"Definitely not the Power of Time. I didn't sense any temporal fluctuations."
Shade handed the brooch to the witch, who accepted it with great interest. They then headed in the direction the Unicorn had gone. At one spot, the Unicorn's hoofprints abruptly vanished. It had likely flown away at low altitude.
They continued pursuing it, but all traces disappeared. The witch therefore used a spellcasting material—her own small stone statue—to cast a high-ring thaumaturgy that directly sensed moving objects throughout the woodland. Yet the elf and Unicorn were still nowhere to be found:
"There is reason to believe they have already left Randall River Valley. But that isn't right. A Unicorn cannot fly that fast."
"Could it have been the power of space?"
Shade did not know why they had disappeared either.
"But it seemed like she was a student at Saint Byrens Comprehensive College. I've seen that cloak she wore at Saint Byron's. It isn't an Academy uniform, but I've seen similar styles. And at Saint Byron's, caring for the Unicorn Population has always been the elves' responsibility."
Shade had seen similar cloaks the last time he took a carriage to Saint Byron's. As for the situation there, Miss Danist had mentioned it to him during idle conversation.
The witch nodded.
"Your guess is correct. The earth told me that she is not a child of the Southern Land. She is a child of the Land of the Far North Glaciers. She was born in the Far North."
The witch offered her own conjecture.
"That Elf Girl is a student at Saint Byron's. Through some unknown means, that underage Unicorn arrived here first. She discovered it had gone missing, and only then came looking for it."
"From the Far North to Randall River Valley? Crossing the entire Old Continent?