Zavari led the trio and the other native towards the middle of the large complex, walking across the plant-covered ground in long strides.

  As they walked through the remains of the Xendarii complex, Lio kept her head on a swivel. She wanted to take in all the sights, see every last nook and cranny, and get access to the archives here. If Zavari learned enough to speak the language fluently just by reading the logs, they must have really been extensive. She was so excited to get her hands on them!

  Zavari talked with Oris and Vaetra while she followed quietly. She used her Xendarii holo-display to record everything they were saying, filing it away to listen to later.

  The hallways alone were filled with history if one knew what to look for! The angular, glass hallways spoke of this complex being something that the Xendarii didn’t think would get put under much stress. The rooms themselves were spacious and mostly empty from any Xendarii artefacts. That might have just been because the natives emptied the rooms of any artefacts or reused them, but Lio couldn’t tell from just a stroll- well, she could have asked Zavari but didn’t.

  With all the glass and the spacious rooms, Lio would have thought this complex a sort of greenhouse. If it was some sort of research complex, it certainly had been built with an almost reverent confidence in technology- a confidence now replaced by the wild reclamation of nature. Every step Lio took revealed more of the layers of history: shattered glass ceilings now serving as skylights for creeping ivy, and corridors where sleek panels were etched with the intricate scrawl of indigenous markings.

  She wanted so desperately to pull out her tablet and enter her observations, to take pictures and recreate how this could have looked in its prime, but she didn’t want to slow down for one moment. There was so much to see!

  Every step of hers revealed more layers, other angles of remains brimming with history. She had only ever visited one Xendarii complex, the one on Caldrith’s shard, and that was as part of her training. Every archivist needed to complete their training before even getting their implants and those were usually held at rebuilt Xendarii complexes. But that didn’t count. Those had been rebuilt by the Court and lost their charm.

  Oh, how she loved strolling through ruins, even if the ones here probably didn’t count either. No, they did. These ruins had been colonised by another civilisation and just spoke even more to her. This wasn’t just the story of the Xendarii represented here, but the story of how the remnants of their culture influenced the development of the natives.

  As Zavari paused at a large domelike room at the center of the complex to explain something, Lio ran past him to investigate the room.

  In the middle of the room, half buried in the ground and reclaimed by the creeping vines that covered the entirety of the ground, laid a huge purple tinted crystal. It had a long crack running alongside the exposed half, branching into multiple at the top.

  Lio immediately recognised it, her breath catching in her throat. She dropped to her knees beside the crystal, brushing aside leaves and dirt with trembling fingers. The surface was cool to the touch, slick and smooth beneath the grime, and it pulsed faintly- faint enough that someone unfamiliar with Xendarii tech would miss it entirely.

  “A functioning archive,” she whispered, barely daring to believe it.

  Zavari followed after her at a much more sedate pace, his voice a hush, reverent even by his usual melodic standards. “Old memory-stone,” he said. “Whispers when the sun touches it. We keep it warm.”

  Oris approached, hands on his hips as he stared at the crystal like it might bite. “Is it safe?” He asked, an unexplainable terror gripping at him.

  Lio didn’t answer. She was already pulling out her tools, tiny connectors flicking to life in her palms with practiced ease. Her implants hummed with anticipation, syncing with the crystal’s dormant field. She could almost feel the archive stir beneath her- like a sleeper roused by a familiar voice. Yet, it did not rouse. Something kept it dormant and Lio already disliked it.

  “Look at those symbols... Are all of those Xendarii?” Vaetra asked, holding onto Oris’s hand as she felt his distress.

  Lio shook her head, stopping with the connectors an inch from the surface. “It has been modified... there’s a second script interwoven,” she said, setting the connectors aside and grabbing her tablet again to record everything. “This is... advanced.”

  “It spoke to us, and we listened,” Zavari said, nodding proudly.

  Lio lowered the tablet and looked up at Zavari, truly looking at him for the first time. She had dismissed him as primitive due to his simian appearance and his comrade, but now she noticed something else in his gaze. He had been surveying them just like she had surveyed him.

  “You learned from this,” Lio murmured, “not just the language.”

  Zavaris simian features softened into a smile. “Yes. It held stories of old, yet we could not control what it shared. We only managed to modify it so it shared stories in a rhythm. Every night with the moon shining high overhead, our... clergy meets and listens to the... ar-chive.”

  “Zavari...” Lio stopped, reconsidering her approach. She mulled over her words, completely ignoring Oris and Vaetra. “This clergy... would you mind introducing me?”

  Zavari’s smile remained, but his gaze turned pensive. “You ask not for stories, but for their keepers. That is rare.”

  “I ask for both,” Lio replied gently. “Stories live in people just as much as in stones.”

  Zavari considered her for a moment longer, then gave a small nod. “Come, then. It is nearly dusk. We gather soon and I believe your comrades are not as interested as you. Would you two want me to lead you to some quarters?”

  He turned and led the way down a narrow corridor overgrown with vines that pulsed faintly with bioluminescence- residue, perhaps, from old tech or an evolutionary echo of the archive’s glow. Lio jumped up and grabbed her stuff, quickly following after him and waving the others after her.

  Vaetra tugged at Oris’s hand, pulling him out of his indecision. “Are you alright, darling?”

  “Y-Yeah,” he replied hesitantly, following after Lio and Zavari. He kept holding onto Vaetras hand, the knowledge that she’s so close and ready to defend themselves if this turned out to be a trap. “This archive thing- it’s just giving me shivers. I feel like it’s glaring at me- but I know it’s just a computer.”

  “I don’t like it either, but let’s get a room first and then we can relax,” Vaetra said, trying to reassure him.

  Lio meanwhile, was back to excitedly investigating every single detail of the Xendarii complex she found and asking Zavari a barrage of questions. Their conversation swelled until Vaetra and Oris just followed them without a word, listening to their conversation with smiles on their faces.

  Zavari, unlike Lio, managed to stay on track, diverting Lios question from rooms that sprouted off from their path to something that was actually on their path. Oris got the distinct impression that Zavari was used to dealing with inquisitive individuals and leading dialogues. Every question Lio rattled off, he answered to the best of his ability and asked questions in return that made her pause and reconsider her point of view.

  The winding corridor narrowed as they moved deeper into the complex, the soft blue-green glow from the bioluminescent vines casting strange shadows on the glass walls. Ahead, the tunnel opened into a wide amphitheater-like chamber. The floor was uneven, cracked in places, with roots threading between the gaps and curling up like old fingers.

  Zavari made a grand gesture toward the chamber, inviting the group inside. “None of the chambers are currently available, but I hope that this room will suffice for you to rest. Do you require something, like food or drink?”

  “Oh, what sort of food do you eat?” Lio asked, staying close to Zavari. “Your teeth hint at you being carnivores- but I’d say you also eat fruits, so... some sort of omnivore? Like us.”

  Zavari stared at her, his thoughts churning as he searched for the right words. In the end, he tapped his nose twice with a grin.

  “You use Xendarii gestures?!” Lio exclaimed, almost vibrating with excitement. “How long until the moon appears here and I can interface with the archives?”

  “Five hours,” Zavari replied, gesturing for the visitors to sit down. “Please use them to rest. Comrades of mine will bring you food and drink.”

  Lio grabbed Zavaris hand as he turned to leave, asking “Can’t we keep talking? I have so many questions.”

  “Patience is a virtue,” he replied, slowly pulling his hand out of her grasp. “I need to take care of my duties, but I will collect you for the ritual.”

  With that, he turned around and left, his tail swaying softly behind him and helping him keep balance on the ground.

  Lio pouted, but set her bag down, unrolling the bedroll and sprawling out on top of it, her eyes scanning over the amphitheatre. She activated her implants again, conjuring up illusions in her mind of her tablet. Graphs, paragraphs of texts, and pictures from their walk here filled her vision as she started to look through the records.

  Sure, she was supposed to rest, but she was way too giddy to actually sleep, and this was a sort of rest for her. It did exhaust her, but she enjoyed it and it helped her unwind. With five hours of time to relax, she could probably spend one and a half hours reading and making notes and spend the rest sleeping.

  Oris had already sat down with Vaetra next to Lio when he nudged her in the side to get her attention. “Lio, why did the Xendarii gesture surprise you so much?”

  With a sigh, Lio dismissed the countless windows and sat up, looking at Oris. “That meant either that they have cultural texts or stories in the archives- something that we haven’t found anywhere yet- at least to my knowledge,” she explained, “Or- what I think is more likely- that they have seen videos or test feeds where people performed those gestures. Maybe they even have lectures from this place.”

  “Why would the archives here have lectures?” Vaetra asked, resting her head on Oris’s shoulder.

  Lio scowled. “Did you not notice how Zavari talks? He speaks like a professor. That’s probably because this used to be a university or something similar- maybe a research lab that also held lectures.”

  Oris shook his head, gesturing at the structure surrounding them. “This is way too fragile for a Xendarii lab. The labs on Caldrith’s shard were all reinforced to the core and back,” he countered, grabbing his canteen and taking another sip before offering it to Vaetra.

  Vaetra accepted it and took a sip. “Maybe it was a university.”

  “If it was, it most certainly also had people researching personal projects,” Lio said, taking a swig of her own canteen and sighing happily as she felt the sting of the scotch running down her throat. “I assume this entire jungle and Zavaris race are results of this. Maybe there was a jungle here before and the destruction of this complex just changed it to what we found here. Maybe this was a university focused on agricultural research or changing life.”

  “So you think these... monkeys managed to modify and learn from one of the Xendarii archives that we wasted hundreds of thousands of coins to restore?” Oris asked, stuffing the canteen back into his coat.

  Grimacing, Lio took another swig to hide her displeasure. “Yeah... Either that or something else interfered. But why would something enlighten them and then just leave?”

  “So that only leaves dumb luck that they expanded upon,” Oris summarised, resting a hand on Vaetras waist. He glanced over at her, only to notice that Vaetra was already fast asleep.

  Lio laid back down, opening up a few of her windows as she replied, “Guess so. Still, that’s very impressive. I’m gonna see if I can come up with another theory, or we can just ask Zavari once he’s back. Poke me when the food arrives. I’m working.”

  With those words, she pulled her beanie over her ears. She put on music and filled her vision with different windows, swapping between them to work on whatever her thoughts led her to. Her implants were so useful! One moment, she was writing her report to hand in for her superiors, the next moment, she was going through her playlists and queuing up songs while listening to the recording of the conversation from the others she had recorded earlier. After queuing up everything she wanted, some songs twice or thrice, she went to a personal file on her theories about what happened here.

  Technically, she wasn’t allowed to create or share personal files using her implants, but there was no way anyone could force her to share those or even know they existed- as far as she knew. Most of her personal files were just wild speculations on what Xendarii civilisation was like, but she enjoyed crafting those theories. It was like her own world, the history seen through her perspective. She knew that most of those were far too far-fetched to be even remotely realistic, but it was fun.

  The five hours went by in a flash, with Oris keeping on watch and Lio working on her files. Vaetra slept through the entirety of their wait.

  Zavari soon came back, followed by two individuals dressed in elaborate robes. Crystals like those of the archive dangled from threads all over their outfits, clinking like chimes in the wind. “Everything is prepared. Please join us,” Zavari said.

  Oris nudged Vaetra awake. “Let’s go.”

  “Five minutes,” she grumbled, but stood up all the same.

  The three quickly packed their things back up before following the three natives. Lio quickly got Zavaris attention and asked, “Zavari, have you any recollections of what this complex was before it was destroyed? If not, do you think it was a university or a research complex?”

  “I am not familiar with either of these words,” Zavari replied, “but from what we have gathered, it seems like they used this building to evolve the plants and animals they used for food. We, for example, seem to stem from here as well. Our tribe stumbled upon this many, many moons ago and stayed for the... big tree at first. Once we got our first glimpses of knowledge from the archive, we stayed and made our tribe here permanent.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Lio hung onto every word, a grin on her face from sheer excitement. “You stayed here without any problems? Don’t you have to worry about predators or others that want this place? I assume the tree handles most of your needs, but you said you’re omnivores, so you need to hunt. What do you hunt?”

  The two natives with Zavari laughed at her eagerness, sharing a few words in their native language, while Zavari was still thinking over his response. “Any path is wrought with peril, but the boon of the archives made out history quite comfortable. We’re safe from predators that can’t climb unless we get caught in an ambush,” Zavari said, waving to other natives that were climbing across the ceiling as they passed. “How is your island?”

  “A forest instead of a jungle- less plants in general and more trees,” Oris cut in, “Do you have any airships?”

  “No,” Zavari replied curtly, taking the hint to drop that thread of the conversation.

  The archive was now alight with small braziers made out of repurposed Xendarii tech, natives spread around the room in small groups. Lio whimpered as she noticed the bent and broken casing of a centrifuge being used, the head acting as its foot now with the bottom where the machine used to be located acting as the bowl for the wood.

  Zavari led Lio and the others to the center, sitting down in front of the archive in a ceremonial circle painted on the ground. The soft murmur of the assembled natives mingled with the steady hum of ancient machinery as the ceremony began in earnest. The dim light from the repurposed tech-braziers flickered over faces, casting long shadows over the walls.

  Zavari sat at the head of the circle, his gaze serene yet commanding, as he began to speak in the cadenced language of his people- words that Lio had only half-deciphered but which resonated with an undeniable cadence and depth.

  “We are the custodians of memory,” Zavari intoned softly, “and tonight, under the benevolent gaze of the moon, the archive shall awaken.” His words carried the weight of tradition and mystery, words that stirred the dormant pulse of the crystal in the center of the room. In that charged moment, the purple-tinged crystal shifted imperceptibly, its intricate lattice pulsing with a renewed rhythm- a heartbeat that felt as ancient as time itself.

  It had activated.

  The leaders of the small groups of natives translated Zavaris words for their brethren.

  Lio’s fingers tightened around her tablet, every sensor in her being attuned to the interplay of light and shadow, past and present. She fought a surge of impatience tempered by a reverence for the unknown. She wanted to tell them to hurry up, but didn’t know what their runes did.

  As the moon edged its way into view, silvering the fractured dome with an ephemeral glow, Vaetra- quiet smile playing on her lips despite being barely awake- murmured, “It’s as though the light itself carries a message.” The words mingled with the ensemble of voices, each native echoing layers of belief formed over their history. Oris, his hand still resting protectively on Vaetra’s shoulder, glanced at Lio with a blend of concern and curiosity; the tension in his eyes belied the calm exterior of his tone.

  Zavari stepped forward to the purple crystal, humming along as he traced along the Xendarii script that covered the crystal and tapping on each of the symbols that they had added. “Tonight-“ Zavari starts, but a loud, booming voice interrupted him.

  A digitally constructed voice, made audible by magic, reverberated through the room. It sounded decidedly androgynous, with no hints of emotion or personality in its tone. “Why have you brought this Scourge here?”

  A heavy silence descended as the echo of that disembodied command faded into the dim glow of the archive’s failing luminescence. The chamber, once alive with whispered traditions and cautious excitement, fell mute- a collective intake of breath among the gathered souls. Zavari’s hand froze mid-gesture, the tender humming of ancient syllables lingering on his tongue like suspended notes of a long-forgotten song. The digital tone, unnervingly devoid of humanity, repeated, “Why have you brought this Scourge here?”

  In the wake of the interruption, Oris’s protective gaze hardened as he exchanged a laden look with Vaetra, whose eyelids drooped in measured contemplation. Lio’s fingers tightened further around her tablet- a subtle reminder of a world of logic and sensor data colliding with the intangible pulse of myth. Zavari’s eyes narrowed, not in fear but in a determination born of countless generations who had nurtured the fragile union of past and present. He tilted his head, as if to listen to the secrets whispered by the stones and the quiet echoes of the archive, before speaking in a measured tone that sought to bridge the gap between ancient wisdom and the alien command.

  “Elari, Archive, we know not of this Scourge you speak of,” Zavari said. “Could you enlighten us?”

  “The one in your midst, the split soul- tainted,” its electronic voice rung out.

  Oris froze up. Vaetra grabbing his hand. This must have been a joke- a trick played on him.

  A pregnant silence held the chamber captive as Zavari’s words quivered on the precipice of revelation. The disembodied query, echoing through the arches of ancient stone and repurposed tech alike, reverberated into the souls of all present. The digital voice- impersonal yet brimming with an unsettling authority- had laid bare an accusation that no one dared immediately refute.

  Zavari steadied himself, his eyes narrowing as if scanning the depths of the crystal’s infinite memories. “Elari,” he repeated softly, the name both a plea and a challenge, “if what you say is true, then what force lies within our midst? Reveal to us this tainted soul!” The tones of his voice carried the weight of generations, each syllable reminiscent of a ritual long enshrined in the sacred archive.

  At that precise moment, Lio’s tablet flickered, its sensor arrays suddenly alight with erratic patterns that mirrored the uneasy cadence of the chamber. Her eyes darted across the different patterns of magical energies, recognising it for what it was. “Spell!” she called out, but Oris was already dodging.

  A ray of light shined down at where Oris had stood. It was not a combat spell, nor could it even hurt him at all, but it was enough to get every native’s attention.

  Zavari turned around, staring at Oris with wide eyes. “Explain yourself.”

  “I don’t know. I’m an Incarnate mage, but there’s no reason for it to find that offensive. It’s Xendarii technology,” he explained, grabbing Vaetras hand as she walked over to get ready for combat.

  The light beam shifted to cover Oris as the archive spoke again. “Do you think I would believe such brazen lies? You clearly bear the mark of the Scourge.”

  “I’m no scourge, machine,” Oris snapped, but the mark on his shoulder burned him as if to taunt him. “Speak clearly.”

  “How could I be any clearer?” the archive asked. A second later, it followed it up. “You bear the mark of the Scourge.”

  “Explain what the Scourge is, maybe?” Oris retorted, struggling to temper his voice. “Not everyone is as all-knowing as you.”

  Zavari stepped forward, interjecting himself in the conversation. “Elari, please enlighten us on what the Scourge is. We do not know what prompted you to address us directly, but if this Scourge is a continuous threat to you, show us how we can assist.”

  The archive stayed silent, the oppressive weight of expectation settling on the gathered individuals. Vaetra was clutching Oris’s hand hard enough for her nails to dig into the back of his hand, her eyes scanning the room for possible threats. The majority of the natives were fidgeting or talking in hushed tones, trying to figure out what to do in this new situation when their figure of worship seemed so openly hostile.

  “The Scourge is what reduced me to this state,” it explained after a painfully long pause, the beam of light on Oris dimming slowly before disappearing, “Most of the sensors I had access to were destroyed in the initial assault, leaving me in the dark as everything surrounding me was destroyed. I could you not tell you any specifics about the Scourge, but I spent these past years analysing everything in my data storage and advancing my theories. You, split-soul, are undoubtedly a kindred of the Scourge... But your other half is not. How peculiar.”

  Vaetra squeezed Oris’s hand tighter. One wrong move away from turning into a Scythe so Oris could cut them a way out of it. “What is it talking about?”

  “I’m not sure,” Oris replied, not wanting to worry Vaetra. If the archive was truly talking about the red dragon, that meant he was some sort of pawn of it or that it had done something when he first survived its attack. But why would it attack him again if it had wanted him to survive before? It made no sense unless it hadn’t actually attacked him, but that other monster.

  But what did it want him for? It wasn’t particularly smart or cunning from anything he’d seen and heard about it. It barely spoke.

  Lio forged ahead, trying to switch the topic. “Archive, Elari, what was the original purpose of this facility?”

  The archive answered immediately, “This facility was the biggest Xendarii facility solely related to the improvement of domesticated animals and plants. Outfitted with a rudimentary artificial intelligence, its archives were intended to sort and assist the research.”

  “Boring,” Vaetra muttered, holding Oris close. She didn’t like the topic shift, but didn’t want to swap back to something that could get the natives to attack them.

  Zavari held up a hand, trying futilely to quiet the conversations going on in the chamber. As the surrounding natives ignored him, their voices rising with each moment, he decided to call out over their conversations, “Elari, this visitor has shown no hostility. Could you enlighten us on what to do?”

  “It needs to leave. The Scourge could probably follow it and I can not risk it bringing about my- or your destruction,” the archive explained, the gem slowly dimming as the moon continued to move overhead. “Your tribe is precious to me. Do not invite a calamity when you could avoid it.”

  “Do you know of a way to leave the island? We fell down here and do not have the tools to send a message across islands,” Lio asked, her excitement threatening to bubble over as she pictured a hidden Xendarii ship.

  Oh, they could have a battleship, maybe. If there was a Xendarii shuttle on this planet, she might finally get direct access to Xendarii weapons for her to disassemble and research. Even if it was a jet, she would be able to write a thesis solely on the fuel found. There hadn’t been any fully intact Xendarii vehicles since the incident in Zareth-Kai where a group of rebels had gotten to an armoured land vehicle first. They proceeded to try to fight a hunter with it, only to get blown to bits as one of the hunter’s projectiles hit the vehicle’s fuel tank.

  The archive considered her question as she brimmed with excitement, a basic artificial tune ringing out as it went through hundreds of thousands of calculations of what it knew. “There might be a shuttle that survived. I do not know how the Calamity affected anything outside of my immediate vicinity except for what the simians told me, but there was a commercial flight field somewhere south. Plenty logs imply the existence of it.”

  “Are you just going to let us leave?” Oris asked, his grasp on Vaetras hand softening slightly.

  “Yes. I have no reason to keep you here, and the simians currently lack the technology to contain or kill you,” it replied.

  Lio raised a hand, scowling as the thought crossed her mind. “Why are you speaking so much? Zavari said that you usually just show recordings.”

  “To get rid of the Scourge,” it replied matter-of-factly, and then the moonlight was gone.

  The silence stretched for an uncomfortable amount of time, the revelations of the archives hanging in the air like an unsolved puzzle. Zavari decided to break the silence, clapping his hands and turning to Oris. “So, I think our hospitality has come to an end. We will prepare rations for your travel, but then you will need to take care of yourself. The south is dangerous. Please keep that in mind.”

  “That’s alright, the rations are already plenty enough,” Lio quickly said before Oris could say anything else.

  The archives words had left quite an impression on the natives, sending them into a frenzy of preparations. Groups scampered off, jumping to grab the vines and then quickly disappearing out of sight. In what felt only a few minutes, the trio found themselves with their backpacks full of supplies and fruits as Zavari led them to the south entrance.

  “Miss Lio, it was a pleasure to talk with such a bright mind from a completely different culture. If you get the chance, you are welcome to visit us again,” Zavari said before turning to Oris and giving him the slightest bow. “I wish you no ill, Scourge, but I hope we do not meet again.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” Oris deadpanned, looking up at the moon high in the sky. “Any chance we can stay the night?”

  Zavaris face scrunched up as he tried to reconcile the archives words with the want to protect his guests. “I think not, sorry. But if you stay in one of the chambers at the edge of our territory, I will make sure no one bothers you.”

  “Thank you, Zavari, for everything,” Lio said, raising her arm high to try to get a high five from Zavari.

  Zavari stared at the hand for a moment before very slowly tapping it with his own. “It was my pleasure. Though the occasion wasn’t the happiest, I am glad to have heard Elari talk so much,” he said, looking around. After a moment, he adds, “If you need help with anything, you can always reach out to me. Most of the time, I am in my nest, the lowest hanging one from the tree.”

  “Thank you for the offer,” Oris said, already having dismissed it in his thoughts. “Have a nice... day?”

  Vaetra waved at Zavari, which he returned in kind before turning and leaving.

  “What an odd day,” Oris remarked as they started their walk.

  Vaetra grabbed his hand again, intertwining their fingers under the guise of battle readiness. “Darling, do you know what the archive talked about when it said you were tainted?”

  “Do you remember when I... made you?” he asked, a bit uncomfortable at the sound of the words. “I was on the brink of death because of the scarlet death, and when I woke up, I had this mark... and a bit of an anger problem. I wasn’t like that before- I was pretty even-tempered.”

  Something was off. Lio kept walking, but her mind was anywhere but the path ahead. “You’re saying you have an anger problem now?” she asked, recalling what little she had seen of him fighting. “I haven’t noticed anything. Vaetra is worse than you.”

  “Hmpf!” Vaetra pouted, scowling at Lio as she held Oris’s hand. She quickly turned away with a huff, returning to scanning the surroundings. “Like you’re one to speak.”

  Oris rolled his eyes, grabbing a large fruit from his bag and taking a bite. He mutters around the mouthful of fruit, juice running down his chin, “Stop arguing. We’re still in hostile territory.”

  “We’re not arguing,” Lio insisted, grabbing the same fruit that Oris had and cutting it up with her pocket knife. “I am just saying that Vaetra was the one who irresponsibly ran off in the forest- ironically, after you implied that she has no emotions.”

  Oris tried to answer, but Vaetra cut in first. “We are arguing now. You are calling me irresponsible, Miss Liquor?”

  “Miss Liquor? Just because I enjoy some fun nights while you sip your water? But what did I expect of an Incarnate?” Lio replied, scoffing as she slipped a slice of the fruit into her mouth, the sweet flavour of it filling her mouth as it bursts open. “You’re all no fun.”

  “Excuse me?” Vaetra snapped as Oris squeezed her hand, glaring at Lio, “I’m no fun just because I do not want to get drunk with a woman I barely know? I have only ever met one other Incarnate- as far as I know- but I know that not all of them are the same.”

  Oris grumbled something, taking another bite of his fruit as he tried to stay out of the conversation. He was never good at talking with people, and this just reminded him too much of his childhood.

  “You’re no fun. Period. It’s not because you’re an Incarnate, but it does explain it quite easily,” Lio clarified, cutting a grimace to respond to Vaetras glare. “It’s because you’re... you!”

  Lio’s words hung in the air, drawing a long, measured silence. Vaetra’s eyes narrowed as she tightened her grip on Oris’s hand, her jaw set like a drawn bowstring. “Because I’m who I am,” Vaetra finally echoed, voice low and edged with a familiar hurt that neither the tension nor the teasing could completely mask. “I don’t need to be anyone else to prove it.”

  Oris shifted uncomfortably, glancing between them as if trying to decide which side to favor- a task he was never particularly adept at. “Listen, you two,” he said, his tone a mixture of exasperation and genuine concern. “We’ve got bigger problems than who’s fun or who’s not. We’re trekking through the remnants of a dead civilization where nature’s clawed its way back into every cranny, and we haven’t even gotten a clear word from the archive yet. Can’t we all just-“

  “Just what, Oris?” Lio interrupted, her eyes flashing with equal parts indignation and passion. “Just keep stifling our true selves in the name of safety? And you hide behind your stoicism while Vaetra here acts like emotions are a liability.” She paused, her gaze softening slightly even as her words continued to rise. “You know, maybe if you acknowledged your own scars, your anger, all that taint you talk about, you’d understand.”

  “I am not talking about any taint,” Oris growled, an edge of anger bleeding into his voice. “Do you honestly think I don’t know about my own scars? We have to do our duty and protect people. You can keep your petty arguments to yourself for a few more days, can’t you?”

  “She openly insulted me!” Vaetra replied, pointing at Lio accusingly but never stopping their stride. “All that talk about taint and understanding yourself while you let your emotions run rampant. That’s the real reason why you’ll never be a mage worth her salt.”

  Oris sighed as the argument spiralled out of control again. He listened to the both of them, but their responses just kept getting more childish. “Quiet!” he barked out, letting go of Vaetras hand and stopping their march, “We’re going to get this shuttle, get back to Caldrith’s Shard, and then you two can still argue like children. If you two can’t reconcile then, you can still file to be reassigned. To be honest, we’re a pretty shit team, anyway.”

  “What if there is no shuttle?” Vaetra asked.

  Lio answered, “Elari wouldn’t have lied. It wants us gone.”

  “It’s the only lead we got,” Oris said, taking deep breaths to try to relax himself. “Now, are you two able to get along for a few more days?”

  Lio and Vaetra grumbled their agreements and then both turned with huffs to continue searching for the shuttle. Oris almost laughed out loud at their synchronous gesture, but just kept walking instead. They needed to find this shuttle to return to Caldrith’s shard, or they’d be stranded here until they managed to get a signal out or a passing airship spotted them.

  If they were very, very lucky, Oris might be able to use a combination of a hang glider and his magic to maybe get enough altitude- they’d just need to build a hang glider first. He was really grasping at straws here, was he?

  Lio pulled out her tablet to occupy herself, searching through everything she could find to try to find whatever hint she could find about this place they were looking for. It was her job after all, she needed to at least do something. She had wanted to talk with Elari more, to see what an artificial intelligence left alone for years with mountains of data could have accomplished.

  But then Elari took offense to Oris being there, and they wasted the entire time talking about the Scourge, which apparently was the Scarlet Death from Oris’s comment. But in the end, the entire talk was useless to herself except for a few tidbits. The talk with Zavari had been a lot more insightful than anything else they had learned.