I flushed as Vesha suggested that we leave. Her clothes and her satchel had been utterly consumed by the eternal flame and I was not certain what we could do about the situation since there was no possible chance that anything in my pack would fit her. Her current state of undress was very distracting for me. Vesha seemed less concerned, being more used to casual nudity, but she saw the effect it was having on me and tried not to flaunt her body needlessly.

We had managed to get Vesha somewhat covered by my cloak and were about to take off when a voice called out, “Wait a moment!” I turned, surprised to see another Dragonkin woman emerging from the flames. She was wearing some type of robe and stepped forward to wrap her arms around Vesha. I felt a flare of jealousy burn through me until I heard her tell Vesha, “Apologies, Vesha. We were so excited at seeing our child, at having you with us for even a moment, that we forgot to tell you.”

“Ulielle?” the younger Dragonkin asked as she hugged her back tightly.

“Aye, child,” the other replied, stroking Vesha’s hair like a mother would. “Now, as we told you, you must hurry to find what your companion seeks. When you have retrieved it, return here. Leaving through the catacombs would take too long and be too dangerous for you both with daylight waning. I will take you through the temple, to a place where you can get to the city above us much faster.

Knowing that we had little time, I flew through the long-abandoned cavern town as quickly as I could toward the pull of the Vos’oraik with Vesha following close behind. I could tell from the direction of the pull that it was with us down here in the cavern town rather than above us in the great city. I still could not sense any movement as we got closer and began to get a sinking feeling that the bearer was long dead.

That made me wonder how long the enchanted weapon had lain in wait in this long-forgotten place. Had it been here since the fall of the Ancient Ones? Or had they been exploring the catacombs like us and fallen victim to Tainted? For that matter, what had happened to the people who called this cavern home and had built the temple we had found around the eternal flame?

As we flew, I could not see any remains of the people who had once lived in this place. There were no skeletons to be seen, while there had been plenty of preserved remains in the catacombs we had come through to get here, from the city of the Ancient Ones. Had the people fled for some reason? Perhaps when the dark zone was created so close by? Were they the Dragonkin, as I was beginning to suspect?

The questions plagued my mind until the pull of the Vos’oraik was so strong that it seemed to come from all around me at once. It was somewhere below us. It took a moment to get Vesha’s attention so I could point downward. She had been nearly as absorbed in looking over the ruins as I had and she had this look on her face as if she was memorizing things, like this place had some special meaning to her.

Perhaps it did if the flames had truly given her the answers she sought when we came here. Another Dragonkin appearing from the eternal flame made that seem likely. I yearned to ask her, but we needed to hurry, and I had a feeling that such a conversation would only distract me from my goal.

Vesha nodded at my gesture and began to circle to bleed off speed and make her way to the ground while I made my way downward in a more direct manner. I lightly touched down on the ground and looked around, wary of the possibility of Tainted since the mana from the eternal flame was still disrupting my magic sense. For now, I would have to use my other senses and remain alert for possible danger.

Vesha dropped to the ground beside me, landing with an audible *thump* that seemed to shake the ground. It probably would have kicked up dust as well if the rapid beating of my wings had not already dispersed a cloud of it when I made my slightly more graceful landing a moment earlier. “It is somewhere close by,” I warned as I continued to look around cautiously. “Perhaps we should check inside the buildings.”

That such simple stone buildings remained standing after all this time was a testament to those who built this place. I think that was because they were not built from stone bricks or anything like that. Instead, they were smooth and seamless, almost as if they had been molded like clay from the stone of the cavern itself. The streets were still in remarkable condition as well, made of a smooth black stone that seemed to shine in the ruddy light provided by the distant pillar of flame.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Vesha offered in response to my suggestion. “Be careful and call out if you find anything.”

I was reluctant to part after her close call with nearly becoming Tainted, but we both took a building and began to search. These were probably homes, simple two or three-room cottages and almost everything of a personal nature had seemingly been claimed by the ravages of time. There was some stonework and tools that were nearly buried in dust, but no sign of any weapons in the first two buildings that I checked so I went to a third, but found Vesha already inside, dusting off some long-forgotten pottery near the hearth to examine it.

I watched for a moment as she cleaned off several large cups, plates, and bowls that were intact, and stared at them as if burning their image into her memory. Like I had been trying to do with her face for most of the day. She did not seem to notice me at first and there was a solemn look on her face as she went about her task. She looked up, caught me watching, and gave me a sad smile. “Any luck? I found a few things that I wish we could bring with us, as a reminder of this place. We can always use some things like this for our wagon. They’re well made, and I don’t think my… people would mind.”

“I have not found anything yet,” I admitted, uncertain what else to say to the sad expression on my love’s face. Especially as she had just confirmed my suspicion about the people who had once lived here. I dropped my satchel beside her. Then I offered with a weak smile, “You can get rid of my old boots to make space, I have the ones that came with the armor, and I’ll be getting some sandals in Loden, I hope. Wrap them in my clothes to keep them from being damaged. I will go check another building.”

I left Vesha to her task with a grateful smile on her face that made my heart melt. I had checked two more buildings when I found a sword in a metal sheath with a delicate metal chain-like belt attached. The sheath hinted at a curved blade that was similar in shape, but slightly shorter than Neva’kul. Carefully unsheathing it, I found one glyph embedded in the flat of the blade. This was it; I could feel the magic in the blade now that I was up close, though it did not seem to react to my probing magic.

-Fal’hevar slumbers, waiting for a new wielder to give their oath to the blade,- Sharai explained quietly in my mind. -The spirit within is bound to the blade and its wielder, she can speak with no one else.-

“Fal’hevar,” I thought to myself in awe. A weapon made for a Changeling, and I was going to bring it home, where it belonged. Pride swelled up within my chest as I gripped the blade’s sheath in my hand and returned to Vesha. I had my proof, and now it was time to leave this place.

We made our way back to the temple as quickly as possible and once we had landed and were greeted by the Dragonkin woman that Vesha called Ulielle, I could hold my curiosity back no longer as I tried not to cling to my fellow Bardic apprentice. “You’re a Dragonkin like Vesha, are you… related?”

Ulielle gave me a patient smile over her shoulder as she led us toward a large arch that would take us inside the temple. “We are not Dragonkin, child. That is a label created by Humans. We are Salamanders, elementals of fire and we reside within the eternal flame. Vesha is our child; each of us has given a piece of ourselves to give her life. You are her lover, are you not?”

I flushed bright red and had trouble finding my words. “I… we have not… I…”

This only caused the Salamander to laugh. “Never have I seen a Fae get so flustered by the mere thought of sex. Well, you are both adults now, so I imagine it won’t be long…”

“She wasn’t raised among Fae,” Vesha explained as I scanned the halls of the temple for a hole to hide in. Unfortunately, the smooth construction offered no such avenues of escape. The temple was also uncomfortably hot for me, and everything was coated in a thick coat of dust.

“Still, it is obvious that you share feelings for one another, she seems reluctant to let you out of her sight. I wish you both well, and I hope that you will keep one another safe and happy,” she offered gently before stepping into a room to our right, which contained some simple stone furnishings and a large metal chest.

“This doesn’t look like there is a tunnel to the surface,” Vesha stated in confusion at what appeared to be somebody’s sleeping quarters.

Ulielle quickly explained, “When we still lived in our physical forms, I was the High Priestess of the Temple of Fire, and these were my quarters. I have not been here since we formed your egg, Vehsa, but I put some clothes here for when you came of age. They are made of materials created by the Sa’vash and enchanted for Salamanders. The clothing is all durable, fireproof, will repair itself if damaged, and is connected to the wearer in a way that should you need to change to your true elemental form, they too will become flame, and revert to what they were before when you take your physical form once more.”

The elder Salamander opened the large metal chest at the foot of what had probably been a bed of some sort, a loud squeak of protest issued by the long-unused hinges. She had to sort through a variety of clothes since she had put away clothes for both women and men of varying sizes, but she was able to find several outfits that would fit Vesha as well as a satchel with similar enchantments to place them in. For Vesha, the best part was that, in addition to the enchantments, these clothes were made for Salamanders like her and had appropriate openings for her wings and tail.

There were a pair of simple dresses, a trio of simple tunics like those Vesha usually favored, a few colorful skirts, hosiery, and even some undergarments. She also found a pair of boots and some simple sandals that would fit her. The undergarments included strappy garments to keep her breasts from jostling but still leave her wings free. They had several clever clasps to secure the garment in place, which Ulielle had to instruct Vesha on how to fasten properly.

Vesha swiftly donned some of the underclothes, followed by a cream-colored tunic, a crimson skirt, and sandals, and once she had stuffed the rest in her new satchel, Ulielle was once again leading us through the temple. We went down several floors, which felt odd to me since we were supposed to be returning to the surface. Eventually, we came to a large chamber with a strange large metal square in the center of the floor. The metal had a strange violet sheen to it and I could see the magic emanating from it as easily as I had been able to see it on the clothes that Vesha had been given.

Ulielle led us to the one furthest away from the chamber’s entrance before wrapping Vesha in a hug. Then she startled me by nearly crushing me in a similar embrace. Once she had let me go, she smiled at both of us and cautioned, “Once you step upon the telepad, you will be transported to the surface within Alustriel’s great spire. It sits directly above us, and once it drew upon the power of the eternal flame to fuel the city’s many magical and technological marvels. Take flight swiftly, and put some distance between yourself and the ruins before darkness falls. Take care of one another, and be safe. May we meet again soon.”

“We will,” Vesha vowed, wiping away tears. “I want you all to meet my troupe and my mother sometime soon. So all of you better keep practicing at holding your physical forms longer.” Then, she put one of her strong arms around me and we stepped upon the strange violet-hued metal.

My stomach violently protested the feeling like it had been turned inside out as we reappeared inside the tower. I barely managed to not retch, and it took a moment for me to get my bearings. Vesha seemed no better off and a quick look around the large chamber showed that no Tainted or Darklings had taken up residence. The building seemed mostly a ruin filled with unfamiliar and seemingly damaged devices that I could only guess what they had once been used for.

Ruddy sunlight peeked through western windows and damaged sections of the wall and cast long shadows within the building. I attempted to give Vesha a reassuring smile as I clutched my satchel tightly in one hand and my prize, Fal’hevar, in the other and led her across the floor cluttered with the metallic corpses of the wonders of the Ancient Ones. There was much that I wanted to see and know, but given our last encounter with a Darkling, I took Ulielle’s advice to heart and was determined to leave this place as swiftly as our wings would carry us.

When we stepped outside, the sun was kissing the horizon, and the sky above blushed as a result. It made me think of Vesha beside me as the heat from her body made the cooling evening air more comfortable. She was warm, bright, and beautiful and I had nearly lost her. “Vesha?” I barely managed to speak her name.

She turned toward me, and I furiously beat my wings so that I could hover and meet her eye to eye. Whatever her reply was about to be, my lips cut it off as I kissed her with every bit of love that I felt for her. When I finally drew away, gasping for breath, I said, “Do not ever scare me like that again. I l… love you, and I do not wish to come so close to losing you again.”

For a moment, she just gazed at me with a half-stunned grin on her face. “Aye, I love you too, Kaelyn. I have since I first laid eyes on you.”

-Yes, yes, like it is not obvious to everyone with the two of you,- Sharai chided playfully. -Now let us make for Loden quickly, before the troupe worries and decides to send search parties.-

I nodded in agreement with my spirit guide and gripped both my satchel and my prize tighter. “Let’s go home,” I said as I took to the sky. Vesha was right behind me, the powerful beats of her wings sending her into the air. She quickly caught up and, with our senses alert for danger; we flew swiftly southward toward Loden, where our troupe awaited.