“Why would you join up with them?” Lyra fumes,

“I thought you said you wanted to sell the stone?”

“I lied obviously” Pinoki scoffs,

“Look, I needed to join up with them, that way I could go topside”

“Why?”

“You don’t need to know,”

Lyra sighs, “you’re impossible to talk to.”

“What about you Kage, you can’t just go around joining groups,

Especially ones that commit theft.”

“I didn’t join them on purpose, but I am curious to see how they operate,” I assure,

“Which reminds me, why did they ban you?”

“Where’s Zinnia?” Lyra says dodging my question looking around the living room of old man Herb’s house,

“She’s supposed to be here right now,”

“Stop ignoring me,” I press, “Why did they ban you?”

“I don’t know, might be because of the fact that I begged them a lot to take me topside or it could be something else,” she murmurs softly

“Maybe their leader doesn’t like me.”

“Who is their leader?”

“Don’t know, no-one does,”

“Yeah,” Pinoki adds,

“She just showed up three years ago and started secretly building a settlement,

Some people theorize that’s she’s a former criminal that used to be locked here, back when this was a prison void.”

“Heyee!” A voice rings

“We’re ba~~ack!”

Zinnia’s cheerful face enters the room, as well as a tall muscular, handsome young man,

He smiles, his piercing blue eyes lighting up, at the sight of the people.

“Ughh,” Lyra groans, “these two,”

“I thought you liked Zinnia?”

“I do, but not when she’s with Darius,”

“Lyra!” Darius greets ruffling her hair, you really need to stop sneaking off to places,

Why is a little angel like you going off all alone?”

“She is an angel, isn’t she?” Zinnia prattles,

“You’re an angel too~” Darius compliments

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Lyra grouses

“I am an angel that will freeze you both to death, if you start being all lovey-dovey here!”

“Don’t be like that Lyra,” Zinnia implores,

“Heyy, Pinoki!” Darius attempts to change the topic,

“You still a filthy thief or have you changed?

“Are you still talking to blue flames, or have you changed?” The little man snaps back, making the mood awkward,

“Umm, Darius this is Kage, who I was telling you about, he’s not from the city.” Zinnia introduces,

“Yeah, I heard from Apollo what he’s seen,” extending his hand to me,

“I’m Darius,”

“Kage,” I say shaking his hand, covered in bruises and welts,

He must train a lot, just his passive strength is enough to crush my hand,

“Nice try Pinoki!” Darius barks drawing a dagger,

“You just tried to pickpocket me, I know your magic,”

“I was just testing your skills,” the little man insists

(Huh?

I didn’t see any movement from Pinoki,

What did he do?)

“You try that again and I’ll make sure you’re the one seeing blue flames,” Darius threats,

“What’s this about blue flames?” I whisper to Lyra,

“Darius doesn’t like to talk about it,” she replies,

“I’m not ashamed of it or anything,” Darius interjects, clearly hearing us talk

“I’ll go make some tea,” Zinnia excuses herself,

“When I was younger,” Darius continues, I came across a blue flame that spoke, I can’t remember what it said, but that no-one believed me when I told them it talked,

It’s all in the past now anyways ” he sighs,

“Darius was known as the biggest liar back then,” Pinoki adds

Darius scowls, and the two begin arguing, while I contemplate his story,

(A blue flame?

Did he hear what I heard, from the one in the desert?

Are there more?

I have to find it.)

“Where did you see the flame?” I question

“Huh why are so interested in it?” Darius quizzes suspiciously,

“It was in one of the towers,”

Pinoki smirks beginning to say something, but Darius gives him a stern glance,

He remains quiet.

(Should I tell him about the flame I saw as well?)

Ting! Ting! Ting!

A soft bell rings at the door

(Wait does the door have a bell?)

“Nobody’s there.” Lyra states swinging the door open

“Who was that?”

“That was our que,” Pinoki says getting up

“The leader calls Kage,

It is time for us to go topside.”