On Monday morning, Artem, who had taken the last guard rotation, woke up his teammates. He kept up his NCO persona and gave orders to dismantle the camp while Galen prepared their breakfast.
Lyra reported to Galen what she had noted during the night on Emilio’s, Celeste’s, and Jarek’s watch. Galen restrained his grumbles. He had argued with Artem through Lyra’s telepathy when his brother forbade him from participating in the guard rotations. If they didn’t need to keep up their show of authority, Galen wouldn’t have conceded.
Aware of his frustration, Lyra gave him a detailed account of the nocturnal wild beasts that had come near their camp while he had slept. They hadn’t posed any threat. Some approached the camp curiously but cautiously while others just passed near them without pausing. Lyra had only her [Divine Hearing] to guess what those beasts were since she had been unable to see them without her hosts acting as her eyes.
Nevertheless, she felt it was a shame that Artem couldn’t touch the owl or the lynx who had passed by their camp before dawn. Lyra had alerted him first about a bird beast, so Artem had sent Ayden to scout around. Lyra had briefly seen the cute, fluffy owl through the Fire Fairy’s eyes before it flew away. Later, Artem had identified the wild cat Lyra had pointed out to him as a rare Solitary Grey Lynx. It had looked over the campfire curiously but stayed hidden in the foliage and left after a while.
Both had been adorable, making Lyra miss her body. She would have loved to cuddle such beasts. The girl shook off her nostalgia. She had long accepted her new life with its strangest aspects and inconveniences. She still gushed over the owl, describing its cuteness to Galen to deride the grumpy boy.
“From your description, it should have been a rare Tawny Soft Owl,” Galen said, trying to contain the girl’s excitation.
“It wasn’t a notable beast? But it was so small!”
“Yes, it’s small and cute. Remember: Celeste gushed over it as much as you in the library.”
“Oh, I ignored her after the five first times she did that.”
“Anyway. This owl is an earth beast despite being a flying beast – which is rare enough – but it also has some fire aspects.”
“You should try to contract one!”
“We don’t specialize in earth pets,” Galen answered exasperatedly.
“I already told you both that traditions are overrated! That owl was cute!”
“What did Artem say?” Galen asked, guessing that Lyra hadn’t kept her side of the conservation to herself.
“He said you’re not supposed to choose a pet by its cuteness. You’re no fun!”
Galen smiled at his brother's straightforwardness. Hearing Lyra still ranting, Galen reminded his CSI that contracting another pet so soon was unadvised. A young beast tamer wasn’t experienced enough to train two pets, and the risk of mistreating the pets led to losing the contract.
By the time Galen and Lyra finished their conversation, the boy’s grumpiness had disappeared, and Lyra’s enthusiasm had calmed down. Galen focused on checking on Celeste and Jarek. He gave the girl her last dose of anti-venom and ordered Lucia to use [small heal] on her injury. Meanwhile, Galen asked Jarek to show him his hand. He didn’t intend to mend Jarek’s fracture, but he still wanted to see if it was inflamed.
Once the five youths were ready to leave, they decided on a direction and went on their way. They aimed to reach the main lake, hoping to find interesting caves and plants on its border.
Galen instructed Lucia to help him look out for specific flowers and bushes. The weather hadn’t been too cold this year, so the boy hoped to harvest useful leaves, roots, or seeds if he was lucky. Most flowers would have already withered in October. However, they might still contain non-scattered seeds.
By the time they arrived at the lake, Galen had harvested several myrtle spurge shoots and a few asphodel seeds from pruning. The plants were dormant, so the young pharmacist wasn’t sure about their spiritual power. However, they had a chance to possess a bit of earth spiritual affinity.
Galen wanted to find delphinium seeds. The flower grew in calcareous soil, so it should be possible to find it there, even if it wasn’t the dreamy blue-dawn delphinium he required for Lucia’s evolution pill.
The lake was a sight to behold. Only one part of the edges was accessible since limestone cliffs encircled more than half of the body of water. The thin waterfalls were surprisingly noisy after the muffled sounds of the forest as they plunged into the lake. Between these cascades grew several trees clinging to the cliff. The white mist created as the water fell spread across the lake. It saturated the air before dissipating, leaving a fresh, chilly sensation on the skin. The limpid, crystal water and the mist glittered in the Autumn sun, sometimes creating rainbows.
It was a feast of colors with the dark reds and oranges of the foliage, the blue-green of the water, the white of the foam, the rich brown of the earth, and the light gray of the cliffs. The pure water let the students see the rocky bottom of the lake, covered in algae and moss, adding a touch of green to the landscape.
The five youths stood, awed by the impressive beauty of nature, feeling the cold of the Autumn despite the sun shining above them.
A short time later, they spread on the lake edge to scout the wildlife. Galen happily found some water chestnuts, a plant with water and earth spiritual power. It was useless for the fairies, but Galen could experiment with new pill recipes with them. The young pharmacist stopped harvesting the water chestnuts when his teammates gathered back around him.
They didn’t report anything interesting, except some common Brown Trouts and some chubs that Artem thought were just enhanced animals. The combatants carefully checked for snakes or predators, but they found none, and the tracks looked old enough. Artem judged there were no obvious dangers. Most beasts should be sleeping or hiding at this time of the day.
Galen studied the map more meticulously to pinpoint their target. A cave hosting olms should lay in the vicinity of the lake. The young pharmacist shared this information, but he didn’t give the order to move out yet. They needed to work out their strategy first.
Emilio, Jarek, and Celeste looked obedient, waiting for the twins to give them instructions. It should be reassuring. However, Galen and Artem didn’t trust their teammates’ attitude. Jarek had loosened a bit during the morning, but nothing he did warranted a new punishment. Celeste was still expressionless. Emilio was sulking, so Galen thought the brown-haired boy was the most likely to mess up their plan in an act of pettiness.
However, the difficulty of treating the olms didn’t allow Galen to nitpick about his teammates’ possible misbehavior. The young pharmacist needed their help, so he explained the plan.
To capture the corrupted Pink Olms without harming them, Artem and Galen chose to use nets they had rented from the FOB after weakening the olms with Lucia’s light. They would first try the simplest way, which should allow less interference with the purifying potion. The olms living underwater complicated the whole process, so the students could only try and adapt.
The others mostly agreed and added some minor details. However, Celeste was quiet, Jarek was disinterested, and Emilio was still sulking. Seeing their reaction, Artem decided to leave Jarek and Emilio outside of the cave to stand guard while Artem, Galen, Celeste, and the fairies scouted the cave to check if a herd of olms resided there.
The five youths skirted around the South cliff, loosely following the edge of the lake until they found rapids branching from the main cascades, digging their way on the softening slope. The numerous surrounding waterfalls and the droplets from the mist made the rocks slippery and dangerous. The students had to climb the steep rocky side of the hill to come upon the cave into which a thin stream of water disappeared.
The entrance was tall enough that the youths wouldn’t need to bend down inside. From it, the five students saw glimpses of a dark, deep chamber. Although the water led inside, it wasn’t enough to create an underwater environment suitable for the olms.
“How sure are we that’s the right cave?” Artem asked.
“The lake, the South cliff, and the rapids looked like the right land’s marks. But let’s Emilio check it over.” Galen was sure he had guided his teammates to the right place, but he wanted to test the boy’s attitude.
Once the young combatant sullenly confirmed they were at the right place, Artem visually evaluated the cave. “We need to scout it. But before we focus on the cave, let’s make sure nothing can attack us once we’re busy. Guerriero, take the Fire Fairy and scout toward the West before circling back. I’m going to scout toward the East. Dolezal, Fava, keep our leader safe.”
Celeste and Artem were efficient. When they came back, they didn’t report any dangers. Artem mentioned some tracks, leading him to believe some otters lived around. When he talked about it, Ayden reacted and signed her observations before Celeste could do it. The Fire Fairy had detected a lodge of common and notable otters sleeping in their dens thanks to her [heat detection] when scouting with Celeste. The girl had visually confirmed the presence of the beasts before retreating.
Judging the wild beasts to be non-threatening, Artem only alerted Jarek and Emilio of their presence. He asked Ayden to show the two combatants their dens while he helped Galen and Celeste finish the preparation for entering the cave.
Ayden guided the boys to several underground dens and a few tree hollows. Away from the twins, Emilio muttered complaints about this useless, endless scouting. His muttering dissolved into insults and promises of revenge. Jarek sneered at Emilio and followed dishearteningly. The blond-haired boy was too lazy to properly look at what the Fire Fairy showed them.
Ayden scolded the two boys with wild gestures, but Emilio shooed her away, and Jarek ignored her, a half smile on his lips. The fairy was unsatisfied but still did her job.
When Lyra complained about the two boys being jackasses, Artem and Galen weren’t surprised. They expected their classmates to act sloppily no matter what the twins asked of them like they knew they wouldn’t respect the Fire Fairy. If Artem could trust the two boys to do a good job, he wouldn’t need to scout so thoroughly.
Since nothing dangerous was in the surroundings, Artem and Galen were confident in letting Jarek and Emilio outside of the cave. Jarek didn’t mind standing guard and lazily saluted Artem. “An easy job, Sarge.”
Artem coldly looked at him, sensing that Jarek was testing the limits of Artem’s ruthlessness. “Are you in need of another lesson, Dolezal?”
“Come on! You’re the sergeant. I call you Sarge. Where’s the disrespect?”
“Let it go,” Lyra said before Artem could act on his threat. “Galen says some soldiers are thugs but still respect the hierarchy and do the job.”
“Calling an NCO ‘Sarge’ is slang and should be used only with the sergeant’s permission,” Artem pointed out, his eyes still on Jarek.
“You know Jarek will never call you ‘Sergeant’. Take what you can, and don’t fight useless battles.”
Artem stiffly nodded at Jarek, silently giving him leave to call him Sarge, and turned toward Emilio. The brown-haired boy didn’t acknowledge Artem.
Emilio took his place at the entrance, still sulking and muttering. Lyra found him childish and annoying. Artem shared his brother’s opinion about the boy, so he wanted to prevent any accident.
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While Artem made sure Emilio knew the consequences of disobeying, Galen coordinated their plan one last time with Lyra. Once Emilio had repeated his orders back to Artem, the black-haired boy joined Galen and Celeste. They left most of their equipment outside with Jarek and Emilio, only taking what they needed inside.
Artem entered first. Galen followed, with Celeste guarding their back. It was a risk, but a small one with Lyra’s talent. The walls were damp and smooth, full of ornamental swirls resulting from the tufa. The stream ran in the middle of the narrow antechamber, leaving a path on each side of it. The light was present enough for moss to sprout around the entrance.
As the three students walked further down the slope, the light faded and disappeared. They chose to forgo lamps and made do with the glow from the fairies. The moss became lichen as the darkness reigned deeper into the cave. The atmosphere was humid and cold. The stream ran down the antechamber, then curved to the left into a corridor. Artem, Galen, and Celeste walked cautiously on the uneven path.
After a dozen meters, they discovered a large chamber full of stalagmites and stalactites. The stream spread and meandered around the rocky, slanted floor. It followed the soft slope toward another corridor. The students slowly made their way toward it. This corridor was short and steep, opening into an even bigger chamber submerged by water.
Celeste kept quiet, watching their surroundings as the twins sent the fairies to scout ahead. While they waited, Galen and Artem pondered about Celeste. She wasn’t making mistakes anymore and worked diligently.
“Do you think we terrorize her so much she doesn’t dare to express herself anymore?” Galen felt guilty. Celeste was annoying, but she was such a joyful girl that her expressionless face made the young pharmacist uncomfortable.
“It’s strange. Could her childishness be an act?”
“I’ve always felt she was sincere,” Artem refuted Lyra, confident in his instinct.
“Maybe you need to be harsh with her for her to take things seriously,” Galen added, trying to make sense of Celeste’s behavior. “She is from a military household, and despite her clumsiness, she is a decent combatant.”
The fairies’ return put a stop to their speculation. Signing their discoveries, the fairies described the chamber. Ayden had found a narrow exit where the water joined other waterfalls on the outside cliff. Lucia had explored the back of the chamber, where the ceiling lowered so much that it became an underwater cave.
“For this chamber to be underwater, there has to be another source of water. It might be a subterranean corridor or entrance, directly linked to the upper lakes.”
“We won’t be able to come down without swimming. I don’t recommend it, especially in this weather.”
Somber because of the situation, the twins asked about the olms. The fairies reported there was a herd swimming around, but most of them were in the underwater part of the cave or swam away to escape the glow from the fairies’ wings. They only caught glimpses of the beasts.
Artem decided to start with the basics. He threw in the water some snails and shrimps he had gathered at the main lake. Then, he prepared the net with Celeste’s help, putting more baits inside before lowering it into the water. The twins weren’t sure it would work because the olms were able to go years without eating: it was one of their skills.
The thin amphibians, even in their evolved form, weren’t considered dangerous because their skills leaned toward camouflage and survival. Nevertheless, the aquatic beasts weren’t weak, and some rumors said that with the right evolution, they could become dragons.
The twins patiently waited. Celeste didn’t act out in any way, showing restraint and professionalism. As time passed, Galen worried about Emilio and Jarek, alone by the cave entrance. Before he could voice his concern, two olms approached the snails and shrimps despite the low light falling on them.
When one of them came into the net to eat, Celeste and Artem promptly hauled up the trap. The small beast struggled and tried to escape, but the net was military-made and held strong. The twins were glad to see their plan had worked. Unfortunately, when Galen examined the amphibian beast, he realized it wasn’t corrupted. The lack of light made it impossible to know beforehand.
After a short discussion, they released the olm. The agitation was enough to make all the other beasts hide in the underwater part of the cave. Galen didn’t want to give up. He felt it was his duty to ensure there were no corrupted olm among the herd.
The twins changed their plan by enlisting the fairies’ help. As Artem was giving precise instructions to Ayden, Galen asked, “Should we update Dolezal and Fava on our mission?”
“Guerriero? Your input?” Artem wanted to understand the girl’s mind.
“They have their orders, Sergeant,” Celeste answered tonelessly. “A soldier can stand guard for hours. Moreover, the olm we released tried to use its skill to escape but was too young and inexperienced to time it right. It seems imprudent to divide our forces when we are facing beasts with the home advantage.”
“Good points, Guerriero. Let’s proceed as planned.”
Celeste had cleanly underlined the weakness of their first attempt: only young beasts without much intelligence would fall for a bait trap. Their new plan would target stronger and smarter olms.
The fairies carried another, lighter net, linked to a rope that Artem firmly held. Ayden and Lucia slowly flew over the underground lake, looking for the amphibian beasts. Although most of them were hiding in the underwater cave, some chose to hide in the corners of the main cave, behind rocks, or into crevices.
As soon as Lucia found an olm, she used her skill [flash] to stun the beast. Ayden wasted no time and dropped the net on the weakened olm. The magnets on the net edge closed the trap around the amphibian beast. Receiving the fairies’ signal to haul the net, Artem and Celeste got to work.
They put down the beast in front of Galen. The young pharmacist asked Lucia to stand near him as he examined the olm. It moved weakly in the net. Galen worried the [flash] had hurt it too much, but he proceeded in order and first checked if it was corrupted.
Finding some trace of corruption, Galen activated his [Insight] for a more precise diagnosis. The young pharmacist noticed some burns due to the [flash] but concentrated on delimiting the corrupted areas. His tools to brew the purification potion were already sorted around him, ready to be used. Galen needed to be quick. Despite being an amphibian beast, olms lived underwater and couldn’t survive long outside of it.
Galen had carefully planned his every move and worked efficiently. While he brewed the potion, Celeste and Artem took turns keeping the olm damp by pouring water on it.
Fortunately, everything proceeded smoothly. Galen delicately applied the potion, wondering if he should ask Lucia to heal the olm afterward. Would the beast be intolerant of the healing light? In that case, Galen couldn’t do much except give it some nutritious supplements and stimulate its natural regeneration.
The plan worked, but the [flash] did too much damage. Moreover, it alerted the other olms who found deeper hiding places. Lucia needed to tone it down.
Galen’s concentration was broken when Artem suddenly stood up, facing the cave entrance. Celeste followed his lead, taking a fighting position. Galen looked around, trying to understand what alerted his brother.
Lyra had only told Artem about the muffled sounds she was hearing thanks to her [Divine Hearing]. Purifying the olm was more important than the accident happening outside.
Artem barked several orders in a row. “Guerriero, protect our leader. Don’t interrupt your work, Sir. Ayden, with me.”
Without waiting for Celeste’s or Galen’s acknowledgment, Artem ran toward the commotion. Dividing her attention, Lyra concentrated on informing Artem of the situation at the entrance while watching Galen’s surroundings for any danger. She would have time to bitch about the dumbasses who caused the accident later.
***
Jarek yawned in boredom. He had sat down as soon as the twins and the crazy girl had disappeared inside the cave. He was used to long nights but not to the wilderness. Jarek missed the comfort of the City-State. The cold weather was biting, but the sun warmed his face. The blond-haired boy shifted around to lean back against the cliff. He settled for a long wait.
Through his half-closed eyes, Jarek checked on the miffed twerp from time to time. He had spouted his nonsense on Jarek, but Jarek wasn’t in the habit of listening to morons. Explaining to them where they stood was a waste of time, so the blond-haired boy usually lazily ignored them.
Jarek saw the twerp suddenly marching off, down the slope. The blond-haired boy stayed motionless. His job was to guard the entrance, not to babysit the twerp.
The sergeant-wannabe had sparked his interest with his ruthlessness. He had coordinated well with his twin, and their show was a good one. But still, it was only a show of power-play. Now, Jarek was curious about the secrets held by the baby head of the Eos Family. If playing soldier with the twins could give him more information about them, Jarek didn’t mind obeying a few orders.
The twerp’s yelp made Jarek stand up, ready to dive into the cave for cover. Morons were wandering hazards. They shouldn’t be allowed outside.
The twerp swept mud from his face. He was standing near one of the tree hollows, where the otters were nesting. Well, it looked like the otters had a [mud-slap] skill. Jarek couldn’t blame the beasts. He would have slapped the twerp too, if he dared to wake him up.
One otter came out of the tree hollow, growling. It let out a sharp whistle. The twerp fell down, a hand going to his head. Faithful to his moronic ways, the twerp didn’t forget to bitch and insult the beast.
Identifying the whistle as an offensive skill, Jarek cautiously retreated into the cave while keeping a clear view of the situation. These kinds of attacks were almost impossible to defend against for mundanes. Moreover, the twerp was still taunting the beast.
The noises woke up other otters. Four, then five beasts soon aggressively stood in front of the twerp, who was messily standing up. Some otters used their webbed feet to throw mud at the twerp, making him fall down again. Others threateningly whipped their strong cylindrical tail around.
And of course, as soon as the twerp managed to stand up, he decided to run toward Jarek, the furious otters hot on his ass.
Did no one ever teach him not to run in front of predators? Not that otters were exactly predators, but there were still intelligent beasts. Angry, intelligent beasts.
They made little work of the twerp. When the sergeant-wannabe joined Jarek at the entrance of the cave, the otters had corralled the twerp, using their sledding skill to surround him. They were having a field day slapping him around with mud. Some beasts whipped him on his ass and thighs from time to time with their tail. Jarek was sure the twerp would have nice bruises from that.
Before the sergeant-wannabe could find issues with him, Jarek reported the situation. “Fava abandoned his post and provoked the otters. They look aggressive, but none of their attacks are life-threatening. They are only venting their temper, so I thought it best to stay out of it.”
***
Artem scowled at Jarek but didn’t argue with him. Thanks to Lyra, he knew the notable River Otters were only attacking Emilio. Artem was upset and annoyed. Since he had looked into the Beast Warden’s path, he wanted to complete his mission flawlessly. However, he had to leave Galen alone inside the cave with only Celeste to protect him, and Emilio was messing with the wildlife.
When the lodge of otters left to find another place to rest, Artem slowly made his way toward Emilio. The more he thought about the situation, the angrier he was. Artem stopped before the cowering brown-haired boy. Emilio was covered in mud and breathing harshly.
“You have anything to say for yourself, Fava?”
“Why didn’t you help me, asshole?” Emilio gasped. “I’m going to report you!”
“Letting the otters beat you spared me from doing it myself. But it looks like you didn’t have enough.”
“I was just attacked by wild beasts!”
“And why were you attacked, Fava?” Artem spoke softly, keeping a tight hold on his temper. “If you hadn’t abandoned your post, it wouldn’t have happened, would it?”
“You said the otters were not dangerous! You lied to me!”
“So because they weren’t dangerous, you thought it was a good idea to wake them up? Are you stupid? Don’t answer that, I know you are.” Jarek cut into the conversation. “Here is the better question. How stupid are you?”
“You! Shut up! I bet you laugh your ass off when I was attacked.”
“I don’t find morons amusing: I find them aggravating.”
“I’m warming up to Jarek.” Lyra wanted to insult Emilio too, but she judged it was more important to calm Artem down. “Let’s clean up here and join up with Galen. This moron isn’t worth it.”
“Enough!” Artem’s sharp tone quieted both combatants. The black-haired boy gave a series of orders.
Jarek looked at Artem with a fake hurt look when he heard he had to do burpees as punishment. He asked what he did wrong, pointing out that he hadn’t left his post. Artem answered that if he was so smart, he could find the answer by himself. Jarek smirked but still obeyed.
However, Artem had to manhandle Emilio and hurt him before the boy complied and accepted his punishment. Seeing how stubborn the boy was, Artem knew there was a good chance that it would only worsen Emilio’s attitude. He had misjudged Emilio’s character. However, it was too late to change his approach now.
Thanks to Lyra, Artem knew that Galen and Celeste were coming out of the cave. Artem waited for them at the entrance, supervising Emilio and Jarek as they did their burpees.
“It’s almost noon,” Lyra said to try to comfort him. “Eating will cheer you up!”
“He’s going to retaliate against Galen or me. I don’t know how or when, but I know he will.”
“Hey, isn’t there a saying about being forewarned meaning being forearmed? You got this.”
Artem agreed with Lyra’s saying but that didn’t lift his mood. Ayden suddenly crashed on his shoulder, forcing his attention on her. The Fire Fairy enthusiastically signed that the otters settled back to sleep in some of their underground dens. Artem couldn’t help smiling at her antics.
Once Galen came out of the cave, Artem dutifully reported the situation, even though Lyra had told Galen everything once he had healed and released the olm. Looking over the two punished boys, Galen saw a slightly winded Jarek do his burpees with a sneer. It made Galen wonder if the sneer was just permanently stuck to his face and not a reflection of Jarek’s mood. In contrast, Emilio was red-faced and struggling on the uneven terrain. His injuries didn’t help. Galen fought his instinct to go up to the boy to heal him. Lucia followed his lead and stayed away from the injured boy.
The young pharmacist stayed quiet and took out the map to check if there was any other olms’ cave in the vicinity. One looked to be one hour or two walk away, whereas two others were close to each other but further away. Galen judged they would only reach these two late into the afternoon. However, if they pushed toward them today, the five students could check the last cave the next day while returning to the FOB. Moreover, Galen didn’t want to walk so far from the military camp on the last day of their trip.
When Jarek joined them in front of the cave entrance, Galen shared his plan. He didn’t wait for Emilio: the boy would be treated as a grunt until he showed he was able to obey orders and get a better attitude. Neither of the twins thought it would happen any time soon.
The youths discussed their options and decided to try for the furthest caves after their lunch.