The next morning, Elliot met with Kael and Lila in the training yard. He filled them in on what he’d discovered, leaving out the part about the guildmaster’s involvement for now. He didn’t want to risk dividing the group when they needed to stay united.

  “So Malakar’s after the other Aether Core pieces,” Kael said, his brow furrowed. “Do we know where they are?”

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  Elliot shook his head. “Not yet. But the guildmaster thinks Malakar is heading to the Frostspire Mountains next. There’s supposed to be a piece hidden there.”

  Lila crossed her arms. “The Frostspire Mountains? That’s not exactly a friendly place. It’s crawling with ice trolls and worse.”

  “Which is why we need to move fast,” Elliot said. “If we can get there before Malakar, we might be able to stop him.”

  Kael nodded. “Then we’d better get ready. We leave at dawn.”