Putting his feet up on the table, Zeke leaned back in his chair and said, “This is so much better now. It actually feels like a home.”

And it was true. He and the rest of his companions were sitting in what they’d dubbed the conference room of the tower. Located on the second floor, which ostensibly belonged to Talia, the sizable room was furnished with a half-dozen cushy chairs and a table, and they even had refreshments. It wasn’t exactly luxurious, but it was a good deal more comfortable than the previous incarnation, where they’d been forced to sit on stumps or rickety chairs scavenged from various places.

“Get your feet off the table, you barbarian,” Abby said, slapping the offending boots. “Didn’t your parents ever teach any kind of manners?”

“Honestly? Not really,” Zeke admitted, removing his feet from the table. “Mom was always working, and when dad was around, all he cared about was baseball. Proper table manners weren’t at the top of his list of things to teach his son.”

“Oh.”

“That’s a little depressing,” muttered Carlos.

“It was fine,” Zeke said, uncomfortable with his companions’ attention. Abby was fine; she already knew most of his secrets. But Carlos and Talia? He didn’t want them to look at him like he was someone to be pitied. He’d left Earth – and his old life, along with all the problems that came with it – behind, and he didn’t want to be reminded of it. So, he changed the subject. “Anyway, we’re getting close to the Lake of Flames, and I figured we probably needed to talk about what we’re going to do when we get there.”

“I don’t even know why we’re heading to that place,” remarked Carlos.

“We have a quest,” Abby said.

“Okay? For what?” asked Carlos. “And is it really worth it? I don’t know if you’ve heard the stories about the Lake of Flames, but –”

“It’s worth it,” said Zeke. “And we’re going. That’s not debatable. We’re just trying to figure out how to get what we need and get out alive.”

“So, we need to get a [Moss of Immolation],” said Abby. “Tucker said it was in the Lake of Flames, but he didn’t give us any more information. Unless he shared something extra with you.”

Zeke shook his head. If he’d have known that they were going to lose the alchemist, he’d have asked a lot more questions. And he would have definitely gotten a full report on what the [Moss of Immolation] was and where, exactly, it was supposed to be found. As it was, they were flying mostly blind. They knew the general direction of their goal, but beyond that, they were clueless.

“I think we’re just going to have to play it be ear,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t like it, but we just don’t have enough information. I tried asking around in Jariq, but that wasn’t much help. I don’t know if they really didn’t know anything or if they just didn’t want to tell me, but it was definitely a waste of time.”

“I had the same issues,” Abby said.

“I might be able to help,” said Carlos. “But I want to know what this is all about.”

Zeke glanced at Abby, and though no words passed between them, they both understood what the other wanted to know. Could they trust Carlos with information regarding their quest? Or was it better to keep him in the dark? Left unsaid was that Zeke had no intention of sharing the quest with Carlos. They had an understanding, but Zeke didn’t consider him a part of the group.

It was too bad that Talia had no such qualms. She said, “We are on a quest from a divine being. To date, we have gathered two of the four ingredients necessary to complete the quest. [Frost Giant Toes] and the [Soul of a Warlock]. Now, we only need to obtain the [Moss of Immolation] and the [Heart of a Wyrm] in order to evolve our races to the next grade.”

“I’m sorry, but did you just say you need the heart of a goddamn wyrm?”

“Yeah, but we’re going to do that last,” Zeke said. “After we all hit twenty-five.”

“But it’s a wyrm.”

“It’s just another monster,” was Zeke’s reply. “With the proper application of force, anything can be killed.”

“Sure, but it’s a wyrm,” was Carlos’s exasperated reply. “Not a drake. Not a wyvern. An honest-to-God wyrm. You’ll be dead before you even get close. And let’s say you do get close. Those things are supposed to be the size of a bus. And –”

“Those are the juveniles,” Talia helpfully interjected. Even though her expression hadn’t changed, she somehow looked pleased with her contribution. Or maybe Zeke was just imagining it. Either way, she added, “The adults are much larger.”

Carlos threw his hands up. “Oh, that makes all the difference,” he breathed. “These are freaking wyrms we’re talking about here. For all intents and purposes, they’re landbound dragons.”

“Do dragons exist here?” asked Zeke.

“There were no records of dragons in the Menagerie,” Talia said. “However, the Radiant Isles is a wild and dangerous place that is far from fully explored. It is possible that dragons exist.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” added Abby. “I mean, there wasn’t a ton of stuff on thunderbirds, and I met a couple not that long ago.”

“I’d like to see a dragon,” Zeke said. He glanced at Pudge, who was pretending to be asleep in the corner. “And Pudge wants to fight one, apparently. He says it would be an epic battle between good and evil. Personally, I think he’d take one look and run away, but I’ve been wrong before.”

At that, Pudge let out an annoyed huff, which was accompanied by the thought, No run. Pudge brave.

Zeke suppressed a laugh, saying, “I know you are, buddy. You’re the bravest bear I know.”

“Uh…I feel like I’m the only one taking this seriously,” Carlos said.

“Look – we’re taking it seriously,” Zeke said. “It’s just that we’ve already decided we’re doing this. We had this conversation with Tucker, too. If it scares you, you’re welcome to go your own way.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Then tell us what you know about the [Moss of Immolation],” Zeke prompted.

Carlos took a deep breath before saying, “Fine. Whatever. You people are insane, but it’s not like you don’t have any reason to be confident. I don’t know anything about that moss, but I do know a little about the Lake of Flames. Specifically, I’ve heard that there’s a hermit living near the edge of the lake. He’s been there for years, so if anybody knows about the moss you need, it would be him.”

“And you think he’d just help us out of the goodness of his heart?” asked Abby.

“He might,” was Zeke’s hopeful reply. But it was tinged with bitter cynicism. Selfless people had been rare on Earth, and in the Radiant Isles, they were nearly nonexistent. Nobody helped anyone else without the promise of some sort of repayment. That was the reality of the new world, and it was one Zeke had been forced to accept almost from the very beginning.

Abby raised an eyebrow, asking, “Do you really believe that?”

“No.”

“Good, because it’s extremely unlikely,” she said. Then, turning her head toward Carlos, she asked, “So, this hermit. Does he have a name? Do you know anything else about him?”

“No,” Carlos answered. “I mean, I’m sure he has a name, but I don’t know it. Honestly, he might be a myth. Nobody lives near the Lake of Flames.”

“Because of the demons, right?” asked Zeke. “There’s got to be a portal or something there.”

“Maybe,” Abby said. “But it’s kind of a combination of things. There are a few demons around, but they mostly keep to an island in the center of the lake. The lake itself, though, is extremely toxic. Water like acid, huge areas that are on fire, and a toxic atmosphere. There are creatures there, too. Most of them are adapted to the area, and they’re supposed to be stronger than their levels indicate.”

“Well, that’s just great,” Zeke muttered. “I was kind of hoping this would be the easy part. You know, zip in, grab some moss, and then head out to find a wyrm.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a lot more complicated than that,” Abby said.

“Of course it is,” Zeke said. Then, he sighed. “Nothing for it but to do it, I suppose. Any idea where to find this hermit? Or are we just supposed to circle the lake until we find him?”

“I have a general idea,” Carlos said. Then, he laid out what he knew, which was precious little. Beyond some vague rumors that the hermit lived on the northeastern side of the lake, there wasn’t much to go on. But Zeke supposed that that would have to be enough.

After that, the meeting devolved into a more normal planning session where they devised a general route to their destination. The idea was to follow the northern lakeshore as they headed east, hoping to find the hermit’s home along the way. If they didn’t find it, they would set up the tower a couple of miles away from the lake and embark on a more extensive search. As they did, they would look out for the moss. If wouldn’t be fast, considering the size of the lake, but it was the only plan they had.

Finally, once they’d gone over all the different ways everything could go wrong, establishing contingencies for any number of situations, they broke the meeting and left the tower. Zeke de-summoned it as they marched back to the road and resumed their journey out of the desert. As time passed, the vegetation grew more dense and the air more humid. After the dryness of the desert, it was a welcome relief.

However, after only a few more miles, the temperature began to spike. At first, it was only barely noticeable, but after a while, it felt like they were walking through the world’s largest sauna.

“Ugh!” Abby groaned. “This is miserable!”

“Everything you’re doing, I’m doing in full armor,” Zeke said, wiping sweat from his brow. “So, I win…uh…the miserableness prize.”

“I thought you were immune to heat.”

“Fire,” Zeke said. “Not heat. And I’m not immune. Just almost.”

Indeed, he’d done a lot of “research” into his relatively new resistance to fire, and he’d come away incredibly impressed. It would take a truly intense flame on the level of a star to do any kind of real damage to his durable body.

“Whatever. Are we there yet?”

“No,” Zeke said, marching up a gentle hill. The flora was stunted and withered, but it was still miles better than what they’d seen in the desert. When he crested the hill, he said, “Well, yes. I guess we are there.”

Abby joined him, soon followed by the rest of the group, and for a few moments, they all stood in rapt silence. The lake was unlike anything they could have expected. The surface was dancing with orange flames, through which swam hulking creatures. They only caught the barest of sights, but judging by the size of the fins cutting through the flaming water, it was easy to imagine that the monsters were enormous.

“It kind of reminds me of the lake in the demon cavern,” Abby said.

“Yeah,” Zeke agreed. “But different.”

“I really don’t like this place,” Carlos added. “This is not going to end well.”

“I think that every time we go someplace new,” Zeke said. “But it usually works out fine.”

“Tell that to Tucker.”

Zeke went silent. He hadn’t thought about the alchemist’s sacrifice in a few days, but with only a handful of words, Carlos had brought it all crashing back into him. It wasn’t that he wanted to forget. He didn’t. He never would. But he couldn’t let it control his every action. Down that road lay a life of cowardice. Zeke would work toward a better outcome, but he wouldn’t turn back just because Tucker had died. He had too much to do to let it derail him.

Besides, it wasn’t as if Carlos had any room to talk. They never would’ve even gone down there if it hadn’t been for him.

“Tucker made his own choices,” Abby said, saving Zeke the trouble. Or perhaps she spoke to keep him from saying something he would regret. “Just like all the rest of us.”

“I know, but –”

Abby spoke over him, saying, “If you don’t want to be here, you know the way back to Jariq. But if you’re going to stick around, you need to get onboard and stop complaining every time we turn around.”

Carlos looked as if he was going to argue, but then deflated. “Fine,” he said. “But I’m not going to throw my life away so you three can get stronger. If it gets to be too much, I’m gone, and I won’t look back.”

“Wouldn’t expect anything else from someone like you,” Zeke said. It wasn’t so much that he didn’t like Carlos. Rather, it was quickly becoming apparent that the man was, at his core, a bit of a coward. Or so cautious that he might as well be. If he didn’t see a clear path to victory, he wouldn’t even try. Zeke was the exact opposite. If he wanted something, he wouldn’t let anything stand in his way – even certain defeat.

He wasn’t so deluded that he thought he was right. In a lot of situations, he probably wasn’t. But he couldn’t live a cautious life. Not and accomplish his goals. Carlos clearly thought differently, but it didn’t make him wrong. What it did make him was an ill fit for their group.

“Maybe you should go,” Zeke said after another moment. “Nobody will blame you.”

“Is that what you want?” Carlos asked.

“No,” said Talia, surprising no one.

Zeke shrugged. “I want you to do what you want,” he said. “I still don’t really know why you’re here. You don’t want to be. You’re not like us.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Carlos asked. “I’m just as strong as –”

“You’re calculating. You’re a planner. You don’t take chances,” Zeke said. “Me? I’m the opposite. I don’t always look before I leap.” He glanced at Abby, who was about to interject. “No. Don’t say anything about me jumping at monsters.”

“Wasn’t going to.”

“Sure,” he said. “Seriously, though – we’re not taking the safe road here. You can get to twenty-five your way, but we’re not stopping there. We’re pushing the boundaries here. If you can’t get onboard with that, it’s fine. There’s no shame. You can head back, and you’ll probably get to twenty-five in a few years. But if you want to stay – and that’s a big if, because everything I’ve seen so far suggests that you don’t – you’d better adjust your mindset. That’s all I’m saying.”

For a few seconds, there was silence as Carlos gazed out across the burning lake. Then, finally, he said, “I’m going to stay. I don’t have anything left for me back in Jariq. It’s messed up, considering that I’ve only known you all for a couple of months, but you’re the closest I have to friends. Everyone else is dead.”

“That’s not enough.”

“W-what?” he asked.

Zeke shook his head. “This can’t just be the default,” he explained. “It can’t be that you just don’t have anything better to do. This has to be something you want. You need a goal. Something to drive you forward. Find that, and it’ll all make a lot more sense to you.”

“For now, let’s find somewhere to set up the tower,” Abby suggested. “We can start looking for the hermit tomorrow.”