Chapter Text
Graecie hummed a soft tune as she exited the Academy. She took the time to say a hello to each of the dragons parked outside, stopping when she got to Fleece and Aurora at the end. Aurora, the larger of the two dragons, rested curled around Fleece, her light blue head perched atop Fleece’s shoulder. Graecie’s heart leapt.
“Aww, look at you two!” She scratched the underside of Aurora’s chin, then pet Fleece’s neck. “So cute! Scott would love to see this.” She glanced around the Academy’s stoop. “Speaking of which, did either of you see him leave?”
Aurora sniffed, and whinnied softly. Fleece shook her head, though that may have been to dislodge something in her ears. Still, Graecie took it as a no.
“That’s okay. I’ll just tell him about it later.” She began to skip away, chanting ‘hop, hop, hop’.
She hopped down the trail, smelling the air. It didn’t cool down in this kingdom, the way it did in other parts of the world this time of year. But it smelled good either way. A firefly drifted past her, and she gasped. She hadn’t seen a firefly in a while. A lot of them were driven away by corruption. She followed after it, off the beaten path towards the woods.
The moon was high in the sky, full and bright. Every now and then a cloud would float by, shrouding the forest in darkness. Graecie could still see the warm glow of the lanterns lining the trail. She looked at the moon, counting the stars that she could see. The moon was yellow. She smiled at the little lamb-shaped crater, knowing that the Shepherdess was watching over her tonight.
She didn’t notice the shadow weaving through the trees, watching her, until its eyes were illuminated by the moonlight, bright white. A hulking shape, covered head to toe—or tail—in thick fur, much taller than the tallest people she knew, even Zam and Scott and Ser Osteon.
It stepped forward, and Graecie gasped. It was a massive wolf, staring straight at her. It let out a huff, seemingly sniffing her. The wolf took another step, and she yelped, hiking up her skirt so it wouldn’t trip her as she was running away. A blessing carried her forward, but she could hear the wolf’s heavy footsteps galloping after her, barking every now and then. Barking? Graecie didn’t know wolves could do that. Funny how she’s always learning new things, even when running for her life.
She climbed the path back to the Academy, calling out for Fleece. Her lungs were burning, making it harder and harder to breathe. She hit a steep part in the run, and tripped over a rock, falling to her hands and knees. They were scraped against the rough, pebbly dirt. Graecie looked back, seeing the wolf get closer. She scrambled to get back up, yelling again.
“Fleece!”
Both dragons were at Graecie’s side in a heartbeat, Fleece wrapping herself protectively around Graecie’s shoulders, and Aurora puffing out her chest between the wolf and the other two. Her blue wings stretched out to her sides, trying to make herself look bigger. But, as soon as she saw the wolf cresting the hill, she calmed down. Even…lowered her wings and approached the animal cautiously. The two sniffed each other, and Aurora came bounding back to Fleece and Graecie, jumping around them in a circle.
Graecie watched the dragon, confused as to why she seemed so agitated. And…more confused as to why she hadn’t been ripped apart yet. Her gaze snapped back to the wolf, squinting to try and see it better in the dim light. Its tail wagged back and forth slowly.
Breaths slowing, Graecie unwound herself from Fleece’s defensive hold. “Uhm…” she whispered, clutching her bells tightly in her hand. The wolf dropped to the ground, keeping its head lower than hers. It crept forward on its belly, going slowly and pausing every time Fleece let out a growl. Aurora pressed her forehead against its shoulder.
The wolf peered up at Graecie, head still lowered (even if it still came up to her chest). Hands shaking, Graecie took gentle hold of both sides of its face, unable to hold back the tiny smile when its soft fur made its cheeks squish. She laughed quietly, petting and stroking its head. She used a blessing spell to cast light on the two, only so she could get a better look at it. Its fur was a pale yellow, with a stripe of blue growing along its spine. Its eyes were purple.
Graecie’s smile fell. She pulled back, gasping. “Scott?!”
The wolf—Scott—stood back to its—his—full height, tilting his head at Graecie. He sniffed at the top of her head tentatively, backing off when she tensed up. Though, it was in the light that Graecie now saw that he wasn’t really a wolf at all. The wolves she’d seen didn’t have floppy ears, or sweet droopy eyes. But he was so big, and it was hard to see. And the Flock always warned Graecie about leaving at night, or leaving at all, that the woods were where the dangerous, aggressive wolves lived. But she knew Scott, and Scott wasn’t aggressive, or dangerous. So he couldn’t have been a wolf. Maybe he was…maybe he was a dog? A puppy? Graecie did like dogs, even though some of them were scary.
“Uhm, Scott…” she started carefully, “if you don’t mind me asking, why are you a dog? Are—Have you always been a dog?”
A low rumble emanated from his throat, but Graecie didn’t feel threatened by it. It didn’t seem like an angry rumble. Although Scott never got angry with her. She smiled. “Right. I don’t know why I expected an answer.”
Fleece was less guarded now, padding back and forth between Scott’s paws, brushing the fur of his belly against her scales. The dragons always liked Scott. He was a comforting presence to them, being seen as something to hide behind when things got scary. Graecie knew she often hid behind him when she got scared.
“So…so what happened? How did you…why are you a dog?” She repeated, taking Scott’s head in her hands again and turning it to the side. A low boof came from him, blowing her bangs back lightly. She laughed again. “Okay, okay, uhm…” Graecie looked back and forth between Scott and the Academy, feeling a little daunted. “How about we get you to Nurse Violet? I’m sure…uh…yeah! She’ll be able to figure out what’s wrong.”
Scott looked up at the school entrance, and walked past Graecie to the door. He pawed at the door, clearly expecting to be let in. Glyph, who was also sleeping on the front platform, noticed the sound and looked over. They jumped, the scales on his back raising defensively as he growled at him. Scott backed away slightly, then pushed forward, trying to get them to recognize him. Glyph snarled, and slashed at him, not trying to do any real damage, but a few tiny blood drops spattered the marble.
Graecie ran forward, throwing her hands up between the two so Glyph wouldn’t try to do anything worse. Scott turned away, going back to scratch at the door. The dragon lifted his foot, sniffing the pale yellow fur between his claws. They gave a start at the familiar scent, bringing their attention back to Scott, who was now sniffing the base of the door in case that worked. Graecie ran up and pushed his head out of the way.
“I’ll get it, hang on,” she told him, entering the Academy. She propped the door open with her backpack, and waited for Scott to follow. It was a tight squeeze for him now, back paws scrabbling against the stone behind him, but he made it in. He watched Graecie expectantly, wagging his tail absentmindedly.
Graecie smiled at him. “Good! Now…let’s go find Violet.” She looked around warily before turning back to him. “Just be quiet,” she whispered. “Maybe it’ll be best if people didn’t know about this right now.” She led him around the main hall, ducking (although she didn’t necessarily need to) under window frames and beckoning him when the coast was clear. He kept low to the ground too, at first, but quickly went back to walking at full-height when he caught on to the idea that nobody would be around the Academy so late at night.
Getting to the infirmary, Graecie peeked inside, instantly shadowed by a much larger head above her. The riders looked at each other. Graecie smiled at him, and Scott booped her forehead with his nose.
“Violet?” Graecie called into the dark infirmary. She opened the door further, looking around. She lit a candle, but there didn’t seem to be anyone in. Maybe Violet came into the Academy less now that there were no more students. Graceie turned back to Scott, waiting patiently at the door. “She doesn’t seem to be here…it’s okay! We can go to my room for the night, and try to figure out what happened!”
Graecie let Scott into her room, having to…well, ‘open’ the doorway more than it usually did. He walked in, trying to look around the place and accidentally knocking a few items off shelves. He winced and turned sharply, tail brushing a glass jar of brown sugar to the floor. Graecie winced as it shattered, seeing the sugar slowly break out of its clump into a pile. She glanced out the door, thankfully not seeing anyone. Scott watched her apologetically, tail between his legs.
“It’s okay, you didn’t mean it,” Graecie whispered. “Although, maybe bringing you in here wasn’t the best idea…just, uh, just sit right there, I’ll clean this up.” She grabbed a broom from hers and Zam’s kitchen, and started to sweep, humming a light melody. Scott’s paws slid forward, laying down with a soft huff. Graecie wondered if he was hurt anywhere, or just tired. She wished she could understand dogs, so that he could tell her…
She was just getting the last of the glass into a safer container when the door opened behind her. She turned to see Legs holding the door open, looking worried. Graecie gasped when she heard Scott stand up from the floor.
“Graecie? I heard a glass break, are you—” Legs’s words came to a halt when he saw the wolf—dog—thing towering over Graecie. He drew his knife, rearing back to throw. The beast flinched, drawing into itself as Legs shouted. “Graecie, watch out!”
Graecie put her hands up high, trying desperately to be enough of a block that Legs wouldn’t follow through. “Wait, wait, wait! Don’t hurt him, please!”
“I—wha—him?” Legs spluttered. “Did you get over your fear of wolves or something? It’s a giant, wild animal, Graecie.”
“He’s not a wolf,” Graecie protested, lowering her arms. “He’s a dog. And—and he’s not even really a dog, even if he looks like a dog, and sounds like a dog, and…uh…smells like a dog…” Scott snorted indignantly. “But he’s not…uhm—hm. I don’t know how to really say it…”
Legs’s knife fell back to his hip. He stepped further in the room. “Graecie…what’s going on?”
Graecie hummed nervously. “Mmm…okay, okay, there’s not really any simple way of saying this, but it’s Scott, Legs. The dog is Scott.”
Legs was silent for a second. “Uh…huh…” he sheathed his knife again, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You’re—you’re fucking with me, right? Because there’s no way that…” the Iron mage looked back at the dog, its purple eyes glimmering. Legs’s gaze then trailed down the dog’s body, looking at its fur, the pattern on it. “Oh…my God. That—how—this is wild.”
Graecie wrung her hands. “I—I don’t know why he’s a dog, or how for that matter, but I’m going to figure it out. I wanted to get him to Violet to see if she could tell me, but…”
“Violet leaves the Academy after nine-thirty if she has no inpatients,” Legs finished. He held a hand out, watching as Scott pressed his face to his palm. “So…what’s the plan from here?”
“I don’t know,” Graecie admitted, her voice dropping to a whisper.
Legs pulled away from Scott. “And the glass? Is everything okay with that?”
“Oh, yes,” Graecie smiled. “Just, uh, a bit of a tight space for him. I suppose he’s not used to the extra size, either. Just a little unsure of where to put our tail.” She reached up and scratched the fluff on Scott’s neck. The tail in question thumped against the floor, his head leaning into the touch.
Legs snickered, hiding a smile behind his hand. Graecie went to put the broom away, leaving the boys alone. Legs stepped forward, looking Scott over. He moved Scott’s head back and forth, checking for any distinguishing marks or damages that could help them find out what happened. Scott tried to pull away, but Legs’s grip held strong, and it only served in squishing his face. Legs burst out laughing, letting him go. Scott lowered his head, letting out a soft huff and turning away. He sat down, tail brushing the floor in a sweeping motion.
Legs wiped a tear from his eye, laughter dying down. “Oh, Scott, did I embarrass you?”
Scott didn’t respond, but his ears did move back at the sound of Legs’s voice. Graecie returned, holding a small bag. “Okay! Time to figure out what happened. I’ve got a map, so you can point us in the right direction, plenty of food, and a lead!”
Legs tilted his head. “A lead?”
Graecie smiled and nodded. “Mhm! In case he gets away from us! I see people put leads on their dogs all the time!”
Legs and Scott shared a look. Scott shook his head, grumbling. Legs tried his best to translate his thoughts into words. “I don’t think he’s gonna wear that. Besides, Scott’s going to stay by our side. Just because he’s a…hm…were-dog?, doesn’t mean he isn’t himself.”
Graecie hummed, biting the inside of her cheek. “You’re right. I don’t know, I’m not sure how to navigate…this.” She tossed the lead onto a table behind her. “I was just thinking of what I’ve seen with other dogs.”
“Yeah…” Legs nodded. “I just don’t know if pet is really the right procedure for our friend who’s become a weredog.”
She groaned. “I know. But I don’t know what is the right procedure. I just wanna find out what happened so we can fix it!”
“I know you do,” Legs said calmly. “And we will, don’t worry. Scott wouldn’t worry, right Scott?” The dog shook his ears out, a clump of fluff drifting to the floor from his neck. Legs grinned, looking back at Graecie. “See? Not worried.”
Scott trotted towards Graecie, sniffing the bag in her hands. Graecie opened it, looking inside for what he may have wanted. She pulled out some of the packaged risotto that Pyro gave her the other day. “You want this? Are you hungry?” She did see him with any of his things, so depending on when he was turned into a dog, it was possible he hadn’t had any dumplings in a while. But Scott pushed her hand out of the way, stuffing his muzzle into the bag. He pulled out the map.
Graecie’s eyes lit up with a gasp. “Oh! You wanted the map! Are you going to show us where you were turned into a dog?”
Legs took the map from Scott’s mouth, spreading it out for him. Scott pawed at it, seemingly trying to point out a spot, but the other two couldn’t understand. He almost ripped the paper in half, so he stopped trying that. Instead, he pressed his nose to a point towards the top of the map. Legs’s eyebrows furrowed, and he squinted at the spot. He shook his head. “By…Ironkeep? No, couldn’t be, that place is just a crater.”
Graecie pushed her hair behind her ears, taking a look for herself. “No…the Human Crypt?” She looked up at Scott, who stood up, tail wagging slowly. “You went to the Human Crypt?” Graecie repeated. Scott woofed softly.
Legs sighed, rolling the map back up. “Again, Scott? I thought everyone agreed, nobody goes down there by themselves.”
Scott ignored him, pushing towards the door to Graecie’s room. He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to knock the wall down again so he could get through.
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Since Scott couldn’t take Aurora to the Crypt in his state, they were walking. The bugs buzzed around them, floating on the slight breeze. Clouds periodically covered the face of the moon, momentarily shrouding the world in darkness. Graecie hopped ahead, leading the way North. She rang her bells every now and then, whispering blessings and prayers to the Shepherdess.
It was when she hopped onto a twig and snapped it that she realized how quiet it was around them. She stopped suddenly, looking around. Unease pooled in her stomach when the world went dark again.
“Graecie?” Legs asked, drawing his knife. A low growl sounded from above him, and he looked up to see Scott, hackles raised. “Scott—”
The ice mage snarled and leapt forward, planting himself firmly in front of Graecie. He growled into the shadowed undergrowth. Graecie squinted, trying to see far into the treeline. The bushes in front of them quivered, and a wolf stepped out, one of the chestnut-colored ones from around the continent. Its head was set between its shoulders, staring Scott down. The light returned, and its purple eyes, darker than Scott’s, flashed under the moon. Gray froth plastered the corners of its mouth. Its fur was matted and patchy in spots where blood crusted over wounds. Graecie let out a gasp, recognizing the signs of corruption in the wolf.
Scott barked, louder and harsher than Graecie had heard from him yet. His teeth were bared, shining in the light. A low growl emanated from his chest, buzzing in Graecie’s skull. Every time the wolf stepped closer, Scott would let out a warning bark. It reminded Graecie of earlier that night, in front of the Academy with Glyph. Graecie looked between Scott’s front legs at the wolf, a corrupted, hungry beast. She would have walked right into it if she didn’t notice the quiet. It likely would have torn her apart before she could soothe it with her magic. She had to be brave right now, she told herself. She couldn’t let this wolf get the better of her nerves.
The wolf shrunk back, ready to pounce like a tightly wound spring. Scott snarled, his final warning.
Legs’s grip tightened around the handle of his knife. “Scott…”
The corrupted wolf jumped, aiming for one of the mages. Scott intercepted, standing on his hind paws to push it back to the forest floor. He followed it, grabbing its scruff in his teeth. The wolf snapped its jaws at him, kicking up the dirt. It finally ripped itself away from the strong hold, retreating into the undergrowth.
Scott chased after the wolf, disappearing behind a bush. “Scott!” Graecie called, leaping forward. Legs caught her by the wrist, pulling her back from the treeline. They could hear the struggle from the path, and it was agonizingly impossible to tell which growls and whines and yelps belonged to who.
When the forest went silent again, following a howl that broke through the foliage, Legs and Graecie shared a concerned look, before both cautiously approaching where Scott and the wolf went. Legs, almost subconsciously, stayed in front of her, his knife firmly grasped in his hand. He had his iron shield at the ready, in case they needed to fight.
A soft, rhythmic thumping drew closer; the sound of paws beating against the earth. Scott lumbered out of the forest, his muzzle and a large section of his neck and chest stained a rusty color. One of his eyes was closed, a gushing cut just under it. He wasn’t looking great, given the scratches on him, but Graecie was sure that Scott looked much better than whatever he did to the wolf. She activated her Healing Word, and watched some of the smaller nicks and wounds close up. Scott bowed his head to her, and she stroked a path from his nose to his forehead.
“Thank you for protecting us, Scott,” she whispered.
“But…maybe let’s not do that again?” Legs added, with a lilt in his voice. “You can get hurt doing that; no weapons, no armor, no magic. And that was a corrupted wolf, Scott. Remember that you don’t have to do things completely on your own, dog or not.”
He held out a hand. Scott sniffed at it lightly, before licking the back of it. Legs pulled away sharply, gagging at the sight. “Oh my god, Scott, there is so much blood in your mouth, don’t—” he wiped the back of his hand on his pants. “Don’t do that, bud.”
Graecie laughed, giving her bells a quick ding. Legs sighed, trying his best to seem exasperated, but even he couldn’t fight the smile pulling at his lips. He took the lead next, marching onward through the trees. “Come on, let’s get to the Crypt.”
Graecie wondered what time it was. It seemed the moon was still high in the sky where it was before…maybe it was getting closer to midnight by now? The trees were starting to look familiar again, and she knew they were close. Legs cut down a vine laden with thorns, clearing the path to reveal the valley that held the giant structure. Graecie kicked at the greenbriers to get them out of the way enough that Scott wouldn’t step on one.
They got to the entrance to the crypt, looking down to where the stairs faded into darkness. Graecie cast a spell to help them see better, and Legs grabbed a torch from his backpack. He went down first, using his knife to clip the vines. Graecie went to follow, but looked back at the sound of a soft whine to see Scott hesitating. He paced across the stone, ears pinned back and his tail between his legs. He was distressed. Graecie used her Healing Word to try and calm him down, and hopped over to him.
“Scott? Scott, it’s okay. Shh,” She grabbed a clump of fur in her fists to halt his pacing. “It’s okay, you’re okay.”
Legs poked his head out of the crypt. “Everything alright up here? Taking a little while.”
Graecie looked at him. “It’s Scott; he’s really worried about something. Is it the crypt?”
The iron mage sighed, stepping back up onto the roof. “Yeah, he told me something about this the other day.” He approached the two, reaching up with one hand. “He told me that this place scared him, more than most other things.” Scott leaned over, touching the bridge of his nose to Legs’s knuckles. “But it’s gonna be okay this time, alright Scott? You’re not alone this time around; Graecie and I are here to help you out.” He ran the knuckle of his index finger up and down the dorsum of Scott’s muzzle for a brief, comforting moment before going back to the stairs.
“Now, come on. The sooner we get this situation dealt with, the better.”
Graecie and Scott lingered for a second more. She cast her Healing Word one more time, to calm him down, before following Legs into the Crypt of the Dead.
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Graecie ran her hand along the carvings in the chalky, crumbling stone walls. She could feel the presence of spirits all around them; walking with them, swirling and floating in the air above them, trying to reach out to them. She felt something akin to sadness, and maybe it was the muddled emotions of each soul in the crypt, but there was something about this underground ruin that made her solemn. A tiny blue flame sparked in her step every now and then, soothing the restless.
Scott seemed even more anxious, and they were quick to figure out why when he planted himself in one spot, unmoving, growling at the empty space in front of him. Empty to the dragon riders, but not unoccupied. If she focused hard enough, Gracie could feel someone there, but they were invisible to her and Legs.
Scott’s new form had provided him with some new experiences, Graecie realized. He hadn’t been able to see most spirits as a human, so it must have been disorienting to suddenly see every one. She suddenly secretly wished that she still had that lead, even if it wouldn’t have done anything given the dog’s size in comparison to her.
Their aimless walking eventually led them down to the bottom of the structure, in the small river that flowed between two buildings. It wasn’t long before their combined energies attracted a ghost…Something of a ghost, that is.
The man that found them seemed no different from any other, but there were differences. His eyes took on a purple hue where there should have been white; he was beaten—bloody and bruised and pale where there should be unmarred skin. And the smell. Legs had to cover his nose and mouth, stifling a gag. The man smelled of rot, of death. His shirt was ripped, showing long, dark gashes that signaled his downfall. His limbs were twisted at horrid, unnatural angles. It looked like parts of his skin were falling off, like wax melting from a candle, which revealed far more teeth than should have been seen, and exposed muscle pulled tight, contracted to the limits like it was a constant struggle to keep from falling apart. The corpse’s chest wriggled, a nursery of botfly maggots. Each breath he took rattled the rest of him, fluids resting dormant.
The corrupted man smiled, crooked and uncanny. “Well, what do we have here?” He asked in a honeyed, singsong voice. “Two—no, three dragon riders? And one so eager for our attention? Back for more, pup?”
Scott growled defensively as Graecie stepped in front of him. “Are you the one who did this?”
He laughed, drops of black blood spewing over the moss. “A simple ritual. ‘Invert body and soul’, and it was quite easy to lure him into the circle.”
“Why?” Legs demanded.
The corrupted man walked a ring around them, keeping his eyes trained on them the whole time. It was especially unsettling given the man’s head didn’t move, just twisted on its neck as if it were detached from any bones, cracks and pops releasing every so often. “Why?” It breathed. “Why? Because we hunger. And he has so much mana. He is so full of the stuff, it leaks out of him. But it is dangerous for us, in his control. So we needed to be able to take it. If only we could find him in these winding hallways.”
“You can’t find him? His real body?”
The corruption paused, head and body facing separate ways. They hummed a tune. “No. Apparently, the ritual came with conditions. Body and soul were sent far away from the circle after completion of the rite, as a way to protect either from danger. The dog is lucky he has found his way back before we found him.”
It took a deep breath, releasing it in a blissful sigh. “Ahh, I can smell the mana from here. It’s so…potent. So…delicious.”
Legs' knuckles turned white with how hard he gripped his knife. He pushed forward, between the corruption and his friends. “Back off. You don’t talk about him like that.”
The corruption grinned wider, missing several teeth. “Oh, how protective you’ve become. We remember when you were younger, cowering behind these strangers.” It tilted its head to the side. “Now look at how you stand in front, taking sentry for the little soldier boy who can do nothing but tuck his tail between his legs.”
Graecie looked over to her friend. “Can you do the Iron Wheel on him?”
Legs shook his head. “It won’t do anything. It’s—The body is already dead, so there’s no one to talk to.”
Graecie’s gaze snapped back to the corruption, clutching her bells to her chest. Her face took on a determined expression, not wanting to show the spirit that she was afraid of it. “How do we get him back?”
“Aww, now why would we tell you? There’s a feast up there, somewhere, waiting for us. It’s like telling a lion not to pounce on the juicy, idle zebra.”
“Back off!” Legs repeated, raising his voice. He held out his knife, the tip of his blade hovering just over its throat.
The corruption looked at the knife with its ever-present grin, then back up at Legs. It continued forward, not even flinching when the metal pushed through its skin, slotting into the dead man like…well, like a hot knife through butter. It pressed on until it was a little more than a foot away, the knife having found an exit through the back of its neck. Black liquid pooled at the entrance wound and the corners of its mouth, trickling down. It reeked. Legs swallowed to keep himself from retching.
Graecie whispered a prayer, grimacing at the sight, and she stepped away from the corruption until her back was against Scott’s leg. She looked up at the dog, trying to form any plan in her mind.
Finally, the corruption started to walk way, forcing Legs’s arm with it before he ripped his knife back from the corpse. He immediately rubbed the length of the blade off on a rag he kept in his pocket, breathing coming back to him in short bursts.
Graecie considered what the corruption had said. “But…he is somewhere in here, right?”
“Hm?” The corruption’s head spun to face her.
Graecie took a deep breath to still herself. She would never get used to that motion. “You said that you could still feel him here. So, that must mean he’s close enough to sense. So he’s still here, in the crypt.”
The corruption’s smile dropped for half a second. “You are smarter than you seem…” It turned its head again, walking to the wall. “We suppose it’s a race, then. But you better be quick. We have eyes…everywhere.”
The corruption disappeared, leaving the three dragon riders standing around each other, watching from each angle. But it was silent once more.
Graecie looked at Legs. “Have you figured out how to track people with rings?” She asked. He shook his head.
“Still working on it.” He relaxed himself, dropping his guard the slightest bit to turn to his friends. He kicked a stone away, watching it skid into the water. “If it’s a race, then we should get moving. There’s no telling where Scott—where Scott’s real body is, and…I hate to say it, but the corruption is right; it can be faster.”
Graecie’s eyes ignited with a determined passion. “We won’t let it be faster! We’ll find him, and we’ll get him out of the crypt, and then…” She lost her plan from there, dropping her hands slowly and turning her gaze to Scott. “And then…”
Legundo sighed, noting her worry. “And then we can figure out what to do from there. I think the important thing right now is finding him and getting away from the corruption.” He looked up at the dog. “How’s that sound to you, bud?”
Scott let out a soft, low boof and stood up. Legs smiled.
“Good. Come on.” Legs got his armor ready, and made his way for the upper levels.