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“Then we’d better make them count.”

Lyriat hummed his agreement, staring at the floor while his mind worked. “What are the odds Thad could, or even would, help us? Preferably without informing Caius.”

Mag chuckled at that. “High. The lad may be a wee bit more responsible now, but he’s still him. It’s getting away from his duties without anyone noticing that might be tricky. Especially Caius, unfortunately.”

It had been too long since one of their evening missions to find more of Thodelebor’s caves. To search for their missing and figure out where they were moved.

“Send him a message,” Lyriat said. “See if he’s willing. Tonight, we go back to the original cave again, but this time we try to find the paths that lead to the surface. If there are more, and we can see the pattern in how they’re hidden…”

“Then they might help us spot separate systems farther afield. Different caves. Aye, I see.”

“Yes, and if Thaddeus agrees and knows what to look for in the interim, our next trip might be the one that makes the difference.”

“How long?”

Lyriat handed Araxis a glowing pebble. “When this winks out. Should be around dawn by the Westrealm’s time.”

Araxis sighed. “You do remember I’m accompanying Lunara to her first meeting of the Elder Council in the morning, yes? I would’ve liked some sleep to stave off the inevitable headache.”

“Ach, lad, enough,” Magnus groaned. “It’ll be fine. We worked it out, Hedda and Fal will be with her, and she’s finally fucking willing. Let it go.”

A muscle ticked in Araxis’s jaw before he tucked the pebble away, said, “Dawn,” and disappeared into the mist.

“Well, then.” Lyriat shook himself and rubbed the matching pebble in his hand, the surface almost too hot. “At least we’re right here and don’t have to trek for a bloody hour.”

“Aye.” Mag’s voice was distant, subdued as he looked over the same field they’d been on so many times.

“What is it?”

His friend shook himself, running both hands through his golden hair. “It’s worse, isn’t it?”

Lyriat scanned the acrid night. It was harder for him to see than it was for Magnus, but even he sensed the truth of it.

The shadows were deeper and darker in the hollows, wispy at their edges, like the chasms’ illness had replaced any thought of fog. Stars above, it was beyond eerie. Too silent for a land that was meant to be rife with monsters. And the moons were still bright enough from their fullness a couple days ago to highlight how many more craters there were in the once-verdant soil, the dreadbeasts’ implosions leaving scars behind the fires they spread.

“I think so,” he finally answered, hating every syllable. “I— Yes. It is.”

Burning Solyrian, he wasn’t even sure if there was anywhere left for food to grow in the Westrealm. The fact turned in his gut for reasons he didn’t want to examine too closely at the moment. He couldn’t bear the thought yet.

“Are we going in, or…?”

Both of them nearly leapt out of their skin at the sound of Thad’s voice behind them.

“Weeping, fucking arseholes, lad,” Magnus hissed. “Have you lost your stars-damned mind? What are you doing here?”

Thad shrugged. “It’s my resting day and I figured you’d be here, so I snuck away.”

Pet flashed over Mag’s features. “That’s the last fucking thing we need. Or did you forget that we aren’t supposed to be here? If your da catches us⁠—”

“He won’t. He’s in the north getting everything ready for us to take what’s left of the herds there and won’t be back ’til the morning. Besides, we’re off to Starkeep after that to see Lunara, so he’ll be going straight to the washroom for a bit. It’s fine.”

“To see Lunara for what?”

“Well, it was sort of my idea.” Thad couldn’t quite meet his eye, focused mostly on Magnus. “We got the announcement from the Elders that she’d finally be there, and I figured she’s sort of a bit of all of us and might understand⁠—”

Lyriat gripped his shoulder. “Spit it out, friend.”

Thad sighed, then lifted his nose to the air. “Let’s get inside first, aye? And then I will.”