The docks of Saanazar appeared beneath Therelin’s sandals with a scuffing sound. The smell of seaweed and fish was immediate, while the clang of ships’ bells and churning waves soon filled his confused ears. As they hurried out of the harbour, Kren asked one of the dockworkers for the date. They got a strange look, but a prompt response—no more time had passed than they had expected. Each time they Journeyed, Therelin worried that he would reappear long after Tarro’s conquests had ended.
They wasted no time—heading straight for Nolicrin’s Hall of the Three Winds. The result of speaking with Nolicrin might require in another Journey this very day. Therelin needed to apply what he had learned, or pursue even greater learning.
The Hall of the Three Winds was as Therelin had left it. Scattered trees covered the slope of the hill that supported the shrine. The setting sun cast its shadow on the neighborhood beyond. Kren admired the scenery as he followed Therelin’s brisk march up the footpath. Therelin pointed out the balcony he had stood beneath—that fateful, overheard conversation that had begun all this.
Somehow, Therelin was not at all expecting what he found behind the front door of the shrine. He eased it open, led Kren inside, and came face-to-face with Maia, the scholar and magician who had once offered him her friendship.
She nearly dropped the book she was reading as she clambered to her feet, blurting, “Therelin, you’re back!”
“I—Maia—” Therelin was caught completely off-guard.
Maia forced a smile, glancing at one of the meditating magicians in the wider shrine area through the corridor. “Were you looking for—” She tried again, “Master Nolicrin already left for the evening.”
“Well, I’ve learned a lot since I last saw you,” Therelin said. He glanced at Kren, but saw his friend barely suppressing a smile at the awkward encounter. “Uh, do you know when he’ll be back?”
Maia shrugged. “He should be here again tomorrow,” she said. “Should I tell him you were looking for him?”
“Might as well,” Therelin said, with a nod. “In the meantime…have you any news from the Isle?”
“The Isle—oh,” she stammered, then smiled slightly. It had dawned on her that Therelin had been unable to speak about the Isle the last time they had seen one another. “What was the last you heard? The Spell Chime is still dark. It went light for a few days, but then it’s been dark for the last month, I’d say.”
Kren grimaced. “That’s the last we heard, too.”
Maia nodded in understanding.
A moment passed in silence, while Kren raised his eyebrows and Therelin tried thinking how he might approach the gap his last meeting with Maia had ripped in their relationship.
At last, Therelin murmured, “I’ll come back tomorrow then.”
“I’m sorry about what happened before,” Maia said, almost at the same time. “I just—I didn’t know what to do without endangering us both.”
“No, no—I totally understand. Now that I have been there myself, I understand how complicated it is—the position I put you in,” Therelin explained. “Plus, there was the matter of the letter.”
“The letter?” Maia asked, frowning.
“I received a letter shortly after that conversation. It told me to leave you out of my investigations of the Conclave.”
Maia’s brow furrowed. “A letter—who? Someone knew what we were doing?”
“Apparently,” Therelin said, waving his arms from his sides. “I have no idea who sent it, but it was clear that I should stop…. Stop involving you, I suppose.”
“Well, that’s concerning,” Maia muttered. “Do you still have it?”
“I think so.” Therelin handed his driftwood staff to Kren and began to fumble through the handful of pouches he wore about his belt. Finally, he found it, rolled up tightly. “Here.”
Maia read the note quickly, then scrutinized the writing. “I don’t recognize the hand,” she admitted, with disappointment. She passed it back. “Very strange.”
“I thought it was very strange as well, but before I could really look into it, I was teleported away.” Therelin reclaimed his staff from Kren, scraping it lightly over the stone floor.
“Really? Do you know by whom?”
“Do you remember the conversation that I overheard?” Therelin asked.
Maia blinked. “Yes…wait—really? Why would he…?”
Therelin shrugged once again. “I told him about what I had heard, but other than that…your guess is as good as mine.”
“Are you coming back tomorrow? Do you want me to join you?” Maia asked, tossing her dark hair over one shoulder. “I want to know what Nolicrin’s been up to—this simply does not sound like him.”
Therelin grinned. “I’d appreciate all the help I can get,” he said. “Tomorrow then?”
“Well, do you have somewhere to stay? Should we grab a drink first? It sounds like you’ve had quite a year,” Maia rambled.
“I don’t have anywhere to stay…but yes, I’d enjoy that.” He glanced at Kren.
“By all means,” Kren chuckled.
“Give me a minute,” Maia said, hurrying into the shrine area to tell the others she was leaving. She collected her things—two books, a satchel, a clasp for her hair—and rejoined Therelin near the front door of the Hall. “I’m Maia, by the way,” she said to Kren.
“Kren. From Maykren,” Therelin’s friend offered, extending a hand. Maia took it, then stepped through the door that Therelin had held for them both. It would be quite a night of stories, Therelin realized, as he followed her down the path.