"Just the twin goddesses, Krenocia and Seronia."

Rachel says "Wait, you are saying they are real? And you have spoken with them?"

"Yes, later I can arrange for you to meet them if you want."

Rachel says "Um, let me think about it."

Koko says "Giles."

"Oh, right."

I walk over and get ready to free Giles, yet no one moves to catch him. With a shrug I free him and watch as he collapses to the floor. To my surprise the wand is still intact, although its aura has gotten very weak.

Giles says "Oof! What happened?"

Rachel says "We were all petrified by that thing. Ash here saved us."

Giles says "Wait, that pile of bones petrified us? How?"

"It was an undead basilisk."

Justin says "How do you know that?"

"I recognized it because I've run into a basilisk before."

Giles says "So how exactly did you avoid being petrified?"

"After I saw your statues when I heard movement I closed my eyes."

Rachel says "You fought the thing blind?!"

"Basically, yeah, it's the only way to fight it safely. Didn't you ever watch any of the movies that had Medusa in them?"

Giles says "Oh! Yeah, now that I think of it I did! But didn't they use reflections to fight?"

"Yeah, but I didn't have a shiny shield handy!"

Emelia says "Haha! Well, either way, thank you for saving us even though you only came for Silveria!"

"You are welcome. Although it's not like Silveria would have left without you."

Justin says "So what's the plan now?"

"Well, I have to at least take Silveria back to her mother to show I completed the task. After that it is up to you what you want to do."

Justin says "Is there any point in us continuing to explore this place?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure I killed all the undead so probably not."

Justin says "Alright if you will excuse us for a bit we will discuss what we want to do."

"Sure."

'Hm, I wonder if I should return the wand to Krenocia. It definitely only has one use left and she didn't really seem to care about it. I guess I can keep it in case I need it. Wait, wasn't there a statue in the stables, was it really a statue?'

While the heroes are talking I walk back out to go back to the stables. Once there I quickly move to the last stall and take a closer look at the statue. It is a four legged lizard, kind of looks like a raptor with extra legs.

It is about seven feet at the shoulder and even with the scales I can tell it is heavily muscled. The details of the statue are far too good and lifelike for this to be just a statue. The question is, if I free it is it going to attack me or is it domesticated.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

If I end up having to kill it, that would be a waste of the wand, but it looks big enough and strong enough that I could ride it. My recent ride on the great tiger has shown me the benefits of increased mobility, if this thing is faster than me it would help out a lot. Besides, from the looks of those teeth and claws it would definitely be a combat mount.

Maybe I should wait and ask Emmy to help me, from how she acts with Silveria it looks like she has an animal type ability or class. Come to think of it I know that Justin is a paladin and Rachel is a cleric but I didn't ask what the others are. Knowing what they are capable of could end up being important if we run into a fight on our way back.

With that in mind I leave the stables and head back to the dining hall, when I get there I see the heroes sitting and talking still. Deciding I should be polite and let them finish talking I sit against the wall by the door well out of earshot. Silveria spots me and comes over, once in front of me she lowers her head in the animal equivalent of a bow.

I offer her my hand palm up and she raises her head to sniff and then lick my hand. Once the greeting is over she moves next to me and sits down so I start idly petting her while waiting for the heroes to finish their discussion. After about half an hour Justin waves me over so I get up and Silveria and I walk over to the group.

Justin says "If you don't mind could I ask your opinion on something?"

"Sure, I don't mind."

Justin says "So my original plan was to cross the northern wall and fight across to the empire's territory. I figured the empire would be the most likely to defeat the king's plans and I wanted to join them and help."

"While I have heard the empire is powerful I haven't heard anything about them actually mobilizing. Besides, why would you go to a foreign country instead of joining the rebellion if you want to fight the king?"

Justin says "Honestly, from some things I heard in the capital I didn't expect the rebels to last very long. Aren't they just a bunch of commoners who have been backed into a corner and are waiting to be wiped out?"

Giles says "Yeah, I heard they were almost wiped out already and just survived by pure luck. They aren't much better than a bunch of bandits."

"Well, considering the source for your information it's no wonder it is so bad. The rebellion is doing just fine, in fact I was summoned just after we won a victory and wiped out an army of ten thousand."

Justin says "What?!"

Giles says "How can that be?"

"The king and his spymaster have worked really hard to hide the truth, the rebellion is led by Princess Amercy."

Emelia says "Really? A real life princess??"

Justin says "Have you met her? What is she like?"

"Yes, I have. She is a very competent leader and will make an excellent queen."

Justin says "You seem to know a lot more about the situation than we do, would you mind telling us?"

"Sure."

In the end we sit down and cook some food, while we eat I tell them everything I have learned about this kingdom. I also tell them some of what I have learned about the world from the goddesses. I make sure to tell them enough so that they can make educated choices instead of trusting to luck.

Justin says "Based on what you have told us I am more inclined to join the rebellion. What do you guys think?"

Rachel says "I like the sound of that. Although, I do have a question for Ash, have you heard anything about us returning to our world?"

"Not specifically, the goddesses have offered to send my soul back after I die but mine is a special case."

Justin says "You make it sound like you don't want to go back."

"I don't! My life there was nothing special, and I always dreamed of being summoned to another world. If given the choice I will absolutely stay here."

Giles says "I agree. Even with all that's happened this place is much better than what I came from."

Emelia says "I miss my parents, but I'd never leave Silveria now that we are bonded."

Justin says "To be honest I haven't even thought about the possibility of going home. If I were given the choice I think I would prefer to stay here, while my old life wasn't exactly bad, this one is much more fulfilling."

"While I don't know if there is a way, if you want I will ask the goddesses about it for you. Although, to be honest, if there is a way it probably won't be available until the goddesses have regained their power."

Rachel says "Could you explain that part about regaining their power?"

"Uh, that is a much longer conversation and I am not willing to just sit around doing nothing. How about we get moving towards mother wolf and I will tell you about it when we camp tonight?"

Rachel says "Sure, I can wait."

"Okay, before we go I want to try to free a creature. Emmy, do you have abilities to help calm animals or something similar?"

Emelia says "Yes, I started off as a tamer but have since evolved into a contractor."

"Perfect! Are you willing to help me?"

Emelia says "Of course! What creature are you talking about?"

"I'm sure you already saw it, the statue in the stables?"