It took a while of flying, but finally we’re getting close. I’m sure of it.

Once we reached the Dead Forest again, Grímr and I head to the north. We had no idea exactly where they might be other than the general direction, but neither of us could think of a better idea.

We definitely had plenty of thoughts on what might go wrong, though. They might attack without so much as a greeting; maybe they’ll listen to us but do nothing other than waste our time; or even trap us. We don’t even know if they are actually sapient. I’ve only assumed they are because the way Aana described them made them seem methodically cruel rather than just savage as a normal beast would be.

I let out a breath. Unsupported thoughts like these do nothing but make me stressed. We’ll find out whether we can work with them soon enough. We actually have a reason to believe they are nearby now.

The forest of stumps ended a while ago. But instead of a natural end, it was an immediate transition into an area where the earth had been flipped upside down. Exposed to open air, lay a dense underground expanse of roots. The clear cut marks and missing wooden stumps screamed a logging zone.

We have seen no mermineae with a need for wood, so it is a good sign that these centzon are close by. It also shows they have intelligence, which is a relief.

The roots below the surface were interesting to see. The base of each stump intertwining to create a carpet of wood buried beneath the ground. It explains how the stumps survived despite everything else being blown away; each one has the support of the entire forest to keep it grounded.

In near no time at all, we come across a long narrow canyon, which is a unique sight in the otherwise flat plains. Considering the timing, there’s no doubt in my mind these centzon reside somewhere along this gorge.

We coast along, searching down in the slot canyon for any sign of movement. Its narrow walls block much of our sight, but I can’t help the groan that escapes me when I see what is at the bottom. Water rapids rush along the chasm depths. The intense flow sends water as high as halfway up the vertical walls when it slams against rock.

I take it back. The timing means nothing. This is just a place they get the water they need, not a place for them to live.

My hope is immediately crushed as Grímr speaks up.

“Look, there’s a tower ahead.”

Unfortunately, he’s right. About half a league ahead of us is a structure positioned on the edge of the narrow canyon. No other structures surround it.

It’s a good indication if they can build, but the sign of a single building means there will be more. Considering I can’t see any, I know I’m not going to like where they are.

In no time, my fears are confirmed. We fly high over the tower and beneath it, within the narrow canyon, is a vast number of structures bridging the huge earth walls.

A city suspended over water. How much worse could it be?

It’s okay. There isn’t anything I need to worry about. I can fly even without wings now. It may be nowhere near as efficient or controllable as using wings, but shooting out bursts of physical flame would be enough to stop me falling to my death.

It would still be better if I didn’t have that thought looming over me for my entire time here. And hey, maybe there will be no need to enter the city, anyway.

Inspecting the city from this height doesn’t give us much more information other than the knowledge that they are intelligent enough to build hanging structures. Even the tower anchors to the inner wall, rather than using the surface as a base.

I’d like to get lower and look over the city from closer, but considering Grímr’s body, I’d rather they don’t think we are a beast looking for a meal. Instead, we are going to have to approach from land. That’s the only way I can think of that will give them the impression we aren’t here to attack.

As soon as we land, a few hundred metres from the tower, I feel the heat of a few creatures rushing to surround us. At first, I think they are mermineae. They are invisible to sight and have a similar form. But a few things differentiate them from the creatures I’ve seen till now.

These beings are slow. They don’t even reach half the average merminea’s speed. Their shape is wrong too. While they seem similar, their bodies are definitely bulkier and taller. They don’t have that distinct flowing run that only the lithe merminea bodies can produce.

“They’re surrounding us.” I inform Grímr.

“Don’t point them out this time. It’ll be easier to talk if they think they have one up on us.”

I nod and take the lead. Grímr is controlling a creature that they would already be familiar with, one that usually lacks intelligence, so he follows behind with his beak to the ground. I need their attention on me, the one completely unique to them. It’ll be better for us if their thoughts are curious rather than defensive.

Forgive me, Uncle Rivin. I let go of my controlled body and leave the flames of my form visible to all. I wouldn’t go against my tribe’s teachings if it weren’t necessary. Emphasis on how different I am to anything else they’ve seen is the best chance we have of them not opening with hostility. Whether that’s out of paranoia or curiosity, it matters little.

The bulky, hidden shapes I assume are centzon keep their distance as I approach the tower. It’s a strange structure. The main support pillars are a whole piece, like they’ve been cut right out of the side of a cliff. Long metal hooks protrude from the front. Massive platforms of stone rest on its top and back; the side facing the canyon.

How it would ever survive the Euroclydon’s wind, I do not know.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

More centzon surround the two of us as we continue our walk. None yet show themselves, but that might be because they don’t know we’re here to talk. Time to fix that.

“Hello,” I call out, forcing myself not to look directly at any of them. “We would like to talk.”

None show themselves, but they creep forward. Some are as close as thirty metres away now and yet they still don’t announce their presence.

I cast a concerned glance back, but Grímr just returns my gaze. So much for hoping he’d speak up too.

Upon taking my next step, the ground opens around me. Pointy teeth slam into me before I can even blink. They pierce my head and disperse it into flame without resistance.

What is this? Some giant earth monster? Is this similar to a colossal worm? I try to figure out what’s going on while my head and sight reform. The familiar taste of metal runs through another point in my chest and in my hand.

I hear a grinding clank too late to react and I suddenly feel myself jerked downward, beneath the earth. Something heavy slams down from above, jolting both me and the metal teeth down. The jaw gripping me clamps down harder.

I’m trapped? My flames lash out around me, burning anything I can touch. Another bang rocks the earth and the stone above presses down with far more force than before.

This isn’t the time to be panicking. I’ve already moved beyond that. I can work through this.

The first thing I notice is that this isn’t some creature. The teeth are metal and arrayed far too disorganised to be some monster’s maw.

It’s lucky my body can revert to incorporeal, the crushing pressure pushing down on me right now is immense. Far more than I could ever hope to survive if not for my unique body.

First, I set to eating away the metal spears through my chest. I could simply walk out of it, but I’d like to keep my outfit intact. The metal is something I’ve never tasted before. It’s like steel or iron, but there is something else added.

Regardless of what it is, it melts just as fast as iron.

I move my flames on to everything else around me, burning my way back to the surface. Now that I can inspect my surroundings properly, I realise that this whole thing is a contraption. The metal teeth attach to two stone frames which clamped closed around my sides. Both sections bind to a complicated mess of metal. Above me is a massive slab of stone. The centzon must have slammed it over me, to block my escape.

Once I burn through the stone, I realise it isn’t the only layer. Above is another, thicker slab. How did they even move these massive pieces in such a short time? They definitely weren’t carrying them.

The stone, metal and earth all mix in a molten pool around me. The flames in my chest churn. I don’t think I’ve been this incensed in a long while. Who do they think they are to trap me when I’m trying to greet them?

I wasn’t planning to fight, even if they attacked us. Just running and trying another approach later was the plan. But I can’t do that now.

I’m never going to let anyone who tries to trap me get off without the burns to remember their mistake.

The last of the stone above crumbles away and the sounds from above filter in. Grímr is screeching in rage. I don’t think I’ve heard him like this, but the buzzing and grinding of his body amplifies his hateful squawks. Only some shouted words are coherent, focus on making himself understandable lost in his rage.

Flames erupt around me, blasting out of the molten earth pooling around me and spreading as far as I can push them. Grímr is trapped under a contraption not dissimilar from what dragged me underground. Long metal teeth pierce his wings, locking them to the ground with the weight of heavy cubic stone blocks.

As my flames spread over the four centzon standing around Grímr, I make them burn. I care nothing for asking their help any longer. All that matters is the incineration of the beings that dare attempt to trap us.

Their fur coats pulverise, stripping them of their camouflage. Beneath the colour changing fur is another layer, a thin cover of fur that is far harder to burn. My flames don’t let up even as they sprint away. I incinerate through this second layer and dig into their skin.

My flames spread toward the further centzon, but they back away before I can attempt to immolate them.

I direct my focus to the contraption pinning Grímr. The joints are all made with that strange metal, which makes tearing it apart simple. Once each joint is soft enough, Grímr jerks his wings free from their prisons. With leverage regained, he shoves the stone clamping down on his back off to the side.

Each of my enemies has backed up outside my range, most able to extinguish the flames coating their hides despite my intent to keep them burning. I clench my fist in irritation. I hadn’t even been able to kill one of them.

With a short jet beneath me, I launch out of my molten hole and return to Grímr’s side.

Now that my flames cover everything around us, I can see that the ground isn’t as simple as it appears. Beneath the flat earth visibly indistinguishable from the rest of the plains, is a frightening collection of contraptions. Traps. There are only a few paths forward that don’t lead one through another snare.

As my flames burn into the small cracks between these heavy contraptions hidden under the surface, I feel an array of moving parts. Massive axles and gears constantly rotate metres beneath the static surface traps.

I look down at the tear right through the chest of my outfit. Jav just fixed this.

The fire twist around me, roiling in anger and wanting to scorch through everything. I know I’m unreasonably infuriated right now. But I can’t help it. Everything has just been stacking on top of me in these past months. The mermineae that treat us with barely disguised contempt. The stress of constant danger. But worst of all, the rage from my betrayal which I’ve had no way to vent. I’d wanted to burn them alive, but I couldn’t do that. I still care for them.

Now, these centzon, these beings that I have no attachment dare attempt to trap me? I need to keep on good terms with them, but right now, I do not care. I just want to scream at the world that it can’t mess with me anymore. I won’t let it.

My flames stop eating the air. Like with my small experiment, they let the air move with it. I fuel the flames with my energy and allow the air to carry them naturally.

The change isn’t obvious immediately. The widespread fire slowly continues to spread toward the centzon near two hundred metres away. I halt its onward march and wait to see the changes for myself.

Gradually, the wind picks up. The grass and other small flora flutters, bending toward my flames as the wind rushes in. The centzon I can see soon feel the effect. Their fur quivers as the air blasts past them.

The effect on my fire is far greater than I’d even hoped. The rushing air carries my flames hundreds of metres into the air without so much as a push from me. With a small nudge, the flames spin around me. It’s slow at first, but the wind picks up again and the firestorm grows.

Twisting and rising, the firestorm grows another few hundred metres. The spiralling twister blazes hotter over my centralised body than should be possible.

The base of the firestorm melts away rock. I make sure each and every trap I find is properly reduced to molten slag.

The centzon watch on from a distance as I obliterate their contraptions, though most tilt their heads up toward the towering flames.

Most of the centzon that lost their camouflage coats have run off into hiding, but I can still sense the rest of them. Do they think they are hidden?

I tilt the twisting pillar of flame toward the largest group, hoping to drop the firestorm on their heads. Cinders rain down on them, but most of my burning storm disperses before it tilts enough to engulf them.

For a moment, I’m disappointed, but that last only until I notice the new effect created. My flames rotate in several horizontal columns that jettison an enormous amount of flame out over the land between us. It takes almost no time until the air caught beneath this rush of fire heats to the point of ignition.

I hardly have to put in any effort at all. The airflow and fuel along the ground allow the fire to spread at an incredible pace. It takes no time for the massive fire to consume every patch of grass between me and the centzon, engulfing them in my inferno.

Never again. I’ll forgive no one that tries to take my freedom.