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Sent Kobold

Chapter 11: Kobold's Lament

As the journey goes on, events of the past come forward, some ancient and long forgotten, others recent and filled with regret.

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The smell of soup hung in the air, chicken broth with carrots carefully put into bowls. The snap and crackle of the fire as it roasted fresh caught fish from the nearby river, their aroma making it very worth enduring their earlier smell. The sight of the stars as they appeared through the limbs of the trees rising above them, the undersides of the leaves with a faint orange glow as the fire stayed the descending night.

Serhis had to admit, Veri and Vincentia had a knack for words to describe tonight's meal. It would be their last night sharing their camp with the bards and he though it would be nice to give them a farewell dinner. The previous dinners where simple affairs, but tonight, it would be one to remember.

"What I'm going to remember is that we had a decent cook for once!" Vincentia said as she sampled the soup.

"Are you saying my cooking isn't good?" Veri asked.

"You're cooking's fine, it's just that his is better, he hasn't burned a single thing," the bard laughed as she raised her fork and bit into her salad. "My compliments to the chef."

Xet smirked as he stirred the broth in the cast iron pot. "I have a good sense of timing."

"It's true. He just knows. I can't explain it," Serhis said as he had a sliver of fish.

"Of course, learning alchemy might have something to do with it. Leave something burning too long and *poof* there goes all the effort. And maybe the lab too."

It had almost been two weeks since they left Tiasvern, and almost two weeks of trying to get as much distance between there and themselves. The lack of roads had made things hard, especially with a wagon and horses, and as the terrain became hilly the nearer they got to the mountain range, the harder it got. When they actually got to the mountain itself, they hoped the copy of the ancient map they had was still accurate and that the small pass shown on it didn't have a serious rockslide or was snowed in.

The delays bothered Serhis a little. It wasn't that they needed to get to the Ceritun Plains in a hurry, but the delays in themselves irritated him. His original estimate of it taking a minimum of a month had been blown away by their enforced stay at Tiasvern and he certainly hoped nothing would bring it past three months. He was content at the pace they took, now that they were able to move on. The bards had certainly made things less boring for the whole trip, their recollection of their own past deeds, the adventures of others, or other fantastic stories always presented for their entertainment. If not a tale, then a song on the road as Vincentia's voice resounded through the passing trees. And if her voice needed rest, Veri's would take her place, aided with her hands passing over harp strings as she sang songs they've never heard.

Veri seemed a calming soul, a small smile would always appear whenever she spoke, and always with words of wisdom. She likely wasn't more than five years older than Vincentia, it was hard to tell with half-elves, but she seemed more worldly, more in tune with everything around her.

Vincentia wasn't her opposite in terms of personality and what differences there were never seemed to conflict. She was more energetic and keen to see the world, and where Veri would simply smile, Vincentia wasn't afraid to laugh and sing. Her vibrant personality almost spread from her, making these wild woods seem more cheerful and bright. It seemed like she was Veri's apprentice, but they said they were more like partners. With a little more elaboration, Veri did say that she was Vincentia's teacher for a time, but now, what she gave was more advice than instruction. Veri's style of performance relied more on the emotional weight with her voice carrying the gravity of a situation and Vincentia would concentrated on performance and style. Taken together, it was obvious why they performed together.

"I wish Danward had your sense of timing. You know, so that all the guards were actually helpful," Iskdiwercaesin said. "Then again, it doesn't make nearly as great a tale if we're the ones getting rescued. It's too bad you two weren't there, I'm sure you would have made great poetry or something about the battle."

"I think it's better they weren't. Harick wouldn't have had any problem going after them," Baous said.

"Where do you think he is now? Plotting some dastardly scheme to avenge his fallen leader and the injury you've caused him? After what you've told us, he doesn't seem the sort to let something like that go," Veri mused.

"He'd be a complete moron to try. He's going to be the one in for a surprise if he tries coming after us. One that he wouldn't see coming. If I could, I'd hunt him down first, no matter what," Rhasalis said.

"Ah, a tale yet unresolved. Well, if you ever do cross paths, and then us, please tell us how it went. I'd think anyone we told the story to would like to learn how things went as well," Vincentia said.

Serhis would have liked it if he never saw Harick ever again. Preferably not because Harick ambushed him. He would have also preferred never to hear mention of Tiasvern again, but that wasn't likely to happen, especially with Veri and Vincentia. They had were still settling title for the whole escapade, "Duel Sieges of the Lords" was their current favorite. "A tale of not one, but two sieges, between a half-dragon and a masked bandit, both lords in their own right with armies to fight and glory to win." That was their summary description of it. It felt strange hearing about how they played into the whole scheme of things and stranger still when the bards asked if they liked how they told it.

"Where are you going after you reach your destination?" Serhis asked.

"West, along the mountain range and towards a port," Veri replied. "What about you?"

"It depends on what we find," Baous said. "I don't know what we'll see out there. Maybe a lead to another place or nothing at all."

"It all sounds fascinating. Searching for your people who are rare and far between, with nothing but an ancient map and your own wits to guide you," Vincentia said.

"I'm sure we'll find something. I mean, we found a lot following Iskdiwercaesin's treasure hunts," Serhis said to Baous.

"Back to the subject. Following the fight in the arena, I heard that you tended to the injured. It's quite an accomplishment that nobody that you saw to died of their wounds," Veri said.

"I couldn't heal everyone's injuries though. Some of them lost an ear or a finger," Serhis said with a hint of sadness. "But at least my friends are alright. Xet and Rhasalis don't have anything wrong, even if it was close."

His hatch mates looked at him for a moment before they went back to their dinners. Serhis had kept assuring them that their injuries didn't cause permanent damage.

"Better than losing the whole limb. I saw those guards thanking you back at the tavern for letting them keep their extremities where a lesser healer would have given it up for a loss and cut the whole thing," Veri said.

"And for free," Vincentia added.

"Why would I make them pay? They helped in the fighting with us. I ask people to pay, sure, but not when they got injured helping us."

"I wish more healers had your kind of thinking," she sighed. "A more unscrupulous one would have charged for it. And probably price gouged in their time of need."

The dinner conversation continued on, touching on bits of trivia and other random subjects. As the night darkened, the cutlery was washed in the river, the horses fed and tightly tethered, the tents were secured, and messages sent. If there was one thing that was a bright spot in their time spent in the town, it was that Serhis and the others had grown from the experience. Serhis could now send long distance messages on his own, without the aid of a scroll and once a week, he would send a message for Baous to his parents. Xet and Iskdiwercaesin's power had developed after such sustained use, while Baous and Rhasalis had learned a few tricks fighting with the soldiers and against the bandits.

Serhis was the first one to stay up as sentry. He was almost certain that if Harick was following them, he would have struck in earlier nights, he wasn't the type to wait patiently, but even still, until they went over the mountain, they would remain on guard. Traps and alarms were set, the fire doused so that total darkness enveloped their camp, which was perfect for everyone except the bards, and wishes of good dreams were said.

Sitting in the darkness a little away from camp, he could barely hear the sound of the river through the trees. Birds and insects could be heard as well, along with the high pitched squeak of a few bats in the air. So far, nothing out of the ordinary. A tent flap opening caught his attention.

"Serhis?"

"Xet? What are you doing up?"

"... I'm just having a little trouble sleeping, that's all. Do you want some company, at least until I feel sleepy?"

"It won't mind."

Seating himself on an adjacent moss covered rock, Xet looked over at where everyone else is sleeping. Even in the pitch dark of night, where his sight was restricted to black and white Serhis could see Xet's expression of... what? Concern? Worry? Serhis wasn't sure, but something was bothering his hatch mate. "What's keeping you up? It's not your stomach, is it?"

"No, you fixed me up better than ever. It's not that."

"Just couldn't sleep, huh? I don't mind the extra pair of eyes on lookout."

"Something like that," Xet watched the gloom with Serhis.

As the minutes passed and the stars peeked through the clouds, Serhis thought about what to say to Xet as they sat in the dark. "How do you think of our trip so far?"

"Hmm. Oh. It's... interesting. I guess that's the word for it."

"Interesting? I suppose, but what exactly do you mean? Seeing news places, meeting new faces, eating surface food?"

"It's all of that. I also have to get creative with using my powers. I'd never have to deal with hordes of rats and tossing fireballs out of a speeding wagon on my patrols, that's for sure," Xet wriggled his fingers in the dark. "When I asked to go with you, that sort of stuff wasn't what I expected."

"Me too, as well as having to stay in a town for a month working for a blue half-dragon, while sneaking around like thieves," Serhis gave a short, bitter laugh and shook his head. "It's not always like that. There are places that can be much nicer, and the people are more kind. You'll someone might be looking at you funny, but there's always someone who'll do that. I've been to cities in the trees, where the elves live, and you can barely see the bottom of the forest, a ruined castle in the sky that was split completely in half, and parts of the sea where sometimes giant whirlpools appear that can suck you down to the bottom of the ocean. I almost got sea sick that time."

"Sea sick? What's that?"

"It's when your sense of balance is in conflict with the movement waves and you start to get nauseous. If you're lucky, you won't find out for yourself." Considering Xet's constitution and fortitude, if he did, Serhis was going to have to prepare a spell that would cure it if they went out to see for the whole voyage. "There's lots of places that I never thought could exist. Every time I went to those places, I wonder how little I used to understand of the world."

"What about the bad times? How many of those did you have?"

Serhis reflected on Xet's question. "There's been a few times I wish I had turned back. I don't how many, it's hard to say. But then I remember what I did during those times. If I wasn't there, things might have been worse off for others. Maybe not immediately, but if things had grown worse, then... I don't know. Like me and Helena stopping a blood sacrifice cult or when Baous and I found out who had been making people disappear on the road."

"But why? Why do you do those things and risk your neck for it? It's not like someone was going to reward you for any of it."

Xet's question almost seemed to be a jolt to Serhis. He almost wanted to say that it was part of Bahamut's creed to help those unable to help themselves, but that answer didn't feel whole. It was like Xet had asked why he was following that creed at all. "Because... I could. I don't need a reason to stop suffering. I might barely know the people I help, and sometimes I worry my help could make things worse. But I do it anyway, because doing nothing can be just as bad. And if I can make something already good even better, that's great. By making things better, some pain that might be unavoidable, doesn't have to be. I suppose that's part of it, that I can make things that were originally unstoppable disappear."

Again, the silence returned. Serhis wondered what Xet thought of his motivation, while wondering if that was the whole reason he walked the surface. Sure, I want to profit and grow like everyone else, but if I can help my friends much more than if I just helped myself, then maybe they can help me when it's the right time and place, he thought.

Xet looked pensively towards the stars. He didn't say anything as he looked into the night above. Serhis was starting to get concerned himself. Xet usually spoke what was on his mind. There were no secrets between the hatch mates and the silence was worrying. "Xet?"

"... do you think I can be as strong as you?"

That question came out of nowhere. "Xet, you're already as strong as me. I'm not sure how to compare shooting fireballs to moving rock like water, I think it's about the same."

"That's not what I meant," Xet shook his head. "I mean, why does everything I try to do turn out wrong."

"How's that? You don't have much trouble casting spells and I've seen how you use an alchemy set," Serhis said.

"No, I mean the important things. I tried to help when we got captured and thrown in a cage. I wanted to burn them all down, turn them to dust, anything, but all I could do was just annoy them and they broke my arms and made me even more useless."

"You did help. They would have had time to cut my wings off if you didn't. You didn't know that, but you still tried."

"But I still couldn't stop them from catching us all in the first place. Maybe if I saw that they were still out there, we wouldn't have been outside when the gates shut or they could be so scared of me that they won't try at all."

"Xet, you can't stop every bad thing from happening. Believe me, I've tried."

"And that's why your stronger than me. You always try to fix things or you know how to. All I can do is try to stop things from getting worse, and I can't even do that. Like right now, you're helping Baous and you know where to go, but I can't do a thing."

His hatch mate was starting to shake from the emotions pouring out of him, Serhis was becoming more and more worried. "Xet, something's wrong. What's making you like this? What are you talking about?"

Xet's claws scrapped the moss as his claws gripped tightly on the rock. "I shouldn't be whining and bothering you about this, but I don't know anyone else to go to."

"What do you mean? I don't understand." Sitting up quickly, he went to Xet and put his hands on the shuddering shoulders. "What's bothering you so much that's making you so sad? I don't know of anything that could do-"

"I couldn't help Rhasalis when she needed me the most!" Xet's voice was almost a shout in the quiet night, but not enough to be heard in the camp.

Serhis was stunned by the outburst. Taking a step back, he couldn't hide his confusion. "What? Her head's fine, I made sure of it. We all did our best when we were fighting Harick-"

"It's not that, but that's just as bad. If you weren't there, she might have died and I couldn't have done anything about that either. Why am I so useless?" Xet's voice was starting to crack as he went on.

"You're not useless!" Serhis insisted as he took a step forward. "Now please, tell me what happened to Rhasalis." He sat down on the moss next to Xet, a pleading look in his eyes. "What haven't you told me?"

Letting himself calm down, Xet's claws still clung to the moss. "I don't know if I should. I shouldn't have said anything at all. It's that-"

"Xet, stop it. You're not making sense. I want to help, but I can't if I don't know what you're talking about."

As Serhis waited for a response, the silence went on longer. He didn't want to press any harder, but something had happened to Rhasalis as well and it was troubling Xet. He couldn't let this pass. Xet's eyes remained closed as he steadied himself. When he opened them, he seemed to have made a decision. "A lot happened when you went away. Not just the Split, but what we had to do while it was happening. There had to be a lot more patrols, everyone had to be sure that when they left, the way was safe. I was on one of the patrols with her."

Again, Xet paused as he collected his thoughts. "You're a good sorcerer, one of the best in Lahaskeral and Rhasalis is a great scout. Both of you had to make sure things were safe," Serhis urged him to go on.

As Xet thought back, his downcast eyes stared at the ground. "We went out for about a month before everyone started moving. We found some orcs and a few wolves that were too hungry. Nothing big, I had to use a sleep spell more than a fireball. I think it was only a week before the Split. Another patrol saw some undead, a lot of them, so many that one was probably going to notice all the travelers. They saw mostly skeletons, a few zombies. They didn't see the necromancer that made them, but we knew he had to be nearby. It looked like they were in the pass we needed to go through and it didn't look like they were going to leave soon." Xet curled up as he sat on the rock, hugging his legs as he tail wrapped around him. "I thought it was going to be easy. Maybe when I used all my fireballs on the slow things, the others wouldn't have to do anything. If the necromancer showed himself, I thought maybe Rhasalis could hide in the dark nearby and when he's all focused on me, she could hit him in the back. Everyone liked the idea and that's how we prepared." He sighed as he sunk his head onto his knees. "I could have check. We should have made sure..."

"Checked for what?" Serhis asked.

"That there was only the skeletons and zombies. I don't know why that necromancer needed those things and I didn't care, but we should have tried to find out why he was there at all. I thought we had all we needed, but we could have done more to prepare," Xet felt bitter towards himself. "It wouldn't have been hard, a few scrolls just for the undead, that was all."

"Xet, you can't prepare for everything either," Serhis reassured him.

"I still could have tried."

A cold breeze wound it way through the trees, sending a small chill into both kobolds and slapping them with a flurry of leaves. They still wore their amulets of warmth, but it couldn't protect against everything. Trying to sit on the rock, Serhis extended his wings, giving them both shelter from the growing winds and falling foliage. Draping the gold curtain onto his hatch mate's shoulder, Serhis gently coaxed Xet to continue. It felt strange having to do so, Xet normally spoke for himself.

The small shake was enough for Xet to go on. "We waited until night before we started. Since the necromancer and the undead things were in one side of the pass, we set up on the other side. We put up some traps in the bottlenecks, snares for legs and we also used a jug of oil to cover the ground before that. We waited a while to see if we could hit the necromancer first, but after a few hours, it looked like he wasn't going to be easy pickings, we had to go ahead with the attack. I lit up a fireball on as many of the zombies and skeletons as I could see and sure enough every other one I didn't torch started coming our way. They were slow and we started picking them off one at a time, slings and bullets hurt the skeletons, but the zombies were harder to bring down with arrows. When they got close enough, I lit the oil patch and we managed to get most of them that way. The one good thing about fighting the undead is that their brains are so rotted, most of the zombies that weren't in the oil walked in anyway. A few got through, most of those ones still burning, but the leg traps worked. That's when we all started to notice something strange happening in the fire. It was starting to go out, and then the necromancer showed up himself, controlling the undead so that they went around the fire."

Xet's claws gripped the rock, forming a fist as he pounded the rock as he recalled the experience. "It all went bad then. The patrol leader and the others had to fight the ones that got around the fire and traps and I was starting to run out of spells. We thought the necromancer was a pushover, that he was only dangerous because he had minions to do all the work for him so that when we lured all his undead away towards us, all by himself he'd be easy pickings. Rhasalis was waiting outside the perimeter we made, waiting for a chance to sneak up on him and put a blade through his spine. She found that chance and she took it, but that damn necromancer was tougher than he seemed. It still looked like it hurt like all the hells when her rapier came out through his gut, but he was still standing, and worse, he could still cast his spells. He made her stand still, kept her from moving by using a spell to hold her. I knew she needed help, but there was only so much I could do. A fireball would have hit her even more easily than him, so I had to try one of my weaker spells. He was still standing even after the magic missiles hit, and he looked at me. I never thought a human face could look so frightening, but this guy was scary, he was looking at me like he that alone can kill me and for a second I thought he was powerful enough to do that. But looked back at Rhasalis and still saw her as more dangerous than me, she could still break free if she struggled and he wasn't going to let that happen. I saw his hands moving as he was casting, I could see one of them getting covered in a dark mist that grew as he concentrated. I saw what was going to happen and I couldn't stop it! He didn't even need to hit her in the stomach so hard, but the curse was even worse!"

"Rhasalis is cursed?" Serhis immediately asked. Curses weren't necessarily subtle, they markedly effected the poor soul that they were bound to by making weaker, stupider, clumsy, sickly, or any other number of ill effects, and there were even stronger curses that could do far worse. Yet, Rhasalis didn't seem to exhibit any of the symptoms, she seemed as healthy and effective as he remembered. Actually, she seemed even more effective since when he left Lehaskeral. "I'm think I can remove it by tomorrow morning if I prepare tonight."

"I'm not sure. Not anymore. I've been trying to figure out how curses work, but it's not like any I've read about. I mean, It looked like it worked like how they normally do. Even from far away, we saw how Rhasalis looked like she got sick, very, very sick. I kept on trying to kill him, my spells and the rest of the groups arrows were all aimed at him. It took a half a minute before we took him down, but by then he already did a lot of harm. The patrol leader seemed to have had most of the energy burned out of him and Cavihas was got blinded and could barely heal any of us. I nearly got clubbed by half a dozen zombies that got through while I was busy shooting at the necromancer. We managed to get him because Cavihas took control of them long enough to beat the stinking necromancer with his own undead, but before he died, he was screaming something out. He was bleeding out from the gut wound Rhasalis gave him, he could barely move, and when he saw his own zombies coming for him, he started yelling out something. I couldn't understand what he said, it wasn't a spell, but I could feel something happening. It didn't stop him from dying, but I know it was something. We were all in a bad way, we barely managed to carry Rhasalis when we went limping home. Cavihas restored his own sight the before the we got home and the patrol leader was back to normal. We couldn't help Rhasalis until we got back. Cavihas is skilled, but he's not as talented as you or Elder Sandhide. When he finished removing the curse and she said she felt back to normal, I thought we were all okay. We barely managed to beat him and we didn't lose anyone."

Tears started to form in Xet's eyes, almost invisible in the darkness. "Stupid me. Stupid stupid me. I should have been more careful, I should have found out what that necromancer said. Cavihas started losing his sight a day after we got back and the patrol leader started to get so weak he couldn't go out on patrols anymore. We tried everything that might help, but nothing worked! It's like when we got rid of the curse, it only came back worse!"

"But you and Rhasalis seem to have escaped the curse. She isn't sick and nothing happened to you at all," Serhis said.

"Then why do bad things keep happening around me?! I think my curse isn't anything physical, it's bad luck, incredibly bad luck. And Rhasalis..." His words trailing off, his voice broken up by sobs, Xet didn't say anything further.

"What about Rhasalis? You keep saying something's still affecting her but you're not telling me," Serhis needed to hear what was wrong.

"I shouldn't tell you, I shouldn't," Xet reluctantly said. "I shouldn't have even mentioned any of this."

"Xet, please, if something's wrong, I need to know."

Xet's tears dripped onto the rock as he wept. "She's sterile, that's what's wrong!" His words were filled with hatred and an intense misery, some of it towards himself. "It was weeks before I found out, when she told me something felt strange were the necromancer put his curse. If it was like the others, there wasn't anything we could do about it," he nearly yelled, but tried to stay quiet enough so that the others wouldn't hear.

Rhasalis' condition hit Serhis like a hammer, anything else he was about to say died in his throat. His mind flooded with even more questions and he had to calm himself down to say even one to his hatch mate.

"I don't know what it's like for her, I can't know. It was like she died a little when she found out. She won't show it in front of us, but she's hurt. She can't lay eggs anymore!"

"Why didn't you say anything when I got back to Lehaskeral? Why hide it from me?" Serhis forced his thoughts into voice.

"She made me promise that I wouldn't say anything, she didn't want you to worry about something you couldn't fix. That's when she started to take the more dangerous assignments, going off to do missions that were all by herself." Speaking too fast, Xet poured out his own anguish. "It's not like she doesn't take care of herself, but she's getting more reckless."

"Calm down Xet, calm down," Serhis said.

"Why couldn't I have just killed that necromancer then and there? I didn't have the spells to do it and we all got hurt because of it," Xet sobbed softly.

"But she's still fine, right? There's nothing else that's bothering her?" Serhis' mind was already puzzling out what he had heard. Rhasalis might have been hit with a regular curse to begin with, but as far as he could tell, the necromancer's dying words seemed to have amplified it to a greater degree. "A dying curse. It has to be."

"It sounds like one. Does that mean you really can't do anything about it?" Xet asked.

Serhis shook his head. "I don't know enough about them."

Xet's shoulders slumped. "Then I really did break my promise for nothing. I'm such an idiot. I think Rhasalis wanted to come with you not only because we really did have nothing else to do, but so that maybe we could find something to get rid of it, but we didn't want to be a burden to you. I'm unlucky just to have around."

Serhis was pained to see his hatch mate in such misery. "Xet, Xet, you've got to stop that. Blaming yourself isn't going to do you any good. It's not like you at all."

"What are we suppose to do? What are we suppose to do?" Xet leaned over and hugged Serhis, sobbing into his hatch mate's shoulder.

The hug was sudden, but not unwanted. Slowly, Serhis returned the embrace and let Xet cry. "We'll find something."

For a time, there was only the sound of soft sobbing in the woods, barely heard over the wind and the insects. When Xet has cried enough, he pulled back from Serhis. "I'm pathetic, aren't I? Just crying like that," he said as he wiped away the last of the tears.

Serhis shook his head. "No, no. Sometimes there's nothing else you can do. But it shouldn't stay like that, we have to find out more about this curse."

"Where do we look? Like I said, I couldn't find anything about this sort of thing back home."

"We can ask around in the towns we visit. Or if we don't find anything by wandering around, I have access to the old library in Saletvarin. If it doesn't have information about curses of this strength, I have no idea where else to look."

"I'm going to have to tell Rhasalis I broke my promise," Xet sighed.

"She won't be happy about it. Maybe she'll forgive us if we do find a way to get rid of curse," Serhis said. "But Xet, you've got to stop blaming yourself for everything bad that's happened." If there was ever a fault with Xet, it was his tendency to guilt himself over major events.

"I wish I could. It's just... if I was even a little more dangerous to that necromancer, he might have ignored her and come after me."

"Stop worrying about what might have been. We'll find a way to destroy this curse. How about we make that promise instead?" Serhis said hopefully.

Looking at the ground, Xet dwelled on his thoughts and reached a conclusion. "Yeah. That'll work." Serhis felt a little relieved that Xet had come out of his dark mood. "That necromancer... We never even knew his name and he hurt us so much..."

"It could have been worse, he could have tried to get to know you," Serhis recalled another necromancer. Whether his atrocities were worse than the one Xet fought, it was hard to say. Faresterear might have been a scheming murderer, but this other one's actions felt more personal. "There's been a lot of necromancer activity lately on the surface," Serhis realized.

"Because you keep running into them? It sounds like it. Maybe they're the unlucky ones since you keep mess them up so bad," Xet gave a brief laugh with a small smile. It might have been small, but it was enough for Serhis to know that the Xet with a fondness for mirth was coming back.

Thinking more one it, Serhis recalled his experiences. I wonder why they're so active? Are they even connected to one another? Serhis thought. As far as he could tell, there was nothing to indicate why or if anything was related. They were questions that couldn't be answered now, so he turned back to what could be. "Was there anything else Xet?"

"No, I don't think so," Xet relied as he got off the rock. "It feels a bit better to tell you all that. I just didn't know what to do."

"You don't have to hide anything from me. We're hatch mates, remember?" Serhis smiled back. "We still have to get to the Ceritun Plains first. Where we go after that depends on what we find. I wish we had a better map, it doesn't say if there are any towns we could head to over the mountains."

"I should get some sleep. Can't cast spells if I'm all groggy," Xet said as he headed back to their tent. "Then again, maybe I should take the next watch since I'm still awake."

"No, it's fine. Get some sleep," Serhis said. As Xet crawled back into the tent, Serhis turned his attention back to the woods. There was a reason he didn't want Xet to take the next watch. The things Xet had said had struck him deeply, secrets that needed to be said, but haven't until now. What do you call a secret that needs to be revealed? Serhis thought to himself. Is it really a secret or is it something else, something that can only be said at the right time? There's been a lot of right times. I can't let this one go by too.

As the hour passed, Serhis thought of what he was going to say. At the end of his watch, he nudged Baous awake.

"My turn, huh?" Baous yawned as he got out his bedroll. Serhis nodded. "Help me get his on please," the furry kobold sighed as he stretched out and got his armor.

As Serhis helped with the breastplate and leather padding, he knew he had a promise to keep. A promise that might hurt. "Baous, there's something I've been meaning to say."

"Hmm? What is it?" Baous said as he straightened out the leather shirt.

He had been thinking about this for months now, thinking about how it was going to be, and still, his planning was for nothing. All the scripts in his head were being blown away, all he had was a brutal truth to deliver. As he spoke, Serhis' voice was rigid, "it's about your parents. Also Alaric and the others."

"Did they send you a message? What did they say? And why would they mention the others, is it something important?" Baous asked that last question with some annoyance.

"No, not Innoc and Rose. Your kobold parents." Serhis made sure not to say "real" parents. As far as things went, both could be considered real. It would be an insult to think that Innoc and Rose weren't an important and real. "I mean, it both of them."

Baous froze. "Mom and dad? What do you mean 'both of them'?" Serhis steadied himself. He took a deep breath. He looked up to see Baous' face, filled with concern, fear, and apprehension.

Maybe this was a bad time. No, no. It is time, long past time. And too late to change what's been said and done.

Recounting as many of Innoc's words as he could, he told it as close as he could as he was told himself. All the while, he looked at Baous, not daring to turn away. If he couldn't face him as he said any of it, he would feel terrible. He wasn't going to be afraid. When started, Baous looked like he wanted to ask a question whenever he could, but as Serhis went on, those questions fell by the wayside. A cold lump was forming in the back of Serhis' throat and a sick feeling in his gut. He was sure Baous felt the same.

Finally, he came to the end, about how Innoc couldn't bear to tell it all himself. In the silence that followed, Serhis could hear how shallow Baous' breathing had gotten. Short, shuddering. "Baous?"

"He couldn't tell me himself," Baous gulped for air. For the second time tonight, a kobold began to cry. "It wasn't all his fault. He could have told me."

"He wanted to. And for a long time, I wanted to, but couldn't find the strength," Serhis admitted.

"Then why now? What changed?" Baous voice started to rise.

For a moment, Serhis thought about not telling of how Xet came to him, told him his own secret, for Rhasalis' sake. He banished that thought, there wouldn't be any more secrets this night. He told of how Xet came to him, how conflicted he had been, and how he finally spoke. It was short and brief. "Xet couldn't fix it on his own. Now, I have to help as well. Since he told me what was bothering him, I thought- I thought maybe I should say what I needed to."

Baous, in a small way, understood why Serhis had taken so long. He could forgive him for that. "So that's why he took me in? Because he felt guilty?" he asked, not sure if he wanted an answer, sounding more distraught.

From Serhis, he didn't get an answer. "I don't know. Maybe," he said weakly.

"What did he think, that it would make up for that? Did he even love me at all? Or mom?" The questions kept pouring out. Questions that he wasn't sure there were answers to or if there were, ones that he would want.

"Baous, I'm sure they both love you very much. Maybe it was because they felt guilty at first, but I think they did grow to care about you. At least, that's what I hope, I can't speak for them," Serhis said.

"No. No, you're right. When I get back home, I need to talk to them about this. I need to." Some of Baous' fur dripped tears.

"You don't want to send them a message?"

"No. If we're going to talk, it's not going to be with short messages," Baous said with a certain edge.

"But you're not angry at them, right?" Serhis asked.

"No. I... I don't know what to feel," Baous said.

"I know they care about you now. That's what matters. Things might have started off badly, but that changed. At some time, it changed and they do care about you," Serhis said.

Baous was quiet as he thought on that. "What about Alaric? And the others? They were the ones... oh, oh." A quiet realization dawned. "All those times... They all knew. They all knew. And dad made them promise."

Serhis wasn't sure what to say. Baous hadn't known why they were so rude and sometimes outright hostile, and this explained why. He could tolerate the rudeness and anger, though he freely gave some back, but now he knew things ran deeper than that.

"They don't even feel guilty about it. They don't care about it," a growl started to build in Baous' voice. "They don't care that they killed my parents or the others that were with them! What sort of heroes are they?! They haven't changed at all!"

"You're not thinking about doing something to them, are you?" Serhis began to worry. He wasn't sure what Baous would feel about his parents, but he knew that Alaric would be a sore spot.

"Of course I should do something, they keep looking for an excuse that I'm dangerous and that they were right!" Baous said dejectedly.

"What they did was wrong, yes, but please, don't do anything to harm them as revenge," Serhis said. "Remember what I said about justice? Yes, they did something to harm you, but, if you did something back to them, it won't help. It won't make things better."

"Then what? What do I do? I mean, remember what they did to you the first time they saw you and what Alaric did when he got back home or when they saw us at Saletvarin!"

Serhis rubbed his arm. The memory of the agony and the panic was still terrible to recall, even after all these months. "Something has to be done, yes. They just charge in, they're so sure they're right, and they don't look like they fix their mistakes."

Scowling, Baous sat down on the grass. It was surprising he stood up so long, his legs had been shaking almost from the start. "Talking to them won't change much. They barely care about anything we have to say."

"Ask for them to say their sorry."

Baous looked at Serhis. "And that makes things alright how?"

"It won't fix everything. But it can be a start. They haven't apologized because they couldn't admit they did anything wrong, not when your dad forbade them from saying anything about it. You know now, and this is one thing they can't run away from. After that... I don't know what happens after that. Only that you're the one who's been wrong and it shouldn't stay that way." Truthfully, even he didn't know how Alaric or the others would make amends, or even if they were willing to. There was only the hope that they might.

Baous obviously thought the same. "I wish I could make them do the same things those poor exiled soldiers did, make them try and bring them all back."

"I suppose," Serhis said. There was a possibility it would work, and if they found the bones, it would be even easier, though the cost would still be enormous.

Baous cradled his head in his paws as he tried to pull himself together. "That's if we see them. They could be across the continent by now and we still might have to go to other places after we get to the plains. It might be months, maybe even longer before we get back home. And I still have to hear what my dad has to say for himself, now that I know."

"Then it'll take months, but they are still going to have to say their own words when you finally do meet again," Serhis assured him. "And I'll be there with you hear them."

Baous raised his head to look at him. "You don't have to do that. It's bad enough that dad had to ask you to tell me."

"Nuh uh," Serhis shook his head. "I want to see how this ends. I want to hear what he says as much as you do and to see what Alaric does when you tell him as well."

Baous sighed. "I guess trying to change your mind isn't going to get me anywhere, huh?" Serhis shook his head again. "Yeah, I thought so. It's just... I don't know what to feel right now. I want to cry, I want to scream at dad for being at least a little responsible for everything, I want to shout at Alaric and all the others, and I'm angry at you for keeping it from me for so long. All I can feel... I just feel numb." He paused for breath. "But... I want to thank you too for finally telling me."

"You don't have to thank me for being a friend. And if Alaric doesn't want to help, I promise that I'll try to do it myself."

Baous nodded. Nothing more needed to be said.

"Mmmmmhharugh. What's with all the shouting?" a drowsy and aggravated Iskdiwercaesin stuck his head out of his tent, blinking his eyes.

"It's me and Baous talking. You can go back to sleep," Serhis said. The growing wyrmling didn't need any more encouragement as his head disappeared into the tent.

"You should too. It's way past when you we were suppose to switch," Baous said.

"I don't think I can anymore with all that's happened tonight. It'll take a while" Serhis said.

"Then perhaps I should have waited for another time to arrive," a voice from the woods said, one they realized they knew. A luminescent glow was coming through the trees and into their camp stepped a being of wings and light. "It's likely you won't find sleep this night.

"Nadia," they both gasped.

"Greetings to you both," she said with a warm smile. "I hope your travels have treated you well."

"They could be better," Serhis admitted.

There was rustling from Iskdiwercaesin's tent. "I'm trying to sleep here, what's with all the talking and the light?" he said as he poked his head out again.

The expressions of surprise was clear on both the dragon and the archon's faces. What either were thinking neither of the kobolds knew.

Iskdiwercaesin spoke first. "... I suppose this is the archon you mentioned to me, right?" Serhis and Baous nodded.

"You're the green dragon Gixbias contacted to protect Tiichi de Soves, is that correct?" Nadia didn't need to ask, she was already sure of that.

"Yeah, that's right. No thanks to you. Nice plan you had there. I wonder what happened to the gold you wanted to replace me with? Probably worse off than when these two found me," Iskdiwercaesin growled.

"You found him injured? I'm amazed that a cleric of Bahamut would permit you to live," she said with all sincerity.

Serhis inwardly groaned. This was going to take some explaining. As he informed her of the ritual used on Iskdiwercaesin and its effects, Iskdiwercaesin kept staring at her with a degree of irritation as Serhis explained, as if this was picking at an old wound.

As Serhis finished, Nadia nodded in understanding. "An action with many risks, but not without merit. Have his actions so far reflected this change?"

"Hey, you could talk to me. I'm right here," Iskdiwercaesin's voice was raised. By now, Xet and Rhasalis had also woken up, but had kept quiet as they watched the discussions between them and the otherworldly being.

"Then tell me yourself, what actions have you done? Have you refrained from a destructive selfishness that would have others kneel before you in servitude and fear? Or have you dedicated yourself to the service of good deeds?" Nadia asked, her voice without emotion or empathy.

"I don't serve anyone," the dragon said pointedly. "And I'm not going to be judged by you, archon or not. Especially not by one that would have cheated me out of owning my city by having another dragon beat me to it!"

"Hmm," Nadia looked hard at him before asking Serhis, "is he always like that?"

"No. He's not always that angry. But he has done good things and always stuck with us," Serhis admitted. "It's just that-"

"I understand. He views me as an obstacle," Nadia said. "Worry not. So long as you and I remain on speaking terms, and that you will not needlessly and cruelly harm others, I shall take no action against you. The deception against you failed anyways when unexpected developments arrived, and I have a much more dangerous opponent to face."

"Hmph. Just don't try to get in my way again," Iskdiwercaesin shot back.

"You still intend to take Tiichi de Soves for you own, do you?" Nadia asked.

"What do you think? After I make your 'unexpected development' pay for this," he pointed at the ruin of his wings.

Nadia seemed to be thinking on the matter a while. "At this stage, I have no objections to your attempts to remove Dianekesswhedabkeari Nocudithroden."

"I would hope so. I also hope that means your going to be some help doing that."

"My aid will be limited, though you will have it. I cannot act directly against him," she said.

"Why not?! Hells, why do you even need us? You're probably strong enough to beat him to into the puddle of scum he really is!" Iskdiwercaesin shouted.

"I am restricted in my actions by ancient rules. To break them would inflict a harsh penalty upon me."

"What sort of rules?" he asked.

"There is a reason I am able to stay on this plane of existence without the need of a summoner or petitioner. I can only act in a passive role, but that is far better than none, and I am able to guide those who would seek to do good. However, if I were to use my powers to the fullest, it would draw unwanted attention."

"Fine. So what can you do for us now?"

"So far, nothing. I was not aware that you were still alive or that the kobolds would wish to aid you in that quest. I will have to come back at a later time, after I have set certain actions in motion," she explained.

Iskdiwercaesin didn't say anything else to her, but they could hear his grumbling. "Why are you here? Did you want to say something to us?" Serhis asked. There had to be a reason the trumpet archon wished to see them again, a reason sidetracked when she and Iskdiwercaesin saw each other.

Baous also began to ask questions. "Does it have something to do with Tiichi de Soves? We're rather far from there now, and I don't think Gixbias-"

"Gixbias no longer resides on this this plane. His passing was quiet and without pain, his death by old age something he knew of for some time. He has been mourned," Nadia informed them with a shade of sadness.

Serhis and Baous nodded silently. They didn't know him very well, but the tough old kobold had been friendly enough to them.

"Tiichi de Soves has a new All-Watcher now, one assigned by Dianekesswhedabkeari, and this All-Watcher is more in line with his ambitions, with utter disdain for all they view as their lessers, and a mind towards conquest. They are fortifying their stronghold while preparing arms to march on the surface. Dianekesswhedabkeari seeks to build an empire, above and below. I can do little to hinder their progress. They will have a force ready in a year's time," Nadia said with great weight in her voice. "However, what I ask of you is not in regards to this. There will come a time for that, but it is not now. There are other developments in this world and it is for that reason I have come to you."

"But... we're so far in the wild. How could we help?" Baous asked.

"What I ask is will occur on it's own time. In a city that lies far to the North and towards the rising sun by the name of Jiak, a man of great ambition wishes to claim a treasure for his own, his name is Tomond. You must prevent him from doing so."

"What does he want? And more to the point, what would we get if we did help you do that?" Iskdiwercaesin demanded. "The treasure itself?"

"It will become clear, when you see it. I can say no more than that."

The green dragon scoffed. "Let me guess, can't say too much because of those damn rules, am I right?" Nadia didn't say a word. "Yeah, thought so."

"I don't see a city with that name on our map," Rhasalis said as she looked at her own charts.

"Who are your friends?" Nadia asked, taking notice of them.

"My hatch mates. Rhasalis and Xet," Serhis introduced them to her.

"You're the archon Serhis said he met," Xet said in awe and a little bit of fear. "The one with the name."

"Nadiaverinos Biancliarmillopharia. It is here," she placed her finger on the map, tracing it over the blank edges. Where she put her finger, lines appeared, until it showed the entire continent, then lifted her finger and placed it at the North-East end. As she took the finger away, a small dot remained, with the name "Jiak" next to it. "You may wish to seek a ship here," she said as she pointed to the Northern end, still some distance away, but closer to their own location, and another dot appeared with the name "Arcwell." "Should you complete this task, it will be easy seeking another ship to carry you towards more familiar lands."

"I'll think about it," Iskdiwercaesin at least didn't seem to dismiss it. "Anything else?"

"That should be all," she replied.

"Wait, before you go," Baous spoke up, "we're out here looking for kobolds like me. We're trying to find any signs, any clue if they're around or where they could go. You know a lot, what about where I can find them?" he pleaded.

"Though my sight is great and my reach long, it does not mean I am omniscient. I do not know where others of your kind may be. Like you, what I know of is only where they have already been in centuries long past. You are the only one of you kind I know of," she said.

"Oh. Okay..." The disappointment was strong.

"However, I recall how you were unaware of the events of the past. What I cannot offer of the present, then I shall give of what has been, as I have sworn when we last parted," Nadia said.

That disappointment faded. "Please."

"I shall tell you all that I know, of how your race came to be, how they were as they lived, and why they have been scattered to the winds," she gestured for them to sit. If the campfire had still be burning, this would have been like their past nights, but what light was given was from Nadia herself, radiant and bright.

"This tale begins during when the gods were themselves new to their own existence. They created many a lands and destroyed just as many until they had created other planes where they held their own dominion. During this time, many saw to make a being of their own creation, life separate from them, in a form they felt was most pleasing. Humans, elves, dwarves. Orcs, goblins, dragons. Among these firsts were your own kind, Baous. Farukf is the name of the god that created them, a god with a ambition for glory, strength, and domination. It cannot be said that he was a cruel god, he did view those he created as more than tools, but at the same time would not spare them pain and hardships, so that they would grow and overcome them. As time progressed, these new creations developed in their own ways, some similar to one another, others completely alien. Farukf urged his kobolds to make their own civilization, one that stood away from the others, and to view them as rivals to overcome. In this, they did, and for a time, things were similar to the way they are now. That time was broken by the First War."

"I remember that tapestry in the All-Watcher's room. I've been trying to find any information on this First War, but I haven't found much of anything," Serhis said.

"I would expect so. It was a time of great turmoil and destruction. Many of such records of that time would not have survived. This was not the first war between any mortal group, there had been many of those already by that time, between the races and inwards at each other. Deities would also war with one another, but those were mainly between two individuals. No, it meant the first war where all the deities in the realms were thrown into conflict, all of them. Something was about to occur, something was about to change, for better or for worse. In this vision of the future, many of the deities realized how much power was about to shift, and either they only needed to be the first to take it or because another would be weakened and that power stolen. Or, some realized how their own would weaken and would guard it jealously. Some would see that new deities would be born in this crucible, and would either guide these events to come to pass or do everything in their power to stop it. None of them could stay passive in the face of this change and they all acted. The First War was one that would bring all in conflict. It would strip creation to its foundations and rebuild it."

"You mean the whole world-?" Serhis asked.

"No, not the whole world. Not completely. What was to change for all were the fundamental rules of reality. Some things would be small. Others would be catastrophic. Magic was one of those changes and what little understood rules there were, altered. As for the mortals that were thrown into this conflict, none of them would be spared the ordeals to happen. The deities called on their followers, called for them to help in this fight, and many answered. The servants of the deities also fought. Angels, demons, devils. I need not explain what happened during or after the war, the effects are apparent and only those who lived before that time would be the only ones to feel the changes, and they are long since passed. What you wish to know is not related to the war as a whole."

"Does that mean you were in that war? So long ago?" Baous said in awe.

"There were only a few times I was to do battle myself. What I mainly did was to act as a herald, a messenger, to tell those that needed to know what must be done. I worked with many different deities at that time. There were times knowing who had aligned with another were made difficult. Deities that cared not but their own power would fight, yes, but some of those same deities who professed to be good and righteous would come into conflict, the First War opening a sore wound as differences between them grew. This was one of the rare times they would be in open war and it shows how greatly the war had spread. Eventually, what would happen, happened, power changed hands or not at all, and the war was over. To continue would have gained little, even with bitter grudges. Bonds were forged in this war, or broken. Some things have changed by now."

"What about Farukf? What happened to him? And the kobolds?" Iskdiwercaesin raised his head to ask. This was one of those times a tale would greatly interest him, and he wouldn't miss a single detail.

"He was one of the gods that had visions to expand his dominion. It didn't matter if it was power that had belonged to no one or those from a weakened deity, he took what he could and fought ferociously to keep it. To the kobolds, he tasked with conquering, to expand his lands and spread his dominion. He wished for them to create an empire. Other deities with similar ambitions viewed him as dangerous and his gathered power as a prize to take. Victory and defeat was to be had on all sides. Farukf would have preferred to keep expanding, but with all the power he had gathered, he only had to look for opportunity in the chaos. One god, who had claimed power in equal measure, and in want for more, directed his war against Farukf. Summoning both of their own allies, the ensuing carnage was horrendous, it decimated both of their forces, and since they were near equals in power, whatever strengths and weaknesses they had, they used or exploited on one another. Their mortal followers also suffered greatly, cities and castles destroyed, rebuilt, and destroyed again. It was only after a long struggle events turned to an end."

"This god, what was his name?" Serhis was curious if he knew of this deities existence.

"... I cannot say," Nadia answered.

"A rule?" Serhis thought.

"No. I what I meant to say was that I simply cannot, and not because of a restriction placed on me. As I continue, it will become clear. Eventually, Farukf's rival found an advantage, a powerful weapon, and pressing it to the fullest so that Farukf was forced to withdraw to his own realms. Seeing a chance to consume the power he craved, the rival and his allies pursued, heedless of the danger of fighting on a deity's own domain. Farukf fought with all his might, but the rival was relentless and had the advantage of the powerful relic. A fell blow was dealt to Farukf, and with nowhere else to run, his fate was sealed. However, not all went according to plan for the rival. As he laughed and gloated in his victory, even though fatally injured, Farukf gave one last strike against his slayer. The rival, himself already weak and his guard lowered, was struck with the full might of an enemy that had nothing to lose, and fell himself. Worse yet, Farukf had directed the full energies of his domain into the rival's destruction. Because of this, all trace of this deity has been stricken from living memory, all things depending on his divine power were then without, and he was no more. That is why I cannot say his name, for it is gone, purely and for eternity. As for Farukf, even though he ensured that his rival died before himself, he could not change what had already happened. The rival's allies were still near and knew that it would only be time before he succumbed to his injuries and had warded themselves against falling to a similar blow. They were eager to take what the great power Farukf had, as he now also possessed those of the freshly fallen god, but could not keep it for long. They had expected a small piece of power for playing a part in this attack, now they saw a chance to take so much more, and they would wait. Farukf would not allow this, and with all his might, delivered one last act of spite. In his death throes, he began sealing his domain and the power within himself, and now that his power was greater than any of them, the other deities were forced to flee or be sealed as well. Though he would die, he had ensured that no other would benefit from his death. It has been for a long time that his domain has remained sealed. Farukf, god of kobolds, the Howling Fang and Lord of the Long Field, has remained ever thus."

Nadia let them sit and wonder on her words. There was still more to be said. "As always with the death of a deity, there were harsh consequences. For the rival, his anointed race was to fade into obscurity and extinction, they were no longer aided by their patron god, and with them, all knowledge of their god. For the kobolds of Farukf, their fading was just a quiet, but not to death. You are a clear example of that," she said to Baous.

"Wow..." Baous, awed into a sense of wonder, had to consciously gather his thoughts. "Do you know anything more? Anything else?"

"There is some more to tell. Such power locked away is still power unclaimed, and others have tried to breach it, mortal and deity alike. None have been successful, and there are many who would take notice of anyone attempting to shift the power balance. For the kobolds, it would matter little. Their empire eventually withered, their lands slowly abandoned as they collapsed, until no empire remained, but for a race of wandering nomads. How does it feel to know the past, to know how it effects you in the here and now?" she asked Baous.

"It feels... overwhelming?" he wasn't sure if that was really how he felt.

"You feel no anger? No sadness?"

"Sure, I feel sad since so many bad things happened," Baous admitted. "But angry? No, who would I be angry at? These things happened a long time ago like you said." Even as he spoke, he did recall the faces of those that did do him injury.

"You do better than most. Some would hold some form of animosity for things long past," Nadia gave a bit of praise. "Be that as it may, you hold a special place in the shape of things. Your god is dead, but his power is not. Yours is not a forsaken race, not truly, and no other deity may take you as a follower."

"What? What does that mean? I know my dad wanted me to follow St. Cuthbert, but I didn't want to only because it didn't feel right to me. And Serhis' healing spells work and those come from Bahamut," Baous said.

"The other deities can only influence you in those small ways. It is only by means of another's hand do you receive those blessings, namely your friend's, but if you had chosen another path and tried to become a cleric yourself, such as of St. Cuthbert, you would have soon discovered that no spell of divine origin would work for you. They cannot grant you their powers by those direct means, and so, your race holds a special destiny, in that it has none. You are outside the hands of fate, your roads are your own, and no deity can change that. That said, there are other things you must be made aware. When your soul departs from your mortal form, by old age or by ill fortune, you will have a hard journey. Farukf's realm is sealed, but as your soul is kin to his own, so I do not know if you are to wander aimlessly in the ether or if you can pass. It is a mystery that has perplexed many, but after all this time, it is now only a curiosity."

"Does that mean if I die, Serhis won't be able to bring me back," horror crept into Baous' voice. What did this mean for his parents?

Nadia considered the question. "If Serhis has the capability, he could. While the empire was still present, there have been times when one asked for aid to revive one that had fallen. By payment or good deed, they can be brought back." Nadia raised a finger. "Though it must be done quickly, perhaps in the space of a year, possibly shorter or perhaps three times as long. It may be that it depends on the strength of the soul and of the one who wills them back. Those souls that took too long could not be reached, either because they faded into nothingness or by passing into the realm which we cannot follow. For your sake, for those still alive, and those that came before, I hope it is the latter. The realm of a dead god may be fallow, but it is far better than to be slowly lost in the absolute void."

"Oh." It was small and quiet, but that was all Baous could say. Serhis was thinking the same thing he had been. The souls of his birth parents, having been lost for over a decade, were likely never to be recovered. To have had some glimmer of hope, only for it to be smothered quickly and completely, it is a small and quiet thing. If he hadn't already been sitting, he would have lost all the strength in his legs and fallen.

"Is what I have said troubled you deeply?" Nadia asked.

Baous didn't say anything as he hung his head low. Serhis looked worriedly to him. "Baous, Baous, you didn't know, you couldn't have."

"There's a lot I don't know," Baous' voice was barely a whisper.

"That is as much as I know. I am saddened I must be the bearer of bad news, but that is my purpose, to say what I must," Nadia said. "Have you any other things to ask?"

"No. I think that's it," Serhis replied.

Nodding, she quietly disappeared, the light fading with her, leaving the camp in darkness once again. "Baous?" Serhis asked.

"I'm fine," he answered. The lie was obvious, but what more could Serhis say? This was beyond him now and far more than he could try to do.

"That's got to be rough," Iskdiwercaesin said with some genuine feeling. "I don't much care about thinking what might happen to my soul if I die, but you? Not knowing what might happen and that it might be just nothing?" he breathed out a sigh.

"I think you all can go back to sleep. It's still my watch," Baous said somberly as he went to the edge of camp and looked outward. With nothing else they could say, the dragon and kobolds went back into the tents, except for Serhis. He felt like he should say something. Or at the very least, to listen.

"What is it Serhis? I'll be okay." His voice felt hollow to Serhis. "I'll be okay."

"No, you say you are, but I can tell how you're feeling," Serhis went next to Baous as they quietly spoke to one another. "I don't know if I can say anything that'll make any of it better and I don't know if I can do anything either."

"Then why are you still up?" Baous said with that same tired voice.

"I just wanted to ask you not to hide it from me, how you're hurting so much."

Serhis saw how Baous tensed up, how his shoulders shivered and his hands tightened. "I don't want to cry. I don't want to," he said to himself and Serhis. "I don't want to be like this. I don't want to make everyone listen to my own problems."

"I'm not asking you to do any of that. I just don't want you to hide it. Please, don't keep it all to yourself, there's enough secrets already. I want to fix what I can, but I know there's things I can't, like your birth parents, but I'm still going to try to do what I can. I can't do that if you start doing this," Serhis solemnly said.

Baous kept his quiet and Serhis didn't say anything further. Serhis knew that Baous was miserable now, but he couldn't let him be alone. At the very least, Baous hadn't asked him to go away during all this time.

"I... I can't do anything about this, you're right," Baous said, exhaling as if it released more than breath and words. "I can't cry over it either, I've already done that. I only wish I had a chance to try at all, even a little one, but I didn't get any, and now I know if I die, I won't get to be a spirit or soul, I just become... something. What can I do?"

"You can keep going."

Baous looked at Serhis, not sure what he meant by that until he thought it through. "You mean keep looking? For someone that might not even be there?"

Nodding, Serhis felt the same way about himself. "We both have to look for something that might not be there. I don't know the first thing about the curse my hatch mates have, and if the library at the Academy doesn't have anything about it, then I have no idea where else to go. What's going to happen to your soul is even worse, now I have to find something to do about that too and I'm sure the library has nothing about that. But I'll keep looking, no matter what."

Looking up at Baous, he was surprised to see tears once more. These tears, though, were different, so very different from the sorrow of before. "That's always like you Serhis. What did I do to deserve it? Why do you have to be so nice?" he said as he sniffed.

"For one, saving my life helps a lot," Serhis joked, trying to bring the happy and funny Baous back. "But for more than that, for always staying with me and being as good and generous. And why? It's what I can do for my friends, what else should I do?" Serhis admitted as he looked to the skies above.

As he looked high, he felt furry arms wrap around him and tears on his scales as Baous dropped to his knees and hugged him tight. "Thank you for being a friend. For being the best friend I've ever had," Baous whispered.

Serhis stood where he was until he felt Baous let go. "Feeling better?"

"Not really. A little," Baous replied. It was a night of many revelations, not many of them kind. "I feel... overwhelmed. I think that's the word for it."

"Yeah, you're not the only one," Serhis agreed. "I don't think there's much more to say. I'm going back to the tent to sleep. Have a safe night."

Baous silently nodded as he sat on the same stone Serhis and Xet had been resting on earlier. For the rest of his watch, he would look into the darkness and wonder. Was that all that awaits me? he thought. Most people knew that when they met their final end, they would see what awaited their souls and perhaps see the consequences of their life actions. To know that if he died, that there would be no consequence, no matter what he did and what he believed, that it would all lead to the same end, it shook him. He reached one conclusion.

That's not going to stop me from being me.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning, they all stood at a crossroads. Veri and Vincentia were going to take the path that ran next to the mountain while they had to slough through the pass. "I can't believe an archon came to you that night. And you didn't come to wake us up for that!" Vincentia complained about missing an opportunity to see Nadia. "And all that history!"

"Can I at least ask that you don't tell it to anyone? I think that any other kobolds of Farukf would like the secrecy and not have anyone else looking for them," Baous requested. They had shared the long story with the bards as they went to the foot of the mountain.

"I suppose I can. But I have to say, telling it all would have probably gotten us a good meal and bed in itself," Vincentia said.

"If we see each other again, I'll pay for the that," Baous said.

"Perhaps chance will favor us and we do cross paths again. I wish you luck in finding those you seek," Veri said as she and Vincentia turned their horses along the path.

"Good luck finding what you're looking for too," Serhis replied as they rode away, then turned to see the path they themselves had to take.

"This is going to be a rough trip," Iskdiwercaesin said as he looked in the same direction. The road ended here. From here on out, they would be off the beaten path.

"It doesn't matter. We'll still get through it," Rhasalis said with a steadfast tone.

"We'll find what we're all looking for," Xet agreed, in more ways than one.

"I just want to find something. Anything at all," Baous said.

"If it's not there, we'll keep looking. That's all," Serhis gave his affirmation.

Flicking the reins, the wagon slowly started up the mountain pass. None of them knew anything about what was over the tall peaks, but that didn't matter. Something lay over the mountain and they would see it for themselves.