“There’s a banner near that one,” Sath said, crossing to examine the tattered piece of fabric. “Hmmm, looks like a vine wound around. . .something, is that the symbol for a guild or something?”
“It’s part of the symbol for my guild,” Gin said, grinning. “There is a vine wound around a staff like mine, see? Those words are ancient, a dialect of my people—the last time I saw that was in Draoch’s journal. This looks like a sign!” She started for the portal, but Sath grabbed her arm and held her fast. “Now what?” she asked as she looked back at him, clearly exasperated.
“Just…let’s go through it together, okay? No more jumping off alone, in case these portals change and we end up in different places, okay?” Gin smiled back at him, and he slid his hand carefully down her arm until he was enveloping her hand. They each took a deep breath and then stepped into the portal.
~
Back in the Great Forest, the Ikedrian that had charged at Sath and Gin, weapon aloft, removed her hood and looked around, grinning from ear to ear. “Did it work?” Ellie wondered aloud as she searched the area where they had been only moments before. Her spellwork to create that transport potion had been awkward, to say the least, and had involved more than the usual amount of research and reagents to cast. She had no way of knowing if they had actually arrived in the space between the realm of mortals and Void. She had been to the Void once before with her A'chrya Taeben, and it was only because of his magic that she was able to return home.
Ellie levitated behind a tree, peeking out and taking in the scene, and then moved closer, sniffing the air for signs of magic. She dismissed the column of air under her feet, and then took a step back and heard a crunch—it was what was left of the vial she had given the Rajah earlier. It MUST have worked. She gingerly picked up the shards of glass and closed her hand, feeling the glass turn to dust. Opening her hand, she blew the powder into the night air and grinned. “Find your way out now, murdering Qatu,” she whispered. “I’m off to contact the Mother Dragon to finish my A'chrya Taeben’s work—and send his Ginny to her, just as he asked.” Ellie paused a moment as she felt another dizzy spell coming on, and managed to cast invisibility and sit down before the darkness closing in around her vision completely obscured it. She should have gone directly back to the embassy, but now it was too late. . .
~
The ground under their feet changed from the dry dirt of the Void to a grassy plain, but just over their shoulders, the portal archway still shimmered—the dark skies and desert ground still mostly visible. It was like gazing through a waterfall—only mildly distorted. Gin was still looking around but had moved closer to Sath. It was still dark out, but they could see what looked like light breaking over the horizon beyond the trees that surrounded them. “Where are we, do you think?” Gin whispered.
“This looks like the Grasslands.” Sath looked around, inhaling deeply. “But it is different somehow. I still smell the ocean air, don’t you?” Gin nodded, rubbing her elbows as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Perhaps we should not be so. . .obvious?”
“You mean camouflage magic? Coming right up,” Gin replied. She began chanting, and soon the two of them disappeared from the sight of all but each other. “I added the ability to see the invisible to it for you, Sath,” she said. He smiled down at her.
“Thanks,” he whispered. It was becoming quickly lighter and, therefore, easier to see their surroundings. Sath scanned the area nearby and smiled when he saw what looked like a tunnel or cave amid a line of trees—there must be a mountain over there, or at least a hill. That would provide good cover until they could figure out where they were. There was an archway of cut stone that extended to the floor on each side of a cave entrance nearby. “In here,” he said, “till the sun comes up all the way.” Gin followed him into the tunnel, and they both sat down on the hard stone floor, their backs up against opposite walls. “Now, we wait.”
“Are you hungry?” Gin asked as she opened her haversack and began digging through it. “I am, and I think that I brought enough food for both of us.”
“I am ravenous,” Sath said, beaming a smile at her. The smile faded as she quickly looked away from him and busied herself with hunting through her belongings for food. “I’m sorry, did I…?”
“No, I’m fine,” she said, careful not to meet his gaze. He might have been able to spot a lie in her eyes, but she didn’t reckon that he could tell she was lying if she didn’t look at him. She had effectively blocked him out of her emotions in the bond before they left her hut in Aynamaede. “Here, marmalade sandwiches.”
“Gin, look at me,” Sath said, his voice tight.
“Just a minute, I think I have some skins of water in the bottom here,” she said. Sath roared angrily and snatched the bag out of her hands. “What now?”
“Gin, where is the scar on your cheek?” he asked, his
