Three days passed in an unexpected, relaxing bliss. Morrigan had wanted to remain for only two days maximum in the Lava Resort, however, at the insistence of her sisters and the Demon King himself, they remained for longer. While it certainly did wonders for her tired body, her mind grew increasingly uneasy. It felt like something big was going on but she was so far away from home and had no way of knowing.


    Morrigan tried to get information out of Azrael, but after that first morning, the demon was completely unreadable and refused to tell her anything. Or to be precise he claimed that everything was perfectly fine with that dopey grin of his. The more she and her sisters tried to get something out of him, the more he clammed up. By the end of the third day, even Viana was convinced that everything was perfectly fine.


    "But what about the weird way Father is acting?" Morrigan grumbled to Viana, as they were preparing to resume their journey. The packing process was slow, everyone was hesitant to leave the heavenly or perhaps it''s better to call it the hellish resort. All the servants and guards looked well-rested, their skin nearly glowing, satisfied smiles plastered on their blissful faces.


    "Maybe he''s just more relaxed now that most of the enemy forces have been captured?" the eldest princess guessed.


    "Do you really believe that? The mastermind still remains hidden," Morrigan narrowed her eyes. Viana sighed.


    "Okay, let''s say that something is going on in the capital. Tell me – how are we supposed to influence that?" Viana said. "Sure, we are the princesses, but do you really think that Father wouldn''t be able to deal with whatever threat on his own?"


    "I guess… But I still worry," Morrigan grumbled.


    "That''s only natural, little sister. But put more trust in Father. He''s been the King for thousands of years. It''ll take more than a little scheme to take him down," the eldest princess pacified.


    "Yeah… you''re right…" Morrigan conceded, then after clenching her fist angrily. "I still wish Azrael would tell us what''s going on."


    "Maybe he''s under Father''s orders not to tell us anything?"


    "That''s possible, but he''s never been one to obey orders."


    "He obeys them when it''s important. As much as I hate to admit that the mage is not as useless and careless as he seems. Now, enough conspiracies. We need to continue our journey," Viana said. Morrigan nodded, calming down a little. But the nagging never really left her.


    ***


    Resuming the journey was… difficult. Nobody wanted to return to the rattling carriages, especially when it was estimated that it would take them about a week to get to the next sacred site. Everyone was moving at a snail''s pace – even the usually energetic badgers who pulled the carriages seemed unenthusiastic to continue. Apparently, the Lava Resort had a special cleaning program for these beasts as well.


    If there were a way to leave a review, then this place would certainly get full five stars. But this was the Underworld, so there would be no leaving of reviews. Instead, there would be rattling in carriages.


    The Underworld needs a better mode of transportation because this is just ridiculous. The more I travel in these, the worse they seem to get. Maybe I could somehow implement a metro system of sorts. With carts or something that runs on magic. But then again the Underworld is so huge – is that even feasible? Something to think about in the future.


    But even if she managed to implement something like that, it wouldn''t influence this trip at all. So the best she could do was take her shadow form and wait as the time passed as they continued on through the Underworld.


    The scenery began to change as they kept going — it became considerably lighter as more and more lava rivers or lakes appeared. The temperature also got higher, and Morrigan noticed how her sisters got increasingly more uncomfortable. The moles mount and badgers also were getting more sluggish. And it only got worse. In approximately three days, most of the retinue reached their limit.


    "Azrael, what is going on? It is way too hot here for others to continue," Morrigan said looking at her companions. Both of her sisters were sweating buckets despite the fact that they were holding a ball of ice which Galandir and Azrael conjured to keep everyone cool. The guards and servants weren''t doing much better.


    The exceptions were Morrigan, Azrael, and Haku as well as a few guards who knew fire magic and thus had resistance to it. However, it was clear that their magical prowess contributed to this resistance. While Morrigan, Azrael, and Haku felt completely fine and fresh since their fire resistance was incredibly high, the guards were starting to feel uncomfortable.


    "We''re currently reaching the hottest point in the Underworld, so those without fire resistance will find it difficult to continue," he hummed.


    "Difficult? The temperature is much higher than last time. Why is that?" Viana said, doing her best to remain dignified despite the sweat trickling down her face. Servants were doing their best to fan her, but the heat was too unbearable for that to be of much help.


    "Seismic activity must be stronger now than it was when you went on your tour. So it is hotter," he explained with a smile.


    "But we still have four more days left to travel until we get to the sacred site. They can''t endure that," Morrigan growled.


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Yeah, probably not. We''re not even at the hottest point yet," Azrael hummed and scratched his chin. Morrigan rolled her eyes at him. The course of action is clear.


    "Those who don''t have fire resistance will return to the resort and wait for us there," Morrigan announced.


    "Wow, wow, Princess! We can''t do that. You''d be left without any servants and with only a handful of guards," the mage shook his head, and many dissatisfied calls resounded with him.


    "That''s right, it''s far too dangerous. We''re going with you," Galandir said firmly.


    "You can''t endure the heat," Morrigan retorted.


    "I can cool myself down, no problem!" the elven boy objected and coated his clothes in a layer of ice.


    "For how long can you keep that up? You''d have to keep your magic going the whole time," she argued.


    "I have large magic reserves," he said stubbornly.


    "And what about when you sleep? And don''t say you''ll stay awake because you can''t remain awake for four days."


    Galandir flinched back. He had no retorts here.


    "As much as I''d like to keep going together with Morri, I don''t think it is possible. Look at all of us. We''re barely holding it. At this rate we''d be nothing but a burden," Deziara said. She looked completely miserable, basically melted into a puddle. There was no way she could go any further.


    "That''s right. It''s an order. Those without fire resistance are to return to the Lava Resort," Morrigan said in a loud voice to make sure that everyone heard.


    "Princess, we can–" Azrael began, but she glared at him.


    "I said it''s an order. Last time I checked Crown Princess ranked higher than court mage," she stared him down. He looked shocked, then he nodded, appearing almost hurt that she would actually exert her authority on him.


    "So be it. Don''t blame me if the daddy gets mad at you," the mage shrugged.


    "More like he''ll be thankful that I didn''t drag his daughters and subjects through literal fiery hell. Now, let''s regroup!"


    The retinue was split into two groups. One group of seven carriages and those who had little or no fire resistance were to return to the resort. Morrigan''s group consisted of three carriages, Azrael, Haku, five demon guards, and three of Count Etheles''s elite guards. Two of the guards would have to take over two coachmen as only one of them had a fire resistance high enough to continue.


    The groups were about to go their separate ways when Morrigan heard Galandir speak into her mind.


    "Please, be careful. Don''t let anyone capture or hurt you," he said. She could sense genuine worry in him and saw how he was looking at her like a sad puppy abandoned by its owner.


    "I''m going to be fine. If things get really bad, I can always call Father," she replied.


    "Even so — watch yourself."


    "I will. Take care of my sisters. Make sure that nothing bad happens to them. You''re the strongest mage among them after all."


    "Of course. You can count on me."


    She waved at him and the rest of the group and then set out to continue their way. Haku cooed sadly after the elf and Deziara, not wanting to separate from them,


    "Don''t worry. We''ll reunite with them as soon as we are done with our business at the sacred site," she said to him.


    "I still do not like to be apart. The enemy lurks and I cannot protect them if something happens."


    This did bring a pang of worry to Morrigan. While the other group was more numerous than their group, her small group was much stronger. She and Azrael were already a considerable force of magic not many would be able to stop. Add Haku on top of that and they already could take down a small army. The other group had no such obvious powerhouses.


    She knew that Galandir was strong, but the exact extent of his powers was unknown to her. There had never really been a need for him to go all out.


    "Go with them, Haku," Morrigan spoke into her dragon''s mind.


    "A-Are you sure?" Haku seemed apprehensive.


    "Yes. We''re going to be fine. Not like many would be able to follow us into this heat. Meanwhile, they will be more exposed — waiting for us to return. It won''t take long for the news to travel around the kingdom that they are at the resort."


    Haku looked at Morrigan, then nodded. He took flight and went towards the other group.


    "Hey, where are you going, you overgrown lizard?" Azrael bellowed, about to chase after him.


    "He''ll guard the others," Morrigan said and headed towards the carriage. The mage blinked for a moment then followed after her.


    "You figured out that they''d be in more danger than us."


    "Yeah. Hopefully, this will level the playing field."


    "A giant fire-breathing dragon? Nope, why would that deter anybody?" Azrael shrugged, then his face grew serious. "I did cast a few wards on Viana and Deziara. If something happens, then I''ll know."


    "Let''s hurry and get our business done, so we can reunite again."


    They got inside the carriage and the grueling journey continued. The further they got, the hotter it got and soon Morrigan and Azrael were also feeling the heat. They were sweating quite considerably, while the poor guards and mounts could only endure thanks to the ice magic. Two days later they too couldn''t endure it anymore.


    "What do we do?" Morrigan asked the mage, who helplessly looked at the guards who were drowning in sweat. No matter how much water they drank it never seemed enough.


    "We''re going have to continue alone," Azrael replied and began constructing a portal.


    "Lord Azrael, you cannot use portal magic. It''ll leave you without magic reserves for days," Seon, one of the guards who managed to hold on, objected.


    "You guys feel like dying?" he retorted as he finished the portal. "Besides this is a small portal. Carriages will have to be abandoned, but I believe that''s a sacrifice we''ll have to make."


    "But we cannot leave you two alone," Seon objected and the other guards agreed.


    "You''re no use to us like this anyway. No shut up and get it. The longer you dally, the more magic the portals expends," the mage commanded. Morrigan nodded and signaled the guards to go through. Reluctantly they obeyed and the portal closed as soon as the last guard had stepped through.


    "A dragon to fly on would be quite convenient right now," Azrael grumbled.


    "Then why don''t you turn into one?" Morrigan snickered and changed her form. Slowly her body wrapped and grew until she looked exactly like Haku. Only smaller.


    "Now when you mention it," Azrael grinned and also changed his shape. His dragon form was bigger and black. The two of them nodded at each other and took flight. And then they promptly changed back and took the supplies they would need from the carriages.