Lainter arrived a week later.

  That morning, persistent doorbells rang in the living room, urgently summoning the household. Ashley, who had been searching for something in the library at the time, dropped her books, dashed upstairs, and opened the door just as Yuf started knocking.

  When Kairu came down to the dining room, he saw from the stairs how Atgard and Roger were warmly shaking Yuf’s thin, pale, dry hand, Ashley kissed him on the forehead, and then Viggo appeared and immediately pulled him into a hug… Yuf’s left arm was in a sling. He was wrapped in a dirty traveling cloak, with a crossbow slung over his back and the hilt of a sword glinting at his belt. He looked grim and smiled with visible effort, a forced grimace on his gray, scarred face.

  He only glanced at Kairu as the latter descended the stairs, and there was no coldness or hostility in his eyes, nothing had changed at all. Kairu saw only the same sorrow and the strained smile. But when they shook hands briefly and in complete silence, Kairu realized: no, something had changed. In Yuf’s eyes, for a brief moment, there was a flicker of pity.

  Viggo was the first to hesitantly clap his hands; the others didn’t follow—this was too serious a moment. Yuf grimaced, as if from a toothache. Then he said, quietly and with effort:

  "Glad to see you alive and well, little brother."

  "And I’m glad," Kairu responded almost in a whisper, and slowly stepped aside, because from the stairs came a joyful squeal. Rita, running down, immediately hugged Yuf, who, completely embarrassed, awkwardly patted her on the back.

  He greeted Remiz briefly but warmly, shook hands with Woody and Norton, whom he barely knew, smiled at Joanna’s charming grin, allowed Ashley to help him out of his cloak, and disappeared into the bathroom while the others sat at the table waiting for breakfast.

  When he returned, overwhelmed by all the attention he was getting from everyone, and brushed off Ashley’s fretting over his paleness with a joking wave, coffee and scrambled eggs were already steaming on the table. Unlike the others, Lainter devoured the food like a ravenous wolf, ate three portions, and only then allowed Ashley and Atgard to begin questioning him.

  "Glad to see you’re healthy again."

  "Yeah..." Yuf muttered. "The healers worked on the arm for a long time, the joint still hasn’t fully healed, there’s a brace. The bullet wounds were light. In any case, coming back here feels like summer vacation after a tough school year…"

  "Has Emerlun already set out?"

  "Yep. Dalid and Hugo are with him too. Dalid has been promoted to ensign, and Hugo is practically a division commander, he has five hundred Vaimarites under him. From what I understand, Geonar and Felm convinced him to lead the army along the southern foothills of Olmaer to approach Boreain from the east. The plan is for Boreain to be taken by the First and Second Eastern Front Armies, commanded by Emerlun and Geonar, and then for the Third and Fourth Armies, under Felm and Telorand, to strike swiftly into the Eastern Province."

  "Then we’ll have to hurry," Viggo muttered.

  "Of course," Yuf agreed. "Kairu, Rita, don’t bother explaining, I know what you want to do. And even though I wouldn’t have done it this way myself, Petros entrusted this to you. So, it’s your decision. I’ll try to help. And I’ll go along with everything."

  Silence fell. Kairu tapped his fingers gloomily on the table, unsure where to begin. Ashley unexpectedly broke the tension:

  "Yuffilis. Before any decisions are made, let’s go over the whole story from beginning to end. So we don’t miss anything important. Everyone here knows Kairu’s story. But you, as far as I can tell, are still a mystery to many. Isn’t it time to lay your cards on the table and explain what role Petros left for you in this whole affair?"

  "It’ll be a bit hard without him." Yuf gave a crooked smile and looked up. "I didn’t want to talk about it… Fine. I guess I’ll start from far back. From the part of the story that only three people know. Me, Petros, and Rita."

  He turned his gaze to Kairu.

  "Do you remember when we met in your village, I said I didn’t want to talk about the early years of my wanderings?"

  Kairu nodded. Oh, he would never forget that memorable evening…

  "Well then," Yuf continued slowly, tensely, struggling to find the words, "I must admit that you were luckier than I was in your first experience of discovering the Big World. I got quite lost in the endless forests of the Southern Province. I spent all money I had on the way and reached Nalvin without a coin in my pocket. I was a penniless ragamuffin, I starved, slept on the streets… That was the worst time of my life; I couldn’t endure the awful city life for long… though I never stooped to stealing," he glanced sideways at Norton. "I decided to travel, to get food from the forests, to earn my living by hunting—I still had my bow and arrows. And I headed north, because I wanted to reach Vaimar. Can you imagine—almost a thousand miles… I wandered for a whole year through the forests and steppes northwest of Nalvin and in the Western Province. I had an excellent memory, and after a year of trudging through half of Aktida, I had memorized every bump and tree in the western woods. My travels toughened me. I got used to finding food, water, and shelter on my own, learned to do without human company… In short, by the time I reached Petista, I was a seasoned tracker.

  "And that’s when I got lucky—lucky in the way you only get once in a lifetime. I happened to stop by a roadside inn and sat down at the only free table, where an ancient old man in a cloak was already sitting. He found out I didn’t have a penny, treated me to a beer, and over drinks we started talking. That’s how I learned that my new acquaintance was none other than Professor Petros.

  "He offered me a deal. He needed an assistant and informant, and I was an expert on the roads of the Western and Southern provinces, and I was in desperate need of money. Besides, one of his key allies had recently gone missing in the mountains."

  "My father," Rita whispered. Yuf nodded.

  "Petros needed someone to replace Axel as leader of the Cassians in Petista. I don’t know what he saw in me, I genuinely shared his views, but of course I lacked experience. Maybe he feared betrayal from the other members of the chapter… Anyway, he brought me into his revolutionary work and began promoting me. I also worked as his assistant. He filled the gaps in my education with lectures on history and math, let me live in his rented apartment, and I, like a loyal dog, ran errands for him, traveled from town to town—in short, I served him faithfully. He had nothing to reproach me for… One of my main tasks soon became spying on Nubel. It wasn’t hard, Nubel didn’t hide his actions at all. Thanks to a recommendation Petros wrote on behalf of the Mages' Guild, I met Nubel during a wizard congress in Petista, gained his trust, pretended to be a failed archaeologist. Nubel saw in me essentially the same things Petros had, and agreed to take me on as an assistant. I left Petista, promising Petros to keep him informed of Nubel’s every move, and I kept my word. For about a year we corresponded constantly, and gradually a plan began to form regarding Nubel. By that time, I already knew about the Lake of Aktida and the Crossroads of Time, all the things you now know.

  In the spring of 1451, I got a short leave and went to Petista. By then, Nubel had already roughly determined the location of the Aktos’ shrine and told me about it, and naturally, I passed everything on to Petros. We came up with a plan in which Nubel would unknowingly recruit people loyal to Petros for the expedition. I was one of them. For the guide, we of course chose Rita."

  Rita gave a short nod.

  "Petros was the one who introduced me and Yuffilis," she said.

  "Nubel entrusted me with finding the third expedition member and the guide," Yuf explained, "so I had a free hand. He agreed to Kairu’s candidacy immediately, as soon as he learned about his visions. He needed a Seer on his team as much as he needed the Lake of Aktida itself. As for Rita, I had to work hard to fabricate her credentials. Nubel had never met her and didn’t know she was Axel’s daughter.

  Everything after that went smoothly. The expedition served as bait for Kairu, and he was hunted simultaneously by Nubel, Petros, and Saelin. The plan failed only in one respect: the diamond was supposed to end up with Petros, but it fell into Saelin’s hands.

  After I helped Viggo and Remiz leave the country, I stayed in Mainor, met with Petros again, and he helped me slip into the king’s inner circle. I took the place of a junior assistant Ordevix in the Royal Intelligence. With the help of magic and potions, I managed to maintain another person’s appearance for a long time. And I served until July, when I last saw Petros. He gave me a new mission, which I’m still carrying out."

  "The revolution?" Viggo asked with open irony. Yuf paid no attention to his tone:

  "The revolution. I started with my old friends and acquaintances from my early expeditions. I restored all my old contacts, found the right people in Mainor… Of course, the Cassians already had a chapter there, led by Amalia before she was killed. Then the underground went quiet. I rebuilt the network and resumed the meetings. I met Dalid, Jeremy, and other students, they all helped me enormously. We got access to a printing press for quick propaganda leaflets, to startup capital raised from donations. Meeting Hugo Hellerson was a huge boost, and through our correspondence he helped recruit many Alvens and Kalds from Petista and Vairad. In the autumn, as we gathered signatures for our manifestos, we saw that thousands of people were already ready to support us in toppling the government. That’s when the information leaked, Maclevirr grew suspicious… A few people got caught, revealed who had recruited them, and those people revealed others, and one of them ratted me out, since I had led nearly every Mainor meeting, frequently appeared among the future revolutionaries… That was October 1453. While the armies froze in Mainor waiting for pirates, the underground fell silent, and everyone was afraid to continue, while the authorities, to avoid public unrest, hanged a dozen people and called it even—but started keeping a tighter grip on order.

  "As for me, the exposure of our revolutionary leadership caught me during a campaign to the northeast, to the Olmaer Ridge, tasked by royal decree with scouting a safe road through the pass. This pass lies north of Asternia, at the far edge of the Enchanted Forest, and beyond it are the wild, uninhabited steppes of southern Vaimar, where it’s rare to find even a single village. We made it there. We studied the mountains for a long time, mapped out a route, prepared the road in case large numbers of people needed to be moved to or from Vaimar. At the same time, of course, we questioned the locals about sentiments, tried to find out what Jake Farian was up to, and whether he was already gathering troops near the border in that region. That was a mission from Maclevirr. However, I realized too late that the entire campaign was actually a trap set by Maclevirr. He had started to suspect me and decided to frame me. In my unit were people whose task was to spy on me. Once the mission was completed, they tried to arrest me and several loyal soldiers. We escaped and tried to return through the pass to Aktida, because we knew that extradition between Vaimar and Aktida was still in effect and that we couldn’t expect help from the Kalds. At the pass, one of our men died of frostbite… It was January, and the frosts this year were brutal, savage, unheard of. And we were exhausted, didn’t know where to find food, and understood that none of us would survive. At the next camp, after we ate the last of our supplies and stopped in the mountains, the hunters caught up with us. They had brought werewolves with them.

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  Ashley gasped softly and turned pale. Yuf continued in the same calm, indifferent tone:

  "When we realized what we were dealing with, we didn’t even try to fight back. One of my comrades, whom I still remember with gratitude, ran to the side to distract the werewolves. They got him instantly, tore him to shreds and ate him alive. I and another soldier were wounded, but we managed to kill two of the werewolves that attacked first and escaped south through the pass. I was bitten in the neck, the wound was horrific. I remember being covered in blood, feeling nauseous, barely able to move… Only later did we realize that half a dozen of those creatures had been tracking us. They got delayed on the way, and a blizzard separated us from them, giving us a small head start. My companion died of his wounds along the way. I could no longer walk, I was too weak. Sometimes I wonder: how many saints must have prayed for me, if I didn’t fall asleep from the cold, weakness, and hunger on that pass? If I managed to crawl across it, even though I was crawling without rest for nearly a full day?… I bit into my own fingers as painfully as I could to stay awake, tried to stand up and fell again, but at least that helped keep me warm.

  "So, with my face torn to shreds by claws and my neck hastily bandaged, I crawled to the Enchanted Forest. A long trail of blood stretched behind me, at first covered by the snowstorm, but then the weather cleared and the werewolves followed the trail… The centaurs saved me. Border patrol. They fought them off and slaughtered those monsters to the last one. The humans who had been following the werewolves refused to cross the pass.

  "I had an amulet that Petros had given me long ago, saying, ‘This might come in handy. Just in case.’ Here it is." And Yuf pulled a small piece of bark on a thin string from under his shirt collar. Kairu instantly recognized the same symbol hanging around his own neck, the mark of Chiron. "When I regained consciousness in the capital of the Enchanted Forest, the queen told me that I owed my rescue, and the fact they even bothered to treat me, to this mark. They stitched up my wound… now it’s barely visible," he said with a crooked smile, turning down his collar to show a long gray scar. "They patched me up and got me back on my feet. I don’t know how I didn’t go insane crawling across that pass. In any case, I spent two months there slowly recovering—and those were probably the best two months of my life. Then I left them—it was late February. I stopped for the night at a roadside inn and happened to run into Kairu there, which changed my plans drastically. At first, I had intended to go south to Mainor, but when I heard about the siege, I rushed to Petista. I rode without rest, pushing the Hellsteed to its limits, sometimes going three nights without sleep, and I reached it in three weeks. Hugo immediately understood there was no time to waste. I was lucky that the troops were already on standby, such were the orders from the royal autumn decree. We set out at full speed, and it took another three weeks to reach Mainor… The rest, you know."

  Yuf fell silent, then coldly added, glancing sideways at Kairu:

  "You're wrong to treat this idea so skeptically. Six months ago, you had every right—even I was sure everything would collapse once the leaders of the resistance were arrested. But now we are many, very many. We're everywhere—in Aktida, Vaimar, even on the Archipelago—and we're preparing to strike… We have a secure hideout no one knows about. It will become the main base if Aktida—Aktos forbid—falls. We call it the Mountain Fortress, and judging by the pace of construction and number of people involved, it will be completed in less than a year."

  "The Mountain Fortress?" Viggo repeated. "Where’s that?"

  "State secret," Yuf smirked.

  In the silence, birdsong drifted in from the garden.

  "You’re going to the Eastern Province," Atgard suddenly said. "You need to know what it’s like now… It’s no longer a peaceful land of hills, rivers, and swamps. Boreain has been taken and turned into the main border outpost of the Saelin Empire. Yes, the locals now call it an empire… The river remains, and the entire fleet the townsfolk didn’t manage to burn to keep it from the enemy is now used for rapid provisioning of the army in the Southern Province. And beyond that… where forests once stood, there are now mountains."

  "Mountains?" Joanna asked. "But how…?"

  "Some bright soul dubbed them the Man-Made Mountains," Atgard grunted. "In truth, they’re partly heaps of construction debris and slag, and partly huge buildings camouflaged on the outside. Inside are forges, smelters, sawmills, and other manufacturing facilities producing goods for Saelin. Further on, part of the forests have been cleared and replaced by plantations, vineyards, fields, and farms. But another part remains forested, with paths carved out for troops and Saelin’s new weaponry… For the Arachnids."

  "So that’s where he breeds them…" Viggo murmured thoughtfully.

  "And at the heart of it all, closer to the southeastern tip of the continent, in a region called Tepei-Kuon, stands the Castle. Or as it's now commonly known, the Citadel. To the east of it is a barren rocky plateau where factories have been built. I’ve been there. I walked through those woods myself… and I really didn’t like the fact that everywhere you look, there are machines made by goblins."

  "Goblins?" Woody gasped.

  "Goblins from the Desert Lands. Didn’t you know there’s a goblin kingdom beyond the Olmaer Ridge? Massive cities, factories, their own way of life. Smugglers from Aktida and the Islands occasionally trade with them. They live in peace with us, and we mutually ignore each other… The goblins we have in Aktida are different," he quickly added, as Woody opened his mouth, clearly about to talk about the sewer adventure, Kairu realized. "In the Desert Lands, they’re fully civilized. They use their devilish technology instead of magic and often sell it to smugglers. But our goblins—they’re savages, animals who gather around strong leaders or shamans. No, the goblins of the Desert Lands are completely different beings.

  "They sold technology to Saelin—you could tell immediately from the machines digging, chopping trees, draining swamps, and so on. There’s nothing like that in Aktida. Obviously, Saelin had something to offer them in exchange for an alliance. And that’s very serious. If the goblins decide to go to war against us, Saelin would gain a colossal army capable of destroying us. So far, that threat hasn’t materialized. Saelin’s castle is finished, and the goblins are still just running their own factories, they haven’t united into an army. But we have another advantage. I’ve seen the Citadel, even if from afar, and I can tell you the keep, the donjon that houses the laboratory, remains unchanged. And I have no doubt that the Lake of Aktida is stored there… Well, now it’s your turn, gentlemen."

  Kairu glanced around at the gathering. All eyes were now on him.

  "When we parted ways with Petros in Nalvin," Kairu finally said, "he left us one last task. He said I must take the Lake of Aktida from Saelin. After that, I'd somehow know what to do with it, because I am a Seer. And now, here I am, closer to Saelin than ever before. But I need help."

  "What's there to say?" Joanna said mockingly. "Steal it. Tear the Citadel apart brick by brick, grab the diamond, kill Saelin, and run. Brilliant, really."

  "You've all lost your minds," Viggo rumbled. "When you first mentioned this back in Mainor, I thought it was some kind of joke... Holy hell! That place is a wasp's nest! A real one! There's an army there no smaller than the one that wintered under Mainor!"

  "It's worth the risk, Viggo," Rita said with a smirk. "Remember what we discussed in Mainor and what Yuf said. Emerlun’s forces are coming. Their goal is to take Boreain and then recapture the entire Eastern Province."

  "So what?"

  "So the diamond could fall into their hands! And that’s the same as the start of a new world war! Have you forgotten? Or do you think that was a joke too?"

  Kald said nothing, stroking his thick black beard.

  "Reckless," Yuffilis noted, leaning back in his chair.

  "Exactly what I think," Atgard agreed. "Pure madness!"

  "And you say that, Atgard?" Ashley looked at him with a mocking smile. "Have you already forgotten how, back when you were captain of the Boreain Fighters' Guild, you tossed aside the Guild's code, ignored the laws of Aktida, and brilliantly unraveled the biggest smuggler clan case? How you were expelled from the Guild for breaking the charter, but still managed to wrap up the case unofficially and snag yourself a noble title and the position of Guildmaster?"

  Atgard snorted.

  "That was thirty years ago... And you, Ashley, are still a reckless daredevil even past sixty. What’s good about that?"

  "She's right in some ways, Atgard," Rita chimed in. "Think back to your younger self... We’re not asking you to come with us. Just put yourself in our place. After your second success in taking down the Thieves' Guild, I was counting on your support. You understand?"

  "So he’s the one who uncovered the Guild?!" Woody gasped in astonishment.

  "Indirectly," Atgard muttered. "Yes, I was involved, though most of the work was done by my student, who now lives in a county not far from Asternia—and whom I'm most proud of. I won’t deny it happened. But, ladies and gentlemen: when we were young, we were all mad. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be sitting at this table right now! Yes, we all did crazy things. But this one goes beyond all conceivable limits of madness. Absolutely beyond."

  "Just help us with the plan," Kairu said firmly. "No one's asking you to walk into the fire with us. Atgard, I won’t go through with this unless I know you’ll support us."

  "I’ve already said what I think." Atgard paused, arms crossed, his gaze cold. "But, if it comes to that... Fine. For the memory of Petros and his sacred mission—I’m with you. It's about time I stretched my bones one last time."

  "Excellent," Kairu said. "Rita, what about you?"

  "You already know," she answered softly. "I don’t care what the others think. I’ve already chosen my path. I’ll fight Saelin’s entire army if that’s what it takes… Only if it’s truly needed. I think Remiz and Viggo will agree with me."

  "Kairu… not for Petros," Viggo muttered. "For you. And for Vaimar, of course. If you think I’m going to sit around and wait for the next world war to start, you’re wrong. Even if this is the last thing I ever do, my descendants will remember how I set fire to Saelin’s beard..."

  "Remiz, it’s your call," Kairu said. "This is serious... I won’t be offended if you choose another path."

  "I’m with you," the Nocturn replied in a barely audible voice, paused and smiled. "We discussed it last year, on our way to Nalvin. My motivation did not change."

  "Woody?"

  The thief shook his head.

  "I’ve never broken into castles before, I specialized in middle-class houses… Don’t count on me for the planning. But I’ll go with you anyway. Even if only as bait."

  "I’ll join Kairu," Norton added grimly. "Even though I really don’t like this idea. But there’s no other option."

  "Joanna?"

  "Like hell you’re going without me," the girl replied with a smirk.

  "Yuf?" Kairu turned to him. "What do you think?"

  "Madness." Yuf lazily swept his gaze across them. "Recklessness. Idiocy. The dumbest thing I’ll ever do. But you’re the commander, Kairu. Strangely enough. You give the orders, and orders are not to be questioned."

  "All right," Kairu nodded. "I agree, it’s idiotic. But do you have a better idea? I’d be glad to hear it."

  Yuf spread his hands, laughing.

  "I’ve got nothing," he said with irony. "Go on, Kairu. Think. We’re listening and ready to follow.

  "Okay," Kairu leaned on the table, and everyone leaned closer. "We’ll do a reconnaissance-in-force. The main goal is to break through the wall, get to the donjon, and make it inside... Finding the laboratory is just a technicality. I don’t think we can do it quietly. So what will help the most is the element of surprise—and a little chaos, maybe a fire in the Citadel…"