Sorry for the late update. Things have been kind of hectic on my end. They've settled down now, so I should be able to return to a more frequent update schedule.


Walking out

I came across a placid lake

Mesmerized

By my reflection on the surface

~The Cave - Stone Giants~


Chapter Six: The Cave


~March 20th, x800~

Hunter wakes to the jostle of the train and the gentle tapping of rain against the window. He tries to latch onto the hazy traces of his dream (the ocean, a woman's laugh, her face always just out of his sight) but they fade and are quickly forgotten. Squinting into the darkness, he can make out Craish's still form in the bunk opposite his own, but when Hunter looks to where Ria should be sound asleep above Craish, all he sees is an unmade bed.

A bubble of anxiety fills his chest, but he pushes it down. He sits, careful not to bump his head on the bed above him where Leflin sleeps. The clock in their compartment says it's a quarter till one in the morning. Hunter pulls on his boots and leaves as quietly as he can.

He has no clue where to begin searching, but there aren't very many places Ria could have gone at this time of night. Unless she managed to sneak her way into somewhere off-limits, of course. Hunter wouldn't put it past her, especially given the state of her attitude since they left Barberry.

Ria had been surly and quiet. She'd refused to say anything beyond the bare minimum of words and hadn't even bothered to react to Leflin's teasing. After dinner, she'd retired early, and Craish shared the fight she'd had with Evander.

It was shocking to hear considering Evander and Ria never fight, at least never seriously. Still, it explained why she was upset, and so the three young men had let her be while Leflin entertained himself by grilling Craish on his magic.

Hunter checks the dining cart, but the only life there is a mouse that quickly scurries out of his sight. He continues to the back of the train until he reaches the observation deck. Through the small window in the door, he catches a glimpse of mahogany hair. Bracing himself for the wind and rain, he steps out.

Ria drapes her torso over the railing, closing her eyes and letting the raindrops fall on her face while the wind whips her hair behind her. Hunter sidles up beside her, but she barely spares him a glance. The rain, however, refuses to touch him now, as if his skin and clothes are repelling it. He lifts his arm and watches the way the water comes within a centimeter of touching him but never makes contact. Beside him, Ria is still being soaked.

"What are you doing out here?" He asks. "You'll catch your death of cold."

She's silent for so long, Hunter wonders if she can even hear him over the pounding of the rain. He reaches out to nudge her arm, but she begins speaking.

"I can't sleep when it's raining like this," she says.

"Why not?"

Carefully, Ria pulls herself onto the railing and sits and stares as her feet dangle off the side. "I don't really know, but it's like there's lightning in my veins. My mother was the same way, apparently." She lifts a hand and watches water gather in her palm. "There's just something about hearing rain, and seeing it from behind a glass that drives me a bit insane. I try to resist its call, but in the end, I never can. I need to feel it on my skin, but even then, it doesn't feel like it's enough." She leans forward more and more with each word. "I wish I could become rain."

Ria is leaning so far forward, she's nearly parallel with the ground. Hunter sees the grip she has on the railing loosen and is struck with the image of her jumping off the train. He grabs her arm without thinking.

Ria startles, and whatever spell she cast to keep him dry breaks. He once again feels the steady thrum of rain on his skin. She looks at him with wide hazel eyes that nearly glow, her gaze sliding from his face to his hand that still grips her.

With a swallow, he let's go.

"Sorry," Hunter says, though he's not sure what he's apologizing for.

"No. It's okay." Ria breathes, deep, and something seems to settle inside her. Hunter offers his hand to her, and Ria lets him help her back onto the deck. He pretends not to notice how shaky her limbs are.

"...We should wake Leflin and Craish," she says. "We'll be arriving in Jessamine in less than an hour. Come on."

They step out of the rain together, and with a flick of her wrist, Ria pulls the water off of their bodies, leaving a puddle on the floor.


By the time they reach Jessamine, the rain has stopped and the moon is full. It provides ample lighting for them to pick their way from the station to an information booth sitting alone at the edge of town. Sitting inside, a young woman with silver hair rests her head in her palm as she sleeps.

Hunter snaps in her face and she wakes up.

"Oh. Are you those guild mages?" She stretches with a yawn. "Great. Give me a sec, and I'll explain what happened here."

She pulls down a black curtain over the booth window, and the four listen as she curses and crashes about for a while. When she emerges from the booth, she's wearing a rumpled Rune Knight uniform.

"I'm Sergeant Laila Astra. We'll talk while we walk. The sooner we reach base camp, the sooner I can chug a mug of coffee."

She goes off in long sure strides, and the others follow her closely. After they all introduce themselves, she begins their brief.

"So there's a small nature preserve located just on the outskirts of Jessamine. Due to the steady incline of industrialization, most of the creatures that live in this area can only be found there, and the Queen's really into that whole environmental protection thing, you know? The problem is that a place without any people is really attractive to criminals, especially if that place has endangered plants and animals."

"There was a smuggler problem then?" Leflin asks.

"Got it in one!" Sergeant Astra winks. "There were some members of a dark guild holing out here, trying to catch as many rare creatures as they could. We pushed them back into one of the water-bound caves, and we were able to apprehend all of them, but not before the group released all of the snakes they'd captured, most of which aren't native species."

"That could irreparably damage the entire ecosystem of the cave," Ria says.

"It sure can, Sweetheart," Sergeant Astra smacks her on the back, much to Ria's annoyance. "Not to mention half of those snakes are highly illegal. Now, the actual members aren't talking, but they hired a couple of mercenaries to help out with their operation, and those guys are singing like canaries. We've managed to make a list of all the snakes and how many of each species there were. We need you guys to go down there and make sure you catch all of them."

"Is there any particular reason why the Rune Knights couldn't have handled this?" Hunter asks, eyeing Astra in suspicion.

The young woman clears her throat and laughs nervously.

"Yeah… About that-"

"The Rune Knights have been barred from entering our caves," says a woman with dark skin and short, curly black hair, "since they were negligent and incompetent enough to actually cause part of the cave system to collapse. I've specifically requested they be removed from the preserve entirely, but I have to wait for their mess to be cleaned up. Then I'm free to ban them for life."

Astra sighs. "This is Director Diana Vega. She's in charge of… well, everything really."

"A pleasure to meet you all. Thank you for coming on such short notice. Normally, my own team would be able to handle this, but Sergeant Astra has threatened to detain anyone who enters without her permission."

"They're civilians and unable to use magic. Like it or not, those caves are now an active crime scene. They're not trained to handle this."

"And I maintain that you are wrong and making a mistake." Director Vega turns to the four mages. "I trust you all will treat our delicate caves with the respect and reverence they deserve."

'Of course, Ma'am.' Hunter writes.

"Excellent. Come along, and we'll get you geared up."


An hour later, the four of them are equipped with helmets, rope, and lanterns that will only illuminate their immediate area, so as not to bother the wildlife, as well as a map of the cave system. They are also given transporting nets connected to cages in the Rune Knights base.

"You're looking for a total of eighty snakes," Astra informs them. "All of which are harmless to humans. Hopefully, it won't take you more than a couple of days, but we can't be sure."

With that, the four are packed into a car with Director Vega and take off across the preserve.

"This system was small and well mapped before the collapse. It was what we used for educational tours, but now the whole thing is unstable. There may be tunnels and chambers not on the map, as well as chasms and cliffs that were unearthed." Director Vega explains. "There's some supplies we left inside, including freshwater, oxygen tanks, and extra lanterns. You may need them the deeper you get, so I've marked their location on your map."

She parks near a large lake. The water is so clear, it reflects the sky above like a mirror. Only the occasional ripple on the surface breaks the illusion.

"The part of the cave we used to enter into was lost in the collapse," Vega says. "The only other way into this system can be found there." She points to a small strip of land in the middle of the lake.

'How do we reach it?' Craish asks. Director Vega sighs.

"I'm afraid that will be your first challenge. We've been getting more rain than expected lately, and our boat sank yesterday."

Ria kneels beside the water, gazing at her reflection. "How deep is it?" She touches the surface and watches the distortion.

"Approximately 45 meters."

"I could swim across," Leflin says. "Or fly. Though I'm not sure how the three of you would manage. I'm afraid you've all indulged too freely in sweets for me to ferry you across."

"Oh yes," Hunter says. "It has nothing to do with the actual size of your transformations."

Leflin places his hand on Hunter's shoulder. "I'm so glad you understand."

Hunter smacks the hand away. "Perhaps you can turn into that little fish of yours and we can dangle you over the water. You'll be the perfect bait to attract something big enough to ride across."

"Or maybe you could flash your little lights and attract something that way?"

"Never mind, I'm sure your ego is big enough to carry us."

"Please. That lake is far too small to contain my ego."

As the two continue to bicker, Craish and Vega watch Ria remove her boots and socks. She ties the laces together and swings them over her shoulder before stepping onto the water. She gasps. It's cold, and a shiver goes up her spine. After rocking back and forth on her heels for a second, she begins to walk across.

"Oh my," Vega says.

Craish waves to get Leflin and Hunter's attention, but the two are too invested in their snide remarks to notice. He huffs, then flicks them both on the side of the head. His armor adds a nice clink to the contact. Before either can retaliate, Craish points to the lake, and they're both stunned to silence.

The reflection of the night sky in the water creates the illusion that Ria is walking on moonlight and stars. She turns to face them and starts walking backward.

"Are you guys coming or what?" She asks.

"Since when are you able to walk on water?" Hunter calls.

"About ten seconds ago," Ria calls back. "Now, hurry up and follow or I'll leave you all behind!"

"How exactly are you doing this?" Leflin asks even as he steps onto the water behind her. He bounces up and down. "Oh! You're controlling the surface tension, aren't you? How great is your reach? Are you controlling the entire lake?" He steps to the side and nearly falls into the water, getting his leg soaked.

Ria yelps as she starts to sink, having to concentrate to regain her control.

"Stop messing around!" She says, "I can only affect the parts nearest to me. That's why you need to hurry before the places I touched lose their effect!"

Craish steps onto the water next and Hunter is about to follow when Director Vega pulls him back.

"Before you go, take this." She pulls a necklace from around her neck. "This is an emergency communication lacrima. It will send a signal with your location back to the base, and I'll form a team to extract you."

"Won't Sergeant Astra stop you?"

"She can try, but trust me when I say she won't get far. Now, it only works once, and the signal dies after an hour, so use it only if you've exhausted all other options."

"Alright." Hunter drapes the necklace over his head and tucks it into his shirt. "Thank you."

"I only wish I could be of more help. Good luck."

Without further ado, Hunter steps onto the lake. It feels strange, like a thin sheet of fabric has been placed on top of the surface then pulled tautly. He can feel just how tentative the spell is, though, and runs to catch up to the others. The closer he gets to them, the more stable the water beneath him.

"So how long have you actually been able to do this?" Hunter asks.

"I've been trying for a couple of months now, but this is the first time I've been successful," Ria says. "It's something my mother could do. She was also able to part the ocean and walk along the seafloor. She could make waves big enough to swallow a ship. She even had the ability to change the temperature of the water. If she was here, she would have just made a bridge of ice across, and she could have maintained it for days. She was incredible. I don't have any of the control and power she did."

"Don't sell yourself short. How many people have the ability to walk on water?"

"Anyone who can use water magic, I imagine." Leflin supplies unhelpfully. "Or perhaps someone with superspeed. Or someone who can control gravity. Or-"

"Yes, thank you Leflin," Hunter says.

"Like I said," Ria turns back to shoot them a small grin with a shrug. "This is nothing."


It isn't long before the four of them reach the island, though calling it that is a bit of a stretch. It can't be more than 20 feet by 10 feet wide and there's absolutely no sign of the cave anywhere. Once they actually step ashore though, Craish finds a hole in the middle. He whistles to get the others' attention and waves them over.

"Cool. You found it," Ria says. She gets ready to just jump into it when Craish stops her, tossing a rock down. The four of them listen, and it takes almost a minute before they hear a splash.

"That's a deep drop," Hunter says. "We need to be careful about getting down there."

"We've got a rope. It shouldn't be that hard." Ria says, already searching for something to anchor said rope onto. There's a boulder not too far away from the entrance, and Ria knots it with the professionalism of a sailor. She yanks the rope as hard as she can, then makes a beeline for the cave mouth. Hunter shouts, and Craish makes to grab her, but she ducks out of his reach and jumps.

She's plunged into darkness. The air whistles past and whips her hair in her face. Her stomach flips and yells of her name echo behind her.

Suddenly, the rope pulls taut and bounces her up and down. When it settles, she turns on her lantern to see just how far from the ground she is. It turns out she stopped just shy of crashing into the water.

Ria lowers herself down slowly, testing the depth of the water with her foot. It's shallow enough that it only kisses her ankles.

"I lived." She yells, examining the space around her. There's nothing special about it. "You guys can shimmy on down now."

Hunter is the first one down, and he lands with a great thud and splash.

"Are you crazy?" He grabs Ria by the shoulders and shakes her back and forth. "If the rope had been too long, you could have died!"

Ria shushes him. "We knew there was water at the bottom. I was going to use it to break my fall. I'm not an idiot, you know."

"You could have fooled me," Leflin says as he drops down next. Craish slides down right behind him, almost knocking him over. "This water isn't deep enough to break anything but your legs. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a death wish."

"Oh please," Ria scoffs. "I took a calculated risk to save time. If I thought I would get seriously injured, I wouldn't have done it."

"Right. Just moderate injuries are okay." Hunter says.

'It was unnecessary and reckless.' Craish says. 'How much time did you actually save? Minutes? Seconds? You could have easily let down the rope first then climbed down in a controlled descent.'

Ria glares at all three young men, but once its obvious no one is going to budge, she sighs.

"Fine. I'm sorry. I'm just worried about the snakes. They've already been down here too long. I want to help them as soon as possible."

"You can't help anything if you're dead," Hunter says.

"You're right. I'll be more careful from now on. I promise."

"Good!" Leflin ruffles Ria's hair. "Now, was admitting your wrong that painful?"

"It was excruciating."

"Now that that's settled," Hunter says, "let's get this search party on the move."

'Does anybody have an actual plan?' Craish asks.

"According to this," Leflin says. "There are four main caverns connected by an intricate forming of tunnels, each of which is about a mile long. The last cavern has been cut off due to the collapse caused by the Rune Knights, so we'll only need to search the other three and the tunnels connecting them. It used to be one big loop, but now we'll have to walk all the way to the third chamber, then double back. Despite the inconvenience, we should be able to search through them thouroughly. Even if this map is a little off now due to the cave in, I should still be able to guide us properly."

"Does that thing tell you how far below ground we are?" Hunter asks.

"Two hundred feet right now, but we should be nearly five hundred feet deep by the time we reach the second chamber."

"How long until we reach the first chamber?" Ria asks.

Before Leflin can say anything, a loud clap gets their attention. Craish points to an alcove emitting a soft light and slips inside. The three of them follow behind him.

The sight that greets them is a small chamber, not much bigger than the guildhall, filled with illuminated flowers that look as though they were carved from crystals. Fluttering back and forth, glowing moths land on their petals and drink their fill of nectar. The floor seems to be made entirely of granite and catches the light of their lanterns in a way that makes it look like a galaxy.

"Beautiful," Ria says. Two moths fly close, and she stands still as a statue when they land on her hair. They only stay for a moment before going off...

And landing on Craish, along with twenty more. Ria laughs at the overwhelmed look on his face and gently brushes them away.

"They're attracted to the light your armor is reflecting," she says. "They should leave you alone when they realize your not a flower."

Craish nods and shoos away a few more moths trying to land on him.

Leflin approaches one of the crystal flowers and touches its petal. The flower curls closed as its light goes out. He removes his finger and the light turns back on.

"Interesting." He mumbles before trying to take a closer look at the moths surrounding Craish.

Hunter notices a plague across the way and goes to read it. As he crosses the room, the floor illuminates under his feet and leaves an imprint of his steps behind him. Ria follows the path he made, stepping where Hunter did. She's still barefoot and can feel the warmth of the ground.

"According to this," Hunter says when she steps beside him, "the floor and walls are made of Moonshade Crystal, and it illuminates when touched. The flowers are Glass Lilies, and those are Marble Moths: the nectar from the lilies is how they gain their glow."

"What makes the lilies glow?" Ria asks. Hunter shrugs.

"It doesn't say."

"Maybe Leflin knows," Ria says as she runs off to join Leflin and Craish, the floor lighting up behind her.

Hunter watches her go until he notices movement from the corner of his eye. He looks to the exit of the chamber, but nothing is there.

No, wait. There is something. A mark is illuminated on the cave wall. He squints, but it's too far away to make out from where he's standing. He moves to step closer but is interrupted by Ria's shout.

"I just saw a snake! It went that way!" She points down a small tunnel and takes off running.

"Son of a-" Hunter runs after her, closely followed by Craish and Leflin. "What kind of idiot runs barefoot and blind down a dark tunnel?! Do you even know where you're going?"

Back in the crystal room, the mark on the wall fades away. If Hunter had managed to get close enough, he would have seen it was a handprint.


Twenty minutes and one captured snake later, water sloshes against their calves as the four travel further into the cave system. Lomg gone is the light of the crystal room, and if not for the lanterns, they wouldn't be able to see their hands in front of their faces. Even then, there's barely enough visibility to see each other, and not much else.

Soon they come along a fork in the path; the left tunnel emits a gentle glow while the right seems to be filled with water.

'Which way first?' Craish asks.

"It doesn't really matter," Leflin says. "They both lead to the second chamber."

"It might benefit us to split up," Hunter says. "We'll be able to cover more ground that way."

"Sounds good to me. How about Leflin and I go right, and you and Craish go left." Ria says. The others agree.

"We should both be able to reach the chamber in about an hour," Leflin says.

"Alright then." Ria hikes her bag higher onto her shoulder. "See you guys on the other side. Remember to keep your eyes peeled. Pay special attention to cracks and crevises!"

She wades down the right path, and Hunter grabs Leflin's arm before he can follow.

"Keep an eye on her," he whispers. "She's been acting weird."

"Aww, Hunter. You're worried about her? How sweet! I can hear the wedding bells already!" Leflin laughs as Hunter pushes him away. "It's alright! I'll keep her from doing anything stupid! The love of your life will be safe in my hands."

"I dare you to say that to her face," Hunter says. "I hope she drowns you."

Leflin just laughs harder as he follows Ria down the tunnel, and Hunter sighs.

'Are they going to be okay?' Craish asks.

"If we're lucky, they'll both get snake bites and die. Then they won't be our problem anymore."

'I know you're joking, but you shouldn't wish death upon your friends.' Craish says, and Hunter just sighs again.

"Let's just get going," Hunter says, stepping into the left tunnel.

Not long after the four have split up, a group of shadows also comes along the fork in the road. It pauses, pulsing, the sound of whispers emitting from its center. Suddenly, it breaks in two. One by one, the shadows ooze into the tunnels, growing to block off the exits.


I won't be responding to reviews in this chapter since it's been so long, but I will respond in the next chapter.

I still haven't decided if I'm going to be skipping back and forth between the two missions. My current goal is to get the next chapter out by next Friday, but we'll see how that goes. Thank you all for your patience!