In a small ditch, half a mile from the crumbled remains of the Cobblestone road sat the honorable knight Avery Opazyr. For the past hour, she had been biding her time. She had been defeated by the Purlikins and forced to retreat. Now she had no choice but to wait in hopes that she could worm her way into the Ashen Canyon behind her enemies. She briefly thought about going back to Opal City to report the situation, but she quickly threw that thought away. The Opazyr had lost two platoons on this mission, and there was no way of telling what their next course of action would be.

  Fia could either order a full assault or abandon the canyon entirely. A full assault would take too much time to organize, time that Lucy might not have. If they abandoned the operation then they'd be abandoning Lucy as well, not that Lady Fia would even consider the possibility of Lucy still being alive.

  No, if Avery wanted any chance at saving her clansman she would have to do this on her own. She gripped her sword handle until it creaked for release. The raging winds above her head only seemed to amplify the impatience coursing through her. But she needed to wait, she needed to make sure she wouldn't just run into the Purlikins again. "Hold on Lucy. I will find you, I promise!"

  After thirty minutes of hiking through and over the canyons winding peaks and narrow pathways, Maria's crew finally made it back to their camp on the flat tops. Thankfully it seemed like it had been undisturbed, the valuable meat was still skewered, preserved by the slow smoking they had performed the night before. Lucy and Anise were quick to surround the rations, tearing off pieces of jerkied Descended to sate their hunger. The battle with Nulara and the healing process had taken a toll on both of their appetites.

  Maria went down to the bank to get her lips on some fresh water. After drinking her fill she sat back and pondered her circumstances. She had completely forgotten about their water situation. Could they even stay in the cave with that Agamic? They would have to scout for a new watering hole, and they didn't have the luxury to simply cut a new path with their mana, That would be far too noisy.

  After a couple of minutes the mercenary climbed her way back up to the flat top, but to her surprise, only Anise was standing there. "Where the hell are the other two?" She huffed, looking quite disappointed with the lone sight of Anise.

  "Lucy took Veronica to gather more crystals. They can power the lights for the cave so I suggested that we gather a small stock of them just in case."

  "And the doting protector didn't go with them? What gives"

  "Be quiet!" Anise stomped, "Lucy said it was best if I stayed back with the food. Unlike you, I actually respect her authority!"

  Maria threw her hands up. "Alright, alright, I get it. You don't value your life as much as I value mine. I understand."

  "Ugh, you're unbelievable! She's still a trained night you know!"

  "A trained knight who immediately got cut off from her soldiers and lost a one-on-one duel to an angry commoner with farming equipment." Maria crossed her arms and looked over the flat tops. "Look, I'm not saying she can't do anything. But she's about as green as an Emerald. I'll admit she can fight, but it seems like fighting is all they taught her. This operation isn't just about fighting, honor, or any of that other knightly crap, we got two hostile parties that outnumber us who both want us dead. Now is the time to fight like dogs, not knights."

  Anise tapped her finger on her arm as she tried to think up a counter-argument. "Damnit... You've got a point. But it should be fine. I'm sure Veronica knows that and wouldn't let her get into any trouble."

  Down at ground level, five minutes from the group's camp, Lucy and Veronica quietly stuffed their pockets with crystals. The time it took for each crystal to go from wall to pockets was next to zero, as they still weren't comfortable touching them for long, but Lucy was sure that one crystal could only power the cave for so long, and she didn't want to constantly come out into the open just to pick them.

  They kept an open ear for any sounds, wanting to make sure they wouldn't be ambushed. They already had a confrontation with a crypt keeper before in this area and suspected that they might have been prone to searching it more thoroughly now.

  Veronica signaled that she was stocked up to her reasonable limit, the small pouches she had on her were glowing from the contents within. "Should we head back now, Lady Lucy?"

  "Not yet, I want to look around some more. Those rations aren't going to last us forever, and depending on how long we're here we might need to find more food."

  "What did you have in mind?"

  "Well, we've already stooped to eating Descended, so I'd like to see if we can find proof of a den. There also might be some other things we can find, flowers, wild grasses, and if worse comes to pass, mushrooms. I've heard that commoners would eat all those things in times of food shortage." She sighed, clearly not liking what she was saying. "It's times like this that a noble should look to the practices of the less fortunate."

  Veronica raised an eyebrow, "My Lady, do you not like mushrooms?"

  Lucy pouted and puffed her cheeks. She was trying to hold in her real thoughts, to be a mature Lady of her house. But she failed, explosively. "How could anyone like mushrooms!? They're either slimy and gross or have the texture of rubber! They're the absolute worst!" She crossed her arms and looked away before uttering what she felt was a Cardinal sin. "...but I'd rather eat them and live than whine and die."

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  Veronica snickered, trying to keep her laughter as short and respectful as she could manage. "Well said. Lead the way, My Lady."

  They began to creep down the winding paths of the canyon maze. Lucy looked for anything edible. She combed over the small shrubs and bushes that grew out of the rocky terrain and looked to deeper pools of water for any sort of amphibians or reptiles, all while Veronica kept track of their routing.

  Veronica was so focused on keeping a mental map that she almost bumped into Lucy when she came to an unexpected stop. Lucy was quick to keep her quiet, directing her attention to an Elk-like creature nibbling on shrubbery. The knight turned to her subordinate with a look of excited glee, trying to silently choreograph her excitement at a good source of protein.

  Veronica was disturbed by its presence, however. Wild animals were skittish creatures, and usually not prone to letting anything get this close without some kind of warning.

  She moved Lucy aside while giving her a panicked glance.

  The elk paused from its grazing, turning to face the duo with an eerie silence. It radiated a strong magical aura but made no move to acknowledge the pair beyond staring at them with black, beady eyes. Its skin was gray and scaly, and its horns had an unnatural shape and edge like branching swords. Veronica thought it was Descended, but its non-violent nature was making her second guess herself. She had never seen a descendant creature that was not irrationally violent.

  "What's wrong with It?" Whispered Lucy.

  "I don't know, but we should leave. Just the knowledge that more animals are present should be good enough for you, right?"

  Lucy craned her head up and down. The pair slowly began to back away, all the while the creature never took its eyes off them.

  The sound of sloshing feet suddenly came into earshot, causing the deer to snap its attention backward. Veronica and Lucy froze instinctually, not sure of what could be around the corner.

  The Purlikin Naesha came waltzing through another path, having no intention of stopping. She only froze when she got a glimpse of the Elk and by proxy the Opazyr duo. She readied her weapon, which alerted the other mages to hustle over to support her.

  They didn't even need to ask questions, Lucy's white hair and red eyes were a dead giveaway. Ingrid cautiously shoved her way to the front. "Opazyr! You should leave this Canyon at once. We've already taken out your reinforcements!"

  Lucy's heart sank at the declaration. The absence of the extra troops was proof enough. The only reason they wouldn't be here is if the Purlikins did indeed take them out. Meanwhile, Veronica held her spear firmly pointed at the opposition while inching back to convey her desire to retreat to her superior. She motioned to the Descended elk and tried to nudge the knight into stepping back herself, but Lucy shrugged her aside, much to the soldier's horror.

  Lucy put a hand on her sword hilt, her lips twisting into an arrogant smile. "So what, you think just because you've defeated our reinforcements means you can defeat the advanced guard?" She huffed. She struggled to find a balance between yelling and not upsetting the strange elk that was sandwiched between them.

  Before Ingrid could respond, the hot-headed Naesha shoved her aside. "You think you're better than a whole army! We'll send you scampering away just like we did your clansmen. She also thought she was tough shit!"

  "Then take your best shot, you won't last a moment!" Lucy made a crude taunting gesture with her hands while covering her mouth as if to hide her amusement.

  Naesha growled and conjured up a barrage of magical blades without any hesitation. The sudden flare-up of magic made the elk's pupils transition from pure black to vibrant white. It let out a small huff through its nose as its blade-like antlers burst into an incomprehensible assault of blades. The Purlikins were barely able to dodge getting skewered as they looked on in horror.

  The elk let out a deafening high-pitched cry, distorted by noise and an overwhelming release of mana. It retracted its horns only to make them burst out again and again, causing the Purlikins to scamper for cover.

  Lucy grabbed Veronica and sprinted back the way they came, allowing Veronica to take the lead since she had been keeping track of their path.

  "How did you know the beast would turn on them?" Veronica asked, yelling over the sound of distant elk cries and splashing water.

  "It was very stalwart. The way it made eye contact with us reminded me of how two people size each other up for a duel. It was just waiting for someone to make the first move because animals usually only fight to defend themselves."

  "That's why you said all that? To trick the wizards into making the first move?"

  "Exactly, the elk saw them as a threat, so now it's their problem. We should probably look for weaker game anyway."

  "That was very resourceful of you, Lady Lucy."

  "Thank you, soldier. See, I'm not completely clueless."

  It wasn't long before the two came up on the flat top near the river where their camp was located. Maria and Anise sat in silence, looking at everything but each other. A wave of relief washed over them as Lucy's ruby pupils peeked over the ledge.

  "We're back!" She exclaimed, "And we brought more crystals for the cave." She did a small twirl, showing off her various pouches that were now glowing white with mana crystals.

  "What took you so damn long?" Groaned Maria as she hoisted herself up from her squat.

  "We-"

  "-We ran into the Purlikins," interjected Veronica as she clambered up the ledge, throwing her spear over with a disgruntled look on her face.

  "But we handled the situation and made a clean getaway. So there's no problem. We should get moving, though. They weren't that far away."

  Maria couldn't help but be impressed. "How'd you manage to give them the shake?"

  "The local creatures are surprisingly stalwart. There was a Descended elk that got caught in the middle of the confrontation. It didn't like it when the Purlikins shot first, so it attacked them. Never mind the fact that I tricked them into attacking first."

  "Huh, well good job. Let's bring this food back to the cave and we can figure out what our next move is."

  Lucy went to speak some more but hesitated. She wanted to spread the confirmation she received on the status of the reinforcements, but she really didn't want to believe it. She decided to keep it to herself since the others had already assumed the worst.

  She suddenly felt the embrace of Anise, wrapping her arms around her in that uniquely motherly fashion she was known for. "See, I told you that Lady Lucy was more than capable of striking it out on her own."

  Maria waved her away dismissively, "Yeah, yeah, I get it. My job isn't to leave her alone. Her neck is my neck, remember? But I'll admit, I probably underestimated you a little too much, Lucy."

  Lucy averted her eyes in embarrassment, "No, no, it's fine. I haven't given you much to believe in up until now. Let's just hurry back. We don't want to keep that Agamic waiting."

  The quartet made their way back. They were slowly getting used to the canyon and its quirks. However, there was still one spot of mystery, and that's what Naviiur would really bring to the table once the action really got started.