Leo clapped for their attention and pointed ahead of him. Four dragon statues blocked their way, each one holding a palm out. He gestured setting something in the dragon’s palm, then nodded at them.

“What?” Kat asked, tipping her head.

Jet held up his stone. “This?”

Leo nodded.

“Is there a particular order, or…” Jet muttered, moving closer. He frowned at the dragon, examining it closely. Each dragon differed subtly from the next, though he couldn’t say exactly what it meant.

Leo pointed at the pedestal, and Jet leaned in. There was a small lip to the pedestal, and Leo gestured under it. Jet tilted to see. A crude mark had been carved into the underside of the lip. This one was shaped like lightning, and looking at the other pedestals, there was a mark shaped like waves, fire, and flowing squiggles for wind as well.

“Ah, so it’s like that. Are we supposed to know what kind of dragon each is by looking at it? A fitting trial for dragon-worshippers. It’s convenient someone carved those cheat marks for us, though,” Jet remarked.

“Listen to him. Thinks he’s so smart,” Gideon muttered aside to Elly.

Leo grinned and waved, then pointed at the marks, then waved again.

“You’re the one who made the cheat marks?” Jet asked.

Leo hesitated. He wiggled his hand back and forth, then turned to the wall. Someone made them for me.

“Who?” Elly asked.

Another pause, longer than the first. The chalk moved again. She’s gone now.

Elly put a hand over her mouth. “Leo, I’m… so sorry.”

Leo shook his head and smiled at her, but it looked fake.

“Was she a cultist, too?” Gideon asked.

Elly, Jet, and Angel frowned at him.

“Really? Now?” Jet asked.

“There’s no need to be insensitive,” Elly said, frowning.

“It’s a valid question,” Gideon said, putting his hands out.

Leo nodded. Chalk scraped across stone. Everyone was.

“Even me?” Gideon asked, gasping.

Jet rolled his eyes. “He means everyone he knew, you dingus.”

“We can’t be sure. It was ambiguous,” Gideon said with a shrug.

“We can’t be sure that you weren’t a cultist?” Jet clarified, quirking an eyebrow.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Or you! Or Elly, or Kat…” Gideon continued.

“I wasn’t even alive back then! Probably,” Kat said, frowning.

“You were alive five years ago,” Elly said gently.

Kat nodded, a hand to her chin. “That’s right. I forget how quickly children… I forgot my age.”

Gideon glanced at her, eyes narrowed, expression suddenly serious.

Jet cleared his throat, sensing another round of nonsense from Gideon. “Let’s solve this puzzle and move on, shall we?”

The others clustered close, peering under the pedestals at the marks.

Kat frowned at the stone in her hand. “How are we supposed to know which stone goes where? It’s so confusing!”

Jet hefted the green stone he carried. “I’ll put mine in wind. Angel, I bet yours goes in lightning, Gideon, red is fire, obviously, and Kat, blue is water.”

Gideon frowned and tapped his chin. “I don’t know, Jet. Maybe blue is fire. Fire can be blue, right?”

“Eh? I was thinking wind, but… fire?” Kat asked, wide-eyed.

“And water can be red if there’s enough blood in it, but I’m betting that fire is the red stone. Or do you want me to show you some red water?” Jet threatened, putting a hand on his sword.

“Red water? Wait, Jet, but there’s also… yellow water,” Gideon pointed out innocently.

“Yellow wat…” Jet trailed off and narrowed his eyes at Gideon. Piss doesn’t count as water. What kind of disgusting trial do you think this is?

“I’ve seen green water before,” Angle offered. She pointed at Jet’s stone. “The sea’s more a darkish green than blue, especially up north where it gets cold.”

“They’re all water?” Gideon gasped, shocked.

Jet took a deep breath. He glared at them. “Give me those stones.”

“Don’t touch my stones,” Gideon replied. He clutched his red stone to his chest, glaring at Jet.

Nobody wants to touch your disgusting stones. “Then put it where it belongs.”

“But… we haven’t decided what red is, yet,” Gideon said, shaking his head.

“Should I remind you all that we’re trapped in an enemy lair?” Jet said threateningly.

Angel sighed and stepped forward, slotting her yellow stone into the dragon with the lightning mark. “He’s right. Let’s keep moving.”

Jet added his green stone to the wind-marked plinth. It makes more sense than red or blue, after all.

Gideon hesitated, going back and forth between water and fire, as if indecisive. Beside him, Kat gazed back and forth as well, but real hesitation appeared on her face.

Huffing, Jet crossed his arms.

At last, Gideon put his stone in the fire-marked dragon’s palms.

Kat hesitated another moment. “What if it sets off a trap if we’re wrong?”

“Then we’ll deal with that. It’s better than sitting here forever in indecision, never knowing the answer," Jet replied.

Kat looked at the stone in her hand, then nodded decisively and set it at the dragon’s feet, completely ignoring its palms.

“You—” Jet snapped, catching himself a second later. She’s just a kid. She’s a kid, calm down. Maybe she really doesn’t know the stone goes in the dragon’s palms.

But everyone else… she’s the last to go, how could she not… it was the same with raising the stones! Does she think she’s special and doesn’t have to follow the rules, or is she really just that stupid?

Is it even possible for someone to be that stupid?

Kat shrank back, her eyes large. Elly gave Jet a reproachful look.

“How is this my fault?” Jet grumbled. He grabbed the blue stone and slotted it into the dragon’s claws.

As the fourth stone slotted into place, the dragons’ eyes lit up one by one, green, red yellow, blue. A burst of wind issued from the first, a short blast of fire from the second, a jolt of electricity from the third, and water spurted from the fourth. The dragon statues slid to the side, revealing the path ahead.

Leo ran ahead, then paused and knelt. Just on the other side of the dragons, a tiny wood carving of a dragon sat, covered in dust. Crude and raw, with four stubby legs, a fat belly, a long tail and stunted wings, and a short neck sporting an angular head, it could barely be made out to be a dragon.

Leo cradled the crude carving to his chest. His lip trembled, and he bit it, suppressing it, but couldn’t stop the tears that rolled down his cheeks. Muted, squeaky gasps escaped his throat, until with a deep breath, he stopped them.

“Leo?” Elly asked, drawing up alongside him.

He shook his head and climbed to his feet, pushing her back gently but firmly. He put the dragon carving into his breast pocket, over his heart, took a deep breath, and led the way deeper into the trial.