Aurora told the soldiers what she knew about the gnome that was tied to a tree. They had not heard about the events at her birthday party, and they were astonished.

"You are trying to tell me that magic is real?" Nurlan was still skeptical. Nothing about the sleeping powder thrown in his face had seemed particularly magical.

"You didn't see it," Junayd interjected. "He looked exactly like you."

"Exactly, huh?" Nurlan rolled his eyes. When all three nodded, he sighed. Maybe they weren't joking with him after all.

Gandr had had enough of their banter. "Magic is real. You humans cannot even comprehend the power that comes with magic! My kind will come for you. The gnomes will rule over humankind or destroy you all."

"But since you can't use magic on us… you have to be more sneaky." Devrim was catching on.

"Magic and humans don't mix. I am paying the price for breaking this cardinal rule." Gandr confirmed.

"Are only the gnomes against me? Aren't you part elf as well?"

"My mother was abducted from the elf-folk so that gnomes could gain some of their magic. I am the product of that unholy union." Gandr sounded both proud and disgusted with himself. Aurora felt a pang of sadness for him. The elves would always reject him for a crime someone else committed, and the gnomes were merely using him. In some ways, the Empress felt she could relate.

She came to a decision. "Junayd and Nurlan, I need you to take the prisoner back to the nearest military outpost. Get him transported to the capital where Zan can get more information out of him."

"We could take him with us. He probably knows the way to the Fates." Devrim was happy that he was not included in the group to leave, but he also did not like the idea of splitting up.

Aurora disagreed, "Do you trust him not to run us into a trap? We would always be worried that he would harm us in our sleep."

"Your Majesty, perhaps you could come with us to the outpost and then we could all continue on the journey." Junayd suggested.

"No," The Empress said. She looked at Gandr, "Am I safe if I travel back with you?"

He smiled weakly, "I would spend every moment thinking of a way to kill you. It is the only way to free me of your feelings."

"Who told you that?" the girl asked innocently. Gandr opened his mouth to respond and nearly betrayed Cafer. He caught himself just in time.

"Everyone knows that," the gnome said blandly.

The girl shrugged. "Well, I think you will all agree that the best place for this gnome is far away from me."

"The best place for him is dead," Nurlan mumbled.

The gnome's keen ears heard him, "I agree with the grumpy man."

"No one asked you!" Aurora countered. To Junayd and Nurlan she added, "If you men hurry, you should be able to catch up to us before we reach the ice barrier. I assume you soldiers are in better physical condition than an Empress and Emperor. It should be easy to make up ground, and we will make our trail followable." That was the end of the discussion and the men all knew it.

After getting Aurora a new water container from their dwindling supplies, the group parted ways. At his request, Gandr was led away by the soldiers on a rope. Aurora and Devrim watched them until they were out of sight. "Are you sure about this?" Devrim asked.

"Yes. If the gnome is right and others are coming, then we need to get to the Fates before they can find us. Perhaps my vision is coming true earlier than we thought."

————————

The green-eyed girl was doing a routine patrol, walking lazily along the forest path. She unconsciously scratched her rounded ears. They always felt weird when she shape-shifted.

Having volunteered for the position of scout because of the lack of supervision, the elf was enjoying the afternoon sun lost in her own thoughts. The world was better outside the ice barrier. She loved the freedom of forging her own path. Inside the barrier, elves had a strict code of conduct. Out here no one could tell her what to do. Three months was not enough. She might never go home.

Brinn was brought abruptly from her thoughts as a man—a human—came up to the river near where she was walking. She blended in with the foliage to hide herself. Had she been paying better attention, she would have smelled and heard the man coming long before she saw him. Now that she was focused, she could sense a second being coming towards her. This one smelled of earth and stone. 'It's a gnome,' the elf realized.

Brinn watched as the gnome knocked out the man and took his water-skins, pouring a putrid liquid into one of them. 'What is that gnome up to?' She wondered. As she watched the gnome turn into the man's twin, Brinn dutifully followed without interfering. When the gnome joined three other humans, the elf got a sinking feeling. The poisoned water-skin was given to a young woman. She was still a girl, really. Brinn wasn't supposed to get involved. Her job was to view and report only, but she couldn't let the girl die. She took the bow that lay across her back and drew an arrow.

The elf aimed the arrow at the water-skin. Brinn had plans to pierce the water skin and expose the gnome's treachery, but her shot was not clear. Her throat tightened as the girl took the stopper from the water. If Brinn shot now, she likely would hit the youngest man in the group as well as the water-skin. She felt like cursing. The other options were to expose her presence or use magic. Elves had wind power, so she could blow down the container to prevent the girl from drinking. But this solution would not warn them of the gnome's presence. It was a tough decision.

Fortunately, Brinn never had to make the choice. The young man unintentionally knocked the water-skin to the ground. The treachery was uncovered. There was a tussle before the gnome was apprehended. Brinn was shocked to see the gnome use magic on the humans. That was strictly forbidden. When she saw he was in pain, she smiled. 'That's what you get!' She thought.

As the party interrogated the gnome, Brinn listened with her superior hearing. The elf was impressed by the girl's strength. It seemed like she was in charge of the group. When Brinn heard that the gnomes were going to attack the humans, and that the gnome creature before her was actually a halfling, she knew her report would have to come early. As the group made their decisions and parted ways, the elf pulled out a small silver ball. With an incantation, she enchanted the ball with her message. The ball took to the air and transformed into a bird. It flew off to the north, easily able to reach the elf-folk before nightfall.

Now came the hardest decision. Should she follow the men and gnome to see where they would end up or should she follow the other two humans that were continuing north? Brinn knew what she would do. Silently she tailed the young man and woman. The two smelled like her favorite thing: adventure.