Carter decided to deal with the events of the day in the same way that her body had— by trying to forget that anything had happened to her.

When the group returned to camp, Astrid was still asleep. Sephia left her in a tent, and Jacob and Carter set up the campfire and began cooking the rabbit the latter had caught earlier. 

Once they had all gathered around to eat, they remained in silence for some time.

"Astrid should be fine," Jacob mentioned, taking a sip of melted snow. "The magic she was forced to use was very powerful, so she just needs to recharge her energy. She'll be knocked out for a while, though. She might not even be awake by the time we get to the stronghold."

"Oh," Carter said. "So you knew she was a mage?"

"Nah, Seph and I had no idea. She was buffing up her skills in secret. Maybe she didn't want to tell me because she'd always looked down on my divination," Jacob said.

The three of them sat in silence for a few moments, this lame explanation hanging over them.

"Noelle," Sephia said quietly. "How did you find Ambassador Faizah?"

"I just happened to see her and decided to follow her," Carter said. "She came across the Seshreyan. It was clear that she was meeting up with it, but it seemed like it wanted to attack her." 

"Meeting up? That would mean that she had some kind of sixth sense for its location that we don't."

"Right," Jacob said. "Such a sense could be tied to magic. For example, she could have made some kind of magical pact with the creature. One that went wrong, of course— Astrid would never set out to put us or the mission in danger. And either way, it's targeting her directly."

Sephia nodded. "When I fought it, I also got the sense that it wanted her in its power. It's a good thing that it only managed to tear her coat," Sephia said, gesturing to the fluffy pile of fabric sitting by her foot. 

Carter hadn't noticed the tear before, but now she felt like she wanted to repair it. However enigmatic or suspicious Astrid was, she was also in trouble. It was the least Carter could do.

So as Jacob and Sephia finished eating and wandered off, she stayed by the fire, waiting for a chance to get to work.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Sephia watched Jacob appear from the darkness at their agreed meeting place, a few meters into the trees.

"Ah, Seph. Funny seeing you here," Jacob began with a wry smile. 

"Indeed, your Majesty," Sephia replied. "Noelle is occupied. She appeared to be repairing Faizah's jacket when I last saw her."

"Oh really? That's good," Jacob chuckled. "It would be disastrous if Carter really got worked up about her and went rogue or something." His face fell. "...She's a bit of an unpredictable variable, especially now that I cannot see the future."

"How do you wish to deal with Faizah?" Sephia asked.

"Let's get on the same page about her first. I told Carter that she was embarrassed about learning magic. That was just the first thing to tell her that popped into my head. The truth is that Astrid has some kind of ulterior motive for this trip, and has learned magical arts to pursue it. This is obvious from some other strange behavior from her, including her eagerness to get to the Zitaflora as soon as possible." Jacob paused to take a breath.

"That must be what she's after," Sephia supplied.

"That must be what she's after!" Jacob declared. "Any fool could see it. Astrid has some relative or someone whom she wishes to bring back to life, even at the expense of this mission, or the entire country!"

"How shall we stop her?" Sephia asked.

"It's good that she'll be unconscious for a few days. That'll keep her from doing anything else to inhibit us, unless she had some kind of plan for this situation…" Jacob's face scrunched up as he considered the complexity of such a scenario. "But we need her to negotiate at the stronghold, or invade it if necessary, so we can't get rid of her until then."

"Understood. So we'll proceed as normal." That Sephia would probably have to kill Astrid once the key to the caverns was in their possession, was a fact that remained unspoken. She was prepared to do it, but it wouldn't be a happy circumstance. She sighed as she thought back to the short time she'd spent with the ambassador during this trip. And to seeing her around the palace and greeting her, thinking that she looked intelligent and reliable… to watching her play with the prince when they were all younger. Secretly Sephia held out hope that this was all just a big misunderstanding.

~ * ~ *~ * ~

Carter had the jacket all sewn up in the few minutes it took for the fire to die down. It had been therapeutic, almost. She always felt calmer after being able to handle some fabric and create something with it, and now, like clockwork, she felt like could just leave the jacket next to Astrid and then abstain from any more frivolity for the rest of her eternal life.

So that's what she went off to do. She used her night-vision to tramp through the snow to Astrid's tent in the darkness. 

But as she drew near, her senses informed her that Astrid was no longer asleep. Despite all the prince's assurances that she'd be out for days... Carter considered turning back, and almost did. But she absolutely had to talk to Astrid at some point, and sooner was better.

So Carter went over and pushed open the flap of the ambassador's tent, coming face to face with a wand pointed straight at her.

She gave a shout and dropped the coat, raising her arms and ducking lower to protect herself. 

"Ah, Carter," said Astrid, who was attached to the arm holding the wand. "Come inside." She looked as calm as ever, but she proceeded to grab Carter's hand and yank her into the tent, making her land on the floor.

"Ugh!" Carter lifted her scowling face from the plastic floor of the tent. "What's your problem?" she demanded.

"I'm so sorry," Astrid said. "I forgot you were injured. Are you okay?"

"I'm—" Carter stopped. "...I'm okay. But hey, I thought you were supposed to be asleep."

"Oh? Well, I'm awake now. Really hungry, though."

"Uhh…"

"It's no big deal. It looks dark. I know you all must have had dinner already." Astrid smiled and started gathering her hair into its customary ponytail. "Was I only out for half a day? Or longer?"

"Half a day is right. Less time than the prince said. You were supposed to build your magical energy back up or something."

"Hmm…" Astrid looked thoughtful as she finished tying her hair. "Where are the others?"

"I dunno. They disappeared into the woods for what I assume is a strategy meeting."

"I see. Well, Carter, I really appreciate that you brought my coat to me—" Astrid reached over to the entrance and pulled the coat closer. "-- but I'm still a bit tired, so…"

"Nah." Carter crossed her legs and leaned forward, peering up at Astrid through narrowed eyes. "I want you to tell me why that thing is following you. The Seshreyan. It threatened all of us. You owe us an explanation."

"Stubborn to move as usual. You almost died that way."

Carter gritted her teeth. "...Like it matters."

"...Are your injuries really okay?"

"I'm fine. Why do you keep asking?"

Astrid tapped the side of her chin. "I'm just worried. But alright. I'll tell you what you want to know.

"A long time ago, before I was an ambassador, and before your mother retired, I was an apprentice at the castle. I lived there, had classes there, and spent most of my time studying." Astrid paused and swallowed hard. "I also had a master. He was the ambassador at the time."

Carter didn't know what this had to do with the Seshreyan, but held onto her patience as Astrid continued.

"My master. He was a brilliant man, always thinking and studying. And he was kind too. He trained me and took me on diplomatic missions with him, but he also cared for me when I had no one. I owe everything to him." Astrid looked past Carter for a moment. "He died many years ago. And it was my fault."

Carter's eyes widened.

"Soon after that, the Seshreyan appeared," Astrid said. 

"It followed me everywhere, and has done so ever since. At first I thought it was my master's spirit, his vengeful soul trying to destroy me. But after what happened these past few days, I think I have a better idea of what it is, and what it wants from me. You want to know what that is, Carter?"

Astrid leaned forward and raised her hand. Carter's eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and she blinked as Astrid's hand lifted, stopped perpendicular to Carter's forehead. 

"But it's time for you to go to sleep."

Carter saw a shining light, almost blinding.

~ * ~ *~ * ~

Astrid shoved things into her pack haphazardly, silently chastising herself for talking so much. There was no telling when Jacob or Sephia would walk in. There was no telling what Carter could do with all that information; what conclusions she could draw.

But she couldn't help it. Everything about Carter was nostalgic to her.

Now the immortal was asleep, still sitting up. Her chest rose softly with each breath. Astrid touched her elbow and she slouched to one side, some of her stringy black hair falling over her face. Biting her own lip, Astrid rolled up one of Carter's sleeves. Her arm had not a scratch on it.

Astrid pulled away and swore under her breath. Damn it. Damn it!

She had known it. Carter had died somehow, sometime after Astrid fell into the Seshreyan's trance. 

How? Was it me? Did Jacob do something? Or did I kill her? Astrid dragged a hand over her face. She shuddered. Was it me? 

She said that she would protect her. What a joke. Astrid squeezed her eyes shut, feeling that her own weakness might suffocate her.

But then she opened her eyes and started to put on her coat. That's enough.

Carter was never the goal. That was known from the start. Astrid had allowed herself to get carried away. She'd made too many sacrifices for Carter and her own sentimentality towards her. Now she had to leave her and the rest of the group behind and do what she came for.

And after all, her failure to protect was the ultimate cue to leave. If you've wronged someone once then you're useless to them. Repeat this statement twice.

~ * ~ *~ * ~

Miles away, a tall man was trudging through the common room of the Northern Stronghold. He wanted to go to the kitchen for a midnight snack, but along the way a slip of paper caught his eye.

The man groaned and moved on. That ridiculous woman was harassing him with her onslaught of words, yet again. Well, maybe the note wasn't for him this time, but the fact that he would have to check was irritating enough.

"Do you really have to check?" one might ask. Well, technically not, he thought, while chewing on some sliced fruit Ahnkurra had left out. But Eve somehow always knew if he ignored the notes on purpose, and the consequences when he disobeyed her like that were never pretty. She always challenged him to fight to the death, and he always accepted, and… he always lost.

Maybe she just didn't care if he missed the notes accidentally. He couldn't ignore that possibility. That woman was totally off her rocker.

So with a sigh, the man picked up the note and read it.

Dice,

I'll be doing recon when the delegation arrives tomorrow, so make sure the safe is secure.

- Eve

Dice sighed again. The note was simply instructing him to do his job. Eve always acted like she was personally responsible for everyone's tasks, and everything that went on in the stronghold, but she was wrong. No matter what urban legends Hathorshans had about her, she was Ria's subordinate, just like everyone else. 

But… it wouldn't hurt to check the safe again. Widening his senses to make sure Frey and Molly weren't around, he flipped around one of the paintings in the common room, revealing a safe. He entered a combination and observed the contents of the safe.

There were some gold, jewels, and ferras, as was to be expected. There was also a collection of materials for the ritual, which Dice hadn't really distinguished in his mind. Maybe he would ask Ria or Oshto for a list, but probably not.

For now, the only item he remembered was the blade. It was in its own compartment, and it had a long silver hilt and a beautifully engraved scabbard. You wouldn't even know that it was a tool of evil. Dice found it hard to believe the incredible rumors about it, but just touching it with gloved hands was enough to burn his skin.

He closed the safe. Now for the next part of his duty. The prince's delegation would be arriving, so he had to get everyone organized. Though he doubted that the prince could put up a real fight.