Ansgarde floated in the pond for a while, looking at gray clouds passing by, no rational plan of action in her head. Even if her theory was right, she didn’t know what to do about it. She had to explore the islands in search of more clues. Her work here had only just begun.

Her grumbling stomach reminded her that she wasn’t here on vacation. This was a part of questing she never gave much thought to. What did a hero eat on her journey? Roasted mushrooms sounded very appetizing.

Once on land, she wrung the front of her dripping tunic and tried to smooth it out. Her delicate clothes were not suited for this adventure. Sadie’s studded leather suit would have been more practical. Her braid had come undone, and she combed her hair with her fingers and left them loose to dry off.

Little gray particles were stuck to her skin. They had to be some plant matter and did not bother her, so she left them be. They would fall off once her skin dried.

She made her way back to Spinel, glad that her Empyrean sense of direction did not let her get lost. Her little friend lounged on a bed of moss, next to a Lodolite that hummed her a story.

The rich mushroom aroma twisted her stomach into knots, but she had to find a way to cook them. Would she be able to start a fire here?

Finding dry sticks and leaves was a challenge. Everything was damp. Never had she imagined she would be this excited to find straw. She brought her findings to a clear spot and laid it down. Now, the tricky part - fire.

She wished she had the firestones they used back home. When the two engraved rocks were brought together, the runes activated, providing a flash of fire.

She couldn’t see the sun between the mushroom tops, but the growing murkiness indicated that it would set soon. The temperature on the damp island also dropped, and she shivered in her wet tunic. She had to hurry before night fell.

She smoothed out the dirt and tried to recreate the rune symbols from the firestones. How many times had she used those rocks? Surely, she had to have remembered what they looked like. The first attempt was unsuccessful, but it did not discourage her. She smoothed out the dirt and tried again.

She closed her eyes and tried to recall the image of the stone. But she only looked at it when it was in her hand. She knew how the rune curled at the tip of the stone, but the part hidden in her palm was a mystery.

The humming of the mushroom creatures stopped, and a chill went down her spine. She looked around her, feeling something watching her. It was difficult to see in the increasing darkness. Every mushroom trunk looked like a person. She was spooking herself for no reason.

She got back to drawing in the dirt, cursing herself for never learning the basic elemental runes. No one in her family wielded magic, but she could have looked for a teacher. She stopped, remembering back to the Tower of Sacred Scrolls. Her little friend knew more than she did.

“Spinel, do you know fire runes?”

She walked over to the moss bed just in time to see a group of Lodolites slowly raise sleeping Spinel above their heads and start walking away with her.

“What are you doing?” she shrieked.

They turned their pointy heads, and - she could be wrong, it was dark - it seemed like they bared fangs at her. She launched at them, seized her sleeping friend, to humming protests of the slick creatures, and yelled at them until they scattered away.

What would they have done if she didn’t get to Spinel on time?

“You’re a trouble magnet,” she murmured, checking that the little demon was unharmed. Spinel’s mouth was slightly open, and she snorted a little snore. At least one of them was getting some rest.

She was about to go back to her pathetic runing attempt when she heard an unfamiliar pit-patter overhead as if the mushrooms tried to get her attention. She looked up, wondering if it was another creature. Without any warning, streams of water poured at her. The surprise was quickly replaced by a frigid cold that woke her up.

She ran under a mushroom cap and leaned against the trunk, slick like a tongue, Spinel secured in her cupped hand. She had never seen rain this forceful in Heliodor. This storm did not feel right.

She groaned, realizing that the few dry pieces that took her so long to find were now as drenched as she was. There would be no fire tonight.

Darkness settled on the island, and though she couldn’t hear anything other than the restless rain, it felt like someone was watching her. It had to be those creepy Lodolites.

And she glowed. Now in complete darkness, the little particles she was covered with illuminated, specking her skin with tiny lights. She rubbed at them, but they just slid on her skin and would not come out. She hoped that there were no predators on this island because she could be seen from afar.

As she huddled by the slippery trunk, she pondered how often it had to rain here to allow mushrooms to grow like trees. It could rain for days, but the human island had not seen rain in a long time. It was evident in the cracked dirt and dying vegetation. Rain wasn’t distributed evenly in Cloud Empire.

She hated the thought of being trapped under a mushroom more than the cold of the rain, so she ran into the streams of water, her feet sinking in the mud, and sprinted until she found a spot large enough to fly through. Her tired muscles screamed in protest when she launched herself into the air. The rain stung her face like needles. Her body was numb from cold and exhaustion, but she did not give up. She was a strong flyer. She could do this.

Once she broke through the clouds, she was no longer being assaulted by the water, but an even stronger force took hold of her - raging winds. She clung onto Spinel, fighting the battle against the invisible enemy and losing.

Her strength had met its match. She was at the wind’s mercy.