The trees of the Wyldes are so old and solid that they don't tend to move much against the wind. The same couldn't be said about my clothes and hair, but the thick, warm cloak Teyber gave us to sleep under did a good job of keeping out the bite of the wind.

Woolen, waxed, and heavy, these were like the cloaks one would wear to keep out the frequent Eidelhein drizzles off your back. It even smelled of familiar elven spices and smoke. Curled up next to Schula, I could almost pretend we were back in the elven hold for a night, sleeping on the firm floor and Nassir would be only an arm's reach away.

It was enough to drift off to sleep comfortably, and when I was woken in the earliest light of morning, I was disoriented to find myself in the tree.

I blinked awake, the cloak having fallen down to expose my face and shoulder, letting the thin morning light filter across my face through the leaves on the horizon. Stifling a yawn, I regained my bearings and looked around while trying not to disturb Schula.

Something felt warm and close and important. What was it...

My eyes widened and I crawled over to the edge of the treetop platform, looking down but clutching on tight for fear of falling.

'Did I wake you, little one?' Spaulder asked.

'Spaulder! When did you get back?' I asked.

Far below and curled comfortably in a thicket of wild thistle nested a great black dragon. In the cover of dark and the wall of thistle around him, he was as concealed as a giant dragon could reasonably be concealed in a forest. At least the thick and ancient forest was on his side.

'I have been here most of the night, but I did not wish to wake you,' he replied.

I yawned, moving away from the edge. 'Hold on, I'll come down.'

Looking around, there were already a few pairs of alert eyes on me. The elves of Eidelhein were well trained, it would seem.

Of course, with Teyber in charge, it was no wonder.

I moved along to the tree where we first came up. The ropes were already secured and ready to be let down, so it was only a matter of pushing one over the side and climbing it down.

Below, It was easy enough to find Spaulder's thicket. The problem was getting inside of it. Thankfully, Spaulder nudged his head through to meet me, his thick scales unaffected by the thorny plants that would have scratched me up.

'This way, little one,' he said, moving his head and revealing the space he had made.

With a great full smile, I climbed in and curled up against his neck.

'So, what happened after we parted ways?' I asked.

Spaulder settled back down, his warmth keeping me comfortable in the unclaimed Wyldes which were no longer under the magic of the Summer court. The natural world was cold this time of year, and without the warm cloak that Teyber had let us sleep under, the air had a bit of a chill to it.

I snuggled up against him, and he covered the above moonlight with one of his great wings.

'After I gained sufficient distraction and left the battle, I kept above the clouds to observe,' Spaulder said quietly. 'Peyorla took viscous command of the field, starting off the assault quite well considering they were taken by surprise. Once I saw they would not be immediately defeated, I left.'

'That's good, I suppose. Even if I didn't like her.'

Spaulder chuckled. 'After I left, I kept high enough to stay out of sight and observed the line of Winter army that marched through the woods. There are quite a lot of them, but they are spread out. I also saw Thain and Nassir.'

'You saw Nassir?' I asked.

'I did, he was assisting in following the end of the line of the Winter army. His abilities suited their mission greatly.'

'Oh, I bet they did,' I murmured, then yawned.

'Sleep, little one. We will have more to discuss soon enough when the sun has risen,' Spaulder urged.

'But, Schula is still up there,' I protested. 'I didn't mean to leave her, I just wanted to talk to you.'

'And so you will,' Spaulder insisted, tucking his wing tighter over me. 'Now sleep, Wren. Let Schula have your bed above to herself, and we will all talk soon. Do not disturb her, she needs her rest as much as you do.'

'Mm,' I agreed, then closed my eyes, resting against his warm neck as I slipped into darkness.

Sleep came easy and I had a more restful end to my night than the beginning. One thing Schula and I tended to do since we found our bond as triquetram was to cling to each other when we were unconscious. being tangled with her in a bed was not the easiest way to sleep, especially high in a tree.

I finally woke again when the warm sun brushed across my face. Stirring, I heard voices before I could see anyone.

"If they're moving from that direction, then we can cut them off from the north side." It was Teyber, and he was trying to speak softly but his booming voice didn't help his attempt.

"If the warlock was with the group that branched off, I say we go after him first." That was Leana.

I stirred, pushing lightly against the black membrane of Spaulder's wing. He pulled it back, revealing me to the sight of the thicket in the morning sun. I looked up, his head was high above the tops of the thorny plants, speaking over them to the ones who had gathered here on the forest floor.

'Good morning, little one,' Spaulder greeted.

I yawned, speaking aloud so all could hear. "Morning."

"You're awake," Schula said. "I brought you an apple."

My stomach growled at the mere mention of food, and my mouth watered at the thought. "Thank you!"

I stood, and a shiny green fruit was tossed into the air over the thicket. I caught it before it landed at my feet and took a bite out of it. It was very crunchy, with a tangy taste.

Spaulder leaned his head down, and I grabbed onto his neck. He moved me over the prickly thicket and I could see everyone who had gathered. Teyber, two elves I didn't recognize, two elves I did recognize, including Leana, and Schula.

I adjusted my hold on Spaulder's neck, held the apple in my mouth, and jumped down to land on my feet.

Teyber and the other elven children looked rough in the morning light. What we couldn't see last night were the tired eyes, the dirty clothing, the worn cloaks. They had come a long way, and unlike us, not once did they have a place to rest safely and take a hot bath and eat a warm meal.

I balled my fist at my side. That would change.

"Teyber has been busy," Schula said, coming to stand by me. "They've had their eyes all over the Wyldes since they got here. We know roughly where DuVarick and Bara Khalja are, as well as the movements of the forces they control. They even have humans coming into the Wyldes."

I frowned. "Bara Khalja's plainsmen no doubt."

Teyber shrugged. "We don't know where they came from, but if you refer to the plains west of where Lark and I left you, then yes."

I nodded.

"Here," Leana held a stick, pointing to a pinecone on the ground. Lines had been drawn in the dirt and small rocks and sticks had been placed in specific locations, effectively making a battle map. "If we can get back to my point, I think we should go after the warlock. He has separated himself from the rest."

Teyber hummed. "Yes, but we don't know why. From what we found out last night, he is not one to be taken lightly."

I bit into my apple, the crunch loud in our silence. We told Teyber everything we could as quickly as we could before going to sleep last night. In the end we agreed that Bara Khalja and the warlock he had seen twenty years ago were one and the same. With that final piece of confirmation, there was no way I was letting such a monster continue to walk free, and neither would Teyber.

"Tell me what the markings mean so I can orient myself," I said.

Teyber nodded. "This is where we are now, and that is the razed city."

"Thanantholl," Schula said sadly.

Teyber moved on, pointing out several other markers in the Wyldes. They did not know all the names of the places as we did, but soon enough I had the map worked out in my head.

"And this is where the warlock broke off from the rest," Teyber finished, pointing to a break in the line of the Winter army.

I stared at it a long moment, trying to piece together why he would split off in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't a good path to meet up with any other forces in the Wyldes, and it wasn't a way back to the Winter lands.

"Maybe he's just looking for a place where he can cast a big spell or something," Schula suggested. "Somewhere he won't be discovered while he works."

"No, he must be setting a trap," Leana said. 

The chatter continued while I stared at the map. Chatter that broke into squabbling, and Teyber was clearly about to loose his patience with the lot of us if it didn't cool down soon.

'Wren,' Spaulder said, breaking my thoughts as I looked up at him. 'Where did your dream from the Witch Mother take you?'

My eyes widened and snapped back down to the map.

"There!" I shouted.

The others were startled, stopping mid-sentence and stilling their angry hand gestures as they looked to where I was pointing.

Some distance from where Bara Khalja was last seen, but definitely within a day's range of him, was the location of the lost elven city.

"The Mother wants us to go there," I insisted. "And... I think that's what Bara Khalja is looking for too."

Teyber studied the map closely, kneeling down to get a closer look. "How can you be sure?"

My gut twisted. "I can't be, I just... know it."

He sighed through his nose, looking at the map once more before standing again. Sliding his boot through the map, he erased a good portion of it.

"Clean up any trace of this camp," he ordered. "We set off in an hour."

Schula reached out and squeezed my hand. I looked up to Spaulder, who's head was still towering above us.

"Do we have a plan for that, Capain?" Leana asked.

"We'll form one on the way," Teyber said. "But if we can, we must reach it first, right?"

He turned to me, and I nodded sharply.

"Move out," he ordered. "Let's hunt a warlock."