At the Altar of Dragons

Session 32 | Chapter 4

I’ve just managed to settle against the wall for a quick nap when Layna comes rushing through the open space of the dojo and into the backyard. Between gasping breaths, she informs us, “The whole Pleasure Palace–burned.” Another gasp. “Raesh might be dead.” Gasp. “I’m gonna go.”

She turns and starts to take a step away from us, but Markus and I both exclaim, “What?”

Layna pauses, turning to pace back and forth along the small porch, “It’s gone. It’s all gone. It’s all burned inside! They’re walking around and they’re fucking burnt!” She stops briefly before adding, “Except the tieflings. And there’s fucking succubi and imps! It’s all gone!” She turns, wide eyed, to look at Markus and I. “It’s all gone,” her voice shakes. “There’s a fucking illusion over the whole thing.”

Raesh might be dead.

Raesh might be dead.

The words play over and over in my mind, but I can’t accept this is real. That gnome is too clever, too unkillable for a fucking brothel to be– My thoughts stop, and I realize that something like this would be exactly the way Raesh ends up dying during our party’s adventures. My stomach knots, twisting against the horror that Raesh might actually be dead.

Movement from the corner of my eye startles me; Markus pulls out a string of prayer beads, each with an arcane sigil on it. He straightens the string, and begins to speak into one of the beads. “Hello? Hello? Hello?”

Under my breath, I mutter, “Should never have to say hello that many times.”

Markus looks up, his eyes wide and mouth open with shock. “We’re in some deep shit,” he states.

“Worse than a nuke?” I ask, sarcastically. Shaking my head, I close my eyes, irritated at the impulsive way my mouth takes over when I’m upset.

Markus elaborates, “Well, the communication is cut off directly to the Duke.”

“Fuck!” Layna shouts. “The Queen’s here with the–”

“Y’all cannot leave here now,” Markus cuts her off, and his expression is the most serious one I've seen from him. “This is probably the only safe place you have now.”

“It doesn’t matter! The rest of the party isn’t here,” Layna protests, “I’m not staying here.”

Markus shakes his head and puts the beads back in his pocket. “I’m not telling you to stay. I’m telling you to wait, and that’s the worst part.”

Layna starts to pace again, and I reach my hand out to her. The effort of the movement is less tiresome, but holding it out waiting for her to take it drains my strength quicker than it should. When she passes by again, her hand connects with mine without looking, and I give it a light squeeze. She stops pacing, but her energy is still frazzled.

I wish I could be as physically angry and upset about these circumstances, but my body still feels depleted despite the rest I’ve gotten since sparring with Markus. My movement and strength are improving, but waiting sounds like a great idea, especially with the drake beside me still incapacitated.

“If I can’t get in touch with the Duke, that means they’ve cut communication,” Markus explains.

Layna holds his gaze, pleading silently with her eyes before whispering, “Perona’s out there.”

“I understand that,” Markus says, attempting to bring her emotions down and back to a logical place.

Just barely above a whisper, Layna adds, “I left her one time…”

I squeeze her hand lightly again and mutter, “Actually, she left.” She left Layna, and she left me alone and drowning, never seeing the help I needed.

Markus’ voice cuts off the stream of thoughts spiraling in my mind. “You have to hope that she is strong enough to get through this, because I’m just saying this now–I think we’re in Hell.”

I blink, waiting momentarily to see if by any shred of a possibility this is a giant joke. I expect Raesh to pop out from behind the partition, and inform me the giant hole in the dojo is an illusion too. But he doesn’t, so my unfiltered mouth asks, “Literally?”

Markus looks around, working through something in his mind before continuing, “I think if–if she’s started her journey, it means they’ve moved. They’ve started They–”

“She who?” I ask.

He stops stammering and locks eyes with me, directly staying, “The madam!”

“What do you mean they moved?” Layna asks.

“They started,” he repeats. “She’s part of the coven of the Witch Queen.” Layna and I look at each other in disbelief; the tangled web our party has encountered today is shocking. “We’ve been in talks,” Markus starts again, but Layna interjects.

“I have a second place to go to as long as I have a minute to cast it, then I can get them out.”

“That’s fine,” Markus replies, “But you need to wait.”

“Why?” Layna shouts, frustration boiling over.

Markus meets her gaze squarely as he states, “Because I’m pretty sure what just happened was a declaration of war.”

“Then time is not on our side,” Layna retorts, and I feel her start to pull away.

“It’s never going to be on our side now,” the monk clarifies, keeping his tone even and cool. “I’ve been trying to negotiate with Miss Labella, and the goal is always to have her talk to the Witch Queen and have her stop. Having Perona here makes things a little different now. There’s other externalities here, but if she’s moving here, then the Omni is on their side.”

“Was the Duke and her family aware of this?” I challenge. Markus nods in response, and my frustration grows. I shout, “And they let her leave?”

“Tensions weren’t high at the time,” he replies plainly.

Layna scoffs, “Well that changes quickly, doesn’t it?”

“Even with negotiations going on–” I mutter, unable to understand how her family could have risked Perona traveling here under these circumstances.

Markus comes to a stop and says, “It means something happened–what exactly, I don’t know.”

“Oh fuck,” Layna sighs.

“I didn’t cause this right?” I mumble.

Markus shakes his head. “No, tensions were always a problem here, but that’s because they’re four assholes trying to win the biggest asshole contest.”

“So who’s got the biggest dick?” I quip, and immediately regret the comment.

“I don’t know,” he replies, oblivious to or ignoring my inappropriate comment. “I don’t wish to find out either. But I have to get to the Northern Forest somehow, and that’s going to be a hard time.”

“Just you?” I ask, hoping that he’d have a way to get the whole party back to Perona’s family home.

He sighs, “I can bring people, but–”

“And you just said we’re not allowed to leave here?”

“Yet–not for right now. Not until we know a little bit more,” he clarifies. “I have to make a few calls.”

“On the beads that don't work?” I snip.

Markus rolls his eyes. “The prayer beads are for the Rosarium. I have my people here. You think I was just down here for what? Shits and giggles?”

“No,” I shake my head, “I’m not doubting you.”

“Either way, I think it’s smart to wait until he wakes up,” he states, pointing at Lendys’ form. “I don’t think it will be much longer, honestly.”

“How much longer? Do we wake him up?” Layna asks, the first thing she’s said in a while. She’s been gripping my hand as Markus shared the political state of the Feywild with us.

Markus cocks his head and says, “If we just wake him, that would defeat the purpose of what he’s doing right now.”

“You’re not touching him,” I affirm. Layna takes a shuddering breath, and I feel her arm relax a little.

“Plus you’re injured,” he comments.

Layna scoffs, “I’m fine.”

“You’re not, and that’s stupid for you to even say that.” He points upstairs, and adds, “I have some bandages and a medicine kit upstairs. Go tend to yourself.”

Layna mutters under her breath and heads into the dojo, leaving Markus and I in the garden with a magically sleeping drake. “Tend to your wounds,” he mutters, “Fucking pain in the ass.”

The silence isn’t unpleasant, but after a calming breath, I look at Markus and say, “I’m sorry about your house.”

He shrugs nonchalantly, “It’s nothing a gold bar or two won’t fix. I don’t really use money for much, so it shouldn't be a problem.”

I nod, then lean my head back against the wall. My eyes drift to Lendys, wondering what he’s going through right now, and hating that I can’t be there for him. Goose’s presence was always comforting–he was a constant during our travels, there for me ever since I left the conclave. With each challenge, each hurdle, we had each other to lean on.

Looking back to Markus, I ask, “So you’re still going to train me after this?”

“Absolutely,” he declares without hesitation. “Why would I not?”

I shrug, looking back at the gaping hole in the dojo, and wonder how that isn’t more of a deterrent for the monk.

As if answering my thoughts, he says, “Just means I can’t punch you like that again. It doesn’t mean I won’t punch you though.”

I smile, and a light chuckle escapes me. “Just don’t flick me on the nose again either.”

“I didn’t flick you on the nose,” he groans, annoyed by the joke already. “I kicked you right in the chin.” I shrug my shoulders, letting my head fall back against the wall, and close my eyes.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

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When Markus and I finish our conversation, I settle into a sunny spot near Lendys to meditate, an attempt to regain my composure for the rest of the day ahead. The sound of a light breeze trailing through the trees and the rhythmic breathing of Lendys lulls me into a settled state, my body exhausted and craving the time to recover.

I must have slipped into a deeper meditation than expected, because time passes quickly, and before I know it, Lendys jerks awake from his trance, startling and coming to a standing position abruptly. He pants, looking around to get his bearings.

From the other end of the porch, Layna sarcastically asks, “Did you have good dreams?”

His slitted eyes meet mine as he asks, “Why are we outside?”

“I blew everything up,” I mutter plainly. There’s no reason to sugar coat what happened this morning. He needs to know the extent of this situation, and the guilt I feel deep in my core keeps me from making a joke.

He blinks, the draconic inner lid slipping across his pupil, and looks around more. His gaze lands on the front of the dojo, unable to miss the destruction to the previously beautiful structure. His mouth hangs open as he sorts through the thoughts that must be running through his mind. I can’t imagine how unsettling this is for him–to have just spent hours with Bahamut doing gods knows what, and then come back to his body in the aftermath of an explosion? My chest aches at what I’ve done–even unintentionally.

In the silence, Layna starts to explain the last few hours, “Maire can’t get knocked out, and war is starting. The Pleasure Palace is–”

His head jerks around, and he stops her, “Hold on–what do you mean she can’t ‘get knocked out’?”

“If I go unconscious, I explode,” I reply numbly. Layna holds up a bandaged arm. The sight of the wraps on her arms and legs sends a wave of nausea over me. Previously, I didn’t consciously see the extent of her injuries, but with the amount of gauze and strips of cloth covering most of her limbs, I want to vomit. Lendys looks over his own body, noting that some of his scales are singed on the edges and melted in other places. Even worse than seeing Layna injured, something in my chest cracks at the sight of him like this.

I caused that. I did that to him.

Outwardly, I flatly apologize, “Sorry about that.” I don’t know that I can show him fully the guilt I feel over this. He probably already knows. Nonetheless, he would likely tell me it’s moot, that I didn’t know this was even a possibility, that this wasn’t something I could control. That now we know, and we can figure out what is causing this, how to stop it.

When he finishes looking himself over, he sighs in surprise.

“Everyone’s okay,” Layna reassures, “But, a war started–”

“Well we’re okay,” I correct.

Layna continues listing the things we’ve learned in Lendys’ absence. “We are cut off from the Rosarium too.”

Louder, I repeat, “We’re okay.”

This seems to register with her now, and she pivots. “Yes, the rest of the party isn’t okay.”

“Raesh is dead,” I deadpan. Despite saying the words, I can’t fathom it’s actually true. He can’t actually be gone.

“Well, Raesh might be dead,” she clarifies. I appreciate the optimism she has for that, and pray silently that we will be rewarded with that outcome. Lendys’ eyes go wide, taking in all of the information as best he can. Layna holds out her waterskin to him and asks, “Would you like some ale?”

I shake my head, refocusing, because despite all the guilt and fear flooding my system right now, there is one thing pressing above everything. “Are you okay?” I ask him, allowing the first shreds of emotion to seep into my words.

“I’m fine. Just–” he says, cocking his head slightly as he pauses. “Different.”

“You?” The word is so quiet as I say it, I wonder if he actually will hear it, but that minor concern disappears as he continues.

“No–” he grumbles, “Yeah–different.”

“Talk with Dad that rough?”

His eyes narrow slightly before he speaks. “No… just annoying. But in a good way.” He smiles lightly at the end. Seeing the confusion on my face, he explains, “It’s like when I would show visions to you–”

I hum in acknowledgement.

“It’s like that kind of clarity,” he nods, a pleasant expression on his face. His positivity does nothing to quell the worry in me, though. Until we’ve had a chance to speak privately, until I can confirm that nothing has changed negatively between us in our newly developed romance, I won’t be convinced everything is okay. His expression contorts in annoyance as he eyes Layna, asking, “What?”

“Visions don’t sound clear at all,” she comments, “Just saying.”

I lightly roll my eyes. “They were pretty clear.”

“It was affirming things that needed to be done,” Lendys replies.

Layna scoffs lightly, “Alright, well, next steps–” She takes the next few minutes to explain the rest of the morning’s events–the Witch Queen’s involvement along with her husband, the twisted inventor of guns, and Crimm’s supposed brother’s antics.

“I missed a lot,” Lendys muses, coming to a seated position beside me.

“And we have no way to contact them, because the Queen and her husband have the other stones,” Layna finishes.

“Or a stone,” Lendys offers. I nod, clinging to a shred of hope that there might be a way this situation isn’t as bad as it seems.

Layna agrees, “Yes, a stone.” She pauses, sorting through her thoughts, and informs, “There’s also no way to contact the Rosarium. We’re completely cut off, and we can’t get back unless we find another way.”

A light, sarcastic laugh bubbles out of me at the intensity of our circumstances. “Markus said it’s safe here though,” my words are dry as I try to fathom how, in the middle of all that’s happening, and when I just destroyed half of this place, it’s safe here.

Layna starts pacing, the inaction clearly driving her mad. “It’s safe here, but we need to find them. I don’t know how chaotic it is out there right now.”

My eyes drift close for a moment as I slip back into my mind. Involuntarily, I make an explosion noise, then shake my head. I open my eyes and take a deep breath, knowing the waiting Markus spoke of is nearly over. I stretch my limbs, feeling that the dexterity has returned to my arms, and the soreness has started to work out of my muscles. My abdomen is still tender, but it’s dull enough at this point that I can ignore the sensation.

“So what’s the plan?” Lendys asks, looking between Layna and I for direction.

Layna sighs and crosses her arms over her chest. “We need manpower, Lendys,” she states, tone firm. “We need to go and find them. That’s the plan, and then from there we can regroup. Find a way back.”

He nods. “Okay, what do you need? We just need to go then.” His eyes dart between the two of us as we stay silent. I can feel the question Layna wants to ask, and though it hurts me that she’s the one about to ask it, I’m afraid to ask this of him, to push when things are so new and uncertain between us. Lendys adds, “I help her. That’s what I do.” At her continued silence, he adds, “What?”

She takes a deep breath and presses further, “Lendys, do you have some sort of ability as the humanoid form that could help us? That might help? Do you understand what I’m saying?” She pauses, before adding sarcastically, “Because currently you’re a tiny platinum drake that almost got ate–”

“He’s not tiny!” I retort, pulled from my thoughts.

“--by a poison bomb,” Layna finishes.

I smirk. “You almost did, too.”

She brushes me off, “Yes, but I did that intentionally trying to get you out, before Markus had healed you.”

Lendys’ tone is harsh when he speaks next. “What are you asking, Layna?”

The seriousness and weight in his words startles me. “What is with you two calling each other by your actual names?” I mutter, this unsettling me all over again.

Lendys levels his eyes at me, and holding my stare, declares, “It’s time to be serious.”

Layna immediately blurts out, her frustration billowing over. “You’re right, Maire. Platinum Fucker, can you be the human form? Do you have any formal training or something that can help us? Actually help us, and not just biting people?”

Without breaking Lendys’ stare, I affirm, “It’s time to be serious.”

Layna starts pacing and muttering to herself about all of the chaos surrounding the city and our party at present, and Lendys remains sitting. His head lifts, closing his eyes as he looks to the sky for a moment. His demeanor shifts, muscles tensing and his jaw sets.

I scoot a little closer to him and ask, this time my tone more confident and reassured, “Hey–what’s up? What are we doing here?”

“I can,” he sighs, “I just didn’t think that I’d hear it from the fucking frozen cumgobbler.”

Layna whips around and storms over to us. “Oh, we want to talk about gobbling cum?!”

Quickly, I hold my arms out to both of them and shout, “Okay! Hey!”

Layna is still fuming, and Lendys looks like steam could start billowing from his nostrils at any moment, but both of them back down from the confrontation. Satisfied, I turn back to him and calmly ask, “Was it supposed to come from me?”

Lendys groans, “No, but I just–”

“Oh come on,” Layna scoffs, “Just grow a pair! You just wanted to hear it from her! Except there’s a fucking apocalypse going on outside! Grow up!”

I whip around to her and growl, “Don’t make me explode again!” I understand her point; the severity of our situation is at an all-time high for our party’s time together. But I know that if there is a shred of distraction, an ounce of concern in me, I won’t perform as well as I need to in order to ensure our party’s complete survival. I breathe deep–taking a moment to settle this now will benefit us in the long run.

“You already did!” she snaps, “I tried to pull you out, you little shit head.” A light smile plays at the corner of her mouth as her tone softens at the last statement.

I smile back, my own frustration lightening some as I say, “Thanks for that by the way.” The fact that Layna was willing to run head first into a poison cloud for me, that I caused nonetheless, warms me ever so slightly.

“You’re welcome,” she murmurs.

Lendys clears his throat, drawing our attention back to him, as he declares, “I can do some things.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You have more of your power than you’ve let on?”

“No, just–” he shakes his head. “He gave me some encouragement to use it.”

“Bahamut?” I ask, surprised. “Really?”

“Yeah,” he replies.

“I thought he was against this whole shit?”

Lendys groans, “He’s against a lot of things. But apparently…” His voice trails off briefly, before he formulates what he wants to say. “My vision and what’s happened here…coincide.”

“What?” I exclaim.

He nods, “Bahamut’s scared this Omni thing is too strong. Too present here.”

“Yeah, he told me to look into that too,” I affirm.

Lendys shifts his weight from foot to foot, something clearly bothering him. “Yeah,” he says, a little bite in his tone. “But when I got here, I should have been the closest connection right?” After a brief pause, he fumes, “I’m not. That fucking tattooed shit bag is.”

Layna scoffs lightly, “Would it make you feel better–”

Cutting her off, Lendys growls, steam actually billowing out of his nostrils now and the heat from his breath hitting me like a wall, “It does! It makes me feel very, very fine. Because some human who doesn’t even believe in this shit–” his words trail off as he jerks his head over to the training room of the dojo where, miraculously, the four draconic god statues still stand, “–and he even has my godsdammed statue front and center.” He grits his teeth, and another hot plume of smoke curls into the air, filling the air with the smell of sulphur.

“Oh no, you had your statue front and center. It’s so awful,” Layna mocks, and it takes everything in me not to punch her.

Instead, I focus on Lendys, the one who really needs my attention right now. I scoot even closer to him, and say, “Okay–be that then.”

Lendys rolls his eyes and grumbles, “He’s just a very upstanding person, and I don’t like him.”

This pulls a chuckle from me. “Says the god of justice,” I laugh.

His gaze finds mine and he mutters, “And that’s why I don’t like him.”

“Sounds like you’re jealous,” Layna quips, clearly not reading the room or not caring about my frustration. I ignore her though, keeping my focus on the drake in front of me.

Lendys however, responds to her jab. “It sounds like he’d be the perfect candidate for a paragon if I was fucking back to normal.”

The frustration and anger in his words is evident, and I can’t take this anymore. I put my hand on his shoulder and ask quietly, “Can we go somewhere?” I eye Layna in my periphery, and Markus meditating silently in the garden beyond. “Somewhere more private to talk for a second?”

He nods and stands, following after me as I meet Layna’s eyes with an expression I hope conveys for her to give us a moment. Beyond my own fears and concerns, Lendys being upset this way and going into a potential fight won’t do us any favors. Even momentarily allowing my mind to drift to the possibilities causes my stomach to twist into knots.

We need this moment, I affirm silently.