“Out the window on your left, you’ll see the Dalton labs coming up.”

They drove across the desert, now around some large rocks poking out of the sand, closer to a large gray concrete building. It looked less fantastical than the buildings in the city. More like a bomb shelter.

“This building was also part of the dragon war,” Roosher explained. “This is where people studied dragons. They wanted to know how they worked, and wanted their scales or horns. Both can be used in magic or alchemy.”

He was being vague about what went on in there, but it didn’t help. It clearly must’ve been awful.

Fleck was pretty sure dragons used to be killed for their horns and scales, which was a bit like killing a human for their hair or nails. Well, the horns were a bit sturdier than either of those, but still.

He no longer felt angry though. He mostly just felt nauseous.

‘Sorry,’ Harmoni thought, rubbing a comforting hand down his back. ‘I should’ve asked about what we’d see before getting on.’

There had been plenty of other sights to see, and there were one or two stops after this. But this was the second stop related to a war, and the second one in a row. That was significant enough, she should’ve found out.

Fleck shook his head. This was on him. He’d known about the “dragon wars”. It was hard for any dragon not to. But she hadn’t. He could’ve easily guessed a tour on Xentron, that had few people actually bonded, would talk about that.

“People have tried to use it for other things since then,” Roosher said. “It’s briefly been an alchemy lab, spaceship equipment testing ground, and a museum. But that concrete brick isn’t suited for much, and people who have gone inside report an uncomfortable, hard to describe feeling. So it’s currently abandoned.”

“Could it still be used for something?” the imp asked.

“If you want to try, you’re welcome to,” Roosher said. “I don’t think anyone actually owns the building, so you could just, take it over. Who knows? Maybe you’ll get lucky.”

~~~

“Before we get back to Xentron City, we’ll be passing Wyss Village. It’s a small town out in the desert. It’s small, and lacks much technology, but it’s the closest town to Xentron City.”

Harmoni frowned, looking around at the view outside. She knew all parts of the desert could look similar, all sand and rocks. It was a big reason it was so dangerous. But something about this section seemed particularly familiar.

It wasn’t to Fleck, but he looked out the window too. He had a bad feeling.

“While Wyss Village doesn’t look impressive, and it’s not, there’s a powerful magic user living there. A church of the clerics is also there. Depending on where you live, the church there might be closer than the only one in Xentron City. So there are some trading arrangements set up between the village and Xentron City.”

Roosher was still talking, probably about said arrangements, but Harmoni couldn’t hear him anymore. The sound of her heartbeat was flooding her ears, and her breath was getting ragged. She knew where they were now. They were about to clear a hill. She could see the wooden or thatched roofs just poking into sight. This was the slaughtered town she’d woken up in. There would be no more trading with these people, because they were dead. And Roosher didn’t seem to know. He wasn’t even facing the town. He’d turned around to face them as he talked, relying on foresight to avoid smacking into things.

Sure enough, as they cleared the hill, it became obvious this town was destroyed. It was no longer smoking. The sand wasn’t blood red anymore. But all the buildings were darkened, some with holes in them. A door was wrenched off one of the buildings, and there were still the remains, the bodies, of dead people here. You couldn’t see all of them, but there was enough behind one of the buildings, and inside one with an open door.

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It also smelled like death, if you were a dragon.

Someone screamed. Roosher shouted something in a language Harmoni didn’t recognize.

“Oh my God!” the imp yelled.

~~~

The bus pulled over to the side. The imp and the human continued to panic. Only Roosher was vaguely calm as he went into living area, and called someone on a phone in there. And even he must be struggling to stay calm. Harmoni couldn’t make out specific words in her own sickened state, but she could tell he kept switching languages.

Standard was the most common language in the galaxy. It was unlikely the person on the other end understood the other language he’d accidentally switch to.

Fleck was able to pick up more than Harmoni right now. Everyone was panicked or distressed because people were dead. No one thought she was in any way connected with it, which he knew was one of her worries.

Roosher had called the Desert Crest. The imp had suggested they leave, but Roosher wanted to wait until someone arrived.

Harmoni slowly turned back towards the others, gathered around the doors. Weird, despite her fear, she might look the most outwardly calm right now.

Well, she wasn't blinking, which was a little freaky.

“It could still be dangerous here,” the human said. “I’m out of here.” She got up and rattled at the bus door. “Let me out.”

“If you think it’s dangerous, you’re safer in the bus than running exposed through the desert,” Roosher pointed out, standing between them and the controls.

“You’re being awfully calm about this,” the imp accused him.

“People are dead!” the human shouted, rattling the door harder.

Roosher driving them to a destroyed town and then trapping them in the bus was admittedly suspicious, but Fleck didn’t think he had anything to do with this.

Roosher still wasn’t panicking per say, but he didn’t seem to know what to do. He shuffled his weight and was silent, probably considering what to say. Then he suddenly looked up, out at the sand.

Everyone followed his gaze. Harmoni could see a dragon, flying towards them. It was still sort of high up, and far away, but a dragon that size would be hard to miss. The dragon was dark red, a bit lighter on his wings and belly. He landed by the bus and an elf slid down off him.

Roosher opened the door to go talk to them.

Harmoni moved to the entrance to hear what was going on.

The elf looked much like you’d expect an elf to. He was tall, with sharper features than most humans. When he moved towards Roosher it was with silent grace, and if you couldn’t see his feet moving, you might assume he was floating instead of walking. But unlike the other elves Harmoni had seen, and Harmoni herself, his ears didn’t end in a single point. Instead, they looked a bit frayed, like a maple leaf.

He introduced himself as Amier, and his dragon as Argone. And Harmoni almost smiled, though the conflicting feeling made her stomach turn. The name might sound impressive, but she knew the truth. Argone was "rust" in Elvish.

The two were from the Desert Crest.

Roosher started to explain why he called, but Amier raised a hand cutting him off.

“I’m well aware of what happened.” His accent was different than other elves she’d heard too. He was a bit harder to understand.

“You are?”

Amier nodded. “Or rather, Argone does.” He nodded to his dragon. “This is the work of the Hidden Cult. Argone recognizes the smell from other confirmed attacks.”

The human looked around wildly, like she expected someone to come out and attack them.

The imp in the bus inhaled sharply. “Are you sure?” he asked.

Amier and Argone managed to give identical unimpressed gazes. Impressive, with how different their faces were.

“Yes, I'm afraid so,” Amier said. “And if you’d like more proof. . .”

He turned around. As he spoke, Argone dug a clawed foot through the sand, bringing up a black cloak in his talons.

The imp turned away, glaring at the ground.

For Harmoni, meanwhile, her feelings of fear were shifting to feelings of confusion. “What’s the Hidden Cult?” she asked.

Roosher and Amier looked at her in surprise. “You don’t know?” Amier asked.

“Obviously not.” Fleck growled slightly in annoyance. He didn’t know either. He wanted to find out.

“Right.” Roosher ran a hand through his hair. Maybe his foresight had given him a hint, or maybe he was just good at reading a room. Either way, he was the one who answered. “Well, the Hidden Cult is what most people call them. Supposedly, it’s what they call themselves too. But so few people knowingly meet a member and live, it’s hard to say for certain. They’re a large cult, with members of every species. They just . . . create massive carnage. They’re known for going to small or weak towns like this on any planet, killing everyone, and disappearing.”

“Wyss Village wasn't weak. It had at least two powerful members. To kill this town, they must’ve had massive magic at their disposal. . .” Amier said.

But Harmoni wasn’t interested in that. They killed everyone? And so few people survived they didn’t know the true name of the cult? But Harmoni had woken up in the slaughtered town.

Suddenly, she found herself puking in the sand.