Lilian waited until Belkross closed the door and stood guard in front of it, making sure there was no chance of interruption or being overheard, before beginning to speak. “You look at Sapphire as if she should be in charge,” she told Revalynd. He was setting Wyrlynd down on a nearby cot beneath the map, one of two. “That is not the case here. Outside of Belkross as my bodyguard, nobody works for anybody. We’re just traveling together.” She narrowed her eyes. “So, if she’s dangerous-as your son clearly believes her to be-I need to know why. Now.”
“Looks like you’re speaking my language just fine,” Revalynd said darkly, standing to his full height. If Belkross worried him, he didn’t show it. His eyes were flat, devoid of all levity now.
“Like I said, just needed some time to shake off the rust,” Lilian replied evenly.
Revalynd stared at her face, clearly refusing to take anything she said at face value any longer. “Can you name a single one of the Force’s emperors?”
“No, as I said, we come from another world.”
“And that’s the same for her?” He nodded towards the door. “The sapphire?”
“As she said, and as far as we can tell, she doesn’t remember much of anything.”
“You found her on your world?”
“Yes.”
“Doing what?”
“Sleeping. All she knows is her name, that of her small dragon, and her dead partner. Someone called ‘Onyx’.”
Revalynd nodded as if that made perfect sense. “She is a sapphire. And that dead onyx is one of many also. A sapphire always has at least one onyx guarding her. They are one brand of the Forces’ enforcers.” He tilted his face towards the maps, sadness tainting his gaze. “My world was once…civil. There existed a treaty between the elves, Lashunta, and the Formians.”
Lilian suppressed a frown at that. Formians were a race of ant-like creatures. They were sentient but their society operated exactly like ants, with workers being governed by a queen. They’d never gained much of a foothold on Golarion, but it was a different story here on Castrovel, apparently.
“Before then the Formians were at war with the Lashunta of both Asana and Ukulam,” Revalynd continued. “Meanwhile, we elves stayed within the borders of our continent, committed to neutrality.” He pointed to the bottom left continent. “Sovyrian allowed the others to war. But then, as if by some miracle, the treaty was formed between the Formian queens of The Colonies and Qabarat, the Lashunta capital. Its biggest proponent, Lady Kesh, saw it as a way to unify Castrovel. Making it a safe haven for all races. Native and visiting.
“Unfortunately, one of these first visitors was creature crawling out of your deepest, darkest nightmares.” Hate replaced sadness. “It and its brood contacted the Formians, convincing the queens that no, they shouldn’t settle for peace after all. That Lady Kesh and Qabarat could have maybe handled. But then another monster arrived, descending from the sky in a floating castle, unleashing an army of dolls upon the land.” He rolled his eyes. “And then a third monster took control of the majority of Castrovel’s seas from the giants. Them, plus the Formians’ deity-the mother of mothers, the Overqueen-formed into the Four Forces.”
“The one that took over the seas,” Lilian said, “does it have a name?”
“The Scaled Chaos.” Revalynd looked between her and Belkross. “You’ve encountered it?”
Lilian took a moment to consider her words. Or really, she pretended to. In reality she and Belkross were sharing a telepathic conversation.
It’s likely the entity that those cultists were attempting to summon back, she was telling him. We need to keep this from Seaweed Man.
Any particular reason why? he asked.
You missed it. He tried to take over the ritual. Unfortunately for him, whoever this Scaled Chaos is, it likes Alton better.
Ah.
Out loud, Lilian finally told Revalynd, “I trust most of my companions, but we should keep the majority of this information to ourselves.”
“Most,” the elf repeated. “…The crippled one. His arm…He’s been mutated by the Scaled Chaos.”
“Possibly.” Lilian bit her lower lip before deciding to trust him with just a little more information. “We don’t know everyone’s motives. We haven’t been working together as a group for that long. But the man dressed in the coat of seaweed? Be on guard around him.” Revalynd grimaced before simply nodding. She turned to Belkross, said aloud, “The other creature, the one from nightmares. Might be our moon-beast. Go tell Nakoda and Don that we might have a lead on their parents.”
“Now?”
“Go ahead.” She began to walk over. He opened the door, holding it open for her. Before leaving she turned back and told Revalynd, “We’ll mind Sapphire, and you mind the seaweed man. And we’ll continue this conversation once we’re ashore.”
Back out on the deck, Lilian answered Paco, Don, and Sapphire’s questioning looks with a mouthed, “Later.” Yet their trust in each of them definitely wasn’t equal. She really liked the donkey-unicorn, but he was too close to Nakoda. Of the three she could probably rely on Paco the most, especially in combat. Sapphire was a mystery, even to herself, and that made her a liability. And if she was a sleeper agent for these Forces, that made her a ticking time bomb…
As the boat got going again, Belkross ventured over to Nakoda. He was helping Paco gut the salamander. The mercenary delivered the news on the potential lead to the little Rider. Nakoda reacted just as Lilian had expected: loudly. “Really?!” he exclaimed. He started hopping up and down like a green-haired bunny rabbit. “I understand what happened! I understand! It makes perfect sense now! The butterfly took us here! Desna! She chose us!”
His eyes practically bulged out of his face as he declared to the heavens, “BECAUSE WE’RE ALL THE RIDERS OF THE WING NOW!”
“You’re being very loud,” Belkross growled, annoyed.
“WHOO!”
Shaking his head, Belkross returned to Lilian’s side. She’d stepped back from the rest of the group, leaning back against the railing. It was sturdier than it looked. Happy? he asked her.
She smiled a little as Nakoda darted over to hug Don. It’ll keep everyone distracted, she thought back at her bodyguard. She glanced over at Seaweed Man and Alton. She stopped smiling. Until we find the best route forward.
Once she acclimated to the boat’s pops and groans, the ride became almost peaceful. She leaned sideways, allowing herself to rest against Belkross’ shoulder. It was only then that she recalled that none of them had slept since leaving Aycenia’s clearing. Mere hours ago their most pressing goal had been to defeat the cannibals controlling Smuggler’s Shiv. All of that felt so small now. Small troubles of another girl on another world…
Lilian didn’t realize that she’d dozed off until a sharp cry startled her awake. She regained consciousness lying on deck, Belkross’ coat folded underneath her head like a pillow. She bolted upright into a sitting position. Belkross?! she called out to him psychically.
Alton’s awake, he said at once, sounding more amused than worried.
She whirled around just in time to watch Alton lurch up onto one knee and swing wildly with his unmutated fist at the nearest person to him. Or really, the nearest animal. Turtle had wandered over to him, maybe to nibble on his shark arm. Alton’s hand slammed into the lizard’s shell, making him yelp and recoil away in pain.
“What’s g-going on?” he cried through clenched teeth. He blinked rapidly through the pain. “T-Turtle?!” He reached up to brush his hair out of his eyes, only to nearly take them out with his fin. He flinched away from it, alarmed and disgusted. And then he followed it down to his shoulder, seeing that the scaled limb was actually a part of him. He, understandably, began to scream.
Nonplussed, Lilian got to her feet. She looked around. They were approaching the edge of the lake. A dock made up of metallic junk (not unlike the boat) was a few minutes away. The sky was darkening. In reaction to that, the trees began to glow with some form of blue-hued bioluminescence.
While Revalynd docked the boat, both Seaweed Man and Nakoda were trying to calm Alton down, to limited success. Once Revalynd (and a grumpy Wyrlynd) tethered the boat to the dock using ropes, he approached Lilian. Behind him, his son continued to eye Sapphire hatefully. Revalynd pretended not to notice. He said, having to raise his voice so as to be heard over Alton’s shouting, “There was one thing I failed to mention. Your little, green-haired companion. That insectoid sigil imprinted upon one of his pauldrons. Is it common attire for your people?”
Lilian shook her head. “He’s a member of some kind of order of knights or paladins. The Riders of the Wing as I’m sure you heard him shouting a bit ago. Why?”
“Because a large man wearing amor imprinted with a similar sigil to his was found by my people in a crater not too long ago. This…wayward Rider should still be recuperating-and hidden-back at our encampment.”
“Good to know,” Lilian said before thinking to herself, Small universe…Another Rider…Is Drake right about Desna…? No. Can’t be.
Shaking her head, she let Revalynd go so he and his son could focus on gathering their equipment for the journey ahead. She gestured for Paco and Sapphire to join her away from the Alton-centric chaos.
“Hey, so somebody that Nakoda knows is in the upcoming elf village,” she told them. “Another Rider. Maybe. It could be a trap. Be on your guards.”
“Do we have a description?” Paco asked.
“Big. Wearing Desna’s symbol, or at least something resembling it. We can try to get more information out of Revalynd on the way if necessary.” She placed her hands on her hips, released a heavy breath. “Just be ready for any trickery.” She rolled her eyes. “But knowing Drake’s luck-whenever snakes aren’t involved-this could be legitimate.
“But,” she held up a hand, “finding a way home is still our top priority. If Nakoda and Don decide to stay on this planet, searching for their parents, that’s their right. We’ll help them until our paths diverge.”
Paco glanced past Sapphire, at Wyrlynd, who was shrugging on a leather backpack that looked far too heavy for a boy his size. “What if the elves flip out like the kid?”
“We’ll do what we have to,” Lilian answered. “We prioritize our own survival. But, as long as they stay friendly, we stand more to gain from their cooperation than their deaths.”
The gunslinger made a face as he considered her words before finally shrugging. “Fair enough.”
“Did you manage to gain any information as to why Wyrlynd attacked me?” Sapphire inquired, also studying the boy. Though her gaze was more one of curiosity than paranoia. Chrys was flying overhead, like a silver vulture. Lilian would have to keep an eye and ear out for the strange dragon.
“A misunderstanding,” Lilian told the dragon’s master, stepping sideways into her line of sight. “Don’t let the boy’s ramblings get to you-”
This is hilarious! Belkross abruptly laughed in her mind. Even then she struggled to hear him over Alton’s howl of, “WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!”
He rushed at Seaweed Man. He managed to cut a line across the strange man’s neck. It would have been far worse in not for Nakoda’s intervention. The little Rider jumped onto one of Alton’s legs, tripping him. This gave Seaweed Man the split second he needed to jump away.
“What’s done is done!” he screamed down at Alton, clutching a hand to his bleeding neck. “You can’t go back-!”
“SHUT UP!”
Alton kicked Nakoda off. Eyes darting back and forth like a caged animal’s, he spotted the dock. He bolted for it, jumping off of the boat. There was nothing but alien jungle beyond, but he clearly didn’t care. He kept on running, doing everything he could to get as much distance between him and Seaweed Man. Lilian couldn’t blame him.
This is going to be a problem, she thought darkly. One that will be corrected sooner rather than later.