"This is the shop's address."

Ishina and I waited the night and went first thing in the morning to the man's store. Micca was still asleep in the Schwerterei.

We stood together in front of the shop, but the windows were dark, and the "closed"-sign was hanging on the door. Nothing led to any clues that there were activities in the near past.

Ishina approached the door and broke the lock with a push. Then, she opened the door and went in before waved over to me.

"I sense a presence in the basement."

Ishina jumped over the counter and went into the back room. I looked around the shop area. Most of the tables and shelves were empty, and if the lock hadn't been intact, I would guess that someone broke in and stole the goods.

"Eris, here are the stairs to the basement."

Ishina called for me, and when I looked through the door, I saw Ishina pointed through another door. I ran over to her, and together we went down the stairs. It was a dark lightless room, and we were already descending the first steps as an unpleasant smell came towards us.

“What stinks here!?”

I complained, but Ishina stopped me.

“A mixture of excrement and blood… maybe some other things as well. Summon a tiny fireball, but don't throw it!"

At the end of the stairs, I generated the fireball. It illuminated the entire room. It exposed what had been hidden until then and pushed it into the spotlight. An elf covered in blood and tied to a chair stood in the center of a magical circle.

Even if the elf moved and responded to the light, it seemed like he was absent-minded. Ishina tried to speak to him, but he didn't show any reaction. Then, when I wanted to approach, Ishina grabbed me and pulled me back.

"We aren't allowed to enter the circle."

She reached out with her hands and created a wind suction, causing the elf and chair to fly towards us. The chair legs scratched the floor and destroyed the magic circle. Without waiting, Ishina leaned forward and loosened the elf's bonds, then reached out her hand and moved her index and middle fingers. In response to her hand movement, the elf's body began to lift into the air.

"You can make things float?"

I asked her, a little puzzled.

“If you want to call it floating, then yes. Actually, I don't let the body float because I control the blood. Blood control is one of my gifts, and it allows me to control the blood, whether in someone else's body or leaked blood. Of course, there are a few limitations to controlling the blood inside a living body, but these aren't important for now."

Blood control, hmmm...

She took the elf upstairs and poured water over him. Then, startled and exhausted, the elf opened his eyes and looked up at us. It seemed to me that the elf couldn't move.

"W-Who are you?"

He stared at Ishina and ignored me.

"Rouvethin?"

I asked him in an emotionless voice, but instead of answering, his eyes went blank.

“Eris asked you something!? What's your name?"

"Aleonar!"

He bit his lip in pain.

“Good Aleonar. Do you know where the guy, Rouvethin, is or where he was going?"

He screwed up his eyes.

“That p-pig wanted to enter some kind of meeting of two elven clans. This ass belongs to the poisoners, these fanatics!"

"Does that mean he's not your friend?"

Ishina raised an eyebrow.

"NEVER! I was cast out by my clan for my crime, but I will never share the poisoners' worldview. You are looking for him, that means you are following him? If you find and kill him, I would be delighted and would even pay for it!"

"What do you think, Eris?"

Had I been in the human form, I would have shrugged my shoulders, but the potion had lost its effect a long time ago.

“I think he's telling the truth, and besides, the information in the letters matches what he said. We should hurry to this meeting. After all, we know where it takes place!?”

"That's true..."

 Ishina got a strange look on her face.

"Let's not waste any time!"

A little overzealous, she grabbed my neck and lifted me into the air. I just watched as she dropped a glowing stone, how the entire environment changed in the blink of an eye.

"Isn't this your house?"

I looked confused around.

"Correctly! It was a backport-crystal. As long as the counterpart is active somewhere, you can jump back to the counterpart from any distance, but it's only one-time useable."

 

===

 

"Was that all?"

I looked at Ishina, who install a bag on my back, which she regularly stuff with new objects.

"Nearly! Just this and that here."

She put two more items in the already full bag, but not only did I have a large bag on my back. Ishina also had an even bigger backpack on her back.

"That was all, let's go!"

"Aye!"

We left the hut, and she stopped a few meters away.

"Goodbye."

She reached out her hand and twisted her outstretched fingers counterclockwise. I could see how the hut slowly disintegrated and disappeared.

"W-what was that?"

“A time warp. I have restored the hut and the immediate surroundings to their previous state. The distortion only lasts for a month. However, if I don't be back by then, the secrets I keep could fall into the wrong hands."

I found it hard to swallow because I didn't want to presume to know what knowledge Ishina had accumulated over the centuries.

"Are you coming?"

Before I realized it, Ishina left, and she had to call for me.

"I'm coming!"