I forgot to do this with the last update, but Cobs hit 1.5k views, woooooooo~ But that' wasn't me, that was all you guys - from fans to silent readers - so thank you all so much for staring at this dreadfully long story! I hope you all continue to enjoy it in your own way.

          The locksmith was a smaller shop, nameless, yet labelled with a simple lock painted on a plaque of hanging wood. It was tucked into a shaded corner only accessible via a tight alleyway. If Mariel hadn't been there before, the group would have been aimlessly lost in the older patch of town, a portion piled with quaint hutted shops and houses infested by an unruly swath of flowering vines that snaked through the old stone walls. 

          The crowds of shopping students was dead in the cracked streets, a few clean dressed loiterers that called the town their home barely paying the group the small price of a couple stares. Intrigued, yet ignoring the earthly fabrics Káel was flaunting. 

          As soon as they entered the shop, the muggy heat of the outdoors dried out, and the subtle smell of flowers lingered in the small space. The shopkeeper popped his head up at the faint jingle of bells, carefully sheathing the knife he'd been sharpening and placing it in a drawer behind his counter. With a wave of calmness he leaned back into his chair, fixing the tangles of curly brown hair that had cascaded over his forehead while he was working.

          Truvius greeted the man with a good morning and was met with a silent nod.

          Locks and their appropriate tools only decorated a small square of the shop. The first thing Káel had actually noticed about the space were simple sets and pieces of fresh leather armour tacked to the walls for display, along with complimentary swords and daggers, with a bin of bows hiding in the corner. Locksmithing seemed to be one of many professions the concealed shop catered to, the others spiking enough worry in Káel's gut for him to be more cautious of Alestra. 

          He glanced at a glassed over display of corked liquids and pouched powders, anxiously rubbing his fingers together while he followed his group.

          "I smell danger," Phantom hushed, looking around the small shop with a bemused chuckle. He didn't have to move much, since he was tall enough to peer over all the shelves, and he wasn't the least bit unnerved by the space.

          "Looking for something in particular?" the shopkeeper said, passively watching the group of teenagers as they hovered over a shelf packed with various lock picks and kits. "I could speed things up." 

          "We need a lockpick," Leon replied, picking up a fat spike of steel that would never jam into the tight grooves of Puff's cuff.

          The shopkeeper popped out of his chair, rounding his thick counter to join the teens. "I gathered that much." He snatched a random pick, wiggling it between his fingers with a nearly taunting smile. "What are you trying to open?" 

          Káel kept from locking gazes, forcing his sights to the ground where he noticed the thinner garments of leather the shopkeeper was wearing. Attire worrisomely similar to the merchandise covering every wall.  

          "Actually," the man's voice had dropped, the suspicion leaving no room for teasing chimes as he skimmed the kids. "I should be asking all your ages first."

          "Don't worry, nothing illegal," Mariel cut in, pulling out her ID crystal and flashing a tiny swirling emblem carved into the corner. "Mariel Strylez, second tier Breaker. The lock pick is for legal purposes."

          "A legal lockpick," the man chuckled to himslef, his gaze wandering along the students with an analytical smile. "I'll take the word of a high ranking Breaker Ms. Strylez, so the question still stands. Whatcha trying to open?"

          "A handcuff?" Káel replied, not sure as to if he should mention the dragon part in this town.

          "Descriptive. Who's cuffed? And what's it look like?"

          Everyone looked at Káel expecting more, but he just looked at Truvius with a mix of uncertainty and expectation.

          The man raised his eyebrows at the silent group. "Didn't think I was that confusing. Here, is it black? White? Grey...?"

          "Silver," Káel replied.

          "Good, good, that's a start. Now who's wearing it? Accidentally cuff a buddy to a tree?"

          "Nope it's a dragon," Talli responded cheerfully, her excitement managing to smooth out her voice completely.

          Everyone froze, looking at Talli while trying to conceal their mortified expressions with nervous smiles. Mariel was the only one that hadn't taken to the panic, eyes thrown to the side as she casually appraised some arrows. 

          Talli quickly noticed the eyes glued to her, a flash of red spiking up her neck as she nearly screamed a response. "D-dragon- no. Not, t-totally not a dragon!"

          The shopkeeper raised his eyebrows with amusement, tightening his leather gloves with a condescending squeak. "Well, don't let the town fool you, I love dragons. So tell me, what kind of cuff is on your 'totally not a dragon'?" He quickly turned away, waving for the group to follow him around his counter. "Dulan?" His echoing voice died with eating silence as he sighed. "Must be sleeping, we'll be quick."

          Passing a neat clutter of boxes and stuffed shelves, the man parked the party in front of a beast of an iron chest, pulling off the head sized lock after digging a toothed key into it. It was only after he propped up the lid, and everyone hungrily gazed into the stuffed prison, that Káel's heart sank right into his gut.

          It was filled with cuffs, big and small, polished to rusted. A reflective rainbow of personalised cages that had once been in use, flooding Káel with the darkening sight of a hundred more little, snorting dragons that had met the same life as Puff. A hundred more little dragons that may not have been as lucky as the furry ball of white he'd come to love.

          With a dozen tiny questions in describing Puff, the man sifted through the stash, finally snagging a small silver cuff with a tight keyhole. "So you've got a pure white ice drake that can turn its fur into scales?"

          Káel nodded, watching as the man grabbed a wad of lock picks and tested them on the small opening. "The lady that runs Cobalt said he was from some ice plains." His voice weakened when the man only paid him a fleeting glance, too busy picking at the mock cuff. "It started with an s or something..." 

          "Your little dragon isn't from those ice plains, it's an older species that came from Nova and settled there while the portals were still up." He finally slid one of picks in, relief flooding through his voice. "They're rare and reclusive, along with extremely territorial." He threw the cuff back in the chest, watching Káel in wary silence. "I'd hate to see what kind of dragon hunters managed to catch him."

          Mariel cut in before Káel could open his mouth. "Well, can you still help?"

          The man smiled. "Of course, I'll take any chances to one up those thugs. They're probably still crying about losing such a valuable trophy." He walked over to his desk, holding up the one pick that had worked, so thin it disappeared like paper when he turned it. "How about we make a deal? You tell me where you got the dragon, and give me the cuff when you free it, and I'll give you the lock pick. No charges."

          "I found him in the forest near Cobalt," Káel quickly replied. "He was being attacked by a pack of unicorns."

          "Fantastic. Thank you," the man replied flatly, lowering the pick to his chest and quickly forming a milky white orb in his hand.

          "Woah!" Leon breathed, leaning so close to the orb the man was forced to back away. "Was that magic?"

          The man nodded, carefully dipping the lock pick in the orb so it covered its surface in a soft glow. He calmly packed it up and placed it on the counter, paying Leon and Talli a deadpan stare as the two of them beheld him like a zoo exhibit. "No need to stare at me like a black unicorn, you kids need to get around more if that impressed you."

          Talli flushed red with embarrassment, rearing up until she was behind Vera and hiding there. The man stood unfased by the reaction, barely acknowledging Leon's snickering that Mariel quickly ended.

          "It's a one time use enchantment, but it's also hard to screw up." The man gave the packed up lock pick to Káel, and he reached into his pocket to grab a couple coins, but the man quickly stopped him.

          "I should pay you something," Káel insisted.

          "You did pay me. With information," the man replied with a smile. "Not all my merchandise is physical."

          "Well then, thanks... I guess." Káel carefully placed the package in his pocket.

          The group waved the man farewell, and he returned their gestures with a small wave. "Swing by with the dragon some time."

    —————    

          The group trekked across the scorching hot cobblestone path, with the new weight of their shopping items weighing them down. Mariel opened the forest path as soon as they reached the Ceptrum, and jumped into the embrace of the cool forest with a sigh.

          "I hope it rains soon, before the grass becomes a fire hazard," she sighed, pulling her loose strands of hair behind her ears. "Káel, I have a meeting with Lady Samanthra today, did you want me to ask her about Puff?"

          "Sure," Káel replied. "The sooner I free him the better."

         "Yeah, then we can go flying around on him, and with this heat a breeze like that would feel godly," Leon added.

          Vera frowned. "I don't think we should do that."

          "What? Afraid to mess up your hair?" Leon teased, flinching when Flick pawed him in the face after missing a little white butterfly.

          "I think it would have more to do with the fact none of you have a permit for flying dragons, and the school property is a no fly zone," Mariel said with a smile. "Puff can fly around if he wishes, but he can't have passengers."

          Truvius raised his hand slightly. "Actually, I have one. We were taught how to ride them in my previous school."

          "Really? That's interesting. Did you grow up in a Garaean city after leaving Mizer?"

          "Yeah, sort of. It was a town near their Capitol, lots of dragons liked to swing by and entertain us, so our teachers decided to teach us how to ride them," Truvius replied. "The ones over there were super friendly, I wish all dragons were like that."

          "Yeah, unfortunately the ones here prefer eating over playing," Vera added, receiving a disappointed look from her sister. "You should tell Puff to be careful if he decides to fly around, you saw those weapons, they'll shoot anything out of the sky that doesn't have feathers."

          Káel acknowledged Vera's warning, wondering how Puff would fare in such a place after he freed him and went back to Earth. Puff already had a tendency to do a number on the door when Káel was forced to leave him in his room, and that was just a couple hours.

          An emptied field greeted Káel's group when they returned. He hadn't expected the group of girls to be outside all day anyways, and trusted Puff to have the wit in sniffing him out. A trust that thankfully came to be when Puff tracked down Káel while he was on his way to supper. His fur looked to be obsessively brushed, and his cuff was decorated with colourful doodles of flowers. 

          Despite the dragon's questionable new look, Puff was in an overly joyous mood, happily ignoring Jeremiah when the feline, disgruntled by having been forgotten in Káel's room all day, greeted the dragon with a yowling hiss. But Káel was impassive as Puff to the spitting creature. If Samanthra was really on his side, then soon his friend would be free.

          And he would be one step closer to home.

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Quality Quip #6:

'Home is where you slip in the bathtub and break your neck.'

~ Anon