Their first priority was to find the "land of reversals" mentioned in the warning.
Annan had thought "mushrooms bloom, flowers bear fruit, and vines grow in clusters" would be distinctive enough, but none of the elves knew where it was...
"There's no place like that in Evanas," Elder Theron said.
"Looks like another place humans know about but elves don't."
They needed to find a Paemite. Annan's first thought was Prince Aidan. Asking him for help might also clear some of the suspicion hanging over Annan.
But... Annan couldn't be sure whether Prince Aidan would protect the killer once he learned they were from the Kingdom.
If it were only trouble with the Elven Royal Court, Annan wouldn't have minded asking Prince Aidan for help. But with Irilanze missing, he didn't want to take the risk.
"I have someone I can ask," Annan said, "but we need to return to Envoy Village first."
"The human prince?"
"No. A 'friend' who just helped me."
The Rat King wasn't a rat from Paem, or even from Wilhelm, but he had rats at his command.
Annan didn't know why the Elven Royal Court allowed those rats to run around freely. Still, with so many eyes everywhere, the Rat King might know something.
Now that they had a lead, the elves hurried to Envoy Village.
Annan played the part of Kael'thas, following Dark Night's group without drawing attention. As they passed the place where he and Prince Aidan were staying, he glanced over.
Seeing his own lodgings through someone else's eyes felt strange, especially when he spotted the Skeleton King looking their way.
It was like Cathy sneaking out of school, then standing across the street to watch her classmates on the playground.
Because of his size, the Rat King lived in the largest