“Hey, look! There is a cave here!”
“Enn, you’ve got to wait for the rest of us.”
“Then you better hurry up! I’m not just gonna keep standing here when we’re this close!”
Lydia was already dismounted and bouncing in front of the cave entrance before any of them even got that far. Fauna couldn’t muster even a fragment of that excitement, but… just vaguely, she felt a little less nervous.
Once everyone dismounted, Fauna helped Imre keep the horses from wandering away. There was a small conversation held between them; he asked her how she felt, and she recounted her honest feelings. But it was soon overshadowed by the others.
“Hey, if I get a stick, you can light it with magic, right?” Lydia asked, looking at Samone.
“We’ve never needed magic to light any of the other fires,” Samone remarked. “Why does this one make a difference?”
“Because magic’s cooler and I want to see what it looks like at least once. Please? It only has to be enough to light the stick!”
“Keep going and I’m going to show you a different kind of magic…”
Dimas nodded, albeit a bit nervously. “If we don’t have to use magic, I don’t think we should… even if it’s not a lot. We shouldn’t be dependent on it.”
Lydia let out a defeated sigh. “Fine, but you better all be ready soon!”
No one did anything quicker after the fact, though they were all ready in a couple of minutes. With two torches lit (one taken by Lydia, the other kept by Imre), the horses secured, and a silent prayer given, they all went inside.
For a little while, all they did was walk. From what they could tell, there was nothing here that made it different from any other cave. Fauna told herself that was because there was nothing here, and not for any number of magical reasons. Even if she felt oddly comforted here, she was still hoping they’d go back because there wasn’t anything worth seeing.
Then Imre stopped and gestured the others closer. “It looks like there’s writing here.”
“So someone was in this cave at some point,” Domenique said, scanning the text. “Probably an old guy, too—looks like some version of the Old Tongue. I’m guessing this means we’re probably in the right direction?”
“Definitely!” Lydia walked a little further to try to find more of it. “When there’s the Old Tongue, there’s treasure somewhere. You probably have to know it, don’t you, Dimas? Or maybe Kiah?”
“Dimas isn’t going to know anything,” Kiah mumbled. Dimas actually looked grateful at the thought of not having to read it himself. “This isn’t casual conversation. This is an old story.”
“Well, then go ahead and tell us what it says,” Samone prompted impatiently. “I’m not staying in this damp cave any more than I have to.”
Kiah stepped up to the text, skimming it over for herself before she read it out loud. “‘The greater story does not start with Ruvier—but for now, that will have to suffice. She was a Great Dragon… and the last of her kind to guard these lands. While her brothers and sisters died, hunted by humans or forsaken by gods, she stayed in her mountain home. She tried guiding humans from the shadows, just enough that she could protect herself but help them, too. Her careful balancing act worked… for a while.’
“‘A human found his way into her home. He could not walk away and deny that he knew where she was. She knew that letting him leave would risk her life, and that another Great Dragon would fall. But she could not bring herself to kill the human to preserve her secret. He swore he would never tell a soul of her location. Some time passed and she believed that he had kept his promise… until more humans came, putting an end to one of the last Great Dragons. They wear her ichor as jewels and use her scales as decorations. To them, it was a part of the hunt. To the few remaining to mourn her, it was a sign that the humans were unworthy of guidance.’”
Stolen story; please report.
“So it’s… this kind of story,” Imre mumbled slowly. “She was killed by Seothians.”
A moment of silence—whether out of respect, or because of the weight it still carried today—followed the statement.
Then, Kiah muttered, “It looks like there’s more on that side. Could you get some light on it so I can read it?”
Imre nodded, the light from the torch revealing another small story.
She stepped up to read this one, too. “‘When mortals say that no one is perfect, they speak only of their own kind. But they need only look at Maildrul to realize that such a saying can be used for the divine, as well. He was a manticore, one of the strongest of his kind. And he was tainted by Darkness.’
“‘He guarded the pass between Fleyw Bresh’s mountains, during times long gone. In a way, he still does. He once kept Darkness out, providing safe passage for anyone who he might come across. He was hailed as a hero. However, he did not stand above Darkness, and even heroes have their limits. The continuous influence of Darkness tainted him, making him slowly lose himself. It started as randomly attacking those who sought his help. Now, no one dares enter the pass—for shadows lurk in every corner, and he has long since lost all sense of reason.’”
And, of course, the first person to say something was Lydia asking, “Wait, there’s a valley in Qizar that’s guarded by an evil manticore?”
“Why did I not expect that..?” Domenique sighed. “Were we listening to the same story?”
“Let’s be honest,” Samone said, “she stopped listening after ‘a strong manticore tainted by Darkness.’”
“I was totally listening!” Lydia defended. “Am I seriously the only one interested in it? Doesn’t it sound super cool? There’s got to be something interesting there, right?”
“You know, I’m beginning to wonder if you have any sense of self-preservation,” Kiah remarked. “And why any of the Stones are still alive if you don’t.”
“Lord Solaris has the pass closed off for a reason…” Dimas mumbled as part of a half-agreement.
Samone was more blunt with the statement, “It sounds like the only thing you’d find there is a death wish.”
Lydia remained stubbornly opposed to admitting defeat. “Well, I think you’re all just super boring! You’re never gonna have fun if you stick with the safe stuff!”
“Enn, not everyone wants to be a part of life-threatening adventures,” Imre said considerately. “I don’t think I like the idea of you willingly throwing yourself into those kinds of situations, either…”
“Okay…” she sighed, drawn out but not lacking in understanding. She turned to go deeper into the cave, but soon stopped. “Oh, it looks like there’s a third bit of writing here! Kiah, can you get this one, too?”
Kiah mumbled a response and went up to it. “‘So, neither mortals nor divines can claim perfection. It is not a matter of who is right and who is wrong, for they are both wrong. It is a matter of who is willing to help regardless. And at the root of that question is the answer—the sacrifice of Daekai.’
“‘It had not been long since her brothers and sisters fled or were killed. News of Ruvier’s death had recently reached her, but she was not fazed. Instead, she saw what the others could not. She saw the misguided people, the ones who Orestis had forsaken. She knew there was hope for them, yet petitioning on their behalf was not enough. So instead, she settled in a cave within their mountains. Someone needed to guide these wayward children, and she was willing to make the sacrifice in order to be that individual. When humans came to hunt, she hid herself behind malevolent magic. When humans came seeking guidance, she gave it to them from a distance then sent them away—when they returned, she made it appear as if she had disappeared. But it is a lonely life, choosing to protect those the gods will not acknowledge. She never dares to let a human close, too afraid of what either will ultimately do to the other by force of nature…’”
“So, she’s… still here because of us,” Fauna said in a near-whisper. “She chose to stay in Seothia so that she could watch over us…”
“Dragons and manticores should get most of their power only from the gods,” Dimas mumbled. “Or at least, that’s what I’m guessing. Has she been doing this for over a thousand years without that? If she’d gone against the gods’ will by being here..?”
“If we’re reading this, then I feel like we’re already too close to her,” Imre remarked. “But it doesn’t seem like she’s done anything, if she uses Illusion magic to keep humans away from her.”
Samone held her hand out and mumbled something, and there was a dim glow of some kind. “No one’s using Illusion magic. At least not as far as I can tell.”
“Well, we’re not going to know any of the answers to these burning questions if we stay here, right?” Lydia gestured deeper into the cave. “Come on, let’s see if we can find her!”