An hour after dusk, Harper came back to Aoshine. There was no sign of either Nicolas or the soul mage. Hopefully, they lost track of them, and for some time, they were safe. She found Scarlett and Aidan in an inn on one of the middle terraces. They explained that tomorrow, the Wise One they met would take them to the location of the Andiorite. And after that, they will have to find eight more pieces.
'Is it even worth trying?' Harper asked after hearing the news.
'Don't start it. We had a whole conversation,' Aidan said.
'What about Caranth? I was supposed to bring you back.'
'I'd like to ask you to go home tomorrow and tell Frederick I relay the throne to him. Temporarily, of course,' Scarlett said.
'Will you be alright without me?'
'We'll be careful. And I already promised we'd back down if things got real dangerous,' Scarlett said.
Harper hesitantly agreed. She thought that it would also be a great opportunity to trace those two who supposedly were after them. She didn't tell Scarlett about what Edill revealed to her. It wasn't anything that she wasn't already aware of, and knowing would change nothing. She didn't stand a chance in fighting either of them. And if she was nervous, she would make more mistakes.
The next morning, Scarlett and Aidan bid farewell to Harper and went back to the temple. Sayaka awaited them before the entrance. She looked overly upbeat. She started waving and hurrying them up, as soon as she noticed them on the stairs.
'C'mon, let's go!' she shouted when they arrived.
'You are suspiciously cheery,' Scarlett noticed.
'Aren't I always? Well, maybe I'm a little bit more than usual. But it's just so brilliant!'
They followed her to a narrow passage hidden behind the temple. It led higher to the mountains. It was overgrown with bushes and grass, with no sign of anyone recently walking there.
'Have I told you already that I've been waiting for this moment all my life? I can't believe I can finally go there!' Sayaka said.
'Wait, you haven't been to that Labyrinth before? So how are you supposed to lead us?' Aidan asked.
'Fear not, Grandpa showed me the maps. And I have the support of my Lady. We'll be fine. And if we won't be, I promise to bring your bodies back, and you'll have a splendid funeral.'
'I can't tell if she's joking or not,' Scarlett whispered to Aidan.
'I hope I'm joking,' Sayaka heard her. 'Because Grandpa might never let me go again if you die, although it wasn't a problem when that Mazhar guy died on him.'
'What did you just say?!' Aidan almost slipped on a rock.
'You know, the Uheyan you talked about. Grandpa escorted him through the Labyrinth, but he lost the fight with the Guardian.'
'Why do we only now hear about it? The Guardian, I mean?' Scarlett asked.
'I asked Grandpa not to tell you because you could've gotten scared. But you won't turn back now, right? Right?'
'We won't... for now.'
They kept on walking. The trail started going even higher up. After climbing a steep, almost vertical path to a small rock shelf, they made a short break to catch their breaths.
'Are you sure you saw a good map? I think we might die before we even get to that Guardian,' Aidan said. 'I've already lost count of my near-death experiences in the past days.'
'We're almost there. And if you die from falling from this path, I think you'll be the first. That's also an achievement,' Sayaka said.
'So, do you take here everyone who seeks the Andiorite?' Scarlett asked.
'Well, Grandpa is the Keeper, so he decides if someone is worthy of the chance to get it.'
'Keeper?'
'In every place where the part of the Andiorite is hidden is one person entrusted with its secret. To be honest, I shouldn't know about it because the Keeper can pass the knowledge on only when they're dying. But I was so insistent that Grandpa couldn't resist. He wanted me to be the next Keeper anyway, so there's no harm done.'
'I see.'
'Yeah, and aside from the being worthy thing, there aren't a lot of people who come here. I mean, I don't know much about humans, but I don't think all of them read as much boring stuff as Aidan here does.'
'You got that right,' Scarlett laughed.
Aidan gave her a murderous glare.
They continued their journey to the Labyrinth. After about fifteen minutes, they arrived before an entrance to a cavern. It was almost completely concealed with vines and ivy. When they moved them away they could see only a dark and cold void. Scarlett instinctively grabbed Aidan's hand. He squeezed it reassuringly. Sayaka didn't seem frightened at all. She looked at them with an excited smile.
'Shall we go in?'
*
When Frederick woke up, he was so confused, he didn't know where he was. He had no idea how he ended up sleeping on his desk or where the pillow came from. He slowly started to remember everything. He then stood up quickly, knocking over the chair. He looked out the window. It was morning. Was it the same morning when he talked with Erling? No, it couldn't be. The sun was higher then. Unless it started moving in the opposite direction than usual, he slept the whole day.
'Oh no. Harper!'
For a moment, he stood still in the middle of the room. He didn't know what to do. Then, he started doing everything at once. He changed into representative clothes, shaved his beard and brushed his hair, drank half the bottle of wine, ate the first thing he could grab, and ran out of the palace.
He was halfway from the docks when he realized someone was chasing him. He turned and saw Erling. He caught up to him, breathing heavily. Frederick sighed with annoyance.
'Don't try to stop me, wizard.'
'That's not... why... I'm here...' Erling panted. 'Why did you leave without saying anything, sir?'
'I don't have time for meaningless quarreling with you. I need to get to Aseaud and-'
'There is a rumor the revolution is over,' Erling interrupted him. 'An heiress took back the throne. You can go straight to Enoir and meet with her. You have your diplomatic way.'
'Really?'
'No, I'm just messing with you. Of course, it's the truth. I mean, a rumor, but probably the truth.'
'Thank you. Oh, and I hereby announce you my deputy for the time being,' Frederick said, placing his hand on Erling's shoulder.
Ten minutes later, Frederick boarded the ship to Enoir. He was in a slightly better mood than before. Somehow, the news about the end of the revolution was like a good sign. He had a strong feeling that soon he would return with Scarlett and Harper. And deep in his heart, he also hoped that Archibald would be waiting for them.