“So we are stuck… For how long?” Helena asked.
“I don’t know, but hang on,” Hera pulled Ariadne from her waist. The relic hadn’t seen much use lately aside from expanding the range of her court. Even the new ability of echolocation was yet to be used in any form that helped. She did use it every now and then, but all attempts at finding a hidden path ended up failing. Still, what Hera wanted now as a more basic function, “How long it will take for us to be able to leave the room?”
The Empress pumped a couple million points of mana into that question. Hoping it would be enough. Thankfully, that was the case, and the screen flashed with an answer.
‘10 days.’
“Fuck, really? 10 days?” Hera groaned.
“This is going to keep up for 10 days?” Helena glanced outside. For now, they were in the cave by the doorway which somewhat protected them from the sandstorm outside.
“It seems like it,” Hera huffed and slumped to the ground.
“Can we stay in your private room during that time? We have enough food, water is the big issue. Not to mention it would be more comfortable than here,” Helena turned to the Empress.
“I don’t think so. Not through here, at least. When I touched the doorway, it doesn’t even show the option of going to my private room. Even if we go back to where we came I don’t think it will make that much of a difference. The notification said ‘Doorway inactive.’ Not this Doorway. Which makes me think that’s happening on all Doorways in the room.”
“And the only way to figure that out would be to brave the storm,” Helena glanced to Nimbus who still was on his awakened form, “Actually, can’t we just wait for a couple of hours for you to ask Ariadne again?”
“Hey! I’m not that bad of a ride,” Nimbus huffed. Hera and Helena both pointed to the spots outside that still had stains of their throw up, “It’s not my fault you two have a weak stomach,” he grumbled.
“It quite literally is. You didn’t have to make such sharp turns. It wasn’t as if there was anything on the way,” Hera huffed. She then turned around, to the exit, the wind was picking up rapidly, with more and more sand being kicked into the cave, “I should make a bunker here… Actually. Lena, can you give me a moment? I’ll make a box and get inside. There is one more thing I can try.”
“That question thing that no one can be close for you to do? Ok. Do you need me to remove my senses?”
Hera shook her head, “You don’t need to go that far. Just don’t come inside here. I’ll trigger the safety cube too, just in case.”
“Ok, is Nimbus going with you?”
“No, he stays outside. If something happens, he can warn me.”
“It’s been a while since we had a chance to talk with a new guide,” Daskka spoke up, getting a smile from the Empress.
Helena nodded and Hera quickly used her stone shape spell to create a small house out of the rocks. She had become quite proficient at that kind of thing. When the Harmony Guardians had to stay in a place that had a storm, or that had some aggressive monsters, she would always make that, just in case. Once inside the stone box, Hera put up a soundproof barrier and activated the safety cube. Even if it was a tool to protect people and not used to hide from others. Making a couple of dancing lights above her just to be able to see things, she triggered the skill.
“I call upon the Guide of the Dunes of Isolation. As an explorer, I have proven that my motives are pure.”
From the shadows created by the safety cube, a shape emerged. Whoever they were, had their face covered by a dark hood. Robes of the same color as the darkness surrounding them. There were two pair of sleeves, one that ended before a large pair of orange pincers, and another that showed two tiny legs, or arms, in this case, placed over one another. The robe continued down their waist, and covered the rest of their body, appearing from behind with another two sets of legs and a large tail warped in black bandages with a stinger on the tip. This was a scorpion guide. One wearing the kind of clothes you would expect to see in ancient China.
A surprisingly silky masculine voice emerged from the guide as he bowed, “This Zhao Ye greets the weary traveler.”
Hera quickly tried to remember the cultivation stories she knew, “This Hera Quetzaveth greets the noble guide,” the Empress bowed in kind, but quickly corrected herself, “I mean this Quetzaveth Hera. The last name comes first, right?”
Zhao nodded, “That is correct, Lady Quetzaveth. I must say, the tales spun by my brethren do not make you justice. You are truly exceptional.”
“Thank you,” Hera smiled, feeling a bit flustered, “I apologize for being sick in your room. It wasn’t intentional, and it did not reflect my thoughts on it.”
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“Fear not. Lady Quetzaveth. This one understands it was a situation beyond your control. My hopes are that you feel better already.”
Hera nodded, “Thank you, Guide Zhao. I feel much better already.”
“Hearing that brings me joy. And this one thanks Lady Quetzaveth for following the customs of this land.”
The Empress paused, “Customs… You’re right. This would be part of your customs.”
“What do you mean, Lady Quetzaveth?” Zhao Ye, the shadow scorpion guide, asked.
“Sorry. I just never thought of it that way. I always acted as if the way you show yourself is just your personality, but it makes a lot of sense to think of it as something more cultural.”
“This one is happy to have been of service,” Zhao bowed again.
“No. Thank you, Guide Zhao. I just need to rethink how I interact with your brethren,”
“If this one can offer some advice. There is no need to do such a thing. My siblings appreciate the interactions they had with you,” Zhao paused, his head turning to the side before adding, “For the most part.”
“Percy is still talking shit about me? Damn. I figured he would’ve let go by now. I mean, it wasn’t even that bad. I just didn’t bring anything to him.”
“This one shouldn’t speak ill of its kin. Even if the Lady’s insight was able to discern the words hidden between words.”
Hera frowned, repeating that line in her head for a moment, “I think that was a yes. But do you mind if we get to business? I have a friend waiting outside and I don’t want her to be buried under the sands.”
“Of course. How can I assist you, Lady Quetzaveth?” a sundial appeared between Hera and Zhao, the representation of the five minutes she had.
“Ok. The sandstorm will last for 10 days, and during that time, doorways are locked. I want to know if there is a way to get out of here sooner. It’s a lovely room, but we are in a bit of a rush. If there is a way, what is it? Give me as much information about that as you can within the 5 minutes,” Hera said.
“An auspicious question. One that can be answered by this one,” Zhao Ye paused, staring at the sundial. After a few moments, he grumbled and pulled his hood back, revealing a surprisingly cartoony face. His beady black eyes almost looked drawn in and his mouth wasn’t the one of a scorpion, but just a line near the bottom of his round head, “Crap.”
“Is everything ok?” Hera asked.
“Yeah, yeah. It’s just… the answer is complicated and keeping up with the character won’t help. So have to explain it normally.”
“Oh… Sorry.”
Zhao shook his head, “That’s ok. It’s my own fault for doing this. I still like it but sometimes I have to put my work first,” he sighed, and the sundial vanished.
“That sucks! I liked the character. Felt like we were talking with one of the spy sects from the stories. Not the beggar one, that other that worked out of bars and brothels, you know. But you were like, the spy spy from them, not one that is hiding in plain sight,” Daskka spoke up.
Zhao opened a big smile, “That was exactly what I was going for. I based the whole thing on the Hao Sect. Or at least a few versions of it from stories. There are probably other names, but at some point, everyone started agreeing that that was the name of the spy sect.”
“I know! It’s super weird how that happened,” Daskka gasped.
Zhao nodded vigorously as he pulled a scroll from his tunic. It was a bamboo scroll with the usual green slabs of wood protecting the paper inside, “You have no idea. This is not new, old civilizations had stories with spies. For some reason, their name was similar to Hao. Either the translation or meaning matches with what people have today, or the sound does. No one knows why that happened. And we tried to figure out, but there is literally no explanation.”
“Maybe some sort of collective consciousness. Is that a thing?” Hera suggested.
“Maybe, but we don’t know anything about that. Or is just the System doing something weird in the background,” Zhao stopped, looking to the side, “I called you weird. Are you going to nag?” he frowned, “One day. I’ll make you answer,” with a huff, he opened the scroll revealing a partial map of the room.
“What’s this?” Daskka leaned forward.
“This is a map of the room. But you should only be seeing what you already know. If there are things you haven’t found, those places should be blank.”
Hera nodded, the map that she got for this place wasn’t complete. Only a part of the pillars were displayed, and the invisible walls were nowhere to be seen.
“Ok then. There is a dungeon here,” Zhao pointed to a pillar to the southeast of Hera’s location, “You should take two hours to get there. Or much less if the big guy outside takes you as he is now. One of the possible rewards of the hard mode of this dungeon is a token that can halt the sandstorm in an area. Using it near the doorway will make it work again.”
The Ophidianite glanced at Zhao, “I’m sensing a but. It can’t be that easy.”
“Well… do you want the good news or the bad first?”
“The good.”
“The good is that it’s a guaranteed reward for the first time ever clear of the hard mode. Which will be the case if you beat it. The bad news is that no one figured out how to get into the hard mode yet. So that’s up to you.”
Hera sighed, “Do you have any hints?”
“Just one, and that’s all I can say. Consider the penguin.”
“Consider the penguin?”
“Yep,” Zhao nodded.
“Ok then… Consider the penguin. We’ll figure something out. Can you just tell me how many tries do we get? Cause if the whole thing takes longer than 10 days is not worth it.”
“You have between 3 and 4 attempts of the normal mode. And 1 or 2 of the hard mode. I can’t say the actual time it takes because your timer is out, but it is possible that it makes this faster for you,” Zhao glanced to the side, “Now you say something,” he groaned and pulled his hood back up, “Lady Quetzaveth. This one asks for your forgiveness, but this one’s return was requested by the master. May the sands bless your steps,” Zhao Ye bowed once more and stepped backwards, vanishing in the shadows.
Not long after, Hera stepped out of the bunker and saw Helena, eagerly waiting.
“So? Did you find anything?”
“Do you want the good news, the bad, or the worst first?”
“The good,” Helena replied without missing a beat.
“I found a way to get out of there. It’s in a dungeon. It’s a guaranteed drop from the hard mode, and it will be a first time clear so we can even get a level up. And we have a few chances to clear the dungeon before it makes no sense to continue. The bad news is that no one found a way to trigger the hard mode.”
“And the worst?”
“The dungeon is about two hours southeast, or,” Hera turned to Nimbus, “A shorter trip.”
Helena lost all the color in her face, “Can’t we walk?”
Nimbus crossed his arms, “I don’t even want to take you.”
Hera sighed, but the three headed to the door, despite all the jokes, they knew there was only one real option to get there.