The sun rose on the hills of Emelka, once again blocked by the blanket of clouds covering the town. The rain kept its pace throughout the night, causing the area to look grey and sad. The townsfolk loved the rain and the idea of the end of Summer, but they weren't ready to give up on the sun completely. After a few days of rain, the people were starting to wish for the sun to return.
The innkeeper groggily rolled out of bed at his normal time, grabbed his robe and slippers, and went to check on the boys. He had trouble sleeping the previous night due to dreams of Yugo getting so young that he'd go back into his dofus. Alibert loved the idea of his eldest being young again, but he wouldn't wish to ruin Yugo's life forever. All the worrying father could do is hope that Otomai had a solution to their problem.
He turned the doorknob to the boys' room and found Adamai already awake. The dragon was standing over his brother's bed looking worried. Alibert knew instantly that something wasn't right. Adamai wasn't one to show fear, so when it did show on his face, then something was truly worrisome.
From the older dragon's position over Yugo's bed, Alibert had a good idea of what that meant. As Alibert walked over to Yugo, he could see the young boy smaller than he was the previous night. Yugo appeared to be no older than four years old. He was curled up in his baggy pyjamas and sucked his thumb while he slept soundly.
"I mailed the oculus to Otomai myself. And still, Yugo's condition got worse. I'm not sure what to do Dad."
Alibert placed a hand on Adamai's shoulder. "We'll just have to wait for Otomai and hope that he can help. This is getting very serious. I think I'll close the inn until we get this whole thing settled."
Adamai took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll go find some smaller clothes for him. There's some we have still in storage in the attic."
Adamai left his room and made his way to the stairs leading up. The boys had just help Alibert move things up there to save some space in their rooms. Adamai flicked on the switch to the light dangling overhead and adjusted his eyes to the brightness. He spotted a cardboard box labelled 'Old Clothes' and took it back with him to their room.
The two remaining boys were awake and staring at their brother wide-eyed and open-mouthed when Adamai re-entered the room holding the box.
Chibi and Grougal were poking at Yugo's small feet, laughing at their size. "Now I'm the older brother. This is so cool Grougal!"
Yugo was just starting to wake from his sleep, sitting up against his pillow. His head bobbed a few times as he nearly fell asleep sitting up. Alibert grabbed the tiny child and cradled him.
"Chibi please don't mess with your brother. This is only temporary. He'll be back to his normal size in no time. You two boys should head downstairs. I'll join you shortly." Alibert motioned for Adamai to put the box next to the bed.
Adamai placed the box down and ripped the tape sealing it shut. Inside were clothes that both Chibi and Yugo wore when they were younger, along with some baby-type accessories. Adamai found a small white long-sleeved shirt and a pair of blue overalls. "Will these do?"
"Yeah, but first I need to bathe him. He didn't seem to wash his hair last night. Plus, he'll need a smaller hat. I'm sure there is one in there that I made him when this one got dirty."
Yugo's hat was now longer than he was tall. Plus, it still had the stains from what looked like the previous weeks' worth of fun. Yugo hair was oily and matted from sleeping with the dirty hat.
At the mention of a bath, Yugo started to stir awake in his father's arms. Alibert held Yugo in a hug and rubbed his back.
"You need a bath little gobball. You'll get all sick and gross if you don't. I'll help you so no need to worry. Adamai, go make sure the other boys aren't burning down the kitchen."
Adamai nodded and left the two alone.
Alibert grabbed the clothes as well as a few other things from the box and carried them with Yugo to the bathroom. Alibert sat Yugo on top of the toilet while he started to fill the tub with warm water.
Yugo's clothing from last night were too loose on his new frame and started falling off him. Alibert helped Yugo undress and put the dirty clothes in a pile near the door. When he went to grab the oversized hat, Yugo held onto the rim of it tightly.
"Yugo, it's okay. I just need to wash your hair. I've got a new hat for you to wear when we're done."
Alibert held up a smaller version of his current hat, but without the tail end. This was Yugo's hat for when he wanted to go running outside. The tail of his hat would often trail in the dirt or trip him as he ran, so Alibert had to sew a smaller one for him to use; still fitted with two horn-shaped additions on top.
Yugo fought for a second before seeing bubbles rise from the tub. Alibert hardly ever allowed them to have bubble baths, mostly due to Grougal's mishap a while ago. Yugo let go on his hat and climbed into the cloud of warm apple-scented bubbles. While Yugo was distracted, Alibert grabbed the boy's hat and added it to the pile of dirty clothes.
Yugo sat in the water and started playing with the bubbles as his father lathered him with a soapy washcloth. Alibert noticed Yugo's hair was very much in need of a wash.
"Your hair is all covered in some dust or dirt. Probably from when you boys went on your adventure."
Yugo raised his arms in the air, holding handfuls of bubbles, and shouted "adventure!"
Alibert poured some shampoo onto Yugo's matted hair and rubbed his fingers through it.
Yugo always had a problem with people seeing him without his hat on, but once someone ran their fingers through his hair, he'd calm down immediately. Another secret reason Alibert called Yugo a little gobball was Yugo's near animal-like reaction to having his head scratched. He was sure that Yugo was a bowmeow in another life.
The relaxing feel of his father's hands massaging his head caused Yugo to lean back against the side of the tub. As he closed his eyes, Yugo's tiny wakfu wings started to form on top of his head, just faintly glimmering into view. They also seemed to grow smaller with the rest of Yugo's body.
Alibert was scared when he first found out about them, but now he was completely okay with Yugo and the fact how he was an eliatrope. Chibi would have the same reaction too when someone rubbed his hair, but Yugo's were more pronounced. At least, they were before this curse.
Alibert finished rinsing off his son before draining the tub and wrapping the small boy in a towel. When Yugo was dried, Alibert grabbed something on top of the pile of clothes. Yugo immediately shook his head and took a step back.
"Yugo, this is the second night you've wet yourself in bed. Plus, you did once during the day. These are just for protection."
Yugo shook his head angrily. "I'm not a baby! I don't need a diaper."
"No one will even notice them. I know you're not a baby. That's why I need you to be brave and wear them just in case something happens. Can you be a big brave boy for me," Alibert asked holding out the fluffy white diaper. It had more poof to them than the pull-ups that he wore the day before.
Yugo stood there with his arms folded, turning away from his father.
"How about this? If you wear them all day today, then we can have some ice cream after dinner tonight." Alibert didn't often partake in dessert, so pulling it out as a bargaining chip was effective to earn the boys' compliance.
Yugo thought for a moment. "Strawberry ice cream?"
"Yes. We still have some and I know it's your favourite."
Yugo smiled and nodded. With some help, Alibert strapped the padded diaper around Yugo's waist and finished dressing him. The fluff could be noticed under his overalls, but Alibert didn't want to tell Yugo. Once fully dressed, the pair made their way downstairs for breakfast.
Downstairs, Chibi and Grougal were enjoying the oatmeal that Adamai made for them. The boys usually protest to having oatmeal unless Adamai makes it. Alibert would try to make it as healthy as possible, but Adamai would secretly add brown sugar and some cinnamon to the pot. He'd also cut up some dried fruits and mix them in as well.
When Adamai finished passing out portions to the two small boys, he could hear Yugo and Alibert coming into the room. The first thing that Adamai noticed was Yugo's new outfit along with his oddly fluffed hips. He stared at the smaller eliatrope for a second before opening his mouth but was cut-off by Alibert.
"Boys, I'm going to keep an eye on Yugo until this whole thing gets fixed. Otomai should be over later today, so I'll be closing the inn. Maybe you can help me give the dining room a good washing." His suggestion was met with a groan from Chibi and Grougal. "No complaining. You've been playing for the past few days. Now is time for us to do some chores. It won't be that long, I'm sure."
Alibert lifted Yugo and placed him in a chair. Yugo tried grabbing for his spoon, but could barely see over his bowl. Alibert picked him back up and sat Yugo in his lap. Alibert took the spoon and started feeding Yugo.
Yugo chomped down on the oatmeal, tasting how much sweeter it was than it looked, and happily kicked his feet.
"Is Yugo going to be alright, Dad," asked the older dragon.
"Don't worry. He'll be back to his old self in no time. Otomai should have an idea or two when he gets here. In the meantime, I think Adamai can help Yugo and I clean up this kitchen. Chibi and Grougal can start by sweeping the dining room."
Yugo's eyes lit up when he heard he'd be helping. Adamai, however, shot Alibert a concerned look. There were plenty of ways to injure oneself in the kitchen. Normally, Yugo would test half of those each week. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary seeing Yugo walking around with a bandage or two on his fingers.
Adamai turned to his father. "Are you sure Yugo could help us? Isn't it a little dangerous in here for him?"
"Of course, it is, but I need someone smart and strong to help me count the bags and boxes in our pantry." With every emphasised word, Alibert rubbed Yugo's head.
It took the young eliatrope a moment while he finished his breakfast until he realized what his father was looking for. "Papa, I'm big and smart. I can count!"
Alibert faked sounding surprised. "Oh really? Do you think you can help me count them today?"
Yugo nodded quickly and stared up at his father. "Yeah! I'll do a good job!"
"Thank you so much. I'm sure that with your help, we'll get through this work in no time."
When they were all finished with their breakfast, the kids added their dishes to the large pile from the party last night. With how late the party finished, Alibert decided he would do the dishes during the day.
"I'll start on these dishes. Those customers must have really had a good time," Adamai said grabbing the soap and a towel from a cabinet.
Alibert took two brooms and a dustpan out of the closet and passed them to Chibi and Grougal.
Grougal gave Chibi a determined look. "I bet I can sweep up more dirt than you. My corner will be super clean."
"You're on!" Chibi grabbed his own broom and ran alongside his brother into the dining room.
Alibert gave Yugo a piece of paper and a box of crayons and lead the little eliatrope into the pantry. Alibert took a chair and placed Yugo on it in the middle of the pantry.
"Now I need you to count all of the things on every shelf. You can use different colours for different things, but I need to know how much things we have."
"Got it," Yugo piped up, beginning to count the bags of produce out loud.
Alibert rubbed Yugo's hat and turned to help Adamai. "I'll get to cleaning the stove tops."
"Are you sure he will be okay? Yugo's not the good at math on a good day." Adamai filled up the sink with soapy water and started scrubbing the stack of plates.
"Yup. That is why I gave him that task. He'll be busy for a while, giving us some safe room to clean. Plus, there aren't many things he can hurt himself with in there. It's a win-win."
As the rain kept up its pace outside, the inn family was hard at work cleaning up as much as they could. When Chibi and Grougal were done sweeping, Adamai helped them fill up a mop bucket with soapy water so they could mop the dining room. Alibert would check in on Yugo between every task to make sure he was okay.
When he finished with the stovetops and the pots, Alibert opened the pantry to see how far Yugo had gotten. Strewn across the floor was nearly an entire sack's-worth of potatoes, with Yugo on his knees counting each individual one before placing it back down on the ground.
"Okay Yugo, let me see how much you've done so far." Alibert reached out for the paper in Yugo's hand, but the child withdrew away from his father.
"No, I wanna read it out to you."
"Okay then," Alibert said straightening up. "Let me hear it." He pulled a small notepad and pencil out from his breast pocket and started writing. "First, how many onions do we have?"
"Two."
"Two… bags?"
"Yeah-huh," Yugo nodded.
"Okay then. How many peppers?"
"A few."
"Mm-hmm. And flour?"
"Lots!"
Alibert could feel where this was going and decided to play along. He could easily recount their stock later. He smiled down at the young boy. "Okay, lots of flour. And potatoes?"
"Oh, I wasn't done counting, but I'm up to many."
"Many potatoes sound good to me. You're such a good helper Yugo. I'm glad you're helping us." Alibert ruffled Yugo's hat, making the small child giggle. Alibert took a glance at Yugo's paper and noticed there were some counting marks on a part of the sheet, but the rest of the paper was a drawing of what looked like a farm. Alibert imagined Yugo just gave up on counting and decided to draw instead.
"Can I continue counting? I'm almost done!"
"Sure. I'll get some lunch ready for us." Alibert closed the door slightly, grabbed some vegetables on his way out, and placed them on the counter next to a cutting board.
Adamai came in through the swinging doors smiling, and said, "Hey dad, we have a visitor."
From behind the white dragon was a thin man with blue hair and brown pointed ears. The visitor smiled at Alibert and extended his hand. "It's good to see you again Alibert."
Alibert shook the man's hand, smiling back at him. "Likewise, Otomai. Please excuse the mess. I tried cleaning up as much as I could before you got here."
"You probably shouldn't have. My work isn't the cleanest. You can just ask my son how many times I've nearly blown up my lab."
From behind the thin man, a small green figure appeared. The small boy had two long ears and a single protruding tooth from his lips. The boy was being followed by Chibi and Grougal, who knew him already.
"Yeah, papa nearly burnt down the whole forest one time! It was awesome!" Ogrest's words made Chibi and Grougal's eyes light up.
"Thanks, Ogrest, but I assure you Alibert that I won't destroy your lovely establishment. I'll do my best to make as little mess as possible."
"Thank you. I cleared off this counter for your work. I hope it's enough space for you."
"It should do fine. I only brought by travelling kit." Otomai placed his shoulder bag on the floor next to the counter.
The bag, not true to its size, made a loud thud on the ground. The scientist started pulling tubes and vials far longer than the bag was on the outside. Alibert imagined how the bag was enchanted with some sort of enlargement spell; making it bigger on the inside.
"If it's okay with you, I'd like to see our patient," Otomai said setting up his kit.
"Sure. He's in the pantry." Alibert walked over to the half-opened door and saw Yugo still counting away at every potato. "Yugo, there's someone here who wants to see you." Alibert extended his hand towards the sitting boy, raised him up, and carried him over to their guest.
Yugo turned his face away, looking shyly at Otomai.
Shocked slightly at how far this spell has affected the child, Otomai stared in surprise at the kid in Alibert's arms. "Well, hello there Yugo. My name is Otomai. You helped me and my son out before. Do you remember?"
Yugo looked over Otomai, then down to the green child beside him. He shook his head, confused about these unfamiliar faces.
"That nasty spell must have affected your memory too. Well, I'm a scientist. And I'm going to make you better. That's my job." Otomai took a small cotton swab as well as a lollypop out from the bag and offered them to Yugo. "I'll give you this lollipop if you suck on this cotton swab for five seconds. I'm going to need some samples to run some tests. Can you do that for me?"
Yugo's eye widened at the shininess of the blue candy and nodded his head. He took the cotton swab and stuffed it in his mouth. When he felt how weird the cotton was, and its lack of flavour, Yugo's face contorted slightly.
After a few seconds, Otomai took out the swab and replaced it with the lollipop. Yugo shuddered for a second before shoving the candy stick into his face; the flavour was much more inviting than the cotton swab.
Otomai placed the swab into a vial and capped it tightly. "Thank you, Yugo. It will be a while before I can get to the root of this problem. In the meantime, you should enjoy this second chance at toddlerhood while you can. Not everyone gets a second chance in life."
Alibert placed Yugo down and returned to making their lunch.
Adamai grabbed some bread and started counting out slices for them. "Have you found anything so far about this curse? And what about the oculus?"
"Oh, this thing," Otomai asked grabbing the necklace from his pocket barehanded. "I ran it through some tests, and other than being made of a rather old metal, it doesn't seem to have any properties that would make me think it's the cause of this malady."
"How did you test it? If it's made of something super old, then how can we even begin to know what to test it for?"
"Oh, I wore it nearly as soon as I got your letter. I've had it on me since then, and nothing out of the ordinary seemed to take place."
Adamai looked completely shocked and confused. "I sent you a cursed object, and your first intention was to put it on and try it yourself?!"
Otomai shrugged. "Science is a study of trial and error. Plus, I'm way older than Yugo. I was kind of looking forward to feeling light and spry again this morning. Unfortunately, it isn't the necklace that did this. That just means we'll have to find out what did cause this to happen to Yugo. Adamai, I'm going to need your help. Tell me everything that happened in that crypt. Even the smallest detail could help."
Adamai thought for a moment, trying to pick up anything out of the ordinary from their trip. "Well, for one, it's a crypt. I'm not exactly sure what out of the ordinary is. And two, it was a few days ago, and I've been dealing with him ever since then." Adamai motioned towards the small child sitting on the floor thoroughly enjoying his candy.
"Then, with your father's permission, I'm going to need you to go back to the crypt and search it over once again. While you do that, I can run a test on this Yugo sample to see if it's something virus-borne. And you can have this back." Otomai handed Adamai the necklace.
Adamai took the shiny object, turned it over him his palm a few times before putting the string around his own next. "Dad, do you think I could go after lunch?"
Alibert thought for a moment, taking a pause in the vegetables he was cutting. "I don't want you to. You said there were traps and dead people. It is far too dangerous."
"But da- "
"But," Alibert cut him off. "if this is the only way to help cure Yugo, then I can make an exception this time. Just please be safe." Alibert turned towards Adamai, giving him his worried look.
Adamai knew that face very well because he saw it frequently. It would often accompany any request that the boys had about anything outside of the immediate area of the Inn.
Adamai smiled up at his father. "Thanks, Dad. I'll be fine, I promise."
Adamai and Alibert finished making some sandwiches and cut some vegetable sticks. They made enough for their two guests as well. Chibi and Grougal fought over who would get to sit next to Ogrest until Otomai gave his son his chair so each of the boys sat on either side of their friend. Otomai was eating his lunch while finishing his set of tubes and test strips.
Alibert held Yugo on his lap and fed him a sandwich with the crust cut off. Yugo took his time eating, not liking the flavour shift from his sweet candy to a ham and cheese sandwich. Yugo would turn his face away whenever his father attempted to feed him a carrot stick.
"Yugo, you have to eat your vegetables too."
"Nu-uh. I don't like them!"
"But Chibi is eating his vegetables. He's being a big boy about it. See?" Alibert pointed to Chibi who currently had two carrot sticks in his gums imitating Ogrest's teeth. All three boys were laughing at each other. "Okay, bad example. But you need to be a big boy and eat all of your food."
Yugo sat there with his arms folded.
"Chibi, Grougal, how about when you two are finished, you take Ogrest into the toy room and play for a while?"
The boys looked up at their father happy and continued eating their food.
Yugo looked up at Alibert and said, "But I wanna play too!"
"Well, then you'll have to finish all of your food."
Yugo stared at the bright orange carrot stick for a moment before taking a great big bite which made a crunching noise. Yugo giggled at the sound and took a second bite. Alibert patted his sons head while he ate.
Adamai finished first and placed his dishes in the now-empty sink. "I'll head out now before it starts getting dark."
"One-second Adamai," the scientist said between bites. He reached into his bag and brought out a small potion. Otomai opened it, spilt a single drop on the floor next to him, and gave it to Adamai recapped. "This recall potion will bring you right back here much faster than walking."
Adamai nodded and walked through the swinging doors into the dining room, and towards the front door. He grabbed his rubber boots and his cloak and ran out into the rain.
The clouds seemed to keep their hold on the town and turned what should have been a bright mid-day into a gloomy grey scene. Off in the distance, the white dragon could hear a rumbling coming from the clouds. The bright flashes of light were still a fair distance away, but they looked like they were coming closer. Adamai picked up the pace to a swift jog to try to avoid the storm, determined to finish this today.
The boys finished their food, placed their plates in the sink, and ran upstairs with Ogrest in tow. Yugo noticed how they had finished, and tried eating faster. With a mouthful of carrots, he jumped down from Alibert's lap and darted for the stairs.
"Be careful. Don't get too rough with your brothers," Alibert called up after the small boy waddling up the stairs.
Chibi and Grougal were showing off their pirate toys to Ogrest, who took a liking to the shininess of the toy swords. They all divided hats and eye patches to each other when Yugo pushed open the door.
Yugo saw the three boys all dressing up as pirates, so he rushed to the box of pirate gear. All the hats and eye patches are being used, as well as the swords. The only thing left in the box is a toy spyglass and a hook. He reached for the hook and puts it on his left hand. When he reached for the spyglass, Grougal grabs it before Yugo can.
"Hey, I wanna use that," Yugo whined.
"Too slow. I already got it." Grougal stretched it out and was looking through it when Yugo jumped up and grabbed it.
"No fair! You have a sword and a hat. I wanna use the spyglass!"
Grougal pulled the spyglass hard. Yugo lost his grip and fell backwards onto his bottom. Yugo then started to cry.
Chibi tried calming down the situation. "Just give it to him. We don't need it to fight. We have swords."
Grougal huffed, dropping the spyglass near the snivelling toddler. "Fine, if he's going to be such a baby about it."
Yugo sniffled and stopped crying when he saw the spyglass. "I'm not a baby," he mumbled under his breath while he stood up.
The boys set up some pillows to resemble a pirate ship and ruffle some blankets to make the bed look like an island.
Chibi stood up on the front of the 'ship'. "Okay, Grougal and I will be on the boat, and Yugo and Ogrest can be on the island. When we come close, then we'll fight. Go easy on Yugo though. He's not as tough as the rest of us."
"You're going down pirate scum," shouted Ogrest as he waved his sword.
The two pirate boys scooted their pillows closer to the island until they hit the side of the bed.
"I think he found the land captain," Grougal said in his best accent.
"Aye, I think we did matey. Let's start looking for treasure. I'm sure it's here!"
Ogrest jumped off the bed and pointed his sword at the boat. "Not so fast pirates! This is our island. You'll have to fight us for it!"
Yugo slowly shuffled down off the bed and held up his hook towards the boat.
The pirates jumped off the side of their boat and started swinging at the two natives. Grougal fought Ogrest while Chibi swung at Yugo. Chibi made sure to swing lightly, giving Yugo ample time to block with his hook. Grougal, however, was not holding back on Ogrest, but the green-skinned child was able to return just as much force with his swings.
The boys continued sword fighting, doing spins and dodging in slow motion until Ogrest's sword flew out of his hand. Ogrest held up his arms in surrender and told Yugo to do the same.
Chibi and Grougal take the two natives and pretend to tie their hand behind their backs, placing them on their boat. While their prisoners were tied up, the two pirates searched the 'island' for any treasure that they could find.
Coming back empty-handed, Grougal pointed his sword at Ogrest. "Where did you hide the treasure?"
"I'll never tell you."
Grougal squinted his eyes, then pointed his sword at Yugo. "You might not, but your little friend might." Grougal put the sword up to Yugo's nose. "Where is the treasure?"
"No," Yugo said plainly.
"I know you know where it is. Tell me, and we won't feed you to the sharks."
"No," Yugo said, this time freeing his hands and swinging at Grougal.
"You can't do that. You were tied up." Grougal blocked every swing easily, starting to get slightly angry at Yugo.
"I used my hook to cut the ropes, duh."
Grougal growled at his brother and swung upwards hard enough to knock the hook out of Yugo's hand. "Now you have no weapon. Tell me where you buried the treasure, or it's shark time."
"Nu-uh," Yugo said pulling out his spyglass and whacked Grougal square on the head.
Grougal winced in pain before he swung hard down onto Yugo' head, hitting Yugo in the same spot.
Yugo held the top of his head and started crying.
Chibi stood between them. "I told you not to be rough with him.
"Yeah, he's just a little kid. Why do you have to be so mean to your brother," Ogrest asked still pretending to be tied up.
"He hit me first. He's just being a little baby."
"I'm not a baby," Yugo cried walking out the door.
"Great, now he's going to tattle to dad." Grougal huffed, throwing his sword on the bed.
Ogrest stood up, taking off his hat. "That was not cool, Grougal."
After a few moments of silence between the boys, they heard their father's footsteps coming to the door.
Alibert opened the toy room, holding Yugo in a hug. "I thought I told you three to not play rough around him."
"Sorry Papa," Chibi said. "We weren't trying to hurt him. Grougal just got mad."
"It's his fault for being a baby," Grougal said crossing his arms.
Chibi eyed Grougal. "Said the boy who can't calm down over a game. We'll play something different."
Alibert sighed. "Actually, I think it's time to come downstairs. Cleanup here, and I'll meet you boys in a moment. You can start by cleaning the dished from Lunch."
The boys nodded, taking off their pirate gear and putting them away.
Alibert entered his own room holding the whining child. Yugo had calmed down from his fight but was still grumpy. Yugo didn't want to be excluded from his brothers doing things, but he just wasn't as big as them. His attitude helped Alibert see how much a nap was called for.
Alibert pulled back the thick quilt and laid Yugo down in the centre of the pillows. Yugo crossed his arms and pouted as Alibert tried tucking him in. Every time Alibert finished, Yugo would kick the covers off him while avoiding looking at his father. This kept up for a few minutes before Alibert finally spoke up.
"Yugo, there's no reason for this. You could really use some quiet time to calm down. Please just try to sleep."
The small child started sniffling, still avoiding eye contact. "It's not fair. I'm a big boy. I don't want a nap. Grougal needs a nap. It's not fair!"
Alibert knew what to do when Yugo was acting up like this. He really didn't like to do it because of his kind-hearted nature, but a close friend of his told Alibert that this was the best way to treat a tantruming child.
Alibert stood up and walked away from Yugo and towards the door. Yugo realized his father was leaving, and he started crying incoherently. Alibert fought every muscle in his body but knew that the alone time would do some good. When he started closing the door behind him, Alibert heard Yugo crying out his name.
"Papa! Papa, please… I'm scared." Yugo's voice changed from one of anger to one of worry.
Alibert stopped at the door for a moment before coming up with an idea. "Hold on one minute. Let me get something, and I'll come right back."
Alibert walked briskly into the boys' room and looked around for a large fluffy object. The object he was looking for was sitting in the corner of the room, staring at one of the beds. Alibert grabbed it and made his way back into his room.
When he opened the door, Yugo's whimpers stopped as he wiped his nose on his sleeve. Alibert held up the fluffy white stuffed gobball for Yugo to see.
"This big gobball is tired too, but he doesn't have anyone to cuddle with. Do you think you could hold him, just until he falls asleep?"
Yugo nodded and held out both arms towards the stuffed animal. When it was close enough Yugo grabbed it in a large hug and rolled over on his side as he pet it.
Alibert took the opportunity to cover Yugo and tuck him in. Alibert kissed his son on the head and rubbed his hair. "Sleep tight you two. I'll come back when dinner is ready."
Alibert came back downstairs with a look of exhaustion on his face. He used to have very few problems putting Yugo down for a nap before. Alibert could blame the curse, but that wouldn't change how emotionally unhinged Yugo was lately. It was almost too much for him to handle. Thankfully, he had Adamai assisting where he could, and now they were hosting the world's greatest scientist under their roof. If the three of them couldn't get through this, then there really was no hope for the now-youngest eliatrope.
"I finally got him to calm down enough to lay still. We should have a couple hours before he wakes up." Alibert bobbed his way around the tubes and potions that Otomai set up in the kitchen, careful not to ruin any progress that the feca made. "What have you come up with Otomai?"
Otomai was swirling a few different liquids in a beaker while writing down their reactions. "Well, as I'm sure you have figured out by now, this curse has been regressing Yugo to a younger state; not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. I'm sure you've noticed the additional tears."
"No, that's pretty much normal around here," Chibi added, washing the last plate from lunch before handing it off to Grougal. Ogrest had just finished putting the dried cups in the cupboard.
Alibert rolled his eyes. "Boys, I don't want you to play down here while Otomai is working. Yugo needs his sleep, and I don't think you guys can be quiet enough to play upstairs. So, you three can use the dining room since we're closed."
"Yay," the three boys exclaimed before they jumped off the stool and ran through the swinging doors.
Otomai smiled at the boys, then turned his gaze to Alibert. "You have a way with kids."
"When you raise four of them, you need to be good at it. Yugo wasn't this cranky when he was younger. Maybe it's because he has siblings this time around."
"I doubt it. It's probably this curse mixing around his emotions and… physical control. I noticed the diaper."
"He had an accident or two while he slept. Luckily I still had just a few left over from when Chibi was young."
"That's what I mean. You just happen to have the things needed to take care of these kids. I swear someone is watching you from above Alibert. I only wish I could be as good of a father as you."
"Thank you Otomai. That means a lot." Alibert patted the scientist's back. "Any progress?"
"We won't know for certain until Adamai gets back. Was there anything here that was out of the ordinary?"
Alibert thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I was more worried about his size to notice anything different."
"Then it looks like we wait," Otomai said putting down his vials and sitting at the table.
An entire portal's-distance away from the inn, the crypt stood exactly the way that the two adventurers found it previously. Deep in the underground ruins, Adamai was searching the hall top to bottom holding a lit torch. He tried to keep as close to the steps they previously made as he could remember.
"Okay, first were the holes in the floor," he said while stepping over them. "Next was the giant boulder, complete with some victims. Then there was this door."
Adamai put his hands on the door carefully, trying not to disturb the scene; also, because the half-shattered door looked as if someone would get a splinter from just staring at it too long. Adamai remembered that Yugo was too weak to move the door, so he had to bust it open.
"Not that. Maybe it's something in here," he said giving the circular room a look over. Staring at the walls, he remembered what Yugo said about the glyphs that were glowing. Adamai closed his eyes and focused on his wakfu vision. Once he felt ready, his eyes shot open.
Around the room, which was now coloured a deep blue, Adamai could see something seeping in through the walls. Upon a closer look, he could see what looked like small streams of wakfu energy flowing into the room, but couldn't make out where they were coming from.
Adamai blinked hard and returned his vision to normal. Rubbing his chin, he tried to think of a way around the rocks to see what, if anything, was on the other side causing this wakfu leak.
Adamai shrugged and pulled back his fight, ready to drill a hole into the stone wall. As he reared back, he noticed the shiny necklace hanging around his neck. He grabbed it and remembered Yugo saying something about using it to help him see the pictures.
Closing his eyes again, Adamai focused on his inner energy, and once more turning on his wakfu vision. This time, he held up the oculus to his eye.
From where the walls were bleeding energy, Adamai could now see pictures and symbols of what looked like eliatropes and portals. He rubbed his hand along the walls, and read the pictures as they seemed to be all around the circular room. The pictures depicted many hooded people all living in what looked like a spaceship.
"Is this the Zinit," he asked out loud. His voice echoing throughout the circular room.
Adamai ran his fingers along the rest of the wall trying to read the pictures as best as he could. The longer he stared through his wakfu vision, the blurrier the pictures got. Adamai, even though he was trained by Grougal back before the time of Nox, had his limits too. And with the lack of exercise, he wasn't as good at it as Yugo was.
Not looking where he was walking, Adamai's shin contacted the small opened chest on the floor. He yelled an expletive that Alibert would not be happy to hear and fell to the floor grabbing his leg. After wincing in pain, Adamai opened his eyes to see his wakfu vision wore off.
In front of him was the small wooden chest that Yugo found the oculus in. In the glow of the torch, Adamai could also see that the chest knocked up some dust from its inside.
"Wait a minute… What if- "Adamai was cut off by a sneeze. "That's right, Yugo opened this chest and it sprayed him with this stuff. This might be- "he sneezed again. Adamai rolled onto his feet and collected as much of this weird dust as he could get, and put it in an empty vial from Otomai's kit.
When he felt that he had enough, Adamai grabbed the potion from his bag and drank the contents. With a short crackling sound, the white dragon disappeared from the crypt, leaving the single torch burning to itself.