"So, how did it go?" Nenvalur asked as he watched Ren help Siraye off the pedestal. "About as good as can be expected, but fuck, my head hurts from all that dashing around," Siraye replied, putting her hands to her temples.
"She did splendidly for her first time, but she's right; that was quite a lot, Ren. Are you alright?" Thorn asked before hesitantly accepting a vial of the same unidentified liquid from Derion as the one he gave Siraye. "I'm fine and… I'm sorry, Siraye," he said bashfully. "You have nothing to be sorry for," she began, touching his shoulder. "You put me back in touch with my son, and that's more than I ever could have asked for," she continued, giving him a warm smile that forcibly put one on his face.
"The mission was a success, then?" Eirenne asked as she pushed off the wall she was leaning on. "It was, but we have a lot to discuss. We must return to Aurae immediately, as we do not have any time to waste," Siraye replied, getting a shocked look from the others who weren't involved in the ritual before they left the chamber.
"Thank you, guardian. I hope that we will not need to disturb your peace again and that you continue to fulfill your duties in peace," Siraye said to the Dericoed with a respectful bow, prompting the others to do the same. "I am the one who must thank you for returning our lost brother to us, Siraye Fayren," the creature began in its rumbling voice. "Should you ever need to revisit this place, I will make sure that no harm will come to you," it said, tilting its head.
Probably because it doesn't want to be forced to kneel like that again, Vyra sent to the others, eliciting a quiet snort from Nenvalur.
"We will discover who did this to him, I promise," she said with determination, ignoring Vyra's comment. "I pray that you do, for your sake as well as ours," it said before returning to its original statuesque position. Siraye let out a sigh and turned to face the others. "Let's go home. We're done here," she said as she began retracting the path they had taken to get there.
Feeling more like herself again, she picked up the pace as they began to dash through the trees and over the fallen logs that riddled the forest floor. After a few minutes, they found their horses exactly as they'd left them and mounted them promptly, making their way down the path to Myrdin.
"So, what did Thoma say? Is he alright?" Nenvalur finally asked since they'd returned from the chamber in contemplative silence. "He'll be alright. He's my son, after all," Siraye replied with a wry grin. "Oh, I don't doubt that," Nenvalur began, raising a hand placatingly. "I knew that from the moment I laid eyes on him and confirmed it when he used his ridiculous plan to kill those golems beneath Coltend," he said proudly.
"I agree. It really wasn't hard to see the resemblance at all once we'd stepped through the portal," Thorn chimed in, getting a nod of agreement from Ren, who rode beside him. "But, aside from the fact that he's your son, how do you know he'll be alright?" he asked, trotting up beside her.
She paused momentarily as if trying to find the right words to say. "Ren, what did you think about those two beside him?" she asked briefly.
If anyone can tell us more about them right now, it'll be him, she thought.
Ren looked a bit surprised to be asked such a question but scrunched his mouth to the side as he thought of the best way to answer it. "They're strong. Freakishly so," he replied curtly. "More than you?" Haldir asked, injecting himself into the conversation. "I can't explain it, but I felt like my abilities would be like that of a child's next to them," Ren answered, looking at Haldir seriously.
By the gods, he's not joking, is he? Eirenne thought, reading his expression from just behind Haldir.
"In any case, they were creatures known as hegraphenes, though how they were able to communicate with Thoma is still a bit of a mystery to me," Ren continued, getting a wide-eyed stare from Siraye. "What do they look like? I couldn't exactly focus on them very well," she asked.
"That's because it was only your second time in the Wraith realm," Ren began to explain. "Over time, you'll learn to see the finer details as you grow more accustomed to the realm. However, the two that were near Thoma and Ysevel had a dark plating that seemed to be embedded into their bodies like armor," he said, getting another wide-eyed stare from Siraye.
"The Iron Plume Clan," she said almost to herself. "You know who they are?" Eirenne asked astonishedly. "Yes. I think I might have killed their leader the day Thoma was dragged to the Underworld," Siraye said, realizing the weight of her words. "Gods above," Eirenne gasped. "The creature, Gravar, I believe its name was, mentioned that Thoma would do well among his clan, but I never would've thought that was what he meant," Siraye explained briefly.
"Let's get back to Aurae and Elhael with our findings. Hopefully, they'll have at least some answers for us," she continued, spurring her horse to go a bit faster while the others followed her lead.
Within a few hours of riding through the Erebos forest, they arrived in Myrdin at dusk, where Anwill was already expecting their return. He stood at the top of the stairs leading to the palace's inner hall as the mana flame lamps cast his shadow softly against the nearby walls. He was still dressed in his training garb from earlier in the day and opened his arms widely when he saw them approaching.
"I'm glad to see you made it back safely, Commander," he said warmly. "Safely is a relative term, Anwill," Siraye replied wryly. "Where is the queen?" she asked, glancing around briefly. "She's with the king in the alchemy lab. Would you like me to go with you?" he asked, gesturing towards its general direction. "I was actually going to ask if you could, as there is something I believe we might need your expertise for," she replied more seriously.
Anwill regarded her curiously but held out his arm for her to take. "You smell shit, Commander," he said jokingly as she took his arm. "Come talk to me after you defeat a Dericoed," she said with no small amount of sarcasm. His glowing eyes opened widely. "You did what? How? Why?" he asked rapidly, turning to face her.