The trio took a leisurely pace to Laenders. Theo wanted to ensure Marc had as much time as possible to convince the local lord to move the ring he was supposed to steal. 

It was nice as far as business-related trips go. The slower pace even let Theo rest in inns most nights. 

When the group arrived at Laenders, he felt energetic, and his complexion wasn't quite as pale as usual.

"Let's do this again," Theo said as they set up camp outside the town.

He was a little sad to miss the chance to sleep in a bed, but it would be easier to quickly flee town if Carrot wasn't in a stable somewhere.

"No. This little game of yours is killing my nerves." Carrot said past a mouthful of oats Theo had given him.

"Look, I'm even stress eating." The unicorn said past another mouthful of food.

"Mortal Theo, I also wish to stress eat, but I do not desire this."

Scourge peered over the edge of Carrot's bucket.

"I have to go into town to get better maps, so I will get some food there."

Theo brushed his hair with his fingers and quickly tied the top half of his hair back. It was getting a little long. He then splashed some water on his face. 

Good. He should be presentable enough for town.

Scourge joined Theo by leaping into the pot of water Theo was using to wash his face. 

It wasn't the first time the thought had occurred to Theo, but this dragon was definitely a child.

Theo sighed and grabbed a bar of soap. 

If the dragon was going to jump in water, it might as well become a clean dragon.

"Unhand me!" Scourge screeched as Theo scrubbed him with the bar of soap.

"I assumed you wanted a bath since you jumped in the water I was using."

"I was swimming."

"Swim with soap. Look, you have dirt in your scales."

"Grim does not bother this great dragon. One cannot stay perfectly clean on a battlefield."

"You are entirely too young to be joining any battles," Theo said, lifting the dragon out of the water and drying him off with a blanket.

Honestly, Theo was starting to feel like a parent.

"Try to stay moderately clean until I return," Theo instructed. "If you get dirty, I will make you wash up before supper."

The dragon slunk over to Carrot and clambered up the unicorn's back. It glowered as Theo dumped the dirty bathwater out.

"I should be back in a few hours. Behave while I'm gone." Theo waved at the pair before walking toward town.

Theo's first stop was to pick up some detailed maps of the area from a local adventurer's guild.

Dullahan had told him where to go, but the map Theo had was one of the continent. He would find the vault a lot faster with a more detailed map.

Theo used one of his many fake identities to buy the maps at the guild. Today he was an adventurer named Herald.

Afterward, Theo sat on the edge of a fountain in the middle of the town square to study the maps.

He also ate ice cream while he studied the maps.

He hummed slightly. This trip was starting to feel like a holiday.

Theo tapped the map as he realized where the vault must be.

It might seem like Theo was going through a lot of effort when he had absolutely zero intentions of actually stealing the ring, but part of the rules of the oath that circled his neck was that he had to follow all of Dullahan's commands.

This was his first attempt to subvert the oath this way.

He had tried plainly ignoring Dullahan's commands before, and it had ended…badly.

A chill seized Theo's heart as he tried to shake the unpleasant memory.

Theo knew he was taking a gamble by trying to subvert Dullahan's commands through Marc's intervention. 

Still, according to everything Theo had learned about how the oath functioned over the past eight years, this should work.

Should.

Theo felt slightly nauseous.

Maybe he shouldn't have eaten the ice cream.

However, eating the ice cream would appease Carrot, who would probably ask for an itemized list of everything Theo had eaten in town. The unicorn was trying to get Theo to gain a little weight.

Carrot was probably trying to get Theo as healthy as possible in case the plan went south and Theo had to deal with the repercussions.

It was working, though. Traveling at a slightly slower pace had allowed Theo to catch up on his sleep, and he had bought food from every town or country stand they had passed.

Theo stopped by a stand and bought some meat skewers. He put away two for Scourge and ate four as he strolled out of town.

Keeping a slow pace, Theo headed for the cave where the vault should be. He wanted to make sure Marc had every possible moment to get the ring moved.

Theo would have to make an honest effort to search for the ring, and if it was present, he would be forced to take it.

Eventually, Theo made it to the cave where the ring was reportedly hidden. The cave looked like a natural part of the landscape, but the moment Theo tried to enter it, he became convinced it was the vault he was looking for.

Arrows whistled by his cheek as Theo jumped backward.

This was going to be troublesome. The vault had obviously been prepared with traps to stop anyone attempting to steal from it. Theo wouldn't be surprised if he set off some signal alerting guards to his presence.

Theo lightly stretched before continuing. This was going to be troublesome.

By the time Theo reached the inner vault, he had dodged arrows multiple times and avoided the staple trap of a pitfall lined with spikes, poison, and more.

He was tired and covered with dust when he arrived at the vault.

The vault had an illusion cast over it, so it looked like it was just the cave's back wall. 

However, Theo wasn't fooled. He knew a vault would be here, so he slammed a bludgeon of gathered magic at the cave wall.

Sure enough, the illusion shattered, and a heavy steel door appeared. 

Theo hit the door with a mass of shadows and magic a few more times until it caved in. 

The sight that met Theo's eyes was quite impressive.

There was absolutely nothing in the vault.

He wasn't sure whether to be happy or frustrated that he had suffered the journey he did to find nothing. It did mean that Marc had managed to fulfill his task well.

Theo felt a surge of pride for the little guard. Maybe he would be able to use the guy well. The corners of Theo's lips turned upward as he jogged out of the vault.

Mission failed.

Or should Theo say success? He wasn't sure. 

Either way, he was in a good mood.