"That makes sense," Maya said, nodding slowly. "It also means we're not putting all our effort into a single location. Some of us remain mobile, maintaining contact with Alfred and gathering intelligence, while Thorne trains here under Elder Williams's guidance, with this island's defenses actively reinforced against further attack.""I could handle the retrieval runs," Breck offered. "I know the terrain reasonably well by now, and I'm not tied to this island the way Thorne would be during training.""I'd want someone experienced with him, for safety," Cael Dross said. "The lower towns and the territory surrounding Darius's fortress remain dangerous, especially now that the Hand knows we've been active in that region.""I'll go with him," Sablen said. "I'm fully healed, thanks to the pool, and frankly, after everything that happened yesterday, I could use the chance to move, to do something active rather than simply waiting here.""That leaves Maya here with Thorne and the two elders,

"Speaking of realistic," Breck said, "how exactly did Elvyn even know to bring warriors specifically equipped to crack these stones? That's not a generic strategy. Someone would have needed detailed knowledge of this island's specific defenses to plan an assault that precisely targeted."The implication settled uncomfortably over the group, and Thorne felt a fresh chill run through him that had nothing to do with the boiling water nearby."You're suggesting someone told her," Maya said slowly. "Someone with knowledge of this island's layout, its defenses, specifically passed that information along to the Hand.""I'm suggesting it's worth considering," Breck said. "Torvin survived the initial assault and warned us. The ferryman — we still don't know what happened to him. Either of them could theoretically have provided information, willingly or under duress, though I genuinely hope that's not the answer.""The ferryman would never betray us," Sablen said immediately, her voice sharp wi

"How long until we might expect a response?" Thorne asked, unable to keep a thread of anxious hope from coloring his voice."Difficult to say with precision," Elder Corwin admitted. "Blackwater territory lies several days' flight from here, even for a bird as swift and well-trained as Shade. If Elder Williams responds promptly, and if the return journey proves equally swift, we might reasonably expect word within a week, perhaps less if conditions favor speed.""A week," Breck said, exhaling slowly. "That's a long time to wait, not knowing whether this entire plan will even come to fruition.""It is," Elder Corwin agreed. "But waiting with purpose, preparing properly for whatever answer arrives, proves considerably more productive than waiting in idle anxiety. We will use this time wisely — continuing to reinforce the island's defenses, maintaining contact with Alfred through Sablen and Breck's efforts, and ensuring everyone remains as prepared as possible for whatever comes next."Th

"My lord, it concerns your nephew," the younger guard interjected desperately, understanding that simple apology would never halt Darius's mounting fury, "and the artifact you sent Sorceress Elvyn to retrieve. She has returned, my lord, gravely wounded, with news she insists cannot wait."The words landed across the hall like a physical blow, Darius's furious tirade cutting off mid-sentence, his expression shifting rapidly from rage to something far more alert and dangerous."Elvyn has returned," he said slowly, his voice dropping to something quieter but considerably more intense than his earlier anger. "Alone?""She was unaccompanied when she reached the gate, my lord," the first guard confirmed. "She has been brought to the palace's outer hall, awaiting your audience. Her condition is... severe."At the head table, several of the gathered nobility had begun exchanging uneasy glances, the earlier celebratory atmosphere evaporating rapidly as the implications of the guard's announcem

"The boy has found allies capable of matching, even exceeding, our own considerable resources," Elvyn said. "And he himself has grown into something I did not anticipate, something the records of the clover mage bloodline do not adequately prepare us to counter. A fifth clover, awakened through raw emotional extremity rather than deliberate cultivation — I have never encountered documentation of such a thing occurring, in all my decades of study.""What does this new power actually entail?" one of the Pale Scribe commanders asked, speaking up for the first time, his expression troubled. "You've described golden light, overwhelming strength, but what does it actually grant him, beyond simple raw power?""I do not fully know," Elvyn admitted, frustration evident in her voice. "I witnessed only its initial manifestation, and the sheer, consuming fury that seemed to accompany it. He moved faster than I could properly track, struck with force that shattered every defense I raised against h