"Hey, wake up."

His eyes shot open and his hand reached for the dagger by his side.

"Shh. Keep your voice down and stay low."

In the pale moonlight, he could glimpse Stefan's worried and heightened sense of unease. Still, he did as he was told. The ground was slightly damp when he pressed his chest against it, but he was used to it. His eyes scanned the darkness. Stefan did the same, but the man probably could not see as well as him in the night. He strained his eyes to see. Nothing. It was an empty mountainside if one did not take into account the rocks, boulders, and lone trees that littered the mountainside. Then, the man beside him pointed. No sound, no signals. Just a straight finger that pointed at the emptiness ahead of them. No, not emptiness.

Something moved in the distance. It was not tall, but it was hunched over and moved slowly and clumsily. It made raspy sounds as it walked. The creature glanced around as it strained its neck. Not even his eyes could see the creature clearly. Still, it lumbered from rock to rock with a seemingly strained pants and groans. The creature held a weapon and there was a large hump on its back the size of a stuffed bag. He wanted to stay still and let hte creature pass them by, but Stefan had other plans. With a light tap on his shoulder, the man whispered quitely under hushed breath.

"Wake up the two. I'll try to take it on while you get those two up and ready for a scrap."

"Is it monster?"

"Not sure. Too small for Troll or Ogre, and too big for a Goblin."

After a moment's pause, the Goblin nodded and slipped away from the Swordsman.

[Shadow Step] was a good Skill to use in such situations. He popped his head out of the shadows casted by the fire around the camp. The two sleapt soundly. Semilia drooled while she scratched her stomach with a stupid grin on her face. A growl left his lips as he pulled himself out of the shadow and he marched towards the pointy-eared woman and dug a finger at her cheek. The response was instant. A blur moved towards his ear and a jolt of pain immediately ran down his body. He gritted his teeth and clutched her arm while she shot up and immediately began to grill him with her sharp words.

"What the fuck, Goblin?! The fuck do you think yer doing, you green piece of rabbit shit?!"

"T-Trouble! There is trouble!"

While Riel rubbed her eyes behind them, as if on cue, a sharp cry rang out from where Stefan was. It was followed shortly after by Stefan cussing loudly into the night.

The two of them rushed towards Stefan, their weapons already in hand and ready to bring down any enemy. Semilia lunged and aimed her bow while he leapt forwards to slash at whatever assaulted Stefan. He stopped himself. With great effort, he twisted his body to avoid the two bodies in front of him. He slammed against the ground and startled the smaller figure. He shivered and quaked, but the man did not run at his sight but instead found himself stuck to the ground under the heavy and intense glare of Stefan, who scratched his head in silent anger.

"Who are you and why the hell are you up in the mountains at these hours?!"

"D-D-D-De-Dekr, g-good sir! I'm a Woodsman! I c-came here to g-gather those-those stones Mages fancy so much! Honest, sir!"

Sirius looked up to see and hear the frightened old man in front of them.

"Stones? Stones?! Can't you get them while the sun is up?! We almost fucking killed you, man!"

Stefan angrily shouted while sheathed his sword. The man shakily held the small pickaxe by his side out of fear.

"M-Magic stones, sir! Stones that only g-glow in the dark!"

"Stones that glo- Mana Stones! God damn it, you fucking old man!"

"Mana... Stones?"

"One of the ways mana in the environment materializes. Highly prized by Mages such as myself."

Riel hurriedly walked up to the old man and stuck out a hand.

"Riel, Mage. Pleasured to meet you, sir! These Mana Stones, are they low-grade or mid-grade?"

"N-No "sir" for me, young miss. Dekr is fine. Those City Mages pay good money for the stone I bring. But not all of them fawn over it all but it does keep my belly full when they buy the handful of rocks I collect."

"Now's not the time, Riel. Sir, you are aware of the dangers of these mountains, yes?"

"Those Greenskins don't bother these parts of the Arendine, sir. Only Gobs, Hobs, and Trolls do. But they don't stick in the open too long. Fear keeps 'em in check."

"Fear of what?"

"Draukr, sir. One who is lordin' over these lands. Been here since my father's father, and his father's father, since before even Old Arluk itself, he lorded over these parts."

Semilia shook her head and eased her grasp on her bow.

"Can't he keep the bats in check?"

"Animals are dear to that old Dragon. We folk need to leave tokens after a hunt to honor him, sign of respect and all that."

"Heh. A Dragon's pride really does know no bounds... Anyways, do you know your way in that cave over there?"

"Cave? Oh, I was heading there meself, actually."

The man pointed at the mouth of the cave and spoke with a slightly surprised voice.

"Leads out to the other side of the mountains. The inside is already bare of stones, but the other side has a lot of caves and stones laying around."

Riel whistled and quickly grabbed her staff.

Stefan sighed and shook his head, unsure of what to do. His eyes turned towards him for a moment, then back to the old man in front of them. The man scratched the back of his head while the old man stopped quaking and instead looked around uneasily. He himself was unsure of what to do. The old man was strange. Sirius couldn't put a finger on it but the man felt... off to him. Something about the man made him feel unease. Like he was staring down a steep cliff or up at a large tree that was about to fall on him. It was something that could only be described as something that "overwhelmed" him.

White hair that reached the shoulders and a white beard that reached his chest. Gnarled hands and a small frame. Ragged clothes that could weather any storm thrown at it and did so for a long time and a pickaxe and bag that had seen better days. The man was not impressive. He looked the part of a poor Woodsman that lived in the woods. Still, despite his dirty and unassuming appearance, the man's presence demanded his utmost attention. It sucked it up like a gaping hole that glued his gaze towards him, and he didn't like it. Not one bit. But he had no choice but to follow after the old man as they gathered at the mouth of the cave.

----------------------------------------

"Arenhein is big but it's not for us simple folk."

The old man said while the five of them walked into the depths of the cave.

"Large city, plenty o' people and little crime and thievery but the bustle and hustle of city life is not our fancy. Farmin folk and mountain folk such as myself prefer the peaceful and slow life we have up in the mountains or the rolling hills in the valley."

Stolen story; please report.

Stefan smiled and nodded, clearly out of it. Semilia and Riel were the same and clearly wore forced smiles as the old man rattled their ears off with his unending talking.

"The Arendine and the High Peaks to the traps the city. But the army's top-notch, I tell you. Toryehelm leads and arms men better, but Arenhein could throw its weight in numbers. And! And. And we can feed our men better and cheaply too. Laknnor has plenty walls and small cities, but not big armies that can stand in a fight against Arenhein."

The Goblin nodded absently while he kicked a small stone while he walked.

He wasn't annoyed. If he could put it in words, he would describe the man's talkativeness as "watching a fly buzz around" or "like waiting for moss to grow" but not boring. The old man was interesting, in a way. It was his words and the way he used and placed them together. It wasn't as if he was trying hard to strike a conversation with them. No. It had a different purpose. A familiar purpose, but one he couldn't place a claw on and remember. And there was also this feeling on the back of his neck. Something that made him keep an eye and an ear out towards the old man.

It had only been a few long minutes since they entered the cave but they had already reached a small opening that lay just beyond the cave's mouth. It reeked of bat droppings and the floor was wet and moist with the stuff, but it wasn't slippery since the solid rock beneath the layer of waste gripped onto their shoes. Still, they took great care on where to thread. The rock itself wasn't slippery, but one wrong step and layers of bat droppings and urine could easily make one lose their balance. Riel's Light Spell helped Stefan as he traced a path for them.

"There should be another room beyond this one."

"Big room. Strange lights and plants."

He interjected as he took a careful step in front of him.

"We folk like to call them "Starbugs" or "Glowworms" depending on the season. Come the first rains of spring, those buggers fly out of caves and light up the sky like stars. Their young are worms. Worms that hang off the ceiling of caves and feed on dripping cave water, small bugs, or the rocks they hang on and they lit up caves nicely. The plants, I don't know. Probably Glowshrooms or Lightmoss."

The old man said as he glanced around the messy chamber.

"We don't have those things in the west, don't we?"

Stefan asked Semilia, who gave him a slight shrug.

"We have a similar thing with fireflies, but I've never about those things."

"It's rare in Leroun, but it does happen."

Riel said with a slight frown as she used her staff as a sort of cane.

"Not taste good. Glowshroom don't taste good also."

There was a pause, then the old man laughed."

"Boy, glowshrooms make your shits light up."

The old man laughed out while they pushed through the thick layer of bat crap on the floor.

At the end of the foul-smelling room, a small hole that could fit only one person through glowed slightly blue. It was a fairly small crack in the wall. Wide at the base and narrow at the top, it was a squeeze for anyone trying to get into the other room. With a sigh, he moved to the front of the group and squeezed himself into the crack sideways. Step. Step. Crunch. He looked down to see the bones of a long-dead bat. He kicked it to the side and popped his head out of the crack to look around the other room.

His crimson eyes turned amber yellow as blue filled his vision. The high ceiling was covered with hanging worms and downward spires of rock. He forgot what it was called. On the ground was either damp rock, damp dirt, moss, or mushrooms that glowed either blue, green, or yellow. Glowshrooms. The cave barely changed. In fact, he could see the remains of his makeshift spear and the flint spearhead that remained on the floor where he left it. He looked around the spacious room and nodded. It was still the bright, spacious, slightly smelly, and boring cave he left behind years ago.

"Whoa... It's bigger than I thought."

Stefan said as he emerged from the crack on the wall.

"Go deeper. No. Go down after room. Cave leads to crack near bottom of mountain."

He said to Stefan as he prodded at the glowshroom by his feet with a finger.

"Gods, it's fuckin' bright in here!"

Her voice echoed and bounced off of the walls of the cave and reached the deeper parts ahead of them. Semilia smiled and whistled. Once again, the sound resonated within the cave's thick walls.

She pulled Riel out of the crack and helped the old man as well. The two looked around the room and had differing looks on their faces. Awe was written all over the Mage's face while sheer disappointment could be heard from the long gust of air that came out of the old man's nose. He understood why the man was disappointed. Despite its size, there were no Mana Stones. A result of the large amount of glowshrooms and glowworms in the room that sucked and absorbed the ambient mana in the air and the earth. No wonder the bats that lived in the cave were large. They fed on glowworms that were filled with large amounts of mana and starbugs that used the mana stored in their body to change into that form.

Something glowed in his boot. One of the glowshrooms near his feet was gone and a long tendril stretched to reach another that lay just ahead of him. A chuckle left his mouth. He plucked the glowshroom and handed it to his companion. Miu devoured it easily and he watched the process with fascination. Whatever properties the glowshroom had, it appeared somewhere in Miu's body. She glowed a bright blue and the core in the center of her body spun quickly and glowed brightly as well. He nodded and watched it curiously. Amazing. Truly amazing. That was the only way he could describe Miu.

"You're falling behind. They're already ahead of you by quite a few paces."

Her flat voice, one clearly devoid of sleep, made him glance over his shoulder.

"I know."

"... Move then. You're supposed to be at the front, you know?"

There was something in her voice. A hint of distrust? She did not show it outwardly, but she still harboured it in her words and the occasional glance at him. He could also be wrong in the assumption. Still, he did not risk it and simply continued to march forward, Riel closely behind him with her staff raised. Of course. She was on edge around him. Everyone always is since he is a Goblin. He didn't mind it, of course, but he felt uneasy with that powerful staff pointed towards him in the hands of a very capable Mage. Maybe she still hate-

"Eek!"

A starbug flew in front of her face and was immediately swatted out of the air by her staff.

"D-Do your job better!"

"What?"

"You heard me! It's your job to not let things like- Aah! Another one! Gods! I-It's your job to protect me, the backline, from things like these!"

Riel swatted a few more of the bugs out of the air while he simply grabbed one midair.

"Hard."

"Hard?! What do you-"

"Can't move with hand on cloak."

He pointed at how her left hand tightly gripped the hood of his cloak. Her cheeks reddened while he popped the starbug into his mouth.

"S-Sorry."

"Fine. Things not dangerous. Wet, but not dangerous."

The Mage stared at the glowing, blue liquid on his palm. It was how starbugs made their nest and attracted mates. The slightly sweet and bright liquid tasted nutty and metallic but also nectary and flowery. It also made other starbugs swarm to his hand. Riel looked disgusted at this, but he simply found it interesting. After a few moments, he shook his hand and the starbugs took flight immediately. He laughed as Riel panicked behind him and cast a small [Gust] to scatter the insects.

She was mad. Very mad, in fact. Still, he didn't mind the Mage's scolding words since it was easy to ignore if you just imagine a rabbit or a mouse squeaking behind you. For all her smarts in magic, she didn't appreciate the most basic of magic around her. The room was unique since it was the only one of its kind in this particular cave. The way mana pooled in this particular room was still a mystery. But what it made was simply beautiful, and that itself was magic in his opinion-

"I've had enough of this! [Flame Burst]!"

Blood drained from his face as he creaked his head to the side.

Flames consumed the insects and the mushrooms while Riel burned the bugs that flew around her with a continuous stream of fire from her wand. After a while, she stopped. Panting, she nodded proudly to herself and carried on despite the destruction around her. No starbug approached her after that. But he saw what she did. This spot in the cave was now devoid of life or light except for the faint embers left behind after her Spell. He shook his head and sighed. A voice ahead of him laughed.

"Bit of an overreaction, if I do say so meself."

The old man smiled while he tried to walk past him.

"Why you back here?"

"Hmm? Oh, my knees! Too fast and I'll be as fast as a cripple!"

He glanced at the old man's bent knees.

There was something off about him and his bent knees. The way he hunched forward and the sunspots on his skin not natural. His teeth were wrong as well. And know that he had a closer look at it, there was something about his skin and his wrinkles that scratched at him. His long fingers tipped with shaped nails and his slightly pointed ears. Unnatural. That was the only way to describe him. He was just off, in a way. The man's hazel eyes were also strange and it felt as if he stared not into a Human's eyes. His gaze was deep, ancient even. It was not a void, but a well overflowing with ancient knowledge and power and... pride. He grinned at him.

There was a shout at the front. Semilia's. He looked back at the man, his visage still unnatural and inhuman. He shuddered. He forced himself to look away and run towards his party. Forget the old man. He told himself that as he turned the bend in the cave and immediately ducked. A shard of rock crashed against the wall behind him while Stefan swore somewhere ahead of him. Something lashed against the walls of the cave, and a foul odor assailed his nose quickly after. A shrill hiss filled his ears as Semilia shot arrow after arrow against the creature.

Flap. Flap. Flap. Leathery wings beat loudly and sent strong gusts of wind all around the creature. Its long neck reared back like a serpent while its tail wrapped around a pillar of stone. It carried itself with a pair of powerful and muscular legs. Sharp talons tipped each feet and they looked like the feet of a great bird of prey but instead of feathers, scales of bright green covered the legs. The creature's massive jaws opened and its brown eyes that had slits like a lizard's locked onto them as it shrieked. Its horns scraped against the cave's ceiling and its scales shone under the light of Riel's Light Spell.

"Dear Gods... It's a-"

"Wyvern."

Stefan finished Semilia's sentence as he gripped his sword tightly.

"A fucking Wyvern."