{-Casrane-}

They got rid of some of the runes, and that really had seemed to do something—but it wasn’t all of it. By the time they cleared most of it, they found another, larger, brighter rune hidden underneath all of the others.

“This must’ve been what was causing most of this,” Llewel remarked. “I don’t think I want to know what made it get this big, though… even knowing that someone had messed with it might make it better.”

Casrane, at least, felt relieved when she kind of recognized what they were supposed to be doing. “Can we get a piece of it? We might need it later.”

He considered it, then nodded. “Maybe we’ll come across someone who can help us understand it. If we can know what made this one so powerful, we might be able to do something about some of the others.” He stepped a bit closer to it before she could, though; he carefully chipped a piece off before stabbing it right in the center. It shattered, leaving them in the fraction of the light that they had been in before as its glow faded.

“This should be all we need,” he explained as he handed her the little piece. “We don’t want to carry around too much of it. Who knows what it’s capable of doing.”

“Alright. Thank you for getting it.” She dismissed the notification telling her to hold on to the item for later and put it in her Inventory.

Myr nervously shifted. “So, we’re done here now, right?”

“We’ve taken care of the runes here,” Llewel confirmed. “As long as there’s not anything else nearby, that should be all that’s affecting the storm.”

“Can we check on Esaphi, then? We did something with the runes—maybe it made her feel better.”

Casrane offered a small smile. “We’ll definitely check on her. There’s a chance that something we did here affected her, too, so it’s the right thing to do to make sure she’s alright.”

“Where do you think she’ll be? Where she was living? I hope she’s not somewhere more dangerous. She could have run into monsters…”

“We’ll check where she’s staying. It’s as good of a place as any to try,” Casrane said. She gestured for them to follow her back out of the cave, though Myr slowly started to take the lead.

Noting Myr’s very obvious concern, Casrane also gently pointed out, “I’m sure Esaphi’s fine—I can almost guarantee it.”

Myr just mumbled something and officially took the lead. No one said anything on the short trip there, though Casrane had the feeling that their minds all wandered to different places.

When they got there, it looked like Esaphi had collapsed—almost startling Casrane a bit too much, until she was assured by the fact that she was still breathing. Myr either didn’t notice or didn’t acknowledge the fact, however, and rushed beside Esaphi.

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“Esaphi! Are you okay? We’re back, we did something with the runes! Did it help? It… didn’t look like it helped…” Myr shrunk when moments passed and no response was given.

“I think it did,” Llewel remarked thoughtfully. He walked up beside his sister and gave her a reassuring hand on the shoulder. “She’s fine—just unconscious.”

“I don’t see how that’s supposed to mean anything good.”

“She was being influenced by the runes when we last saw her, and she probably still was while we were messing with it. It shouldn’t have that kind of influence on her now. Think of it this way: the storm may not have stopped, but it’s no longer influenced by the runes, so it’s safe to travel in. Esaphi’s the same way. She’ll be fine, she just needs a bit of rest. I’m sure she’ll feel a lot better once her body’s able to adjust again to no longer having the rune’s influence.”

Myr slowly nodded. “But… will she really still be alright here on her own..?”

“If I had to guess, she’ll probably be awake soon.” Llewel wandered back towards the exit. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“There’s something else we can do for her,” Casrane said, trying not to sound dismissive. “But to do it, we’ve got to head back to the city. I promise she’s safe here. We’ll be able to help her in another way.”

…

Myr honestly hadn’t seemed the most convinced, though she must’ve acknowledged she couldn’t argue with the two of them. Casrane, honestly, would’ve let them stay—if she’d known that anything would’ve happened if they had. As far as she knew, things would’ve only changed after they left. So leaving, however hard it might’ve been, really was for the best.

They mostly wandered, since Casrane wasn’t really sure where they were supposed to be going. Everyone was talking about the rain—how it was normal, something some of them made clear hadn’t happened in their lifetimes. But there was one couple that talked about something else, and that was who she decided to approach.

“Do you think she’s alright..?”

“I know she is. She’s a strong one—I’m sure we’ll see her again soon.”

Casrane walked up to them and offered a small smile. “Who are you talking about..? We’re adventurers, just back from the mountains. Maybe we know something.”

The couple looked at each other before the man nodded. “Our daughter, Esaphi. She disappeared a while ago and we haven’t seen her since. A few people have seen her in the mountains, but we don’t know why she hasn’t come back home… none of the other adventurers made it sound like she wanted to be away from us, but she didn’t want to go back with them, either…”

At the mention of Esaphi, Myr perked up. “We’ve met Esaphi! We were able to talk to her a little bit, and she’s doing fine.” She thought about it, then was able to offer a genuine smile when she added, “And I think she’s going to be doing a lot better soon.”

“Really?” the woman asked, rightfully skeptical. “Did she mention us at all..? Will she be coming back..?”

Llewel, slowly, shook his head. “Unfortunately I don’t think she’s going to be ready for that just yet. But maybe one day.”

“We know where she is now,” Casrane said. “I can’t promise she’ll get it right away, but if there’s something you want to send her, we’ll be willing to bring it to her.”

Myr nodded. “I’m sure she’d appreciate it, too!”

“We just want to let her know one thing,” the man remarked. “She needs to know that, no matter where she is, she’s never left our mind. We’re waiting for the day we can see each other again—whenever she’s ready to do that. We don’t know why she left, but… we’re hoping she’s willing to tell us. We’re a family. Nothing is ever going to change that.”

Llewel nodded. “We’ll be sure to tell her.”

The woman smiled. “Thank you. We don’t have anything to give you in return, though…”

“Just knowing that we’re helping you is enough for us. Rest assured that the message is going to reach her—and keep an eye out for any responses. I have a feeling she’s going to be ready to talk to you again soon.”