“AHHHHHHH!” Yvette screamed when her eyes opened. She pulled the fur over her head, for all the good it would do.

Durandet had come into their temporary home, shoving the cover aside and stomping inside so loud it had awoken Yvette. The zmaj looked ready to murder them, her eyes seeming to almost glow with a red light, even in the dim light that came from the partially opened entrance covering and hole at the top of the structure.

Gervas already had his sword half drawn when he realized who it was, though he didn’t try to resheath it, his eyes locked on the other woman.

Unfortunately, Yvette doubted it would do much good against the large zmaj woman. For one, she was far bigger. While those scales were not as strong as actual metal, judging by the armor she’d seen them wear, they were still far better than the tunic and breeches that Gervas wore to sleep.

Slowly she moved the fur back just enough to see the woman towering over them, though she moved a little lower so she could partially hide behind the small wall of bedding that she and Gervas had formed between them when they slept.

While she’d wanted to believe that the look of murder in the zmaj’s eyes had just been her imagination, it was clear now that it was not. In fact, she somehow managed to look even angrier now that she wasn’t peering at the mage.

“What is it?” Gervas asked, his tone careful. Yvette could see how tense he was, ready to move into action if it was necessary. Though, with the adrenaline pumping through her veins, Yvette didn’t feel very drowsy now either. She looked around for a moment before her eyes fell on her bracer laying beside her. She slowly reached out and grabbed it, beginning to slide her best weapon on.

“How dare you? You--” Durandet’s words were lost when she shifted to speaking in dragon tongue. Her fury seemed to radiate off of her with every word, the language only making it worse.

Worse, small bits of flame were pushing out between the woman’s teeth with every few words. Yvette gave a soft whimper, remembering the stories of zmaj’s who could breathe fire like the dragons they were made by. She’d always suspected that the legends were born of zmaj mages using magic, but now she wasn’t so sure. She tapped her left hand on the bracer, forming the correct dots she would need to put up a barrier spell. She wasn’t confident it could protect them, though.

“I can’t understand you,” Gervas said, struggling to keep his voice calm. “Please. If we have misstepped or offended you in some way, we meant no--”

“Offended?!” Durandet yelled, cutting him off and taking a step back. Her fists opened, revealing the razor edged claws before she took a step forward. Yvette gave a soft whimper and then held out her right hand.

A small, shimmering wall of light formed in front of them. It only lasted for a few moments before disappearing. However, once it had, Gervas had his sword fully drawn.

The zmaj growled, but took a step back yet again. “I welcomed you, humans. But I can see that I was wrong. Gather your belongings and prepare to leave. You are no longer welcome here.”

Yvette stared, her mouth falling open. “W-wait, you’re kicking us out of the city?” she asked. “But--”

“No. Not our city. You will leave our isle,” Durandet said with another furious growl.

Yvette stared at the woman. “But… but we didn’t do anything! What about the trial? You said to meet the drag-- to meet Hiss… Hissgrog… err...”

“Hsgrogan?” Durandet asked, her hands forming fists once more. However, after a moment she gave a frustrated sigh. “You truly believe you are worthy of receiving his glorious blessing now?” She shook her head. “But, very well. All who desire it may go and seek it. However, know this, human. Those who leave the island face the Great King’s wrath in an instant. To face his trials only causes suffering to those who are unworthy. If you long to endure a longer torment for your misdeeds, it is no concern of mine. Gather your things, then prepare to leave.” With those final words, the woman turned and stormed from the shelter.

Yvette stared at the flap over the entrance, her mouth open. Finally, she looked to Gervas. “What happened? Why are they so… mad?”

“I don’t know,” Gervas said softly. “It looks like you’re going to get your wish, though. One way or another.” He slowly got to his feet and grabbed her bag, opening it up and beginning to pull out his own bag from the magical storage, before getting dressed.

Yvette stared at him for a few moments before she moved over to do the same. Cleaning her undergarments and wiping the hair away from her face, she then slid on her journeyman clothing, ensuring her dagger was sheathed and ready to draw if she needed it. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry.”

“This is my fault,” she said with a shake of her head. “If I hadn’t made you come here, we’d have been fine. Maybe we could have--”

“You couldn’t know this would happen,” Gervas said. He turned and reached out, patting her on the head. “It’s okay. We’re going to be okay, somehow.”

Yvette stared up at him. She couldn’t keep herself from trembling, though. “It is my fault, though. You know it. Why can’t you just say it? Why can’t you just… tell me I’m wrong? That I shouldn’t have brought us here?”

Gervas sighed and got back to his feet and began to don his armor. “Because it’s not.”

“But it is! If I’d just… if I’d demanded we go somewhere else for the scale, it would have been easy. If I had just been patient.” Her eyes lowered. “If I had just been normal. Or been willing to accept being a… if I hadn’t decided I had to go through all of this, if I hadn’t tried to force the spell to--”

“Yvette!” Gervas snapped, jarring her out of her thoughts and making her turn up to him. “Now is not the time.”

“But--”

“I need you to focus. You need to focus. Things are rough now. We have no idea what we’re going to be facing out there. What this ‘trial’ entails.” He started to buckle his belt, ensuring his sword was strapped at his side. “I need you clear headed and able to react to whatever happens.”

“But it’s my fault we--”

“I decided to come here just as much as you did. I could have left at any time. I didn’t. You didn’t force me to come here, I chose to help you.” He lifted his shield up in his left arm, before sliding his helmet on. “The only thing that will be your fault is if you let yourself wallow in self-pity.”

Yvette stared at him, watching while he grabbed his spear in his right hand. He looked so determined, so strong. All she felt was fear, yet he looked as calm as if it was just like any other day. Slowly, she got to her feet and slung her bag over her shoulder. She looked around the room, ensuring anything else they owned was put back into the bag before nodding. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I… thank you.”

“We’re going to be okay, Yvette,” Gervas said, giving her a calming smile. “Whatever happens, we knew we had to face it eventually. So let’s face it head on.”

Yvette nodded, giving him a weak smile. She felt some of the fear draining from her. So long as she had him, she was certain that they could face this, whatever it was, together.

She walked to his side and, together, they walked out of the room.

Her heart almost stopped and she froze. Gervas did, as well.

Six of the zmaj, not including Durandet, were standing outside of the structure. All of them were wearing thick leather armor with plates, like she had seen in Osiron’s home. Their armaments ranged from spears, massive swords and one she saw wearing gauntlets with metal tips on their already sharp claws. She stared at them for a few moments, searching for Osiron, but there was only a single green zmaj amongst them and they were a bit too small. They formed a line of three on either side of the door, surrounding them.

Durandet stood, glaring at them, at the other end of the line. An air of hostility hung in the air, making her more tense than ever. While she could see some of the zmaj poking their heads out from their homes to watch them, most of them seemed to have a fury to match their ruler’s on their face. Durandet didn’t say a word, she merely motioned for the pair to follow them.

Yvette nervously gulped, but started to walk. She wanted desperately to reach out and grab Gervas’ hand, or even just hold onto his belt so she knew they couldn’t be separated. But she knew that would be foolish, possibly even dangerous. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to him again.

“It’s okay,” he whispered back. “It’ll be okay.”

“I’m still sorry.”

Durandet led them, slowly, through the streets. Today was a sharp contrast to the prior. While they had arrived late and the streets hadn’t been filled, there had been at least some.

Now, the streets were empty. She could feel the eyes watching them, though. Sometimes curious, other times angry, peering from their homes. Whatever they had done seemed to have spread through the village like wildfire.

Yvette gave Gervas a nervous, fearful look. “What do you think they’ll do?” she asked him.

“You wish to face the trial, you will be taken to it,” Durandet said with a harsh growl. “Though it is more than you deserve.”

Yvette gave a soft whimper, glancing back to Gervas. His face was calm, so much calmer than she could ever be. She didn’t know how he did it, how he stayed calm in situations like this. He truly was an incredible soldier. She felt that longing to reach out and take his hand once more, but she buried it down. If he could be this brave after the mess she’d caused them, the least she could do was pretend to be just as brave. She looked back to Durandet, clenching her fists tightly. She could face this, whatever it was, with him by her side.

Durandet led them through the city, opposite the way they had initially come. Her eyes widened slightly when she realized what they were heading towards. A massive pit carved into the ground, with walls of stone. The pit was almost perfectly round and so wide the entire city could have been dropped inside it without touching the edges.

Two stone platforms had been built into the sides of the pit, spreading out over the gaping hole. Between them, a stone staircase went down, deeper into the pit. It took her a moment to realize that it hadn’t been carved. It was as if it had been grown or shaped. Just like the walls of the vault had been, where she’d acquired the spell. Whatever made the pit had done it with magic.

She felt her heart beating faster, though she tried to keep her breathing calm and steady when they walked closer. She wondered if they would be thrown into the pit. Was the trial all a lie? Were they going to be thrown to their deaths?

However, when they came closer, Yvette could see deeper into the pit and realized that it didn’t descend into the ground forever. Instead, the bottom of the pit was filled with water. A lake was at the bottom of the pit, the water so dark and murky she couldn’t see anything within. Durandet stopped at the top of the stairs, her eyes gazing down over the water. She was silent for a long moment, before turning to them. “If you wish to face the trials, you will have to take these steps,” she said coldly.

Yvette gulped and slowly her eyes wandered down the steps. They seemed to go on forever, circling the pit three times before, down near the water’s edge, a single massive doorway rested. “That door?” she asked softly.

“Yes. You will not be allowed back. If you try to return, you will be offered as a sacrifice and tossed from the offering platforms.”

Yvette nodded. “And if we make it through?”

Durandet was silent for a long moment before giving a light chuckle. “You will not. But, should you pass the three trials, Lord Hsgrogran may grace you with his presence. Perhaps he will show you mercy for your transgressions. But I would not expect it. If he deems you worthy to return, perhaps he will grant you a boon to prove your value. Otherwise, only death awaits you here.”

Yvette clenched her fists and shook her head. “What transgressions? What did we do? Can you please just tell us that?”

Durandet gave an annoyed sigh. “Harming one of Lord Hsgrogan’s guardians is the same as attacking the Great King himself.”

“W-what?” Yvette asked. “We never--”

“Do not lie to me!” the scaled woman yelled, stomping a foot down and the flames flickering out between her teeth again. “I am aware of your meeting with Guardian Osiron last night. More than a few have come to me with concerns after his yelling. When I met him this morning, to check myself, the evidence of your misdeeds was clear.”

Yvette felt her blood run cold. “W-what? What happened to her? Is Osiron okay?”

That gave Durandet pause and, for the first time, the fires of rage flickered. Only for a moment, however, before her angry scowl returned. “Osiron will be fine. He is being tended to as we speak. I know not how you attacked him, but whatever magics or wounds you inflicted on him will be healed. But we will not allow his attackers to reside in our home.”

Yvette stared, her fists shaking. “W-wait. We didn’t attack her, I swear. I was only trying to help her--”

“LEAVE!” Durandet yelled. “Go or we will toss you from the sacrificial platform.”

“But--”

“Yvette,” Gervas said, shaking his head. “Let’s go. Come on.” He started to walk forward, to the top of the steps. “Come on.”

“But we didn’t--”

“Come on,” he said again.

Yvette stared at him, then turned back towards Durandet. The woman looked just as furious, her face a scaled mask of anger. With a heavy heart, the mage stepped forward and followed after Gervas.

Once they were halfway down the first ring of steps, she gave a soft sigh. “Do you think Osiron is okay?”

“I don’t know. I imagine he will be.”

“She,” Yvette corrected.

Gervas gave another soft sigh. “Either way, it looks like they believe we attacked Osiron last night. Being one of the dragon turtle’s guardians must be a rather important position here.”

“But we didn’t attack her. I was trying to help her. That was all. I would never hurt someone like that,” Yvette said, her arms wrapped around herself. “I just wanted to help her. That’s all.”

“You’ll get your chance to tell the dragon turtle soon. Hopefully he’ll be more willing to listen.”

Yvette nodded, her eyes turning towards the doorway at the bottom of the long steps. “What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know.”

“Do you think it’ll be hard?”

“I don’t know.”

“I mean, if a dragon turtle made it, it would have to be hard, right?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never met this Great King of theirs. I guess it depends on what kind of creature he is.”

Yvette peered over the sides of the steps, eyeing the murky water far below. She wondered how far the water went, how deep it was. The lake was easily big enough to house such a massive beast. Was the dragon turtle under the water right now, watching them? Waiting? Did he see all of this? Would he give her a chance to explain herself?

“Have you ever done something like this before?” Yvette asked.

“Gone through a dragon turtle’s trials? No, I can’t say I have. I doubt most have.”

“What if we die?”

“Then we die.”

Yvette gave a soft sigh. She could never understand how he could sound so casual about something so frightening. She racked her brain for any stories or legends she’d heard about trials set by dragons.

Unfortunately, all of the ones she could remember were stories about mages having to face great trials and tribulations in order to gain some magical boon from the dragons. Some even having to give up their very lives. She couldn’t remember any stories about anyone being offered a small cup of tea and then sent on their way with whatever they wanted in hand.

She gave a soft, silent prayer to the stars that, somehow, they’d make it through this okay.

MelodyAvant

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