Hera and her party left the Alliance Center just after they talked with Merrik. He showed them the places on the map where he found the wendigo, but unfortunately, that didn't match with what the Empress was discovering through her relic. Because of those incongruencies, they decided to go for the big guns and have the Ophidianite use her skill to get better answers. To do that, she went back to the hotel, asking the other party members to wait for her outside.

She quickly entered the room and called the court to keep a lookout, just in case, and activated her soundproof bubble. Using the skill to call the guide, she watched as a tiny hole appeared in the ground. A rotund black rabbit wearing shorts and white streaks across its fur, almost a Samoan tattoo pattern, emerged from it. It struggled for a bit to get off the actual opening before popping out.

"Fuck. I have to make this bigger next time," the guide huffed and turned to Hera, "Hey there. Sorry for the weird entrance. I'm Beizel."

"Hi there, I'm Hera. Did something happen for you to make the hole the wrong size? If that's too personal, you don't have to tell me. I'm just curious."

"Well… It's been a while since I was called, and I guess I gained some weight since last time," Beizel admitted.

"Really? You can gain weight?" Hera frowned.

"Depends on the guide. Peaches, for instance, can't. Or just doesn't allow himself to. I and some others have a more… Natural agreement with our bodies. Instead of just making a perfect form, we made the entire structure with organs. It took a very long time, but we reached the point of making bodies that can grow. Even if it's just weight and muscle mass."

"That's very interesting," Hera nodded with a smile but quickly snapped back to the task, "Sorry to cut this short, but we are running against the clock here. Do you mind if I start asking the questions?"

"Sure," Beizel pulled a pocket watch from his front pocket, "Five minutes and… When you ask the first question, I'll start."

"Can you give me answers about the wendigo?"

"Yes, but they are costly."

"Three days ago, the wendigo attacked a group. One of them died, one ran away, and the other two are missing. Is either of them still alive? Yes, no, or can't answer?"

"That will cost a bit of time. Just 30 seconds," Beizel warned Hera, but she confirmed he could use it, "Yes. One is alive."

Hera pulled her tablet, already with the map opened, "According to my relic, the Wendigo was moving between D2 and E2, but Merrik, the one who was able to escape that fight, said the monster was on B6. Are any of those options correct? When we are talking about where the wendigo is or where it usually stays?"

"Can I shave 2 minutes to give a good answer?" Beizel asked.

"Sure."

"Split the difference."

"So… C4?"

"Almost. Also, that is not the location of the wendigo, but the best place to start."

"And to save the remaining missing person?" Hera asked.

"That will cost the rest of the time. Is that ok?"

"Yeah."

"Start at C4. Head to E6. You should find them."

"Head to… not they are at E6?" Hera squinted.

Beizel smiled, "Yep. They did say you were smart."

"Thanks," Hera chuckled, "And I'm sorry for not being able to talk properly."

"Hey, don't worry. I understand. Some circumstances are not that great. But… I hope you don't take this personally, but I don't know you enough to say we can talk later. Next time you throw a party, ask someone to invite me; maybe that will change in the future," Beizel said.

Hera nodded. She understood where the guide was coming from, and she already knew many of them. Not to say she didn't want to have more of them to talk to, but it wasn't that big of a hit if someone refused to give her their number. The fact that they could still drop by for parties wasn't something she knew, but then again, pretty much all the guides she talked with were still open to having conversations.

The Empress left their room and headed downstairs with the other party members.

"Everyone out," she called as she walked into the street. Her entire court appeared, causing some people around them to gasp and stare in awe.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Oh? Did you get the information?" Flint asked. He only saw her doing something like that once before. When Vash noticed a group of monsters getting close to their carriage, they stopped to deal with them.

"Yep," Hera nodded, "Also, one of Merrik's party members should still be alive. The best place for us to start looking for the wendigo is on C4 on the map," she showed the map in her tablet, "This means we should just leave the city through the east gate and then head north. Well… northeast, but much more north than east."

"One of them is still alive?!" Neria gasped and put on her game face, "Let's move then!"

"Did Milla reply?" Hera asked as they started walking to the outside of the city.

"Yes. The most up-to-date map of the tunnels is still the one she got us yesterday," Skylar pulled her tablet to confirm that information and turned to Vash, "Oh, and she confirmed that our idea should work. But it will warn the monsters."

Vash nodded, "We were already thinking that would happen. Between all of us, I think we can take any rabbit. The problem is the wendigo," Vash frowned.

"I still say you do it," Roan looked at Skyler, "The wendigo can move through walls anyway. If we already expect it to be coming at us, we will be on the lookout from the get-go."

"I still say we go for the buddy system," Nimbus said.

"I can be in my Sea Serpent form. It's still big but more maneuverable in a tunnel," Livy added.

"What about Hera?" Neria asked.

"I have Daskka, and I'll try to have my blades spread around, too. That way, we can have eyes on all directions," Hera explained.

They all nodded and continued walking, still discussing the plans of attack. It would be their first proper fight in a group. When they were attacked by the hyenas in the previous room, Viper and Crimson killed most of them before they even left the woods. It was a test of their stealth ability, and they passed it with flying colors. Aside from that conversation, everyone was already looking for tracks or any signals of the wendigo. Even if they were not in the location Hera mentioned, that didn't mean the monster wouldn't move around and appear somewhere else.

As they approached the forest, the Ophidianite's heartbeat picked up. Even after all this time, she still was afraid of that type of monster. The idea of having to fight a creature that hunted her for a whole week all the way back in Brinnefront and caused the deaths of dozens of people when the wall broke was starting to weigh in her mind. She'd been through a lot already, many fights and close calls. Yet, despite knowing she wasn't going to face the strongest enemy she had ever faced, there was a fear in the back of her mind.

"Hera, are you alright?" Skylar asked.

"Yeah, why?" Hera looked up from her tablet.

"You are shaking," Vash was holding his arm and staring at Hera with a concerned expression.

The Empress clenched her fist and took a deep breath. In addition, she had already cast an Earth Elemental Armor to increase her defenses, "Yeah. Sorry. I have some bad memories dealing with wendigos. I told you guys how my first encounter went," she reached for her ear. Now, it no longer had a missing piece. However, it wasn't the same smooth surface she had during most of her life. That made it easier to remember how she had lost a large part of her ear during a fight against a wendigo, "I thought I was over this kind of fear already."

"Well… wendigos are the first persistent threat we have in the MAZE. I mean a threat that is the same everywhere. Not just 'monsters' or 'dungeons,'" Roan nodded.

"Well, there are rampages, but I think they don't count," Skylar said.

"Yeah, not every place has a rampage. So it's kind of like that, but also not quite," Roan continued, "Wendigos are the only thing that everyone, no matter the room, can end up finding. And the idea that it can grow and become more powerful depending on what, or who, it eats makes things a lot harder."

"That's true. I mean, can you imagine what would happen if one of them ate Hera? What could it do thanks to her legacy?" Vash shivered.

"Well… I'm not that sure. I mean, it's all about weapons, and I need to make a ritual to get them. I don't know if a wendigo could do that," Hera replied.

"It wouldn't matter. The power would still be there," Nimbus nodded, "Even if you are not a mage, some spells could be created based on your abilities."

"That's true. And we don't know if they would need a ritual. We only know what happens when we kill a monster with a legacy," Flint said.

Hera gulped. The idea of having to fight a monster that could have its own court made things much more complicated, "If that's the case… Can I ask for a favor?"

Neria looked back at the Empress with a stern expression, "No, you cannot. Our options are kill it, or run. No 'die trying' options are available. And especially no 'Kill me before it gets my legacy' option."

"That would be a smart move, actually," Flint said.

"I don't care. While I'm alive, we are not killing someone for the greater good or whatever bullshit you want to say," Neria huffed and continued walking.

After about 30 minutes, they arrived at an area filled with rabbit tunnels. Vesh and Nimbus took to the sky for a different advantage point while the rest of them searched for any tracks that could lead them to the wendigo. Since it was a creature that shouldn't be here, all they had to do was find some markings that didn't match the rest. Or at least, this was their initial idea. If this plan didn't work, they would have to think about something else.

"Hey, can someone check the tunnels over there? I found something," Skylar said as she approached one of the tunnels.

"I'll go," Viper walked closer.

"Is it something we can use?" Hera asked through their communicators

"Not really," Skyler crouched down and took a photo of something written in the dirt. Sending it on their tablets, they saw the words 'Viv, I'm sorry.'

"Damn, was this the last message of the party member who died?" Crimson asked.

"It kind of looks like it. Or it's from the one who is alive. They might have reached here and decided to run back to try to save their friends," Neria suggested.

"If we don't find any decent hints, we can follow that tunnel. For now, back to searching," Flint said.

Everyone agreed and continued searching for anything. Unfortunately, after half an hour, they felt like they had combed the area pretty well, and there were no markings that revealed the location of the wendigo. In hindsight, it made sense. After all, if the monster could move through the earth, it would be able to roam without leaving any tracks behind.

With no other option left, the group gathered at the tunnel where Skyler found the message and slowly entered the network of caves where the wendigo and a horde of monstrous rabbits lived.