Tafel glanced down at the stone held in her hand. It was pulsing. “Hey,” the demon said, raising her head to look at Mary. The black-armored woman was sparring with Volearden’s claw, her face hidden underneath her visor. “I think Vur made it to the Wisty. I’m going to open the portal.”

Volearden retracted his paw, causing Mary to slash at the air and miss, the motion nearly causing her to fall off balance. “Are you sure it’s safe?” he asked. “Do you know what the situation is like on the other side?”

“What are you so scared for?” Malvina asked. “You’re too afraid to leave your roost without wearing armor, and now you’re too afraid to visit an unknown place even when accompanying so many strong individuals.”

“I’ll have you know I wear my armor even inside of my home,” Volearden said. “Stability and safety are the most important things. As long as you’re always doublechecking for mistakes, you won’t fall prey to a trap.”

“For such a vigilant individual, you sure let yourself get drunk quite easily,” Malvina said, squinting at the armored dragon while Tafel’s horns glowed silver.

“My family was the one trapping me,” Voleraden said with a shrug. “There are some traps a man has to walk into.”

Malvina looked around before realizing Mary was the only one free to sympathize with her. The queen of the phoenixes lowered her head to look at the armored woman. “Can you believe I haven’t beaten this guy yet?”

“He’s tough,” Mary said, nodding her head. “I haven’t beaten him either.”

“It’s opening,” Tafel said, taking a few steps back as a portal appeared on the far side of the void observation post. Because of Volearden’s words, the demon decided to open it a fair distance away. That way, she could hide behind Malvina and Volearden if a dangerous situation occurred.

Volearden stepped forward and stretched his neck out to get a better look at the portal. It expanded and opened, revealing a pink ground with a blue sky. The armored dragon peered into the portal from the left before shifting to the right to scan the other side. “That’s a big octopus,” he said.

“Great-gramps,” Vur said and waved his hand. “Hi.”

Volearden nodded at Vur before continuing his inspection of the portal’s destination. “What’s the situation?” the armored dragon asked. “Do you need some muscle to help you make the Wisty agree to your request?”

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Vur shook his head. “Stella’s talking to the Wisty through Kim Hajun,” he said and gestured with his chin.

Volearden stuck his head through the portal, peering in the direction Vur had pointed out. There was a wall of pink flesh with hundreds of beaks on them. Above the beaks, there were three humongous eyes that bulged out of the Wisty’s head like glass domes. The floor, which was the Wisty’s tentacle, was pressed against the wall of flesh. Kim Hajun was immobilized in one of the Wisty’s suckers, bound by the small forest of tentacles. White mist leaked out of the orifices of his head, drifting up and into one of the Wisty’s beaks. Meanwhile, Stella was sitting cross-legged on one of the sucker’s tentacles beside Kim Hajun’s head.

“Is it safe?” Tafel asked, walking around Volearden’s body to get a look inside the portal. Mary followed beside her, and Malvina flapped her wings, jumping to reposition herself to get a better view.

“If it’s safe enough for Volearden to stick out his neck, it’s safe enough for me,” Malvina said, shoving past Volearden’s face to step through the portal. She blinked and stared up at the wall of pink flesh. It quivered as its beaks open and closed, dozens of other tentacles writhing on the other side of the Wisty’s head. “My goodness,” the queen of the phoenixes said. “I’ve never seen anything more hideous in my life.”

The ground twitched, and Malvina leapt back into the portal. “Thank you for the experience,” she said. “It was unpleasant, and I’d much rather stay here.” Malvina nodded and went to the other side of the void observation post where she couldn’t see the Wisty.

“I suppose that’s why the Wisty dislikes phoenixes,” Lindyss said, watching as Malvina took a seat as if she were a hen warming up a clutch of eggs. The cursed elf glanced at the fairy sitting on her shoulder. “It doesn’t understand her words though, right?”

“Probably not,” Erin said. “As you can see, the Wisty is really big. Unless you’re really loud, it won’t be able to hear you too well, and it can only really understand your tone.”

Tafel blinked as she looked up at the surface of the Wisty. For the briefest of moments, she wondered what would happen if she launched a fireball at it. Would it burn and smell like roasted octopus? Would it not be hot enough to damage its skin? The demon shook away her strange thoughts and cleared her throat as she walked over to Vur’s side. She raised an eyebrow and pointed at Kim Hajun. “What’s happening to him?”

“The Wisty is eating his memories,” Vur said. “Stella told him things, so when the Wisty tastes his memory about it, the Wisty will know what Stella said.”

“Oh,” Tafel said, staring at Kim Hajun’s pale face and lifeless eyes. His chest was heaving up and down, so it seemed like he was breathing just fine. “Will he still remember us?”

“Yes,” Vur said. “But the Wisty said it’ll be taking some of the special knowledge about the treasures Kim Hajun knows from his prophet powers because those are exceptionally tasty. The Wisty can pickle them and save them for later.”

Tafel blinked. Memories could be pickled? What did one taste like? If it was good enough for the Wisty…. She turned her head to the side and nudged Vur’s arm with her elbow. “Can we try some pickled memories?”

“Stella,” Vur said, the wind carrying his voice to the fairy queen in the distance. “Ask the Wisty if we can have some pickled memories.”

“Thanks,” Tafel said, smiling at Vur. “You’re the best.”