Chp.36: Few days later

Since the dragons possessed extremely powerful leg muscles, and consequently a speed that all newcomers, regardless of the race they belonged, could only dream of, within just two days of running they again caught up with Zamor's army of beastmen. To transport Maldor and Kotaru, the dragons bound them to the body of an amphitrite and used magic to lighten them, and Kialandì possessed that body (after binding his real body as well) and carried them away. This had certainly not been easy, since a single amphitrite had to lift almost thirty tons of weight, and this had a big effect on its aerodynamics, but after a few attempts the dragons had managed to tie the bodies in the gousot way and lighten them enough to allow Kialandì to fly close to the ground.

Once they returned from the army, Zamor welcomed them back with great pleasure. Even though he didn't trust Haku, the dragon was too important at the moment to get rid of; moreover, even if he didn't admit it, he would be a little sorry. Therefore he had hoped for their victory, and even though Haku or some of his sisters constantly updated him using an avatar they had left for him, the doubt always remained that something was going terribly wrong. But luckily, everything seemed to have worked out for the best. Zamor was a little disappointed that in the end Haku had been forced to come to terms, but at least they hadn't lost anything relevant. After being updated on the latest events, he had quickly built a large chariot on which the dragons had then engraved some runes to increase hardness and lightness, and on it they had placed the bodies of Maldor and Kotaru. After that Sisna and Malchia had also decided it was time to go and they had put themselves on the chariot, to then go into hibernation. The four dragons were then covered with a cloth and would be transported by their siblings with the help of strong ropes. With the strength and endurance that dragons had, only two of them could carry the chariot which, combined, weighed some forty tons. Taking turns once a day, the dragons could now take their sisters with them without any problems.

Rhaegal's return had also been warmly received by the newcomers, especially those who had been his direct reports. The happiest ones were obviously Efren, Sarah, Carlos, Martha and Lisah, but many of the beastmen soldiers he had led to victory against the smaller labor camps had also been a little anxious about his fate. Rhaegal had reassured them that everything had gone well and, through an avatar, had resumed coordinating the movement of the ships under his responsibility (while he had been a prisoner it was Serengal who had done it), which by now had covered a good stretch of road and many of them had now gathered in small fleets.

Rhaegal had been pleased to see so many people cared about him. Not only for the obvious feeling of happiness that feeling friends with someone gave, but above all because it was the demonstration that, albeit slowly, maybe he and his siblings were really building something new, something that allowed them to talk and live with the newcomers without either feeling fear towards the other. In short, if many newcomers had worried about his fate, this meant that they didn't consider him just a ferocious killing machine, right? This spurred him to continue to give his best to be able to really build that future.

And about the future...

After that one time Haku had asked him if something had happened to him, his brother hadn't asked him anything again. Rhaegal knew he was still suspicious, but seemed to respect her decision. Or maybe he was just waiting for the right moment to put it through the wringer. In any case, Rhaegal did not regret his decision not to tell him that he was being tortured: he believed it was the best thing for everyone. After all, he did not remember anything that had been done to him, apart from some information that he had written on his palate and which by now, due to the rapid regeneration of the dragons, had vanished; therefore his desire to take revenge was more a whim dictated by his pride than a real psychophysical necessity. So, what was the point of pursuing this goal, if the consequences would have been serious for everyone? Rhaegal had decided that for now it was best to swallow his pride and forget everything, and instead concentrate on reaching the Thul Oasis as soon as possible.

Rhaegal didn't want to risk Haku going down a dark path. He knew how he would react if he knew the truth and he didn't want to unleash a beast that he wasn't sure he could bring under control once his work was done. He still hadn't decided if he was going to tell anyone else about their siblings… but he doubted it. None of them would have reacted very differently from Haku after all. For now, he'd decided he'd keep the secret to himself.

So he went on. He had resumed his duties, had gone back to having fun with his siblings, had resumed chatting with his friends, all as if nothing had happened. The only difference was that now he no longer strayed from the Zamor's army and used an avatar to communicate elsewhere; he was sure if he tried to leave in his real body again his siblings would kill him. At least for a while, it was better to avoid taking what in jargon were commonly called 'unnecessary risks'.

And of course, he'd talked to Darbi. His brother had been the happiest to know him alive and well, so much so that when she contacted him he almost jumped, which would have done a lot of damage considering he was on a ship at the time, and it wasn't exactly a good idea that a creature of almost ten tons would jump on a wooden object suspended in the water. Rhaegal had spoken quickly with him immediately after his release, but it was only after returning to Zamor's army that he had a long conversation with him. They had been updating each other on what had happened over the past week, and Darbi had seemed quite intimidated by Rhaegal revealing that Haku wanted to talk to both of them once he returned. Rhaegal had reassured him that surely Haku wanted to have a calm and peaceful conversation... but he didn't think he had been very convincing, since even he was only sixty percent convinced.

Speaking of Haku, he had been the one Rhaegal had talked to the least. His brother almost seemed to avoid him. Rhaegal knew he worried about him, because his sisters had told him that when he spoke to them he always asked how he was. However, whenever Rhaegal tried to talk to him in person, Haku was either always busy or too tired or disappeared before he could reach him. Rhaegal had theorized that this was some sort of pique towards him, as if to make him understand how angry he was with him, but he wasn't sure about this, since it seemed too stupid an action for Haku. It seemed to him rather that his brother was frightened by the possibility that if they talked and he dug deeper, he would find evidence that Rhaegal had lied to him and that something worse had actually happened in that prison.

Rhaegal knew that the first person Haku would blame if he knew the truth would be himself. Haku felt responsible towards all his siblings and if something happened to them he always felt it was his fault. Maybe he thought he could stop Rhaegal from leaving, or talk him out of using his real body, but he would find a way to blame himself. Maybe that was why he tried to avoid talking to him: if his suspicions were confirmed, and Rhaegal revealed that he had indeed been tortured, guilt would overwhelm him. Rhaegal even thought it possible that Haku could have another seizure if he knew. That was another of the reasons that had convinced him not to tell him anything. He was sure that if enough time passed and he always behaved as usual, he would be able to dispel his suspicions, or at least reduce them.

However, continuing to avoid him couldn't be a long-term solution: that way Rhaegal would never have the chance to prove to him that what he said was 'true'. However, Rhaegal didn't want to force him into having a conversation with him. In the end he had decided to wait until Darbi returned: since Haku wanted to talk to both of them, he would use that excuse to exchange a few words. In the meantime, he would give his brother space and time.

Other than that, things were progressing well. Obviously no one had any idea what Sisna, Malchia, Kotaru and Maldor were doing at that moment, but there didn't seem to have been any disturbances in the Jurao Kingdom, so at least for now nothing had happened yet. Meanwhile, the Zamor army was getting closer and closer to the desert border. Darbi in turn had now passed the Kotenka River and reached the Skai River, and soon he too would arrive at his destination. The various ships that instead traveled within the old Baudonia City Alliance had now passed most of the inhabited lands and very soon would also reach the border. Once everyone was gathered, they could officially begin their journey to the Thul Oasis, where they would establish their new community.

It happened one morning. The dragons had already sighted the crystalline water of the Skai River from afar for a few days, but the same could not be said of the beastmen; and when they saw the river which marked the border with the desert, there was an explosion of cries of victory. It seemed that a heroic deed had just been completed, and as usual there was a party, to which even the dragons, for once, were welcome. The following day they finally arrived at the river bank, and could see on the other side the endless dune sea that was the Yuthia Desert. Their destination.

It was there that they camped and waited for a few days. Of course, they didn't just sit without doing nothing: both dragons and beastmen spent their days collecting large quantities of water and catching large schools of fish. To be able to catch them, they used huge nets that the dragons carried from one side of the river to the other and which the beastmen then dragged against the current to collect as many fish as possible. The dragons also frightened fish by slapping their tails on the water and causing them to become confused. A couple of times a large catfish had been able to break the net, but the dragons obviously hadn't missed their prey and caught it in their jaws. As far as water was concerned, instead they used huge pots which they dragged to the points where the river was cleaner (generally in the centre, where the current was stronger and didn't collect the mud from the bank) and filled them there; after which they cleaned the water even more using a strange basket that filtered it collecting impurities, and finally boiled it to make it even more drinkable. At that point the huge pots were placed in the dimensional bags together with the food. Both Zamor and Haku wanted to collect as many resources as possible: after all, both water and food would be very precious resources in the desert, so there was never enough.

And finally, after nearly another week of waiting, the scouts sighted a fleet approaching in the distance. These were, of course, the ships captained by Darbi and carrying most of the rescued people. Zamor prepared to welcome them in the best possible way, and Haku prepared to see Darbi again... and to have that longed-for conversation with him and Rhaegal.