The Air Temple was located somewhere in the mountain range behind Lake Fear. Qube had asked Sewer Bard about it as they all jogged towards the Fishing Village. He hadn’t known much; apparently no one had been in contact with the people of the mountain villages in quite some time.

With this in mind, Qube had opened up “A Gentleman’s Guide to the Seven Temples.” The crackling sound it made as it opened made her shiver in delight. The first page she opened it to was even the Air Temple!

She put her hand on the page, and felt the knowledge flow into her.

The Air Temple, it read, is home to many different species. A discerning gentleman would do well to avoid offending any of the local populace, as they are all known for their extreme pride.

Such insight! Qube heaved a sigh as she contemplated how best to wrangle the Chosen One through such a diplomatic quagmire as this promised to be. Maybe she could talk him into letting Sewer Bard take the lead.

And then talk the other side into actually paying attention to Sewer Bard.

Once they reached the Fishing Village, the Chosen One dropped out of his meditative travel mode, and refocused back into reality. He looked at the mountain range in the distance. Several grey-blue mountains burst sharply out of the earth, their peaks all hidden in thick, black swirling clouds. Occasionally lightning would pierce through the cloud, a momentary stab of brightness.

It was not, Qube had to admit, the most inviting of sights.

“Okay,” the Hero said, rolling back his shoulders. “Looks like we can either skirt around the outside of the lake, going through all the mangrove swamp/woods stuff, or just swim across.” He looked at Qube, and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “Which would you prefer?”

“Whichever you would like! They’re both good options,” Qube chirruped.

“Yes, but which would you prefer, and why?” the Chosen One reiterated.

Oh. This was probably a test. Qube gulped, and tried to analyse the options tactically.

”Through the woods,” she said eventually. “If we go via Lake Fear, we risk being unable to get away easily if we happen across a group of hostile animals or some such. We would have the water to our backs, and if they can also swim they would have the advantage over us. Whereas at least in the woods we know we can run away.”

“Fair,” the Chosen One said, and, without further questioning, started down the path through the woods.

“Was that right?’ Qube asked, hurrying to walk beside him. “Did I pass?”

The Chosen One reached out and ruffled her hair. She gave a small squeak of dismay, and quickly fixed her hair back into place.

“Chosen One! That’s not an answer!” she said admonishingly.

“Nothing to pass or fail,” he said casually. “I was just curious.” Qube narrowed her eyes at him, but let the topic go. This was probably dev-related things that he couldn’t talk about. So she needed to be patient and respectful.

Even if she really, really wanted to know if she’d passed.

The woods were surprisingly quiet as the party walked towards the base of the mountains. As they got closer, a thick mist rose up from the lake and spilled over the ground, hiding the undergrowth. She would have thought the area perfect for all kinds of creepy-crawlies to lurk, but instead they were left utterly alone as the mountain’s shadow stretched out and slowly swallowed the light around them.

The deeper into the darkness they walked, the more Qube started to understand why they hadn’t been attacked. No sane creature would want to live in the shadow of such a stark, looming structure. The mist thickened, until they could scarcely see in front.

“Chosen One, we’re going to lose one another!” Qube said. She felt like her words were being eaten by the mist — they didn’t seem to travel.

“Don’t worry about it,” the Chosen One said from somewhere up ahead. “There’s no way it would split us up like that.”

What was he talking about? The mist absolutely had the potential to split them up! Even if he’d marked Sexy Screamy Spider Lady, what about the others? Before she could correct him, though, she felt a sudden lurch, like she’d missed a step. Stumbling, she caught herself just as they stepped out of the thick mist and revealed…

A beautiful mountain range. Several peaks erupted from the bank of dark clouds, like a series of wintery islands in a black sea.

What? Qube blinked several times, trying to figure out what had happened. Had they hit some kind of teleportation portal? Had they somehow walked up an entire mountain without her noticing? There was no way she could have missed climbing a mountain!

Then she noticed the half-a-dozen massive beasts sunbathing on the boulders in front of them.

“[Lesser Shield]!” she cried, instantly protecting the Chosen One. He, however, hadn’t even drawn his Sacred Sword. “Chosen One?” she asked, confused. These creatures were huge, and, from the wicked razor-sharp-looking beaks, very much meat eaters.

“Nah, it’s okay. The music is calm,” the Chosen One said.

“What music?” Qube asked. The Chosen One froze for a second.

“Uh, it’s a term I made up for… the feeling of the mood, you know? See how none of them are acting aggressive? So it’s like calm music. Yes. That’s it,” the Chosen One said.

“Oh, that makes sense,” Qube shifted out of her defensive stance, flustered. Her embarrassment only grew when she noticed that none of the other party members had even flinched when confronted with the giant monsters. It was times like this she keenly felt her lack of combat experience compared to them — they must have all immediately picked up on the ‘music’ of the moment.

“Do not be embarrassed,” Definitely Bad Guy, who had been watching her during the conversation, said quietly. “It is far better to overreact, than under-react, in potential combat situations.”

“Thank you,” Qube said in a subdued voice. “How did you know that they were safe? How do I quickly know if things are safe in the future?”

Definitely Bad Guy paused, similar to how the Chosen One had earlier. But while the Chosen One’s hesitation had seemed guilty and vaguely frantic, the Mage’s silence seemed more thoughtful.

“I could not exactly express the thought process behind it,” he said at last. “It is entirely possible that it is not happening at a conscious level. Rather, it is several small immediate things I noticed and, while you assessed them as a threat, I assessed them as neutral.”

“An awfully wordy way of saying ‘I don’t know’ don’t you think, honey?” Sexy Screamy Spider Lady said, leaning over and interrupting their tet-a-tet.

“There is nothing wrong with being precise,” Definitely Bad Guy said stiffly.

“How did you know they weren’t dangerous, Sexy Screamy Spider Lady?” Qube asked, her curiosity distracting her from the tension between two of her party members.

“Oh, I have no idea,” the Hunter replied casually. “It’s just instinct. You’ll get it eventually.”

“I fail to see how that answer is any different from mine,” Definitely Bad Guy said, frowning. Sexy Screamy Spider Lady tossed back her hair.

“It was shorter, and sweeter,” she said seductively. “Just like me. While yours was pompous and boring. So… just like you.”

“Sexy Screamy Spider Lady!” Qube admonished her. “That was so rude!” The Hunter and the Mage were too busy glaring at each other to pay any attention to her.

“Don’t you know there’s nothing a girl hates more than a guy who talks her ears off? Especially when her ears are so pointy and cute. Too much chatter will make them droop.”

Definitely Bad Guy looked stricken.

“Is… is that true?” he asked, all his confidence suddenly gone. “I have never heard of that!”

“Trust me,” Sexy Screamy Spider Lady purred. “I know women.”

“I suppose it would be foolish to argue against you having more experience with women than I,” the Mage Advisor reluctantly agreed. “Very well. There may be merit in what you say.”

“And if you want a woman, you’ll need to learn what she wants. And if you don’t prove yourself worthy, well, you’ll have me to contend with,” Sexy Screamy Spider Lady continued in the same seductive tone.

“Noted,” Definitely Bad Guy said, his eyes still narrowed as he looked at the giant arachnid.

“Hey,” the Chosen One said, distracting Qube before she could try and steer her compatriots’ strange conversation back to the original topic.

The group of beasts turned and looked at the Hero. They were an odd mix of creatures. They had the bodies of lions, with the heads of hawks, and massive wings. Qube had never seen anything like them.

“Oh hey, griffins. Neat,” the Chosen One said.

Qube suddenly remembered everything about griffins. There had never been any pictures, but she had read about griffins being messengers on epic adventures.

The largest griffin looked up as the Chosen One spoke, the very picture of dignified haughtiness.

“The little thing seeks us?” it asked. As it spoke, Qube noticed that its beak was serrated and its tongue forked. If this group of griffins had, indeed, attacked the party, it would have been a gruesome fight.

The Chosen One, rather than replying, took out a pair of miniature wings from his backpack and examined them.

“I’m supposed to try these now…” he murmured. He touched a button on the small wings and they suddenly appeared, Fighter sized, on his back. He laughed in delight and, without any further warning, sprung into the air.

“This. Is. Awesome!” he shouted as he shot up. He wasn’t flapping hard enough to gain any real altitude, but the wings seemed to be magically driving him up, higher and higher, until he suddenly twirled and they sprang out to their full width.

“Look!” he shouted, and swooped. His wings folded back as he dove towards the ground, then flared at the last moment, killing his momentum. “Did you see?” he asked Qube, flushed from excitement. “It’s so cool!”

“It would be very refreshing,” Qube agreed. “Especially on a warm day.”

The Chosen One just grinned at her and kicked off again, spinning back up into the sky.

Qube looked at him with a twinge of envy. Such immediate control over a whole new dimension — was there anything the Chosen One wasn’t good at? He flew between the two suns, the twin lights blazing behind him. Qube didn’t even blink as she watched him soar.

“All right birdos, what’s the quest?” the Chosen One called down to the flock following his movements with their heads.

“The little thing thinks it can fly. It is clever. For a human.” The biggest griffin had a vaguely stilted way of talking, like it was unused to speech.

“Chosen One, can we try the wings?” Qube asked, her neck craned as she stared at him.

“Sure just — oh sorry, the suns must be hurting your eyes,” the Chosen One said, as he slowly glided to the ground. Qube blinked at him in confusion. “Unless they didn’t add that feature?” he continued, clocking her facial expression.

“Feature?” she asked.

“Clever human, that’s me!” he said, turning to the griffins. “Yup, Air Temple, wings, makes sense. What are you lot doing here, then?” Before the griffins could reply, he threw up a hand. “Actually, I just realised I don’t really care. Talk to Sewer Bard about it; he is all about the lore stuff.”

The Hero slapped a hand on the Bard’s back, staggering him.

“Isn’t that right, sing-song?” he asked cheerfully.

Sewer Bard straightened himself and cleared his throat.

“Yes, I do enjoy hearing about what is occurring. It is necessary for every Bard or Courtier to keep up to date, especially when information has been so sparse from an area. However, given this involves the Air Temple, and thus the fate of the world, I think it would be best if you tried paying attention,” Sewer Bard said, through slightly gritted teeth.

“Fine,” Chosen One said, throwing himself onto a rock. He waved at the griffins. “Give us your backstory.