Within minutes of everyone catching their breaths, Revalynd pushed his son behind him and made his stance extremely clear to the rest of the group. At least, to those who hadn’t mysteriously disappeared. “I feel like I have been more than generous with my information, resources, and hospitality. After ensuring your safety, I return to my child in grave danger. To violence and infighting from all of you.” His voice lowered an octave and his eyes reflected back the fire’s light as he finished with, “Speak carefully now. I will not attack you, but I will not hesitate to abandon you here if you pose further danger to my boy and I.”
Lilian took a cautious step forward, gripping her hands together. “I think it best to explain the ‘infighting’ first and foremost,” she told the tiger. She then gave a brief but precise recounting of how they’d found Alton back on Smuggler’s Shiv, and then much later how they encountered Salim in the Gray God’s territory. “We needed help to survive, so we allowed Salim to tag along-”
“Salim?” Nakoda asked, titling his head.
She shushed him quickly before continuing. “Before we arrived here we encountered a horrible creature being summoned by some cultists. It’s likely the being that cursed Alton’s arm, making it mutate.” Looking apologetic, she gestured to Wyrlynd. The boy had taken a seat on the ground in his father’s shadow. He was back in his tiger form, focusing on breathing and healing. “So, in order to counter the curse, the idea was that it might work to infect Alton with a new curse. We decided to act quickly while Salim was resting. He’s likely working for the evil entity.”
“Huh.”
Lilian turned. Paco was crouched over the spot in which Alton and Salim had disappeared. He held up a few bloodstones in hand, all slick with blood. “Must’ve spilled out of the slipper bastard’s pouches during all the fighting.”
Revalynd gave a growl of warning as he took a step back.
Lilian turned back and arched an eyebrow at him. “You recognize these? The stones?”
“Enough to know that he shouldn’t be handling them so casually,” he grunted in response. Lilian translated for Paco’s sake. The gunslinger shrugged and pocketed them all into his coat.
“Salim was collecting them,” Lilian said. “We’re not sure why, but it led us to Sapphire and that portal. We underestimated how dangerous Salim was. Along with how much he and his ‘god’ wanted Alton.” She bowed her head. “Forgive us for this miscalculation. You’re right. You’ve been more than gracious. This particular situation required us to play everything closer to the chest to avoid tipping off Salim. In the future we will be more forthcoming with information, I promise.”
Revalynd turned to stare into the fire for a long moment before finally asking, “These cultists you encountered…were there others like Sapphire amongst their ranks?”
This time it was Chrys who translated the question to the group. “Wait,” Paco said, tipping his hat back so as to be able to scratch at one of his horns. “There was another guy. Yellow, glowy hair. Her brother or cousin, maybe?”
Chrys translated again. Revalynd’s eyes narrowed. “A volt, most likely.” This time he stared west, into the jungle. “…Wyrlynd.”
“Yes, D-Dad?” the boy said, getting to his feet. A large section of his stomach was missing fur, but the muscle and skin tissue had healed over for the most part.
“If they try anything else, no matter how miniscule, you run to the encampment and find Zahir or Tyr. Tell them all that transpired tonight.”
“Dad, they were just trying to help their friend! It’s m-my fault for losing control-!”
Revalynd shut him up with a quick but fierce snarl. Wyrlynd’s eyes immediately fell to his feet, and he nodded hurriedly.
“Lilian and Paco only,” Revalynd said, starting towards the jungle, “come with me. This is not a request.”
Sure enough, he didn’t wait for them, or even look back to make sure they were following. Lilian quickly translated for Paco before exchanging a meaningful glance with Belkross. They’d still be linked telepathically no matter the distance. If the tiger tried anything, Belkross would know immediately. Sapphire, Nakoda, and Don frowned after the pair as they moved to catch up to Revalynd. Eventually they all disappeared into the thick brush.
Wyrlynd released a shaky sigh. His eyes then flickered over to where Paco had found the stones. The same spot still drenched in both Alton and Salim’s blood. The boy’s eyes dilated slightly, and his mouth began to water…
Seeing this, Turtle went over to the spot and allowed nature to take its course, killing Wyrlynd’s appetite immediately.
#
Revalynd didn’t go far, just enough to where he’d be certain that their conversation would be out of earshot. He stopped and turned to face Lilian and Paco. He ignored the fact that the gunslinger had his hand resting upon the butt of his pistol and said, “Judging by the description, I do think that it was a volt that you encountered. They are like Sapphire. An android. And of the types, volts are the most…independent. Count yourselves lucky. When serious, volts are said to be both unpredictable and merciless. The fact that there was one on your world means that the Forces are aware of this sapphire’s prolonged hibernation. And that includes the Scaled Chaos.”
“Scaled Chaos?” Lilian said after translating for Paco. Part of her wished they’d have brought Chrys so that the dragon could do it instead. Yet she was pretty certain that Revalynd had brought them out here specifically to keep Sapphire out of this conversation.
“It is the master of most of Castrovel’s seas now,” Revalynd answered. “Though there is an android type specifically serving it, sapphires aren’t one of them. Though it’s becoming increasingly clear that this sapphire has no idea who she’s supposed to be aligned with.”
Lilian tapped a finger to her chin thoughtfully. “So, theoretically, Sapphire could be an actual weapon against the being that we saw.” She turned to Paco. “And it’s already proven susceptible to your sleep magic. So what if we try combining the two and put this Scaled Chaos to sleep permanently? Because if it’s from another plane, we can’t kill it, but we could seal it.”
Paco frowned at her. “How could we seal it with sleep?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Just something to think about.”
He pointed to the side of his coat in which he was carrying the bloodstones. “We’d need more of these, right?”
“Or if the Chaos is on this world, and we find another of those cores, we can use that.” Lilian turned back to Revalynd, who’d patiently stood in silence, allowing them to speak in their own dialect. She switched back to elven. “I have friends down below. If we seal the Scaled Chaos, the forces of Hell can come, pick it up, and lock it up.”
Revalynd looked as skeptical as a tiger was capable of looking. “One impossible task at a time.” He hesitated before then saying, “Back to Sapphire…A week’s journey from the settlement we’re heading to now there is-for lack of a better term-a docking bay. This is where the Forces ships gather. Usually just two because, frankly, this territory is not a high priority. We’re just one settlement out of many that needs to be checked up on semi-regularly.
“Now if they knew of this curse that would change in a heartbeat. They’d swoop in and kill each and every one of us to stop any chance of it spreading to the other encampments.”
That triggered a scary thought in Lilian. “Salim was teleported away by his deity, likely the Chaos,” she said slowly. “What are the odds that it knows what he knows now? Such as your condition?”
Revalynd’s tail stilled itself.
“…On that I can only hope that the rumors are true,” he sighed.
“Rumors?”
“That the Forces are not as unified as they present themselves to be. If it’s true, it gives us a chance. A chance to escape this cage. Up until mere hours ago my knowledge of the docking bay’s location was next to useless because only a sapphire can pilot their transport vessels.”
“How do you know all of this?” Lilian pressed, allowing suspicion to color her voice. “Who are you on this world?”
“Who I was doesn’t matter nearly as much as who I married,” Revalynd answered. “My wife, Wyrmina, turned her back on the Forces and joined Qabarat’s rebellion. I would stake my life on the information she gave me before…before I lost her. The sapphire is the key. Without her an uprising would be pointless. The ship wouldn’t budge. I doubt we’d even be able to get up into the bridge.”
Once Lilian translated, Paco asked her, “Is he indirectly asking us to steal a ship?”
She shrugged. “If nothing else, we can use the ship to get out of all of this craziness. Maybe even get home. We know it’s possible since we found the other one on Smuggler’s Shiv. Er, well, under it, really.”
“Just as long as we’re on the same page,” Paco chuckled.
“I don’t have a problem stealing the ship if you don’t,” Lilian said, though she still felt troubled.
Noticing, Revalynd called over slowly, “Of course you likely don’t trust me, because I no longer trust you. It is what it is. But that being the case, accomplishing this, using the sapphire even though she’s your friend-”
Lilian immediately held up a hand to cut him off. “Look, we barely met her. She is our traveling companion. We get along, and so long as we’re useful to each other she can stick with us. But don’t consider that this factors remotely into our decision making. What we’re trying to decide is how much danger this puts us in. Weighing the costs versus the benefits, basically.”
“IF she makes contact with another ship, what are the chances of her regaining her original memories,” Paco spoke up. “Then we lose another ally, gain another enemy.” He snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”
Lilian nodded. “That weighs into the cost as well.”
“It is up to you,” Revalynd said once Paco’s fear was made known to him. “But the only functioning elf gates in Alana are in Qabarat. Getting the ship will take months, if not a year, off of your journey.”
Lilian didn’t like it. Just the thought of having to trek almost a year across this planet made her stomach turn. Yes, stealing a ship was high risk, but also high reward. But it was also something not to be rushed into. “We need to recover our strengths,” she told Revalynd. “We’re down two men. We need a capable replacement for at least one of them.”
She tilted her head. “You said you’d found someone. Another Rider? As much as a pain in the ass as Nakoda can be, he’s a good fighter. So, if we talk to this other guy, maybe he’ll help us out.”
“If you can wake him,” Revalynd replied. “He’s likely still unconscious.”
“We can try healing him. If that doesn’t work…” Lilian turned away, pretending to get lost in thought while she called out to Belkross. Belkross, I’ve been told that lightning to a man’s testicles will set nearly ever nerve ending ablaze.
…Yes, the mercenary replied, bemused.
Would that awaken a comatose man?
Either that or kill the newly-ballless bastard.
Lilian nodded, told Revalynd, “If healing doesn’t work, we’ll hurt the Rider awake. And then, if he’s really a friend of Nakoda’s, he’ll likely join us.”
“…You are a strange girl,” the tiger said before pointing west. “But before any ships or Riders can be obtained, we must first deal with the upcoming obstacle. There is a cave cutting through the land, shaving hours off of the rest of our trek. This cave is home to two dangerous creatures. By this point my son and I have gained their…”
“Tolerance?” Lilian offered.
Revalynd shrugged. “More as in we’ve become useful to them. We bring them food and they don’t attack. If anything they’ve become surprisingly gracious hosts. I’ve already informed them that we’re coming. Most importantly, I’ve told them about the dragon, how it can translate for everyone. That being said, do not under any circumstances make a deal with them. Do not be violent or wander. Because, and I cannot stress this enough, they are as unpredictable and easily triggered as the brattiest of children.”
“Can you give a description?” Paco asked through Lilian.
“Leathery wings as long as an elven man is tall. Bulbous eyes that see in the dark, big teeth-”
“What do you feed them?” Lilian asked.
“They’ll eat nearly anything, but they prefer fruit or meat.”
“Could just feed them some of that lizard you cut up,” Lilian told Paco.
“That works,” he said with a shrug.
Revalynd raised a striped hand to regain their attention in a very father-like way. “We must be cautious, but not overly so. The one thing these creatures hate above all else is being ignored. If they ask you a question answer honestly, quickly, and politely. That is the only reason why my son and I have been allowed to use their cave. Our transformation allows us to instinctively understand and speak their language. A normal person who cannot communicate is fair game to them.”
“Noted,” Lilian replied. “Anything else? Or should we start getting back to the others?”
“No, let us regroup. I’d prefer to reach our destination by sunrise.” With that Revalynd led the way back, though slowly enough for Lilian and Paco to follow at a comfortable pace. Lilian mentally informed Belkross that they were returning and to get everyone ready to leave camp. As a result, by the time they arrived, the fire was out, and everyone was up on their feet except for Nakoda who was up on Don. Chrys rode on Sapphire’s back, his wings curled around her almost protectively. Wyrlynd rushed to his father’s side while Paco yawned and hopped up onto Turtle’s back.
Heads up, Belkross grunted in Lilian’s head. Pipsqueak’s been in a bad mood since you left. Well, ‘bad’ for him.
Great, she thought sarcastically.
With a heavy sigh she walked alongside and Don as the group took off into the jungle. “Nakoda,” she called up the little Rider. “You look upset, and I have a pretty good guess as to why. I’m really sorry that we couldn’t tell you about the plan. We couldn’t risk tipping Salim off.”
Nakoda looked down at her, his round face uncharacteristically devoid of emotion. Finally he said, his tone more tired than angry, “I understand that a lot of stuff had to happen really fast. But it’s kind of, like, not cool that ever since we met I’ve been nothing but honest with you. And I’ve done everything I could to help you, and Paco, and everyone. And just feels like every single time I’m the last person to know anything.
“And whenever I try to talk or communicate, I either get made fun of or get hurt. But hey, that’s life.” He shrugged. “You have goals, Lilian. Things you want to accomplish. First it was getting off the island and now it’s surviving this. You’re really smart, but it’s not about being the smartest all the time. It’s about having faith. The number one thing that keeps us from being as good a team as we could be is that nobody really trusts anybody. And how am I supposed to be the best me if I don’t trust you to have my back?”
Where the fuck is this coming from? Lilian thought while nearly stumbling on some vines. Don was taking it slow so that she and Nakoda could talk, but it was still a struggle.
“That’s all that I really wanted to say,” Nakoda said, turning to face forward again. “No matter what I say, you’re just gonna treat me the same way. You and everybody. I understand that I should have been there for Alton, but I froze up. That’s on me. And that can’t happen again. Not if Dad and Don’s mom are here. They’re my goal. If that’s a goal that aligns with yours? Cool. If not, find someone else.”
He lightly tapped Don’s sides with his feet. The donkey unicorn picked up the pace, immediately causing Lilian to fall behind.
Wow, Belkross snorted.
Oh, shut up! she snapped back irritably. Gritting her teeth she tried to keep up without breaking an ankle in the process.