Even when they were apart, their letters kept them in frequent communication. There was hardly ever recounting their events with the other because they, more often than not, mentioned it in their letters. This chain of them—starting the night they left for Ilystalos—was no different.
Zofie’s came first, like usual;
‘I realized I never asked how long you are going to be gone, or what exactly you are doing. I suppose I was more annoyed at the fact you actually asked this time. Thinking about it now, I think I should have been suspicious. Well, Thero might have pointed that part out, but that should not be important.
I saw the Stone girl (what was her name, again?) running around after you left. I had to deal with Lord Pasha so I did not realize she was getting everyone’s weapons until Thero casually mentioned handing her your sword (he did not even ask! But I cannot stay mad at him either…). Does that mean you plan to be fighting? Please tell me you are not actually going to fight anybody. It is just one of the goblin’s safety measures, right? She wants to be prepared for things that would never happen? Is that not something she does? I do not want to see you get hurt. I already have a long list of complaints about them, I do not think you would appreciate me adding more.
It is going to be awfully boring without you. I was hoping we could spend some time together, but it seems your friends have other plans. It feels like we have not had time for just the two of us in a long time. But I suppose it was rather foolish of me to think that it would change this time, huh?’
With a sigh, Dimas pulled out his own paper and quill and wrote a response before it got too late;
‘I do not think we are going to be any longer than a week, maybe two. But I do not know for sure, either, since this is not really something that we can make predictions for. The plan is to enter the Anysia Caverns and possibly fight the Minotaur. And I know what you are thinking, but everything is COMPLETELY FINE. Make Thero repeat that to you: COMPLETELY FINE. You do not have to worry about me. We will figure out a way to make it work. The only reason I am telling you that is because then, instead of worrying about me dying, you are going to think I am lying to you. Everything is going to be fine so please do not worry.
The whole travel thing is why we needed our weapons. Sure, none of us are any good at fighting except for Kiah (well, Samone can hold her own with magic, but it is not something we should be relying on), but it is still safer than nothing. We never know if we are going to end up running into Skiá or if there is something else that is going to need it, so it is best just to come prepared. I have no intention of getting in a fight with anybody, you know that. If at all possible, I just want to get this all done without even needing to think about fighting.
Look, I promise we can spend some time together when I get back, okay? It should not take as long as some of the other trips. Casper specifically wanted us to do this so there is not really a good reason to tell him no. Even if we did not all go, I think we would have just done it later. It is for the better that we are getting this done now so we can just put all of it behind us.’
Once he finished writing, he found a wild bird to spell and went to bed. He’d almost forgotten about it completely and it seemed that she might’ve too, given how late it was when he saw the wood thrush. No one seemed to mind when he stopped helping them set up camp to look at the letter.
‘The Minotaur? You know what they say about it! In fact there was a sermon related to it just last week (and, by the way, being “tired” is not a reasonable excuse to skip out of service)! It reminded me to be happy that we are both still alive right now. I fear that being around that beast would be bad luck. Nothing good ever comes from something so forsaken by the light. Father Phanes said that even Darkness does not want it anymore. Surely that cannot be a good thing. Please stay safe! Orestis will be getting a lot of prayers in the following days… for both you and my own penance for wanting to strangle everyone who is wasting my time.
I do not think you realize how many promises you make and how little of them you actually keep. I hope you are not treating your boyfriend like you treat your family.
How are you doing today? Now that you are (presumably) traveling, do you think it is going to take longer or shorter than you originally guessed? Do you need me to strike someone with magic? You know I can do it so do not hesitate to ask.’
He glanced up at the others and, after affirming they wouldn’t need his help (almost completely done, in fact), pulled his bag over and took out a quill and paper.
‘I will do whatever I can to stay safe, I promise. I have no intention of dying.
It is kind of funny that you mention that. We, uh… ran into some interesting company. The Skiá, to be more specific. No one got hurt, though! They did not even notice us. There was a Fos nearby (suffice to say I do not have a good view of him and this is only my first day of knowing him…), so it was nothing by our own doing. And speaking of him, he wants us to do something that has to do with remembering? Lydia came up with something earlier but I do not think he was too happy with that result. I do not know how I feel about it. He mentioned needing to go to sleep and that he would handle the rest from there. I guess it makes sense that he would use some kind of Fos thing, but that doesn’t make me any more comfortable about it.’
When he heard his name, he decided what he’d written was enough and sent it off. It was a good thing he did instead of holding on to it for a little longer; he ended up getting distracted from that point on until he finally decided to go to sleep.
Stolen story; please report.
The dreams that accompanied him in his slumber weren’t very pleasant, however. One—which was painfully clear—was an event that he would rather forget completely. It was something that he thought to blame when Zofie asked why it seemed like he never wanted to be at the castle, if he could ever work up the nerve to say it aloud. A past they both knew of and shared, when she regrettably had to realize exactly what her brother and mother shielded her from. It was almost a surprise that the memory alone didn’t wake him up (or, similarly, something that woke Imre up and was brought up the next morning).
Then the other—albeit much duller—made him feel like he was dying. If there were voices, he couldn’t distinguish them. He knew his nose was bleeding, his head was pounding, and none of his thoughts were organized. Was he relieved? What had he just done, then? Why was he on the ground, with so many people around him? Were they worried? All he knew was that he died in that dream, which was likely the reason he bolted awake the moment it was over.
Dimas, thankfully, didn’t have to worry about convincing himself to go back to sleep after that. He noticed the emptiness of the other side of the tent and the talking outside meant it was morning. Only Imre learned about the dreams a day later, when they were alone and shared their experiences.
Not even Zofie was informed as their letters continued. She never asked about what happened that night and he had little intention of sharing it with her. Maybe there’d be a time for it, whether that be when he returns or several years into the future, but it wasn’t now.
The contents of the letters soon simply became Zofie checking on his progress (and possibly sharing some of her own woes), with two or even three letters a day becoming common. When they got to the cave, however, he took the initiative to send her something first. He doubted he could wait for her and it was oddly late today, so he needed to make sure she understood what he was about to do.
He could still hear the others and whatever kind of conversation they were having, but he didn’t pay attention to what it was about exactly. The most time he spent on it was starting, scribbling, and starting over again, and not particularly in how long it took to actually write all of it.
‘We got to the cave and we are going to go in once everyone is ready (so… when I finally write all this). That means that I will not be responding for a couple of days, but I do not know how long it is going to be exactly. I will be sure to send you something when we are done. I hope it is going to be a simple in-and-out, so please do not worry about us.’
There was more he wanted to say, but he decided it was better to just leave it off there. He ignored all of his better judgment as he found a bird and spelled it. For a moment, he watched it fly off, before reluctantly heading back to the others.
“I’m ready,” Dimas mumbled. Everyone collectively stopped whatever mindless thing they’d been doing before then and got a step closer to the cave’s entrance. Zokel was nowhere to be seen, so he could only assume the Fos had left them to their own devices.
None of them wanted to do this. Being this close to it didn’t make him want to get it done and over with like he’d hoped; instead, it made him anxious enough that he started getting nauseous. Zofie’s casual reminders through their letters didn’t help any, nor imagining her reaction to reading his most recent.
“I looked around a little while we were waiting for you,” Kiah remarked. “We should be able to walk right in. If there’s anything specific we need to do it’s just existing.”
“Once we’re in, what do we do?” Lydia sounded like it was just a general question, since she was the least likely out of all of them to have an actual plan. “I’m all for exploring the whole place, but are we just gonna wander or..?”
“Well, for one thing, it’s a maze,” Dimas pointed out. It had been several years since he’d last heard anything about it, but he could always remember the unsettling parts of Qizar’s mythology. “Only the Minotaur knows where everything is. We don’t have anything to guide us because Anysia took it with her when she ran off with the hero who killed the Minotaur. The most we can do is find the Minotaur, try not to die, and reach the end. I doubt Casper gave us any hints on that end.”
“He did, sort of,” Imre muttered, “but it wasn’t any more than that.”
It was at that comment that they wordlessly decided it was time to go. They more or less stayed in a collective huddle, descending down into the cave and whatever may lie down there. There was, briefly, a dispute between Samone and Lydia about the torches (the latter, while admitting to having them, defended that it was much cooler to use magic) before Imre settled it by simply taking the torch from Lydia, having Samone light it, and continued to take up the lead with it in hand. It was a normal step in any of their trips, and so was the conversation that Lydia soon prompted;
“So, what’s at the end of this?” she asked, turning on her heel to look at Dimas and Kiah. It was a wonder she didn’t run into Imre as she continued to walk backward. “You two have got to know something, right? If you’re all gonna be focused on how we might die—which is really something you shouldn’t be surprised with by now—I’m gonna think about the rewards. What’s waiting for us once we defeat the Minotaur?”
“It’s been a while, but I think there were two important things,” Dimas said. “A bunch of gold—which probably isn’t there anymore—and the pool that can see into a person’s future.”
“Oooh, I like the sound of the second one!” Lydia gained a wide grin, something the rest of them could only wish to have.
Samone sounded confused as she said, “Seeing the future could destroy a person, though. There’s a reason most of Truth magic is kept to the high and mighty mages. It’s a power that no one can really be trusted with—another form of Mávri Mageía.”
“And wouldn’t it be in Aspea, like the original entrance?” Imre poorly hid the fact that he was thinking of something else, barely paying enough attention to them to be curious.
“There’s always an end to whatever maze we enter,” Dimas responded. “It’s all magic so I’m sure it’ll be there, even if we’re nowhere near what Peiros built. And since the pool is made up of that same kind of magic, it shouldn’t do anything.”
“If it did, there’d be a foreboding warning,” Kiah added. “Trust me, any other time there’s something slightly dangerous, there’s a whole verse dedicated to the bad things it can do. There’s nothing relating to that when it describes the pool so I’d say we’re good.”
Dimas shot her a sideways glance that proved that he was impressed. He (unlike his sister and plenty of other Hyasari residents) couldn’t even recite the entire Beginning, let alone remember any stories with that much detail. Anybody who could immediately gain some sort of respect from him.
She noticed this and simply shrugged. “What? The Gods’ Commandments exist for a reason, you know.”