Before everyone arrived back in the camp, where the statues talking about the challenges were located, Hera pulled Blue to the side. This whole situation felt very familiar to her, and she worried about the controller's reaction.
"Hey, can we talk for a moment?"
"Sure, what's up?" Blue replied in a cheery voice.
The way she spoke caught Hera off guard. she was expecting many different things but having her friend be seemingly excited wasn't one of them, "I just want to know how you're doing. I feel like it's the second time I get you stuck in a random room."
"Second time? Hera, are you saying that you got me stuck in Boothudurn?" Blue was aghast with that possibility.
"I mean… yeah."
"Are you fucking kidding me? We've been over this already. You didn't get me stuck anywhere. You saved my life by taking me to Boothudurn. I was never angry about that, and I'm not angry about this now, even if we do end up getting stuck here for whoever long," Blue rolled her eyes before putting her arm around Hera, "This is not your fault, everyone knows that things can get weird, although I don't remember ever hearing about a doorway that doesn't let you cross unless you do something inside it."
"Me neither. But it's not that weird. I mean, the one we used to get to Boothudurn only appeared when very specific conditions were met," Hera replied as she put her arm around Blue's waist. Happy that her friend was still acting like usual.
"That's true, but we will be fine. And we can still talk with people outside, even if it's just when we are close to the doorway. Also, between Shane, Adriel, and you, we could all sleep in actual beds instead of having to camp outside. Can't we?"
Hera looked around, "Pretty much, we can have three people stay in each room and one with two. Although, I'm not sure who will be in the mood to share a room with Alex and Adriel."
"White sandy beaches, a beautiful paradise-like island. The pressure of being stuck somewhere without a clear way of going back. Yeah, those two are going to make some noise, aren't they?" Blue looked to Adriel and Alex, who were walking side by side and talking without a care in the world. Her eyes then shifted towards Mylo and Shane, who were more quiet but still walking side by side, "Do you know if they are going to do something like that too?"
Hera sneaked a glance at them, pretending to be looking past the two. Mylo noticed that and looked behind him before turning back to Hera with a puzzled look. The Countess just shook her head and mouthed, 'thought I saw something,' before turning back to Blue, "I honestly don't know. As far as I'm aware, they don't have that kind of relationship."
"What are you girls talking about?" Helena popped from the side with a smirk on her face.
"Nothing!" Blue and Hera replied at the same time.
"Right," Helena squinted at them.
"Actually, we were talking about those challenge things. It's the first time I ever hear about a doorway that gives a condition to cross. Is that common?" Hera asked.
Helena shook her head, "Honestly, it's the first time I heard about it too. I know that in very rare cases, a doorway can have a condition when they're not functioning. Something like the one in Boothudurn that you two took. Or another that says, 'you can't cross during a storm,' but having that lock being associated with a set of challenges is a first."
Hera turned to ask Shane and Adriel about that, but this was also a first for them, and soon, they all arrived at the camp with the sculptures again. They spent around 30 minutes there, trying to find something about these challenges but to no avail. Each of the statues had a unique riddle and depicted something different from the others. Another issue they had to consider was the food. So far, no monster had appeared, which meant that they would have to scavenge to have a meal. If push came to shove, they had enough rations to last three days, but after that, they wouldn't have anything to eat anymore. However, Adriel noticed some shapes moving in the water, and since he had experience with seafood, he offered to fish and then check if everyone could eat them or if they would be poisonous.
In the end, they decided to split off and try to find out more about this island. Everyone formed teams of two to move around. Blue and Helena went to the south of the island, following a path that would cross the small forest in the center of it. Mylo and Shane went back to the doorway to the east to see if they missed anything there, leaving Hera and Bonnie to head to the west, towards the beach closest to another of the seven islands in the room.
When they finally reached the shore, they were greeted by a warm wind and salty smell that made Hera shiver despite herself. She was starting to get used to the cold of the previous room, so being in this place was quite refreshing.
"Hey, Bonnie, did you notice any dangerous animals on this island?" Hera asked while stretching her arms.
"Nope, I didn't. Only plants and fish."
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"You saw fish too?" Hera turned to the side, trying to catch some movement in the water. The ocean was so clear that she could see the base of the giant God of Water statue from here, and yet, she couldn't see any fish moving around.
"Yeah. I think it's the type that can change colors. You know, those fish that can blend with the environment," Bonnie explained.
"Like stone fish?"
"No, those just look like they are part of the environment. Some fish can actually change colors, like an octopus or a chameleon."
"Oh... right. Like cuttlefish, right?"
Bonnie frowned, "I mean, yeah, but aren't cuttlefish closer to an octopus than a fish?"
"I have no idea. We can ask Adriel later," Hera paused while looking around, just to be sure they weren't missing anything, "Say... Did you tell your mother?"
"Tell her what?"
"That we are stuck here, at least for the foreseeable future."
"I... I didn't think of that... Do you think I should?"
"I think so. Speaking as someone who already got stuck in a place where I couldn't reach out to my family. It might help her know what is going on with you," Hera stopped to think for a moment, "Also, there is a chance my dad will talk to her."
"You told your dad?"
Hera nodded, "I don't know if I ever told you that, but when I was lost in Boothudurn, my dad had a funeral for me. I told him what is going on and asked him not to worry, even if I stopped responding to him. And then if all of our vitals vanish at the same time, he shouldn't think the worst."
"But then he will be waiting for you forever, won't he?"
"I asked him to wait a year. If I spend more than a year without giving any signals that I'm alive, then... I didn't finish that part. I don't want him to go through that again."
Bonnie nodded, "I can imagine," she was about to say something else when something caught her eye, "Hera... are you seeing that?"
"Seeing what?"
"There, in the distance," Bonnie pointed to where the horizon was, "there's a city."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really. I didn't notice it before because the trees were in the way, but now the wind has picked up. I'm sure I saw it. Right there, on the next island. When the wind pushes the trees. "
Hera looked over and waited for a gust of wind. At a certain point, the palm trees shifted, and beyond it, she could see what looked like the roof of a few buildings, "It does look like a city, but it's hard to tell it from here," she looked to the side and noticed a clump of trees on top of a small hill, "Let's go up there. Maybe we can get a better look. I don't think it's a good idea to go to another island without everyone else."
"Sure, but couldn't you just call Nimbus? I mean, there is no reason not to have him out now, is there? Also, is there a reason why you didn't call Daskka out yet? It feels weird to see you without her."
"I can... and yeah, you're right. Adriel already knows about them. I can have everyone out all the time," Hera summoned her entire court since she had dismissed Nimbus after Adriel asked him a few questions, "Sorry for keeping you out for so long, guys. There was so much going on that I got a bit lost."
"You don't have to apologize, Empress. We understand that there was a lot going on. Also, I appreciate the moment to gather myself. Pulling the submarine in this form wasn't easy," Nimbus replied.
"This place is really pretty, mum, but what is that?" Daskka snuggled on Hera's neck and pointed at the God of Water statue.
"We still don't know. Nimbus, could you fly me up? There is something on that island over there, and I want to get a better look. Just go up. We are not getting closer for now."
Nimbus nodded and picked Hera up in a princess carry before flying high in the sky. He was moving slowly since this was a new place, and they didn't know if something could happen. They raised about 10 meters when Hera decided to stop. She didn't want to push their luck while they were still scouting the place. On the next island, she could see some very simple houses that looked made of clay or sand, but she couldn't see any more movement there, which probably meant that the place was abandoned. Then again, she was only seeing a small piece of the area since the trees would still block part of her view.
When she felt it was enough, Hera told Nimbus to come down, but as she shifted her gaze to the island where she was currently, she noticed a clearing in the forest with some stone stairs. In the middle of it, she could see a fountain with some very large stones surrounding it. Four statues were standing in front of it, depicting figures that looked to be wearing armor with a unique pattern that was a mix of tree leaves and scales. She told Bonnie about it, and they went to investigate. As they approached, they realized that they were all women, but each one had a slightly different expression on their bodies. It was hard to explain since all four statues were exactly the same, but just glancing around, they could tell that one was happy, one was sad, one was angry, and the last one was afraid. Even more odd was the fact that they couldn't see the faces of those statues.
"They are so strange..." Bonnie said, staring at the statues.
"Yes. I wonder what they represent," Hera walked closer to the fountain, "It might be a good idea to bring everyone here," Hera stepped back and accidentally touched the fountain causing a notification to appear in front of her.
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You have found the challenge of Cratic.
Walk inside the fountain to start the challenge.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hera turned around and moved away from the fountain while telling Bonnie what had just happened. The researcher touched the stone, and the same message appeared.
"Ok, we need to grab everyone and bring them here. I don't think it's a good idea to try this without them knowing," Bonnie said.
"I agree. According to Lena, even if monsters shouldn't be above level… 20 was it?" Hera turned to Bonnie, who just nodded in reply, "Level 20 outside, inside a dungeon, they can be much higher. And we don't know how strong the things inside this place will be.
"Do you want me to go get everyone?" Nimbus asked.
"No, let's go together. We still don't know what is going on around here," Hera shook her head as they started to head back to the campsite. She wasn't sure what to expect. They found a city and the challenge. She could only imagine what everyone else found in this place.