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Chapter 56:

Arthur's Point of View

Lestranian Lands

Aydan got us to some grassland a few miles away from the village. "You okay?" I asked him.

Holding up a hand, he breathed heavily and in a strained tone. "Yeah. Just give me a minute. Original magic is a fickle thing. Almost feels as if it tries to take over your body when you're using it."

Eyeing him at that, I replied in a more cautious tone. "That doesn't sound very safe..." I commented.

"That's because it's not." He forced himself to his feet and gave me a tired look. "Why do you think I haven't told anyone this or taught anyone."

"You told me."

The Great Sage scoffed. "Back when I wasn't convinced if you were telling the truth and I was going to lock you in the study until I figured out what to do with you." Aydan waved at me dismissively. "But that didn't happen."

Taking my hood off, I looked at him, slightly annoyed. "You were gonna trap me in that godforsaken study!? What the fuck!?"

He shrugged in response. "What!?" He asked back defensively before pointing at me. "To be fair, I thought I led someone into our Kingdom who wanted to take the crown for his own twisted desires! So, sealing you away was the best solution! Even if it meant I couldn't go to the study anymore for a while!"

Groaning in annoyance, I flipped my hood back up, annoyed, and shook my head. "That's kind of a bitch move."

"Bitch move for a bitch sounds about right."

"You know, your snark and snide remarks almost sound like me. Are you sure you're really an Elf? Because I'm almost positive your lovely Varvara would faint if she heard you talk like this." I pointed out.

He merely put his hands behind his back and started walking forward. "I was made a Knight by the Elves, and the Alliance saw fit for me to keep my title when Lestrania was formed. However, I was never truly a noble."

"I can tell," I said with a chuckle. "Come on. Let's get to that village."

"Can I ask you a more personal question?" Aydan brought up while we walked, and he tried catching his breath from the long-distance teleportation.

My eyes flickered to him for a moment before I nodded. "You can ask, but it doesn't mean I'll answer. All depends on the question really."

He quirked a brow at that. "Really? You've been very forthcoming about most things. Why does it depend on the question?"

I shrugged. "I've never been a fan of talking about myself. There are a lot of things I'm not proud of, to be honest."

"I can understand that. Many can probably relate to that." I doubt it. "Well, it's just surprising that now you decide to reply in such a manner."

"That's because I thought you'd be able to get me home, and you already knew about me. I assure you, if I had known that you were unaware of me, I probably would've handled things very differently."

Aydan shrugged in response. "Maybe so, but I think things worked out rather well." Then he turned to me. "Don't you?"

I nodded in agreement. "It would seem so."

"Well, either way, that's neither here nor there. I wanted to ask you why don't you court Princess Mara?" The Great Sage inquired curiously.

"Reasons."

Scoffing, Aydan just gave me an annoyed look. "Mind listing a few?"

Rolling my eyes, I held up a finger. "First, she is still young." Then another finger. "Second, we still don't know how long I'm going to be stuck here in the past. Third, I have no interest in love." Putting up another finger, I continued. "Fourth, she literally knows nothing about me. Don't you think that's a little unfair?" I asked back.

"You could share with her." Aydan commented while we walked.

"Really? You think that would go over well?"

"I don't see why not."

This time, I scoffed. "Hi, Mara!" My overly cheerful tone immediately annoyed my companion. "Wanted to let you know that I think you're swell! By the way, before anything else happens, you should know I was forced to come to this world in the future! Don't worry though, some random spell brought me to the past, sp who knows how long I'll actually be here!"

Aydan gave me an unimpressed look. "Are you done?"

"Not yet," I said in a more monotone voice before continuing. "However, would you perhaps like to get to know a space demon, creature, thing!? Who might, or might not be, millions of years old and is afraid to find out!?"

"Space demon?" The Sage asked back warily.

I shrugged. "That's the thing! I don't know what I am! With my sword, I can transform into some space creature form or something!" Then I gestured to him. "Can't do it now because I don't have my sword, and I have no idea how it really works."

Aydan came to a stop. "Do you have darker powers?"

Stopping a few steps in front of him, I turned to face him. "Wish I could tell you, but I can't. You know about as much as I do at this point." His expression became wary as soon as I mentioned demon. "Why so serious?"

"You never mentioned anything about being a Space Demon."

"Pretty sure I did, but it wasn't me who wanted to become whatever," I began to gesture up and down at my own body. "This is! I could be a Space Demon or something else entirely!" Then I rolled my eyes and started walking again. "Don't worry though! I use the term 'Space Demon' lightly."

Grunting in annoyance, Aydan continued following me. "Maybe don't call yourself a Space 'Demon' while we're at war with the Demon Horde, mmh?"

Patting his shoulder, I answered. "Whatever makes you feel better."

We continued talking as we made our way closer to the settlement. Aydan was my living map at this point, so I mostly just followed his lead. However, we ended up slowing down as we came up to the top of a rather steep hill that would give us a look at the village in question. While we got closer, I began getting whiffs of brimstone on the wind.

Aydan did as well and held up his hand to stop us. "Do you smell that?"

"I do." I confirmed.

"That is one of the key signs of a Dragon attack." He told me seriously. "Dragon fire has a tendency to melt stone and give off a sulfuric smell along with the Dragon's odor from living near areas with high volcanic activity." Aydan explained as we started to creep up the hill.

As we crawled, I pointed something out. "Dragons can fly, right?"

He nodded. "They can, and they're very fast over short distances. Their wings allow them to quick descend upon prey before you even hear the flapping of their wings." A scowl moved to his face. "Unfortunately, they're just as dangerous in their humanoid forms due to their more subtle approach."

Not going to lie; the Dragons of this world were sounding awesome. "Yeah, I get that, but we're literally in an open field on a raised hill. Aren't we a little too exposed out here if we're looking for Dragons? What if one was in the air and just watching us like two morons unaware of their surroundings?"

Aydan quickly rolled on his back and looked in the sky before glaring at me. "There's no Dragon up there!"

"I never said there was! I was merely pointing out that it seems a little silly to be laying down on a hill out in the open."

"Silly or not, there are no Dragons airborne at this time. That, in itself, is odd. They've likely left the area entirely."

As we finally got to the top of the hill, we finally saw the settlement. "Or, the Demons have captured them along with our people." I added as I pointed down at the village.

Aydan looked at me and then back to the village. "How do you know that?" He asked me. "I can see movement that looks like some Demons, and large cages, but nothing too distinct."

Taking my hood off, I pointed to my eyes quickly before putting it back up. "A large force of Demons is down there, and on the border are several Demonic flyers."

"Skelds..." Aydan whispered.

"Skelds?" I repeated.

"Those are the flying Demons that resemble Wyverns and Dragons. Unnatural as they are, they're a handful. You've run into them plenty of times!" He hissed in annoyance. "How do you not know what they're called!?"

"Cause I've never seen them before!" I whispered back just as aggressively and then turned back to the village. "There are hundreds of them on the border, and some are lying flat on their stomachs to avoid detection from other flyers."

Aydan slammed his fists into the grass. "That explains why all of Aerowyn's scouts never returned! Outrunning them might be an option if there were a few but set upon by hundreds would make it impossible to escape." He seethed.

Tapping his shoulder to calm him down, he sighed. "Easy. We're gonna get them back."

He nodded in agreement with a determined look. "Yes. We are. My only question is how those Dragons were captured..." Aydan then tried to get a better look but just sighed. "Can you see how big they are and how many have been taken prisoner?"

"I don't know the average size for a Dragon, but they seem big enough to tower over all the Demons in large cages. One is even the size of a quarter of the settlement and is being kept outside the village. Looks to be three in total."

"Possibly a mother and her children. If the children were captured, it's likely the mother gave up without a fight to have them spared." Aydan explained.

"Well then, it would appear we got a melting pot of races to rescue."

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Melting what?"

Sighing, I replied. "Nothing. The problem is we can't free the mother if she gave up, and freeing the children would be pointless because they would be quickly surrounded by all the Skelds. Not to mention all the Nuckelavee and other Demons present."

"What do you propose we do? We can't just leave them there, and while both of us are powerful, I'm still reeling from that teleportation and nowhere near prepared enough to take on a horde of Demons this size."

"Don't worry. The numbers aren't an issue for me. I've been staying out of all our past conflicts to get the soldiers to work together as an actual unit. The problem is making sure none of the prisoners are harmed while we try to rescue them." I replied.

"Yes. That would be ideal and our overall goal." Aydan stated in an overly obvious fashion.

"Just give me a minute. I'm trying to think." Then my eyes narrowed on three Humans moving about freely in cloaks similar to mine, but with their hoods down. ??Although, I might have an idea on how to turn this situation around and use it to our advantage."

Aydan turned to me, curious. "How do you propose to do that?"

Flopping my hood around, I smirked. "Watch and see! Just get into position if everything goes to shit!"

Getting up and moving to the village like I was on a leisurely stroll alarmed him. "What!? What are you doing!?"

"Trust me!" Was the last thing I said as I moseyed on down, and I saw Aydan scuttle off in another direction. "Showtime."