The atmosphere is silent, all of them standing in shock, until the silence is broken by Cam running into Edreus' arms. They share a loving hug, He and Cam whimpering as they are overcome by emotion. "Grandpa..I.. missed you so much..!", Cam says as Edreus says "My boy, We've come a long way to find you..", Cam looks beside him to see his beloved friends, Winston, Twig and Pollie. He looks at them with a bittersweet look and says "Guys..I'm sorry..", but is interupted by a big hug from all three of them. Winston says, while crying "You..bonehead..why would you leave us like that!?". Twig, gently punching his chest, says "How could you leave us like that, dummy!". Cam hugs them back, saying "I..I didn't want to put you guys in danger..". Their heartfelt reunion is cut short by Edreus who says "Okay, we have to leave this cursed place.". Cam interjects, saying "Hold on, we have to talk about..", but Edreus interupts him, saying "We're going back.".
They make their way out of the maze and appear back in the desert. They start their trek back to Eis Gondri, Cam awkwardly asks "So, what's new with you guys?", Winston giggles, saying "Other than your grandpa secretly being a barbarian, I've found out a lot about Spell Circle Magic.". Cam, fascinated, says "Really? That's awesome! How about you guys?", Twig holds Pollie's hand, saying "Well, Pollie and I.. ", Cam smiles excitedly, saying "Well, I didn't see that coming.", but looks behind him to see Sylvia hiding behind him. "Syl? Oh, I didn't introduce you guys!", Cam says as he introduces them. Twig jokingly says "So, this is your new girlfriend, I gotta say, you sure got a good eye.". Cam and Sylvia blush and say "It's.. not like that! She's just a close friend!". Winston asks "So, you're into beastmen?", Cam says "What!? Well, I.. don't.. ", nervously. Edreus introduces himself, saying "My name's Edreus, I take it you're planning to marry my son?". Cam screams in embarrassment as they continue their walk.
They arrive back in Eis Gondri and enter a restaurant. They sit around a large table and Cam asks "Grandpa, we gotta talk about Lydia.", however Edreus looks away from him. Winston says to Edreus "Come on, you knew you'd have to talk about it eventually.". Edreus sighs and says "Boy, we're going back home. We're not going on with this search.". Cam asks "What? No! I still have to find Mom!". However Edreus shouts "It's been two years, Cam! How much longer do you intend to waste on this wild goose chase!?". Cam falls silent, Winston and Twig comforting him. Cam eventually shouts back "I'll search for as long as it takes, even if I have to go it alone!". Edreus says "You don't even know her, you never did! Just give up this..", however Cam stands up, saying "Come on, guys. Let's go.", and everyone follows Cam, leaving Edreus alone at the table. He mutters "Cam, do you even know who you're riskng your life for!?"
Cam looks back at him, saying "Grandpa, you can't tell me that you don't miss her..". Edreus simply sits there in silence and Cam walks off. They head to a bar, Winston asks "That was intense, are you okay?". Cam says "Even after two years, he's still delusional, never looking beyond that small farm.". Sylvia says "I know you're mad about what he said, but maybe you should hear him out?", however Twig says "Well, he did sorta keep his whole past a secret.". Cam says "Yeah, and instead of telling me the truth like he should have, he tells me I've wasted two years of my life on a wild goose chase!?". The bartender asks for their order and Cam orders beer for the whole table. Winston, Twig and Pollie sit there shocked, Twig asking "Since when did you start drinking!?", Pollie continuing, saying "I never saw you as a drinker..". The bartender returns with five cups of beer, and Winston says to Cam nervously "Oh, I.. don't.. drink..". Sylvia says "This is Demi Human Continent, as far as I know, there aren't any underage laws outside Castelia Kingdom.". Twig takes the cup, shouting "Hell yeah!", before taking a big sip. She recoils in disgust and Cam giggles, saying "You gotta pace yourself, you know.". Everyone laughs and they take small sips of their beer. Winston gags from the taste, saying "I..don't think..I like this..". Cam takes his cup and says "More for me, then. How about you, Pollie?", but Pollie vomits all over the floor, saying "It's.. not for me..". However Twig takes her cup, saying "Oh yeah, I could get used to this!", taking big sips.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
That night, everyone except Winston and Pollie is extremely drunk. They lead them to an inn and buy two separate rooms to sleep in for the night. Winston asks "Hey, do you think Edreus is okay?", Pollie replies, saying "Uh, I'm not sure. But what I am sure of, is that he and Cam have to talk.". Winston nods in agreement.
In another room, a drunk Cam asks Sylvia "Hey Syl, how come you're not drunk?", but she replies saying "I am, but I didn't drown myself in beer like you and Twig.". They share a laugh and she mentions "Hey, remember how everyone thought we were dating?", Cam, clearly drunk, leans in close and asks "Do you want to?". Sylvia giggles and hugs him tightly. They share a gentle kiss, before returning to their senses and pulling away. "What the hell! What was that, Cam!?", shouts Sylvia. Cam shouts "What do you mean? That was your fault!". They decided to sleep apart for that night.
The next morning, as usual Cam and Leo jog around the area. Cam thinks about Edreus, thinking "I really should talk to Grandpa about Lydia. Why is he so defensive about it?". Leo rushes ahead and finds Edreus sitting on a rooftop alone. "Grandpa?", Cam asks and Edreus walks up to him. He hugs him, saying "I'm sorry, Cambrodia..". Cam hugs him back, saying "It's okay, just..tell me the truth, Grandpa.". They sit down and Edreus tells Cam the whole story:
"You see, Cam, Lydia and I were part of a party formed in Golgrad, after the four divine treasures. We set off from Castelia, to Oceanica City and even made it through the Demi Human Continent. However, as we traveled, I noticed that Lydia had more than a fascination driving her determination. She was enamored with one of these treasures, the Orb of Remembrance. A powerful artifact that grants its user the ability to oversee all the events of history, she initially started the quest to find all four of the divine treasures, but somewhere along the way, all she cared about was that orb."
"Not her safety, not her own friends, not even her own life. That Orb took over her life. Everytime we asked her about it, she simply said that she needed it to protect the ones she loved. Eventually, after she got one of our own captured in the Castelia Capital, we confronted her, told her to give up the Orb, or we would take it by force. She challenged us, she seemed like she was being controlled by that damned Orb. After we managed to take the Orb away from her, she seemed connected to it, like she could still use it, even if she wasn't touching it. We eventually had to use a memory wipe ritual to make her forget about it, and it worked."
"She was finally normal, a happy woman who started a family of her own, she was finally..my baby girl..again. But, one night, the village was attacked by a Snow Crawler. I don't know what happened to her, but the sight of the Snow Crawler's lapis blue eyes must've snapped something in her mind. All she could think about was that Orb. She told me 'I need it to protect us, to see any danger coming our way.'. Until that night, she ran away, leaving all remnants of her old self behind, me, her father, and you, her newborn son."
Cam sits there, frozen in shock. "I'm sorry, Cam. But I couldn't bring myself to tell you, about the monster that Lydia was.", Edreus says, hugging him tightly in his arms. Cam whimpering in his grandfather's arms, says "Did.. did she..love that orb..more than..me?",They share a loving hug as their emotions fill the air.
This lifelong quest has taken a dark turn as a great truth has come to light. This adventure still has many uncertainties, like the mystery of the Four Divine Treasures and the power they hold over mortal minds, Violet's separate journey of self discovery, and whether Cam's journey will even continue.