Imri finished packing, putting everything he could need for a several-day journey into his inner domain. Most of it was mundane supplies for a backpacking trip, such as tents, a gas stove, and food. It almost felt strange not to be able to teleport somewhere. He and Emelia made their way to the meeting location, a newly opened cafe only several blocks away. A glance around the already-packed room told him they were the first to arrive.

What started as a small group quickly ballooned into a decent-sized expedition. While only Zhaire and Imri were strictly necessary, everyone else had come up with thinly veiled reasons for why they should be included. However, the real reason was apparent: everyone wanted to see the dragon.

Imri got his black coffee and took one of the few remaining tables. With his improved attributes, he no longer had any issues waking up, but there was something about the morning ritual that he had missed. He raised the mug and sipped it appreciatively, savoring the flavor as the bitter notes hit his palette. Emelia joined him a moment later, drinking more sugar and milk than coffee.

“Are you sure you want to come with me? It will be dangerous and strenuous,” Imri pointed out.

Emelia glared at him as she licked the whipped cream. “If you get eaten by a deceitful dragon, we’re all fucked anyway. I’m not sure I could survive the soul wound, let alone the baby. So, the question is, should you be going?”

“If there is any chance we could gain an ally, then it's worth the risk,” Imri said after thinking about it momentarily.

"Then that settles it," Emelia said.

Sylvi arrived shortly after they had sat down. She was dressed in dark leather with an equally dark cloak, with her bow strapped to her back. Caroline held her arm, smiling as she did so. She stood out less, dressed like a typical pre-integration backpacker, except that she wore a vest with drake plates, like an oversized life jacket; it looked comically large on the petite woman. She shifted the armor around, trying and failing to find a point where it would be balanced.

Ashlyn and Vallo came in together, though they weren’t holding hands. However, even Imri didn’t miss the awkward glances they gave each other. They were dressed in the same dark clothing that Sylvi wore, the uniforms of the wraith unit.

The last to arrive was Zhaire, ducking into the cafe due to his massive stature. He was the only one not wearing armor, requiring a custom job to fit his enormous frame. Even his glaive, huge by usual standards, seemed undersized now.

From what Zhaire had determined, their destination was somewhere in the valley. This had been a bit surprising, as they had sent several scouts to map out the area. However, it was much larger than the plateau and challenging to access. It also wasn’t as open, with more vegetation growing at the lower altitude. It wasn’t surprising that they still hadn’t discovered everything, but Imri was still surprised a dragon had gone unnoticed, especially if its supposed size was to be believed.

Imri collected everyone's gear and stored it in his Inner Domain. With the logistics taken care of, they set out. While he couldn’t open a portal to their destination, Imri could at least take care of the first leg of their journey. When they reached the city's outskirts, he opened a portal, spending the extra mana to accommodate Zhaire’s frame.

They emerged in an open area. Nearby, a newly placed nexus hovered in the air. A small tent city had formed, with early signs of new construction underway. It was the location for the latest settlement in the Celestia Empire, one that would specialize in education and physical training. He had conveniently placed a Dimensional Waypoint on the location when he had placed the nexus, but he hadn’t anticipated using it so soon. It still didn’t have a permanent portal, something Imri intended to rectify shortly after returning.

The college settlement was near the innermost part of the plateau and only a couple of kilometers from the mountain pass. Imri has strategically placed it there, hoping for the settlement to serve as a final outpost for those traveling to the valley. He had hoped to eventually expand the empire into the valley and still hoped they could. However, he certainly wouldn’t want settlers having to contend with an angry dragon. Hopefully, he could negotiate with Corrolth, as they clearly wanted something from him. It was related to the world core, but beyond that, Imri wasn’t sure what they wanted.

The hike started easily enough. While there weren’t trails cleared, the terrain was mostly flat and easy to traverse. That quickly changed when they reached the pass. It was steep and narrow, looking like something only a mountain goat could navigate. Certain sections were bad enough that they needed to stop and get out equipment for a technical climb.

Of course, Imri didn’t need to bother, so he teleported himself and Emelia to their destination. Fortunately, he wasn’t the only one with a cheat for the challenging climbs. Vallo transformed himself into a bird and flew the distance with ease. Zhaire was next to reach the top, having a ridiculous amount of strength that made it effortless for him to lift his body weight. Combining that with his incredible reach, he reminded Imri of a gorilla, though he would never say that to the temperamental beserker’s face. Sylvi and Ashlyn weren’t far behind. They made up for their relatively lower strength with agility, effortlessly standing on small protrusions as if they were accessible walkways.

Caroline brought up the rear, lacking the spells that provided mobility and not having a class or profession focused on physical attributes. However, she wasn’t totally out of shape and had a resource of her own. She withdrew a vial and downed it in a single gulp, growing noticeably stronger a moment later. It seemed more dramatic than the potion Imri had taken, and he suspected she saved her most potent brews for herself or had some way of boosting their effectiveness when consumed by the creator. Imri guessed the latter, as she would have consumed something enormously valuable to make a climb easier if the former was the case.

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They continued hiking throughout the day, encountering many technical sections. Fortunately, many sections were descents, and the forward scout had set up a semi-permanent repelling system. Still, there were enough climbs that Imri was forced to save his mana for the worst ascents, not wanting to spend all his mana. He also took Caroline with him after her potion toxicity was too high. By the day's end, they were exhausted but had made incredible time. They had gone through the entire pass, nearly a twenty-kilometer stretch of almost impassible terrain. The last obstacle was the final descent, a roughly two-kilometer drop with virtually no accessible way down.

The vista looking out over the valley was breathtaking. They were several kilometers above, and it was a sheer drop down. The valley was several times larger than the Celestia Plateau and was much more verdant, with thick foliage covering the entire area. Unfortunately, that also made it hard to see through the dense canopy. A massive falls fell from a nearby cliff, sending water down from over a kilometer in height. A large river and smaller tributaries cut through the valley, providing water for the lush terrain.

Despite still having a couple of hours of daylight, there was no discussion about continuing. Imri withdrew the camping supplies from his Inner Domain, and everyone helped set up the camp. When the work was done, everyone plopped onto the ground, enjoying the view and relaxing.

“That’s so much better,” Caroline said, pulling her armor off. Sylvi looked like she was about to tell her to put it back on, but one glare made her reconsider.

“It’s not camping without whiskey,” Vallo said, withdrawing a water bottle that Imri had enchanted.

“You wanted an enchanted water bottle to store extra booze?” Imri asked incredulously.

“Lighten up, Im,” Vallo said as he poured portions into plastic cups.

“It might be good for at least one person to remain sober besides the pregnant lady. We’ll need a watch,” Sylvi pointed out.

“Don’t worry about it; I have plenty of the detox potions,” Caroline said with a grin. It didn’t take much more to convince Imri and Sylvi, and everyone was given a plastic cup, a quarter filled with whiskey.

“Here’s to hopefully not getting eaten by a dragon,” Ashlyn quipped as she raised her cup. Everyone glared at her.

“To surviving an invasion from mind-controlling parasites and coming out stronger,” Sylvi toasted.

“To everyone’s good health,” Emelia added, raising her cup filled with water while unconsciously putting her other hand over her belly.

Everyone said cheers and sipped on the whiskey. It had notes of toffee and dates while not being overly sweet. It was pre-integration variety, as no one had been able to produce anything high quality in such a short amount of time, even with magical aging. Imri suspected he could probably create something better now that he had Cycles of Growth and Decay, but he hadn’t had time to experiment.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, a fire was lit. Everyone moved closer, sitting in companionable silence as they sipped their drinks. For a brief time, Imri forgot about the life and death struggles and the numerous entities that wanted to take away the home he had built. There was only the warmth of the crackling fire and Emelia leaning pleasantly against him.

“Why is no one talking? This is weird,” Ashlyn eventually said, breaking the spell.

“Because there aren’t going to be many more opportunities like this. Where we’re all in the same place, and no one is trying to kill us,” Sylvi said.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that; Corrolth is pissed that we stopped for the night,” Zhaire said, though the grin on his face suggested he wasn’t overly concerned.

“You’re sure it's safe? How are you so confident the dragon won’t come and burn us alive?” Ashlyn asked.

“I’m positive now. If she’s that close and this impatient, she would have already come if she could. Something is preventing her from coming to us,” Imri said.

“Have you tried asking her?” Ashlyn asked.

“Of course. She’s not big on sharing much about herself. It was a pain even to find out her gender. I get the sense she’s used to getting her way without much pushback,” Zhaire said.

“Remind me, why are we doing this again?” Sylvi asked.

“It’s a risk but a calculated one. Our odds of beating the Azala aren’t great, so we have to take our chances,” Imri said.

“I thought you hated gambling? I’ve even heard you arguing with Christoph about if it should be legal in Celestia,” Emelia pointed out.

“I hate irrational, pointless gambling, where a basic understanding of probabilities is all that's needed to recognize a scam. This is different; taking a risk gives us a small chance of winning. Even if it's a slim probability, that’s better than doing nothing,” Imri explained.

“You should have heard him lecturing our mom and dad whenever they gambled. Imagine being lectured by a teenager about basic probability and smart financial decisions,” Vallo said.

“I wasn’t that bad,” Imri said defensively.

“Yes, you were,” Vallo said.

“I would have liked to have seen that,” Emelia said.

“Be honest, how many of you came with just because seeing a dragon is too cool to pass up,” Sylvi said. Immediately, almost every hand went up, with the only two exceptions being Imri and Zhaire.

“It’s good to see everyone has their priorities straight,” Imri joked. This was met with a chorus of good-natured booing.

Imri just shook his head. It was entirely irrational for all of them to be here. They needed to prepare many things, and the Azala could strike any moment. However, he was surprised it didn’t bother him; he was happy they were here with him.