AN: Another chapter that is over 4k long~ I'm glad I got this chapter done yesterday because I woke up with such a headache this morning. I'm just going to be flopping about aimlessly today so feel free to send in cute/fluff asks and let me know what you think of Drayce and co so far~

Chapter 15:

Drayce was glad that Ashton had insisted that he retired to bed early to get some much needed rest because he really was still aching from that impromptu battle to protect Caelem. He just wished Ashton wasn't so, well, tenacious in his insistence. Was flinging him over his shoulder and literally carrying him to his room before dumping him onto his bed in the most unceremonious fashion really that necessary? Sheesh!

It was shortly after sunrise when Drayce got out of bed and had breakfast. He had wanted to enter the labyrinth as early as he could, and thankfully the others of his guild realised his intentions. They, too, had risen soon after the sun did.

Breakfast was a short and brief event, merely getting something to eat before parting ways to get themselves ready for another trek to Yggdrasil.

As he walked down the stairs, Drayce slipped his cannon into his holster before he lifted his shield and placed the supporting strap over his shoulder and across his chest. Idly patting the strap, he walked into the sitting room to find a few others already there.

"So all we need are mining samples?" Drayce questioned as he approached Shashi who was sat in a chair near the large bay windows.

"There is also a flower I need from the labyrinth," Shashi added before he indicated over Drayce's shoulder with a wave of his hand. "Kamali will know which one."

"Ok, good," Drayce said as he turned to greet Kamali and smiled at him. "That shouldn't be difficult."

"Zohar should go with you."

Fiorello's suggestion was completely unexpected and Drayce quickly turned around to look at him in surprise. The botanist, however, just smiled that grin at him. That cheeky grin. Almost as if plotting something.

"Hm?" Zohar himself seemed surprised by the suggestion.

Fiorello shrugged carelessly, his smile unchanging. "I want to stay here and ensure that Caelem's health is top notch for the removal spell," he said as he folded his arms into the sleeves of his coat and walked over to Zohar. "You know some healing yourself, so you should be a more than a reasonable replacement. Besides, you know which stones are useful for this ritual, right?"

Zohar arched a questioning eyebrow at Fiorello, to which was returned with an even cheekier grin, before he turned to look over at Drayce. He didn't utter a sound, but Drayce got the impression that he was awaiting for his approval.

"That's completely fine with me," Drayce replied quickly with a small smile.

He was looking forward to it, actually. It should be interesting to spend time with the necromancer, especially since he was helping them out and all.

Zohar looked at Drayce silently, his expression quite stoic. However, a small smile soon appeared on his lips and he nodded his head slightly. "Very well."

"Good!" Fiorello said as he slapped Zohar on the leg lightly. Though he was smiling, it wasn't out of relief. It was out of, well…knowing. He had expected him to agree.

"Don't worry about travelling too far within the floor," Ashton, the habitual worry-wort added. "Focus on collecting the materials needed."

"Don't worry," Drayce reassured with a smile when he heard Blayke and Faelen gather at the front door, both of them seemingly ready to get this mission underway. "We'll be back before you know it."

Drayce waited for Zohar to summon his coffins and for Kamali to speak with his brother for a moment before the three of them all moved toward the front doors. Blayke and Faelen (along with Nashoba, of course) were there waiting for them. They both looked honestly surprised to see that Zohar had joined them instead of Fiorello.

They thankfully didn't question it and together, the six of them left the Crescentia and made their way quickly as possible toward the labyrinth's entrance.

As they walked along the stone stairs leading them into the base of Yggdrasil, Drayce lingered back a couple of steps to allow Blayke to take the lead with Kamali and Faelen on either side of him. And to allow Drayce some space to speak with Zohar.

As he idly trailed his finger over the leather strap that kept his shield holstered to his back, Drayce turned to look up at the tall necromancer. "Hey, Zohar? Have you been in the labyrinth before?" he asked.

Zohar glanced at him from the corner of his eye before he turned his gaze forward again and nodded. "Hm. I have," he unexpectedly answered.

Drayce furrowed his brow slightly. "But you're not part of a guild, are you?"

"I tend to work alone," Zohar replied as he kept his eyes forward and a slight frown on his lips. "It's easy to enter the labyrinth at night."

"I see…"

The knowledge of Zohar wandering about the labyrinth by himself at night was a little unsettling. Sure he had Theodore, his pet wraith, but was it really ok for him to just wander around by himself? And work alone? Was he trying to, well, search for something himself?

Drayce shook his head slightly to clear his mind. He couldn't ponder about Zohar and his motives. It was honestly none of his business what Zohar chose to do with his time. If he had goals and ambitions of his own, than that was entirely his right to do so.

Pushing his concerns aside, Drayce instead focused on what needed to be done as they approached the small flight of stairs that would lead them straight to the first floor of the labyrinth.

"Let's try to avoid the Wild Dogs this time," Blayke said as they stood together as a party and ascended the stairs.

Honestly, unless a life was in danger, Drayce was hoping to avoid any battle today. He just wanted to get in, do what they came here to do, get what they needed, and then get out. He really wanted to remove that curse from Caelem as soon as possible.

Caelem was putting on a brave face, but Drayce could tell that he was equal part nervous and excited to finally be free of the spell.

"I'll go talk to Virgil," Drayce said as he reaching into a pocket inside of his coat and pulled out the map. He then handed it to Faelen, along with the compass. "Why don't you guys study the map for me and find the mining points. I remember passing one yesterday."

Faelen looked surprised as he took the map and compass from him. "A-are you sure?" he asked as he chewed on his bottom lip slightly. "You could probably find the mining spots quicker than me."

That may be true, but that was simply because he knew how to follow maps and how to draw them. They were lessons he learnt when he was a kid. It would make sense for him to be in charge of the maps. But he also wanted Faelen and the others to learn how to draw maps and follow them as well. It would benefit them greatly to learn the basic steps at the very least.

If anything should happen to Drayce himself, at the very least the others would be able to use the map to find a safe location to bunker down in for a while.

"Nonsense," Drayce said as he waved his hand dismissively as the stepped out into the gentle greenery of the Tutelary Forest. "You got us out of the labyrinth yesterday, right? And with no prompting from me. You and Nashoba will be expert map makers before you know it."

Faelen blinked at him as they came to a stop in a clearing before a pool of crystal clear water. He then smiled softly, happily, as a dusting of red spread across his cheeks. "Ok," he said.

"You'll be fine," Drayce said as he ruffled his hair. "Now, I'm going to have a quick chat with Virgil. Be right back."

Dropping his hand from Faelen's hair, Drayce turned in the direction where he had encountered Virgil yesterday. And thankfully he could see that guard was there near a few small pools of water and with a multitude of chickens scratching at the ground by his feet.

"Virgil!" Drayce called out as he waved an arm at him and quickly headed in the guard's direction.

Virgil lifted his head up to look in his direction. He appeared momentarily confused, but a gentle smile soon appeared on his lips. "Oh, hello again," he greeted as Drayce paused in front of him. "How is that young Therian you found?"

"Recovering back at the guildhouse, thankfully," Drayce replied. "He's going to be all right."

"Oh, that's good news indeed," Virgil said earnestly. "Did you learn what happened to him?"

"That's what I want to talk to you about," Drayce said as he ignored the chickens that were starting to gather around at his own feet. "He was forced into the labyrinth against his will by a group of bandits. More specifically, a young male necromancer and a large male pugilist. Chances are they've disguised themselves as a guild. You haven't happened to see or noticed anything, have you?"

Virgil was silent as he thought to himself for a moment. "I'm afraid not, no," he said with a regrettable shake of his head. "I do greet every guild that enters, but I do not recall seeing a red-haired Therian with a pugilist and a necromancer. I like to believe that I am fairly good at remembering faces."

Drayce was disappointed by the answer, but not all that surprised. "So the chances are they snuck in during the night. Figures."

"I assume that these bandits are quite dangerous?" Virgil questioned with a frown on his lips.

Drayce nodded his head. "They kidnapped a masurao and forced him into the labyrinth against his will, so it's safe to say that they are at the very least reckless and unpredictable. Be careful all the same, ok? Wouldn't want anything to happen to you." He abruptly looked down when he felt something peck at his shoelaces. "Or your chickens."

Virgil chuckled lightly as he bent down and scooped up the chicken (who Drayce assumed was Deloris, the same chicken from yesterday) and sat her in the crook of his arm. "I will be sure to be extra vigilant," he promised. "And I will inform you of anything I might learn."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Drayce said before he offered a quick 'see ya' and turned to walk back to his guild.

As he approached he noticed that Zohar was speaking with Faelen about the map while Blayke was standing behind Kamali. No, he wasn't standing behind him. He was hiding behind him. Hands on his shoulders and ensuring the warlock was in front of him, between him and the thing that was unnerving him. And Kamali, for the most part, was seemingly trying to reassure him while attempting to 'shoo' away the threat.

Drayce immediately knew why Blayke was unnerved when a white cartoonish shaped ghost drifted merrily around the small group, purposely moving closer to Blayke with each cycle. Zohar must have summoned it in preparation for their expedition.

Before Drayce reached the others, Theodore drifted over to Blayke and hovered directly in front of him, no doubt amused by how Blayke was both intimidated and frightened of it. Drayce, however, wasn't frightened of the wraith and moved to step in-between it and Blayke.

"Intimidation isn't funny," Drayce said as he reached up and poked the wraith on what he hoped was the forehead.

He couldn't help but blink when his finger met with some resistance. He didn't expect his hand to phase through, but he was surprised by how…squishy the ghost appeared to be.

Without a second thought, Drayce reached up with both hands and grabbed Theodore on either side of its head. He pressed his palms in, earning a disgruntled gurgle from the ghost before he shifted his grip to pinch the wraith's cheeks. He pulled at them and they stretched out like rubber. He then let go and they abruptly snapped back into place.

Well, that was something he didn't expect.

Theodore was squishy. That was the only word he could think off to describe how the ghost felt beneath his hands. Squishy and malleable. Almost like clay but rubber at the same time.

"You're a lot squishier then I had imagined," Drayce said as he continued to pull at the wraith's cheeks, totally disregarding the way the wraith was disgruntledly waving its arms at him.

"Theodore isn't too fond of that," Zohar said to him, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Well, I'm not fond of intimidation, so he deserves it," Drayce retorted as he finally let the wraith go, Theodore immediately floating over to Zohar and hiding behind him.

The corner of Zohar's mouth was slightly upturned in a half smile. He, however, soon cleared his throat and turned in the direction of the path that led further into the floor. "Come," he ushered as he took the lead. "There are two mining spots on this floor. Let us inspect the furthest first."

"Sounds good," Drayce said as he motioned for the others to follow. "Kamali, where do we find this flower?"

"It isn't difficult to find," Kamali answered, sounding somewhat energetic. "It grows abundantly on this floor. We can pick one or so when we return to the entrance."

"Ok, good," Drayce said idly. It made sense to pick it last as it would ensure that it was as fresh as possible to maintain its quality.

As they walked in silence through the dense green foliage, Drayce found himself falling to the middle of the small group. Blayke and Kamali were behind him. Blayke was taking up the rear, no doubt equal parts nervous about the squishy wraith and cautious of any potential back attacks. Kamali walked only a few steps in front of him, he gazing at their lush surroundings in a calm and yet vibrant manner.

And in front of Drayce were Zohar and Faelen. Though Zohar was significantly taller than Faelen and the rover had to crane his head back to look up at him, Drayce could see that he wasn't intimidated by him. He seemed to be asking him questions as he pointed at the map and Zohar seemed to be answering them, mostly with a nod or a shake of his head, but he was still engaging with him.

For some reason, it was a relief to see. No, it was good to see his guildmates getting along so well.

He couldn't help but notice that Nashoba seemed rather…edgy, for a lack of a better word. His head was up, but his tail was down. Not between his legs, but down and not moving. Not even a twitch. His ears, however, were twitching. Twisting and turning in every direction as if he couldn't quite pinpoint what he was hearing. Or there were multiple things that were unnerving him.

He also noticed that Theodore had taken the lead aside Nashoba. It hovered high in the air, though, allowing for a better advantaged point of their surroundings. The wraith appeared to be simply bobbing along, and yet it would pause on occasion to seemingly glare in the direction of the foliage before continuing along.

Drayce didn't want to point out the behaviour of the two, though. He didn't want to worry the others as they appeared to be relaxed while vigilant. It did make him feel more on guard, though.

Those bandits may have gotten their hands on Caelem, but Drayce would make sure they didn't lay a hand on anyone else.

After manoeuvring around a few pools of water and naturally formed walls and barriers of the labyrinth, Zohar lead them to a small clearing and pointed in the direction of the south-west corner.

A small hollow in the thick tree line that seemed to dip downwards into the soil could be seen. The ground was dirty and muddy, small chunks of rocks having been discarded by previous gatherings.

It was the mining spot. He had briefly glimpsed it in passing yesterday, but for the sake of finishing the first floor, he marked it on the map and focused on finding the sapling sample.

"I'll go," Drayce immediately said as he headed toward the mining spot. "Keep watch for me, ok?"

He had heard stories of monsters ambushing parties that were distracted by gathering spots so it would be for the best if Drayce was the one to go digging around in the dirt. As a dragoon he could handle taking hits better than others so it made perfect sense for him to be at the forefront once more.

Temporary detaching his shield from his back, Drayce kicked out the stand to keep it upright as he crouched down and peered into the hollow. The morning light barely infiltrated the dark interior, but he caught glimpses of light. Something was reflecting the small amount of light.

Pulling out a knife from his pocket, Drayce removed the small sheath and used the blade to dig around at the dirt. He knew that not all useful materials were sparkling crystals, so he took samples of everything of interest. And he knew from previous readings that three different types of stones could be gathered from the first floor.

After digging out enough of the stones, Drayce re-sheathed his knife with the silent promise of cleaning it later before he gathered what he could into his hands and turned away from the mining spot.

"How did you fare?" Zohar asked him.

Now that he was standing in the sunlight, Drayce could study the stones he gathered more clearly. Thankfully the stones he gathered seemed to be of the three different varieties; brown, mossy green, and a misty, smoky white.

"If I'm not mistaken, these stones are called Cracked Mudstone, Mossy Ore, and Cloudy Agate," Drayce said as he showed Zohar the stones.

Zohar looked down at the stones for a moment, his blue eyes searching them carefully. He picked up one of the white stones to inspect it more clearly. He soon nodded his head, seemingly satisfied as he placed the stone back with the others that Drayce had gathered.

"Yes, these stones will do," he said.

Thank the Mighty Tree for that. Now all they needed was to gather that flower and head back to the Crescentia.

"How will these stones help?" Blayke couldn't help but ask as Drayce placed the stones into a small pouch.

"Crystals and stones have the ability to enhance, contain, and redirect energies," Zohar explained. "That is what we are hoping to do with the removal of that spell."

"Are these stones good enough? Do we need to collect more?" Drayce asked as he indicated to the bag.

But Zohar shook his head. "No, they will be enough."

"Good," Drayce said with relief as he placed the stones into a pocket of his coat and grabbed his shield to holster it onto his back. "Do you need anything else?"

"I managed to gather a couple of those flowers brother sent me to find," Kamali was the one to say. "Everything we require for the ritual is found back at the Crescentia."

Drayce smiled. "Even better. Then let's head out and deliver the goods."

They hadn't travelled that deeply within the floor, so it was easy for them to turn around and retrace their steps back to the front entrance. As they reached the clearing that would take them to the stairs that led back into the city, Zohar unexpectedly paused and turned to regard Drayce with a questioning look.

"Have you encountered the sealed door yet?" he asked.

That questioned prompted Drayce to remember that Virgil had mentioned something about a peculiar door yesterday. But again his focus was that of the mission, so he had pushed it to the back of his mind.

"Actually, no, we haven't."

Zohar gave him a light smile. "Then there is one last thing I think you should see," he said as he moved beyond the stairs and toward the south-west part of the floor. "It will only take a moment."

Absolutely intrigued, Drayce followed him and the others followed him.

Around a slight bend and into another clearing, Drayce found his eyes immediately drawn to a large set of doors that sat within the naturally formations of the floor. But on that door was a large magical circle of white light. The light shimmered softly, but with such illumination that it was likely to light the entire clearing even on the darkest of night.

Drawn to the door, Drayce quickly made his way over to it and lifted his hand to timidly touch the glowing circle. He felt a slight tingle race down his spine from the touch, but nothing else happened. "This is…"

The door was sealed tightly. There was no chance he could open up without some kind of special key. He didn't know why he knew that, but it did make sense.

There must be something important inside.

"There is a strange sense of mana coming from it," Zohar said from the back of the group.

From where he stood beside Drayce, Kamali lifted his hand to hover it an inch above the circle. "Yes, it's…very précised and controlled," he said after a moment.

"This couldn't be one of the vaults, could it?" Blayke asked.

Drayce shook his head as he lowered his hand from the door. "No, I highly doubt it," he said as he turned to face everyone. "For starters, there appears to be only one seal; a magical one. Besides, it's way too obvious. Despot was exceptionally greedy. He would have hidden it better. Way too easy to find, this one."

Blayke looked a little disappointed. "Good point."

Faelen looked disappointed as well. "So we can't get in?" he asked him, his ears folded against his head.

"Not without a key of some kind," Drayce answered. "Though I am insatiably curious, I can't do anything right now. No way my lock-picking kit can help me here."

"The key is likely hidden somewhere within Yggdrasil," Kamali added as he, too, stepped away from the sealed door. "I also suspect that one of the ancient warlocks who sealed the forest are the ones who created this treasure chamber, too."

Drayce folded his arms across his chest in thought. Yeah, that made sense. And if that was the case, the only way past the door was to get a hold of that key. And chances were, finding it involved a few tricks and traps of it own.

"I think you're right," Drayce said as he dropped his arms from his chest and shook his head slightly. "Never mind that now. Let's get back to the Crescentia. The sooner we remove this spell from Caelem, the safer he will be."

"Sounds good," Blayke agreed as they turned to head back to the entrance.

But as they did, Drayce noticed that Nashoba lingered back and appeared to be staring in one direction, his ears pointed forward. His head was low, but he wasn't growling. He appeared to be observing something.

He barely faltered, only turning away when Faelen nudged him softly with his hand.

Drayce couldn't help himself. He had to ask. "Is something bothering Nashoba?"

Faelen looked up at him, his ear slightly deflated as a nervous expression appeared on his face. "Yeah. He's been acting strangely since we entered the labyrinth."

So he wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Could he still be on edge from yesterday?" Blayke asked, his brow slightly furrowed as he glanced suspiciously at their surroundings.

Faelen, however, shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Let's just head on out," Drayce instructed as he ushered them all to start walking again.

However, he lingered back slightly and looked in the direction that Nashoba had been transfixed in. In a northerly direction, across the pool of still water in the centre of the floor.

It was perhaps around midday now, so the sunlight was brighter than when they first entered. He couldn't necessarily see anything across the water. Nothing in that open clearing. Nothing obvious.

But he felt that there were eyes on him. Felt that there was something there in the shadows of the trees across the water. Or rather someone. Hiding somewhere in that open field in the middle of the floor, close to where they had discovered Caelem.

"Drayce! Let's go!" Blayke called out to him.

"Coming!" Drayce replied as he jogged to catch up with the others, still feeling those eyes on him.