And so he did. After waiting a few hours for the cultists to go to sleep (as there was no way any training could be realistically done in such a small space), the pair went outside where Caleb was trained in the art of illusions. Maneuvering (if you could call it that) in different forms, perceiving what is and isn’t real, and so on. Rainbow wasn’t actually powerful enough to create powerful magic like the mist that enveloped the whole island, but he knew a great deal. If there was an Illusions 101 course at the King’s College back home, Rainbow would be a shoe-in for the professor job there. It also helped that Caleb was a quick learner once the initial shock of it all wore off, plus Rainbow’s illusions wore off once the target knew they weren’t real.

After five hours or so of training, the two took a break back in Rainbow’s home, eating those weird fruits and conversing.

“...so, what you’re saying is that we have to attack tomorrow morning because it’s the one day a month where the cultists rest for their god, so we’ll have the element of surprise?” Caleb asked.

“Yeah Caleb, exactly,” Rainbow responded, “we got lucky. If you had arrived on any other day, we couldn’t have trained out in the open like we did. They’d have been hunting for you like wild dogs. And I don’t wanna risk my meat shield getting killed in the next month.”

“Well it’s good to know you care so much about me,” Caleb retorted sarcastically, “but I do have another question. How did you get here in the first place?”

At this, Rainbow looked genuinely uncomfortable. He sadly looked over at Ribbon - who was still asleep - then back at Caleb as he began his story “Two years ago, back at my home island, we were visited by a merchant ship from Thorn City.”

“Thorn City?” Caleb asked.

“Big city ran by the druids to the west of here across the Big Ocean” was the response.

“Oh.”

“Anyway,” Rainbow continued, “I wanted to leave the island because...well, that’s not important right now. But I joined their crew and we set sail east to head to Northgate. That’s the capital city of some backwater human kingdom.”

“I’m [i]from[/i] that kingdom,” Caleb replied indignantly, “and our knights are strong. Last year they repelled a force three times as-”

“Jeez jeez, sorry,” Rainbow interrupted, “Let’s move on. Anyway, our ship ran aground on some rocks right by here. We saw an island and thought we could get some materials, fix up the ship and be on our way. Unfortunately, those damned cultists tricked us, and slaughtered almost the entire crew.”

“You were the only survivor?” was the boy’s next question.

“Ribbon [i]also[/i] survived, thank you very much,” Rainbow stated with derision, as if it should have been obvious.

“Oh, right,” Caleb responded “But if you were there at the start, why didn’t you see the illusions and warn everybody?”

“Because I wasn’t [i]smart[/i] enough!” Rainbow snapped, before settling down. “It took me two years to train myself in illusions, and even now those damned cultists are still ten times better than I am. Caleb, I...I can’t do this by myself,” Rainbow stated sadly, “it took the captain’s dog for me to realize what was going on, but by then it was too late for everyone else. I’d like to get her back to her home to repay her kindness, but I can’t do it without you.”  

Caleb nodded, saying with certainty “we can do this, Rainbow. You made a good plan and we have the element of surprise.” Plus, Caleb knew he would be strong.

“Thanks Caleb,” Rainbow said sincerely, “you should get some rest. I’ll wake you up at dawn in time for our attack.”