With Ceris having taken Sheila away, I'm given free reign to explore the castle in relative peace. The rest of my encounters are with guards who fluster at the sight of me— likely because they saw me with a dick during Vessyra's trial.

I'm beginning to think they have the wrong impression of me. The last thing I need is for them to mistake me for the Goddess Vessyra herself. Which doesn't seem so far-fetched, seeing as how Sheila was head over heels for me.

Fortunately, Ceris was there to rein her in before things got out of hand. Who knows what would have happened if she didn't show up.

The longer I walk through these halls, the more I'm getting a hang of its layout. There is a curvature to the hallways and passages, confirming my theory that the castle is built in a cylindrical fashion along the trunk of a tree.

I reach a staircase where Belle is leaning against the wall staring out of a window. She doesn't see me coming, instead Luna hisses to get her attention.

"Thinking about running away?" I tease Belle.

"Oh, don't tempt me. I'll jump out this window right now!" she fires back in jest. "Even if I did, I wouldn't get far. We run out of magic here, there would be no way to replenish it. We'd become normal humans."

The inevitability of what happens if we stay here isn't lost on me.

I follow Belle's gaze to a group of drunk beastfolk getting rowdy in the streets. They're violent with each other, striking out with claws and fangs. But it's ultimately roughhousing between friends.

"I don't know about you, but I like being a witch. Losing the awesome ability to control the elements doesn't sound as fun." I respond, willing a nearby sconce alight with a snap of a finger— a trick I learned from Mira.

Belle props her elbows on the window to lean out. "Unlike you and Mira, I became a witch to give my parents a better future. Imagine how I feel learning that I'm actually robbing the future of others in trying to do so."

When I place a hand over her's, I find that she is trembling. 

There are no words that I can offer. The rest of us are just as complicit whether we were aware or not. Witchcraft has committed a crime worse than the Crimson Wars, one that has lasted centuries— hoarding magic for ourselves, and leaving dry the rest of the world.

Luna rubs her head against Belle's face in an attempt to cheer her master up.

"You're not going to break down on me, are you? We need you to shove it in Edith's face," I say, trying to appeal to her better nature.

"I know, I know. I'm not giving up. That's not in my name. I'm going to shove a fireball in Edith's ass and become a Headmaster students can be proud of." Belle bear hugs me so hard she squeezes the wind out of my lungs. Even Luna coils around my shoulder for an embrace. "Whew, I needed that."

"Witches stick together after all. And since you're still awake, I was hoping you can help me with something?"

Belle pulls away and gives me an incredulous glare, "Did I just fall for a trap?"

***

I convince Belle to accompany me down to the bottommost floor of the castle. We come into a vestibule— one end is a grand archway leading outside of the castle, and the other to the base of the tree this place is built on.

We take the direction leading us further into the vestibule, the hallway growing wider the deeper we go until we reach an enormous, circular chamber. At the center is a tree— as large as the pillar towers in the Weeping Expanse— that has dug its roots into the ground. Countless columns and support beams are embedded along the trunk, some of it absorbed into the tree as it grew over the years. 

A single elven guard patrols the area, making circles around the great tree. I grab Belle's leash, but she slaps it out of my hand.

"You don't have to tell me, I know what you want. Consider this a freebie, okay?" Belle hands Luna to me and waltzes out into the open.

The elf stops her, keeping a spear between them. They're too far for me to make out what's being said. A minute goes by, and the elf puts his spear down and follows Belle out of the chamber. 

"Alright, Luna. You ready?" I whisper to her.

Luna hisses back in agreement.

The tree is surrounded by a shallow pool of water fed into it by a drain system. I put my hands against the trunk and feel the same weak signature I felt earlier. It's alive, but barely. If the earth around it was rich with mana, it might have given birth to a forest nymph.

I won't be able to birth one, but I can at least grant the tree some lifeforce. With a handful of magic crystals, I press my palm against the trunk and proceed to mend the wood over them. I also empty the only vial of growth enhance serum into the water. 

Like a resuscitated heart, the tree begins to beat with life again as mana flows through its roots and branches. A humming voice speaks to me, not with words— but a gentle, thankful groan.

"Well, if you do give birth to a forest nymph, I have a cute dryad daughter who would like to meet you."

***

The next morning, Mira and I check in on Belle who I couldn't find after she disappeared with the elf. We find out why when we enter her room. The scent of sweat and sex wrinkles our nose.

Belle wakes up to a puddle of cum beneath her waist. The elf spoons her from behind like lovers after a passionate night.

"Uhnn… I hope you're grateful. This damn elf found out about the leash and wouldn't leave me alone the whole night…" she mumbles, clutching her head.

"Rise and shine, Belle. We have a dragon to slay." Mira kicks the elf off the bed and sends him scurrying out naked.

Facing a dragon that is potentially at the age status of great wyrm will be no easy task. We each have five restoration potions, one potion of greater magic resistance, and three stamina draughts left after foolishingly taking some during our journey across the unnatural storm.

We're a lot less prepared than I'd like to be, but we have no choice.

I wanted to see the priestesses one last time before we set off, but they were nowhere to be found within the castle. A guard tells us that their presence was sought for outside. There appears to be a lot less guards and attendants within the castle today. Our footsteps echo down the halls without impediment.

And we find out why as soon as we take a step outside.

Hundreds of people have gathered in the plaza just outside of the castle entrance. The priestesses are kneeling in prayer, staring up at the tree that is their home.

Sheila jumps to her feet to greet us, tail wagging excitedly behind her. "You won't believe what happened! Vessyra— the Goddess Vessyra has blessed us!"

She points to the great tree upon which their castle is built on.

Much of the buildings are built along the trunk of the tree, as I expected. Pillars hold up extensions of rooms and chambers extending from the tree. I can even see the balcony which leads into the high priestesses' room.

But what Sheila points to is much higher. Among the sea of green leaves and dark brown branches are clusters of red balls— fruits. The tree is producing fruits. A harpy descends from above carrying a basket full of them.

Ceris takes one from the basket. At first glance, it looks like an apple. But there are horizontal ribs along the fruit and appear soft to the touch. She bites into it with a juicy munch. Her eyes go wide in astonishment, a trail of pink liquid drips from the corner of her mouth.

"Incredible," she whispers. "The bastil fruit… sweet, with a hint of sourness. The tree hasn't borne fruit in centuries. For it to do so now, so timely along the witches' arrival— it must be fate."

Ceris' gaze falls squarely on me in the same way Sheila looked at me last night. It sends a chill up my spine more than the idea of fighting another dragon. 

Mira steps between us, putting her hands on her hips. "Yes, yes. A very beautiful tree. Gawking at it won't rid ourselves of the dragon. Shall we be on our way?"

The three priestesses kneel before us with their hands over their hearts. They say in unison, "Go with the embrace of Vessyra."

Mira taunts Gale by patting her head as she's kneeling. "You've grown more docile."

"G-Go with the embrace of Vessyra…" Gale repeats, blushing from ear to ear.

***

We fly using our usual transportation method— clinging onto Rio's limbs. Behind the demihuman city is a mountain range. An expansive ridge serves as a natural barrier that separates west and east Talmora.

"There must be a more appropriate way to travel…" Mira says, sighing. "Weren't you able to fly?"

"I can while using the Diligence stone, but it only works when I conjure my own winds— and I'm not about to waste my mana pool before a big fight." Belle explains.

"It would be nice if we could fly on our own. Perhaps enchant our staffs with flight magic." I suggest.

In the distance, several kilometers northeast is the ridge where the unnatural weather phenomenon begins. Talos is flying low to watch for any signs of a dragon, but Mira's frown indicates that she's having a hard time finding any.

"A dragon, especially a large one, would leave behind a trace. But there is none to be found. Why?" Mira asks, directing it to herself more than to us.

She does have a point. An ancient dragon would need to eat, consequently leave behind charred bones and remains. Some areas of this ridge, including the forest below would also show burn marks. Neither of which we have come across.

"Wait," Mira suddenly shouts. "I found a cave. A massive one with something inside it."

Rio brings us down to the ridge. The ground beneath us is harsh, one wrong step and we could be tumbling to our deaths. Along the side of the mountain, true to Mira's words, is an opening into a cave in which the entrance is as tall as a tree and twice as wide.

Inside the cave is the gargantuan corpse of a great wyrm. We have to crane our necks to see the top of its head, and the rest of its body is much deeper inside. Almost a thousand years of rot has decayed it down to bones, portions of its body still have scales clinging to the skeletal frame, and the sinewy webbing of its wings is tattered with holes.

"The dragon does exist… but it's dead." Belle whispers under her breath.

Was our coming here for naught?

Just as I think that, a sparkle of light catches my attention.

Within its ribcage, suspended by a stone formation like a stalactite and stalagmite meeting in the middle, is a glowing crystal. Before I can get too close, the ground beneath me trembles. A swarm of screeching bats fly out of the tunnel.

The skeletal dragon starts to move.

"It's neither living nor dead— that's a dracolich! Everyone out, now!" Mira shouts.