“A locator Rune?” Caelmer asked in disbelief, staring down at the rough sketch in the dirt that Ahn’rah had drawn.

  It was two crossed lines with angled lines pointing to the inner corners in the shape of the letter V. There were also dots at the end of each line, as well as a large circle that encapsulated the entire thing. Despite the roughness in which Ahn’rah had scratched it out, somehow Cael was able to distinguish it, and he was glad for it.

  “Is it like the usual ones? Could we break it, or transfer it off of him?” He asked, trying and failing to mask his anxiety.

  “I mean, it’s a common enough Rune, but I’ve never heard of one being used to locate a person and working. It’s been tried before, sure, but without any way for it to be consistently powered, there’s nothing stopping the person with the Rune from just… Getting rid of the power source and rendering it inactive.” Caelmer mumbled, one of his four small hands coming up to his chin to rub at it in thought.

  Ahn’rah looked up to the other two Adatopian Thought-Bringers with them inside The Socket. The ruby-red woman, aptly named Carmine, gave a shrug, while the opalescent young man behind her- whose name was Vivi if Ahn’rah remembered correctly- continued to sort out the packs and satchels the three gathered. Neither seemed to have anything to contribute, so he instead looked back down at Cael.

  “He said he was a member-” he quickly corrected himself. “Property of The Autumn Court Royal Army.”

  “The Autumn Court doesn’t call their army royal.” Caelmer’s brow further knit in confusion.

  “They don’t?”

  Carmine cut in. “The Courts don’t tend to throw around words and such like that. They have an army, but from what we’ve been shown, it’s a bit small. Mostly archers, with some mages and spearmasters in the mix as well.”

  Ahn’rah’s brow narrowed. “When did you last see them?”

  “We were there two years ago.” Carmine replied.

  “So either the Golems were hidden away, or they’re a recent addition.” Caelmer mumbled, continuing to ponder the puzzle they had been given. “So The Autumn Court somehow found out a way to create self-powered Runes that can be applied on organic beings. They also found a way to power and puppeteer Golem armor with a person inside. But how would anyone survive all of that with the amount of Ley Energy the average Fae would have?”

  “Dullahan tend to have a larger pool of Ley Energy on average.” Carmine added with a nod. Caelmer shook his head.

  “Even then, it can’t be worth the cost. The Runeplate on the back of the Golem Daventio was in was complex, and likely needed a decent amount of steady power that a normal Dullahan couldn’t keep up with.”

  Ahn’rah gave a soft gasp and interjected. “But he isn’t a normal Dullahan. He said he was a ‘Generator’ for the Golems. Does that mean anything?”

  It was like the air had been sucked out of the room. Caelmer and Carmine were both staring up at him, slackjawed, and Vivi behind them had finally turned to look at him as well, having dropped one of the sacks he was carrying in shock. Suddenly Ahn’rah felt a bit embarrassed for not having shared this new word sooner.

  “You didn’t think to say that first?” Cael asked in disbelief.

  Ahn’rah put his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t know what it meant! I’d only heard the word once before in a report! What is it, is it rare?”

  “Is it RARE!?” Carmine was bewildered at his ignorance to say the least.

  “It’s a… Genetic condition of sorts.” Caelmer started, now beginning to trace new pictures in the dirt. First, a stick figure of a humanoid, with a little circle at its belly.

  “Normally, all people have their own pool of Ley Energy that they naturally have inside of them, right? It’s almost like a secondary life-force. It can vary from person to person how much they have. Some have very little or none at all, and can’t really cast magic or ‘feel’ energy or anything like that, but others have a larger pool that they can pull from. When that pool is empty, they have to recuperate, or recharge with Leystones or by resting on a Leyline.”

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  Caelmer then drew another stick figure, without a circle at the belly. Instead, the scholar drew a large, jagged-edged shape surrounding it. “Generators are born with a pool that is self-sustaining and huge. They have an immense amount of Ley Energy that can be difficult to control if they aren’t trained. To make it simple, they have more power, can use that power for longer, and can regain the power faster.”

  Ahn’rah listened to all of this and slowly shook his head in disbelief. “How come I’ve never heard of any of this?”

  “Because Dragons haven’t had any proven Generators in half a Millenia.” Carmine sighed. “We haven’t seen it much in us because we don’t reproduce at the same rate as Fae, and we’re not as social. Adatopians are also the only Dragons that really use any magic outside of their natural bodily abilities, like Topavaran Lightning.”

  “That, and The Trove Divers are brutes. They don’t exactly care about that sort of thing.” Vivi interjected, having continued to pack another satchel after situating himself closer to the conversation.

  Carmine turned her head to him with a glare. “Don’t say that, he’s right there.” she hissed, gesturing to Ahn’rah.

  Ahn’rah could only chuckle. “I don’t take any offense. He isn’t exactly wrong.”

  “Back on topic,” Caelmer spoke up again, pulling everyone’s attention back to him. “Daventio being a Generator could explain most of what we don’t know. A Generator could easily power a Golem consistently, and the amount of energy they naturally give off would be powerful enough for a locator Rune to possibly work.”

  “How could he have been so weak when he came out of the Golem then?” Ahn’rah asked, puzzled. “If he has enough energy to power it and can recover his own Ley Energy, then…?”

  Caelmer hesitated before giving a nod, coming to his own conclusion. “It’s likely because the Golem never stopped needing to be powered. We know from the Runeplate that the Golem is meant to go inert if it’s out of range from its counterpart that controls it. Meaning, Daventio was likely locked inside of that thing, with no water, for almost the entirety of the Dive. We don’t know, either, if he could recharge from Leylines while in that thing, and the lack of water could have also been a factor. And then being put in the Trove Moon…”

  “He being drained faster than he could recover.” Ahn’rah mumbled, his eyes wide. He had already thought that what Daventio went through was cruel enough, but to think that he went through it all while his power was continually sucked out of him… It was almost unimaginable. Like a parasite had been on his back, keeping him still and feeding off of him without any way for him to free himself.

  “That explains how fast those Leystones ran empty, too.” Caelmer sighed. “But he’s awake now, and seems to be on the mend, right?”

  Ahn’rah nodded. “I took him back to the den not long after we had our talk. He’s there with Turimiil now, hopefully resting. He justifiably seems to be having a hard time trusting us.”

  “Can’t blame him.” Vivi muttered, and Carmine gave him a light bop on the top of his head.

  “Hopefully his common sense will win out and he won’t make too much of a fuss about us bringing him along.” Caelmer motioned to one of the large leather satchels left empty. “We planned on having you use that one as a carrier for him. That way he’ll go unnoticed.”

  “Until his Rune activates, that is.” Ahn’rah muttered somewhat grimly.

  “We’ll figure that out before it gets that far.” Caelmer responded. Ahn’rah wasn’t sure he’d ever seen him look so determined. “First, we get you, Turimiil, and Daventio off of Topavara. We worry about any other hangups once we’re in the Aether and headed toward The Current.”

  Caelmer turned to look at the other two Thought-Bringers, taking a brief moment to tell them to finish up before walking toward the opening of The Socket with Ahn’rah.

  “Are you sure they won’t go around telling anyone else?” The Topavaran asked quietly once they were out of earshot.

  “I am. They’re loyal to the group, and neither of them have any real want to be involved with The Divers.” Caelmer reassured him, now staring out at the Trove Moon from where it sat in the sky. It loomed as a large, dark yet visible mass, blocking out the stars and Aetheric colors that lay behind it. “I’m more worried about you and Turimiil.”

  Ahn’rah followed his gaze, frowning at the sight of the black moon above them. “...I’m worried, too. If this doesn’t work, we won’t have any other chances.”

  A few minutes of silence passed with them both staring up at the moon that contained all of Hallath Kirr’s bloodied trophies and stolen baubles. Ahn’rah could feel a shiver run down his spine, one that couldn’t be blamed on the chilled night air. His brain began to concoct all of the worst-case scenarios, brewing up horrible thoughts of just what he and Turimiil’s lives would be brought to should they be caught.

  It wasn’t until Caelmer’s steady hand touched his arm that he realized he had begun to shake. He eventually managed to rip his eyes away from the Trove Moon to look down at his best friend. The small purple Adatopian was smiling up at him, a smile that seemed to make that chill under his scales lessen just a bit.

  “You’re gonna make it.”

  Ahn’rah blinked down at him, surprised by his words. “But, you just said-”

  “Forget what I said! I can be worried and sure that you’ll make it. All three of you!” Cael have a big, confident nod and stood up, stomping one foot against the grassy ground. “You’re going to get off of this pirate-infested rock and you’re going to go live your life with your beloved somewhere and have your own family that doesn’t pillage for fun!”

  Ahn’rah couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up out of his chest as he watched Caelmer give this impassioned ramble, holding a hand up to stop him from going any further. “Alright, alright, don’t get too far ahead of yourself, Cael.”

  “What? I know I’m right! You two are gonna find somewhere nice, where your future hatchlings can play and learn about normal, non-pirate things.” Cael chuckled, lightly shoving Ahn’rah’s arm, which refused to move against the smaller Dragon’s force.

  “I get it.” Ahn’rah gave a chuckle of his own and stood, stretching out his wings. “But we won’t be fast enough if I don’t head back and rest up before tomorrow.”

  Caelmer nodded, standing up as well and beginning to walk back toward the others. “Rest well, Ahn! We’ll take care of everything here! You’re all gonna make it, okay?”

  Ahn’rah watched him walk away for a moment before nodding and gliding out of The Socket, turning and ascending into the atmosphere to his own moon and its shining gray-white in the distance.

  “I hope you’re right, Cael.” he muttered before entering the Aether and breathing in its slightly sweet air.