Most of the fauna around Ezma was exceedingly dangerous. Not necessarily aggressive, but dangerous nonetheless. If somebody intruded upon the territory of some rather defensive species, well, their fate would probably be sealed sooner than they would expect. For this reason, when the more intelligent species decided to build roads and use carriages for transport, they usually sprayed them with a repellent to keep most animals away. A single particular carriage, however, was defended so well, that not even an apex predator would dare come close to it. Almost regularly, once every five full revelations of the wheels, Glavas snored. The sound that left his mouth was at times so unsettling, that the owner of the cart often called to the children inside: "Is your friend still alive?"

[Unfortunately], Surdi signed and his gaze was stabbing through the resting hunter laid out all twisted and curled on the seat opposite of them.

"Yeah, he just had a long hunt last night, so he needs to sleep it off. If you want, you can stuff something in your ears. It will help with the noise," Alma replied in a way the driver could hear. The man, however, only rolled his eyes and tried to distract himself by fully focusing on the road ahead.

[Hey, Alma?] An idea came to the young dragon's mind, that could only be executed now when the elf was asleep.

"Yeah?"

[You ever wondered what's written inside of a grimoire?]

"A grimoire? Well... kinda. But where the hell would we get a grimoire?"

The dragon pointed to the musical instrument, lying in one corner of the carriage, and then to Glavas' bag, which he was using as a pillow.

"You think his music is written somewhere?"

[I know he has a book in the bag. I just never realized what it might be.]

"Like a book of spells? An explanation to which song does what?"

[Exactly.]

"I don't know... We only just managed to learn a few basics." Alma whirled her finger around and whispered: "Chudavez". A faint breeze slid over the bald head and disappeared just as quickly as it was summoned. "And this alone took us almost two weeks."

[I don't mean we would try to use them! We'd just have a look. Come on, don't tell me you aren't curious about the spell he used to destroy Rotler.]

Suddenly, a certain spark appeared in Alma's empty eyes. "Okay, but we'll just have a look. And... you go grab the book!"

[Me?! Why me?]

"Your idea!"

[Fine!] Surdi carefully stood up from his seat and stretched to the other side of the carriage. Glavas seemed to be sleeping rather deeply, but the boy still wasn't sure whether stealing his "pillow" right from under his head wouldn't wake him. Either way, he had to at least try. Very carefully, he gripped the bag, letting his claws dig into the fabric to prevent any accidental slipping. "Like a magician's trick. Just a quick pull and it's done," he thought to himself and snatched the rucksack.

One thing had to be admitted, Surdi did succeed in obtaining it. His swift snatch, however, dragged Glavas' limp body along. By the time the bag found itself firmly in the grasp of the dragon, the hunter's head landed on the wooden floor of the carriage with a loud thud.

"Ow! What the hell are you doing this time?" he woke up, already quite sure that whatever was happening, it was most likely the children's doing.

"What's going on back there?" the owner of the carriage called to them.

"Nothing, I just fell," Glavas muttered his way and looked around the vehicle. When he saw the bag in Surdi's arms, he could already figure out what it was all about. "If you wanted something to eat, you should've just woken me up normally. God, that hurt."

"Oh, umm... we didn't actually want food." Alma got a quick stern glance from Surdi.

"Then what did you want?"

[Oh, just...]

"To see if you have a grimoire," she answered before the young dragon could finish his signing.

[Seriously?]

"Yeah, let's be honest. What's the worst that can happen?"

Glavas raised his eyebrows. "Grimoire? Well... yeah, I have one, but I haven't really looked inside for ages. Please, suit yourselves. It's just some basic description and notes for my music."

With his blessing, the kids dove into the bag like rabid animals, digging through the countless objects they would label as "rubbish" until they finally found what they were looking for. A beautiful book bound in leather, with metal ornaments attached to the cover. Without a single word, they pulled it out and scrolled through the pages. Their scrunched-up foreheads, however, were more of a sign of confusion, rather than excitement.

"It's... not written in the human language?" Alma asked and turned the book around to show Glavas a set of pages, where the only thing decipherable to her was the title.

"Nope. That is the language of magic. If you want to write a very complex spell, you need to do it like that and with perfect calligraphy. So be careful with it. This thing is one of a kind and VERY expensive."

[Can you read it?]

"Ha! Not at all! I just tested the magic and learned what it does by trial and error."

The kids' eyes widened and blinked in nearly perfect synchronization. [Wait, so the book isn't yours?]

"Nah, I stole it many decades ago, when I was just a foolish child. But it sure came in handy."

"Oh..." the girl let out a disappointed sigh.

"What were you expecting?"

"Well, some more information about magic. Some guidelines to improve."

[Or what exactly you used to destroy Rotler.]

Glavas's smile suddenly disappeared. He sat up properly, straightening his back, and extended his arm. The dragon passed him the book and they both watched him scroll through the pages for a moment until he finally stopped and showed them what he found. Even this part of the grimoire was riddled with symbols they did not understand, but the title itself was enough to unsettle them - "Devil's requiem."

"It unleashes natural catastrophes all around you and does not discriminate in any way. Mostly a useless spell. Nature, buildings... everything. It just decimates everything. In a normal battle, it is rarely useful, but in the wrong hands..." he briefly explained and put the book down.

"Are you okay?" Alma asked when she saw his demeanor change.

"Yeah, it just brought back bad memories."

[Would you like to talk?]

"There's nothing to talk about," the hunter protested.

"That's not true! It's been two weeks on the road, traveling all the way north, and you have always avoided the topic of your father."

"As I said, there is nothing to talk about. Not Rotler, nor my father."

[But you are clearly sad when we mention him.]

"No, you got it all wrong," he shook his head and shifted himself on the seat to a much more laid-back and comfortable pose. "I am not sad. As I explained before, my father has completed his life. It is a happy occasion worthy of a celebration. Not everyone manages to do it. So I'm not sad. I'm just nervous."

"Nervous? About seeing your own dad?"

"Well, we didn't exactly have the best relationship. Namely, I wasn't the best son. I only visited him every eight years after I left and always just for a day or two. And yet... he wants me to be his Parasavrra. I fear that I will not be able to mend our relationship before his departure. Or that I will somehow ruin the celebration. Or that when the priests see who his Parasavrra is, they will not allow him to go through with it."

[All those are just hypothetical scenarios.]

"Exactly! Surdi is right. You are overthinking it too much. Just go to your dad, explain why you did whatever you did, and just... be honest. I'm sure he won't be interested in holding grudges right before his death."

The hunter smirked. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Still doesn't mean I wouldn't be nervous at all. I don't..."

"Umm... sorry to bother you, sir, but I think there is some... problem on the road?" the owner of the carriage called to them and brought the horses to a halt.

"What kind of a problem?" Glavas replied, ready to stick his head out of the door.

"There is an elf standing in the middle of the path, right up ahead. I am pretty sure they are something like border control? You might want to take it from here. I don't exactly have any papers that would allow me to approach elven cities."

A smile appeared on the hunter's face. "That is probably someone from the city, just curious about what we're doing here. Are they dressed like a peasant?"

"Umm... no. Bright white robes."

"Oh fuck." The previous expression of happiness completely disappeared from Glavas' face.

[What's going on?] Surdi asked, unaware of what half of the conversation was about.

"It's a priest. I bet he just wants to know why we've come."

"Are they dangerous?" Alma expressed her worries.

"Dangerous? Ha! Not at all. But annoying? Oh, fuck yes. So goddamn much. Let me handle this." He pulled down the handle of the carriage door and slowly opened it.

"Careful! There's..." the driver did not get to finish. Glavas stepped out and barely managed to lean out of the way as a small furry creature floated toward his face.

"Whoa! A Kipuli swarm?! Why did you not tell us sooner?!" The hunter shouted when he noticed that the animals were floating all around the forest.

"Well, most people don't really like them. And you were inside the cart, so... I just didn't think you'd be interested in knowing that." The driver shrugged.

"Awwww! They're so cute!" Alma squealed. When she heard Glavas' surprise from the outside. She stepped out of the carriage and immediately, her eyes fixated on one of the tiny critters. They were the perfect elements of cuteness. Tiny buns of white fluff, that would perfectly fit into one's hand. Their small black eyes were carefully observing everything around them. The two long limbs coming from the main body were reminiscent of massive ears that would make even a rabbit jealous.

"Don't play with them. They aren't really dangerous, but still shouldn't be handled without care. Just wait for me in the carriage, I'll be right back." He turned around and all he managed to do was take about five steps before a loud, high-pitched scream reached his ears.

Alma's brain could only focus on one thing - the desire to pet one of the animals. Very carefully, she reached out to one of them, waiting, and letting the Kipuli sniff her first, to make sure she meant it no harm. When the creature finally decided to land on her palm, the girl's smile could light up the entire forest with joy. She gently pulled the animal closer and began petting it with her other hand. The Kipuli seemed very pleased with this action. It slowly closed its eyes and as the petting continued, it decided to rest its two long limbs by wrapping them around Alma's wrist. The moment the soft, blue underside at the ends of the long, ear-like appendages touched the girl's skin, a powerful sting flew through her body, like being covered in needles.

"EEEEEEEEE!" she squealed as her muscled reacted to the sudden wave of electricity by contracting, making her go stiff for a second and forcing her to lean against the carriage to keep her footing. The tiny creature, alarmed by the sound, quickly flew away.

"Alma! I told you to leave them alone!" Glavas sighed and rolled his eyes.

"What the fuck was that?!"

"Their defense mechanism. It's used on contact to scare away predators. That's why these things can be so troublesome."

"I... I can't move my fingers! Glavas! Help!"

"Calm down! Give it a minute or two and it will pass. Surdi! Take her inside and keep her there!"

[You know far too well how hard that is!] the boy signed back and pulled his slightly traumatized friend back into the vehicle. Glavas slid his palm along his forehead. "Damn it, they can't listen to me at least once!"

Meanwhile, the priest approached their cart. "And here I thought that this year's festival would be a peaceful one. How unfortunate."

"Isitan." Glavas tipped his hat to the elf.

"Moon Scourge."

"I see my title has still not been taken by someone else."

"Indeed."

"Don't you have someone better to wear that label? It is supposed to be for the worst criminals, you know that?"

"Criminals can be judged and sentenced to a punishment. They are easy to deal with. Compared to someone as annoying yet lawfully innocent as you..."

"You're just pissed you can't exile me," the hunted grinned and crossed his arms.

"What do you want, Glavas? You defile this place with your visit once every eight years. It's still early for the next one."

"I want to visit my father. He wants me to be his Parasavrra." Upon hearing this, the priest's right eye began to twitch a little, no matter how much he tried to keep his stoic attitude.

"Truly catastrophic news. And what about that?" He pointed to the carriage. "Is the lizard and the human larva your entourage?"

"Yup. My companions and guests."

"Catastrophic indeed. Ah, well, what can I do? Just get your heretic bottom into the city already. And I sincerely hope you will not grace me with your presence at least until the festival begins."

Glavas winked at him. "No promises."