Ken was jogging toward me through the rain, soaked and breathing hard, but very much alive.
"Hey," he said once he reached me. His voice was calm, which somehow made this even stranger. "This shit is fake, man."
"What? Where have you been?"
"When I pressed it, I got teleported near that tavern," he explained. "There were trap markings on the ground too. Somebody set up a teleport point and a spell trap together."
"A trap spell?"
"Yeah." He nodded. "Whoever gave Jelda this necklace knew exactly what they were doing. They set the destination, and then they cast a trap spell at the landing spot."
I stared at him.
"Shit," I muttered. "But then how did the body end up back in the dormitory room? The crystal wards should have blocked that."
Ken exhaled slowly. "If pressed four times in quick succession, the necklace sends the user back to the original location. Since the spell was cast here, outside the crystal's range… the barrier couldn't interfere with the teleportation."
