A bushel of tiger blooms fidgeted to Vatra's right. She disregarded the usually intimidating movements of the plant as the bright orange petals expanded to reveal teeth-like thorns. Stems rattled, and the plants moved closer to her heels. The juvenile saplings crunched under Revna's boot when she stomped on the tiger blooms. A hissing cry drew Vatra's gaze to the black sap oozing out from beneath Revna's foot.
"Thanks," Vatra said in a sheepish whisper. "I've just never been so happy to see my ship before," she added, drawing her attention back to the clearing.
"That would have had you down for the rest of the day." Revna nodded to the tiger blooms. "It probably would've made you pretty mad to be taken out by a poisonous plant after killing that lurker."
Enyalius didn't take care to suppress a laugh. "Oh, yes. We wouldn't want her to be mad."
Snapping her head up to meet Enyalius' eyes, Vatra narrowed her own at him. "Be happy we now have a way off this planet."
"I'm delighted." Enyalius simpered. "I've always wanted to fly on the famed Agkistrodon. A dream come true, really."
"You test me," Vatra growled. She continued on, walking a cautious arc around the campfire.
There was no sign of anyone close by, and the boarding ramp of the ship was drawn up. Vatra shuffled over to the open hatch. Leaning over the hole in the ground, she squinted into the darkness. A faint light burned at the bottom.
"Are you in there, Spy?" Vatra called. She'd cupped her hands around her mouth, forcing her words to echo. The question repeated back to her, over and over, until it faded into the depths of the ground.
A few moments passed, and the light grew brighter. Spyro appeared at the bottom of the ladder, pointing a flashlight up. Vatra shielded her eyes. Immediately, Spyro directed the beam toward the wall beside him.
"I saw you crash," Spyro said. "We were going to regroup and come looking for you soon."
"Not soon enough!" Enyalius cried out, leaning over Vatra.
Pushing the god back with her elbow, Vatra shook her head. "What do you mean by 'we'?" she questioned Spyro.
"Come down here," Spyro replied. "I do not like shouting up this ladder."
Vatra didn't need more convincing. She turned and placed her boot on the first rung of the ladder. Hollow taps of her soles thudding along each rung echoed in the tunnel beneath her. Jumping down to the surprisingly solid floor, Vatra glanced up and saw the others following.
"You do not hide your face anymore." Spyro nodded to the outline of Enyalius descending towards them. "And he has not killed you."
"No," Vatra replied sharply. "It seems Enyalius has had his manhood revoked."
Spyro raised a brow. "How did you-"
"Ew, no," Vatra interrupted. She rolled her eyes at the disturbing thought. "I meant he's harmless now."
The soft thumps of boots on packed dirt drew Vatra's attention to where Revna and Enyalius stood. The latter cracked his back and blew air loudly from his nose.
"Are we going to stand around and talk about me even more? I'm flattered, but for once, I'm more interested in leaving this planet than having my name the topic of conversation," Enyalius said.
The four of them turned to face the tunnel leading beneath the world above. A faint light beckoned them, calling them to travel into the shadows. Vatra could nearly taste the dirt on her tongue the further they passed from the hatch. The heavy scent was thick in the air; it was both metallic and earthy.
Walking along the tunnel, Vatra ran a gloved finger along the wall. Expecting to see the soil crumble from her touch, she was startled to find a shield protecting the walls. Her finger sent a ripple along the transparent screen. A tickle of electricity ran up her arm.
"I suppose that's the reinforcement for the tunnel," Vatra observed.
She squinted at the mixture of browns, reds and oranges just out of reach. The soil looked like a watercolor painting. A large beetle wedged itself between the screen and the earth, its black shell sparkling off the light of Spyro's flashlight. The insect, nearly the size of Vatra's head, scurried back into hiding.
They walked for a few minutes before the tunnel opened into a cavern. An underground town sprawled in front of them. Vatra stopped at the edge of a set of stairs, molded from the earthy clay itself, and stared with wide eyes out over the sight.
Small buildings had been constructed from the clay. They formed, at the tallest, three story structures pressed against the edges of the cavern. Nearly a dozen structures in total filled as much space as possible. In the center, water filled in a small lake from what appeared to be an underground spring.
The cavern was brilliantly aglow. Spires of crystal rose from the hard packed clay. Their cores emitted a light that appeared like fire burning in them. Each one was a different height and width, and dotted the space in a way that lit every corner. Even from the distance, Vatra could feel the warmth the crystals emitted. They weren't too hot, but just comforting enough as if she were wrapped in a blanket.
Vatra's wandering gaze landed on two people at the edge of the water.
"Hisato!" Vatra couldn't help but cry out her friend's name in equal relief and excitement.
Leaving behind the others, Vatra leapt down the stairs and ran for Hisato. He had started to approach her, but stopped when he must have realized she was much quicker.
Her arms wrapped around Hisato with little care to her strength. A sharp inhale signaled she'd squeezed him too tight. Releasing her grip, Vatra examined Hisato's face with scrutiny.
A tender finger traced a cut along Hisato's forehead. "I thought you were too stubborn to leave," Vatra said. She let her arm drop back to her side and stepped away from him.
Hisato chuckled. "I was. Luckily I was knocked out and didn't even realize what was happening. By the time Belltower was destroyed, I wasn't even near it. Now I'm not bound to the place. A bit of a relief, actually," he replied.
"But, how? Did Spyro come get you?" Vatra questioned. She looked over her shoulder as Spyro and the other two walked over to join them.
"No," Hisato answered. "Someone else found me." He motioned with his head back to the water.
Sitting with little regard to anyone else, a woman busied herself with cleaning a pistol. She was small in stature, obvious even from a distance, but appeared surprisingly muscular. With each motion of her arms as she cleaned the weapon, her bared shoulders flexed with significant definition.
The woman's dark complexion was illuminated in the light of the crystals. Thick hair had been tamed into a single braid that passed between her shoulders. She'd shaved the sides of her head, but a faint shadow on her skull signaled her hair was fighting back to grow in.
"Who is that?" Vatra asked in a whisper.
"Her name is Nat. She pulled me from Belltower before it went down. I'd seen her around before in the housing district, but I've never spoken to her before today. Not that she talks much," Hisato said with a chuckle.
"I remembered the mention of this place and arrived shortly before them," Spyro added.
Vatra nodded her head and looked around the cavern once more. "I recalled you telling us about this place, too, Hisato. I just expected someplace with a campfire, roasting marshmallows and singing "Kumbaya" before we snuggled up in a tent."
"It was a town the natives of this planet lived in. They abandoned it some time ago to move further north," Hisato explained. He started leading them over to the water, and they all followed without pause.
"So, why leave the fire up above?" Vatra folded her arms.
"It keeps the wildlife away. We wanted to leave the hatch open for some time, hoping you'd find this place," Hisato said. "Just don't let me forget to put it out before nightfall."
They gathered at the edge of the water. A still surface glistened from the lights around them. Beneath the pool, a single crystal made the blue color appear like it was on fire. Vatra felt a temptation to swim in the undoubtedly warm water; to wash away the smoke and lurker blood clinging to her.
Nat flickered her wide, light brown eyes up to them. Full lips pouted as she blew air out in a raspberry. "You all smell terrible," she said. Her voice held a tone that reminded Vatra of creole—a mixture of a French and southern accent.
Suspiciously, Vatra looked Nat up and down. It wasn't an accent many would have. She bit her tongue to avoid spinning up trouble.
"You sound like you're from Earth," Enyalius said without restraint. It was obvious he picked up on the same details that Vatra had.
Not surprising he has no self-control, Vatra thought. However, she was admittedly glad the mystery was brought to light.
Setting down the pistol on a blue blanket at her feet, Nat stood up. "I don't see how I could be from a planet that no longer exists," she said. The corners of her eyes crinkled. "But I am curious how you would think I sound like I'm from Earth. Only those from Earth themselves would know. Are you with those assholes above Pocarro?"
Enyalius grinned. He rocked back on his heels and swung his arms out around him. "My dear, you're among gods and spirits. Yes, we're from Earth. I can't be the only one calling your poor attempt at a bluff. I was a talented poker player for centuries."
"Are you with those people?" Hisato stepped closer to Nat.
A surprising smile drew back the corners of Nat's lips. She shook her head and plopped back down on the edge of the blanket. "No, but I can't help but see the sheer coincidence of this."
"What's that?" Vatra pushed.
Nat looked up at the group standing around her, letting her eyes fall on every one of them. "I was once told supernatural beings would always be drawn to each other. Like moths pulled to a flame. We can't help it, and we don't even know who we're being pulled to until the truth comes out."
"So, you're saying you're a god? Or something else?" Vatra questioned.
Is it really luck? Vatra thought with a cautious belief to Nat's words.
"I'm a Loa. I honestly thought I was out here alone," she said. "It's a relief to know I'm not, especially now that there are those ships out there full of people wanting all of us killed." Nat returned her attention to putting the pistol back together.
Vatra met eyes with Spyro, both of them sharing an equal thought that neither needed to speak aloud.
Nat was hiding something. Over the years, Vatra had learned to never trust a coincidence. They'd gotten her killed enough times.