AN: Despite feeling ill this week I managed to finish this. Fortunate I had not of it done before I fell ill so just had to fill in the blanks so to speak. It's hard to believe that after this chapter there's only two left! But that's ok – there's plenty more sagas to come. I have other floors to do yet. I also have other CtS sagas to do. I have ideas everywhere so there's no fear of ever running out of things to write about XD Anyway enough blathering from me. Hope you enjoy reading!

Chapter 25:

The morning light filtered through the open windows of the seating room, Drayce sat in the centre of the three person couch. Dressed in comfortable clothes, he glanced idly down at his leg. Still heavily bandaged, but it wasn't aching as badly as it had been previously. Fiorello reassured him that the wounds inflected by the wild dog were healing nicely. And the threat of infection had passed.

In other words he was in reasonable shape to visit the labyrinth tonight when there was a full moon.

Upon hearing the sound of some approaching Drayce lifted his gaze to glance over his shoulder in time to see Ashton walk in. With a pair of crutches hitched under his arm.

"Don't make me regret giving these to you," Ashton said as he presented the crutches toward him.

Drayce just had to laugh as he made a grab for the crutches. "Dude, with both you and Blayke watching my every move like a pair of hawks, I wouldn't dare to try anything funny."

The corner of Ashton's mouth twitched into a half smile, but he didn't verbally respond. Instead he helped Drayce to stand up without putting any pressure on his injured leg and helped to position the crutches in the way that was most comfortable. Having to rely on two wooden sticks to walk upright wasn't going to be completely and utterly comfortable, but Drayce was still glad to have them.

Staying in bed and twiddling his thumbs would send him stark raving mad. Not to mention everyone around him, too.

Also worth mentioning was the fact that seeing him up and about would put the other's concerns and worries at ease. He was the leader of this guild; he needed to show them how strong he was so they didn't need to worry about him.

"You won't be running any marathons with those crutches, but at least they'll keep you occupied," Ashton said as he continued to watch Drayce with a cautious gaze. "An inactive treasure hunter is probably worse than an overworked one."

Again, Drayce had to laugh as he carefully concentrated on getting a hang of his new crutches.

A few moments later the rest of his guild gathered into the seating room with him. And they appeared relieved to see him up and about, even on the crutches. Better yet Zohar was also with them. He must have chosen to stay the night, which was good. He was liked amongst the guild, after all. He was more than welcome to stay.

"How are you feeling?" Faelen asked as he cautiously approached him. "Is your leg all right?"

Drayce grinned at them as he balanced himself on his good leg. "I'm doing good. Doesn't even hurt right now."

"It will if you put any pressure on it," Fiorello promptly warned.

"Which is why I'm using the crutches like a good boy," Drayce pointed out as quickly.

Kamali chuckled into his hand before he turned to look at Drayce with curiosity in his eyes. "Did you manage to read all the diary entries?"

Drayce carefully rested his injured foot atop of his good one. "I did actually. There was a lot but I read them all. It was, well, captivating watching as Aura grew from a petty princess to compassionate scholar."

"Yes, I agree," Kamali said with a smile as he restlessly fiddled with his hands in front of him. "What do you think? About the possible connection, I mean."

"There's no doubt in my mind that Astrio is my ancestor," Drayce replied honestly before a grin made its way to his lips. "So is Aura."

"As to be expected, you're taking it well," Blayke commented, that cautious scowl ever present on his face. However, a moment later he sighed and raked a hand through his hair. And then asked a surprising question. "Should we tell Ramus about your possible connection to the Forgotten Princess?"

Drayce fell silent for a moment. He uttered a sigh before he lowered himself upon a chair to ease the slight ache in his back. He idly draped his lands over the hand-holds of his crutches as he became lost to his thoughts.

To be completely honest he hadn't given that much thought. It was a good question though. Since Aura was Lilith, the Earthlain Princess, that meant that she was also connected to Ramus, the now prince of the Earthlian Royals. She was his ancestor also.

So…that brought up the question of Drayce and Ramus being very, very distant relations.

The fact that he might have royal blood wasn't all that concerning to Drayce. He wasn't interested in possibly using that distant connection to his advantaged. He didn't consider the blood that ran through his veins as royal. He was a treasure hunter. Just like with every other Pendragon before him.

Just like Aura when she passed. She didn't die a princess; she died a beloved mother, wife, scholar, archaeologist, and treasure hunter.

To Drayce that was more important.

"I don't want to keep anything from him," Drayce decided. "Besides, Aura wanted to be a treasure hunter and gave up her royal title. And I'm sure Ramus would love to know everything about his ancestor as well. Let's give him the diaries to read."

Blayke still looked worried. Probably worried should anyone else learn of Drayce's royal connection they would try to take advantage of it. He was such a worry-wort. Despite Drayce's willingness to announce his treasure hunting credentials, he wasn't going to go around sprouting about his distant relations having once been a princess. Aura wouldn't appreciate it, after all.

"If you're sure," Blayke said finally, relenting and accepting his decision.

Drayce gave him a comforting smile. "He'll appreciate it, I'm sure. Before that, though, I want to find Aura's and Astrio's final resting place."

That seemed to catch everyone by surprised as they all fell silent and stared at him.

"Why's that?" Faelen asked as he tilted his head to the side and twitched his ears.

"To pay my respects," Drayce answered. "I don't want either of them moved as they are quite happy where they are. I still want to see them though."

Both surprisingly and yet unsurprisingly Ashton immediately understood his need to find them. "They're probably in the old cemetery on the outskirts of town," he stated.

Drayce looked over at the green-haired scholar and grinned at him. "Wouldn't hurt to spend a couple of hours looking, right?" he said as he set about heaving himself back to his feet. Well, back to his foot. "There's nothing to do until tonight anyway."

Ashton sighed and shook his head. "You really don't know the meaning of taking it easy, do you?"

Drayce's grin turned decidedly cheeky. "What treasure hunter does?"

Blayke rolled his eyes again. "Can't argue with that," he muttered.

Drayce steadied himself upon his crutches before he headed in the direction of the front door. "Let's take a carriage. Hop to, Blayke!"

"You're the one that's hopping around!" Blayke immediately retorted as he all but stomped after him.

Drayce laughed and was about to make a comment about that being a lame comeback when Faelen's voice caused him to pause and look back at everyone.

"Can I come, too?"

"Of course," Drayce immediately said with a smile. "The more the merrier."

Kamali clapped his hands in front of him as he also smiled. "Caelem and I would like to go also," he said as the therian next to him mutely but eagerly nodded his head.

Drayce laughed again and glanced over his shoulder toward the tall necromancer. The poor guy looked out of place. Drayce didn't think he did, but the expression of slight discomfort and yet longing on his face indicated to him that Zohar wanted to join in the jovial of the guild. But he was holding himself back.

He didn't need to do that.

"Zohar?" Drayce said as he gained the necromancer's attention and he tilted his head questioningly to the side. "Would you like to tag along?"

Zohar shifted his gaze to look directly at him. For a moment Drayce could see a slight internal struggle in his piercing blue eyes. And for that moment he feared that he would curl back into him and decline his offer.

"...Very well." Zohar's answer was unexpected but it brought a feeling of relief to Drayce all the same.

"That's great," Drayce said with earnest. His gaze lingered on Zohar for a moment longer, longer than probably necessarily before he turned his attention to the others who stood before him. "Anyone else interested."

"I think the six of you will be enough for this adventure," Ashton was the one to answer with a friendly smile. "I'll work with Shashi to get the diaries ready for transportation to the Council Hall."

Drayce was honestly surprised that Ashton didn't insist on joining them. He was the notorious caretaker after all. But Ashton probably figured that the six of them was more than enough. And five was enough to keep Drayce out of trouble.

"Hm, I have no interest in cemeteries," Fiorello answered as he idly patted his medical pouch as he searched for something. "I obviously don't like you heading off with that leg, but having you do something is better than having you go stir-crazy with not doing something."

Drayce was glad that everyone understood his need to be always doing something. It didn't matter what that something was, as long as it kept his mind busy. Lying in bed and staring up at the ceiling was like…worse than death or something. Ok, not quite that drastic, but damn near close!

"Believe me, I would be a nightmare if I wasn't allowed to move around," Drayce couldn't help but comment with a grin. "Ashton can attest to that."

Ashton snorted before his expression unexpectedly darkened and his eyes narrowed. "Your father and grandfather are just the same..." he muttered more to himself than anyone else.

Blayke made a noise that was a combination of a scoff and a snort. "With those crutches, he won't get far. I'll make sure of it."

"Aww, are you going to carry me?" Drayce just had to tease, which promptly earn him a narrow-eyed stare.

However before Blayke could utter a reply, Fiorello chuckled aloud as he pulled a bottle from his pouch and toddled over to Zohar and handed it to him. "I'm sure Zohar will be able to do just that should Drayce get too tired on his feet~"

Surprisingly Drayce felt his cheeks heat up in a blush, which promptly deepened when Zohar nonchalantly nodded his head and dutifully retrieved the bottle of medicine from Fiorello. Who, may he add, was smiling oh-so cheekily.

"W-we'll get going now," Drayce said as he turned around toward the front doors.

It was a little bit tricky getting down the front steps but Drayce was thankfully able to do so without causing concern from his teammates. He could tell that they weren't exactly pleased to have him stumbling about on the crutches as he was clearly still recovering. But they thankfully didn't say anything or try to coax him back inside.

Equally as fortunate was that they didn't need to wait long for a carriage to pull up. It was large enough for the six of them. Blayke hopped in first in order to help Drayce in and Zohar supported Drayce as he passed the crutches in before he hefted himself into the carriage. It was thankfully easy with Blayke grasping his hand while Zohar supported him with hands on his back.

Drayce quickly settled in the middle of one of the seats with Blayke on the left of him and Zohar on the right. Across from him on the other seat and with their backs toward the driver sat Caelem, Kamali, and Faelen. The two therians were eagerly looking out the windows while Kamali sat comfortably between them with a small smile on his lips.

Shortly after that they were on the move through the city.

"This city is pretty big, isn't it?" Faelen commented as he stared out the window.

Kamali nodded his head and folded his hands atop of his lap. "Yes. It is believed to have been built on the fallen remains of the Despot's fortress that he created during the Legendary War."

"I heard stories about that," Drayce immediately perked up. "Do you think that there are remains still hidden beneath the city?"

Next to him Blayke sighed and punched his thigh lightly. "One mystery at a time."

Drayce immediately turned to him and wrinkled his nose in annoyance. "Hey!"

Kamali lifted his hand to his lip and chuckled softly. He lowered his hand and smiled, seemingly ready to respond when his gaze flickered to the redheaded therian next to him. He tilted his head to the side, which prompted Drayce to turn his attention to Caelem as well.

Though Caelem seemed interested in the passing scenery, his ears were folded back slightly. He appeared nervous, wincing subtly every now and again.

"Hm? Is everything all right, Cal?" Drayce asked.

Caelem tensed in his seat, his ears springing up straight as he turned to look at him with a sheepish expression on his face. "Ah, yeah. Just a little nervous," he admitted.

Ah, nervous about those bandits no doubt. Completely reasonable.

"There is no mana residing upon you," Kamali said as he patted Caelem gently on the knee. "That necromancer will not be able to sense you now."

"Even if they do, we'll just sic Blayke onto them," Drayce added jokingly, yet comforting as well.

Blayke folded his arms across his chest and snorted. "Should have let me do that from the beginning."

Kamali and Faelen chuckled while Drayce grinned at his best friend. Protectiveness at its finest. But Caelem was greatly comforted by that. The tension in his shoulders and ears eased and he appeared relaxed.

"Ok," Caelem said with a small smile on his lips.

They fell into silence after that, only the sound of the wooden wheels and horseshoes on stone laden roadways. Drayce turned to look to his right where Zohar sat silently as he stared out the window. His eyes, however, held a faraway look to them, as if he wasn't paying attention to the scenery and instead was lost to his own thoughts. Though his expression was stoic, his jaw appeared tight.

Was he…uncomfortable? Or reminiscing on something?

Drayce didn't want to disturb him, though he was curious.

A few more moments of silence passed before the carriage turned along a narrow and seemingly rarely used pathway that snaked along the old part of the city. Thick forests with small huts dotted along the road. Finally, they paused in front of an ancient stone archway and tall steel gates with the words "Iorys' Cemetery".

Naturally, everyone was both eager and cautious to get out of the carriage to look around.

Zohar slipped out first and immediately turned back toward them. Drayce was able to perch himself in the doorway of the carriage and was slightly surprised when Zohar reached up his hands and placed them on Drayce's waist. Drayce felt a strange heating sensation appear on his cheeks, but he smiled sheepishly as he reached out himself to rest his hands on Zohar's shoulders.

Then carefully and gently, Zohar lifted Drayce from the carriage and placed him onto the ground. His hands remained against Drayce's side until Blayke hopped out with the crutches. He handed them to Drayce with an odd expression on his face. A slight scowl of protectiveness for some reason. But he didn't say anything and Drayce didn't point out his expression. Instead he simply uttered a thanks to both Blayke and Zohar as he retrieved the crutches and jammed them under his armpits to get himself balanced.

As everyone else clambered from the carriage, Drayce turned to look at the cemetery.

It was located on the side of a hill, which overlooked the city, though the view was mostly disrupted by the tall, thick forests that encircled the cemetery. The stone crypts and headstones seemed to loom over them. They were a faded grey with green moss mixed with black mould in patches climbing along the sides of the tombs. Some headstones were small and simple, while many more were eccentric with grand statues and faded engravings. Steel fencing encircled the smaller tombs while the large family plots were guarded with large steel doors.

It was quite stunning. And yet was also a mixture of gloom and silent respect. It would certainly be an unnerving and oppressive place at night. Would cause even those with the most rational minds get lost in their own imaginative fears.

With the driver of the carriage agreeing to wait for them, Drayce shuffled to the tall, black gates and was relieved to see that they weren't locked. The creaked ominously loudly when he pushed them open, though.

They appeared to be the only ones there. Perhaps the first to visit in many years.

"These tombs are certainly quite old," Kamali whispered as he glanced around in awe.

"And eccentric," Blayke muttered as he also looked around, his expression of awe a lot more subtle than those of the others.

Caelem cautiously approached a large stone crypt with a black steel door and poked it with a fingertip. "They haven't been opened for centuries," he commented.

Kamali nodded his head as he lifted a hand to play somewhat nervously with a strand of his hair. "Hm. Iorys actually has two cemeteries," he explained. "This is the oldest, the one that predates the Legendary War and the few decades after. It soon ran out of room, though, so another had to be built on the other side of the city. A few causalities of the war are said to rest here also. Though...there were many that couldn't be returned."

"There's so much history," Drayce said when he noticed that many of the tall tomb had emblems that felt and looked somewhat familiar to him. He probably saw pictures of them in the many books detailing myths and legends that his grandpa would read to him when he was a kid. "Will need to come back at a later date to explore properly."

Unexpectedly, but again not really, Blayke sighed. "Another place to explore…"

Drayce grinned broadly. "Bellyache all you want. You're interested, too~"

"Oh, shut up," Blayke scoffed with a slight blush on his cheeks and he promptly folded his arms. "Anyway, let's pair off. Cover more ground that way."

That was a good idea, actually. They only had a few hours to spare before they had to return to the Crescentia to get ready for a jaunt into the labyrinth at night.

"I'll go with Kamali!" Faelen volunteered cheerfully which prompted Kamali to cover his mouth as he laughed again.

"Well then, Caelem should go with Blayke," Drayce instructed. "I'll hop along with Zohar. Shout if you find anything."

"Don't push yourself," Blayke said as he gave Drayce a stern look.

Drayce simply waved him off and watched as they broke off into two groups. Kamali and Faelen took one path, Faelen eagerly asking Kamali questions most likely about his knowledge on the city. While Blayke and Caelem took another smaller path, Blayke taking the slight lead while Caelem stayed just half a step behind him but still quite close. It was good to note that he wasn't as nervous as before.

It was also good to see his guildmates getting along well.

After watching his guildmates for a moment, Drayce finally turned his gaze to Zohar. He immediately noticed that Zohar had his chin lifted and his eyes looking slightly upwards. Drayce couldn't see anything of note in his line of sight, but Zohar seemed focused on something.

"You ok, Zohar?" Drayce asked as he hobbled around on his crutches to face him. "You've been quiet."

Zohar blinked, as if he had just snapped himself out of a trance. He then turned his gaze back toward Drayce and gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, I'm lost in my thoughts," he said before his brow furrowed slightly. "Are you certain you are up for entering the labyrinth tonight?"

Drayce tilted his head to the side. "You mean my leg? I'll be fine. With everyone there, I'm sure we'll find the Radiant Moon."

Zohar didn't appear all that convinced, but he nodded his head slowly nonetheless. He parted his lips to say something but he suddenly turned his head to the right and lifted his chin. It appeared as if he was trying to listen to something.

A bubble of concern appeared in Drayce's chest. "Zohar?" he asked softly.

Zohar didn't say anything at first. Just continued to look off in the distance. Almost as if he was looking at something. "...No. It's nothing. Just voices on the wind."

Drayce tilted his head to the side in question. "Voices?"

Zohar nodded his head and finally turned his gaze back to Drayce. "Necromancers such as myself have the ability to hear the voices of the dead."

"Oh," Drayce uttered before that concern from before abruptly reappeared. "Oh, right. A-are you ok here?"

"Do not worry," Zohar said with a small smile. "They've been blessed with eternal rest. There are no malicious voices here."

Drayce wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but found it reassuring anyway. "What are they saying?"

Again, Zohar didn't answer right away. He just gazed intently, yet softly at him. He then unexpectedly lifted his hand to gently slip a finger under Drayce's chin. "...You're an incredibly special person."

"Huh?" Drayce uttered, his mind going blank.

"Come," Zohar said instead as he dropped his hand from Drayce's chin and abruptly turned back in the direction he had stared in only moments ago. "This way."

"Ah, ok," Drayce said as he hastily took control of his crutches and followed behind Zohar closely.

Zohar walked slowly to allow Drayce to keep pace, thankfully, and he led him deeper into the cemetery. Into an area that had to be the oldest of the graveyard. Stone pathways were unkempt with cracks in the stone work and weeds between the tombs reaching waist high.

As they rounded a large family plot, a small clearing within the graveyard opened up. In the centre was an enormous willow tree. And underneath the tree, nestled safely with the spiralling roots and low hanging branches was a stone crypt with a stone angel lying in mourning atop and at the foot of a long stone sword. The stonework was faded and most of the walls of the crypt were covered in moss and creeping flower vines. But it appeared sturdy and seemingly untouched by man for centuries.

It was actually quite beautiful.

However, it was the crest engraved upon the door of the tomb that caught Drayce's immediate attention.

That was his family's crest. The symbol of the Pendragon family.

Drayce felt his breath leave him as he hurried toward the crypt. It took longer than he would have liked to navigate around the spiralling roots, but Zohar thankfully and patiently aided him and within a matter of moments he stood in front of his family crest.

A crest that bore two familiar names.

"This is...it," he uttered as he stared with wide eyes. "Aura and Astrio."

He quickly balanced himself on his uninjured foot to bring his fingers to his mouth and released a short, sharp whistle. That was sure to get the other's attention. He then quickly gripped at the handholds of his crutches and turned himself around so that he could look out for his guildmates.

"Where are you?!" Blayke was heard shouting back.

"Head for the willow tree!" Drayce shouted back.

Less than a minute later four familiar figures appeared from behind another large tomb and immediately headed in his direction. Blayke at the forefront as usual.

"What's up?" Blayke immediately asked as he strode over to him, failing miserably in hiding his concern even though he was frowning.

"Found them," Drayce said simply as he motioned toward the large stone crypt with a tilt of his head.

Everyone immediately snapped their attention toward the mighty tomb and collectively their mouths dropped open in awe and surprise.

"It appears undisturbed," Kamali commented after a moment of silence. "And peaceful."

"Yeah," Drayce said as he turned back to his family crest. "They're still here."

"It's actually quite beautiful," Blayke commented with a genuine sense of awe in his voice. "They were quite beloved, weren't they?"

Again, Drayce nodded his head and reached out to press his hand against the memorial stone. "Yeah."

Everyone fell silent as Drayce trailed a fingertip over the names, gently tracing each letter and spelling them out in his head. He then leaned forward and pressed his forehead against the aging stone. "Don't worry, Aura. I'll find the Radiant Moon and bring it home. You can rest easy."

He rested his forehead against the stone for a few moments simply thinking about what he read from Aura's diaries and of the Radiant Moon itself. When he finally leaned back a slight breeze tussled his hair softly and he liked to think that Aura and Astrio, his ancestors, were appreciative of his actions.

"Drayce," Blayke said softly. "It's getting late."

"I know," Drayce said as he dropped his hand from the stone plague. "We better head back."

It was surprisingly hard to turn away from his ancestors' final resting place, but he reassured himself that he would visit them again. When he wasn't injured and when he found and safely gifted the Radiant Moon back to the Earthlain Royal family.

"Are you all right?" Kamali asked him gently as Drayce hobbled slightly on his crutches.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry," Drayce said with a gentle smile. "I'm glad I found them. The next time I visit I'll have found the Radiant Moon. And Aura's story will be heard and understood. Enough time has passed. It needs to be known."

"For your first official treasure hunt, you certainly went all out," Blayke unexpectedly commented.

And Drayce laughed as the six of them headed back the way they came to meet up with their patiently waiting carriage driver. "Makes you wonder what my next trick is going to be, doesn't it? Well, we'll just have to find out."

Next stop; the Cresentia.

And then the labyrinth to finally bring home the Radiant Moon of Compassion.