The next few hours passed like clockwork; people danced into the night while the three sat still between the crowd and didn't speak much, afraid to add even more weight to the already heavy atmosphere.

The people singing and partying went on a long roll and streak of songs that seemed neverending. They got into a line and started walking around the bar in rhythm to the people strumming on their guitars or playing the other instruments, with one song on the lead, "The Dragon's Den". Eventually, Atomu was lifted from his seat by the drunken and forced into dance, without his permission. Rowan and Chyuuichi stayed silent for a bit more before Chyuuichi broke whatever chains tied his mouth.

"Rowan. Ya seem knowledgeable. Do dragons exist?"

"Excuse me?" Rowan shook their head as if awoken from some kind of slumber.

"Are dragons really a thing?" Chyuuichi moved closer.

"Um." Rowan coughed, covering their mouth. "I'm not sure. I'd say I'm pretty good at keeping notes of things that others might be wondering about. Hell, I wrote a book about all of those. Do you read? You should. Just this once. I think it's pretty good."

"Ya'd get along well with Jyuso." Chyuuichi scratched the back of his head.

"Again, most assume it's just rumours. I've never seen one myself, only were there stories told in books and passed on with songs such as these that tell of flying ancient creatures. I don't think a song originating from Paladians would be made up. They're not exactly the most creative of people." they smirked. "What about you, Mirillians?"

"Oh! Well, they all think that the dragons are deep underground! Part of the reason why they go on adventures or spend their life digging to unearth what's hiding below! Hell, the further we go, the closer we could be to something only told by myths, then!"

"Flying creatures sleeping deep underground. Right." Rowan glimpsed to the side.

The party eventually ended without much of a flash. Ella decided that she was already way too tired to function, and when she wasn't there to sell alcohol, people lost interest and started going into the inns or sleeping right there on the floor. The place that Chyuuichi and Atomu stayed at was completely wrecked, so Elton let them sleep at his hut, which remained unharmed, much like most of Kyrkogarde.

***

In the morning, Atomu and Chyuuichi, instructed by Elton's words to get a meal before setting out went to the Midcity Bar, much to Ella's surprising disappointment, ate a quick snack and headed to the Bore Forest, right as they were told to. At first, they got a bit lost in its rather simple paths, sometimes heading back to the Birching Trees, quickly realising just how useless they were without the Morians. Sooner than later, though, they made it to the shore, seeing the waters hitting against the rocky coast.

"Oh, my." Atomu breathed out, looking to the horizon, his eyes widened.

"Was there a boat here?" Chyuuichi asked.

"How should I know?" Atomu shrugged.

"Look." Chyuuichi pointed to the shape edged out in the shore, that resembled a boat. "There's no snow here either!"

"Well, I guess that there was a boat, then." Atomu played with some of his hair, grinding his teeth.

"Then they're gone!" Chyuuichi announced.

"Y-You sure seem happy about it." Atomu's voice broke down a bit, as he put his face into his palms.

"At least they're not dead, eh?" Chyuuichi signalled with his hands.

"They might as well be, hearing what Rowan described." Atomu clenched his fist.

"Oi, leader! Not with all this again!" Chyuuichi jumped on his back, and Atomu sighed.

"I'm not a leader," Atomu uttered, closing his eyes. "But, if this is what has to be done then so be it, Chyuuichi. However, I'm not sure if we can reach the eastern land all by ourselves."

"Elton?" Chyuuichi tilted his head, leaping off.

"No, not Elton. He's not a Demonear." Atomu shook his head. "Many thoughts came to mind, and raced, but one rested, following us from Kyrkogarde."

"Ah?" Chyuuichi glanced around, spotting a silhouette which stared back at the two.

Atomu turned, furrowing his eyebrows, and a shadow passed, revealing the frail, female figure, wearing bandages in place of a scarf, which seemed to be a little inconvenient, minding the temperatures.

It was the second day of Herbes, and not much was subject to change, although the only thoughts that collected in Chyuuichi's head were questions about how she found them, and one answer, that she was still alive, and unharmed.

"Zuimu," Atomu said. "Will you assist us?"

She slowly stepped down, making haste in leaps and finding herself right in front of the two, intensely looking into Atomu's eyes, then Chyuuichi's. Although much of her face was covered and no word was uttered, many stories were told simply by looking into her gaze. Cold, but searching.

Zuimu nodded, folding her arms and Atomu breathed out.

"Huh? Huh?" Chyuuichi pointed to her, then to him. "It was that easy?"

"I guess some people don't need to be convinced," Atomu said. "They'll kindly do if you request their help."

"But why? Is she stupid or something?" Chyuuichi waved his hands around. "Just like that? Something fishy's going on and I'm scared!"

"Don't think about it. She won't even say a thing." Atomu whispered, stepping closer to his ear. "You remember the Demonear exam? It's the same thing as back then."

"Back then?! I was knocked out cold for the entire duration of the exam! Unless that happens again, I don't see this, Atomu, I don't." he shook his head.

Zuimu crouched, trying to find something between the stones.

***

"Advice?" Rowan asked as the three gathered in front of the house Rowan spent their night at. "I thought I told you to figure this out on your own. Not those exact words. Or was that a dream? Ugh." Rowan slowly closed the door.

"Please! We won't ask for anything else!" Chyuuichi jumped between the doorframe and Rowan slammed the door against his body. They did it two more times before eventually giving up. They tied their hair into a ponytail and stepped out, wearing the same outfit as yesterday, but now it seemed a bit more clean and fresh than before. They glimpsed at Zuimu and blinked twice.

"Mmh. Hmm-mmh." Zuimu made a few noises, signalling some things with her hands.

"No clue what you're trying to say," Rowan uttered. "Quick on with it. I decided to spend this day on the lookout for all the jewellery they stole. They must've left it hidden somewhere. I refuse to think that they actually took it."

"That reminds me," Chyuuichi added. "Where's my damn rope?!"

"W-We came here since you know way more things than we do," Atomu informed.

"I'd be a liar if I denied that." they put one hand on their side. "In all honesty, take what you took with you when travelling to Magna. Prioritise food and drinks, sharpen your senses. Prepare yourself for combat."

"What about a boat? How do we make it to the other side?" Chyuuichi raised his voice.

"Boat? Good luck dragging those frail little wooden things from Magna to the Bore Forest. At this point you might as well just jump off a mountain or get eaten by its white tigers if you want to trust that solution."

Atomu sighed. "There are no more boats there,"

"Mmmh, mhhhh... mmm!" Zuimu signalled something once more.

Rowan thought about something, scratching their chin. "You could always try going through Mount Aria."

"What?" Atomu shook his head. "No way, I'm-" Atomu stopped, looking deep into Rowan's judging eyes. "H-How do we go through Mount Aria?"

"Lot Thúrum, although the safest entrance I can think of is high above on a steep mountain. You're not Morians, so getting up there might be impossible. Unless..." Rowan thought again.

Zuimu inched closer, raising an eyebrow, clearly taking part in the conversation.

"...you take the elshuims from the Nuil's palace. Many of his guards used these to get through the harsh terrains of Shimori. I'm sure there's plenty for you... three... to take."

"Will the Nuil give them to us?" Chyuuichi asked.

"No, of course not. He's quite the collector, anything that he touches he won't let go of. Probably the reason why one door of the castle smells so bad. You'd have to steal them." Rowan said.

"Oh, my." Atomu covered his mouth. "No, we're not doing that. N-No one steps into Mount Aria for a reason."

"Anything that speaks of danger spreads like wildfire. Think of what the Morians are going through."

Atomu furrowed his brows.

"Besides, not like I'm going to say anything." Rowan looked at their nails.

"Huh?" Atomu turned.

"I bet they'll report it!" Chyuuichi whispered. "Cunning Tributal!"

"No, no they won't. I wouldn't be purposefully putting logs under someone who can do something which would benefit both parties. It's like eating flowers instead of smelling them. Besides, I don't care what the Nuil thinks. He's worthless, and I have no say in who I follow."

"So?" Atomu said.

"So, forth Klakunhoi, minus me plus this girl." they pointed.

The palace spanned about a fourth of Midcity, stretching from the overhang that was now wrecked by Isak's attack, looping near the church and then having its main selling point in the big open square, with its beige decorated walls and floor tiles. The gates were made out of steel, each time lifted by two stronger men, while its insides were both quartz-like or golden.

There were many corridors, connecting to basic rooms such as the guards' chambers, the royal kitchen, the washroom for the guards, and a personal one for the Nuil. All the other rooms were either used for storage or empty, but not vacant.

Eryk's 'Nuil chamber' didn't seem to match the rest of the interior, however. In the middle of the corridors stood rivers, covered with glass, opening up after a while and leading to his room, dropping into the lake and a platform leading to his throne, as well as extending to a massive bed behind, with a tinted glass window. Although much of the castle was ruined, its essential parts were left intact.

When the sun shone on one of the biggest, natural clocks in Errarion, hanging above the entrance, the Nuil stepped out on a small balcony, and horns sounded, played by ten different guards, who were all required to learn the song, as well as teach themselves how to use the instrument.

Amid this song and Nuil's smiles, the three snuck in, hiding below some tall masonry and running across the wall, down a small staircase near an outpost and into the castle.

"It's okay, Loopy." A guard petted another one's back. "Don't cry."

"I can't do it! No matter how much I practice the last note always goes wrong!" he sobbed, putting his instrument down. "What will the Nuil think?"

"There, there." the other guard hugged him, and then another one appeared, passing by, with stiff movements. Atomu coughed, stopping for a moment near the two, who didn't seem to mind, and continued.

***

"Good day to you!" A guard announced, tipping the feather attached to his helmet.

"Mmh." Zuimu waved, speeding up.

The guard stopped, turning to the other. "Dude, when did that girl join our ranks?"

"She's wearing armour, how can you tell?" the other one asked.

***

"Hi, Lamon!" someone waved and Chyuuichi intensely nodded.

"Nice day today, Lamon!" the other one added. "C-Care for some beer after work?"

"Oh!" Chyuuichi stopped, giving him a thumbs-up. "Love beer! See ya!" he ran forward, with his steps echoing around.

Suddenly, a noise came from behind. "YES!" his voice echoed. "I won the bet, he finally agreed!"

"Damn it, how much silver again?"

Chyuuichi glanced back, sighing, meeting up with Atomu and Zuimu.

"Gaah..." Atomu took off his helmet.

"Dude!" Chyuuichi raised his muffled voice. "Put that back on!"

"I can't breathe!" Atomu said. "I'm about to boil inside!"

Chyuuichi took off his. "Didn't ya say that you wore armour once when you were younger?! What's the trouble now?"

"It's nothing like Paladian armour! It's stiff as a board, and if I went out training like back then I'd be dead in minutes!" Atomu announced.

"Pfft." Chyuuichi turned around.

"You're not one to speak if you wore a chest plate for the longest time! You're used to it! ...and what's with the stupid feathers on the helmets? Who's sick idea was this?"

"Eryk Nuil-Tukman," Chyuuichi replied.

"Mm, ammumy mime mme hemheahs," Zuimu said, her voice more muffled than before.

Atomu sighed. "Please, let's just get this over with already." he put his helmet back on, and so did Chyuuichi, and the three split again.

Chyuuichi wandered around the corridors, following the rivers below.

"Oi, Lamon!" A voice was raised, and Chyuuichi stopped, turning around like a wooden cutout. He waved, not saying anything. The guard came up to him. "So, I did it. Shoot my shot." he giggled, and eventually the two started walking. "I was stressing my ass out, tell you what. I had to drink a few for confidence, and when I sobered up, I finally told her."

Chyuuichi turned to him. "Really?"

"That I want to break up!" he raised his voice. Chyuuichi stopped, deeply analysing his words and counting something on his fingers.

"I'm glad," Chyuuichi replied.

"Well, I am too! I'm never getting into a relationship again, my Shin was that a pain in the ass!" he looked up. "I have so much on my mind and there she comes, demanding even more things from me even after I tell her that: no, today's not the day!" he wagged his finger. "She should've known what she was getting into, it's not like I joined the guard after I married her." he looked at Chyuuichi. "Oh, sorry! Only talked about myself. What about your family, Lamon? How are things holding up over there?"

"Good." Chyuuichi quickly replied, and the guard slowed down.

"About that word. Um. You don't sound too good. Voice is a little raspy, ya know?"

"Um." Chyuuichi fixed the helmet.

"Maybe you should take the day off? Since, y'know, if Eryk catches you then you won't leave this place until the next morning."

"I'm fine!" Chyuuichi nodded, as he treaded forward, unknowingly passing by the entrance of Eryk's chamber.

"Lamon!" Eryk raised his voice, trying to stand up, but quickly giving up. The other guard shook his head, before strutting forth.

Chyuuichi slowly turned to the door, gulping.

"Come over here, quick!" Eryk instructed, "Don't waste any more of my time!"

Chyuuichi breathed out, sighing. "Shit," he muttered under his breath.