Eiro rode on Lugo's back to get to the mountain where Lognir's cave could be found. He could already see the peak in the distance, so it probably wouldn't take too much longer at the pace that they were going now, considering that Eiro was making the path in front of them easy to traverse using magic.
And just as he thought, it took only a few more hours until they reached the mountain. They had already been travelling for roughly a full day or two at full speed after all.
"You okay, Lugo? Don't need to take a break yet?" The Demon asked as he rubbed his hand over the stag's head, and Lugo just let out a loud bellow, "Thanks, bud. Really, who would have thought that this lazy stag from a couple years ago would turn into this kind of capable being?"
With what seemed to be a smug smile, Lugo continued along the path that Eiro was constantly creating for him to tread on. Seemingly, he was trying to go even faster than before. And while he was doing that, Eiro was using magic to help Lugo's flow of blood and his oxygen intake, his physical recovery from running this much, and of course even trying to make sure that he was using up as little Stamina as absolutely possible.
This was the only way that they were able to travel this much over the past few days, otherwise the trip would have taken a lot longer. But even beside that, it seemed like Lugo was improving steadily. And that was literal. His stats were slowly rising, bit by bit, the more he was moving around. His agility and endurance stats rose by nearly 10 points each already.
It seemed similar to how Eiro was able to gain stats through certain actions at the start of his life, something that was definitely the only reason why he had been capable of breaking out of that clear control he was under back then.
"Keep going like this, Lugo. I promise that we'll figure out what you are someday as well. We got closer to figuring out what I am for now... So it's your turn." Eiro smiled while rubbing his hand through Lugo's fur.
For the next few hours, they just continued doing what they were doing the whole time, trying to get as far as possible until Lugo was exhausted. Luckily, this time around that meant that they reached their destination.
They were now at the foot of the mountain, and all that they had to do was climb it now. Of course, with this, Eiro chose to give a bit of a helping hand to Lugo. Instead of having the Stag climb up this place after running for so long, Eiro was manipulating the rock to basically push them up to the peak without them having to move all that much.
To onlookers, this would obviously seem rather suspicious, but since Eiro was concealing his actions using the Ace of Cups right now anyway, it didn't matter at all. Only someone with godly perception or eyes that could see through lies would be able to figure out what exactly was going on.
Soon, though, Eiro, Lugo, Bavet, and the three elemental spirits reached the cave of the Dragons again.
And from inside there, the Demon could hear quite a bit of laughter. Laughter that not only came from Lognir, but also from Armodeus. Luckily, over the past couple of days, those guys managed to get a bit closer while Eiro was gone.
And the Demon was glad about that. He was a bit surprised to find out about Armodeus' overly scared personality back when they first met. But it seemed like he really just feared the unknown. He used to be scared of Eiro, but now he no longer was. And the same was the case with Lognir, Krista and the newborn dragons.
After getting to know them and realizing that they were good at heart, Armodeus' fear of them disappeared, nowhere to be seen.
And the moment that Eiro stepped into the cave, the laughter of one of those voices stopped, instead telling the other that Eiro had returned.
The Demon made his way deeper into the cave, soon seeing the people that he expected to be here right in front of him.
"Glad to see that you're having fun." Eiro smiled lightly, and Armodeus quickly jumped up before walking over to Eiro to greet him properly, "Indeed. I finished all items I wanted to make yesterday night, so we spent all day just speaking to each other. It was quite fun, actually." The Elder Dwarf laughed quietly, "How about you? Did ya manage to deal with everythin' ya wanted to deal with?"
"Of course. I visited my old house and grabbed all of the seeds that I could find there. I spoke with Jura a bit... Oh, and I obviously grabbed all that wood from the hut and prepared some wood from my own tree as well. I made it seem more inconspicuous by treating it with some of the Ace of Cups' liquids as well. I met with an old friend of mine too. And then I came back here." Eiro explained. He didn't do much, but he did all the important stuff at least.
"Hm, I see. Then I guess it is time for us to head back home now, isn't it?" Armodeus pointed out. Eiro looked around. It seemed like the Dwarf had already taken his temporary workshop in here down, and prepared for departure the moment that he was finished working on the items.
"Oh, and before I forget... I think it should be fine for me to leave Krista alone with the children alone for a day or two. And as his familiar, I do have the obligation to see Solomon every once in a while. How about I bring you all back to the capital?"
Eiro turned his head toward the Dragon surprised, "If you don't mind, that would actually be quite great. You should be able to get us there in a few hours, probably." Eiro pointed out, and Lognir smiled softly in his human form, "Exactly. But well, I should certainly be able to carry that carriage. But what about the horses? In my experience, they will usually be rather... opposed to being carried in giant claws like mine."
"Ah, I can just put them to sleep for a while. And if I protect them with a fire magic spell that keeps them warm, we should be all good until we reach the capital." Eiro suggested, and Lognir simply shrugged, "If you say so, then I'll believe in you. They are your horses in the first place."
And so, Eiro quickly started preparing. Using a simple sedative that he produced in his tail, Eiro put the horses to sleep. It should last until they're in town.
"Lugo, do you need to be put to sleep as well?" Eiro inquired, and Lugo stared at Lognir for a while, unsure of what would be a good idea. But in the end, he bellowed out his answer, "Oh? Well, if you say so. But if at any point you become too scared, let me know and I'll sedate you for a while as well, alright?"
With an agreeing bellow, Lugo made his way over toward the carriage as Eiro started casting the fire magic spells on the two horses. Of course, it was just a spell that would heat up the air around the horses a bit, while creating something of a barrier that would stop the wind during the flight to blow that warm air away.
Like this, the horses should be safe from any damage, since Lognir was obviously going to be careful with them as well.
Eiro made sure to prepare the carriage so that it could be carried safely as well. And just as Eiro seemed to have finished his preparation, Armodeus placed all the items that he made into the carriage, "I will explain the items to you while we're on our way. I think we should save time... I'm sure ya would probably like to go home as quickly as possible, aye, lad?"
"Yeah, I really do. Thank you." Eiro replied quickly, and Armodeus simply smiled.
And then, Eiro spent a little while properly saying goodbye to all of the newborn dragons and Krista as well, of course, "It was an honor to meet all of you. I hope we can see each other again sometime in the future, when you are all able to use your humanoid forms as well." Eiro smiled and rubbed the snouts of the young dragons, "And of course, thank you for showing me 'Chaos', Krista. I'm sure it's going to come in useful in the future."
"We should probably hope that there is no need for you to ever make use of any of your powerful abilities in the future. It would be better if there was no need for conflict, right? However, as the future is truly unpredictable, hoping is all we can do." Krista explained, "Now, you should be on your way. My mate and your friend are waiting for you."
Eiro looked back at Krista with a smile, "Thank you. It was a pleasure meeting you." And so, Eiro quickly made his way over toward the carriage and helped Lognir bring everything to the small platform in front of the cave's entrance so that he could properly grab everything there.
Eiro cast the same heat spell that he cast on the horses on Lugo as well as the carriage, to make sure it wouldn't be damaged either, and then stepped inside, "Again, thank you for your help, Lognir." The Demon smiled, and the Dragon slowly transformed into his true form, "No need to thank me, child. I offered this, did I not?"
And just like that, the trip home, which would only last a few hours, started as comfortably as possible. Really, Lognir's flying skills were quite impressive. Although Eiro knew for sure that they were in the middle of the air, it felt as if the carriage was just standing in place.
"Now, can you show me the items you made?" Eiro asked curiously, and Armodeus let out a slight sigh, "I knew it, ye were curious about it, weren't ya?"
"Considering that it doesn't happen often that I concentrate actively on not perceiving something... Yes, I am quite curious. Especially considering that it's your work."
"Haha, ye're gonna make me blush, lad! Aye, first, here're yer daggers. Improved, but not altered!" The craftsman placed the two items on the small table placed here inside of the carriage, and Eiro looked at them more closely. Just from this, he knew that all the items that Armodeus made were going to help Eiro improve considerably as well.
