{-Casrane-}

Esaphi was right—the glow alone would’ve gotten them there, even without any of her instructions. It was an eerie glow, steadily shifting between a bright purple to a much duller red, almost pulsing, if such a word could be used to describe it.

Suffice to say, her occasional reminder that they were going to work everything out was just as much for the twins as it was for herself. It took a lot not to let the unsettling atmosphere get to her, but she needed to remember that she was the one who was supposed to remain calm.

Even if a creeping doubt told her that she wasn’t the one in control of the situation. She wanted to believe that she’d know everything that was supposed to happen, but… well, that wasn’t exactly working reliably at the moment.

“Is… this it?” Myr asked once they’d gotten to the cave where most of the glowing seemed to be coming from. “It’s definitely got a lot of runes in it, anyway…”

Llewel nodded, cautiously walking around the area. He gave a quick glance at Myr that meant, what Casrane had surprisingly mixed feelings to acknowledge, stay next to Casrane and don’t mess with anything.

“I don’t know if this is really it,” he continued on to say as he looked around. “There’s a lot of runes here, but… I can’t tell where they might be coming from.”

“There’s not a chance that they’re just appearing on their own?” Casrane asked. She went to observe the runes closest to her, understanding that he’d probably like both of them staying away from it.

He thought about it for a few moments, but it didn’t seem to amount to anything. “I suppose there’s a chance, but it’s not one I want to focus on. Considering that as a possibility just makes things so much worse.”

“Yeah, it’ll leave the question of who is doing this…” Myr mumbled. She didn’t move from her spot beside Casrane, looking more afraid to get closer than anything else. “Runes wouldn’t just randomly grow on their own like this, not without a clear source. But that means that someone is making them this way…”

“Let’s… just focus on how we can get rid of them, then,” Casrane decided. “I’m not lying when I say we’re not going to come across anyone here. We just have to figure out what we have to do to stop it.”

Llewel looked back at her. “You don’t know what we should do?”

Casrane tried to shrug it off. “Everything I heard was pretty much only ‘get rid of the runes in the cave.’ Which I think just clarifies that, whatever we need to do, it’s in here somewhere.” She tried to remember more information, but nothing came to mind. Maybe that was the point when her father decided she’d be able to experience it herself—instead of just reading over game guides and story summaries. “Just… look for something obvious or suspicious-looking? None of the other essential puzzles here are ever too elaborate. Can’t see why it would be different now.”

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He nodded and began searching with clearer purpose.

“We might be able to come up with something quicker if we all look around,” Casrane offered, glancing at Myr. “This cave still isn’t very big, we’ll all still be close together in case one of us finds something.”

Myr looked at Llewel for a firmer answer and he seemed to give it to her. She cautiously started wandering around on her own. “Do… you remember what Duuzlo said the stronger runes looked like? The ones that could grow?”

“Were you not paying attention?” was his first, half-serious response. “He made sure we knew what they were. That was one of the things he’d tell us at every opportunity he could to assure that…”

“I can’t help it! He usually ended up talking about what it could do, too. And that involves ways that it can hurt people…”

“Alright. I know it’s awful, but you’ve got to pay attention next time, okay? That kind of stuff is important. It’s what gets us out of situations like this, so that it can’t hurt anyone anymore.” When Myr nodded, Llewel continued. “It’s bigger than the rest of them, likely glows brighter. If I had to guess, it was what’s causing the occasional red tint. Runes usually stick to cooler colors, so anything straying from that—and enough that it makes a difference—probably means it’s bigger.”

Casrane was careful not to touch anything, in case it mattered. “That sounds pretty simple but I have a feeling it’s not going to be in practice…” There were no clearly flashing runes, nothing that stood out among them. It didn’t seem like there were many clues at all, until Myr broke the silence again.

“Esaphi said that she knew what to do,” she remarked.

“Well, we shouldn’t go back to her,” Llewel pointed out. “I think she’d feel a lot better if we weren’t there right now. We can’t ask her.”

“I know, but… if she knows, but she can’t do anything, it has to be directly related to the runes.” She wandered closer to him and glanced around. “So… what if it’s all of them?”

“I don’t think I follow,” he responded. “Or… want to follow, for that matter.”

She made a wide gesture around them. “What if all of these are all a part of one thing? They’re not different runes made by another. All of this is what is making all the others.”

He stared at the runes closest to him, as if he thought he’d find an answer within them. “It… wouldn’t be impossible. There’s certainly a chance, no matter how improbable it should be…”

“Do you know what we should do if that’s the case?” Casrane prompted. “I’m ready to help as soon as I know what to do.” With all this other conversation, and the fact that she was no more of use than the other two, she was feeling a bit nervous. Even knowing that it wasn’t their intention, she almost felt like she was being left behind here.

“Usually, I would say that there might be a way that we can deactivate it,” Llewel began as he considered the possibilities. “But I don’t think that’s the case here. I don’t see or feel anything that we could use as a focal point, so… imagining this whole cave as the center makes a lot more sense. If we can’t deactivate it, we should be able to destroy it.”

“Esaphi wouldn’t have been able to do that, right?” Myr asked. “Since she’s a part of it, it wouldn’t have let her. Do you think doing it would help?”

He nodded. “It should definitely improve something. Let’s start right here at the center and move our way out—but be careful. We could cause a lot of bigger problems if we don’t do this right.”