When Amaro watched his brother skulking ahead, he wondered when his brother had trained to tail someone. It was certainly a useful skill, but for someone as honor obsessed as Anitus being able to eavesdrop and tail someone seemed out of character.
Regardless, Anitus was skilled. He was as quick as he was silent, running from tree to tree to keep out of sight. The three they tailed seemed none the wiser.
That’s what Amaro though, until he saw his own footprints in the snow again. By the time he realized, it was already too late. The ground, snow, and air came alive to trap them as the three Tiburs came down from the trees.
“Why are you following us?” a dark skinned xio said, pinning her knee on Amaro’s back. This must have been Arik. She really was strong.
“Call it curiosity.” Amaro said, trying to fake a laugh. He could see Anitus struggling to get a good fire going under Kaara’s magic. Raktus faired no better in a struggle of earth magic. It seemed the three of them had intentionally countered their elements.
“Turn back. This doesn’t concern you.” Arik said, standing up.
The other two let them go as well.
“I think it does concern us. After all, we don’t know anything about the savage ritual you’re going to put us through, and if the three of you are trying to stack the odds in your favor, then that puts my family at risk.” Anitus said, brushing the snow from his shoulder.
“We know about as much as you do about the ritual. This matter isn’t about that.”
“That’s a lie.” Raktus said.
Arik clicked her tongue, “I forgot you were here.”
“So it is about the ritual? Let’s make a deal shall we? You let us in on whatever trickery this is, and we won’t tell anyone else. There are other noble families participating, so whatever advantage you’re trying to get, I think it’s imperative we have it too.” Anitus said.
“I don’t think Arik meant to lie,” Kaara said, “We’re not trying to get an advantage in the ritual, but what we’re doing is technically related to it. We’re just trying to find answers.”
“Are you sure we can trust these three, Kaara?”
Kaara nodded, “I think they’d deserve to know just as much as we do.” She turned to Amaro and the others, “The thing is, I had a weird dream about a cave, so we’re going to check out and see it.”
“What does a cave from your dream have to do with anything?” Anitus said, crossing his arms.
“Well, for one thing, I’ve never been to it.”
“So you’re telling me you’re just sightseeing?”
“Sorta. It was in my dream, and Rorik said there’s a cave nearby that could be the same one. If that’s true, then I have to wonder why I would dream about it if I’ve never seen or heard about it before.”
“Either that cave doesn’t exist, or you’re just lying.”
“She’s not,” Raktus chimed in, “But she’s also good at telling the truth in a deceptive way.”
“You don’t have to believe me, and we didn’t ask to be followed. This is something I need to confirm for myself, but you’re welcome to come with us. I’d feel safer with you guys around,” Kaara said with a cheerful smile.
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Amaro felt his heart skip a beat, “I don’t see why not. Safety in numbers. Let’s go see that cave.”
“Alright fine, but you three better not be lumbering about like you were earlier. If the adults discover us out this late they’re gonna force us to go back.” Arik said, “I can only deafen so much, so be quiet and move as we move, got it?”
“We’ll do our best,” Amaro said.
They followed along, heading deeper and deeper into the forest. The wind avoided them and any tracks they left in the mud or snow vanished without a trace. They must have run for an hour or two.
If these three wanted to, they could abandon them out here and they would have no way of getting back. Even if Amaro could see well in the dark, the trees themselves were making it difficult to detect presence through magic. All of the Ingen trees had some sort of soul or magical energy about them. Amaro found that strange, seeing as the Ingen trees near the Xirxus Manor didn’t have that trait. Then again, these trees were much larger, and likely a lot older too.
Amaro had begun to wonder if the cave even existed at all by the time they finally got to it.
“This is the place.” Rorik said.
Amaro was stunned. It towered over them, the wind sucking snow into its gaping black maw. Even if Amaro could see well into the dark of the night without a moon to light the way, he could not see into the inky black of that cave.
Kaara stood in front of it, frozen in place.
“Is this the cave from your dream?”
Kaara could only nod in response.
“The air is strange around here.” Arik mentioned, “I know that sometimes caves will suck in air naturally, but it feels different.”
“I know what you mean.” Rorik said, “I can usually sense how deep something goes with my magic, but with this place it feels like that sense gets blurred.”
“I thought I might have been the only one, but I feel the same way.” Raktus said.
Anitus lit a flame in his palm, “So this is the big spooky cave that’s got you savages all superstitious hm?” He sent the mote of fire forward, only for it to extinguish a few meters in. He clicked his tongue, “Looks like there’s a field of antimagic in there.”
“Antimagic? Does that mean this place has been tampered with by humans or something?” Amaro said.
“Probably.” Anitus shrugged, “Humans are specialized in strange magics. Including curses and other sorts of wicked abominations.”
Kaara turned to them, “Whatever’s in here could be dangerous, and the deeper we go, the more dangerous it might get. If it’s true that this place has some sort of antimagic in it, then we’d all be useless in a fight.”
“Speak for yourself,” Anitus said, “Magic is as much a tool as it can be a crutch. I’ve honed more than just my soul to be ready for a fight, and I doubt I’d lose to such a simple handicap.”
“Even if you’re confident in your physical strength, what lurks down in these caves might be more than your body or mind can handle on their own.”
“So you want to turn back then?”
Kaara shook her head, “I want to make sure you guys know the risks before you follow us. If there’s a cave in, neither Rorik nor Raktus, or anyone might be able to help us. I plan on going as deep into the cave as I can, but I don’t want you guys following me blindly into it.”
Anitus picked up a sturdy branch, tore a strip of cloth from his cloak, and tied it over. He lit it up. “I’m well aware of the risks, and I didn’t just waste two hours skulking in the dead of night to turn back with my tail between my legs.”
Kaara nodded, pulling a few torches from a satchel on her waist, “Erm, you didn’t need to ruin your cloak like that, we brought plenty. They’ll probably last longer than that one too.”
Amaro and Raktus snickered behind him.
“Shut up you two!”
“I’ll tell father you snagged it on a bramble bush or something.” Amaro chuckled.
“You wanna help us light them up, Anitus? We could use your magic for that,” Kaara said without a hint of condescension in her voice.
It seemed to work on Anitus. He clicked his tongue, “Since you asked politely, then fine.” He snapped his fingers, igniting two torches for them to carry.”
“If it goes out or we need to light another one I’ve got some flint,” Rorik mentioned, “Let’s make them last. Arik do you think you can still sense if there’s dangerous gas in the caves if you can’t use your magic?”
“I got a pretty good nose for it, I think we’ll be fine.”
“Alright, then lets move out.”