=== POV Crete ===

 

The day is almost over... So why can't I detect any movements in and around the cave?

I could watch the skeletons go in and out, but neither their master nor anyone else went or left the cave. I had to think of another way in, but nothing came into my mind. Viczien was restless all day, which didn't ease my work. Sometimes, I had the feeling that Viczien could feel when a skeleton was about to leave the cave. I could observe how a skeleton left the barrier's entrance from time to time when Viczien lightly hit me with his hand.

In a brief moment, I approached the barrier when the skeletons weren't around. I put Viczien on the ground and examined the entrance one more time. This time as well, I felt the pull that would negate my attacks. I felt the wall next to the cave entrance.

Can I blast a hole all the way into the tunnel? Or are the walls protected by the same barrier... If not, the caster would be pretty stupid.

I readied myself to create a blast strong enough to destroy the wall, but then I noticed how Viczien touched the barrier with both hands.

"Vicz-"

I wanted to call him when I saw how Viczien fell through the barrier and landed on the floor.

*Wah*

He started to cry, but the barrier prevented my hand from entering when I tried to reach him. Finally, despite crying, he reached out for me, and his hand came through the barrier. He pulled my hand softly towards him, and for some reason, my hand went through the barrier with his.

As a result, I was able to walk through the barrier with my entire body. I picked up Viczien and shacked him lightly. Slowly he calmed down again, and together we walked further into the cave, but the temporary silence did not last long. Skeletons came up to us, and I tried to hide our presence.

A fight with many skeletons right before their summoner would make the final fight unnecessarily tricky for me. For me, sneaking in was the easiest way, so I waited until a group of skeletons passed us, and we could move on.

The tunnel widened after a while and ended in a vast room. Unfortunately, the other end of the room was in a darkness that made it impossible for me to see the opposite side end.

This darkness is not normal... It's like something is blocking my senses...

Before I could react, skeletons fell from the ceiling and surrounded me.

Five... six... ...twelve!

I prepared to fight, but a voice came from inside the cave.

“Plant... *Argh!* What do you want? Do you want the same thing as the others before you?"

“Like the others before? I don't know w-."

"LIER!"

The voice screamed angrily at me, and the skeletons attacked simultaneously. I also wanted to show my teeth and bared those, but only to smile while summoning many roots. The roots formed a protective zone between the skeletons and us, but at the same time, they were my best chance to attack. The roots rotated, hurling the skeletons against the walls.

"Can we talk!?"

I tried again to conduct the dialogue, but the voice was covered in silence.

"No? Then not."

I sent the roots into the dark and beat up and down with them. They were quickly destroyed, but before that, the darkness dissolved, and the body of my enemy became visible.

No way!

Amazed by this sight, I dropped to my knees. My counterpart was a dragon, but not one of the weaker kind. It was an Elder Dragon. Its scales were black with a silver sheen.

"Are you giving up?"

He laughed contemptuously at me, but I got up again. I looked into his gray eyes, and we stared at each other for a while.

"Where's Lyam?"

The dragon looked perplexed but lifted his left wing. Lyam lay motionless against the dragon's body.

"What did you do to her?"

"You are here because of her?"

The dragon was visibly irritated and asked another question.

"If you're here because of her, why are you with a half-elf?"

HHEEH!!!

"Do you mean this boy here!?"

I took Viczien in my arms again and held him out to the dragon. It was fun to watch the dragon's gaze change from grave to laughter. His laughter made the entire hall shake.

"Wh-what's going on here?"

I could hear Lyam's surprised voice between the dragon's laughter. Her gaze froze when she saw me.

"M-m-miss Crete!?"

Visibly nervous, she called my name.

"I think we should fix that misunderstanding."

I turned to the dragon while speaking to him, and he nodded in agreement.

“I am Crete eighth of the Hesperides. The little man here is Viczien, and for various reasons, he is temporarily in my care. Our mission is to find Lyam.”

I sat down and placed Viczien next to me. Lyam got up and came over to us.

“I am Balrath, first of my name. People call me the Soul devourer, but if we take it seriously, I'm a mere necromancer by human scale."

The dragon Balrath introduced himself to me.

"And I'm L-."

"That means you didn't attack any elves."

I interrupted Lyam because everyone there knew her, and I didn't think it was necessary to introduce herself. Balrath smiled as he watched Lyam's reaction but still answered immediately.

"No way. I live inside this mountain so that my presence doesn't cause any accidents that might end in a conflict with someone. My wounds are severe, and only the leyline that runs under this mountain can help to speed up the healing progress."

He stretched his right-wing, and I could see huge holes in it.

“There were two people, elves to be precise. One of them took advantage of my weakness and cursed me with something. I lost control of some of my skeletons, then he took over the control and tied some of them to his partner. However, this partner was nowhere near as strong as he was, which affected his brain. I don't know what they did afterward!"

“Can you track down this elf? Or at least, describe how he looks like?"

The dragon moved its head towards us.

"I will show you."

A magical image of the elf appeared in the air between him and me. The elf was tall, his hair had a light brown color, and his eyes were green. In addition, he wore a very unusual coat that I could assign to the poisoner clan.

"Mistress Crete."

Lyam broke my train of thought.

"Yes?"

“I would like to stay here a little longer. Is that OK?"

With a hand wave, I indicated to her that it was not up to me but Balrath.

"If you want, you can stay."

Balrath allowed it.

My mission here was over, but it didn't end as expected, and my next task awaited me.