts I have read on them all said different things, none of them good. The presence of the Questing Beast is like an omen, a foretelling of things to come; chaos, suffering, death."

I mask my features as Luthera's words plunge the room into a deep, heavy silence. As far as I know there is no reason to doubt her words or her knowledge.

"I'll take the paper and the dagger to the veiled." I declare, causing both of them to snap their attention back to me. "I'll inform you as soon as we come up with anything."

Finn spares Luthera one final look before turning back to me. "I don't see either of us going anywhere for the foreseeable future."

"Get some rest, both of you." I offer a polite nod before leaving the room.

The maids and servants all offer polite bows as I weave through the labyrinth of corridors. The deeper into the castle I go, the fewer people I see until the only soul wandering the hallways is me. I finally reach a dead end, a 12-foot-tall portrait of our Great Grandparents, Euphemia Northguard III and Kaius Northguard I, hangs proudly at the end of the hallway. Euphemia is sitting on a chair her hand hanging loosely down the armrest, a beautiful sapphire ring around her finger. Kaius is standing by her side, holding Euphemia's other hand.

With a small hum I reach out and stroke the sapphire ring on Euphemia's finger. A familiar tingle shoots up my arm, through my fingers and into the painting. My magic touches the ring on her finger and it begins glowing, lighting up the entire hallway. The images of Euphemia and Kaius begin fading away, fading into nothing until I end up staring into a mirror, my own grey eyes staring back at me.

Without a second thought I step through the portrait, a cool wave washing over me as its magic seeps through my pores. It only takes a moment before I come out the other end of the rift out into a completely different corridor. Two cloaked figures pass by and offer polite nods which I return.

I make my way towards the Central Nexus of the Veiled Fortress, exchanging brief greetings with the other veiled I come across.

I pass through the courtyard where some of the younger and newer veiled are training. I see a trio of younger sisters sitting under the shade of a tree, their eyes closed and their face scrunched into a look of deep concentration. Their bodies occasionally flicker in the shadows, appearing almost transparent, no doubt practicing their Void Walking.

Deciding that they seem to be doing fine on their own my eyes wander to another pair of younger sisters in the sparring area. Their movements are somewhat unsure and hesitant; they move competently but without fine-tuned precision. I find myself stopping despite myself and observing. I really should continue to the Northern Nexus but…

"Stop." I call out, it's not a shout but it's loud enough to get their attention.

They turn to me initially with curious expressions before they both fully turn to me, eyes wide.

"Elder sister." They both bow.

"Younger sisters." I bow, appraising both of them. The taller of the two has shorter red hair with freckles dusting her face and the shorter of the two has longer light brown hair and sun-kissed skin. "Remind me of your names."

"Amara." The taller one says.

"Irma." The shorter one replies.

"Pleasure to meet you." I quirk the corner of my mouth as I step closer to them. "You haven't been with us long, have you?"

They both shake their head.

"3 moons." Irma answers, a hint of shyness escaping her voice. "Amara and I joined together."

I let out a small hum, my appraising eyes never leaving them. "You've grasped the theoretical aspects of your training well. You know what you are supposed to do but you lack the experience or finesse to apply it in a real fight."

"We're sorry, elder sister." Amara mumbles before they both bow their heads. I fight back a frown that tries to force its way onto my face.

"It's a foolish mother bird that scolds its chicks for not being able to fly before they've grown their feathers." I explain, securing the dagger and paper safely into my cloak before raising my hands defensively. "Your skills will sharpen over time, but it is my responsibility to make sure that happens as fast as possible. Now, attack me."

Both of their eyes widen. Irma takes a small step back while Amara stays rooted on the spot.

"E-elder sister." Amara stammers out.

"You heard me." I insist. "Attack me, whatever means you want, whatever strategy you can think of."

Slowly, their hesitation melts into a quiet determination, I don't even try to hide the small smirk growing on my face. I am vaguely aware that the other veiled have stopped what they are doing to watch.

Amara is the bolder of the two, rushing forward and trying to sweep my legs out from under me. I make a small hop to the side, avoiding the sweep before turning to Irma who attempts to rush me down. I parry a flurry of her punches before I sense Amara attempting a follow-up attack behind me. I grab Irma's arm before throwing her behind me, knocking her into Amara.

"There are two of you and only one of me." I tell them as they pick themselves of the ground. "Your attacking at the same time but you're not attacking together. Don't just engage, see what the other is doing and adjust your approach to compliment theirs."

They both seem to mull my words over as they exchange a brief glance. After their exchange, Irma rushes forward this time. I prepare for another frontal assault but to my surprise, she rolls to my left before springing away, catching my attention for just long enough for Amara to almost land a running knee to my chest but I raise my guard just in time to block.

Amara is large though, larger than me and the force of her strike knocks me back. They learn quickly, good, it will keep them alive. Now our exchanges are much more balanced, Irma using her speed and agility to create holes in my defences and Amara jumping in with her strength to take advantage of the openings.

Inevitably, my defences falter and Irma is able to slip through my guard and land a heavy punch across the side of my face. The fight instantly stops soon after that as Irma and Amara are in front of me, heads bowed low.

"I'm sorry, elder sister?" Irma almost exclaims, voice shaky.

"Why?" I ask, gently rubbing my cheek which is almost certainly going to bruise. "You followed my instructions and you were able to land a hit on me, no small feat."

"I can attest to that." Another, very familiar voice joins in.

With a small smirk, I turn to the approaching figure. Her raven black hair is tied back into a tight bun; her eyes are almost as dark. The only signs of aging on her face are the faint wrinkles along the corners of her eyes. She walks over with an ever-present slight limp in her step.

"I hope you have learnt something from your elder sister, Amara, Irma." She quirks an eyebrow at them.

"We have, Master Dahlia."

"We are very grateful."

They quickly respond, I actually can't tell which one of them said what.

"And I hope we all have learnt something from this little demonstration." Dahlia raises her voice to address everyone gathered in the training yard. Everyone responds with a chorus of affirmations and nods. "Excellent, as you were."

There is a brief pause before everyone hesitantly goes back to what they were doing. Amara and Irma offer me another 'thank you' before they wander off to continue their sparring, leaving just me and Dahlia. Dahlia turns to me, a small smile on her face.

"I take it you were on your way to see me before your little display." She says, making her way towards her office with me at her side.

"You don't sound like you disapprove of my 'little display'" I point out, smirk still firmly planted on my face.

"To the contrary I wish you would do such things more often" She counters. "I've trained you in the ways of the veiled since you were barely up to my knees, there is so much you could teach your sisters."

My smirk drops somewhat after hearing that. I was never too fond of the idea, no matter how many times she brought it up.

"You will always be our greatest teacher." I mumble. "I can't do what you do."

"You can teach them in ways I cannot, much like you did just now." She replies smoothly. "But that is a conversation for another day, I believe you had something more pressing to discuss, something regarding you brother and his latest trip outside Kamrion's walls with his new bride."

I'm not surprised she has insight as to why I am here, she has eyes and ears in places even I consider to be inaccessible. We enter her study in the Northern Nexus and she takes a seat behind her desk. She doesn't ask me to make myself comfortable, I've been in this study so many times that there is really no need for such formalities.

"My brother and Princess Luthera found themselves at the borders of Merridor." I start to explain. "It is my belief that they encountered the same bandits that Finn and Kai fought a few days ago."

"Merridor you say." Dahlia mummers to herself. "City of the Necromancers…"

I stay quiet to give her a moment to sort through whatever thoughts are racing through her head before I continue. "There was this paper at an abandoned campfire, and this dagger that I believe was used to kill one of the bandits."

I hand moth items to Dahlia who begins immediately examining them.

"Anything else?" She asks.

"Yes." I nod. "They apparently encountered a Questing Beast before they fled back."

I've known Veiled Master Dahlia for as far back as my memories can go, and I've been training with her for almost as long and I can count on only one hand the number of times she has been visibly shocked like she is now.

"A Questing Beast?" She questions. "You're sure?"

"I, myself can't be sure since I wasn't there." I reply evenly. "And even if I was, arcane creatures aren't exactly my field of expertise. Princess Luthera, on the other hand, has extensive knowledge in that field and if she says that was the creature she saw, I am inclined to believe her."

"That is… most concerning." She schools her features. "But for now let's focus on what's in front of us."

I stay quiet as she looks over the make of the dagger and the remnants of the latter.

"Impressive craftsmanship." She comments.

"I believe the remaining wax on the paper is what's left of an official seal." I point out.

She hums, standing up and motioning for me to follow. I trail behind her as we start making our way east through the fortress. We exit the eastern door to the outside. A small genuine smile grows on my face as we step outside, I never grow tired of this sight.

Down below, the bottom of the Veiled Fortress rests just above the clouds, so far away and cut off from everything else. From up here it looks like you could jump from the walls of the fortress and fall forever.

Almost sounds peaceful…

"Do try to keep up, Gertrude." Dahlia calls.

I blink my eyes, only just noticing I had slowed down. I pick up the pace to catch up with Dahlia just as we enter the Eastern Nexus.

"Our artificers should be able to gain something from these items you've brought us." She explains as we enter the workshop.

The Artificers Workshop is bustling, veiled sisters moving up and down the room. One of them is able to pull their eyes away from their work long enough to notice us. She immediately makes a motion to salute but Dahlia stops her with a raised placating hand.

"No need for that, Sister Morgan." She reassures the dark haired sister. "We are actually in need of your assistance, if it's no bother."

"Of course it's no bother, Master Dahlia." She replies smoothly. She only appears a few summers older than I am.

My eyes wander around the workshop for a moment, the senior sister appears to be absent. "Elder Sister Lilith isn't around I see."

"I sent her out on an important task." Dahlia fills in just as Sister Morgan is about to answer. "It appears she hasn't returned yet."

"So I see." I nod. "Sister Morgan, can you analyse these items for us? Any information you give us is more than welcome."

As I make the request, Dahlia hands the paper and the dagger to Sister Morgan who gently takes them. Sister Morgan walks around her workbench and places the dagger down, apparently deciding to start with the paper.

She hovers her hands over the paper, blue tendrils of magic branching out of her fingertips and wrapping around the burnt parchment. Both me and Dahlia stand in silence as Sister Morgan gets to work. The charred black paper begins to slowly clear away into faded white with clear writing on it. As she continues to mutter the burnt edges begin to filling out as more and more of the paper gets restored.

All of a sudden, in the middle of the restoration process, Sister Morgan winces as dark green magic tendrils snap out of the paper and begin to nip at her fingers. I feel my muscles tense, ready to pounce but Sister Morgan puts up a hand to stop me, opening her eyes and letting out a deep breath.

"Quite the specimen you've brought in, Sister Gertrude." She points out, a bead of sweat running down the side of her head. "I was only able to partially restore the paper. A sinister sort of magic is keeping me from restoring the rest."

I raise a curious eyebrow. "What sort of magic?" 

"Decay and withering." Sister Morgan running her fingers along the partially restored letter. "Powerful forces, the only reason I was able to restore as much of it as I did was because of where our fortress lies, otherwise, rest assured only the most powerful magic could have fully restored the letter. And that is power we do not have at our disposal."

I purse my lips before my eyes meet Master Dahlia's.

"It's clear that whoever burnt the letter wanted to make sure no one would ever find what was written on it." Dahlia ponders aloud. "But still, to resort to such corrupted branches of the arcane…"

"One mystery at a time, Master Dahlia." I cut in. "For now, let us see what we were able to recover.

"Right." She nods.

Sister Morgan passes me the partially recovered letter.

Curious…

"There are several locations pointed out in what's left of this letter." I begin to explain after reading. "I don't think this is all of them and from what we were able to recover we can't determine the significance of these locations but we have 3 places that we can start from."

I look to Dahlia who appears to be mulling the thought over. "Where are these locations?"

I take another glance over the letter. "One is in the heart of Merridor, another is along the borders of Thaegon and the last is to the west, between the borders of Kamrion and Illis."

I can see the tension in Dahlia's jaw.

"That is… most concerning." She mutters, eyes angled downward in thought.

Sister Morgan also appears concerned. In honestly, I can't blame them, I don't know why these locations are important but if they truly do have something to do with the emergence of these mutants then 'most concerning' doesn't even begin to cover our predicament.

Morgan clears her throat before taking the dagger and unsheathing it. The dried black blood still coating the blade. Dahlia and I stand silent and watch her as she hovers her hand over the dagger. Familiar blue tendrils spread down and wrap around the dagger similar to what happened with the letter.

Morgan let's out an intrigued hum as she continues to analyse the dagger. A soft blue hue, similar to the one extending from Sister Morgan's fingers, lights up in her eyes. She is locked in this trance for another minute before she finally breaks out of it. She eyes the dagger for a moment before once again sheathing it and setting it back down on the table.

"Well, based on what I was able to analyse from the creature that attacked Kamrion a few days ago and from what I sensed from this dagger, I have determined they indeed have the same origin."

I release a breath a didn't know I was holding. It's not shocking news but confirmation is always nice.

"What exactly did you pick up from them?" I ask.

"Of course I sensed the unnatural arcane mutations, but there is something else. Something that would explain the withering magic keeping me from fully restoring the letter and how close our clues seem to be taking us to Merridor."

I slowly nod before exchanging a knowing look with Dahlia, sensing that we have arrived at the same conclusion.

"Necromancy." Dahlia affirms.

"Necromancy." Sister Morgan nods. "Unmistakable, every artificer worth their salt would recognize the bone-chilling aura anywhere."

"Thank you, Sister Morgan." Dahlia nods. "I need some time to think through what we've learnt today, keep yourself and your sisters here ready, I may soon need to call for your services."

"Of course, Master Dahlia." Sister Morgan bows respectfully before turning to give me a small nod. "Sister Gertrude."

Dahlia quickly turns towards the exit and quickly strides forward. I run up to catch up to her just as she is exiting the Artificer's Wing. As we enter the eastern walkway back to the Central Nexus.

"We need to investigate those 3 locations." I point out.

"I know." She replies curtly as she comes to a stop. Her eyes drift down to the clouds below which look darker than before. "But we can't pull too many of us away from Kamrion. Infiltrating Merridor would be difficult enough…"

"We don't need veiled to go to every location." I cut in as a thought jumps into my head. Seeing the curious look on her face, I continue. "Kai is already in Thaegon, we can send him a message detailing what we found and the location he needs to investigate, he has the Vanguard with him, he should be well equipped."

"Alright…" Dahlia sounds sceptical but allows me to continue.

"I'm sure Finn can investigate the one between the borders of Kamrion and Illis while we handle the one in Merridor." I continue. "We still don't know who we are dealing with or how they are communicating with each other, if we do one location at a time we would be giving the people who are creating these mutants time to regroup and cover their tracks. It would be best if we tackled all the locations at the same time."

I can see from the purse of her lips and furrow of her brows that she is conflicted.

"I'm not comfortable with how quickly we seem to be rushing in to this." She admits with a deep sigh.

"The longer we take to act the greater that chance we lose the trail." I argue. "We have real leads now; we need to follow them before they disappear."

She eyes me critically for a moment before her posture finally relaxes.

"I will leave it to you to arrange things with your brothers. Tomorrow though, I imagine they are still exhausted from their travels." She relents. "But be back here as soon as possible, you will be leading the team that we'll be sending to infiltrate Merridor."

I nod, a little tension leaving my shoulders at her agreement.

"I will see it done, Master Dahlia."

The corner of her mouth quirks up into a small smile. "It feels strange when you call me 'Master' please don't, otherwise I may be forced to refer to you as 'My princess.'"

I smirk back. "Well, we can't have that now can we?"

We share a chuckle before the gravity of our situation returns. I offer Dahlia one last nod before we continue on our way.