I woke up the next day to the light of the morning seeping in through the window, and swing myself out of bed. The sooner we finish the ogre the sooner I can get to the Edratchi. I thought to myself, putting my sword and pick back on as I replaced my faceplate.

As I tug on my boots I see Teal stir, uncurling from her place on the mattress. She stands up, looking across the room at me. “I hope you feel better now.” She said, stretching herself out as she stood up. “I’ll see you outside and bring you to your destination.” She said. How’s that going to work?

I shrug, walking out of my room after her and going down the steps to the common area. It was dead at this point, all the irregulars from yesterday chased away like morning fog. Numen awaited me, exuberant and glowing at the chance for another adventure. “Sorry, I was just restless. I finally get to stretch my legs again.” She said with a grin.

“That other girl already left, said she’d better take advantage of the daylight to make sure she reached in time. By the way, where did the dragon go?” Numen asked. “It went with you didn’t it?”

“I think it went hunting to keep up its strength, we should hear from it in time I think, it didn’t drop me far anyway.” I shrugged. As we approached the door I could hear a sudden stamping of feet from behind me. I turned to see Rince coming up behind us, he stopped in front of us, breathing heavily. “Are you alright Rince?” I asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“I’m… done…” He said between breaths. “Let me… come… with you.” I stared at him, bemused. “You guys are… going out to… deal with the ogre right?” I nodded, and he stood properly now, his breathing more stable and less deep. “I’ve finished my stuff, so I’m free now, I can come with you.”

Numen started to smile a little more. “In that case the ogre will be a piece of cake.” She exclaimed. “I thought your work was going to take a day or two more?” Rince smiled wanly. A few gears began to turn in my head, the ogre wasn’t really that big of a threat. If Rince was available… he could easily occupy the ogre for Numen, and Numen was absolutely deadly once the problem of range was solved. If they did that… could I then seek out the demon?

As we approached the main gates, I could see Teal awaiting us. “Good hunting?” I called out to it, to which it nodded, easily understanding the gist of my ruse.

“I managed.” It rumbled. “I will need to feed again soon, it was not nearly enough time to feed and sleep.” It continued. Yeah… it should probably feed in the downtime as well after the wyvern…

Numen frowned. “That’s a shame… I guess you won’t be able to help us take out the demon then.” She said with a sigh, then cocked her head. “Or you could swing around after you feed. I’m sure you’ll make better time than us.” She thought out loud, her voice growing from tentative to excited.

“I’m afraid against a small force of demons in the forest I would be a burden.” Teal replied. “They are far too manoeuvrable and there is too much that would obscure them. It would have to be a group like your own.” It replied, a subtle nod in my direction. I frowned, grimacing beneath the helm.

“Actually… I think we could cover it.” I interjected, and the others turned towards me. “Since Rince is here I’m pretty sure Numen and Rince could cover the ogre by themselves while I get dropped to deal with the demon.” I said, articulating my point by gesturing towards the two. “I’ve done it before, so I think I could probably handle it…” I say, suffusing my words with confidence that came from the Aen more than anything else.

“You have faced it before?” Rince said, taken aback. “That’s… wow. I mean, the stories… They say that they disturb magic so much that their presence presses down on you, making the air thick and suffocating.” He shuddered. “I have a lot of respect for the soldiers at the front.”

“I don’t think I fought any front liners…” I replied. “Figure only light scouts or something slipped through. I think most people would feel it if the others tried to slip past.” Though honestly I’m not sure I’d be affected regardless, if it’s a magical effect it’s probably tied to the soul… I thought.

[That seems like a logical conclusion, some kind of magical pressure perhaps?] Page remarked. [I don’t recall you Delving to look at it.]

I… didn’t at all did I? I said, scrunching up my face. Damn. I really need to be more aware.

“Are you sure Kael?” Numen asked, worried. “Don’t push yourself too hard, if you get really injured we might not be able to find you in time…” She said, biting her lip. Probably thinking back to that fight with the bandits. I thought, remembering the cold needles that had punctured straight through my armour, as well as the gusts that had thrown me across the room.

“I’ll be fine.” I replied. “If it’s loose it’s better if it’s taken care of as soon as possible anyway.”

“We should leave now if we wish to make good time.” Teal replied, settling onto the ground to let us clamber on. I sucked in a breath. I’ll probably never get used to this. I thought, the ground lurching away from under me as the dragon took to the sky once more.

Numen and Rince were dropped off first, the dragon landing next to the village they needed to be, where the villagers gathered to watch in awe as the two hopped off the back of the dragon. They turned, giving me a resolute nod, I nodded back, bringing two fingers to my forehead in a salute. The dragon leapt into the air again, and I cursed slightly as I slammed into the back of their scales.

The dragon probably couldn’t hear me, though I had to wonder what it was in such a hurry for. We landed in a clearing away from the town that had reported the demon sighting, and Teal once again shifted into her female form. “I wish to accompany you.” She said, her eyes intense.

“You promised to take care of the wyvern.” I replied, arching an eyebrow at her. “And the whole point is to take care of all three problems before they start any trouble.” I frowned at Teal.

Teal seemed to shift a bit as I said that, looking decidedly uncomfortable. “I do not wish to have you face them alone.” She said, eyes averting from my own. “I apologize for doubting your abilities.” She said hastily, turning and transforming into a hippogriff as she leapt into the air. I did not know those existed. I thought as I blinked to myself. Well I guess if she’s going then that’s… good?

I trekked over to the town, and as I approached a few guards jogged out to greet me. “It’s really you…” One of the younger guards said, breathing heavily from exertion. “We’d sent out that request…” He gasped. “But that it’s… you.” He stopped, unable to continue.

“Well it’s a right pleasure to meet you.” The other guard said. “You’ll have to forgive him, he’s even newer than I am at this.” He chuckled as he said that, shaking his head, then got serious. “We know for certain nail my heart to the ancestor tree that there is a true to Qwell demon in there.” His hand gestured towards the forest. “We nearly lost a man to it, it did something to him with those flames of its.” He subconsciously rubbed at his left arm, close to the elbow, in thought.

“Which way was it last seen?” I asked. “And are there any magical beasts or the like out there that people have come across before?” He looked at me quizzically at the second question, even as he pointed east. “It’s important, I can’t cover the whole forest, and I think it’s targeting something.”

“Magical beasts? Hmm…” The second man cupped his chin, folding his left arm across his body to prop up his right arm. The first man looked up at us, raising an arm timidly. “Oh? Go ahead, we’re the same rank mate.” He said. The first man nodded vigorously.

“Uh, you could ask Old Lady Emma.” He said. “When I was a kid she used to talk about how while exploring she would chance across some strange creatures. People used to call her crazy though, used to be called Mad Emma, now it’s just Old Lady Emma…” He trailed off with a bit of a frown.

I cocked my head. Could she have truly come across them before? I thought. Seems strange that it wasn’t documented. But I guess they’d probably be rare sightings and difficult to pinpoint.

[If that is the case, then we should hope that her memory is not failing.] Page remarked. I grimaced in response. Yeah, let’s hope.

I stepped up to the door, giving a sharp rap on it and waiting. The door swung open a crack, and an eye stared out at me from waist height. A child? I thought, the eye widened, and the door opened enough to accommodate both eyes instead. A girl stared up at me. “Whoa…” She said, closing the door again. I could hear her feet pattering against the floor on the other side. Uh, okay?

[Do you believe she ran off in fear or in awe?] Page asked thoughtfully.

Does it matter? I thought back, wondering if I ought to knock again and hope someone else would come open it. As I reached out for the door it swung open and a woman dressed with an apron and some kind of linen veil that covered her hair. She blinked at the sight of me at her doorstep. “Can I… help you, sir?” She asked, staring cautiously up at me.

“I’d like to talk to… Emma?” I said, eschewing the prefix. “I was told she might be able to tell me where to find some creatures of the forest, it’s important to my mission here.”

She seemed to frown for a moment, staring intently where my eyes would be. “I see. You may talk to her, but if you…” She stopped herself, and shook her head. “This way.” She stepped aside, and let me in. Huh, bad past experiences? I wondered as I followed her.

[Considering that the woman used to be called Mad Emma, it’s not surprising that she might have had bad experiences with people who asked to see her.] Page posited.

“Mother.” The woman called out as she approached a door at the end of the hallway. “An irregular is here to see you. Would you like to speak to them?”

“Oh my, an irregular here to see little old me?” A voice called out from within. “Why certainly, it’s been an age since I’ve had guests.” She opened the door, fixing me with another long look before walking away. I stepped into the room, shutting the door behind me gently. “Oh that’s nice of you. Ah, reminds me of Azarint, gentle giant he was. Tell me, is he still travelling?”

“You know Azarint?” I ask, removing my faceplate as I take a seat opposite her. For the times she’s an old bird, not yet suffering severe atrophy yet a little hunched, a little frail, reminding me of my own grandmother at home. I smile inwardly, she used to do a lot for us, meals especially.

“Don’t you judge me by my body now, I used to be his eyes and ears round here. What’d you need?”