It has been a day since the gang returned. They went back to their duties.
Soren went back to being a guard, Ezran continued his work as king, Claudia and Terry is locked up, and Callum did his best to catch up on work.
They we're so many problems in the town. And he wants to fix them all. But it takes a lot.
So there he was, pacing in his office like he did for the past 5 hours.
He was thinking of a way to solve the town's heat problem. So far, he has only come up with 3 ideas. And sadly, none of them work.
He walked back and forth trying to come up with a solution.
"No.. that won't work either.. definitely not..." He muttered under his breath as he dismissed the ideas.
A knock stopped his train of thoughts.
"Come in!"
"Hey Callum." Said Ezran as he entered. "Oh, hey. What are you doing here?" Ezran shrugged.
"I needed a break. Seems like you could too..." He whispered referring to the mess of the room.
Paper was scattered everywhere, crumpled ones piling up beside his desk. Books were layed out on his wooden table and random items were thrown all around the place.
Callum didn't even notice the mess. Not like he cared in the first place. He had other things to worry about.
"So did you get it?" Ezran asked, referring to the heat problem. Callum shook his head, disappointed.
Ezran sighed. "It's okay Callum. I know this is hard. And I know it's important but can you take break?"
"You seem stressed." "I will. Thanks Ez." "No problem! Now I have to go. Work awaits me." He joked before leaving.
Once the door shut, Callum sighed heavily. He sat on the edge of his table and thought.
Ezran was right. He needed a break. Besides, it's time to check on Rayla anyways.
He went down the tower and walked the quiet hall towards his bedroom that the elf is currently occupying.
He slowly entered and shut the door behind him.
Rayla was there. Sat up and trapped in a trance. "Rayla! Good you're awake!"
She turned her head to him and smiled.
"You got a virus. It will be a few more days before you fully recover." He explained. She nodded, showing that she understands.
"When did we get back to Katolis?" She asked, an eyebrow cocked up.
"Yesterday." He said as he poured water on a cup.
He gave the cup to her and watched as she slowly drinked the liquid.
Rayla's throat was sore. It hurt. And it hurt even more when she tried to down the cup of water.
After minutes, she finally finished the water. After setting down the cup, she swallowed but coughed right after that.
Callum rushed to her side and put his hand on her back and gave gentle taps to try and relieve some of her pain.
When she stopped she took a sharp inhale before clearing her throat, causing an itch. But she pushed down the urge to cough.
"Are you okay?" Callum worriedly asked, to which Rayla nodded.
"Thanks..." She mumbled.
________
It was nighttime, just after dinner. Callum was retreating back to his office to get a good night's rest.
But unfortunately, he was interrupted.
"High mage Callum!" A guard called out behind him. Callum's peaceful face dropped into a frown and he silently groaned before turning around.
"King Ezran has instructed me to tell you of your patrol duty tonight." The guard said, bowing.
"Patrol duty? Me?" Callum was confused. Normally the guards do it. But he noticed the lack of them since he got back.
"Yes. The king has heard of the reports. Therefore, he orders you to patrol."
"What reports?" Callum asked, curious to know. He was now serious. And the idea of sleeping left his mind. Based on what this guard is saying, something bad had happened while they were away.
"During your time away, incidents have happened all over the kingdoms."
"What incidents?!"
"We have heard that dragons destroyed villages in the other kingdoms. King Ezran said that it's only a matter of time until we get hit ourselves."
"I see. Alright. I'll help keep watch." The guard nodded and bowed again before walking away.
Callum went back towards the door and stepped outside, shivering slightly from the cold chilling air.
He walked outside, inspecting every inch of the place.
He even checked the sky, just in case a dragon was flying above, getting ready to attack.
But as he passed by a tree, he could hear faint sounds. But he thought of it as an animal.
He continued on and walked all around the village. He repeated the action 2 more times just to be safe before deciding to call it in.
He sat on top of a wall and sighed. His feet dangled off the edge and his arms were positioned behind him, supporting his weight.
Then he heard a noise. Someone was talking. He whipped his head to direction of the sound's noise.
It came from a tree. The very same tree he passed by earlier hearing a sound in which he thought was caused by an animal.
He climbed down the wall and stealthily crept towards the big tree, making sure not make any sound that would alert the possible intruder.
Once in front of the tree, he got a good look at the person's back.
They had white hair tied into a ponytail, purple horns, and a suit with the color of black and blue, and maybe green.
He recognized that person. It was Rayla! She was talking to someone.
He listened in.
"And yeah. Now I'm back at Katolis. But I really miss you, you know? Especially you, Runaan."
"Ethari misses you too. Even though I haven't seen him in a few years, I know he still grieves."
"It was nice talking to you. Good night..."
He then realized that she was talking to her loved ones through the coins they were trapped in.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, after moments of silence. Rayla jumped and threw her knife at him.
He barely dodged as the blade flew close to his neck. Too close...
"Oh. Sorry..." She mumbled, her head hung low. "Hey, it's okay." He assured, thinking she felt guilty for attacking him.
However, she remained silent and spun around, her back to Callum.
"Is everything okay?" He asked, oblivious to the fact that she wants to be alone.
"I'm fine Callum. Just leave me alone." She spoke quite harshly, her tone making him feel as if she was giving him a death glare.
Not wanting to push any further, Callum turned around and walked away, making his way back to the castle.
Still confused by her earlier behavior, he decided to go and ask Claudia. They left on bad terms the other night. But he had to swallow his pride and go to her for advice.
In truth, he thought that the way he spent his last few years was questionable. In fact, he finds this whole situation perplexing.
He walked down the tower and reached the cells. He stopped in front of one and inspected the room.
In his hand he held a fire lamp, keeping his vision clear.
Inside of the cell was Terry. He was sleeping sitting down with his back against the wall. He wondered why the earthblood didn't sleep on the bed.
'Oh well. To each their own I guess...'
He looked in the other cell and found the person he's been looking for. Claudia.
She was sleeping on the bed with her chained hands dangling in the air.
"Psst. Claudia. Hey. Psst." He whispered, trying to get her attention.
She didn't budge.
So he took a stick lying on the ground and lit it up with the fire in the lamp.
Once he decided that it was hot and bright enough, he threw the piece of wood inside, the impact making the fire grow.
Claudia responded by stirring. She groaned and slowly opened her eyes, shocked to see the fire growing in front of her.
She panicked and blew on it but that made it spread.
She jumped around, trying to find something to put it out.
Helping her out, Callum used aspiro to blow it out. The sudden blast of wind caught the mage's attention and she stood surprised.
"Callum! What do you think you're doing putting a fire inside like that?! Are you trying to kill me?!" She whispered yelled.
"No, no."
He took a deep breath before speaking.
"I need... your..... advice." He spoke hesitantly. To which Claudia smirked at.
"So you need my help with Rayla huh?" "Not Rayla!" She raised her eyebrow and smirked cockily.
"Maybe." Her smirk grew wider. "Okay fine! Yes! I need advice about her!" He gave in to her teasing look.
She chuckled triumphantly.
"Alright. What happened?"