"Captain Arwyn??" The girls call, Hazel and Ayame saluting as the man comes down from the dragon, scratching his face as he comes forward.

"Hmm? Do I know you girls?" Arwyn questions.

"Oh- Knight Hazel and Knight Ayame of Highgarden, sir!" Hazel informs him, showing her utmost respect to this famous captain.

"Ah, I see. Nice to meet you,” He nods, onto looking at Nahshon, then to Bettany. "Huh?"

In his inspection of the girl, a thought comes to his mind, Bettany shifting her eyes with her neck slowly creaking in shaking her head, her tongue going bitter in Arwyn's dull understanding on not picking at her gestures as his eyes zoom at her face, widening as he comes to an answer after his observation.

"P-P...Princess Astrid??!" He points, speechless of her gothic appearance, the lady rolling her eyes to his slow awareness as the girls awkwardly laugh.

"God damn it..." Astrid sounds, hand to her face as she shakes her head at the slow man.

"Heh, busted..." Ayame scratches her head.

"Ah! P-Princess Astrid?? Where am I manners?" Garkari quickly bows his head. "A pleasure to meet you on this fine adventure, your royal highness"

"No need for that, mister. I should thank you for saving us from the trouble of fighting that thing," Astrid awkwardly laughs, turning to the other who has also met with this surprise, Nahshon who rigidly stares at her in an awkward stance.

"Ah," He quickly bows, clumsy in his display of manners.

"I said no need for that! Geez!" Astrid frowns, her hands to her waist, glancing at Arwyn who has lightly messed up her day.

"Forgive me. I just..thought you looked...familiar," Arwyn explains, sighing as he knows he has probably messed up something she was planning.

"It already has been done," Astrid sighs. "Now, let's just get back to what we were doing. I noticed they were rocks being hurled at the wyvern, are there more monsters by the other side?"

"Yes, your highness. An ogre with an army of trolls at its side," Garkari explains. "And we're just a few minutes away from meeting them as well"

"Hmm, do we fight them?" Hazel asks. "With mister here, I'm sure we're enough to take them out"

"I'm up for it," Ayame confirms. "I say we show them a thing or two!"

"Yes, maybe we should. It would be a grave matter if a group of unlucky adventurers came up here in having to deal with a mess they never asked for," Astrid figures. "Indeed, we do have the strength to deal with it on our own, and maybe they won't"

"Well, so be it," Garkari laughs. "We will defeat them so others may pass through safely after us. Well, what do you say, captain Arwyn?"

"Huh? Me?" Arwyn points at himself.

"Yes, captain Arwyn. Do we fight or ignore and go about our day?" Astrid challenges, all of them looking to the captain for the answer.

"Hmm.." Arwyn sighs, thinking for a second on what is best. "I mean..they have their little own going on already with the wyvern, so it has nothing to do with us. But...for the safety of everybody else, it's best we fight them so a poor sucker doesn't have to come up the mountains to deal with this. Are you all ready?"

"Yes, sir!!" They declare to him, and thus their mission commences, back into the sky for Garkari and Arwyn, and road for the girls and Nahshon, for the defeat of the army that awaits them.

***

And from where they drink in replenishing their thirst, some massaging one another, the trolls and the ogre ease by a river now as their enemy has disappeared. But quickly is their rest disturbed, as on the dirt tracks above, they hear of a roar unfamiliar to them their ears, seeing as a group stops above them in a metallic moving object they do not know of, to looking up to a terror that comes from above, Garkari landing with a greeting of laughter that frightens them all as Arwyn jumps from his back.

"Hmm, does my presence frighten you all so?" Garkari looks at the hesitant monsters, the ogre taking its time with stepping back as the trolls tremble and sound in fear. "Very well then. Let me make this a little easier for you all"

Back into his human form, Garkari transforms in front of their eyes, the monsters confused in seeing just an old man with his sword to his side, becoming confident as they think his dragon form was a mere trick, laughing as they all pick up their weapons in their dirty hands, ready to battle their new enemies. And on their side as well, sighs being let out, weapons are drawn, and claws sharpened, ready are the adventurers and knights, looking down at the hundreds of enemies they'll face.

"Hm," Nahshon sounds, breathing down as he prepares himself. "Do we have to kill them all?"

"Hm, it's up to you, kid," Arwyn chuckles, drawing his sword out its vintage holster, at last, Nahshon seeing no normal sword, but a blade of steel that sparkles in the light beautifully, carved with the old runes of the ancient onto its skin. "If you can get to the ogre, then the rest will dissolve, and we won't have to do as much killing. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," Nahshon answers.

Henceforth the start of their battle, the roaring river thawing into silence as the band of monsters charge towards the party with warcries they shout to intimidate them. And first to strike, with a swing of her sword, summoned is a wall of ice Hazel calls upon, sculpturing the trolls in the path of her power that even freezes part of the stream, into a spree of strikes she lashes upon their skins, cursing onto them the bite of frost that chills their blood, dropping them to the ground in quick succession. Then quickly her hand raises, her body twirled off the ground by an explosion that occurs, a bomb thrown by the trolls, but like an elegant flake of ice she returns, still standing for them to see, revealing to them that she was saved by her quick thinking, a summoned shield in her other hand with only cuts on her knees.

"You good??" Ayame questions her.

"Hm!" Hazel simply sounds, lifting her sword with a smile of her fierce spirit. "'Tis just a scratch, my friend!"

"Heh! Alright then!!"

Then followed along by Hazel, is one who also sprints into battle in the blitz of her excitement, her claws sinking into the throats of the trolls in her unmatched speed against them, Ayame whose hands then weave together in different signs, summoning into her hand a bust of clouds that reveals to her a tool, a large shuriken she flings towards them, cutting away at the mob like a boomerang that comes back to her hold. And emerges is a sudden burst of an echo in her head, her ears flickering to the fading sound of what was heard before, looking behind to see a downed troll who tried attack her with his head now popped open, looking to Nahshon who had watched over her, summoned gun in his right hand; an 1851 colt revolver, a name he remembers from his world, the model looking similar, smiling as he's reminded of Ezek's words of telling him to be more diverse, glad he listened to his friend though he knows he is not as skilled.

"Thanks for the save. Didn't need it though! Hyah!!" Ayame sticks her tongue at him, back into her fight where she brings out a set of kunai from the case on the back of her shorts, launching them into the bodies of the unlucky monsters in her way.

And fast reflexes into electrocuting a surprise that attempted a strike upon him, with lighting dancing on his sword, Nahshon rhythms with the blasts striking off his blade, recognising that they're trying crowd him in their circles, with every second one of them trying launch at him, then to catching an order from one as he fights, met with a bomb that he quickly catches in his sight, promptly flinging it back towards them with his now quicker responsiveness, saving himself from the blast. But so is his flow disturbed, cut by one who gets a strike in his leg, leaving a deep cut on the boy. And in its heightened pride, it stands before him, gesturing to the boy a one and one standoff as warriors, the other trolls backing off in respect. So he breathes, into his stance as the troll taunts him to strike first, the boy calm as he waits for the right timing. And grown impatient, comes the troll who strikes first, charging with dual blades that it flashes in each strike it takes, Nahshon dodging and blocking the confident attacks, into finding his right strike, his eyes lighting up at the moment, into the troll's mouth with his sword and out from its cheek, feeling the tear on his sword as he cleaves away part of its face, shocked as he did not realize he was using so much strength, onto holding the wound on his leg to feel the bleeding that pulsates, looking at the others who fright in the sight of what they see in his eyes, his stare cold like a soulless person's own.

But in their wish to avenge their fallen comrade, their show of honour is dismissed, and so they charge as a team, one down by the bite of Nahshon's bullet, next in the boy striking them down one by one, in the lessons of what his teacher has taught him and the experiences he has built in his short time on this world, his new blade in sync with his improved abilities; firmer in his spirit, sharper with his blade, quicker in his thoughts, blasting a troll before it could throw a bomb in which explodes it with its friends, stronger in his magic, no longer incompetent in his strikes, and no longer stiff in his step, resilient to the pain that aches his leg, this time downing them properly with his strikes unlike the times before, the times he now uses as his strength to push forward. And returning is another, a foe who has come back from the depths of the mountain, the wyvern of the earthen element, down with a roar that kills the trolls who stand in its way. Arwyn also cutting his way through, his sword easily slicing through their skins like butter, met is his back with Nahshon's, pleased by the boy's skill of the sword.

"Heh, not bad. You fight like a samurai," Arwyn compliments him.

"Hm, thank you," Nahshon exhales, both of them looking as the Wyvern has gone back into battle with the Ogre and some of its henchmen.

"You ready to slay that ogre?"

"On your count, sir"

"Alright....let's go!!"

Nahshon and Arwyn begin their push to the boss himself, like a team that has already gained some understanding of each other's skill. And so does the Wyvern notice their approach, and not wanting them to disturb its battle, it calls upon a sea of rocks that pushes towards them, but so are they saved by a sea of flame that destroys the rocks, Garkari who laughs in blasting his magic, clearly having the most fun in this battle.

"Kid, on me!" Arwyn orders.

Getting closer to them, the ogre finally gets an upper hand on the wyvern, its iron mace striking away his enemy like a dragonfly on a racket, onto the two who he charges. And seeing as they've finally become the challenge for the ogre, comes the first strike from the group upon the boss, Nahshon who launches a fearsome claw of bolt that lashes the skin of the ogre, receiving from it a groan of pain as it is pushed back. But slightly did it move, its skins charred by his attack, angered as it was not pleased. It swings its mace around in the want to squash its smaller opponents, with the boy and the knight avoiding its attempts as they take their strikes, Nahshon ultimately giving into the pain of his leg in this dire moment, slapped away by the heavy hand of the monster as the consequence, into a group of trolls that rush to get him while he's down as scream with their risen weapons, the little warriors halting to the fright that catches them off their feet, trying to set themselves free. The boy frightened himself, appears a pond of black ink that pulls him off the ground, swallowing most of his body only leaving his head, the rest of his body cold as he watches as the ink forms into something of detail; claws, torso, and legs around him, slashing away the trolls who threatened him.

"Are you alright?" He hears Astrid, the ink turning him to face her, seeing as she fights alongside the other girls with her magic. "Don't worry, he's on our side"

"Huh??" The boy sounds, let go from the grasp of what was holding him, and there he realizes what it actually is, seeing as it transforms into something of a monstrous appearance. "This is...dark magic??"

And launching a slash of light that pierces the armour of the ogre, is Arwyn who has critically damage the monster at last, then launching another to the trolls who rush to protect their boss, all of them seeing the return of the Wyvern who has grown angrier, casting trolls off the edge of the hill, then into the air and coming down with a cry to intimidate them all, driving Arwyn into lifting his sword to the air with eyes that match the flying beast's own with determination.

"Everybody!! get out of its way and close your eyes when the time is right!!" He commands, thus they all follow, quickly to where they feel their safest, as the light begins to shine brighter from his sword, the wyvern coming closer and closer. "Now!!!"

Chanting words of the old language, burst out is a rainbow of light that outshines the sky from Arwyn's sword, everybody shutting their eyes as instructed as some of those who have refused are met with a burning sensation that drills into the core of their sight, screaming in pain, met with the wyvern who has also had its vision blurred by the flash, the beast crashing down into their numbers, bringing an end to the display of light of his sword.

"Hmm?!" The ogre sounds as his vision comes back, to the shock of a quick sting running across its forehead, Arwyn who streams across him with a strike against his head, met with another in its chest, dealt with by deadly blows of the knight.

"Hey, didn't I kill you already?" Arwyn points at the monster, greeted by a roar with the smell of its breath already enough to kill him off. "Whew, yup...you are definitely a live one. You're so ugly, I thought I was talking to the same one from a long time ago. Forgive me"

The ogre smashes the ground with his mace, dodged by Arwyn who saw it coming from a mile away. And like a lumberjack, he cuts the ogre down to its knees, finishing it with the last strike, his sword into his head by jumping behind its back, silencing it at last. Down they see their boss go, and so the trolls have lost their morale, all stopped at the sight of Arwyn above their leader, and it is their one troll voice to them all, shouting an order that the group understand as they sound of retreat, the army of trolls dispersing the scene with some taking up their wounded comrades, finally coming to the end of the battle. But so has one not succumb to the defeat, one troll who believes in standing against them, its eyes glancing to all those in the group; seeing as Ayame smile with taunts, Hazel with calming her antics, Astrid standing underneath her familiar, and Arwyn pulling his sword out the ogre's head. So it makes a choice, charging against its chosen opponent, Garkari who simply glances at the brave little warrior, his eyes alone washing the troll in fear in mere seconds.

"I may be in the skin of man, but my soul still resides. You should leave, little one," Garkari warns it, its feet pulling back from the terror it feels scratching at its skin, gone away from the battleground to live for another day, and out is another as well, the wyvern who they all turn to, lifting itself off the ground with roars like complaints to the group, into the sky where it escapes, damage but a survivor of the battle as well, the sounds of the river back to it glory once again, washing blood away in its current.

"This darn coward! Come back here!!" Ayame shouts, the wyvern leaving with having enough for the day. "Hmph!!"

"What do we do with the bodies now?" Nahshon asks.

"No worries," Garkari answers. "A wandering beast may pass by after us"

"Hmm," Nahshon sounds.

"You're a splendid swordsman, boy," Garkari chuckles. "Yes, I have heard about you. I am still upset by your racist remark from earlier though, you've hurt me and my kind dearly. We have our feelings too, you know"

"A-Ah..." Nahshon nods, embarrassed he blurted that out earlier.

"Don't guilt the kid with your politics, uncle," Arwyn comes, shaking his head. "You know he just did it out of goodwill"

"Yes, yes, it is simply a jester with the boy, Arwyn," Garkari tells the knight, laughing as he places his hand on Nahshon's shoulder. "I am quite pleased that you hold our kind in such high spirit, actually. King Harald's work was not in vain, I see"

"The first king?" Nahshon questions.

"Correct! His actions were like a spark in this world. Through his wisdom and kindness, many other nations followed in his footsteps, and came about the unification of the many races that inhabit this world today," Garkari teaches, all of them walking to the jeep, Nahshon understanding his words.

"Yup...it's a sad thing he didn't make a law about you dragons always nagging as well..." Arwyn mutters.

"I heard that," Garkari states.

"Hm. Anyways, seeing as we used a good portion of our energy, how about we rest for some time first?" Arwyn brushes off his armour.

"Hm, you're right," Astrid states.

"Where will you be camping, my lady?" Garkari asks.

"There's land further up the mountain, we can rest there for a while," Astrid teaches.

"I guess we should. Well, let's get going before something comes for us after hearing all that noise," Arwyn warns. "You guys drive there, we'll patrol the sky to see what's happening"

"Aye aye, captain!" Ayame salutes, onto helping Hazel and Nahshon back to the jeep. "Are you guys alright? Those wounds kinda look bad. Drink a potion, will ya?"

"I have medical supplies, if you guys want," Nahshon tells them, Hazel seizing from bother taking a potion. "I think we should save the potions until we really need it"

"Ah, sweet. Thank you," Hazel smiles, Nahshon sharing his supplies with her, the boy applying some to his wounds along with her, finishing up by putting bandages over them.

Now they get back onto the road, Garkari going back into his real form, taking to the air with Arwyn where they look around the terrain, seeing the surviving trolls running down the hills. And as for the other group, they reach an obstacle in their path in going off-road, rocks that block their path to go further up the mountain, Ayame and Hazel getting out to look at what is beyond it.

"I see the place you were talking about!" Ayame points to the flat land.

"Great! Now we have to just get over this," Astrid says, looking at Nahshon in questioning something. "Hey, how about you lift it from the back. Could you do it?"

"I can try, sure," Nahshon complies, getting out of the jeep and to the back of it, seeing as Astrid shows her necklace, a black gem in the middle of it, taking out of it that black ink that was helping in the battle, into its form where it goes to the front.

"You boys lift it over the stones, and carry it to the top, alright?" Astrid orders.

"Yes, ma'am," Nahshon nods, the monster following along with growling, both of them looking at each other, awkward in their stare.

And accordingly they both lift, Nahshon now having the strength to be able to lift even just the back, a feat he takes satisfaction in, helping the familiar over the rocks that restrict their transport as Ayame cheers them on both. Dropping the jeep, they finally get over it, thus back in their transport where they reach their destination, Garkari and Arwyn also making a landing on the site as well. Now they finally rest, the site already marked with symbols to keep monsters out, now together in chairs they summon from scrolls they've bought, with all of them drinking a cup of their chosen drink.

"Hah! Long time since I've done some hiking," Ayame exhales, sipping some cocoa.

"Why have you come up to the mountain, your highness?" Garkari asks.

"We have a quest to take on for a wyvern's egg," Astrid answers.

"Ah, I see," Garkari nods, looking at Arwyn, the knight questioning the expression on his face. "May we join you three on your quest?"

"No uncle, we can't," Arwyn sighs. "I'm sure they want to be left alone and not joined by an old man!"

"But what's wrong with that? You know, Arwyn," He starts, Arwyn sighing as he prepares his ears to drown in what he is about to say, his fingers ready to move in mocking what Garkari has to say. "In the old days, old men like myself were much appreciated by youngsters like them; I must say that I may be old, but I am no...what's that word you adolescents use for old people again..? Ah...Ruffus. I am no Ruffus”

"Well, you...hm...you're actually right about that; You are no Ruffus," Aryn complies, sipping his cup.

"Hm," Astrid thinks. "Sure, why not? But the split of the reward, I'm not so sure about"

"It is alright, my lady," Garkari states. "It would honour me to aid the princess in her quest once"

"I am also fine with it. The more the merrier," Hazel grins, adding to the vote.

"Yup! We won't have a problem with you, mister. Right, Nahshon?" Ayame calls the boy.

"Hmm," Nahshon nods, smiling in also adding his vote.

"Then it is settled!" Astrid gets up, clearing her throat as she holds up the quest poster. "We should all get up and say it. Repeat this after me"

"Boys are loud like wyverns, too playful like wolves, that is so much like boys, boys, boys, small beasts in their skins"~ Astrid

"...A nursery rhyme...?No offence, your Majesty, but please tell me you're joking right now," Arywn pleads, not wanting to repeat that.

"Yeah, t-this isn't what I signed up for?" Nahshon also complains.

"Just say it!" She orders, restricting herself from laughing. "It'll be over before you know it"

"Dear lord," Gasrkari calls, the men joining in hesitance of having to say it as well.

And forced to repeat it, the girls hold back their laughter as they hear the restriction in the voices of the men who rhyme along with them, and so they call upon a light that writes the tattoo of their band together, finishing their cups, Astrid putting her on her jeep, patting its hood as she sighs.

"I'll be back soon, darling. Take care for me," She tells it, and onto the journey they get back to, on their feet to the wyvern of ice they shall meet.