“Computer, can you translate this?”

“Processing, Captain.”

Wrynn called on his mobile deployment of Survive.ai to decipher the alien glyphs on the control deck when his OmnittA Stone was unable to get a reading. He had been working for fifteen minutes packing loose items into his sack that he thought could be helpful.

“No luck, Captain Wrynn,” came the voice of his digital assistant. “It seems similar structure as ancient Ogrea but there’s not enough to go on here. If you can find a manual or literature of some sorts I can process it with better accuracy back at the ship.”

“Copy that. Power down, Computer.”

“Yes sir. And may I suggest you give me a name for the future?”

“Not a chance.”

The artificial voice relented and Wrynn started looking around for some kind of parchment, finding a flight log under one of the pilots’ seats. Back in the skeleton-filled cabin, he rummaged through luggage compartments to reveal some well-preserved books among tattered clothing. He stuffed one of the lighter readings in his bag, took a few scans of the ship for good measure, and exited the plane to meet with his companions.

As his eyes adjusted to daylight, he saw Vessa and Chief were down by the water while Nerbo sat atop a sleeping Asha’s back preening the fur under their wing.

“Are you a sheep or a bird?” asked Wrynn. “I still can’t tell.”

Nerbo looked up and made a face at the human. “I am mighty Darkal. Best that you do not forget. Have you finished your assignment, giant?”

“Yes.” Wrynn patted his sack. “For now. I’ll need to come back with some tools to get at the engine and clear the blockage to the back of the cabin. See if they have a black box on board. But that’ll be for after I can analyze their language anyhow.” Wrynn patted Asha behind the ears as the wolrung continued to snore. “Looks like you’re free of your bond, little Nerbo.”

The Darkal looked away. “I suppose I am. But you are not the one I have sworn to.” They looked down at Chief picking smooth stones from the water’s edge and muttered, “These silly Ufuli are so strange.”

Wrynn tracked the small winged creature’s eye line and took a seat next to Asha. “You know, I don’t think they would mind if you stayed a little longer. I’m sure they would take you in for a bit.”

Nerbo chewed on the thought but turned away and scoffed. “A Darkal should not associate with the small land creatures for any period of time. We are meant to bring disorder and chaos to this foolish world.”

“Yeah,” said Wrynn, unconvinced, “well, maybe when you’re finished with that, you’ll see there's more to life than fulfilling some grand destiny. To me, these silly Ufuli seem to have it pretty good. And I’ve barely been here three days.”

Nerbo let out a huff and changed the subject. “So when will your starbird be ready?”

“Not anytime soon. This was all just to repair my communications module. I should be able to use what I found to send a low frequency signal past orbit and see if anyone in the area would stop and take me home.”

“You have a flock somewhere out there?” Nerbo looked at him strangely earnest.

Wrynn nodded. “Yeah. I’m kind of the leader of my flock. They know how to take care of themselves, but I worry about them sometimes.”

Nerbo gave him a sideways stare to the effect of raising an eyebrow. “A leader, you say?”

“Does that surprise you?”

“A bit.” The Darkal shifted their weight around as Asha stretched and yawned.

“I’ve been wondering since seeing this,” Wrynn pointed at the ancient aircraft. “What civilization did this belong to? Have you seen any cities or other metal structures like this during your mission of chaos?”

Nerbo shook their head. “This is the only oddity I have seen. The Darkal have never stopped to go inside.”

Wrynn thought of the skeletons. “Do you know any kind of people that are about as tall as me? Walk on two legs and such?”

“All landstriders look the same from the sky.” Nerbo cackled at his own joke. “But perhaps you are speaking of the Florg who wander the Great North.”

Bringing his hand to his chin, Wrynn looked out into the distance. What was this world hiding? How far would have to travel to find the answers?

Little time for questions it seemed, as over the western hill a black cloud was beginning to form and as it came closer, the familiar schwoop, schwoop of beating wings filled the valley. The Darkal horde.

“Have they been looking for you all this time, little Nerbo?” asked Wrynn, moving under the overhung wing of the plane in case the furballs decided to divebomb the valley.

“They probably have not noticed my absence,” said Nerbo, sullenly. “This is a normal flightpath for the flock.”

Wrynn looked at the small Darkal, wings folded. The creature looked disappointed somehow. “Will you join them?” he asked.

Nerbo was silent, staring at the oncoming cloud. After a few moments, the Darkal said, “They are landing.” And then with more urgency. “Oh, they are landing!”

Wrynn watched as Nerbo hopped off Asha’s back and made to hide behind the wolrung. Apparently the mighty Darkal was not excited to meet the rest of their people.

Descending slowly, the flock of winged, black-furred creatures lacked the violence they had displayed at the Ufuli village, but the sight was something to behold. The bright midday sky became a sea of black under the leathery wings of the flock and as they approached it was as if they brought with them the curtain of night.

The members of the flock touched down on every part of the valley. Hundreds, if not thousands of fluffy cottonballs that came down as one. And leading the horde, landing right in front of the plane, was a Darkal, a bit larger than Nerbo, who was attended by two others. With red eyes and long horns, they strode on two feet with wings that wrapped around them like a cape. They avoided the large form of Asha Ishavera’ai as they stalked forward walking in a direct line to Wrynn.

“Greetings, stranger,” said the Darkal leader, flashing a sharp-toothed smile. “I believe you have something that belongs to me.”