Act 6 - Quagmired
Traveling through the Ashfall Waste would have been a grueling affair on foot, with none of the company well-suited for the heat. Luckily, the lava vents provided excellent updrafts,allowing Hisae to glide along above the smoky haze with little exertion. Trillia flew effortlessly as always, high above them, enjoying the first opportunity for a carefree flight with her clouddancer in weeks.
As they approached the rugged buttes at the border with Shifting Expanse, a blur of red came streaking out of the sky. Hisae and Trillia immediately went on their guard, but it resolved itself to be a cardinal hippogriff, now hovering and preening around Trillia’s clouddancer.
It clearly wasn’t interested in fighting. Most hippogriffs were wild, combative - often allied to the harpies. But this one paid no mind to the dragons, too preoccupied with what seemed to be an elaborate mating display. Trillia snorted in amusement when her familiar bat at the male playfully and began flying loops about it.
"Looks like we’ve got a new companion..."
The sun was hot, trying its best to melt the three of them into puddles of sludge. Trillia thought back to the Viridian Labyrinth, and the constant shade its trees provided, to the breeze of the Bamboo Falls - gods, at the moment she even missed the cool damp of the cavern. It seemed even a domain ruled by Stormcatcher suffered its share of summer. Especially in the Highland Scrub, and with Flamecaller rising, her festival only days away.
At least night would fall shortly - then maybe she would stop burning. And they should soon reach the coast. Just the thought of all that water perked her up a bit. Trillia eyed the thin and scattered cloud cover, dashed with copious amounts of heat lightning. It made for undesirable flying conditions, meaning they’d have to keep trudging along the scorching sand. Then, against the sky, a large number of silhouettes converged, flying in circles above them like vultures. Harpies.
"Those harpies may be aggressive," Hisae muttered. "We need to be prepared for a fight."
"Hmm, there’s a dragon headed our way as well," Lyn said, pointing to their right. There was indeed a figure approaching; judging from the size and shape, a skydancer.
They kept a wary eye on the sky as they continued toward the other dragon. Perhaps it would be able to offer them shelter at a nearby lair.
They soon realized it was three dragons, not one; a skydancer, with a fae perched on her shoulder, and a male coatl, slithering low to the ground. They looked rather weary, but seemingly unintimidated by their presence. In fact, if Trillia had to describe them, she would say they looked relieved.
"Greetings! It is so good to see other dragons in this area! We were beginning to think we were completely cut off from the rest of the world here. I am Suni! Pleased to meet you," the skydancer greeted them. Her kind smile would have probably put the three of them at ease before they started this journey, but after all their experiences they remained wary of strangers. Still, they tried to appear as friendly as possible, projecting harmless intent. They dearly wanted a rest and respite from the heat.
"I'm Trillia. This is Lyn, and the guardian is Hisae."
"This is Yu,” Suni replied, gesturing at the fae on her shoulder, “and this is Fener, our clan leader. We were coming here to try and talk sense into the harpies once again, but we saw you here, and it was such a rare occurrence that we had to come and greet you! Do you have a place to rest? The sun here is tricky, it will be dark soon and you'll be vulnerable to the night before you realize it.Come to our den, please! We may be a little clan, but we have just enough space for you. Stormcatcher's bolts are not kind if they hit, and the harpies will not hesitate to attack you in your sleep," the skydancer continued, looking concerned.
Before Trillia or Hisae could say anything, Lyn nodded. "That would be great. Thank you for your hospitality.”
"Yes, thank you. These flatlands are most unforgiving" Trillia repeated, eyes flicking upwards again to the flock of harpies, and then to the bleached bones of some less fortunate creature, long picked clean.
"We should head back now, then. We will conclude our business with those birds another time. Perhaps you could even be of help to us? We're such a small clan, and those harpies are trying to attack our territory. Oh, but don't worry!" Suni added as they walked along. "If you're in a hurry, you have no obligation to help of course! It's just that their numbers seemed to have swelled considerably, since our first encounter with them. But please, don't think about this now - here, we've arrived," she said, motioning to a cluster of boulders around a burrow.
"Please, get some rest! Yu can lead you to some empty space, our apologies if it's not as comfortable as you might be used to. If you'll excuse us now." she said, walking away with the ever-silent clan leader, while the similarly close-mouthed fae motioned for them to follow him.
"You may rest here," the fae told them, pointing at what was little more than a shallow alcove beneath the largest of the boulders, but still the best they could find. They had yet to see any other dragons, aside from a skydancer lookout perched above them. It seemed the rest of the clan must be smaller breeds that could fit into the burrow.
The fae left them without another word. Trillia stared at their temporary lodgings.
"Well, could be worse, couldn't it? I mean, we could've been out there. The Shifting Expanse is a brutal place to be caught in the open..." she commented. Hisae grunted in response, while Lyn wasn't even looking at them.
"Trillia, your new hippogriff has run away. And the clouddancer with him."
"Eh? Oh..." she sighed, seeing that Lyn was right. "Wait a minute, I'll get them."
'Wait a minute' didn't seem to be part of Lyn and Hisae's vocabulary, but Trillia couldn't blame them when she heard their footsteps behind her. She wouldn't have let them go away unaccompanied either.
The white tail of her friend disappeared between two other boulders, much too tight a fit for an imperial. She stuck her eye up to the crevice and saw the rocks formed a shallow cave. In the dim light she could see piles of…well, mostly junk. As a Wind dragon, and especially as a traveller, Trillia had never understood the need to hoard everything, but she had to admit it, it was a fairly impressive array of different objects.
There wasn’t much of value in there, that she could see. They probably kept their treasure, gems, and more precious things inside the burrow. She did spot a few familiars were also running amok, hers included. The hippogriff had stopped in a darkened recess, facing something Trillia couldn’t see.
Lyn squeezed past her, into the cave, without so much as a by-your-leave.
He approached the hippogriff and raised his tail to cast light from his lantern into the shadows.It illuminated a harpy, curled up in wings covered in sandy plumage, talons clutching each other and chained to the wall, with another shackle about its neck. But there was something very different about this harpy. For starters it wore clothing that was clearly of fine quality, despite its somewhat tattered and grimey condition. Most strikingly, however, was the lack of mask. The face underneath was completely exposed - and that, by itself, made this harpy different from every other she had ever seen. It was very similar to the faces of some other beastclan, like serthis or centaurs, those kind of mashed-in, flat faces. But she had seen enough to notice how the features - a square jaw, thin lips, heavy brow - all seemed to indicate that this was a male.
"Hurting me will only cause my sisters to become more aggressive towards your clan and kind." The harpy said, surprisingly fluent in Draconic. It raised its head and looked straight at them, as if it wasn't in chains, and at a clear disadvantage.
"But then, why do I waste breath that you will not heed? You never have. I suppose you didn't receive the reply you wanted once again, did you?"
"You've mistaken us for someone in this clan." Lyn cut him off. "We have no idea what you're talking about."
The look on the harpy's face instantly changed from resigned to surprised.
"You... Are you here on behalf of my sisters?" He asked, though his face fell immediately after the words left his mouth, as if discarding the idea as ridiculous. How could he trust them, when they would surely be allied with his captors?
"Who are you? Why are you in here?" Lyn asked, looking over the harpy curiously.
"My name is Savio, I am also called Beato. In your language... Doesn't matter. I am a historian in my clan. My sisters have been grateful for my birth, since I was a male among many females, as usual with my kind. They have educated me to keep records and know the history of our clan, dragonkind, and the lands over which our territory stretches. One day I was fulfilling my duties, when a great commotion outside my aerie prompted me to go see what was going on. Our roost was being attacked by dragons. They killed many of my sisters, burned exposed nests with fire, and snatched me up. I've been held hostage here ever since, and they have been blackmailing my sisters into giving them more and more land to expand their territory. Of course," he paused, his face now expressing pride "their requests are being met with what they deserve: I've seen the wounds, their rage. My sisters are not giving in. But...I don’t know if they will be able to free me without much bloodshed."
A few moments of silence passed, as the three dragons processed the sudden boatload of information and the harpy stewed in his own thoughts, before he suddenly broke the silence again.
"I do not expect you to help me. But please, for the sake of my sisters I must ask… If you won’t free me, I'd rather die now than be used as leverage against my family. But know, if you help me escape, the Windcarve clan and our allies will surely be grateful to you.”
The three friends were quiet in the face of this revelation. The lightning clan had been so friendly, it was hard to imagine them carrying out such ruthless acts. But the harpy’s condition was undeniable. Lyn shot a look at Hisae, nodding.
The guardian understood immediately. "We will free you if what you say is true,” she told the captive, "but if you're lying to us..."
"I'm not! If I were lying to you, why would the clan omit my being here? Why would--"
"Stop. We need to get some rest ourselves, but we’ll be back later. When the rest of these dragons should be asleep.”
Lyn stayed up to think while his friends slept, after assuring them he was fine and would wake them a couple of hours before dawn to carry out the rescue. He didn’t like the idea of betraying the clan that had offered them hospitality, but they hadn’t been truthful about the situation, and he couldn’t abide seeing another creature in bondage. The chains were old, easily breakable if he had Hisae’s strength. But there was no way either of his large companions could get into the crevice without smashing the rocks themselves, which would be too loud. But he had his tools, and though he’d never picked a lock before, it couldn’t be so much harder than dismantling any other trinket.
When the time came, the sky was lit eerily by the constant lightning, meaning they wouldn’t be able to just sneak away. The area outside the burrow was mostly deserted, with all but a few dragons asleep, but there were still a few sentries, all of them keeping an eye out for harpies. Fortunately, only one of the guards was near enough the harpy’s prison to give them any trouble - the other two were either too far, or too focused on the sky.
“You’re up, Trillia,” Lyn whispered. The imperial strolled casually from the alcove, catching the eye of the sentry.
"What are you doing still awake?" the wildclaw called as she approached.Trillia offered him a weak smile and lept gracefully atop the huge boulder where the sentry was perched.
"I sometimes get... Claustrophobic you could say. I needed a breath of fresh air, out of these rocks."
The explanation seemed to be enough for the dragon, who nodded and looked admiringly at Trillia’s shiny wings before returning his gaze to the sky. A cluster of harpies was flying near the eastern edge of the lair, silhouetted by lightning strobing all around. Trillia glanced at the other sentinels, ensuring their attention was similarly occupied before delibering a swift whack to the back of the wildclaw’s head with her tail, knocking him out before he even made a sound. Being positioned as she was between him and the others ensured they would see nothing, even if they looked over, and her size also blocked the sight of her friends as they made a beeline for the cave below.
The harpy's chains proved a challenge for Lyn, since he couldn’t actually see the inner workins of the locks. The corners of his mouth were slightly curved upwards, his eyes shining with excitement. His interest for engineering had led him on this journey, and he was happy to finally be able to do some tinkering, however unconventional the subject. Soon enough the cuffs fell off, one by one.
"Thank you! I’m indebted to you for your help,"
"Yes well... You can thank us once we're actually out of here."
Trillia signaled to Hisae that the sentries were still looking the other way, and Lyn emerged with Savio leaning on him. Within moments, a small group of harpies landed around the three, a mere fraction of the cloud in the distance that still held the sentries’ attention. Trillia had to force herself to be still, rather than leaping down to her friends. She had to block the scene.
"Leave Beato, nest-burners, or we'll kill you" one of them hissed, feathers ruffed and claws bared at Lyn, who was still supporting the harpy. Hisae immediately took out her own claws and opened her wings to look more threatening.
"They're helping us! Do not harm them, Ilenia, Rapace!" Savio pleaded, his voice as high as whispering would allow him. "We need to leave, now!"
"We will kill the nest-burners first! They need to die. Rapace will escort you back, this will be over very--"
"Don't you dare." Lyn interrupted her "You don’t want a war with Lightning dragons, trust me!"
"If we don't kill them, small one, they will attack us again! They need to die now."
“Even if you eradicate this clan, it won’t be without a hefty price of your own blood. And Stormcatcher himself may strike you down for it. As it is, you’ve gotten what you came for, and I think these dragons have become intimidated by your numbers. Just yesterday, they sent a party to negotiate - if they really planned on repeating their past misdeeds, wouldn’t it have been a warband instead?” Hisae reasoned. The lead harpy narrowed her eyes and the guardian but said nothing.
"Ilenia! Please, let's just head home. You,” Savio gestured to Lyn, “fly a moment with us, please. They won't notice you." Savio stretched his talons before taking a few ungainly steps and pushing off into the air, followed closely by his sisters. Lyn hesitated for a second before going after them.
"I need to thank you again." Savio said once they were high enough for the dragons below to be merely forms in the dark. "Please, if there is anything we can do for you - any knowledge of these lands I can share, just ask."
Lyn's eyes lit up with curiosity
"What can you tell me about the Workshop?"
*note again the last four buckets weren't unlocked from Nature Dom.
"The Golem Workshop hides something dark," Savio had said, pulling a Seeker orb from a cache of them in his nest. "In the days before it first closed, it seems the creator grew older much faster than he should naturally have. He had already lived exceptionally long, but, near the end, all of his years seemed to suddenly hit him at once." he said, peering into the sphere and showing it to Lyn, as if the fae could understand the collage of images swirling within.
"They say he had been blessed by Stormcatcher when he first built the Workshop, but after decades of working down there, something just… well, no one knows what happened exactly, but it has to do with the Dragon Golem. They say he made it to guard and operate the Workshop, so he could go serve the Stormcatcher directly, but when he arrived at the gates of Tempest Spire, he was rejected. Cast out by lightning, a withered shell compared to what he was before. He went back to the workshop and was never heard from again. After that, nothing came out of the Workshop, and no one who ventured near it survived, so its exact location was eventually forgotten, until recently, as you know, when it was rediscovered."
Lyn frowned as he remembered Savio's words. They had now left the dry heat of Harpy's Roost behind them, the environment around the small group much more humid and rich in vegetation as they approached the coast. Every now and then a pack of Toridae or Podid would take an interest in them, and once they were ambushed by a group of Kamaitachi, but all had been quickly defeated.
Unfortunately, in the initial attack, one of the wicked scythes had managed to slice Trillia’s left wing, and even with Lyn’s Aid it would be some time before she could fly again. It left her in a sour mood, and now all she wanted was to reach the sea, where a break in the water, with plenty to quench their thirst, would be most welcome. She could almost taste the fresh fish already - it had been too long since she’d had her fill, weeks before when they had stumbled from the Forgotten Caves.
The lightning was behind them now, and they could see the Sea of a Thousand Currents through the ragged, low trees ahead. In their focus on the destination, it only registered as an annoyance that the ground was becoming progressively mucky. Lyn, riding on Hisae's back, didn’t notice it at all, still lost in his musings.
Visitors.
It had been too long since his last guests. A pair of tundras, more fur than anything else. Quite dissatisfying.
His stomach growled - measly Psywurms and boney Cerdae, none of the pathetic local fauna was enough to quell his hunger. His pets did well enough, content to scavenge - but he wanted fresher meat, and lots of it.
He could hear three distinct voices, and the heavy steps of two slowed by the mud, slurp-slurp-slurp as they treaded deeper and deeper into his domain. Oh yes, these visitors were here to stay.
"Well, wellll... What do we have here?" came a croaky voice, startling the three of them. A strange-looking mirror with a glowing bauble on its head walked out from between two trees.
"It seems that someone needs help! Are you lost? I can help you... Yes, I can! Where are you headed?" he asked, voice raspy and hissing, with a heavy accent that was common to mirrors of this region.
Hisae’s spines raised like hackles and she exchanged a wary glance with Trillia. But Lyn was already replying.
"We were trying to reach the coast, but it seems to be taking longer than we thought it would, on foot… Perhaps you could advise us of the quickest path?"
"The coast? Oh yesss... That is quite simple... But you are right, this is not the best way! We will go a better route. Come, come with me, there is no time to waste! We must hurry! The Mire is dangerous, but Xirtslekoss knows its secrets!" he said as he flew off, then landed on a greying tree branch a few short flaps later. "Come! Come, there is a large pack of toridae on the prowl in this area, it would be unfortunate to come across them in the mud! This way, quickly!"
Lyn sighed as he flew a bit higher. The mirror seemed rather annoying, but perhaps he could get them out of this mess. And he couldn’t be much of a threat on his own. He looked rather scrawny, and his breed wasn’t large anyway, especially compared to Hisae or Trillia.
Everything happened so quickly. One minute they had been hurrying through the swampy terrain after Lyn, as he flew ahead to catch up to the mirror; the next, Hisae and Trillia were chest-deep in muck, leaving only their wings and tails free. It wasn’t quicksand, but they were thoroughly stuck.
“Lyn!” Hisae called, and her charge made the mistake of turning to her voice. Her heart skipped a few beats as she saw, almost in slow motion, the mirror whack Lyn solidly over the head, sending him crumpling to the ground. A strangled cry left her throat reflexively, but the damned creature only cackled as he stuffed Lyn’s unconscious body into a sack.
The mirror hopped over to a stump a few lengths away. dangling the sack out tauntingly. “Oh dear, your friend seems to have taken ill - but don’t worry, I’ll take good care of him, yesssss ehehehehehhhhh… And you two, oh such sturdy beasts. Oh yes, I’m looking forward to having you here for quite some time.”
Hisae felt a berserker’s rage flare up in her, choking out any reply but a wordless roar. Neither her might nor Trillia’s seemed able to overcome the hold of the sludge. And still the mirror laughed, fanning the flames of her anger.
Whatever it cost, he would
die for this.
Soon, soon, soon! They would tire themselves out and he could finally eat. Oh, so much glorious meat, spades of it! Guardians and imperials, big dragons with lots of muscle and fat - only in his wildest dreams could he have enjoyed such a feast. He could eat them slowly, savor them.
As for the fae, he was scrawnier - would need some preparation and seasoning. A roasting, probably. Xirtslekoss felt his mouth watering at the prospect and settled down to wait for his pets to arrive. He couldn’t leave them alone with the big ones - no he’d come back to all the juciest bits having been stripped away. But they would be useful to further tire the two out, and then he could take his prime cuts.
---
Lyn blinked for a few seconds, feeling the confusion of total darkness that made it hard to determine if one’s eyes were actually open. He felt his head spinning and throbbing, but ignored the dizziness and forced himself to think about where he was, what had happened. He feft something move against his face. Scratchy.
Oh. He was in a sack. The mirror - it had been a trap after all.
Lyn focused, ignoring his head protesting the sharp ache, and a few seconds later the burlap turned to ash in a white burst of heat, letting him fall to the ground.
He heard a shriek of surprise and as his eyes adjusted he saw that Xirtseebubble, or whatever his name was, had been blown into the muck pit by the force of his shock spell. Half of his body was already submerged, while his free wing and limbs flapped about.
"Lyn!" Hisae’s voice pulled his attention from the mirror. If he didn't know better, he would've thought she was about to cry.
“I’m okay.” Lyn flew off the stump to settle in a tree branch and survey the situation. Movement - the pack of toridae, it looked like. Headed their way, sure enough. “But we need to get you guys out of there.”
Now that she knew Lyn was okay, Hisae had settled down and was able to think more clearly. She eyed the surrounding vegetation and nodded, “I’ve got it.” She flexed her claws beneath the mud, feeling it squelch, feeling the plants on her back perk up as they always did when she settled into her meditation.
There was a soft sussuration as the vines sprawled over trees surrounding the muckpit began to creep towards them. Trillia and Lyn watched in silence, afraid to break the guardian’s concentration. Soon enough, they had wrapped around Hisae and Trillia and were dragging them back to more solid ground.
----
His food was walking away.
This can't happen.
"You can't do this to me!"
No, no, no!
"Come back!"
Little pieces of...
"You can't just leave me here!"
The golden glow from his bauble reflected eerily in the eyes of his pet toridae, now gathered on one side of the pit - the side closest to him.
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