Tearha: The Number 139

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Long Shot

"Where are we going?" Adelaide asked as they ran down the streets. "We're supposed to be looking for the terramancers controlling the golems!"

Nadier replied, "The fastest way for us to find them is to find the Ha'Lof."

She replied, "You mean Nintarin?" Nadier turned to her with a cocked brow that asked how she knew that name. Adelaide snidely remarked, "I follow the news."

"From your trees?"

"Yes, from my fucking trees."

"What does that word even mean?" Nadier asked of the insult.

"I don't know. The Watcher didn't tell me. But I love how it just sails out the mouth."

The dark elf sighed as they turned the corner on the empty street. With the rest of the city gathered at the aeronium pond and them travelling at the speed of an occasional teleport, they did not expect to have any company. Speeding towards the centre of the city, the Council Chambers could be described simply as a giant stone box. The width and height of a third of the cavern, the building was a towering twenty stories tall and wide, with cells of windows embedded over the sides like hives.

"There!" Nadier pointed. A sole window on the highest floor had the bright flicker of flames.

"I thought dark elves didn't need light?" Adelaide asked.

"We don't," he confirmed. "It's a signal."

She placed a hand on his shoulder and they teleported towards the glow.

They reappeared within the eloquently polished room. Opaque white drapes surrounded the king-sized bed. An ornate clothes stand stood to the corner with a set of similar looking black dresses. A marble dresser and silver rimmed mirror was the most extravagant of the furnitures in the room. A single candle stood flickering on the table, casting an almost blinding display of dancing shadows across the night stricken under world.

Adelaide noted, "There's no one here. Maybe she escaped the city?" She pulled apart the drapes to the bed to find an empty frame. Not even the mattress was left.

"That's not possible. Not without an aeronium coating." The dresser he inspected was relatively empty. Save for a comb, a few pieces of jewellery, and sparse hairbands scattered around. "We destroyed the gate, so she can't go anywhere."

"Nads," Adelaide called. He walked over to her as she picked up a letter stuck under the frame of the bed. She handed it to him.

He unfolded the letter and read the contents before passing the paper back to her. "It's for you."

"What?" she replied in surprise. Taking the letter, she read the contents out. "Demon Eyes, the two terramancers are kept on the third floor of the Eastern Pillar. Third window from the right. Heavily guarded. When the candle runs out, they will step out of the balcony." She lowered the paper. "Why is she telling me this?"

Nadier stepped to the window which faced the Eastern Pillar. "She must know you're the best archer on Eltar."

"I am not," she replied, taking the letter to the fire after memorizing the contents. She joined him at the window.

"Just because you don't like archery, doesn't mean you're not the best," he insisted. She had been hearing him remind her of her skill with the bow for decades.

Adelaide huffed. "There's another part at the end. It's for you."

"What did it say?"

"Wanderer, when this is over, head north."

"North of the city?" he questioned.

"Doesn't say."

They stood silently for a moment, contemplating the cryptic message. Nadier then instructed, "Forget it. We'll figure that out later. Let's focus on the matter at hand."