Before they could even begin to step away from the river, the ground beneath their feet began to shake violently as the river around them surged wildly. Ornral, the spirit of the river, swept through, his fangs grabbing the masses of black oil still floating upon the surface of the river. It dragged the globs beneath the river rush from where they did not re-emerge. Ornral, however, returned towering above them, mouth slightly open, tongue dancing through the sky. Naya drew both of her blades and stood to face him. A normal snake would have been hard enough to read, but Ornral was composed entirely of the river's waters given shape. His features were, as such, even harder to discern.

  Standing beneath him, no one uttered a word. A great spirit like Ornral left them all speechless. The snake crept its head closer to Naya. The girl from Lom-Itoti steeled herself and held firmly. He had done nothing aggressive as of yet, but she needed to see her family. If Ornral wanted to stop her, she'd fight even him. The spirit opened its mouth wide, fully exposing its fangs. It moved with purpose as it gently clinked its giant fangs against her blades. The steel shuddered at the spirit's touch and shattered.

  Naya ground her heels into the dirt, refusing to bend even an inch more to the spirit. It hissed at her, its breath pouring out like a roiling steam. She raised an arm to shield her eyes but stood fast before the great spirit. With a sound like rain downpouring, Ornral rejoined the river and carried on, leaving the Cheese Acolytes alone on the shores of the green sleep. When the steam cleared, Naya let out a gasp. The blades he had shattered, heirlooms handed down to her by her father, were transformed into something entirely different. Each scimitar was now clearly made of fangs fashioned into blades.

  "I think we passed," Naya said, holding the twin blades aloft. Alvec walked over to them and took a look. Praying that Ornral hadn't just made a lot more work for him. He had heavily enchanted both of Naya's blades for her. Electricity, acid, and speed enchantments would not be cheap to replace. He cocked his head to the side as he began to examine them properly. It looked like the spells were still there. It was as if the steal of the blades had simply been transformed, despite the appearance that it had been shattered. The only part of his spell craft that looked undone was the final step, which formally joined the spell to its vessel. Likely because the nature of the vessel had been transformed. He took a few moments tweaking the spell till angry red runes flared into life, floating just over the bony blades. Satisfied with his work, he took a step back, nodding to her.

  "Guess you did, oh spirit-speaker," Alvec said with a nod. "Your blades are back to functioning. No loss of spell power for you today."

  "Good, now that Ornral is gone, we should get moving," Naya said as she sheathed the blades and picked a direction to wander in.

  The group passed over several bridges and came face to face with multiple groups of mostly humans who had set up makeshift shelters on the islands. Many of the inhabitants were weary about a small but heavily armed group being brought into the Green Sleep. Most refused to have more than the slightest conversation. It took a combination of Illaria's flare and Sarbie's calming presence to convince them to point us in the right direction. Each island seemed to be a village or a family, each cut off from the other by the strange guardians they had fought or by their own fears and prejudices. Either way, finding the inhabitants of Lom-Itoti took far longer than Naya had hoped. As they searched from island to island, the pale purple light on the horizon never wavered, as if it was stuck in some strange forever dawn.

  Eventually, Naya ran across a familiar face. A man was working on a small garden beside the river's edge. She'd known him as one of the farmers from her village. His grandson had danced with her at the last harvest festival. She dashed over to him, trying desperately to remember his name. It felt like trying to recall a fact from a past life. In reality, it had only been about eight months since she had fled from the deserted village of Lom Itoti. The name finally sparked across her tongue as she reached him.

  "Salvor!" She cried out. "Where's my family? Are they here with you?" The old man took a moment to study her squinting his eyes and causing the crows feat wrinkles to deepen into craters on his face.

  "Well, I'll be, " he said as he straightened up. Your parents have been worried sick about you. Everyone else made it here, but you didn't. What happened that night, and how are you here now?"

  "I'm sure my parents will have the same questions, so bring me to them first, and I'll answer both of those."

  He gave a soft laugh. "As straightforward as ever. I see the wisdom in that. Let's go. Jarlo and Dina have feared you might be lost forever to them, so we shouldn't let them think that for a moment longer." The man led the way to an encampment of tents and a small wooden cabin. Naya broke into a sprint the second she saw them, throwing her arms cleanly around her mother. Tears streamed down her face as she buried it into the crook of her mother's neck. The party stayed back a ways, giving them the space they needed for their reunion. When Naya finally pulled away from her mother, still holding onto her arms in a half embrace, she saw now that Dina seemed smaller than her memories of her.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  "You've grown a little sprout. Tell me, have you been well?" Naya nodded wordlessly as she finally let go of her mother and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Are those your friends?"

  "Yes, they've been trying to help me find you!"

  "Certainly is mixed company you keep. I haven't seen a goblin or a tiefling since that one year we took a few carts of furs to the nearest Jai."

  "They're... they're something else, alright. Alvec's the tiefling. He's a wizard, and while he does some of the stupidest shit I've ever seen, he's got a kind heart and a lot more courage than you'd expect from a big-city scholar. The goblin's name is Bait. He's part of the Blue Banner Army, believe it or not. Probably the deadliest person I know."

  "And the others?" She asked.

  "No more answers till I get a hug, too." Naya's father said as he cut in, wrapping his arms around his daughter. He was of average height, and his build reflected that this man worked his days in the fields and forests. His arms were still thick as tree trunks, and Naya could only imagine how strong he was. She was glad to see that he didn't look to have faded one bit this time.

  "You're both alright? Right?" Naya asked.

  "We're as fit as a fiddle." Her father replied. "Never been better... well, ignoring the part where our physical bodies are plants back home." He replied.

  "You know?" Naya asked.

  "The child of Akrixi who brought us into the green sleep explained it all to us. His magic preserves our bodies while our souls and essence are kept safely here in the Green Sleep, beyond the reach of something he called Kavaas. He said he'd be bringing more people here. We hoped you'd be among them."

  "Bristlecone didn't bring me here," Naya confessed as she crossed a hand over her stomach and grabbed her arm. "I'm only here temporarily. We don't know how much time we even have left."

  "What are you saying?" Her father asked as a frown spread across his face.

  "We've got to go back. We've got to find a way to get the Emperor to dance on the small mount so that we can stop Kavaas and bring you home for real. so we can hug in more than just dreams." Naya said as she stepped back from her parents and took a firm stance as if expecting them to try to bowl her over. Her father simply smiled.

  "I'm proud of you, little sprout. I've always thought you could do anything you wanted to. Never imagined it would be trying to save the Empire though. So please, just be careful. And you lot do your damned best to keep her alive." he said as he gently shook a fist towards the rest of the group.

  Sarbie immediately ducked into a bow and shouted back, "Yes, sir, I'll do my best." Everyone but Bait burst into laughter.

  "We know you will," Alvec said. "She has my shield, too." He let his magic flair to life around him.

  "Aye, she can most certainly be counting upon my steel as well," Illaria said as she drew her blades and arced it high above her head.

  "Bait promise to shoot things other den Naya. K."

  Mavec merely shrugged. Not everyone here felt the urge to assure these country folk that their daughter was in good hands. Echo marched beside Naya and took a seat before gently lowering himself onto the ground.

  "I really am in good hands, Dad." She said. "I hope it won't be long. We've just spoken with the Emperor's favorite bard. Cellocht. Hopefully, he'll have us as an audience with him soon!"

  "We'll be praying to the spirits for you, " her mother said before placing a hand on Naya's shoulder. So, how do you exit the Green Sleep?"

  "Likely the same way we entered it," Alvec replied.

  "Could it be that easy?" Naya asked?

  "It seems like the sort of bullshit the spirits would cook up. I guess we all just settle down and go to sleep here." Mavec said as he glanced around. "You wouldn't happen to have some beds? My head already kills; the last thing I need is to have my back hurt, too."

  "Would your back be hurting? Your body is already actually asleep in Archer's Market. With Rem Standing guard with Cellocht.” Illaria reminded him.

  "Look, this is spirit bullshit, I've no idea how it works. So maybe?" Mavec replied.

  "We can offer you all safe places to rest your heads." Her father replied. Naya's mother guided her into a small tent where a makeshift bed awaited her. It was far from the best bed she'd ever had. It couldn't hold a flame to her room in the tower, and yet, with her mother sitting beside her, stroking her head, she'd choose to sleep here every night. Echo lay with her, resting his large head next to hers. She absentmindedly petted him as she let herself drift into sleep.

  The group awoke, and Naya wasted no time rising to her feet and drawing both of her blades. It had been more than a dream; they were, in fact, still the same fangs of Ornral she had received in the Green Sleep.

  Cellocht applauded. "I see your trip into the Green Sleep was not without fruit. Did you discover anything else?" He asked.

  Alvec shook his head from left to right. "Nothing more than that we were to some degree compromised. We were able to get purified by the river waters, but that doesn't give us any new information."

  "I see. Well then, I best be off to meet with Ageneon. We will be in touch as soon as I can, " he said, giving the group a deep bow. May your travels be safe and worth recording." Cellocht left the room, rejoining the party still raging in the tavern. The rest of the party followed suit soon, heading back to their home in Sha-Laial.