On Sapphire Wings and Jade Scales

Chapter 11: Return Trip to The Mountain Temple

The sun sat high in the light blue sky over Mount Reilu and its sister mountains. The trio and curious blue dragon conversing in the rock shelter made a few preparations before leaving. The twins could not wait any longer to see their parents again, while the man in green planned the best route to take. Given the twins were wearing pajamas, the man gave them his cloak, telling them they would have to walk close together and share it.

They set out quickly, with the man leading the way and the twins walking behind, with Ari beside them. The three remained relatively quiet as they traversed the snow-covered lands, with some areas having accumulated several layers from the blizzard.

About an hour after leaving the rock shelter, Eila broke the silence by asking, "Say Mr. Green, what do you plan to do when we get to the temple? Are you going on your travels again?"

Keeping his sights on the path ahead, the man replied, "I wish to speak with the oracle in person concerning the attacks, first and foremost. Second, a close ally of mine informed me that a shard of Xybelios' stolen gem may be located nearby, which is my reason for meandering the mountains these past few days. If all goes as planned, I shall find the shard and move to a different location soon."

"Wait, so the creatures don't have the gem anymore?"

The man stopped and turned towards the twins, pointing to the satchel bag wrapped around his waist. He briefly took out the prism-like orb contained in it, emphasizing the missing quarter. The twins marveled at how it glistened under the sun.

"I recovered it a few months after my departure last year, in a dark forest where said ally resides. I owe them my gratitude for that, though it is missing a few pieces, as you can see. I suspect the cloaked ones are to blame for this."

The man's grasp on the gem tightened for a moment, before he placed it inside the satchel. He continued walking slowly, "My informant and I believe the shards lay scattered across Eosia, hidden near other temples. They may have been attracted to the vast magical power of other guardians, given Xybelios' nature as one, and arrived to their present location by their own will. As for how the cloaked ones shattered such a resilient gem, I have yet to find an explanation. For now, I presume an enormous amount of strength was applied onto it."

Tomas added to the conversation, "Huh, so you're stuck visiting other temples for a while. Is your buddy gonna help you out with that?"

With a stern, yet calm, tone, the man replied, "I prefer being alone. Besides, said ally is immobile, so to speak. Thus, their role is to relay information they hear from the cloaked creatures that have created a camp in his home. Given their nature, said ally should not be easily spotted by the cloaked ones."

Eila excitedly said, "Oh, oh! So, are they a spy? That's cool!"

"A spy... yes, that would be an appropriate way to describe them. We have not known each other for long, but they are earnestly helpful, despite their, ahem, eccentric personality."

Tomas had a difficult time imagining someone as uptight as the man in green associating with an "eccentric" person, but given his immense patience, maybe it was not that bad.

The trio engaged in idle conversations, with Eila kicking up snow for amusement. Both would ask the man about what he saw during his travels from Cherub Forest to Mt. Reilu. He told of the dark forest, home to all sorts of demonic creatures and the very territorial black dragons residing there. Fortunately, he did not encounter them, but did have to fend against a group of harpies alongside his ally.

Curiously, he would not talk much about his friend in detail, other than having an immense ego and their inability to exit the dark forest. He did explain that they do not go by any gender per se.