"Tell me, why should I help you?" Kymalin snapped at April who leaned against a tree with a languid smile on her face. They were currently on the border between Elshire and Diven after they agreed to get out of that miserable tavern and talk where no one was watching them.

Along the way, they silently passed by even more displaced brownies that escaped from Alkara. Most decided to scrape for a living by offering what little they have as goods to sell. Kymalin spied a few scrawled signs that sold various things for a small amount of versallis.

Some decided to continue their trade like inventing but with the state of things around here, no one bothered to patronize their services. As Kymalin passed them by, she noted signs that were hastily put together were already discarded on various piles around the city.

Kymalin was no stranger to what happened here. The Sovereign brought her mysterious army upon the brownies in Depandes, Toreza, and Zalgend, capturing these cities with such ease with the brownies refusing to fight. The royals escaped, leaving behind the people for the Sovereign to take advantage of. The next week, the Synketros locked off the whole Alkara, banning any kind of trade without the Sovereign knowing about it.

Kymalin had never been to the border herself but she heard that those who hadn't been able to get out of those cities were now being forced to pay taxes from coffers they don't have. Some managed to escape to the neighboring city which was Elshire while others even made it as far as Diven or Flaron. But, as trade was now being limited to Alkara and everywhere else, the merchants of Penleth had fewer businesses now.

Moreover, it's like the land itself sensed these changes in the balance of power and refused to give bounty in terms of products and resources. Kymalin had never seen the forests look so dry and brown. There hadn't been rain for a long time. Even in the Northern lands where rain was as common as trees, Kymalin hadn't seen a drop since she was there.

The brownies had been doing their best to stay afloat as Kymalin had seen. However, they wouldn't be able to much longer since Penleth was once a vibrant nature city but now it's slowly becoming depleted with the sudden influx of brownies inside it.

Flaron was huge, sure, but with Diven already ravaged, it wasn't going to be that long before Flaron joined its sister city. It seems like the Sovereign was intent on conquering both brownie territories sooner or later. Once resources in Alkara have run out, it's a sure course. It's only a matter of time.

Kymalin had seen what the Heiress had done to Dwanzeig even against the Grand Royal's desires. She's willing to bet that the Sovereign would not hesitate to do it to the brownies.

She bit her lip to remind her that she was still here, with her newfound companions. She was still maintaining a soul-cloaking spell to keep them hidden from normal souls passing by. They couldn't be too careful during these trying times and if they're caught talking with the enemy, Cardovia and Synketros would have all of their heads.

Now, Kymalin narrowed her eyes at the two women who accompanied her to the border. April was leaning against a tree with a rough, brown bark that no doubt housed a ton of forest crawlers that might find a nest on the air sprite's wings. Then again, Kymalin wasn't about to tell her that. Let her lean on that tree for all Kymalin cared.

Marin, meanwhile, had found her place on a rock protruding from the forest floor for who knows how long. The child clearly had no regard for the number of algae that built their colony there. Her trousers would no doubt end up being whatever the algae's color was and Kymalin wasn't about to tell her that as well.

Kymalin was the only one that remained standing. The grass didn't sit well with her preference for seats. She could very well just summon one of the spirits and have them act as a chair but that would be cumbersome. She should be conserving her energy and her magic for the fight that they'd have to endure later. June's proving to be a formidable prey.

"When have you seen him last?" April was asking Marin.

Kymalin stalked towards the air sprite and crossed her arms. "Tell me, why should I help you?"

The air sprite fixed her brilliant eyes on Kymalin. The amount of fatigue settling on those blue pupils was alarming. April didn't look to be older than Kymalin but that was an understatement because if Kymalin was being honest, she was basing the air sprite's age on her height. So, there's a big margin for error over there.

If Kymalin wanted to, she could verify by peering into April's soul. Then again, why would she do that except to tire herself and to prove a point that she wasn't even loudly stating?

April shrugged, her large, feathery wings a big distraction from Kymalin's view of the forest behind the air sprite. "At first I thought that my brother was just some fool that got lucky," she said. "I know now that he's not someone I should underestimate."

Kymalin raised her eyebrow. "What did he even do to you?" If June evaded her that means she got incapacitated some way by that crafty half-blood.

The air sprite's face reddened and she shook her head. "It doesn't matter now, does it?" she said. "The only point I'm trying to make is that with the three of us, he wouldn't stand a chance."

"You mean, with the two of us, he wouldn't stand a chance," Kymalin glanced at Marin who had her finger stuck in the soil, sketching a hazy representation of something. "How can you prove that you're not our enemy?"

April's eyes flashed. Perhaps that's the cue to step back and let this go but Kymalin wasn't that good at reading signs. Or following them. "Look," the air sprite pushed off the tree in a fluid motion. Her pure white dress flowed around her legs in perfect swishes as she stalked towards Kymalin. "I only ever wanted June's life so I could get what I want. You said you're after what he has but not his life. I say we take him apart, piece by piece. You get his possessions. I get his head. That's all I'm asking."

Kymalin didn't speak. She didn't trust herself to. April continued. "I only proposed this temporary alliance because I saw a great opportunity for cooperation," she spread her arms as if she's done giving a marvelous speech. "In the end, we all get what we want."

"Fine," Kymalin grumbled. She met April's eyes. "But when we run into danger, I'm not saving the both of you."

"Fine by me," April crossed her arms with a smile. "If anything, if we run into danger, you'll be the one that needs saving."

Kymalin clenched her fists beside her. She considered withdrawing her cloaking spell on April's soul but decided against it. Doing that would just invite danger sooner. Still, the air sprite's apparent confidence in herself was enough to set Kymalin on the edge of her nerves.

April turned to Marin. "Now, back to business," she said. "Where have you seen him last?"

The half-blood shrugged while chucking her long yellow locks behind her shoulders. "I managed to corner him in Ansevir," she pointed to a spot in her drawing that was supposed to be Dwanzeig. It's so ugly Kymalin could barely make sense of it. "Gave him a peck on the arm that will take months to heal. I made sure to twist hard."

Marin regarded Kymalin from the side of her eye, no doubt waiting for an approval for the timely quotation of what Kymalin said during the time she trained Marin. Well, Kymalin wasn't about to give that child what she wanted. Instead, Kymalin watched April nod and then turn to her. "How about you?" the air sprite said. "Where have you seen him last?"

Kymalin scowled. "Rabante. He holed up in a cave with the Virtakios. He seemed weak then and now I know why."

"You're the most recent, then," April rubbed her chin in thought. "I encountered him in Thenaserine. He's indeed carrying a girl I saw somewhere in Komery," Again, April's face reddened before she cleared her throat. "If we're going to deduce where he was going next, we need some clues in his current state. Marin, what do you think was his physical state when you met him?"

Marin glanced at the canopies above them. "He...seems light on his feet, alert. He doesn't look like he wanted to kill me. He just ran and deflected my blade when I came too close. Then I cast a knife rain spell and nailed him pretty hard on the arm."

April knitted her eyebrows. "That's why he wasn't using his dominant arm much when he was escaping from me. He also began carrying the girl on his other shoulder," she said mostly to herself as she began pacing. Kymalin had to avoid looking at the air sprite's general direction to avoid making herself dizzy. April drew up and stopped pacing. "Anything else you've noticed? Uh..."

"Kymalin," she offered when she noticed April looking at her and no doubt searching her memory of the instance where Kymalin said her name. The air sprite merely nodded. "He was hunkered down in the cave when I found him," Kymalin said, recalling the day she was stuck inside a mining cave. "He was pale and looked like he's dying. He still managed to fight two of my spirits off and he escaped somewhere. The last time I saw him was that he was running northwest. He could be anywhere by now."

"Dying..." April picked at her lips. "I haven't really inflicted him that much damage in Thenaserine. Marin, is your knife wound that deep?"

Marin shook her head. "Not much to incur severe blood loss but deep enough to inflict as much pain as possible," the half-blood answered and then again gave Kymalin a brief glance. It's becoming annoying.

April frowned. "That doesn't make sense. The wound should have stopped bleeding by then. He could have healed it by magic—"

"Not possible," Kymalin palmed the pommel of her own dagger sheathed by her belt. "Our daggers are made from the same metal whose wounds it inflicts will not be healed by spells."

April merely raised an eyebrow in Kymalin's direction.

"Or he could be hungry," Marin said.

"What?" Kymalin frowned. Has the girl finally lost it?

Marin's fierce gaze told Kymalin otherwise. "Think about it," the half-blood raised a finger. "He went from Thenaserine whose trade routes are now problematic. It's next to impossible to find a fairy potion without making yourself known," she turned to April. "You've asked around before you found him, I'm sure?"

April nodded along. Was the air sprite genuinely believing Marin or was she just playing along while seeing where it was headed? "I asked around, yes," the air sprite said.

"Did the merchants tell you something?" Marin prodded.

"No, they didn't," April's eyes beamed with realization. "None of the merchants in Thenaserine said anything."

"There wasn't anything in Rabante either, as far as I could tell," Marin looked around them to prove her point. She turned to Kymalin. "When you met him, you said that he was pale. Was he moving weaker than usual? Slower? Was he more disoriented?"

"That could be because of a number of things," Kymalin leaned her weight against her other leg. "It could be from lack of sleep or fatigue or his wound."

Marin bobbed her head. "But if we're going to track the places he's been, we can deduce his goals," she tapped the soil that contained her drawing. "I saw him in Ansevir attempting to cross the border to Lanteglos. That's expected since he's last seen in Komery when I...was on business. He would be trying to get out of Dwanzeig since it is...um, a dangerous place for him given his allegiances."

The half-blood shook her head as if coating her connections to Cardovia was distracting enough. "Next we see him in Thenaserine," Marin traced a finger past the Dwanzeig in her drawing towards what looked to be Lanteglos. "He probably thought it's a safe place since it's the Junction City. He hadn't counted on the place being a place of tension between uh...these two organizations in power. By then, no matter how much resources he has with him, two months of not buying anything would wipe him completely."

April didn't speak. Neither did Kymalin. The girl was actually making sense. "Now," the half-blood forged on. "With the trade routes closed and the merchants now unable to conduct trade, it is safe to assume that June hasn't had much access to trade goods for the past two months. He ended up in Thenaserine after escaping me on Ansevir and like April said, he bought nothing there."

Kymalin narrowed her eyes. "You mean that he has nothing to sustain him right now."

"You've seen him in Rabante," Marin jerked her chin in Kymalin's direction. "On a cave. He's no doubt surprised to find the once nature-filled city now upturned on its own head and bearing nothing of significance. Then you said he ran northwest. That can only mean one thing if we're going with the hunger theory."

Kymalin stared north. "Diven."

"He couldn't have made it to Flaron in such a short amount of time when you've only made it to Elshire," Marin traced another path in her drawing and marked Penleth with a cross. "Diven seems to be the only answer. He must have thought that its vast forests would provide him with something to eat."

"You're good, kid," April reached down and clapped the half-blood on the shoulder Kymalin opened and closed her mouth a few times but she couldn't find anything to debunk that because the same would be true if June was looking for a cure for his wound. Marin didn't know that and Kymalin was in no mood to point that out.

"So we scour Diven, then?" Kymalin asked.

Marin stared at Kymalin like the half-blood couldn't believe that Kymalin herself would be asking that question. "You're the expert one in souls," she said. "Figure it out."

Kymalin pursed her lips as April whirled to her. "Well?" the air sprite raised an eyebrow.

"It will be hard since he stopped using magic," Kymalin said.

April frowned. "But his trail—"

"He seemed to have found a way to hide it," Kymalin snapped. "I've tried tracking him but it appears like his soul has something protecting it. I don't know what. Tracking him will be harder than expected."

"Or we could see him now," Marin said. Kymalin turned to the half-blood to find her having her attention trained on a spell between her hands flashing with numerous trails swirling on it. "He just unleashed a small burst of magic and I know it's him because I've spent two whole months pinpointing his location."

"Where is he, then?" April drew a sword Kymalin hadn't even noticed until now.

Judging from Marin's smile, they're close. "Diven," the half-blood answered.