“And this is Silst.” Father grinned. “Say hi Saphry, he’s travelled a while to meet you.”

I hid behind Corto and his drake Derizvelo as the shiny blue dragon hopped onto the table. It was a scary thing, as blue as the ocean and with big enough claws to grasp my forearms.

I didn’t want a dragon. Wasn’t Derizvelo enough for the both of us?

“Come on now, he won’t bite.” Father rustled my hair. “Him and Deriz are good friends, apparently.”

I peeked out around Corto again, and after finding the drake to be staring at me I ducked back. Corto laughed.

“I don’t want him.”

Father knelt down to my level and pulled over to face him. He looked concerned under his great silvered beard and I looked away, not wanting to see him like that.

“What’s wrong with him, Saps?” Father asked.

“He’s scary.” I said, not meeting his eyes. “He’s gonna eat Derissfello.”

“No he won’t!” Corto huffed, and the black dragon at his side did the same. “Deriz is bigger.”

“He will.” I insisted. “He’s blue, like the river. And Father said that eats forests!”

“It flooded forests.” Corto said smugly.

I looked back at the blue scale dragon in alarm.

“He’s gonna flood Derissfello?!”

Father laughed, not understanding the severity of the situation. “He won’t do anything of the sort. He’s just here to protect you, like a part of the family.”

I pouted. What was wrong with keeping our family the way it was? Why did we have to go and add something to it?

“I don’t want him.” I said, burying my face into Father’s shoulder. “Tell him to go away.”

“Don’t be like that.”

I froze as I felt a soft paw touch the back of my legs, and when I looked behind me the blue dragon was staring up at me with big watery eyes. We stared at each other for a few seconds as I tried to decide what to do.

Finally I lower one of my hands and pat it on the snout.

“Good dragon.”

I yelped and hugged my knees as it suddenly jumped into the air and landed on my head, somehow managing not to crush me. Spooked, I opened my eyes again and saw its head upside down in front of my face.

“Now you be good to Silst, alright? He’s not a dog after all, he’s a companion.” A small frown descended upon his face. “And hopefully, that’s all he’ll be.”

As he muttered the ends of that sentence I felt the memory begin to fade and distort, and for a couple seconds I was Ryder again before I fell deep into another, different dream.

…

As it turns out, almost dying comes with a killer headache.

I opened my eyes to find Sil…Gideon, upside down before them. His eyes were closed and past him I could see Marcolo with his head in his arms at the other end of the bed.

My body felt very much alive, if tired. I could feel my heart beating and the same lack of magic that’d plagued me before, and while my arms and legs still felt like lead I could tell that I still had them all attached. Even my shoulder felt repaired, as if those long teeth had never entered it. Faintly I could smell a pollen about me, the classic smell of healing magic.

I closed my eyes for a second in relief to relish the feeling. I was alive. I had survived the first day.

Someone at the church must’ve been a damn good cleric.

Though that did mean that yesterday wasn’t just one huge dream, which was slightly disappointing, but what could you do.

I thought for a second how best to handle this before turning to a good ol’ tried and true response.

“Boo.” I croaked.

They both jumped in shock. Relief danced across their faces like a faerie, and a grin to rival my own came to Marcolo’s face.

Ryder!

“Saphry!”

They surged forward, crushing me under hugs.

“Oof, I’m fine now!” I cried. “Unless you crack a rib!”

“Oh Saphry!” I could see Marcolo’s eyes wet. “I take back everything I’ve ever said about being more adventurous! You’re banned from leaving! I forbid it!”

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“You’re going too far!” I struggled under their combined affections. “None of that was my fault either!”

“I care not! I’m afraid I fear even leaving you for the kitchen now, lest some demon fall upon you while I’m away!”

It was several more minutes before I could persuade the two to give me some space and explain what had happened.

…

“I can’t believe it.” I shook my head in awe. “Two whole days asleep?”

You almost died. Gideon said.

“Two horrible days I feared.” Marcolo confirmed. “I heard that if the clerics had been just a bit later you wouldn’t’ve made it. Thank the star you did.”

“I’m mighty glad myself.” I said honestly. “I suppose I owe Brother Hans some thanks.”

In a way, I wasn’t totally happy with the outcome. I’d jumped in in an attempt to save Andril after all, only to end up needing help myself. Still, just being alive after something like that… well even I wasn’t stupid enough to look that gift horse in the mouth.

“You don’t have to worry about that just yet!” Marcolo cried. “You just need to focus on resting up. You’re still not fully healed.”

“I guess I am still a little tired…” I shook my head. “What happened to the others though? Did everyone else make it out alright?”

“I’m not bothering you any more until the morning.” Marcolo pushed me back into the pillow and pulled up the covers. “We can talk more later, when you’re recovered.”

“But…”

“Don’t you dare leave that bed.” Marcolo threatened, pointing a finger at me. “You’ll give me a heart attack if I find you passed out on the floor.”

“Do I look like…”

I stopped the protest mid sentence, realising that I probably did look like a cripple at the moment. I certainly felt like one.

Now that I thought about it, Marcolo wasn’t the best source for this anyway, not when I had my own little spy dragon right here who was actually there. Might as well let Marcolo go and interrogate Gideon instead.

He would probably be more willing to answer anyway.

Marcolo walked over to the door and whistled happily as he opened it, pausing before he left.

“I’m glad you came back, Saphry.”

With that he shut the door and left, his footsteps echoing down the hall.

“Having a parent like figure worrying about you is almost a little creepy when you don’t know them as well.” I remarked once I was sure he was gone. “How long were you guys waiting like that?”

Ryder, you really should rest up. Gideon jumped down to the bed proper and sat down. He was right, you’re still much paler than you were before.

I rolled my eyes, though he wasn’t really wrong. I did still feel tired, despite the apparent coma. Wasn’t really a restful state to be in, I guessed. But still, answers were more important to me than iron cast limbs.

“Fine, fine…but first: What happened to everyone?” I looked outside as I thought about that day. “That whole situation was pretty sketchy for a bit there.”

Ryder…

“And not to mention suspicious.” I continued. In my mind gears began to slowly turn.

It would be better to…

“Hadn’t Feanin seemed surprised that those things were underground? How’d they even get there anyway?”

Were they not supposed to live in caves? They looked pretty cave like to me, with the fish aesthetic and the big eyes, but if they weren't then they had to have been led there. And though I wasn’t sure how conniving the people of Verol were, all the nobles we had down there only made it more likely in my head.

There was a whiff of conspiracy here, and that was one of my favourite smells.

You don’t have to…

“But I’ll have to ask Feanin about it to confirm.” I concluded. “I wonder if he’s still in the capital. And we’ll have to avoid the church of course, it’s entirely too convenient that it happened there without a guard…”

Hadn’t Fredrick said something about Feanin living abroad most of the time? Hopefully he hadn’t returned home yet.

Ryder!

I winced at the shout and looked down to see that Gideon was standing right beside my pillow glaring at me, menacingly. His scales bristled somewhat like fur, reflecting the light in a chaotic pattern across the room.

“What?”

I can see where this is going. Gideon narrowed his eyes. Your eyes cloud with the very thought of mystery or conspiracy, blinding you to things of actual importance. That can’t happen here.

“Gideon, what if this was an assassination attempt?” I said, putting the pieces together in my mind. “The others could still be in danger.”

The others who you don’t know at all. Gideon said. You literally knew them for less than half a day.

I stared at him blankly. I mean, of course I didn't know them. I didn’t know any of the people I saved in Chicago either. It wasn’t really that important when they were in danger.

“Why should that matter when the threat of death hangs about them?”

Because… Gideon empathised. We need to get home as soon as we can. And you getting mired up in some contrived murder plot can only hinder that. Can you just forget about the whole business for a month? I’d rather not still be here when you get sent away to Minimum or wherever that academy is.

I scoffed.

“How could I just ignore something like this and call myself good-hearted?” I joked. “If I only helped out when it happened to be convenient I wouldn’t be much of a hero, would I?”

Helped out? Gideon let out a dry, cold-blooded laugh. Is that what you called what you did down there?

“Well, the point was the effort.” I rolled my eyes. “But this could be…”

Ryder, you almost died. Gideon interrupted.

“I…”

Normally I don’t care. He continued. Normally that’s your job to worry about. But now my fate is linked to yours. What do you think I would do if you were actually killed?

“But you’re the alchemist.” I said, taken aback. “You don’t even need me.”

Ryder, I find it hard to even lift a flask as I am now, let alone purchase and carry heavy equipment. I couldn’t steal what I need without an awful lot of coincidence. Gideon poked my flank with his snout pointedly. And what would I tell your parents if I came home alone? That their son died getting involved in the politics of another world?

I sighed. If Gideon was playing the guilt tripping card then he must’ve been pretty serious about this. The last two days were probably hard on him. And he had a point, if I were to be honest with myself. It had been pretty stupid to jump on the beast like I had.

But that didn’t mean I was just going to ignore the whole thing.

“Fine, fine.” I pat the drake on the head. “I’ll lay back a bit. But I’m still going to at least warn them.”

They probably know better than you if it is or isn’t. Gideon shook me off and walked towards the foot of the bed. But fine. If you’re quick about it.

“Might as well.” I agreed. “I can just have Marcolo send a note to Feanin perhaps. He might be the most likely to believe me.”

He’d recognised the creatures first after all. Hopefully that would translate into a shred of believability at my theory.

That could be difficult. Gideon thought.

“Why?”

Because Feanin is dead. He was killed by the orthungs.

I stared at the back of Gideon’s head blankly.

Dead? It must’ve been after I’d gone down. All of a sudden I was much more glad that I’d been able to live through it. Though I didn’t really feel as devastated as I thought I would upon hearing of an innocent’s death. Was it because I hadn’t known him, or had I just grown callous?

“That’s…unfortunate.” I said slowly, rethinking my plan. “How did that happen?”

He got charged when something distracted him. Gideon said.

“Did everyone else make it out alright?”

The chapter master died, one by the name of Baliman. But everyone else? They are alright. Physically, at least. Gideon said ominously.

“Physically?”

Feanin’s death was not quick, quiet, nor clean.

I decided to leave it at that when he didn’t continue. His earlier concern was making quite a bit more sense now.

A sudden wave of exhaustion crashed down on me as I thought about what to do about that, and I couldn’t freeze the yawn after. I fell back down onto the pillow behind me.

Marcolo was right, in any case. Gideon plodded back towards me and kneaded my pillow. You should be resting, not discussing things like this.

“I suppose.” I said, turning away from him.

It would be better to plan in the morning anyway.

There are other things we’ll have to discuss as well. I discovered a few things about alchemy that we’ll need to plan for.

“Uh huh.” I yawned again, finally giving into the desire to close my eyes.

Within a moment I fell asleep, reality quickly morphing into the idle thoughts and memories of a life not lived.