"We are not certain," Elder Corwin admitted, not slowing his pace along the narrow, winding path, Sablen's weight shifting unsteadily between Thorne and Maya with every hurried step. "I will not lie to you, young master, not after everything that has already passed between us today. The pool is old magic, older than anything recorded even in the Watch's deepest archives. What I know of it comes from fragments, stories passed down across generations of guardians, never fully verified by anyone still living.""Then how do you know it works at all?" Breck demanded, hurrying alongside them, his earlier exhaustion from the battle apparently forgotten entirely in the face of fresh crisis."Because my predecessor used it once," Elder Corwin said, "decades ago, on a soldier struck by a curse not unlike the one now spreading through Sablen's body. I witnessed the healing myself, as a much younger man, newly assigned to this island as an apprentice. I have never forgotten it.""What kind of cur

The archway's carved symbols flared to life, glowing with the same soft blue luminescence as the pool itself, and a low, resonant hum rolled outward across the valley, gentle but unmistakable, as though the very hills themselves were acknowledging their presence."It's open," Elder Corwin said, stepping back, relief evident in his weathered features. "We may proceed."They moved forward through the archway, and the moment they crossed its threshold, a figure emerged from what Thorne had, until that instant, believed to be simply another outcropping of stone near the pool's edge — a tall, slender woman draped in flowing robes the color of deep twilight, her skin carrying the same soft, faint luminescence as the water itself, her eyes an impossible, depthless blue that seemed to hold centuries within them."Elder Corwin," the woman said, her voice carrying an odd, musical quality, layered and resonant in a way that made Thorne's skin prickle. "Master Adrian. It has been many years since

"Someone you care for a great deal," the Keeper finished gently, a faint, knowing smile touching her ancient features. "There is no shame in admitting such things, Thorne Valtor, even amid everything else you carry."Thorne felt heat rise to his face, and beside him, he was certain he heard Breck stifling a laugh despite the exhaustion of the day."In any case," he said, clearing his throat, deliberately steering the conversation elsewhere, "thank you. All of us owe you a debt we can't properly repay.""The payment was already rendered," the Keeper said. "Two gold coins, freely given. The debt, if one exists at all, belongs to the pool itself, not to me."She studied Thorne for a long moment then, something thoughtful entering her luminous eyes, before she turned and moved toward a small alcove carved into the stone near the pool's edge, retrieving something small and delicate from within it."Before you leave this valley," she said, returning to stand before him, "I wish to offer you

"Troubles you how?" Sablen asked, her voice still carrying faint traces of exhaustion despite her miraculous recovery."She is not finished with us," Elder Corwin said grimly. "I felt her power, even as she retreated across the river — diminished, certainly, humbled by the defeat she suffered here, but far from broken. A sorceress of her rank does not simply accept failure and return meekly to report it. I believe, with considerable certainty, that she intends to regroup, and return.""Return with what, exactly?" Breck asked, some of his earlier good humor fading entirely. "She brought eighty soldiers and ten elite warriors against us today, and we destroyed nearly all of them. What more could she possibly bring?""That is precisely what concerns me," Elder Corwin said. "A commander humiliated as thoroughly as Elvyn was today does not return with the same strategy twice. She will seek something new — darker powers, perhaps, or allies she was previously unwilling to call upon, judging

"That's fair," Thorne admitted after a moment, though something uneasy still twisted in his chest. "But there's a difference, isn't there? You and Master Adrian had the ferryman vouching for you, had my father's friendship as a foundation we could build trust upon. This man — we'd be approaching him entirely blind, with nothing beyond your word to recommend him.""My word carries considerable weight, young master," Elder Corwin said, a touch of old pride entering his voice. "But I take your point regardless. Trust extended too freely nearly cost you everything once already, and I would not have you repeat that mistake a second time without proper caution.""What if he's working for my uncle?" Thorne pressed, the fear he'd been quietly harboring finally spilling into open words. "What if this entire suggestion leads me directly into another trap, exactly like the vault Alfred and his fifty soldiers nearly killed us in? I can't afford that kind of risk, Elder Corwin. Not with what's at