AN: Another rather long chapter, over 4k long~ Also we're getting to the heart of this series, finally. On another note I'll try to post some more EO Prompts because they seem fun. Now, I hope you'll enjoy reading!

Chapter 11:

Drayce tried to get himself comfortable in his seat pulled close to the foot of the bed the Therian they rescued in the labyrinth was lying in. His lower back ached a little. No surprised really. He hadn't anticipated his first monster battle to be against the monster known locally as Wild Dog. Those things were as dangerous as they were mouthy.

He ignored the subtle aches and pains though, more worried about the one they had rescued.

After assuring that he was in a stable condition, they moved him from the clinic and into one of the many bedrooms so that he would be more comfortable. He still hadn't awoken yet. Been unconscious the entire time. It was a little alarming, but Fiorello insisted that he wasn't in any danger. He was just exhausted and the fact that he was unconscious was surprisingly a good thing. It would help him to recover quicker.

He was admitted worried about who he was and why he had been restrained the way he was. How did he come to be in the labyrinth and who had brought him there against his will. He was also undeniably curious as to what kind of mana Kamali had detected from him.

The Therian didn't seem to be carrying anything that held mana. It seemed to be coming from him. More specifically his back.

They didn't find anything though. They had to inspect his back for injuries but there didn't appear to be anything there. Kamali insisted that he can sense mana from him, powerful mana at that. Even his brother Shashi claimed that there was mana "seeping" from him. Perhaps that was the reason he was forced into the labyrinth?

There was really no other choice but to wait for him to wake up and hopefully clear things up for them. Drayce had a lot of questions, though.

Still, the main thing was that the Therian was safe with them. Whoever forced him into the labyrinth against his will won't get to him here. He'll make sure of it.

On the topic of looking after others, Drayce made the mental note to check in on Faelen later. Maybe tonight? Or should he check in on him now? What happened today was more likely than not his first experience with a monster battle. And to think they had the misfortune to encounter an angry Wild Dog.

The sound of the door opening caused Drayce to turn around in his chair. He gave Ashton a small smile as the green-haired man stepped into the room with a steamy beverage in his hand.

"Here," Ashton said as he presented the drink to Drayce. "Should help with the minor aches and strains of entering into an impromptu battle."

"Thanks," Drayce said as he received the drink from him and rested it on his knee for the moment. He was sure that the aches he was experiencing was simply because he hadn't really engaged in a heated battle like that before.

They would lessen over time, hopefully.

Ashton folded his arms over his chest as he looked over at their unconscious house guest before turning his gaze back toward Drayce. "You had quite the unusual first day in the labyrinth," he unexpectedly commented.

A half grin appeared on Drayce's lips. "Tell me about it. But, hey, treasure hunters don't do conventional, right?"

"Very true," Ashton replied idly before he arched an eyebrow at him. "But I do hope that carrying unconscious strangers into the guildhouse won't become a common theme with you."

Despite himself, Drayce laughed. He certainly hoped so too!

"I couldn't just leave him, you know?" Drayce said as he lifted the drink from his knee and took a sip.

"I know you couldn't," Ashton replied, his tone unexpectedly serious. "That's why I'm worried."

Drayce pulled his drink away from his lips as he turned to look up at Ashton with a surprised and confused expression. He was about to ask him what he meant, about how helping someone could be causing him to worry about him when a soft groan caused him to immediately tear his gaze away from Ashton and to look over at the bed.

The red-haired Therian groaned as he began to move under the blankets. He rolled over onto his side and pressed his face into the pillow as if it was extremely difficult to wake up and move. However, a second later he sat up straight in alarm, his eyes wide but hazy nonetheless as he glanced skittishly at his surroundings.

His reaction was completely understandable and honestly Drayce had expected as much.

"Hey, easy!" he still called out to him in a comforting tone, setting his drink Ashton gave him aside and leaned his hands against the foot of the bed. "You're safe now. It's ok."

The Therian immediately jerk his attention toward him, his eyes wide and his ears straight up and alert amongst his fluffy red hair. He then unexpectedly stilled as his eyes narrowed at him, squinting. "W-wait," he croaked out, his voice hoarse. "You're…the dragoon from the labyrinth."

Drayce was somewhat surprised by the reaction, even more so when the Therian unexpectedly calmed down, no longer tugging desperately at the bedsheets in a fumbling attempt to push them off of him.

"That's right," Drayce replied with a smile. "You recognise me?"

Still gazing blearily at him in a bewildered fashion, the Therian nodded his head. "Y-yeah."

Drayce deduced that he must have been awake when he appeared and stood in front of him to stop that Wild Dog from charging and attacking. Or he could have awoken when Fiorello was healing him and had seen part of the battle itself.

"Ah, that's good. I'm relieved," Drayce said as he pushed up from his chair and sat on the edge of the bed, noting that the Therian didn't react negatively to this. "Never mind that, how are you feeling? You've been asleep for a few hours now."

"Oh, I…I'm all right," he replied, though he still sounded bewildered.

Drayce just nodded his head and continued to appear friendly so not to frighten him. "What's your name?"

The Therian crinkled his nose for a second, almost debating whether or not to answer but he sighed a moment later and looked at him tiredly. "Ah, it's Caelem."

"The name's Drayce," Drayce replied and jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. "And this is Ashton."

Next to him, though appearing somewhat cautious, Ashton gave Caelem a friendly nod. "Good to see you're awake. Fancy anything to eat or drink?"

"N-no, I'm fine, thank you," Caelem answered politely before he glanced around the room, not as suspicious as before but rather curious. "Where…am I?"

"You're at my guildhouse, the Crescentia," Drayce answered with a wide grin. "I inherited from my grandfather who's gone on yet another treasure hunt. So my old dad, so this place is all mine."

"Oh…" Caelem murmured as he continued to look around. However a moment later he turned his attention back to Drayce, tilting his head to the side while his ears twitched curiously. "Are you a treasure hunter also?"

Although he knew Blayke wouldn't approve and Ashton seemed to cough under his breath, Drayce decided to be honest and upfront. "Yep. And an archaeologist. Come from a long line of them."

Caelem's ears twitched again before they folded flat against his head and he turned his eyes downwards toward the bed, looking unquestionably meek. "Maybe…you can help…" he murmured.

Help?

"Yeah, maybe I can," Drayce stated, causing Caelem to lift his gaze up to look at him again with a flicker of surprise and apprehension in his green eyes. "But I need you to tell me how. Tell me anything you think might be significant."

Caelem pressed his lips together tightly as his hands clenched around the hem of the bedsheet on his lap. "…I…"

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Caelem continued to fidget.

He was nervous and scared. After the trauma he had been through it was completely understandable. The first thing Drayce needed to do was to make him feel safe. Questions about what happened to him and how he and his guild can help would have to wait until later. How much later didn't matter.

"You're nervous, I understand," Drayce said as he offered him a smile. "But what happened today, what happened to you, won't happen again."

Seemingly startled, Caelem shifted his gaze quickly back toward him, his brow furrowed slightly. As if finding it hard to understand his compassion or something akin to that.

"Would you like to meet my guildmates?" Drayce asked instead as he motioned to the partly open bedroom door with a tilt of his head, subtly telling him that while he's more than welcome to stay, he's also allowed to leave if wanted. "They've been worried about you, too."

Caelem glanced over toward the door briefly and the tension in his shoulders seemed to dissipate. "There…were others, weren't there?" he questioned, his brow furrowing again as he tried to remember. "You all… protected me."

Drayce was honestly relieved that he had some memory of the battle. He didn't have to just rely on his words. He saw for himself that he wasn't going to hurt him.

"That's right," Drayce said as he pushed himself to his feet and held out a hand toward Caelem. "Can you move? They're waiting down stairs, if you like."

Caelem sat silently as he looked at Drayce's outstretched hand, his brow still furrowed in sheer confusion. He lifted his hand, hesitated for a moment, before grabbing Drayce's hand and allowing him to help him up and out of bed.

Though he uttered a few soft sounds of discomfort, Caelem was able to move surprisingly easy, standing on his feet without the need of aid. He had white bandages around his wrists and sporadically over his arms and visible skin, but there were no internal damage and nothing was broken, thankfully.

As Drayce led a still nervous Caelem through the door he heard the sound of someone coming up the stairs. He looked over to watch as Faelen hurried over to him, his wolf companion at his heels as always.

"Drayce! Is he awake yet?" he asked the second he was close enough.

Drayce smiled as he took a step to the side to reveal the red-haired standing behind him. "Yep. Up and about, too."

Faelen appeared surprised for a moment but a bright smile soon appeared on his lips and he looked both relieved and happy to see that their guest and the one they had virtually rescued was all right. "Ah!"

"Faelen, this is Caelem," Drayce introduced as he placed a hand atop of Faelen's head to ruffle his hair slight. "Caelem, this is Faelen, my guildmate. And Nashoba, of course."

"Hi!" Faelen greeted cheerfully. "How are you feeling?"

Caelem blinked in surprise before he nodded his head slightly. "O-oh, I feel all right now."

Faelen's expression brightened and he looked genuinely relieved. "That's good."

"It certainly is," Drayce said as he ruffled the rover's hair one more time before dropping his arm to his side. "Where is everyone?"

"Sitting in front of the fire place," Faelen replied as he glanced over his shoulder toward the stairs. "Kamali has started a fire."

Very good.

"Come on, Cal," Drayce encouraged as he motioned toward the stairs with a tilt of his head. "I want you to introduce you to the others."

Caelem looked a little apprehensive, but Faelen smiled reassuringly at him. "Don't be nervous," he said. "Drayce helped me, too. He's a good guy. Don't worry, ok?"

Caelem looked at Faelen for a silent moment before he nodded his head in acceptance and understanding. "Alright," he said, indeed less nervous than before.

Although Caelem still had a few injuries and had to rely on the banister to walk down the stairs, he still managed to do so without needing any other type of support. He took the stairs surprisingly easily as he glanced curiously at his surroundings once more. Though he didn't say anything, Drayce knew he was surprised by how large the guildhouse appeared to be.

"This way," Drayce motioned to the tearoom when Caelem reached the bottom step.

As soon as they stepped through the archway leading to the tearoom, all the occupants, who were scatted in numerous places, stopped what they were doing to glance over at them. And they were genuinely surprised to see that Caelem was up and about. They, however, were also relieved.

"Ah, so out guest is awake?" Fiorello questioned on his seat near the fireplace, closing the book he had been reading and placing it on his lap.

Standing next to his brother, who was sat on a two seater couch with Blayke next to him, Kamali looked at Caelem and a small thankful smile appeared on his lips. "You were asleep for a while. How are you feeling?"

Caelem shuffled nervously on his feet as he looked skittishly at everyone in the room. A flash of recognition appeared in his eyes and he grew slightly tense, his ears standing straight up. "You're…you were also there, weren't you?" he muttered before a dark flush spread across his cheeks and he suddenly bowed forward at the waist, his hands on his knees. "Ah, thank you! I-I'm sorry for the trouble I caused!"

Drayce was startled by his reaction before he chuckled and lightly patted him on the shoulder, motioning for him to stand up. "Hey, no need to be so formal," he said when Caelem pulled himself back to his full height and looked at him, his face still lightly flushed. "Let me introduce everyone; Blayke, Fiorello, Kamali and his brother Shashi. We're the Angelward Guild. Guys, this is Caelem."

The fierce blush returned to Caelem's cheeks when everyone greeted him warmly. He was once again startled by the cheerful and friendly reception.

"Come on, take a seat," Drayce said as he took Caelem by the elbow in a light grip and led him over to another chair that was positioned near the fire place. "I bet you're still a little sore, huh?"

Hoping off of his chair, Fiorello reached into a pocket of his coat and pulled out a glass bottle. "Here, try drinking this," he said as he handed it to Caelem. "It should help with the aches and strains."

"Ah, thank you," Caelem said as he retrieved the bottle from Fiorello. He held it in-between his hands though, rolling it nervously between his palms as he glanced up at Drayce, his expression deeply apologetic. "I'm…really am sorry for the trouble I caused. You put yourself in danger because of me."

"Actually," Blayke spoke up from his seat next to Shashi, his arms folded across his chest and that familiar protective scowl on his face. "The ones who were responsible for the restraints around your wrists are the ones to blame."

Caelem winced while Drayce shot Blayke a slight glare, only to receive an indifferent shrug from him. While what he said was true, he could have been a little more…considerate? Yeah, that sounded about right.

"…Yeah," Caelem murmured as he glanced over at the fire place.

Drayce was about to ask him if he was sure he didn't want anything to eat when Caelem suddenly turned to look up at him, his expression apprehensive but with a glimmer of hopefulness in his eyes.

"You said you wanted to help me," Caelem suddenly said. "Did you mean it?"

"Yeah, of course," Drayce immediately replied. "I want to help anyone in trouble. That's what I do. That's what my family does. And what this guild will do."

Caelem continued to look up at him for a few silent moments, his green eyes searching him carefully. He then drew in a slow, deep breath and held it for a second. "…Ok," he unexpectedly said as he breathed out. "I don't want to cause you more trouble, but…I understand. I'll tell you everything."

Drayce was a little surprised that he seemed to trust them so quickly, but he was glad nonetheless. He had to admit that he was also worried, though. He couldn't help but notice a light sense of desperation in his voice as well.

"Why don't you start with where you are the most comfortable," Drayce said as he pulled up a chair to form a semi-circle around Caelem, giving him their undivided attention.

Caelem pressed his lips together tightly as he continued to roll the medicine bottle between his hands. "There's something on my back. I don't know what, but I can feel something there."

Far from startled by the revelation, Kamali nodded his head. "I can detect mana originating from your back. Is that what you mean?"

Caelem glanced over at Kamali and nodded as well. "It's a spell of some kind, that's all I know."

Drayce furrowed his brow slightly. "Where did you get it? How did you?"

"It wasn't by choice," Caelem replied as he ears drooped slightly and he turned his gaze down at the floor in front of him. "And how it ended up there, I don't know. Someone else placed it there. It happened several years ago and I've been, well, carrying it around ever since. They just…grabbed me. I can't remember. I just woke up one day with this thing on my back."

Caelem's eyes unexpectedly turn downcast and sad. "I think I was at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Drayce felt a bubble of protectiveness appear in his chest. "Do you remember who did this to you?"

Caelem just shook his head. "Only that he was a necromancer. I guess…he didn't want to deal with the spell himself anymore."

That was hardly a valid excuse!

"What about the ones that took you into the labyrinth?" Blayke asked, having moved away from the back of the seat to lean forward with his elbows on his knees. "Do you know anything about them?"

Once more, Caelem shook his head no, this time there was obvious frustration in his actions. "They referred to themselves something similar to bandits, I think."

Drayce bristled. "Bandits, huh?"

Ugh. He didn't like bandits. They gave treasure hunters a bad reputation. They were nothing more than cocky, loathsome thieves.

Caelem sighed aloud as his hand snaked up to touch the back of his neck, his gaze pensive. "I…wanted to get this thing off my back and they approached me a few days ago. A necromancer said they could remove it. I guess I was too desperate to realise they were tricking me."

So they took advantage of him, too? Damn, those bastards need to have their asses kicked, pronto!

"Do you know what is etched upon your back?" Shashi asked.

"No. I only remember the necromancer who forced the spell on me muttering a few things. A treasure of some kind, I think," Caelem replied before he fell silent for a moment, his brow furrowing in concentration. "Ah, a Radiant Moon?"

"Radiant Moon?" Drayce repeated as he felt his own brow crease pensively. "I've…heard of that, I think."

Shashi held his chin as he folded an arm across his chest. "As have I. The words radiant moon, at least."

Drayce sighed as he ran a hand through his red hair. "Yeah, there's a crap-tonne of references to the moon, isn't there? Still, it seems vaguely familiar."

He couldn't help but think that it had something to do with a sceptre. A staff of some kind. He was pretty sure it wasn't used for battle though, but he wasn't certain. Gah, he had heard the words "Radiant Moon" somewhere before, but where?

"I have a question," Fiorello suddenly piped up, pulling Drayce from his thoughts. "Because Kamali detected mana from you and because of your injuries, we also inspected you back. Yet there wasn't anything we could see with the naked eye. Do you know why?"

"It's supposedly invisible," Caelem explained with a skittish shrug of his shoulder. "I don't know. Something about under the light of a certain gemstone the words will be revealed."

Huh, he had heard that somewhere before, too…

Shashi sat up straight in his seat. "Do you know which gemstone?"

Again, Caelem simply shook his head as he kept his gaze to the ground, defeated and tired. No doubt also frustrated. There was so much he didn't know. So much was seemingly taking out of his hands and kept from him. It was completely unfair. To literally carry this burden around and know very little about it.

"There's a couple of mining spots on the first floor," Ashton said as he leaned against the back of the couch, right behind Shashi, and rested against his forearms. "So the stone had to have originated from there, right?"

Sounded reasonable and honestly a good place to start. "We should go do some mining then," Drayce muttered.

"Wait…" Caelem started to say something, but seemed to hesitate.

"What is it?" Drayce urged.

Caelem sighed again as he rubbed the back of his neck, once again appearing hesitant. "I…I don't know what the words say, but I…my back hurts when I approached a certain corner of the labyrinth."

Drayce blinked. "Which corner?"

"I don't know," Caelem murmured before as a flicker of bitterness and fear appeared in his eyes for a moment. "I wasn't…made aware of the map."

Drayce felt his protectiveness grow. "I see," he muttered under his breath again before he drew in a deep breath and held his chin in through. "Probably the north-west corner. That's where I suspected you ran from."

"I couldn't get very far," Caelem said as he dropped his hand listlessly to his lap.

"The pain too much?"

This time Caelem nodded his head. "Yeah. I honestly don't remember much or where I was. It…hurt a lot and I just ran. Probably not a smart thing."

Drayce was so thankful that he and his guild where at the right place, at the right time and were able and willing to help. He didn't want to think of what could have happened if they hesitated for even a second.

Ok, so what should they do about this little predicament?

He needed to consider their options carefully. There was a spell on Caelem's back. How or why, he didn't know, but something needed to be done. The bandits that kidnapped him believed it led to something important, and in some way it had to be.

But Drayce wasn't as inconsiderate as those bandits. He wasn't going to rush into this. He needed to consider all options, even the seemingly implausible ones. Rushing to conclusion mean ignoring other potentially better options.

"I guess I could lead you to it," Caelem offered, though with a sense of apprehension in his voice. "As far as I can at least."

"No," Drayce said firmly, interrupting him.

"Huh?"

"No," Drayce said again as he looked directly at Caelem. "I'm not willing to do that. I won't go after a treasure that puts others at risk. I refuse to do that."

Caelem's mouth dropped open in surprise and a surprising silence fell over the room.

However, Drayce just sighed and ran a somewhat frustrated hand through his hair as he turned to Shashi. "Isn't there a way to remove this thing and transfer it onto something else?" he asked him. "Like a compass or pendulum or something. Hell, a scrap of paper even?"

Shashi blinked silently at him before a contemplative expression slipped across his face and his eyes held a faraway look to them. "Hmm, that might be possible," he said after a moment of silence. "If one was trained in such a thing."

Fiorello unexpectedly smiled widely. "I know someone."

Drayce glanced over at the botanist. "Is it Zohar?"

Fiorello's smiled seemed to turn decidedly knowing and cheeky. "Righto," he said before he sighed dramatically. "The key, however, is finding him. He's such a wanderer after all."

"Do you know of any place he frequents?" Drayce asked, surprisingly eagerly.

"Not really," Fiorello said as he folded his arms across his chest. "Other than my apartment in town."

Drayce felt a frown tug at his lips. "But…" he stopped himself from saying anything and shook his head before he pushed himself to his feet. "Ok, I'll head there first."

"Yeah, I think you should," Fiorello encouraged rather eagerly. "Quicker if you go alone."

"Right," Drayce replied with a nod of his head before he turned to give Ashton his attention. "Ashton, sorry, I know you mean well but I need you to open up that certain room on the third floor."

If they were to help Caelem and find this Radiant Moon, they needed all their resources.

"Ah, I see," Ashton responded, not remotely surprised it seemed, and pushed away from the couch he was leaning on. "That didn't last long."

Drayce smiled at him before he turned his attention to the light-purple-haired Celestian. "You'll love it, Shashi," he said simply.

Shashi looked at him with a wholly curious look on his face. "Hm?"

Drayce continued to smile, this time a little more cheekily, as he headed in the direction of the front doors. "For the record I wanted to tell you right away but Ashton and Blayke are meanies and wouldn't let me."

Shashi continued to look utterly intrigued as he pushed himself to his feet and turned around to face Asthon. And when he did so, his eyes narrowed slightly. "What am I missing out on?" he asked as he moved to step around the couch, Ashton unexpectedly moving to the other side away from him. "Ashton, are you hiding something from me?"

"It was for your own health, I promise," Ashton insisted as he smiled charmingly at him, his hand reaching into the pocket of his trousers to pull out the key.

"Don't give me that," Shashi tisked.

Drayce had to laugh as he continued on his way. "Anyway, I'll head off now."

"Wait a second!" Blayke called out to him as he hurried to follow.

"It's fine," Drayce insisted as he reached the front entrance, pausing to look at Blayke with his hand on the door handle. "Really, I'm sure I can find him."

"Who is this Zohar anyway?" Blayke asked him with his every familiar scowl of protectiveness.

"He's Fiorello's friend," Drayce answered honestly and with a careless shrug of his shoulder. "Don't worry, he'll help, I'm sure."

"Do you even know him?"

"Met him once."

"What?"

"It's fine!" Drayce insisted as he opened the door and stepped through, keeping Blayke on the inside. "Be back soon!"

He then closed the door, virtually in Blayke's face, before he turned on his heel and sprinted down the steps and into the streets. He remembered exactly where Fiorello's apartment was.

He just hoped that Zohar was there.