Kadus did his best to tend to Nanaua's and Corin's injuries as he struggled with his own.

  They were tucked away in a corner of the marsh, in a cave hidden by overgrowth. They saw Tonatiuh's forces leave after the trees sheltered them, but danger still loomed.

  “This might hurt.” Kadus said as he applied an ointment on Nanaua's wound.

  She did not react. Since they had escaped from Throk, Nanaua had been completely silent and unresponsive. She was led into the cave by Kadus and laid on the ground with her eyes open.

  “Kadus your wounds need to be tended to, and you need to rest.” Corin added.

  “Ah my wounds seem worse than they actually are. A good night of rest and I'll be good.” Kadus replied.

  “We might need to move soon, so it would not be a bad idea for you to rest now.” Corin replied. “I'll look over Nanaua.”

  “Move?” Nanaua spoke for the first time. “Move where? They took everything!”

  She sat right up as she said that.

  “They took your friend! Your wife! They took Zhi!” She was shouting now.

  “Don't you think I know that?” Corin replied as he got up.

  “Then why did you not fight? Why did you force me to retreat like a coward!” She replied.

  “What were you going to accomplish? Getting killed? How is that going to help them?” He replied.

  “If I had continued pressing the attack we could have defeated them! Taken their mounts back to Tonatiuh!” She shouted at him.

  “We were severely outnumbered!” He shouted. “There was no defeating them! There was only death for us! Retreating was our only option!”

  “Retreating was not our only option! We could have stood our ground and fought! Instead we took the coward's way!” She shouted.

  “Do you even listen?” He shouted back. “If you are so eager to die then why don't you leave!”

  “I can't stand being around cowards like you!” She shouted back at him. “I will leave! I will rescue them! You can stay here and hide in this hole!”

  “Fine! Die out there!” Corin shouted at her.

  She began to leave but Kadus got in her way.

  “Wait! Wait! Wait!” He said as he stepped in between Nanaua and the exit.

  Nanaua stared down Kadus. She seemed ready to take out her anger on him.

  “Get out of my way.” She said between gritted teeth.

  “Please listen to me.” He began. “We all want the same thing here!”

  Nanaua shoved him aside and kept walking.

  “Before you leave, tell me. How are you even planning on getting to Tonatiuh's palace?” Kadus asked.

  Nanaua stopped in place.

  “That is no concern to you,” she replied without turning around.

  “Is that so? Then why did you stop?” Kadus replied coolly.

  She turned around and looked at him.

  “You know it will be impossible for you to find a drake mount here on the surface. Without that you have no way of making it onto a Dragon's palace. And unless there's something you're not telling me, I'm the only furtive either of you know that has made it onto a Dragon's palace before without the use of a drake mount.” Kadus added.

  “You can't take us up there. You need one of your creatures. I don't see any of them around here!” Nanaua replied.

  “You're right, you're right.” Kadus replied. “You said Tonatiuh needs to complete the ritual with the Onsiel on the longest day of the year? That is about a fortnight away. I can get a Pyornis before then.”

  “You can?” Nanaua and Corin replied almost instantly.

  “How soon?” Corin followed up.

  “If I leave tomorrow, after some rest. It will take me five days of almost non-stop flight to reach Mount Hullo. That is the nearest place where Pyornises live. If I succeed in taming one I should be back in three days. After that we would need your guidance,” Kadus said as he pointed to Nanaua, “to find Tonatiuh's temple.”

  “How confident are you that you will succeed?” Nanaua asked.

  “We just killed a Giant.” Kadus replied. “I am confident about taming a big bird.”

  Nanaua stared at Kadus.

  “This will only work if we are all together.” Kadus said. “We need each other here.”

  He stared at both Corin and Nanaua. The two would not look at each other.

  “All I need is your large bird.” Nanaua replied. “I do not need anyone else.”

  “If it wasn't for me Throk would have gutted you!” Corin shouted at her.

  “I did not need your intervention! Killing Throk is my duty and mine alone!” Nanaua shot back quickly.

  “Enough!” Kadus yelled at them. Gone was the usual jovialness of his tone. Kadus seemed incensed.

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  “This is not the time for petty squabbles!” He added. “You all came to me asking me for guidance on how to reach this valley. You promised me that if I helped you, we would find a weapon that would help fight Titans. I held my end of our deal, and I intend to make sure that you all hold up your end of the bargain!”

  Nanaua and Corin looked at each other, anger burning in their eyes.

  “If you don't agree to behave around each other then I cannot help you.” Kadus added.

  “I understand.” Nanaua replied as she stared at Corin.

  “I didn’t ask if you understood, I asked for you to be civil around each other.” Kadus snapped. “Will you be civil?”

  Nanaua stared at him. “Yes.” She snarled.

  Kadus turned to look at Corin.

  “Will you be civil as well?” Kadus asked him.

  “I don’t even understand why she was-“

  “What is it with you two and not listening!” Kadus cut him off. “It’s a yes or no question! Will you behave?”

  Corin was quiet.

  “Well?” Kadus asked.

  “Yes.” Corin finally responded.

  “Fine, it’s settled.” Kadus spoke. “We will rest today, and tomorrow I will go in search of a Pyornis.”

  “What are we supposed to do?” Nanaua asked.

  “You can’t stay here.” Kadus replied. “I don’t know your old comrades that well but you are a loose end, and a traitor to one of the strongest Titans.”

  “Any suggestions on where to go?” Corin asked.

  “Yes. At the very end of the Serno Valley, about a two day walk north from here, there is a large lake. Near it there is an old abandoned town. Although it might not seem like a good hiding spot, one of the old buildings in there has a basement that is fairly large and hard to find. It is found in the only brick building in the town. You can hide in there if anyone comes near the town.” Kadus finished.

  The rest of the evening was spent in silence. With the help of the trees Kadus was able to locate their belongings and the piece of the artifact that Bellum guarded.

  “Did you find the other two pieces of the artifact?” Corin asked.

  “No.” Kadus’ reply was swift.

  In silence they ate and lay down for sleep. They all tried to find rest but could not, their thoughts keeping them awake. Their thoughts were with their comrades, those they had struggled alongside for so long. Corin hoped that Livia, Simeon and Zhi knew that they would not rest until they had freed their friends.

  ***

  The morning came and Kadus bade his goodbye.

  “On the eighth day look to the west. Be prepared for our journey to Tonatiuh's temple.” Kadus said and then flew into the air.

  It was only Corin and Nanaua now.

  “Prepared?” Nanaua asked.

  “Yes.” He replied.

  The two of them took off in search of the lake Kadus told them. With their injuries and the difficult terrain it took them much longer to traverse than they normally would.

  At one point Corin fell halfway into a muddy hole. Nanaua came over and lifted him and put him on dry land. Corin could tell that the effort caused her a lot of pain.

  “Is anything broken?” She asked him.

  “No.” He replied. “Are you-”

  Before he finished speaking she turned around and continued on.

  The silence between the two continued on as they navigated the terrain. At one point Nanaua quickly thrust her pike into the ground in front of them without warning. Corin nearly fell backwards from the shock. Nanaua picked up the pike showing what had caught her attention. At the very top of the pike a snake squirmed as it tried to free itself.

  Nanaua put the snake out of its misery and threw it on the ground.

  “Let's eat.” She said.

  Corin, who’s stomach had been grumbling, did not reply and cut open the snake. He had never prepared anything like this, but it was simple. Strip the skin, remove the insides, cut the head off, cook what's left and eat.

  As the two ate they both stared at the middle ground between them. Mentally neither of them were present. All that had happened the previous day still felt like a bad dream. Both of them held out hope that at any moment they would awaken and find themselves surrounded by the others.

  It was long after they both finished eating that they realized they had only been staring at the ground.

  Corin promptly got up, and Nanaua followed.

  The next three days were similar as they struggled to reach the town. Their injuries and the harsh terrain slowed them down more than they were used to. But as Kadus had promised, inside the old red brick building they found a well hidden basement.

  As the days passed the reality of their situation had set in. This wasn't a bad dream. This was the reality they were in. Zhi, Livia, and Simeon had been captured.

  They were around a fireplace inside the brick building. They were waiting for a fish that Corin had caught to cook.

  Nanaua looked at Corin who only stared at the fish.

  Corin's eyes were red. The entire time his hope wasn't resting on whether or not Kadus would come back in time. He only wanted to know one thing. The question had been burning deep inside Corin and he could not help it anymore.

  “Your wife and your friend are still alive.” She said without being prompted. She was staring at the fire.

  “What?” He replied as he looked at her. Only then when he saw her blurred face did he realize he had been weeping. He wiped away at his face when he realized this.

  “Tonatiuh will want to make a large spectacle of his ascension.” Nanaua began. “For these large ceremonies he always wants victims he can execute as a show of force. He will keep Livia and Simeon alive until then.”

  Corin looked at Nanaua. He wanted to believe what she was saying, but he didn't know if she was just saying this to calm him down.

  “I am not lying to you Corin. Our friends are still alive. Trust me when I say that we will get them back.” Nanaua said.

  ***

  The next several days were quiet save for one incident on the seventh day. At noon a drake flew close to the abandoned town. Corin and Nanaua hid, unsure if there would be any attempts to search the town closely but nothing came of it.

  The eighth day finally arrived. Corin and Nanaua were up early and restless. Their injuries had almost completely healed and they were eager to fight. They waited for Kadus in the center of the abandoned town, waiting for any moment for him to arrive.

  Midday approached and the two kept waiting. They had yet to eat and now their stomachs were rumbling.

  “Can't really fight on an empty stomach.” Corin said and prepared some food.

  The duo ate the freshly cooked fish at lightning speed, inhaling it as soon as Corin took it off the fires. The food was so hot they both burned the insides of their mouths. But within moments they were ready once again. All that Kadus had to do was swoop in and take them away.

  Nanaua paced back and forth. She muttered under her breath.

  “This old bird better hurry up.” She muttered.

  “Damned old bird.”

  “I knew it was too much for him.”

  Finally dusk came upon them. Still no sign of Kadus.

  Corin began to have doubts himself.

  Kadus where are you? Are you hurt? Are we going to have to find an alternative plan?

  What would they even do? This had been their only course of action for reaching the Dragon Palace. He had no idea how else they could reach the skies.

  The sun set and night was upon them.

  “Damn it!” Nanaua finally shouted.

  “I knew we shouldn't have trusted that old bird! He was too overconfident! Now we'll have to find another way to the skies!” She continued.

  “How?” Corin began. Maybe she knew something he didn't.

  “We'll have to steal a drake!” She replied.

  “How are we supposed to do that?” He asked.

  Nanaua was quiet.

  Corin kept staring at her.

  “I'll think of something!” She shouted back at him.

  Suddenly Corin heard a crashing sound. Both of them looked. Near the edge of the town a large black creature stood. Above the large creature a familiar voice boomed.

  “Sorry for the wait!” Kadus yelled.

  “The old bird!” Nanaua said.

  Nanaua and Corin went up Kadus.

  “This is a Pyornis?” Corin asked as he stared at the large creature.

  “Indeed it is. An adult female here, not the largest one, but she is very fast. She will get us to the dragon temple.” Kadus replied.

  Corin looked at the large creature. It had a massive body, taller than Nanaua and it was completely covered in black feathers. The only thing that Corin could see in the darkness were its white irises.

  The creature stared back at Corin. He felt as if the creature was studying him. The creature walked to Corin. He backed away.

  “Is this thing going to try and eat me?” Corin asked concerned.

  “No, no, don't move!” Kadus told him.

  Corin held steady. The creature came up Corin's face and sniffed him closely. Corin could not help but stare at the creature. The creature stopped and stared at Corin, and then moved on to Nanaua's face.

  Nanaua did not seem the least concerned about the creature. She raised her arm in front of the creature's face. The creature smelled it and then went back to looking at Nanaua. Nanaua put her hand on the creature's head and petted her.

  “She is a fine and noble beast.” Nanaua said as she put her head against the creature's.

  “I can't say I'm surprised.” Kadus said as he saw the creature's reaction to Nanaua.

  “So does this mean we are safe to get on the Pyornis?” Corin asked.

  “We are.” Kadus responded. “Let us not waste another moment and ride.”

  “How do we find the temple?” Corin asked.

  “The temple should be close.” Nanaua began. “We saw a drake flying by close yesterday. It must have been from Tonatiuh's palace. That must mean they are close. Once we take to the skies I'll be able to see it.”

  “Only you?” Corin asked.

  “Yes, most Dragon Temples are protected by a magic ward that render them invisible to anyone who isn't a member of said Temple.” She replied. “That's why you never see Dragon Temples until they crumble and fall to the ground.”

  “So are you two ready?” Kadus asked.

  “Let's go.” Corin said.

  He and Nanaua got on the large Pyornis.

  “So we just hold on to the body?” Corin asked as he tried his best to hold onto the body .

  “Yes, you hold on as if your life depends on it, because it does!” Kadus replied.

  With that Kadus whistled a strange tune. The Pyornis reacted instantly, spreading out its massive wings and flapping them. Kadus whistled once more.

  “We're off now!” Kadus said.

  The Pyornis lifted off.