Whether it was the last flicker of conscience unextinguished by the cruelty of Dark Mages, the quiet devotion between Mali and Stanson, or simply his adherence to a mage's code of "equivalent exchange"—Kay couldn't say. But when the three suns dipped low enough to soften their glare, he sighed and left his half-empty nutrient potion for the pair before resuming his journey.
"Mali and I owe you a life," Mali said, bowing deeply. "We will repay it."
Kay didn't look back.
Mali had estimated a ten-day walk to the camp—but Kay spotted it in just four. He shot Mali a questioning glance.
"Stanson's sense of direction… isn't great," Mali mumbled, embarrassed. "Or maybe the camp moved?"
"The dunes shift," Kay said, his eyes fixed on the camp nested behind a massive sandhill. He'd noticed it during his first night here.
No matter the reason, finding the camp felt like a lifeline. For the first time in weeks, his heart stirred—he was finally close to Lina.
Excitement and nerves tangled in his chest as he approached. Before he could reach the entrance, a high-level apprentice stepped forward, his tone cold and dismissive.
"Hand over your Elemental Orb. It's your pass to enter."
Kay didn't recognize him, and the contempt in his voice rankled. But a high-level apprentice in full strength was no Stanson—picking a fight would be foolish. He pulled out one Orb, hiding the rest as Moses had warned.
Just as he handed it over, a familiar, melodic voice cut through the air.
"Cantona, get lost!" Phil snapped. "This is my junior brother. Do you want a taste of my fire magic?"
Her voice was like cool water in the desert, soothing the dryness in Kay's chest. Phil was no weakling among high-level apprentices—with her hoard of magical artifacts, she'd dominated the academy's annual awards for years. Cantona, by contrast, was mediocre at best—he couldn't even beat Stanson at his peak.
Cantona's face flushed. He muttered something and scurried back into the camp—clearly, he'd learned his lesson from Phil before.
Phil looked much as Kay remembered, save for a sun-kissed tan that only enhanced her vitality. "Junior brother! You're finally here!" She threw her arms around him, her warmth and softness making his heart skip a beat. But her next words jolted him back to attention.
"I've missed you like crazy these months!"
"Months?" Kay pulled back, stunned. He'd been in the sand world for barely twenty days, plus a week's delay in Shadow Valley—hardly "months."
Phil blinked, confused. "Yeah. We've been here four months now."
"The time dilation happens when we cross spatial rifts," Senior Brother Zorro explained later, inside the central tent. "It feels like a heartbeat to us, but hours—even months—pass between the material plane and the Astral Sea."
"Your knowledge of arcane truths is incredible, Senior Brother," Kay said, genuine awe in his voice. "Even spatial magic?"
"Just scraps," Zorro said modestly. "You need basics like this to craft spatial artifacts—rings, pouches. I didn't study it on purpose, though. Mentor mentioned it in passing when we traveled from the Western Isles, passing through magical portals."
He sighed. "The rift in Shadow Valley is crude. Even after the Dean and Mentor stabilized it, it's still primitive. A proper interplanar portal would've avoided this time skew—but only Tier 2 or 3 mages can build those. Menzoberranzan doesn't have that kind of power."
"Where is Lina?" Kay asked, once the small talk faded. "I haven't seen her."
"She's at the other camp," Phil replied. "Four quasi-mages are stationed there—they're twin outposts, setting up the spatial generator the official Dark Mages ordered. I sent her a message about you. It's not far—she'll be here by evening."
Kay let out a long breath. He'd noticed Phil and Lina's relationship had softened since they'd shared a tent in Shadow Valley—relief washed over him.
Zorro held out a hand. "Give me your crystal ball. I'll modify it. The plane's environment scrambled most communication, but with adjustments, it'll work for short distances. Useful for keeping in touch."
The apprentices had named this place the "Sand World"—a fitting title for its endless dunes. Even Zorro, with his vast knowledge, couldn't guess its size, only that it was smaller than the Wizarding World. "The Wizarding World is among the largest in the Astral Sea," Moses had once told Kay. He had no frame of reference, but the apprentices guessed their months of exploration had covered less than a thousandth of the plane.
For apprentices—still stuck at Tier 0—this alien world was brutal enough on its own, even without the hostile creatures传说 (rumored) to haunt other planes. They'd survived thanks to water mages conjuring Water Spheres and plant mages growing edible flora in soil shaped by earth mages. Such was the magic of their craft—ordinary humans would've died within a day.
By afternoon, Lina arrived. For Kay, it had been a month apart; for her, four. Emotion simmered beneath their calm exteriors—Lina's face remained as stoic as ever, but Kay saw the faint light in her eyes. Phil, ever the open book, grinned and teased, "I'll introduce you to a friend later!"
The camp was small, with a dozen portable tents—brought by a quasi-mage—and strange equipment in the central tent: the core parts of the spatial generator, Zorro explained. Phil led Kay to his new quarters. After a month of sleeping in sand hollows, a tent with shade and shelter felt like luxury.
But the tent was tiny—and already occupied.
"Phil, are you serious?" a voice complained from inside, muffled by a curtain. "It's tight enough with us two. You're bringing someone else in?"
"Find another tent if you're cramped," Phil said, pushing aside the curtain. "I'm staying with my junior brother."
A female apprentice stepped out—younger than Phil, her face heavy with makeup, her eyes sharp as peach blossoms. The perfume she wore made Kay's nose twitch; he didn't like it. But her expression lit up when she saw him.
"So this is your famous junior brother?" she purred, circling him openly. "No wonder you wouldn't stop talking about him. I'm Marina—Merry's my junior sister."
Merry's senior sister. That made her a disciple of Master Dills, Moses' ally. Kay forced a smile, ignoring his discomfort. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kay."
He wondered if Marina's other senior sister was in the camp too—but exhaustion hit him hard. He found a corner and collapsed onto the ground. Lina was still finishing a task with a quasi-mage; she'd be back later.
The dark tent—echoing the Underdark's familiar gloom—pulled him into sleep almost instantly.
In his drowsiness, he felt someone slip into his arms. The scent was familiar, comforting—Lina. He wrapped his arms around her, still half-asleep.
"Tsk tsk," Marina's voice mocked from the dark. "Three in one tent? Bold. Mind sharing? It's been ages since I've had company."
"Go away," Phil snapped. "I don't want you ruining my junior brother. Find Jack or Thomas if you're desperate."
"Thomas is just an intermediate apprentice—who knows if he even made it to camp?" Marina retorted. "And Jack got swept away in that sandstorm two months ago. His bones are probably dust by now. C'mon—just let me borrow one of his hands? I'll take care of the rest."
Phil's reply was sharp and final. "Get out."