Floating islands in the void were pretty common, often tied together by errant strips of gravity, strong enough for beings to stand on them. This chain of islands was no different, but it was all weirdly warm, thanks to a small molten core just beneath the main island. The warmth meant that the icy caps at the peaks of the islands had melted, creating small streams and pools, which would evaporate near the core and reform as ice back at the peaks. It was a small ecosystem, but there was no real life there. Not naturally anyway.
They had told Retvik to be careful, but really, he had no idea what to expect. He’d been told there was no life here, apart from the one being he was searching for. A small camp site had been erected by the largest, warmest lake, with a small fire cooking… something. Retvik wasn’t sure what. The owner however didn’t seem to be present.
Not quite yet dissuaded, Retvik decided to have a look around. He wasn’t unarmed, but he was carrying a heavy shield. They had explained to him that this being was “potentially violent”, but like everything else they had said, that could have meant anything.
With a couple of awkward blinks, Retvik’s vision switched from standard light vision into the weird heat sight he had learned about only a few hours prior. Everything around here was warm, but not as warm as Retvik himself. There was however a series of swiftly fading footprints, heading up the hill.
Curious, Retvik went to have a better look, flicking between various forms of vision then settling back on normal light. The footprints were mostly gone anyway. Because they’d led to their creator.
The tiny, black and yellow being froze as Retvik approached. They had seen Retvik but were completely unsure how to react.
“Hello, Arkay.”
The creature didn’t reply at first. It looked Retvik up and down, trying to decide whether he was a threat or not.
“I do not wish to harm you. I heard that you were lost.”
Again, there was no real reply. The creature straightened itself up and backed away, hissing slightly. A vague attempt to make itself seem larger and scarier than it was. Realising that he was scaring the being, Retvik put his shield down and got down on one knee, closer to the creature.
“I promise, I will not harm you. I just want to talk, alright Arkay?”
Arkay hesitated, then inched closer, only to stop just outside of Retvik’s reach. The little creature was no longer looking at Retvik, but at something behind him. Retvik paused for a moment, then decided to gave a glance for himself.
In the distance, a slither of silver could be seen among the black sky and grey clouds. The silver thing seemed to be aware that Retvik had seen it, and instantly disappeared, zooming off into the darkness.
“Do not worry, Arkay, I am sure…”
Retvik turned back around, only to find that the little creature was gone. So were its footsteps, and the small campsite it had made. All that remained was the smouldering remains of a campfire.
With a sigh, Retvik activated a small device on his wristband.
“Ser, the target has teleported away. Something spooked it. Some silver object was following either me or the target.”
“Alright. Coming in now to pick you up.”
Retvik did as he was told, activating a second device, a small homing beacon.
…
“So, Saahro, what do you think?” Seimeni asked as she kicked back, her long spike legs crossed and leant against the console in front of her.
“I’m genuinely impressed!” Saahro, the large, red dragon, beamed. “Your guy’s a natural. The bosses will be pleased.”
“Even though we didn’t secure the target?”
“Definitely. Was something out of his control…” Saahro climbed out of his seat and headed for the exit. “Get the new guy sorted out and back on board, I’ll deal with reporting to the Lords…”