“So what are we going to do?” Felix asked.

  Anxiety gnawed at Felix as he tried to come to grips with what Grandma said. He was on the verge of panic when Grandma spoke.

  “Felix, I need you to calm down. Right now, you just need to focus on what's in your control. Since they couldn’t get a hold of Lara, they’ve started applying pressure to our family to hand her over. Fortunately, I have enough influence to stave off their more blatant attempts, and they want to keep this issue under wraps so they’re not doing anything drastic.

  “Unfortunately, that means there’s a very real possibility that they’ll be targeting you. It’s easy for me to protect the rest of the family, but with you all the way out in the Feywild, you're on your own. The only reason they haven’t gotten to you is likely because it will take time to track you down. We need to figure out how we’re going to keep you safe.”

  Felix felt his anxiety twist into something more visceral while he listened to her.

  “Grandma! What are you talking about?! They’re hunting Lara, we need to help her! This isn’t the time to be worrying about me!”

  “I am helping her, Felix. I raised the two of you, and I’ll be damned if I let anything happen to my little marshmallow, but if they get hold of you, it will ruin everything. If you want to keep her safe, then I’ll need your help to keep you safe first.”

  Felix fell silent, his mind kept saying that it made sense, that he should listen to her, but his heart refused to accept that there was nothing he could do.

  “Felix, I understand you’re upset, but I need you to tell me exactly what you’ve been up to. I need to figure out what they know to come up with a plan.”

  Felix clenched his fist and half-heartedly recounted his attempts to not reveal that he’d received a letter from Grandma and how he tried to make his journey look rational. Though while he spoke, most of his focus was in his Inner World, trying to come up with something that could help.

  “You did better than I expected. We might be able to work with this.”

  Grandma fell into deep thought.

  “Grandma, do you know where Claire took Lara? Also, do you know what happened to Aster?”

  “Huh? Aster? That was the beastkin girl you guys befriended at the Crossroad, right? I haven’t heard anything about her.”

  Grandma’s lip curved up in a smirk.

  “Could it be that my little man is worried about another girl? Are you finally growing up?”

  “Ugh, Grandma, this is serious.” Felix frowned. “Though your teasing reminded me of something.”

  He briefly detailed his encounter with the lady working at the tea shop.

  “You don’t think she could be working for that family, do you?”

  Grandma shook her head. “I don’t think so, but since she asked me to write to her, I’ll do so, just to make sure. As for where Claire took Lara, I’m not certain, but it’s likely she’s heading to the Smiling Monk’s Pagoda.”

  Menium immediately erupted into frantic chirps that even Felix struggled to follow. Little Grandma was completely taken aback by the outburst.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Menium! Calm down! I’ll ask! I’ll ask!”

  “Sorry, Grandma, ‘The fable of the Smiling Monk’ is his favourite story, he’s always wanted to go. I honestly didn’t think the pagoda was a real place.”

  Felix frowned as his Inner World came to life.

  “No, in fact, everything I’ve read makes me almost certain it’s a myth.”

  Grandma nodded.

  “It’s not a simple place to find, it’s a pretty good place to hide, and if Claire wants to switch to the cultivation path, then it’s a pretty good place to train.”

  Menium started chirping again.

  “Uhm, he says that’s perfect, then, we should just go hide there with them. Then we’ll be safe.”

  Grandma shook her head.

  “Honestly, it’s not a bad idea, the place is hidden by a natural formation you could study, and I don’t even have to mention why it would be a great place for Menium. It’s not a hundred percent safe, but you could definitely hide there for a while and buy me time to sort out this mess.”

  “Then that’s perfect!” Even Felix was starting to come around to the idea.

  “No, no, it isn’t. I have no idea how to find it, I only know its general location. And even that’s a problem. It’s on The Continent’s side of the Shattered Highlands. You’d need to go all the way from the Feywild, through the Stoneholds and then through the unclaimed parts of the Shattered Highlands. Even then, you’d have to go closer to the Centre Continent to get there.

  “There’s no way you could make that journey on foot, and trying to do so by ship will expose you. If you could get there safely, I wouldn’t be opposed, but there's just no way I could see you doing that.”

  Menium started furiously pulling on Felix’s arm and chirping insistently.

  “I know, I know! Give me a second ok?”

  Menium was just too excited at the prospect of visiting the Smiling Monk’s Pagoda to calm down. Felix had to struggle to push his thoughts through the noise so he could process what Grandma said. In the end, he gave up and moved his focus to his Inner World, where he could think in peace. Once he did it, it didn't take him long to think of something.

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  “Menium! If you don’t calm down, we're eating nothing but Gorujum berries for the next month!”

  The chitter immediately stopped, with Menium slowly removing his hands from Felix’s arms. Straightening his back, he smoothed out his fur and sat down with proper posture.

  Felix turned his attention back to his Grandma, who was fighting to hold back laughter.

  “I think I might have a way, or at least a way to find one.”

  The mirth vanished from Grandma’s face instantly.

  “Explain.”

  “I’ve kept in touch with one of the guides from the Crossroad, a dwarf named Agrona. She’s currently staying in the Stoneholds. If I visit her, she could probably help me get through that part of the journey at least. But I think she might even be able to help me get through the rest of the Shattered Highlands.

  “She travels regularly to find new ingredients and recipes. She might know a way to get us there safely.”

  Grandma thought for a while.

  “I don’t like it. Helping you through the Stoneholds alone is useless. You’d still be solidly in Alliance territory.”

  Felix could practically feel Menium winding up a tantrum next to him. Before he could start his outburst, Grandma kept talking.

  “But heading to the Stonehold is a good idea. The Alliance’s relationship with The Continent is… well, it’s complicated. Their influence is basically gone after you get past the border tribes of beastfolk.”

  Grandma thought a moment longer before finalising her plan.

  “Alright, go see this friend of yours and see if she can help you. If she can get you through the unclaimed regions, then that would be great. If she can’t, then you can at least get her help moving through the Stoneholds. Keth can tell you how to get a message to me without drawing attention. If she can’t help you get through the unclaimed region, I should be able to figure out a way to get you to The Continent from the border. We’ll have more options after that.”

  “So you approve of us meeting up with them?!”

  “Not really, my options are just limited with you being so far away. Felix, you’ll need to cover your tracks in the Stoneholds as best you can. At least keep your movements natural. If they start tracing you, you might lead them right to Lara. Also, keep in mind that I’m not actually sure that’s where they went. There’s a chance you get there, and they don’t let you in, or Claire went somewhere else.

  “There’s only so much I can do to help from so far away without drawing attention to you. You’ll be on your own. Are you sure this is the route you want to take?”

  Felix looked over at Menium, but it was little surprise that he was more than eager for Felix to agree. With a sigh, he thought about it.

  “Yeah. Even if there’s a safer way, I don’t think I could live with myself if I found out I could have helped by going, and instead just hid while they dealt with it alone.”

  Grandma sighed.

  “Fine. I understand. But you have to promise to let me know if Agrona can’t help you. I can’t risk you leading that bastard's family to them, and I expect you to be just as clever and careful as you’ve been until now. Ok?”

  “We will, Grandma, don’t worry… and let me know if you hear anything about Aster, ok?”

  Grandma smiled a predatory smile as her eyes lit up.

  “Aww, my little boy is growing up so well. Tell me about her. What do you like about her? Have you told her how you feel?”

  “It’s not like that! She’s just a friend!... Maybe don’t write to that teashop lady after all. I’m afraid of what would happen if the two of you met.”

  After a little more teasing back and forth, they had to cut the call short. It would be suspicious if Felix were caught spending too long in the store.

  “Is there a way we can talk like this again? It’s way easier than writing letters back and forth.”

  “Do you think I’m a Starfarer? Do you have any idea what it costs to communicate like this? We’ll stick to letters. If you miss me so much, then take a trip back to the Scattered Stars once this blows over. You haven’t visited since the last time a portal rotated close to the Feywild.”

  Felix rolled his eyes.

  “Fine, fine. I’ll come visit the next time there’s a reunion. I’ll be closer to the stars anyway.”

  “Good, stay strong, Felix. Menium, you take care of him ok? And Felix, you better be feeding him well, you know you wouldn’t be able to travel so freely without him there to help you when things get dangerous. Don’t be ungrateful. Make sure you both get some sleep. You look tired. If you’re running short of coin, you should ask. Don’t always try to do things on your own. Stay careful. I love you both. Stay safe.”

  “We will, Grandma, you be careful too. And we love you more.”

  Menium chirped his agreement and nodded confidently.

  “Bye, boys.”

  With that, the golem slumped over and quickly lost its magic, becoming a featureless humanoid figure.

  When Felix stood up, his legs had gone numb from sitting through the long conversation. He briefly shook them, trying to get blood flow back while enduring the feeling of being poked by thousands of invisible pins.

  When he felt stable on his legs, he exited the little room that had been used to hold the formation.

  As soon as he stepped out, Kethrix collapsed into his humanoid form again.

  “Ah, good, you’re done. Did everything go alright?”

  Felix nodded.

  “Grandma said you could help me contact her discreetly if I need to?”

  Kehtrix nodded.

  “Where are you going from here? Not specifics, just the region”

  “Ah, we're going to the Stoneholds.”

  Kehtrix nodded before digging around in a pile of trash to find a thin sheet of metal. He pressed it to his chest briefly before handing it to Felix.

  “Here, memorise this and hand it back to me so I can destroy it.”

  Looking at it, Felix could see he’d engraved a few names, locations and methods of contact onto the plate for cities across the Stonehold and even for a few elven towns between Caelwyn and the border. After glancing at it briefly, Felix nodded.

  “Got it.”

  “Huh, you sure? Even with a mind affinity that was fast.”

  Felix nodded, not explaining more.

  “Alright, take this.”

  He flicked Felix a coin.

  “Give this to any of those people along with the letter, and they’ll make sure it gets to me. I can handle the rest. Don’t stamp it with your token. Stamp it with the coin instead. This will be slower than sending it through the Explorer’s guild post, but it’s much more discreet.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Was there anything else? You guys have stayed a little long.”

  Felix could hear that the concern was more for Felix and Menium than for himself, which made him smile.

  “Yeah. Thanks for all this. Don’t worry, I’ll leave a few traces that stopping by here might have helped inspire my decision to go to the Stoneholds. Even if people notice, that should throw them off.”

  “Alright, stay safe, you two. I’ll let you know if Grizhnahthelix manages to name any children after you.”

  Felix was mortified, but Menium looked chuffed at the idea, and with that, they’d achieved what they needed to. With a few more diversionary stops, they returned to the inn so Felix could plan the next leg of their journey.

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