Five minutes later we were speeding our way to the forest border in the car. I was sat in front next to Atlas sai's in my jacket, and Atlas with his daggers strapped to his waist, Seph sat behind me and Kelva next to him wearing her plated knuckle gloves. I sat sifting through the haze in my head, I couldn’t see through it, what was happening. I never actually made a coherent telepathic communication with Brox. It was always brief feelings or an impression of what he wanted, he was a wolf what would mental communication sound like? Me talking human and him talk wolfish...mentally? Never made much sense to me to try, so I didn’t. Now I wish I did...and this was all I was getting of Brox, what of Keaden. I was getting nothing but a twisted gut instinct that something bad had happened to him...I would have cried with worry if I wasn’t so pissed of, I was all for killing the people who brought this feeling so powerfully to Brox, that I could feel it this bad. And God help them if they had laid a finger on Keaden...

 I pulled myself out of thought in time to see us approaching the Forrest border, I instantly unfastened my seatbelt "start at the Shack" I told them, I wasn’t waiting for them to keep up with me.
 I opened the door before the car had stopped and I launched my self from the car, I heard another door open and Seph was suddenly running next to me, I lifted my weight and propelled myself forward with my mana, I ran flat out virtually weightless, it was almost like flying, after a few minutes we were over half way there, and I began to follow Seph’s lead of jumping of some trees for an extra boost of altitude. 

 Then with one last jump I flew into the old shacks clearing, I fell with a heavy thud sai's out, but there was nobody there. Lucky, for them... ok me as well, I had used up quite a bit of mana ripping through the forest and I needed a few seconds to get re-acquainted with gravity. Seph appeared at my side, panting lightly, clearly his speed was best used in short bursts not running flat out for half a mile. 

 Looking around I saw the shacks door was broken of its hinges. I ran to it and saw that the house had been turned over, and it wasn’t by Keaden. The Desk was smashed up the brick work over the fire place had been smashed in one place and a book shelf had been thrown to the ground, books from that shelf and others littered the floor, looking into the bedroom I saw that the beds had been broken and piled up, making more room on the floor to be ripped up. Nearly all of the floor boards had been torn up.
 "Leun, I think they got here in time, look-" I walked over to where Seph was standing and found some chewed up paper with Kelva’s hand righting barely recognisable.
 "Its a damn shame we didn’t" I walked out of the shack and sat with my back against the wall... I thought about what could have happened? Where were they now? Had they been taken? And why? I sat lost in thought, my thoughts shifted from questions, to images of what could have happened, to worries of what was happening to them, to who could have been strong enough to do it. Before long, Kelva and Atlas appeared in the clearing.   
 "There gone" I said wiping a stray tear from my cheek. Kelva had a pissed of look of fear in her face, and Atlas looked as he always looked in these situations... positive yet respectful. Seph came to the door at met our gazes. He had a slight look in his eyes, as if he was giving in to something.
 "I know who did it." I got to my feet, and gave him a questioning look "My coven" he looked down. "They were here, I think they walked in on Keaden and Brox ripping up Kelva’s note, and then they attacked them, left them unconscious and then took them"
 "Took them where?" I said.
 "I don’t know" he said looking back inside
 "Liar!" I said "Where are they?"
 "Leun, I don’t know" he protested
 "Come of it, don’t you think its a bit convenient that we happen to meet you, find out about everything about these artefacts from this guy Corwell's research, then find out that your people are looking for them, are keeping an eye on the thing that makes these artefacts, and just when we find out how important it is to keep the research safe, Keaden and Brox happen to run into your people and get kidnapped, all in just over a day. Don’t insult my intelligence, there is something going on that your not telling us, and if you know what’s good for you, you will tell us NOW?" I said, my face pulsing. I was angry I needed to find and protect them.
 "I’m not insulting your intelligence, which is why everything I told you before was true... I told you only what I have to"
 "Well now you tell us everything" Kelva said coldly, he turned and walked inside, we followed.
 "Its the alter. It hasn’t worked for over 400 years, this paper says why." he took a piece of folded parchment from his jacket and passed it to me, I unfolded it and me and Kelva read it as he explained what it said, "The Alter was shut down by a mage and he decreed that only another mage could reactivate it. The block on the alter would only respond to a mage's mana field." I locked gazes with him "I have been in contact with my coven; I said I intended to help Volden, his corruption from the artefact. And I swear to you that is still my intention"
 "You were manipulating us..." I started
 "Let me finish, please" he stressed "I know what I have done has been questionable but you must understand my reason for it, please let me explain"
 "Then be quick about it" Atlas said in a hard, cold voice, his face carrying no emotion but a look of absolute power, a look only Atlas could pull off.
 "When I met you I was looking for the artefacts, to find one that I mite be able to use, as I said there is one in the temple but I couldn’t get to it. Then I met you, you said you were a mage and at first I didn’t believe you. I couldn’t believe my luck, but you were. And I couldn’t miss the opportunity. I went back to the shack knowing you would go back there, and I made sure you didn’t see that paper, Volden knows as much as I do about these, about this Alter and so I got in touch with him, told him I found a mage and I wanted to prove myself to him, as an apology I told him I wanted to hand you over as a gift."
I blazed a look at him my mana rippling the air, Kelva fought her own anger and put a hand on my shoulder and whispered to me, telling me to calm down and to let him finish. "But that was never really my intention, I had a thought there is no real known way to destroy an artefact because its power is...unlimited, but I figured that if the alter would put the powers together and forge it into the artefact, maybe it could extract and break up the power. It was only a theory and Corwell never wrote about the possibility. But there is a way I'm sure of it."
 "So, what, you thought you would fork us over, get me to power the thing up, and then leave us for the dogs" I snapped.
 "No. I knew we were going to Dualcia so telling you that, that is where they had been taken was not necessary, it would only make you more anxious to go there all guns blazing and getting your self captured, I couldn’t let you do that, so I said I didn’t know where they were. Although I know that they took them as bait to make sure I didn’t double cross them and you did go."
 "You knew we were going to find out why lie about it?" Kelva prompted
 "Because I needed you to think I was finding this out as you were, so you didn’t ask to many questions. When we got there I would tell you that I needed you to see something and us two would go unarmed to the village where Volden's men would ambush you and take you into presentment then he would give you an amulet to block your powers, of course it only works on witches and warlocks you and I know that but he doesn’t, he knows little about witchcraft.
 "I figured you were intuitive enough to play along with this and take it knowing I fixed it, so he would give it you and hopefully remember I'm trustworthy. I would visit you shortly after he leaves you explaining everything. That the amulet is a hoax posted by me, and that I intend for you to activate the Alter so I can destroy his Relic not so he can make more, despite the fact he wouldn’t know how is irrelevant, That will only buy us time when were there, once you activate it I can study it and figure out what to do.
 "With them thinking I am on there side, I will be free to go anywhere, even up to the town to tell you what is going on, I would tell you that Leun is captured Keaden and Brox is also there and that I am free to roam anywhere, So it will be best to let me get more information, so we can strategise a better plan.
 "When I have figured out what to do I will tell him that once the Alter is Activated it will require another artefact to create another, and someone with magical ability, (hence Leun). He will give Me the Malceic and I will do the ceremony to destroy it, Leun will quickly re-seal the alter despite having the duff amulet on, Kelva and Atlas would get Keaden and Brox out of there while this is happening and we run for the hills never look back,
 "I let the dust settle, get in touch with Volden and see if he is rational again, if he is the way I remember him then he will forgive me and I will have done what I have set out for"
 It took me a moment to understand the gravity of what I just heard... this guy had thought heavily on what was happening and he had everything planned out. I felt my simmering rage dissipate, He wasn’t trying to sell us out, or was I just being gullible?
 If a guy was capable of hiding something like this then he could be trying to pull the wool over our eyes again, but I just knew that he is a good person. And despite his bad way of doing things... he was trustworthy...
 "Despite the fact I hate the idea of, everything he just said, he does make a good point" Kelva started "If you can figure out how to activate this thing then we can switch it on and destroy any artefacts we find and switch it off when we have finished"
 "Sounds like a plan" I murmured "Only one problem with it"
 "What?" Seph asked, the look on his face told me that he had accounted for every possibility and he could eat anything this chef could dish out...
 "How the Hell am I supposed to know how to switch this Alter thingy on and off" The look on his face now told me he wanted to leave the restaurant.
 "Ah. Good one, well according to the paper it should come naturally..." he said reassuringly
 "Corwell wasn’t a mage. How the frig would he know" I said
 "That’s true but we will have to cross that bridge when we come to it. We don’t have a lot of time and we need to get to Dualcia by night fall." He said. "I’m sorry things turned out like this, I am. But now you know we can do this together, I need your help, and if you want to get Keaden and Brox back you will need mine" I stared at him coldly...
 "Lets get back to the manor” I said then walked out
 

We dropped Kelva off at the school to fill in Adell with what happened then we went back home. When we got in Atlas went to pack our stuff leaving me and Seph to sort out a plan in the Study, I got out the map of Dualcia and laid it over the table.
 "This is where we land" he pointed at a small port next to a town not far from some ruins. "I figure that if you and me go together and Kelva, Adell and Atlas get off separately, then it will sell the idea to the ones watching us that I brought you alone. But they know who I have been staying with and will be expecting us to go together"
 "So what about the others, the plan is they stay uncultured so they can free Keaden and Brox right.
 "We can check into the inn there don’t be expecting a mint on your pillow, they don’t take kindly to new comers, I tell Volden that I couldn’t get you to go alone with me and I suggest that I get you away so they can ambush you, I will take you into the bar and signal one of the scouts to signal for your ambush..."
 "Why do I not love this plan?" I said to him, Seph smiled,
 "Everything will work out fine, ok, trust me" he replied, but I gave him a blank look and looked back to the map. "Its the only way I can think to keep Kelva, Atlas and Adell out of there way. Anyway after we leave the bar and are ambushed they are likely to take us here..." He pointed his finger at the hills above the old ruins. "That’s where they have there hideout. After were there I will give him the amulet tell him that its been modified to block your connection to your mana. And just for dramatics, go to throw the amulet telekinetically but don’t, make the movement but put no power into it, lets him think your power is useless on it. Pretend to attack him but flunk it so it looks like your powers are useless on whoever holds it and a head ache and drowsiness act wouldn’t go amiss when he puts it on you".
 "Don’t worry, I can pull of a good drama act when I want to" I said
 "No doubt." he smiled "Anyway after, he will leave you in a room and in that time I will be trying to figure out how to reverse it so it will destroy the Malceic"
 "Wont Volden be anxious to get things moving? I mean now he has the mage he can reactivate the thing and get what he wants?" I asked
 "In all honesty yes, but it wont happen like that, he will need something called the Book of Arcanis, its an age old book written by the guy who created the first Arcane relic, with out that, he wont know where to start, and he doesn’t have that" he said positively
 "Why not? Where is it?"
 "On another continent as far as I know. Not sure where but its hidden in some tomb somewhere, I’m told. Volden knows of its existence but has no idea, no leads as to where it is. So don’t worry. By the time he has figured out that he needs it, I will have sorted figured out how to activate it. But I will tell him that I have an idea involving you, and a previous relic that’s when I do the ceremony, and when he realises what I have done you start blasting our way out of there"
 "Sounds fool proof, but there are allot of ways it could go wrong" I said
 "Then we will have to focus on the positive."
 "One question though, if Volden needs the book to use the Alter, why don’t you?" he looked at me half shocked "And if you don’t know much about this book of Arcanis then how do you know that’s what it's called? That’s its on another continent that u don’t know? In a tomb you don’t know?" he looked up to the ceiling then put his hands on his face
 "Ok fine. I had the book, after raiding it Volden found out I had it and wanted it, so I left Azhnia and took it to another country and left it in a tomb in the middle of no-where" He said whispering "I know where it is and I know what it says, I don’t need to figure out anything. I know how to reverse it"
 "WHY LIE?" I shouted startling him my anger vanishing with is answer
 "BECAUSE" he changed to a whisper again "Its the Book of Arcanis, for crying out loud, Its a powerful thing to own and its safe with no one, why did you think 'I' abandoned it there, Because here! things get stolen and the less you knew the better, that’s why I didn’t give the specifics just now" Damn that Seph, he does stupid things but always has good reason to do them "The only reason I told you was because your the only person I have ever met that can actually see through my secrets, and its starting to piss me of Leun... please don’t tell anyone what I just told you,”
 "You didn’t tell me anything though" I said smiling at his compliment
 "I told you that I knew that’s enough" he said with a stressed tone, I sighed
 "Lets try that one again" I fake coughed "You didn’t tell me anything though" he looked a little confused then understood what I was doing
 "Right yeah, I didn’t tell you anything...though" after a moment of him looking at me weird I tapped the map "Oh right yeah" I sighed
 "I think that’s more or less it. Anything else?" I asked him.  
 "Not really, lets help Atlas pack and I will tell you anything else if it comes up" he looked a little miffed at me, I didn’t mind. I smiled as best U could and followed him out of the room.