It was hard to resist the urge to creep through the labyrinthian passages. If Ferris moved too slowly, the icy floor could break from under her at any point. If she moved too quickly, her desperate trod could create a loud echo. She had to move at a painfully steady pace, watching every corner for whatever might lurk within them or else in case she needed to hide in their shadows herself.

There was a mix of natural and man-made walls around her, neither working to mesh with the other. Long streaks of ice ran through the crevices between them, making her fear that the place was even more unstable than she already believed. There was no rhyme or reason to the tunnels, each varying in its twists and bends, leading to chambers equally as different. The only similarities shared between all spaces were their high ceilings and bleak emptiness. It felt like navigating a tomb.

Ferris kept a hand pressed to the walls on her left. Though her eyes worked to adjust, the underground passages were simply too dim for her to make out much. Occasionally, a fraction of light would filter in from above-out of a crack or a hole similar to the one she dropped down from. However, those were few and far between.

The dark didn't concern her. People did. Once or twice as she tried directing herself upward, she heard voices shout or feet stamp overhead. Crystalline powder rained down as someone unwittingly crossed by. Each time, the girl held her breath.

For being under the earth, the labyrinth was abnormally cold-much like the town itself, she supposed. The tips of her fingers had turned flush pink. She folded her free arm under her cloak for warmth.

Ferris tried to think up a plan of action for when she finally entered Icefield; however, it was without success. She didn't know where in the town her sister was or who was holding her. Ciara could've been locked somewhere down here for all she knew. Without her dagger, she couldn't defend herself. Without her mask, she couldn't disguise herself. Without any knowledge of any actual spells, she may as well have been a duck bringing its own pot and leek to a banquet.

But still, she had to try, even if she needed to a thousand times to guarantee their freedom.

Out of nowhere, the air grew colder. The sharp drop in temperature threatened to strangle her as though she were breathing in acid. It left her with no choice but to stop in order to soothe her reeling head. At the end of the passage, a pale shape came into view.

At first, she worried that Castellar had recovered early. Then, she realized she may have stumbled upon someone worse.

Avalbanshee patrolled the chamber at the opposite end of the path like an elfin specter. Her graceful, dreamlike movements gave her the illusion of gliding over the snow-touched stones. Each step was practically soundless. Memories of their clash at the border flashed through Ferris' mind. She backed away as the woman drew closer.

There was a way to turn down another passage only a couple meters back, but if she ran that way now, she'd definitely be seen. The adolescent planted herself against the recesses of the wall to make herself as small as she could.

C-crek-k-k...

A mute curse passed her lips as she glanced down. She picked the wrong place to hide. It was slow, but the ice was chipping out from under her.

She had to wait. If Avalbanshee would walk in the other direction, or at least look back for a few seconds, maybe she could sneak off.

The woman looked frazzled, biting the tip of her thumb in a way unbecoming of the collected poise she had carried herself with when they'd first met. Being on edge somehow made her more terrifying than when she was calmly hurling icicles at their group.

Before she could move too close, a voice trailing from the opposing passage on the other side of the chamber stopped her, "Avalbanshee! There's news from the other mages!"

A peculiar, deer-like monster galloped into view. His face seemed much more predatory than the actual animal's; the eyes more forward-facing, the mouth turned sideways and held slightly agape to reveal two impressive rows of long teeth. The ends of its antlers looked like small pines, although whether they were growths or some form of decoration was hard for her to tell.

He skid to a halt in front of the other, panting, "Lamont h-had the girl, for a while. They tried to catch up, but… H-he'd already lost her to Castellar, by then…"

Striking the nearby wall, Avalbanshee let out a frustrated, high-pitched cry. The piercing sound alone could've been enough to make Ferris shiver, nevermind how an even colder chill to the air followed after it—seemingly erupting from the woman herself. Even the second monster, while not surprised by the reaction, still jumped back.

Much to Ferris' relief though, the outburst—and the magic released with it—also strengthened the icy floor. Curls of frost twisted along its surface, even coiling over the tips of her boots.

A second passed before Avalbanshee calmed herself back down, "What of the little one?"

"Lamont said she wasn't with them. They must've hidden her somewhere," he explained before hastily adding, "But he also said he'd injured Castellar pretty badly! They can't have gotten too far!"

"I don't know if that's truly to our favor or not. He'll get desperate…" the woman rubbed her face and sighed, "They must have finished closing off the town by now, right? Head back and make certain that everyone's in their homes and their doors shut. We can't drag civilians into this."

He shuffled nervously, "Is all this really necessary? Sure, there are others involved, but none of them have been strong enough to beat any of you so far. As for Castellar… He can barely be called a man."

Avalbanshee giving him a stern, disbelieving look that could've frozen him where he stood, "Do you have any idea what that boy's done in his young life? He's already a LV5. From the moment he cast his first spell, his father trained him for war. He killed his first man when he was eight, then Fraktur dragged him into a battlefield when he was nine. When he turned eleven, he joined Arnaud's—a lot of good that did, given how he's still turned out. I pitied him before, but now…"

The deer-like monster visibly winced at the new information, "Still, as the son of someone guarding the outer part of the kingdom… It couldn't be easy."

"I never said it was," she countered, "but doing the right thing rarely is. That boy walks along a very dangerous path." At last, she turned to go, "You should go home as well. You've helped us enough… I don't want any of my friends getting caught in the crossfire."

"You know, you could come back home more often. Even when there's not criminals on the loose."

Ferris only dared move after they'd vanished out of sight. Practically glued to the floor, it took a bit of effort to free her boots from their spot. When she did, the ice beneath her finally shattered, forcing her to leap out of range of the growing gap. She landed in a safe and clumsy sprint, charging down another tunnel.

Based on the conversation she'd overheard, the streets of Icefield would be clear, for better or worse. Few to none of the townspeople would be around to spot a human; however, if she was seen, even if they didn't immediately figure out her identity, she'd been chased down for breaking their curfew. She swallowed dryly. These wouldn't be the streets she knew… If I can evade Mollendale's guardsmen, I can evade them here.

The area truly was a maze. There weren't many other traps or puzzles she had to worry about besides the pits, but there were enough. Not all of them had a convenient escape like the one she'd entered from, and some of them hid spikes or other dangers. For the most part though, so long as she didn't linger anywhere for too long, even if it meant doubling back, Ferris was able to find a way past them.

"Hello…?"

A new voice interrupted her endless trek. Ferris peeped around a nearby corner into a chasm-like chamber only a little smaller than the first. Here though, there was very little snow: Only ice and rock. There was a figure sitting in the middle under a stream of moonlight, but the girl didn't poke her head out long enough to get a good look at them.

"If there's anyone there, say something!"

Ferris kept her lips tightly shut.

"I know I heard footsteps… You can't just hide!"

Ferris stayed hidden.

"Please… I don't think I can walk." The voice turned somber, "I think something's broken. I'm not going to hurt you—I can't—so please… You have to help me out of here!"

Ferris quietly left.