Meanwhile, Vastor put the white crystal back into his dimensional amulet and started to draw detailed schematics of Lith’s life force. He sat on a rock in silence until he was done writing down his impressions and thought while the memory was still fresh.
“Thanks, ‘father’. I feel reborn for the third time.” Theseus gave him a small bow and this time the spite was limited to a minimum.
“You are welcome.” Vastor nodded. “As Zoreth pointed out, you are still subject to fits of blood madness and you need someone to keep you calm. Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”
“No, but I can’t trust you either. I don’t know you except for what I learned from Paquut’s memories and from what I saw you are not a good person.” The Bastet replied.
“I never claimed to be one.” The Master stood up and checked Lith’s life force one last time to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. “I’d better go, or my wife will skin me alive. Zoreth, Bytra, are you coming with me?”
“No, Dad. We still have unfinished business in Verendi.” The Raiju replied.
“Excellent.” Vastor asked them no questions. “Maybe you can bring Theseus along. You are already showing Lith the ropes, one more trainee shouldn’t be a problem. See you soon.”
The hybrids in his home conjured their own pillars and the Master crossed two continents in the blink of an eye.
“We have a delicate business to attend to. We can go separate ways and meet later, if you want.” Zoreth’s tone was brash. She didn’t want strangers messing with what she considered a family business.
Lith and Bytra were part of her family, hence making amends with Solus was of the utmost importance. She had already done everything she could for Theseus and whatever he did of his life was none of her business.
“I’d like to come, if you don’t mind.” He said, making her inhale sharply in annoyance. “The Organization seems to have changed a lot since Paquut left to hunt me down and I’m curious to see how much.”
“I wish you the best of luck, my friend.” Dolgus patted his shoulders and opened a Warp Steps. “My job here is not done and now Verendi needs my help more than you do.”
“Not quite.” Theseus stopped him. “I don’t trust them. They might tag and bag me the moment I turn my back. If you stay, instead, I’m certain that our powers can match theirs.”
The Griffon was exhausted from the previous weeks on the run and the wounds that the Eldritch had inflicted upon him. He could use a bit of privacy and get plenty of food and rest to recover.
Adding two more Abomination hybrids to the party was hardly good news.
“You can count on me.” He said and then moved toward the others. “I’m Dolgus Griffon, nice to meet you.”
“Wait, Dolgus Griffon? As in Tyris’s and Valeron’s son?” Lith asked as the Griffon shook their hands in turns. Pa nda
Novel “Tyris is my mother but I was born before Valeron.” He replied. “I left the Kingdom and came to Verendi to follow in my mother’s footsteps. Garlen doesn’t need the help of my brethren anymore.
“The few of us left live in the Empire while everyone else has moved away.”
Solus’s ring went back on Lith’s finger before she conjured a Warp Steps and pretended to come out of it as she assumed her human form again.
“Sorry for leaving abruptly earlier, but I had important business to attend to.” She said while greeting the Griffon and the Bastet. “Nice to meet you, my name is Solus V-“
“Elphyn Menadion! It’s an honor to meet you.” Theseus jumped on his feet, hugging her with joy like a long-lost friend. “I’m sorry for not recognizing you earlier, Epphy, but between the hunger and fear I’ve been distracted.”
“Do I know you?” Solus swallowed a lump of saliva as a cold shiver ran down her spine after her identity had been exposed.’This doesn’t make sense. I had Aerth and Salaark help me to make a list of the people who met me as Elphyn Menadion who might still be alive and these two are not among them.’ She thought.
“No, but I know you. I’m a big fan of your father’s work and you were one of the favorite subjects of his paintings. You have grown up a lot, but I’ve painted your features so many times that I’d recognize you anywhere.” He said, making her sigh in relief.
“Please, be honest with me. What do you think of my work?”
A snap of his fingers lit the cave, revealing the presence of the drawings he had made during his stay that now covered most of the walls. Some were copies of Threin’s works while others were original.
Dolgus’ and Solus’ faces were everywhere, embarrassing them both.
“Seems someone has a fan.” Lith laughed at her expense.
“A huge fan.” Theseus nodded, missing the subtext. “Can I draw you? Threin was a great artist but seeing you in person is different from a painting. I hope you won’t mind if I make you mine.”
“I beg your pardon?” Solus flushed at those words.
“He means artistically.” Dolgus sighed. “He’s saying that until now he could only copy Threin’s job while now he has the opportunity to develop his own.”
“No need to be pedantic. My words were clear.” The Bastet took brushes and canvas out of his pocket dimension, starting to draw before Solus could even answer.
“No, they were not.” The Griffon threw him a reproachful look and the others nodded. “Miss Elphyn, I’m more interested in knowing what happened to your mother and her tower.
“I barely met your mother, but I knew and respected Ripha. Did she survive as well?”
“Yeah, I was wondering about that as well.” Theseus nodded.
“No.” Solus inwardly cursed her bad luck.
‘What are the chances of meeting a fan of Dad’s work in Verendi? The list doesn’t cover the owners of Dad’s paintings so I’d better shapeshift into a different form whenever I meet ancient beings.’ She thought. ᴘᴀɴᴅᴀ-ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ
“My mother died and she had to sacrifice the tower in order to save my life. I slumbered for 700 hundred years to recover from the procedure and I still bear the scars.” She actually said.
Seeing how hard she clenched her hands and hearing the pain in her voice Dolgus decided to not pry further.
“What’s the nature of your mission?”
“Since I’ve lost my mother’s legacy, I want to retrieve what I can.” Solus replied. “We heard that the Mouth of Menadion is here in Verendi and I’ve come to take it back.”
Now that the Griffon and the Bastet had joined the mission, they would have soon learned about its goal so there was no point in keeping it a secret.
“I can confirm you that the killer of Vestha, the original owner of the Mouth, is here in Verendi but there are countless places where he might be hiding. How do you plan to find the killer and fetch your prize?” Dolgus asked.
“How can you be so sure?” She asked in surprise.
“Probably the same way we do.” Zoreth replied. “There are rumors of new powerful artifacts appearing in Verendi. The Council of Awakened makes no mystery of them and those who had the opportunity to observe them in action say that they felt the signature of the Mouth on them.”
