The following morning, after bidding an affectionate farewell to Griselda and Fiora—telling Griselda that he was taking Lyra, Cassandra, and the two maids on an extended inspection tour of the northern fortress lines—Alaric led the four women down into the subterranean teleportation vault beneath Steele Manor.
Lyra and Cassandra were dressed in magnificent traveling ensembles of royal dark-blue and deep-violet velvet trimmed with silver fox fur, while Kara and Ulriya wore newly enchanted black-and-silver battle-maid dresses fitted with spatial storage pouches at their waists.
"Stay inside the inner gold ring," Alaric instructed, stepping into the center of the array and channeling his mana into the master disc. "The jump crosses an entire ocean, so you will feel a brief pull of spatial pressure before we arrive."
