She smiled as she saw him, perhaps the closest thing to family she had left. He was getting old, grey hair starting to pepper the dark brown, but he still looked hale and hearty.

"I suppose I'll have to refer to you as Mistress Stormwind now," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Natalia will do fine," she said, though a smile managed to creep out.

"What happens now?" he asked.

"We stand around and mingle, and then food will be served."

"I knew I came here for a reason," Stanislav replied.

"Is that all you ever think of? Food?"

"What else in life do I need? I've got everything I want."

"How about a wife? You need someone to look after you."

"I tried that years ago," he said, "but I travel too much."

"Yes, where have you been these last few months? I haven't seen you around the Volstrum."

"I had to go all the way to Krieghoff, if you can believe, then back to Caerhaven."

"Any luck there?" Natalia asked.

"Not in Krieghoff," he admitted. "It turned out he was nothing more than a potential Earth Mage, but I hit gold with Caerhaven, brought that one in this morning."

"So you didn't bring the Earth Mage back?"

"Why would I?" Stanislav asked. "The family doesn't pay bounties for such folk. I did pass his name onto someone else though, and managed to pick up a few coins for my troubles."

"You should have someone help you, some assistants."

"No," he said, "I did that years ago, it didn't end well."

"Hey, now," she said, "you found me. I wouldn't say it ended badly."

"True," he said with a grin, "but I haven't taken an assistant since. You never know who you can trust."

"It must be lonely," Natalia suggested.

"I get along all right," he replied. "How are things going here? Still avoiding making friends?"

"I'm told they've picked me for training as a greater mage," she said, quickly changing the topic.

"Well, I never!" Stanislav said. "Little Natalia, a greater mage. Who would have thought? I suppose that means you'll be learning battle magic."

"In time, yes," she said, "though I have to master the basics of manipulating water first."

"You'll learn that quick enough," he said, "I know you. You froze Nikolai's arm when you were small, do you remember?"

"I do," she said. "Whatever happened to him?"

"He became a mage hunter," Stanislav replied, "though I wish I'd killed him when I had the chance."

"Why? Because he took over your job?"

"No, because he betrayed me. The man's ruthless." He grabbed her arm, steering her away from prying ears. "Do you remember much about the day I brought you here?"

"No," Natalia confessed, "I suppose I was in a state of shock. Why?"

"No particular reason," he admitted. "I just ran into Illiana earlier, and it reminded me. She seems to take an interest in your progress."