The silence at her question nearly dragged on for longer than she could bear. She was about to speak again,<i>demanding</i>an answer, when the voice returned.<br/><br/>At his answer, that<i>yes</i>, her mentor had been here, Liirah's heart skipped a beat. Her silent prayers that he was all right redoubled themselves, only for the voice to speak again. At his next words, she felt as if the ground had fallen out from under her.<br/><br/>If speaker could see at the moment, they would have seen the girl's shoulders hunch with grief, her form seeming to withdraw into itself.<b> "No..."</b>No.<i>No.</i>It couldn't be true. She shook her head in disbelief, eyes going wide. Pestilence?! Ignatius had been healthy as a horse the last time she saw him. The speaker had to be lying,<i>he had to</i>. Surely this monster was only seeking to torture her, to make her think her mentor was dead.<br/><br/>And yet, what would it stand to gain from that? A hunter matching her mentor's description had passed through the area recently, that much she was sure of. He knew the risks of their path, and so did she. She could wish and pray all she wanted, but that wouldn't change reality. If he had truly fallen here, then she still had a job to do.<br/><br/>The voice's claim that his physical body was no more made things a bit more difficult, however.<b> "Then release him!" </b>she pressed to the darkness, forcing the tears out of her voice. If his ghost was still here, then she wasn't leaving until he was at rest.<b> "Or so help me, I'll take these ruins apart stone by stone until you do."</b>