"Have you been able to see anything recently?" Asked Callisto.
Raehar shook his head.
"It's been years and you've only gotten a few hints as to where she could be!" Huffed Seibel.
"My clairvoyance was a gift that was tied to Illya. If she dies I lose the ability altogether. The fact that I've been able to see bits and pieces of her is at the very least a confirmation that she's still alive,"
Vines unfurled from beneath their feet and collected in front of them, forming the figure of a man. His grassy locks fell in front of his face as he stood. "That's all well and good, but they haven't exactly been much help in finding her."
Seibel once again burst into a fit of uncharacteristic frustration. "You're the last person I want to hear that from Zagan! What were you doing when she was captured, huh? Why didn't you stop them?"
Zagan remained unbothered. "Would you have preferred me to kill her? You of all people should know well what it means for beings like us to be contracted to someone. Our magic was so deeply intertwined that if I did more than what she had used my power for in that battle she would have lost whatever remaining strings were keeping her tethered to life. It's the same reason I remain hidden in the plants. Materializing like this takes energy."
"We are not the same!"
"Yes you're right forgive me," scoffed Zagan. "For a moment I forgot that you were some nameless demon scum."
"I wouldn't speak so lightly, us demon scum can be scarier than you think."
Zagan rolled his eyes. "Oh is that so? Don't make me laugh. I have my pride as a divine spirit too, demon. I suggest you don't take that kind of tone with me in the future."
"Enough bickering!" Callisto's voice bounced off the trees, silencing them. "Neither of you are even contracted to Illya anymore. If you have such a problem with each other, then you are free to leave."
Seibel and Zagan looked blankly onward. Raehar's sigh broke the tension, drawing everyone's attention.
"He's right. Aren't the two of you helping us search so you can make a new contract with her? Try not to kill each other before we find her please."
He turned his gaze back to the ground in front of them. Albus had led them to where he had originally found the Spirit Asylum. When they first found out that the Asylum had vanished, they tried to look into it but were quickly shut out by the High Council. Callisto was adamant that it had something to do with where they hid Illya. So he formed a small task force that consisted of himself, Raehar, Zagan, Seibel and Albus. Together they had been investigating in secret. Unfortunately, progress was rather slow on account of the High Council doing everything in their power to stop them from looking into the Asylum, not to mention Nasmira and Dante's "mysterious" death while being held in the prison.
Avoiding suspicion was difficult but luckily for them, with Solaria on the rise again, the council was swamped with other matters as of late, which gave them the opening they needed. Raehar and Albus were copying down banishing runes that Avarice developed for them. They carefully carved them into the small grooves scattered around what should have been the asylum.
"The last time were here I noticed the soil marking the perimeter of what used to be the asylum seemed strange. I discussed it with Avarice and we came to the conclusion that whatever magic was used to hide it is also responsible for blocking any magic attempting to reach Illya. That's most likely why Raehar's clairvoyance isn't as strong," explained Albus.
"If it's so strong how sure are we that these runes can break it?" asked Seibel.
"That's the thing, the only reason I was even able to notice where the magic was marked off was because the soil had been freshly disturbed. We must have gotten there shortly after they renewed the magic for it to be so easily noticed. According to Avarice, the ideal time to place the runes are right after they renew the magic. I've been watching the area to get a sense of how often it's being renewed. If we don't do it now, who knows when we'll get another chance."
When the last rune was carved into the soil shi rippled forth from them, the light dazzling the men as cracks began to spread in the carefully crafted cloak that hid the asylum. The cracks climbed into the sky until they all met at a point past the trees and shattered entirely, revealing the unkept asylum that lay beneath.
The men exchanged looks before heading inside. Callisto was the first to enter, the thought of finally reuniting with his wife spurring him onward.
"Something's wrong..." muttered Raehar.
They went through each cell and searched each crevis of the asylum only to come up empty-handed. The Asylum, having long since been abandoned was filled with nothing but ruins of what was once the already poorly maintained facility. From collapsed rooms to debris and bones, the only signs of life were from the plants that had reclaimed the building.
A desperate groan rose in Callisto's throat. "Where is she?"
"This doesn't make any sense...if...we broke the magic masking her...my clairvoyance should work now..."
"Wait! Come look in here!"
Zagan called the others over to a hidden cell he found behind the bookcase in one of the offices. In the far corner was a hole in the ground.
Callisto frowned. "I don't think we can fit into there."
"I might be able to...It's too dark to see inside though," said Raehar.
"Here, use this." Zagan handed him a seed that sprouted into a small bud as soon as he touched it. It emanated a faint light that wasn't incredibly bright but just useful enough to see as far as what was directly in front of him.
Raehar hopped into the hole. It was certainly a tight fit. With some effort, he managed to squeeze through the poorly made tunnel. It didn't take him long to realize that what he thought was a straight tunnel turned out to be a small labyrinth of sorts. It was full of dead ends and collapsed sections, most of which he could only describe as failed attempts at finding a path that led outside.
Back in the cell, the others had found a message that was messily written onto the wall above the tunnel entrance. A lot of it seemed faded but it was still legible for the most part.
"February 15th XXXX, Used a piece of debris to dig myself out. Still not well enough. Going into hiding. I'm safe. Tell the Hag and her lackeys to get fucked, except for the man that snuck in extra food for me. You're cool."
A wave of relief washed over them. Judging by the fact that the cloaking magic was still continuously being renewed, it seemed as though whoever came to deliver Illya her meals chose not to report it.
"Looks like nobody else besides the person delivering food ever came into the asylum. They would have found out about her escape ages ago otherwise," remarked Seibel.
"The council and Li have been working hard to spread those horrible rumours of Illya being some murderous hound but there are still those that remember her true characters, we should be thankful they didn't report it, the High Council would have immediately gone after her," said Albus.
As if to confirm their findings, Raehar climbed back out of the tunnel. Now covered in dirt, he remained crouched as he caught his breath. "She tunnelled out..."
"Yes, she left a message." Zagan pointed to the wall.
Raehar scanned the message before standing. "She's been out for around 10 months now huh? Hmm... it's likely she's blocking my clairvoyance herself. If she doesn't want to be found, I don't think we'll find her no matter how hard we try."
Callisto breathed a half-disappointed sigh. "As long as she's safe that's all that matters. Its most likely taken longer for her to purify the corruption in Li's root shi when she ate it too because of how depleted she was. The fewer people that know she's escaped, the better. We'll report her escape once she makes contact with us"
Nobody knew how long Illya would take to contact them, but without the means to find her, they could only wait patiently.97Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc48pyO0NCr
