Meera stepped through the Gateway Mirror and arrived in what once was the greatest city in all the worlds. She hadn't expected to see much change since it had only been a little over a week since she had said her goodbye to Kalrina here.

She didn't know why, but her heart felt heavy for her. She was on a quest to hunt down the sorceresses on Rhione while all of them were on Ealisto, fighting the Cult. Meera wondered what Kalrina would think if she found out that Meera was working with them. One thing was sure—she would most definitely think of it as a betrayal. After all, Kalrina had even given her a device to call her. If Meera didn't need them to fight the Cult, she might've even called her.

It was best that Kalrina didn't know about them. No matter her gusto, she wouldn't have been able to take out the sorceresses.

Meera put her out of mind as she took in the sight. It was something to behold as Leonel had cleaned up this place quite well. The rubble and broken columns had been cleared, and the damaged sections had been repaired. There were even some people milling about. The ones who had just stepped out of the many Gateway Mirrors were reporting to the guards. She figured it would be a standard affair like back in the Varshan capital.

All in all, it was quite the improvement from last time. She was sure this place was a lot less busy than before the dragons destroyed it, but still, it looked alive, rather than the ruins it was.

One of the guards noticed her and waved her over.

She walked to the guard, and as she did, she activated Mistidentify and upped her level back to mid-four hundreds. It was the level the Stone Spears had seen last. After all, she didn't want to give anyone the fright that she had leveled up three hundred levels in a week. Though the fights she had been through, it wouldn't be entirely unplausible.

The guard's uniform was neat. He was clean-shaven and had a bald patch growing, but his most prominent feature was the missing eye. He wore an eyepatch, under which ran a claw mark the length of his face. No doubt a gift from a dragon.

[Stone Spear – Level 458]

"You're from Varitsa?" he asked.

"Not really," Meera replied. "You can say I'm a wanderer. Trust me, I am no trouble, and you're captain knows who I am."

He squinted at her. She could tell that he was using Identify on her. She had everything ready, and then his eyes widened and he gasped.

He stood. "Right this way, ma'am."

Meera frowned. "I'm not here to meet, Leonel. I just want to—"

He cut her off. "I understand that, ma'am, but Captain Leonel had asked us to bring you to him should you ever return."

"Okay…"

It wasn't like they could do anything to her. She was confident that she could navigate her way through any situation or person. Save for some dragons, who she wasn't here to fight anyway.

The guard called out to one of his colleagues to watch over his desk as he had to escort Meera to the captain. He frowned at first, and then his eyes widened in surprise, as well.

What have they heard about me?

She figured the captain would have some answers for her. So, she followed the guard. He led her out of what she figured was the Grand Central of this city. She remembered that Leonel had told her the name of this place, but she couldn't recall what it was.

They walked through the city, and it was alive with activity. Everywhere she was, people were working to fix their city. People or mages with skills to fix stones and marbles were working hard to put buildings together. Even what seemed to be regular citizens were helping to repair their homes. Some houses stood vacant and empty, and she knew why. The dragons had laid waste to much of the city and its citizens.

Overall, the city seemed clean, and most of the rubble had been cleared to make room for the construction. She was sure, by now, all of the citizens must've come out of the underground city.

It didn't take them long to reach a massive building that must've been the Stone Spear's headquarters. Right outside, talking to a group of guards was the man she was brought here to speak with, for some reason.

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He noticed her coming and dismissed the guards, even the one who had brought her here. "Ah, Meera, so you've returned, after all."

"Hello, Leonel. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Meera asked. "Also, did I do something that your guards are so shocked to see me?"

"Didn't you clear off the dragons and make sure that they wouldn't return to the city? I would say that is enough of a reason to be surprised to see the city's savior."

"Well, the dragons cleared off because they were hunting me, and for the second, all I did was get a promise from Ignis not to return. So, let's hope he doesn't break his promise."

Meera chuckled nervously. "I hope so too."

Especially after what I'm planning to do.

If she told her plan to anyone, they would think that Meera had lost her mind, and that would be putting it lightly. If Leonel even got an inkling of her plan, he would lock her in a stone prison and throw away the key, which was a very good reason to keep her lips tightly shut. But then, she had never thought she would be running into Leonel again. So, she had no excuse prepared for why she was venturing into the Wiryar forest again.

"What brings you here?" Leonel asked the question. This man was all business.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I'm heading into the Wiryar forest?" Meera said.

He squinted his eyes, and his Mana was swirling already. "Why?"

Meera sighed. "I won't lie to you. I'm currently in a war to take down the Cult of Aetheron. The very people who spread the lies that the killer of the dragonlings was hiding in Drurith. Yes, it was them behind all this." She motioned to the still, mostly destroyed city. "I'm assisting the princess of the Varshan empire to rid her lands of the Cult, but we've come up against a problem. The Cult is hiding behind a wall with runes that can only be brought down by the power of an archdragon."

He drew a sharp breath. "And you're heading in there to find an archdragon."

"No, no, you never let me finish," Meera said. "By the power of an archdragon, I meant the heart of Akhessai, which still lies under the rubble of her body. If I can get its essence and bring it back, the sorceresses are confident that they can create a weapon that can obliterate the wall."

"Wait, the sorceresses are there, as well?" Leonel asked.

"Oh, did I not mention that? Yes, they're assisting us. They've made a deal with the princess. The details of which escape me."

"Are you telling the truth?"

"If I were lying to you, I would never have told you about the fact that I was heading into the one place I was warned never to return to. Trust me, I desperately don't want to go back. If there were another way, I would jump on it in a heartbeat."

Leonel considered it, while he stared intently at her, as if he could will the truth out of her very soul. Then the hard lines on his face eased, and he finally nodded.

"Okay, Meera, I will allow you to head into the forest, but I will advise you to stick to the road. The dragons tend to leave the road alone for the most part and by no means travel at night. That is when they come out to hunt. And do not venture into the forest. We cannot have another massacre on our hands because of you."

Meera nodded. "I understand. So, which way is the forest again? Actually, never mind, I'll find my own way."

"I can have someone—"

"Thanks, but daylight is waning and I need to make as much headway as I can."

"Just remember, don't come back with any dragon on your tail. This city cannot survive another dragon attack."

"I won't."

With that, Meera blasted off into the air and saw the carpet of green trees to her left. She had her heading. She made off towards the forest at full speed.

She landed, well away from the city guards, as she didn't want to waste any more time dealing with guards. She could've flown over the trees, but decided to stick to the road until she was deep enough into the forest. Then she could soar above the foliage and head for Akhessai.

If only Veridiana hadn't destroyed the Gateway Mirror, then she could've just used one of the Gateway Mirrors here to step through and arrive at her destination. That was another sad thought. Veridiana pleaded with Meera to kill her and become an Ascendant. Gethys carried nothing but unhappy memories. She pushed them to the back of her mind and focused on her mission.

She figured that if there were any dragons, they would be around Akhessai's ruins. After all, her stony corpse was the cause of the war between the dragons and the sorceresses. That and Meera, though she was wrongfully accused. It should've been Neel, they should've been after. She didn't really mean that, but her brother had started an avalanche of misfortunes wherever he went in this world.

She was zipping down the forest road at full speed. It was beginning to grow dark, and she wanted to reach Akhessai before sunset, so she could entreat with the dragons before they had the visual advantage.

Suddenly, a man jumped out from the trees and landed squarely in her path. Meera pumped the brakes and came to a stop, barely a few inches from him.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Meera snapped.

He was dressed in a rather drab outfit, which was covered in large leaves. It was as if that man was trying to camouflage himself in the forest. He wore a dark brown straw hat. His skin was deeply tanned from spending time in the sun, and his hands were pockmarked.

He looked up and smiled. "My apologies, Meera. I didn't mean to startle you, but you were going so fast that I barely made it here on time."

"How do you know my name?" She asked.

"I know many things. Like you are here, searching for the dragons."

Meera's hand instinctively went to her chakrams. "Who are you?"

He held up his hands. "Whoa, no, no, I'm here to help. My name is Thulir. A friend asked me to aid you in your quest."

Meera frowned and used Identify.

[Keeper of the Wild – Level 312]

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