She didnt see Her walk in. Whoever “she” may have been. She just… Appeared. No loud ‘pop’ or portal bursting to life. The first thing she noticed about her was her silvery hair which hung down to her shoulders. The next was something stranger. The woman simply smiled, and suddenly, Nalia felt calm. At ease, as if she hadn’t just witness Chaos stop time mere moments ago. It was kind of like being around a person who you knew all your life. But the question still remained: who was this person?

Nalia shook her head. It’s been a long day. She was tired. And she was not in a question-asking mood. The woman smiled, studying every one of them. Then, she whispered something into Chaos’ ear. He nodded in return, whispering something back. His attention returned to the group.

“Feel free to check out the inside. I just have to deal with something for a few minutes.

It was somehow bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. The fort felt like something that was meant to hold an entire army, not just a band of mercenaries. She made her way around, taking in every little thing. But what she was looking for mainly was an actual bed to sleep in. She couldn’t remember the last time she slept on something that didn’t feel like a bag of rocks poking against her back.

Nalia could hear her footsteps echo across the eerily quiet hallway. She sighed, turning a corner. On the walls were a few red banners; a golden outline of a dragon on each of them. On each side of the dragon were two other golden outlines of swords, one point up and one pointing down. They reminded her of something she once read about when she was younger, but she couldn’t place a finger on it. She shook her head again.

“I just need some sleep. I’ll be able to think tomorrow.” She thought to herself.

After a few more minutes of walking, she found a set of stairs leading upwards. Before she could place a foot on a step, however, she felt a force push bump her back. Reiha shoved beside her without a single word, pacing upstairs.

“No sorry?” Nalia thought as she walked upstairs too. Her brow furrowed as she continued walking.

The moment she walked up to the second floor, she locked eyes with Dyra.

“Rooms are over here,” she smiled, already knowing exactly what she was searching for.

“Thanks.”

Nalia followed behind Dyra as they rounded a few corners.

“Dyra, right?”

“Yeah. You’re… Nalia?”

“That’s right.”

“Where are you from?” Nalia asked.

“Tribe north of here. The Ghorzas, if you’ve ever heard of ‘em.”

“Oh, really? And what’d brought you here? Or “who” I guess I should say. I still can’t believe…”

Dyra chuckled. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“I think we’re far past the point of believability,” Nalia returned the laugh.

“I met Death.”

Nalia stopped dead in her tracks. “You what?”

“Death. I met Her.”

“Did you, like, die or something?”

“Oh no. Not me, at least. My father. Long story short, before Death claimed my father’s soul, she offered me a position on this team. Of course, I’m not one to reject a goddess. Especially Death. And, She must’ve known who I was…”

“‘Who I was,’ whaddya mean by that?”

“I’m a grave-seer.”

“Grave-seer,” Nalia breathed. “So you’re able to see ghosts?”

“Any soul that’s just recently died and has yet to be claimed by Death.”

“Not even a week has passed, and I’ve met a god and a grave-seer,” Nalia joked.

Dyra laughed softly. “Wild day, ain’t it?”

They finally arrived at the bedrooms. Nalia instantly noticed that each door had symbols carved in the top and bottom rails. Each one seemed to glimmer with a dim yellowish light, showing that they are still very much active and working.

Nalia picked the door closest to her on the left. Before she opened the door, she turned back to Dyra. “Thanks again. See you tomorrow?”

“Sure thing. Bright and early.”

With that, Nalia stepped into her room, immediately closing the door behind her. She walked up to her bed, throwing herself down onto it.