The mists became denser the further they traveled.

  "Ugh, so slimy." Guevera flinched and shivered whenever she felt a cold, slimy leaf brush her bare skin.

  "You don't have forests like this where you're from?" Galahad frowned, still not convinced the girl was harmless.

  "Yeah, but not with slimy mists. So creepy," she whimpered.

  Galahad sighed and tossed a vial at her. He explained that it was elemental lotion and should help her cope with the mists.

  Guevera's eyes sparkled at his kindness. Earlier he had a dagger to her throat, and now he was treating her to skin cream.

  "Chancealot's nobles are so well-mannered," she noted to herself as she carefully rubbed some of the vial's liquid over her skin.

  The mists soon cleared as they approached the edge of a lake.

  "Wait." Guevera sniffed the air and got a whiff of strong magic. "This lake is saturated with old magic."

  "How can you tell?" Arthur asked.

  "I'm a witch? And even if I wasn't, you don't feel the weird tingles on your nape?" She explained.

  The men certainly felt the tingles.

  "So, I wouldn't think about stepping so much as a pinky in that water. If you can even call it that."

  The group debated on their next steps and whether the sword was even there. But the compass Galahad had been given to locate his and Arthur's artifact was pointing at the schlong tower that was perched on an island at the lake's center.

  As they were about to make a move, a serpent rose from the depths to send them flying backward.

  "Ouch. I think I broke something." San moaned and realized he had landed on a bag of nuts that had flown out of Chifton's saddlebag. "My nuts! Not again."

  Arthur saw that his arm had slipped out of his sling, and hastily scrambled to his side to check on his shoulder's condition.

  "Does it hurt as you move it?"

  "I can bear with the pain. Not as bad as before." San carefully flexed his hands and moved his arm around. "As long as I don't move it too much, I don't need the sling anymore."

  Arthur sighed with relief, which had San's heart racing for him. Especially, when he helped him stand up.

  The men's intimate moment had Guevera's eyes glowing with interest and her tunic's breast pocket twitching madly with movement.

  But the group didn't have much time to gather the rest of their senses. Something landed on the ground before them with a heavy thump. Kicking up muddy soil into their faces.

  Chifton snorted when they came face to face with the scaly serpent beast the breadth and height of a tower.

  "I do say, I wasn't expecting two-leg creatures to frolic around Lakeness." The scaly serpent beast suavely stated. Its iridescent eyes widened when they saw Arthur.

  "Are you a dragon?" Arthur innocently asked.

  "A dragon?! I'm a Noch Sea Dragon. Not some churlish oversized lizard that gets slain by a knight's sword." The scaly serpent beast puffed out its chest. Or the middle part of its glistening silver-blue, scaly, neck to be more accurate.

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  "Wow. You're like from those fables by Ysagarth Isaherenolonger." San blurted with awe. "The Majestic Serpent Lord: Savior of the High Seas!"

  "Of course." The Noch Sea Dragon responded with airs.

  "Ysagarth Isaherenolonger?" Galahad screwed up his face at the weird name.

  San nodded. "A famous pirate bard who sang of a glamorous and fierce sea serpent that sunk a foreigners' armada from the East Shores. Saving the Western Isles from a deadly invasion."

  "What a charming fellow." The Noch Sea Dragon offhandedly commented.

  "So, you're not going to eat us?" San politely asked.

  "The horse, maybe."

  Chifton shivered and slowly backed away.

  "No, I'm on a nori diet. Having too many foods in saturated fats is no good for the body."

  Arthur got the point and learned that the Noch Sea Dragon was named Steely Dan. A magical beast who had been blessed by the gods with the intelligence and will of man.

  Steely Dan applied a spell that had him shape-shift into a man's form. His nakedness had Galahad closing his eyes and cursing the beast's brazenness.

  "Oh, dear. Let's hope we don't have a run-in with cults during virgin sacrifice rituals." Steely Dan sighed at Galahad's reaction.

  He gave a wolf whistle that had a fox rushing through the bushes, dragging a sack.

  He patted the fox when he relieved the sack from its mouth. The fox zipped away. He pulled out a full-length silver-blue robe and matching slippers to dress in; tied up his silky long white hair in a ponytail with blue ribbons. Tendrils stylishly framed his slender jawline and neck. A few wisps softened his forehead and almond silver-blue eyes on glistening pale skin.

  "You're here for the Avalon Heir's Sword, Arthur. I have it, but I need to come with you to the Ancient Tree Martial Sect at Mistic Mountains. The sword's power, is, well, too unstable for human hands. I'll carry it for you until I feel the time is right to pass it on," Steely Dan said.

  "So, you're going to give Arthur the sword," Galahad said.

  "Oh, did the virgin sacrifice say something? Dummy. You do have ears to listen with," Steely Dan said to the man and smirked at his passionate reaction.

  "Well, that was easy," Arthur mumbled to himself. "I was expecting a brutal sword fight with a mythical beast."

  "I can still give you one."

  The group readily gave their no answers.

  "Your mission won't be easy going forward." Steely Dan's eyes narrowed at seeing Guevera standing before him. "Daughter of Witch Queen."

  "Pleasure." Guevera grinned.

  "I hope you know your place here."

  "I'm merely a tourist tagalong." She kept grinning.

  "Keep it that way."

  Steely Dan soon took point, leading the group away from Lakeness and the dank, misty forests.