The newly appointed King Bakugo led his posse of intrepid rescuers out to the Dark Lands territory in the wee hours of the morning, before it was even light yet.

The group total numbered the two mythical creatures; Camie, of course; Tai Lee; Mai (who seemed to have nothing better to do); Tohru, one of Camie's tribe's top stealth experts who'd they'd met on their previous quest; and a Barbarian who's name was Arden and didn't say much. He just carried two pieces of flint stone in his hands at all times.

["Arden" means "fiery".]

The rock quarries where the stronghold was were about 20 miles away, so, by dragon, it took them only about half the part of an hour to get close, then they had to go on foot.

Camie covered them all in strong illusion magic so that they'd blend in.

"Want me to scout ahead and find the part of the stronghold where they keep prisoners?" Tohru asked.

"I was just about to order that," Bakugo said. Since they were trying to be quiet, he was speaking in a low growl instead of shouting.

"Oh, if you're going to do that, use this." Mai pulled something out of her belt. "I filched this off these merchants from the East two weeks ago."

She held up what looked like two large seashells.

"Stolen from a mermaid cavern, they said," she said, in her bland voice. "They use them to communicate underwater. They say if you talk or listen into one, you can hear anyone from anywhere. It's magic."

[My sister told me DND actually can have communication stones or other devices--I did not know that before I wrote this.]

"Those are priceless," Camie said. "You didn't sell them?"

"I didn't think selling something that useful would be smart when the Dark Forces are everywhere. What if they got them?" Mai said.

"Mai, you brilliant bandit." Camie was impressed. "I should promote you."

"Whatever." Mai didn't seem to care for compliments.

"Only two?" Mina said.

"You want to say only two when we have something that impressive?" Ei was in awe.

"I just meant that we can't split up into more than two groups," Mina said.

"We only need two if I'm going ahead." Tohru took one. "So I just talk into it?"

She tried this.

Camie put the other one up to her ear. "Oh...I really can hear you.... This is so on fire."

"On fire?" Mina said.

"Because it's a hot idea," Camie said.

Mina still didn't get it. Bandit speak really made no sense to her at all.

"Just get going, Useless," Bakugo told Tohru grumpily.

"I'm not useless if I'm going." Tohru stuck out her tongue at him. "But away I go."

She turned invisible, and they saw the grass and dirt under her feet move as she sprang away, nimble as a deer.

"I have great servants," Camie commented, leaning on a rock.

It felt like a long time ticked by before the shell made a sound again.

Camie held it up to her ear.

"Slow down, sister," she said. "Uh uh....uh huh....yes.... Oooh, that's not good..."

"What is it?" Bakugo demanded impatiently.

"I'm on the shell, Mister." Camie gave him an annoyed glance.

[This is why kids shouldn't have shell phones.]

Camie put the shell to her shoulder to block noise.

"It's a madhouse of creepy crawlies over there," she announced in a low voice. "Half monster creatures and human guards. She snuck past them, but some of them sniffed her out, she thinks. They haven't found her though. She used a water trough to help dampen her scent."

"What about the prisoners?" Bakugo interrupted.

"You want me to skip all the good parts?" Camie said incredulously. "Well, fine, you big baby. The prisoners are in one of those little dugout rooms in the rocks that they use to store stuff in normally, but it's sealed off, magic runes and stuff. Even for one of us, it'd be hard to get in. But maybe you could, with your light-explosion powers. But we gotta get real close."

"All of us?" Ei asked.

"Nah, family," Camie said. "I think the big, brilliant mind idea is some of us should distract them, right? Maybe you can turn into a big dragon and blow some stuff up. Then the rest of us can slip in there."

"I'm the one with the plan," Bakugo said.

"What's your plan?" Camie asked innocently.

"I think that these mythical freaks here should make a big noise, from one end," Bakugo said, "and then all you wimpy stealth people should sneak around the other end, and I blow the doors off the cell."

"That is so madness, Honey, because I was thinking the exact same thing," Camie said, in an overly cheerful tone.

"He just said exactly what you said," Mina said.

Bakugo glared at her. "You questioning my leadership, Pinky?"

"Oh brother," Mina sighed.

"The King always has the plan," said Arden in a rough voice. "Stupid Sprite."

"Stupid? You want to tangle with me, flint stone bloke?" Mina made a fist.

"Hey, fellows, let's not fight each other," Ei said. "Let's fight the Dark Forces. Come on, what's so wrong with that?"

"All right," Camie spoke into the shell. "Tohru, we're coming in. Plan Distraction. You just wait for our signal."

* * *

Ei turned into a dragon, full size, and slither around the edge of the rock quarry, until he was in view of the many Dark Forces milling around there.

[Here are some images of what a rock quarry might look like.]

There must have been hundreds of them, some lazily sitting or lying around small fires. Others, that hated the light, were huddled into the crags of the rocks and looking unfriendly.

Ei proceeded to blow a huge fireball into the air, startling all of them.

"Dragon!!!" shouted many of them.

"Kill it!" 

"Capture it! It's good for magic!" 

"Attack!"

They sprang up.

"Here goes nothing." Mina rubbed her hands together.

As the human soldiers--or the ones that were at least partially human--raced over the quarry to them, Ei flew up into the air to shoot fire from overhead.

They threw spears and shot arrows at him, but none of this had any effect on his tough dragon hide.

Mina, flying just behind one wing, so she was hard to see for them, spit acid and threw some stones at them.

Tai Lee perched on one of the crags of the rocks and shot arrows, felling several more. And then she'd flip out of the way.

Mai threw some daggers and little star-like things that had sharp edges.

Arden didn't join them doing any of this. He stole around the fight mostly and went to one of the fires.

Then he threw some powder that was like explosion powder, one Princess Momo had made once, but his must have been some magical kind instead, because the fire grew to be 10X it's normal size, like a bonfire, and reared up over the quarry like it was alive.

Which made the creatures that feared the light all go crazy and start racing for the nooks and crannies of the rocks to hide themselves.

However this victory was going to be short lived.

Now that they saw it was no random dragon attacking them, the dark soldiers were preparing a more refined attack. Some of them were racing into wagons and tents for magical instruments, potions, and weapons. Ones that would cause far more of a problem for the barbarians and bandits.

One of them threw a stone carving out into the fray and said some words in some dark tongue.

The carving sprang to life, in the huge shape of a monstrous, three-headed beast, with a long horn coming out of each head and long talons on its feet. With the sharp beak of a bird of prey.

It was one of those amalgamated nightmares that didn't make any sense to look at, and seemed like something a child would draw for fun, but it was horrifying enough to fight.

It wasn't as large as Ei was in his dragon form, but it was large enough to be a problem.

It slashed and chomped at him, and he had to back up.

While this fight was going on, Camie and Bakugo snuck around the edge of the quarry, which was laid out almost like stairs, and stole towards the back where the caves were.

Some of the animal-like, dark creatures sniffed the air and looked towards them.

Camie, prepared for this, doused both of them in oil that she had on her, which had a strong sent of pine trees.

The beasts lost a lot of their trail and seemed confused.

As they got closer, Tohru suddenly reached out from behind an old, rusty wagon and grabbed them.

She almost got stabbed before they realized it was her.

"Don't frighten us like that," Camie hissed.

"No choice," Tohru hissed back. "It's around that little bend in the rock wall. Follow me."

"Did you talk to them?" Camie asked.

"No, too many guards," Tohru replied. "I'm not even sure if it's them. I could sense people, that's all. Human, I think."

"So where's the stronghold part of this?" Camie wondered. 

Bakugo pointed.

Camie looked up.

Then she realized that what had looked just like stains in the rocks, in this light, were actually huge roots, growing up through the rocks, cracking them apart.

And along the top of the quarry, where you thought it was just the night sky with no stars, was in fact the immense shape of a huge tangle of plant roots and branches, shaped, in fact, like some kind of crudely made house or fortress.

"Eww..." Camie blinked at it. "That's not even illusion magic--I'd have seen that--it's just...black and yucky."

"The Blight stops all healthy plants from growing," Tohru said. "But I've heard rumors of whole patches of this other kind of plant.... They say it feeds off dead bodies and rot.... I hope that's just a rumor, but if it's growing here...and it's their stronghold...and did you notice that smell?"

"I smell monsters," Camie said, pinching her nose.

"But under that smell, there's another one," Tohru said. "It's almost like something rotting, but it's sickly sweet too. I think it's the plant. Like fungus almost.... Nasty, isn't it?"

Now that they were closer, they could smell a different scent than the grubby, sour smell of monsters and the strange, sharp smell of magical items like powders and potions being tossed around.

It was almost a natural smell, like a strong weed or flower would have been, so you didn't notice it at first, but once you did, it got more and more apparent, like once you see a shape in the clouds, you can't stop seeing it even if you try.

Camie began to feel sick in her stomach.

If Bakugo did, he gave no sign of it.

Now they came around the corner, and they saw the roots of that monstrous plant were growing down into the cells.

"See?" Tohru said. "Do you think...there's dead things...?"

"Stop." Camie covered her ears. "I might be a Bandit, but that's just too disgusting to even think about, sister."

Bakugo didn't even argue that point.

"Camie, make some illusion to lure those goons away," he ordered.

Camie didn't even object to this tone--she was too bothered by the smell and the sight of the roots.

She threw an illusion off the walls, one of a lit line of fire.

The guards, most of whom were human (some had animal heads or limbs) looked up.

Some that seemed to be possessed suits of armor didn't react.

But the rest charged at the lights, till one said, "It doesn't smell real!"

Tohru took a sling shot out and fired a rock at the edge of the quarry, and they ran toward the sound.

"Oldest trick works," Tohru said smugly.

Bakugo was already on his way toward the cave.

The remaining guards, the suits of armor that probably had dark spirits inside of them, turned to look at him.

Bakugo lit up his hands.

"DIE!!!!" he shouted at them.

If they could have shaken in their boots, they probably would have.

They fell into pieces as he blasted them.

Camie threw up an illusion of cover so that the others didn't see what happened, and the monsters turned the wrong direction, thinking they saw attackers running around the corners.

They ran that way.

"That won't fool them for long," Camie said. She wiped her brow. Keeping up all this illusion for so long was tiring her out. "Hurry up, Darling."

Bakugo lit his hands and put them over the magic seals on the cave's cover of wood and stone.

"Who goes there?" a rough, female voice said from inside.

"It's the Queen," Tohru whispered.

"It's your d--- son!" Bakugo said, loudly.

Some of the rock seal fell off the door, and they could see a little more into the cave.

Tohru lit a torch and held it up.

Inside the small cave, they saw the former queen and king of the Barbarians both up against the wall of the cave.

At first this looked like a fairly good condition to find them in, but the three young warriors peered in a little closer, and their stomachs twisted.

The roots of the dark plant were actually growing over the queen and king's limbs, tightening around them.

"Bakugo, is that you?" Mitsuki, the queen snarled. "You useless piece of dung! What are you doing here? Are you actually daring to try to rescue me, you little gremlin?"

"He-- no!" Bakugo said. "I came to mock you for getting captured, you old hag!"

"You're d--- right you did," Mitsuki said.

"Yay, there, Mitsuki," Camie called.

"Princess Camie?" Mitsuki said. "Did he finally conquer you?"

"Call it a treaty," Camie said.

"Weak," Mitsuki said. "My own son can't even win a fight with his betrothed? I won a fight multiple times with your father."

"It's true," Masaru said. "Ho, son."

[For those about to ask, "ho" is an old greeting, not the shortened form of an insult. Words do have different meanings.]

"You weaklings are captured," Bakugo said. "We're going to bust this place open so the tribe can pass judgment on you itself."

"It would be a just sentence, if it was a possibility." Mitsuki dropped her aggressive but boisterous tone and went to somber and gritty. "But, you nimrod, don't you think we would have escaped ourselves if it were possible? Don't come any nearer us. These accursed roots that we're intwined in seem to be sapping away our magical powers. And our very lives."

Spoken in the grim, undramatic delivery of a barbarian, that wouldn't have sounded so frightening...until you thought about it.

Camie's eyes widened.

"Uh oh..." Tohru muttered, not wanting to sound too weak. She really meant, "AHHHHHH!"

"Some way to break them," Bakugo said, and his tone would have never shown if he felt afraid or sad or disgusted by that news.

"There is no way," Mitsuki said in the same grim tone. "If you even try to touch them, they only latch onto you. The Dark Lord's magicians have studied ways to take the strength of the rest of us for many years. This is only the newest in a long line of horrors they've concocted in those magical covens of theirs. Don't try."

"We have to try," Tohru protested.

"No, I forbid it," Mistuki said sharply. "I was queen once. I am owed a last request. It is the law."

It was.

"I must agree with your mother," Maseru said, in a grim tone also. "It is foolhardy to try to break these things off. One would need to have the power of divinity to even have a hope of it."

"Or be The Holder," Tohru said. "If only your quest to find him succeeded."

She got a look from Bakugo.

"You failed?" Mitsuki said.

Camie stuck her chin out.

"We didn't fail," she said defiantly. "We found him, all right."

"What?" Tohru said. "Then why--?"

"The Holder is very busy," Camie cut her off, "so of course he didn't bother to come back with us. We said we could take care of ourselves."

This, at best, twisted the truth, but it would humiliate Bakugo if she told them exactly what happened.

"That's as well," Mitsuki said, in a hard voice. "The Holder doesn't need to bail us out. I can accept my fate. I am a Barbarian of the tribe of Kastuski. We don't fear death. Everything is in order already."

"It is well that you already took leadership," Maseru said. "This is not the blow to the tribe it would have been otherwise. You must fly from here, son, before the forces have time to really discover you. It was madness to come here at all."

"No!" Bakugo said fiercely. "I ain't leaving here without hurting them badly. We are not cowards!"

"Shush your trap!" Mitsuki snapped. "Do you want them all to hear you?"

"Look." Tohru nudged Camie.

The Dark Soldiers were no longer fooled by their illusion; they were coming back that way, scratching at the rocks, trying to tear through it to see them.

"We have a d--- dragon," Bakugo said. "We should use it. Take this whole place down."

"A dragon?" Mitsuki said with more interest. "Hmm...then there may be one recourse. Have you any magical flame powder?"

"Yeah, the barbarian brought some," Camie said. "That kind that makes fire grow."

"Yes, that kind. Bring down the walls of this place," Mitsuki said. "All of them."

"But that would kill you," Tohru protested.

"Shut your trap, girl. Do you think I'm a fool?" Mitsuki said. "I know what will happen. I won't go down being suckled on by some devilish plant of dark magic. A warrior may choose their own end. Bring the place down with us. It is fitting."

"We couldn't," Tohru gasped. "Even for Barbarians that is too much."

Bakugo frowned.

"We can bring the place down," he said, like it was his idea. "Give them all something to remember us by. They'll be digging it up for weeks."

"But--" Tohru began.

"We have to get Arden back, then," Camie interrupted her quickly. "Tohru, slip around there and go get them, we'll hold these brigands off. Go now."

Tohru bit her lip and resumed her invisible disguise and slipped between the others.

Bakugo turned to blast a huge spell at them, chipping at some of the rocks even in the process.

The Dark Soldiers scattered, not expecting such a strong magical blast.

"The Holder is back," Mistuki said, in an even tone for her. "I can die in peace. Things will be all right now, for the tribe."

"Yes, now it is no shame," Maseru agreed steadily.

Camie wiped a tell tale tear away before anyone could see it. She must not soil the Barbarian's honor by weeping in front of them at the prospect of their deaths.

"Bakugo was the fiercest on the quest." She tried to sound cheerful. "I finally gave in to his proposal because of it. The tribe will be in good hands."

"Better be," Mitsuki said. "If I thought my loss was just some fluke of timing, I'd have to kill him."

For her that was likely the closest thing to an affectionate final words to her son they were going to hear.

"He has always been fierce." Maseru was more willing. "This we know."

Camie stabbed one of the monsters as it tried to come up behind her.

Bakugo shot another round of explosion magic at them. It burned hotter than usual... Perhaps he was angrier than usual.

"DIE!! YOU D----d, DARK SOULED WORMS!" he shouted.

Some of them wisely ran for their lives.

But more of the others were hearing this and coming to bring better weapons.

Ei managed to knock the three-headed beast over and came to block them for a moment.

Tohru reappeared, leading Arden, who had bags of powder out.

"Time to blow this place," Bakugo said. "Dragon, give us a ride."

Ei put down his tail, and they scrambled up it, kicking and blasting at anything that tried to stop them.

Mina snatched Tohru up and Tai Lee also.

Mai seemed to have run for it to get away from the rest of the ghouls and human soldiers.

Bakugo sparked his hands.

"Time it right, imbecile," he said to Arden. "Or I'll knock you out cold."

"I'm ready." Arden didn't seem to care for the threat in the least.

Bakugo shot a huge explosion at the sides of the quarry over the caves.

Arden threw the power that increased the intensity of fire at it, and the explosion turned into something the size of a house

Ei flew up to avoid the others being scalded by it, though his body did shield them somewhat.

There was a loud cracking sound as the stone broke apart and began to fall in like an avalanche.

Some of the Dark things were caught under them.

Bakugo blasted again and again, breaking more and more stone loose, till half the wall was falling in.

The others just watched as the quarry began to collapse in on itself.

The plant roots were somewhat crushed by the stones, but the huge mass itself didn't go down. It was true, it could only have been destroyed by a much more pure, high magic than theirs.

But the soldiers at least were being buried alive--or not alive for much longer, as the case might be.

"We have to run now," Mina called. "Before they regroup."

Ei took off through the air, though the smell of the plant was making him feel kind of woozy, and he wasn't as fast as usual.

But he got them a good distance away, and they picked up Mai out of a tree along the way. The tree was dead and shriveled up, but compared to that evil looking plant's roots, it seemed like a work of art.

They landed on the ground then, so they wouldn't be spotted, and had to run the rest of the way.

They returned to Griffin Rock by mid morning, streaked with soot and dirt but mostly unharmed.

The two tribes were surprised to see them intact at all.

"We brought down the camp," Bakugo said. "They'll be recovering from that for a while."

The tribes cheered.

They all saw that there was no queen and former king with them.

No one said anything about this.

"I don't get it," Ei said. "All that effort, and we just...buried them there with the rest of those creeps. It doesn't seem right. Not to me. Dragons would honor their dead."

"It would be an insult to them to act as if dying a noble death in battle was a sad thing," Camie said, grimly for her. "Perhaps you others just don't understand still. But it was what they wanted. Don't insult Bakugo by trying to console him."

"I just wish there was some way," Mina said. "It feels wrong, not to acknowledge it."

Bakugo himself had gone away from the others to sit at the edge of the camp and stare angrily at the horizon.

Arden spoke to the Bandit Tribe.

"The queen and the former king both died as warriors," he announced. "So we will perform the rite to honor warriors and allow their souls to move on in peace."

The Barbarians cheered in agreement.

The rite was simply some kind of benediction. The whole tribe recited it together. It was in their local dialect, so it was hard to follow for the others, but Camie told them it translated roughly to a respect for their fierceness in battle, and an assurance that, in the afterlife, they would be the honored warriors and never know defeat. And that the tribe would carry on their legacy by being fiercer than average and fearless in battle and last in retreat.

Mina started crying anyway.

"It's not because I'm sad," she said when the Barbarians gave her aghast looks of anger. "It's because it's so beautiful, you fools! Leave me alone!"

That answer seemed to satisfy their pride at least.

Camie crept over to where Bakugo was and sat down next to him.

Bakugo said nothing.

"You know how the Bandit Tribe split off once we rulers come of age, because we shouldn't hone in on each other's territory?" Camie said. "Make bad blood, and all that."

"Of course I know!" Bakugo said, in a surly voice.

"The way I see this, your parents just knew that honing in on your territory would make bad blood," Camie said, gesturing around. "This is your land now. And mine. If my parents were in trouble with the Dark Forces, I know they'd tell me not to come looking for them. We have to walk our own paths in life. That's what we all believe in, right?"

"Of course it is," Bakugo said. But he was not sounding as convincingly contemptuous as usual.

Camie put a hand on his arm. "It's just nature," she said. "Dying, starting over. We all know that. It's not sad. It's the way it is. I think they were proud of it. Strong to the end. But they'd never allow us to just leave it there. We have to break the Dark Lord's hands into pieces. For the good of the tribe and the rest of the world too."

"I know that!" Bakugo snapped. "I ain't scared of them. They deserve a good beating! And my parents, if they're in the afterlife, would go around slaying all of those spooks. They're just waiting for us to send them more enemies by killing these ones."

"This we know is true," Camie said. "But get realistic about it, Darling.... Things like that root parasitic plant? That's a little outside the realm of mere mortals. We're going to have to get divine help. We're tough as any humans out there, but there's stuff that's not human. There's stuff that's not even beast. There's stuff that's beyond warriors and thieves. We're so tough, we know the way to solve this one. I say we're definitely ahead of the other tribes out there."

Silence.

"Well, you just ponder it." Camie leaned back. "You're the new ruler for good now. You're the one with the wisdom to lead us and the guts. Us bandits are pretty flexible."

She kicked her feet up at the sky. "I just wonder how much time we got...you know...to prepare."

Silence again.

"Leave you alone to think?" Camie guessed. "Sure." She sat up again. "Don't need my advice anyway. I'm just saying what you already know." She stood up.

Bakugo grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

"I don't care if you say what I know. Save me the trouble of saying it," he said, in a gruff voice.

"Sure," Camie said cheerfully. She leaned on his shoulder silently.

https://youtu.be/pAK-3cbim4o

[Words fail to describe how much I love this couple, in any rendition they're in. They really are just too perfect--without being too perfect, if you know what I mean.

Also, anyone else kind of want to cry? Or is it just me?]

* * *

Tomura had lost track a long time ago of how many miles they'd been traveling; the rabbit-woman jumped around way too fast for anyone to be able to measure it with their eyes.

He was sore all over from being yanked along, and kind of ill also.

But she'd slowed now and was holding her ear out, listening.

They were in some kind of mountain pass, one that led towards the far East shoreline, judging by the looks of the air along the horizon. It had that soft, wispy quality that means more moisture is in the air and clouds.

There was some smell of salt in the air too, when the wind blew up from the east very strongly.

Rumi thumped the ground with her foot in a rhythm like it was a signal.

"Trying to start a stampede?" Tomura spoke, for the first time in ages, sourly.

"What's that?" Rumi looked at him. "I almost forgot you were there, Skin and Bones Man. Griffin had your tongue this whole time?"

"Do you think you're amusing?" Tomura asked.

"Do you think you're imposing?" she retorted.

"That sort of retort is getting old, and it doesn't even prove anything," Tomura complained.

"Your bellyaching doesn't either, but it's not stopping you," Rumi dismissed it. "All right, where is he...?"

He?

Suddenly there was a shadow overhead, shadowing the sun.

It looked like a giant bird.

No, it was a bird-winged man.

The obviously enchanted creature landed on a higher perch a few feet away from them, like a crow on a fence.

"Well, hello there, Rumi of Usagiyama," said the bird man, in a way too friendly and laid back voice for the situation. "Been hunting again?"

"Crime never sleeps and neither do I," Rumi said. "Still haven't ditched those chicken wings I see."

"They're not chicken wings," the man said, lazily. "But it doesn't matter. So what's your catch this time? He looks pretty accursed."

"You ever hear of Tomura, the Dark Lord's lackey?" Rumi asked.

The bird man lost his cavalier expression real fast and sat up straighter. "That's not him?"

"He wasn't as hard to bag as you might think," Rumi said.

"If my companion had not been injured, I would never have allowed myself to be captured," Tomura said.

"You injured his companion?" The bird man immediately assuming it was her fault didn't bode well.

"Well, really, he injured him, I just dodged." Rumi tilted one ear. "He has information on The Holder. The new Holder. But he won't talk. I need a little help with that part. Do you still have that truth potion?"

Truth potion? Uh oh.

"Stuff is hard to come by," the bird man said. "Why not use your methods on him?"

"Because apparently torture is ineffective... You know how they are about pain in the Dark Forces. Some of them don't shy away from it," Rumi said, like it was an inconvenience.

"That's a rough go," the bird man said. "Well...I suppose I do owe you a favor. So...Tomura, was it? That's kind of a depressing name. And you look half dead already. I assume that was before she found you though?"

He got a stony stare in response.

"Well, name's Keigo," the bird man said. "But all my clients call me Hawks, thanks to my messenger birds that follow me everywhere."

They looked up and saw a few circling right now.

"I think they think I'm their queen or something," Hawks said.

"That's not how birds work, you seagull," Rumi scoffed.

"If you say so," Hawks said. "If you want the truth potion, you'll have to come to my workshop. It's up that cliff. Need a lift?"

"I can manage just fine." Rumi braced her feet.

Tomura thought to himself, "This is going to hurt way more than the dirt road did."

But he didn't make any move to avoid it.

Hawk flew upward, and Rumi sprang after him.

[Hmm....

If you're wondering if this references the show or manga, it doesn't. The truth potion bit is one I made up. Though there is a Feather of Truth in mythology, perhaps one could see it as an allusion to that.]