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“Who was trying to find it?” asks Jiron.

“I don’t know, probably one of Dmon-Li’s followers I’d expect. Whoever it was used an awesome amount of power. It was all I could do just to maintain the concealment spells.”

“Just get some rest,” Illan says as he begins heading for the door. “Are you going to feel up to traveling in the morning?”

Nodding, he says, “Whether I do or not, we need to get this done.”

“Alright,” he says, opening the door. “See you then.” He passes through the door and they can hear him saying something to Jorry before his footsteps are heard going down the hallway to his room.

Jiron gets up from the bed but James grabs his arm and says, “Jiron, I don’t think it was just a dream.”

Sitting back down, he says, “Why do you say that?”

James then relates to him the events as transpired on that other world, about the shadows, Igor and finally the monstrosities. “I don’t know what it was, but it felt too real to be a dream,” he concludes.

“It sounds too farfetched to be anything but a dream,” states Jiron. “But you would know better than anyone else. What could it mean?”

“I don’t know and that’s what’s bothering me,” he replies. “If it wasn’t a dream, was it a foretelling of the future? Or maybe I entered another level of existence? But what really has me worried is what happened to Igor. He was losing the battle when I passed through the arch. Is he gone?”

Jiron just sits there with him as he works through it. “Maybe you should try to get some sleep,” he finally says. “It’s not going to be answered tonight and you’ll need your rest tomorrow morning.”

Stifling a yawn that suddenly tries to break loose, he says, “You’re right.”

Jiron gets up off the bed and goes over to the other. Lying down, he blows out the candle on the nightstand.

James can hear his breathing relax as he slips into slumber, but he is far too worried to be able to fall asleep quickly. His mind continues wrestling with what happened and the implications of it as well. Finally though, exhaustion wins out and he falls asleep.

The morning finds him rested and feeling better, the terror of the night before all but gone. His memories of that time are no longer as sharp and clear as they had been when he originally came out of it. Pushing it to the back of his mind, he focuses on the task at hand.

He notices the box on the floor by his bed and picks it up, placing it next to him. A close examination of the crystals reveals no cracks and that they have a glow to them showing they still have power. Hoping not to go through the struggle he went through in the forest, he places the blanket back over it.

Jiron is still sleeping so he gets dressed quietly and opens the door. Jorry is standing there on the other side of the door and is startled when the door opens behind him.

“Are you okay?” he asks as he steps aside to let James by.

“Better, anyway,” he replies quietly with a grin. “Just going to go downstairs and see about getting something to eat.”

“Alright,” says Jorry.

He makes his way downstairs to the common room and finds a table near an open window. The morning breeze feels good as he waits for the serving girl to finish with two men at another table. Looking outside, he sees Uther out by the horses. Doesn’t look like he’s doing much more than just hanging out next to them. Curious.

By the time the serving girl finishes with the other two men, he’s joined by the rest of his crew. Jiron carries the blanket covered box and takes the seat next to him, placing the box on the floor between them.

After breakfast has been ordered, James asks, “Exactly where are we?”

“Somewhere east of Trendle, as best I can figure,” Illan explains.

“Hmmm…” James thinks a moment and then says, “If we head due south, we’ll come to the river. We’ll just need to find a spot to cross and then make our way to Trademeet.”

“What are we going to do there?” asks Jorry.

James taps the box and says, “Get rid of this.”

“How?” he asks.

“You let me worry about that,” he tells him.

Once