The air became more humid as Varian moved downhill, his feet nearly flying out from under him as he practically sprinted to keep up with Killy. The hare eventually slowed as they entered more trees, dark foliage engulfing them in cool shadows as the animal sniffed and twitched about. He took off sporadically, forcing Varian to speed up and slow down. As he once again stumbled into a brisk stride, Varian's thoughts soon caught up to him, leaving him anxious and disheveled. What if Killy was just as lost as he was? A land like this would be perfect for creatures like bears and wild boars to live in; if they stumbled upon anything like that, not even Varian's meager vial would help. Worse yet, if he was the only one here…

His mind screeched to an urgent halt as Killy stopped and gave a single cry of alarm. "What is it?" Varian hissed, adrenaline flooding his system. He braced himself, waiting to leap out of the way at the first sight of something large and vicious bursting out of the trees. Shay's hare fled into Varian's shadow, shivering against the back of his boot.

But instead of a large, carnivorous beast, a figure emerged from the shadows: a person cloaked in black, face obscured by a deep hood. A male voice spoke from the depths, and an aged, liver-spotted hand reached out in an inviting gesture.

"It's quite alright, young man. Let's not do anything too hasty, now." The hood twisted slightly, as if the figure was tilting his head. "You took quite the fall, from the looks of it. It seems I may have underestimated the young lady's aptitude."

"Who are – young lady – just hold on!" Varian waved his hands, his thumb still gripping the vial to his palm. "Listen, I don't know what's going on, but where are we? Where are my friends?!"

The figure reached up to remove his hood, revealing a very wise-looking elderly man with a snowy white beard. His head was bare, and crows' feet adorned the corners of his ageless grey eyes. Varian could see that the robe he wore beneath his cloak was stark white, almost pristine, and he watched as a welcoming smile spread across his wrinkled face. "You are south of the kingdom of Corona, just past Kresten Loch, approximately…oh, if I had to guess…five hundred miles from your previous location."

Varian's jaw dropped. "Five hundr – h-how did…" His head swam as he felt uselessly behind him for an invisible chair. The old man caught him by the arm before he could fall over, his grip surprisingly strong.

"As for your friends," the old man continued as he helped Varian steady himself, "they are safe. Come, my keep is not far from here."

"I…" Varian swallowed. "S-sure, I guess." He followed helplessly as the old man led him along, down a forest path he hadn't noticed before. The ground under his feet felt wobbly, and he could tell he was dehydrated. "Wait," he managed to speak. "You still haven't told me who you are."

"Who I am isn't entirely important," the old man answered without turning. "For your purposes, you may call me the Keeper. Well, retired now, but I did serve as Keeper for many, many…many years."

"Uh-huh," Varian reached out to a nearby tree to steady himself as he climbed a slope. "What exactly were you keepi…you know what, it doesn't matter. I just want to find my friends. As long as you're leading me to them, I don't care who you are."

Despite Varian's blunt words, the Keeper actually chuckled. "I remember when I was your age. I was brash too, always quick to assume and dismiss." A light started to grow ahead, and Varian could smell wood smoke. "Ah, here we are. Fortunate that you all didn't end up too far apart from each other, though I suppose that's to be expected in light of the rather urgent incantation you helped perform."

Varian followed the old man out into a small clearing, where a modest campfire was lit within a ring of granite stones. Sitting close to the fire was Martin, his hand gripping a spit as he turned a deer leg over the burning heat. The guard looked none the worse for wear, though a semi-permanent crag had etched itself between his dark eyes. It disappeared when he looked up as Varian arrived, and he immediately leapt to his feet. "Varian!" He ran to him, clapping his hands to his shoulders. "Hey, you're alright!"

Varian stared up into his face, his eyes wide with surprise at the warm greeting.

"Right, sorry," Martin stepped away, clearing his throat as he forced the joy off his face. "I just, uh, you know, you're alive and stuff. So, that's great." He was nearly bowled over as Rudiger approached from behind, the giant racoon reaching for Varian with his massive paws. They were both dragged into the creature's chest, nearly stifled by matted grey fur. "Okay, okay, put us down, you big lummox!" Martin fought his way out of Rudiger's grip, yanking Varian out with him before he could pass out. A small smile crept back across his lips. "I don't know if you can tell, but we might have been just a little worried about you. I looked everywhere, but all I managed to find was my horse. Luckily, she still has all the supplies I packed."

Varian dusted himself off and couldn't resist a weak smile back. It quickly faded when he remembered what was missing. "Where's Shay?"

Martin gestured a few paces away from the fire, where Shay slept heavily on the ground. Soot dusted her cheek, and the blanket over her threatened to blow away by the woodland breeze. "She isn't hurt, just so you know," he said as Varian rushed to her, kneeling down by her side. "The old man says she's exhausted, that's all. He says he found her first, then he found me. Something about how she lost control of the spell."

"Indeed," the Keeper explained as he approached, his eyes twinkling as he folded his arms into the depths of his cloak. "Though I fear I may have played a role in your rather unorthodox arrival here as well."

Varian drew his hand away from Shay's forehead and stood to face the Keeper. "Explain, then," he said. "Please, I need to understand what's going on here."

The Keeper remained reserved, unchanged as he spoke. "The girl attempted to use a spell that requires a great deal of discipline. Though she has more than enough power, as I will better explain when we reach my spire, it usually takes more than one mage to guide it. If you hadn't helped her when you did, it's possible you all may have been scattered much further away from each other."

Varian nodded slowly, remembering from before. "It's my fault," he admitted grimly. "I shouldn't have pushed her to do it." He couldn't imagine what must have happened in the Haderon Forest after the spell's wake. It was possible that the Crimson Caster's home had burned to the ground, all because he couldn't find a better way to save his friends.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder, the sound of leather creaking as Martin gave a firm squeeze. "Listen, kid," he said quietly, "I don't know a whole lot about magic, but I was there. From what I can tell, there was no other way we could have escaped the witch hunter or Yaeger's men. What matters is that we're alive, and nobody's trying to kill us right now." He narrowed his gaze at the Keeper. "Unless this old man isn't all he seems to be."

The Keeper actually chuckled. "Oh, my dear boy. How I envy the energy you have." He reached a hand out towards the flames and made a swift gesture. The flames immediately died, disappearing without a sound. "Take that lovely cut of meat for the road," he instructed before the boys could protest. "I don't know about the rest of you, but after all the excitement your arrival has brought, I am absolutely famished. You shall all be welcomed to my keep, where questions are asked and answers are found."

The Keeper had no mount of his own, so the journey was slow as he led them through the depths of the woods. Martin helped Varian situate Shay on Rudiger's back, and the guard stayed on the ground to lead his horse through the trees. Varian stayed with Shay, to keep her from falling off.

"So, where exactly are you leading us, again?" Martin asked.

"You will see," the Keeper replied enigmatically.

"There's a spire, up on the mountain," Varian speculated. "He's leading us there."

"Ah, so you've seen it." Their guide nodded his head slowly. "I suppose it is a bit difficult to miss."

Shay stirred, her head lifting away from Varian's shoulder as she groaned. "Spire?" she mumbled.

Varian urged Rudiger to a stop. "Shay!" he reached for her elbow. "Are you alright? How are you feeling?"

Shay groaned again, mashing a palm to her right eye. She said nothing, shaking her head. Varian's eyes widened when he heard her stomach growl, long and loud through the still air.

The Keeper laughed, something Varian realized he seemed to do often. "Oh, my poor child! Have no fear, you will have sustenance soon."

"Martin, toss me some water." Varian caught the flask that Martin threw and offered it for Shay to take. As she drank, he explained the situation to her. "I'm not sure about what happened to Caius, but what matters is that he's far away, now."

As Shay became more alert, she began to look around for something. "Spellbane," she breathed. "My father's sword?"

"I have it," Martin gestured to the broadsword strapped to his mare's saddle. "Though I'm not sure how. I thought it was supposed to destroy magic."

"Not the magic itself, per se," the Keeper mused as they neared the edge of the woods. Light from the afternoon sky filtered through his white beard. "Spellbane is a very rare and unique blade, forged far beyond these lands. I discovered it in my youth, when I wasn't much older than the three of you. Though, I suppose 'discover' is a generous term, as I actually fought in a duel for it. You see, the blade is inscribed with runes so perfectly crafted, it completely overwrites a spell's structure and unravels it, much like pulling on a string. The magic itself is then released, rather than destroyed." He chuckled. "It is called Spellbane, after all, not Magicbane."

"You lost me after 'runes'," Martin grumbled.

Shay sat forward on Rudiger's back, leaning towards the Keeper. "That means you're the one who gave my father the sword!"

"Yes, my dear," the old man answered as he led them out into an open field. "Your father once traveled this very path to reach me." He gestured with his thin hand towards the spire in the distance, its turquoise surface peeking through mountainous clouds. "Now, you follow in his footsteps. In your haste to flee the Haderon Forest, your magic called to the nearest source of arcane order it could find. I could sense you reaching out, and I gave you just a little nudge, a gentle tug, if you will."

Varian rubbed the back of his skull. "It sure didn't feel gentle."

Martin stared at the spire in the distance. "We have to get all the way there? There's no way we'll reach it before dark!"

The Keeper shook his head. "Of course not! You think I would permit you to enter one of the most protected and dangerous vaults on the face of this fragile planet simply for dropping in unannounced in my backyard? I certainly think not. No, you shall rest there, in my keep." He traced his finger down the mountainside, his carefully cut nail coming to a rest at what looked like an observatory.

The grass beneath Rudiger's feet was dry as they continued onward; Varian could feel the racoon's muscles twitching, the animal yearning to move just a little faster. "Here," he urged him to a stop and hopped down to the ground, reaching to catch Shay as she followed. "Don't wander off too far!" he called as the racoon lumbered off, his black feet leaving divots across the field. Killy bounded after him, almost too fast for Varian to see. "Don't worry about them," he continued as he guided the girl forward. "Nothing can mess with Rudiger, now."

Shay was silent as she moved forward, her teeth gnawing at her lower lip. She didn't need to say it out loud for Varian to know she wasn't worried about the animals. They shared a silent look, acknowledging the desire to talk, but they couldn't do it here. They dipped down a gentle slope, catching up to Martin and his mare.

"Do you have a name for her, yet?" Varian asked.

Martin squinted. "Beth," he answered after a moment.

"Beth?"

"Beth." Martin squared his shoulders. "It's one of my favorite girl names." He looked back at the horse and smiled. "Yeah, I'll call her Beth."

"I like it." Varian looked to Shay. "What do you think?"

Shay said nothing, but her cheeks flushed as she gave a dismissive nod.

"Huh," Martin raised his eyebrows. "What, no nasty retort for me this time? Better watch it, she might actually say something nice to me next."

An hour passed, and the sun peeked slowly through the clouds, its setting light painting the sky in strokes of pink and purple. Through another grove of trees, they finally reached the foot of the mountain. Rudiger and Killy joined them once more, their faces stained blue with berries. Varian felt himself relax a bit as a genuine smile graced Shay's lips, and she reached for Killy and held him close as they began to tread along the path towards the observatory. Martin took Spellbane and slung it over his back, then pulled something else out from the other side of the saddle. "Oh, hey, Varian," he tossed Quirin's bow to him. "Here. I figured you'd want that."

Varian caught it, a beam spreading over his face as the familiar weight settled in his hands. "I do!" he exclaimed as he equipped himself. "Thanks."

"Watch your step along the way here," the Keeper advised them as they approached the large, double doors. "It can be a bit windy, especially with winter along the way." He raised his hand to open the entrance, but someone on the other side beat him to it. The doors flung themselves aside to reveal a very, short, stocky woman, with a head of ginger hair and large, round spectacles perched across her small nose. Her eyes were beady and peering as she stared out into the evening, her gaze resting on the Keeper with a mixture of relief and irritation.

"There you are," she wheezed in a nasally voice. "I thought you were going to be out all night at this rate, and you can't possibly expect me to come looking for you! I'd end up something's delicious midnight snack, and you'd probably be the toothpick it'd use to clean…ohhhhh, my…" Her jaw suddenly went slack, and she reached to swipe her glasses up and down from her starstruck expression. "Who is that hunk of man meat?" she droned out loud.

To his credit, Varian felt momentarily flattered, then realized the dwarfish woman wasn't talking about him. It took Martin a few moments to notice that he was the one who was expected to answer the question. "W-what? I mean, uh…oh, no. Ew. No. I mean, hi, yes, hi."

"Hello to you too," the woman answered, leaning against the doorway in a failed attempt to appear sultry. She wiggled her decidedly unattractive shoulder in Martin's direction. "You come around here often, hot stuff? Cause I can honestly say I've definitely never seen anyone like you around here before." She shifted her weight back onto her feet. "Actually, come to think of it, no one comes around here. The last visitors we had were –"

"Calliope, dear," the Keeper interrupted. "If we could discuss matters inside, that would be most appreciated, don't you think?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, of course!" Calliope stepped aside and waved her hands in a grandiose gesture of invitation. "Come in, all of you! Welcome to our lovely home!" She fluttered a wink at Martin's wincing face. "And a very warm welcome to you, I might add."

Varian trailed behind as his friends entered the keep, jogging to Rudiger's side. "I'm sorry," he apologized, stroking the racoon's grey head. "I'll come see you in the morning, okay? Look after Beth while we're gone."

Rudiger sniffed once, pushing his nose into Varian's chest. Then he nudged him inside before curling himself up outside the door. Beth stood a ways off, the mare still wary without Martin beside her. "Don't worry," the Keeper told Varian. "Calliope is a very gracious host. She will make sure your mounts have what they need."

Calliope whipped about, nearly knocking aside one of many towers of books stacked about the Keeper's foyer. "I will? Even with that thing outside? You want me to feed that?"

The Keeper's eyes narrowed.

Calliope sighed defeatedly. "Yes, sir." Then her face brightened. "I'll do that after I've taken care of the real guest here." She wiggled her eyebrows at Martin. "Right this way!"

Martin shot Varian a dirty scowl as the alchemist tried not to burst out laughing. Even Shay couldn't hide the smallest smirk as they were led past numerous books and scrolls to a large staircase, following Calliope until they reached the second floor. A large but modest dining room greeted them, the long table adorned with a simple blue tablecloth and an empty glass pitcher.

"Have a seat," Calliope offered with another grand gesture. "And don't you worry about sleeping arrangements. As the brand new, certified Keeper of the Spire, I – of course – had the foreknowledge to prepare rooms for each one of you." Her voice petered into a begrudging mumble. "That foreknowledge coming in no way from my master, who may or may not have instructed me to do so beforehand." She cleared her throat authoritatively. "Please, make yourselves at home! Just don't touch anything you think might be okay to touch, because I assure you, it's not. I'll be right back after I draw water for you to wash up with!"

"Wait," Martin asked her before she could disappear through a door. "Where did the old man go?" Varian and Shay looked around; sure enough, the retired Keeper was nowhere to be seen.

Calliope gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Oh, he comes and goes. You get used to it after a while. He likes to keep that air of enigmatic mystery and such. Be right back, handsome!"

Martin shivered involuntary after she left. "And I thought my aunt grossed me out."

Varian glanced down at the table and pulled a chair out for Shay to sit in. "Ladies first."

"Thank you," she finally spoke, setting Killy down on the floor. The hare slowly started to explore the room, carefully sniffing around chair legs and thin tapestries on the nearby wall.

As Shay sat down, Varian glanced around them at the various artifacts adorning the walls. "What do you make of this place? All those books downstairs must be one of a kind." A familiar, nostalgic urge itched in his mind, a longing to sit and study for hours on end. "What I'd give to read them all," he admitted wistfully.

Shay stared at the tablecloth, tentatively fingering the delicate edge. "I can't believe it," she marveled aloud. "I think this is a starving man's tablecloth."

"What does that mean?" Martin asked.

"They're incredibly rare," she explained. "It's extremely complicated spell work, since it has to convert energy into matter, and then there's the restriction of quantity, and…" She looked over and stopped when she saw Martin's blank stare. "It's a tablecloth that can produce whatever food you can think of," she finished with a frown.

Varian gasped, threw himself into a seat, and planted his palms on the table's surface. "Ham. Sandwich." He spoke with an intensity that made the others stiffen with surprise. A porcelain plate appeared, adorned with a thick cut of meat between two soft slices of bread. Varian clutched at his chest, tears of joy welling in his blue eyes. "Thank you," he whispered, then proceeded to consume the precious sandwich with all the decency a starving teenage boy could provide. "It's so good!" he managed to say between mouthfuls. "Also, it's real."

Martin seemed more cautious, carefully placing his hands on the tablecloth. "My mother's potato soup," he muttered, and a bowl of rich, creamy broth popped into existence. A spoon materialized, and the guard gingerly picked it up to take a taste. He took a single bite and silently started to weep. "It tastes just like hers," he mumbled, unashamed of the sudden emotion that swept over him.

Shay watched him, blinking once. "You must miss her," she whispered.

Martin glanced over at her with bleary eyes. He sniffed wetly and swallowed. "I guess I hadn't really thought of it, until now."

The girl forced a weak twitch across her mouth, the smallest hint of a sympathetic smile. "I miss mine, too."

"Giant glass of milk," Varian summoned, his fingers curling around thirty-two ounces of ice-cold cream. "Yes," he sighed happily.

Martin flicked the end of his spoon in Shay's direction. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Shay thought to herself, then rested her knuckles down. "Cottage pie."

"Never heard of it," Martin finished eating and sat back as Shay traced a fingertip around her ramekin of food. "What about you, Varian? You miss your mom?"

Varian stopped drinking and almost swallowed wrong. He froze, then folded his arms across the tabletop. "My mother died when I was four," he answered, his expression bitter as his full stomach soured. "It's fine," he continued before Martin could apologize. "You couldn't have known. It's fine."

Shay set her fork down. "Do you remember her?" she dared to ask.

Varian glanced at her. "Only a little bit," he admitted. "It was a sunny day. She was smiling about something. After that, I only remember the burial. I couldn't understand what was happening at first, but it sank in later. My dad says she loved sweets. Every time she went to market, she'd bring a hard candy sucker back for me." He gave a half-hearted, single chuckle. "She always made sure to get one too big for me to choke on. My favorite flavor was butterscotch."

Silence filled the air; Martin looked extremely guilt-ridden, and Shay bit her lip. After a few moments, she reached out and produced her mother's journal, flipping slowly through the finger-worn pages. "Varian," she said quietly, offering him a passage. As he took it, she explained, "I don't remember her, but your mother was one of the best and only friends my mother ever had."

Varian read the words carefully, translating the Celtic text in his head. He was despondent, his eyes moving back and forth as he digested what was written there. Eventually, he closed the book and took a deep breath, focusing on Shay.

"Why can't I remember you?" he asked suddenly. "Why can't I remember any of it?" He stood from his seat, planting the journal on the table with a sharp rap. "Your mother took my memories for a reason, and I want to know why. You told me it was for a selfish and petty reason, but if she really cared about me and my family so much, then there has to have been more to it than that. So why did she really do it?"

Shay looked like she'd been petrified, her eyes wide with anxiety. Martin was leaning back in his chair, almost ready to fall over. "Look, I don't know what you guys are talking about," the guard spoke rapidly, "but I've already had enough drama for one day, and where in the name of Hers Der Soone is that wom –"

"Don't think I forgot about you, stud muffin!" Calliope reappeared through a completely different door than the one she left through, wearing a cheeky grin on her round, homely face. She had taken her hair down while she was gone, mussy red locks sticking out in frizzy wisps across her shoulders. "Sorry it took me so long, I was in such a rush that I forgot to explain the principle of the starving…man's…tablecloth." She frowned when she saw the empty plates on the table. "What did I say about touching things that look touchable? How did you guys even figure out how it works? Never mind, it doesn't matter," she prattled on before they could explain. "At least now I won't be yelled at for not feeding you. Anyway, since I seem to have misplaced that replication sphere, I have only two baths drawn, so you'll have to take turns." She tilted her glasses down to stare openly at Martin's chest. "Though I'm sure you don't need one to smell amazing."

Martin swallowed to keep from gagging. "You know what, if it's okay with everybody else, I think I'll just wash up in the morning." As they followed the small woman out of the dining area, he leaned in to whisper to Varian, "Can you make sure she's still asleep by then? You know how to make people sleep, I heard that's how you kidnapped the queen –" He was interrupted as Varian launched his elbow into the guard's side. "Right, then," he coughed. "You got me."

They were led down a wide corridor filled with more framed artifacts, none of which Varian could identify. Calliope pointed out the two bathing rooms before leading them to their suite. "There's a bed for each of you," she said as she walked them inside, "a lovely east-facing window to accommodate the gorgeous sunrises we get here, and I guess if you feel like writing a letter to someone, there's that desk in the corner that I have no other place to put. I think the stationary is a basic stock, but I'd have to double-check and see if that's warp stone ink in the well. If it is, it's not harmful, it's just a rare commodity that's compatible only with message-sending bottles." She snorted with laughter, then straightened her blouse. "If any of you have any questions, feel free to ask, preferably now, though I will be just around the corner. Try not to make too much noise, I require this thing called 'beauty sleep', you know."

"Wait," Varian said as their host neared the door. "The Keeper –"

"Nu-u-uh, the former Keeper," Calliope corrected. "I am the Keeper, now."

Varian frowned impatiently. "Fine, whatever, the former Keeper said he could help us find answers here."

Calliope frowned, folding her arms. "Answers to what?"

Varian looked to Shay. As with her mother's journal, she used her magic to retrieve the book Xavier had given her, the heavy tome settling into her hands. "We need to know where we can find the Moonstone," she explained, quiet but assertive. "This book speculates where it came from. It speaks of the Celestials and their power, but it doesn't indicate where the Moonstone is."

"Hmh," Calliope hummed once. "Not very common knowledge, the Celestials. As for the Moonstone, I'm afraid its location was written only on the Demanitus Scroll, a piece of which we kept here until not too long ago."

"The scroll, of course!" Varian pounded his fist into his hand. "My father had a piece of it, I used it to determine the black rocks' connection to the Sundrop flower! You said there's another piece of it here?"

"I said there was," Calliope corrected. "Check your hearing. The Princess of Corona earned it after reaching the Spire."

"the princess was here?!" Martin exclaimed.

Varian cursed, his shoulders tense. "Is there nothing else that can tell us more about the Moonstone?"

"Or the Celestials?" Shay added.

Calliope let the gears churn, her eyebrows alternating up and down her forehead. "Maybe," she answered slowly. "Possibly. If there is, it won't be here in the keep. You'll have to consult the Spire's vault. Something that we definitely won't be doing tonight." She forced a thin, heartless smile. "Any other questions?"

"Yeah," Martin said. "Is there a key to this room, and may we have it?"

Calliope beamed, completely missing the point. "Of course! Anything for you, handsome."

As she left, Martin looked at the others. "The minute you two are done washing up, I'm going to bed. And when I wake up in the morning, I'd better not be on the other side of the planet."

Varian held out his hands. "Alright. I don't know how long we'll be welcome here, but as long as we have the opportunity, we need to try and find the answers we need." He gave Shay a piercing look. "All the answers. No more secrets. We're all in this together, now."