The chimera, ready to bite on Cas' left leg, jumped at him while baring its fangs. At the last moment, Cas noticed the sudden speed of the chimera as it was rushing towards him, grabbing his sword and quickly countering the chimera's attack, which it was also able to detect and dodged as well.
Cas grunted. "Greyhart! One of these things escaped!" While the chimera remained away from him, Cas tried delivering a quick stab to the chimera, yet it still managed to avoid. Cas' sword hit the ground of the dungeon and made a relatively loud noise.
"Cas, what are you doing?!" Greyhart said angrily. "These Chimeras respond to metal sounds. You can't be on the offensive!"
"Well I-I wasn't aware of that!"
"It's too late now." Arianne pointed to the other cages containing the chimeras. Their eyes were glowing as they became rabid and tried breaking free.
"Then we have no choice but to fend them off now." Said Diane, reaching at her quiver.
"It'll be a wasted effort, our best option is to hurry out of here." Greyhart quickly responded.
The team ceased their attacks and made a run towards the entrance. When they had made it back to the entrance, they were surrounded by guards of Obselok
"Halt, intruders! Your impudence ends here." One of the guards yelled.
"Entrance of the dungeon is strictly forbidden, if you leave now and never return we won't have to hold you captive." another one of the guards spoke.
Greyhart stood there silently. He appeared to be unsure of how to get out of this situation.
"Or better yet, we could just fire at you right now-"
Greyhart let out a whistle, then from the sky, a distant sound of large wings flapping was heard. The team saw a griffin, great winged beasts known for being symbols of courage and victory, descend from the sky. Compared to any other beast Cas had seen throughout this journey, the griffin was quite large, it looked to be able to support all 6 of them and escape somewhat safely.
"The five of you get on, quick!" He yelled as he threw a small object to the ground, which made a large wall of smoke emerge.
"But what about you?!" Cas shouted. He was about to search for Greyhart as he vanished in the smoke but Arianne pulled him back. The griffin was about to take flight.
"We don't have time to worry about him, he told us to trust in him, remember?" She reassured him. They may have escaped but this was no time for celebration, their smartest and most capable ally was gone.
Cas may not have known Greyhart very well but he knew how to lead and come up with a plan despite being a bit odd at first. With Greyhart gone, Cas believed he was next in line to lead the team.
The five were now very high in the sky, the griffin, despite being summoned from seemingly thin air, was an exceptionally skilled flier. They remained still, the griffin's wings flapping above the clouds but not moving forward. Until, Cas was able to take command:
"We're heading back to Prismont. We'll form a new plan to find Greyhart."
The others nodded and braced themselves as the griffin went full speed towards Prismont.
After slowing down a little bit, the griffin was now at a speed where everyone could hear each other again. Clement was about to faint because of the high velocity they were traveling at along with his motion-sickness.
Soon enough, they were able to see their kingdom again, from the sky this time. The griffin slowly floated down to the ground next to the southern gate, where they first left to embark on their journey. They carefully got off the griffin, except Clement who dropped to the ground flat on his back.
"Thanks!..." Evan said while also feeling like he's supposed to say something else. "Hey, shouldn't we give this thing a name? It's the least we could do to thank it for saving our lives." He said thoughtfully. Everyone was stuck thinking of a name for their newfound pet that could also be used for emergency transportation.
"How about Boldy!" Cas suggested proudly. Everyone stared at him. "You know, like, 'bronze' and 'goldy'… like it's fur?"
"That is the dumbest name I've ever heard…" Arianne said somewhat shocked.
"Well what do you think then?" Cas asked her.
"It's gotta sound intimidating, something like…End-Bringer." She said coldly.
"Not very heroic sounding." Diane replied. "How about something memorable like… Silver?" This was an ironic name because the griffin's fur was a shiny brown and yellow.
"It does stand out, but I think I have a better name." Clement stood back up after listening to everyone debating while he was trying his best to maintain his energy. "Donovan, I'm not sure why but looking at him makes me think of him flying during the sunrise, and because 'Don' and 'Dawn' are pronounced the same way I thought of that name, it may not be the best but it's what I came up with."
Everyone nodded and looked at one another, they all seemed pretty content with that name.
"It's settled then, we can call him Don or Donnie for short." Evan said, smiling.
Donovan let out a screech of presumably approval.
Cas was still in deep thought. "He appeared as soon as Greyhart let out a whistle, do you think that's one of his skills or can anyone do it?"
Evan tried whistling and Donovan just tilted his head. "Guess it's only when Greyhart does it." He shrugged.
"Or maybe the thing doesn't associate with stupid church boys!" Said Arianne with an unnecessary amount of sass.
"Hey! That was uncalled for…" Evan said self-consciously.
Cas walked in front of everyone. "Okay everyone, I know this doesn't sound like a lot of time but I want us to regroup here by nightfall. We don't know how long it will be until Obselok enacts violence on us, or how long until Greyhart gets captured and… killed." It hurt Cas a bit to say that. "We have no time to waste, make every second count. We must risk as many things that are necessary to retrieve him. That's it, see you all soon." Cas may have sounded confident, but he was still unsure about all this. A deep part of him believed there was no way to save him, but he couldn't back out now. That was something everyone knew. As Cas walked through the gate, Clement quickly followed.
"Brother…is there anywhere nearby I can eat at?"
"Hm? Oh, that's right, you overslept this morning and didn't have the chance to eat anything. I'll take you to a tavern right away!"
Clement was initially surprised to hear that everyone on the team was able to eat except him. But the more he thought about it, everyone else seemed to be more energetic than him, and he was prone to sleeping longer than people usually do.
The sky was a calming shade of orange, the sun slowly and gently falling through the horizon. It seemed like they barely had anytime before the team had to reconvene. Cas was soon able to bring his brother to a tavern that served food, he also lent Clement just enough to afford a meal. The brothers temporarily parted ways as Cas decided to run a couple more errands for the town. Although he said that they shouldn't waste time, the villagers relied on him to solve their problems and he couldn't just ignore them.
Clement soon entered the tavern. He looked around with a frightened look on his face. Crowded places like this always made him feel uneasy. Then, he noticed a hand raising and a familiar voice saying:
"Hey! We've been waiting for you." It was Arianne, her and Diane were sitting at a table. Clement remained stunned in fear of being around so many people older and larger than him. He felt paralyzed.
"Hey, little mage, hurry up and sit down with us before we eat all the food!" Arianne yelled more annoyed. The mere thought of food was enough to break Clement out of his nervous stasis, he was famished. Clement grabbed a chair and sat across from his two rather blunt allies.
"We knew you would be here, Clement. Arianne has decided to purchase a full course meal just for you."
"Yeah, yeah. But that isn't the ONLY reason the three of us are here." Said Arianne, trying to be modest. "I brought you two here because Clement's idiot brother is busy doing odd jobs around town, and that dumb church boy is meeting up with the church to report our findings at Obselok, so I thought I'd just bring Diane and wait for you to show up."
"Um, so why did you-"
"Let me finish. I'm trying to say that we need to strategize our plan for when we return to Obselok. And there's no time like the present so it'd be best if we did while he was eating."
A few minutes passed. The waitress brought a mountain of food, enough to fill four or five stomachs. Without a moment of hesitation, Clement sunk his teeth into the boar meat. Clement never got to taste meat that often as his brother normally cooked things with vegetables and wheat. The exquisite flavor of the boar meat was the kind of sensation Clement wishes he could experience while eating every day.
"You're hardly listening aren't you, Clement?" Arianne sounded annoyed. Before he knew it, Clement ate nearly all of the food served already. "You really didn't hold back huh? Your brother hardly feed you or something?" She asked with a hint of concern.
"No, it's not that. This whole journey has just been… making my stomach hungrier than usual." Clement said in between chewing on a loaf of bread.
"Do mages normally eat more than other warriors?" Asked Diane.
"Yes, utilizing any magic spell requires energy. Advanced magic consumes the most energy by far, so I'll be needing plenty of nourishment."
"Can't you just use spells that are better at conserving your energy?" Arianne wondered.
"Well, I can… actually no- I can't. I've always had trouble performing basic spells like lightning or wind. The only way I can cast magic without it failing is by putting my own twist on it. The only issue with that is instead of learning from the basic spells I've no choice but to create my own advanced spells."
"So you're starting at the top rather than the bottom? Is your brother as headstrong and foolish as you?"
"No, he gave me the advice to create my own spells because he knew that's what I excelled at."
"Pardon me asking you this, Arianne, but was it not you that immediately charged out into the wild as soon as we left Prismont?"
"That was only a test to see if Clement's idiot brother would go after me." Arianne sighed. "The point is we need to figure out a way to make Clement useful in our fight to retrieve Greyhart. There has to be more things you can do besides tiring yourself out."
"I guess I can but it would take a lot of time and brainstorming."
"Well remember, we don't have a lot of time. Luckily you've got us here so I'm confident we can devise a good strategy." Arianne said with a smirk.
Some time passed, the three had actually worked together coming up with a brilliant plan to rescue Greyhart at Obselok. As they were leaving however, Clement just so happened to move at the wrong time as he was backing up to leave. He bumped into a stranger, which caused Clement to lose balance and he fell backwards on his rear. He looked up at the man.
"Eh? Wazzat you? You little runt." Clement found himself once again at a loss for words, too afraid to open his mouth. The man was tall and scary-looking, he was clearly intoxicated as well.
"I-I, uh I… um." Clement tried explaining himself but it seemed as though he made it worse.
"Ya' do know I hunt monsters for a living, an' a pipsqueak like you shouldn't be no problem to deal with."
"B-but I-I, I didn't-"
"Don't care what excuse you got kid, anyone who touches me is basically challenging me to a fight, and I'm not one to lose…" As soon as the drunk man finished saying that, Arianne placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Hey you old geezer. That puny mage you're messing with just so happens to be my friend, and if you wanna challenge him then you'll have to face me first." She said to the man's face.
The drunk man laughed at her. "You think I'm scared of you girly? I've taken down beasts four times your size!" He said in a bragging manner. Clearly trying to show off to everyone in the tavern.
"Come at me and you will regret it. Got that?" She threatened.
The drunk man, fed up with hearing her talk big, threw a quick punch at her. Arianne immediately caught his fist and began twisting the man's arm, causing him to cry out in pain. Arianne was grinning menacingly.
"See what happens when you don't listen? Now leave if you don't want me to break this precious beast-slaying hand of yours." She demanded, to which the now teary-eyed man dashed out of the tavern.
"You're amazing Arianne!" Clement said, finally free from being stunned out of fright.
"Tch. Some warrior you are! Can't even handle a weak man like him."
"I'm sorry, I'm just not yet cut out for facing large opponents."
"It's okay, Clement, you know I'll be there for a friend. Now, I've gotta go inform the other morons of our strategy. Later!" She sprinted away in search of Cas and Evan. Clement was shocked that Arianne considered him a friend and not just a wimpy, helpless mage.
"Once again she leaves the two of us here on our own." Diane suddenly appeared behind Clement's shoulder.
"Gah! Oh, Diane, don't sneak up on me like that!" He shouted nervously, unaware that she was standing right behind him.
"Is my presence really that shocking to you?"
"Not at all, it's just that I'm still shaken up after almost getting beat up by that guy. I didn't notice you at all though, were you doing something else?"
"Simple squabbles between people are beneath me, I am simply not fit for matters such as that."
"I see… has anyone told you that you talk like a noble?" asked Clement. Diane refused to make a response. "N-nevermind, we still have some time left. Um, do you think- er, could you be so kind to-"
"You want me to help you create some new magic spells with you, is that it?"
"Oh, right. You're good at reading people's thoughts." Clement sighed with relief.
"I am not a mage with telepathy magic, I'm a regular human. Thus, I cannot assure that I will be of much help, but I-"
"You'll help? Great! Follow me!" He took her by the wrist again.
"Hm, I wonder which one of us is better at reading the other's mind." She said underneath her breath as she began to smile. As they trotted off to a quiet place Clement could create more magic spells.
Meanwhile, Cas was almost done repairing a roof when all of a sudden he heard a familiar voice:
"Cas? Cas it's really you! You're back!"
"Brya, it's great to see you again." He said delighted and relieved, carefully getting off the roof to meet her.
"Honestly," She said somewhat frustrated. "You used to spend time with me so often and now I've barely been able to speak with you for days! All those knightly duties must be really keeping you busy. And yet, here I am… waiting for you to return." She sounded as if she was about to start weeping.
Cas sat down. "You have nothing to worry about. I'll always come running back to this town whenever my work is done." He smiled at her reassuringly.
Brya smiled back briefly until she looked to the sky that was now beginning to look purple, the stars became visible. Brya sighed. "If only there was a way for me to protect you even while you're away…" She then sat down with him.
"Just look up to the sky and wish for my protection." Cas said jokingly, but Brya sayed silent. "How's old Roy doing, by the way?" Said Cas, changing the subject.
"He's been doing well, the medicine you gave him really helped out."
"That's a relief, now he can get back to playing his music. Besides, that medicine cost quite a lot so I'm glad it helped." They both chuckled and gazed at each other for a brief moment, as though they could tell that they were still hiding a few of their inner thoughts from each other, despite how good of friends they are. They then looked away from each other rather awkwardly.
"Don't you miss when we were children, Cas?" Brya asked as their eyes became concentrated on the stars and their minds on the past.
"Of course I do, It would be nice to go back to those times-"
"Yeah, when I didn't have to worry about you so much and we could just live happily."
"I want to see my mother again." Cas finished his sentence.
"Oh… right." Brya felt bad for interrupting. "I didn't get to see her that often but she seemed like a really kind woman."
"She's the kindest they get. She never raised her voice, always showed compassion to me and Clement. I couldn't tell you just how much I loved her."
"Cas, I'm really sorry-"
"It's nothing you should be apologizing for. I mean, I've become a much better person now and I always help this town when I can. What happened is in the past now and I don't want to let it affect me that deeply, not when I have a job to do." They both remained silent for a moment once again, until Cas remembered that his stay at Narrowind was temporary. He got up and was about to leave Brya. "Speaking of which, I should probably get going soon-"
"Wait." Brya requested before he left.
"Yeah?"
"Promise me one thing: Whenever you're in the heat of battle please try to remember us, don't go dying on us either."
Cas laughed. "You know I won't. I'll always come back here, I know that this whole town will be cheering me on. Goodbye, Brya." He waved as he went away.
"Bye Cas." she said smiling, slowly beginning to look down.