Rhaegal, Efren and Atelas set out from Tigu-chtu-tal the next day (at least, they did so after eating and resting, and they counted that chain of events as one day; actually, if counted with the time dictated by the movement of the sun and stars, they departed the city about an hour before midnight), and were hailed by all the arachnes as if they were renowned and known heroes... or at least, Rhaegal was hailed, while Efren and Atelas were hardly considered. The arachnes had offered to send some soldiers to escort them, but they had politely refused (when the requests had become quite insistent, Efren and Atelas had 'covertly' pointed out to them that continuing to offer could mean annoying the 'lord of the world' who was Rhaegal, and so they had stopped insisting) since they knew the way by now and wanted to spend some time alone. After all, they were still experienced adventurers and with them there was a dragon almost thirteen meters long, so they didn't run big risks. They preferred to avoid carrying the arachnes with them, since having them picked up would only remind them of what had happened, and for now they wanted to keep their minds clear of that memory.
Before leaving, Iflhet gave them some gifts as a sign of friendship: daggers of extraordinary workmanship and enchanted with very refined magic for Efren and Atelas, and ten carcasses of very rare animals with extremely succulent flesh for Rhaegal. The trio gladly accepted these gifts and deeply thanked the arachnes, who however always seemed more interested in the thanks of the dragon than in those of the human and the tigerman. After suitably taking their leave, they bade farewell to their companions who would have remained at Tigu-chtu-tal instead, and then finally mounted the enormous skull of Balagaberan and began to go back the way that they had done when they had come there.
Once clear of the city, the trio didn't immediately head to the surface; rather, they took their time to explore the subterranean ecosystems a little more, of course never straying too far from the main route. After the revelations and mental upheaval they had just experienced, all of them, Rhaegal included, needed something to vent; and since they were there, why not go on a little adventure? They were adventurers at heart after all. Exploring a forest of giant mushrooms or battling some underground beast was a way for them to have fun. They did it for a full day; when they camped in the evening, they found that thanks to this their mind was emptied, and all possible bad thoughts had vanished. They even managed to joke and tease each other as they always had. And since it had worked so well, they did the same thing the next day, and the next, and the next again. They continued to advance towards the surface, but since they made so many detours, it took them nearly a week to reach the chasm that would take them out.
"Well, it looks like we've finally arrived" Rhaegal said, looking at the deep hole that went upwards from their perspective. "Are you ready to go back to the paperwork of the Council or the heavy duty of guildmaster?"
"Yeah! I can't wait for that" Atelas said sarcastically. "Maybe I should stay here... you two can just say that we encountered a large predator and that I died, or that I wandered off and never came back, or that I fell into a crack in the ground, or that I was run over from a river... anything! Come on, boys, would you really be so cruel as to send me back to the tedious and horrible life of a probationary guildmaster? I started the adventurers' guild because I wanted adventures, not to sit behind a desk!"
"You can say that out loud. I also hate the idea of having to go back to work in the Council or to do my part as a probationary guildmaster… I really have to find someone to unbolt the job" Efren said, then those words seemed to remind him of something. "By the way… that shouldn't be the main reason for our concern. When we get back up there we will have to deal with the fact that we left without notifying anyone and above all forcing Sarah to take our place without even asking her opinion. Now as soon as she sees us, she'll cut us alive, absolutely. It wouldn't surprise me to see her arrive in front of our houses with a rusty cleaver to castrate us as soon as she hears of our return"
Rhaegal laughed without even pretending to try to hold back. Through the communication device Corgorin had kindly informed him of how Sarah had reacted to the departure of the two alleged 'probationary guildmasters' and to her sudden charge, and above all of the way in which she had vented her frustration on any unfortunate person who came within range, among which the poor and (for once) innocent Carlos stood out. It wasn't hard to imagine that as soon as she saw Efren and Atelas again, the woman would turn into a demon on whose destruction of those two her very life would depend. "I almost forgot... maybe Atelas is right, you better stay down here" he said between laughs. "It would be ideal for a beautiful legend to pass down, don't you think? An indomitable duo of valiant adventurers, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances during an important expedition for the Council; after that event, some of the brave who ventured underground could still catch a glimpse of their ghosts roaming the endless caverns in search of adventures… I'm pretty sure it would spread pretty fast, you could become the protagonists of a great story! Who knows, maybe even more legends will be born in the future against you... maybe someone will talk about a friendship that transcends even death, or maybe even something more than a friendship..."
"S-Shut up!" Efren exclaimed blushing. "Look, you too could be in trouble! We could say that you convinced us to do this! It's two against one, who do you think they'll believe?"
"Unfortunately for you, I've been taking precautions since the first day we left" Rhaegal replied. "Through Haku's communication device, I got Sarah and a good number of other witnesses to hear from your own mouths that I had nothing to do with it. I just asked my sisters for a hand and created the right occasion... you remember that dinner around the fire under those fallen mushrooms, don't you?"
His two companions froze. The memory of that brief dinner while they camped together returned to their minds: at one point, Rhaegal had casually (casually!) mentioned why they had all decided to leave, and somehow or other he had managed to make them talk about the fact that the two of them had joined the group secretly and without anyone, not even Rhaegal himself, knowing anything about it. Efren and Atelas remembered that Rhaegal seemed to be quite insistent that time, and that Haku, who normally would have lain in one spot and not given a damn, had continued to look at them bored, but never moving his head from their direction... and Rhaegal had finally also seemed strangely satisfied when they had talked about that, and only then had Haku lowered his head and lay down. "You... bastard!" Atelas exclaimed, finally understanding the dragon game. "How could you!? We trusted you!"
"This is an unworthy behavior for a person who claims to be our friend! Shame on you!" Efren yelled, deliberately ignoring the fact that up to five seconds ago he and Atelas had almost blackmailed the aforementioned friend and therefore didn't exactly have the right to be moralistic.
Rhaegal ignored the complaints of the two; he just laughed at them. "I really don't care about it. You messed up, you take responsibility for it. Don't bring me into it!"
Efren and Atelas pouted. "You could've covered for us for once! Sarah can't hurt you! You could've made up that it was all your fault and saved us... you are really the worst friend possible!"
"Sorry, but my safety comes first. And yes, Sarah can't hurt me… but my sisters definitely can, and the girls are known to have an affinity for supporting each other, especially when it comes to making someone paid" Rhaegal chuckled, not feeling the slightest shame for his words. "I'll have enough trouble on my own once I get back up there. I don't want to scapegoat you!"
They continued to bicker for the next half hour as they climbed the stairway to the surface… or rather, Atelas and Efren hurled abuse at Rhaegal, who kept cackling like a moron at the thought of the misfortunes that awaited his two poor friends... and obviously not even for an instant did he think of helping them, given that as he had said he cared about his physical safety, and then in part he too wanted to enjoy the scene which, he was sure, would have been exhilarating. After all, being friends also meant making sure that the others learned to take their responsibility… and if he can add a good dose of fun to that, even better.
Besides, Rhaegal knew full well that he, too, would face a storm once he reached the surface. Confessing to all his siblings (or rather to his sisters, since by now his two brothers knew) what had really happened while he was a prisoner would be difficult; not only would he have to find the courage to tell them about it, which strangely wasn't easy at all for some reason unknown to him, but he would also have to find a way to prevent them from doing something very dangerous or very stupid (or both) while they were at the height of their fury. He hoped that the support of Darbi and Haku (even if the latter could only eventually speak through the communication device) would help calm them down a bit. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious. "Hey, guys, listen... I need some advice" he finally decided to ask his two friends. "When I'm up there, I'm going to have to tell my sisters something important and… well, it might really piss them off. And when I say 'piss them off', I really mean it. Do you have any suggestions on how to tell another person bad news without freaking them out?"
Efren and Atelas immediately turned serious. They had understood from the dragon's tone that he wasn't joking at all and that he really wanted some advice. They didn't know what Rhaegal should say to his sisters, but it was clear that it was bad and that he didn't want to talk about it right now, so they just focused on helping him. "Well, in my opinion, whatever you have to tell them, you should just tell him directly. Don't waste your time in long explanations and just tell it like it is" Efren answered.
"Yeah, too many words will only make the situation worse" Atelas said. "When news is really bad, it should be communicated in as few words as possible. If you go too far, the other person will think you are trying to divert their attention with long sentences. So tell them what you have to say, and then deal with the consequences. Believe me, it's better this way"
Rhaegal nodded. "Thanks guys. I'll try" he said. His two friends, having many years of experience behind them, certainly knew better how to predict people's reactions, so relying on their judgment wasn't a stupid idea at all.
The trio continued to climb for a while, only stopping occasionally to rest, until the sunlight in the sky became visible. As soon as they saw it, they quickly rose from the depths of the cavity, until finally reaching the surface. When they arrived, they had to squint for a moment before getting used to the sunlight again, since the bioluminescent mushrooms underground weren't in the least comparable to the brightness of the sun. From there, they quickly returned to the Thul Oasis, at the edge of which they found Darbi, who had almost certainly kept an eye on the point where by now he knew the passage to the underground was to be found, waiting for his brother to return. "Welcome back, Rhaegal! You took a long time, huh!" he greeted him throwing a brotherly punch on the shoulder.
Rhaegal returned the gesture, then he said: "Brother, could you help me find and gather our sisters? As you well know, there is something I should reveal to them"
Darbi fell silent. He had been informed by Haku that Rhaegal intended to reveal the truth about his imprisonment upon his return, but he hadn't imagined that he would want to do so right away. "Well... I'm afraid you'll have to wait a minute. Many of our sisters are busy. Especially Keita..."
Rhaegal raised an eyebrow. "Why? What is Keita doing?"