Shards of Felwyn

Elarra

"What could you possibly not understand about this?" Lileth asked, incredulously. Several hours had passed since Cosmo and Molniya had ceased training, and the sun now barely remained above the horizon as the shapeshifter informed everyone of her plan.

"I don't know," Cosmo retorted, just as frustrated. "Perhaps because it's beyond understanding!" Lysander, Elias, and Molniya shifted awkwardly, but didn't disagree.

"Listen. I'll tell you this once more, and that's it." Lileth exclaimed, fuming with rage. "The prison is located along the southern shore of the island. Elarra's cell is on the easternmost wall of the building and is marked by a small hole she managed to burrow through the wall. Considering she is under constant surveillance, it surprises me that she's managed to get that far."

"See, Gesichtler-" Elias began.

"Lileth." She interrupted, in an overwhelmingly stern tone.

"This part of your plan makes little sense." He spoke louder, ignoring her comment. "If this friend of yours is guarded so frequently and diligently that even boring a small hole through the brick would be difficult, how do you expect us to free her?"

"Well, Elarra didn't fashion that hole for nothing." She responded, crossing her arms. "She's been using it to transfer messages to me periodically. Once at noon, and once at midnight. According to her, the guard keeping vigil over her cell, as well as the neighboring ones, is switched twice a day, at those times. We should have just enough time to pull it off."

"Just enough?" Molniya asked, raising an eyebrow. "How long could it possibly take to do such a thing?"

"From what Elarra has told me," Lileth looked at the floor, curling a strand of hair around her finger and switching it between shades of red, black, and brown. "Eleven seconds."

"Eleven seconds?" Even Lysander was incredulous, tilting his head as he scrunched his eyebrows together. "That would have been a helpful detail the first time! You're telling me we have eleven seconds to do... what, exactly?"

"All I need for one of you to do is create a way for Elarra to leave her cell. Knock down the entire wall or turn the bricks into a doorway for all I care." Lileth explained. "While I was capable of creating my own spell, I never bothered to learn the basics. Elarra was always there for that. If there's a way you can do what I need silently with magic, it'll be a grand success." She paused, glancing around the room at each of their faces. She giggled somewhat to herself in response. "Does that clear things up?"

"Not exactly." Cosmo responded. The other four snapped to face him. "One thing still eludes me."

"What could it possibly be?" The shifter glanced at the window, watching as the sun dipped so low that it was no longer visible. Dusk had finally settled on Cors.

"Why us?" He asked. "I understand your apparent inability to cast a simple spell such as Gwyth, but surely you do not need four individual magic users to successfully accomplish your goals. In fact, why do you need our help if Elarra is so experienced?"

"It seems this one is actually thinking! I'm surprised you all didn't come up with that question sooner." Lileth smirked, looking impishly at Cosmo. Molniya took great displeasure in this comment, but spoke not. "You all are my insurance plan."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Molniya asked, with clear distaste for the term.

"It means that the minute things go south, I'll have four disguised magic users to defend me. Not to mention the help from Elarra, as well." Lileth explained. As she spoke, Cosmo, Lysander, and Molniya began to change, slowly shifting forms until they looked like themselves once again. Cosmo turned to the lizardwoman, pleased to see that the facade had worn off. While her alternate form had been astonishing at first, he found that communicating with a woman who simply looked and acted like Molniya was somewhat disturbing. "And they'll be able to protect themselves too, of course."