***
Lannon arrived at the bonfire to find Lothrin upset. The Ranger had noticed that Prince Vannas was missing, and the festive mood had turned grim. They searched for the prince briefly and then decided he must have intentionally wandered off again. With the White Flamestone to guide Vannas, the others were not overly concerned. It seemed to be the will of the Divine Essence that Vannas leave camp from time to time to meditate on his abilities.
Yet Lothrin remained agitated, as he spoke with Lannon and Aldreya. "What if he was abducted by servants of Tharnin?" he asked. "Maybe our Crimson Feast is the reason he is gone. Or perhaps the Lawkeeper and his warriors took him, and the White Flamestone now belongs to Bellis."
"Doubtful," Aldreya replied, "considering what happened last time. It would be foolish for us to wander around in these mountains in the endless fog, when he probably will return to camp on his own soon enough."
"I agree," said Lannon. "We need to give him time."
"Yet I have a terrible feeling of dread," said Lothrin. "It's like a voice is whispering in my mind that Prince Vannas is in great peril."
"It could be the Deep Shadow," said Aldreya, "seeking to trick us. Perhaps it wants to lure us away from camp."
"Or it could simply be my instincts," said Lothrin. "Lannon, why don't you at least lead a small party into the fog and search for his trail?"
"It isn't necessary," said Aldreya. "We already know he is prone to leaving without warning. The wise response is to wait."
"Then I will go myself," said Lothrin. He adjusted his bow and quiver of arrows. "I will attempt to track him down."
"It would be very difficult," said Lannon, "with the dense fog. Even for a Ranger like you. You could get lost, and there might be more of those ghouls wandering about. I don't want you to end up like Bekka."
Lothrin nodded. "Nevertheless, I will go...and risk the life of my future son if need be. My cousin needs me."
"No," said Aldreya. "I order you to remain in camp."
Lothrin fixed a pleading gaze on Lannon. "As a friend, I'm asking you to lead a search party. Just until you find his trail. Then we will return. If anything evil took him, you should be able to sense it."
Lothrin seemed thoroughly convinced that something bad had happened to Prince Vannas. Lannon decided he shouldn't ignore the Ranger's instincts. "Very well," he said. "I suppose we can do a brief search and make sure he left the camp alone. It's a good idea, actually."
"Be careful out there," said Aldreya.
Lannon and Lothrin were joined by Jace, who also was worried about Prince Vannas. The three left camp and wandered off amongst the pines and boulders. Lannon probed the fog, and at last he located Vannas' trail.
The prince had left camp alone.
"There you have it," said Lannon. "Once again he simply wandered off. I guess all we can do is return to camp and await his return."
Lothrin nodded, but still looked doubtful.
"Follow the trail, Lannon," said Jace. "I want to see where it leads."
They went a bit further, and then Lannon caught a glimpse of something horrific--traces of a monstrous evil like nothing Lannon had ever encountered. Dark sorcery lingered like a poisonous fog before Lannon, and instead of one trail belonging to the prince leading into the mountains, there were now two trails--Vannas and the source of the evil magic.
"Your face has gone pale, Lannon," said Jace. "What do you see?"
"What has become of my cousin?" asked Lothrin, seizing Lannon's cloak.
"We have a huge problem," said Lannon, his heart sinking.