The trail led deeper, into the true Dreadmire—a swamp that existed half in Veridia's forgotten outskirts, half in a melancholic pocket of the Abyss. Twisted, weeping trees dripped black sap, and the mist carried whispers of lost souls.
"This is a domain," Raguel said, his senses on high alert. "Not a natural place."
A figure materialized from the mist, standing atop a root as thick as a torso. A woman with hair like slick kelp and eyes the grey of a storm-tossed sea: Sariel Dreadmire.
"You tread in my sorrows, hunters," she said, her voice echoing with the sound of lapping water. "You seek Kaelen Malphas. He passed through here, a ghost of fear. He paid his toll in memories—painful ones."
"What do you want for his direction?" Cassiathon demanded, ever direct.
Sariel's gaze fixed on Lilithiel. "Not from you, daughter of the Pit. Nor you, mortal navigator. From the Fallen. A story. A memory of Heaven's light. A taste of what you lost."
Lilithiel flinched. Her memories of the Celestial City were her most private wounds. "I cannot."
"Then wander the mire until your souls dilute into the fog," Sariel replied, beginning to fade.
"Wait." Lilithiel's voice was a pained whisper. She closed her eyes. "I remember… the Halls of Harmony. Not the sound, but the feeling. It was like being a note in a perfect, endless song. You weren't just you; you were part of a 'we' so complete it had no name."
A single, radiant tear traced her cheek, sizzling slightly where it fell on her tunic. Sariel inhaled sharply, a shudder of pleasure running through her form.
"He went to the Sundered Spire," she sighed. "A ruin that leans into the mortal world. He seeks a relic buried there to complement his Shard. But you are not the only hunters. The Pale Mistress watches you."
Before they could ask who that was, Sariel dissolved into the mist.
"The Pale Mistress…" Raguel muttered. "Sariodeus."
They had a location, but the cost was etched on Lilithiel's ashen face. She had paid in a currency more precious than soul-coin, and they all felt the debt deepen.