"What do you mean Titus is gone?!" Noble grilled the fourth in command.
"He said that he needed to see Lady Lyra personally. I gave him the communications that have been piling up since Shieldbearer Orrin left, and the Captain headed out."
Noble resisted the urge to shake the woman. It wasn't her fault that Flint had taken off suddenly.
"How long ago did he leave?" Roan furrowed his brow.
Before seeking out Flint, Noble had looped Roan and Aether in on the situation as she saw it. While the men weren't completely convinced, they were willing to hear her out.
As usual, Flint had thrown off their plans.
"He left at first light. Headed straight for the coast." The soldier shifted uncomfortably. "Did something happen? Do I need to form a party to go after him?"
"Everything is fine," Aether assured her. "Thank you for the information, ma'am."
Relieved, the lady dipped her head and hurried off.
Left alone, the three Masters exchanged glances.
"What do we do now?" Aether rubbed the back of his neck. "Surely we can't just leave him to his own devices."
"He is a grown man who should be able to make his own choices." Roan stroked his chin. "This choice doesn't exactly say he wants to reconcile."
"You didn't feel what I did." Noble placed her hand on her heart. "He was broken about what happened."
"Then why leave?" Aether furrowed his brow.
"I'm not sure, but I intend to find out." Child of Promise straightened her shoulders. "I am going after him."
She raised her hand before the others could object.
"I'm not asking you to go with me. In fact, I think it will be better if you don't. I can fly faster without you. I also think the three of us confronting him was part of the problem last night…"
In hindsight, Flint had obviously felt attacked. That was no excuse for his poor behavior, but they could avoid putting him in that situation a second time.
"Bel," Roan began before pausing.
He was torn. The cohort had been his idea, and the members of it had ultimately been his decision. Roan was their leader, and he wanted the group to be healthy. But if Flint wasn't willing to be a team player, then he was sending another of his members into a dangerous situation alone.
Noble seemed to read his mind. "I'll be careful, I promise. If I don't find him by midmorning, or if he rebuffs me a second time, I will head straight back here."
Roan exchanged a silent conversation with Aether before nodding. "No matter what he says or does, you need to come back."
"Understood." Noble nodded.
Resolving the Nightmare was the most important objective. That would be harder without Flint, but they could manage. "I will return shortly; I'm sure of it."
"You are leaving us?" Syrce seemed to appear from nowhere.
"Titus has run off," the floating Master explained. "He is heading toward the seaside, and I am going after him."
The Saint did not seem surprised by either piece of news. She smiled softly. "It looks like you did know what to do after all."
'Is this how I sound with my students?'
Like a dutiful pupil, Noble nodded her head.
"Good. Titus is a bit rough around the edges, but desertion of his post is beyond even him. Bring him back before I notice he is gone and have to punish him accordingly. I doubt he would like to have his insides become his outsides." Syrce raised one eyebrow in contemplation. Shrugging, she flicked her wrist at her younger counterpart. "Now, go on. Get going!"
Taking a deep breath, Noble lifted into the air. She had a Master to find.
She took one last look at Roan, who belatedly realized her silent request. He pointed covertly in the direction she needed to go.
'Thank you,' she mouthed with a small smile.
Making sure she had the Bread Crumbs activated, Child of Promise took off in a hurry.
If only she had Orrin's tracking skills! Her own would have to do. The beginning was easy. Flint had not been very secretive about his exit. Noble followed his path from above.
The forest looked very different in the daytime. Granted, she was going in a slightly different direction than her last flyover, but that didn't change the fact that she could see much more.
The gates were not quite as frequent as she feared, but still quite prevalent. This Realm was behind the Waking World in number, and the Masters and Saints of her world had closed many of the ones back home.
'They still have some time, then.'
That was comforting. Not only did it likely mean that the cohort wouldn't be caught up in the imminent apocalypse, but it also gave them time to build this stronghold for Syrce and her people.
'Still, there are quite a lot of gates.'
Noble had never traveled over the waking world in this manner for a number of reasons, but now she was curious how it would look. Her world had once been beautiful and lush. Would it have looked similar before the dark times?
'Minus the gates, of course.'
Noble would never know, but that didn't mean she couldn't imagine.
What would it have been like to see forests that stretched on forever? Or better yet, to see a beach in all its splendor without having to worry about what Nightmare Creatures might crawl out of the waves to attack.
Of course, even in this Realm, the beach hadn't exactly been safe. Wariness of the water was necessary for survival.
'I do wish I had been around to see palm trees like the ones displayed on the walls in Fort's office.'
Would there ever be a time when she could just enjoy a view and not have to worry that something would attack?
Not with her world being consumed into a monster-filled dreamland.
Noble sighed. At least she had this moment.
For the next little while, she scanned the forest for any sign of life. Her wandering mind pictured what it would have looked like to have friendly forest creatures milling about and ready to help her, like she had seen in some recovered films from the dark times.
But instead of twittering songbirds and rabbits that would pretend to dance with her, there were only Nightmare Creatures, more than ready to devour her.
'That is not a dance I want to have today…or any day.'
A half hour later, Noble began to wonder if she had made a wrong turn. Flint's path was no longer discernible in the maze of rivers.
One look behind her told her that she had been traveling in a relatively straight line. However, her view could easily have been skewed. Flint was also traveling on the ground. Any number of things could have prevented him from traveling the most direct path.
'Where are you?'
Noble felt for Flint using her Kingdom Keeper attribute. While not an exact science, she was sure she could feel him out there somewhere. Instinctively, she veered east.
Child of Promise extended her emotional sense as wide as her Ability would allow. But instead of feeling for anything, she concentrated on looking for one very specific emotional signature. The action consumed a lot of essence, but Noble needed to know if she was on the right path.
Her first sweep turned up empty, but then a tug at her attribute brought a smile to her face.
'Got you.'