“I can take care of myself,” Jace said, “but I have no intentions of dying for you or anyone else today. You’re not the only one who knows a thing or two about magic.” Even as he spoke, his belongings slid back into his bag of their own accord. He summoned a blast of ice cold air, extinguishing the fire. Then he walked forward, grabbed Merethyl’s shoulder, and focused on the one time before that he had traveled through Oladove. He’d only passed through the fringe before, and never to any of the elven strongholds themselves, but making it to the forest would do for a start. Jace firmed his grip upon his staff and stepped forward into the darkness of teleportation, pulling Merethyl with him.

When the darkness receded they were standing in the midst of a dense group of trees. It was dark around them, and eerily quiet aside from the occasional noise of wind or of an animal. Jace looked around, making sure that no one was nearby. His elven lineage allowed him to see much more in the darkness than a human, but even so he knew that he was at a deep disadvantage here next to the elves who had lived in the forest their whole lives. He let go of Merethyl’s shoulder, and as a precaution he willed an invisible shield around them both, just in case the natives decided to shoot first and ask questions later.

“We’re in the outskirts of the forest,” Jace said to Merethyl. “I’m not sure exactly where we are more than that. This is the deepest into Oladove I’ve ever traveled, so it’s the furthest in I can get us through magical means.”