Emily on the Rocks

The scent of burning leaves and the feeling of cool air on her skin told Emily that she had failed once more. She stomped a foot in frustration, slamming her bare sole against the slightly warm flagstone of a courtyard in a secluded part of Paja Abbey.

"I'm not making you another dress," said Talyndra, leaning against the wall with her arms folded and looking thoroughly unimpressed. "You really are a hazard around clothing, you know that?"

"It looked so simple when she did it," Emily said, mostly to herself. "Set fire to something underneath the clothes, then teleport to it. She appeared inside my dress, you saw it."

Talyndra shrugged. "Yeah, after she teleported you out of it. That's what you should be focusing on--learning to teleport other things."

Emily sighed, running a hand through her tangled hair. "You're right, you're right. But I'd feel much better about visiting the other abbeys if I knew how to teleport into some clothes. It would make a better impression on the monks."

Talyndra giggled to herself. "Methinks someone's nervous about a different impression."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Emily lied, pulling her head through a shapeless monk's robe she had not yet burned. "And anyway, how can I possibly teleport something without burning it up in the process? I can teleport myself, but my body is impervious to the Stoneshell's fire." As she said this, Emily conjured a flame in the palm of her left hand and moved her right hand slowly through it, feeling only a slight warmth.

"You teleported me, didn't you? Though I have no desire to repeat the experience. Let Mister Spellbreaker have a turn."

"The other Emily could teleport people without touching them. But anyway. Do you think it's wise? Traveling with Dorian to this Tiedavon place, I mean." Emily bit her bottom lip.

"I'd offer to come along, but you remember what Abbess Loren told us about the last Stoneshell Bearer who tried to teleport two companions." Talyndra shivered violently. "And she told it in that whimsical tone of hers too, like it was a bedtime story. Dorian knows the area. He's the man for the job. And I'd hate to be a... third wheel."

"This is a serious mission, Talyndra. If what we went through at Gla Abbey is anything to go by, I doubt we'll just be able to show up at Tiedavon and ask the first monk we see if we can borrow a cup of Azure Essence. There are going to be complications--dangerous ones."

Talyndra's eyes flashed with excitement, her grin widening. "A thrilling, rousing, dangerous adventure! I'm sure that'll get the blood flowing like nothing else!"

"I asked you a real question, Talyndra."

Talyndra's expression softened and she placed a hand on Emily's shoulder. "Listen, if he tries anything you don't like, give the scoundrel a face full of Stoneshell fire and then use the Bronzeband to drop a pillar upon his fat head." She mimed exaggerated throwing, lifting, and dropping motions with her other hand. "But if he does something you do like... I want to hear the tale."

Emily rolled her eyes, a reluctant smile tugging at her lips. "Come, let's go find Aria. Maybe she can tell us something about how the Shard of True Reflection is supposed to help turn her human again."

"Wouldn't it be better to ask Althea?"

Emily scoffed. "The last time I asked her for advice she told me to know myself."

Aria was in the chamber she'd picked out for herself, not far from where Emily and Talyndra had been practising. She stood before a stone table, alternating her attention between a thick tome of magical lore and a familiar shard of clear glass. The Shard of True Reflection glinted in the sunlight streaming through a narrow window.

"Emily, Talyndra," Aria said in her usual melodic tones. "How wonderful to see you both. How was practise?"

Emily shrugged. "I still can't teleport into clothing. Or teleport any non-living thing that I'm not directly in contact with. So pretty much a bust, overall. How goes the research?"

Aria smiled sympathetically. "Much the same, I'm afraid. I can find no references to this Shard of True Reflection beyond the one that Althea showed us before. I can tell you with certainty that it is a powerful magical artifact, but I can say nothing else. Well, there is one thing..."

"What's that?" Emily asked.

Aria's stone brow furrowed. "When I look into the Shard, after expanding it like you showed me, I see... nothing."

"What could that mean?"

"It is likely an effect of the curse. I will bring in Brom later to see whether he has a reflection. But I suspect that he will not. It makes a certain sense--Arctulus' magic was intended to turn us from living beings to inanimate statues. Only something living can have a true reflection."

"That's funny," replied Emily, "because you're more alive than a lot of the so-called living beings I can think of."

"Aye," said Talyndra.

"Thank you, girls," Aria replied sadly. "I know you mean well, but you cannot truly know what it is to be as I am. It is a strange sort of half-life, to be trapped in this stone shell. My sensation is dulled and I cannot taste, smell, or feel. I cannot even remove this gown." Here she tapped at the stone of her sleeve, undifferentiated from that of her skin.

"That doesn't sound so bad," said Emily, conscious of the loose monk's robe against her skin. She found herself reluctant to wear anything too dressy or elaborate these days, given its risk of destruction. This very robe would likely soon fall victim to the fires of teleportation.

Aria chuckled musically. "I haven't forgotten the promise I made to you in Castle Elid, Emily. As soon as I am restored, this gown is yours."

"I'll make sure she doesn't burn it," said Talyndra, winking at Emily.

"I do not think I would be sorry to see it go. It is, after all, many centuries out of fashion."

Emily smiled. "Don't be so sure! These things go in cycles, you know. Knowing my luck, the moment it's burned up will be the moment every high lady in Lirethel starts wearing one."

There came a knock at the chamber door. "Come in!" Aria called.

The door opened to reveal a familiar figure in a rumpled tunic. It was Dorian, with a serious look in his eyes. "I'm glad you're all here," he said, skipping straight to business. "I've just gotten word that Althea has fixed a date for the restoration ritual: the summer solstice."

"The ritual has a date now?" Emily asked. "I thought we'd just do it once we had all the ingredients."

"Tracking the positions of the stars and the progress of the seasons has always been an important part of mages' work," Aria said. "For such powerful magic, only a day of great alignment would suffice, and the summer solstice is one of the few. I forget, sometimes, that you do not know these things, Emily."

"When is the solstice, then?" Emily asked, drawing in a sharp breath.

"It'll be a little more than two weeks' time," said Talyndra.

"So we have a deadline," said Dorian. "Emily, let us go at once to Tiedavon Abbey."

Emily gave a small shriek. "But I'm not ready! I have to bring... uh, well, I guess I can't bring anything, but I still have to practise my magic!"

Dorian's face took on a confused cast. "Emily, you are already the most accomplished fire mage I have ever encountered. I am not sure benefit additional days of training would bring, weighed against lost time. Two of the three ingredients are still to be collected."

Emily exchanged a glance with Talyndra, who stifled a mighty giggle. They both knew what Emily's main motivation for attempting to teleport into clothing was, and why she had been working at it so feverishly right before she and Dorian were to teleport to the Azure Coast.

"Dorian is right," Aria said, locking her stone gaze on Emily. "As your magical tutor, I can attest that your skills with the Stoneshell will make you more than a match for whatever may await you at Tiedavon Abbey."

"And I've been to the Azure Coast before, I know the lay of the land," Dorian added. "Not this abbey, specifically, but I've dealt with the people there. They have a strange obsession with the tides."

"I've no doubt that the skills of a spellbreaker will be a great aid to the mission," added Talyndra. "Imagine if we'd had that in Shimmerwood! Dorian coulda dispelled those illusions with a snap of his fingers!"

"The lady exaggerates," Dorian said. "But it is no exaggeration to say that I place the full extent of my skill and knowledge at your disposal, Emily." At this, he bowed slightly.

Emily bit a lip. "And we're sure that this ritual has to happen on the summer solstice?"

Aria nodded gravely. "If Althea has set that date, immense magical power will be needed. Should we miss this opportunity, another may not come for many moons."

"We'd have to wait a whole year!" said Emily.

Aria and Talyndra exchanged glances. "There is no guarantee that the next summer solstice will produce the same favorable conditions," Aria said flatly. "Magic runs on its own schedule."

Emily gasped. "So, if we miss this solstice..."

No one in the room felt up to finishing her sentence.

"Let's go right now then," Emily continued. "Better than to make a spectacle in the courtyard. I hope that's not your favorite tunic, Dorian."

For an instant, Dorian's eyes widened, but he quickly regained composure. He held out an arm, which Emily grasped. It was warm and solid.

Emily closed her eyes, focusing on the Stoneshell's power. Before she could allow herself to back out, she blurted out, "Tiedavon Abbey!"

The Stoneshell's fire roared to life, a blazing inferno that swallowed them whole. Emily felt the familiar heat envelop her, the monk's robe disintegrating in an instant and the scent of scorched fabric mixing with the cool rush of air as the world dissolved. Dorian's grip tightened, his breath sharp against her ear, and then the flames vanished, plunging them into darkness.

The transition was swift--too swift--and when the world reformed, they landed on a surface of hard sandstone, the impact jarring Emily's knees and sending a shock of cold through her bare feet. Behind her, she could hear a fire crackling--the Stoneshell fire of Tiedavon Abbey, a simple bonfire burning near the edge of a cliff.

Emily gasped, the salty tang of the Azure Coast flooding her lungs, sharp and briny, laced with the faint perfume of exotic flowers. A strong, salty wind whipped up, billowing her hair out behind her back and raising goosebumps across her skin, covered by nothing more than a few patches of soot from the teleportation fire.

For a dizzying second, the world tilted. She wasn't just naked; she was exposed on a precipice under a vast, pale sky, the roar of unseen waves echoing from far below. The sandstone beneath her feet felt ancient and worn smooth. The cliff was long and narrow, flat and narrow. On the other side, she could see a sandstone tower. She felt a palpable sense of isolation in this high and lonely place, and the very air seemed suffused with power barely held in check. Not the sweet, brain-fogging scent of Shimmerwood, but something more simple and raw.

Dorian stumbled beside her, his breath hitching as he steadied himself, his own nudity as stark as hers under the open sky. "Bloody hell," he muttered, gasping. "I feel as though my insides have been reordered."

Emily had teleported so much recently that she barely felt the old nausea. Though her attempts to teleport into clothing had come to naught, there was at least that benefit. But she had failed to avert the situation she'd very much wanted to avoid, that of standing naked with Dorian near the edge of a high, windswept cliff.

Their gazes met, and Emily could see Dorian's determination to maintain eye contact. She shared this determination, but he was taller than her by a head, and she couldn't help but take in his strong shoulders and broad chest. Not to mention those abs, and... she refocused on his eyes.

A booming voice from some yards away reminded Emily of her own exposure, prompting her to cover herself. "No magic enters Tiedavon unearned!"

Footsteps trudged across the hard ground, steady and purposeful, as a group of monks approached from a tower on the inland side of the clifftop. Their leader was a towering man, broad-shouldered and clad in an azure robe adorned. His face was weathered and his sharp eyes, gray as storm clouds, fixed on Emily with unyielding authority.

Emily instinctively crossed her arms over her chest. Dorian stepped between her and the monks.

"I am Brother Kastor," said the leader. "The Tidewarden of Tiedavon Abbey. We guard this coast and the sacred Essence that protects it. I judge by your appearances that you have abandoned worldly possessions and seek to be initiated into our sacred order."

Emily opened her mouth, a denial forming, but Brother Kastor continued, "While I commend your commitment to relinquishing mundane possessions, I must ask that you also surrender your magical artifacts until you prove worthy of them."

Emily's hand clamped protectively over the Stoneshell. She was done letting others take her magic. Initiation? Worthiness? The words grated. They didn't have time for monastic rituals. Kastor's sharp gray eyes seemed to bore right through her. The wind felt colder. The two monks flanking Kastor were utterly still, their eyes trained on the ground.

She exchanged a sharp glance with Dorian. He nodded very slightly, subtly shifting his weight in preparation for a fight.

"I'm not giving up anything," said Emily, though she found it difficult to sound intimidating while trying desperately to cover her naked body.

"Then I won't ask again," replied Kastor, his tone hardening.

"Good," Emily replied, trying to sound relieved, even as her heart hammered in her throat.

Kastor gave a curt nod to the two monks flanking him. They moved with disciplined speed, splitting to approach Emily from either side. Their hands were precise--one lunged for the Stoneshell's chain while the other dove low, grabbing for the Bronzeband around her ankle. Crucially, both kept their eyes averted, staring resolutely at the scrubby ground.

Instinct took over. Emily pivoted sharply away from the monk reaching for her necklace. His fingers slid across her collarbone, brushing the side of her breast. He recoiled as if burned, freezing for a critical second, his averted gaze betraying nothing but the sudden flush creeping up his neck.

Her spin also unbalanced the monk grabbing her ankle. He stumbled over a protruding stone, his grip tightening painfully as he fell. His involuntary gasp coincided with his gaze snapping upwards, directly between her legs.

A wave of mortification washed over Emily, hot and fierce, immediately followed by white-hot anger. Opportunity.

With an explosive exhale, she channeled the Stoneshell, producing not a fireball, but a concussive blast of boiling air from her lungs, directed at the monk still frozen beside her. He yelped, scrambling back from the sudden furnace.

Simultaneously, she focused on the Bronzeband. The jagged stone the other monk had tripped over shifted, grinding upwards with unnatural speed and impacting sharply against the inside of his wrist where he still gripped her ankle. A spurt of blood splashed the band. The monk choked out a cry of pain, and his gaze snapped away from her, focusing on his injured hand.

Blood pounding, Emily summoned a low ring of fire around her feet. It flared momentarily around her feet, licking at the hems of the monks' robes as they stumbled back.

"Devil woman!" shouted the injured monk, frantically slapping at a smoldering patch on his robe with his good hand before retreating behind Kastor. "Beautiful... tempting... devil woman!"

The other monk had collapsed into a kneeling position and was muttering frantic prayers, seemingly oblivious. Dorian moved swiftly, not attacking, but firmly gripping the praying monk's shoulders, preventing him from mounting any further attacks on Emily.

Emily took a defiant step towards Kastor, planting a bare foot firmly in his direction. She ignored the goosebumps, the sting of salt spray, and her own mortification to meet his thunderous gaze.

Brother Kastor's scowl deepened as he took in the scene--the panicked monks, one restrained by Dorian, and Emily, naked, defiant, still radiating faint heat. "You are clearly a skilled mage and a cunning warrior, unafraid to use every advantage nature has granted you." He paused, stroking his beard. "Perhaps I should have brought the blind brethren."

A hot blush rose to Emily's cheeks, and it was all she could do to maintain her defiant and open stance. "I'm not here to fight," she said, her voice steadier now. "My companion and I have been sent from Paja Abbey by Abbess Althea, in search of the Azure Essence. We teleported to the Stoneshell fire on this cliff, burning up our clothes in the process. We only need a single vial of the Essence, to break a curse."

Brother Kastor raised an eyebrow. "You are the Stoneshell Bearer."

Emily nodded, conscious of the eyes on her chest.

Kastor's eyes narrowed, flicking to the Stoneshell, then to Dorian, then back to Emily. "The Stoneshell Bearer," he murmured. His gaze sharpened again. "And him? Your... consort? Does he share the Stone's power through... union?"

Emily felt the blush return with a vengeance, Captain Richard's smirking face flashing unwanted in her mind. "No! Definitely not! He's Dorian Blackwood. A spellbreaker. And my friend."

Kastor looked unconvinced. "A young man and woman on a cliffside, both naked. Forgive my skepticism."

Emily hesitated. Letting him think Dorian shared the power was tempting... but the implications... "Maybe I'm lying," she bluffed, forcing confidence. "But are you willing to risk testing that assumption? We just need the Essence. One vial. For Abbess Althea's ritual. It has to happen by the summer solstice, less than two weeks away."

Kastor remained silent, his expression unreadable. Behind him, the injured monk whimpered.

"The Azure Essence is not some common potion," Kastor said finally. "It is the lifeblood of this Abbey, safeguarding our coast. Acquiring it requires initiation into our Order, to complete the Tidal Trials--"

A small fireball zipped past Kastor's head, narrowly missing his ear.

"We're on a deadline," said Emily. "I don't want to be disrespectful, but we really don't have time to be initiated into an order or complete a bunch of trials. We just need the Azure Essence, so that we can do a ritual to lift the curse on the Stoneshell that turned the denizens of Castle Elid to stone. It sounds kinda crazy when I say it like that, but you can ask Abbess Althea, she'll back me up! And the ritual has to happen on the summer solstice."

"Can you not make an exception for the Stoneshell Bearer?" Dorian chimed in, still holding the oblivious monk in check. "She's not doing this for her own benefit, but to restore the lives of dozens of innocents. And she has already faced many trials since taking up the position."

"You wouldn't believe how many of them left me looking just like this," Emily added wryly.

Kastor rubbed the side of his head, as if checking all his hair was still there after the close encounter with the fireball. He glanced at Dorian, still holding the now quiet monk, and then back at Emily, who was losing her nerve with every passing moment.

An interminable length of time passed in silence as Kastor contemplated, occasionally stroking his chin. Emily tried to stand as still as possible. Those around her appeared to be doing their best not to stare too overtly.

Finally, Kastore spoke. "Abbess Althea is a very old friend, and a mage I have great respect for. You, clearly, are the Stoneshell Bearer, the long-awaited heir to Evangeline, with all of her determination." He looked pointedly at the injured monk behind him. "To give out the Essence goes against our every tradition, the founding principles of our order. But these are exception times. Perhaps the Council of Elders will see that. I am prepared to argue your case."

Relief washed through Emily, so potent it almost buckled her knees. "Thank you," she breathed. "And... could we possibly get something to wear?"

Kastor actually chuckled, a dry, rasping sound. "Indeed. Brother Tavis," he indicated the monk Dorian held, "and Brother Ghor," the one nursing his wrist, "have faced sufficient trials and temptations for one day. Give our guests your robes."

Emily didn't particularly care to be called a temptation--it wasn't as though she was deliberately naked--but she held her tongue.

"I will if he lets me go," came a meek, slightly strangled voice from behind Emily.

Dorian released Tavis, who reluctantly shed his robe and handed it over. Ghor approached Emily cautiously, eyes downcast, holding out his robe with his good hand after squirming out of it. Emily took it gratefully, quickly pulling it over her body.

Seeing Ghor's blood-slick wrist up close pricked up her sense of guilt. "Let me see your hand," she said gently.

The monk, pale and gangly in his wrapped loincloth, hesitated at first, but finally held out his hand after repeated assurances from Emily. She gently held it in her own hands. The cool green flame of healing Stoneshell magic flicked around the bloody wound, cleaning it and knitting together the skin until the monk's wrist was quite whole again. "Sorry about that," Emily said.

Speechless in his astonishment, the monk bowed low to Emily before returning to Kastor's side.

"I did not know the Stoneshell held that power," said Kastor.

Emily managed a small smile. "It's a very powerful artifact. And it has bestowed a mission of great importance upon me. I hope that the Council of Elders will consider that."

"All factors will be duly weighed," Kastor said curtly. "Now come. The Council will shortly convene."

The monks led Emily and Dorian to a round sandstone tower a short distance from the cliff's edge. They entered through a wooden door, so low that Dorian had to stoop to enter it. Immediately past the door began a tightly wound spiral staircase, its steps worn smooth with age and use. The air grew heavy and cool, the resonant hum of the sea echoing within the stone confines. Emily glanced back at Dorian; his expression was guarded, his eyes scanning the worn steps and curved walls.

At the bottom of the staircase was another wooden door, which opened out into a wide courtyard, dotted with squat sandstone buildings carved with intricate wave patterns. Unlike the windswept clifftop, the air here was still, almost unnaturally so. A few other monks hurried past, their faces tight with an anxiety that seemed unrelated to the newcomers. Emily noticed one stop and press his hand to the wall of a building, head bowed, as if listening for something.

Kastor beckoned them towards the largest building, an enormous dome in the center of the courtyard, painted a deep sea blue and decorated all over with wave motifs that seemed to shimmer faintly, even in the flat light. As they approached, Emily felt a peculiar vibration underfoot, a low thrumming dissonance, like a string pulled too tight, almost painful in her teeth. Just as they approached, the heavy wooden door burst open, nearly flattening Ghor who leaped aside. An old man with a wild white beard stumbled out, his eyes wide with panic.

"Kastor!" he wailed. "Disaster! A catastrophe!"

Kastor's face went taut. "What is it, Elder Blevik?"

"The Essence! The Great Azure Sphere... it's gone!"

"Gone?" Kastor echoed, disbelief warring with horror. "Impossible! The wards..."

"Gone! Vanished!" Blevik wrung his hands. "Just moments ago! There was a strange vibration, a discordant sound, like someone abusing a violin... and then it was gone!"

"Show me!" Kastor commanded, pushing past Blevik into the dome.

The other monks followed, their earlier discipline dissolving into anxious haste. Emily and Dorian trailed behind them, stepping into the vast, echoing space.

The space inside the dome was divided up by blue columns, which held up multiple levels of stone walkways, crisscrossing the vast space, all the way up to the curved ceiling. But the building's main attraction appeared to be in its center, where the columns and walkways thinned out to reveal... nothing.

Around this empty center, small groups of old men and women clustered around each other, speaking in hushed tones and looking up every now and then with worried eyes.

"It truly is gone," Kastor said. He had taken no more than a few steps into the dome before stopping, his gaze fixed on an empty spot in the air. Then he hurried forward, to speak to a group in the middle of the room.

The others followed, walking swiftly to the center of the dome. No one seemed to notice or care about the two outsiders.

"What's gone?" asked Dorian.

"The Azure Essence," one of the monks told him in a low voice. Emily leaned in to listen as well. "There was an enormous, spinning blue sphere of it hanging high up, in the middle of the dome. I've never seen it so much as shrink before, let alone disappear. This place is unrecognizable without it."

"This, uh, spinning sphere," asked Emily. "Was it by any chance the only supply of Azure Essence?"

The monk nodded gravely.

Emily's shoulders slumped. "I suppose you won't be able to give us a vial of it then."

"It's far worse than that!" Kastor exclaimed, whirling around, his face ashen. "The Essence powered everything! The protection wards, the coastal defenses, the farming spells! It is the center of our spiritual practise--Tiedavon Abbey was built around the Essence. Without it, we are nothing!"

As if on cue, a deep, groaning rumble resonated from beneath their feet. The sandstone floor trembled violently.

"The dome!" someone screamed. "It's losing integrity!"

Cracks snaked across the floor and shot up the support columns like lightning. Dust rained down. High above, a section of walkway groaned, sagged, then detached with a sickening crunch.

"Everyone out!" Kastor roared. "The Essence powered this very building!"

Screams rang all around Emily as monks and elders dashed around madly. Falling debris sent plumes of choking dust into the air. Emily coughed, her eyes stinging.

To her right, a massive column, already fractured, buckled visibly, leaning precariously towards a frail old woman struggling with a walking stick. With a final, agonizing crack, the top section sheared off and began to slide.

As Emily's fingers brushed the Elder's thin shoulder, she poured her will into the Bronzeband, not to lift, but to disintegrate. The huge chunk of stone didn't just fall -- it exploded outwards and upwards in a shower of harmless pebbles and dust.

"Thank you, child!" the Elder gasped, before Brother Ghor appeared, guiding her swiftly towards the exit, motioning for Emily to follow.

The Bronzeband pulsed warmly against Emily's ankle. She had inadvertently used its powers to save the old lady and herself from the falling ceiling. And she could do it again. "Don't worry about me," she said to the monk. "Get the Elders to safety."

She scanned the chaos. Dorian was near the far wall with his arms outstretched over the shoulders of two wizened Elders, hurrying them to safety.

Emily dashed towards another cluster of Elders trapped by a collapsing scaffold. She focused and felt the stone respond to her. She slowed the fall of a massive lintel and shattered a buckling pillar into small chunks before it could crush anyone. It was harder than summoning fire from the Stoneshell, which now came as naturally as breathing, but she was getting better at it.

All the while, more stone was falling. She cleared paths and deflected blows, her world narrowed to the immediate danger, the groan of stressed stone, the terrified cries.

Finally, the space seemed clear. She watched the last Elder she'd helped disappear through the main entrance, then turned to follow.

With a ground-shattering boom, an entire support column, immense and ancient, fell right in front of her, cutting off the direct path to safety. Rubble rained down. There was no time to go around. Scrambling over the newly formed barrier of broken stone, rocks skittering around her, Emily felt a sharp tug. Her borrowed robe was snagged fast on a jagged piece of debris.

Annoyed, she yanked, then tried lifting the trapping rock with the Bronzeband, but her focus wavered as another deafening rumble echoed from above. Dust choked her. She looked up.

An entire section of the upper walkway, dozens of feet long, thick as a bridge, had detached and was grinding its way down, mere yards above her head. Slow, inevitable, unstoppable.

Too big. Too heavy. Even the Bronzeband couldn't shatter that much mass, not instantly. And she couldn't move while trapped.

Her eyes found the exit. Dorian stood there, having just shoved a monk to safety. Their eyes locked, and then his widened with horror as he looked up at the descending slab. He took a step forward, preparing to dash back in.

No. He wouldn't make it. They would both be crushed.

"Stay back!" Emily screamed, pouring every ounce of remaining will into the Bronzeband, trying to slow the inevitable collapse. She didn't have enough power. It wouldn't hold.

The walkway fell another foot, and Dorian sprang forward.

She had to get out.

"Tiedavon Abbey," Emily whispered to the Stoneshell.

She was engulfed instantly, hearing a distant crash as everything turned to darkness.

Light returned, and it was blinding sunlight, and she was alive. Salt spray hit her face. Wind tore at her bare skin. A sheer cliff face rushed past her eyes.

Her hands flailed, scrabbling for purchase. Her fingertips brushed stone, then caught it. She jammed them in, pouring the Bronzeband's power into her grip, feeling the rock yield to her will. The falling stopped.

Emily was hanging on by her fingers to an outcropping of stone on a seaside cliff, swinging violently. Water surged up from below, drenching her back, trying to tear her loose. But she clung on, gasping, her fingers screaming. She was alive.

She was also dangling halfway down a cliff face, jagged rocks and churning sea below, naked, exhausted, and drenched. But she had not been crushed under a falling dome.

She thought back to the duel on the pirate ship and summoned Stoneshell fire to the soles of her feet, willing a blast of enough power to fly her up to the top of the cliff. But the fire sputtered out, leaving only a faint warmth under her feet. Teleporting halfway across the world and then immediately getting into a fight before teleporting again had greatly taxed her firepower. She had never worn the Stoneshell's magic this low before.

Emily gritted her teeth. She had used more magic in the past day than ever before, even in her most trying practice sessions, on days when Aria was feeling particularly ruthless. But she still had some left. She would just need to ration it carefully. Her ankle tingled as she coaxed two platform out of the cliffside for her feet to stand on, giving relief to her strained fingers.

With her weight now transferred to her feet, Emily allowed herself an infinitesimal sliver of relaxation. Her sore fingers relaxed, but still held loosely to the indentations in the rock, and she pressed the front of her body up against the cliff. The stone felt rough against her skin, prodding and nicking her all over.

Emily looked up, squinting in the light of the strong noonday sun. The top of the cliff was just visible, and between it and her was a long expanse of craggy rock. She spied many ledges and imperfections that could make holds for her feet and hands, though most of them would require reshaping with the Bronzeband.

The sum total of Emily's previous rock-climbing experience was a dimly remembered excursion during a childhood camp. On that occasion, the route had been marked out, and she'd worn a harness attached to the end of a strong rope. She'd also been fully clothed.

This time, there was none of that, but she had a magical anklet that allowed her to manipulate stone. That would have to be advantage enough.

Once she had rested enough, Emily reached out for the next hold with her left hand. It was just far enough that she had to strain, her right foot going up on tiptoes. As her fingers curled on the stone, she deepened her grip with the Bronzeband's power.

Next came her right foot. She remembered a camp counsellor telling her to move diagonally across the wall. Once her right foot was securely on a higher platform, toes pressing against the rockface, she released her left and stood up, reaching for a higher hold with her right hand and gripping firm, natural stone.

In this manner, Emily continued up the cliffside, moving slowly and carefully, making footholds and handholds for herself. When she felt tired, she would pull a wider ledge out of the rock to stand on and let her arms hang limp.

The sun beat down on her, sweat stung her eyes and dripped down her body, making the rock slick beneath her bare skin. Each move was deliberate, carefully calculated to move her up without placing her in a dangerous position, or requiring too much of the Bronzeband's power.

She was higher now, and the sea spray was less frequent, which made the sun feel hotter. The more she could rely on natural rock, the less she would need to use her limited energy on summoning holds, and so as she went higher she challenged herself with holds that were further and further apart. Her confidence grew even as fatigue gnawed at her muscles.

"Just a little... got it!" Emily said, celebrating as the toes of her left foot pressed into a hold she'd first thought would be too far to reach. She brought her left hand up to a new hold that this extended position now allowed her to reach. A soft breeze tickled her inner thighs.

As she was considering her next move, Emily hear a low whistle from somewhere below her, followed by a familiar voice. "So we meet again, my dear Emily. My, my, what a sight you are. Such flexibility!"

A million thoughts passed through Emily's mind, and it was all she could do to keep herself on the rockface. Risking a downward glance, she spied a roguish smile on the bearded face of none other than Captain Richard. He stood with his violin tucked under one arm, on one of the larger ledges she'd pulled from the rock. He was directly beneath her, looking straight up at the point between her wide-spread legs.

Emily blushed furiously, trying to recall the position of the next foothold, but too surprised by Richard's sudden appearance to move. Where was that nightmoss leotard when a girl needed it? Try as she might, she had never been able to recreate it since that first teleportation. At present, she could not even so much as feel the nightmoss's fibrous presence between her skin and the Bronzeband.

"I see you're putting my Bronzeband to creative use," he said. "Good of you to keep it warm for me. We might have done great things together, you know. Perhaps we still can. I do like what I see, in case you're wondering."

Emily was briefly tempted to let go of the rocks and plunge to her doom.

"Let me cut to the chase, dearest. You have something I dearly want back, and I have something you sorely need. Something blue. Azure, even."

Emily's blood ran cold. Had Richard stolen the Azure Essence? How could he have managed it?

"No need to speak, darling, the question is all over your pretty little face. And yes, I am looking at your face." Richard tapped his violin. "In the absence of my Bronzeband, I have had to learn new skills. Luckily I'm a quick study. And Tiedavon Abbey is a fine place to study resonance and harmonies."

Emily noticed belatedly that Richard had on a blue robe quite similar to the one she'd briefly worn.

"I was always planning to take the Essence, ever since I laid eyes on it. And when the monks told me about the history of the fire that burns atop this cliff, I had a feeling I would see you again. So imagine my delight when, while in the midst of my morning cliffside stroll, I overheard your arrival and conversation with Kastor. That was when I put my plan into motion."

With a flourish, Captain Richard produced a thin glass vial from the sleeve of his azure robe. The deep blue liquid shimmered in the sunlight. "A pity about the dome," he continued. "But in many ways, you might say that the monks were responsible for their own downfall. These things can happen when you take in a wild man who washes up on your shore with naught to his name but an old violin, no questions asked. When you tutor him in the ways of resonance magic, celebrate his every victory, give him every honor, and make him much more powerful than you could ever be."

Disgust and fury welled up within Emily. Not only was Richard a thief, but he had betrayed the monks of Tiedavon after they'd done so much for him.

"I had hoped that I would be able to recover the Bronzeband from the rubble, but with all that shouting about the teleporting naked fire mage, I realized I might find you here instead, near your fire."

A gob of spit narrowly missed Richard's nose. "I see you haven't learned any manners since our last encounter," he said, side-stepping and almost losing his balance on the small ledge, though he quickly recovered. "But I suppose that should have been obvious from your choice of dress. Or undress, rather. I should have never challenged such a brazen whore to a strip duel."

A second gob of spit caught Richard in the eye.

"I won't demand the Bronzeband from you right this moment," Richard continued, rubbing his eye with a fist, but otherwise nonchalant. "You seem to be in great need of it. But I may change my mind if you don't stop doing that."

Emily wasn't sure how much longer he expected her to hang on to the cliff in her very compromising position. He was clearly savoring the moment.

"Before you say it, yes, I know you won it fair and square in our little duel. That's why I proposed a trade. The Bronzeband, for a vial of Azure Essence. A barrel, if you'd like. Enough to bathe in. You do seem to like bathing, or at least, you're always dressed for it."

Emily muttered something inaudible.

"Meet me for the handover on top of this cliff at sunset tomorrow," Richard continued. "This isn't going to be another duel, merely a trade. No tricks," he added, raising his violin slightly. "Before you get any funny ideas about cheating me, be advised that I've learned some new tricks."

Richard drew the bow across the strings, making three brief, discordant notes, and then beginning to play in earnest. From Emily's limited vantage point, she watched tendrils of purple light rise from the instrument's strings, swaying to the music. The tendrils wrapped around Richard, and he became fainter, translucent, his visage blending with the rocks. As he became more and more indistinct, the music grew softer, and soon Emily was left alone once more on the cliffside, listening to the wind and the waves.

Her legs were beginning to ache. Grunting with effort, Emily pulled her right foot off its hold and brought it to stand on a platform much nearer to her left. She felt like her legs could use a good rub, but did not dare to remove her hands from their holds. Her thighs trembled and her arms ached, but the end was in sight.

A few careful, broad, and close holds later, Emily's left hand gripped the surface of the clifftop. With a final burst of strength, she brought her right leg up to a new hold, and then collapsed forward, half-falling, half-rolling into a sprawled heap on the cliff's edge.

Tufts of grass tickled her stomach, and she luxuriated in the feeling of laying down, of having such a great expanse of horizontal ground below her. She felt she might lay there forever.

Through half-lidded eyes, she surveyed the extinguished remains of the Stoneshell bonfire. Her teleportation must have brought her to its last embers, just as they were blowing off the cliff. Perhaps the removal of the Azure Sphere ended whatever magical protection had kept the fire burning in the open air. She shuddered to think how close she must have been to having her teleportation fail.

Behind the fire, another shape came into focus--the swiftly moving body of a man. "Emily! Emily! Is that you? Are you alright?!"

The man was Dorian, and he was sprinting towards her. Then he had her by the arms, had his hands on her back, raised her up, pulled her back from the edge of the cliff, pulled her into a hug. "I knew you'd make it," he said, burying his face in her tangled chestnut hair.

"What... what happened at the dome?" Emily croaked, her throat almost too dry to sound the words. "After I left. Did... did everyone make it out?"

Dorian pulled back slightly, though his hands remained firmly on her shoulders, his eyes searching hers. He nodded, relief still etched on his face but now mixed with grimness. "They all got clear just before the main roof came down. They thought you didn't make it. I told them you'd teleported, that you had to have." He shook his head, bitterness creeping into his tone. "I tried to come find you straight away, but they wouldn't let me leave the Abbey grounds. They were suspicious."

"Suspicious? Of what?"

"Of us. Kastor argued with them, told them you're the Stoneshell Bearer, but the elders shouted him down. As far as the Council was concerned, the appearance of two outsiders wielding powerful magic right at the moment of the Azure Essence's disappearance and the dome's collapse was too much of a coincidence. I tried to calm them down, throw in a few local words and references to make it clear that I've spent some time here on the Azure Coast, but it was of no use."

"That's insane!" Emily protested, pushing herself up to full height, though she winced at the scrapes and bruises she'd suffered from the cliff face. "We'd only just arrived! How could we possibly have caused any of it? How could they think that after we risked our own lives to rescue them?"

"They said we were working with someone else. Or something else. That we were part of a ritual to steal the Essence. There were all sorts of wild theories. Ghor and Tavis weren't any help--they kept going on about your magic, greatly exaggerating what happened when they tried to take your artifacts. The Elders all seemed very offended that you refused initiation and the Tidal Trials."

Anger flared in Emily's chest. "The ungrateful wretches! All this, after I saved their lives!" A small part of her wondered if Richard may not have been so bad to take their Azure Essence, if this was the way they treated others.

"They believe we endangered them in the first place," Dorian said darkly. "They wanted to keep me there for questioning, but I had to find you."

Emily gasped. "How did you get away?"

Dorian smiled slyly. "They couldn't start the interrogation right away, with all the chaos of the dome collapse. Other buildings were also falling all around the abbey, and there were more rescue missions to mount. I offered my assistance, but they spurned it, casting a restraint ward on my cloak and leaving me in a corner. But there was one thing they forgot, or maybe didn't know in the first place."

The hug released, and Emily stepped back from Dorian's arms. She had felt his skin against hers, and now saw it was because his robe had been reduced to a wrapped loincloth.

"The blue dye in these robes is a pretty potent spellbreaking ingredient," Dorian said. "It's no Azure Essence, but it's strong enough to break a restraint ward, provided you know how to catalyze it. Unfortunately," he added, looking down at the robe's sorry remains, "spellbreaking doesn't usually leave its ingredients intact."

They looked at each other for a moment, the silence stretching, filled only by the wind and the distant crash of waves. Emily felt a flush creep up her neck.

Dorian hastily reached for the knot of his loincloth. "Right. Sorry. You should have this."

"No," Emily said quickly, placing a hand on his forearm to stop him. "Don't. You might need the dye again later." She could hardly believe what she was saying, but she had to be practical. She was already wearing two powerful magical artifacts, and couldn't deprive Dorian of something that, honestly, he would put to better use than she could.

"But you're..." Dorian gestured vaguely, looking uncomfortable.

"Naked?" Emily finished. "In case you hadn't noticed, Dorian, this happens to me pretty often. At least in Thessolan." She forced a small, tired smile. "Right now, we have bigger problems than finding clothes." She glanced towards the afternoon sun. "It was Captain Richard who stole the Azure Essence. And he wants to trade."

"The pirate captain you won the Bronzeband off?" Dorian asked. "He's here?"

Emily nodded gravely. "He confronted me as I was climbing the cliff."

Dorian's eyes widened, and he took a few cautious steps toward the edge. "Is he still down there?"

"No, he... teleported away. He has a magic violin. I think it's the same one he had on the ship, though I didn't know it was magic then."

"How can he play the violin if he doesn't have hands anymore?"

Feeling a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach, Emily cleared her throat. "I... may have not told you everything about what happened on the pirate ship."

Dorian raised an eyebrow, though Emily avoided his gaze. Telling Dorian this closely guarded secret, this hidden source of shame, made her feel the exposure of her body before his eyes all the more keenly. "Before Richard left the ship, he came to my room. Well, it had been his room, I suppose. He looked so pathetic, still naked after our duel, and with mere stumps on the end of his arms. He wanted the Bronzeband back, so that he would be able to row a lifeboat away. I knew I couldn't give it to him, but when he held his poor stumps to light I just... well..."

Dorian made the connection. "You used the Stoneshell's healing powers on them. Just like you healed Ghor's wrist. But... moreso."

Emily bit her lip. "As soon as he put that bow to the violin string, I knew it had been a mistake."

"It's certainly complicated matters." Dorian frowned. "But it's done now. You said he wants to trade. I take it he still longs to reclaim the Bronzeband."

"Yes. The Bronzeband for the Azure Essence. He said to meet him here, at sunset tomorrow."

Dorian rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "He can't be trusted."

"Of course not. He tried to cheat me once before. And I don't know that him having the Bronzeband again would be a good thing. He would just use it to steal and hurt people."

Dorian eyed her ankle. "You've grown attached to it."

"Of course!" Emily exclaimed. "It frustrated me at first, but I think I've gotten quite good at it now. And without it, we'd both be dead."

Dorian nodded. "We'll meet him here tomorrow, like he asked," he said, speaking somewhat louder than was strictly necessary. Then, softer, he said to Emily, "But first, you need some rest."

"Where can we go?" Emily asked. She glanced at the sandstone tower that led down to the Abbey, but knew they could not return there after what Dorian had told her. What was more, she had no great desire to enter one of Tiedavon Abbey's buildings again.

"After I escaped from the monks, I didn't come straight up here," Dorian explained. "I had to go the long way round, scouting around the base of the cliffs, looking for other ways up. While I was climbing up here, I took a wrong turn and hit upon a small secluded cove by the sea. It'll make a great hiding place. There's even a trickle of fresh water there, seeping from the rocks."

"How do we get down?" Emily asked.

"The path is a lot less vertical than the way you came up," Dorian assured her. He led her a short distance along the clifftop to where a narrow fissure angled down the rock face, offering a series of rough steps and handholds. "We might need the Bronzeband's help in a few spots, but it's manageable."

The descent was taxing on Emily's exhausted body, but far less terrifying than her ascent. Dorian went first, testing holds, often placing a steadying hand on her freckled shoulder. Where necessary, Emily used the Bronzeband to stabilize loose scree or widen a narrow foothold. Finally, their bare feet sank into cool, damp sand.

The cove was exactly as Dorian described: a crescent of pale sand nestled between high, dark cliffs, the rhythmic crash of waves the only sound besides the cries of distant gulls. A thin ribbon of water cascaded down one rock face, pooling briefly before disappearing into the sand.

"We can rest here," said Dorian, guiding Emily to the water with his hand on the small of her back. "Once you've rested, we'll discuss how to prepare for Richard and his trade. I'll prepare some spellbreaks for resonant and melodic magic."

A deep sense of calm washed over Emily. She crouched before the freshwater seep, cupping her hands to drink deeply, the cool water soothing her parched throat. Dorian stayed close, his eyes scanning the cliff rim above and the open sea before them.

As Emily straightened, wiping water from her mouth, a sleek shape broke the surface of the turquoise water just beyond the shore.

"Who goes there!" shouted Dorian. "Identify yourself!"

Whoever it was continued swimming towards them, heedless of the menace in Dorian's tone. Emily readied a small fireball in her palm.

A powerful green tail splashed up to the water's edge, and the torso of a man rose from it. The merman had golden hair and icy blue eyes. His body bore fresh scars, but he was still instantly recognizable.

"Caelum!" Emily exclaimed, rushing to the water's edge. "I can't believe it."

Caelum's blue eyes glinted with pleasure and a genuine smile crossed his face. "It is good to see you again, Emily Stoneshell Bearer."

Though Emily's first instinct was to cover her body, it seemed absurd before Caelum, who had never seen her wear more than a couple of goldapple leaves. As far as he and his culture were concerned, the Stoneshell necklace was clothing enough for its bearer.

"I saw you climbing the cliff earlier, but you were too far up to hear my calls," Caelum said. "I did not think we would meet again."

Dorian stepped closer to Emily, his arm brushing against her shoulder. She looked up at him, telling him with her eyes that the merman was a friend. "This is Dorian," she said to Caelum. "He's a spellbreaker. And Dorian, this is Caelum. He's a merman."

"So I see," replied Dorian. He held out his hand for Caelum to shake.

"Well met," said Caelum, taking the proferred hand. They shook solemnly, each sizing up the other.

Caelum's eyes seemed to have more lines than the last time Emily had seen him. "Before I saw you on the cliff today, I did not know whether you still lived," he said to Emily, taking one of her hands in his. "I broke free from Trilato's guards not long after we were separated, but by the time I returned to the spot, the ship was long gone. I searched for it day and night, but to no avail. Eventually, I had to return to my own affairs."

"I'm very touched that you spent so long looking for me," Emily replied warmly. "Especially after I was the cause of your falling out with King Trilato."

Caelum waved a hand dismissively. "We would have clashed sooner or later. I desire a much grander destiny than to be the stooge of a small-minded despot."

"And what might that be?" Dorian asked, an edge in his tone.

"It is my greatest wish to unify my people and bring them to glory."

"Just like Thurseus Irontail."

Caelum smiled at the comparison before turning back to Emily. "You have educated this man well, Emily. I cannot overstate how heartening it is to see you again, proudly bearing King Irontail's greatest work between your comely breasts."

Emily blushed crimson, remembering Aria's words about the kinds of compliments merfolk considered polite.

"What brings you here, Caelum?" asked Dorian, clearly eager to change the subject.

"Trilato's forces have driven me far from my Aquius, forcing me to seek allies in other mer kingdoms. I am on my way to the Kingdom of Nauticus, a few leagues south of here, as I have heard Queen Nera is sympathetic to my cause. I was following the strong currents of warm water near this shore when I heard a great commotion from the land and stopped to investigate. It was then that I spied Emily."

"You must have heard the dome falling," said Emily. "An evil pirate--the same one who captained the ship that caught me in its net--has stolen the Azure Sphere, a powerful source of magic for the abbey here. Without it, their wards are failing and their buildings are collapsing."

Caleum made a noise of disapproval. "That would explain the sudden change in the current. Before, it carried me effortlessly toward Nauticus, but now it is erratic and ever-changing, and the once-warm water has cooled. The hospitality of these waters surprised me. It would seem that this was not their natural state."

"He wants to trade the Azure Sphere to us for the return of the Bronzeband"--here Emily pointed to her anklet--"an artifact I won from him in a duel."

"Ah, I thought you appeared more clothed than before," Caelum said, bringing a shy smile to Emily's lips. "Will you make the trade?"

"Pirates aren't to be trusted," Dorian said. "We're to meet him for the handover on the cliffs at sunset tomorrow, but we'll come prepared."

"I fully expect him to double-cross us," said Emily. "It wouldn't be the first time."

A pained expression passed across Caelum's face. "I wish that I could offer my services. But dry land is no place for me, and this meeting place is too high even for the greatest waves to crest." He glanced up hopelessly at the cliffs high above.

"I think we'll manage," Dorian said, attempting to sound reassuring. "Emily is a powerful sorceress, and I have a few tricks up my... well, not my sleeves, right now. But I know some counters to musical spells."

"I will ask the gods of the ocean to see to your good fortune."

There was a lull in the conversation, during which Emily failed to prevent herself from releasing a giant yawn.

"Emily needs to rest before then," Dorian said, pointedly addressing Caelum. "She's had an exhausting day."

"Of course," Caelum replied. "I must see to hunting, as I grow peckish. But I will remain in shallow waters. If you have need of me, shout, and I will come at once."

"Thank you," said Emily, smiling wearily. Though Caelum would be of no aid to them against Richard, just knowing he was alive and free released her mind from a great burden, one she'd been carrying since they parted.

"Until we meet again." Caelum bowed slightly, kissing Emily's hand. Then, with a curt nod to Dorian, he turned tail and splashed away.

Once he was out of sight, the full weight of Emily's fatigue finally caught up to her, and she found herself stumbling and struggling to keep her eyes open.

Dorian placed a gentle hand on her back and led her to a shaded spot beneath the cliff, where the sand was soft and only a little warm. "Sleep now," he said. "I will keep watch."

Emily let herself drop onto her side on the soft sand, curling her body up tight. The rhythmic sigh of the waves was a soft lullaby, lulling her as she closed her eyes. She was more tired than she remembered ever being before and welcomed the oblivion of a deep, dreamless sleep.

In no time at all, she was woken by a gentle nudge on her shoulder. She groaned, blinking open her eyes to see Dorian's face, framed by a sun that dipped low on the horizon. "Wake up," he said. "I've made you some tea."

Emily nodded, though still half-asleep. She stretched and brushed sand from her arms, her mind still adjusting to her strange reality, just as it had every time she'd woken up in this world. Emily was not in her bed at home, or in her pajamas. She was on a secluded beach on the Azure Coast, in Thessolan, and she was entirely naked, but for two pieces of magical jewelry and an inexplicable elastic hair-tie.

She felt better. A dull ache lingered in her forearms from the strain of climbing, but she felt stronger and more clear-minded. She could tell, through their unconscious, indescribable bond, that the Stoneshell's fire was greatly replenished.

To her left, a campfire crackled merrily, and Dorian held a slightly misshapen stone cup for her. "Remember the handhold that came loose while we were coming down here? I thought it would make a good cup."

Emily gave a small laugh as she accepted the cup. The tea was warm and smelled faintly of mint. She took a tentative sip and felt its warmth spread through her. "This is really good," she said. "I'm glad I picked you for this quest. Aria would never think to make tea, and that wood elf stuff Talyndra brews is awful."

Dorian made a retching face at the thought of wood elf tea, and they both laughed.

Emily glanced at the fire, then touched the Stoneshell. "How did you make that?"

"Not all of us need a magic necklace to start a fire," Dorian replied.

"Oh. Yeah." Emily blushed, then took another sip from the cup, watching the sea waves break on the sand.

"He seemed quite concerned about you," Dorian said eventually, his tone carefully neutral as he stared out at the water. "The merman. Caelum."

Emily glanced at him. Was that curiosity in his voice, or something else? "He has been a great friend to me," she said. "He helped me escape from Aquius after his king tried to steal the Stoneshell."

"Aquius," Dorian repeated thoughtfully. "What was it like? I've never heard of a surface-dweller going there before, apart from the ones in the legends."

"It was beautiful. And strange," Emily said. "Like nowhere I've ever seen before or since. Even after with all the strangeness of this world, it stands out."

"How were you able to breathe?"

Emily tapped the Stoneshell.

Dorian's gaze flickered down to the Stoneshell, nestled between Emily's breasts, then quickly back to her face. "Ah, of course. Irontail's betrothal gift was not only a symbol of love between sea and land, but a practical instrument for its realization. It allowed Evangeline to come to him."

The Stoneshell had been a source of protection for Emily, and increasingly a source of power. But it was also a symbol of love. The love of a particular man for a particular woman. Dwelling on that made the necklace feel different, added a new kind of weight.

"I've gathered some spellbreaking ingredients," Dorian said, motioning to a small pile of beach detritus at his side--seashells, seaweed, a few oddly-shaped sticks, another misshapen stone cup filled with sand, and a few small strips of blue fabric torn from his robe. "None of this stuff would do anything on its own, but I went back up to the cliff while you were sleeping and arranged some stones and branches in leyline-disrupting patterns. It won't look out of the ordinary to anyone not well-versed in spellbreaking."

Emily nodded appreciatively. Dorian had explained the general principles of spellbreaking to her a few times, but she found it very complicated and counter-intuitive. Every time she thought she understood how one part of it worked, Dorian would gently correct her, until she gave up entirely on ever understanding it. She knew it worked though--after all, Dorian had once used it against her.

The lower rim of the sun now rested directly on the water, casting a shimmering path across its surface. "What do we do now?" Emily asked. She finished her tea and set the makeshift stone cup down in the sand beside her.

Dorian followed her gaze to the spectacular sunset. "Now? We wait. Richard said sunset tomorrow, did he not? That gives us time." He got up and poked at the small campfire, adding a few pieces of driftwood he must have gathered while she slept. Sparks danced upwards into the rapidly darkening sky. "It gives my preparations time to settle into the leylines," he added, glancing back towards the cliffs. "And it gives you more time to recover your strength. You pushed yourself hard today."

The day's events flashed through Emily's mind, bringing attention to the deep aches in her muscles.

"We should eat," Dorian said. "I managed to find something while you were asleep." He gestured towards a cluster of flat rocks near the fire. On them lay several large, cooked shellfish steaming gently, alongside a handful of roasted tubers that smelled earthy and sweet. "Not exactly a feast, but edible. The shellfish were trapped in a tide pool, and the tubers grow wild just above the high tide line."

Emily's stomach rumbled in response. "That looks amazing, Dorian. Thank you."

They settled by the fire, pulling the hot shells apart with their fingers, and digging out the tender meat. They ate the tubers like baked potatoes, splitting the charred skins to get at the soft insides. It was simple food, but after the day's ordeal, it tasted incredible. They ate mostly in comfortable silence, listening to the fire's crackle and the rhythm of the waves.

Darkness fell over the beach and stars slowly populated the darkening sky. The night skies of Thessolan, free from the light pollution Emily had grown up with, still occasionally caused her to catch her breath in wonder. The air grew cooler, raising goosebumps on Emily's bare arms. She huddled closer to the fire's warmth.

"Dorian," she began hesitantly, fidgeting with the stone cup. "While you were out foraging... did you happen to find anything... you know?" She gestured vaguely at her own body. "To wear?"

Dorian looked up from poking the fire with a stick, his cheeks illuminated by the flames. He seemed surprised by the question, then slightly flustered. "Ah. Wear. Right." He cleared his throat. "Actually... no. I didn't. I was mostly focused on the spellbreaking components, setting the counter-measures on the cliff, and keeping an eye out." He avoided her gaze, suddenly finding the fire intensely interesting. "And making sure no one from the Abbey came looking for us. Priorities, you know."

Emily couldn't help a small smile. It was strangely endearing, his practical focus completely overriding the rather obvious social awkwardness of their situation. "Right. Priorities. Spellbreaking first, clothing optional."

"Well, yes," he said, looking back at her, seemingly missing her wry tone. "I don't have much experience with resonance magic, or anything else Richard can do with that violin. I needed every bit of time to prepare what I could." He frowned. "Even with the preparations, stopping him won't be easy if he means to fight."

"Maybe it won't come to that," Emily said, trying to sound more sure of herself than she really was. She looked down at the band on her ankle, glinting slightly in the firelight. "If he's serious about making a trade, well... we do need the Azure Essence."

Dorian stopped poking the fire, his expression becoming serious, attentive.

"I know he doesn't deserve it back. He's... awful. And dangerous. Giving him that power again feels wrong, so wrong." Her hand instinctively went to the Stoneshell over her heart. "But Aria and the other statues... they've waited centuries. This might be their only chance. If we fight Richard and lose, or even if we just fail to get the Essence from him... the curse stays. Is keeping the Bronzeband worth that risk?"

Dorian remained silent for a long moment, studying her face in the firelight. "And what happens after?" he asked quietly. "After Richard has the Bronzeband back? He won't just sail off peacefully into the sunset, Emily. Saving Aria is paramount, yes. But unleashing a re-empowered Captain Richard... that carries its own cost, doesn't it? Don't you have enough powerful and dangerous enemies already?"

Emily didn't have an answer. She wrapped her arms around her knees, staring into the flames. Dorian was right, of course. But the image of Aria, eternally stone, haunted her.

There was something else about the Bronzeband that made her hesitate to give it up, and that was the mysterious nightmoss, which seemed to be somehow linked to it. It was a source of immense magical power from the Deep Realm that she could not understand, much less control, but that had come to her aid in impossible situations. Would abandoning the Bronzeband mean abandoning the nightmoss?

She remembered wanting to ask Abbess Loren about the nightmoss, back at Gla Abbey. Why hadn't she? For that matter, why hadn't she asked Abbess Althea about it, or Aria? For some reason, Emily was unable to hold a thought about the nightmoss in her mind for more than a few minutes at a time.

Dorian stood up, stretching. "We don't have to decide right now. We have until sunset tomorrow." He banked the fire carefully, leaving a few glowing embers, and gestured towards the soft patch of sand where Emily had slept before. "Get some more sleep. A clear head will help." He walked a few paces away, closer to the freshwater seep, and cleared another patch of sand for himself.

Emily lay down on the sand, still faintly warm from the day's sun. She looked up at the vast sweep of stars, so much more brilliant than any she'd ever seen back home. The Near Moon was full tonight, and the Far Moon a waning crescent. Closing her eyes, she listened to the waves, the distant cry of a night bird, and the soft sounds of Dorian settling down nearby.