Aether's camp was more impressive than the others had expected. The tent was as good as the canvas cloth that graced the wagons, and the pans left by the cookfire were neat and orderly.
at was laid out to dry in the sun, and a generous bucket of water was covered and ready to be used. Inside the tent, which was just tall enough for a man to go in when bent over, there was a lush blanket, a small table, and a single chair.
All three were mories. The setup looked more like he was on a leisurely campout from before the dark tis than in the middle of a Third Nightmare.
Looking around, Flint's sour expression matched his feelings all too well.
"Let get this straight. We have spent the last week risking life and limb to get here, while you've been twiddling your thumbs here, living like so king of the wilderness?! Bah, don't tell the Spell doesn't have favorites!"
"I wouldn't exactly say I've been twiddling my thumbs, Master Flint. I have been carrying out my daily duties and getting to know the land around here." Aether defended himself.
"Is that how you ended up on the top of the hill?" Noble watched the young man turn a shade of green.
"Uh, no ma'am. That was all my own doing. To be fair, I did not know the dragon was up there."
Flint was on him in a mont. "You an to tell you have had one job, to watch that blasted fortress, for a whole week and had no idea there was a monster living up there?!"
"The notes I have did not ntion him. He has either been sleeping this whole ti or keeping himself well hidden among the ruins. I only went up to explore in case I had missed soone's arrival, and you were waiting for inside Bastion."
"Misses a fire-breathing dragon..." Flint muttered loudly. "I don't know what to say."
"I do. I am glad you are alright, Aether." Noble patted the young man on the shoulder with a smile.
"We all are." Roan nodded. "Now, let's have a look at those reports while you edit your final one."
The reports were brought in a single binding. From what Aether had gathered, he was to fill the book with his findings and then send it to the sea.
As there were indentations for a second tent beside the first, the group guessed that the second scout was delivering the most recent information to Lyra even as they spoke. That would explain why so little was written in the current volu before Aether appeared.
The young man was right. There were no direct ntions of the dragon in the writings, though the letters from both Syrce and Lyra indicated that he was to keep special watch and note any changes on the hill.
"If he moves, I want to know imdiately," Syrce had written. In hindsight, the lady could only have ant the Prince.
The previous scout had ntioned the horrors in the lake in great detail, though. For this reason, Aether had not dared to cross the water until today.
That was sothing else Noble had noticed. Aether had crossed the lake to end up in the Dragon's lair, but he hadn't been at all wet when they found him. Child of Promise had assud that he had been searching the ruins for so ti, but the answer was much simpler.
As Noble helped Aether pack up the canvas and roll it around the tent stakes, she marveled at his strange skill.
"I didn't know you could walk on water."
The young man tied off the tent and placed it in the pile with the other supplies.
"It is one of my abilities, or at least how it manifests. I didn't ntion it before since I didn't think it would be useful in this Nightmare."
"His Majesty, the golden boy can even walk on water," Flint was more annoyed than ever, "you have to be kidding !"
Aether frowned. "I am not. Shall I show you once the monster has settled?"
"So obligingly polite too. Dead gods, it's insufferable!" The surly Master received a sharp look from Roan.
"Enough, Flint. We all have our burdens to bear. You know as well as anyone that with power cos responsibility. Leave Aether alone."
Noble was relieved that this ti she did not have to intervene.
Roan was viewed by Flint, if not as an equal, at least as a Legacy peer. Whatever extra aning was hidden in the leader's words, Flint decided to heed them.
He began to stack the large pile of firewood that Aether had cut in his spare ti so that it could be carried with them. Three logs in, and Flint let out a frustrated grunt. He brought his thumb to his mouth, speaking around his injured digit.
"Blasted magical trees. You would think they would have figured out how to avoid splinters."
"Maybe they splinter more because they don't like being cut down." Noble mused.
The miserable man gave her a long-suffering look. "I need help, not philosophy."
Child of Promise moved to take a look at the injury, but the youngest Master stopped her.
"Allow ," Aether offered.
Flint eyed him skeptically, but eventually held out the thumb. "Can't heal myself until the thing is out," he muttered loudly.
Small strings of starlight ford between Aether's hand, forming a thin blade. Noble recognized it as a scalpel.
The surly Master opened his mouth in a string of curses. But before he could pull away his hand, the deed had been done. In a flash, a tiny cut released the offending wood, and not a single drop of blood was spilled.
Flint went silent.
The youngest mber of the group gave one of his rare dazzling smiles. "I would have loved to be a surgeon. If the Spell hadn't chosen , I an." He looked at Flint in the eye. "I ant it when I said I envied your healing ability."
Flint chewed his lip. "Yes, well...not everyone can be as amazing as I am, it's true. Still...that trick there has its uses."
It was as close to a complint as Aether was going to get, and he knew it. His dazzling smile turned positively incandescent.
The surly Master grunted. "Turn off the light bulb, boy. We already have one sun."
They finished packing the camp and headed back to the caravan.
Aether scanned the people as they neared. "I just assud since none of you had ntioned her, but Master Helie isn't with you, is she?"
"No, we've had no word from her yet. We sent letters to the seaside and left a note in the treehouse fortress for her to join us here." Noble told him.
Roan nodded. "Helie is resourceful. She will find a way."
"That is assuming she is still alive." Flint clicked his tongue.
"She's alive," Noble pressed her hand to her chest.
The Kingdom Keeper attribute was not pulling her in any direction nor giving her any indication of where the last Master might be, but Noble still felt in her core that Helie was out there sowhere.
The surly Master shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. There aren't many places left to hide in this crumbling world."
"Crumbling world?" Aether knit his eyebrows. "What is that supposed to an?"
Flint's eyes shone with sudden amusent. "Have we not told you? This world is being consud by Nightmare Gates."
"What?" The young man's mouth fell open.
"It gets better! There is no Spell here to help them close the gates, so they are multiplying like rabbits." Flint raised his hands. "But don't worry, Your Most High and Mightiness! Syrce has a treasure trove of goodies that Mirage made, and she thinks one of them while save us all from absolute destruction."
Aether opened and closed his mouth many tis, looking like a fish out of water. Flint slapped him on his shoulder.
"I can see by your vacant expression that you need things explained more slowly. Allow to start at the beginning…"
Noble rolled her eyes. "Here we go again."
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