Their claws were covered in wet mud. And the only one that was complaining was Doug Harmot, who immediately asked Milhrio if he could go on his back. As you probably guessed and as Doug knew his friend, he accepted. He then asked to Œl, after a few minutes, to climb up a tree to try to spot a possible castle, telling him the details he could remember. The cheetah nodded and began to go from one branch to another.

When he disappeared, they all had their head up and Qualt said:

"I begin to like this kid."

"I am NOT a kid!" said Œl from the tree.

And, after some laughs, they waited. They only heard his steps on the branches. Then:

"I think I see something! Wait… Is it… Yes! Guys! I know where it is! I'm coming-"

CRACK!

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

No time to react! Drer was the first to deploy his wings and to jump while Œl hit another branch and continued to fall.

And when he could be seen, Drer was alright below him. Without a second, he caught him and saved him from death.

"Got you, Œl!" he said.

The cheetah's breath and his heartbeat were quick, his fur all spiky and messed by leave and wood.

"Are you alright, kid?" said Qualt, who was slower than Drer but who still began to fly.

"Yeah… Yeah… I'm alright", he answered. "Thank you..."

He fled down and putted him on the ground. After that, Œl didn't bothered cleaning himself and said:

"Didn't pay attention to the branch. It was too fragile and too slippery because of the humidity… But I know where the castle is. It's over there" he finished by pointing a direction. "But it's a bit far. Maybe we'll be over there in half an hour. Can I stay on your back? I really need to breath a bit, here."

"Ah ah! Don't get used to it like me, kid!" replied Doug, who was on the Oster's back.

"Please! Stop saying that!"

"He he!"

The old stones had a yellowish and greyish colour at the same time. Some were crackled while others were completely intact, just like if someone was take a good and precise care of them, just like if someone was living here. The castle was big. It maybe belonged to a king or a great lord or baron in a past time. It could easily welcomes hundreds of dragons for important events. After all, as Doug Harmot told Qualt Ironhorns before, this place had a shit ton of corridors. And, to be honest, it really looked like it was a manor at some point. The outside, for a few place, but especially the inside, for the placement of corridors and rooms. Yet, the placement was also really labyrinthine and, if the group could have the story of this place explained, they would have known that this specificity was a fantasy of the architect. It even was the kind of construction for what he was known for, which is why they called him to build up this castle. He even had a great notoriety at that time so calling him to build a castle was a sign of great economical power. It also was strategic: when you were inviting guest that you did not particularly appreciated, you could just lost them in the castle, wandering. And then you could wait the perfect moment to strike.

Œl was really fascinated by just the exterior of the castle, this mix of grandiloquent ruins and a maintained work of art. He was fascinated by this forest and all the panorama he could see: it was the first time he could see what the real world looked like, after all. All he knew before were the messy streets of the District just as the overpopulation, as violence and famine. He never really felt the wind dancing on his fur. He really had this impression of freedom: hunting a darker with a group of trained warriors was less dangerous than living every days as a 3rd Class Citizen. He even took a notebook in which he drew what he could see, what really left an impression on him. He looked closely at the stones, appreciating their placement. And, while the others were making the last preparations, he explored around. He took his notebook and a pen. Then he began to draw the castle. He looked back and then saw Drer.

"We shouldn't be isolated", he said to the cheetah. "It could be really dangerous. That's why I'm gonna keep an eye on you."

"Yeah, it's probably a good idea."

"No, it's just how we do to survive."

"Yeah..."

Œl continued to go around the castle. But when he passed one side, he could see, meters away, that the ground suddenly went way way lower than he thought, almost like if, at the end, was the void. But there was ground. Yet, if someone would fall, it would be lethal. Indeed, they were dozens and dozens of meters high. Just like if they were on the pic of a mountain.

Speaking of mountain, the view in front of him was unobstructed and he could see a magnificent scenery, lightened by the two moons. There were mountains that mist and clouds were sensually caressing while floating, there were rivers and ruins, valleys and volcanos, fogs and forests. It was like an old dreamed painted picture.

In front of him, simply, was the world.

So he quickly sketched what ha was seeing, while Drer was also admiring the view. This last looked up, at the windows.

And it seemed he could see forms behind one of them, just as if he was observed. And, while focusing on this…

… he could see two yellow glowing eyes looking right at him, like a cat watching a bird outside, impatient to put his teeth on his prey. And there was something behind him, something also watching, observing.

He panicked and did not took the time to question what was happening or why they were just standing still and he grasped Œl, who almost screamed by surprise, and ran away to go to the group.

"What's happening?" asked Gloria when she saw them coming.

"I think… I think I saw him… Them..." he replied, out of breath.

"You should have told me that before scaring the shit out of me!" said the cheetah.

"Them, you said?" asked immediately Qualt. "When? Where?"

"At one window. I saw yellow eyes! But there also was… I think it was that dragon you don't cease to talk about!"

"Hmmm… Did they just stood still? They did not attacked you? They just watched?"

"I don't know, maybe, when I saw them, I just panicked and ran away."

"I see…"

"Now we know that Usvork is in this castle, at least", added Milhrio. "And that's good news."

"But they know we're here", then said Gloria. "And that's a less good news."

"We'll have to be very careful", replied Qualt.

"As we always should be. Now that everyone's ready, can we enter?" finished Milhrio.

"I wonder who that dragon is..." said Qualt.

They were wandering together for ten minutes now. The cheetah and the mole had their blade out. There was a dead silence and they all were on the nerve, watching every corners, looking behind them, in front of them, right next to them. They were lost. Their heart was beating faster. And, for that, Ironhorns decided to talk.

"We know nothing about him except that the darker doesn't attack him and that he probably is like a master or something", he continued. "But we don't know how he does that or what he was before, if he always lived here."

"Sssshhhhh!" tried to whisper Œl. "The darker will know where we are if we keep talking aloud like that!"

"Indeed, and that's what we want", answered Gloria. "How are we gonna kill him if he never shows up! We're are hunting him, after all."

"I don't know who that dragon is and I don't care", then said Oster. "The only thing that matters is if he can be killed or not."

"Probably", answered Qualt. "Maybe not easily but everything has to die, right? It's a dragon after all. Ah ah! For who he is, imagine he's someone who was super important before. Or imagine if he was like my hidden father or grand-father and or that he is like a millennial emperor and that we are all linked."

"You read too much stories", replied Gloria. "Too much bad stories, full of clichés. The kind of stories you tell before night time, to kids. Like Œl", she finished by looking at him with a big smile and a giggle.

"Hey!"

"I know, I know. But it still would be funny. I would laugh", answered Qualt.

"Then, if the world was but a giant play", said Drer, "our creator would be stupidly awful."

"Ah ah! Yeah, that's why I would laugh."

"He could be everything. So maybe he was someone important in Warfang before. Or maybe he wasn't. That's still something we should keep in mind", then said Doug Harmot.

"As I say it again, I don't care who he is. The only thing that matters is if we can kill him or not. And I'll prefer him to be killable."

Their voices resonated as they stopped talking. It began to be darker and darker outside. And it always was cold.

But then they heard footsteps. They didn't know from which direction as the sound was hitting every walls to come to them. And then they heard a storming rain outside, which quickly covered the footstep noises.

"Don't panic… If we're all together, we're going to be fine", said Qualt, who saw Œl and Drer began to really stress.

They stopped moving for a few seconds. They looked all around them. Lightning. It illuminated the one part of the corridor. And they saw a shadow, that disappeared quicker than the light.

"Over there!" said Milhrio.

They ran towards it.

Thunder.

And when they were where the shadow was…

Nothing.

"I swear I saw it!" spat Oster.

"Yeah, I saw it too", said Gloria.

"Me too", added Doug. "I saw that shadow with my own eye."

"Where is it!" then said Qualt before yelling. "Where the fuck is it!"

Another lightning.

"There you are", he said before rushing towards the new shadow.

Thunder again.

But nothing. The shadow he saw what just an object in front of a window.

Then the group joined him and they continued to look around, searching for anything that could lead them to Usvork. Then:

"Wait..." said Doug. "I recognize where we are."

He pointed the corridor in front of them before continuing:

"That's where I lost my eye!"

Lightning.

A shadow moved in the distance. The entire group saw it.

Thunder.

They all rushed.

And it all went black again.

They then decided to lit a torch.

They continued to wander and to search him.

Rain noises continued to resonate through the entire castle.

Outside, mist rose from the ground and went to the windows.

The two moons were shining behind the clouds.

They then heard footsteps around.

And it all went black again.

The torch died.

Mist.