Before dawn, or at least before what felt like dawn, there was a gentle but firm knock on the hatch that brought Dovhran, Selian, and Flip to attention.

“They’re moving, we should follow before they become too difficult to see.”

The vampire’s voice was calm and gentle, but the message betrayed the manner of his speaking. This surprised no one. After their last conversation, it had been generally accepted by the three travelers that Theihdow was so incredibly reserved with his emotions that only very powerful feelings would be able to break through to manifest physically; and, even then, only barely. That being the case, they weren’t entirely sure how the vampire was feeling, or what sort of mood he was in as he came to wake them up.

They were already awake. Flip had been the last to wake up; he’d opened his eyes just before the knocking, but not moved much since. Nearly an hour before him, Selian had woken up to a humming sound outside that she wasn’t familiar with and that had made her nervous and sent her pacing across the flat. Dovhran had been awake the entire night; unable to trust their new traveling companion, he’d rested but not slept.

Though he had been the last to wake up, Flip was the first out of the hatch. Of all of them, he was the most comfortable with Theihdow. It was in part because he knew well the binding power of agreement based magics, as most creatures of a purely magical nature had some form of similar ability. Flip’s trust was also due in part to the mental serenity that existed around the vampire. While Theihdow had been correct the night before that his presence would not be able to permeate into the flat, just spending time around him had weakened the connection that Flip felt to his tormentor. For the wizard, it was fantastic and endeared him to the vampire.

“Where is our new guide?” Flip raised a bushy eyebrow as he took in the surroundings outside the hatch.

Theihdow pointed a finger to the air above him, prompting Flip to look up. “Our new guides are about to head home, you should collect your things quickly.”

The vampire had pointed up to a small swarm of insects that each carried a small bundle of waste wither that had been woven into tight little parcels. It was still early morning and the sky was a golden amber color, making it hard to discern what sort of insect they were exactly, but going off of their method of collecting materials and the waste withers Flip had a good idea of what was going on. It finally made sense to him.

“Come on, get out of the room, I need to pack up.” Flip leaned back to the open hatch and shouted down.

The navigator and mercenary were quick to comply, feeling reassured that they were safe after Flip had conferred with Theihdow. There was a worry in the back of their minds that the vampire would have changed his mind over night as to whether or not he would kill them. They were relieved that their trust was being rewarded.

“So what are we…” Selian began before following Theihdow’s still pointed finger, “oh.”

“They’re headed home, and you won’t find your way there without them.” Theihdow shrugged.

“Culch beetles.” Dovhran nodded as he crawled out of the hatch. “I had to look up what they were when I came across this part of the route. They cultivate plants like waste wither and harvest a little bit every day.”

Flip was already pulling the hatch free of the ground as Dovhran was getting to his feet. The wizard’s eyes were locked on the beetles as they began to hover away.

“And they’re leaving us behind.” Flip grumbled. “Do you have no urgency?”

“We can keep up with them…” Dovhran sighed, beginning to stretch out him limbs in preparation for the day’s travel.

“Oh?” Flip raised both eyebrows and lowered his head to glare at the changeling in an expression of complete disagreement, his hand pointing to the accelerating beetles.

Theihdow had already begun to walk behind the insects. Flip hadn’t noticed before, but the vampire’s tent and belongings were packed neatly together in a large pack that obscured the vampire’s head from behind. It hadn’t occurred to him that the vampire was going to completely move his residence alongside them.

With a gesture in Theihdow’s direction, Flip began a quick march after the vampire and he could hear his companions close behind. As soon as he was close enough to carry on conversation at an easy volume, Flip could feel the safety of the vampire’s aura.

“Don’t rush too fast, these little ones are going to be in the air for a while and they know it. They’re going slow to conserve energy, we should do the same.” Theihdow said as he leaned against the weight of his pack. “More or less, at least.”

“Bit faster than a standard slow march, isn’t it?” Dovhran huffed as he caught up as well.

“They are flying, Dovhran. Unless you have a way to fly, I wouldn’t complain too much. I’ve seen them move much faster than this.”

“How often do you follow them to their hive?” Selian sounded far less out of breath as she matched pace with the vampire. Of the four of them, she was probably the most accustomed to marching quickly over long stretches of land. “I ask because you seem quite familiar with their movement.”

The vampire turned to look at the three travelers behind him with an expression of mild discomfort. “I didn’t think the questions would begin so early… Though, I can sense the genuine curiosity in your words. If you must know, I travel to the tomb roughly once a year and additionally after any heavy rainfall. Granted, much of the harsher weather here is my own doing.”

“You must know I want to ask you about that.” Dovhran sighed. “You are practically begging me to ask about the weather. And you probably mean it as a joke. But I am more curious why you visit the tomb so frequently if you consider yourself a first line of defense against trespassers.”

“You know well what the next stage of our journey will be…” The vampire began, giving Dovhran a sidelong glace. “I had thought you might reach that conclusion on your own. Though I have no qualms telling you what you already know but have yet to piece together. This stage of the journey is special, as you all well know. One cannot navigate between the waste withers and the culch beetle hive without first knowing that you need to follow the beetles. The hive may move from time to time as well, making any waypoint beyond the withers mercurial. But anyone who wishes to reach the tomb, and the route was designed with that in mind for an emergency such as your own, must be able to make it from a fluctuating point on the map to a fixed one so that the course could be somewhat consistent. The answer to that was much the same as the problem of how to make a variable waypoint. We will follow a second guide from the hive to their place of rest. And that place of rest must be maintained, or else its inhabitant may choose to reside elsewhere.”

“That was very complicated.” Flip muttered at an intentionally loud enough volume that it could be heard, though his tone remained as though it were a private aside.

“My apologies. I’m not very used to conversation. To put it shortly…” Theihdow stop speaking for a moment as if putting genuine effort into collecting the proper words. “I take it upon myself to maintain the habitat of a second guide creature that must remain consistent. It will naturally prey on the culch beetles wherever they move their hive, but if its home is disturbed enough it may decide to move as well and that would make traveling to the tomb much harder.”

“What sort of creature is this second guide?” Selian asked skeptically. “I know Dovhran doesn’t much care to tell us all of the information we need ahead of time. I think he thinks that makes him mysterious. But I would really like to know before I have to subject myself to slowly tracking an aggressive thornbadger or something else that has no business being out here.”

“A thornbadger was considered for the task, actually.” Theihdow laughed, a subdued almost bored sounding chuckle. “But it was decided to be too temperamental and its lifespan too short. The tomb architects decided that they would be better served by a magical creature that could resist the flow of time better. And the architects chose a hox. Or rather, they came across a hox and decided that it would be the perfect fit.”

“I wasn’t going to mention it… because I had no idea what a hox was.” Dovhran grumbled. “I was just going to wait for a creature to show up and follow it...”

“Not surprised.” Selian canted her head to the side as she shrugged. “They’re very rare and secluded creatures. Not to mention that many bestiaries consider them to be made up altogether.”

“I’m surprised.” Flip proclaimed. “I would think you were familiar with exotic pets and creatures from all the visits to you rich and fanciful whorehouses.”

Theihdow gave Dovhran a curious and questioning look, as if reevaluating the individual he had made an agreement with. At the very least, the comment seemed to conjure some form of new opinion for the vampire.

Dovhran, on the other hand, took a long deep breath and exhaled before responding. “I don’t enjoy the smell of animals when I am making a point to relax and unwind. So I avoid those sorts of establishments.”

A moment of silence followed Dovhran’s comment. Flip did not regret his choice of words, though it did make the moment more uncomfortable for him than likely anyone else. It didn’t help that they were all moving faster than they wanted to be, chasing after the beetles that seemed to be picking up the pace as they hummed through the air with their odd little parcels of plant matter dangling beneath them.

“I still have no idea what a hox is…” Dovhran grumbled under his breath as they marched. It wasn’t meant to be heard; but with little else to make noise besides their own movement and the flight of the beetles, everyone heard it.

“They’re these little magical cats.” Selian smiled as she spoke, imagining the critter in her heard as she described it. “They have little grabby hands in the front and long round ears. Their fur is very soft and firm, and they move like they’re a liquid. But, most people know about them because they live for a long time. Some particularly stupid people even try and hunt them to eat and try and extend their lives.”

“And they eat bugs…” Dovhran grunted. “Doesn’t sound like a cat to me. That sounds like a lemur of some kind.”

“It does have a tail like a lemur.” Theihdow nodded his head. “But, it is definitely more feline.”

“You’re the expert.” Dovhran sighed.

“I probably am.” Theihdow thought about that for a moment before carrying on. “I don’t think that any other individual has become so well acquainted with a hox before. Certainly not if you consider the amount of time I’ve spent around it. They age in captivity, but not in the wild, so I have known the creature longer than I have known most other living things.”

“Sounds lonely.” Flip said, giving a curious glance at the vampire. “And yet, you seem to be remarkably sound of mind for someone who’s spent hundreds of years alone.”

“Well, I do socialize on occasion. Every few decades at least. And I visit the hox regularly.” Theihdow’s blank tone revealed nothing about how he felt about these interactions. “But the silence and the peace doesn’t bother me.”

“By socialize… do you mean…” Selian didn’t want to finish what she was asking, but it was clear that she was very curious.

“Some members of the few do meet on various occasion. I am rarely consulted, but my range of patrol is often in the middle of conflicts and so I am frequently asked to escort my fellow blood soaked sufferers through these lands.” Theihdow answered the question readily enough without having needing to hear it fully. “We’ve each taken to a region to patrol since there are coincidentally ten of us and ten major regions in the inhabited world to match. Though… Ghavic and Durgoth are certainly the largest.”

“But there would only be nine regions… if the wastes are considered a region…” Flip puzzled out the inconsistency out loud and on his fingers. “Ghavic, Durgoth, Thaerwyth, Cardonna, Vestan, Linavult, Desola, Luranna… the wastes…?”

“Yes, that does sound correct. Though I’ve not checked an up to date map in some time.” Theihdow let out a small grin as he shook his head at the thought of something. “A member of the few, out of complete disregard for their identity and health, took it upon themself many centuries ago to claim the western sea as their patrol range. I cannot, as they interact with mortal beings so frequently, share anything more about their identity; though I will never cease to mention my bewilderment for their actions.”

“So, you get along? All of you?” Selian seemed skeptical.

The vampire let out a sigh, though that was not his only response. “Most of us. We tend to be split into camps as to whether or not we enjoy our existence or not, or whether or not we show gratitude to Lianna. Most of us do not show gratitude to them, but we do not hate them either. Lianna is complicated.”

“The goddess of change is indeed complicated.” Dovhran laughed. “My family doesn’t quite care for her either.”

“Most do not, not if they truly understand their nature. Their fickleness.” Theihdow grew tense for a moment. “But I think of us all as having a relationship akin to what I imagine the scholars of old had. In the old elfen worlds, there were great academies of thought and magic where elves would spend most of their young lives learning all they could. And their classmates became their friends, but as they drifted to their own specialties and careers they drifted away. They never stopped being friends and allies, but they did stop spending their time together.”

“Many mage schools are still like that.” Flip nodded in understanding. “Though I did not attend one, my short time with the cords has subjected me to many such passing stories of old friends. I do not enjoy these conversations, but it is impolite to leave in the middle of them.”

“That would indeed be impolite, Faengil.” Theihdow let free another ambiguous smile. “You may be a more patient man than me.”

“I doubt that.” Flip grumbled, uncomfortable with the mild compliment.

“Regardless, I’m not a very patient individual. I don’t enjoy the company of most people and the speed of nature is more comfortable for me.” Theihdow gestured to the beetles flying ahead of them. “This, is the kind of company I prefer.”

“We apologize for imposing on you.” Dovhran leaned in towards Theihdow as he spoke. “But you did request to come with us.”

“I don’t hate your company.” The vampire hummed. “Not yet at least. And you have skills I would like to use to my benefit, so even if I do come to hate you, I will tolerate you until I can part ways.”

“They’re picking up speed.” Selian grunted as she pressed forward faster, cutting just ahead of Theihdow.

The beetles were indeed picking up speed. Not just a little speed either, they were beginning to move much faster and Selian was breaking into a run. Dovhran was fast behind her, breaking into a run as well. Theihdow didn’t seem too worried, and kept to his power walking pace. The lack of urgency from the vampire prompted Flip to follow suit.

“They’re going to wear themselves out.” The vampire commented absently. “I wonder if they’ll notice that we aren’t behind them.”

“I’m already getting tired.” Flip wheezed out.

The wizard was, in fact, quite worn out. He was not accustomed to prolonged travel at a fast pace. And the pace they were already traveling at was grating on his body.

“We can slow down if you would like. This course is consistent with the last time I followed them to their hive. I’m confident I can reach our destination without direct guidance.” The vampire looked down at the ground as before continuing. “And if we do lose track of both the bugs and the hasty individuals chasing them, the ground is still soft enough from the rain that I can follow their tracks.”

With that reassurance, Thiehdow and Flip slowed their pace to a more manageable walk. And not long after the pace changed between the four of them, the wizard and vampire lost track of the changeling and elf. The latter two didn’t seem to notice the split, at least not until they were out of sight. Flip was not worried in the least about being separated. The separation was quite nice, and even though the wizard had many question for his new companion he held his tongue so that he could enjoy the silence that came with the new travel arrangement. Flip imaged that Theihdow also enjoyed the relative peace.

Not too late into the evening, Flip saw humanoid shapes in the distance. They were hunched over, and as he and Theihdow grew closer they could see Dovhran and Selian breathing heavily. They were red in the face and looked more than a little worse for wear.

“Took your sweet time.” Dovhran panted out.

“I see you tried to keep pace with the beetles.” Thiehdow hummed. “They like to speed up as the air warms, but they still don’t travel too fast.”

“You could have told us… you didn’t need to follow so closely.” Selian gasped.

“I didn’t want to run and catch up with you.” Thiehdow shrugged.