An hour passed before the first of their party appeared. With a loud splash, a hairy hand jutted out of the water and, grabbing hold of the broken balcony, flipped onto the dry ground. “The orb could have mentioned that kruvas?-cursed ‘atsotyam,” S?ams?a?dur grumbled.

  Jasper jogged over to help him, checking for any wounds. “You mean that kelp survived?”

  “Kelp? If you mean that kruvas?-cursed plant, then, aye. Thought it was dead, so I wasn’t too careful as I passed by. Cursed thing latched on and nearly drowned me.”

  Jasper looked down into the depths, but the bottom of the pit was swallowed up in shadows. “Do we need to kill it then?” He asked reluctantly, not keen to have a rematch with the plant.

  “Nah.” The durgu shook his head vigorously, sending water flying in all directions, before continuing. “It got a mouthful of my axe when it dragged me to its maw, and if that didn’t kill it, the lightning bolt Tsia threw must have done the trick.”

  Her head breached the surface a second later. She was gasping for air, her face flushed and red, but she clutched a small rock in her hand like it was a trophy. “I got it.” She splashed awkwardly toward them, accepting a hand up from Ihra as she reached the balcony.

  “What the hell is that?” Jasper asked as he got a better look at the object she was holding. Slightly larger than Tsia’s fist, the object was an irregular sphere, with a glossy finish that reminded him of a pearl’s sheen, though it was red rather than white.

  “The seed of the ‘atsotyam. Here,” she thrust it into Ihra’s hands. “You should take it.”

  “Why me?” Ihra questioned, though she accepted the stone and ran a finger down its glossy surface.

  “You know that red powder you use in healing rituals?”

  Ihra’s eyes widened. “This is what it comes from?”

  “Yep,” Tsia nodded. “I think the ama?nu powder has a secondary ingredient mixed into it, so we should check with an alchemist the next time we’re in town, but the seed of the ‘atsotyam is the expensive part. Should save a load of money.”

  That was enough to evoke a broad smile from Ihra, who immediately tucked the seed into her bag with an abundance of care. “Thank you, Tsia - I…”

  “Did you realize we’d crossed into another realm?”

  Jasper jumped as a sultry voice whispered in his ear, and whirled around to find Nissila?t standing directly behind him with a smirk on her face. “We need to get a bell on you,” he muttered, and the woman laughed as she leaned over and wrung her hair dry.

  “It wouldn’t do any good.” Satisfied her hair was as dry as it could be, she straightened up and her smile melted away as she repeated her question. “Did you realize we’ve crossed into another realm? I fear we stand in one of the shards of Arallu?.”

  “It took me a while to figure out,” he admitted, “but, yeah, I’m pretty sure we’ve stumbled on one of the cities of the Children of St. Martin. Not sure where all the people went, though,” he shrugged.

  She cocked her head inquisitively. “You don’t know the stories?”

  “Like I said, Djinn are a bit sheltered,” Jasper said, falling back on the half-truth he’d told her previously. Nissila? hadn't given him any reason to doubt her thus far, but he still didn't know her well enough to feel comfortable sharing his true origins.

  “What stories?” Ihra broke off the conversation she’d been having with Tsia and sidled up beside him.

  Pain flitted through Nissila?t’s eye, but it was quickly banished. “The Children of St. Martin try to hide it, but they have long been locked in a war against an unknown foe. For many generations, our people were trading partners with one of their cities, A?layyarah?i, but about a hundred years ago, their caravans stopped coming. My grandfather sent a party to investigate, but found the way locked, and no one has seen them since.”

  “So is this A?layyarah?i,” Jasper asked, making the obvious connection.

  “If it is, this is an entirely different entrance than the one my family knew - that portal was to the north of Stryn, close to the border with his people,” she said, nodding at S?ams?a?dur.

  “You know anything about this,” Jasper turned his attention to the durgu.

  “Only a little more than she said,” the durgu rumbled. “My father’s kingdom also traded with A?layyarah?i. Shortly before it closed its doors forever, a group of refugees passed through Birina?ti. They said they were fleeing from something called the ‘knockers’ but refused to explain what they were. They disappeared to the West shortly afterward, and we never heard from them again.”

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  “So the ruins might not be abandoned after all. Well, I suppose it’s better to know that than to go in blind,” he added with a grimace. Pausing, he looked around and realized nobody else had joined them in a while. “Is that everyone who’s coming?”

  “I figured you just wanted the party,” S?ams?a?dur shrugged. “My men are keeping an eye on our stuff, though, as long as that blasted orb doesn’t knock them out again.”

  Jasper nodded, not having really expected S?ams?a?dur to bring his entire group, and turned his attention to the person he’d actually been asking, Nissila?t. “What about you? Is that man of yours coming?”

  “I thought it best Tabi?lu stay with S?ams?a?dur’s men,” she replied. “His class is designed to command men on the battlefield, not to delve into the depths alone.”

  “Makes sense. Yours isn’t like that,” Jasper pressed, curious about her class. Even after the weeks they’d traveled together, he still didn’t have a good handle on what she could do. She seemed like a warrior most of the time, but her occasional use of magic told him that her class was not so simple; he had a feeling she was holding out on them.

  She smirked, seeing right through him, and offered no further details. “I’ll be fine.”

  Oh well, I hadn’t really expected her to tell me. Dismissing Nissila?t, Jasper faced the rest of them. “Then if that’s everybody, then I suppose the orb kept its promise. Guess it’s our turn now.”

  Getting out of the flooded auditorium proved more difficult than Jasper had expected. The building was massive, easily the size of an NFL stadium, but the lower floors were in terrible condition. Collapsed halls, flooded tunnels and baffling dead ends met them in every direction. If the orb had guided them, perhaps it wouldn't have taken so long, but with no sign of their blue guide, three hours passed before they finally stumbled on a path that led outside.

  But the view that awaited them made it all worth it.

  Yar-Khennor had been a large city, and Nah?as?s?innu - creepy dead gods aside - had been even more impressive, but the ruins that stretched below them blew them both away. The sheer size of the cavern they stood in, broke Jasper’s mind. Far, far above them was a ceiling of solid rock, and yet the chamber stretched as far as the eye could see.

  Despite being underground, the Fey city was anything but dark. The ceiling and walls of the chamber were lined with millions of bioluminescent plants, and striated veins of the same pale-green rock that lit up Du?r-Yarha at night, while in the distance a massive lake - no, sea - glowed with a gentle, lavender light.

  The city was even brighter. The streets glowed with the same pale green as the rocks above, and thousands upon thousands of lanterns burned with a cheerful amber light that radiated off pure white walls and gilded rooftops with enough light to almost replicate day.

  Next to the Fey city, the other settlements Jasper had visited seemed almost like hovels - and yet, the signs of decay were also visible everywhere. Crumbled walls and caved-in roofs were the least of the damage. A broken dyke not far from where they stood had allowed the glowing sea to flood most of the western quarter, while to the south, a thick forest had encroached the massive defensive walls. But the heart of the Fey city remained nearly untouched and, there, hovering above a distant roof, Jasper spotted a familiar blue orb. “Looks like we have our coordinates,” he said, pointing it out to the others.

  Unfortunately, getting there was easier said than done. The auditorium they’d emerged in sat in the flooded western quarter, and though the building rose well above the water line, there was no land route they could take to the dry parts of the city. They wouldn’t have to swim all the way - dozens of buildings jutted above the water providing a broken path toward the city's center, but Jasper was uncertain if the water was safe.

  Glowing water aside, it had only been a few hours since they’d fought off the monstrous kelp. He couldn’t say for sure that there would be more of them in the sea - the water within the auditorium hadn’t been glowing, so perhaps it had come from the cave system rather than the lavender sea - but it wasn’t a bet he’d want to make.

  And that did even touch on the possibility that something worse lurked in the sea. Dozens of fish darted away from his shadow as he peered over the edge to gaze into its depths. The sunken streets were covered in thick reefs and abundant life - and where there is life, there are predators.

  He jolted as someone bumped him, and turned to find Nissila?t gazing into the depths. “It's so beautiful,” she whispered.

  “It is,” he agreed, “ but I’m not so sure it’s a good idea to swim in it.”

  “No,” she smiled. “I don’t think it would be.” She pointed down at the reefs, and Jasper leaned over but saw nothing but sand and coral.

  “Am I supposed to be seeing something?”

  “Look at the sand along the edge of the building, beside the green frond,” she prodded. He focused again, and this time he saw it. The creature blended in nearly perfectly to the bottom, but a pair of black eyes tracked the fish swarming above it. As he watched, it moved in a flash, gulping down a dozen good-sized fish in a single bite before melting into the sand again. It wasn’t a shark - hell, he didn’t know what he was - but it was easily three times their size. “Yeah, it’s definitely not a good idea to swim,” he said with a gulp.

  “We have to get over there somehow,” she pointed out. “Maybe we can make a raft.”

  “I think I have another way,” he replied and, lifting his hand, willed a bit of essence into it. “You haven’t seen us use this yet, have you?”

  Puzzlement danced across her face as he placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed a bit of essence into her. “What are you doing?"

  She stumbled as a spasm seized her back, and the puzzlement turned to a look of betrayal. “Why?” she spat out, and Jasper rushed to explain.

  “No, no - you don’t understand.” But his words became unnecessary as the spectral wings tore free of her shoulders, flapping around her with lethargic grace.

  “This…this,” she stuttered, looking at the wings with unabashed awe until a shadow passed across her face. “This is how you killed him, isn’t it.”

  Jasper winced. “Yeah, uh, sorry about that.”

  “No, I shouldn’t have said that,” she sighed. “But I guess it does solve our problem. How long does it last?”

  “Ten minutes; the spell should be enough to reach the unflooded part of the city,” he responded, glad to side-step the awkward conversation. “Hey, Erin,” he waved the scout over. “Why don’t you and Tsia go with Nissila?t? When the spell wears off, I’ll ferry the rest of us over.”

  The spell was cast on him before he had a chance to object and Tsia, understanding that Jasper wanted someone to keep an eye on Nissila?t, agreed to accompany them. In a flash, they were gone, hidden behind the gilded roofs, and the wait began.