The Treasure Seeker: Saga 1 - Etrian Odyssey 5 Fanfiction (BoyxBoy/BL)

Chapter 16

AN: It's hard to believe I'm already 16 chapters into this saga. Turning out a lot longer than I had originally planned, but oh well :D Hope you enjoy reading~!

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Chapter 16:

When Drayce and the others returned to the Crescentia with the materials they had been sent to gather they found that Shashi had slightly rearranged the sitting room, specifically the spot in front of the fireplace. It made sense in a way as they needed an open area to conduct the ritual that would help free Caelem from his burden.

"How did you all go?" Ashton asked them as they entered the sitting room.

"We managed to recover three different types of stones," Drayce answered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small knapsack with the precious stones inside. "Zohar said that these will do. Kamali also gathered the flower needed."

Ashton nodded his head, obviously satisfied with their work. "Good, no trouble? What about the guard you wanted to speak with?"

Drayce handed the stones to Zohar who headed over to where Shashi stood in front of the fireplace. "Didn't encounter a single monster, surprisingly," he answered. "I was able to speak with Virgil pretty easily too. He admitted that he hadn't seen anything suspicious but will keep a lookout for us."

He won't mention that prickly feeling of being watched he got while in the labyrinth. Ashton was a worry-wart at the best of times. Didn't need him fussing over something Drayce couldn't even prove. Sure he was told to trust his gut but he still needed physical proof.

No matter. They were safe within the Crescentia.

"Where's Caelem?" Drayce asked instead.

"In his room with Fiorello," Ashton answered before a sympathetic look appeared on his face. "He's a little nervous as I'm sure you can understand."

Oh absolutely. If Drayce was in his shoes he'd be nervous as hell, too.

"Drayce," Shashi called out to him. "We will need to draw a chalk circle on the ground."

Drayce turned to look over at Shashi to find him standing with Zohar. They stood together in front of the cleared area, Shashi with an ancient book in his arms and Zohar with a yellowing scroll open in his hands.

"Do whatever you need to do," Drayce said in response. "I'm going to head up and check on Caelem."

"Yes, the ritual will be able to take place soon," Shashi stated as he flipped a page in his book.

"Ok, good," Drayce said before he turned to head upstairs.

The sooner they got this over with the better. He didn't know what the ritual was going to entail but he had been reassured that it wasn't going to hurt him. But it would be uncomfortable. That was due to the fact that Caelem had been carrying that spell on his back for years so was part of his soul or spirit. It wasn't going to be easy to remove it from him completely, but it really needed to be done.

He quickly ascended the stairs but didn't go directly to Caelem's room. He stopped by his own in order to drop of his armour, shield and weapon. No point barging into Caelem's room still decked out in his explorer's gear, right?

After he was done getting changed into a set of more casual clothing he immediately headed in the direction of Caelem's room. The door was partly open but Drayce knocked on it nonetheless. He was nosy as shit (as a lot of people liked to rudely remind him) but still had good manners after all. He pushed it open and stepped inside.

"Hey Caelem, how you doing?" he immediately asked.

Caelem immediately perked up from where he sat on the edge of his bed. He had a few white bandages that were visible but they were minor, simply covering small scrapes and abrasions. Fiorello was sat in a chair by his bed with a book in his hands. There were a couple of empty medicine bottles littering the bedside table.