I give Tiktik a gentle squeeze to thank her for drawing me out of my funk. I mumble, “Thanks Tiktik. We, uh. Glp. I uh, I guess I needed that. Is Teuila going to be okay? Was she planning on going out west anyway? I just realized it could take her over a day if she has to spend hours talking or convincing anyone. I was hoping to leave even sooner after that fiasco.”
Tiktik gives me an unknowing shrug and a half-sad smile as she responds, “I couldn’t really tell you. When Teuila walked in on that mess, you on the floor, crying and bleeding, all I could feel from her was pure rage. I knew that she figured she’d be a faster messenger than anyone The Brook might send to the Colossi, but I think it was a spur of the moment thing to keep herself from killing anyone around here. Sorry pal.”
I gulp back a sob and drop a weighty sigh. Huff, that sounds about right. I hate that I let it get so out of hand. Depression though, impostor syndrome, trauma, just all of these things in my head were not helping me deal with Keeley Johnston’s irrational disbelief of my words. I had to let sadness take over so that I didn’t give in to rage and kill people myself.
I nuzzle Tiktik’s cheek and kiss it once softly, yet again in gratitude. Motioning outward, I ramble, “Despite the fact that I should sleep, since we’ve been sleeping noon til night, we really need to try to convince Harriet again. We also have to inform her of the approaching quake, or whatever that is.”
Tiktik nods, chipper as ever as she bounces away from me, off my lap. She bounds out the door and waits below with her arms outspread, offering to catch me. I have to laugh at the silliness of it. I’m wearing a suit of metallic armor beneath my heavy leather traveling garb, and have several hefty artifacts and weapons hidden about my personage. I’m pretty sure she was struggling to drag me to the carriage not that long ago.
My adorably short companion jokes, “Do you trust me?”
Well, now I have to give in. Of course I trust her. I face backwards and let myself fall out of the carriage’s cabin towards her waiting arms. Tiktik however isn’t what catches me, instead, it’s the giant version of her floating hand spell. She snickers and has it carry me about as if I were lounging on some palanquin or something. I chuckle. What a goofy friend. She’s honestly pretty marvelous.
Tiktik comments, “I know that this time of the week, Harriet should be checking in with a harbor master at the docks. She was probably on her way there before she spotted us heading to the apothecary. Since there’s nothing else she can do for Daffodil while Daffy rests, she’s probably going back to her regular duties. Sound good to head that way?”
I nod along with Tiktik, then nod again in answer, affirming her choice to lead us towards the docks. I’d ask how she knew where Harriet would be this time of the week, but she is an urban bounty-hunter after all. It’s her business to know where people are within a city, especially those that could be targets of bounties, or bounties themselves. The idea of Harriet being on some bounty list causes the two of us to giggle until we’re coughing though.
As we approach the docks, there’s quite a commotion. It seems like The Drake has recently pulled into port with a haul, and something beyond just the usual fish. Tim Fisher, captain of The Drake is whispering animatedly to someone I don’t recognize, and fear is drawn upon both men’s faces. That doesn’t exactly bode well.
At least The Drake appears to be completely intact, operable, undamaged. I know we barely skirted an encounter with a colossally giant mud crab, and Lochsie, the Lake Siempre monster when we last traveled aboard The Drake. Well, hah, we didn’t really travel aboard The Drake, we traveled in her dinghy. Tim Fisher required we stay in the dinghy due to the limited space available on deck.
The giant floating hand releases me and dissipates as Tiktik stops pouring her S P pools into maintaining it. I flash her a weak half smile and a nod of gratitude. For her part, Tiktik looks as cheerful as ever with a closed-eyed smile as her head bobs side to side. We’re approaching the farthest dock now, the one for the largest ships. The Drake is about as big as it gets for The Brook, even if it is essentially a single-man fishing trawler.
Wait, who’s that that Harriet’s looking after? I recognize them from somewhere. I know them. Holy mother of crap. The Celestial Imperium blockade guard from The Gap. He looks terrified out of his mind. I raise a brow towards Harriet, and she avoids my gaze, walking away to busy herself somewhere else. I’m sure there’s plenty to occupy her mind right now. I. I need to not think about my failure. I have to see what’s up with this guy.
I cautiously approach, I almost hope he doesn’t recognize me since I’m so much shorter like this. I don’t want to explain shape changing, even though Changeling Fae exist on Rayileklia. I just want to know why he’s so scared. Harriet has scurried away to pretend to be busy inspecting the fish haul. I shake my head and roll my eyes incredulously. Despite her having actual pressing matters to turn her attention to, she’s simply avoiding me.
Quietly calling out, I continue to approach the man, “Hail. Friend? A guard from The Gap, yes? What news of it have you?”
He quivers, and shows all the signs of being in a traumatic flashback. Signs with which I am all too familiar. I sit on my heels nearby, giving him space, offering comforting coos and reassurances from a distance. Tiktik maintains her distance as well, slightly behind me and towards my right side. I only now notice the guard’s missing an arm, and there’s burn scarring up and down his side where his skin can be seen in rare glimpses beneath his clothing. This is bad. It must have been utterly terrifying.
He slowly comes back to his senses, to this reality, and turns his gaze to me. He’s still quivering, and manages to stutter a single word, “D,d,d,dragons.”
Tiktik and I exchange a glance. It’s a horrific event for everyone else, but could this be the chance we’re waiting for? I was fairly certain already that dragons had attacked the Derbrightmine Dominion dwarves based on my scrying ability, but this is confirmation.
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I mull over the man’s terrified utterance. Is there any chance we could catch up to a dragon or multiple dragons at The Gap if we set out immediately? The journey is longer by land than by sea, by quite a few days. Would Teuila be able to catch up if we convinced someone to ferry us across the lake? I heave a sigh, knowing it’s probably not going to be as easy as asking Tim to turn The Drake around to set off across the lake immediately. I know it can cover a fair clip, being a steamboat and all, but Tim’s unlikely to want to head back immediately anyway.
Instead of approaching Tim, I approach Harriet with Tiktik, calling out, “Harriet? I know what you’ve said about needing the council’s decisions and so on, but there’s another thing I think you should know about. The epicenter of the rumbling vibrations that I felt? The center is moving westwards, it’s almost as if it has been following us.”
The mairess’s response is predictable, “Friend Reggie, young adventurer Shellcracker, Even if I were to believe such a thing was occurring, I’ll not be changing my mind on the matter. I—. I suppose I do trust that what you report is what you sense to be true. I’ve enough respect for you to know you wouldn’t lie to force your will upon others. I apologize for how I phrased things just now. We both know there is more, huff. More transpires than I can truly discuss. Regardless, my decision has been made. I will argue your point on your behalf to the rest of the council. I can show you that much courtesy.”
I let my head drop to hang low as I close my eyes and shake it in a sorrow for all the people of The Brook. Turning my head slightly, I meet Tiktik’s gaze, and she flashes me a weak smile. I allow my senses to drift away from me momentarily, taking in the sounds of the city, the busy dockworkers, the clamor of craftspeople, the din of the shuffle of the hustle and bustle of Autumn Brook. It’s so unlike everything else in my life’s journey thus far. Everything except Eimsas. A human city that was wiped from the map by Leviathan, Storm of the Endless River, one of the four elemental lesser gods of Can’Z’aas. I’m glad I never met their elders.
Still, I’m left shaking my head sadly. Most of the entire human population of Can’Z’aas was wiped away, all but their advance military force that had been heading to Fae lands to take over their settlement for some reason. Their motives were barbaric, but when they lost nearly everything, and stood to lose what little they had left, they listened to reason. We worked together to pause the Night of All Burn. We worked together to try to find the humans a new home. When we failed, we worked together with the Fae to set up a secondary settlement around their own settlement of the Miracle Oak for the humans. Lastly, we worked together to build the Shield of Lacrimosa Trifecta in the hopes that it would save the Miracle Oak from the godly calamity about to occur after the convergence.
I can’t let this become another Eimsas. I need to try at least once more. I turn towards Harriet and complain, “Okay Harriet, you have to see the truth of things by this point, you’ve said that you trust me, and I’m grateful for that. Especially after what just occurred at the Keel Over. Still, it’s as if all the dangers are converging on Aasimovia, The Brook specifically, everything that I’d been warned about, and more. Dragons at The Gap, some rumbling from the east, the shite lord’s army preparing to move any day now. Please reconsider. Don’t delay evacuation to have some untold amount of time pass while waiting on other council members. Go kick down their doors and get them together on the spot immediately if you have to.”
Harriet scoffs in disdain and barely restrains herself from rolling her eyes at me. She simply states, “Look here young adventurer, despite however much knowledge resides within your soul, you haven’t the experience to understand how these things work. Given that, I’m not going to hassle you with fines or jailtime for harassment of an official, but take care with your suggestions elsewhere. Others might not consider you as reliable an ally, or take as kindly to your tone.”
Grrr. We’ve got to talk to George and Tiago, they’d listen to us. They’re a wise couple, and we’ve already shared our truth with them. Though I suppose Tiktik and Teuila stayed and spoke with Tiago somewhat already. It might be pointless to head back to speak with them again. Though George wasn’t at the apothecary. He was likely in the records office. Perhaps I should make that my next visit. I am so dreadfully weary though.
I flick my head back towards town while eyeing Tiktik. She nods, acquiescing. Tiktik leads the way to the records and planning office where George works, virtually skipping through the town. She occasionally stops at street corners and sneakily, cautiously peeks around the corner before proceeding. I can’t help chuckling. She’s an endearing, zany, quirky goofball. Is what she said about Changelings true? Do we all fall hard and fast, frequently? But if so, and if it’s always, or almost always temporary, why is my life so full of permanent, staunch love shared with people who’ve spent centuries in my mindscape?
What does that mean for the strange bond that Alanea Whifflewillow and I formed? Was it just some passing flight of fancy? It felt so intimate, so real, and apparently she even had , at least as a spur of the moment, desire to, well, glp, bear a child with me. I can sense Tiktik’s eyes widening as she rides my thought waves, and she tries to hold back giggling nervously in surprise. She does however let her telepathic avatar shrug helplessly, unknowingly in answer to my questions.
Great, even amongst Changelings I’m an oddity, a weirdo that doesn’t fit in. Meh. Fitting in is probably overrated. Probably. Tiktik’s mental avatar nods emphatically while chuckling at my thought train. Before altogether too long, we arrive at the records office.
George, seeing Tiktik first, flashes her a knowing smirk as he questioningly states, “If it isn’t little miss bounty hunter. Stopping by to learn more about our townsfolk miss Clocktok? I wouldn’t normally be so casual about letting someone peruse these records you know.”
As Tiktik is about to answer, George spies me and drops his reading-glass that he had been using to pour over some old scroll. He shoots to a standing position and virtually shouts, “Saints alive! Why if it isn’t our hero, our little dragonslayer, Reggie! How are you? How are you? I didn’t expect to see you back at all, much less in the company of this quirky little individual. It figures that the likes of the two of you two would find one another though. Come here. Tiago will be so pleased of your return. It’s been nearly two months, and you definitely seem all the more seasoned and weathered. I’m afraid I can’t chat at the moment though, beyond this greeting and hug. I’ve much to attend to before I close up for the eve to head home for dinner. If you can spare a couple of hours, you can sit in the lounge, and I’ll be with you when I can. Yes, right over there.”
I don’t get a word in edgewise with George, but I shrug after we exchange a hug. Tiktik and I take a seat in the lounge. Despite my best efforts, the weariness built up across the events that have transpired so far today in The Brook catches up with me. I slowly fall to my side, laying across the cushions of the armless chairs that are aligned like a sofa. Tiktik curls up next to me, sitting slightly up as she plays with my hair while I begin to doze off.
I drift in and out of sleep, dreaming of things yet to come.