Karl Valdemar's form materialized before them, looking much the same as he had when they had spoken before the confrontation with Thoburas. The only difference was that it was he who was the one who had initiated the contact through the rings this time. "I see that the two of you are still alive. That's fortuitous." The Emperor said it so matter-of-factly that it was hard to tell whether or not he was ever concerned that they would survive the confrontation with Thoburas. Of course, that was nothing but pure speculation on Ash's part, and the Emperor still remained far too much of a mystery to her. She felt an overwhelming force that drove her to want to meet with the man in person. It was odd. She only learned that this was her real father in the last few days, which resulted in her entire world being turned upside down. Still, there were more than a few things that she wanted to settle with him.

"How did you know to contact us right now?" It was more than a fair question from Ash. Was she being overly paranoid? Probably, but with what she had been through with Rohaan so far, it shouldn't be much of a surprise to Karl Valdemar or much of anyone else. It was clear to her that Karl Valdemar had ulterior motives, though it would be mostly a waste of time to guess what his actual aims were. Still, she didn't have the belief that he was acting towards ends that could be interpreted as malicious. Perhaps that was only due to some common comradery on the basis that she was human and he was her emperor. Of course, at the end of it all, she would always be outmatched in comparison to the Emperor of Man. A frustrating reality to accept to be sure, but there was little to be done about it. However, if Karl Valdemar proved to be a force for evil instead of good... her hand switched as her fingertips brushed against the hilt of the Dark Blade, strengthening her resolve for what she would have to do. Thoburas had taught her that there was absolutely no room for any hesitation.

"I can make assumptions about what is happening there. I'd probably be mostly right if I even bothered to make the effort." He shrugged off most of the question with the amount of grace expected of someone of his class. "The final gate rests below Last Vigil itself. I have many of my inquisitors monitoring that location with great zeal. Believe me when I say that it was fairly easy to know exactly when you two allowed the gate at Durgan Fortress to be opened."

"I could berate the both of you for sheer incompetence, but I'm fairly certain that none of us has the patience for that. I did attempt to contact you for nearly an hour, so I'm curious why you felt that it was proper to ignore me for so long." Karl Valdemar gave one of his piercing gazes that immediately tore right through Ash without an ounce of remorse.

"I... I'm sorry. I was searching for Lord Cassander's body among the dead and couldn't find anything. I most have gotten too into it." Ash was only slightly flustered, and it wasn't helped by the fact that she was completely exhausted, but she could hardly be afforded the opportunity to rest at that particular moment. "I have to find him! If there's even a chance that he's still alive..."

"It's more than likely that the cult had to move many of the bodies elsewhere. I have inquisitors and soldiers moving into the region as we speak. They're tasked with cleaning up any remnants of Thoburas's cult - and can be easily leveraged to search for any sign of Lord Cassander at Durgan. Of course, under optimal circumstances, I'd be more than happy for you to spend weeks searching through ever nook and cranny at Durgan, but time isn't exactly on our side at the moment. I need the two of you at Last Vigil."

"Rendezvous with any of my men as you exit Durgan and they'll arrange appropriate travel accommodations to get you to me. Now, is there anything else that either of you need of me before we meet again?" Karl Valdemar looked at both Ash and Rohaan, ready to receive any other pressing concern.