We watched as Makeda wolfed down the butter biscuits and tinned mushroom stew, the bandages Fyn and I had wrapped around her shoulder doing nothing to slow her down.
"You said you're from where again?" Pelias sniffed.
"Vilova," she said with a South Augustian accent, barely looking up from her meal.
"And what were you doing out there by yourself, Makeda?" Ele asked.
"The same as you, I assume. Going to the Masquerade. With the North Eurusian delegation, of course," she said as she slurped the last of the stew straight out of the can.
"And they just left you?" Fyn asked, incredulous.
It was not that her story didn't add up, and she didn't give off any weird vibes. But I don't blame Fyn for being cynical. I'd be suspicious of anybody I met in the White King's woods.
Her dark eyes scanned ours. "They thought I was dead."
"It's barely a day into the journey, though," I pushed.
"Yes and a day can feel like a lot longer when you've been attacked by ghouls and fallen down a ravine, only to drag yourself right into a pack of rock imps and then an interrogation."
Her shoulders dropped suddenly, and she exhaled a breath. "I'm sorry, I know I've been a huge inconvenience. This just wasn't how I saw the Expedition going for me."
I chewed my cheek. "Forget it. You're alive, that's what matters."
We sat in an awkward silence for a while, unsure of what to do now that she'd finished her meal. I looked around at the others, and they nodded.
"Well, Makeda, it seems you've become a part of the Eastern Delegation."
She smiled brightly, her bruised skin glowing.
"We've lost a few hours. We need to get moving," Aester grunted, standing up.
The raven fluttered onto her shoulder, large wings tucked into its sides.
"Hear that, Crow, we've been adopted," she beamed at the bird, wincing as it cawed excitedly and River laughed.
———————————————
This time, when we left the forest we rode into lush green fields.
"Show off," I could hear Ciel scoff as we thundered over the grass.
Fyn and Makeda were sharing a horse, as she was the smallest, and I'm pretty sure Makeda would soon know Fyn's entire life story.
I looked over her. She was average height, her back ramrod straight on the horse. Odelyn had helped her rebraid her hair so now it hung like a thick black fishtail down her back. Crow circled above us, cawing periodically.
"So you named your raven, Crow?" I asked, holding my reins tightly.
"I didn't name Crow anything, that's just his name," she replied, Crow cawing as if on cue.
"Forgive Sol, she doesn't know the difference between an amican and a pet," Aester jibed.
She laughed as I huffed, glaring at his broad back.
Leaning towards me, she whispered, "Don't worry. I didn't know the difference either before I met Crow." She smiled at me, her dark eyes glittering, and I smiled back.
We rode over the green fields for a full day, stopping to camp for the night, and riding onwards again. It was during one of River's stories that I first saw it.
"And so, of course, I said I'd at least like to have a say in my death and she had the audacity to-" he announced, before being violently shushed by Aester.
We slowed our horses as we approached the
mouth of a huge cave. A low, vicious growl rang out, from deep within the cave, joined by five identical growls. The groans seemed to sink into my bones, sending shivers down my spine. I swallowed slowly.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Scylla's Hollow." Ciel grimaced.
We dismounted our horses, strapping the various satchels onto our belts.
"This is as far as you go, Petrichor," I said, stroking her tawny mane, more to calm myself that her honestly.
The cave was almost pitch black, so River sparked a fire, lighting the way.
Well, they got the dampness right, I thought, wiping my wet hand against my black breeches.
Unlike the cave at Centrefold, this one was splattered with blood and full of rotting, half-eaten carcasses. I covered my nose with my arm, my sword in my other hand, as we picked our way through the slimy cave.
The growls grew louder and the smell stronger as we approached the end of the cave. It, too, widened into a large cavern. It felt like like deja vu as I watched the six heads straighten, mouths full of sharp, yellow teeth. The shrieked in unison, spraying all of us with thick, gloopy saliva.
I looked at Odelyn to my right and Ciel to my left. We bared our teeth and roared right back. One of the Scylla's heads rushed towards me, a forked tongue darting out as it hissed. I thrust my sword forward, stabbing it in its cheek. It reared back, barely giving me a second to readjust, before rushing forward again.
I shot my hand out and its teeth clamped down on my sword. It shook its head, throwing me into the cave wall. Head spinning, I scrambled to my feet as the head snaked towards me. An arrow whooshed past me straight into its grey eye, and another into the other.
The head screeched as I thrust my sword straight into its scaly face, the screams dying as it bled out. I nodded gratefully to Odelyn, although the simple gesture unbalanced me more than it should have, my head still throbbing.
I winced as I turned to the others, just as Ele repeated his trick from training, sending two stalactites crashing down into two gruesome heads.
River called the wind, slamming a head into the overhang as Ciel speared it with his trident. The last head reared upwards, its yellow teeth gleaming in River's firelight.
Crow flew at the head, flapping his wings at it as Makeda ran and lunged for it, slicing it clean across its thick neck with a thin sword. The head dropped and rolled, its forked tongue sticking out.
I sighed in relief, wiping the sweat off my forehead, but Makeda still rushed forward slicing two more heads.
I heard a low growl and realized why. The head with arrows jutting out of its eyes meandered towards me, faster than I would've thought. I stumbled back, thrusting my sword into its neck sloppily, but still it advanced.
I tripped over a rotting ribcage, landing hard on my tailbone and rolling to the side as the jaws snapped. Arrows flew past as I lunged and grabbed the hilt of my sword, pulling it down futilely.
Nothing.
The sword barely moved and the head was raising itself back up. Then my hands were knocked away because the hilt was growing. I ducked, narrowly avoiding the hilt as it sprang forward, now ten times bigger.
My giant sword clattered to the floor, the Scylla's head thudding dully at the same time.
I smiled at Fyn triumphantly until my gaze was pulled back to the Scylla. It was desiccating. The head on the ground was now a slate gray, its scaly skin even dryer than normal. The dryness spread up the first neck as the last head reared up, a stalactite clean through it, roaring lethargically as it snapped forward. Pelias slashed through it's neck, but there was no desiccation.
Meanwhile, the dryness spread faster from its neck and soon the entire dry, hulking mass fell with a thunderous crash to the bottom of the cavern. I stood at the edge as I watched the last grey-green scales become, well, just grey.
I turned back to find the others staring at me.
"What?" I said, scratching my arm, only slightly self-consciously.
"Did you just desiccate the Scylla?" Pelias asked, blonde brow raised.
"What?" I echoed, "what- no."
I frowned, glancing over the edge again.
When I looked back, the others had gathered in a cluster at one end. I walked over but I could still see the odd looks. My eyes meet Makeda's as she stared at me instensely.
"I didn't desiccate the Scylla guys!" I exclaimed, folding my arms across my chest.
Did I?
"Would've been pretty cool if you did though," Ciel said, smiling as River created a mini rockslide.
I stalked past the Scylla's dried up body, still feeling eyes burning into my back. Turning back I could see Makeda's dark eyes boring into mine as Ele gazed at me wide-eyed.
I shook my head at them, smiling to myself at how ridiculous they were being as we strode deeper into the cave.
I'm human, I don't have any magic. I couldn't have desiccated the Syclla... right?