In the east, the town of Summer Pass was left behind, and above the rivers the trio flew, until a great waterfall was sighted.
CRYSTAL FALL
Æthelflæd was the one who asked to stop. She had a new bag full of glass vials and small compartments, almost all empty.
— Rest a bit. I'm going to look for ingredients.
— Are you going to make a potion? — Leofwynn was not feeling good about this, she feared the human's alchemy amounted to nothing but poisons and intoxicants. — If we don't hurry to get a cook, "that" could happen to us. — "that" in this case, with the vulcan pointing upwards, were the asteroid rings that were once the sacred three moons.
The asteroid rings created iridescent northern auroras as the day dawned, coloring the clouds with every hue.
— It has been there for eight thousand years, it can wait a few more. — drinking the last drop from her flask, Æthelflæd's smile vanished along with the end of the alcohol. — And we got a maid last year, I think that's good enough.
— How is one maid per year a good metric? — the vulcan wanted to argue, but the human dove into the brush, descending the slope below the waterfall.
Far from there, at the Demon King's Castle, Cynethryth was still asleep in the morning.
Cwenburg entered the lake water below, almost a hundred meters from the top of the waterfall, and there she splashed water at the serpentarium, which moved its wings causing a wave in response, in a playful exchange between the two.
After setting up camp, the vulcan dedicated herself to gathering twigs.
In a cave hidden behind the veil of waters, Æthelflæd collected from the moss on the wall, and descended the rocks as if on a natural staircase.
The light entered the erosion, and was deflected by the waters outside, creating the illusion that shades of blue moved in waves of light across the walls.
Climbing, below the salts dripping from cracks in the ceiling of the vast hidden chamber, many crystals were found, of dragon agave, of ixora, of red dracaena, of philodendron, and of diadem.
There existed the tranquil, verdant lake, whose water would serve for future distillations.
Taking the chance to relax, Æthelflæd lay down and floated on the calm waters that slowly carried her to the center. In the center of the green lake, she was sucked down, and passed through submerged caverns until being expelled at the final third of the cataract's fall, falling into the lake with Cynethryth, who was dozing in the waters, leaning against the serpentarium.
The vulcan, who was returning, near midday, carried many branches. She sighed, and pretended not to see Æthelflæd naked scrambling up the waterfall rock, after all, the alchemist's clothes were left at the edge of the green lake.
Far from there, Cynethryth was still sleeping through the afternoon. She lay on the floor of one of the castle rooms. The Demon King himself went to see if she was still alive, and she was, with him returning to his duties alongside the immortal.
The potato stew was prepared with local herbs, sassafras, paprika, and bay.
The three sat around the campfire, warmed and sweating due to Leofwynn's heat, devouring everything without looking around.
Cwenburg tasted it when served by the human, a spoonful, and the vomit of blood bathed the ground.
— This reminds me of a great story. — Leofwynn began, laughing a little before continuing. — In my land there was a cook named Bog, he was quite famous, and he was one of those men of the water.
— A triton? — Æthelflæd tried to understand, ignoring the fact that the unicorn girl's vomit reminded the vulcan of a "great story".
— No, those others, freshwater ones.
— An amphibian man?
— That's it, Cwenburg! An amphibian man. He had gills on his neck, and his whole body was sticky, you know, blue and black skin, dripping something mucous all the time. He was the cook at The Impaled Hawk Tavern. — while Leofwynn laughed alone, Cwenburg went back to eating the potatoes, vomiting more blood, which was ignored by the vulcan raising her voice. — He gave off a sulfuric odor of fermented sludge.
— I don't want to hear this story while I'm eating. — the human protested in vain, with Leofwynn continuing:
— The problem was his tears, they were the kind that when they fell on the ground, not much was left of what they touched. And his eyes teared a lot, because they needed to stay wet with swamp water.
Cwenburg vomited for the third time after the new spoonful of potatoes, and Æthelflæd could no longer not react:
— You don't have to eat this! Don't force yourself, I'll prepare something else for you.
— But, it's delicious. — Cwenburg's eyes were full of water, she truly seemed to enjoy the taste.
— Her stomach is sensitive, she always vomits blood when she eats something, even water.
— Even water! — perplexed, Æthelflæd thought of a solution. — I think it's better we look for someone specialized…
— No, all unicorns are like this. — Cwenburg explained, her cheeks flushed.
— All of them?
— You should see unicorn parties. Which reminds me of another good story, the harvest festival. There were about thirty unicorns in Cwenburg's village, and there were several tables outdoors, and when they started the feast…
— I don't want to know. — Æthelflæd stood up, and went to eat with her back to the two, sitting on the lakeshore, hearing occasional sounds from Cwenburg from time to time, with something wet dripping to the ground.
— Wait, so what happened to Bog? — the human inquired upon remembering, and turned to the two sitting side by side, with dusk painting them pink by the lake.
— He died.