A native priest stepped outside of the temple. He had asked the priests below him to assemble the people. As a high priest, he was given revelations by the great god quite often. Surprisingly, the great god’s messenger was a rabbit, but the high priest didn’t think there was anything wrong with that. To his own people, the great god would appear approachable and nonthreatening. Anyway, as the high priest, after receiving a revelation, it was his duty to transmit the words of the great god to the populace. Outside, most of the natives had already assembled save for the few who had gone hunting.

“My people!” The high priest raised his hands up towards the sun. “The great god has spoken! We must prepare for a war, a battle of survival. The great god has been weakened, using up all his energy to save us from the wretched plague. Soon, a trial shall come; the foreign devils will invade our lands, burn our villages, enslave our people, loot our wealth. These are the same foreign devils who have brought the plague in the first place!”

The crowd stomped their feet and jeered, booing at the high priest’s words. He watched them, let their emotions rile up before stomping his feet. “Silence!” he shouted. Soon, the din of the crowd died down, and the high priest lowered his arms. “The great god has been expecting this. He had us build the roads and construct this massive city to protect him as he recovers. Even as we speak, he’s lending us his powers, granting us the strength of the guardian spirits of the land, all so we can defend him when the time comes. And that time is coming upon us! The foreign devils shall soon invade; their goal is to take away our great god!”

“How dare they!?”

“Protect the great god!”

“Death to the foreign invaders!”

The high priest tilted his head back, staring up at the sun. Beside him, a priest handed him a flint knife, and he raised it up, pressing it against his chest. Blood oozed out of him as he stabbed down, giving himself two shallow cuts. A sickly scent filled with iron drifted through the air as hundreds of natives below copied his actions, inflicting injuries on themselves to let their blood flow. The chanting got louder and louder, and as it hit its peak, the high priest let out a bestial roar, and the faint image of a spirit bear materialized in the air behind him. The natives gathered below the temple also let out roars, dozens of animals appearing in the air for a brief moment before disappearing, blown away like a cloud of smoke in the wind.

In the distance, four elementals were sitting on top of Vur’s head, watching the proceedings. Sheryl leaned over and whispered to Zilphy, “What do you think they’re saying?”

Zilphy rolled her eyes. “What do I think they’re saying? I know exactly what I’m saying thanks to my understanding of the wind. They’re celebrating a successful harvest, and they’re hoping for another one while sacrificing some of their blood.”

Mistle snorted. “The last time you said you understood things through the wind—”

“Look,” Zilphy said, cutting Mistle off. “If you don’t believe me, then that’s your problem, but don’t try to ruin it for Sheryl and Deedee. You think Mistle talks too much, don’t you, Deedee?”

Diamant sighed. Where was the rabbit when he needed it? Such an adorable little thing, it was extremely useful for distracting Zilphy and Mistle. It might’ve been a bit weak and nothing more than a mascot, but it’s not like Vur needed any more overpowered abilities. He had a contract with four elementals, when it was already admirable for someone to create just one. Speaking of which, since Vur was sleeping, he wouldn’t notice if an elemental were to slip away, right? Sure, there might not be any other earth elementals in this world, but mountain elementals were used to solitude. If Diamant slipped away, and Tafel teleported everyone home, maybe, just maybe, he’d finally be free!

“Deedee?” Mistle asked, breaking Diamant from his train of thought. “Are you okay?”

“Hmm?” Diamant cleared his throat. “Yes, of course. Why?”

Mistle hummed. “No reason,” she said after a while. She shook her head, which was her body. “You just seemed distracted for a bit, almost like someone plotting their escape, but that could never happen, right? As a mountain elemental, you’re always paying attention and giving things your full focus. I really admire that about you.”

“Stop buttering up my husband!” Zilphy growled and pounced on Mistle, the two rocky elementals tumbling off of Vur and landing by Prika’s feet. She was sleeping next to him, and the lake beside them that Mistle had created had the faintest tinge of yellow in it.

Diamant glanced at the two wrestling elementals before focusing his gaze onto the crowd of natives. “So, I might not be able to understand the wind or whatever,” he said to Sheryl, “but it seems to me like those people are getting ready for a war. I’ve lived through many wars, and I recognize the signs when I see them.”

Sheryl blinked her coallike eyes. “But who would they go to war with?” she asked. “Didn’t Vur basically connect the whole place?” Her eyes narrowed. “Do you think they’ll try to attack us?”

Diamant shrugged. “They shouldn’t if they feel the tiniest amount of appreciation for what Vur’s done,” he said. “Aren’t we waiting for someone to come find us? We explored this whole landmass, and we haven’t seen Tafel. It’s easy to conclude there’s another part of this world we haven’t explored. These people are probably getting ready to go to war against the people who live in those areas.”

“Should we help them?” Sheryl asked. Her brow furrowed. “Tafel did tell Vur to make as big of a mess as possible. If we help them, they’ll make a huge mess—extremely easy for Tafel to find.”

“Yes,” Diamant said and narrowed his eyes. “Let’s help them create a mess.” And once everything was nice and messy, he’d conveniently get lost. It wouldn’t be considered a breach of contract if Vur forgot about him and accidentally left him behind in a different world, granting him his freedom. “For Vur’s sake.”