AN: Another short chapter and another one filled with information, bit I promise that the next chapter will lead us back to some action. Please be patient~

Chapter 18:

"It was less than twenty-four hours since we've been here last," Blayke commented as both he and Drayce stepped from the carriage the moment it pulled to a stop in front of the Council Hall.

"I know," Drayce said with a half-smile as he closed to the door to the carriage and singled to the driver that they were free. "He's going to get sick of us really quick, isn't he?"

Blayke snorted lightly as the two of them quickly made their way up the tall stone stairs to the hall and pushed their way through the usual masses. "Well, it would prove to him that he made the right choice in hiring you as a treasure hunter."

"Awww, you're so nice~" Drayce couldn't help but tease, but only earned him a roll of the eyes from Blayke.

They quickly made their way into the halls of the council and made a beeline to Ramus. Thankfully he didn't appear to be speaking with anyone at the moment so that allowed them to hurry straight up to him.

"Hm?" Ramus murmured as he lifted his head up and a flicker of surprise appeared in his eyes. "Oh, hello once again."

"Hey," Drayce greeted in return with a half wave of his hand. "Sorry, we know it's getting late but we need to have another little chat."

"Of course," Ramus immediately but politely replied as he made a motion with his hand to follow him. "Let's head into my office then."

Once more, in less than twenty-four hours, Drayce and Blayke followed Ramus to his office. He ushered them in first and they quickly moved over to the usual two chairs and sat down as he closed the door behind them. He had a mixture of interest and mild concern on his face as he sat down in his chair to face Drayce and Blayke from across his desk.

"You have news on the Radiant Moon, I take it?" Ramus immediately asked as he folded his hands atop of his desk and gave them his full and undivided attention.

There was no point in beating around the bush. Just lay it all on the table and see what they could do next afterwards.

"Yes and no," Drayce answered. "Good news is that we were able to transfer the spell on Caelem's back onto a piece of mana infused parchment. The sorta good news is that it while it does mention the Radiant Moon; it also makes reference to someone called The Forgotten Princess."

Ramus' eyes subtly widened before he furrowed his brow in a confused but still intrigued manner. "Forgotten Princess?" he repeated. "Could that be referring to the princess who had allegedly stolen the Radiant Moon all those years ago?"

"We seem to think so, too," Drayce answered as rested back into his chair. "Also some more information you might be interested in. The spell that Caelem had carried is called Moon Legacy and Shashi, a symbolist and a friend of mine, believes that the Moon Legacy was first created out of necessity but was soon regarded as a burden and forced onto others, which was what happened to Caelem. Also that Moon Legacy is the key, or rather compass, that will lead to possibly the Radiant Moon or even something connected to the Forgotten Princess."

"That's..." Ramus murmured softly, truly not knowing what to say. He honestly hadn't expected any of the information Drayce had just delivered to him.

Blayke uttered a sigh as he leaned forward the rest his elbows on his knees and furrowed his brown into a serious expression. "Both or either, they are important to the royal family, so we can assume that should anyone else learn of this Moon Legacy, they may become interested as well."

"Th-these bandits you mentioned before," Ramus stuttered as he leaned forward. "Do you believe they knew of this information?"

Drayce wished he could ease the prince's concerns but he couldn't safely say one way or the other. And he was certain that Ramus would appreciate his honesty over his comfort in regards of such matters.

"Hopefully not," Drayce said. "We're hoping that they figured that a powerful spell would lead to a pricey treasure. However, we can't rule out that they didn't know. A necromancer was believed to have detected mana from Caelem which was the reason why he was targeted. He surely knew something beforehand."

Ramus nodded his head as he slowly leaned back into his chair, uncharacteristically slouching. "To think that there is a possibility to learn more of..."

Ramus was no doubt interested in learning more of his ancestors, especially more on the one that was banished from the royal family. But there was another person Drayce himself was interested in. Shashi had mentioned that the Moon Legacy may have been created out of necessity. Could the Moon Mage have been the one to have crafted it?

"Do you happen to have any information regarding this Moon Mage?" Drayce asked.

Ramus immediately straightened his posture and leaned forward slightly to pick up a thin book that sat on the corner of his desk. Now that Drayce's gaze was drawn to the desk he had noticed that there appeared to be more books and scrolls than there was yesterday.

"I have been searching, yes," Ramus admitted as he placed the book in front of him and opened it. "From what I have learnt is that the Moon Mage was young but highly regarded. He reportedly held powerful psychic abilities, especially in regards to Divine Intuition. When he gifted the Earthlain Royal Family with the Radiant Moon, many referred to the offering as a blessing from the Moon. He and the Earthlain prince had developed a close bond and it was through that friendship that the two races formed an alliance once more."

"So the princess stealing the Radiant Moon could have potentially caused tensions between the two races to reform," Blayke commented. "Is that enough to earn her banishment?"

"Not just banishment, but virtually wiped from the royal achieves," Drayce added.

Ramus sighed as he shook his head and closed the book. "I'm afraid I do not know. Times back then were very different to how they are now."

Drayce folded an arm across his chest as he held his chin in through with the other. "That's true. So soon after the Legendary War, tensions would still be running high."

There was something else gnawing at him though. About that princess in particular.

"There is something that's been bugging me," Drayce said as he dropped his arms from his chest and leaned forward. "You said that the princess who stole the Radiant Moon was virtually wiped from the archives. That must mean that the Radiant Moon was extremely important to the Earthlain Royal Family. Or she had done something else either in the time period before and this was the last straw. Or in the days after the Radiant Moon's disappearance."

Truthfully, though, those explanations didn't sit right with him. He felt that something else was involved in all of this.

Ramus, however, didn't appear at all surprised by the question. "I had wondered that, too, to be honest," he admitted again. "But I'm afraid I haven't found any information on the princess involved. However, if she is being referred to as the Forgotten Princess, then perhaps there are some hidden documents of her fate."

Blayke leaned back into his chair. "Do you think information on the Forgotten Princess could have been buried along with her? That is if we're assuming that the mention of the Forgotten Princess in the Moon Legacy is actually pointing to her final resting place."

"That's a possibility," Drayce murmured before he shook his head slightly. "Another question though would be how old was she when she was placed in that tomb? Was she banished or was she fatally punished?"

Blayke roughly scratched the back of his neck. "Maybe it isn't a tomb at all then. Maybe it's something else to be considered a treasure. Like the books and scrolls of her before her banishment. A vault of sorts."

Drayce turned to face Blayke and nodded his head. "You know, you're probably right. If she was banished after stealing the Radiant Moon, no doubt considered a traitor and hated for what she had done, who would build a tomb for her?"

"Someone who believes her to be innocent...?" Ramus murmured as he gazes off to the side in thought.

"Or an attempt to hide her involvement," Blayke added with a shrug of his shoulders.

Drayce raked his hand through his hair once more. They were getting ahead of themselves. There was a lot for them to speculate on and assume, but at the moment they had no solid facts. So they shouldn't assume anything or limit their options.

"At this point anything could be possible," Drayce said. "The best thing we can do is to follow where this Moon Legacy leads us and go from there."

They should probably return to the Crescentia as well. Ashton and Shashi were still researching and he was also concerned for Caelem. He knew that he was in safe hands with Fiorello watching over him, but he was still worried. He couldn't help himself.

There was also a slight niggling feeling that made him cautious. Ever since he felt that prickly feeling of being watched in the labyrinth earlier that day he felt hyper vigilant. It may be nothing more than reasonable paranoia. Still he rather everyone to be together at the Crescentia.

"We just wanted you to know what we've learnt so far," Drayce said as he pushed himself to his feet and Blayke followed. "If we learn anything more, we'll be sure to inform you."

"Yes, please do," Ramus said as he also took to his feet as if to show them out. "But take care of yourselves first. Do not do anything reckless."

"Ah, don't worry too much about us," Drayce said with a smile. "I'm a professional treasure hunter, after all. I know my limitations. We'll catch you later."

Both Drayce and Blayke left Ramus' office quickly and immediately made a beeline to the outside where carriages often gathered to drop off or pick up visitors of the council hall. Luckily just as they stepped out into the courtyard a carriage rolled up and dropped off a small group of explorers. As soon as the group paid the driver, Drayce and Blayke approached him with their own request.

Naturally, he readily agreed. So they proceeded to give directions and climb into the carriage.

As soon as they began to move, Blayke slumped back into his seat and clutched at his forehead. "This has been one information dump after another lately. And we're not even official explorers yet."

Drayce chuckled but it sound tired, even to him. "Been one hell of a couple of days, that's for sure. But that's the life of a treasure hunter."

Blayke dropped his hand from his forehead and folded his arms across his chest. "So what happens next?"

"Next we head back into the labyrinth," Drayce answered as he glanced out the window to stare idly at the passing scenery. "The Moon Legacy is believed to activate when it was near the location it is connected it to. Be it the Radiant Moon or something else to do with the Forgotten Princess."

"Whether it's a tomb or another treasure chest, whatever is connected to the Forgotten Princess is likely to be the target of those bandits," Blayke said with a slight frown on his lips. "Tombs hold countless treasures after all."

"Very true," Drayce said as he nodded and he felt a frown tug at his own lips. "We're going to need to be on our guard."

The frown on Blayke's face deepened. "Tsk. As if the monsters weren't bad enough."

Drayce understood his frustration well. "The monsters we can deal with. It's the unpredictably of those bandits I don't like. Let's just head back to the Crescentia for now. It's getting dark already."

They sat in silence for the rest of the journey to the Crescentia, both lost in their own thoughts. Drayce was musing not only about the information he learnt but rather what he should actually do tomorrow when they return to the labyrinth. The best thing for them to do is to pretend that they were hoping to complete the first mission.

He remembered Ashton's warning about others wishing to take advantage of him because he was a treasure hunter. If those bandits were reckless enough to kidnap someone on a hunch, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that they may try to accost him into doing all the work while they take the rewards.

And there was also no doubt that they would take whatever they could get their hands on, either the Radiant Moon or information on the Forgotten Princess, and hold it for ransom. They could make a fortune through that method.

Drayce was pulled from his musing when the carriage abruptly pulled to a stop and it was then that he realised that they had reached the Crescentia. Slipping out of the carriage, Drayce paid the driver before he and Blayke quickly made their way up the stone path to the front entrance of their guildhouse and let themselves inside.

"We're back!" Drayce called out as Blayke shut the door behind them.

"Welcome back!" Faelen greeted from top of the stairs with Nashoba sat at his heels.

"Hey," Drayce greeted in return as he and Blayke ascended the stairs. "I see the place is still in one piece. Knew you could do it."

"Heh," Faelen chuckled, subtly thrilled at his trust in him before his expression faltered into that of relief. "But I'm glad you're back. Nashoba has been acting strangely. He keeps staring outside."

Drayce glanced down at the white-furred wolf and noted that while he wasn't tense or uneasy, he was still agitated by something. His ears would flick and twitch on occasion despite his eyes remaining forward.

"I see..." Drayce murmured as that sense of protectiveness in the pit of his stomach grew. He, however, placed a smile on his lips to cover up his own unease. "Anyway, how's Caelem? I know he's safe under Kamali and Fiorello's watch, but has his awaken?"

"Not yet," Faelen answered as he glanced over his shoulder in the direction of Caelem's room. "But Fiorello says he should wake up soon."

"Ah, good," Drayce said with genuine relief. "And I assume Ashton and Shashi are still in the library?"

"Yep!" Faelen replied.

Well, back to the library they go then.

"Ah, you're back," Ashton greeted the moment that Drayce entered the library with Blayke and Faelen at his heel. "How did the meeting go?"

"Hey, Shashi, Ashton," Drayce said as he walked over to the table in the centre of the table and stood before the Moon Legacy again. "As well as to be expected. Learn anything else?"

Shashi sat on the other side of the table across from where the Moon Legacy sat in a circle of candles and stones. Before him were several books and note pads with words scribbled on the scattered pieces of paper.

"A little bit more," Shashi said as he tapped his pencil against his cheek but kept his gaze down on the book in front of him. "It says the Radiant Moon draws upon the light of the full moon to shine the light of truth in the darkness of deceit. If I am to assume anything, it means that the light emitted from the Radiant Moon can only be seen in the dark of night."

Well, that would make a lot of sense actually.

"Wait," Blayke called out from behind him. "So does that mean we have to go into the labyrinth at night?"

Shashi's eyes narrowed slightly but he nodded his head. "It...seems that way."

"When's the next full moon?" Faelen was the one to ask.

"Two nights from now."

A couple of days to prepare themselves then. Good. Plenty of time to go snooping about in the labyrinth. If they went charging in now that may only inspire those bandits to be more suspicious of them. As far as they were aware of they simply saved Caelem from that monster attack.

"Ok, that's fine," Drayce said. "I still want to head into the labyrinth tomorrow with the Moon Legacy. At least find the location it is pointing to. Even if we find nothing there at the time, we can return on the night of the full moon to see what happens."

"Sounds reasonable," Ashton said as he walked over to the table and placed down a book. "But for now I better make some dinner. Everyone is likely starving."

Now that he mentioned it, Drayce was pretty hungry. He had missed lunch after all. Ok so he'll have something to eat first, check in on Caelem to see if he was awake and get him something to eat before he headed to the drawing room to study the map.

Life of a treasure hunter sure was a busy one. Not that Drayce would have it any other way.