Shortly after the tunnel, there was the turn to go towards Meldacio. Andromeda didn't think she could rush through the outpost and to the Vesperpool with Dave's truck. All of the hunters there would recognize it. There wasn't much gas left in the tank now, too. The road didn't lead anywhere else but Meldacio.
Andromeda did recall a road that intersected this one. It led into a tunnel. Of the few times she had been this far north, she recalled it was barricaded, and found that unusual. She didn't want to go through another tunnel when she didn't know where it would lead, but there was a wooded area in between the roads. It would be close to the Vesperpool, but not part of the swampland itself. She suspected it would be a good place to find a haven.
After stopping a couple of times along the way because of daemons, Andromeda found the road she was looking for and turned onto it. She parked on the shoulder just before the tunnel. The truck's clock told them it was very early in the morning. The tank probably had enough gas to get them to Meldacio, if they truly needed it.
"I think there should be a haven somewhere up there." She gestured to the dark hill between the two roads. She pulled the bag of potions and her bag of crystals onto her shoulders, then looked around the cab for anything useful. As she suspected, there was a shotgun sitting behind the driver's seat. What hunter wouldn't have a gun tucked away in their truck?
After finding a box of bullets and tucking it into one of the bags, Andromeda stepped out of the truck. She loaded the gun. Luna had done her own inspection of the cab and found a flashlight. It was small, but it was better than nothing.
They jumped over the guardrail and began trekking through the brush. It wasn't long before they were accosted by daemons. Luna once more used Holy to ward them away. The light made by her spell made the flashlight appear even more useless with its narrow beam of light that did not shine far. Andromeda kept herself from asking if Luna had a better spell to light their way.
It seemed like they couldn't get very far without running into another hoard of daemons. As little explored as this area was, it was swarming with them. The presence of humans excited them. Andromeda shot at a couple, the noise of the gun seeming louder thanks to the quiet night. Luna jumped every time.
They stumbled about as they walked, unable to see what was ahead or behind them. The flashlight only shone on what was directly in front of them, giving them short notice to move around obstacles. It was slow going, and there was little chance of finding the way back to the road. Both were becoming exhausted.
Finally, after another spell of Holy faded into the dark, Andromeda spotted something faintly glowing blue in the distance. She went directly for it, recognizing the runes as they got closer.
It took seemingly forever to reach the haven while stumbling over roots and brush in the dark. Once there, Andromeda didn't bother with a fire. There was no telling what time it was, but it had to have been a couple of hours since she and Luna had left the truck. It wasn't likely that Crowe or Aulea would be nearby; they hadn't encountered a pool of water that could be Etro's Well. Without speaking with Luna, Andromeda set right to work, laying down in the dirt to fall asleep.
She searched the area for any other sleeping mind. She didn't have to stretch her focus very far; there was only one in the whole area. Andromeda went to her, knowing her dreams very well.
The dream was dark, but there were some lights that lit the steel bridge below them. The other side of the bridge was lit in an ethereal light cast by a large glowing rock—the Lucian Crystal. A silhouetted figure stepped right before it.
"Noctis!" Aulea cried, suddenly next to Andromeda.
The figure stopped and turned back. It was still impossible to see his face. A bright light suddenly shone above the Crystal. The figure of a towering woman took shape from it. She raised her fist and brought it down on the tip of the stone. The Crystal fell apart with a deafening shatter, its light going out.
There was an even louder roaring that echoed all around them. Ardyn appeared briefly before Aulea, his face dripping with Scourge. A massive figure appeared behind the two women to confront Etro as she hovered over the Crystal's remains. Noctis, on the floor, looked between them.
"Noctis!" Aulea called for him again as the scene wavered and darkened. She was beginning to wake up.
"Aulea." Andromeda tried to grab her hand, but the touch was startling, bringing the older woman even closer to waking. "We're here! Go south!"
The dream and Aulea were suddenly gone. Andromeda couldn't be sure that she had heard her. She and Luna just had to keep going north.
There was some light in the forest when Andromeda awoke. As weak as the sun now was, it managed to shine dimly through the trees branches above them. It was much easier to see the roots and brush even with such little light.
Luna was asleep nearby. The flashlight was still on, as if she had also just collapsed and went to sleep like Andromeda had. There wasn't much need for a watch while they were on a haven, after all. Though Luna needed the rest, they couldn't waste daylight. Andromeda shook her shoulder until she opened her eyes.
"We have to keep moving. Aulea and Crowe aren't that far now." She told her, picking up her things and standing. They probably should have stolen some food while in Old Lestallum; Andromeda was starving again. She wouldn't search for food now—not when they were so close to finding the other two. Maybe they would have food with them. She and Crowe could hunt something down together.
Luna followed Andromeda groggily. They both could have slept for longer, and regretted not spending the night in town. With the Marshal there, though, they would have been trapped when they woke. Andromeda suspected there was a manhunt for the two of them now, especially now that Luna was confirmed to be alive. In an unexplored forest, she felt that they had plenty of time before they would be caught. No one else could avoid the daemons like they could.
"Did you find them?" Luna asked after walking for awhile, becoming alert. The daemons were not as active as they had been in the night.
Andromeda nodded. "I found Aulea. I told her to come south, but I don't know if she heard me."
Luna brightened at the news. "It's fortunate that we've found them so quickly."
"Yeah." Andromeda was relieved, but also just as surprised at how easy it had been. Aulea and Crowe could have been anywhere North of the Disc of Cauthess—they could have been all the way in Leide. It was convenient that the Solheim artifact even put them in the same region of Lucis. Perhaps Etro was giving them some help for once.
A couple of smaller daemons suddenly appeared. She gave the gun a rest, relying on her kukri. She stabbed and sliced one before Luna used her spear to take out the other two. They hadn't been worth the use of magic.
Shortly after they left the haven, the sun began to set. They had slept longer than Andromeda had thought. The forest began to get dark again. The daemons became more active the further away from the haven they went. Luna began to regularly use Holy again. The short amount of sleep they had gotten had not been enough to rest up from the day before.
Daemons came eagerly in groups. The further north the two walked, the more frequent these groups were. They soon came to a halt; as soon as one group was finished off, another took its place. The daemons also became bigger and tougher. Luna's Holy no longer took them out in one attack, but it gave them some light by which to see the daemons around them. Andromeda sheathed her kukri, switching to the shotgun. She presumed Luna had never even held a gun before, let alone knew how to use one. Of course, the echoing gunshots were probably just attracting more daemons to their position. The many times that Luna cast Holy didn't seem to discourage them anymore.
Despite not being able to see very well, Luna and Andromeda never struck each other. They stayed within reach of one another, closing ranks amid the daemon hordes. It seemed to never end. Andromeda had a small thought that perhaps Luna had had a good point to want to convince Ravus to come along with them—or even convince the Marshal to follow along as they hunted down the two missing women—but her stubbornness quickly smothered those ideas. It would not have worked. The men would have failed to find them, especially quickly as the daemons were particularly nasty in this unexplored forest (it was clear why Aulea and Crowe had not made it out yet). They would have given them up for dead already and fallen back to Lestallum. They didn't know what Andromeda and Luna did, and the former was still certain that Ravus couldn't even share in having Etro's Blessing. He was not one of them. Etro wanted Andromeda and Luna to find Aulea and Crowe. As uncertain of the goddess as Andromeda was now, she would obey that command.
The hordes finally stopped coming once a massive Iron Giant appeared, its flaming sword illuminating the area. Luna could not conjure enough strength behind her spells to ward it off in one shot. The many times she had used Holy in the past two days was wearing on her.
It wasn't long after the daemon appeared that Andromeda ran out of bullets. They had thought themselves lucky to hear from Aulea; their luck was quickly running out.
She drew her kukri again as Luna drew back and focused on her magic. As battered and exhausted as Andromeda was, she kept after the giant daemon to keep its attention on her. It easily knocked her aside, but she pushed herself up as quickly as possible and went after it again. After a few of these exchanges, Luna finally unleashed a blinding Holy spell that staggered both Andromeda and the daemon.
It didn't last very long, and when it faded away, the daemon was still there. Its attention was now on Luna as Andromeda had been knocked aside yet again. The princess had put whatever strength she had left behind the spell; she stumbled and fell to her knees from it. This time, Andromeda could not push herself up immediately.
A glowing orb suddenly appeared behind the daemon. The orb became attached to the dark creature and drew it into itself, growing larger as it fed off of it.
She managed to get to her feet again and rushed to Luna. Andromeda pulled her up to her feet and tugged her further away from the orb, lest they get sucked in as well. But once the daemon was gone, the orb suddenly shrunk and disappeared. Two women stood some distance away from where it had been. It was too dark to see who they were, but only one woman could have cast Ultima.
The four women met each other halfway. Aulea and Crowe appeared just as banged up as Andromeda and Luna had gotten from all the daemons, but they were not any worse off as had been expected. The older woman pulled both Andromeda and Luna into tight hugs. They had managed to find each other after all.
"You two look awful." Andromeda told them once she was let go by Aulea. She and Luna had been fortunate enough to get showers, although they were now just as dirty as Aulea and Crowe. Andromeda turned to the latter and wrapped her arms around her. The Glaive was surprised, then hugged back just as tightly.
Rather than return the remark, Aulea and Crowe just laughed. They all did, although it had little to do with what Andromeda had said. They had all been nearly killed by daemons and pushed to the point of exhaustion. Yet they had succeeded in reuniting. It was laughter of relief.
"You made it easy to find you. We just had to follow the sounds of gunfire and flashes of light." Crowe remarked as she and Andromeda let go of each other. She crossed her arms. Her uniform was now torn in places.
"Let's find a haven. We can talk then." Aulea said, looking between Andromeda and Luna. "Is there one close here?"
Andromeda shrugged. "I don't know how far we walked from it, but there's one further south that we stayed at last night. Or whatever time it is."
They began walking southwards then. Though there was still excitement to share their adventures with one another, their battles had left them all exhausted. They didn't talk much along the way. The less attention they brought to themselves in these mysterious woods, the better off they were.
Some smaller daemons made appearances along the way, but they were quickly taken care of by Crowe and Andromeda. Luna was too spent to use Holy, and no one pushed her to do it. Aulea had used Ultima plenty of times as well. Only Crowe had enough energy to use some elemental magic, as those spells cost less for her to use.
An hour passed before the runes of the haven appeared in the distance. It was at the same time that Crowe spotted a stray basilisk nearby. With the haven so close, she and Andromeda pursued the bird, the first sign of food they had seen in a long while. Once the basilisk stopped struggling, they dragged it to the haven. Aulea and Luna had gone on ahead.
The small, useless flashlight from Dave's truck was still working. By its light, Andromeda and Crowe clumsily cut out as much meat as they needed with their kukris. The blades were too big for such work, but they managed it. Crowe threw a small bit of fire on the assembled fire pit, as Aulea and Luna had gathered sticks, but were unable to light them.
The meat cooked quickly when cut down into smaller pieces, put on sticks, and then put directly into the flames. It gave them all some energy again.
"What happened when we split up in Gralea?" Luna asked first. "Did you see the Crystal shatter?"
Aulea nodded, but it was Crowe who explained it. "It happened so fast. As soon as we spotted Noctis, Etro appeared and struck the Crystal. Bahamut showed up, and then we weren't there anymore."
It had been just as Andromeda had seen in Aulea's dream. The queen knew she had seen it. Luna was the only one who didn't have a clue of what had happened in Zegnautus Keep.
"Noctis and his friends escaped." Aulea added. "Bahamut was not there to harm them, but he was in a rage. He wasn't the only one. Etro said that she had to stop Ardyn so that they could get out of Gralea."
In the entire time they had been in Gralea, Andromeda hadn't given Ardyn a lot of thought. While other Imperials fled the city, it would have been likely he would have stayed behind, finding joy in its fall. He wasn't human; it had been him that first infected Andromeda with the Scourge.
How he could have overlooked four women, she couldn't guess. She would have thought that if Ardyn had seen them, he would have confronted them, and probably killed them all. He had already killed Luna once before, and it was all the more important that he never know she had been revived.
"We woke at Etro's Well about a week ago. I had one of my migraines, so we were unable to move for a couple of days. We only began our way south when it finally passed. We got quite lost." Aulea explained herself regretfully, then moved on with more determination. "Noctis and his friends should have made their way back to Lucis by now. We must meet them, as well as whoever was brought back with the Crystal's shattering. It's more important than ever now."
Luna nodded in agreement, but Andromeda frowned. Noctis had had a closer view of what had happened; Etro had smashed the Crystal right in his face. Luna had mentioned that the Crystal could have been used to ward off daemons and the darkness. Noctis and his friends must have known that as well. He and Luna were saved from being sacrificed, but now the whole world had to suffer. Etro had never mentioned anything about the light returning to Eos. Did she intend for it to?
"I don't think we'll be welcome once we explain that the Astral that shattered the Crystal is the one that's been giving us orders." Andromeda pointed out. It was a little surprising that the other three hadn't come to this conclusion yet. The Crystal had been highly-guarded by the Lucis Caelums for two millennia. It was how they communicated with Bahamut, their patron god. As Etro remained hidden, it left her four Blessed Ones to answer for her actions.
"None of us knew that she planned to do that. Just as Noctis didn't know Bahamut's true intentions." Aulea replied. "Nor does anyone know what any Astral plans to do next. They've gone quiet while they decide what they will do about this. All that we do know is that with Noctis and Luna alive, the world has a better chance of getting through this. Like the gods, we should also gather and discuss this."
"Etro has told you more than she's told us." Andromeda noted, glancing at Luna. They had only been told of the Crystal's shattering and to find Aulea and Crowe all the way in Lucis. The new information wasn't anything alarming as what they already knew. The goddess had probably kept it all from them so that they would focus more on their task. They had traveled far in a short amount of time.
"Perhaps they had asked different questions." Luna mentioned. Andromeda didn't recall asking many questions—only the ones that mattered the most between her and the goddess.
"She did tell us what to do once the four of us have been reunited. We're to find Noctis." Aulea concluded. "This time, I believe we're meant to meet."
"We just weren't told where to go." Crowe snorted. "Back to square one."
It did seem as though they had spent the whole summer trailing behind Noctis, whenever one of the Astrals had been awakened by Luna. Andromeda's dreamwalking hadn't helped at all during that time, though it was all they had to go off of. Perhaps now would be different.
"Well, we can start in Lestallum. Harper and Solara made it there." She offered. "She told me that the Kingsglaive and Crownsguard have both been ordered there. Noctis would probably go there too."
Crowe raised a brow at the news. "I should report in now—for real this time."
"Then we'll go there first." Aulea agreed. "We should not hide any longer."
The campfire shifted suddenly as one of the sticks on the bottom fell apart. The night was oddly quiet, even with them talking.
"I suppose it's our turn." Luna smiled. "We woke up at another one of Etro's Wells in Tenebrae. We were told to find old Solheim ruins that would bring us back to Lucis. Then we came across Andromeda's home and helped them prepare to evacuate. We could have gone with them, but we decided to follow Etro's instructions."
"Why were they evacuating?" Crowe asked. "I thought the Imperials evacuated to Tenebrae."
"Gralea's outbreak didn't stop in the city. All of the Western Continent is unsafe now." Andromeda explained. "There isn't any daylight at all there. Lucis will be the same way soon."
They all frowned at that. Even with Luna and Noctis around, the darkness was still dangerous. They couldn't be everywhere all at once. They may still be required to sacrifice themselves. Bahamut did not take being robbed of bloodshed lightly.
"We found the ruins and the artifact. It brought us to Malmalam Thicket in the south. That's where we found Ravus." Luna went on quietly. "We had found him at the Keep—that's why we did not follow you after Noctis's friends did. He was so infected with Scourge. They had to kill him."
She went silent at that. Crowe and Andromeda exchanged wary glances when she had first brought him up, just as they had when she had made them promise to help him if they had come across him. Aulea only had pity for Luna.
"Etro heard her prayers and dropped him not far from where we appeared. He wasn't as bad off as we had seen him in Gralea. We were able to heal him." Andromeda continued on, although not as happily as a successful healer should be. She wanted to move on quickly. "We were holed up in an abandoned cabin for a couple of days until he woke up. I talked to Harper and she sent hunters to find us. They took us to Old Lestallum. The Marshal was coming for us. He would not have let us come for you, so we took off while we could."
It was more of an adventure than Aulea and Crowe had seen in the past couple of days. Andromeda and Luna had both left details out. The former was grateful that Luna had not mentioned what had happened between them in Tenebrae. The other two would not be pleased to know that they had fought. With the sunlight disappearing from the world, Andromeda's chaotic power was more dangerous than ever. Without the Empire, there was no way for anyone to try to control it. It had certainly slipped out of her grasp so easily. She couldn't hold it back forever—another slip-up was bound to happen.
"I think Cor could have been some help." Aulea suggested after thinking over all they had said.
Andromeda only shook her head. "He wouldn't have listened to us. Ravus wanted us to leave it to the hunters. You'd still be lost. Etro wanted it to happen this way."
"So was he Blessed then, like us?" Crowe asked with a frown.
"Maybe." Luna said.
"No." Andromeda asserted. "At least one of us would have been told if there was going to be another."
Glancing at the other three, it was clear from there uncertainty that no one had been told of a fifth person to receive Etro's Blessing. Luna seemed to be the final one, the crown jewel stolen away from Bahamut.
"Maybe not. Etro is mysterious." Aulea reasoned. "It's not pressing right now. We should try to get some rest before the sun comes up. Hopefully it will last long enough for us to get out of these woods."
She had a good point. Though they were fed, they were still too exhausted to stay up all night talking. Andromeda hoped to get more sleep than the previous night, although she didn't expect to get much more until they reached Lestallum.
No sooner did Crowe offer to take the first watch did everyone else settle in the dirt and went to sleep. At least it hadn't rained on them yet.
Only Crowe and Andromeda kept watch, letting Aulea and Luna get as much rest as they could. A few hours after Andromeda took over so Crowe could sleep, sunlight came weakly through the tree branches above. She woke the other three and they started walking south again.
With some food and rest, it was easier to fight back the daemons and other creatures along the way. Luna and Aulea's magic had renewed vigor behind them. They tried to conserve it for larger daemons, but using magic ended the battles faster than weapons did.
It also helped that they were four now, instead of just two. It made the trek seem to take less time as there were more hands to fight against the daemons. Recognizing some brush and trees, Andromeda could tell they were going in the right direction.
It became even more apparent as they spotted a couple of people walking into the forest. Their dark hooded uniforms made them stick out, and they weren't necessarily trying to hide. The reassembled Kingsglaive had been sent to find them.
They were quickly spotted and approached. Crowe stood before them.
"Is anyone hurt?" One of the Glaives asked. With the cloth pulled over their faces, they all looked alike, save for their individual builds.
"Not seriously." Aulea assured.
She didn't have their attention, and neither did Luna, for once. Andromeda was overlooked most of all. The Glaives looked Crowe over with some amazement.
"You're Crowe Altius, right?" Another asked.
"Yeah." She admitted. "Let's not stand around here. I've had enough of this place."
The Glaives began leading the way out of the forest. One radioed in that they had found the women—all four: Crowe, Luna, and two others. So they did recognize Luna underneath the battered and sullied appearance.
"Do you know them?" Luna walked beside Crowe, keeping her voice down.
"Not really. They're little more than rookies. Though I guess I should give them more credit if they survived Insomnia." She shrugged. "I still have a few years on all of them."
"Cor must have sent them." Aulea mentioned.
He was not there when the Glaives finally brought them out of the forest, back to the road leading to a tunnel. Dave's truck was still sitting on the shoulder. The head hunter was there to claim it, along with another hunter. He crossed his arms as the group stepped onto the asphalt.
"That was mighty reckless." He told them as Andromeda handed the gun back to him. "But I'm glad to see you're all in one piece."
"We're ready to go to Lestallum now." Luna informed with a smile.
"The Glaives will take you there."
"Let's go before the light is gone." One of the Glaives ushered the women into one of their big armored vehicle.
They climbed into the back, leaving Dave and the other hunter behind with a truck that was almost out of gas. They didn't have far to go before reaching Meldacio. The ride to Lestallum would be longer. With five people in the back, it was going to be a cramped ride.