Tempest War

Chapter 11

Once we made it into Erynoir, I was surprised to find buildings of all shapes and heights. Majority of the buildings were made of a white shell material and Erynoir itself sat in a valley. Some of the buildings were coming out of the walls of the valley and extending to the surface.

"So Tsuki is supposed to be meeting us here?" Caspian asked. He seemed rather confused as to why no one was there to pick us up.

"Tsuki is supposed to meet us at the Midnight Temple. So I guess we've got to go find him." I suggested.

"Don't you remember Hiei's warnings of the Asukou?" Asami tried to prompt Caspian's memories.

"Right, the Moonlight Caverns that will probably kill us," Caspian remembered quite clearly. "Let's not beat around the bush." They walked around Erynoir and proceeded to the north, to a clear mountain side where the caverns lay.

Caspian was shivering in fear. He clearly had a notion that the Asukou would not appreciate trespassers. As we pressed on, one thing became exceptionally clear, the caverns were a maze of tunnels that were getting hard to keep track of.

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After what felt like hours, we had reached a major intersection of tunnels. Some led in all sorts of directions. Some even extended down from the ceilings. The air was heavy with a gloomy sensation.

"I feel like we're going to get ambushed at any moment," I stated, turning this way and that, studying the passages.

"Somebody is being held captive by the Asukou in this cavern," Asami stated. I hadn't known how she had figured that out, but somehow she had.

"How did you figure that out?" I asked. I was truly intrigued.

"I can sense it too," Caspian chimed. "They must be an heir of a kingdom. It's kind of like how you just know where one of your friends are because of the deep bond you share with them, but this is based in magic."

"Oh, so it's like magical GPS tracking?" That was the closest analogy I could think of. Which sounded pretty off to me.

"Eh, thereabout," Caspian immediately started off in a dead sprint to find another missing piece of the puzzle.

"What can you tell me about all the heirs?" I asked Asami, who was jogging next to me.

"Well, Rai is pretty well known for his disdain of Perun and his father. He's been jailed multiple times for simply being right, so he's fun. The heir of Pyrias is unknown. They are hardly ever mentioned nowadays. They were supposedly captured as a child and were never returned," Asami explained.

"That sounds awful. Is this heir the missing one?" I wondered. Asami nodded her agreement. Caspian stopped in an open cavern. Stalactites hung from the ceiling and a cage occupied the centre of the room. A girl sat in the middle, arms cupped around shins.

"Who are you?" Caspian looked down upon the girl in disdain.

In my opinion, if not for the dirt smeared across her face and clothes she was quite pretty. Dark blonde, almost brown hair, and ice-blue eyes.

"If you weren't aware, I am the heir of Pyrias," Her tone was cold. "Pleasure to meet you." Just as quickly as it was cold it was dripping with sarcasm.

"You're a funny guy are you?" Caspian raised his eyebrow.

"I'm not into men," Caspian looked dead. He drooped over where he stood and visibly paled.

"I appreciate your sense of humour," I chimed. The girl gave a soft smile. "Let's get you out of there."

"Name?" Asami asked.