Blain paced back and forth, his towering figure making the soldiers in formation look like children. "Blain, please just sit down. I'm trying to think," said Abeon, balancing on a wooden chair with one leg on the ground. "Sorry, Abeon. I'm just excited. We've been stuck in this fortress for too long. I want to fight so badly," said Blain, gazing out at the human town in the distance, its inhabitants going about their daily lives unaware of the danger looming over them.

According to Abeon, the town was now filled with powerful humans, he was interested in Edeus in particular, t, the mage who had brought despair to the entire harpy race by snatching away their queen. As a warrior at heart, nothing satisfied him more than a good fight, and right now he wanted nothing more than to face Edeus in battle.

“You can do all the fighting then, ill take care of eating the little prince”, Mytha who was bathing on the sunlight walked to the duo covering her yawn with one hand.

“Idiot, you know we can’t actually eat him right? It’s a gift for Hexecate”, said Abeon, planting the legs of his chair firmly on the ground.

“Listen to me, both of you. We only have around 500 men, most of them just low-quality foot soldiers with only a few capable mages. The human soldiers number around 300 and they have high walls and skilled fighters on their side. This isn't going to be easy. If you let your guard down, you could die”, warned Abeon with a serious tone.

“Gahaha!, you sure know how to get me going, captain”, Blain laughed heartily, the prospect of fighting to the death wasn’t a threat to him.

Abeon sighed. “I’m serious, Blain, I know you can barely grasp the concept of dying since you are an abyssal, but there’s many ways for humans to deal with you, take this seriously or you will end up like the harpy queen”.

“I get it, I will be careful, alright?”, Blain gave up, he couldn’t win against Abeon when he started acting like an overprotective mother.

“What’s the plan then?”, Mytha asked.

“We will use that”, Abeon nodded towards a wooden box.

“What’s in it?”, Mytha approached the box and asked, looking at Abeon.

“An old friend that came to visit us a few weeks ago. Go ahead, look for yourself”.

Mytha opened the box and recoiled at the rotten smell. Inside was the rotting body of a woman with long red hair, her skin red and bloated, parts of it melting. It was a far cry from the beautiful woman she had once been.

Unable to handle the smell, Mytha quickly shut the box again .

“So we are going to drag the prince out?”, Mytha asked, waving the air in front of her face to get rid of the lingering smell.

“That would be the best case scenario, yes, of course, I have many plans in my head”, Abeon said, tapping his temple, he was a captain but he didn’t get to act like one often, one he did, he truly enjoyed it.

“Sure, sure”, Mytha who didn’t want to play along quickly shut him down.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Sure, sure," said Mytha, uninterested in playing along. "But I have to admit, I'm excited now too," she said, smiling and crossing her arms as she looked towards Dorhem. Her tail was wagging in anticipation.

….

As Rodderick ran through the streets of Dorhem, he couldn't help but notice the increased presence of soldiers patrolling the streets. He turned a corner and collided with someone, producing a metallic sound as he was bounced back from the impact. "Ouch... sorry about that," he said, looking up to see a bald old man in full plate armor, a sword hanging at his hip, and holding a sack filled with various ingredients

"Don't worry about it, kid. Be careful, you could get hurt running like that," the man said, offering his hand to help Rodderick up. Rodderick gratefully accepted the man's help and stood up, he then placed his palms on his clothes and muttering a small chant, he brushed the dust off his clothes with a small burst of magic.

Mmm?!" the old soldier raised an eyebrow in surprise at the unexpected display of magic from the young boy. "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't recognize you, child. Are you Earl Ribbons' kid?" he asked. "The Earl's? No, no! Not at all. I'm Rodderick," Rodderick replied with a smile. "Rodderick?" the man brought a hand to his chin, trying to remember the name but coming up empty. "Sorry, I can't say I've heard of you. What family do you belong to?" he asked. "No family, sir. I'm not a noble," Rodderick said awkwardly. "Oh? Really?" the man seemed impressed. "Is anyone teaching you magic?" he asked. "Yeah! I met a wizard and a witch who've been teaching me magic. They're called Edeus and Ember," Rodderick proudly talked about his companions with starry eyes.

"Whaaaat?!" the old man paled. "Edeus is here?" he asked, kneeling down and looking directly into Rodderick's eyes. "Ah, yes. Do you know him, sir?" Rodderick was taken aback by the man's reaction. "Oh, no, I don't know him," the man said, blinking and looking away as he coughed. 'No, that's clearly a lie,' Rodderick thought, there was no point to pretending otherwise after their talk.

"Well, it was nice to meet you, Rodderick. I have to go now. Goodbye," the man said, picking up the sack of groceries he had dropped during the conversation and walking away.

“Suspicious…”, Rodderick smelt an adventure, he decided to follow the old soldier.

Sa sa sa, wam wam wam.

Darting from wall to wall, taking cover behind anything that could conceal him as he kept a safe distance. The soldier eventually arrived at a decrepit wooden building in the downtown area and knocked on the door, his anxiety palpable. "Prince Adrian, open up quickly! Prince Adrian!" he called out. The door swung open, revealing a hooded figure on the other side. Though the hood hid their face, it was clear that it was a child, slightly older than Rodderick. "Lower your voice, you idiot. Come in," the hooded figure said, and the soldier obeyed, walking inside and closing the door behind him. Rodderick, who had been hiding behind a wall, covered his mouth with both hands in shock. He had found the prince that Edeus and Ember had been searching for, by sheer luck. Joy filled his heart as he realized the good news he could bring to his companions. As soon as he heard the door close, he began running towards the plaza, eager to find the inn and share his discovery with Edeus and Ember.