The day after, the group resumed their journey to the elven capital.

This took several more days and the routine was always the same: take off at dawn, fly all day without stopping, and land at dusk somewhere to rest.

The nights were the only time the group had to handle all their needs, such as eating, using the bathroom, stretching their legs, checking their equipment, etc.

The druid flew in a straight line most of the time, taking advantage of air currents when he could to save energy, but even so the effort of maintaining his animal form for so many consecutive hours took its toll.

Because each time he landed, he returned to his elven form and collapsed on the ground like a sack of potatoes, falling asleep before his head touched the grass.

Mark took advantage of the nights to eat whatever was available while trying to ignore the growing pain in his back and legs from sitting for so many consecutive hours.

’And here I thought airplane flights in my past life were torture...’ Mark thought on the second night as he rubbed the small of his back after landing. ’Eight hours in a coach seat seemed like hell and it turns out that was nothing compared to this.’

And so the days passed until finally, on the afternoon of the last day, the druid told them they had arrived.

’Finally this torture is over,’ Mark thought with relief upon hearing the news. ’I don’t know how they managed to travel without stopping for a week...’

Mark, who had had his eyes closed for a while trying to ignore the constant wind hitting his face, opened them as he felt the creature tilt its body downward.

And what he saw left him speechless.

The elven capital stretched out below them and it was nothing like what he expected. Because in his head, the capital of the elves was going to be something like a giant town merged with nature, with houses built inside trees, bridges made of vines, and waterfalls falling between the structures.

But instead what he found was a huge city with its back to the ocean, with paved streets, stone buildings, wide plazas with fountains and statues, markets that extended for several blocks, and watchtowers that stood out above the rest of the structures.

And as it couldn’t be otherwise, there was one structure that stood out above all the others: the castle.

It was massive, made of white stone with tall, thin towers that rose toward the sky, adorned with green and silver banners.

"Hold on tight, I’m going to land," warned the druid.

After that the hippogriff suddenly accelerated its descent, folding its wings partially to dive toward one of the tallest towers of the castle.

The landing was abrupt.

The hippogriff extended its wings in the last second to brake and its paws hit the ground of the tower’s observation deck with an impact that shook everyone on top of it.

"We finally made it... you can get off now," said the druid with notable relief.

Mark was the first to get off the hippogriff, his legs trembling slightly from the landing, and the others immediately followed him.

The druid returned to his elven form as soon as everyone got off and fell to his knees on the ground gasping.

"I’m not planning to fly again for at least a month..." he muttered with his face against the ground.

The armored elf, who apparently was the only one unaffected by the landing, turned toward the group.

"Let’s go inside quickly," he said, entering the castle through a wooden door that connected the observation deck to the interior.

Upon entering, everyone followed the elf down the long hallway until he stopped in front of a double door and opened it. Thus showing the spacious room on the other side. It had large windows that looked out onto an interior courtyard of the castle and several extremely elegant pieces of furniture.

"Before we do anything, I need to ask you something," said the armored elf, looking at Mark’s group. "Can any of you perform a concealment spell?"

"Why do you need us to conceal our presence? Isn’t it enough that no one sees us?" asked Mark, confused.

"The thing is, the essence of death that you all emanate is so strong that sooner or later someone will sense it and become alert," responded the elf.

"I see..."

And everyone immediately turned toward Rose.

"...Why are you all looking at me?" she asked, crossing her arms with a raised eyebrow. "I don’t know how to cast that kind of spell."

"Really?" said Ely, surprised.

"Yes... that kind of spellcasting isn’t my thing, so I never bothered to learn it," confessed Rose, looking to the side.

After the vampire’s refusal, there was a brief silence until Aria raised her hand and spoke.

"I can do it," she said with some doubt in her voice. "But... it’s quite limited."

"Limited in what sense?" asked the pink-haired elf.

"Well... the area of effect would only cover this room," explained Aria, pointing at the walls. "While we’re inside, no one will be able to detect anything, but if we go outside we’ll be exposed immediately."

The druid, who was coming through the door while rubbing his back, heard the last part.

"That will be more than enough for all of you," he said, leaning against the doorframe. "Because only your leader can come with us."

For a few instants the room fell into complete silence, and then it exploded into voices of discontent.

"...What?" asked Ely, looking at the druid with a frown. "That’s obviously not going to happen."

"This is clearly a trap, my lord," said Alice, taking a step forward with clenched fists.

"I’m not going to let the Master go anywhere alone!" added Aria.

"Do you really think we’re going to allow that?" said Rose.

Upon seeing the reactions of Mark’s group, the three elves exchanged glances.

"It’s not a trap," explained the armored elf, trying to keep calm. "It’s just easier to go unnoticed this way."

"I don’t care!" said Ely, noticeably annoyed. "He won’t go alone!"

"If you all accompany him, they’ll discover us immediately," insisted the pink-haired elf.

"Then so be it," said Aria. "We’ll just eliminate whoever discovers us."

Mark, realizing the discussion wasn’t going to get anywhere, intervened quickly.

"It’s fine," he said, taking a step forward.

Everyone turned abruptly toward him.

"Master?" said Ely with her eyes wide open. "Why?"

"Are you serious?!" exclaimed Aria in surprise.

"My lord, please reconsider," said Alice with urgency.

"...Is this a joke?" asked Rose incredulously.

Mark raised a hand, silencing everyone immediately. And then he looked directly at the three elves.

"I’ll go alone," said Mark in a calm tone. "But I want you to understand something before we walk out that door."

The elves looked at him.

"If this turns out to be nothing but a trap or anything happens to me," said Mark without changing his expression, "rest assured that they will raze this capital until no one is left alive... is that clear?"

"Crystal clear," responded the armored elf with total seriousness. "We wouldn’t dare do something that stupid."

"It better be that way."

Mark turned toward his subordinates.

"Don’t worry about me, I’ll be back soon," he said. "And if I’m not... you all know what to do."

"Of course," they all replied at the same time.

And with that Mark left the room along with the three elves.