"Well, look who is back," a displeased voice bled into Nyxis's ears. That could only mean one thing.

Nyxis pushed a groaning Cyrdel off him and inclined his head to the owner of the shadow looming upon him. He did his best to smile apologetically. "Hi, Denara."

"At least you can talk this time," the nymph clicked her tongue before stooping low and helping Cyrdel up. "Thank the gods I do not have to drag your sorry butt up a slab of stone."

Nyxis winced. "Yeah."

Cyrdel shook his head and cursed. For a brownie that was supposed to be formal and kind, the words came as a surprise for Nyxis. "Where are we?" The heir looked around with confusion in his features.

Denara raised an eyebrow. "In my cave," she stepped in front of the brownie. "Are you planning on freezing out here?"

Cyrdel blinked. Denara rolled her eyes and turned to go to the kitchen. Nyxis grabbed Cyrdel's arm and hauled him after the nymph. The brownie sputtered his confusion which quite delighted Nyxis as much as it delighted him seeing the familiar blue walls he had come to love. Denara disappeared into the adjacent cave and Nyxis knew he had arrived at the right time. Meal time.

Nothing had changed since he was last here. The sea was raging as usual. The sky was as gray as the fog rising from the waves. The walls were still enchanting and not a single thing was out of place.

"Nyxis, care to explain?" Cyrdel's annoyance was out of character as they entered the kitchen and the heavenly smell of stew greeted Nyxis. "Who is that...person? Why do you appear to know this place? Why did you bring us here?"

Nyxis rolled his eyes. "Could you not wait until we have sat by the fire and eaten some solid food?" he sighed at the brownie's defiant expression. "Fine. She is Denara. She is a friend."

Cyrdel narrowed his eyes on Nyxis's face. "Friend," his stare was accusing. "I see."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nyxis knitted his eyebrows.

The brownie waved a hand in the air. "Nothing."

Nyxis blew a breath and trudged to where Denara was poking the fire with a stick. The kegs, the random pile of supplies, were still pushed to one side. The trenches where water flowed from the ocean were still there. He dropped next to Denara by the fire and Cyrdel followed his example. Nobody spoke for quite some time. The crackling embers were the only ones providing the noise.

Finally, Denara set the stick down and plopped to the floor, sitting cross-legged. She faced Nyxis. "So? What brings you here?" she regarded Cyrdel from the corner of her eyes. "You brought a companion too."

Nyxis crossed his arms. "Long story or short story?"

"Long story, if you please," Denara said. "We have got all the time in the world."

Nyxis wanted to correct Denara that in fact, they didn't have all the time in the world. Truly, they may have no time left at all. Nonetheless, he indulged the nymph. Nyxis found it hard to refuse any of Denara's requests. He told her what had happened since he left her for the Ice Capital in search of the Warseeker.

Denara stopped him on a few occasions, asking for clarification about something that confused her. Most of the time, the nymph's only reactions were her eyebrows raising and her nose wrinkling. What should Nyxis feel about those? No idea. When he finished, Denara nodded like she got it.

"So you tricked the border guards into thinking you jumped to your death and masked your trail with the smell of wet clay?" Denara nodded and stuck her bottom lip out. "Good idea. Then somehow, you ended up with a sirtya and now you are here?"

"That is about it," Nyxis spread his arms. "All caught up."

"So the past months that you are out there..." Denara's voice trailed off before raising her eyes to meet Nyxis's. "Had it been spent like that?"

Nyxis didn't know what to answer nor did he know what to do with his heart suddenly developing the desire to drum in his ears. "Yes," he cleared his throat. "I missed you too, by the way."

Denara looked away and Nyxis could have sworn she blushed. But, that could be his eyes playing tricks since Denara never blushed. Not once. Besides, it's not like...that. Nyxis pushed every thought other than their mission away from his brain. He couldn't afford to be distracted now. Yet, Denara...

"Do you want to eat?" Denara asked. "I was just setting up the last meal for the day. But we will have to make do with such a small portion of eel since I did not expect...guests."

Cyrdel raised his hand like he was in a school room. "Miss...Denara?" he said. Uncertainty colored his tone. "Would you mind explaining how you managed to survive in this cave with nothing but the sea and a few supplies?"

Denara passed Nyxis a hollowed out husk which felt at home in hands. She brought the steaming pot of orange stew to the floor. The scent hit Nyxis's nose like a dozen sugrarsaskis as she stirred the stew with a ladle he hadn't seen before. Did she whittle it out a new one?

"To answer your question," Denara passed Cyrdel his bowl full of the orange goop. "I survived because I cannot leave this place."

Cyrdel's forehead furrowed. His gaze flicked to Nyxis to confirm this statement. "What do you mean?"

"She means she is rooted," Nyxis sipped from his bowl. He could never forget how nice the heat felt against his parched throat. "Nymphs are tied to a place close to their affinity."

"Nymphs?" Cyrdel stirred his own food. "Those do not exist."

Denara snorted. Did she choke on her stew? "What do you call me then, boy?"

"My name is Cyrdel, please," the brownie half-snapped at Denara. "Your trail is...strange."

The nymph scooped some of the stew and blew on the smoke curling from it. "It is because you have not seen one of my kind yet," she said. "But maybe you did and you just did not know it."

"I think I know strange trails when I see them," Cyrdel said.

Denara hummed. "Perhaps you have not noticed that the wind or some trees carry the same trail as me?"

Cyrdel fell silent as he tapped his spoon against the rim of his bowl. Then, his eyes brightened after a second. "The blue tree in Diven," he pointed at her. "That is a nymph? I always thought that tree was up to some mischief."

Denara raised an eyebrow. "A blue tree?" She turned to Nyxis. "Where is Diven?"

Nyxis froze in the middle of eating a spoonful of his stew. Oops. Touchy subject and too many bad memories. He flicked his gaze at the brownie heir who once thought of the city as territory. Cyrdel just waved his hand and titled the bowl closer to his face. "It is gone now. The Virtakios made sure of it," he said. "Now, Penleth, the territory where Diven once was, is now a fortress where our friends are currently trying to hold back the enemy."

"I see," Denara stirred her stew. "And what do you require of me?"

Nyxis coughed into his fist. "I did not imagine we will have this conversation any time soon," he said. "But, I do have one request from you."

"And that is?"

Nyxis met Denara's orange eyes. "To help us fight in the war."

Nobody spoke for a few seconds until Cyrdel cleared his throat. "No offense, Miss Denara," he spared the nymph a quick glance before turning back to Nyxis. "Have you considered that she must have never made it outside this cave and must have never handled a sword before?"

Nyxis snorted. Oh right. He forgot to tell Cyrdel that Denara was a thousand-year-old nymph who fought in the Hundred Years War and would probably know more combat techniques than they could ever learn in their lifetime. So, he told Cyrdel that and he wished he could have captured the brownie's shocked face at the revelation. Perhaps Nyxis would ask Airese to preserve that memory in a scrying bowl somewhere.

Cyrdel faced Denara, eyes as wide as a folan sigra. "You..." his voice trailed off, "are older than my great-great-grandma?"

A small smile played at the corner of Denra's lips that sent Nyxis's gut fluttering. "Is she alive?"

"She died four hundred years ago," was Cyrdel's answer.

"Then, yes," Denara waved a hand in the air. "I am older than your great-great-grandma. We might have been friends."

Cyrdel stared as Denara turned to Nyxis and changed the topic. "We both know what problem we will be facing when we decide to go down that road," she said.

Confusion painted Cyrdel's face as he tried understanding what Denara meant by that. Nyxis scratched the back of his neck as blood rushed to his cheeks. "Yes, I am fully aware," he said. "Could we talk somewhere private?"

Understanding passed through Denara's eyes. "We will be back," she turned to Cyrdel. "Do what you, uh, want to do."

Cyrdel blew a breath and splayed his fingers in Nyxis's direction. "Can I borrow your throne?"

It was Denara's turn to be confused. She stopped walking towards the cave's lip to turn back at them. "Throne? How in the world did you manage to lug a chair around?"

Nyxis dug the Warseeker out of his satchel and passed it to Cyrdel. "I will explain everything and what we will be doing once we get out of this cave."

"If we get out," Denara corrected.

Nyxis's nerves were so frayed he hadn't thought of a reply. Who would know what would happen to him by the time this conversation was over?