They made camp that night, Viktor clearing a spot for them, and skillfully directing the trees to form a ring. They rose to attention, clambering on thick, gnarled roots. He lined them up like soldiers, forming an impenetrable wall of wood. When she asked about it, Viktor reminded her about the reports he'd heard about the forest attacks. "Better to be safe than sorry, especially with some hungry bear."

Around a small campfire, gnawing on the jerky that Fela had brought, Viktor spoke about the Master of the mountains, Tiberous Valle.

"My father told me stories about him, when they worked on the Senate together. The Vallenites are a noble family back in the capital, and while they weren't necessarily close to the Sovereign, their influence is undeniable." Viktor shrugged. "I guess they finally wanted Valle under their heel, officially, so they sent Tiberuous with no warning to be the first Master of the Valle range." Viktor sighed. "He was always sort of funny, in own way. The story goes that he initially refused to govern like a Master. Instead, he strode right into town and set up a small smithy, like he was just another traveler settling down. But it worked, and he quickly became a valued member of the community." Viktor smiled, his eyes unfocused. "He was the founder of the Senate, and the preceding representative for Silva's seat, giving a voice to the merchants and vendors just like she does today." Fela watched as he smiled fondly at the memories. "I remember back when Valle and Silva would sneak off together while he was mentoring her. This was before you and Hannah of course, and everyone thought that they would eventually get together and start a family. But that's when escorts came to take him back. Apparently, Tiberous had run away from his duty as the next head of the Valle household, choosing to hide with a fabricated responsibility in our secluded village. Turns out the Sovereign hadn't assigned us a Master quite yet, but the Valle family had technically owned this land for generations. So, it happened officially years later. They sent Tiberous back, and appointed him Master." Viktor shrugged. "Tiberious' life as a village blacksmith was over. And Silva never tried once to visit him at the Estate once he had left- and even after he returned."

"He sounds like a coward," Fela said. No wonder he'd been refusing their current call to responsibility."

Viktor laughed at that, shooting her a look. "That's what his family thought too. But apparently returned to Valle willingly, and threw himself at the task. He might have shut himself away in that estate like a real aristocrat, but he kept doing good. You know, he was the one to implement a drainage system for the rainy season. And his subsidies on local produce could have only come from a firsthand experience of actually living in Valle. So yes, he hid himself away, but he was still doing things right. I could only imagine it was to keep his family happy. But now, it's been over a year since he's left the estate, and months since any kind of appearance. Something's happened, I can feel it. And this drought couldn't have happened at a worse time because of it."

As she listened, something occurred to Fela. "Who actually knew about all this? Outside of Valle, I mean. Isn't he held accountable by someone higher, like from the capital?" Viktor furrowed his brow.

"It was common knowledge. I assume most people assumed he was traveling abroad, or working on a project. Like I said, this place is remote, and the Senate does most of the work anyway."

They left the subject there, since there was little else to say. After all, they'd be getting to the bottom of it soon enough. Fela found the idea humorous, in a way: the plan of an aristocrat trying the life of a common man. But it seemed as though it was a beneficial existence, and that Tiberous became a better leader because of it. Still, Fela pondered his decision as she sat in the darkness, watching the fire burn down to nothing. To become anonymous, just a cog in the wheel seemed nice, instead of an anomaly. As far as Fela knew, there was no one else in Valle that had the same abilities that she did, or grew up in a family like hers. Isn't that what she was doing, in a way? Looking to Viktor as a way to blend in with the spirits around her. She wasn't sure.

Viktor woke Fela up at the break of dawn, and they set out again under grey skies. Checking their supplies, she found, with a sense of relief, that less than a third of their potencia had been used up, even with Viktor using his skills. Despite their wariness, the forest was peaceful and soon became saturated with sunlight, although the sky was still a damp grey, even with the sun breaking through. Viktor, to Fela's amusement, began to coax the trees into dancing a little jig as they moved out of their path, roots and branches whirling around them.

It was midday when the strider suddenly burst onto a wide dirt road that was running perpendicular to their current course. Suddenly, the bumpy, jarring ride they had been experiencing all day became smooth. Fela gave Viktor a look, who laughed at her expression. "Let's take the road the rest of the way. We're close enough." As the strider left the forest, Viktor seemed to relax all at once, his shoulders slumping with a breathy sigh. When Fela glazed at him again, he explained his relief with a rueful smile.

"Plants that I've sown and raised myself are much easier to control. These wild trees tend to be more taxing on my concentracion." Fela understood that. It was similar to how she could control fire that was already blazing with ease, but setting things alight with her ability was more exhausting.

It was easier to tell that they were traveling on an incline, thanks to the bareness of the road, and by the time they had finally reached a wrought-iron gate, with the shadow of the mansion hidden beyond that, it felt as though they had almost reached the summit of the mountain.

They came to a stop right in front, looking through the bars into the manicured hedges and small, neat trees that were on the other side. It was a stark contrast to the wild undergrowth around them, and Fela wondered what else was hidden out of sight beyond the walls..

Since the small guard tower beside them appeared empty, they waited patiently for a while, but no one appeared to greet them. Eventually, Viktor coaxed some hedges into forming a tall, bushy tower in a bid to attract some attention, but to no avail. Finally, after two hours of aimless waiting, neither Fela nor Viktor caught a glimpse of anyone within the estate. She wished her eyes were good enough to peer into the windows of the distant manor.

Viktor turned to Fela, and took a deep breath.

"I want you to melt through the gate."

"What?"

He matched her gaze. "Yes. You heard me." He sighed, looked away, towards the desolate gardens. "Frankly, Fela, time is not on our side. Each second could be the difference between saving someone and having to say goodbye." His words could have come off as self-righteous, but under the circumstances, they hit home in an empty, hollow way. Fela nodded. She thought about how the lives of so many crowded for attention in Victor's mind, every moment of the day. A little demolition suddenly seemed a little more necessary.

Fela was compelled by the urgency, and by Viktor's fervor. His desire to get inside and see this through was almost physical, pressuring down on her. Slowly, she stepped down, until her feet found the forest floor.

This task was a little different than the mechanical work she was used to. Instead of simply molding hot metal, she'd need to generate the necessary heat to melt straight through it. Walking toward the gate, she began to focus on the flame upon her head. She usually kept it unconsciously alight, like breathing, but she now began to pay attention to it, began to actively feed it. As the familiar sensation of warmth spread throughout her body, Fela kept her fingers pressed together, palms out flat. Melting through straight iron, rather than shaping it, was going to take more firepower than usual. Pushing away the understanding that she was about to destroy a Master's property, she forced her flame to leap even higher into the air, more energy than she'd used in a while. Suddenly, with a dull whoosh of displaced gas, jets of white hot flame enveloped her hands, taking on a lean pointed shape.

Fela moved very carefully, conscious of the intense heat she was giving off. The slightest stumble could set her own clothes on fire, or even the nearby forest. It was much harder to control than her usual usage, as she had to concentrate on both maintaining temperature and shape. She was still very conscious of her slip-up with Silva just a few days before, and that was a strong reminder that helped Fela keep her cool. It took a while, but Fela soon felt comfortable enough to step forward, and chop, with flame-encased hands, at the gate. Using slow, deliberate movements, the bars of the gate began to glow hot as she maintained the intense, dagger-like flames.

As the minutes went by, Fela felt her body taxed by the effort. Still, she kept her focus, muscles rigid, until the last bar melted through. As the remaining pieces fell with a clatter, Fela allowed herself to relax, almost collapsing with the effort it had taken. She was taken by surprise upon turning around; Viktor gave her an apologetic grin from across the clearing. He'd moved as far away as possible as she worked.

"Well..." He trailed off, looking for the right words. "You know, this is the first time I've seen you at work. It's, ah, intense."

Fela laughed as she trudged back to the Strider. "Sorry! I forget what all that heat's like for the people around me.

"Don't be," Viktor said as he followed. "Thanks to you, we can get through. I'll take the blame for the gate, by the way." He added quickly. Fela nodded, but her attention was focused on urging the strider through the hole she'd just created. Already, she could feel the chill creep across her body, the telltale sign that she'd overworked herself. Still, she tried to shake it off- they'd only made it past the entrance, so far.