Hearing the tartness in her voice was enough to make him realize how disrespectful he was being. No ruler would abide such a pessimistic outlook about their nation. 

"Please forgive me. I meant not to imply that Essyrn's greatness is exclusively a thing of the past. I may fear what the future may bring, but Fate does have a tendency to defy expectations. And perhaps Hakeshna is merely testing us and the trials that are to come will only serve to strengthen our great land."

Thrax grinned, bumping shoulders with his girl. "Oh, I dunno about that. I'd say it's gotten us out of trouble far more often."

"At least she's gotten me out of a few unpleasant encounters before my gnollish battle lust comes out. My own silver tongue is no good when that happens." He put a hand on hers and smiled gratefully. 

"Then I compliment them on their stamina," Ein commented with a grunt, wings beginning to tire slightly. "I expect we'll find something soon. They can't possibly be tireless."

Surely enough, Nani's eyes soon spotted a darker spot on the pillar's surface, a clear indication of a ledge of some kind. With any luck, it was large enough for all three of them. 

Ein, spotting the same thing, nodded in that direction, communicating his intent to investigate before banking towards the pillar. 

And so Ivan mourned the loss of his old life alone, silently howling at the injustice of it all. He had diligently served his god for his entire life but was now left feeling forsaken and for no reason. Surely, if his god had any influence at all, He would have saved him from his fate. That realization shook his faith to the core. 

By the time Krysta returned, the creature's tears had dried and the wave of misery had entirely passed. He looked at her as she entered. "Thank you for the space. I... needed that."

"As much as it injures my pride, I have seen too much to deny that the days of Essyrn's dominance are long gone. I still believe it to be the greatest city in all of Le'raana, but fewer and fewer travelers come to marvel at its splendor. And I fear that the ravages of time will only worsen no matter what we do." 

Ghaej was clearly troubled by the idea. But he couldn't see things any other way after seeing his nation wither firsthand. 

Grimr, too, perked up, though he couldn't understand the owl remotely as well as his teacher. "What? What's she saying? Is it about Hero?"

Surely, if it was, it was good news. He could at least tell that much, and he was relieved, albeit perhaps prematurely. He had been more worried than he realized.

"Yeah. We couldn't have asked for a better ship or captain to get us this far," Thrax agreed with a smile.

Gracia chuckled. "Not in your price range, no," she said humbly.

"Hopefully this trip is profitable then! Then we can actually pay you with more than labor next time," Thrax said enthusiastically.

Ein nodded back to her before taking a running leap over the drop. Spreading his wings, he managed to catch a thermal and soar upward with minimal effort.

A while later, they had nearly drifted around the pillar and were beginning to get an idea of the time it was going to take to reach one of the floating islands. They ran the risk of Vander's featherweight treat wearing off before then if they didn't come across a ledge of some kind. But so far, the pillar was without anything they would be able to land on.

The beast gave her a look that, even on a cat's face, unmistakably translated to "really? That's what you're going with?"

"Thank you for trying, but I don't feel like any part of this is okay." He sighed heavily, looking miserable. While, in truth, he was taking his situation as well as could be expected, the raw emotions he was struggling to contain were taking a toll. "Could I... have a moment alone?"

"Well, it's more than I would know if you didn't find me." He shrugged back.

"I hope the people I meet in town are half as kind and understanding as you are." He paused, feeling self-conscious. "You seem like a nice guy—err, being—is what I'm trying to say."

Meanwhile, Dan hurried to the camp to fill in his parents. He was optimistic that they would agree to the plan.

---

The two mages nodded resolutely and disappeared from the tent to get started.

Grav followed Kiara back to Kit and explained to the dragon what they needed him to do. He was a little worried that his winged friend would resent being asked to play the bloodhound but it was the best idea they had.

"I never left Ketra until I got cursed, so what they're called and a rough idea of where they are are all I know." Grimr shrugged and tried some of his stew. Immediately, his eyes went wide and sparkly. "Oh my gods... so good..."

"Really! Try it!" he urged excitedly.

Thrax barked a laugh as he raised his glass. "I know, right? I almost choked on my ale when we realized it."

Gracia laughed warmly. "With the way you two got around, it was bound to happen eventually. So, all of the above, I guess?"

"Hear, hear!" the gnoll grinned, clinking his glass against theirs before knocking back the contents like it was water.

Ein smiled and chuckled. "He may be bigger after his mutation, but he hasn't been small since he was a pup."

He took a few steps towards the drop and glanced back with a smirk. "Last chance to weasel out of carrying him. I'm sure I could manage."

"She is... the most wonderful person I have ever met," Ivan answered fondly. Sadly, he added, "But even she would be hard-pressed to accept what I've become. Nor would I ask her to throw away her life to try. She would... She would be happier forgetting about me."

The realization visibly hurt him, but it was the undeniable truth of things. He knew that, even if he found a way to break his enchantment, his life would never be the same. He now possessed doubt in everything he thought was true because he had expected possessing magic to feel more unnatural.

"Correct. I do not. While I must occasionally indulge the parts of me that desire to hunt, I have no need to kill what I catch," Mulciber answered in his usual matter-of-fact tone. Underneath that, however, was a deep sadness over not being truly alive in any sense that a mortal being could recognize.

He placed some loose tea leaves into a small, fine basket and placed it in a cup. When the steam from the water caused the kettle to whistle, he took it from the flames and poured the hot water over the leaves until the cup was full. "Now we wait a few minutes for the water to leech the flavor from the leaves."

As soon as they landed, Dan dismounted and took a moment to stretch. "I should go fill in my parents while you get started."

---

Grav nodded, clearly itching to get moving. The energy boost was making him more of a puppy than usual. "Let's get going then. There's no time to waste, right?"

Grimr had never once considered that birds might have the capacity for grief. He was curious about what Lanaya had left unsaid but it was more than obvious that she didn't want to talk about it. His only guess was a bigger predator, be it a beast or a person.

"Which mountains? The Terrins aren't all that far, not for a bird."

"You'd better be," Gracia responded.

Taking on a lighter expression, she went to her desk and opened a drawer. "Now that that's out of the way, on to the socializing." She got out three glasses and a bottle of rum. "I was saving this for a special occasion. I think this qualifies, don't you?"

Thrax grinned. "Oh, definitely. Of course, if I had that I'd have drank it already."

Gracia laughed. "I think we're all well aware of your longstanding feud with impulse control."

Ein felt fortunate to have her there to teach him these things that his father's people undoubtedly took for granted. It would have been in his nature to foolishly fight the wind itself.

"Then there's no time like the present," he responded with a nod. He fished out a pouch from their pack and tossed it to her. "The featherweight treats for Vander."