Vessra sat at the edge of the platform, legs dangling over the dark water.
Behind her, Rex was doing what he did best: pointing at Lilee's blueprints with a charcoal stick and calmly dismantling her assumptions.
"This part's fine," Rex said. "This too. Oh—this angle is actually really clever."
Lilee beamed.
"But," Rex continued, tapping another section, "this load transfer assumes the supports don't flex. Which they absolutely will. So if you reinforce here and here, you won't get catastrophic shear failure."
Lilee blinked. "That… actually helps."
"I try," Rex said.
Vessra barely heard them.
She wasn't looking at the supports.
She was looking at the water.
No—feeling it.
Her eyesight was… decent. Blurry at the edges, uncomfortable in the low glow of the moon. But her other senses were sharper than knives. Sound. Vibration. Pressure.
And something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Not the supports. Not the house.
Something beneath the water.
The sea was calm. Too calm. No current disturbance. No normal marine movement. No life brushing against the Star-Rot residue clinging faintly to the platform.
Just… mass.
A presence.
Her sculk—no, Star-Rot—tendrils twitched faintly along her arms, reacting without her permission. The sensation crawled up her spine like cold fingers.
Is it more Star-Rot? she wondered.
It felt similar.
But heavier.
Darker.
She considered saying something.
Her gaze locked onto the water, unblinking, her focus narrowing until the world around her faded. The surface reflected the stars—but the reflection felt wrong, warped somehow, as if the water was swallowing the light instead of reflecting it.
"Vessra?"
Lilee's voice snapped her out of it.
She inhaled sharply.
The sky had darkened. Full night now. The moon hung low, silver and uneasy.
"You okay?" Lilee asked, walking closer.
Vessra nodded too quickly. "Yeah. I'm fine."
She stood, brushing off her clothes. Whatever it was… she didn't have enough certainty yet.
They walked back toward the campfire.
Rex was crouched near it, flipping something over a pan. The smell hit them instantly—rich, savory, unmistakable.
"Food's ready," Rex said. "Steak."
Lilee took one immediately. "You are officially forgiven for criticizing my blueprints."
Vessra hesitated, then accepted one as well. She took a cautious bite.
"…Okay," she admitted. "That's good."
They settled around the fire. The flames crackled softly, pushing back the dark just enough to feel safe.
Lilee, chewing thoughtfully, broke the silence.
"So," she said, "what's the strangest situation you've ever been in?"
Rex looked up. "Oh no."
"What?" Lilee said. "Conversation starter."
She swallowed. "I once got into a full-on debate with a magic scholar over whether coffee counts as a soup or a drink."
Rex stared at her. "How does that even happen?"
"I genuinely don't know," Lilee said. "It just… escalated."
Rex shook his head. "That's horrifying."
Lilee grinned and turned to Vessra. "Your turn."
Vessra thought for a moment.
"I watched a dog," she said slowly, "one-on-one a bear."
Rex blinked. "And?"
"The dog won."
Silence.
"…That must've been a very strong dog," Rex finally said.
"Or a very stupid bear," Lilee added.
They laughed.
Lilee turned to Rex. "Alright, your turn."
Rex leaned back. "Okay. A few weeks ago, I took a commission to investigate weird weather and lightning at the top of a mountain."
"So far, normal," Lilee said.
"It turned out to be a wizard and a golem doing some kind of… charging ritual."
Lilee raised an eyebrow. "Weird."
"You can imagine my confusion," Rex continued, "when they immediately tried to kill me."
"…Oh."
"Yeah. I wasn't expecting that either."
"And?" Lilee asked.
"Well," Rex said casually, "I won. Killed them. Found out they were part of a cult."
Lilee choked slightly on her food. "Excuse me?"
"Yeah. That cult also almost killed me."
Silence again.
"…Okay," Lilee said slowly. "I think you win."
Rex nodded. "Yeah, probably."
Vessra, who had gone very still, lifted her head.
"…Do you know what that cult was called?" she asked.
Rex thought for a moment. "I believe it was the Crimson Cult. Why?"
Her chest tightened.
That name.
It scraped against something buried deep in her memory—half-formed images, pain, experiments, chanting she couldn't fully recall.
She shook her head. "No reason."
Rex frowned slightly but let it go. "They even had portals."
Lilee perked up instantly. "Portals?"
"Yeah. Well," Rex added, "assuming they were portals and not just… magical swirling things."
"That'd be useful," Lilee muttered.
Vessra exhaled slowly.
"…Okay," she said. "I need to say this."
Both of them looked at her.
"There's something in the water."
Rex tilted his head. "That's good you sensed it. But… is that bad?"
"What do you mean?" Lilee asked.
"Well," Rex said, "what if it's just one of Vessra's… friends? Or something Star-Rot related but harmless?"
Vessra's voice hardened. "No."
They both froze.
"That thing isn't normal Star-Rot," she said. "It's too… dark."
Rex frowned. "Dark?"
"Yes."
Lilee looked between them. "Okay. I feel like I'm missing something here."
Rex nodded. "Yeah. Me too."
The fire popped loudly.
Out beyond the light, the water remained perfectly still.
Too still.