Caemlyn at Last

"Bell!" said Carola. "You're normal again!" She clambered up and hugged her sister.

"Hey, not so hard, sis," said Belinda. "I'm still getting over... whatever just happened." She looked at her own hands. "Huh. I am normal again. Well, as normal as I'll ever get for a while."

"Well, you're not the one carrying a powerful cosmic artifact in your stomach," said Carola.

"Yeah, that's true," said Belinda. The two of them stood up and took stock of the world around them. They were wearing the same dresses they'd had before, now good as new. Matthias was human again, too, and he and Jarlath seemed unchanged. All their provisions, including Jarlath's spell books, were still with them.

Soon the others roused too. "Matthias! You're human again!" Jarlath jumped onto his compatriot and kissed him on the cheek, before back and blushing.

"I think so," said Matthias, rubbing his head. "So... where are the Ancients?"

"That is a good question," said Jarlath. "It seems weird they'd just drop us off like--"

That's when they saw there was another person standing with them. The stranger was tall--a few inches shorter than Belinda--pale and lithe, with short dark hair. Their face seemed human, but they were clothed in the black armor of the Ancients.

"All right," said Belinda, "who the hell are you?"

The new arrival bowed. "I am Syrreq. I was sent to watch over you on your quest. I am the youngest of the Ancients, the first born in many hundred years. The others wished to stay hidden from your kind. I wish to know more of you. So here I am."

"But you look like a human being, not..." said Matthias.

Syrreq held up their hand. Its flesh rippled and flowed away, revealing dark scales. "This is a Flesh Aegis, which allows me to pass as one of your kind."

Jarlath gawked. "Oooh, can I touch it?" He reached out to do so, and Syrreq hissed at him. "Guess not, sorry," he said, taking a step back.

"Wait, are you a man or a woman?" said Belinda.

"We do not have that," said Syrreq. "The difference is not always as clear as you think even among your own kind, nor do all of you fall within it. It does not exist for us."

"I see," said Carola. "So you Ancients decided to just let us go on our quest. Why is that?"

"We learned the truth from searching your mind. We know of the Pyramid and of the Guardians. The Guardians are very old. Older even than us. Older than this world. The Pyramid was known and feared in the time when we ruled the Earth. We did not die because of a comet. We died because of a mortal who stole the Pyramid's power."

Carola shuddered. In her stomach was contained the power to destroy an entire world. Well, all she could do was make the best of it. "We'll make sure that never happens again."

"We will," said Matthias, offering his hand to Syrreq. "Welcome to the, ah, fellowship of the, ah, Pyramid. We'll think of a better name later." Syrreq considered it carefully for a moment, as if it were a wild beast, then shook it.

"Yeah!" said Belinda. She clapped Syrreq on the shoulder "Hope you survive the experience!"

"Next question," said Carola. "Where are we now?"

"We took you to your destination in our Ship," said Syrreq.

"They're right! Look over there," said Jarlath, pointing to the massive city nearby. "It's Caemlyn."

The five of them could see banners fluttering outside the city in the dawn's light.

1. They were bright banners of celebration. They soon found Lord Frederigo D'Honaire and Princess Astra of Aqualaria had slain the Dragon and brought its head to the city in triumph.
2. They were dark banners of mourning. They soon found that the Dragon had been slain at the cost of Lord Fred's life, and Astra had borne his corpse to Caemlyn.
3. They were banners of the Dragon. Well, shit.

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