The old camel gave me a toothless smile… and then bowed.

He was sitting on his knees, and his bow looked ridiculous. It was the same bow the devotees of the southern regions did to their gods.

“How’ve you been Mordo?” I asked as I sat down in front of him. Crossing my legs underneath me, I grabbed my knees and waited.

Mordo remained bowed, his head just a sliver of a hair from touching the floor. “O’ Protector, I welcome you. I’m glad to see you well,” he said.

Mordo spoke evenly, but sounded… distant. As if he was talking in a sleep-like state. But I knew it was only because he was so old. This man was so old I had stopped wondering when he’d finally pass away. I used to bet on it, with myself of course, and was tired of losing so I had stopped.

It wasn’t fair that such a frail, ancient and decaying old man kept living. It was as if he only kept living even though he should be long dead just to spite and annoy me.

He didn’t even eat or drink anymore. Just die already.

Waiting patiently, it didn’t take long for Mordo to finally sit back up. He smiled at me, a calmer one as he relaxed a little. “Welcome back Vim,” he finally greeted me for real.

Or well, his first greeting had been real too. So I suppose that wasn’t the proper way to phrase it.

Mordo was just… old, I guess. A little too stuck in the past.

“I see the buildings look fine, and the sea sounds calm. Yet… I hear you have bad news for me,” I said to him.

The old man took a deep breath and then nodded. “Yes. My grandson passed a few years after your last visit. Leval died young, before his prime. He died in the middle of the night, during one of his fits,” Mordo said.

I squeezed my knee, and wished I had been here. That poor boy shouldn’t have suffered like that.

But it had not been up to me.

Neither his family… nor he himself had been willing to let me take him where he needed to go. To receive proper treatment.

He had chosen his life. And his death. Although it upset me… it was also the epitome of a man. To choose one’s life and death was a great honor.

“I will miss the boy. I enjoyed telling him stories,” I said.

Mordo nodded gently. “As do I. Sometimes I still hear his squeaky wheel, just around the corner,” Mordo said.

Yes. His wheelchair had squeaked noisily sometimes. I fixed it when I came, but I was always gone for so long at a time… a few times I had even returned to find him without a chair at all. Although the camels weren’t foolish, far from it, they just didn’t have the penchant for such finely detailed work. Their patches and fixes never lasted long when it came to the more complex stuff.

“And the rest of the family? Riz seems well,” I said.

Mordo nodded. “I hear her now. Is she with a woman? Her age?” he asked.

“Her name is Renn. She’s a large predator, a cat. She’s… a little older. But similar in personality. She has a big heart, that is very easily bruised,” I said.

“Ah… a good friend then. I’m glad,” Mordo said.

Yes. She was a good friend to have.

“Vim, would you like anything to eat or just a drink?” Mordo’s daughter, Celine, called out to me from down the hallway.

“Just a drink please. Something fruity, if you have it,” I said.

“Fruity? What!” Celine laughed at me, and I nodded even though she couldn’t see me.

“For my companion,” I said.

“Oh. Right. Okay!”

“Let me guess... she’s not accustomed to our heat,” Mordo guessed.

I nodded. “Somewhat. It’s actually not bothering her anywhere near as badly as I thought it would. She’s hardy. She comes from the snowy mountains in the north… so it’s actually surprising,” I said.

“Huh… interesting,” Mordo frowned as he pondered the woman he hadn’t met yet.

Celine walked into the room, and smirked happily as she knelt down next to me. She had a small tray in her hands, with a pitcher and some empty cups.

“Is she cute?” Celine asked.

I smiled at her question, and thought of the conversation Renn and I had a few days ago. The one at the port city.

“Yes. She is,” I admitted.

“Oh-ho?” Mordo grew more interested and I took the cup Celine offered me. She went to filling it, and I noted the blue liquid. Yes… she’ll like this one.

“We’re all fine Vim. Other than little Leval… Nothing odd has happened. Even our workers are fine. None of them have been bothered by the plague or famine yet,” Celine told me. She remained kneeling next to me, even after she put the platter down next to us.

I noted she didn’t give any to Mordo, but it was no surprise. The man never did eat or drink anymore.

“I’m sorry, Celine,” I said to her.

She smiled and nodded. “It is… sad, Vim… but he was in pain. I’m glad he’s not hurting anymore,” she said gently.

I didn’t like that perspective, but I understood why a mother would believe so.

“When do the workers return?” I asked. I had noticed their lack of presence, even though I had yet to actually walk around.

“A few weeks or so. And yes, we’ll make sure to turn away any who are sickly. This isn’t the first plague we’ve lived through,” Mordo said.

“First that you’ve lived through,” I corrected him.

He frowned but nodded as Celine laughed.

We all went silent as Riz and Renn walked by the building. This room had an open window, which made it easy to hear them. They were chatting loudly, and sounded as if they were close friends already. Their voices faded and eventually disappeared as they rounded the building and headed to the north side of the compound. Likely to where the vats were.

“They’ll be stirring for the next hour or so,” Celine giggled.

“Put her to work. She likes to, oddly,” I said.

“Oh? Interesting. Maybe we can get Fival a wife yet,” Mordo said.

Celine huffed. “Leave him alone, Mordo. Not everyone matures the moment they can walk,” she said to her father. The tone she used told me this was likely a current heated topic.

“How old is Fival?” I asked. I hadn’t seen the boy yet, or his father. They were likely together somewhere, working.

“He’ll be twenty this year,” Celine said.

Twenty… only a few years younger than Riz. And only a few years older than poor Leval.

And before Riz had been Liz. Though the age gap had been a little bigger between those two, it was similar all the same.

So weird. Celine and her husband had gone decades without children, and then suddenly they were having them one after another… though…

Glancing at her stomach, I wondered why the lack of any more. Based off the age differences it was time for another.

Was it because of Leval? Had he being born infirm scared her? It wasn’t a surprise but… it was regrettable.

“Not yet Vim,” Celine said softly.

“Sorry…” I shifted and realized how obvious my thoughts were.

She smirked at me. “I know you mean no ill will. You always seem to forget how much time I’ve spent with you!” she said happily.

Yes. I knew that. Celine wasn’t as good as reading my expressions as Renn, but she was still much better than most. A result of all the years she had spent with me.

The trip to find her husband had been a long one. She had been picky. Too picky…

“Where is the horse?” I asked, thinking of her meeting with him. He had fallen for her at first sight, and literally walked right into a wall since he was so enthralled by her.

Celine chuckled. “At the cave. He’s found a new squid that he thinks can give us a brighter green than what we got,” she said.

A… “A squid?” I sighed and wanted to tell her that was impossible… but didn’t.

Let the man enjoy his hobby.

“Honestly Vim… I was hoping to send Riz with you this time,” Celine then said.

“Oh?” I perked up at that. Although it’d be… slightly annoying, I’d actually not be adverse to it.

She and Renn would be quite a pair. They together would be noisy, but their attention would focus on each other and relieve me of some unnecessary headaches.

“She refuses. She’s not interested in finding a husband yet,” Mordo said.

“Tell him why, though,” Celine added.

“Why what?” I asked as I took a drink.

Yes. Renn will like this.

“She’s still fascinated with Brom, Vim. She thinks she can just go pick him up whenever she feels like it. Poor girl hasn’t realized that although we women far outnumber the men, we can’t just take any man we want without effort,” Celine said with a laugh.

Lowering the cup slowly… I suddenly remembered it.

Riz had come with me to deliver that shipment. Two trips ago. Her and her father had come with me. We had met Brom and Merit at the port city, to hand them off the dyes. For the company.

She had indeed been infatuated with Brom. I could now remember his awkward efforts at trying to avoid her. She had been far too young for him at the time. Still just a little girl. The few days we had spent together had been composed entirely of Brom and Riz’s antics as she basically declared her love for him, and he doing all he could to not break her little heart.

Even if Riz hadn't been a child at the time, it wouldn't have worked. Brom had fancied older women. And not just old in the sense of our people who aged slower either.

But that didn't matter. Even if none of us had taken Riz's affection seriously, it had obviously been real... and...

And she was still infatuated with him. Even after all these years. How many? Twenty odd years maybe?

“You’re kidding,” I groaned as I closed my eyes and tried to comprehend what was happening.

“Vim…?” Celine reached over and grabbed my arm. As if she could support my soul as it broke.

Taking a deep breath I gulped and nodded. “I’m sorry. I was going to tell you. But I hadn’t realized it was this important. A disaster happened in Lumen. I was there when it happened, but several members got hurt… and…” I hesitated, and Mordo lowered his head. He already knew what I was about to say. His age let him parse my words for the truth.

Stolen story; please report.

Shaking my head I glanced over at Celine and felt horrible. “I’m sorry. Brom is dead. He died during the chaos.”

Celine’s face contorted, and she looked away from me. She took a deep breath, heaving as she realized the truth.

“The rest?” Mordo asked.

“They’re all fine. A few got hurt, but only Brom died. Renn, the one here with me, was actually hurt the worst out of all of them. Of those who survived, at least,” I said.

“Ah… my poor girl…” Celine began to cry, and I realized with her tears and sobs… that this information had changed a lot.

If Celine was crying to such a degree… that meant Riz wasn’t just still infatuated with Brom. She loved him. Deeply.

“She woke up a few months ago. In the middle of the night. Crying out. In a panic. It must have been his death,” Mordo said dryly.

Frowning at that, I wondered. Had it been a few months ago? Maybe it had. Time sure passed without care, didn’t it?

“Had she cried out for Brom?” I asked.

“No… but she just sobbed all night. She said she had a horrible dream, but couldn’t remember what happened. Ah… the souls and their tricks…” Mordo lowered his head, bowing to the floor again.

I ignored Mordo as he began to mumble a small chant of a prayer, and instead looked over at Celine. She had regained her composure, and was wiping her face with a small cloth. Where had she gotten it?

“This will break her little heart. She loved the boy. So desperately. She still talks about him almost daily. She even named that dog after him…!” she said.

“What…? The dog?” I asked. The one that had ran up to me earlier? It had been a little older than a puppy… it hadn’t been here last time.

“Ah… what will I say to her? How do I tell her…?” Celine wondered.

“I’ll do it,” I said.

Celine startled and slapped me with the cloth she had been using to wipe her tears. “You’ll do no such thing!” she shouted at me.

I frowned at her. “Celine… it’s my job. To tell people the news. Good and bad,” I said.

“I don’t care. Don’t you dare, Vim. You’re a kind man, but when it comes to news that breaks the heart you are not gentle. Let me do it,” she said.

I was going to argue with her, but decided to not. At least… not right now.

“Fine. For now. But if she asks, Celine…” I said.

She raised the hand that had the cloth, threatening to smack me with it again. “Just. Don’t.”

I sighed. “Fine. But only if she doesn’t pry. And… I’ll be honest, Celine, Renn might tell her before I do. She was there,” I said.

Hell, she was kind of the cause…

Startling at that realization, I shifted… and wondered if I should hurry and tell her. To warn her.

Or maybe just…

“Vim. I swear. If you go and tell her right now I’ll never talk to you again,” Celine warned me, likely seeing my thoughts on my face.

“Celine…” I grumbled. How did I explain this to her? Would she understand? Celine had always been a more level-headed member. Wiser than most. But when it came to her family…

“Vim… please. Give me a day. Just a day… let me ponder how to break it to her properly. That’s all I ask,” Celine begged me.

Mordo finally finished his prayer as he sat back up. The old, wrinkly man, nodded in agreement. “Let her have her wish, Vim. Mothers know these things,” he said.

Giving up, I sighed and nodded. Fine. But if I have to…

Damn… what would I do if Riz attacked Renn or something, if Renn told her she was responsible for the boy’s death?

She blamed herself. She’d not hesitate to say it.

Rubbing my eyes, I wished I hadn’t forgotten about Riz’s fascination with Brom. But honestly… she had been a little girl! Why was she still so infatuated with him?

No. Of course she was. Our people weren’t normal. We didn’t think like humans when it came to such things…

Hopefully Renn didn’t bring it up before I had a chance to warn her.

Celine sniffed and stood. She smacked me again with the cloth as she left the room with a huff.

The cloth had hit me in the eye, but obviously didn’t hurt.

“Such is life Vim. Fate is never gentle,” Mordo said.

“Fate’s gentle to me. It’s just never gentle to any of you,” I said.

He smirked at me. “Only because she’s scared of you, not us.”

Well… that was probably true.

“Gosh!” Celine shouted in anger, but I knew it wasn’t because of anything I had done or said. She was just upset at the news.

“Any other startling news you’d like to share?” Mordo asked.

“Hm… I killed a monarch not too long ago,” I said.

“We heard. We received letters from the Chronicler, after we sent ours telling her of Leval’s passing,” Mordo said.

I nodded. That was typical of the Chronicler.

“Oplar never visited?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Last time Oplar visited was with you… oh… four? Five visits ago?” he asked me.

I shrugged. Why ask me? These visits blurred, especially when nothing drastic happened.

But that meant Oplar had not come south. A good sign… maybe. She hadn’t gone to the Armadillo’s either…

Hopefully she didn’t perish on her way down here somewhere. Chasing stories and dreams right into the fires of war or pestilence.

It was always the weak ones that had such free-spirits. Strong enough to venture forth into the world, but too weak to keep themselves safe.

Renn was very similar. She was strong… but she’d not last long in certain scenarios. Not for long at all.

Strength meant little when one’s heart wasn’t in it.

“Vim! Should I put her bag with yours?” Celine shouted at me from somewhere in the house. Near the front door maybe.

Oh…? Oh. Renn’s bag. “Sure,” I said.

“You forgot about her?” Mordo asked with a small chuckle.

“Well… I had to ponder what she meant for a moment, yes,” I admitted.

Which was weird. My mind had been on Renn hadn’t it? Still was, in a way…

Maybe I was getting old too. Like Mordo.

“You plan on living much longer?” I asked the old camel.

“Not sure. Do you?” he asked back, repeating the same sequence we’ve exchanged many times over the decades.

“Maybe not. If I go before you, will you pray for me?” I asked.

Mordo sighed and shook his head. “No one will pray for you Vim… but I will ask the abyss to welcome you gently, at least.”

“Thanks,” I said as I stood up.

“Mhm. Do you plan on staying long?” he asked, ending our foolish back and forth.

“Not sure yet. Let’s see if Celine tries to make me a eunuch or not before I decide,” I said.

Mordo chuckled as Celine mumbled something down the hallway. I heard a few insults alongside my name, but not much else.

“I’m going to check on Renn and Riz, do you want to join me Celine?” I asked as I stepped out of the room, leaving Mordo behind.

“You…! Don’t you dare! You promised!” Celine appeared down the hall, hurrying towards me and pointing at me.

Did I promise…? I think I just nodded. I don’t think I actually agreed…

“I’m just going to check on them, and the compound. Well? Coming?” I asked.

Celine came to a stop before me, and after a moment of glaring at me… she sighed and nodded. “Yes. Fine.”

I nodded at her and waved a light goodbye to Mordo as I headed for the door.

Putting my shoes back on, I waited for Celine before stepping out into the arid ocean air. Once outside, the pungent smell of the snails attacked my nose… but I didn’t let it make me stumble or hesitate. I strode out proudly, like always.

Celine closed the door behind us, and I spent a few moments to look around again. Off in the distance, near the dry house, was the dog… sniffing around.

“Brom?” I asked again.

“Yes. I know. Jeez, don’t bring it up,” Celine complained.

Shaking my head at Riz’s naming sense; I decided to let it be. Poor dog was going to need a new name soon.

“How’re the snails?” I asked as we rounded the main building.

“Growing well. In a few years we’ll have enough to make another batch. We plan to build another pool someday too. Maybe in the next two or three batches,” Celine said.

“What about the other greeneries?” I asked. The greenhouses were past the snail houses. Only a few had glass roofs. The rest only had small sunlight openings, and were more enclosed terrariums than actual greenhouses.

“Nothing’s changed Vim. We only harvest what we should, we always give room for growth… and lately we’ve been focusing on the yarn dyes anyway,” she said.

I nodded. That all sounded good. It was good to hear similar news from them as I had from the Armadillo’s. Just… constant normalcy.

I liked normal. Normal didn’t make my head or heart hurt.

“The Armadillo’s have a few more daughters. If you’re looking for a wife for your boy,” I said, remembering.

I’d not tell her that they were looking for a wife too… since they were looking for one for the mixed kid. I’d not be able to calmly send Riz off to marry a mostly human boy. Riz would outlive him many fold. It was a cruel thing to suggest.

“Please. Like I’d allow that,” Celine huffed.

Ah. Right. She didn’t like them.

“What did they to do you again?” I asked.

“Really Vim…? That idiot tried to buy Riz when she was still in my belly. With rocks! Rocks!” Celine complained.

Frowning I nodded. Right. That was rude. I guess.

Usually I’d completely agree… but Celine wasn’t complaining over the fact that they had tried to buy Riz’s birthright… but instead she was upset over what they had offered as payment.

She would not have gotten so upset had it been something else. Something she had seen value in, or wanted.

“Oh?” I paused in front of one of the paths that led deeper into the gorge we were hidden in. What was usually a rather open path, that turned into a winding one, was abruptly cut short. Large boulders were blocking most of it, obviously coming from above.

“They fell about a year ago. Scared one of our human workers something fierce. She passed out, we thought she died at first,” Celine said.

I tried to find the spots that the boulders had fallen from, but couldn’t. It almost looked as if they had not fallen from anywhere, and had simply appeared.

“I’ll remove them before I leave,” I said.

“Please do,” she said.

They were big. But not so big that they couldn’t remove them with their own efforts. Especially if they broke them into smaller sections first… but I knew there was no need.

They rarely used that route. Nothing of import was down there, and so… they simply waited until I showed up.

Why waste time and effort on something I’d handle swiftly, after all.

“Anything else you’d like me to do before I leave?” I asked her.

“Build another vat? For the blue pigments,” she asked.

“Sure,” I said. Another vat? Already…?

Hadn’t I made one when I was here last time too? But I couldn’t remember what color it had been for…

Walking past some pens of sheep and llamas, I noted the number. “Lose some?” I asked.

“They’re rutting. In the barn,” she pointed at the barn we had passed.

Oh. Right. Sure.

The damned snails were messing with my nose. Usually I’d have smelled the animals better.

“She did!”

The loud laughter drew Celine and my attention away from the animal pens. To one of the dye houses. There was steam flowing out of its chute, and I could hear not only Renn’s happy giggling but Riz’s snorting.

“How sweet. They’re friends already,” Celine whispered.

I nodded as I headed for the building.

“Remember Vim…” Celine warned as we approached.

“I know Celine. I know,” I reminded her as I nodded.

She grumbled but said nothing else as I stepped up to the open door. Past the initial entrance was a small room, which led to another small hallway. Past the hallway were multi-colored curtains, containing the room within and its contents.

“She did sneeze a lot!” Renn shouted happily.

I could hear the sound of liquid being stirred between the giggles. They were likely just stirring the dye liquors.

“Not going in?” Celine whispered quietly.

Should I…?

Deciding not to, I stepped away and nodded.

Celine breathed a sigh of relief, and I wondered if she actually thought I was going to break her little girl’s heart so maliciously.

She should know me better than that. But… maybe she didn’t.

We’d spent years together. While she traveled around looking for a husband. But that didn’t mean she and I had actually gotten close.

To be honest... now that I thought about it, most of our members rarely grew too close to me. Or I them.

Renn was the odd one out. Even from the beginning I always seemed to tell her more than necessary. I've been with Renn nearly two years now, I think, and that was just above a tenth of the time Celine had traveled with me on her search. Yet I knew Renn knew far more than Celine did about me, or the Society even. To a rather startling degree, too.

I should ponder it a bit later. When Merit had traveled with me, after her kingdom's destruction... Had I been open with her? I felt like Merit knew quite a bit about me, but did she? Honestly?

Maybe all this time I had misunderstood how well some of our members knew me.

It was a sad thought, but one I needed to ponder.

Renn seemed to know me well. Yet even she misunderstood me sometimes. And if she, a woman who seemed to know me better than most or maybe even anyone anymore… well…

If even Renn didn’t fully know me, then how could I expect any of the rest to?

“Ah, there’s Fival,” Celine pointed off in the distance. I turned, and saw the young boy walking towards the compound. From one of the hidden paths that led to the sea not far from us.

Not far behind him was Celine’s husband. The horse. He was carrying a pair of fishing poles, and it looked like there were fish and…

Yes. Squids were tied to the line too.

Shaking my head at him, I decided to greet them alongside Celine.

They were all good distractions. From my mind. From my heart.

And from the terrible thing I was going to have to do soon.

Renn was not going to forgive me.

Breaking Riz’s tiny heart was going to hurt her as much as it hurt Riz.

But it had to be done.

Celine may not know me as well as I thought, but I knew her. I knew she’d not be able to find it within herself to tell her daughter. And her husband, although a kind man and a devout father… he too wasn’t going to be able to do it.

And Mordo was no help.

And there was no way we could ask little Fival. The young boy was nearly Renn’s height, but he was still just a boy. The younger brother on top of it.

So it was up to me.

The act of telling her of what happened, and all the pain and sorrow it will bring… will fall upon my shoulders.

Always me.

Again.