Chapter 195 - Waiting

After eating, Terros washed the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink and exited the house to find Veronica. He found her attending to the plants in her garden at the back of the house.

"I'm going back to the castle," he informed her.​​

"Okay," Veronica said. "Wait...I want to go to the castle and see it with my own eyes. Just in case you can't return here I know where to find you," she said.

"Alright, I'll take you along with me but you must not stay there for long, you have to come back here right away," he said.

"Ok," Veronica agreed.

"Let's go!" Corbin said.

Veronica rose to her feet, she wipes the dirt from her fingers using the helm of her clothe and hold his right arm. "I'm ready..." she said.

They switched into their invisible form.

Terros initiated the teleportation process in his mind and they vanished from the place.

A minute later.

They appeared above the castle, hovering in the air, looking at the crumbling structure below them.

"So this is the castle where the cursed King was imprisoned?" Veronica asked while scanning the surrounding area. All she can see was dense towering trees surrounding the castle.

"Yeah... this is it!" Terros replied.

"Can we go down and enter the castle? I want to see the black liquid!" she said excitedly.

Terros shook his head. "No, not at this time. It's dangerous to walk on the ground. Earlier in the morning while I and Graven's men were waiting under the shade of the tree, the ground opened up and ferocious looking roots sprang from the earth trying to reach us...luckily we were able to rose higher, the roots finally give up and went back underneath the soil in shame. Then swarmed of bats emerged from the entrance of the castle and tried to attack us, good thing I'm well prepared, I have coated myself and the men with my invisible protective shield, in result, the bats were not able to penetrate our skin and I managed to burn them to ashes with my flaming powder," he explained.

"Ah...okay...I understand now," Veronica said.

Terros looked heavenward and saw the orange-yellow sunset on the horizon. One hour from now, the entire place will soon be plunged into pitch darkness especially if there is no moon tonight.

"You go back to the house now, the night is fast approaching!" he ordered.

"Ok," Veronica replied and released Terros arm. A few minutes later, she disappeared from his side.

Terros sweep the area with his gaze, he's trying to find the men, they must be nearby in their invisible form. He closed his eyes and concentrate... trying to detect their presence.

He detected them above the castle on the west side. He flew towards them and showed himself to them.

They also revealed themselves to him.

"Grandpa...nice to see you again!" one of the men said.

Terros smiled. "Have you rested well?" he asked.

"Yeah, we did..." the men answered in chorus.

"Good!" Terros said and shifted his attention back to the castle. "No sign of them yet?" he asked.

"Nothing so far..." replied one of the men worriedly.

Terros released a deep sigh.

"Should we go down and check the inside of the castle?" one of the men asked.

Terros shook his head. "That's a bad idea! The roots and the bats told me one thing, the cursed King was aware of our presence outside the castle, and he's determined to capture us. Therefore it's safer to stay away for the time being. As of this moment, here up in the air is the safest place to stay right now. We don't know what the enemy is planning right now," he stated.

The men nodded their heads in agreement.

They floated in the air for more than one hour.

It's still early evening but the sky is already dark, there's no presence of stars and moon tonight.

"Guys, let's go home and just return tomorrow morning. It's no use staying the whole night in this place, it's so dark in here, we can't even use a light... or else we will alert the enemy. So let's just go home!" Terros suggested.

"You're right, Grandpa! Let's just return here tomorrow morning," said one of the men.

"You all go first, I'll follow a few minutes later," Terros responded.

The men wasted no time and teleported back to their headquarters in South Pond Town.

Terros hovered in the air. He floated and circled the castle in deep thoughts... thinking and analyzing if it's possible to just burn this place down and put an end to the cursed King before he can leave the place and cause great damage to the world.

Yeah... It's possible if they can find a cure to the mysterious black liquid hiding inside Graven's body and that of his men. Once they will find the cure, it will be easy to burn the castle down including the basement where the cursed King has been hiding.

Yep, they have to find the cure first!

His train of thoughts went back to the thousand-year-old tree. Although, it's not working as intended to be, he had high hopes for it. Maybe it required other ingredients to make it more effective?

As the night gets deeper, Terros was getting sleepy, he was hidden in his invisible form cocooned by the shield that he created to protect himself.

He looked at the far distance, he was surrounded by an endless ocean of darkness, not even tiny lights can be seen from afar.

He will leave the place a few minutes later 'coz his eyelids were already dropping fast!

Meanwhile...

Ten feet beneath the ground.

Graven and his men were unconscious... submerged in the pool of black liquid under the watchful eyes of the cursed King who was sitting on his throne near the pool.

He was trying his best to control his anger after learning that these useless men came empty-handed, they failed to bring Laura with them! He knew that they're not planning to bring Laura in the first place! But in his next move, they will soon discover that he is serious with his command.

One of the King's men went to his side. "My king, the bats can't see any creature outside, it seemed those who are spying outside, have finally left this place," he reported.

"Instruct them to keep watching!" the King replied.

"Yes, my king!" the man said and left.

Outside the castle.

Terros was still hovering in the air. It's getting late at night and he's already yawning, time to return to his place and retire for the night.

He closed his eyes and teleported back to his place.

After Terros left, multitudes of bats exited the door and windows of the castle looking for the intruders outside.

Meanwhile... a thousand miles away.

Terros is back in the bamboo house. He climbed the stairs and entered the door. He found Veronica sitting on the chair, staring the black liquid inside the crystal bottle on the table. The lamp was flickering, hanging on the ceiling. "Why are you still awake?" he asked.

Veronica looked at him. "I'm waiting for you to come home, besides I'm not sleepy yet," she answered.

"Why are you staring at the black liquid?" he inquired.

"I want to decode its mystery. I need to go back to Windless Mountain to visit my friend the deity and ask her about the thousand-year-old tree. Maybe she can tell us how to use it properly," she replied. "But I will only go there after Graven's problem is over," she said.

"Okay, you should sleep now," Terros said.

"I will... in a while," she responded.

Terros went to his room, opened the door, and disappeared inside for a much needed sleep.

Veronica left the table and went to her room to retire for the night.

Terros and Veronica drifted into slumber within a few minutes after their back hit the bed.

Outside the bamboo house, the surrounding area is dark, peaceful, and calm.

Six hours later.

Dawn is finally breaking on the horizon.

Veronica and Terros woke up at 6:00 in the morning.

Terros went to the jar to see if there's still drinking water left so that he can fetch some water in the stream before he will go back to the castle to check on Graven and his men.

There's still enough water for three days.

He exited the house to gather firewood nearby.

Veronica on the other hand was busy boiling water for the coffee. There still some bread ration left in the cupboard, it can last for two days.

After the water was boiled, Veronica prepared the coffee and set the table.

Terros entered the kitchen and placed the firewood under the makeshift stove.

"Drink your coffee before it gets cold," Veronica said and took her seat.

"Thanks!" Terros replied and lowered himself on the chair.

They ate breakfast in silence.

A minute later.

Veronica looked at him. "Do you want me to accompany you to the castle?" she asked.

"No need... just stay here and take care of the plants and the house," he said.

"Okay," she replied.

After they finished breakfast, Terros went back to his room to get ready in going back to the castle.

Veronica washed the dirty dishes, clean the table, and exited the house to water the plants in the backyard.

Inside Terros room.

He sat on the bed for a few minutes and released a deep sigh.

Graven and his men were probably still detained in the castle as of this moment. Until he can't see them getting out of that castle alive, he can't rest his mind in peace.

The truth is...he was terrified of what the King will do to Graven and his men as punishment for failing to bring Laura to the castle. He's hoping that he will see them alive today.

Time for him to go!

He rose to his feet, closed his eyes, and teleported back to the castle.