Qu’l-Nia watched as the two women drifted into slumber. As a being who does not require sleep, the restless eldritch woman confronted Derleth once again.
“I know,” she stated matter-of-factly. “You cannot hide it from me.”
Derleth's silver eyes glittered phantasmally as he stared into the light of the fire. “I have many secrets, Dancer. You'll have to be more specific in your accusation.”
“Do not play coy. I know you are keeping a childling hidden here. For whatever reason, I know not.”
The image of a frozen human woman flashed through Derleth's mind. “The very notion is absurd.”
“And yet you proceeded to do so.” Her accusatory tone grew harsh.
Derleth made a short, guttural groan. “Merely a lone mortal who trespassed into my domain. I had no time to dispose of her due to your timely arrival, but I promise she is of no value to anyone. I will deal with her in my own time.”
“Derleth, you are far too uncaring concerning childling souls. I wish you would not be so callous.”
The eldritch man raised an eyebrow at this. “With the exception of consuming them, I was promised to do with these mortals as I see fit if they ever dare trespass too close to my domain. You are the one who has become too sickeningly sympathetic. From where did this motivation to feel concern for mortal lives suddenly manifest?”
“I… do not know. I am loath to admit that you were right and perhaps it has been my time amongst them that has changed me.” She wrung her hands together anxiously. “I find myself angry with you. More than I should be. It is… It’s a strangely liberating feeling. I have felt happiness, I have felt sadness. All fleeting, yet every second of them has felt almost overwhelming. I thought these were things I had never wanted to experience again. But now I see they are like a drug. A single dose of which sees you scrambling for more. It is not something I wish to abide, but it seems the longer I remain here the less of a choice I am given. I hate that you were correct in your assumptions. But it is not just simple belief in me that I relish. That is not something that concerns me. It is their love. I am enjoying my time with them. They are my… friends. And I also feel guilt at that prospect.”
“It is a conclusion they do not want us to reach. Logic does not exist in a vacuum. Emotions are what drive us to act logically. They give us a reason to live. This is what the other Elder Dwellers could not understand. If we had known evolution would come at such a cost, would we do it again?”
“It does not bother you that I am becoming this way? No. I suppose it would not.” Qu’l-Nia looked over at Alma and Hwalín, making sure both were still in deep slumber. She wondered what it was they could be dreaming about. Were they joyful? Terrifying?
Dreams.
A concept she had long since forgotten. The world of dreams remained a mystery beyond solving. There are places in The Real that appeared to come curiously close to the boundaries of the dreaming world. It made her wonder if maybe the worlds in which everyone visits when they sleep were somewhere out there in The Real along with everything else. Could she visit those two in their dreams, if even only subconsciously? She thought she had come close once. And what would she dream of if she were able to dream now? Even were she able to sleep, she does not think she could ever dream again. It was another of the many things childlings do that she was beginning to miss. The thought pained her, and she relished that pain.
“Embrace it, Dancer. If you wish to be loved, then let yourself feel it. There is nothing wrong in letting yourself be treated as a God.”
Qu’l-Nia turned away, a blank expression on her face. “Do not be ridiculous. The moment this is over, I shall return to my duty. I would have you return that childling in your confinement as well, but I would rather we not come to odds so soon after our alliance. Do not forget, however, that the next time we meet, it will be as adversaries. And now that I have pinpointed your location, I will also be keeping my eye on you once I return home.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“I am sure it won’t come to that.” The eldritch man’s grin seemed to gleam maliciously in the light of the fire. “Once you’ve come to realize the benefits of unshackling your emotions, you’ll come right back to me. I’ll be looking forward to that day.”
Qu’l-Nia remained silent for a moment, staring into the dark of the night. “Derleth. May I ask you for one last favor?”
The gleam in Derleth’s eyes seemed to soften for an instant.
“Please… Help me find that girl’s sister. Use everything in your power if you must. You have had more time to hone your abilities here than I. Please, just…. Do everything you can to locate her. Save her.”
“That will not prove possible. I recognized her smell when you first brought her here. It was the same scent I had found coming from a corpse somewhere high up on this mountain. The body belonged to an armored woman adorned with the religious marking of one connected to the nearby country’s church. The woman appeared to have fallen in battle with a great beast. One I later dispatched with ease.”
“That's—Are you positive? Alma's sister certainly is connected to the church, but are you truly convinced it was her? If I recall, her sister has blackened hair and remarkably pale skin. Perhaps it was a shared scent between members of the church.”
“It was singularly distinct. The body also did indeed share the attributes you described. I am afraid your search is already over.”
“No. Oh no. I must tell Alma. I need to wake her and—”
“I would not divulge this information to her just yet. The reason I did not reveal this to her earlier was in case her mourning of a fallen sibling caused her to lose all motivation. There is also a chance that her deep despair is noticed by the Outer One watching over her. Some tend to feed on that like parasites and it would not surprise me if it sends an avatar of some kind to investigate.”
“I cannot keep such a thing from her. It is vital to her emotional well-being. It will hurt her to continue living off false hope!”
“Does the state of a single mortal really hold more weight than your mission? You have bigger things you must worry about. You can break it to her afterwards.”
Qu’l-Nia looked over at Alma, who was furrowing her brow in her sleep. She was having another nightmare. Would telling her about her sister not make things even worse? “Damn you, Derleth,” she mumbled.
“Damn me all you must. What is done is done. I am afraid I can help you no longer on this matter.”
----------------------------------------
Alma’s eyes shot open and immediately squinted closed. The blinding light of the sun was raining down from the blushing pink sky above, warming her face. She sat up and yawned extra wider than usual. She slept surprisingly well despite the nightmares. Rubbing her eyes, the sniper looked around her. To the side, she noticed Hwalín still snoring pretty loudly as she snoozed away, while across from her, Qu’l-Nia smiled softly in greeting. The eldritch woman had been watching her while she slept, possibly all night. Alma wasn’t sure what to think about that, but the woman’s smile seemed almost comforting—with what seemed to be a strange hint of pain behind it.
“Good morning, Alma,” called Qu’l-Nia.
“Mmm. Hey, Q.” Alma smacked her lips together while glancing around. “Who let the sun out?”
“That would be Derleth. Being that this is his territory, he is able to control the clouds surrounding it. We both agreed that sunlight would help you feel more at ease before we set off onto the next part of our journey.”
“It’s… nice. Clouds are so annoying. If I’d known he had the power to just vanish them away, I’d have asked sooner. Well, since Hwal’s asleep, maybe you can tell me what Mitra is like.”
“It is a very nice place for someone who has a distaste for clouds. The sun there is out in near perfect perpetuity. Rain is scarce and a sweltering heat accompanied all the days I had spent there. Yes, I do believe you would love it there!”
“I—I never said I liked the heat. Someone as pale as I am is going to burn to a crisp there.”
“And that’s why I prefer sticking to the coast,” interrupted Hwalín, headbutting herself into the conversation. “Be sure to pack a swimsuit.”
“What? Why would I even own a swimsuit?” Alma scoffed. “You think anyone out here knows how to swim?”
“I’ll bet your witch friend has bought you at least one.”
“Yeah. I keep it behind a big neon sign that reads ‘For Display Purposes Only’. You think we have time to waste having fun?”
“It’s just an expression, mate. Like not getting your knickers in a twist.”
“Yeah, whatever. How are we planning on getting there anyway? Velorail?”
“Velorail only gets you so far. From there, we’d also have to take a boat.”
“Macha, why does flying have to be so expensive…?”