Adventuress Emergent

Part V: Search

Barely an hour into their search, the dark of the forest had swallowed them. The dim lights of Downside lay banished behind a veil of black boughs, and the colors of the world had gradually faded from Sera's vision to leave her surrounded by a palette in grayscale. Her cloak was thoroughly drenched now, too, turning it into dead weight more than anything of use. And the rain continued to fall.

Wendy, walking a few paces behind her, moved her hand to Sera's arm for guidance. Then to her shoulder as her sight faded entirely. She patted, twice.

Sera stopped. She unslung her bag and doubled over to shield its contents from the rain. With her free hand, she retrieved the luminorb and swung the bag back over her shoulder.

"Got enough juice for tonight?" Wendy asked.

Sera nodded. The melon-sized sphere of brass had gone green in a few spots, and some of its internal components were loose, but its magic still held. She drew it close, squeezed, and whispered the arcane word that would activate the enchantment.

"Snogglebuffin."

Wendy choked back a laugh. The engravings of the orb failed to light.

Sera frowned and squeezed harder. She repeated the activation word, sharper and more focused than before.

Faint white light traced down the intricate design of the luminorb, branching and twisting as it followed the patterns etched into the brass. The device rose from Sera's hands like a tiny metallic star, brightening their surroundings as best it could. Sera smiled, relieved.

"I will never get tired of hearing that," Wendy chuckled. "It had to have been set up by, like...some kid, right?"

"I dunno," Sera answered. "I didn't ask. Would love to change it, though."

"Did the guy say it with a straight face when you traded him for it?"

"It was a while ago. I really don't remember." Sera paused, thinking. "...but yeah, I think he did."

Wendy laughed again. This time, Sera laughed with her, and for a moment the forest didn't seem so dark.

"So," Wendy said, pushing her wet hair out of her eyes. "How do we do this?"

"There would have been tracks," Sera answered. "A week ago. With the rain and all, they're probably gone."

"Alright. So...?"

As Sera started walking again, the luminorb followed, drifting lazily just over their heads. "We also don't know where he came in, or how far in he went."

"...there is good news, right?"

Sera flushed. "Yeah! Yeah, we can still look. We came in at the edge, near his house and Johan's workshop. I guess we just go in from here."

"In," Wendy repeated. "Toward where all the monsters live."

"There won't be any monsters. I'm out here all the time."

"Well that's just not true. You know there's monsters out here. What about the gnawers?"

"Not a problem."

"Grizzleclaws?"

"Big and noisy. Easy to avoid."

"What about...were-capybaras?"

Sera laughed. "Okay, that's not a thing."

"I don't know," Wendy continued playfully. "I hear you can have a were-anything. Werewolves are just the most common."

"If there's a were-capybara out here, we're screwed, because I don't have anything silver and neither do you."