It was painful to watch Jul stumbling forward.

After three sleepless nights, and three days of barely sleeping while Nar carried her, the scout was unsteady on her feet, as she supported the full capabilities of her senses.

Not a single sound of discomfort, or a protest, came out of her though.

Kur watched her with fierceness. Every time she tripped and swayed, he was there to keep her steady. He didn’t fail once. Even Tuk, Cen and Mul had withdrawn closer to the center, to cover her.

Tas had tried to take over from Kur, as their party leader ordered them away from the center of the room, and closer to the relative cover of the left wall. However, Mul had glared at him, shutting him up before Kur had even had a chance to speak.

Nar swelled with pride. For Jul, and for the party, which seemed to be coming back together once more.

Tas tried Tuk next, but the trugger wasn’t having it either. He barely replied to Tas’ questions and prompts. All that the red leader seemed to be able to get out of Tuk were grunts and monosyllabic sounds. And at the front, even Viy seemed to be giving Wik the cold shoulder, replying only with one or two sentences to his incessant pestering.

By the way Gad kept staring back at him, Nar was sure she was about to snap at him.

Seeing his party gave him a grim sort of satisfaction. He knew that these people had been through a lot, but the way they had behaved was inexcusable.

Of the three of them, Rel was the only one that Nar had no issues with. She had kept to herself most of the time, and had done her job flawlessly, not even once complaining, and even going so far as to resist all attempts by Tas to let Nar handle the poisoner bolts.

As he glanced at her, still limping by his side, he couldn’t deny a certain feeling of respect for the archer.

She endured her pain in silence. She kept up the pace, and had never asked them to go slower for her. She had never complained or shied away from any fights, despite Tas’ insistence. If anything, given her condition, Nar wished she had actually taken it easy.

Even now, when it was obvious that her party was no longer enjoying the same welcome, she didn’t even seem fazed by it.

As he thought this, Tas sped up to walk besides Wik. They didn’t speak, but they had an obvious conversation with their eyes. Wik looked wild, and Nar frowned at the expression that darkened his face. Was that anger?

Damn… What in the pile is his problem? Nar wondered, even as Wik’s expression quickly turned bland once more.

Tas quietly retreated back to his original position, with his head hung low.

Nar looked between the two of them, and Rel. Throughout the whole thing, neither Tas nor Wik had tried to even engage with her. For her part, she had behaved as though neither of them existed. As though nothing wrong was happening at all.

Something’s not right, Nar realized.

Nar glanced from Rel to Tas, and back again.

These people have spent months together… And they’ve just survived and escaped from the worst thing that can happen to a party. Maybe it's just me, but… Why is she ignoring them? And why are they ignoring her? Something feels weird. Do they not like each other?

That was a possibility. Back in the cubeplant, after the battle against the cannibals, many people had tried to jump to different parties, not liking the one they had initially picked… But was that it? Somehow, that didn’t seem like it. He just couldn’t shake the sudden feeling of unease that took over him.

“Jul? What’s wrong?”

Nar stopped in formation, as they halted.

Kur held his hands slightly up, at his sides, ready to catch Jul if needed. He had followed her to the mouth of a dark corridor that split from theirs, and watched her as she inhaled deeply, poking her head into the corridor.

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Nar left her to it, and turned to face the darkness behind him. He used just the barest of touches from his [Sight], just to ensure that nothing had managed to sneak up on them again. Kur had asked him to keep his senses to a minimum, in case he needed to take over from Jul.

After a few tense seconds however, he lowered his sword. There was nothing there.

“Something wrong?” Rel asked him.

“I don’t think so,” Nar said.

“Will I try mine?”

“No. It’s fine for now,” Nar told her. “It’s okay, don’t strain yourself.”

She stared at him for a moment. As the moment stretched, Nar felt increasingly more awkward, knowing she was staring at him out of the corner of his eyes. Eventually though, she stepped back from him, closer to the middle of the party.

What was that about? He wondered, resisting the urge to turn his head to look at her.

“I sense something,” Jul said then. “But I can’t be sure.”

“Go on,” Kur said.

“It feels like last time… Before we saved them.”

“Crystal!” Cen said, covering her mouth.

“You mean, more Climbers that are…” Tuk said, and he was unable to finish the sentence.

Jul nodded.

“You smelled them?” Mul asked.

“I-What? No! I mean, yes? I mean, it’s like a mix of all my…”

“Jul,” Kur stopped her, gently.

“I-Yes. Sorry! It’s very faint, but I sense it. And for a moment I swear I heard…”

She looked away.

“Yes?” Kur asked.

“Something bad. And… Crying.”

The words settled like a lump of jagged aetherium inside Nar’s stomach, spreading its toxic waste through his veins. He bared his teeth without even noticing it, and his heartbeat faster.

“Crystal have mercy,” Mul whispered. “What do we do?”

“We’re being hunted already,” Tas said, in a very low voice.

“And they’re armed properly,” Kur said. “And organized.”

“Do you think it's a trap?” Gad asked. “They know we saved their party. They could be trying to lure us in.”

“I don’t know…” Kur said, staring at the floor.

“Does it matter?” Wik said.

His eyes blazed, and his spear swished at his side.

“Are we just going to let them be?” he asked, glaring at them.

“Wik,” Tas said, half-heartedly.

“You know exactly what they’re doing!” Wik shouted. “You know! You saw it!”

Rel looked down at the floor, and swayed on her feet. Nar moved a bit closer to her, just in case she dropped.

“We saved you,” Kur said, looking at Tas. “We need to save them too.”

“What if it's a trap?” Tas asked. “What if they know you’re going to try and do the same again? It could be revenge! It could be…”

“Tas! Enough!” Wik shouted.

“We could all end up like that again!” Tas yelled.

Kur raised his hands and stepped in between the two of them.

“You’re both right. We need to help, but we need to be careful about it. As it is, we're not even sure, are we?”

That question was aimed at Jul and she shook her head.

“It was only for a moment that I… Heard it. I know the cannibals are there. And I still sense something, but it’s not as strong as it was for them,” Jul said.

“Could be further away,” Gad ventured. “Or it could be just one Climber.”

“Or they could already be dead,” Mul added.

“Only one way to find out!” Wik said, nearly spitting out the words.

He glared at Nar.

“Send him! Him and Jul! They can see in the dark. They can sneak up close enough to check!”

Kur and Nar exchanged a glance. It was the best idea. If anything, that had been the unspoken plan from the very beginning.

“You’d be sending both of our senses away!” Gad said. “I should go with Jul!”

Wik frowned at her. “You can’t see. What if they have to run back?”

“Then send me with Nar!” she retorted.

“How’s that different? And isn’t that more dangerous? You would have to get closer!”

“Well, don’t you have [Sight] too?” Gad asked, pointedly.

“I-Well, it’s not as good as theirs,” Wik said, babbling. “I still need light! You think I wouldn’t go, if I could?”

The two of them glared at each other. It was rare to see Gad openly angry. In fact, Nar had only ever seen her like that once before, when they had discovered that Cen had been hiding her [Aura Projectile] from them. As it was, she looked ready for a fight, and Nar wasn’t sure if it was with the cannibals.

“Alright, alright. Calm down,” Kur said. “Gad, I hate it too, but I don’t see any other option.”

He looked at Jul.

“It’s okay. I understand,” she said, standing up straighter.

She tried to look calm, ready, but it was impossible to miss the little quiver at the end of her sentence.

“I’m sorry,” Kur whispered.

“It’s fine. I’ll be with Nar.”

“And I’ll keep her safe,” Nar promised.

“Keep the both of you safe!” Gad said, nearly snarling it. “If you’re not back in 10 minutes I’m going after you! And I don’t care if I need to feel my way to you!”

Nar smiled. “I expect nothing less from you.”

Looking around at the others, Nar saw the same sentiment echoed in each and every one of them. It formed a lump on his throat.

“Don’t forget the party view either!” Kur told him. “Damn, should’ve finished setting up those messages…”

Nar smiled. “Flash once for help is about all we’ll need, I think.”

“Hmmm,” Kur said, shaking his head.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine,” Jul said.

Wik tapped his spear against the floor.

“Hurry! We don’t want to be too late!” he said.

“He’s right,” Tas said. “If you’re doing it… If we are doing it, we might as well be on time to actually save them.”

“Alright,” Nar said. “Jul, are you ready?”

The scout offered him a smile, marshaling all of her bravery.

“Yes. Let’s go!”

“Be safe!” Gad shouted after them, as they stepped into the darkness of the side corridor. “If anything happens, just shout! It will help us find you.”

And all the cannibals too, Nar thought, but her words still meant the Nexus to him.

“Will do,” he said. “Come on, Jul. Just like last time.”

“OK!”

And, stealing their nerves with one last deep breath, they stepped into the darkness and were swallowed.