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‘So in other words,’ said Germal, ‘I shouldn’t lie to them?’

‘Yes,’ said Nero. ‘It would be helpful if you did not make things even more difficult for me than they already are.’

‘...I’ll try.’

‘Thank you. But it you fail, rest assured that I will call you out on it publicly every time. In theory, it should be fine for you to get caught in a lie, so long as I make sure everyone knows that you are a compulsive liar and that you cannot help yourself.’

Germal couldn’t say that he liked this plan very much. But then, he rarely ever did. Nero had a habit of making him do things he didn’t want to do.

He wondered when he would be able to see Parson and Damian again. It had already been years, and he had a feeling that it would be many more yet.

They would probably give him all sorts of crap if he didn’t do a good job. They were probably doing way better than he was. They were probably way stronger. They were always so good at everything, while he just followed their lead, did whatever they said.

He couldn’t let it be that way again. He had to keep up with them, make them acknowledge him. He had to be their equal.

There was nothing he wanted more in this world than that.

Germal’s headache worsened. Gohvis continued trying to explain various things to him, but Germal began to feel disoriented and found it difficult to listen. Combined with all the noise of the storm and bumpy ride on the lizard man’s shoulder, Germal completely lost track of what was happening.

‘...tohah.’

He winced and opened his eyes. Had they been closed? Agh, his head was still throbbing, though now it seemed to be focused mostly around the horn.

‘...argobadah.’

What was that? Who was whispering?

‘Nero?’ said Germal.

‘Yes?’ the reaper said privately.

He looked around for the reaper. Oh, there he was, attached his arm. ‘What were you saying just now?’

‘Hmm? I wasn’t saying anything.’

What? Had he imagined it? Germal didn’t understand. Why was everything so confusing, all of a sudden?

Agh, this headache. It felt like someone was taking a dagger to his forehead.

But it also felt like it had a direction to it, somehow. Like it was coming from somewhere. Yeah. Less like a dagger, then, and more like a fishing hook still attached to the line. In fact, he could almost see the line. It was invisible, but he sensed it nonetheless, going all the way through the mountain to the north and beyond. Where did the line end? He couldn’t tell. It was too far. And the pain made it difficult.

“--want to do now, then?” Gohvis was saying, standing over a crater the size of a house.

“We shall return,” said Dozer, standing in the middle of the crater.