"I disagree." Chronos spoke up. "I think they were coming to deal with the tear and then something went wrong at another location, she may be trying to warn them not to continue here."
"Oh, what makes you think that?" Vaelith asked.
"The dark beast chasing her was a deep-sea razorjaw and it was malformed. Tears only create dark beasts of the creatures that live in its local area, a deep-sea creature wouldn't be born within a tear in the swamp. The fact that it was malformed means that someone tried to interfere with the tear and something went wrong or perhaps tried to dispel the dark beast.
Has anybody actually tried dispelling them yet? It might work since they are formed from energy. No matter, we already know that something with intelligence is guiding the tears, so it probably sent the razorjaw to stop her." Chronos explained after his thoughts paused at dispelling.
"That's a possibility. We'll have to wake her up in the morning for questioning, her injuries need a little time to recover right now. It's been a long and rushed day; let's all get some rest."
It was already late at night and further discussions wouldn't help them at this point; they could only wait for morning to come.
Hopefully the mermaid had brought good news.
...
Early the next morning.
Before anyone had woken up Chronos' ears twitched then twitched again. His eyes snapped open, who was screeching at this horrific hour of the morning. It wasn't even time for his usual training.
Listening to the screeching he realized that it had a certain cadence and rhythm to it, similar to singing. Pinpointing its source he quietly walked over next to the hollow log infirmary stopping outside of the wall with the mermaid on the other side.
"Stop singing. It probably sounds nice underwater but above water it just sounds like screeching in my ears."
The voice trembled before continuing more strongly and aimed at Chronos instead of the matriarch on duty.
"Haah, that's not going to work on me. I told you it just sounds like screeching, don't force me to kill you." He muttered while drawing the heartwood war sword.
The voice stopped. The matriarch stirred then shook her head glancing at her surroundings before she returned to watching the still water pool for any changes.
Putting his sword away Chronos whispered, "Why didn't you try to talk things out first?"
Hesitating, she gradually replied. "I've been captured by savages. How did you think I would react?"
"Captured? You weren't captured; you were rescued from a deep-sea razorjaw that was chasing you. I suggest you show some more respect to those "savages" as you wouldn't be alive without their help. Also get out of your house more often while they might not live the same way you do, I don't think they can be called savages either." He said.
"They live in huts in a swamp and have no king, how are they not savages?" Her curiosity got the better of her.
"While it is true that they lack a king or queen the leaders of each tribe act as nobles and follow the eldest matriarch to develop all the tribes within the swamps. Treating them as individual forces when the entire swamp is united behind the eldest matriarch is quite foolish."
That gave her a moment's pause, if they really were united then they were a much stronger force than she had been led to believe.
"You probably won't tell me your purpose so let's start with something simpler. What's your name?" Chronos asked.
She hesitated once more, clearly trying to decide just how much to tell this strange man standing on the other side of the wall.
"Naerith."
"That's a good name; it means moon song in lethariel, right?"
"It does. Do you know much about ancient elvish?"
Not many land dwellers could understand the ancient meaning of her name, she couldn't help but wonder who this man was.
"Enough to speak it, though my elvish friends tell me it sounds like rocks grinding together when I speak. Was there a reason you were being chased by a razorjaw? According to those who rescued you, it was very determined to kill you."
She hesitated again and Chronos couldn't help but wonder if her mission was really that important or if she was still looking down on the lizardfolk as savages. She wouldn't have any reason to discuss her mission with them if she didn't think they could help.
"It would be best to speak face to face about this."
"Do you mind if I call the Matriarch in charge?"
"Please do, I may need their help for what is to come."
As Chronos walked towards the sleeping basins a gasp came from behind him. Naerith had just seen him for the first time and was shocked to see a tall werewolf with gray-fur covered in blood red patterns.
"Is he one of them? I thought they were all dead." She whispered under her breath.
Chronos' only thought was, "How does my clan know the merfolk empire? Did one of my relatives do something stupid with a mermaid?"
That would make some sense. His family had never been the most restrained.
Nudging Vaelith he had to block her tail as it tried to coil around his neck as she woke up hissing.
"Next time just tap the stone, it is a much gentler way to wake up a naga."
"I'm sorry but our guest is awake and would like to speak with you." He bowed his head in apology.
She entered the hollow log infirmary and gestured for Chronos to follow her. If she was meeting with an envoy it would help to have a noble in the room, even if he wasn't currently recognized as one.
"Hello, I'm Vaelith, the leader of logistics within the southern swamps. To what do we owe the pleasure of a count's daughter in our swamps?"
"You knew I was a count's daughter?"
"Your necklace does indicate your position." She pointed at the heraldry and symbol beneath it that indicated her position.
"I see, I suppose it's best to be truthful. I am Naerith Wavecaller, daughter of Count Wavecaller and I have been dispatched to try and stop Lord Kaelvar Brinecrest from trying to close the tear in your swamp."
Vaelith squinted when she heard this.
"Why would you want to prevent its closure? Closing tears will stop the dark beasts and prevent the thorns from appearing."
"Because our traditional methods didn't work when we tried it on a different tear. When it was supposed to close it spit out a large number of dark beasts and then immediately became a thorn. My people are still trying to stop it nearly two weeks later." She grimaced at the memory of that time.
"How do your people close the tears? Is it an issue with your magic or someone else interfering?" Vaelith asked.
"We don't know yet, all that we have been able to determine is that our harmonic magic that closed it in the past is no longer effective."
"Hm, did you not enter the tear and attack the crystal at its core first?" Chronos interrupted them.
"Of course not. Everyone know that entering a tear is suicide, nobody escapes from them until they have been closed."
Chronos and Vaelith looked at each other with a knowing expression. Due to the tears forming world crystals inside of them you couldn't close them externally any longer and from the looks of it any attempt to do so would cause a violent reaction from the tear.
Turning back to Naerith they informed her of this recent discovery and the method to enter the tears without being turned to stone.
"Hahahaha, you can't be serious. There has never been someone capable of moving inside of a tear, any attempt to enter them has always resulted in failure." Looking at their expressions, she got the feeling that they weren't joking.
"How is that even possible?" Naerith wondered.
"Well, I get the feeling that the Tri-Goddess church has been entering tears for a long time now. They were prepared to enter the one in the north when they arrived at least. Since we live on the surface it's possible that our methods are just different but give the same result too."
Chronos offered his perspective on the issue, but he honestly didn't understand why it was such a shocking method. If there was a way in, then there must be a way to survive on the other side.
Naerith looked like her whole world had just been turned upside down. No matter how she thought about it no sane person would willingly walk into a tear when they had no assurance of ever making it back.
Maybe that was what made her father respect the land dwellers so much. Even without assurance they did stupid things and survived.
"If this is true then it's even more important that I meet with Lord Kealvar. How soon can you arrange a meeting for me?"