Heir to Light | Fablehaven AU

XVIII - corpses

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Seth's group reached the rendezvous point under the dewy morning sun far before the others that had been sent to retrieve Raxtus had. Kendra and Garreth had spent the hours immersed in the old temple's faded design, while Seth had napped through the sunsnow weather.

By mid-afternoon, Seth was scouting out a less-snowy place for his next nap when he heard Eve scream. He rushed to the noise, feet catching in the snow and pine branches whapping his face, and burst onto the scene.

Eve had her arms thrown around Raxtus' neck and his snout leaned on her back. Warren was clapping Patton on his back, Ronodin was bickering with Newel and Doren (already), and Muriel and Kendra were speaking near the tents. Garreth arrived and went to congratulate Raxtus on his escape. Seth let out a sigh of relief.

It had been an excited scream.

Later that night, the crew shared the story of how they rescued Raxtus. Of course, Muriel, Patton, and Ronodin did their part to dispatch the guards and break the crystals, but all-in-all Raxtus had truly shined. He wasn't the weak, defeated dragon Seth had met in the mines anymore. Raxtus had grown into his claws and impenetrable hide, proving the immense strength of a single dragon.

Eve beamed with pride.

Patton even drew a little sketch of the Raxtus in his adventurer's notebook with a list of the dragon's traits. Seth made sure Patton added "sass." Raxtus's repeated digs at his charming nature remained ingrained in his mind.

Over the next few days, planning consumed their long hours. Kendra outlined her desires, complete with the seal of the Fairy Queen's approval, and others planned how to execute her goals. After intense deliberation, the group prepared to enact their layered, ambitious plan.

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All sub-groups were set to dispatch at the early hours before the sun's rising tomorrow. The timing protected their necessary stealth as the majority of creatures inside the ziggurat slept the sunshine away. This way, the majority of the ziggurat would be asleep when they hatched their rescue.

It had been Eve's idea, actually.

That anticipatory night, Warren sent Seth and Eve out to gather more tinder for the fire. They left their cozy spots around the campfire and braved the cold. It was what they got for being the youngest.

Wood-gathering was a never-ending job, and it was quite tedious to find dry tinder in the snowy conditions. Seth stuck out his tongue to catch snowflakes and relished the cool drinks of water. But, the longer he shivered out in the cold, the more he wanted to run back to Raxtus's warm wings.

"You know, I like not having to hold my tongue in the rafters anymore," Eve said. She kicked a rotting log open and leaned to inspect the contents. Dead, withered fungus greeted her. "It's nice."

Seth knelt and inspected the fallen tree beside her. Along the dark bark, he scraped off green lichen. "I bet."

"No one ever listened to me back in Terrabelle."

"You listened to everyone else," Seth said. Literally. With the tunnels and rafters, everyone's private conversations became Eve's entertainment. Seth worried, briefly, about the few conversations he had had prior to learning of Eve's extensive espionage system. Had he said something embarrassing?

She laughed and moved onto a new tumble of branches, brushing off the snow. "Yes. And, it's nice to have that reciprocated. They're using my plan for the timing of the mission tomorrow."