The moon had clearly risen above the docks and cast itself down through the chilly mist. Its glow naturally mixing with the light from the chrism lamps now set up strategically about the docks. Keoma’s students were busy cleaning the debris from the events earlier today. Some had set up brilliant spotlights cast out at the forest. Stationed patrol units manned the cannons.

Keoma walked into the dented van with worn paint owned by the adventurers. The lighting of the interior was lit with a red luminescence and it was noticeably warmer than the outside. All three sat close together on a couch at the edge of the room. Demalyn was playfully handling a roll of bandages while an exhausted Cherry sat leaning against Desdin with her head against his shoulder. Desdin sat with his hands folded under his chin, watching Keoma dutifully.

Keoma broke the silence first. “Upon hearing about the initial attack at the docks, I brought the cannons here to set up a defensive parameter. There are many other ways into Leoris, but this is our most vulnerable spot. I'll arrange for some of my people to collaborate with hunters loyal to me to go out tomorrow and collect the dead. Ensi picked a bad day to be brave. I’m proud of my dear student. And you are sure she won’t be nesting in that area again?”

Feeling a need to be busy, Cherry went to work tending to Desdin’s wounds with ointment and disinfectant. Desdin relaxed back in his seat and answered Keoma, “She will expect a change in our strategy and will try to plot ahead of us. Her mind probably snapped centuries ago, yet her instincts and will to survive aged well alongside her. She is calling herself The Spider.”

Demalyn presented her roll of bandages. She asked, “Want me to wrap you up?”

Desdin deadpanned at her and said, “No.”

Keoma then stood up and removed his robe. He pointed to the underside of his left bicep, bearing a black-winged tattoo, and asked, “Do you know what this is?”

Desdin and Cherry changed their demeanor. Demalyn kept on unrolling the bandages in her hands. Cherry answered first, “Clan of the Black Wing.”

Keoma said, “No one here knows what that is except Hobe. And he has a white wing on his left thigh.”

Cherry sighed and put her forehead against Desdin’s back. “We shouldn’t be in this town.”

Keoma smirked, and a haughty exhale escaped through his nose. “I’d say it is fortuitous. Well, I’ve shown you mine, so you can show me yours.”

Cherry motioned to a panel on the wall. “Demalyn, open the closet so he can see.” Demalyn untangled herself from the bandages before she obliged. The damaged, blackened armor sat there on full display before Keoma.

Keoma twitched nervously. “A warden’s armor. I thought so after seeing the sword blessed by Dragon breath.”

Desdin perked up at this and said, “Hey, I want that sword back.”

Keoma gestured at him. “You will have it. I’m restoring it slightly, just in case you need it for what comes next. You aren’t a descendant, so you must be the eleventh warden. Jonah’s only adopted human child.”

Desdin corrected him, “Jonah’s first adopted child. I was only the last one to be made a warden of the Farland. He found me when I was four. I lost my parents in a skirmish when the clans were split.

Keoma raised an eyebrow. “There were reports that Jonah had gone around kidnapping children for years while his popularity grew. It was much to the chagrin of the Everflowing capital of Dakken that Jonah was the first born descendant and a Farland native. It gave him the advantage of discovering descendant children.”

Cherry shook her head. “Not kidnapped. The Lux coordinated with active factions of the wings to locate them. Most were orphans or unwanted. They initially used Jonah to help track them. The Lux wanted them as a military asset and to study. Jonah convinced them to let him keep them. When he united the clans, they became his wardens in the Farland willingly.”

Keoma then moved on to Cherry. “Hobe confided in me that after reading your reports and seeing your hands that you were likely an agent from the Lux.”

Cherry smirked in earnest. “I am Charlie Lightbear. One Hundred and fourteenth in line for the throne of the Regnum Lux. Surgeon, scholar, troublemaker, jack of all trades, and awakened extraordinaire of the royal family.”

Keoma looked impressed before turning his attention to Demalyn. “And who are you?”

Cherry and Desdin both answered at the same time. “No clue. She was a prisoner in the Devil Lands. When we escaped in this van, with the help of the Black Wings, mind you, Desdin woke up the Oldest Ouren, and we took her from him.”

Stolen story; please report.

Keoma appeared puzzled for a moment. “None of that makes sense. And how did you drive a van from the Devil Lands to the Union? There isn’t a road and the hub that allows them to function doesn’t operate anywhere close to the border.”

Cherry shut her eyes to Keoma. “With all due respect, we will withhold a few secrets.”

He shrugged off the response. “Fair enough. We shroud both the Black Wings and the White Wings in mystery and cultic nonsense, but to be honest, we hardly exist in name and symbolism anymore. Times of inactivity flung us into obscurity. Ensuring some semblance of tradition remains is all we do now. Black Wings to using subterfuge and intelligence. White Wings to keeping order and balance. We work in tandem every so often. There are some chapters that are more active than others as you’ve encountered, but I don’t know how to find them anymore.”

Keoma tapped a finger at the table while going on with his story. “The world is in motion with this being the tenth age of descendants. And it is already the most tumultuous age in a half millennia. Hobe and I are too old for it anymore, but we want to help you here. I’m sure you are trying to escape to the Lux. But with the Union guarding the borders and the coast with paranoid eyes, it will be difficult to slip by.”

Cherry said, “I’ve been trying every winter to come in contact. In the meantime, we’ve been helping with Fallen in various regions within the Union whenever we linger in one place. The Fallen that escaped the Devil Lands are ancient, probably centuries old. They are fragile or stupidly strong. But all of them are crazy as shit. I’ve never seen one like this. How it can manipulate human corpses into those unliving horrors and how rapid her progeny is maturing. It is so far beyond our understanding and not in any known textbooks on the Fallen. It is corny, but I’m on board with calling this one a Devil Beast.”

Keoma sat for a moment, digesting their conversation before a grim scowl crossed his face. He stared at Desdin with reverence. “So, you encountered two of the three reigning Oldest, then? It has been ages since anyone has seen one and lived. Ouren locked himself away in some unknown chamber of his prison. Ivalic has only shown up to one battlefield in centuries, and supposedly Everlith sits on the chrism throne wherever the hell that is.”

Desdin grew distant before tracing a line down a faded scar arcing from his right shoulder to his left abdomen. “Ivalic tore through my armor with ease and left me this. And the scars Ouren left me with are much deeper. There is another of the Oldest out there. Whispers and clues that Dragsil is roaming the land. Jonah also believed this.”

Cherry groaned and halted her treatment of Desdin. “I need a cigarette. Dem, want to join me?” The pair sauntered out of the van into the moonlit dock.

Keoma noticed it wasn’t an easy subject for the group of travelers to bring up. "Rumors about Dragsil floated around for a very long time." They started in the fifth age of descendants. When the world went to hell. Anyone looking for Dragsil is destined to meet a dead end. I’m sorry, Desdin, but your father’s quest for answers should've concluded with him,” Keoma said, looking sadly at the man sitting across from him.

Desdin forced a forlorn smile. “Esthea and I were with him when he passed on. He commanded us to find the Roots of Dragsil. To not avenge him but to honor his legacy.”

Keoma nodded. “According to the news, Esthea has moved on. Maybe you also should. Her marriage to Seric may even unify the continent. If the Lux and the Union could ever set aside their theological differences, a treaty could be in the realm of possibility. When this age of descendants passes, normal men like us could stand shoulder to shoulder again. At least that is what I hope for in my old age.”

Desdin responded, “Some of us have ghosts that won’t go away so easily. Also, Esthea is far more cunning and resourceful than anyone else in the world. She loved Jonah as much as I did, and she was his right hand. I believe she is also looking for the roots in her own way. But with her being the most powerful descendant, she will want vengeance. She is spiteful that way. But calm, calculating, and knows when to deliver a decisive strike. I’m not sure we will recognize each other if we meet again.”

“Loss changes people,” Keoma retorted. “Before he lost his son and then his wife, Vilsin was an honest man. He was proud to work towards making Leoris a decent place.”

“Cherry will want to know about the current state of affairs with the council and the town. Have a word with her before you head back, if you don’t mind,” Desdin said before he stood up and grabbed a bottle of spirits from the cabinet before making his way to his room.

Keoma pulled his robe back on and walked outside the van, where Cherry stood with a cigarette at her lips. Demalyn was squatting beside her, pulling from her pipe. He stood crossing his arms before speaking, “I can’t imagine the hardships of the journey you’ve been on. But I can see the toll it has taken in your eyes and his.”

Cherry winked at Keoma and gave him a finger gun. “That is why I’d suggest staying as far from us as humanely possible.”

His face showed concern as he stared toward his hometown. “Leoris is in the shit. We are lucky to have you here, but it is a difficult situation. Walstaff and Hobe will need time to convalesce. The clergy will arrange people to fill in when we are missing council members, and I can promise you they aren’t on your side of things here. That smug bastard at the lodge and that bitch at the archives are dead set on running you out of town. Right now, Vilsin is the hero of Leoris. I can’t recommend that you guys come into town tomorrow. I’ll need to sleep on it and hope the morning presents an opportunity. Until then.” Keoma waved his hand as Cherry and Demalyn watched him walk away.

Demalyn looked up at Cherry. “What’s the plan, boss?”

Cherry blew smoke into the night air. “We won’t do what she expects of us. I will go to the hospital tomorrow and check on my patients as the dutiful Union veteran that I am. And you will stay here with Desdin. Put up shop even if we don’t have any customers. I’m sure that other deputy will lurk around here like a sad puppy, so put him to good use. The matriarch wants us on the back foot, scared and licking our wounds. She won’t have the satisfaction.”

Demalyn tipped her hat to Cherry. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll need to meet with someone and make sure they are on board.”

Placing a hand against her face, Cherry gave a half smile to Demalyn. “I really hope they are. We are going to need some crazy shit, as a patient told me.”