They strode through the forest for another hour, or at least, so it felt to Milius. As they walked along, he kept his eyes trained on the vegetation around them, watching as it slowly transitioned from gold and brown to green and black. The trees were getting thicker and wilder, and even the air around them was getting heavier, colder ...

Vagor lead them to what seemed to be the center of the forest. There was a magnificent golden fountain in the center of a grove of trees, and an arch of beautiful red, blue, white, and purple flowers hung ahead of them, like some kind of gate. There was one on the other side of the fountain as well, but the flowers were green, brown, orange, and black. The area was quiet, except for the sound of the golden fluid spouting from the fountain crashing down, and slopping against the sides.

“Nectar,” Vagor told them, as she saw them looking. “Some people—well, not people per say—but the older creatures of this forest call it the ‘Elixir of Life.’”

“What does it do?” Ariana asked, so fascinated she forgot that she was terrified of the ant.

“I have no idea myself, you know. But I hear it's very valuable…. Well there you are, anyway!” She wheeled to face them; they flinched as she clicked her mandibles. “The other side of the forest is past that gateway. I can't go any further than here, but you should be able to find your own way.”

“Er, thank you,” Shakil said, plainly uncomfortable. She winked two of her three scarlet eyes, clicked appreciatively, then zoomed past them with a frightening speed. By the time they recovered themselves enough to look around, she had disappeared into the trees.

“Well—shall we?” Sirius said, now looking relieved. They didn't need telling twice. Shakil and Ariana set off, but Milius lagged behind.

“This solves one problem, but we still have to wait a day before the Elders come back, and we have nowhere to stay,” he heard Ariana say a few moments later.

“We could try the cave again,” Shakil suggested.

“My cave?” Parluck screeched, coming to an abrupt halt. “Not a chance! I don' usually see eye-to-eye with Egor, but he's right—you're practically human monster magnets. I won’ have you bringin’ them to my home!”

“You—!” Sirius made a furious movement towards Parluck, but stopped as he saw Milius striding toward them through the path that they had just walked through. “Where were you?”

“Oh, I—I—nature called, you know?” he said. Sirius was glancing curiously at the slight bulge of the pocket of his robes. He quickly slipped his hand inside and balled it into a fist. “So, about the weasel—”

“Goblin!” Parluck said indignantly.

Milius ignored him. “We should let him go. He was right about one thing: he is completely useless now.”

“Any another time I'd be offended, but now, I have to say I agree with the baby,” Parluck said, bowing. “It was nice meetin’ you lot—for the most part. I'll see ye around!”

“Yeah, don't count on it!” Sirius shouted. Parluck smirked and skipped off into the woods.

“Back to the matter at hand, then," Ariana said. "I think we could try that chamber again."

“The underground chamber?” Shakil said. “But there are monsters down there, too.”

“Well, I think—”

“Ugh, what now?” Milius roared in exasperation, as a faint screeching suddenly filled their ears.

“Are those…?” Ariana said, horrified, pointing at the sky. They stared upward.

“Harpies,” Sirius said, as the figures swooped. They had the faces of beautiful women, but from the neck down their bodies were plumed, with long wings sprouting from their backs, and small, short arms.

“Dinner!” one of them screamed.

“Scatter!” Sirius shouted; Milius, Shakil, and Ariana dashed off, but Sirius stood his ground. He raised Vulcatrix as it approached. It made a grab, but Sirius ducked under its tiny arms and swung. The blade, blazing with heat, sheared through its chest with unbelievable ease. It wailed in agony, and its severed body crashed to the ground as black ooze splattered all over Sirius’s armour.

“SISTER!” another shrieked. Milius saw it dive for Sirius, but didn't see much more, as his attention snapped to the two that were now swooping down upon him. He raised Palpatunde uncertainly; it hadn't worked back in the chamber, what if it didn't work now? But the nasty thought vanished immediately—he had felt a sudden surge of energy in the blade. The harpy bared its long talons, but Milius slammed his shield into it, knocking it aside, and then he thrust the blade into its chest.

He could feel the energy being pulled from the harpy’s shrivelling body, see the life being drained from its form, as its screams pierced his ears. In another second, it had vanished in a wisp of black smoke.

“NO!” The second harpy put on a burst of speed, heading straight for Milius. Before he could react, he caught a glimpse of blue, and despite himself, he looked around. Shakil was nearby, swinging Oceannerva madly. Its sapphire began to glow, and a smoky-white tinge appeared along the blade. Mist suddenly sprayed from the surface, and in only a few seconds, the entire area was completely shrouded.

Milius could hear the other harpy, screeching furiously, trying to find him. He stood with his sword raised, unable to see a thing, waiting.... Then quite suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He hefted Palpatunde, ready to hit whatever it was, then realized who it was. It was Ariana, her figure completely clear, as though the mist was parting to admit her. Then he realized exactly what was happening.

“The wind shield!" he said, a little too loudly, noticing her glowing emerald.

“There you are!” the harpy yelled. Her silhouette appeared out of the mist, heading straight for them. Ariana screamed and swung her blade, a pointless move, Milius thought: it was too far away. He quickly realized, however, that this was not the case at all. The mist around them rippled, he heard something whoosh past them, the harpy screamed and then crashed to the ground, as though an invisible force had cut her down.

Before he could say anything, he heard Sirius cry out, and a shriek of “DIE!”

“Let's go!” he yelled, grabbing Ariana’s hand. They set off in the direction Milius had heard the cry from, but didn't get far. They stopped at once as the sound rent the air: a mighty, earthshaking, bone-rattling roar. A powerful gust of wind suddenly picked up, sweeping away the mist as though it were nothing. Milius could see puffs of greenish smoke wafting along for only a split second, then it disappeared along with the mist. When the field had cleared, he saw Sirius, his armour scratched in several places, swinging wildly, trying to keep about six harpies at bay. There was another roar, this one louder, different, and a bolt of lightning ripped through the sky, striking all six harpies at once.

The bodies fell, charred and steaming, to the ground. Sirius had been left unharmed, and was staring at the harpies’ bodies, looking as stunned as Milius felt. The strangest part, however, wasn't that Sirius was left unscathed, it was that the lightning had been purple.

There was only one thing that Milius knew that could generate violet arcs of electricity—and sure enough, the gigantic, statue-like figure of his dragon companion, Lumeus, soared onto the scene, Verdona, Aleia, and Vrydius all streaking beside him.

Three harpies remained, and, clearly realizing how heavily outmatched they were, they made to flee. But Verdona opened her mouth and let loose a massive plume of crimson fire, burning them to ash. Aleia glided upward like some kind of streamer, lithe and graceful, spread her wings serenely, and shot a spout of water, dousing the flames that had begun to spread after Verdona’s attack.

Each dragon veered straight for their Knight, even Lumeus. His plates were crackling with electricity, and his marble eyes were gleaming brightly. It stared down at Milius, then lowered his head. Something was tied to one of his plates.

Bewildered, Milius removed it. It was a piece of paper, signed by Calder. His eyes sped the length of the parchment, widening with every line, and he gasped. Without even looking back, he scrambled on top of the dragon's neck and yelled out. Lumeus rose into the air, casting an enormous shadow upon the ground below, and took off.

“WAIT!” Sirius shouted from below. “WHERE ARE YOU GOING?”

But Milius had no time to explain. His mind was racing, his heart was pounding, and he was breathing so heavily that he was starting to feel light-headed, but he had to continue. He had to go home