Joan

Chapter XXXV

In the thick of the moment, I didn't think we went that far downstream, but as Nimu points out, the river was faster than I thought and in the confusion of it all no one was really thinking too much about how far it was taking us.

"I hope they're all still waiting for us," Nimu says.

"You and me both."

I really hope we're not doing the old miss-each-other-by-a-hair maneuver because I might have to say screw it and go on without them.

But no, no, no, that's not the mentality of a leader. I have to be- God help me- optimistic and crap.

While I swallow this whole positive thinking pill, I keep my promise to Nimu and explain as much as I can about the pieces I keep finding. I leave out a lot of stuff but cover my bases enough for her to get a vague, general idea.

"So you already have three pieces, how many more do you need?" She asks.

"Not a clue, but they'll pop up."

As long as there's trouble there'll be a piece.

"What do you think they lead to?"

I shrug. "I dunno, something good I hope."

"May I see it?"

At this, I look at her and hesitate. Now, it's not that I don't trust her- because I do- it's just I have this irrational worry that if anyone but myself handles this puzzleamabob then they might lose it and the world will burst into flames or some shit like that. But I'm building trust here, so trying not to convey my previous delay, I hand it over like it's no big deal.

She's quiet for a bit as she inspects the object, studying it like it's some rare artifact instead of a common, glorified puzzle, key looking thing. I notice the increasing furrow of her brow as she looks it over.

"This is Tymos' doing, isn't it?" She asks, looking up from the object now.

God, how am I supposed to answer something so pointed? I knew I should have kept my mouth shut.

I'm usually a very good BS artist, but I can't seem to find anything to deflect the situation with her staring at me like that.

"I mean," I clear my voice and practically snatch the thing back to pocket it. "I can't rule it out."

Even with this open-ended response, Nimu has her mind made up.

"It is, this has his touch written all over it."

"But maybe," I begin half-heartedly. "This isn't his doing. I know, this seems like his MO, but we can't rule other possibilities out."

Nimu's not hearing it, though. She knows- just like I do- that these pieces are sent from him for some grander purpose in this stupid game. This discovery on her end just opens up a whole new can of worms- she might start piecing everything together. If there's one person in the entourage that could sniff out the truth, it's Nimu with her sharp eye and natural cynicism. As fun as that is, though, she doesn't realize how close to the water she's getting and, like a line from a song I know fondly, she better back away from the water before she drowns.

"No, this is exactly the type of thing Tymos would do," She scowls.

Knowing I won't be able to persuade her otherwise, I try to move on, not wanting to seem suspicious in doing so.

"Well, that's going to have to wait until we find the others. They seriously better be where we left them."

Thankfully, the topic of Tymos and his games is dropped and I can breathe a bit easier. I just hope she doesn't blabber on about the pieces to the others once we see them again because that's just what I'll need, everyone riding my ass about some mystery puzzle.