"So this is Sunset's Watch..." I murmured to myself as we dismounted from the snake, I glanced back and watched as it joined the rest of the basilisks in the stables. The three snakes seemed to be comfortable as they laid across the sand while some handler's came out with large mops and started to wash their scales. "So what do you feed them?" I ask.

  "Human sacrifices." She replied nonchalantly.

  "Oh, I see- wait what!?" I exclaimed as I quickly whipped my head to face her.

  She and a few others handlers nearby bursted into laughter. "Relax, I'm just messing with you, we usually feed them kentri's."

  "Kentri's?"

  "Just watch." She said as we walked to the side of the snake pit, a sandy pit about fifty feet deep that was fenced off with barbed wire.

  "Bring in the kentri's!" I heard one of the handlers yell before the sound of creaking and clicking. I looked to the side and coming out of the gate were several large insects, around ten feet long, with a large pair of claws and enormous pincers with twelve eyes in the front. The white carapace it had shined from the sun's rays hitting it from the windows, all the way down to the tail, a large barb on the end, like Burn's tail, probably filled with some type of venom. There were about twelve of them, all chittering and clicking, just seeing them made my skin crawl.

  "It's really interesting, these basilisks, although you were wrong in assuming they were titanoboa, they do come from the same family, but after years of evolving to these new conditions, especially with aeroporos attacks, they evolved to become immune to kentri venom, and use it for themselves." She explained as we then watched the snakes suddenly lunge at the insects in a flurry of movement, my eyes only focused on the one that carried us here, currently swallowing a flailing kentri trying to stab it with it's barb, to no use as the giant serpent closed it's maw and gulped.

  "Whoa."

  "Kentri venom is usually harmless, sure it's a paralyzing agent but by itself, all it does is paralyze you, and a basilisk's normal venom does the same, but if you combine the two, you have the strongest venom in all of Pyrrhia, Thanatos, even dragons will die from just one bite.

  "That's... interesting..." If the piercer is coated in Thanatos, there's no chance of a dragon surviving. I thought to myself.

  "Good luck with that, but there's a reason why Sunset has the best drugs and spices."

  Because they don't give it to anyone else.

  "Exactly, cause we don't give it to anyone-"

  "Can you please stop reading my mind?"

  She rolled her eyes before grabbing me and starting to move us out of the stables. "Maybe."

  "So, you call scorpions kentri's here?"

  "And aeroporos are dragons in case you haven't figured that out."

  "I see, so I know of Sunset, but barely, only from what I've heard from some merchants."

  "I figured, and since you're gonna be staying here-"

  "I'm not sure that's the case."

  "You should really stop interrupting people, and also." She stopped and turned to face me. "Us teardrops have to stay together, we're staying here."

  "But I..."

  "I know you want to find out what we are, to go back to where it all started, but that's not how it's gonna be, it's just not worth it."

  "Why not, aren't you at least a little curious?"

  "I was, but then again, there used to be eleven of us."

  "Eleven?"

  She nods, before sighing and looking forward again. "Toucan, my husband at the time, he was like you, he wasn't a clairvoyant, none of us are clairvoyants except Pyro and you, but Toucan said he had a lead in the rainforest, 'a path back leading back to our roots,' in his words." I noticed how she avoided saying Midas's name but made no audible note of it.

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  "Isn't the rainforest like the most dangerous place on the continent?"

  "No, Forestfangs are pretty harmless, they're very lazy, and they seem to even like us, of course we don't say to anyone else though since we don't want any visitors moving in on our turf." She said as she nudged me with a smirk. "Also you shouldn't make them bleed, their blood will melt your skin and bones, not melt the skin off your bones, it will melt all of you, seriously." She said in a more serious tone before her tone grew more somber. "Right, the point is Toucan found the cave that led to our origins, at least that's what he said. I wanted to go with him and his expedition, but he refused, telling me he didn't want me to get hurt since he didn't know what was on the other side. I uh..." She paused and gulped. "I still wish I had convinced him to let me go with him."

  "What... happened-"

  "I don't know... I don't... all I can remember is staying by the cave, and not even minutes after they left my sight, I felt fear and dread into me as I looked down, followed by the basilisk letting out a hiss before I felt pain, then more fear, then more pain, then nothing, I ran, and I found pieces of the basilisk and a few torn shreds of their clothing, then nothing, then I looked up and saw a wave of fire heading my way, when I finally got out of there and looked back, it was as if nothing happened, my husband, my friends, gone without a trace."

  "I'm... sorry... I can't imagine having that ripped away from you. I said softly while hesitantly patting her shoulder.

  She had no tears, just eyes filled with shame. "I should have been with them, instead I had to go back here." We stayed there in silence for a good few minutes before she finally started to pull me again. "Come on, I should introduce you to the others, River, I'm Palm by the way."

  ***

  The streets were wide sandy paths, lined with shops and small stands to the sides, some were small tables with a tent to block out the sun, others were complete adobe huts that could be considered as a house back in Talisman. Every few streets though, there were large adobe turrets with ballistas mounted on top. The largest buildings were the stables for the snakes though, everything else were mainly large tents.

  "There aren't a lot of notable places here, so I'll give you a quick rundown." She started as she gestured to the main streets. "You got the market, if you need it, they probably have it." Then she pointed to the right where there was a large adobe building, "That's the mercenaries guild, that's where Scorpion works usually but she should be home by now, and last but not least." she said as she pointed forward as a wide adobe structure ahead. "The complex, that is where everyone lives."

  "What if you run out of rooms?" I ask as we walk towards it.

  "They build more, but you're staying with us for now."

  She said as she led me inside where torches and candles lit up the hall, allowing me to walk up some steps before down a hallway between tons of doors. "This one." She said as she inserted some keys into the lock of room one-five-two. The door opened and we walked in as she threw the pouch she was carrying to the floor where a shoe-rack was. In the center were four pillars, with two hammocks attached, and on the floor were some mattresses, a sink in the corner by a counter, and a window on the side of the corner with a screen for bugs. There was also a table and about six chairs and another door leading to a small room which I guessed was the storage closet to hang clothes, as well as another door that was labeled as the 'water room,' which was currently closed at the moment, I could hear what sounded like splashing coming from in there. "Welcome to my humble abode." Palm said as she made a grand gesture with her hands.

  "Don't you mean our humble abode?" I heard a new voice ask.

  I turned to look at the source of the voice and stepping out the hammocks with a book in hand was a smaller and more skinny fellow, wearing some blue short-sleeved rags with hints of yellow, wearing a pair of glasses, almost hiding the silver teardrops under his eyes.

  His eyes widened as he spotted me and he quickly straightened himself out. "Oh, you're not Pyro, hello there!" He said with a nervous chuckle as he fixed his glasses.

  "Hi there, I'm River." I said as I was about to shake his hand with my right hand, only for me to realize it was the one with the stump. Oh, right I forgot about that." I said as I offered my left hand.

  "No worries." He chuckles as he shakes my hand. "It's nice to see another Teardrop join the group ever since..." He stopped as he saw Palm look in the other direction. "So, what do you know so far?"

  "Basically nothing, except the fact I'm a clairvoyant."

  "Oh shit! Are you serious?!" He asked, quickly pulling me towards the table. Then the splashing stopped and soon a tall and more toned woman stepped out of the water room, wearing a green and gold robe, with short black hair and piercing green eyes.

  'Damn!' I thought as I looked up at the tall women.

  She smirked at me. "You can say that again." She mused as she grabbed a shirt in the storage closet.

  "Right, I forgot you can all read minds." I chuckle nervously.

  "So what's your name?"

  "River."

  "Alrighty, where's Pyro?" the women then asked, who at this point, I guessed was Scorpion, causing me and Palm's face to fall into frowns. My mind flashed back to Smolder letting me into the cage where I found and inspected Pyro's body.

  "Three Moons... he was stuffed." Scorpion said in disgust and sorrow, causing Pebble to gasp.

  "Wait, what happened?" Pebble asked, alarmed.

  "It's true, I found Pyro's body stuffed while in the palace-"

  "You were in the palace?" Pebble asked.

  I sigh. "How about we start back from the beginning, everybody okay with that?" I then asked.

  They all glanced at each other before nodding.

  "All right, from the top..." I start.