The silence of dawn enveloped the refuge. Although my body needed rest after so many battles and revelations, my mind remained alert, going over recent events. The artifact, the bright points on the map, and potential allies... it all seemed like an unresolved puzzle.

The first rays of sunlight began to slip through the cracks in the refuge, and I heard footsteps approaching. It was Lyris, with a determined yet worried look in her eyes.

"Can’t sleep?" she asked, sitting down beside me.

"It’s complicated," I replied, looking at the ground. "After what happened with the artifact... I can’t stop thinking about all that’s left to do."

Lyris nodded, sharing my feelings. "The important thing is that we now have a direction. Eldrek laid out the plan, and Zhavros provided us with the means to move quickly."

"I know that," I said, sighing. "But we can’t forget that Grimmor is still after us. And each place we visit... we don’t know what awaits us there."

"Exactly," Lyris replied, her tone serious. "Each place could be full of surprises, and not all of them will be good. For now, though, we must stay cautious and move forward carefully."

Before I could respond, Zhavros appeared out of nowhere with his usual smile. He still looked a bit exhausted but no longer showed the evident signs of wear from the previous day.

"I see you’re already planning the day," he said, stretching as if he didn’t have a care in the world. "I hope you don’t forget that without me, you wouldn’t get very far."

Lyris glared at him, but I just sighed. "We know we need your help, Zhavros," I replied. "I just hope you’re ready for what’s to come. The places we marked don’t look easy to navigate."

He chuckled lightly, his eyes gleaming with a hint of malice. "Don’t worry, dear Darius. I’m more than ready. And besides," he added with a sideways smile, "I’ve got a few surprises ready in case things get complicated."

Lyris watched Zhavros for a moment before speaking, her tone soft but curious. "Don’t you feel any nostalgia about having to leave your refuge?" she asked, looking around at the place that had been his base for so long.

Zhavros shrugged, keeping the same expression.

"Nostalgia? I don’t usually get attached to material things. This refuge means nothing to me," he replied dismissively, as if the place held no value whatsoever. Then, without losing his mocking tone, he added:

"Not like Darius, who seems to have a peculiar attachment to his pendant."

I froze for a moment, surprised that Zhavros had noticed the small pendant I always wore under my clothes. Without thinking, I brought my hand to my chest, touching the pendant through the fabric as if doing so could protect it even more.

"It’s... something someone important gave me," I murmured, avoiding looking directly at Zhavros.

Zhavros, with that irritating smile, moved a little closer and looked at me sideways. "It’s things like that that could make you lose control, don’t you think?" he said, letting his words drop slowly, savoring their effect.

"What would happen if you lost it? Or if someone stole it? Have you ever thought about what might happen within you?"

With that, he turned and began to walk away, preparing the last details before our departure. Yet his words continued to echo in my mind. Instinctively, I kept touching the pendant, gripping it tighter, a mixture of anger and worry building inside me.

"Damn Zhavros..." I muttered to myself. I couldn’t deny that he was right. If something happened to the pendant, I wasn’t sure how I would react. That small object was one of the few links I had left to my past, to what I once was.

As I tried to control my thoughts, I felt the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. The pendant was a symbol of what I had lost and what I still had to protect. And deep down, I knew that Zhavros had seen through me more than I’d like to admit.

Before I could get lost in my thoughts again, I felt Lyris’s hand on my shoulder. Her touch was firm but comforting.

"Don’t let Zhavros’s words bother you," she said gently. "You know how he is; he loves to unsettle others."

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I nodded, though Zhavros’s words still weighed on my mind. Lyris was right.

Before I could respond, Eldrek approached with steady steps, interrupting any other thoughts. "It’s time to leave," he said in an authoritative yet calm voice. "We have a long road ahead."

We all nodded in unison. It was time to leave the refuge behind. We headed to the carriage, where Zhavros was already at the front, holding the reins of the Fire Salamanders.

The carriage, sturdy and elegant, waited at the exit of the refuge. I climbed in with the others, noting how each of us settled into place in silence, mentally preparing for what might come. Zhavros handled the Salamanders with ease, saying nothing as Eldrek guided him on the path.

"It’ll be at least a day’s journey, if nothing interrupts us," Zhavros commented with a smile, as if expecting something to complicate our path.

We entered the tunnels that connected to the outside. The echo of the wheels rumbled through the tunnels, mixing with the pounding of the Salamanders’ feet on the ground and the crackling of sparks falling from their fiery bodies.

After so much time inside the refuge, the tunnel felt endless, almost as if it were leading us into the unknown.

Finally, upon exiting the tunnels, the sun hit us with unexpected force. The heat and light immediately enveloped us. We hadn’t seen it since entering the refuge.

Eldrek looked at the horizon before pointing the way. "That way," he said, his gaze fixed in the distance. Zhavros nodded, holding the reins firmly and quickening the Salamanders’ pace.

The carriage moved steadily, and the journey seemed to proceed without any problems. The sound of the Fire Salamanders trotting over the dry ground echoed around us, and Zhavros kept the reins in hand effortlessly, though his gaze remained alert.

Suddenly, something made Eldrek furrow his brow. He observed the ground ahead of us, his stance tense as if he had detected something unusual. "Careful," he said in a low voice, keeping his eyes on the horizon. "We have company."

It didn’t take long before I felt it too. The ground started to vibrate beneath us, and not in the usual way. A deep hum, almost vibrating, began to resonate, growing stronger. I recognized it immediately. "Giant beetles," I murmured, feeling a mix of unease and frustration. We had encountered these creatures before, and they weren’t easy to evade.

Ahead of us, the ground began to crack, and from those cracks, the beetles emerged. They were huge, with armored bodies and sharp mandibles that crushed rocks as they moved. They advanced with alarming speed for creatures of their size, already blocking our path.

Zhavros, far from showing concern, displayed a confident smile. "Perfect," he said with a tone of satisfaction. "Salamanders, accelerate!"

The Salamanders responded immediately to his command. Their bodies began to glow more intensely, and before we could brace ourselves, I felt a rush of hot air as they started to run at full speed, as if an internal flame were propelling them forward.

The giant beetles, however, didn’t stop. One of them lunged at the carriage, its mandibles open as if trying to crush it in a single strike.

Zhavros, with an unshakable calm, made a gesture with his hand. "Now, fire!" he shouted, and the Salamanders responded instantly.

From their jaws came torrents of fire that lit up the path like a miniature sun. The heat was scorching, and the air around us grew thick, almost unbreathable. The beetles in their path received the flames head-on, their thick shells sizzling and cracking as they staggered back awkwardly, colliding with each other in a futile attempt to avoid the fire.

As resilient as they were, they couldn’t withstand the intensity of the flames. The Salamanders advanced, leaving a trail of smoke and ashes, and the beetles that weren’t destroyed simply retreated, unable to face the beasts that Zhavros controlled.

"Keep going!" Zhavros shouted, clearly enjoying the scene. I felt the carriage’s momentum as we sped through, passing the creatures that still wobbled, trying to regroup.

When the last of the beetles was behind us, the Salamanders slowed their pace, and the air around us began to cool once again.

Zhavros looked back, satisfied.

"I told you, with the Salamanders, we have nothing to fear," he said, lightly shaking the reins so the creatures would keep a steadier pace.

Lyris, watching from her seat, looked at him with a mix of surprise and admiration. "I didn’t know the Salamanders were that powerful."

Zhavros gave his typical arrogant smile. "They are, when they’re under the right orders."

As the Salamanders returned to a calmer pace and the air began to cool, Eldrek took out his scroll, the one he had made based on the artifact’s projection.

With the map spread in his hands, his eyes fixed on a mountainous area, a point he had marked with special emphasis.

"I think that’s the area where the first individual should be," he said, pointing at it with a finger.

I leaned in a bit to get a better look at the map and nodded, though I couldn’t avoid feeling a small spark of unease.

"Let’s hope they receive us kindly," I commented, trying to keep a positive tone, although I knew nothing on this journey had been that simple.

Lyris, always the most cautious, frowned. "We should be careful," she said, her gaze shifting from Eldrek to the rest of the group. "There are only four of us, and among us is a giant and... well, a rather grim figure who doesn’t exactly inspire trust." She didn’t say it with disdain, but it was clear she was referring to Zhavros.

Zhavros, who hadn’t left his spot at the front of the carriage, smiled from his position as if Lyris’s words amused him.

"If they won’t help us willingly," he commented with his usual sarcastic tone, "perhaps they’ll help us the hard way."

I rolled my eyes at his words but couldn’t help feeling a slight nervousness. "I hope you’re just joking, Zhavros," I said.

Zhavros didn’t respond, but his smile remained, and silence settled over us again as the carriage continued on its way. The landscape around us began to change, becoming rockier and more mountainous, indicating that our first destination was drawing closer.

Although we didn’t know exactly who we’d find, we were all prepared for whatever awaited us upon arrival.