The servant sneered at him and retreated to the mansion, leaving Stanislav alone. His search for Natalia's friend had dead-ended, and he hated to be the bearer of bad news, but it looked like Katrin would remain missing for the foreseeable future. He wondered if the girl was not alone in her situation, for surely, after all the years of operation, there had been others who had failed. Perhaps, if he found one, he might find more. He turned back towards the Volstrum and strode off, intent on making at least some sort of progress.

Natalia stood on the casting line, eyeing the target before her, a wooden frame holding a door, standing freely downrange, not more than a dozen arm lengths' away. She looked back to her tutor, the only other person in the room.

"You may cast when ready," said Mistress Tatiana.

Natalia uttered the words of command and ice formed around the handle of the door, spreading across the frame until the entire door was encased.

"Very nicely done, Natalia," her mentor praised, "you pick these spells up so quickly. It's refreshing to see one of such skill."

"Thank you, Mistress," she replied. "Shall I dispel?"

"Yes, dear," the mistress responded.

Natalia waved her hand, uttering the counterspell. The ice began to vanish, just as the door to the room opened.

"Am I interrupting?" asked Mistress Dominique, poking her head inside.

"Not at all," said Mistress Tatiana. "Natalia was just trying her hand at a frozen portal spell."

"I hate to be a bother," Mistress Dominique continued, "but there's a visitor here to see your student."

"Now? She's in the middle of being tutored."

"Yes, now. The man has a letter from the matriarch herself."

"The matriarch?" said Mistress Tatiana. "Then we mustn't keep him waiting." She turned to Natalia, "Well, don't just stand there, girl, off with you to the visiting rooms."

"Follow me," said Mistress Dominique, leading the way.

They threaded their way through the grand edifice of the Volstrum to a sitting room where Natalia was told her visitor awaited her arrival. The mistress headed off, back to her own business, leaving the young woman standing alone before the door.

Natalia opened the door. Inside was an elegant room with luxurious furniture. Sitting on a rather comfortable looking chair was none other than Stanislav Voronsky, the mage hunter, holding a glass of wine, sniffing its bouquet. He made a face and downed the drink in one gulp, then set the glass down.

"Stanislav?" she said in greeting.

"You were expecting someone else?" he said.

"But I was told it was someone with a note from Illiana Stormwind."

"Oh, you mean this?" he asked, brandishing a letter. "She wrote this years ago. I find the seal on it to be of particular use from time to time, though very few have read its contents."

"It didn't take you long to return to the Volstrum," Natalia said. "Does that mean you found something?"