It didn’t take long to find Chrys and Neres, for they were wandering the halls themselves already, Neres holding a feathery wing to his head and Chrys’s mouth dripping fresh, warm blood. Seeing me sent Chrys running towards me, leaving Neres to his aching head. Once he got within a few steps of me, he stopped and looked me up and down with discerning eyes, soon giving way to a smirk on his face.

“You made it out alright, I see,” he said, sounding almost pleased.

I nodded. “It was rough, but yeah. You’re okay too it looks like.”

He nodded back. “You were just in time,” he said, motioning to Neres. “He and I were just beginning to duke it out when you got Dil.”

My eyebrows raised and I asked him how he knew what I did.

“Killing Dil broke his influence,” Chrys said. “Every being he was using is now free to do as they will. This island is free…” he trailed off, looking more downcast than I expected. Before I could think to say anything, he turned and walked towards the dining hall. “I’ll grab what I came here for and finish up soon. Don’t bother following me, just make sure that Neres and the rest of the harpies are okay.”

I laughed sardonically. “Well, don’t get mad when you see what you see then. You should have mentioned that we were here to save harpies.”

Chrys just shrugged his huge shoulders. “We weren’t, but don’t worry about it. Just help out Neres for me.”

I nodded and turned, breathing heavily again. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the energy inside me. The feeling was beginning to overpower me and make me nauseous.

Neres winced when he saw me and heaved a sigh. “So you beat Dil then?”

Warily, I nodded. Just because Chrys said they were okay, didn’t necessarily mean they would be. They were just trying to kill me, after all. “This island has no king now.”

Neres chuckled. “It never did. Not really, anyway. That bastard; he was always just trying to flex his power, control what could be controlled, who could be controlled. The fact that he used me for so long is giving me a massive migraine.”

“You need a minute?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Probably a few days, honestly.”

“Probably,” I agreed. “Chrys said I should help you out with anything you might need to do. Any suggestions?”

Thinking for a moment, Neres said, “You could probably help me take care of the mess he made in the dungeon then.”

I said, “Okay,” and he lead me down the hall, up a short flight of stairs and into the massive room that made up the dungeon. It was lacking in cells, instead having a series of chains hanging from the walls and floor, attached to heavy iron balls to help tie down beings that were held prisoner there, and in all four corners of the room were racks that would be filled with weapons, all of which instead were littering the ground in disarray, some broken out right, others lodged in the floor and walls. There were no prisoners, and if there were they were one of the corpses on the ground. The floor was a mess of bodies, most of them appearing fresh from Chrys. Despite the nature of the situation, it made me feel better knowing that he had killed some too, that I hadn’t acted poorly. The feeling I was uncontrollable was becoming worrisome fast.

“Gather up the weapons for right now, I’ll be back in a minute,” Neres said, and he left shortly after.

Before I was finished aligning the spears on the rack furthest from the door, he was back with a large three wheeled cart. “This is big enough to hold probably ten bodies at a time,” he said, groaning with exertion. “It shouldn’t take us more than two or three trips then. We’ll be taking them outside so we can bury them.”

The task was a quiet one. I didn’t know Neres, and now that he wasn’t under someone else’s control his mind was all to himself. Besides, he was picking up the bodies of old comrades, old friends. Even if they weren’t quite themselves, the time they spent together was probably genuine, or as close as it gets. It was better to let him cope quietly while we lined their bodies up on that hard wooden cart. Sometimes I’d catch him maneuvering their hands, petting their wings down so they were less frazzled, shutting eyes. I kept my head down.

“Come on,” he called when we had ten bodies lined up. “Help me push, you grab the right side I’ll take this one.”

“You lead the way,” I said, grabbing the rightmost handle. Even with the excess energy, it was heavier than it looked. Once we lifted it up and began moving, I could barely reach the handle and Neres had to adjust himself.

“Turn right here,” he grunted. After the turn was finished and we were on a stretch of hallway, he said, “For a kid as young as you, you’re really strong.”

“Thanks, you’re making me blush,” I grunted, struggling to maintain control.

Neres laughed, “I’m serious. None of us were able to defeat Dil, and we were all trained warriors. For you, some kid to do it… Even with Vastmire on your side, it’s pretty weird.”

I gave him a sidelong glare and he laughed again. “I meant that in the best way possible,” he assured me. “Trust me. Chrys probably does too, though he probably won’t say it.”

“Well, thanks I guess,” I wheezed. Neres then directed me to turn left, towards a staircase downward. We took it one stair at a time, which was almost more difficult than just running down. I wanted to go faster, but I figured it would be disrespectful to the bodies we towed.

Wouldn’t want Neres to hold a grudge against me now that he was in control. It would be personal.

“So what was the deal with Dil anyway?” I asked once we got to the bottom. “I mean, he seemed like he had some sort of plan, but from what I can see he was just hanging out here doing nothing. He wouldn’t even get up to fight me.”

Neres was quiet for a while, then he let his handle drop and said, “Let’s rest for a moment, I need a break.”

I let go of my side and we walked a few steps away and sat on the floor, our backs against the wall, Neres’ wing nearest me awkwardly draping me like a feathery blanket—which I assumed was his way of putting an arm around my shoulder—and he clucked his tongue, shrugged his shoulders, and finally got his head in order so he could answer me.

“It’s been a long time,” he said. “Very long, in fact. I’m not sure how old any of us are at this point. Things start to meld together when I think about it. And it’s hard for me to really remember what it was like before meeting Dil, but I do know one thing for certain.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

Neres was about to speak, then shook his head. “We were all misfits. Dil would prey on people like that, I think. Easier to manipulate, and he was still young back then, not so adept in his art. He told us this long story about his homeland—ours, maybe—back in Pomegranate, that the land wasn’t prosperous because of bigger, more successful countries in the Tamarind sea. We knew we were just poor, that our land wasn’t built for proper harvests, and we accepted it. I think we did. But he had his way, and before we knew it there was a proper militia with all of us ready to launch a full scale attack on the Tamarind, starting with Cashew and working our way south.

“We had a fleet of boats he had ordered us build, and they were huge and well constructed, homey even. Those days feel enjoyable when I think of them, but I can’t pick details free save for the scenery. The sunset at sea is a glorious thing, just thinking of watching it surrounded by people I cared about is enough to bring my eyes to tears.”

He stopped abruptly, but I was lost in his story so much that I almost didn’t catch that he’d stopped. Once I caught up, I asked, “So what happened?”

“I think,” he muttered, “We were shipwrecked. That feels right. Flown off course from Cashew in a storm, we ended up here.”

Getting up to stretch, I asked, “And you guys just stuck it out and stayed here? That’s a weird choice for him, considering he was ambitious enough to try and take over the Tamarind.”

Neres nodded. “Many of us died in that wreck. I think Dil’s spirit was crushed for a while from that. Then everything goes blank.”

“Blank?”

“It’s hazy. I can remember right up to that point, then my memories get fragmented. The closest memory I have after is all of us training in this castle, and going on my first flight into Cashew with my old mates.” Neres shook his head, frustration on his face. He punched his leg hard enough to make the floor vibrate and said, “Dil must have tampered with it. Maybe nothing I remember is real. Dammit…!”

“Maybe,” I agreed. “If that’s the case, we should just ask Chrys. He seemed like he broke free of Dil’s influence before he died, so odds are he knows a little more.”

“We can,” Neres sighed. “But I doubt he’ll tell us anything. Chrys isn’t much for talking.”

“Even so, it doesn’t really matter now anyway. You’ve got the chance to do whatever you want now. I’d kill for that sort of freedom.”

Neres and I locked eyes then, for the first time as companions. Though his were avian, the emotions of a man were there. “Thank you, young man,” he said.

“It’s Mint,” I smiled, and we continued walking the bodies out of the castle.

After what felt like forever lugging those bodies, we made it to the end of a hall that tapered down like a schute, with a hatch door set at a downward angle. Neres grabbed my side and motioned for me to run up front and open the door for him while he struggled to not run me over, so I opened the door up and quickly rushed back to my spot.

“Turn left immediately,” he grunted. “We’ll stop and take them down one at a time from there so I can keep using the cart.”

Once we got it out there, I stopped and turned to see where we were at. It was the opposite side of the mountains which divided the island in two, and the sun was beginning to peak out over the horizon, ushering in the new day. The light was just dull enough that I rubbed my eyes, unsure of my senses and how correct they may not be.

“I’ll have to make at least six trips,” Neres said, hoisting two bodies under each arm. “Just stay here a while, and be careful. It’s a long way down.”

I nodded, and he was gone, leaving me alone.

As far as I could see, that entire side of the island was a barren waste. I was standing on a landing that should lead to stairs but didn’t, with no railing to keep me safe. I was lucky there was no wind. Everything below was dead, a cemetery for the assumedly beautiful foliage and wildlife which used to graze once pleasant pastures. It was the most destruction I had ever seen in my life, due entirely to the vantage point I had. I’d be hard pressed to say anything since then beat it, at least in terms of surface area.

When Neres came back for the next two bodies, I asked what happened down there. He stared off at the land below, looking lost. “I should know,” he said. “But it’s always been this way for me. This is just where we take that which isn’t needed.”

“It’s a graveyard?” I asked.

His mind worked it out for a second, and he nodded slowly. “Yes, it is.”

The slow rise of the sun bathed the land in muted colors, drab and out of focus. I rubbed my eyes, but they were too dry from a lack of rest and I irritated them, forcing them to tear up in response. At least, that’s how I remember it.

After Neres had taken the last bodies down, he stood for a second thinking and said, “I think I’ll just take you down there now so you can start digging.”

Frowning, I asked, “You sure? You’ve still got to make a few trips with this cart and it was hard enough for the two of us already.”

He just nodded. “Don’t worry, I think I’ve got a solution for that.”

I might have argued with him more, but by that point the exhaustion was really hitting me. I wasn’t even entirely sure I’d be able to dig the graves up. Neres was probably assuming that my strength was constantly the way it was with Dil, but the only thing I had at that moment were the jitters; my limbs shook constantly, uncontrollably, and it was only getting worse. I tried not to pay attention to it, but it’s hard to focus on something when surrounded by nothing.

So Neres hoisted me into his arms and flew me down, which was way better than it had been the other times where the harpies would drag me with their talons. This flight was downright pleasant by comparison, and when we landed I felt less like I was being tossed to the ground and more like I was gently floating down to the loamy soil.

Before Neres flew off, I asked him, “So how do I dig, do you have a shovel I can use or something?”

He shook his head, turned around and flew into the air, shouting down to me, “The soil should be soft enough to dig with your hands! There’s no rush, and I’ll be down to help soon!”

And with that, he was off, and I began my digging of the graves. I thought about how I had left Mango behind to train but I was back tending to fields again, and laughed. Then I wondered if it was weird to laugh about such things, if I were strange for jesting in light of the scenario I was in. Gravediggers aren’t typically ones for good humor, and humor about gravedigging wasn’t typically found to be in good humor. Or at least, that’s what I thought at the time.

Still, the thought crossed my mind, and it does make me smile still that I spent my days digging up dirt, albeit for largely different reasons.

Here it was much easier to dig. Sort of, anyway. Had I the tools it would have been, due to how soft the soil was. Instead I was on my hands and knees cupping dirt into a massive pile next to me, trying not to collapse.

Evidently I did.

When I came to, I was lying in one of the graves I had made—I say one of, but it may have been the only one, I can’t remember—and Neres stood over me yelling to wake me. I shook my head and yawned, and he gasped, looking distressed.

“Sorry, I was exhausted,” I groaned. “Still am, really. Everything alright?”

Neres tapped his beak nervously. “I think so. Maybe. I’m not sure.” When I cocked an eyebrow at him he just grimaced. “Just come out here so you can talk with Chrys. I’ll be back, I still need to grab the last bodies.”

He flew off again, this time much faster. Pulling myself out of the ground, I saw Chrys pacing back and forth haughtily, snorting and pawing at the ground, looking unsure if he should dig or if he should leave. It may have been funny had it not been Chrys. His lack of flowers in his mane was doing him no favors in the scary department.

“You here to help dig?” I asked, giving him a way out. It looked like he just couldn’t figure out what to do.

Chrys shook his head, however. “We need to talk. Now.”

His tone made my stomach twist. It felt like he was mad, and I wasn’t sure if it was me. I did kill the guy he’d been pining to kill for who knows how long, after all. That had to be a big enough hurdle to get over, let alone the fact that I stabbed him.

We weren’t having a very good day together.

I was about to find out it was worse.

“When you guys went to take care of the fallen, I went back to search Dil’s body,” he said, annunciating each word like he was reading a passage for the first time. “I wasn’t clear about why I—we came here. No one knew, because I couldn’t tell anyone. I wasn’t here just to kill Dil, though that had to be done first. I came to find an heirloom, something very important to me that Dil took from me when we set off together to conquer and garner fame. But when I checked his neck, it wasn’t there.” Suddenly he roared, and I grabbed my chest to make sure it was still there. He continued despite it, pacing now in a meandering circle. “I turned the dining hall over. I checked every room. I searched that entire building but there wasn’t a sign at all.”

Breathing as slowly as I could to help bring my energy back to more manageable levels, and reminding myself that Chrys meant me no harm he was simply distraught, I asked him, “You checked the other bodies?”

He nodded. “That’s why I came down here. To tell you and also to check the bodies. It’s a good thing you fell asleep digging so I didn’t have to undo any work, but they’re clean. Nothing was around their neck.”

“So it’s a necklace then?”

Chrys stiffened, as if he slipped up and told me to much. I smiled slightly. “Chrys, you can tell me. I’m not going to do you wrong and steal it or something.”

“You don’t know what it is. If you did, you would want it.”

I shook my head. “I don’t need it, whatever it is. Jewelry was never really my thing. Besides, it couldn’t possibly give me what I want.”

We locked eyes, and I made sure not to blink to help him see that I was serious. It was probably unnerving for him, but that was the goal. Scare him into telling me the truth.

“Yes, it’s a necklace,” he muttered, turning away.

“You’re cute when you’re bashful,” I smirked. He turned and roared in my face, sending spittle everywhere. “Still pretty cute, Chrys. You’ve got a soft side underneath all that fur. But you’re still dancing around the meat of the subject—what does the necklace do? You said it’s an heirloom, so I figured initially it was just something that meant a lot to you. But now you’re acting like it’s some magical artifact. So which is it?”

Glaring at me, but with a glint in his eyes, he said, “Both.”

Tapping my fingers against my forearm, I said, “Elaborate.”

“The necklace Dil once wore was the heirloom to the royal family of Pomegranate’s kingdom, Nihm. Dil took it with him when he set off, said it would help cement him as the right and true king of wherever he conquered.”

Nodding, I said, “That lines up with his lunatic logic. But how’s it magical?”

“I’m not really sure myself,” Chrys said, shaking his head. “If I had to describe its power, though, I’d say it’s a good luck charm.”

Chuckling, I said, “Well, that’s all then? If it’s not here we can go get it.”

Chrys blinked. “I can’t leave this island. I’m bound to its soil.”

“Not with Dil gone, you’re not. You’re coming with me, we’ll go find your necklace thing so you can finally be done with all this.”

He just stared at me, looking unsure of what to say.

“Fine, you don’t have to come with me. I’ll look on my own,” I said curtly, turning my attention back to the grave I was previously digging.

“Wait,” he cut me off, now standing in front of me.

“Yes?”

A low growl eased into his throat, not so much angry as it was annoyed. “I will accompany you.”

When he said that, I ran in and gave him a hug. It was the first real time I had shown any sort of affection to him—to anyone, for that matter, since I had left home—and it caught the both of us off guard. I guess I never really considered leaving Chrys alone on that island, I always assumed he’d come with me. Not out of narcissism, though I’m sure that played a part as it often did when I was young. It just felt wrong to leave him behind. There was a lot of emotion in the eyes of Chrys, and it was apparent to me that he needed to get off that island.

Besides, my selfish side also knew how valuable an asset he would be. We were about to fight a war, after all. A great big scary monster would certainly be welcome on our side.

Once that was all settled, we dug the remaining graves and began placing the dead underground. Neres returned shortly, with the last of the bodies, and I told Chrys to ask him if he had a necklace or knew of one. He said that he couldn’t remember, and Chrys was visibly perturbed, but we continued digging nonetheless, our job not something to leave unfinished.

After that, we watched as the sun set and I asked Neres if he would like to accompany us on our journey, but he shook his head. “I’ll always support you, my little friend. But my place is here, with the few harpies that yet live. I couldn’t leave my brothers and sisters behind like that.”

“What will you do?” I asked him, idly petting Chrys while he lay next to me. He didn’t mind.

Neres stared out at the horizon and shrugged his massive wings. “We’ll be free.”

And this, as unbelievable as it may have been, is the conclusion of my adventures on that forsaken island to the north.