Medina nodded slowly, her gaze wandering across the map as she tried to process the information. This was a lot for a Cerixian, given that, until less than a month ago, this world was still wondering whether there were other civilizations in outer space. We’d brought in all of them at once, and we’d added to the discovery shock by revealing the universe-building-and-breaking entities that troubled us—the Hermessi and, more recently, Death herself.
“So, if you were Brendel, where would you hide Eirexis?” Amelia asked, studying the map.
“These three are the oldest sites known to us,” Medina replied, pointing at three different locations on the map. They were pretty far apart and in different domains. “Two are former city centers, and one was a temple.”
“Do you think she would’ve hidden Eirexis in a place with a lot of people?” Raphael raised an eyebrow at her.
“She would’ve put it somewhere others wouldn’t have even suspected,” Medina replied. “The city was later abandoned for a larger and more favorable settlement, but yes, I do see Brendel hiding an artifact like Eirexis there. I would rather think that than consider combing the entire planet’s wilderness in order to find it.”
That thought had occurred to us, too. We’d preferred focusing on ancient sites instead, so as not to get overwhelmed by the millions of possibilities. We needed our search narrowed down, not expanded into madness.
“Guys… I’m getting something,” Fallon said, pressing his index and middle fingers against his temples. He seemed to be in pain. “Brendel would’ve hidden Eirexis where people lived. There was a rumor among the Hermessi at the time, that Death’s scythe reacted to living people by concealing itself even deeper, so no one could find it. If left in the wilderness, they worried it might’ve stood out.”
“Whoa!” Varga exclaimed. “Where the hell did you get that from?”
Fallon shrugged, his shocked expression worth more than words. Eva, however, was quick to remember. “You’ve accessed more of Kabbah’s memory residue, right?”
“Yeah…My brain is still processing most of them, but this one just came up when you mentioned Brendel. It’s a recent conversation he had with her, after we met him in the Volcrun cave. He didn’t know all this, then. I think he confronted her shortly after we got out of there, and left this memory in my head during our second encounter in the Nevertide palace.”
Lumi sighed. “That’s interesting, to say the least.” A grin stretched across her face, leaving us all wondering what had put her in such a good mood. Fortunately, Lumi wasn’t one for dramatic revelations and was quick to enlighten us. “You keep remembering, now.”
“What does that mean for me? For us?” Fallon asked, understandably alarmed.
“It means that you just helped us narrow down our search,” Lumi replied. She shifted her focus to Medina. “Can you tell us which of these sites were once the most populated areas? If Kabbah’s thoughts are correct, Brendel would’ve looked for the busiest areas beneath which she could hide Eirexis.”
Fallon exhaled sharply. “This is so weird…”
“Enjoy it,” Eva replied, smiling. “It’s helping us.”
“You should keep digging, in the meantime,” I suggested, while Medina perused the map and removed some of the conical figures.
“These were the most populated,” she said, pointing at three other locations. “Still far away from one another, but certainly more within your search parameters, I think. According to our archaeological records, each of these cities had populations of over five thousand people, which was enormous for that era.”
“Okay, good. We now have three possible starting points,” Taeral replied.
Medina rushed over to one of the bookshelves and came back with three old books, which she placed on the table, on top of the map. “These are archaeology papers on the specific sites. Eira and I can help you with translations. They include maps and technical specifications, including several theories on what each part of the site was used for… you know, the typical archaeologist’s favorite thing to do. Theorizing about the long-since-dead.” She chuckled.
“This is interesting,” Eira said while flipping through one of the books. She pointed at a figurine positioned on a seaside location. “This area here isn’t just home to one of Cerix’s most ancient sites. It’s also a haven for rosy fishes. I’m surprised people left this city behind.”
“Why? What do the rosy fishes have to do with it? Also, what are rosy fishes?” I asked.
“They’re rare creatures, limited to about five or six sanctuary areas in Cerix’s oceans and seas. They stick together in large banks, and their nutritional value is insanely high. Their scales are reddish and pink, shaped more or less like rose petals. When they try to defend themselves from a larger predator, those scales rise up, making them look like actual roses. It’s a weird effect, but it works. Hence the name.”
“You mentioned nutritional value,” Taeral replied. “What made that so important?”
“A single fish can feed a Cerixian for the entire week,” Eira said. “There is something in the meat of rosy fish that sates any adult Cerixian for up to seven days. That’s why they’re so precious and protected. There used to be more of them, but they’ve been having reproduction issues for the past couple of centuries. Their numbers have dwindled, and their habitats have been declared sacred and untouchable by any Cerixian.”
Fallon sucked in a breath. “Guys… There’s more.” He scoffed, shaking his head in amazement. “Again, it got triggered by something that Eira said, this time, about rosy fishes. I’ve got snippets of a conversation between Kabbah and Brendel… quite recently, in fact.”
“As in, post-Blackout?” Taeral asked.
The vampire-fae nodded. “Kabbah doesn’t know where Eirexis is, exactly, on Cerix. He told us the truth there. But I have a feeling he knew without actually knowing it.”
“I’m confused,” Medina mumbled.
“You and me both, sister,” Herakles replied dryly.
“Brendel said something to Kabbah,” Fallon muttered, frowning as he went over the images in his head. “She said she threw the pieces of Thieron over the tallest mountains… and, hold on, I’ve got it… and that of the three, Eirexis will be the toughest to find. The rosy fishes have made a home out of it. Yeah, that’s what she said. That the rosy fishes have made a home out of Eirexis.”
Silence settled across the round table as we all stared at Fallon. Even he couldn’t believe the treasure trove of hidden information that Kabbah had left inside his head—whether he’d done it willingly or not was a mystery, but it didn’t matter. It was a much-needed break.
Lumi took a deep breath, which she released slowly, pensively. “She threw Eirexis over the tallest mountain, and it became home to rosy fishes… it might sound cryptic, but I think it’s actually very telling.”
As the pieces of the puzzle began to take their rightful places in our group memory, ideas began to spring up. Eira was the first to speak after a long pause. “We need the sites that are closest to tall mountains and rosy fish sanctuaries, then. Right?”
“I’ll need to look into it and confirm, regarding the sanctuaries,” Medina replied. “I don’t know them by heart, but the empire’s biologists surely will.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just pinpoint the sites that are close to mountains and oceans?” Raphael asked. “Surely, such geographical features rarely get together like this.”
“Rosy fish aren’t just saltwater creatures. They live in fresh water, too,” Eira replied. “We shouldn’t overlook the inland sites.”
Taeral pointed at the three locations we’d previously agreed on. “We may as well start here, where Eira pointed,” he said. “In the meantime, Medina can update us on the other possible locations.”
“Great. Let’s go, then,” I chimed in, undoubtedly excited about this. Fallon’s weird memory spurts creeped the heck out of me, but I couldn’t deny their usefulness. Memory residue wasn’t uncommon when possessions occurred, though we’d never heard of a Hermessi leaving such snippets behind. It probably had to do with Fallon’s rare hybrid nature.
“Hold on,” Eira said. “The sanctuary I showed you isn’t close enough to a mountain for it to fall within our search parameters.”
“And I need to notify the site guards, first,” Medina said, giving Taeral a stern look. “The emperor will also be expecting you all for dinner tonight. I suggest you let me make the proper arrangements before you head out, for your safety and ours.”