Chapter 3856: We Did It (Part 1)

"Once we find them, there is no reason for you to stay. I’ll call for reinforcements, and the Organization will deal with the Horde." Bytra said.

"If Zor is still alive, we’ll use the excuse her and I have prepared for occasions like this. We’ll say that our bond is so deep that it allowed me to track Zor and that her pain was so intense that it drove me temporarily insane."

"What if it’s too late?" Solus asked, moved that Zoreth and Bytra had prepared contingency plans just to protect her secrets.

"I’ll use that same excuse." Bytra lowered her gaze, holding back her tears. "No one will dare contradict me or question my story in respect for my loss. They’d get nothing from it but the resentment of their best Forgemaster."

"Let’s move out. We kept Zor waiting long enough." Lith stood up and used the Warp Mirror of the tower to assemble the adult members of his family.

He quickly explained the situation to them via a mind link.

"If Zogar calls, Bytra has not come here, and you haven’t seen her since her last visit." Lith said. "I hate asking you to lie to your sister, Kami, but there’s no other choice."

"Don’t worry about me. I’ll manage." Kamila replied. "What do we have to say in case Zogar or Zin ask where you have gone?"

"Tell them the truth." Solus replied. "That we have gone to our secret lab, you don’t know when we’ll be back, and we don’t want to be disturbed unless it’s a matter of life, death, or Meln."

"Sounds perfect." Kamila gave Lith, Solus, and Bytra a quick hug, quickly followed by the rest of the family. "Please, be careful. That thing is dangerous, and it might want to add a Tiamat to his collection. After all, you are part Eldritch too."

"That’s a good point." Lith furrowed his brow. "Unsettling, but good. We’ll be extra careful with a double sprinkle of paranoia."

A snap of his fingers brought him, Bytra, and Solus to the Mirror Hall, right in front of the control center of the Warping Mirror.

A scaled-down hologram of Mogar and its moon floated over a stone pedestal. The mana geysers that Lith and Solus had visited were marked in blue, while everything outside the Warping Mirror’s range was crimson red.

The moon was completely red, and its mana geysers flashed blue briefly whenever the moon’s orbit brought them to overlap with a Mogarian geyser.

"How do I zoom in?" Bytra asked after trying and failing to access the hologram interface.

"One moment." Solus swallowed hard, fighting every centimeter of the way as she gave the Raiju the minimum clearance required to operate the Tower Warp.

’Calm down, it’s fine. She’s not the other Bytra. She won’t kill you. Again.’ Solus repeated those words like a mantra, but her palms became sweaty and her stomach twisted into a knot.

’Thank you for not giving Bytra access to the tower and leaving the choice up to me, Lith.’ She said via the mind link while Bytra looked for the exact spot where she had been ambushed two days ago.

’Don’t be silly.’ Lith replied. ’This is our tower. Our home. I would never go over your head and make you feel unsafe here.’

’Please, stop this. You are giving me diabetes.’ Menadion said.

’Mom! Stay out of our head!’ Solus blushed.

’Heads. Plural.’ Menadion pointed out. ’Don’t forget about our talk about merging assets before the tower is fully repaired, young lady.’

’What assets?’ Lith asked, making Solus and the lights in the tower flash bright red.

"Here it is!" Bytra saved Solus from the embarrassment and drew their attention to an isolated coastal area in the Zeneka Region, connecting the quickest route between Vastor’s Jieran mines and his household. "This is where that thing attacked Zor and me on our way home."

’What could Zogar possibly want from port cities?’ Lith hadn’t missed the oddity, but the Raiju had never offered details about her mission, and he didn’t ask. ’There are no magical resources there, and I heard no unusual reports from Zeneka.

’Even if the Organization were interested in underwater magical algae or other natural resources, they wouldn’t have sent Zoreth. She’s weak against the cold, just like me. Unless she was sent to Jiera and the Horde chose the coastal area as the ambush spot to exploit Zor’s weakness.’

"The closest mana geyser I know is about thirty kilometers from Zalma." He actually said. "It’s too distant from the site of the attack to use the abilities of the tower. We’ll have to fly to our destination from there and get what we can."

"That’s not going to be a problem." Bytra replied. "There is a mana geyser right here." She pointed at a reef right below where she and Zoreth had been ambushed. "And two more here and here."

Her finger moved to deserted areas of the Zeneka region, a few hundred kilometers apart from the reef.

"I don’t know the tower’s detecting abilities well, but I assume that if we find a trace of Zor or her kidnapper, you can use these three mana geysers to triangulate their energy signatures and rule out any attempt at misdirection the enemy might have made."

Back when she was still alive, Menadion had revealed the tower’s ability to change its location only to a few precious disciples, and Bytra wasn’t among them. The Raiju had also never learned much about the Ears and Eyes, including how they boosted the enchantments of the various floors of the tower.

"Your assumption is correct." Solus nodded, Warping the tower near Zalma and then using the Warp Mirror to cover most of the distance from the nearest mana geyser. "Do you mind telling me how you know the location of so many mana geysers?"

"I... Korgh was an Eldritch for almost seven hundred years, Solus." Bytra replied. "She travelled all over the Kingdom, and for those like her, a mana geyser is a five-star hotel.

"An Eldritch can use it to recover from the most grievous wounds without leaving behind a trail of corpses that would expose her position. A mana geyser is not only an energy source for those like her, it’s the perfect hiding spot."

"Let me guess." Lith said. "Since the most important members of the Organization are Abominations and Eldritches, after joining the Master, they share the location of the mana geysers they discovered over the millennia."

"Correct." Bytra nodded. "We use them as rest points while travelling from one corner of Garlen to another. It’s not like we can use the Warp Gate Network. Is that important?"

"Quite." Lith replied. "It makes me wonder why your enemy attacked you so close to a mana geyser, where you and Zor are your strongest. In their shoes, I would have pushed you toward the sea.

"The water would have weakened Zor and neutralized most of your lightning attacks."

"That’s true!" Bytra stuttered in realization. "How could the Master not think about this? How could Tezka?"

"I don’t think they did." Solus replied, drawing an utterly confused look from the Raiju. "Bytra, you are still shocked from the attack and worried sick about Zor."

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