Lindyss lay on a reclining chair, her feet dipped in the waters of the Fountain of Youth. By her side, there was a sleeping basilisk with cups and drinks placed on its back as if it were a table. The cursed elf was knitting a scarf, her knitting needles flashing at an imperceptible speed. Her eyes were closed, and her head was tilted back, facing the dark ceiling. It felt like it had been such a long time since she had last experienced such peace and quiet. In exchange for teaching E, the ex-king of the dwarves, some necromancy, she had him rule the country in her stead. One of her bats was following him, making sure the lazy king didn’t slack off, completely ruining the purpose of him learning necromancy to make his life easier.

As for Grimmy, he was busy training Alora, teaching her all about being a blood dragon or something along those lines. When Alora heard it would be painful, she begged Grimmy to go back home to her grandmother, but when Grimmy didn’t relent, all Alora could ask for was some privacy while she suffered. As such, Lindyss was expelled—not that she minded. With Tafel and Vur gone, off on an adventure pretending to be Prika’s mate, Lindyss found herself all alone in her dark cave with her basilisk. She loved it. A sigh escaped from her lips as she sank deeper into her chair, her fingers coming to a stop as she finished knitting her scarf.

Just as Lindyss took the scarf off her needles, an alarm rang. The basilisk’s eyes popped open, and it mewled at its owner. Lindyss retrieved the cups and drinks from its back, placing them on the floor, and the basilisk scurried off, its eight legs turning into a blur. It didn’t make a sound as it ascended a flight of stairs, and it fluffed itself up, flexing its muscles as it took on an imposing posture. It closed its eyes, waiting for the invaders to open the door to its room. There was a banging sound, and something smacked the basilisk’s head. Its eyes shot open, and its gaze landed on the offending object: a fragment of the stone doors. The basilisk blinked before glancing at the entranceway. A massive golden eye with a black slit pupil was staring at it. A feminine voice said with a deep growl, “Bring the little elf out here, or I’ll go down there and pull her up myself.”

The basilisk bobbed its head up and down before fleeing down the steps. It tripped and stumbled halfway, tumbling to the floor like a ball. It bounced up as if nothing was wrong, and it ran to Lindyss’ side, pawing at her thigh. With one leg, it pointed at the stairs; then, it made a scary face and roared. Lindyss sighed upon seeing the basilisk’s actions. “Is it Grimmy?”

The basilisk shook its head. It scribbled on the ground, “The scary child’s mom.”

Lindyss raised her eyebrows before sitting up. She pulled her feet out of the Fountain of Youth and dried them with a towel that was on a rack nearby. With a wave of her hand, a pair of heels flew through the air from a shelf and landed in front of her. She slipped them on and climbed up the stairs. Upon entering the basilisk’s room, she saw the golden eye staring at her. “I greet the matriarch,” Lindyss said and lowered her head. What exactly did Vur’s mom want from her? “Did you need something from this lowly one?”

“Where’s Vur?”

Lindyss’ eye twitched. Is Vur your child or is he mine? She resisted the urge to say what she really wanted before shrugging. “I don’t know. The last time I saw him is when he went with Prika to visit her family.”

“Is that so…,” Sera muttered. “Prika’s quite unreliable; it’s no wonder why Vur’s signal went missing.”

Lindyss kept her mouth shut. After having spent so much time around dragons, she knew if she made a single sound, she’d be drafted into doing something she didn’t want to. If Vur was missing and Sera was looking for him, that pretty much guaranteed his safety. There wasn’t any need to take action.

The golden eye disappeared from the doorway, and a flash of blue scales entered Lindyss’ vision before it was replaced by the dungeon’s walls. “I guess I’ll have to go to Prika’s family then,” Sera said and lumbered away. She paused as if she were forgetting something.

Go away. Go away, Lindyss thought. She held her breath and maintained her silence as if she were a mouse frozen by a snake’s gaze. There was another step, and light poured into the room as the dragon stopped blocking the entrance. At that moment, the basilisk popped its head out and mewled at Lindyss, asking in its own way if the scary child’s mother was gone yet. Flames burned in Lindyss’ eyes as the sounds Sera was making stopped. The cursed elf glared at the basilisk, and it quickly covered its mouth with four of its legs. However, it was too late. Sera’s eye reappeared in the entranceway. “Little elf, you always seem to have free time. Come help me find Vur.”

A pained smile appeared on Lindyss’ face. “Can I refuse? I don’t look busy on the outside, but—”

“You can refuse, but I’ll eat you if you do,” Sera said. A tapping sound rang throughout the room as Sera drummed her claws against the walls from outside. “Have you made up your mind?”

Lindyss heaved a sigh. “I’ll help,” she said and hung her head but not before glaring at the guilty basilisk. “You know, there’s a whole bunch of other elves that also have nothing better to do. We can take them to find Vur as well.” After all, misery loves company.

Sera grunted. “Grimmy relocated them somewhere in the middle of a desert, and it’ll be a pain to find them. Why should I do that when I already have you? Raise a few skeletons or something. One of you is worth more than fifty elves.” Sera raised an eyebrow. “You seem displeased? Did defeating Kondra inflate your ego? Would you like trying to fight me as well?”

“No, I don’t dare fight against you, matriarch,” Lindyss said and lowered her head. It was a shame she didn’t have any strong souls to sacrifice; otherwise, she would’ve summoned all her bone dragons to teach this giant lizard a lesson.

Sera snorted. “Thought so.”