Noble's head spun. Unlike her, Flint had lived in the Sword Domain for many years.
If he said it wasn't the Stormsea, she believed him.
"When the Nightmare started, I noticed the mountains looked strange. They didn't have their distinctive pattern. The beach, too, followed an unfamiliar coastline. This isn't the Dream Realm. At least not any part of it that I know." Flint sighed.
"How can that be? I saw Bastion." Noble recalled the city-sized fortress.
"I saw it too," the man rubbed his head. "But it doesn't belong here. None of this is right."
They stood in silence for a long time.
The water peacefully lapped upon the shore, whispering secrets as it receded that only it knew. The cloudless heavens watched silently overhead. The vista looked like two night skies, one real and one reflected among rippling waves.
"What do we do now?" Noble looked at her companion.
"The same thing we were already doing," Flint rolled his eyes. "Find the rest of the cohort and conquer this Nightmare."
He was right. The strange topography changed nothing for them.
In the last Nightmare, Noble hadn't known that she was in Crestfall until it was almost too late. In a strange way, the landscape being strange to Flint was a bit of a relief.
It meant they could not rely on prior knowledge of the area to help them. She and Flint were on equal ground.
Well, Noble was a millimeter off of it, but that was beside the point.
A splash broke the surface of the water.
Something was out there.
Something big.
Flint sensed it also. His hands flexed.
"I'm not anxious to fight that thing. We should head back." Noble knew some creatures could move easily from water to land without missing a beat.
She didn't want to be caught in an unnecessary battle.
"That's the first smart thing you've said all night, Blondie. Get us out of here."
Flint tensed as another splash broke closer to them than before.
Noble didn't need to be told twice. She lifted them into the air.
They rocketed ten meters into the sky just as a gargantuan wave washed over their previous location.
A creature with a round belly and huge, gaping maw crashed onto the shore with a sound unlike any Noble had ever heard.
The ground shook and tore to pieces, sand flying in every direction.
The pair barely escaped the ear-splitting beam.
'A sonic attack?' Noble had experienced a few before, but never one of that magnitude.
'It's good that I told you to leave. That thing would have obliterated you.' Flint looked back at the monster writhing on the ground in search of its prey.
'Obliterated me? What about you?' Noble had been the one to pull them out of danger, so why was the Legacy acting like he was the gods' gift to her?
'I am tenacious,' Flint snorted. 'Nothing can kill me.'
'Let's not try that theory out tonight…'
Spotting the humans, the behemoth on the beach roared again into the sky.
The pair covered their ears. Noble felt her armor strain under the pressure, but thankfully, they were far enough away not to be atomized by the pulse.
The Masters flew up and northward with frightening speed, becoming little more than specks among the stars.
Frustrated, the monster called forth another wave, then sank back into the ocean. It would hunt another time.
If it had been able to fly, Noble would have been in for a vicious tussle, but instead, the night went silent.
Under Flint's direction, the pair took a different way back to the humans' camp. He had hoped to find the promised fortress of Bastion where they were heading, but the way was just too dark. Keeping the trail of the Bread Crumbs in her periphery, Noble eventually brought them back to the convoy at morning's first light. People were already up and about, meaning that the barrier from the night before had been deactivated.
The pair landed on the edge of camp, melding quickly into the crowd of early risers.
But not quick enough. The Saint spotted Noble immediately and hurried to her side.
"Sweet Bel, where have you been?" Syrce caught the other woman's arm.
"I uh.. wasn't tired, so I did some exploring." Noble winced. She wrested her arm from the powerful grip.
"All the way to the ocean?" The Saint furrowed her brow.
Noble's eyes opened wide.
"How did you…"
"You smell sweet like the water. It's a very distinctive scent, Lady Bel." Orrin approached and bowed. "How did you make it so far in such a short time?"
"You would have had to have flown to complete such a task." Syrce frowned.
"I didn't fly exactly. I floated." Noble rubbed the back of her neck.
It was a small distinction, but an important one in her head. Not that anyone had asked.
"Does that mean you and Titus figured out how to work the belt?" The grey-eyed Saint looked at Flint and then at his waist.
The gentleman coughed. "No, My Lady," he bowed, "I escorted her and protected her when a sea monster attacked."
'You what?!' Noble knew by Flint's wince that he had heard the message in his head.
She had been the one to abduct him on their trip and also the one to bring him home. He had been a reluctant passenger at best!
"Very good." Syrce nodded. "We must protect our dearest Bel at all costs!" She tapped her chin lightly. "That explains the who and the where, but not the how."
Noble pursed her lips. "I told you I floated—"
"No, dear, I mean, how did you leave without me being alerted? The night watch should have caught that and notified me immediately." Syrce snapped, and a woman appeared from the early morning workers.
She lowered her head.
"Yes, Lady Syrce?"
"Find the night watch. I need to knock a few heads together," the mossy-haired woman flicked her wrist, and the servant scurried off.
"You aren't actually going to knock anyone's heads together, I hope." Noble didn't want anyone to be in trouble. "We snuck off. That is our fault. Do not blame the guards!"
"The watchmen have objects that alert them of anyone coming or going. This error is inexcusable." The Saint's face was serious.
Noble and Flint had landed Drusus in a lot of trouble. They had used their positions to work around the rules.
Flint rubbed his chin, his voice ringing in Noble's head.
'I've got a bad feeling about this.'
'We have to do something!'
Noble could feel Syrce's anger. Drusus did not deserve her wrath.
"It's my fault," she blurted.
"Unless you knocked out my guards and have them bound and gagged somewhere, it is not." The mossy-haired Saint shot her a curious glance. "You didn't do that, did you?"
"No!" The floating woman slid back a step.
"I didn't think so. My sweet Bel would never resort to violence against my soldiers." Syrce's anger wavered momentarily.
Her attention shifted to the commotion nearby.
From five wagons over, the nervous servant returned with two others who were wiping sleep from their eyes.
The three bowed before their commander. Then the shortest of them spoke quickly.
"Forgive us! We were not woken by Drusus and Livia. They had first watch."
"Then they are the ones derelict in their duties. Where are they?" Syrce looked at the first woman. "Why have you not brought them to account for their actions?"
Under the pressure of the Saint's gaze, the young woman fell to her knees.
"Please, My Lady! These are the only members of the watch I could find. Drusus and Livia," she whimpered, "are missing."