Kaisen was definitely not a morning person. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he was bonded to a nocturnal dragon. Or maybe he was just lazy. 

 His days usually didn’t begin until late noon, but today, his body begged to differ. The sun had barely risen, and he found himself sitting upright on the bed, wide awake. After a few attempts at getting more sleep, all failed of course, he finally decided to give up and got up. Putting on an old linen shirt that was lying crumped at the foot of his bed, Kaisen yawned as he stretched languidly, stiff joints cracking loudly. 

 By the time Kaisen made it to the kitchen, the flame inside his fireplace had retreated beneath the ashes, leaving behind glowing embers. He absent-mindedly pushed a few more logs inside the brick maw, watching as the wood was consumed by fire. He felt like a drink, maybe some herbal tea, and put a sauce pan with water inside, before turning to the cabinet where he kept the dry tea leaves. Breakfasts had always been a bit of a luxury to him, since it was around lunchtime when he often got up. His stomach grumbled, and as if on cue, he turned to the larder, contemplating. After a few short moments, he sighed. Right, there were stuffs in there, but none of them was actually edible. He shuddered at the thought of facing whatever ancient evil hidden behind those wooden doors, so tea would have to do. 

 Moments later, Kaisen waltzed out of his front door, steaming mug in hand. It was one of those slow days, where no hunting parties were heading out into the forest and there were still enough coins in his purse to feed him for another couple of days, so he usually did nothing but sleep and lazing about with Wisp. His thoughts came to halt as he noticed a sealed envelope on his front porch. Picking it up, Kaisen turned it over his hands, then ripped it open to get to the content inside. Surprisingly, it was a letter from the council. He had dealings with them in the past, sure, but never any real personal connections among riders. The letter was quite straight to the point, someone wanted him for a long trip and he was expected at Draketooth mountain tomorrow. For what reason though, the letter had conveniently neglected to mention. His eyebrows knitted together, Kaisen examined the letter one last time to make sure he didn’t miss anything. There was doubt, for all he knew the letter could be an elaborate hoax, but then again, also curiosity. Only one way to find out, it seemed. 

 The morning after, Kaisen found himself standing right under the treehouse where Mist called home, glancing up at the wooden structure. It was late afternoon, his dragon should be up and about. Hopefully. Instead of calling out, which was a futile gesture, he knew from experience, Kaisen just picked up a rock and chucked it right at the wooden house. It hit something, then a deep wail later, Wisp poked its head out of the structure, teeth bared in mock anger. He beckoned, and his sleepy companion slipped out, landing in front of him after a few lazy wingbeats. 

 “Hey buddy. How’s your beauty sleep?”- He put a gloved hand over Wisp’s scaly head, grinning.

 The dragon only grumbled low in its throat, pushing his snout against Kaisen’s chest. Hunger slipped through their bond. Kaisen laughed softly, reaching into his bag for an apple, which was quickly lost into the gaping maw. It was hard, getting his nocturnal companion up at this hour in the morning. But if he wanted to get anywhere on time, it would have to do. Hopefully, the bribe in food was enough. 

 Hours later, Kaisen arrived at Draketooth mountain. The ride was surprisingly smooth, given how Wisp was prone to crazy maneuvers when he was feeling cranky. Kaisen turned and looked at the numerous chambers craved into the rock, racking through his memories for the room in question. It took a while, but he managed.

 “There, Wisp. That one.”- He indicated with one finger.-“Slowly. No funn-“

 The dragon suddenly lunged for the room, then stopped short by the window. The momentum sent Kaisen reeling, his chin collided with the scaly head, rattling his brain. Satisfaction seeped through their bond. 

 “Guess I deserved that.”-Kaisen grumbled, rubbing his chin gingerly as he turned to scanned the room. There was already people there, four men to be exact. Or at least he thought, there was this one person in a mask and rather strange outfit. Kaisen kept his expression mild, his blue eyes scanned the room as he slowly stepped inside. Behind him, Wisp hung onto the large window with his front claws, head cocked and bright eyes followed his rider. Two men were talking, while the other two was standing in their respective corner. Not feeling particularly chatty, Kaisen simply looked around the room, then grabbing a chair so he could sit by the window with his dragon. 

 “So did you all get invited to the mysterious adventure? Just want to make sure I’m in the right room.”- He did say out loud to no one in particular, a light smile on his lips as he dragged the chair with him. A Flitwit was also in the room, its fuzzy coat caught his eyes. He held out a hand, beckoning.