Theresa vanished from sight and everyone began moving again. Logan nodded and seemed to understand Jean's reason behind biting Austin. "Well, I should have known that you would only bite him if there was no choice," he said, turning to leave. "I will see how my son is doing. If Brittany will allow me…"

Jean watched him leave, and then turned to Reaver. "I have a question for you. When we were talking to Tyler—he guarded Avo's Lamentation—he mentioned that Allison had Avo's Tear. Do you know an Allison? Tyler told us that she was a Hero during the time of the Hero of Oakvale."

Reaver rubbed his chin. "I haven't heard the name Allison of Oakvale in years," he said.

"Please...were you two…?" Jean was afraid of the answer.

Reaver laughed, "No. How old do you think I am? Allison was long dead by the time I was born. She was a legend, just like the Hero of Oakvale. The only difference between the two was she didn't kill Jack of Blades. Allison was a titan in the Witchwood Arena. According to the legends, she wielded a mace and used a fire augmented longbow."

"Witchwood Arena? I've never heard of it."

"It was the predecessor of the Crucible. Only Hero's could participate due to the high probability of death. The reward was great…if you survived. Allison was one of only a few who returned to the arena multiple times. You know, I once sailed by Witchwood. My men and I saw the ruins of the arena."

"It still stands?"

"Oh yes. I had heard rumors that gold could be found inside."

Jean's eyes widened. "Did you go inside? What did you find?"

Reaver chuckled again, "No. I sent in two of my men. One of them never returned and the other returned babbling about a red haired monster. I thought he went soft in the head, so I shot him."

Jean paused, taking in the information. "Okay, so maybe Avo's Tear is at the Witchwood Arena. What do you think?"

"It's possible, I suppose."

Jean looked excited and ran back toward her friends. Cody looked up at her. "You look happy. What is it?" He sounded tired.

"Witchwood. Avo's Tear is in Witchwood," Jean announced with a grin.

Cody and Erik exchanged looks. "Are you sure about that? Who told you that's where it would be?" Erik asked, looking skeptical.

"Reaver knows about Allison. He told me that she usually could be seen in the Witchwood Arena, which is like the Crucible," Jean answered. "Listen, I know it's a long shot, but this is our best lead so far. I really don't want to visit all of Albion trying to find this sword."

"When do we leave?" Erik started to look interested.

Page approached the group. "The sooner you leave the better. My men have been scouting in Bowerstone. From what they've heard, Blain does have the text that will allow him to summon the Sword of Aeons from beyond. The only problem for him is that he cannot read it."

"Which won't be a problem for much longer if Blain goes to the Brightwall Academy and finds someone who can read the language of the Old Kingdom," Jean finished Page's statement.

Page nodded, "That's right. Brittany told me that Austin has already turned. He's not in the position to travel right now."

Jean bit her lower lip and muttered, "We can't leave without him. He has Avo's Lamentation. Austin has to wield both swords in the battle against the Sword of Aeons." She shook her head and growled, "Austin might just have to come with us—untamed."

"Untamed?! You know he could eat us, right? Just like poor Brad," Cody yelped.

Jean nodded, "I know. That's why only a few of us should go. Austin. Me. And someone else needs to come with us. Hope? Clarissa?"

Hope shook her head, "No. I've already been face to jaw with a balverine once. And I believe it was you who tried to tear me apart. I'll stay here."

Clarissa also shook her head. "I'm sorry, but Brittany needs me here. I did have a fun adventure, but I think should stay behind and keep the frost balverines at bay."

Jena sighed heavily and looked at the two men. "Would one of you volunteer to come with us to Witchwood?"

"I'll go," Erik offered quickly.

Cody looked hostile and snapped, "I should go. I'm Austin's best friend and I should be there to protect him."

Erik looked surprised and asked, "You could handle a hungry balverine?"

"Oh…I forgot that he can do that now," Cody looked down at the ground.

Jean nodded, "Okay. That settles it. Austin, Erik, and I will go to Witchwood and try to find Avo's Tear. My map should be useful." She opened the old map and examined it closely. "Cody, you don't want to come with us. Witchwood is an island. Remember how you were during our last voyage over water?"

Cody turned green and grunted, "Yes…." He stood up and said, "I'm going to go check on Clark and Shannon. I still can't believe that Clark had to shoot his own man…" Cody vanished behind a row of houses.

Jean watched him go and looked back down at the map. She noticed something interesting. "Huh, there are markings that indicate a cullis gate in the region. Maybe we can use those instead of taking a ship? That would save time."

Erik agreed, "That would be nice. I don't want to tempt fate and end up facing a kraken."

"What is it with you and krakens?"

He shrugged, "They're fascinating."

"Okay," Jean said slowly. She got to her feet and yawned. "We need to get some sleep. Come on, Erik."

"I always knew you couldn't resist me…" He teased.

Jean shook her head and laughed, "In separate beds! Let's go!"

The duo left the Silverpines camp and went inside one of the houses that were scattered around the village. Jean took one last look at the cave that housed Austin and climbed into bed. Meanwhile, inside the cave, Austin paced back and forth. Brittany watched over him carefully. She was impressed with him. As she had hoped, Austin was indeed a black balverine, just like Jean. However, he was larger and hairier than she was. Long black fur hung off of his muscular body. To Brittany's surprise, Austin was not acting like a freshly turned balverine. He was calm.

"Brittany, how much longer do I have to stay in here?" Austin asked in a grunt. He was trying to become accustomed to speaking with fangs.

"Until dawn," she answered quietly.

He sighed and continued to pace. "I am starting to get hungry. Do you have any food on you?"

She nodded and grabbed a large chunk of raw meat. She tossed it into the cage and watched as Austin began to examine the meat. "Well, it's not poisoned. Eat up," she urged.

"Raw? I've never had raw before," Austin murmured.

Brittany shook her head and added, "You know, most balverines prefer the meat raw. Even Jean will eat raw meat while in balverine form. So stop being a baby and eat!"

Austin sniffed the meat again and tore off a large piece, then another piece. After several minutes, Austin had eaten all of the meat. He licked his hands and claws. "I suppose raw is good. Thank you, Brittany." He smiled, revealing his fangs. Brittany smiled back and sat down on a stool. She began sewing something. "What's that?" Austin asked, curiously.

"The frost balverines gave me some fabric as a peace offering. They said that this fabric stretches with our bodies when we switch from human to balverine. That would be nice. I know Jean and Clarissa get tired of having to be naked when reverting back to their true forms. I've decided to make them leotards that can stretch over both forms. I've even included a hole for their tails to come out of. If you want, I can make you one as well. Might prove to be useful in the battle against Blain. I'm sure you don't want to be naked while swinging around a sword."

Austin flattened his ears and shook his head. "No. I'd rather not. Please, make me one of those stretchable outfits as well,"

Brittany smiled and continued her work. "I'll be finished with these in the morning. I've heard Jean talking with Erik, Cody, and Page. Jean's planning on taking you and Erik to Witchwood. She's a smart one—only wanting a small group to go to the island. Blain is amassing an army. By the time you return with Avo's Tear, he'll probably be ready for an all out war."

"Then we will meet him in battle," Austin snarled.

"You've never been in a war, have you?" She asked.

Austin answered, "I've fought before."

"Let me guess, you've only fought a couple of opponents?" Brittany waited for him to answer. When he didn't, she continued, "This won't be a mere battle. This will be bloody. We are outnumbered. Page has confirmed this. Many of us will die. Some will be your friends. I have already come to terms that Clarissa might die. I might be killed."

Austin shook his head and muttered, "If I can kill Blain before the battle becomes too deadly…."

"He will have a wall of soldiers protecting him. Page mentioned one of his generals, someone named Gio, will be guarding Blain."

"Gio, huh? Erik can hold his own against Gio. I'm not worried."

Brittany shook her head. "Gio is now Blain's second in command. Now that Jordan is dead, Gio has proven himself to be quite a fighter. You do not want to underestimate him." She looked outside of the cave and sighed, "You need some sleep. Dawn will come before you know it and the last part of your journey will begin. Sleep, Austin."

He nodded and went to the bed of straw. His eyes drooped and he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.