Zuberi, in an attempt to circumvent the boredom synonymous with guard duty, decided to experiment with his senses. Like before, he let out staggered clicks with his tongue, closing his eyes, watching as the sound drew an echo of his surroundings. He looked back to the forms of his resting companions, welcoming the sense of pride when it came knocking. He let out another series of clicks, softer, barely audible, aimed at his companions. Even with his eyes closed, he could see them better without the additional noise his eyes could not filter out.
Zuberi knew Hanz was awake by the way he turned and tossed, his breathing uneven. Eli lay curled nearby, the boy's small face peaceful in sleep, one hand resting on Shifty's warm, scaled and feathered flank. Shifty's multifaceted eyes, however, were open, fixed on Zuberi with an unblinking, intelligent gaze. She offered a soft chuff of acknowledgment, a puff of warmth misting in the cool cave air.
Lisa was propped against the cave wall, closer to the boy and Shifty than to her brother, her eyes closed, but her brow furrowed. Her breathing was shallow, and a faint tremor ran through her. She looked utterly spent, far more so than simple exhaustion from their journey would explain. He felt a pang of concern. His own encounter with the den had been physically and mentally taxing, and Zuberi suspected she was having a similar experience.
A rustle near the entrance drew his attention. Shifty, with a surprising stealth for her size, had slipped past him and was now returning. She padded directly to Zuberi, head held high, and deposited a cluster of large, fragrant fungi at his feet. Then, with a series of clicks and whistles, the creature turned to where Eli slept. Her scales and feathers began to shimmer, shifting through a bizarre palette of colors, from a mottled brown and gray, to a distinct pinkish hue reminiscent of the previous night's cooked moon-fur rabbit, before settling on a vibrant turquoise. Shifty then nudged Zuberi with her snout, as if presenting her foraging efforts. Could it be she was hinting at her new culinary preference over raw food?
Hanz, who had sat up to observe the scene with a raised eyebrow, walked to the fire and, using a long branch, coaxed the embers of their fire back to life.
"Well, look at that," he grunted, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Our little monster is earning its keep. And developing a taste for the finer things in life, it seems." He gestured with his chin towards the remaining fruits they had gathered and the newly acquired fungi. "Breakfast of champions, I suppose?"
Zuberi nodded, then pursed his lips and shook his head. "I'm not sure how your sister will like you calling Shifty it," he said as he pushed himself to his feet. He joined his hands above his head and stretched. "How is she?" he asked, pointing his chin towards Lisa.
Hanz glanced at Lisa, then shrugged. "Quiet. Barely moved all night."
Zuberi inched closer to Lisa, careful not to wake her. Her skin was pale beneath the grime, and dark circles shadowed her eyes. She look less rested than before she went to sleep.
He wanted to let her sleep and rest, but his worry over her state won over. He knelt beside her. "Lisa?"
Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing eyes that seemed unfocused, distant. It took a moment for her gaze to clear, to recognize him. A small, weary smile touched her lips. "Zuberi. Morning." Her voice was a hoarse whisper.
"Are you all right?" Zuberi asked.
Lisa gave a weak nod, a shadow passing over her face. "Yes. I had a strange dream," she said, then propped herself into a sitting position with a wince. "It was… a lot."
"Perhaps some food will help," Zuberi suggested. "Let's see what we can make with Shifty's contribution and our remaining supplies."
Hanz, ever practical, was already sorting through their fruit. "I make a mean fruit salad," he said, flamboyant, producing a silvery blade he deftly spun around for effect before slicing the brighter fruits into the snail shells. Zuberi noted he made a point to skip one shell when distributing chunks of the tart cerulean berries. Meanwhile, Zuberi retrieved the skewers from the previous night, giving them a quick flare of heat, focused only on the surface to spare the wood. He then threaded pieces of the large fungi Shifty had foraged. Soon, the aroma of grilling mushrooms mingled with the fruity scent.
Just as they were about to serve, Eli stirred, awakened by the sounds and smells. He sat up, rubbing his eyes, and Shifty scooted to make room beside him, shaking out her feathers and scales.
Zuberi chuckled. "Ah, Eli, you remind me of an old saying from my home." He cupped his chin with one hand, eyes gliding to the cave ceiling. "A guest who arrives when the food is ready was not invited to the cooking."
After a few seconds of silence, Hanz clapped his hands together. "I'm sure it's better in the original version. Let's eat."
They ate in silence, the crackle of the fire the loudest sound. The fruits were sweet and juicy, a welcome contrast to the earthy, slightly chewy texture of the grilled mushrooms. It was a strange meal, but nourishing, and it offered a small measure of comfort. Zuberi watched Lisa. She picked at her portion, her movements slow, deliberate. The usual spark in her eyes was dimmed, replaced by a profound weariness, yet also a new, subtle intensity.
Once the meal was done, Lisa finally spoke, her voice gaining a little strength. "I need to tell you what I saw. What I learned."
The others fell silent, turning their attention to her.
Lisa took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping over them. "My, uh, experience," she began, searching for the right words, "it wasn't like what you described from your vision, Zuberi. Yours sounded raw, elemental. Mine was—different. A place of quiet, peace, and infinite beauty."
Zuberi listened as Lisa described her vision. She spoke of a breathtaking celestial garden, an oasis of impossible plants floating in what she termed outer space. The phrase conjured for Zuberi an image of the endless night sky, yet her tone suggested something far more alien, a void beyond his ken. This garden, she continued, was in a gentle orbit around a colossal, silent black hole. The words themselves, orbit, black hole, were new, strange sounds to Zuberi, concepts he struggled to anchor to any known reality, despite the strange new lexicon that sometimes surfaced in his thoughts. Yet, she believed its immense pull was the source of her ability to perceive time's currents and glimpse the future. The garden itself, with its restorative aura, she termed a sanctuary of life. The vast emptiness surrounding it, she said, mirrored her power to become unseen.
"This place I saw, my garden… it felt like a kind of nexus, a point where the energies of this world are concentrated, maybe even made accessible," she explained, her voice gaining a hesitant confidence. "And it seemed to act as a filter, too. It showed me… or allowed me to see… what comes next?" She ran a hand over her short hair. "The next place we must go."
Zuberi leaned forward. "Where?"
"A ruin," Lisa said, her eyes distant for a moment as if viewing it again. "A place of sorrow and echoes. It looked like… a coliseum. An amphitheater. Collapsed, ancient." She closed her eyes, shuddered once, and let out a deep sigh. "I think I saw us facing it there."
"Facing what?" Hanz said, his voice not quite sarcastic, but full of skepticism.
Lisa's gaze sharpened, a flicker of the fear Zuberi had seen in her before returning. "The Dreadwraith."
The name hung in the air, cold and ominous. Zuberi remembered the oppressive dread, waves of anguish, crippling fear, agonizing loss, they had felt as he and Hanz ran away from the roar that he now knew to belong to that Dreadwraith.
"My vision showed me," Lisa continued, her voice dropping, "this thing is a creature of despair, feeding on the land, on life. Defeating it is crucial. Not just for us, but for… something larger." She gestured vaguely, unable to articulate the broader implications she had glimpsed. "I don't know," she added, shoulders slumping.
Zuberi processed this. The next debt is owed. An image of the statue he'd seen in the den flashed before his eyes, the words at its base seeming to pulse in rhythm with his heartbeat.
"Did you see anything else?" he asked. "Weaknesses? How to fight it?"
Lisa shook her head, a frustrated sigh escaping her. "The vision was clear on the where and the what, but less so on the how. Only… a feeling. It feeds on strong emotions, on struggle. Stillness… precision… those were the concepts I glimpsed in the garden." She looked drained by the effort of recounting. "I'm sorry, it's… fragmented."
"It's more than we had," Zuberi said, his mind working, connecting Lisa's words to his own experience in the den, the emphasis on control, on channeling power instead of unleashing it.
"So what," Hanz said, blowing out a heavy breath. "We're we going to some haunted stadium to fight a super-ghost that feeds on bad juju. Did I miss anything?" He met his sister's gaze, then Zuberi's, then spat to the side. "Whatever the fuck could go wrong?" Despite his irreverent sarcasm, Zuberi noted a glint in his eyes.
"As soon as we're ready," Zuberi said, collecting himself before he pronounced the unfamiliar word. "We'll travel towards where you saw this amphitheater, Lisa."
Lisa nodded. "I can guide us. The direction is—" She paused, then smirked, as if someone had told her a funnier story than the one with the hunter and the hyena. "Let's just say that there are few things clearer than where we need to go."
They packed their few belongings, doused the fire, and prepared to leave the safety of the cave. Zuberi had always hated aimless wandering, and they had done nothing but until now. But with his vision in the den and Lisa's revelations, they had new knowledge, a clearer, if more daunting, path.
Lisa, though physically drained, carried herself with a new, quiet resolve. Hanz, ever the pragmatist, was already scanning the terrain outside the cave. Eli, sensing the shift in mood, stayed close to Shifty, his small face etched with an apprehension that mirrored the adults' unspoken fears. Shifty, ever vigilant, moved with a silent grace, never venturing far from the boy.
As they stepped out from the cave, the wind sliced at them with cold gusts that reminded Zuberi of the wraithlands. Their initial path was arduous, owing it to the rocky, uneven ground that made progress slow. Zuberi took the lead, his spear a familiar extension of his arm, his senses sharp, heightening his awareness of their surroundings. He noted the way the wind whispered through the dry grasses, the distant cry of some unseen creature, the unnatural stillness in certain patches of shadow.
Lisa walked beside him, her gaze often distant, as if she were simultaneously navigating the physical terrain and a map within her mind. She spoke little, conserving her energy, but when she did, it was with quiet certainty, pointing out a less treacherous path, a landmark that resonated with her foresight.
Hanz scouted ahead at times, his movements surprisingly fluid for his lanky build, his shadow-weapon always at the ready. He found little of note. No immediate threats, but also no signs of water or easily obtainable food. Despite having filled all the iron-snail shells and both skins with fresh water, Zuberi was already regretting their refuge inside the cave.
Eli, back to riding on Shifty's back, was quiet, his large eyes taking in everything. He pointed once towards a peculiar rock formation in the far, hazy horizon, a spire of dark stone that seemed to twist towards the sky like a petrified claw. "It's sad," he said in a barely audible whisper.
Zuberi soon realized that only he, thanks to his sharp and still sharpening senses, had heard it. He glanced at the far away spire that looked like round pebbles, scaled to humongous sizes, then piled one atop the other. He felt nothing from it but its stark desolation and the sense of majesty shared by all structures that could dwarf mountains.
A sad rock. Zuberi supposed that in this world, it would not be the strangest thing.