Kihet was unable to imagine Ainig to be a powerhouse from how the Tortoise shied from, well, almost everything. Even if Ainig received the Pale Dragon’s blessing, would it be enough to stand toe to toe against the Crimson Wrath?

A voice snapped him from his thoughts.

“Kihet, you’re folding it wrong. You’re supposed to pull one layer up from the bottom and squash fold it.”

“Oh. Like this?” Kihet carefully creased the paper gently making absolutely sure not using too much strength to tear it.”

“Now make it like a kite on both sides. Then you can fold its tail and neck. Ta-dah! It’s a crane!”

It took several attempts but by his fourth, he was able to finally create his first origami masterpiece. Kihet looked at the creation Lily had taught him and wiggled its tail which in turned flapped its wings.

“It’s really impressive to see how it comes together.”

Altogether there were a dozen of bundles sitting on the table. While most were done by Lily, Kihet contributed the second most with Carmyn in tow.

“It’s hard to fold them.” Carmyn frowned. Being a Rozzalian, her fingers weren’t as dexterous as the other two. “Hey Kihet, you’re sighing a lot. Are you sure you shouldn’t be resting?”

“I’m already taking a break. Shouldn’t that be enough? I should be reading Aten’s report about the other Oracle’s companions he fought, but someone wouldn’t let me.”

And everyone knew that someone was Lily.

The Devil Folk’s long ears perked up when she heard the sound of curtains shift. On cue, Lily avoided Kihet’s narrowed eye stare and discovered the healers come to report their diagnosis of Tama’s checkup. She hurriedly inquired about the Werecat’s conditions and let out a relieved sigh when she was able to make small talk with Tama.

Tama’s arms were spread wide apart with splinters keeping them straight. Her body was casted in mud mixed with medical herbs to prevent accidental misaligned of her broken ribs.

“Is this how the Scalemen treat patients with a few broken bones?” Tama groaned. “Nyit feels heavy.”

“We Scalemen do not have access to medicinal knowledge how Pamalyrians treat injuries like yours. This is the most effective method we know to keep your fractured bones together until they naturally heal.” One of the healers shrugged.

Lily who was learning Scylanis understood bits of the exchange between Tama and the healer. She prompted up next to Tama, pouring a cup of water.

“Nyie see we captured the wall. What about Alc’Bruk?”

“He retreated. Everyone came together and managed to drive him away before we can defeat him.” Lily answered.

“And you preferred if he’s alive, right?” Kihet asked. “I’ve got lots of questions if you need help but seeing you’re not in a state to answer them, I can wait until you recovered.”

“The Grumpy one is being considerate? Who is this? He must be a an imposter!”

“You offered me a job. As for the advance payment, I’ll be borrowing the mithril knife.”

“Do you knyow how expensive that is?”

“Do you want to find Teach or not?”

“F…fine.” Tama frowned. “Just don’t damage it too much. Nyie don’t want to have to lower its value.”

“I’ll treat it with utmost care, but my life before it.” Kihet twirled the silvered kukri to inspect its current state before sheathing it. “Alright. That’s time for my break. Lily, as promised, hand me Aten’s report.”

“Are you going to your room?”

“I need to pass by Krullu’s workshop to see what equipment he managed to scrounge up. It’d be nice if this isn’t the only weapon I’m carrying but losing three fingers limits my options.”

“I’ll also need a new bow. I noticed my last shots were weaker than I thought.” Lily pointed at the cracks of her bow. “My sword is still sharp, which is surprising.”

“Carmyn, what about you?”

“I asked for a new suit of armor. For weapons, I can grab some from retrieved goods from the scavenged piles.” Carmyn said, focusing on the crane she was still folding. “You two can go ahead. I’ll keep an eye on Tama.”

By now, Tama had fallen into a slumber. With Carmyn watching over the Werecat, he left the ward with Lily in tow. He was handed Aten’s paper written in Viviran as to keep the information about the other Oracle’s companions around his group.

During Kihet’s fight against Alc’Bruk, Aten encountered a Fairy and an Ogre. The Fairy was mentioned to be an expert in Ank magic, a caster. Throughout the battle, Aten had to maneuver around many barriers obstructing him while dodging missiles homing at him.

Fighting under those conditions, the Ogre leveled with Aten’s speed. His fighting style was akin to Kihet’s with the exception most of the Ogre’s equipment were slathered with a type of various poisons. Aten recalled when being struck, he was momentarily paralyzed while another slowed down his movements until the Shadows spat the contaminants out of his body.

“Irvan’s got two casters, a tracker, an Alf who we don’t know, Douglas’ brother and Salith.”

Kihet wasn’t sure what classes the Alf or Douglas’ brother were, but from his past interactions with Salith, he was certain she fell under the fighter class. Salith was a hero that Irvan somehow contracted with.

As for Irvan, Kihet didn’t know how much stronger Irvan now was. Since he was the other Oracle, he must’ve powered up considerably to make it from the village all the way to Stusis.

Kihet had mixed feelings and a part of him resented Irvan from the abuse he endured for years. With the world on the path of being engulfed by the Towers, he may have to set aside his grudges and let bygones be bygones. He seriously considered working with Irvan if the circumstances asked for it. That’s if the opposing party would cooperate.

For now, his priority was to see to Stusis’ civil war and if possible, clear its Tower.

“Lily. Can we take a detour?”

“Where do you have in mind?”

“I’d like to find someplace high with little people around. But I need to tell Aten about something.”

“This is very sudden but I’m not against it.” She pointed up the wall.” I suppose up there’s the best for that. Getting up there might be difficult.”

They stopped at the bottom of the great wall and looked up. The lower ten floors were completely decimated by Alc’Bruk’s fury, but the rest were stable enough to stand on as workers scaled it with no problem.

“You’re not going to make me climb up there, are you?”

“I need you to hold tight and I’ll take care of the rest.”

Lily wondered what Kihet meant as she saw him inspect the top of the walls. Once his decision was set, he looped his arm around her waist.

“Oh my, Kihet~. You’re so bold-.”

Her words cut off watching a nearby ballistic bolt magically floated out of its crate and shot up.

Realizing what Kihet had in mind, she shut her mouth and quickly put her arms around him. After hearing the bolt anchored at the top of the walls, their feet lifted off the ground and followed the bolt’s trajectory soaring at a lower speed. Within seconds, they soared to the top of the walls.

The wind was bracing, strong enough to make Lily’s long hair stream behind. After her eyes adjusted from the rushing breeze, she was greeted by a view of Stusis’ land. The canyons were like a labyrinth with patches of forest hiding the path. Above the canyons, it was just the blue sky expanding to the ends of the horizons. A few clouds dwell here and there, but it was a beautiful sky blue view.

“No way! It’s so beautiful up here with the wind blowing against me feels so nice!”

It also made for a great place for lookout into the enemy territory. Though they couldn’t see Stusis’ world tree, they could blatantly see the Azure Tower behind or within Stusis’ grand volcano. It was difficult to tell from their perspective.

They took a moment to appreciate the scenery.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Say,” Lily prompted up to him. “Had you always been able to use magic?”

“No, but it’s a long story. I was hoping to tell you but that might make me sound like a nut case.”

“Rather, that makes me very curious. Let’s hear it!”

“Believe it or not, I was supposed to die by Alc’Bruk’s hand.”

“You did give me a freight back there.”

“No, I’m serious. I’m able to use magic because I died.” Kihet summoned his [Chain] and gently swayed it over Lily’s hand for her to inspect. “Shiba also lent me knowledge of Lunar sword form techniques.”

“I thought I imagined it when I saw you perform [Waning Moon, Falling Petals] and [Waxing Moon, Sparking Steel] back then.”

“There’s more.”

Kihet then proceeded to tell her of his experience in Elenora’s realm, of the lively city and of the people he was able to have met again. When he mentioned Shibata being there, that was when Lily fired off a barrage of questions regarding to her brother’s wellbeing.

“Did my brother give us his blessing?”

“All he wanted me to do was to look after you and make sure Kenji’s on the right path.” Kihet sat at the edge of the wall. “But when the city was being besieged, your father was found to be controlling the monsters.”

“My father?” Her face turned pale. “This isn’t right. Why would my father be with the Towers? Kihet, is there something that you and my brother know that I don’t?”

“I can’t say for certain. Shiba guessed your father may have come in contact with an artifact and changed him to the ‘Tyrant Emperor’ he was known for.”

And using that logic, Kihet deduced it might’ve been the same phenomenon that altered Eizan and Rozzosea’s King.

“He was never like the people said he was!” Lily exclaimed, looking a bit distraught now. “Mother’s death might’ve taken a toll on him, but before that, he was a loving and caring father.”

“I can’t say I can believe you or not. I never met your father. Shiba did want me to relay a message that if your father does come to this world, he wants you or Kenji to defeat him.”

Kihet saw Lily make a fist, but her expression appeared unfazed. “If my brother said so, then it’s probably true. Sorry, please continue.”

With her permission to continue, Kihet retold the siege lasting for five days. The strangest words Lily heard coming from his mouth were to defend a Tower. She had a backlog of questions ready to be thrown out until Kihet mentioned working with an Acolyte.

The Acolyte of Defiance was who the Acolyte of Retribution referred to as its master. Using a sacred object called Sanctum, -Kihet and Lily were told to destroy-, Kihet was able to use the catalyst and return to the material plane.

“How many Sanctums are there? We never really got an answer for that.”

“I think there may be ten in total. One from each Tower and I’ve used one.”

“Did Elenora say anything else we should be careful of?”

“I won’t get another chance next time my head goes flying off.”

“You shouldn’t joke about that. That’s not funny.” Lily occupied the spot next to him and looked down at the encampment the Scalemen raised. “Wow, things got dreary and gloomy. I want to change the subject.”

“About?”

“You said all these amazing things about the city. Tell me more about this ‘Tram’ you rode on. No, not yet. Tell me more about this ‘croquette’.”

On the subject of food, Lily shot a look of shear focus as in her hands was a piece of paper and charcoal pencil. Now that she knew of some food that hadn’t existed in her world, Kihet had an idea he’d have to recreate it with what knowledge he gained from the realm.

“I can’t taste anything in this world, but we can give it a shot.” He smiled a bit. “Let’s see. The meat was wrapped in a layer of dough, coated in eggs and flaky things. Also, there was a brownish sauce poured into it before the dough was sealed. Everything is then fried in oil.”

“What did it taste like?”

“It was rich and made up of a combination of various earthen spices. It tasted savory, but also sweet.”

“And the texture?” Lily was drooling at this point.

“The first bite is very crunchy. The meat was soft and had no bones.”

“It’s not fair! I want to eat one too!”

“You’re not the only one.” Kihet sighed. “I wish this world had some of the conveniences as the realm. Maybe I should try to see if I can imitate some when I get a chance.”

“And croquettes will be first on our list!”

“You got that right. Maybe you can send a letter to Martha and ask about her opinion when you get a chance. She knows more about the kitchen than us.”

“That’s true. I’ll write one up right now.” Lily began scribbling. In mid paragraph, she stopped and beamed him a smile. “Hey Kihet. As I thought, your face right now is the best!”

He smiled.

“I feel like a huge burden got lifted off my shoulder. If only I can say that with the amount of workload I currently have.” His expression remained the same when he spotted the Dragonfly hovering into his view. “Lily, can you give me a moment?”

Aten was confused how Kihet was smiling but did not comment on it since it was his first time seeing the rare expression on the Oracle’s face.

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

It was a nice change of pace being able to take a stretch and feel the breeze. Feeling refreshed, Kihet and Lily rappelled down the wall and their next destination were to visit Krullu’s workshop. A cavern was hollowed out to find a magma vein for the forge. Even without an artificial source, the light radiating off the flowing magma was enough to illuminate the chamber.

The trade off for light was excessive amount of heat in the area. Standing by its entrance, Kihet immediately found himself sweating.

“Are the Scalemen really fine in this?” Lily asked. Her forehead was drenched.

“They seem to enjoy being here. Anyways, Krullu’s workshop should just be next to the entrance in there.”

“Hang on a second.”

Kihet began leading the way, but Lily suddenly pulled him back after having to hear a faint rhythmic picking. It sounded louder and louder, until an area next to the forge’s entrance formed a crack. The tip of a pick broke through the surface and retracted back into it.

They heard cheering echoing from behind the wall.

“You can do it Ainig! Just a bit more and you’ll get there!”

“A-alright. Heave… ho!”

Rocks tumbled as breaking out of the newly dug out tunnel was a Tortoise Folk with bluish rough skin and a deep brown shell. Ainig held the pick with a childish smile, pleased from the result of his hard work of digging a shortcut to the workshop without having to walk through the forge.

“Ainig, help me load some of these debris onto the wheelbarrow so we can dump them elsewhere!”

“Krullu, w-what about the supports?”

“Good call. We should set them before tunnel collapses. Get your butt back here and get them!”

It sounded like Krullu pushed all labor intensive jobs onto Ainig. As the Tortoise Folk worked to clear the pathway, he spotted Kihet and Lily walking towards him. When eye contact was made, their sudden appearance startled Ainig, making him anxious.

He quickly rolled the boulders away from the entrance and waddled back into the tunnel.

“Krullu, you have guests!”

“Tell em to wait a second! The workshop’s nearly done!”

“But i-it’s the Oracle.”

“He can wait. He can’t rush me even if wants to.” Krullu chided Ainig.

“Umm, he’s-.”

“Not now Ainig. I’m on my break.”

The chameleon laid back on his chair, taking a sip from his cup squeezed from berries grown in the area. He bathed in the heat flowing through from the tunnel leading into the forge as though he made himself comfortable.

The amount of heat paired with the sugary delight of his drink was perfect. Compared to the conditions he suffered being a captive of the Dragonkins, he was in paradise.

He can feel his consciousness drifting off while his friend took care of all problems of his workshop. Slowly but surely, he closed his eyes thinking he’d take a short nap and maybe have a wonderful dream.

“I can see you slacking off.”

“Uwoh- WHA!” Krullu’s eyes suddenly shot wide open. His cup tipped onto the floor and spilt the contents. “Oracle! No, I wasn’t! I-I’m on my break!”

“Right. While Ainig’s doing all the work.”

“Ainig, why didn’t you tell me the Oracle’s here?!”

“I thought You heard…” Ainig nervously answered.

“Thinking wasn’t enough!”

Kihet faked a loud cough and donned on his glare which stopped Krullu from continuing to berate Ainig.

The Chameleon hunched over, rubbing his hands nervously. “S-so, Oracle. W-what brings you here?”

“Draigh gave you a workshop so you can work on your projects here. I’ve come to retrieve the firelance I lent you from before. Where is it?”

“In that crate over by the bench. Don’t worry. I left it intact and should be how you showed it to me. But I did take apart some paper pouches to run tests on the black powder you had in there.”

“That’s fine.”

Kihet lifted the lid and removed some of the hay stockings to find his firelance snuggly tucked underneath. He had two, but Tama snuck one out and broke it by rescuing him from Alc’Bruk. Ammunition wise, Kihet counted five cartridges for five precious shots.

He could feel Lily’s piercing glare behind him as he picked one up.

“Any progress on replicating fire medicine?” He asked.

“Not even close. It’s going to take more tries to understand the properties of it.”

Though Stusis was the ideal land to harvest materials to replenish his supply, Kihet hadn’t learned the proper ratio to mix fire medicine. Krullu’s current mix for his cannons were measured to utilize wind and fire attribute magic.

As Kihet was incapable of using either, he preferred if the mix was identical to those of Xu’s. He didn’t want to risk damaging a vital instrument capable of cracking Alc’Bruk’s crimson scales.

“Bow come across?” Lily asked in broken Scylanis.

“This ain’t the smithy. I only got scraps around waiting to be turned to ingots after the forge is done. If you want em, take a look before they go.”

Krullu gestured to Lily in the direction of the leftover supplies in the corner of the room. While she dug through the warehouse of used goods, a Trick Orb] appeared beside her and vacuumed any usable arrows into it while she wasn’t looking.

“Hey! Leave some for the others!” Krullu scolded.

“Lily, do you know that thing above you is taking all the arrows?”

“Hmm?” She looked up, finding the orb now sitting on her head. “Oh, sorry. This thing appears whenever I don’t pay attention. Kihet, there’s a intact sword here. Do you want it?”

“Set it aside for me.”

All this time while they talked among themselves, Ainig diligently worked to set up supports through the tunnel leading to the exit. He was a hard worker and Kihet could see that, unlike the Chameleon.

“Krullu, how much do you know about Ainig?” Kihet asked.

“Why are you asking? Aside of him being my best friend and a useful assistant, he’s known as the Herald of the Pale Dragon to others.” Krullu came to the realization. “Are you going to send him to fight on the frontlines?”

“The chieftain of the Tortoise folks said Ainig might have a power that rivals the Crimson Dragon’s blessing. I won’t be able to fight against Alc’Bruk and the other Oracle without help.”

“Hold it! You’re even going to make him fight Alc’Bruk?! I object! He’s just a fragile boy. You can’t do this to him!”

“The Scalemen are short on hands as they are. I’m not asking permission from you, but rather I want to know Ainig’s backstory.”

“No way! I’m not gonna and you can’t make me even if you’re the Oracle. Go find some other ways!”

“I’ll ask Ainig directly.”

As Kihet marched ahead, Krullu immediately jumped and tugged his shirt as hard as he could. Though Kihet overpowered the Chameleon, Krullu kept pulling despite he himself being dragged.

“Anything but that! You’re going to scare him! I worked hard to make him forget that ritual!”

Normally, the cowardly Tortoise would tuck into the safety of his sturdy shell when exposed to the slightest threat. The sound of wooden planks dropped to the floor as Ainig stared at them from a distance, frozen in place. His entire body trembled as color quickly drained from his rough skin.

“Krullu, what are you talking about?” He ominously asked. “Ritual…?”

“N-nothing, nothing! We were just talking about the dance to summon rain. You know, a tradition where you offer a dance to the Azure Dragon to ask for rain.” Krullu elbowed Kihet. “Isn’t. That. Right?”

Kihet nodded slightly to play alongside Krullu’s hint to not trigger Ainig’s past memories. He could tell Ainig reacted strangely when Krullu mentioned a ritual. Kihet was somewhat grateful he was stopped, but his curiosity was piqued.

He still wanted Ainig to draw out the Pale Dragon’s blessing if the Scalemen were to have a chance against Alc’Bruk. For now, his best course of action to avoid tickling the Dragon’s tail and obtain enough information to confront the Tortoise’s past.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear as though Krullu would give any to him.