Thirty minutes later, Daran and Ziggy were sitting inside Daran's tiny cottage near the outskirts of Jade.
He rarely ever ventured there except when he was in Jade on overnight business and it really showed.
The place was a filthy mess. Cobwebs had taken over the dusty corners of the house's single chamber.
The only clean spot were the two wooden chairs and the tiny two-person table that had been rigged up using old boards from some construction project.
Daran had opened the windows to let in some fresh air but the smell of ancient funk still permeated through.
He put on the stove a kettle of hot water and within minutes had a pot of hot tea sitting between himself and Ziggy.
"So you are saying that Alastaire has infiltrated the Kingdom of Jade?"
Gozano shook his head. "No more so than previously. There has always been a faction of mages who have been adherents to Alastaire while he was still living in Jade."
"Tea?"
