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Chapter 578:

Lucia's Point of View

Druid Forest

I watched Arthur out of concern. His body was tight like it was wound too tightly. A trap ready to spring at any moment. It'd been a while since I'd truly seen it, but his hardened eyes as he watched Obsidian, waiting for any sort of threat, it was almost sad to think about. Like a predator coming face to face with a foe for territory or a mother bear ready to die to protect her cubs.

Even after we'd left, I watched quietly. The other three knew better than to speak at the moment. After all, one look at Arthur's wide eyes as we flew was enough to dissuade them. His face was in a scowl as he occasionally glanced back towards where the shack was. I think it bothered him that a High Elf was able to do that to him without his permission or knowing how.

Biting my lips for a moment as the forest below us traveled by at a frightening speed, far faster than when we had flown here, I wondered how I could help. Our speed, his haste, showed just how unnerved he truly was. Even if he joked about it, Arthur likely didn't expect to run into another High Elf. If he did, he wouldn't've brought us along.

I understood why he was so uncomfortable though. Camoa said it would normally take a couple of days to reach the tall grass plains we saw. Yet, somehow, we were all transported through to the other side without any of us realizing it. As the so much of the forest passed by below, it really was eye opening, and explained why Arthur was so irritated. We'd definitely not walked this distance, but he couldn't stay like that if he was going to be speaking to the king of dwarves and druids.

Surely there was something I could do to get his mind off of what happened... I hated it when he was like this. "Arthur?" I called out to him softly. He glanced back at me for a moment. His expression softened upon seeing me which made me happy.

"Yeah?" Arthur asked back over the wind.

Arthur's Point of View

Druid Forest

Lucia spoke up as we rushed through the forest at a rapid pace. "Do you think he was telling the truth?" She questioned.

"He said not to trust or believe any of them. Best advice I've heard since I got here." I replied. "Not that I believe any of them, but he seemed sincere."

"Don't you think he also seemed sad and lonely?"

"That's not our problem, and you shouldn't dwell on it." I told her. "In fact," Bringing them all to a sudden halt, I called out for the one bowling trees over, "Rock!" Once he rolled over to us, I activated my eyes. "We're leaving this forest. We make for the border unless someone sees something from the air."

Not giving them any time to reply, complain, or come up with some other plan, we were above the canopy. I wanted to get away from that Aridian as fast as I could. As time passed, more and more things came to mind from the encounter. The biggest was that perhaps that wasn't so much an illusion as it was a seal much like the one I found Undine in. Maybe it just wasn't as grand.

The real question was, how was he able to deceive my eyes so easily. By flooding the area with magic? Almost no magic appeared once he revealed that he was an Aridian. Especially no white glimmer or tint which seems to be a staple for them.

Another thing that concerned him was the purpose of bringing me there. I'd be at a disadvantage with the others present, but did he really just want to warn me? Why the warning? How did they keep in contact with each other? Was it through magic since Undine said she couldn't leave her seal? Yet, that was quite literally all he did. Obsidian warned me and then just shuffled about lifelessly.

"Something on your mind?" Lucia asked from beside me as we flew through the air.

I glanced at her. "A few things."

"You want to talk about it?"

A sigh left my lips. "I just don't understand what the High Elves of this world are doing. Sorry, Aridians..." I amended.

"That's what our race is?" Lucia inquired.

Giving her a nod, I continued. "Yeah. Not that it matters." Running my hands down my face in an annoyed manner, a groan escaped my throat. "It's like I'm trying to deal with Thana while there's a secret cult trying to run the world through the shadows, but none of it makes sense."

"So, what we do?" Camoa joined in the conversation.

"What can we do other than staying the course?" I shot back with a shrug. "For some reason, none of these entities want Thana dead, and they certainly don't like me trying to unite the world. I say we're on the right course since it seems to be pissing them off."

Vome's brow raised at that. "And that's a good thing?"

"It is to me. If we're doing something these assholes don't like, I'd say it's a very good thing." I then turned to him. "Unless you like being used in some weird eternal conflict without knowing any better? Ignorance is bliss after all."

The dwarf frowned. "No." His face hardened. "No, I don't."

Lucia nodded at that. "I don't think any of us do. It's a disturbing thought."

"You've no idea. Something is going on behind the scenes of this world, and it has something to do with the Aridians, the Royal Family, and Thana. Unfortunately, the Lestranian Royal Family seems to be all but abandoned by their kin." Crossing my arms, my eyes narrowed. "There's something wrong with this world. Something that is keep these entities to the shadows. What that 'something' is, I don't know, but it's clearly a big enough issue to frighten all of them."

That gave them all pause. Why wouldn't it? Something was in this world that was scaring some of the strongest beings on the planet? Shit, it was making me uneasy. Especially since I'd been the one fighting these assholes off and on. Given Undine's fear of that magic she had sealed, my interactions with that strange voice that can somehow slow down time, and my visions of that massive being, I'd say it's very likely that Davost isn't the only one keeping an eye on this world.

Davost... A sigh left my lips as I thought about her. Was she even still around? I met her with Aydan all those years ago, but that didn't mean her weird ass library still existed, or her realm for that matter. My lip began to twitch at how much all this was annoying me. Nothing could ever seem to go correctly for me. Try to reach out to Crawlana, boom, Aridian. Want to return to Vithari to speak to the newly formed alliance, boom, Aridian.

Sighing, I mumbled to myself. "I just wanted to talk to some dwarves and druids, but no. Had to deal with more Aridian shit."

"What'd you say?" Vome inquired genuinely.

"Nothing. Just complaining to myself." I told him. "Does anyone see the new capital?"

Shrugs, a shake of the head, and a grumble. "No, Arthur." Camoa answered for all of them.

"Fuck it! We're going back to the desert to kidnap a merchant."

"Didn't you get upset because we were all technically kidnapped just minutes ago?" Lucia questioned.

"Kidnapping is extremely popular right now. I tried to kidnap Ayda, we got kidnapped, and now we're going to do the same to someone else." I answered. "Besides, it more along the lines of forcefully escorting someone to a destination they already had in mind."

"I'm going to tell the new king his druid magic defenses worked wonders." Vome commented.

I snorted at that. "You gotta help me 'escort' one of your kin first."

"Easy enough, lad."

The desert soon came into view once more as trees began to become more and more sparse. Turning us so we flew along the edge of the forest, I kept my eyes fixated into the desert sands. Looking for any sort of flicker that could be seen as a traveling merchant. Then again, I don't know how long we were actually with Obsidian, but it couldn't've been that long, right?

Soon enough, we found a traveling dwarf ripe for the picking. "Well, hello there! Aren't you the people flying from earlier? Thought I was out in the sun for too long seeing as how there was a flying rock in the sky." He greeted as we landed just in front of his carriage being pulled by some camels. "Can I-"

Vome was the one who shouted. "Take him! Take him now!"

"Wha-!?" With a screaming dwarf, screeching camels, all crying out in fear as they floated up into the sky, he eventually stopped when I brought him before me. "Are... Are you going to kill me?" A generic young dwarf who I couldn't give any distinguishing features to asked fearfully.

Biting my lips for a moment as I tried to stop myself from smiling, I couldn't stop myself from making an amused snort. "No."

"Oh, thank the gods." He then turned to Rock. "Uh... Is that a god?"

"No." I answered again.

"...Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Ok. So, uh, you're not killin me, and your not a god... Why am I flying around?"

Camoa answered in a happy tone. "We're kidnapping you."

"Oh. I see." He said slowly. "Wait... Huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Are you a merchant heading to the new dwarf and druid capital?" He nodded. "Good. We're going to escort you to get there quicker. We don't know where it is, and we kind of got lost. So, point the way, and you get to fly there much faster than you would've gotten there through the desert."

"..." The silence I received wasn't quite what I was expecting. "You want to go to the new capital?"

"Yes." I said with a nod. "We've been flying around trying to find it but have had no luck."

"We'd really appreciate your help if you could give us a hand." Lucia cut in with a smile. "This is Arthur Pendragon."

"The hero of Vithari?"

My daughter nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Can you help us?"

"I mean, I don't have a problem with it, but I just-"

Vome interrupted him from the side. "We're not here to cause any trouble lad. Just tell us where we need to go."

The young dwarf just pointed down. "We're almost to the checkpoint. In fact, it's practically right below you."

All of us looked down, and I immediately saw two druids looking up at us with their hands over their eyes to shade them and block the sunlight. We all glanced at each other. Each of those in my group looked like they were on the verge of snickering. I rolled my eyes as I started to lower us down.

"Arth-" Camoa tried.

"Not a word." I cut in.

"We all-" This time it was Lucia.

"Not a single word. I'll drop all of you except Rock and the merchant."

Vome looked at me with a huff. "What did I do!?"

My eyes narrowed on him. "You know what you did."

"Bwuh-!?" He let out confused.

"You are very odd group of people." The merchant commented.

As we landed in front of the checkpoint, the camels seemed almost lost while the druids were looking at us in confusion. A silence filled the area for a moment as our groups stared at each other. The druids clearly knew who I was as one rushed off into the trees. I wished someone would just end the silence.

Camoa stepped forward. "Brothers, this is Arthur Pendragon. He wanted to search for the new capital himself, so we've been kind of lost." I wished the silence would come back. "Is there any chance we'd be permitted to enter."

One of the guards nodded. "Of course, but why'd you sudden appear and take the merchant into the air?" He asked as he eyed us carefully.

"We needed a guide." Vome answered.

"A guide?"

The dwarf nodded. "We were lost and had no idea the entrance to the new capital was right beneath us." He then laughed. "The lad here got anxious."

I rolled my eyes. "I am Arthur Pendragon." The druids were studying me. "I'm here to speak with King Vitar. Maybe even check in on Ventari, Dwar, and Turiel."

"We do have a procedure we ask you to follow." One of guards continued with a nod in my direction. "Naturally, it won't work on you, but we do ask to verify those you are with."

That got one of my brows to slowly rise. "What kind of procedure?"

"To verify whether or not any of you are ghouls. Demons are foul, and druid magic can detect them somewhat. It's how we were able to escape when the demons came to our forest before." The guard explained.

"Now I'm curious. What do you do?"

The other druid stepped forward. "We can show you through the merchant if you'd like. I'll explain as we go."

Our generic dwarven merchant stepped forward. Vines shot from the nearby trees as they held his arm in place when he offered it. He didn't seem overly concerned, but I know I definitely was feeling more skeptical. My brows shot up to my hair line when he presented his palm, only to have the vine shoot into his hand. Several in my party winced as the druid controlled the vine as it crawled up his arm under his skin.

"Damn. That's fucked." Vome commented in some shock.

I couldn't help but nod in agreement. "It kind of is."

The merchant turned to us while the vine was still in his arm. "I admit that I was skeptical at first as well, and while it is uncomfortable, it doesn't actually hurt."

"Bullshit!" Vome declared.

"That looks awful." Lucia agreed.

Camoa was the one who shrugged. "It really doesn't feel that bad. After a while, you do get used to it, and it can even feel good at times. Having a flower bloom from your own body is quite thrilling." Our friendly druid explained. All of us eyed her like she'd gone insane. "Besides," She gestured to the merchant once more, "The wound heals moments later."

Sure enough, the vine pulled out from his arm after going up past his elbow. The wound slowly closed as the hole the vine left behind disappeared from view in moments. He wiggled his arm around a little bit as the druid guards smiled at him as he showed he was fine.

"...That's fucked." Vome said again.

"It is fucked." I agreed before I nudged him. "That's why you're going first."

His head whipped to me so fast I thought he might've broken his neck. "Me!?"

I nodded. "You."

"Why me!?"

"Camoa does this shit for fun, it won't work on Rock or me, and I'd rather you go before Lucia." I quickly explained. "So, braid your beard, tighten those cheeks, and go get a vine stuck in your arm."

"This is bullshit! I didn't sign up for this!"

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. We'll do it together. You and me."

"You said it doesn't work on you! Can't you just vouch for us!?" Vome turned to the guards before gesturing to me in a huff. "His eyes can see if someone is a demon! Just ask him!"

"They don't know that."

"Uh, actually, we've heard all abou-" One tried, but I quickly gave him a dismissive wave.

"Seeing is believing. Come on, Vome. You and me." Grabbing him, I held him close as she tried to struggle. "Stay still as they penetrate us. It might hurt worse."

Lucia just groaned. "Please don't tell me you're doing this just so you could make a sex joke..."

The druids were now even more unsure. "Sex joke?" I asked her. "We're about to be penetrated, Lucia. Can't you see that." Holding Vome a little tighter, I spoke. "It's rather intimate, don't you think?"

"No, it's fucking not!"

Camoa rolled her eyes at us. "And they say romance is dead."

Wiggling my arm as I offered it to the druids, I spoke. "Well?"

"Wait!" Vome cried out as the vines began to tighten around his arm. "Wait! You didn't explain the purpose of this!"

"Does it matter?"

Vome growled at me angrily. "Yes! Why do this if you don't know the reason!?"

"The experience?" I offered back. He began flailing about, trying to escape anyway. "Ugh. Why do you do this?"

"Our vines are sensitive to magical creatures. Something foul, like demon magic hidden inside a ghoul, cannot hide from nature." One of the druids explained.

"That's true." Camoa agreed. "Remember how I knew demons were in the Hollow Forest before you did without ever seeing them? It's the same thing. Wildlife in general has a keen sense for these things. Animals or any sort of foliage have a sixth sense of sorts."

I nodded in agreement at that since it made sense. "What happens if you do sense demonic magic?"

One of the druids gestured to the vine. "Then it would slowly continue to creep up the arm as if conducting our regular procedure before shooting all throughout the body. This is the best we can do given the horrible nature of ghouls and their strength. Killing them as quickly as possible is our best option. So, our vines would turn into almost thread like needles before trying to destroy the heart and anything else they can find." Given that the vines were in our arms by this point, my not so friendly dwarf was freaking out.

"Dark." I replied.

"Get it out of me!" Vome cried.

I rolled my eyes. "You're not a ghoul, so calm down. No needles in your heart."

To my surprise, the vines began to withdraw. "By your own admission, he is not a ghoul." One of the druids said as he let go of Vome. "We'll take your words as truth given who you are." They then turned to Vome. "However, should you return without Lord Pendragon, we will have to repeat this process."

"I was wrong. He could be a ghoul!" Gesturing to the dwarf who was now hiding behind Rock, I continued. "We should check again! Just to be-"

Lucia whapped me in the back of the head. "Will you stop!"

The merchant and druid guards jumped at that. "...Ow." I said after a moment as I rubbed the back of my head. "Did you use your magic? Why are you so violent?"

"That's rich coming from you!"

"What about decorum? We must set an example-"

"Of sex jokes about being penetrated!?" Lucia snapped back as her hands flailed about in an annoyed manner.

Anything to get my mind off of Obsidian. Part of me was considering if it was worth it to try and visit him again. Another part of me realized he was able to guide me to wherever he wanted without any of us being none-the-wiser. Were any other Aridian's in the area?

"You're just upset because it probably made you think of Alwin." Was the complete wrong thing to say. Had I seen her face, I would've stopped there. I didn't... "Act more like a god damn bunny than an elf. Seebgh-" Being distracted, whether is be in conversation, or environment, had consequences.

Something hard slammed into me as I quickly went face first into the dirt. Groaning, I rolled onto my back to see a very flushed, red-faced, Lucia. Whether that was out of embarrassment or anger, I wasn't sure, but it was probably both. Magic activated in her hands as she glared down at me. Definitely feels like both.

"Lord Arthur Pendragon!" A voice cried out from the forest.

All of us took our eyes off the situation for a moment to see another dwarf coming out from the trees. "Dwar." I greeted him from the ground.

Given his small stature, he didn't need to crank his head down to much to look at me, but he did seem confused. "Why are you on the ground?" The Dwarven General inquired. I merely pointed at Lucia who was frozen as if trying to decide to continue her assault or not. "You brought another High Elf with you? Priestess Arceana?"

With a groan, I started to get up. "No. It's Lady Lucia Delmaris."

"Ah." The General let out as he moved over to help me up.

"Although, at this point, it may've been better to bring Arceana instead of-"

My hands were swept back causing me to face-plant in the sand. "Bwuh!" Magic was involved, and as I rolled my face to look over to Lucia, I saw she was pretending to whistle innocently. With a roll of my eyes, activating them got me to my feet quick enough where she couldn't do anything.

Dwar cleared his throat as several other armed dwarves and druids appeared behind him. "You always seem to make quite the entrances. Didn't you crash into our city last time, and now I find you face first in the sand."

"I blame the people with me. None of them appreciate me for the incredible person I am." I shot back.

Camoa snorted at that. "You look plenty incredible with all that sand in your beard."

"Rock."

My simple call caused the sand beneath both Camoa and Lucia to shift rapidly causing them to fall over. However, he didn't stop there as sand soon rolled over them. Honestly, if we had been at the beach, it would be comparable to them having only their heads sticking out after being buried in the sand. Both women, mostly because of Lucia's magic, escaped their not so secure prison, and attacked.

All hell broke loose as the dwarves and druids were confused as to what was happening. Sand was flying everywhere. Rock was laughing, which sounded like gravel being scrapped underneath a bobcat's bucket, as he bobbed up and down excitedly. Vome quickly moved next to the other dwarves who were watching with some level of concern.

"Should we intervene?" I heard someone ask.

"No need! This is how they show their affection! Savage though it may be, they're actions filled with love!" I called out.

"Ugh!" Lucia groaned as a wave of sand shot at me. "Is this how you acted last time you came here!?"

"Technically speaking, I've never been here before!"

Dwar decided to join in the conversation. "When Lord Pendragon landed in Dwardew, we wanted to watch him and keep him confined to the palace. Instead, he roamed around doing whatever he wanted, antagonized the locals, kidnapped a child for a bath, all within a single day." The Dwarven General announced. "This isn't normal, but it's about what I would expect from him. Playing in the sand is a little weird though."

"You're weird!"

"A cutting insult to be sure, Lord Pendragon." Dwar shot back. "Are you almost done?"

"Lucia, Camoa, are you two almost done assaulting me?"

Camoa seemed to relax, but another wave of sand came at me from the side. "Never!" Lucia called out. "You started this!"

"Me?!" I asked as both my hands came to my chest in disbelief. My gravity pillars were protecting me, but a pebble teleported and hit me in the head as it fell from above. "Hey!" Rubbing my head, I rolled my eyes after a moment. "Don't be upset just because you got called out about Alwin."

"He has nothing to do with this!"

"He has everything to do with this!" I called back before I pointed at her. "You're lucky you're condition is preventing me from throwing you into a tree."

"Do it! I wanna see it!" Lucia cried out.

"Jesus." Why was she so fussy? Turing from her as I ran a hand down my face, I looked to Dwar. "Apologies-"

Something latched onto my back as a teleportation went off behind me. Lucia screaming some strange battle cries in my ear informed me of who it was. Shaking me violently, her magic activated as my feet were swiped out from beneath me again.

"Oof!" I let out as we fell back into the sand.

"Mission success." Lucia declared as she got up and stepped on and over me.

Spitting out some sand, I groaned. "What mission!?"