Act 25.

Gregore stood in the area where the Queen and Mikako were last seen.

He held out his arms with the palms open and facing outwards. He turned around on the spot, with his eyes shut.

"Nothing on radar sir." said Linda under her breath, with a little laugh.

"What?" asked Margaret.

"Nothing." said Linda looking like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

Margaret gave her that look she used when she felt that Linda was a little more odd than usual.

Linda gave Margaret her best smile.

It didn’t work.

Margaret just shook her head and went back to watching Gregore.

"Sometimes you speak very oddly and I feel that you are truly in a world of your own." she said.

"Sorry." said Linda, "Sometimes I just remember things from my other life and find things amusing. But I cannot share it."

"Because I cannot understand it." said Margaret.

"Because you were not there." said Linda. "You would understand if you could have seen it, but I cannot explain it. Only Gregore has been there and even he has trouble understanding it."

"It is a strange world." said Gregore without stopping his spell, "There seemed to be much sadness."

"Where I was, yes. But not everywhere."

"But you still miss it." said Margaret in a small voice.

Linda put a hand on her shoulder.

"Not really." she said. "Sometimes I miss some things, conveniences mostly. But I had no home there, only a place to stay. This place is my true home. A place where I have a purpose and people who truly care for me. I would not trade this for anything."

She could see that Margaret was moved by her words, but being who she was, she did not show any outward signs. Only her eyes gave away what she was thinking, and Linda was one of the few who knew how to read her.

"If you two have finished, I may have a something." said Gregore.

The two women gave him their undivided attention.

"I have a small trace of the path." he said pointing off in a westerly direction, "I can send you down the same path but I can’t guarantee that you will end up exactly where they are. But I am sure you will be within a reasonable distance."

"What exactly is a reasonable distance in your view?" asked Linda.

Gregore shrugged.

"Less than a hour’s distance."

"I suppose it will have to do." said Linda.

"We have little choice." said Margaret.

"Get ready ladies."

Margaret put on her helm into which disappeared her body length hair. Linda was always fascinated to watch the magic in action. The first time Margaret had taken it off and the hair had fallen out of the relatively small metal headgear, she had just stared opened mouth. It had been only her second day in this new world and she was still getting used to the way things were.

Even now after being here more than a year, things could still surprise her.

Linda fixed the last bits of her gear and turned to Gregore.

"We’re ready." she said.

He handed Linda a small vile with a red liquid in it.

"What’s this?"

"Some of my blood." he answered, "It’s to get you back if you can’t yourself do so yourself. Just break the vile. The spell on it reacts to my blood and transports every living being in a 10 foot radius around the vile to me."

"Every living thing?"

"Yes, so try and not be surrounded by trolls or worse please."

"Do you have the broach?" asked Margaret.

Linda reached into her pouch and pulled out the Queen’s royal broach. The one she wore for all ceremonies and audiences.

Gregore had given them a tracking spell and just like a bloodhound, it needed something from which to get a scent. And since she wore the broach the most often it was deemed to give the best chances.

Linda marveled at the fact that the magic here was never perfect as it was in some of the stories she had read as a girl. There the spells always work as they should, but here it was inexact. It made it more real to her.

She put the broach away.

The two warriors moved to the spot Gregore motioned them to.

"I hope you haven’t had anything to eat very recently." he said.

"Why?" asked Linda a little worried.

"Because it may be a little rough a ride." he said.

Before Linda could say anything else, they were off.

A little rough was an understatement. The Zonga at the Six Flags park was a Sunday drive compared to how Linda felt moving through whatever it was she was moving through.

Just as she though she was about to loose everything in her stomach, she landed hard against the ground and rolled a few more feet along the ground before coming to a stop.

She lay there staring at the rock ceiling above her trying to catch her breath and settle her stomach.

A groan to her left made her turn her head to look.

Margaret was on her hands and knees. Her helm was off and her hair was obscuring her face and piling up on the ground in front of her.

"You’ll get dirt in your hair." was the first thing out of Linda’s mouth.

Through deep breaths Margaret replied,

"Better a little dirt than what else almost sullied it."

She sat on her haunches and looked at Linda.

"Are you very found of Gregore?" she suddenly asked.

Linda was a little taken aback by the question.

"I like him. Why do you ask?"

"Because I may kill him upon our return."

Linda laughed out loud and after a little while Margaret joined in.

The two women rose unsteadily to their feet, using each other for balance.

Finally the world stayed straight and they could stand without feeling like they were about to fall over. They looked around and realised they were in a cave system of some sort.

"So where do we start?" asked Margaret.

Linda looked around.

They were in a open area of some underground caverns. There were two exits from the place. She pulled out the broach and a small bottle with a powder in it. She broke the seal on the bottle and poured the content over the broach.

The broach began to glow very slightly. The stronger the glow, the closer you were. Like playing hot and cold.

"How far can this thing search?" asked Margaret.

"Don’t ask." was Linda’s reply.

She moved back and forth between the exits. The left one seemed to elicit a slightly stronger glow from the broach.

They both looked at each other and shrugged. They left by that exit.

Neither noticed the shadow that slowly followed.