“Status report, please, my Missing.”
Arkay sighed, trying to organise his words. The three of them had spent hours combing the remains of the base of the Orangegold, only to find everything flooded and destroyed and no one alive. And now Deathven had teleported them here, to his hidden domain, wanting updates.
“Torkalion just wanted us as a distraction,” Retvik answered in Arkay’s place. “He had already arranged passage to join the Vast Voids, but he was the only Orangegold Voidborn left and wanted us present to dissuade Vryda from attacking us.”
“I see…” Deathven thought for a moment, then sighed. “Did Torkalion get out?”
“He did. He disappeared. And also brought down the entire facility as he did so,” Retvik explained further. “We did try and have a look around, but pretty much everything was destroyed, and Torkalion was gone.”
“I see…” Deathven repeated himself, then fell silent. He pulled out a tablet and typed a message on it. “Well, I have confirmation that Torkalion has been picked up by the Vast Voids and is undergoing conversion to them, but they were expecting more than one Voidborn. Was anyone else there with you?”
Arkay, Litvir and Retvik glanced at each other.
“We found no other signs of other Voidborns and Torkalion claimed that every other member of the Orangegold was dead…” Arkay sighed. “But also… well… I think Vryda was present.”
Deathven turned his attention to Arkay.
“Vryda was there?”
“Well, we know someone was around. Torkalion claimed he had brought us there just to keep Vryda from attacking him. And as we left the area, because Torkalion brought the ceiling down on us, I spotted an orange glow that circled the area briefly before vanishing.”
“And you believe that person was Vryda?”
Arkay hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I didn’t see her but I definitely saw an orange glowy thing flying around and… I sensed something.”
Deathven inspected Arkay some more. “Did you find anything out about Vryda?”
Litvir could sense that Arkay was struggling a bit, so he put an arm around him and took over. “Torkalion was very blunt with us. He said that the Orangegold captured what they called Orange… they never actually called her Vryda… and they intentionally tortured her and manipulated her to do their bidding, including making her attack you and your buddy. But she clearly turned on them all and killed almost all the Orangegold apart from Torkalion.”
“Do you know why Torkalion was not killed?”
Litvir shrugged. “He claimed that he was the only person who showed any sign of kindness towards the poor thing. But I think he was just the person in charge and he happily sacrificed the rest of his cult to keep himself alive. He also seemed to know exactly how to deal with Vryda, to the point that he knew that a group of Decayons would confuse Vryda enough to hold off on attacking him.”
“I see…” Deathven sighed somewhat, but he remained focused on Arkay. “Deathbringer, you seem unsettled. Is something wrong?”
“Uh…” Arkay didn’t answer at first. “Yeah… I think there is something wrong.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Yeah. Because, well… I think that… well… I always kinda dismissed Vryda as being a rogue Life Goddess. But while we were at that stupid Voidborn base, I… I caught enough of a glimpse of her, I caught enough of a scent of her, I sensed enough of her to confirm that she… she might actually be a Synaisthyn after all. And she might be an older Synaisthyn than I am, which means… I don’t know if I can deal with her.”
“What… what do you mean by that?” Retvik suddenly asked. “You have never had that worry before!”
Arkay frowned. “That’s because I’m the second oldest Synaisthyn I know, and I can calm down other Synaisthyns because I’ve been in their place. When I was at my lowest, when I was trapped in a coma, in Panton’s pretty safe space, he calmed me down because he was older than me and had been in my place. But if Vryda is older than me, I can’t do that for her…”
Deathven grunted, then sighed. “Deathbringer, I think you may be overthinking things. It is not solely on you to control and contain all other Thrice-Torn Spirits. You have backup now. And now we know what we are doing, we can offer assistance. More importantly though, we have something Vryda will want.”
“I… I don’t follow…”
Retvik thought for a moment, then shrugged. “Overlord, may I ask a question?”
“Of course, Flamebearer.”
“Do you… particularly care if Torkalion lives?”
Deathven shrugged back. “I will be honest, not particularly. The Orangegold did attempt to kill me, after all. But I think you and I are thinking on similar terms. If Vryda is active once more and is seeking some sort of vengeance, we have something we can offer her. I will speak to Skotadision and make sure that he informs me of Torkalion’s location at all times. The Orangegold were blatantly dangerous, and I am happy to hand Torkalion over to Vryda in exchange for her handing herself in. We have bargaining chips. And I do not think Vryda is stupid. She is angry, she is vengeful, she is aggressive, but I doubt she is a fool, as she has evaded capture for so long.
“In the mean time, my Missing, I would like you three to return home. I apologise that your last few missions have been a little messy, and, if you wish, I can send you on a simpler mission, a palate cleanser, as one may call it; or you can remain with the Thantir until I need you once more”
Litvir and Retvik both glanced at Arkay.
“I think it would be best if we returned home,” Retvik replied. “I think we need some time with friends and family.”
“No worries. Thank you for the assistance, my Missing. Rest well.”
With a snap of Deathven’s fingers, the Missing disappeared, and reappeared back on the Deathly Soulflame. Strangely, the ship had already been teleported back to the Patagenic Pentacluster, and was at a teleporter point in the Justarian Circle.
“You alright, dear?” Litvir asked.
“No…” Arkay eventually sighed. “But I’ll get over it. Do you mind getting us home? I need to… think about a few things…”
Retvik patted Arkay on the head. “You go do that, we will sort the ship out.”
Arkay smiled weakly, then got out of his seat. “Thanks… I’ll be back in a bit…”