Chapter 242: 242: Luthera's Crisis

As Luthera watched the dark valley, she felt the presence of someone else approaching and spoke.

"I could have used your help there. Why didn't you say anything?"

Aetoris had left the tent, his handsome, brooding visage now standing beside her as he replied. "When was the last time you received orders from the Grandmaster?"

"Yesterday." Luthera replied without pause.

Yet, instead of leaving, he fixed her with a worrying look. "I would like to see your amulet."

"No. You cannot speak to him." She coolly replied.

"Why is that?" Aetoris persisted.

"Because you are not his disciple – that privilege is reserved for me alone." Luthera heatedly replied. "Are you saying you don't trust me enough to convey my own master's orders?"

Aetoris was taken aback by her steely gaze. "Never. It's just…"

"Are you doubting the Grandmaster then?"

Aetoris shook his head, and when he saw he wasn't going to make any headway, he shook his head and walked away, leaving her alone.

Once he was far away, Luthera sighed in relief. Her palms were sweaty as she released them, having been clutching them unconsciously.

They all look to her for leadership, but how was she supposed to tell them, she hadn't received a new command from her master in a while?

At first their exchanges had been frequent, but after many futile weeks of searching, the Grandmaster began to lose his temper and thus the gaps between their conversations became longer.

If those mortals inside the tent knew she was no longer in contact with her master, would they still listen to her?

It had been weeks since she had been able to get through, and her last messages were still unanswered.

At the time she had just discovered the valley and wanted to know if they were to proceed inside or wait for reinforcements, but her master didn't respond.

She then carefully retrieved the hexagonal tool in her satchel.

The cyan crystal in its centre glowed with light, as did the many runes that lit up in recognition as her fingers grazed them. But there was no message.

Feeling frustrated, she put the amulet away in defeat.

There would be no reinforcements, and she would have to contend with the incompetence of her party, until she was able to break the news to her master.

For now, finding the hidden temple was of the utmost importance. The Goddess's relic was rumoured to contain unimaginable secrets and vast amounts of power.

If properly studied, her master could potentially remove the restriction placed on the elves at birth, allowing them to increase their population, and prevent their magical bloodline from degrading any further.

Although Aetoris and Ulrick were strong, due to being tainted with the blood of mortals, they had imbibed certain traits.

Aetoris was a shameless philanderer, and Ulrick was very much dependent on spirits, that he wasn't even able to fight effectively during the attack by the Hesperia swarm.

Luthera clenched her fists.  If she didn't locate the relic soon, more High elves like herself, would have to resort to creating half breeds like them to further their line. She was sure the goddess's relic was somewhere within the valley, she just had to find it. 

She turned to leave but stopped when she noticed something strange.

The darkness of the valley seemed to be moving. Like rolling clouds, they pulled away from the top of the hill where she stood, the dark expanse shrinking away, as if recalled by something.

Soon the mist grew so thin, she could see the valley perfectly. But this sent her into panic.

Something was wrong.

She was sure this had something to do with the relic, but what had triggered it?

She immediately rushed back to the tent, calling out to the first person she saw, who happened to be Rodin.

The captain stared at Luthera in confusion, but she stormed past him, almost raving in her panic.

"Come with me! We have to enter the valley now!"

Her exhausted team was not expecting to be riled up this quickly.

Once gathered, they all stared at her like she had gone insane. But Luthera didn't care for their looks. 

As soon as they were outside, they would see the reason for her panic.

When she returned, she found them all gawking at the valley that had suddenly become clear.

And without waiting, she grabbed a sword before descending into the rocky chasm, leaving them all with no choice but to follow her.

Fennelis followed without hesitation. Then Aetoris. Soon everyone had entered.

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They encroached the dangerous interior slowly, warily listening out for any sign of monsters crawling below the chasm. Everywhere Luthera looked, jagged rocks swung out dangerously as if looking for something to impale, and the cavernous descent of the chasm looked even more dangerous without its cover.

It was strange seeing the valley without its familiar dark shroud and the air was filled with the distant cries of creatures, along with the faint scent of burning flesh. Fortunately, the monsters who previously lurked around the entrance seemed to have gone, and this absence made her all the more eager to move faster.

They just needed to follow the trail the receding dark mist had left. Luthera had witnessed it all and knew roughly where to go.

However, the barbarian who walked in front of her, suddenly came to a halt as they turned a corner, his broad back obscuring Luthera's view.

"Why did you stop?" She whispered.

But the man held a finger up to his lips, signalling for everyone to stand back.

"I smell a fearsome opponent." The gruff voice said, an excited grin on his face.

Luthera scowled. There was indeed the slight whiff of sulphur in the air, but that had always been present in the valley.

She was about to dismiss his claim, when she noticed the barbarian's eyes held a hint of fear - a look she'd never seen before, not even when they were completely surrounded by monsters.

And as if the absence of the monsters wasn't strange enough, the valley was now heating up, when it had previously been cold. 

She hadn't noticed it before but everyone in her party was drenched in sweat, and the further in they went, the more the skin of her neck prickled uncomfortably.

Alongside the barbarian's warning, this gave her an uncomfortable feeling. In her eagerness to continue, she had dismissed these changes as the result of the relic being triggered by something. But now, she wasn't so sure.

The barbarian hadn't stopped staring at something in the distance, and as she strode past him, she noticed a plume of smoke emerging from behind an extremely high layer of rock.

"We should fallback for now." Luthera instructed.

Something was different. 

She didn't know what, but there were too many strange happenings for it all to be an accident. 

Luthera recalled seeing a crevice in the rocks as they passed, and made her way towards it with everyone following quietly behind her. Her intention was to hide away and observe the valley further before proceeding.

But just then, a bright light illuminated the valley, and she looked back to see a massive fireball speeding towards the rocks where they stood. 

They were still a long way from the crevice, and they all immediately started running, no longer caring how much noise they made.

But then, another explosion broke out of nowhere, and the high rock wall separating them from the smoke, collapsed as a dark creature crashed through it with a loud roar.

Luthera's heart sank to her stomach, and she suppressed a scream, as she glimpsed a familiar creature. 

It was t-that strange monster!

Had it come to capture her again? How did it find her?!

Seeing this dark dragon filled her with more fear than the fireball hurtling towards them, and before she knew it – she was running harder than she ever did in her life, reaching the crevice promptly, just as the fireball crashed into the rocks above them.

Molten rock and fallen debris pelted the opening of the crevice, but she got inside in time, as did the rest of her party. Their timing was nothing short of a miracle, and to her surprise nobody was harmed.

Yet as the group sighed in relief, having narrowly escaped with their lives, Luthera peeked through the crevice, shivering terribly as the scary monster flew past their hiding place. 

Large plumes of fire and explosions spewed out in its wake, and the rocks became so hot that she could barely stand near them. Soon, the valley became unrecognisable after being set alight.

Why did the monster seem more powerful than before?

Luthera was hiding, yet, she couldn't stop staring at the rampaging creature. 

It didn't see her right?

She thought it was strange. The creature didn't eat her, even when it had her dangling in its grasp. 

Rather, it seemed...playful, like it found her amusing. And, it had killed the monsters that tried to eat her. 

What sort of monster did that? 

Weren't magical beasts, savage and unintelligent creatures like her master said?

While its form of 'play' had been rough, she wasn't truly harmed, and it was only when the shadowy one appeared that she felt afraid enough to flee. 

Luthera shuddered at the memory - she still didn't know what that shadow was, but while one seemed kind, the other was clearly evil.

But then again, how could that be? Weren't they both monsters?

What was she thinking?

Eventually she joined the rest of her party to wait out the storm, all the while thinking she must be imagining things – there was no way such a monster would be searching for her.

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