They sat as five points on a star around a smoking stick of incense. The Emperor. Nerbo. Chief. Vessa. And Wrynn. The human felt very out of place in whatever ritualistic service these fluffy aliens were conducting, but the creatures refused to proceed without him in what they called the Ceremony of Bonding.

“What am I doing here?” wondered Wrynn aloud.

“Shh.” Vessa put a finger up and whispered, “It is about to begin. Just speak when it is your turn.”

Wrynn shifted on the ground. They were sitting on the incline of the valley and he was positioned the farthest down the hill so that when he looked across at the small Emperor, the Darkal was at eye level. He decided this was probably deliberate and not required for the ritual.

“Let the Ceremony of Bonding commence,” said the Emperor, fanning out their wings in dramatic fashion. “We commit ourselves today in the presence of our witnesses. Nerboshriift ryl Xorys and the other tiny land creature.”

“Vessa,” said Vessa.

“Whatever,” the Emperor continued, “Under the watch of these witnesses, we set in place a bond that shall not be broken. So do I swear on my position as the One True Emperor.”

“So do I swear on the pride of the Ufuli,” said Chief.

The four others looked at Wrynn, expectantly. “Uh.” He shook his head. “What do you want me to say?”

“You are party to this bonding, giant,” said the Emperor with a mocking tone. “You must offer something of value so we know you will keep your bond.”

“I’m just giving you the things we agreed on,” said Wrynn. “You’re the one that has something to uphold. Why would I need to swear on anything?”

“Master, this cannot continue,” said Nerbo. “This outsider has no understanding of the customs of Hell. He admitted himself he comes from a land of liars.”

“Silence, Nerboshriift ryl Xorys,” hissed the Emperor. “We must complete this ceremony or we will forfeit everything.”

“Okay, okay.” Wrynn threw up his hands. “I swear as the captain of the Starslip. Swear on the lives of my companions who are probably celebrating my untimely death right about now. Happy?”

“So do you swear?” asked the Emperor with a skeptical look.

“So do I swear on my… whatever. Yeah.”

“Fine enough. Let the witnesses forgive the outsider’s insincerity.”

“I forgive it,” said Vessa, patting the ground next to Wrynn.

“I shall overlook it,” said Nerbo, unconvinced.

The Emperor nodded. “Let us continue then. By the word of our bond, we Darkal shall no longer target the Ufuli in raids. Neither for entertainment, nor outlet for anger, nor act of boredom. So long as I reign as the One True Emperor this shall be so.”

“You really terrorized the Ufuli out of boredom?” asked Wrynn raising an eyebrow.

“That is not a matter of concern at the moment,” replied the Emperor. “It is your turn, now.”

“Right.” The human wondered what he was supposed to say. If these creatures took the ceremony this seriously could he get away with adding conditions to the contract? There were several ways he could get use out of the Darkal that came to mind, but he decided not to push his luck.

“I, uh, by the word of my bond… I give this homing bea—this music box, and this packet of fruit. For all time, these objects belong to the Darkal. May they bring you great joy and pleasure.”

Chief nodded and said, “Let this sacred bond hold true. The Ufuli accept this arrangement.”

The Emperor smiled, satisfied. “Then by the evilness of the Ancient Demons and the Evershadow Rakishi, let this bond be enacted.”

The four other creatures in the circle bowed their heads towards the incense and Wrynn watched the makeshift altar flare with smoke as if responding to their wishes. First the paralysis and now this. He knew there was no such thing as magic, but this was outside anything he had seen before. Wrynn submitted a silent request to his holo-sight for analysis.

“Abnormal weather pattern detected,” came the voice of his virtual assistant. “Extreme energy gradient forming.” The same message he would get before a desert storm on the planet Osiris.

The readings on his holo-sight spiked erratically until the Emperor opened their eyes and spread their wings with a rousing “Caw-caw!” to the skies as if they were a raven boasting over a newfound trinket. Then as quickly as it had started, the measurements returned to normal.

Before he realized it, Vessa was tapping his arm to let him know the ceremony was complete. Wrynn shelved the anomaly as another thing about this planet to investigate further. He saved the recording of what just transpired on his holo-sight; he imagined he could make a fortune selling it to the religiously inclined folk back home.

“Are we finished here?” asked Wrynn, getting to his feet.

“Yes,” said the Emperor. “We shall leave you for today. But beware, giant. The next time we see each other may not be under such friendly circumstances.”

“Look forward to it.” Wrynn looked over at Nerbo. “Would you mind if we had a word with this one for a moment?”

The Darkal leader paid no attention to their minion. “Do as you please,” they said, instructing one of their attendants to collect Wrynn’s offering. “I must ready the flock for departure.” With that the Emperor flapped away into the center of the valley and was lost among the mass of Darkal splashing in the water or dozing in the sun.

Wrynn approached the little Darkal, but Nerbo turned away. “There is no need for words, giant,” said Nerbo. “I have completed my sentence as your prisoner and have no obligation to you any longer.”

“Sure,” said Wrynn, unconvinced. “I just wanted to thank you for your service. You were a fine guide for the short time we were together.”

“You will be missed,” said Chief, joining them. “It was great fun sharing stories with you, little Nerbo.”

“Thank you for the journey, Nerbo,” added Vessa. “If it were not for you, I would not have been able to see the Restora butterflies.”

Nerbo was silent, refusing to look at the three, former traveling companions. With an exaggerated “hmph,” the Darkal took to the air and landed on the head of Asha Ishavera’ai who had returned to a cozy midday nap.

“You know,” started Wrynn, taking a seat against the wolrung’s snoring chest. “You don’t have to go back if you don’t want to. I saw you hiding from the Emperor before he came.”

The little Darkal fumed, burying their face in Asha’s fur. Wrynn scratched the wolrung behind the ear as he continued. “I don’t think they would really notice if you were gone. And even though you were technically working behind our backs, I think the Ufuli would welcome you to their village.” Wrynn looked down at Chief next to him. “Isn’t that right?”

Chief put a paw to their chin. “Well, we Ufuli have not known much of the Darkal outside of the terror they have brought to our village for years.” Wrynn frowned at this, wondering if he should not be meddling. “Even so, Ufuli welcome all as guests and we could find a way for you to be of use, little Nerbo.”

Nerbo sunk deeper into the back of Asha Ishavera’ai. The Darkal could have been mistaken for a lump on the large bear-like beast. Wrynn was not sure what prompted him to press since this was not his planet and he was already making serious disruptions in the lives of the residents. But some foolish spark that wished to see the Darkal make the best of their life bade him continue.

“So, what do you want to do, little Nerbo? Wouldn’t you—”

“I am Nerboshriift ryl Xorys.” The Darkal finally erupted. Their wings puffed out before settling around them like a cloak. “I am a mighty Darkal. What is there to gain by traveling with foolish Ufuli and giants? No, I have spent long enough in the presence of you landstriders. It is time for me to return to where I belong.”

Wrynn let out a sigh. “If that’s what you want then so be it.” He could at least sympathize with the Darkal’s misguided loyalty. “It looks like your flock is about to leave.”

Nerbo hopped down from their perch atop Asha Ishavera’ai, disturbing the forest guardian’s slumber by stepping on their snout before landing. Asha let out a sneeze and licked their chops drowsily. Wrynn felt a twinge of regret in his inability to convince the Darkal to choose a different path, but there was nothing to be done.

Five travelers became four as Nerbo fluttered to the flock with not so much as a final look back. Wrynn tracked the flight path of his unlikely guide, but he lost track once the Darkal joined the rest of the mass of wings and fluff.

The mighty flock took to the air with a resounding schwoop, schwoop and a gust of wind kicked up on their departure. They flew up out of the valley and the sky darkened overhead before the great cloud of Darkal flew onward and disappeared over the horizon.

“Guess that’s it,” said Wrynn, finally. “We better start heading back if we want to make it by nightfall.”

“Let us depart,” agreed Chief. “Come along, Asha Ishavera’ai.”

Wrynn checked his pack and found everything in order. He had gotten what he came for and a whole lot more, but as he set Chief and Vessa atop the lumbering wolrung to begin their journey back, he could not help but feel that he had lost a little bit along the way.