Ryan followed Femur onto the Airship.
It felt as if time was slowing down after each step.
The Skeleton he regarded as a friend was a monster, and he was certain he would die.
When he looked up, he saw Femur looking at his pocket watch.
"Would you mind hurrying up? We don't have much time."
Ryan took a deep breath and took the last few steps to the deck.
To his surprise, there was a table filled with food and a tea set.
Femur took his place next to one of the two chairs.
"Would you please take your seat? We have quite a bit to discuss."
As Ryan reached the chair, he scraped together all the bravery he had left.
"What is going on? Are you going to kill me?"
When he sat down, Femur started laughing.
"Why would I kill you now? After I spent so much time and effort keeping you alive?"
Ryan blinked a few times as Femur filled his cup with tea.
After he was done, he poured a cup for himself.
The Skeleton sat down and picked up the cup.
A strange blue fire enveloped Femur's hand and moved up his arm.
To Ryan, it almost looked like a raging river of magic forming around the Skeleton.
When it was done, he had a very familiar human face.
It did look older, but Ryan recognised his own face.
He rose so quickly his chair flew back, and he turned around to flee.
Before he could take a step, he was suddenly frozen.
After a moment, Femur circled Ryan.
"Why did you try to run? There is no danger here."
Ryan couldn't move his head, but he could speak.
"You are one of them."
Femur stood in front of Ryan.
"I assure you, I am not a Changeling. I am you from a doomed future."
Ryan started laughing.
"You need to find better jokes."
Femur sighed
"How can I convince you?"
Ryan stayed silent as Femur scratched his chin.
After a moment of thought, he smiled.
He leaned close and whispered into Ryan's ear.
"After Bell slapped your shoulder, you almost killed her. That night you couldn't sleep. The next day, you wanted to make amends, but then she called you fragile. You know the rest."
Ryan swallowed hard.
He didn't want to think back to that time.
The time he almost hurt Bell.
"Fine. I will believe you for now. Where are we going, and why?"
The magic that held him in place dissipated, and he took his seat again.
Ryan's appetite left him, so he started drinking the tea.
"You said that you kept me alive. What did you do?"
Femur took a sip of his tea and smiled.
"Not as much as you think. I did step in twice. I brought Aleksandar to the Orc village so that he could pick up Angelica, and I killed the Changeling in the Amazon Guild."
Ryan mentally went through every conversation with Femur.
"When you were singing that night. Was the story about Isabelle?"
Femur nodded.
"Yes, but do not fret. My Isabelle, my Queen, my heart is gone, and I do not crave what you have earned."
Ryan's mind raced through every reason why he did what he did.
There wasn't a single answer he could think of.
He decided that it would be easier to just give up and ask the Skeleton, or whatever he was.
"Why and how did you go back in time?"
Femur sighed.
"Let us not worry about that now. Why don't you eat and take off that armour, then we can talk as much as you like. Do we have a deal?"
For a moment, Ryan felt bad for the way he spoke to Femur.
All he could do was nod and follow Femur's instructions.
It was so uncanny to see an older version of himself.
He also had one Elven eye, just like Ryan.
When Femur caught Ryan's gaze, he smiled.
"So, Ryan. What was it like with the Elves?"
Ryan shrugged.
"They are strange. They take on a mortal life to stave off madness. Their culture is very strict and rigid."
Femur nodded.
"I know, some of them don't do the Role and they are fine. To me, it seems more like an excuse to take a holiday."
Just as Ryan was about to laugh, he realised something.
"How do you know it is called the Role?"
After Femur took a sip of his tea, he spoke.
"I built the prison. I made a deal with the Clanmaster that in return I wanted a favour."
Ryan clenched his jaw so tight that the words almost didn't come out.
"What would your favour be?"
Femur put down his tea and looked Ryan in the eye.
"I wanted them to figure out who opened the portal. My plan was made redundant when you exceeded all my expectations."
Ryan was stunned, and after a moment, Femur spoke again.
"I have something for you. It is another offering to show that I truly mean you no harm."
Femur got up and gave Ryan a few pieces of paper.
"What is this?"
Femur pointed to the top of the paper, and Ryan recognised some of the names.
"These are all the names that the Changeling I interrogated knew. If you had not gone to the Amazon Guild, I would not have this information."
The names at the top were Caelum and Fay.
"The Wizard Guild… How many of them and why?"
Femur sighed and took his seat again.
"During the trial, Reina and the Wizard Guild leaders were Changelings. They wanted all the information about the portal they could find."
Ryan's head shot up from the papers.
"Did they open the portal?"
Femur nodded.
Ryan slammed his hand on the table.
"Then they should be able to close it?"
Femur shook his head.
"You only need a match to start a wildfire. Their entire order doesn't have enough magic for that."
Ryan rubbed his forehead.
"Then why open the portal at all? Also, what was Reina's angle?"
"They wanted to escape to their own realm, because magic is much more plentiful. Reina's purpose was to have a new Guild be their home if they failed."
Ryan slumped back onto his chair and started laughing.
"So this is it? We are doomed, but at least we know who killed us all."
Just as Ryan was ready to fall into despair, he heard Femur chuckling.
"There is a way to close the portal. I will show you tomorrow. Go below deck. Get some rest."