“Kihet, what’s wrong?”

“Doing a headcount.”

Under his command, the Scalemen took what belongings they could to evacuate the battered stone fortress as they no longer had the resources to continuously repair it. Everyone marched through the mountain pass in search of another safe haven in the same forest from where Kihet’s group entered from. Unlike the stone fortress the last of resistance holed up, the forest didn’t provide tall walls for protection, but bountiful of resources they could start anew under Kihet’s supervision.

Against Alc’Bruk’s zealots, which outnumbered the handful of warriors left in the Resistance, they needed to work fast with what little land they have remaining or be annihilated.

“Really? You haven’t stopped looking back.”

He was grateful Lily could always sense his worries even if it was just a tiny bit. Sometimes he didn’t want to talk about them, but he couldn’t bluntly tell her off. He’d often change the subject to stop being pestered.

“Are you able to speak Scylanis yet? It’s almost a been a month.”

“Difficult than seem. Almost speak a day.”

“Look at you. You need to work it a bit more, but I understand what you’re saying.”

“Hehe!” Lily stuck her chest out and her pointed her nose high towards the sky. “Once I learned all seven languages, you better teach me the Enui’s tongue.”

Not that he didn’t want Lily to learn it, but aside from the Enuis, it wasn’t a useful language to the rest if the world. His kind’s population was nearly extinct from the day of reckoning.

At that moment, tiny whispers emerged at the back of his mind. The voices of those he buried haunted him and went occasionally but they weren’t as loud as they used to be. Only when he shifted his ash-colored eyes on Lily smiling at him, would the dead’s wailing gradually die down until his mind was cleared.

She was his savior, the first one who treated him as a person and not a tool of salvation.

“I said I’d think about it.”

“It’s a promise!”

“Even if it is a promise, it won’t be anytime soon. I have my hands full.”

Indeed, it wouldn’t be anytime soon for there are many challenges to overcome before they were given some precious free time. The situation topped over what they experienced from Xu and Vivrus. Kihet would have to meet with Elius and Salith traveling with the other Oracle. Also, he needed to suppress whatever caused the Tower here to be more active than others.

He could deal with monsters created by the Towers with his group alone, but he needed soldiers against the Dragonborn’s army. With numbers of available soldiers from the resistance, they were within single digits. They had numbers to recruit arms, but they needed time to be trained.

As he was thinking, Lily beckoned for his attention and shifted the map towards him.

“Hey Kihet, remember when we camped by the wall the Dragonborn was building?”

“That’s where they make their hellfire bombs.”

“I’m talking about the slaves there.”

“Ah!” He was focused on how to overcome the enemy with what he had, he didn’t realize other options.

The Dragonkins enslaved Scalemen to build the gigantic wall they passed through. Of course, it would be suicidal to charge at that place with what they had. If per chance there were more vulnerable places the slaves were kept at, they could bolster their numbers until they had enough strength to break through the construct.

The plan was simple to be thought of but executing it on the other hand would not be easy.

“Are you confident to call up Hilaqi or Yizdra? One’s a Naga and the other’s a Lizardman.”

“En! I can try! What do they look like?”

After describing the Scalemen by memory, he watched Lily fanned her arms out as she jumped off the carriage. She zipped down the line of Scalemen obediently completing Kihet’s request and soon brought the blindfolded Naga, Hilaqi to him.

“Oracle, I am eternally grateful for you assssisting us Scalemen. I, Hilaqi have answered your summonssss. What would you like to dissscuss?”

“Do you know of any outposts the enemy has?”

“Yesss. The one nearest however, it is large. There is a sssmaller camp southwest of it. Holy Draigh had means to raid it at one point, but there lies ssseveral of the Tower’s minionsss along the path.”

“I see. Those aren’t a problem, but something else is.”

Kihet passed the reins into Lily’s hand in exchange for the map and had Hilaqi point where the camp was. Running his finger across the sketch on wyvern skin, it was on the road back to the volcanic springs where Kihet’s group bathed.

If Alc’Bruk’s forces retreated, they surely wouldn’t regroup far from the stone fortress. Kihet made sure he herded most of the Tower monsters their way to drive them far, but knowing Alc’Bruk and his draconic powers, they moved out of their range. The enemy might retry their siege by taking the path intersecting the road they’re moving on.

To prevent the worst, it would be wise to bring a small team to do the raiding while the rest stay behind. That also meant strong individuals were needed to guard the ones that could not fight in case they were discovered.

However…

“You are uneasy, Oracle. Tell, what weighsss your heart? Is it Holy Draigh?”

“Yeah, how is he?”

“Fear not. Holy Draigh hasss a healthy appetite but,” Hilaqi paused. “I sense his emotions are sssomewhat conflicted. Truly a rare sssight from a benevolent and prideful man, but I know he will come to senses sssoon.”

“Good to see my scolding somewhat worked. Can I count on you to help him back on his feet? It would be great if he could help out.”

“As you demand, Oracle. I shall give all my effort to have Holy Draigh recover.” Hilaqi directed his nose towards Lily. “And young Devil Folk, I wish you luck.”

The Naga bowed his upper body as he slithered backwards then turned back to the Scalemen group behind.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Kihet, what did he say to me?”

“He wishes you luck-. Oh, I see what he meant.”

“What? Tell me.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Tell me!”

“Let me think where we should hide the Scalemen.”

“Don’t change the subject! It’s something embarrassing isn’t it? Cough it up!”

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

A week later, the Scalemen had settled at the ruins Kihet previously camped. Along with Carmyn’s help to rebuild its walls, Aten’s foraging teachings and Tama throwing instructions out, the Scalemen were able to raise a small settlement.

Defenses were prioritized. The small village raised wooden palisades watched by the militia recently graduated from Lily’s target training course. Most didn’t use bows like her, but wielded slings instead. Yizdra and Hilaqi oversaw the training of volunteer foot soldiers.

“Hey, Kihet.”

A hoarse voice called out to him then a hand seized his shoulder. As Kihet turned around to answer the call, he was met with a fist and sent rolling a meter back before he landed on his back. He didn’t know who it was, but he managed to soften the blow with his arms to lessen the pain.

“Kihet?! Hey! Who are you and what are you doing?!” Lily screamed at the attacker.

She was in the middle of drawing her sword until Kihet raised his hand and stopped her. He groaned a bit before sitting upright, shaking dust off his hair then looked at the individual marching straight towards him.

“What was that for, Draigh.”

“That’s for being too blunt about things!”

“If I didn’t do that, you’d never snap out of it.”

“Dammit, Kihet. You changed too much.” Draigh made another fist, but this time he threw it at his own face. There was enough force that his nose bled.

Lily, who didn’t understand the conversation slowly backed away as she saw a stranger hit Kihet then himself.

“Giving yourself a wake up call?”

“That’s for how I acted. I’m sorry for being so immature back then. I know everything you said was for my own good.”

“And?”

“And…?”

Borrowing words from a friend in Xu, “You gave your apology. How are you going to correct it?”

“And I thought I was the older one, but I guess I need someone to put me in my place every now and then.” Draigh smiled, extending his hand to Kihet. “I’ll take care of myself better. How’s that?”

“It’s mediocre, but acceptable.”

“Hey, I did my best to be very sincere about it. Look at my muscles! They’re coming back!”

“Words are one thing, doing what you say is another.”

“You’ve become more of a prick.”

“Thanks for reminding me, but it’s what kept me alive.”

His response earned a pitiful sigh from Draigh. His friend then pointed his finger at Lily. “So? Who is she? This Devil Folk’s been hissing at me like forever. It’s pretty hard to hear you.”

“Lily, can you quiet down?”

“He just hit you!”

“It happens. He wants to know who you are. He should know how to speak Zuxin, right?”

“C’mon Kihet, you know the Elder drilled the seven languages into our heads when we were little.”

Lily poked her head out from behind Kihet and narrowed her eyes at Draigh. “Tomoe’s my name. I don’t like you.”

“I gave a bad first impression, didn’t I? Sorry for scaring you, Tomoe. I’m Draigh, a long time friend of Kihet’s.”

“That means you’re an Enui? You are!”

Unlike Kihet, Draigh still had his feathered ears and tail. He was last seen wearing scale armor when he left the village which was now replaced with leather sown by a monster’s hide. It wasn’t as protective, but he carried an offensive shield the Elder gave him for his journey to here. It was a large kite shield with two sides of the converging edges sharpened.

Although the look at Lily’s face was clear she wanted to touch the feathered ears, Draigh was much more difficult to approach. His stature was more intimidating. Unlike Kihet, his strength could match a Giant’s and he towered over everyone here except Carmyn.

“Say Kihet, she’s really attached to you. Did you adopt her?”

“I wouldn’t say that’s wrong but adopt wouldn’t be the right word.”

“Seriously?”

“Kihet and I are reaally intimate with each other!” Lily hissed. “From baths to bed-.”

Following that statement, Kihet took Lily’s words as a warning and raised a wrist up to his neck. A visible vein emerged from Draigh’s temple as he hung his muscular arm over Kihet’s shoulder and tightened, but Kihet took preventive measures from being held in a headlock.

“Tomoe sure knows how to joke around.”

“And you’re actually trying to strangle me.”

“You haven’t forgotten about Sorah, have you?”

“There was a barrier in Sanctuary preventing me from meeting her.”

“I see. I see! Then? What’s the real reason with the Devilfolk?” Draigh tossed a quick glance at Lily, studying the look of a pouty child on her face.

“I re-met her after everything went to shit. She woke and freed me from a nightmare. I explained it to Megith and now to you. Am I going to have to repeat this to everyone else?”

“Megith and Malth are alive?!”

“Unfortunately, Malth’s missing. I asked Megith to stay behind and look for clues about his whereabouts with Vivrus’ authorities. Also, I have news about Vol. He’s caught up in some shenanigans. Elius on the other hand, is here with the Oracle. Care to let me go and explain that?”

Draigh retracted his arm and took a seat by one of the stumps. He looked back at Kihet silently waiting. Casting his eyes towards the ground, Draigh held a complex expression.

“We were holding against Alc’Bruk’s forces until his group showed up. Then, we were constantly being pushed back.”

“So, we’re fight against Elius?”

“I wouldn’t say he’s Elius. When I called him, he didn’t remember me. He flung spell after spell and started killing the Scalemen. He even tried to kill me!”

Even Megith remembered and saw through Kihet’s disguise when they met in Vivrus’s healing ward. Unless Elius was acting, there was no chance he could’ve forgotten about a close friend. However, Draigh dismissed that thought as he showed scars on his body where he was struck by several spells, all located over or very close to vital spots.

“If he really knew it was me, he should’ve missed but he didn’t. Because I let my guard down, I couldn’t help the Scalemen fight back. I’m at my wits end, Kihet. What should I do?”

“If he’a keen on killing us, treat Elius as a foe. Until I meet him and know what’s going on, don’t try to get friendly with him, but don’t kill him. Break a few bones if you need to.” Kihet sat cross legged on the ground. “And he was with others?”

“There was an Ogre, Alf, a Fairy, a Werewolf, a Giant and Irvan. They’re all strong, especially Irvan. That bastard can suddenly take out armies of Shadows crawling around.”

Everything Douglas said from Pamalyra’s port was true, including his son who was accompanying Elius. But, Irvan. That name was got his blood boiling.

An overwhelming torrent of anger washed over Kihet as he realized he hasn’t seen Irvan’s corpse when burying bodies back at his village. As someone he despised, he should have a clear memory if he saw him. Did he run away when the Shadows attacked? How did he leave the Village’s barrier? And why did Elius of all people be willing to cooperate with Irvan?

Draigh knowing Kihet had more questions waited for him to collect his emotions, but Lily kneeled next to Kihet.

“Kihet, are you alright?” She softly placed her hand over his shoulder. “I don’t understand what you two are saying, but I think you should take a breather for now.”

“Good idea. Groveling won’t do us any good. I’m going to check up on the Scalemen.” Draigh smiled thinly. “Also, Kihet. Cool off a bit. You’re always too tense and right now you don’t have a good look on you.”

Kihet simply nodded as he heard Draigh’s footsteps move away. Afterwards, he felt the weigh of the girl leaning on his shoulder.

“Even your friend said something about your expression. How bad is it?”

His furious glare slowly subsided once he exchanged looks with Lily. He saw his terrible expression of his reflection off her emerald green eyes and quickly took a deep breath to calm himself.

“Someone I don’t like is the other Oracle. I’ll tell you about it later.”

“We’re always fighting uphill battles. It’s one after another. Why can’t we take it easy for once?” Her words were exactly what Kihet thought. “Oh, right! Look at this sculpture Aten carved. Doesn’t it look amazing?”

In her hand was a wooden sculpture of a highly detailed drake. Every piece of its scale was unique and carved to imitate the real deal. Normally Kihet would praise Aten’s craftsmanship, but given the mood around him, he gave it quick glance and nodded.

“Sure.”

“What’s with that dull response? I know your mind’s full of things, but you shouldn’t be mulling over stuff that can’t be fixed.”

“I know.” Then Kihet remembered. “Umm, did Carmyn say anything to you?”

For a moment Lily looked at Kihet in shock. A smile formed over her face with teary eyes.

“Why are you crying?”

“It’s like watching you grow up! You do bother learning people’s name now. You were like, ‘It’s a waste of time’ something like that.”

Kihet questioned if he sounded like that, but Lily always had a better memory.

“How did you know her name?”

“We talk when you went off somewhere when you were stealing that book. How about you? How did you know her?”

“She was a friend I knew back then.” Kihet sighed the umpteenth time. “I didn’t have any recollection of her until yesterday. I thought she died trying to help your brother, my other friend and me to escape.”

“Oh… that’s why she apologized.”

“Then there’s one more who’s with the Oracle. She goes by the name Salith.” Kihet nudged Lily off him and stood up. He gave a great big stretch to loosen up his legs and felt a tug on his shirt to help Lily up. “Well, there’s work to be done. Aten’s back from reconnaissance. The next step is to choose people to join us.”