"Based on the notes that Aether's previous person left, the wood wights we encountered are not the only Nightmare Creatures in the area." Roan paced as he spoke. "And with more and more humans gathering here in Bastion both now and in the future, more monsters will be drawn here without question."
"That's a fair assumption." Helie nodded. "We've seen it happen in the waking world and in the Dream Realm. So then, what's the plan?"
"Roanie wants to kill as many of them as possible." Flint picked some dirt out from under his nails.
"You want to create a perimeter?" The brunette lady chewed her lip.
Roan nodded, "Once we get everyone into Bastion, the lake surrounding it will provide a natural barrier, but it will take time to make the place livable. The more of the area we can clear, the better it will be for the soldiers."
"We will have to build a bridge too," Aether pointed out. "Not everyone can walk on water, and those creatures in the lake don't take kindly to being disturbed."
"Star Boy is right," Flint nodded. "And it will take a bit of ingenuity to withstand the likes of the monsters of the deep."
Helie snorted. "Star Boy?"
Flint looked at her strangely. "What? He said I could call him that?"
"He's right, I did," Aether shrugged apologetically.
"As long as you don't come up with some cursed nickname for me, I suppose you can call the others whatever suits them," Helie pushed her hair behind her shoulder.
"Don't worry. I will not call you anything. Bel told me to only say a quarter of the mean things I think, so those names are all safely locked away." Flint tapped his temple with a conspiratorial wink.
"Thanks...I think..." The brunette looked at Roan, who was just as confused as she was.
The leader clapped his hands.
"Getting back to the subject. We have to clear out the forest, build the bridge, and make the area of Bastion safe for the people of this land…which inevitably means dealing with our scaly friend up there."
"Is he that bad?" Helie squinted to look at the ruins.
"Worse." The three men answered in unison.
"Remnant doesn't sound terrifying until you think about how bad the Doom War was. This thing survived when even the gods died," Roan furrowed his brow. "The only thing in our favor is that he is already injured."
"Do you think Cyrus might be able to help?" Helie was nudged by the Violet One at the mention of his name. "Flint saw what he did with that water monster earlier. It swallowed the enemy without a second thought."
Flint leaned away as Cyrus turned toward him. "Yes, he did. But the Prince up there is bigger and smarter than that Turquoise One. He would be the one eating Cyrus instead."
The Violet One snorted derisively. Flint wiped the bird's snot from his hair with a sigh.
"We will need to plan that part of the mission carefully. I wouldn't be surprised if the dragon is our final obstacle to beating this Nightmare," Roan tapped his chin. "We will have to work our way up to it."
The others nodded, seeing the sense in his words. While they were all eager to go home, there was no sense in rushing into a mission when they had time to plan. And with a cunning enemy, they would need to do their best to be prepared.
Adjusting his scarf, Roan opened his mouth to lay out his plan for clearing the woods when he saw someone running their way. Deactivating the shield of silence around them, he let Noble enter the group.
"You are back sooner than expected. Did you find out–" Roan paused when he saw the focus in the woman's violet eyes.
Noble held out her hand to Flint. "Hand it over."
Flint furrowed his brow. "If you mean the belt, I dropped it off in my tent on my way back here."
"I don't mean the belt. I know you have it." Noble cupped her hand to receive what the man had to offer.
"She means that little carving you took." Helie rolled her eyes. "Don't play innocent. We saw you pick up when we went back to the wyvern's nest."
After the Violet One had finished his meal, the trio had returned to the wyvern's nest.
While Noble checked to make sure the creature hadn't kept any captives, Helie and Flint had looked through the things buried in the grass. Mostly, the creature had gone after things that shimmered like water, so nothing they had found was of much value, except for the little piece of ivory.
Flint had pocketed the piece when they went to leave, thinking neither of the women would notice. He was wrong.
"No need to be angry. If you are hoping to return it, there is no point. That critter who had it before is dead." The man pulled out the piece from his armor.
"I am not angry. Actually, I am relieved. If you hadn't pilfered it, I would be making a trip back right now to fetch it myself." Noble reached for the item, but Flint snatched it away.
"Pilfered? That's a strong word! I am not a thief!"
"Then why hide that you took it?" Helie pressed.
The man looked away. "Didn't want you ladies to make fun of me for liking pretty things."
"That just makes you human." Noble took a deep breath. "Now, please, may I have the piece?"
"Fine." Flint frowned but handed over the ivory cameo.
The others gathered around to look more closely at the oval piece.
"That was made by Mirage?" Roan marveled. "It's beautiful!"
"Are you going to tell us what you need it for?" Aether stroked his chin.
"Bel, there you are! You left without telling me where you were going!" Syrce gingerly carried a wooden box with her as she neared.
"I am sorry. I just got excited. But I have it!" Noble held up the ivory Cameo. "This right here is the ke—I mean missing piece of the relic which you have been trying to complete. Titus has been carefully guarding it, not knowing what he had."
Turning it over, a wide smile came to Noble's face.
The hole in the back was exactly as she remembered: a flame.
"It matches the mirror's peg!" The Saint's eyes sparkled. "Titus, you are brilliant! How did you know we would need it?!"
"Oh, it was just something I picked up…" Flint's ears burned.
Ignoring the man's embarrassment, Syrce handed Helie the box. "Hold this for me, Aurelia. I cannot wait any longer!"
"Shouldn't you be doing this in private?" Helie said in spite of her curiosity.
"Don't worry. The only ones close enough to see anything are you five and Cyrus. I don't think he will go spilling my secrets, do you?" The Saint laughed.
Opening the lid, Syrce assembled the glass pieces into the frame. She paused.
Seeing the difficulty, Noble activated her levitation powers. "Allow me."
The mirror lifted from Syrce's hand and turned over, with all the shards staying perfectly in place.
"Thank you." The Saint took the remaining piece and held it over the hovering mirror.
The pieces all seemed to hum with energy. Even Noble's cloak felt energized by the proximity to the other relic.
"Here we go!" Syrce lowered the ivory cameo.
Like the final piece of a puzzle, it clicked into place.
The world went white.