Keith had spent the night in Valinos, and Natani joined him. There was still some work to be done to prepare the town for the Basitin garrison. Lynn had sent out the letters in the afternoon, and kept assuring everyone that help would arrive sooner than they thought. He trusted Lynn, the old goat was wise and crafty, but Keith couldn't help but wonder if this was only part of a plan. If he was only a pawn to be used. No, he concluded, he was doing the right thing. Even if he was just a pawn in the grand game, he would do his part, but he would not be cast aside. He sat up in the loaned bed, and looked out the window. It was dawn. There was work to do.

Going around the corner, he found himself looking at Natani, who was talking with Keiren. He had been kind enough to let them stay at his place while they were working, that way they didn't have to run up and down the hill every day. Funnily enough, his house also was his office, and the back half of the building was his home, while the front was the prefecture. "I thought of that too, but when we went to look, it was sealed." Kei was saying. "We've tried to open the riftwall back up, but no one has been able to figure out the enchantments."

"Maybe I'll take a look at it today. Can't hurt to have a fresh set of eyes take a look at things."

"Thanks. I'll walk with you when you go. It's a bit outside town, so I'd rather be safe and have a small escort."

"I'll go with you too." Keith said, walking over. "If things go, well, like they normally do, then I want to be there to keep you safe."

"I won't stop you. Actually, you might know the answer: does Trace still claim to be the Duke?"

"Duke?"

"Yeah, he's technically my boss… a few years before he rose to power, he inherited the title from the last Duke, who had no legitimate heir. So, he pulled Trace practically off the streets, and named him the new Duke of Edinmire. He hasn't really done anything here in the last year, so a lot of people have picked up his slack, myself included. In fact, there's been quite a few people who want him to give up the title, and pass it to someone else."

"Really? I don't think he'd mind that. He's tried to give up as much of his past as possible, especially since he got serious with Flora. Who do you think would be the best person to take over?"

"Well, there's been some people pushing for Quendien, he's one of the city elders. He's got some experience leading, and he's pretty popular with most folks. I've heard that Elanov has also been wanting the position. She's taken it upon herself to fulfil a lot of his duties while he's been away, but she can be a bit rash and quick tempered. Personally, I don't think she should lead, but she's a pretty good person to have the back of whoever takes over."

"What about you?" Natani asked as they walked over to the desk. "You seem to have a pretty good handle on things, and you've united the people before. During the attack, I saw you leading both humans and Keidrans into battle."

Kei frowned. "I… I don't know. It would be nice, but I already have so many duties. Both for the city, but now also for Maeve. She's just a kid, and I don't want her to be forgotten about. It's already hard enough, acting as her parent and keeping the city safe."

"You'd manage." Keith said. "Sure, it would be hard, but things worth doing are always hard."

"Yeah… I suppose." Kei stared down at his desk, all the paperwork scattered across it, all the reports he had to fill today. He reached over and picked a paper up, and sighed, but then he looked at it. It was a scribble that Maeve had given him. It showed her, him, and Adira together, smiling, which brought a smile to his own face. "When you head to the riftwall, let me know. I'm going to try and knock out some of these forms beforehand."

Keith and Natani walked out into the street. Shepherd's Square was on their left, at the center of town. The two walked over, looking around to see if there was anything interesting, where there was a small gathering of people trying their best to make life seem normal. They were lost in a conversation as Keith walked by. He didn't mean to listen, but he is a Basitin…

"...could have just turned the town over. At least they wouldn't kill us at the first opportunity."

"Yeah, but they've killed just about everyone else. Why wouldn't they just flatten us all to make way for those war machines?"

"They wouldn't dare. Not while Kei is here. He'd go toe to toe with the whole bloody army if he thought he could handle it."

"Oh, he'd fight them alright. He'd lose, but he'd fight them anyways."

"He's trying to do too much. He's going to go crazy one of these days, if he hasn't already."

"Between the Wolves and the Templars, I can't blame him for being paranoid."

"Well… I heard he sent out a message asking for help."

"What? When?"

"Last night. Sent it south."

"South? Who does he think will answer?"

Keith felt eyes on the back of his head suddenly. "Them. Basitins. Pointless if you ask me, they'll never get here in time."

"Just when you thought he had his head on straight…"

"I'm telling you, he's lost it. Too much on his plate. He can't handle running the town and keeping that fleabag under control."

"Ugh, don't even get me started on that whelp. Running around, getting in everyone's way. I'd have kicked it out of town."

"Oh, in a heartbeat! Squealing and yelling all day, couldn't handle the stupid beast."

"Honestly! Seems like he cares more about the furballs than his own kind!"

"Just get rid of them all, they can handle it. Who cares what happens to them once they aren't here?"

Keith could feel his blood boiling, and he leaned over to Natani. "I'll be right back."

She glanced over at the four women who were trying their best to gossip in peace. "Don't hurt them too much."

"No promises." Keith walked over as quietly as he could. They were still talking about how Kei had lost his mind, when… "I think he's doing a fine job!" Keith loudly proclaimed, causing the women to jump. "He's done nothing but keep this town safe, put himself at risk of death by leading the militia in defense of everyone, and took in an orphaned child when no one else would! Tell me: what have you done for the good of the people? Have you put your very lives on the line? Have you witnessed the horrors of battle? Have you put the needs of others over your own? Until you do, you have no right to speak ill of those who keep you safe!" And with that, he turned around and walked away, leaving them in stunned silence.

"Feel better?" Natani asked, offering her arm to him.

"No. But that should keep them from talking like that around Kei and Maeve. Idiots don't know how much he's done for them. Ungrateful wretches." He continued muttering and grumbling as they left the square, and headed for the south wall. Keiren was putting up a paper with patrol schedules by the watch tower when he saw them.

"Yikes. Who stepped on your tail?"

Natani answered before Keith exploded. "Oh, just some folks in town square. Gossipers who don't appreciate what you do for the town. Keith already yelled at them."

"Wish I did more than yell. People like them need to be put on a boat and sent away to never come back. Actually… I'll be right back. My fist needs to say something to their face." Natani grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

Kei chuckled. "Eh, don't let them bother you. There's idiots like them in every town. Ready to go?"

"Yeah. How far away from town is it?" Natani asked as they walked out the gate, practically dragging Keith with them for a bit.

"Oh, not too far. Maybe an hour? Back when this was Keidran territory almost a century ago, the Riftwall was made to let Keidrans get from one side of the continent to the other, but things have changed. As humans established themselves here, the riftwall had fewer and fewer people using it. Last I heard, it hadn't been used since last summer."

When they arrived, Natani walked into the building first. It was covered in a thin layer of dust, broken in only a few places where people had investigated. "Yikes. I've not seen a tavern this empty in years."

"Well, Adira has been missing since October, so no one's been here to clean. The rift is over there, in the corner." The three walked over to the wall, it's shimmering black surface reflecting their faces back to them. The runes that were carved in the frame were dull and faded, even though they were magical. Only the very center rune seemed to be untouched by time, dimly glowing under a layer of dust. Natani reached up, and brushed the dust off, causing everyone to cough. "Well, I guess we can rule this out. This rune is looks damaged." She pointed to a rune on the far right side, that had a deep scratch through it. "I don't know much about rune carving, but I do know that you have to have the entire rune for it to work, and that's certainly not it. Why this one seems to be working still, I haven't the foggiest."

"Yeah, that was our conclusion too. Thanks for trying though." Kei turned around, and began walking out, but stopped, as neither Keith nor Natani had moved. "Something else?"

"I hear something." Keith said, pressing his ear against the wall. "Voices. Faint, muffled, but definitely there. Maybe the other side is still open, feeding power into this side?"

"That could be it, but the amount of power needed to sustain a portal like this would be a lot. Teleportation magic isn't easy to use or sustain. Even going a short distance just once would take an immense amount of power."

"That makes sense. You're moving matter from one area to another instantly, that's an impressive feat."

"Using a bit of logic, moving something small a short distance just once takes a moderate amount of power. So keeping a portal open that goes across the entire continent would need a ton of power. I don't think we can fix it from this side without closing down the other side too. If we did, it could cause a surge in power. And, just like when Barret caused a surge, that magic would go wild, and this time there wouldn't be a person trying to reign it in and control it."

"So that's a no to trying to fix the portal?" Kei asked.

"Absolutely. Don't let anyone try to fix it unless you want to level the building. …And potentially the city. …And maybe the nearest few mountains."

"Yikes. I'll keep that in mind. We'll lock the doors and windows just to make sure no one tampers with it."

"I don't think there's anything else we can do right now." Keith said. "We should get back to work." With that, they left the tavern, locking up every last window, double checking everything, and finally securing the door, before going back to Edinmire.