Chosen By The Lover's Constellation-Chapter 69: Search and Rescue, Part Six

{Enverna}

Things had grown rather quiet since they’d arrived.

The group was tense, making their way sluggishly through the narrow, winding cavern with only a single mana-flame torch as their source of illumination. Any more than that and Gareth believed they could be attacked.

Along the way were stray bits of fallen gear or bloodstains, spots that told the tale of the explorers who’d come.

Enverna stopped.

A boy noticed.

"Uh, are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes, yes..." Enverna lied, feeling like her head was burning. "I’m..."

Then, the world transformed right before her eyes.

Suddenly, she wasn’t seeing that concerned player anymore. She wasn’t in that narrow, natural corridor.

She was staring down the explorer they’d met. And, she was talking.

But, her voice didn’t sound like her own.

"Okay, okay, take your time. But, I need you to explain everything very clearly, alright? It’ll help," she said, her tone reassuring.

[Lianna?]

Indeed, that felt like it was confirmed as Enverna saw caramel arms reach out and hand over a cup of coffee.

Lianna’s eyes scanned the explorer’s face, registering a mixture of exhaustion and anxiety.

"Lianna, this can wait until we’re with them. We need to hurry, or-"

"No, no, trust me," Lianna told Xi, whose concern and unease looked to be growing by the second. "I need to do this."

That little statement gave something away, at least.

Whatever was happening, Lianna was aware of it.

"Now, please. What were you saying?"

The explorer took a deep breath and began:

"So, uh, yeah. We came here looking for First-Era ruins. Deeper into the chasm, we found... Something. It wasn’t anything that big, b-but, it was important..." The man was speaking with an odd mix of haste and guilt, as though he both desperately wanted to say this but also wanted it to be swept away."

Lianna, through the explorer’s eyes, maintained her attentive focus on the man as he recounted the harrowing encounter. The icy wind whispered through the chasm, carrying his words with a certain urgency.

"See, we found this weird artifact hidden deeper in. It seemed harmless, but the moment we picked it up, everything changed."

"What happened?" Lianna asked.

"Uh, up until that point, this place had been empty. But, just as we were packing up and getting ready to go home, Fiends came and swarmed us."

Lianna’s brows furrowed as she listened intently, absorbing the details. She occasionally nodded, signaling her understanding and encouraging the explorer to continue.

"The artifact emitted this eerie glow, like a beacon for Fiends," he continued. "Once we realized what was happening, we tried to get rid of it, but it wouldn’t break. I-I mean, it was like a magnet. Fiends kept coming, relentless and aggressive. It was a struggle just to survive, let alone figure out what that cursed thing actually was and how to deal with it."

Lianna’s expression shifted, reflecting a mixture of concern and curiosity. She instinctively glanced around, surveying the surrounding landscape through the explorer’s eyes as if searching for any remnants of the ominous artifact.

"We lost some good people that day," the explorer admitted with a heavy sigh. "But I managed to escape, and that’s when you found me. The rest of the team should still be down there, though. We ended up finding this pool that the Fiends don’t like, for whatever reason. They don’t even want to go near it. That’s where the rest of the team is."

"An item that attracts Fiends placed right next to a pool that repels them," Xi murmured. "I take it that might have been the point in bringing the thing here. Come, we need to inform them about this. The group’s likely running right into a horde of Fiends."

"Yeah, you’re right," Lianna replied. "But... I have a feeling they already know."

Suddenly, Enverna was back in her own shoes.

Setting her questions aside, she did the only thing that she presently could.

Enverna only hesitated for a moment, considering how to convey the urgency without revealing the unconventional source of her information. She spoke carefully, choosing her words with precision.

"Everyone, stop!"

Gareth immediately shushed her.

"Keep your voice down! What is it?"

"Uhm..." Enverna paused. "Thinking about this logically, aren’t we walking into a trap?"

"What do you mean?" The man replied.

"Given the low number of Fiends we saw on the surface, it isn’t too far out of the realm of possibility that they all came down here. If the group of explorers we’re trying to find are down this path, chances are the Fiends are as well."

"We have to go in anyway," Gareth replied. "They could need our help. As Search and Rescue, it is our job to save as many people as possible."

"But, as Search and Rescue, if we’re placed into a situation where the only way to do that is to fight a horde of Fiends, out of any Guild we’re probably the least likely to succeed in this situation, aren’t we?"

"..."

That statement struck a chord with the others. Gareth himself stopped to consider that.

"Lianna and Xi are probably on their way here," Enverna added. "I... got signal on my phone for a bit! Lianna told me they were on their way. I believe they should be joining us soon. I suggest we wait, given that none of us got into Search and Rescue off combat prowess, right?"

"But, what if they’re in trouble right now?" One girl asked.

"Then I feel sorry for them because we will surely not be able to save them without at least having Xi with us. If it would make this decision easier for your conscience, blame me for anything that happens. But, waiting is the wise choice."

---

As Xi approached with Lianna in tow, the group perked up, preparing to resume their journey into the icy depths of Iceditch Valley.

Enverna caught Lianna’s eye and subtly gestured for a brief moment of privacy. Lianna nodded and as the rest of the group continued, the engaged couple stepped aside.

"What happened?" Enverna whispered with concern etched on her features.

Lianna gave a reassuring smile.

"I’ll explain later. We’ve got a job to do right now."

Their eyes remained locked for a time. Enverna tried to gauge whether this information was being withheld from her truly because of the pressing situation or because Lianna didn’t trust her.

Finding no malice in the other girl’s differently colored eyes, though, Enverna nodded, trusting that Lianna would share the details when the time was right.

With that, they rejoined the group, and the adventurers continued their trek into the chilling unknown.

The mysteries of Iceditch Valley unfolded before them, and the group remained vigilant, wary of the potential dangers lurking in the shadows. As they ventured deeper, the frigid air seemed to grow heavier, and the ominous silence of the cavern added to the sense of foreboding.

As they neared the end of the corridor, the group cautiously slowed to a halt, their eyes narrowing at the unsettling sight before them.

The lost explorers sat on a small hill in the center of a black pool, surrounded by menacing Fiends eager to claim the artifact clutched in one of the explorer’s hands.

Silently, Gareth gestured at Xi. Given that she was their combat specialist, as Enverna argued, she needed to go in first.

Before that, however, Lianna walked up.

"Um... Xi," she whispered as quietly as she could. "I have a feeling those two over there are the strongest. That one might be stronger than you are."

Seeing through her clumsy attempt at hiding her Instinct, Enverna translated that to:

[That one is *definitely* stronger than Xi is.]

Enverna surveyed the situation, her eyes flickering between the explorers, the Fiends, and the mysterious artifact. The air was tense with an unspoken threat, and the ominous ambiance of the cavern seemed to intensify.

Xi, quick on her feet, whispered a quick plan to the group.

"Divide and conquer," she urged urgently. "We need to distract the Fiends and get the explorers out of there. We’ll save the strongest for last. Be careful, but the main priority is getting that artifact out of the explorers’ ha-"

"H-HEY! THEY’RE HERE!"

The eager shout cut through Xi’s hushed instructions like a disruptive drumbeat. The explorer, fueled by a mix of hope and desperation, couldn’t contain her excitement at the prospect of rescue. The echo of her voice reverberated down the ominous corridor, reaching both human ears and the pointed ones of the Fiends lurking in the shadows.

Simultaneously, everyone’s heads turned toward the corridor, both the humans and the Fiends. A collective, synchronized pivot, a moment of frozen anticipation that hung in the air like a heavy mist.

Xi’s eyes darted between the explorers and her team, a silent acknowledgment of the urgency now embedded in their mission. The initial plan, carefully crafted to exploit the element of surprise, had unraveled. Now, she only had one word to offer.

"Crap."

And then, the chaos began.