Lysonick and its colony of towers were barely out of view when clouds took over the sky. Rarely does summer depart without tears from above; another rainstorm loomed in the distance.

  Fortunately, lanterns lit up the dark trail to shelter. Hidden in the woods stood a simple stone building. Flowers, gold lanterns, and sharp red paint dominated the top two floors.

  The bottom floor had no windows, no paint, a plain wood door, and columns that held the adorned balcony above.

  Quin thought it looked out of place within the woods and the two people who approached them even more so.

  A man and woman duo clothed in red robes with a shiny gold hem walked up to them. Decked in jeweled accessories on their hands and necks, they showed up not with any worries but with all smiles.

  Parasols hovered over their heads before Quin noticed they were held by two more people behind them covered head to toe in black except for their eyes.

  “Hello!” greeted the lady with a wide smile. “As representatives of the esteemed Roya family, we welcome the Cosondera to our humble resting abode. Will you be here for the evening?”

  Ythan returned her smile with a frown. “Not unless the rain forces us to. We’d like to leave the moment we see sunlight.”

  “I see. Well we will gladly guide you over to one of our rooms,” the man said before he noticed the chroniclers and their old robes. His face immediately drooped.

  “We also like to take a moment to inform you that if any Yerps are accompanying you, there might be a place for them on our bottom floor.”

  The Yerps looked down except for Yach. “Thanks for the reminder sir,” he told him. “It’s nice to know that we might have a place.”

  The two hosts stared daggers at Yach when the rain arrived with plops on both the ground and skin. The hosts looked up briefly before they brought their attention back to Ythan.

  “We were given word of a coming storm. How about we continue this inside?” the man proposed.

  “Sounds like a plan.” Ythan then turned to his subordinates. “Grab whatever you need and bring it inside.” He stared at Quin. “You. Make sure the Yerps get themselves situated. Don’t mess this up.”

  The two hosts jumped away from the scene and up to the balcony along with the blue cloak. The parasol attendants had to return back on foot. Conon and Onyl briefly rummaged the wagon to collect a few things.

  Quin couldn’t tell what Conon picked up, but Onyl had her staff and a rope for some reason. She took a quick glance at Quin before she and Conon departed.

  Left with the chroniclers and the rain, Quin felt certain it had nothing to do with what happened near Lysonick.

  It felt like his secret was still safe even if his boss’ perception of him seemed mostly the same.

  Yach brought the wagon in under shelter and the chroniclers began to collect some items. Arty collected his things without incident, among them an old beaded necklace.

  He didn’t wear it but kept it on his person nonetheless.

  Mier had his hands full with books stacked to his chin. He tried to step out of the wagon when he lost his footing. Him and the books made hard contact with the ground.

  “Careful you fool!” Arty scolded with slanted eyebrows. “Most of that research have no copies.”

  “Is everything fine?” Quin asked as he approached the younger chronicler.

  “Yeah I’m okay,” Mier replied while he picked up the books.

  Arty assisted his colleague. “Let’s make sure the books are okay. Some of these books are ancient.” He turned to Quin. “They’re the only sources we have with any glimpse to our world’s past. We get to know what it was like for our ancestors back during their days. So so fascinating.”

  “Um yeah I guess.”

  “One day, our descendants will want to know what it was like during our days, and I aim to oblige them.”

  “That’s what this whole trip is about right?”

  “Yes, but you see, while this trip is all about following up on a major event, it shouldn’t mean that all other events outside of historical relevance should be disregarded.”

  “Huh?”

  “Arty wants to take a detour from our trip to do something else,” Yach summed up. “You couldn’t just tell him that?”

  Quin looked out at the increased rainfall. “I don’t think we can make any trips right now, let alone any detours.”

  Arty stood up to meet Quin eye to eye. “There’s an old camp near here. Overlooking a creek. It has nothing to do with our current trip, but with it so close...I have to check it out.

  “That said, I know I can’t derail the journey, but that’s why I’d like to do this now while we’ve stop for a bit.”

  “We’ve only stop because of this storm coming up.”

  “It’s not far and I know I can’t go anywhere without you clo-er a Cosondere knowing about it, so I’m asking you. Please Quin, we can go check this out right now then come right back. The worst that’ll happen is we’ll all get wet.”

  Quin’s head shifted from the suppliant scholar to the stormy scene outside and back. Arty noticed and inched closer to the Tyroviv.

  “Please Quin, before it gets worse out there. I promise you it’ll be a quick stop.”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Arty’s pleas looked very similar to the ones Quin gave not too long ago.

  His teammates accepted his request but only on a conditional basis. He figured the same should apply with this particular situation.

  “Okay,” Quin relented. “But if this storm won’t allow it, then we head back no matter what.”

  “Yeah yeah absolutely. Mier, come along.”

  “Wait, it’s not just you.”

  “I’ll need as many hands as I can get.”

  “Yeah, well count me out,” Yach chipped in. “Not in any mood to get soaked.”

  Arty paid Yach no mind as he pointed over to the woods. “Seriously, it’s not far from here, just off the road. It’ll be real simple.”

  Quin gave light nods. “Alriight. Fine, let’s go.”

  Arty gave out a hearty breath. Relief and content filled his face. Quin himself took a breath before he proceeded forth into the elements, Arty and Mier followed.

  Their exit did not go unnoticed however, as Onyl looked on from the balcony. Scowl on face and staff at hand, her only action was a trip back inside.

  Just as the chronicler insisted, the travel consisted of a short hike. Their destination, a path along a tall hill with a cliff that stretched out above it.

  The “creek” it overlooked as Arty put it, became choppy waters in the storm.

  Arty remained undaunted and the trio made their way up the path. The overhanging cliff made for decent shelter from the rain but did nothing to hold back the wind.

  “This should be it,” Arty declared with an arm over his face. “We should be able to find them here.”

  “What exactly are we looking for?” Mier asked.

  “Me and a few other chroniclers camped out here once. We couldn’t stick around for long. Had to leave some things behind. You know, trinkets, antiques. Things most people wouldn’t care about.

  “I told myself if I ever came back, I’d go back. Look around. See if you can find something.”

  Onward went the search. Arty and Mier took different sides of the path to investigate. On their knees, they sifted through the dirt to find old valuables.

  Quin simply stood and took note of the storm.

  Thunder echoed in the distance, the only sound besides the wind’s increasingly loud shrills.

  The scene looked eerily similar to that of his leg injury. The cold chill, dark skies, howling winds. All reminiscent of that awful day.

  He checked down to the unsettled waters below and didn’t check a second time.

  The wind became ever stronger, but oddly enough, it felt calmer to Quin somehow. As if the harsh winds traveled through him.

  He still had to lift up his mask as water constantly flooded the eye holes. He wasn’t a Yerp anymore but he wanted to turn back. Concern covered his face.

  The chroniclers’ search yielded small items. Old rings, bracelets, some rolled up books. Arty looked at what he and Mier collected and bobbed his head in satisfaction.

  “I think this is all we’ll be able to get!” Arty yelled through the strengthening storm.

  “Good! Let’s get out of here!” his colleague responded.

  The items looked important to the old chronicler but to Quin, the small accessories didn’t appear to be worth a trip in the rain. Thankfully, they could go back.

  “Not yet!” yelled Arty. “There’s one more thing! Down by the river!” He ran up to Quin. “We do this one thing and we can go!”

  The skin between Quin’s eyes wrinkled in frustration. The storm only worsened and while nature gave him some inconvenience, the chroniclers struggled to keep still in the gales.

  Quin stuck out a finger. “This one thing! That’s it!”

  The three traveled down to the nearby body of water, all while they ensured the wind wouldn’t body them into the water.

  They made it along the banks with Arty in front. Not long after, he turned back, only to turn again. Each time, he tried to look up.

  “It’s somewhere here I know it!” he stated as he searched frantically. “It was right underneath the path we stood on...wait! I think this is it!”

  Quin and Mier stood beside and shielded a crouched Arty as he dug through dirt. He pulled out the beaded necklace from before.

  “I told you if I ever came back, I’d return this,” Arty murmured as he lowered his eyelids and buried the necklace. “Not sure if it’s the right spot, but at least it’s closer than ever.”

  He then rose up and grabbed some of the trinkets out of Mier’s hand. He nodded at Quin, a sign that things were finished.

  In stormy weather, Quin read that message clearly and turned for the rest stop. Water soaked into everyone but soon, they would return to dry warm shelter.

  Mier never received the non-verbal message. “So are we good?!” he yelled as he walked behind. “Are we done?!”

  He tried to walk up beside Arty, but his bad footing picked the worst time to return. He quickly went from vertical to horizontal and splashed into the tempestuous tides.

  Quin and Arty snapped their heads back.

  “Heelp!” Mier cried out, the waters swept him far and fast.

  Quin’s face froze before the realization sank in, he had to do something. His eyes zipped left and right for a plan.

  “Get back to the rest stop!” He ordered Arty. “Warn...no one until a few minutes go by!”

  He gave chase to the flailing arm of Mier. An arm was all he could see, the rest of Mier sploshed in and out.

  Quin’s sights scanned for anything that could help. A slumped tree ahead of him appeared promising.

  Whether it was adrenaline or his Sentar’i abilities, he breezed past Mier. The wind felt more helpful than harmful.

  Not small. Not large. Quin’s arms encircled the slanted arbor. His enhanced strength helped him sever its ties to the earth.

  Mier entered into view and floated closer. His limbs continued to thrash, his shouts disrupted by water.

  “Hel...helll...” he yelped.

  Quin rushed with a breath in each step. Up ahead, flat rock surfaces jutted out from the river. They’d help him get as close as he could without a spill himself.

  He stuck out the fallen tree with the branches out toward the water. Mier tried to float his way toward the improvised net. He flailed closer and closer.

  With one desperate reach, his hands clasped a branch.

  “Hurry! Climb on!” Quin instructed.

  Mier clutched every branch his hands could find. Not all of them could support him. Many snapped instantly.

  Quin leaned closer. He stretched the tree further. His balance faced its biggest challenge yet.

  As Mier tugged himself out more and more, every tug forced Quin to rely on the tip of his boots for support. He only needed a few more pulls.

  Trouble arrived when his boots began to slide. With no time to adjust, Quin quickly teetered over. Before he knew it, he felt gravity’s pull to the wild waters.

  Right then, random arms wrapped around his torso. Suddenly something supported him.

  “What?! Who!?” Quin yelled out.

  “Stop wasting time!” he heard Onyl bark. “Get him out!”

  With their combined strength, the two Tyrovivs stood firm as Mier eventually dragged his body out from the water. Soon, everyone reached solid ground. The worst of the crisis had been averted.

  Quin noticed a strand of rope looped around Onyl’s body. It ran back to a nearby tree that supported them all. However she found out, Quin couldn’t be more grateful for her presence.

  “Thanks Onyl,” said Quin. “You really saved-”

  “Who told you to be out here new guy?!” Flashes of lightning highlighted Onyl’s glares.

  With the new Tyroviv at a loss for words, the rescued Mier filled in.

  “It’s...not his fault!” Mier told her between breaths. “It was...our idea to get out here...we-we’re sorry-”

  Onyl turned her glower to the Yerp. She had one response in mind, a backhand. She was about to let one rip across Mier’s face when Quin halted her arm.

  He looked her straight in the eye and spoke, “I allowed it to happen, you want to strike at someone, strike me!”

  The two Tyrovivs found themselves in a brief stare down. Roars of thunder ended the silence and Onyl yanked her arm from Quin’s grip.

  “Just hurry up and get back!” she commanded before she trotted back to undo the rope.

  The rain looked to subside a little and the winds felt less rowdy. Back on their feet, Quin and Mier shared feelings of relief and desires for shelter.

  “Thanks for saving me,” Mier said. “If I hadn’t slipped...”

  Quin shook his head. “Don’t blame yourself. We’re here for a reason and it’s not to see you drown. All I can do is promise to keep you safe. I like to think my team wants to do the same.”

  Mier’s breaths returned to normal and he could stand upright again. “You’re a good person Quin. It’s nice to know that some of the Sentar’i aren’t careless jerks.”

  Quin looked away and slightly nodded before he lowered his mask. “Give it time. One day it’ll be more than just ‘some’.”