The group is camped on the platform three hundred feet up. The inscription “they never came” is close-by. Rask has filled Alexis in on the watch. When he’s done, Alexis is quiet for a moment.
“I had a dream.”
He keeps his voice low.
“A thorough darkness. Then a red web in front of me. One thread vibrating, glowing slightly. Then I’m moving down it; following it. At the end of it, mist which I passed through. Couldn’t see anything, but I could feel stone all around. And weight above. A lot of it.”
“The mist thinned but never lifted. Utiog was there first. Beautiful, but badly wounded, and crowned in iron. She was moving slowly, haltingly, like every movement is painful.” He pauses. “Then another woman set against her. Middle-aged. A majestic queen, cloaked in smoke, so I never got her face. She was bound to her throne, and whatever was binding her was coming off Utiog. And she was fighting it. Fighting it hard.”
Alexis looks down and notices he has his holy symbol of Raiden in his hands.
“And above both of them, the Crone. Empty eye sockets with constellations in them. She towered over the whole scene. She was speaking to someone, but as a spectator I don’t know what she said.”
“When I woke up the ring and the tear are pulsing, seemingly in the same rhythm.” He glances up. “And the crone was there. Closer than in the dream. Then she faded. But she didn’t get any further away.”
He looks back at Rask.
“I’ll tell Carm when he’s up.”
He starts getting ready for his watch.
Rask listens carefully and looks at Alexis with care and concern. He responds quietly:
“Thank you for sharing this with me Alexis, carrying the Tear is no small burden… Three goddesses-in-one…”
Rask looks out at the valley behind them, then turns to the North, then back to Alexis.
“Boreas is his own god. As is Zephrus. Aelous is their father, and their ruler, to the extent that winds and gods can be ruled… but they are all their own gods…”
“I don’t get it, three gods in one? But I don’t need to, right?”
He asks hopefully.
Alexis smiles at Rask.
“We each have a role to play. You play your role very well. This puzzle is for Carm and myself.”
“I just wanted to let you know in case the dream faded by morning.”
Rask is a bit relieved.
“It’s good for us all to know what’s going on…” the warrior says with multilayered gratitude as he settles fully into his bedroll.
“The watch is yours Alexis.” He says somewhat formally as he closes his eyes and goes to sleep.