Gross…

The road to the castle was an unfortunately bumpy one and that made it all the more painful. Each bump shook the truck and made Isaac wiggle around in Yadon’s lap. He was trying to move as little as possible due to the awkwardness of it all.

Not only was it uncomfortable, but he was hotter than usual thanks to the amount of heat that radiated from the behemoth. It was like he was his own personal radiator. Though he didn’t seem to mind and if he did he never made it known to anyone.

Everyone was quiet right about now, perhaps too tired from the previous encounter to really say anything. It was hard to believe that this was there first mission it almost seemed like yesterday that they were trying to figure their way back home or be devoured by a stray Leviathan.

His head shifted over to the Prince of Ingram, not staring at him for long as he didn’t want to him to know that he was. To Isaac, he was pretty merciless if he was able to kill his own kind, but perhaps that was what was needed of everyone.

War almost always expected that you become someone capable of doing whatever it took to serve your region and its people even if that meant becoming someone who could take another life. But, to Isaac that was something that shouldn’t need to happen. It may be the easy thing to do, but he had to remember his main goal.

I have to save people not kill them.

That’s right, he wanted to save people not become a bloodthirsty monster. He wanted to put a stop to all wars without having to go so far. Was such a thing possible…?

It has to be…

He continued to daydream as he stared out the window, staring into the vast emptiness of the sands. It was easy to get lost around these parts, but thankfully with the aid of Lamont Jace knew exactly where to go.

Eventually, the team arrived near the entrance of the castle. Among all of this barren wasteland stood a tall castle that was guarded by numerous armed Basilisk in armor and holding spears, swords, and arrows. Judging from their expression they meant business.

The castle appeared to be made from parts of the sand as it matched that same earthen color. It looked like it took many years to build with various men putting in hard work with how sturdy it appeared. From the height, it was easy to tell that it had quite a few floors. There were even a few trees surrounding it.

“You should park underneath that tree. You’ll get some shade there. Then we can proceed to the castle.” Lamont instructed.

Jace did just that, coming to a gentle stop before their driving finally came to an end. They were in good standing with the Ingrams, so the guards should be lenient with them.

“Finally!” Isaac burst out of the vehicle with glee as he stretched his limbs. It felt like he was stuck in that cramped thing for hours and was now free to roam around.

“We should all be safe here, but still don’t let down your guard.” Jace exited the vehicle with Claire by his side who was seen rubbing her eyes.

Lamont went on ahead to alert the guards. When he arrived they all showed him a great deal of respect by bowing to him.

“Welcome home, Prince Lamont.”

“Thank you. I managed to find our guests. Don’t give them any trouble. I’m going to make sure they have time to relax before returning to their mission.”

“Understood, Prince. We’ll treat them like our own.”

“I know that you will. Thank you.” With that, he entered inside to inform his father.

The group of six soon followed behind towards the entrance with Yadon carrying Noel in his arms. The Basilisks didn’t seem to even move a muscle and simply nodded their heads as soon as the humans arrived by the door.

“Enjoy your stay. King Bram will be pleased that you’re here.” He hissed.

“Hard to believe these snakes can be good. I’m so used to viewing them as backstabbers.” Yadon insulted.

“Come on, now Yadon. That kind of thinking is what will keep everyone regressed. There will always be good in some creatures not everything is pure evil or pure good.” Claire informed.

“Maybe… but that rule doesn’t apply to mosquitos. Buggers are descendent of evil itself!”

As they entered the palace they could see various portraits adorned to the black brick walls with images of the King and his family. It appeared he had a son and two daughters along with his wife. They seemed so happy as well.

The ground was white to counter the theme of the walls with a black and red carpet rolled along the center for them to walk on. Further down the group could see another portrait this time of someone alone.

Whoever he was it was funny how he was never in a picture of the family together though perhaps that was just reading too much into it.

The ceiling was so tall that it appeared to be a few yards high. As they got to the center of the castle the paths split into three different ways with the group not sure of where to go.

“Are there no directions? Which way takes us to the King?” Yadon looks around trying to decide where to go.

Soon someone could be seen leaving the path in front of them as they spotted the large group of humans and gasped.

“Oh, it’s you guys! Father’s been expecting you!” Said a young girl.

“Who are you?” Isaac asked.

“My name’s Callista Ingram! A pleasure to meet you!” She appeared to be in good spirits going by her appearance. She only stood at about five foot two inches and wore a tight dark green dress with ruffles at the end which had dark lines. Matching her dress was her playful eyes and her messy hair that stopped by her shoulders.

“I’m Jace and this is my squad which consists of Yadon, Isaac, Claire, Keianna, and Noel. Though the last member of my party is quite injured.

“Sorry to hear that! If you’d like I can help you find a room for him. We have plenty upstairs!”

“That would be helpful. Claire, Yadon go with Callista. The rest of us will find the King.”

“Roger.” Yadon could be seen moving ahead with Claire following behind.

“If you’re looking for my father he’s in the throne room! Just take the next right and head down the hall.”

With that, they departed leaving Jace and his group to take her word to find Bram. In the meantime, Callista was going to escort Yadon and Claire to the guest rooms.

There were a few flights of stairs that they had to climb, but other than that it was an easy journey. Callista could be heard humming softly to herself before Claire started to speak to her.

“Is that a tune all Basilisk enjoy?”

“Nope! It’s just a tune that I enjoy playing on my flute.”

“Oh, you play an instrument?”

“Yeah, I want to be a songstress and travel the world spreading music and joy to everyone. That’s why I’m going to help my father as best I can.”

“It’s hard to imagine that you could be so innocent given your race. You’re almost kinda cute.” Yadon admitted.

“Haha, why thank you!”Callista giggled softly.

“Careful, I’ll tell Quin,” Claire said teasingly.

“Hey, it’s fine for a man to compliment others as long as he makes sure that his girl is number one!”

The seriousness in Yadon’s voice caused everyone to laugh, though he didn’t seem to get what was so funny. Shortly after Callista found them a room that was suitable for them to stay in for the day.

“You can rest him in here.” She showed them the room with a smile.

Inside there was a nice warm bed with clean white sheets. It was about the size of a full sized bed. The room was quite spacious and had a dresser for clothes and a small circular window to see what was going on outside.

Yadon could be seen dropping Noel on the bed gently before dusting his hands. He then turned his attention to the others. “Is there a shower or something around?”

“Yup! Just head downstairs and then head towards the left, then walk past the kitchen there are bathing areas in that room.”

“All right, thank you. I won’t be long. I’m kinda starving too. I hope there’s going to be food.”

“Trust me there will be! It’s almost dinner time and father will have his chefs cook up a feast!”

“That’s what I’m talking about! Things are finally as they should be!” Yadon cheered as he walked off.

“You can use either room to rest in when you’re ready. Would you like to freshen up as well?” Callista asks.

“Yeah, I’ll do so in a bit. Thanks for your hospitality.”

“Not a problem, Claire was it?”

“That’s my name!”

“Great, I’ll see you downstairs then.” Callista waved before heading off.

Claire had the same mindset as Yadon right now. She just wanted to take a nice shower and then find something to eat before Jace instructed them on what to do next, but judging by how everything was he would most likely wait until morning to gather the spheres.

She thought of this as she made her way towards the door, but before she could leave she heard someone call out to her…

“Claire… don’t go…”

That voice couldn’t have come from anyone else but Noel. It appears that he was awake now though his eyes were barely open. She turned around to look at him with a surprised expression.