Chapter 157: Hey, it’s a fantasy world after all!
After that, Cass put his head down and focused on getting ready for the dungeon.
This situation with Draken wasn’t solved, not in the slightest, but he was going to push it to the side if he could manage it.
Cass was trying to forget about how kind and sweet he had been to him, even offering to feed him again after he had called Sam back into the room. Sam had been suspicious of him, and worried, as they hadn’t chatted about what had happened in the hallway with Byron.
Byron had been hesitant too, standing by the door like a child who was waiting to be scolded by a parent. But Cass was exhausted.
Cass didn’t get a chance to talk to them that night, since he ate his food, took his medicine, and then barely managed to get himself to his room before passing out. Thankfully, Draken didn’t follow him and Sam and left him alone that day.
Cass’ next 48 hours were full of making sure he had enough food supply, medicine, clothes, etc. that he would need in the dungeon. He did freak out at one point when Lord Blackburn took over the body they shared to force Cass to open a certain part of the desk and reveal a detailed journal full of plans.
Cass had worried that they were plans for world domination at first, but turned out it was plans for dungeons, finances, all of the things that he had been looking for when he first arrived. He wanted to ask Lord Blackburn why he was choosing to reveal it all right now, especially given the circumstances, but Cass knew he probably wouldn’t be able to talk to him until after the...next week from hell arrived.
Cass was suspicious that Lord Blackburn was trying to take a bit of the worry off of Cass’ shoulders, and for that he was grateful. There also happened to be a part of himself that was a bit bitter about the whole thing. The journal had the freaking password, code, whatever it was called, that would have allowed him to look at Lord Blackburn’s accounts. Cass couldn’t do shit with this information right now.
Byron was a little stiff around Cass, but also determined. He was doing everything Cass asked without a complaint, and trying to do it to the best of his ability. Cass knew that he needed to talk to the man. That he needed to clear the air with him.
Cass knew that his loyalty was temporary. It wasn’t a bad thing either. He was a dragon. They were stubborn creatures, prone to curiosities that took over their whole lives. At least that was what he understood from the stories Draken had told in the original story, and from what Cass had read about them as well.
Fantasy books held a hint of truth, and that dragon and demon romance novel he read had been pretty telling. Possessive, aggressive, loyal, sweet, horny. Those were words that Cass could use to describe dragons.
Right now he was dealing with two. One who had intentions towards him, and one who had intentions towards his aide. If anything, Byron was loyal to Sam, not to Cass. Cass didn’t really care about that detail, as long as what happened before didn’t happen again, and Byron had already said that.
Maybe it was Cass’ behaviour after that that had made them so nervous. He had been a little abrupt. He should make time to let them know he wasn’t upset before he left.
He just wasn’t sure where he was going to fit that into his already ridiculous schedule. Granted, he did that to himself.
He was busy making a hit list and having Sam help him put that hit list into place. Sam was going to send out the mass letters, written by Sam, the day after Cass and the others left for the dungeon. They were written in the exact same way as they had done to Lady Fiona, and Cass felt no guilt about that.
They were also telling the nobles involved that they were getting their funds frozen and that he wished them good luck finding someone to help them. Cass planned to let them think he was joking until they all had a gathering and realised that he had treated them the exact same way that they had treated Lady Fiona.
It was a great distraction to avoid Draken, who also seemed busy now that they were only a day or so out from leaving for the dungeon. He had come by and told Cass that they wouldn’t be able to do their magic lessons since he had things to get ready for the dungeon. Cass was just relieved that he wouldn’t have to face the man whose arms he had cried into.
~
So Cass was excited when the morning finally came.
They were going to all climb into a carriage and head to the dungeon proper. The travel time would only be a day but that was a full day in a carriage. Cass hadn’t had to do this kind of travel yet, and so maybe that excitement was showing through.
Another carriage, or several, were travelling behind them with the support team. Most of the personal aides would be travelling, minus Sam and Byron who were remaining behind to make sure that Cass’ home wasn’t fucked with, and to send out the letters. Sir Forsythe was coming with him, travelling by horse, and looking as disinterested in everything as he always did.
The support team would set up outside of the dungeon, along with those who had been sent by the temple and were there to make sure that if they needed anything, or if anything went wrong, they had an exit plan. Whether it was them leaving the dungeon early, someone being severely hurt, or the dungeon was too much for them to handle on their own, the support team was basically base camp. That was how Cass was viewing it.
This time, because Cass couldn’t take his own people, Cass had let Sir Forsythe take a few friends, Ser Hune and Sir Sanders. Cass knew that they were a package deal, and was glad to see them. They were also happy to see him. Well, Ser Hune was, her exuberance surprising everyone, including her husband.
"My Lord!" She called as she raced over. Cass had barely stepped out into the crisp morning air when she came darting over, her silver eyes glowing. "I can’t thank you enough for reaching out through Sir Forsythe. I am grateful for a chance to work with him again, and promise that if you need anything, we will be there!" She bowed deeply, and Cass felt his lips twitch. She was like a hyper puppy, which should have gone to her husband.
The other man, Sir Sanders, was more cautious, but it appeared that with Cass’ continuous support of the orphanage, even if he hadn’t shown up in a while, he had gained some support from him during that time. Sir Sanders was far more cautious as he approached, his gaze narrowed, but also...respectful.
"We are thankful for this employment, my Lord." Sir Sanders also bowed, but with far less enthusiasm and Cass had to turn his face to the side, hiding his smile since he was sure it would only make Sir Sanders upset.
"Ah. Of course. I am down two of my aides since they are doing work for me currently, and when I mentioned this, Sir Forsythe mentioned that you two were free. I am happy to be of help, I just worry that the city will be down two of its best protectors while I am gone." Cass teased, but Ser Hune gave a thumbs up, grinning.
"Don’t worry! We put a plan in place to make sure that that doesn’t happen." She told Cass and Cass gave her a soft smile.
"I am glad to hear it. Now, Sir Forsythe I’m sure, has given you a debrief. Let me know if anything is uncomfortable for you two. I need to head to my carriage." Cass told them and they nodded, going back to where they had been before. Cass and Sir Forsythe headed over to where the other important figures were gathered.
Vespertine was wearing his hat, Lady Ava looked sullen, Lord Ridgewood was quiet and stoic, while Draken and Lady Fiona were doing last minute checks.
The panting of someone racing after then had Cass turning. It was Sam.
"My Lord! You nearly forgot your extra medication! Please don’t scare me like that." Sam begged, handing over the metal container with the healing tonic inside, as well as a bottle that contained all of the pills that the Doctor had prescribed. Cass was almost sure that he had packed them.
In fact, he was pretty sure that Sam had packed them into his bag. However, they were short on time, and Cass needed to not be the one holding everyone back.
"Ah. I had thought I had packed them, but thank you Sam. I will see you soon." Cass told them with a smile, reaching out and squeezing his shoulder before he put the tin and bottle into his side bag.
A side bag that was basically one of those glitch bags that could hold everything. The time magic shit that they had been talking about before. Apparently, Lord Blackburn had already played around with that kind of magic, and Cass was profiting from it.
It was great for him, since it didn’t add an extra weight, but it did make finding things in there hard, so he didn’t pack too much inside of it. Just a few days’ rations, some snacks, his medication, clothes, water, a weapon if he needed it, and a few books for reading.
Cass was feeling a lot less nervous then he thought he would be feeling considering this was his first dungeon. He was feeling...light. A little nervous to be in a carriage with everyone for a long period of time, especially Draken and Vespertine, but they couldn’t ruin the fact that this was the first true, fantasy world activity outside of learning magic that he was doing.
This was a big step. This was going to be fun. This was him stepping out on his own, outside of his comfort zone.
Even the ’gods’ could make him upset right now.