"I'm not going."

Mika puts her book down, neglecting to save the page. Cana and Kain stand with Serah, already prepared to carry on where they had left off. The juniors being only spectators, of course.

 "Besides, what will happen if we get attacked while they're busy? Hm?"

Kain answers with a confident smirk, playing his bad boy charm.

 "I wouldn't let that happen to you Mika."

She shakes her head.

 "No."

 "Comon Mika, you'll have an Ice Mage AND a Fire Mage watching your back, " Cana chimes in.  

 "No means no. I'm not going."

 "What if I said please?" 

 "There's nothing you can do to make me want to go."

In one swift motion, Cana steals Mika's book and walks out the door."

 "Hey! I wasn't done- HEY!"

The braided girl rushes after her, but she's already long gone. A trail of steaming tracks lead down to the south gate. The distance between them is long, she must have been moving at a full sprint.

Mika tears away the bottom of her dress, revealing combat appropriate pants underneath. She neatly folds her clothing into a pile and leaves it at the bottom step of the Guild Hall, before sprinting after Cana.

Meanwhile, Serah and Kain are only now just walking out of the Guild.

 "Oh, she's mad." Kain comments.

 "How far do you think Cana is right now?"

He shrugs.

 "Probably already at the Trade Road."

Serah stretches her right leg thoroughly. The tightness is alleviated after several lunges and standing splits. Kain stands there in admiration.

 "Nice."

 "Shut up."

Lastly, she reaches into her satchel, and takes out some ointment.

She rolls up her pantleg, and gently massages it into her skin.

 "Does that stuff work?"

 "As a healing agent it works great, but.."

 "But?"

She hands him the half-empty container.

 "Here. You'll find out on your own."

He cautiously accepts it, sliding it into one of his pockets. Some of the ointment was on the container, and is now on his finger. He sniffs it.

The scent is flowery. Of a kind Kain has never smelled. He tastes it.

 "Why'd I do that.."

And his tongue starts to burn. It subsides after a moment. His sense of taste is gone.

Serah kicks away from the steps, and takes off after Cana and her Sister. Kain follows. Within minutes they're at the Trade Road, within a few minutes more they're at the farm stead.

A salty smell fills the air. As they get closer, and closer, the smell begins to turn to sulfuric. What would normally be a quiet, calm afternoon walk is now one of buzzing insects and pinched noses. Cana blasts the air with flashes of fire, careful not to set fire to the crops. Once she's finished, the air is quiet and the smell of sulfur has dissipated.

With a sigh of relief, Cana turns towards them and waves Mika over.

They unite in the center.

 "Ok, you two. What do you have to share?" Cana barks enthusiastically.

Mika starts.

 "When we arrived it was quiet. The pen over there was already destroyed, and drag marks lead from the pen all the way to the back of the house."

Kain ponders for a moment.

 "Did you guys get a chance to follow the tracks?"

They shake their heads.

 "Didn't have time, before we knew it a Lizardman showed up."

Cana stops her.

 "Lizardman? The job said Dracoling."

 "Same family, different beast." Serah adds.

Cana's chipper demeanor turns straight and narrow, brow furrowed. This is no longer a game, and she's fully focused.

 "That's... really important info to have."

Holding her hands close, she gently claps them together and pulls them apart. Several lines are tied to her fingers, similar to that of a spider web. Twisting and pulling, she forms a magic circle, and whispers her command.

  Llygaid blaidd!

Her eyes turn from a piercing red to a sharp yellow. Her senses of sight and smell have keened, to such like a preying wolf.

Surveying the farmstead, droplets of blood appear as little embers. The scent of rot and decay wash in like the ocean tide. She takes it all in and a story unfolds before her.

The Farmers, one male and one female, run out of their home, torches and blades in hand. A lone Dracoling sits feasting in the barn. Blood soaks into the hay and dirt, narry a spatter on the wooden beams holding the structure. The crunching of bone and rending of flesh slows the farmers to a crawl, as only a subtle shadow is known to them.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Standing in the doorway, they toss a torch into the barn. The crimson infused straw fails to catch. The flame is bathed in blood, and extinguishes in a fizzle. But not before they can gain a glimpse of the predator.

A gasp too quiet to be heard above the devouring, is loud enough to draw the fiend's attention. It stands, and lunges. The husband is torn in twain, as the wife flees for the house.

Serah wanders towards the farmhouse, snapping Cana out of her trance.

 "Serah what are you doing?" 

 "We already told you, they dragged everything behind the house. Let's go!"

Cana places one hand on her hip, as she juts her head towards Serah.

 "You're supposed to watch! Let me do my job!"

 "No!"

 "What do you mean, no?!"

Serah disappears behind the farmhouse, for a few moments she's completely silent.

 "See! Corn stalks are broken behind the farmhouse!" She shouts loud enough to be heard from the road.

Her toes fully trampled on, Cana lets out an exasperated snort.

 "Unbelievable!"

The scene only half complete, the team wanders off behind the home, reuniting with Serah. She sits in a crouched position, examining the ground.

Large, heavy prints run towards the stalks. A path has been ripped through them. Pieces of meat and droplets of blood are spattered about.

Behind her, at the rear of the house, lays a cellar. The drag marks end here, but with no blood to be seen.

 "What do you see?" Cana questions.

Serah thinks for a moment. Considering the carnage in front of the farmhouse, and the similar scene behind. Meat chunks line a path heading away to the fields beyond, stringy sinew and bonechips.

The cellar door, however, is clean. Undisturbed.

The stalks, the gore on them is fresh. What were the cleaning habits of Lizardmen like? Wolven sit in rivers, to wash away mud. And after meals, they will find a safe spot to clean themselves. Biting burs and matted fur away...

She stops her examination.

 "Wait, is this fresh?" she thinks to herself.

Her eyes rip open, and she backs away in a rush. In her haste, she trips and slams into the wooden cellar, crashing through. Tumbling down a small flight of stairs, she collapses on the wooden landing below.

 ow...

 "I'm okay!"

She pushes herself off the ground, placing her hands into a puddle of water. It's warm, with an unpleasant scent. Climbing to her feet stiffly, she places her hands on the back of her hips and stretches.

 "Cana come down here, I need some light."

Cana proceeds down the steps with a fireball in hand. Its brightness slowly illuminates the moist dirt and supporting columns of the cellar. Of 5 steps, 3 lay cracked from Serah's tumble. The landing sits floating on a red-brown liquid.

 "Shit, is that blood?" Cana whispers

Serah stares at the putrid sight on her hand.

She pinches some flame away from her 'lantern' and flicks it away. The sparks bounce around the cellar and reveals the entirety of it. The cellar is soaked in viscera, the smallest of holes had collect any runoff. The shelves, once sat full of canned food and racks of dried meat, now lay in ruin. Glass jars shattered under the wooden shelves. Behind it all, sat tucked away in a nook, a large hole is revealed. Serah walks to investigate.

 "Guys, come down here."

Climbing down, Kain's leg rips clean through one of the damaged steps.

 "Oh."

He looks towards Mika who still stands outside, and offers his hand to help her down.

 "My lady."

Her face scrunches up.

 "Thanks, I'll be fine." She says, arms crossed.

 "Suit yourself."

He tears through the steps, and removes them altogether.

 "Dangerous, those steps. You could almost break your neck!"

The comment clearly aimed at someone in particular. Though it falls on deaf ears. Mika drops down last, careful as to not step in anything.

Kain whistles in amazement.

 "Damn! This aint no Lizardmen den I've ever seen."

The comment piqued the ears of Cana.

 "When have you ever seen a Lizardman den? We don't have those in Arcturus."

 "Wait, Arcturus?" Mika questions.

 "Yeah, Arcturus."

 "How'd you get passed the wall?"

Mika refers to the Arcturas Curtain, cordoning off a significant portion of Euphos. A conflict between the Arcturan unified colonies in the North-West and the Elysian lead colonies in the center of the continent sparked a bitter dispute of land rights.

The Arcturan banners believed each colony deserved the lands they laid claim to, and no other can take from them. The Elysian banners thought the Arcturans too greedy with their claims. Years of proxy battles involving bandit clans lead to the Arcturans finally having enough, and created a monstrous barrier around their lands. A monument to their sovereignty and their stubborness.

Rare is it for anyone to venture out of the Arcturas Curtain. Rarer still that they ever live to see much of the outside world. It's often kept as a closely guarded secret among refugees. Cana's absent-mindedness let her loose tongue slip.

 "It's best if we drop the subject."

Mika pouts, and walks towards Serah.

 "What do you see?"

 "Not much."

She tosses rocks into the hole, testing its depth. The mounds of dirt lining the crevace is solid. Packed by hand, and time.

Serah calls Cana over.

 "Light, please."

She picks another flame from her orb, and tosses it down into the pit.

 "Whoa. That's a long way down."

Cana drops the entirety of her orb down in the pit and controls the fall. Eventually, once down deep enough, she disperses the whole thing and it reveals the site. The pit ends roughly 30 meters below.

 "Who's first?"

Serah moves to jump down, but is stopped by Cana.

 "No. Kain, you go."

 "Why me?"

 "Kain, go. If you die screaming we'll stay here."

He casts a quick spell, forming a claw of ice. He jumps down, and uses his it to control his descent. Once at the bottom, he prepares a large circle.

 Ice Wall!

A barrier of pure ice is formed from the moisture in the air. It takes the shape and form of a slide, allowing for his team to safely arrive at the bottom. It's not a perfect creation, aside from a smoothed out groove in the center, large shards of ice protrude outward and into the cavern walls. It's crude, but it will make do.

Reunited once again, Cana creates another orb and poses a concern.

"Which way?"

Kain's Ice Wall had nearly blocked the northern side of the tunnel. With no obvious clues, they turn away and head to the south.

The tunnel is smooth rock and clay on all sides. No support beams, just solid matter, as if carved out from a mountain. Moisture from above leaks through the few cracks to be found. It's almost completely silent, the occasional dripping echoes around them, heard above the cracking Cana's orb.

Even their steps are silent, the only noise made was the crunching of gravel.

Twisting and turning, they walk on with no end. Cana dropping flames to light the way back, in the event they happen across a fork in the road.

 "Is it not strange? Is it not strange that we're just.. walking, in a straight line? I didn't take Lizardmen for Earth Dragons."

Serah stops the group.

 "Earth Dragons?" Kain asks.

 "Earth Dragons. Those giant beasts that carve out subterranian caverns like this one."

 "We don't have those around Elysia." Mika adds.

 "Yet here we are. In a giant, endless tunnel. Did we miss something?"

Cana continues on, lighting the way.

Kain shrugs as Serah continues with her rant.

  "I mean, really. Think about it for a moment. There's no proof they were here. Only that they used the cellar. Not a single bone to be seen. How long have we been walking for? How far away from the farm are we? Surely we must be close to Elysia by now."

Cana backtracks to the group.

 "So what you're saying is maybe we should head back?"

Serah nods her head.

 "Good thing you're just a shadow then." Cana says with a cheeky smirk.

She notices Serah's clear displeasure with the comment.

 "Tell you what, we keep going for another hour. If we find nothing, we collapse the tunnel and head back. Fair?"

 "Fair."

Over an hour passes. They're still in the same deep, dark, dank cavern. Only this time they're sure they crossed under the Elysian river. The dripping of water is more frequent, enough water has fallen into the cavern that a creek has formed. The water had eroded solid rock, and formed a small cleft, and drains further ahead.

On their way, Serah considers the alternatives. The meat on the Corn stalks, it was indeed fresh. There was plenty insect activity near the particular section they had seen. But the attacks happened two days prior, at least. Why would there be fresh meat, shouldn't it have been dried out from the air exposure? Better yet, why the tunnel? Why would they use the cellar when they had this?

Something didn't add up. A group of mindless beasts in a seemingly coordinated effort. They are little different than a pack of Lycan. Their intelligence goes only so far as 'Find food, attack from behind, eat food, bathe.'

The team had walked in silence, careful as to not miss any smells or sounds. Little variation had been found, and Serah spoke up.

 "Ok, that's enough. Let's head back."

Cana releases her orb.

 "A deal is a deal, I suppose. Alright, let's head back."

As the group turns to leave, Mika turns back around. Something caught her attention, but she knows not what it is. Suddenly, she smells it.

 "Salt, and sulfur..."

With full confidence, she shouts her command.

 "No, we're going deeper."