"A-Are you sure it does not trouble you, Sir Draukr?"

"It is fine. I have carried Heroes and men who stood taller than mountains on my back before. My only complaint now is..."

Draukr let out a smoky sigh as he adjusted the body on his shoulders.

"That I wished I carried one who is worthy."

Stefan's limbs were limp, his body slack and completely flaccid like a sack of potatoes.

The three of them climbed down the steep drop while Draukr hovered beside them in the air. Each beat of his wings sent a chill breeze over them. Semilia was clearly trying her best to be polite and not shout at the Dragon, but her annoyance was written all over her face and the way she kept biting her top lip with her teeth and the glares she threw over her shoulder didn't really help her hide it. He did his best to not annoy her any further. But he really wanted to complain to her about how the rope is cutting into him and that it burns. He looked at the person that kept tugging on the rope on the way down. She wasn't really used to climbing and he could tell it by the way she kept using the rope as a thing to pull whenever she's anxious.

"Fucking Hells! One more fucking tug on the rope and I'll kick yer face, Sirius!"

"N-Not me! Not me! Riel!"

"Sorry."

Semilia growled as the load on his waist lighten.

He looked down to see Riel slowly descending and trying her best to reach for any foothold near her. The Mage stretched out her leg. She tried to step on a rock that jutted out of the wall only for it to slip beneath her. She screamed, and a constricting pain around his waist made Sirius scream as well. The rope that tied the three of them together pulled him away from the wall while he desperately tried to cling onto the wall with his claws. Semilia shouted a curse, and he found himself falling at least a dozen feet down on the cold, hard floor that waited for him below. The air in his lungs was squeezed out of him as he landed on his back and he writhed on the ground in agony with wide eyes. Semilia landed just beside him on her feet with a graceful pose.

The Low-Elf threw down the rope she tied to her waist and clicked her tongue. He tried to smile while he glanced at her and at Riel, who sprained her foot lightly in the fall. Semilia breathed out through her nose as she knelt beside him. Draukr landed beside them softly. Stefan groaned in his sleep while Draukr glanced at Sirius. He flashed the Dragon a smile while he tried his best to get on his feet. He coughed a few times, no blood but pretty deep coughs that made him tear up. Semilia helped him up while Draukr simply continued to walk. Sirius clung onto Semilia's arm while he examined himself to see if he's got any broken bones, sprained ankles, or anything of the sort.

"You're fine. I see some rope burns on ya' but nothin' too bad."

"Hrrr... Back hurts. Butt hurts also."

"Suck it up, it'll probably bruise but it's no big deal."

Semilia said dismissively as she adjusted the bow on her shoulder.

He grumbled but said nothing else while he clutched the bags on his belt. They walked, Semilia in cool silence while he limped in silent pain. Sirius sighed as he uncorked a low-grade Health Potion and drank it as he walked beside the Low-Elf. His crimson orbs flashed in the dark when the floating orb of light passed them by. It zipped quickly. Right, left, around Riel and through Draukr's legs, the light was hard to track but it was fun to watch. Draukr's light—a beautiful ball of light that changed colors and looked like a ball of warm, fuzzy moss—bobbed beside him unlike the other ball of light. He tilted his head at the sight.

"He loooks just like the stories my father told us."

Semilia whispered.

"Dragons and Fae. He says there were many of 'em back in Alfheim and that they lived in the magic woods there or whatever. Well, at least that's what his folks and their folks used to say. Look! He's even carryin' a fucking hero on his shoulders."

Semilia snorted out a laugh. He couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Wonder if all Dragons look like him."

"Oh, some are some much, much more terrible."

Draukr said as he turned his head towards them with a smile.

"You are lucky I am one of the less terrible ones."

"If that is your fucking version of a joke, you need better ones."

Draukr's smile vanished instantly at Semilia's words.

"By the way, just a quick question, but do you have a pot of gold or something stashed away somewhere?"

"I have a hoard, not a damned pot of- I am a Dragon, not one of the Faefolk!"

He hissed, his eye twitching a bit in anger.

There was a snicker from beside him. Semilia smiled a cheeky smile as she walked in a carefree waltz through the now spacious area of the cave. Her azure eyes shone when the orb of light passed by her face. She waved away the ball of light, but it playfully flew at her. Like an angry Starseed Bee, it chased and chased after her and smacked against her face. She laughed as she flicked away the ball of light. She poked at the ball of light as it bobbed up and down beside her, and she smiled a bit when it whizzed by her. It was alive. Yet, it was also not alive. It was just a Spell, cast by a Dragon to light the way yet...

"Don't you find it strange, Sirius? I sense no trace of Summoning Magic and it's clearly not a sentient construct yet it acts like it has a life of its own."

"Does it?"

"No. It is just that. A simple [Light] Spell cast in the shape of an orb."

Riel said with the faintest of smiles as the ball of fuzzy light settled on the tip of her hat.

"If this is just a "simple" spell to you, I'm pretty impressed."

Semilia said as she prodded at Riel's hat.

"I've read about Draconic Magic. It was said that those who learn it become powerful Mages. To those who excel at it, they become powerful Archmages. And to those who master it, they become spellcasters without peer for they stand at the pinnacle."

"Poetic words that hold little truth."

Draukr scoffed and said with a slight frown.

"Draconic Magic is not the pinnacle of magic, but it looks so when viewed from the perspective of ants. But mastery of Draconic Magic is the gateway to the realm of True Magic."

"True Magic?"

"Magic beyond any being in this world. Beyond even immortals such as Dragons and Fae, and beyond even those who are chosen as the Champions of the beings that wield such magic. For True Magic is the force that created the very cosmos itself. Draconic and Fae Magic are pale imitations in the face of such magics but they are powerful nonetheless."

Draukr said.

"I know of only two people, a Dwarf and a Halfling, whom I consider as close to discovering what True Magic was. Their names, although forgotten by history, I hold in my memories for they are spellcasters without peer."

Just as Draukr said those words, they heard a trickle of water from up ahead.

"Oh, it seems we are almost there."

They blinked and looked around the cave.

Draukr was right. The walls of the cave were now slightly visible and there was a faint light that came down from the end of the chamber. The piles of rock everywhere had moss growing on their surfaces. There was also the faint sound of wind as it blew inside the cave. Sirius took in a deep breath to catch a whiff of any danger that may or may not be present. He immediately pinched his nose at the scent of moss and Wyvern musk. Semilia took out her knife and Riel raised her staff, but Draukr raised a hand. His wings flapped behind him and he looked ahead of them with his usual steely gaze. He took in a deep breath as well and his face scrunched up as well. He let out a low growl but he eased his tensed stance.

"It's fine, Goblin. It is simply how Wyvern's mark that which is theirs. Though I must warn you, the stench shall only grow stronger from here."

"Graaaaaah!"

Sirius shouted when Semilia wiped her dirty hand all over his cloak.

"Sorry 'bout that."

"Aaaaaaaaah?!"

He whimpered as he stared at the smudge of dirt on his brown cloak. The sight of the small stain of Wyvern droppings made his heart drop.

Riel didn't fare any better as well. The hem and bottom of her grey robes and black boots were now caked in dirt and he could see tears in the corners of her eyes. The exit to the cave lay ahead of them. 20, 30 feet away, it was a giant triangle shape that lay at the top of an incline covered with moss, plants, and Wyvern and bat waste. There was also a spring flowing into the cave from outside and it settled in a basin just beside some round rock formations. All three of them locked onto the small pool of water.

He dashed for it. The constant flow of water into the basin meant it was kept clean, but the same could not be said for the area around the raised basin. Filled with fetid and stagnant water, it would be a nasty thing for someone to fall into one of the shallow pools of septic water. He nimbly jumped from rock to rock, a wide smile on his face. Semilia followed closely behind him. For someone twice his height, she moved fast and agile! If he were to slow down, that would mean he had to make do with Semilia's bathwater when she's done. And by the look and stench of her clothes and body, he didn't really want to share with anybody.

"[Shadow-"

"Not on my fuckin' watch!"

He yelped as a blur passed him by through the air. The Low-Elf smiled as she flew through the air, legs and arms outstretched like an animal mid-leap. His eyes widened as Semilia passed him by-

And leapt away as she landed on one of the nasty pools.

"Too bad-"

"Fuckin' bitch! Aha!"

Smelly but not as bad as he thought, he was drenched in algae and water as Semilia dragged him into the pools she found herself in.

"Gotcha'!"

At that moment, Semilia climbed out quickly and jumped into the large, natural, stone basin filled with cold water and splashed around some. She laughed as she sprayed some water on his face while also washing off the grime, dirt water, and the stench on her in the basin. He looked up, angry and huffing mad. He puffed out his cheeks while Semilia scrubbed off the grime on her face and hair. Her azure orbs gave him only a moment's bit of attention before she went back to washing herself off in the large basin.

"You can wash yourself off after I'm done."

"Are the two of you done here?"

A cold, flat voice spoke to them from above as a shadow fell over them. The two of them looked up as Draukr hovered over them, an unconscious Stefan over his shoulder and a curled up Riel in one hand.

"Hi Sem, hi Sirius."

"There is a pond outside and a fresh spring from the mountains where you can wash yourselves off."

Draukr clicked his tongue at them while he carried off the two adventurers.

Semilia sat there, silent. She looked at him while he climbed onto the rocks. Semilia climbed out of the now dirty pool and followed him in silence. He nudged her in the side. She nudged back. There was an odd feeling in his chest, a very strange feeling. It's that feeling of sadness but also a feeling of slight excitement with a mix of joy when someone chastises you but not harshly since you only did something childish. It was that feeling of being told off by someone important along with your friend for doing something stupid. He smiled. Then, he started to chuckle softly to himself. Beside him, Semilia giggled as they climbed up the incline that led to the mouth of the cave. In the distance, he heard a yelp and a loud splash.

The two of them climbed out of the cave and watched as Riel fumbled around in the water while Draukr set down Stefan by the side of the pond. The Dragon's usual expression of blankness cracked with amusement at the sight of Riel. Her robes sagged under the weight of all the water it had absorbed and the large hat she wore drooped over her face. He felt a breeze by his side. The spot where Semilia stood was now empty, and there was a shout and the sound of branches being broken as a figure jumped out of the trees. He heard Draukr hiss and a giant splash of the cold water drenched his clothes. A head covered with green hair popped out of the pond, laughing as she sprayed some more water on the Dragon and the Mage beside her.

He stared at his dirty clothes. Sniffed. He recoiled a little and he stared at the two girls spraying water at a Dragon while he shielded himself with his wings. Semilia and Riel laughed while Stefan slowly rose from behind Draukr with a confused and curious expression. The little Slime beside him had grown into a small ball of water. Clean water. He took a look at the little Slime as she sucked up some of the liquids in his boot and cleaned it in her body then he looked back at the four beside the pond. Slowly, a smile crept up to his face as he bent. With a cry that made even Draukr turn his head, he stormed out of the woods and threw Miu with his entire weight behind the throw.

The Slime splattered all over Semilia's face and sent her back into the pond with a loud splash.

"Hi Stefan!"

He shouted as he passed by the dazed Stefan and dove into the pond.

"What the fuck."

Stefan muttered softly as he watched Semilia dodge Riel's [Water Splash] Spell. He blinked at the sight. After a while, he laid back down, groaned, then decided to splash around in the water as well.