When Elyre was washed up on shore, she was so tired -- perhaps her fear had tired her. She lay on the sand. What had just happened? ...Aristhaeus was next to her, but he quickly stood up.
It was her first time so far from Wild Wood and she was trying to be very careful, but instead she'd ended up in such a dangerous situation.
"Are you alright?" she asked the mage.
"Yes," he answered. "You too, right? ...Don't worry, I think most of the other people on board have swum to the shore," he said. It was too dark to say what had happened for sure.
She finally stood up. He didn't seem too bothered by the dragon.
"What were you saying about Vahara Arta?" she exclaimed.
"Just dry yourself first," he said. Her hair was full of sand, but both of them used magic to dry themselves quickly.
Maybe... just maybe... he could've mentioned there were dragons in Vahara Arta. It was kind of important... they were kind of too big to ignore... She'd never seen a dragon before! If she were telling someone about a city with dragons... she would've mentioned "and by the way, you can see dragons there!" But then... Vahara Arta definitely had the reputation of a safe city. Maybe this was an unusual encounter?
"I didn't know there were dragons here," she exclaimed.
He wasn't sure about the reason for the attack either. He didn't know who was behind the attack but he knew the Autumn Fae was involved because running into a wild dragon so near Vahara Arta was almost impossible. He was afraid this could turn out to be a bigger problem than expected. If the Autumn Fae continued to attack them, he would have to confront her. But she was one of the governors of Allyria. If he defeated her directly, this was likely to reveal his identity...
Aristhaeus remembered Elyre had been attacked in Wild Wood unexpectedly, and they had tried to kidnap her, or so it seemed. But the Princess of the Perfects had interfered. So, it seemed Elyre had her own enemies. Maybe he wasn't the aim?
"Hey?" Elyre said as she noticed he was absent-minded.
He suddenly stared at her with a blank expression on his face,
"What?"
"If there's something, maybe I can help!" she said.
"I am also not sure what is going on," he shook his head.
"Who..." She wanted to ask him 'Who are you?' but she thought it would sound too strange -- after all, he'd already introduced himself, he was Mage Phabian, working for the Queen. Why did she want to ask him this? Finally, the words somehow left her lips, "Who are you?"
He wondered at her question and came near her, "No matter what happens, you should know, I don't have ill intentions toward you."
"Good to know... ..." she answered in a suspicious tone.
Maybe their meeting was somehow too strange... first in the Castle of the Seventh Fire, then in Wild Wood... then this dragon.
"Huh, there's so much sand here," he said as he beat the sand out of his clothes. He was sitting next to her. "I want to ask you some questions. You have to be sincere with me," he said.
"Alright."
"Maybe your answers will help me figure things out... As I will be investigating your amulet. May I ask you if this amulet is important to you?"
"It is," she said. "I've always had it. It's my talisman."
"Who gave it to you?" he asked.
"I was adopted by the Queen of the Wood-Nymphs as a baby. They say about a month after that the amulet suddenly appeared on my neck. No explanation."
"Interesting... then somebody must have given it to you secretly?"
"Actually... they say... it's been invisible on my neck when I was a baby... and then it got materialized... I am not sure why or who gave it to me. Strangely, a few days ago it became invisible again! Then it reappeared," Elyre exclaimed. She wanted to hold the amulet and show it to him but realized it had become invisible again. "Hmm... strange!"
"Huh? So it appears and disappears on a whim?" Aristhaeus asked.
"No, that's the first time it's become invisible since I was a baby. A few days ago was the first time... and now... it seems it's the second time..."
"Can you tell me more about the first time?"
"A few days ago, we went to avert a storm in Wild Wood. Then, we were suddenly attacked... just like today's dragon attack... And then... The Princess of the Perfects helped us." She told him the situation in detail since she did not know he'd actually seen it. "...Or maybe the first time was the day before that. I don't know, the amulet has been acting strangely recently."
Still he could not understand why the amulet would become invisible.
"Can I ask you a question too?" Elyre said.
"Yes."
"Can you tell me who you are?" she asked. She felt a little frightened to ask him, but she wasn't sure why.
He held her hand in his, looked at her and smiled.
"No matter what happens..." he said.
He said, "Well, it is getting late. Maybe we should prepare for the night."
As darkness fell, they couldn't continue on their way to Vahara Arta, because they would quite certainly get lost. There were a lot of cliffs and steep slopes and it would be hard to find the right path.
"Let's rest here. We can continue to Vahara Arta tomorrow," he suggested.
Once they were supposed to fall asleep, Elyre couldn't quite calm down. She'd been attacked unexpectedly twice since she escaped from the Dungeon. Maybe they were looking for her? She was lying on the beach and she created a small flame between her fingers because otherwise it was too dark. She turned around a few times.
Then she looked at Phabian, who was a little bit further away from her. She could see his face thanks to the flame in her hand.
"What are you doing?" he opened his eyes immediately.
"I am just thinking," she whispered, though she didn't have to be so quiet. There was no one around, "...that maybe they are attacking us because of me... Also I am worried that maybe not everyone on board survived, and it could be because of me."
He sighed, "Don't worry. Even Mage Ademon could not possibly have sent a dragon after you. So, this was not your fault... at least from that perspective. And I am sure most people swam to the shore or used a little bit of magic. Now fall asleep."
Wait a second... What was he saying? Was he again indirectly admitting he knew she was Fierce Wind?
"...You sure are an investigator," she murmured and turned to the other side.