When the dragon landed on one of the rooftops of the fortress and put me down, I stumbled on my feet, but at least I didn't have other accidents.
"Are those creatures so dangerous that you can't deal with them? The one with the saggy skin on it followed me in the cave..."
"I know. I saw it. That's why I swallowed you back then and bit my tongue so I can fool it with the blood. These creatures are made. I'm not sure about the process, but they are wicked. It was very rare to see one in the past, but these past couple of days I see them quite often. In the graveyards and wherever there are corpses. I heard the people from the villages calling them kasha. Besides..."
"Besides...?"
Pyrope looked around and I knew that despite the sea of fog, he could clearly see the forest and the surroundings beyond the walls of the fortress.
"There are many mysteries about those creatures, but the only thing I'm sure of is that they are controlled by someone. You mentioned again that priestess of Namsamal... if she is such an important person, then there was no trifle matter if she went on a search in person."
"Yeah... it's very possible they were searching this pouch. By the way, how did you find it? Also, how did you know where to find the killers?"
Pyrope smiled mysteriously, then made a sign with his head to follow him inside the fortress.
"We were truly lucky," he explained. "I knew they would have trouble with the ship, especially with the weather. I know that cave system very well – I will take you to see it someday – and it's hard to pass it even in good weather, but when it rains or snows... none dares to travel though there, unless they have a veteran sailor of the cataracts, and now is impossible to find one."
"Why?"
Pyrope mused. He was obviously enjoying indulging my curiosity, while walking really slowly.
"Because these were pirates and in recent years, they were all killed. That cave system was used by them to pillage the ships that came in Galanthia and after many losses, the king had enough. In the caves, there are certain spots that gather the ruined ships' pieces and that's how the pirates were collecting the treasures that remained. That's where I went to look for and I found the pouch. Oh, the previous king gave the order to kill the pirates."
"Previous king? You knew him?"
"Only from a safe distance. He was a great king, one that valued his subjects. And he was powerful. Ten years ago, none dared to pick fights with the Kingdom of Galanthia. Now Galanthia is a vassal state. We're here!"
He stopped abruptly and I was disappointed, as I wanted to hear more.
"Where?"
"A bathroom and a hot spring. You stink! I stink! And I'm cold from swimming in the river."
I was kinda embarrassed by his blunt response, but I listened and went to clean myself. When I finished, I went to the hot spring, where Pyrope was sleeping, apparently covered by steam. It took me a few moments to decide if I should enter the water in his presence, but I find it weird to be ashamed in front of him, as he already saw me naked and tended to my wounds, so I just gave up on pudour and stepped into the stone basin. The hot water felt like heaven for my frozen muscles and I instantly relaxed.
But I also felt cold inside and somehow sad. I closed my eyes and leaned my head on my arm.
"Why are you sad? Because of those two?"
"I'm not sure. I feel some heaviness on my chest. For some reason, it reminded me of something from my childhood. From where I came from, there was a saying, that revenge is the weapon of the fool. When I was about five years old, I used to wake up at night and sneak out in the little classroom where the older children were learning by day. There, behind the teacher's desk, was a shelf with books. My attention was always drawn to a very big book with old stories and images that the teachers weren't interested in, but they never allowed children to touch it. I learned to read by myself while watching others trying to write and spell and for the little me back then that was like discovering magic. My little world became all of a sudden much bigger. Maybe that's why I couldn't connect with the other children. They never sought the stories of others, when they were struggling finding out theirs. Those of my age were interested only in playing and the older ones ignored me. Those children never wanted to stay there for too long to create connections, they all hoped that they'd find a loving family to offer them a better life, but... that was rarely the case. Many of those children were taken for a few days or weeks, then brought back by their foster parents, who had for various reasons a change of heart. So I ceased to hope of finding a family."
I stopped, realising that I deviated from the subject, but his silence made me want to tell him more, even if he wasn't listening. it didn't matter if he was listening or not, i just wanted to talk about things I never shared with anyone before.
"I spent my time there trying to be invisible as much as possible, because I observed others enough to know that getting attention ment trouble, either caused by the teachers that seemed to hate their time among us, or the other children that were in competition each time a potential family appeared. Also... that kept me safe from disappearing..."
"Disappearing?"
"The name of my first orphanage was Lumina... and children were disappearing from there... It was a matter of time until I would've disappeared too."
"Why?"
I didn't want to answer that question. I didn't want to remember that part. I got out of the water and dressed myself in one of the dresses I found in the pouch, putting aside a thick mantle made from velvet and white fur, then sat on the round stone bench near the wall, gazing blankly at the steam that seemed to take different shapes, like thousands of incense sticks. There was a comforting smell in the air. Something like moss, pine needles, wet stones and rain. I inhaled deeply, feeling my eyelids very heavy.
"Anyway, I still remember the feeling of those yellow pages of that big book on the tips of my fingers. I had the impression that the paper was going to crumble into dust at a simple touch, but surprisingly, the book resisted. The first story that I read from that big book was about a peasant that was angry with a fox that came to steal his chickens. He wanted to get revenge on the fox, but wanted to kill all the foxes, so no threat could be done to his farm anymore because of those animals. So he set a trap for the fox and set on fire the fox's tail, thinking that the fox will go to its family and so he'll get rid of all the other foxed that threatened his chickens. But the fox with the tail on fire ran into the ripened fields of wheat that were almost ready to harvest and they were set ablaze and soon the fire spread throughout the fields and the nearby forest, surrounding the village and killing its inhabitants that were trapped inside, including the peasant that set the fox's tail on fire. And the moral of that story was that revenge is the weapon of the fool. When I was little, those images with the fox made me feel sorry for the poor animal and I hated the peasant that caused its death, considering that he got what he deserved. But now that I think about this story again... I think that the peasant should've just handled the things one by one. That story makes me feel bad for both the peasant and the fox."
"The right thing to do was to just kill that one fox that caused him losses, instead of thinking to take revenge on all the foxes."
Pyrope's voice was coming muffled from the waves of steam, and his white shape was moving sinuously out of the water.
"If someone would've given me this answer a few years before, I would've become very upset, but now... I consider it to be the right thing to do too.
"Of course it is. People have very little to hold on, so they must protect it. To have little and lose even that would mean losing your means to an end. At least for the poor."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Do you have any idea how the common folk live? I mean here, in this world."
"I saw a little when I got out of the castle..."
"In the capital things are different, but not by much. The ones who have magic and battle skills can find work, although, there are many limits imposed in that area too, by the noble families that rule the kingdom, but for the ordinary people... things can get really ugly. The further from the capital you go, the greater the poverty."
"So in that matter, things are no different from my world."
"Yes, the rich and powerful rule the world... or at least keep peace by force. And right now, we are weak and poor. If you want to survive, yield more power, by all means. For now, it's wise to avoid the outside world, but eventually..."
I nodded. I knew that relying solely on him wouldn't be a safe decision for the future, but I wasn't ready yet to undergo such a change. I needed some more time to rest.
"The main reason I chose to run away from those creatures wasn't because I was afraid for my safety, but because you said you wanted to keep our existence a secret."
Pyrope bore into my eyes, searching for an answer. I gave him a faint smile and rose to my feet, putting the cloak on my shoulders and walking towards the basement exit. He followed me closely.
"Don't you want to know why?" I asked, when we got to the end of the corridor and so far he didn't say a word.
"I do, but I allow you to grind on my nerves with your secrecy."
I laughed and went up the stairs at the first level of the fortress, then stopped suddenly and turned towards him, as I sensed the difference in temperature.
"It's not cold here."
Pyrope frowned. I looked down the hall. Despite the broken windows, the air inside was warm. I went near the window and looked outside. I expected the ground to be covered with snow but the earth was wet as if it just rained.
"I mean... When we met we were on the third level of the fortress and in that room was a fireplace. But at this level it's quite warm. If it was warm here, why did we stay in the cold?"
The dragon shrugged.
"I took you there because of the boar. If I carried it here it would've decayed already. And I didn't want to bring you here, then make you walk all the way up to feed you. It was easier for me. Besides, why are you complaining? I warmed you up."
"Are there many hot springs in Galanthia? Is there any volcano here?"
"There are many in the capital, a few here and there in and out of this fortress. The Amethyst Mountain is a volcano after all."
"Is it active?"
"Yes. There's a lava river near the west wall of the fortress, that keeps away any invaders that can't fly. Ah, and the northern side was quite affected and buried in lava, but I stopped the spreading of magma by digging a ditch that connected it with the one from the west side."
"No wonder this place was abandoned."
"It was abandoned long before that. That lava river flows there only in the cold season, but it extinguishes in the warm days and summer."
"And where does this lava river go?" I asked, although I kinda guessed the answer.
"The king's castle. When it reaches the edge of the forest, it enters beneath some enchanted stone bridges that look like regular streets which lead to the capital."
My head started to hurt.
"But how is that even possible? Can magic ignite cold lava? Is that truly lava though?"
"It looks like lava and flows from the Amethyst Mountain... A powerful mage can infuse the magma with mana and prolong its state, fire mages do that all the time... but to be able to do that for such a long period... that means that either there are more mages engaged in maintaining the fire, or the one who is doing it is horrendously powerful."
"Bezmal is doing that? Or the priests that I saw in the Great Hall? I remember that someone said that the king hires the most powerful people... or maybe is that hydra beneath the castle that they feed corpses?"
I turned towards Pyrope, suddenly having a very bad feeling.
"Let's see what's in that pouch," he said with impatience. "By the way, I threw away a few things from inside, mainly clothes."
"Why?"
"Because I saw those creatures searching the river and I thought that throwing a few clothes and coins would fool them into thinking that the treasure was just swallowed by the waters."
My blood ran cold. I started to pace back and forth.
"Did I make a mistake?"
"When I was at the inn, the landlady said to me that most of the prisoners were already caught and their weapons – which I gave them – recuperated. This pouch was in the king's chambers and surely contains more important things than gold and clothes. I remember seeing some maps and books. I'm sure they want it back at any cost. They found the objects you threw into the river, but they will search for some bodies too..."
"And there are no bodies, because I burnt them! So they will know there is someone else."
"Now that I think about it, we made the right call. Leaving corpses behind doesn't sit right to me when it comes to that priestess, and leaving them alive was a danger for me, especially when I went to such great lengths to fake my death."
Pyrope's eyes almost pop out.
"You faked your death? How? Now I need to find out everything that has happened to you since you came here."
"I will tell you, but first..." I bit my lips. "You may think that I'm exaggerating, and maybe it's true, but I really feel we should get away from this place as soon as possible."
He stared at me in silence for a few moments, completely still, and I started to feel quite silly.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. No. I don't know. When you say it like this I kinda doubt myself. Maybe... for a few days, just to make sure... We can stay... or... What do you think? I wouldn't want to leave this place, but..."
"Fine. Let's take that boar and the wooden staff from the fireplace room, then we can fly away."
My stomach churned at the thought of flying, but I nodded and followed him to the last floor. I totally forgot about the wooden staff with the sculpture of a dragon lady.
"The daggers and the staff were already here?"
"No. Those are my personal belongings. They belonged to the ones who tried to kill me but got killed instead."
I ran after him, trying to keep up.
"Don't you think I'm exaggerating? Because if you do, just ignore my..."
"No," he interrupted me harshly. "You dealt with those people already, so you should listen to your instincts if they warn you. Better exaggerate and be on guard, than treat your feelings with superficiality and be killed."
We stopped by the kitchen first, where I took all the vessels and the herbs and remaining sacks from the adjacent rooms, then took the boar, putting everything in the magic pouch. I held the wooden staff when something fell on the roof and me and Pyrope both froze at the sound of heavy steps moving above.