He was glad to see one of his friends, but the feeling at the time was not joy. An overwhelming wave of disappointment hit Kihet as he marched forward. He set the parcel of rations the Scalemen put together in front of his ill friend without a word.

Upon seeing Kihet for the first time in a decade, Draigh’s face brightened. He imagined his expression to have lit up like a Christmas Tree, but in reality, it was many times more depressing than that. Draigh’s eyes were heavily baggy and had large sunken cheeks. He was much smaller compared to his prime before he left the village. He probably weighed less than Kihet.

“You’re Kihet, right?”

Kihet remained silent. His eyes darted between Draigh and the food placed before him, still untouched.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? C’mon, nod or something.”

Kihet set his waterskin in his friend’s hand. “Drink.”

“For me? Thanks, but I’ll drink it later. Let’s chat for a bit.”

“The Scalemen scraped together what food they could to get this to you. If you won’t eat it, you’re wasting it.”

“What are you talking about? Of course, I’ll eat. Just later.”

“You’re just going to give it away. I’m here to make sure all those food gets into your stomach.”

“You sound angry. What’s wrong?”

“I won’t talk to you about anything else until I see you eating.”

“I’m alright. Really. Look, I can still move!” Draigh curled his arms, imitating the picture of a strongman. “The children need it more. Give them to others first, would you?”

Draigh was a generous man. He was one to protect others and be the reliable big brother everyone wanted. As long someone needed help and he was within reach, Draigh would extend a hand so long it’s something he could physically do within reasonable limits of being a mortal. He took pride in that and because of it, it was also his downfall as sometimes he would be used without knowing.

In this case, his selflessness was taken too far. Kihet was aware how stubborn his friend could be, but not to the extreme where he was on the verge of dying from hunger and thirst. His friend’s pride was strong, and to get him to eat, Kihet sat cross legged in front of him to say the words to shatter that devotion.

“Lemi’s dead.”

After Draigh heard those words, his rambling to give his share of food to others stopped. His face grew especially pale, his expression, destroyed. His large framed body slumped heavily and fell silent. His eyes were wet but there wasn’t enough eye fluids to make tears.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“She was killed. I was with her. I’m sorry. I couldn’t save her.”

“Where did you bury her body…?”

“Back at the village beside Hannah’s grave.”

Draigh covered his eyes and put a hand on his forehead, his teeth gritting hard. “Hannah, too…? Does Sorah know?”

“There’s a barrier around Sanctuary. I couldn’t get to her, but right now you need to eat.”

“I can’t. The others. They need it more. I lost my appetite.”

“The Scalemen put these together for you. Yizdra told me to get them to you and make sure you eat it.”

“So, you’re trying to save me after you couldn’t with Lemi?”

Even if he expected something along those words said to him, his friend’s comeback hit Kihet a bit too hard. That feeling of guilt strangled his soul knowing if it wasn’t for his carelessness, Lemi wouldn’t have sacrificed herself in his stead. He also came to terms and realized the two of them wouldn’t be able to survive if Lemi didn’t do what she did.

Kihet closed his eyes, collecting himself momentarily before shooting a glare.

“I’m disappointed with you, Draigh.”

“That’s my line.”

“Is that so? Tell me what you have accomplished over this decade. You stayed in Stusis for as long as you got here. From what I see, the Dragonkins have Stusis and the Scalemen following you long accepted they were supposed to die. If I didn’t come here to intervene, you might as well die today.”

“Shut up.”

“Don’t deny it.”

“Shut up!”

“You couldn’t even take care of yourself, let alone others.”

“Kihet, I’m warning you. Stop, now.”

“Did you bother trying to find out how the others were? What am I saying? You didn’t even bother to return and look at what happened to the village! Everyone’s dead.”

“That’s enough!”

A rather slow fist flew straight at Kihet’s face, and he took the blow head on unflinching. He headbutted Draigh’s fist even though he knew if his friend had even a quarter of his original strength, Kihet would be sent flying out of the room.

“Grk!”

Rather than Kihet, it was Draigh who groaned as he retracted his trembling fist. That attacked Kihet received only had the weight of Draigh’s fist with barely any momentum behind it. Added that he countered with his forehead, one of the strongest parts of his body, made Draigh’s knuckles swollen, but not bruised.

“That’s it?”

Kihet’s fingers curled into a fist and clobbered Draigh across the face, smacking his friend back down on the mat. Kihet wiped blood dripping on his eye, standing up and turning towards the exit after assessing Draigh’s condition. He saw his friend’s limb pitifully shook like a newborn fawn, trying to pry his upper half up.

“You obviously can’t talk, let alone throw a proper punch. You need food and rest.”

“Guh… We’re not, done talking!”

“Talk to me after you’re able to stand up.” Not even batting an eye, he hastily left the room. “I thought you were better than this.”

“Kihet, get back here! Hey! Dammit!”

What should’ve been a wholesome reunion of two friends turned into an argument. Kihet did wish Draigh took care of himself better, but thankfully it wasn’t the worst scenario. Hopefully this lecture helped bring Draigh back to his senses, but it didn’t appear as effective as he’d hoped.

Holding a poker face, Kihet made his way back down the stairs to find Yizdra staring at hungry Scalemen groaning in pain on ground floor.

“Catch.” Kihet threw two pieces of jerky into the Lizardman’s hand. “It’s not much but this is all I have on me. Drink lots of water after.”

“Holy one, there are-.”

“I don’t need another person trying to be martyr to their ideals. I need people who can move and work.”

“I-I humbly accept your gift.” Yizdra devoured the rations given to her and selfishly gulped down her waterskin. “Umm. Did you and Holy Draigh happen to have some disagreements?”

“Why?”

“N-nothing. It is not my place to pry. Anyways, how may I be of service?”

“After you get some of your energy back, have people forage for edible plants around the cave and boil them with lots of water from that spring. Then, I need you go see the Werecat and help her.”

“As you command. I shall wait here until I have the strength to move.”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“One more thing. Are you aware of a phrase ‘I go to where the Pale Dragon slumbers’? I was told to tell someone that.”

“I am familiar with that, but the one you were supposed to relay it to, was captured a week ago.”

“It’s a shame then.”

Kihet descended to the ground floor and headed straight for the entrance. Scalemen of all races sat in small groups, huddled together to keep themselves warm. The sound of grumbling stomach echoed through the cavern unending which didn’t help the hungry try to suppress their hunger.

He eventually found Tama sitting around wares where his belongings were tucked away. Some groups of Scalemen kept their distance, keeping their wary eyes at the Werecat.

“There you are, Grumpy one! The others dumped their things here and there wasn’t nyanyone guarding it-. Oh, what happened to your forehead?”

“What about it?”

“It’s a bit swollen. If you need healing ointments, Nyie can sell em to you, but you seem to have lots stocked up. Nyanyways, you owe me.”

“Money, right?”

“Hmm.” Tama crossed her arms. “As much as Nyie like money, Nyit doesn’t feel right in this situation. Especially when the Scalemen are hit by a famine.”

“In that case, I need you to guard my things for a while longer. Grab me that box over.”

“Yeah, about that. What’s in it? That one reeks like the thing you threw at the Dragonkins the other day, nya.”

“Bait. Oh, and the food I have are about to expire. A Lizard folk named Yizdra will come to hand them out. I need you to watch for trouble.”

“How dare you take advantage of my good will.”

“That’s your fault.”

Kihet heaved a crate from his stash and strode to the gates, asking gate keepers to tear a small gap for him to fit through. A rush of wind blew at his face as he looked up, finding scavengers in the air over the piles of corpses. Monster above waited patiently for the time to feast.

He found Lily waving at him.

“Kihet, over here-! Erm… did you get in a fight with your friend?”

“Is my face that bad?”

“Not at all, but there’s a cut on your forehead.” Lily dug into her satchel for a container of healing ointment. “Hold still.”

A momentary cool feeling soothed the sting. The result of the medicine wasn’t instantaneous, but the effect of the healing ointment began taking effect.

“Are you going to fight with all your friends each time you see them?”

“At this rate, I might as well. There’s one among them who I’d especially like to give a beating when I meet him in Pamalyra.”

“I only meant it as a joke. By the way, everything’s prepared. What’s the plan?”

“More Scalemen will starve to death if we go to the forest and back with food. That’d take days. Instead, we’re going to lure that flock down and catch them. I’ve already asked people to boil water so they can soften the meat and drink stock, so no one suffers from indigestion.”

“You want me to shoot them down?”

“That’d scare them off. Aten, how’s your end?”

The Dragonfly dully stared at the ground.

“Aten.”

Aten snapped his head towards him and raised his spears in the air, guarding a pile of corpses he stacked.

“He’s been dazing off from these couple of days. Keep an eye on him.” Kihet said to Lily.

“Is he bothered by something?”

“Not sure, but if he doesn’t want to bring it up, we won’t be able to help him. If he needs us, he’ll say something. How about the others?”

The Rozzalian further out was seen restringing her war bow with Hilaqi holding an engraved stone in his hand in preparation to cast spells.

“Oh right, she wanted to talk to you after this.” Lily remembered. “I bet she has lots of questions about the Oracle’s light we didn’t tell her about.”

“I’ll deal with that later. Do you think we’d get enough food from this flock?”

“It’s better than nothing.”

“Good enough. I’m starting.”

Kihet put two fingers at the edge of his mouth and whistled loudly, alerting the others to stay attentive. He threw the crate down and after cracking it, a rancid scent flooded the area. Already the fruition of his home made lure irritated the Wyrmlings above and a few of them dove at the source of smell.

Lily nocked an arrow on her bow, biding her time as she analyzed the creature’s movement. She would not take the first kill as Kihet brandished his Nagamaki and severed the wings of the feral Wyrmling. The carcass flopped to the ground unmoving. Lily would loosen her arrows at those that snatched pieces of flesh off the bodies trying to make way with it.

The hunt continued until the Wyrmlings snapped out of their frenzied state and fled by seeing the mound of corpses stacked by their brethren. In total, the hunting party managed to rack up a total of three adult Wyvern, fifteen medium ones and twenty small ones. It wasn’t enough to fill everyone’s stomach but to refill some energy. Able volunteers would then help with evacuation from the battered stone fortress before the Dragonkins unleashed a fourth attempt to exterminate all other Scalemen.

“Scalemen have a weird habit of eating. They swallow rocks before they start their meals?” Lily asked then drank the stock boiled from Wyvern meat.

[I also. I no teeth. Rock help break food.]

“But, Scalemen have teeth.”

[Teeth for fight. They eat whole.]

With their snouts as long and wide as pigmy crocodiles, Lizardmen and Nagas have trouble grinding down food in their mouths. The same was said for Tortoise Folk, using their beaks to tear food into smaller chunks before swallowing.

Their provisions were also given to the Scalemen to make the soup a bit more favorable. The spices and herbs they brought here were put to good use, able to trigger the Scalemen’s appetite. However, that meant their food supply rapidly depleted after today’s feast and would need to secure a source food to survive until the Resistance could regain some hunting grounds.

[Where Oracle?]

“He’s explaining the next step to the Scalemen and took the other two with him. If I understood how to speak Scylanis I could join in. Having him translate everything will take too much time. At least he’s willing to cooperate with others.”

[He “killed” me. But no blame. He changed.]

“En! It’s all because of yours truly!” Lily proudly stuck her nose high. “At this rate, it’s only a matter of time until his scars are healed. Then maybe he’ll finally accept my feelings!”

Aten didn’t write anything else on his writing tablet and instead put a hand on her shoulders in silence. As much as he knew how much Lily loved Kihet, the Dragonfly gave his condolences without showing it. From previous talks with Kihet who stated he was Lily’s guardian and mentioned to have no romantic interest in her. That’s not saying that statement wouldn’t change, but it was very slim.

Aten was about to ask something when suddenly, he spotted a pair of Scalemen children looking his way. They stuck their heads out from behind a set of old tents. From their body language, he knew the children were scared of his oversized insect like appearance, but they were curious as well.

The Dragonfly took out a knife, picked up a split log from the pile of tinder and shaved it down. He made quick work of it and in a few minutes and carved the log into a snake that could wiggle. He tossed it into the children’s hands, then made another one for the second child. Some words said to him, but Aten did not speak modern Scylanis and Scalemen facial expressions were as hard to read as his. He interpreted it as being thanked and responded with a nod, watching the two Scalemen children run to play with their new toys.

“You were so fast! Did you make those a lot?”

[No money buy toys. Keep orphans happy, I make.]

“You did have a collection back at the Orphanage.”

[Want?]

“Make me a Kihet!”

[Too complex.] Aten flipped his sign as soon as he saw the glint in Lily’s eye.

----------------------------------------

“Holy Kihet-, no. Oracle, can I have some of your time?”

“Lily did say you did want to chat.”

Looking behind, tree barks, stone and clay tablets with writings covered the floor. Everything said from the meeting regarding the land and their enemy was documented. Delicate maps on thin paper were in the middle of process of being traced on Wyvern leather stitched together.

“I’m busy, but I can lend an ear.”

“As I said before. My cousin was taken by umm, the other Oracle.”

“We’ll find her.”

“I know, but I just want to say, her name’s Salith.”

Another familiar name struck him as he dropped his quill. Salith was a Rozzalian part of the Queen’s sworn guards. She led a team that helped Kihet escape at a cost of many lives. Among that team, Alam and her cousin were there.

“Then you must be… Carmyn. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was under the impression you were a Devil Folk with a similar name. I didn’t see feathered ears on you, so I didn’t push my luck. Looks like I should’ve trusted my gut and called out when I saw you.”

“But I saw a meteor hit you.”

“About that.” Carmyn unlocked the clips. She lifted the bulky helmet off her head. “It did hit me.”

Half of her face was covered in burned scars. Everything on the right side of her face was pinkish. Her right ear was missing, her right eyelid was welded shut. The left side of her reddish hair was grown out while she was bald on the right.

“Terrible, right? I would’ve been crushed if I didn’t happen to stand above the sewer tunnels. The water cushioned my fall and stopped the burning.”

For anyone else, he might simply offer a word of apology. For a friend who he trusted and mourned about her supposed death, he was speechless. He felt ashamed to admit her sacrifice was almost in vain by hiding from the rest of the world when it needed him. His mind was filled with guilt.

“It’s alright. Look, I’m still alive. You don’t have to make that kind of face.”

“Sorry. I’m just so sorry for making you go through that.” Kihet lowered his head and bit the corner of his lip. “Carmyn… if you’re alive, is there any chance that…”

Carmyn donned her helmet shook her head. Of course not. Alam was impaled by all sides. Kridas was turned into an ice statue and shattered to millions of pieces. Shiba was poisoned and betrayed by traitors.

“Only Salith and me. I’m the only one who really escaped. We had to separate in order for both of us not to get captured. I’ve been trying to track down her status for all these years and finally, I’m close.”

“We’ll find her. That I can promise. I’m indebted to you and her.”

“That’s reassuring. To be honest, I couldn’t believe of all places she would be with the Oracle. I mean, the other Oracle. This is so confusing. Why are there two Oracles? How did you become the Oracle?”

“I don’t know. Maybe as a punishment.”

“Punishment?”

“Either way, I’m committed. I’m going to do my best on my part.”

“For the Devil folk that’s with you, right? You two are very close.”

“Lily is Shiba’s sister.” Kihet sighed, answering Carmyn before any misunderstanding occurred. “She’s a hero and I’m acting as her guardian to make sure nothing happens to her.”

“I heard Xu’s Prince had a sister. Never thought I’d meet her. I should give my condolences to her later, but if she’s out here, who’s leading Xu?”

“His wife and son have taken over the role doing an okay job.” Though Kenji was somewhat annoying unlike his father, Kihet thought. “I did what I could, and Xu is safe for now. Its World Tree budded and it’s helping them reclaim their lands from the Tower.”

That was two months ago, near the beginning of winter. After offering the altar the Oracle’s flames, Kihet was rewarded with an experience where he was sent to the Hallow and met with Elenora. There, he was given answers of what he must do as the Oracle, but that only sparked more questions about old Heroes summoned by the Towers.

“You can make a World Tree bud? I never heard of that.”

“I can only guess the other self proclaimed Oracle has the power to defeat Shadowed Creatures, but not activate the World Trees.”

Kihet tugged on his sleeve where he hid the Oracle’s sigil. Most likely whoever the other Oracle was, someone gave them power to fight the Shadows. Someone like Henrick, the apparition of an old hero who now haunts the Tower next to Kihet’s village.

“I think I took up a bit too much of your time. Holy Kihet-,”

“Just Kihet, like before.”

“Then Kihet.” Under her helmet, the tone came out so gentle Kihet knew Carmyn was smiling underneath it. “Nice to meet you again. We’ll chat when things have calmed down. Don’t work too hard.”