My sleep is plagued by dreams of being a drake and destroying cities and armies. The main point of the dreams is how powerful and indestructible I am as a drake. When I wake up the first thing I check is that I am still in my normal form.

"Lizzy, how long did I sleep?"

Lizzy says "Almost a full day. It is now the evening of the next day."

"Well, at least it wasn't a full week this time!"

Lizzy says "I wouldn't be too happy just yet. You missed Mercy's big ceremony."

"Oh, crap! Is she really mad?"

Lizzy says "I don't know, she didn't stick around. She already left for the capital."

"If she didn't try to say goodbye, then she is mad at me."

Lizzy says "Nope, she didn't come by."

"So, has everyone left then?"

Lizzy says "Not everyone. About a quarter of the army is still waiting their turn. The beastmen also haven't moved yet."

"Leonarr is probably waiting until after he knows I am better. I will go talk to him in a bit. Anything else I should know?"

Lizzy says "Ekard finally woke up, he is outside playing with Windy."

"Okay, that's good!"

Since I woke up hungry I start pulling food out of my pouch and of course I pull some out for Lizzy. Not even a minute passes before Ekard comes charging into the tent looking for food. As I am pulling out food for him a very haggard looking Windy comes into the tent.

"Still think taking care of him is easy?"

Windy says "No! I never imagined he would have so much energy!"

"He isn't usually that bad, but he did just sleep for a long time."

Windy says "Hopefully he will take a nap after he eats!"

"More than likely, but if not Lizzy can take a turn watching him."

Lizzy says "I can?"

"Yes, we don't want poor Windy exhausted all the time."

Lizzy says "Of course I will help, I was just kidding."

Once he is done eating I notice Ekard is looking sleepy, so I pull him over to me and take a nap with him. When I wake up again I can tell from the light that it is dawn, my nap lasted all night. When I sit up I find I am alone in the tent, but I can hear movement outside.

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As I stretch I find I am feeling somewhat better, all that sleep did me a world of good. When I walk out of the tent I am surprised to see Ekard playing tag with Verica. Lizzy is keeping an eye on things, with Windy curled up taking a nap next to her.

Leonarr says "My King, are you recovered?"

"Not fully, but I am improving. Is the army done marching out?"

Leonarr says "Yes, Mercy's army is gone, only we remain."

"Are you prepared to move out?"

Leonarr says "Yes, at any time. We already sent a runner ahead to notify Pol that we are coming."

"Good, good. Are the troops well rested?"

Leonarr says "Oh, yes. After all, thanks to you we just sat around here for the past two weeks."

"Then let's get them home. Well, first we need to give them a home."

Leonarr says "For most of them, wherever you are is home."

"Well, they need a home other than me. Illium is only a temporary stop for them. We will be taking over the beast lands soon."

Leonarr says "By force?"

"No, not if I can help it. The last thing I want is beastmen killing beastmen."

Leonarr says "That's good. I will get the army marching immediately."

"Alright, once you are there listen to Pol."

Leonarr says "Yes, My King!"

"I will meet you there, although it will take me longer."

Leonarr says "In that case we will be waiting for you."

Lizzy says "Are we leaving today?"

"No, probably tomorrow."

As Leonarr leaves he calls Verica to go with him, so Ekard comes running back. When he sees me up and moving he excitedly runs over and climbs me until he can rub against my face. Laughing I rub my face against him before reaching up to pet him with both hands.

After getting some attention he asks for food so I start pulling out dishes. Windy wakes up to join us for breakfast and soon everyone is eating happily. Once I am done eating, when Ekard shows no sign of wanting a nap, I start chasing him around.

Not only does this allow me to spend some time with him, but it tests out the condition of my body. It hurts a little to move around, but my stamina and strength don't seem to be affected. My body is a little stiff and everything hurts a little, but not bad enough to stop me from fighting if I have to.

Lizzy says "You look like you are doing better."

"Yeah, I am. Still a little sore, but I can handle it."

Lizzy says "So, what's the plan then?"

Windy says "If we are leaving tomorrow, where are we going?"

"We are heading to Illium, but we are not taking the portal."

Windy says "How come?"

"We are going the long way so that we can detour and visit other mana beasts to make into sacred beasts."

Windy says "Like my brother?"

"Exactly. Although, as far as I know, we won't be dealing with beasts like you."

Windy says "That makes sense, unless we are heading north past the wall again."

"Eventually we will, but not right now."

For the rest of the day we just relax and take turns playing with Ekard. With the three of us teaming up on him we manage to wear him out by dinner time. After dinner we all pile up and go to sleep and in the morning everyone looks fresh and ready to go.

We have a big breakfast, break down the camp, and mount up to head out. After checking the map I guide Lizzy towards the nearest mana beast that we need to find. However, I tell Lizzy to take it easy, we are not in a rush currently.

Windy and I are riding in the saddle, Ekard is riding on top of Lizzy's head. Lizzy is going at a nice easy pace that she can keep up all day without problems. Other than a stop for lunch we ride all day long and even taking it easy Lizzy still covers a lot of ground.

By the time we stop for the night we have entered the plains in the southern part of the kingdom. We spot a few small farming villages but we go around them, no need to scare them. This is the area marked on the map, but I haven't seen any mana beasts.

While we are eating dinner I ask Lizzy if she has spotted or smelled anything. She tells me that other than normal animals all she has caught the scent of are wolves. If we are looking for plains wolves it is going to be tricky since they move around a lot.

The next morning, after breakfast, when we set out I ask Lizzy to track down the wolves. Unless she picks up the scent of some other type of mana beast then the wolves are our best bet. Luckily, Lizzy is an excellent tracker and moves much faster than the wolves.