Lybis, though not present before Lyruk, Abana, and Elavale in a literal manner, was visible in a sort of mirage before them. It was something both Lyruk and Lybis used magic to create, something they called a window. Showing a visual on either end, rather than a singular person, multiple people could be seen and speak through the window. It took more energy with increased distance between the two locations of spells, but at their current positions, the strain was minimal on them.
"I have to inform him soon," Lybis told them, sitting with arms crossed, shook his head. "It'll be by tomorrow evening."
The three of them nodded at the news, not surprised their actions were being noticed and monitored. However, it was a little bit shocking that they were being informed ahead of time, before the God of Death.
"What about the Goddess? Does she know?" Abana inquired, the information more important than the rest they'd been given thus far.
Lybis turned to the man seated next to him, Elavale's father, Ahsin. With stark white hair, green overalls, a wise gentle face, and dirt engrained in the wrinkles of his hands, he shifted anxiously. Wringing his hands together in his lap, knuckles white, he took a moment before speaking.
"Noyrua went to retrieve that intel."
"What?" Elavale blanched at the statement, her heart sinking. All her life, her mother had stayed in neutral territory. Years ago, she'd overheard her parents speaking on the subject before, the harsh conclusion being that she could never return to the Goddess of Life's side. That it was far too dangerous. "But-"
"She should be back soon." Her father interrupted, putting an end to further questions on the matter.
Gripping the handle of her saber with pursed lips, Elavale let silence reign as turmoil raged inside her thoughts and heart.
"Wandering in the Canyon of Fire as a big group isn't the safest," Lybis offered, changing the subject. "Please do your best to stay unharmed."
"Wait. What do you mean it's unsafe?" Abana tilted her head with a frown. "Aren't greater numbers more secure?"
Lybis shook his head, Ahsin doing the same. They explained together that once enough time for close proximity registers to the arcane forces of the land there, it considers them a group. Until the distance could become great enough to deem them entirely separate groups and adjusted accordingly over the course of a day, they would remain as one collective in the Canyon. Splitting apart for a brief time while remaining inside the same 1000 meters, would continue to render them as a party.
The words raised flags of concern in the trio, especially since they'd instructed the others to move on ahead without them. Abana clutched her axe tighter while Elavale and Lyruk exchanged a short glance at one another.
"The magic of that place extends beyond the planet," Ahsin said solemnly, Lybis's head bobbed in agreement.
"Extends? What exactly does that mean?"
"Beyond the planet?"
"It means with enough raw ability in your group, the Canyon will bring you things you've never seen or encountered previously on Elpidius," Lybis explained. "When Cass – when someone I knew took a group through a long time ago…"
Alarmed by his own slip of the tongue, Lybis attempted to correct the words before trailing off, his eyes darting away.
Though they wanted to ask who he was talking about, the rest of what he'd started to say was worthier of a question at the moment.
"What happened?"
"Creatures from another planet appeared before us."
Abana's eyes narrowed upon hearing the word us, but she remained quiet, filing away his mistakes as information for a later hour and different day to ponder excessively.
Besides that one word, the rest of Lybis's sentence had been alarming enough. Elavale made several expressions, of disbelief and confusion, to alarm and horror.
"Another planet?"
"Be careful. We're not all equipped to handle such monsters."
Lyruk was the one to respond this time, both Elavale and Abana now out of words.
"We're almost through," he said. "We'll be cautious."
"Alright."
Catching something out of the corner of his eye, Lybis turned. Ahsin saw as well, and reached out a hand to the side. Elavale's mother, Noyrua, stepped into view, sitting beside them, taking Ahsin's hand with her own, seeking the comfort it brought.
"How are things?" Lybis asked her.
"She doesn't know."
"Anything?"
"Not yet. But it'll be hard for them to keep it quiet much longer. She's been making frequent visits to the graves."
In the past, the Goddess of Life's trips to the graveyard with grasses and flowers reaching the height of a regular person's knees were an indicator. The frequency generally doubled in the few weeks before the curse of the Valley was activated again.
"She's far more aware of the chatter of the dirt on this planet," Lybis stated with a nod.
Noyrua, Ahsin, and Lyruk all mimicked the movement, understanding the meaning of his words. Both of Elavale's parents had over a thousand years to understand cryptic words, and since it was on a topic they knew well, it wasn't hard to put the pieces together. From the perspectives of Abana and Elavale, it was increasingly clear how Lyruk had come to speak in the way that he did. While both father and son blended a mix of normalcy and riddles, the usage was nearly opposite, Lybis tending to be as blunt as possible while Lyruk liked interpretation of words.
"Okay," Abana muttered before waving farewell and heading off toward Haq, Nadia, and Nomma, having heard everything she needed to. Her parents weren't present anyway, so she opted out of listening to the rest.
Besides, for a while, she'd been getting nervous, her mind returning to one thing. Creatures from another planet. The consequences of a large group. Once she rounded the first corner, she couldn't help but jog to the next, not spotting the three of them anywhere.
Reaching the next bend, she heard the sounds of a disturbance ahead, the movement of something very large. Her pace picked up, an anxiety rising in her as she considered the scenarios. It wasn't as though she had no faith in Haq, it was just that if the Canyon considered them a group, it was obvious that one of them wasn't going to cut it alone against the next creatures.
After the warning from Lybis, her heart hadn't settled down. As she rounded the corner, a shout froze her in place.
"Get down!"
Abana's gaze landed on Haq, the front of his body angled toward her. His brows were scrunched up, and his arms positioned themselves protectively wide to shield Nadia and Nomma.
For a split-second, her eyes landed on the creature, something so far removed from the others inhabiting the land on this planet, and she saw the mouth open, launching something at the three of them.
She was quick to notice Haq's missing dagger, something splattered on his arms, and his lack of confidence in the fight, enough to use his own body as a shield. The Haq she knew didn't run from battle. Not once had he ever turned down the opportunity to go blade to blade. It wasn't just with her; it was with anyone willing.
Only a single time had she seen him injured.
One.
There was a sudden surge of restlessness, of tension, that filled her body.
A resounding thought entered her mind, a statement so obvious and foreign all at once.
She didn't want to bear witness to Haq getting hurt.
But it wasn't just that.
Abana didn't want him to get hurt, regardless of if she was present or not. It wasn't that he couldn't, but that he shouldn't.
As much as he pushed every last button inside of her, challenging her and giving rise to a multitude of emotions, there remained something intangible that she couldn't figure out. In a way, he had long been a distraction to her, a way to prevent herself from lingering on unpleasant thoughts. The more space he took up with his odd remarks and questionable motives, the less time she had to focus on the moments that bothered her, the tiny things that never seemed to perfectly align.
Somehow, over the years, she relied on that carefree yet occasionally cynical and pessimistic voice he projected. A part of her continued to hope she'd run into him here and there across the lands of the planet, though she always pretended otherwise the moment her eyes caught sight of him.
Why, she wondered, when they went from strangers to enemies, did she miss him the instant he was out of sight? She could still see him leading the two of them away, jaw tight, expression hardened, but not a complaint left his lips. Her eyes had followed him until he was no longer visible, but he hadn't once looked back.
And that had been utterly vexing.
A desire to protect him, not a want, but nearly a need all on its own, rose, startling her once she realized.
It wasn't just a simple distraction. Nor was it as easy as claiming it was protective instinct to those weaker than oneself.
Her worries for those three standing before the foreign creature were not equal.
Knowing there was nothing she could do, nothing that could be done from her distance, was similar to physical pain. She nearly started running, to aid the man she liked, despite such an action being futile.
It was all in order to help Haq.
Her thoughts kept her frozen. Eyes wavering, open long enough to blur her vision with rising tears, a deep shaky breath accompanied it.
A large form took shape in the air behind Haq, with Nadia and Nomma both ducking per Haq's orders. It was a blue wall of water that intercepted the blast of acid ejected from the creature. The water moved as if an ocean or river, light reflecting on sections at a time. As Abana stared, the moment the acid slammed into the water, a patch of hair on Haq's head seemed to turn white. She blinked and it was gone, a trick of the light, it seemed.
Over the top of the water, Abana saw something far stranger, the creature's demise. It wasn't by any normal means, and she knew none of the weapons in their hands were capable of such damage. She nearly turned, expecting Lyruk to be standing there with his staff in hand, spell casted, but she instinctively knew nobody would be standing behind her.
The ground shook briefly, a loud thud accentuating the motion. Evaporating into a light mist, disappearing as though it were never there with not a drop dampening the ground, the wall was gone. The three of them held their breaths, silently preparing for the next attack as the mist blurring their vision vanished.
On the other side, laying on its side, was the creature, dead. There was no weapon protruding, no clear sign as to how it had perished. And yet, it no longer had a head, though not through means of decapitation. It was, putting it simply, gone, as if it had exploded all on its own.