Ewan and Kidd trudged deep into the mountain forest, chopping down vines and branches that blocked their way, minding their steps on the uneven path. They took not the dirt road to Ewan’s villa or anyone else’s but moved far away from it. Bit by bit, they left the shadow of the city behind with murmurs of war still reaching for them.
“This isn’t the way to the Ensil Villa.” Ewan kept his Ryvia usage to a minimum and moved the leafed vine that tickled his face. The loose soil crumbled underfoot while the grassy bits held his steps. “Why’d you come here?” he asked.
“I…I didn’t know where their villa was,” Kidd said in a sheepish tone, his ears reddening.
“How long have you lived in this city? Isn’t this place your home?”
“But I’ve never been to their villa.”
“Then ask for directions at least…,” Ewan said.
“Everyone was flustered and scared,” Kidd murmured.
“Ask me, you dimwit.” Ewan smacked Kidd’s head.
“You were in a hurry,” he muttered, rubbing his head, and fixing his hair.
“How’d you reach it then?”
“I didn’t, I met Valarie when I was looking for it,” he said. “She sneaked out, said she wanted to join the fight.”
“Forget it, how much further is the cave?” Ewan asked.
“Should be close now,” Kidd said.
Soon, a path of trampled bushes, hacked off branches, and chopped vines appeared before them—this was a path taken before, unlike the one they were treading right now.
“Is this it?”
“Yeah, they walked through here,” Kidd said.
They followed the trail, the already walked path making their journey easier, and it led them to a ghost-quiet clearing, where not even the wind left its whispers. Only the hill that blocked the clearing from the other side announced its weighty presence here, with a crack running along its height that almost rent it in half.
Burnt traces of plants, vegetation, and vines lingered around it and a rotten stench wafted out. Ewan panned his gaze around but found no traces of life, other than the recent steps that went to the crack—three pairs went in and two came back—and the dried splatter of blood that covered the grass in the area.
“Its’s here,” Kidd breathed.
The clearing had nothing special at the first glance, so Ewan headed for the hill, to take a closer look at the trap that killed an Asheva and injured another.
Yet, each step he took towards the crack prickled his instinct—it screamed for him to stay away. Goosebumps covered his skin, shivers ran down his spine, and his face chilled. A sense of dread coursed through his body, his heavy footfall burdening his stride. He clenched his fist and gulped, standing where he was and staring at the crack. This wasn’t a mere threat, the severe sensations he felt implied danger to his life.
He took a deep breath and stepped back, dragging the oblivious Kidd with him by his collar, moving out of the clearing and into the dense forest again.
“What now?” Kidd asked.
“It’s too risky,” Ewan murmured and gulped, wetting his parched throat. He didn’t want to leave this matter alone but also couldn’t touch it without a way to avoid death. His instinct warned him of the danger, but it couldn’t tell him the details. He needed to figure it out himself, and the only way he could think of was to send someone in and get more information.
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Not to mention whatever powered these traps couldn’t sustain them eternally, he could target that weakness and conquer the cave. The easiest method against that weakness was to overwhelm with numbers…
It couldn’t be Ashevas though, he didn’t want contenders in this race for the riches. Moreover, the possibility of any Asheva risking his life to get Ewan more information was zero, let alone give his life to chip away at the traps’ energy. Even the weakest would resist, and he would have a pointless fight at his hand and an enemy he could’ve avoided.
So, the options left to him were animals, Astylinds, slaves, or Kyrons. The first two had the problem of control and dialogue, it was fatal.
Slaves could do the job, but they would cost him an arm and a leg with the numbers he would need, and would also involve a third party, the slave trader, into the mix—buying too many at once could even attract unwanted attention from the Governor.
Then the Kyrons…
Ewan glanced at Kidd but refused the idea. Though he was reluctant to take him in at first, Kidd had proven himself to be useful so far. It was he who led Ewan to this cave after all. Letting him die here would be a huge loss.
“Go back to the city,” Ewan said, taking out a pouch and filling it with fifty Crelith coins. “Find someone who needs this, someone who won't be missed. By anyone.” He emphasized the end of his sentence. “Give him the coins and tell him there’ll be more if he completes one task. If he agrees, bring him here. Be discreet, not even a whisper about this place.”
“Boss, do you want someone to explore the cave?” Kidd asked, taking the pouch. “I can do it.” He puffed his chest.
So, he doesn’t feel the danger.
“You’ll die if you go in. Do you still want to?”
Kidd shrank back. “B-Boss, it can't be that bad, right?” He peeked at the crack.
“Just do what I say,” Ewan said. “Come back as soon as you can, and don’t get lost.”
“Yes, boss!” He saluted and bolted away, shoving the pouch in his pocket.
Ewan brushed away the dirt and sat on a thick root that jutted out in an arc, taking out his Spellbook. While Kidd was away looking for willing guinea pigs, he looked for a spell that could help him in this matter.
Overwhelming the traps with Kyrons’ lives was easy, getting information in the process was the difficult part. If he could find a spell that allowed him to communicate with the guinea pig…
The idea emerged and it provoked a thought in him. He laughed, it was just yesternight that he rejected and rebuked Kiev, that the thought of sacrificing something of his for others irritated him. And here he was now, willing to use others for his sake—he didn’t even hesitate to pick the most efficient method to succeed. The contrast in his actions cracked him up.
Yet…
He was doing this because he could do this. He was his own top priority, so he took from others and served himself. But the concept didn’t apply to him only. Others could do the same to him.
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Status: Healthy
Step-0 [9th Awakening]
Name: Ewan Ayres
Species: Human
Vitality: 2.0
Spirit: 19.9
Anima: [Fire – 19.9 | Ice – 19.9 | Blood – 19.9]
Astylinds: 4 [Potential: 0]
Rolling Cat [Toast]: Step-0 [9th Awakening]
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Fire Monkey [Orange]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-B]
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Imp [Frost]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-B]
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Blood Lotus [Iris]: Step-0 [Level-9] [Grade-S]
Equipment: Common Clothes; Yurn [Neck Gaiter]; Moonkeeper [Crystal-Ball].
Storage: Journal; Elementalist—The Path of Anima [Subtype-Book]; Spellbook; Bloodlust [Spell]; Transmute [Spell]; Anima-Crystals [Novas Coins]; Obsidian Dagger; Hub-Connector; Ingredients.
Novas: 70,731
Crelith: 3,862