Chapter 9: The Baby Dragon and the Road to “Home”

“Eh, I—uh—no, it’s just… a big lizard?”
I try to lie to Luna. The keyword here is try.

“Eh, it’s fine, Rissete. You can trust me.”

“…Okay, yeah, it’s a baby dragon. We haven’t named it yet, though.”

“Oh, really? Then may I have the honor of giving it a name?” Luna beamed.

“Eh, no, sorry. It has to be a unanimous decision.”

“Ah, you’re no fun, Rissete.” Luna pouted.

The door creaked open.
“Hehe… seems Llyn got curious too,” Luna said.

Llyn stepped inside. “Sorry, Rissete. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”

“It’s fine, Llyn. I should’ve told you from the start anyway.”

Then I remembered—we still needed to talk about rescuing Mimic.
“Uh, guys… have you come up with a plan to free my friend yet?”

“Yeah, sure. Let’s discuss it in the dining room. You can bring the baby dragon too—we wouldn’t mind, right, Llyn?”

Llyn glanced at the dragon with the kind of face that said, I can’t wait to pinch its cheeks and carry it.
“Huh? Oh—yeah, whatever you said, Luna.”

“Eh-hehe, okay then. Let’s go.”

In the dining room, we sat down to plan.

“So, what’s the plan, Luna?”

“Okay, the Green Iron Maw is near that village we visited before, and also close to the king’s castle.”

“Good. At least we know the location.”

“Yeah. And Llyn’s going to explain the plan, right, Llynette?” Luna pointed at her sister.

Llyn sighed. “The plan is… we sneak into the prison as the warden.”

“Wait. Would that even work?” I asked politely.

“Well, they change wardens daily because of the magic that drains the prisoners’ mana. That way, they can’t use magic in the prison. So… we disguise ourselves as the replacement warden.”

“That gets us in, but how do we get out?”

The room fell silent. We all tried to think of an exit strategy.

Then Luna snapped her fingers. “Aha! How about we get help from the rebel group? They might be trying to break out their friends too.”

“Wait—you know someone from the rebellion?”

“Yeah, remember Ramyris and Ernandez?”

“Oh right, those two guys who used to assist our professor.”

“So… the next step is to find Ramyris and Ernandez?” I asked.

“Exactly. Ten points for Rissete.”

“I can’t believe you still remember that point system…”

“Focus, guys. Where do we start?”

Luna smirked playfully.
“Oh no… you can’t possibly mean that place.”

“Yeah—‘Home.’ Or ‘Home 2.’ Whatever it’s called. I haven’t visited in a while, but that’s where they were last seen.”

“And where exactly is this ‘Home’?”

Both Luna and Llyn answered at the same time:
“The Elusive Swamp.”

“…Wait, a swamp?”

“Yep. We’d better prepare. We can teleport near it, then walk the rest of the way.”

“Alright, but I need to feed the baby dragon first.”

After they left to get ready, I gathered some food for the baby dragon and headed to my room.

“Hey there, still hungry?”

The baby dragon flapped its tiny wings, trying to fly toward me.

“Hehe—uh, no flying inside the house.”

It landed back in its crib and whimpered.

“Sorry, but look—I brought your favorite food. Grilled herb fish.”

Its tail wagged like a happy dog.

“Alright, settle down. Sit.”

The dragon tilted its head in confusion.

“Like this.” I sat down to demonstrate.

It copied me perfectly.

“Good boy. Here’s your treat.”

I tossed the fish, and it snatched it mid-air.

“Alright, I’ll be back soon, okay?” I patted its head.

A knock came at the door. Luna’s voice followed.
“Rissete, are you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m coming.”

We met outside.

“Tch, finally. You two took forever,” Llyn complained.

“Oh, I didn’t think you’d be this excited to adventure with me,” Luna teased.

“Huh? I’m only helping because I want to help Rissete.”

“Is that so?” Luna smirked.

“Yeah, that’s so.”

“Alright, focus,” I said. “Who’s casting the travel spell?”

“I want to do it!” Llyn said proudly.

“Are you sure?” Luna asked.

“Of course. Here we go.”

Llyn chanted the mantra. The spell worked slower than Luna’s, but a portal finally opened.

“See? I can use magic too,” she said.

“Good job, Llyn.”

Luna grinned. “I can’t believe Llyn actually pulled it off. Must be a bad omen.”

“Hey!” Llyn glared. “Anyway, I’ll go first.” She jumped through.

I caught Luna’s hand move when Llyn was casting.
“You helped her, didn’t you?”

“Eh, maybe. Anyway—the last one through is a rotten egg!”

She jumped in, and I followed.

Darkness. Stars. Bright lights.

Seconds later, we arrived somewhere new.

“Okay, Luna’s here. Where’s Rissete?” Llyn asked.

“I’m here,” I said, stepping out of the portal.

“Good. Now… let’s head to ‘Home’.”

We walked. Minutes passed. Then an hour.

“…Are you sure you remember the route?” Llyn asked.

“Of course. Let me recall the song our teacher taught us…
‘Down the road, under the wet tree,
Let the Mother guide us, the Maiden unlock the gate…’”

The branches of a nearby tree shifted.

“It’s guiding us.”

We followed, until a growly voice stopped us.

“Who goes there?”

“It’s me, Luna. And Llyn. We brought a guest,” Luna replied.

A gate appeared and swung open.
“Come forth. Praise the Mother. May you find what you seek, Maiden.”

Inside, straw-roofed buildings and giant mushrooms dotted the area.

“So… this is the ‘Home’ you meant?” I asked.

“Yeah. We should find Ramyris and Ernandez here.”

But a guard blocked our way.

“The Crow wishes to meet you… and asks about this stranger.”

“And if we refuse?” Luna asked.

“There is no refusal.” More guards surrounded us.

“Hehe… maybe we’ll comply,” Luna said.

They led us to a room where an old woman sat, holding a glass.

“Ah… Luna. Llyn. How long has it been?”

“No… it couldn’t be—”

“Who is that?” I whispered.

“Another one of our teachers,” Luna said.