Sabyne refuses to say anything and the tension is still simmering in the air. He runs really fast, despite carrying myself, his bag, and the food we’d grabbed. It feels like I’m on a roller coaster hurling through the trees.

I’m all for roller coasters but this ride is making me nauseous. I’m about ready to puke when Sabyne finally stops and sets me on my feet. He then motions for me to follow him as if nothing happened.

Perhaps it’s the dizzying effect of that rush through the trees but for once I can’t bring myself to say anything. Instead I numbly follow Sabyne through the forest. He seems to know which direction to head in so I trust his instincts. After all how many creepy tree houses could there be in this forest? It doesn’t even occur to me to ask him how he knows where to go.

After about thirty minutes of silence Sabyne stops and sighs again. The look he’s giving me is exactly the same as when Elfcup wants a treat. Somehow I don’t think Sabyne wants a treat.

“Just bear with me Aether. There are many things I cannot explain just this instant. However, I assure you that I am your ally.” Alright that’s a pretty serious comment. His look is so pleading, his words so sincere that I can’t bring myself to question him and so I nod. His mouth pulls back in that strange grin again.

“Hey, I just realized that we left Sir Flies behind.” I say, suddenly remembering that I haven’t seen the little guy since I first thought Sabyne was going to eat me.

“Are you speaking of that irritating Dipteran?”

“The what now?”

“The Dipteran, flying pest?” Sabyne asks. Flying pest could certainly describe Sir Flies so I nod.

“My stars did you actually socialize with that creature?” Sabyne actually looks horrified, which is a strange look on a giant lizard.

“Yeah, we were friends.” Sabyne is shaking his head at me.

“You know those things will eat anything right? Even their own kin…and you say you were…oh goodness, will humans befriend anything?” I gulp, but Sir Flies had seemed so…helpful.

“You should avoid the Dipteran’s in the future, yes,” I nod, “good, good, then shall we go up?”

“Huh?” We’re here already. Why does seem like it took less time to find our way back here than it did before? Then again I didn’t know where I was going wondering about alone. I was just following Sir Flies.

Sure enough the tree house is far above us. There’s just one difference. At the base of the tree nestled in the ground fuzz is a grappling hook, my grappling hook. After all I don’t think anyone else would leave a green grappling hook here…but wasn’t that still in the…

“Raylen?” I call out. Maybe it fell out. Maybe I knocked it out. Maybe Raylen threw it out in anger...there are so many maybe’s but my gut twinges. Something doesn’t feel right.

But surely, knowing Raylen she must’ve just dumped my pack out the door. My eyes scan the ground fuzz for anything else, but the grappling hook is the only thing I can see.

I need to get up there. The nagging feeling that something is extremely wrong won’t leave me. It’s eating away at my insides, twisting my thoughts into knots.

I wrap the end of the rope around myself and get ready to toss the hook up the tree when Sabyne comes up behind me.

“Aether…what exactly are you doing?” He cocks his scaly head to the side and points to one of the veins.

“I’m going to climb back up.” I say. Sabyne chuckles and reaches around to grasp one of the veins.

“The vents can take us up much faster.” He says. I watch as the vein…he called it a vent, I want to ask about that but I feel like there’s no time. The larger vent in his hand little tendrils begin to wrap around his clawed hand, looking like strands of hair. He wraps another clawed hand higher up and then lifts up a foot to the vent. It looks almost like the vents are trying to eat him. He reaches for me with a third hand and lifts me up as easily as he did before.

Sabyne begins to move, almost like he’s wading through the vents and surprisingly we’re rushing up the tree, shooting up faster than that ride Acrophobia at Six Flags. Our ascent is stopped when Sabyne stops, as if he was simply taking a leisurely run and just stopped to catch his breath.

“Our little friends here have a quirk, when pulled from their host they’ll adapt to whatever is holding them.” I’d normally be remarking on the strangeness of Sabyne’s explanation and quick hack for getting back to the tree house but I’m distracted by the fact that the door was swaying in open air, and the empty room. Stones, jewels, and glass vials shattered as if a whirlwind has torn through them.

Raylen’s Gone.