The Path of Time ★ [3] ✔ (EDITING)

A Very Hot Spa Day

⏳ --

For most of the journey, it had been freezing cold. It had been so cold that it could almost be the equivalent of being encased in the ice I'd been found in. But the further we travelled, the hotter the atmosphere got. I noticed steam floating on the dark blue horizon ahead of us.

"What is that?" I wondered aloud.

"The Hot Springs," Astra replied. "We must cross it to get to the Killing Caves. We are near our destination."

"Guys, this place is huge!" Sam called over the line.

"Well, we're gonna have fun crossing it," Barton remarked. "I hate hot places."

The Parthenope reached the ridge of the flat plains. Ahead beyond the drop, dozens of hot springs levelled on top of each other. Who knew how deep the waters went, and I didn't want to find out. And, in the distance beyond the springs, was a natural construction. The Killing Caves.

"We can't go over it, we can't go under it," Stark sang gleefully. "Oh, no! We have to go through it!"

"We're not going on a bear hunt, you plonker," Andi said snarkily.

"Yet it seemed strangely appropriate."

"Let's get this over and done with," Nat said definitively. "We're running out of time."

Astra and I led the way, our Parthenope picking its way down the drop, followed by Nat and Andi and then Barton and Wanda. The closer we got to the springs, the hotter the air became. With the amount of steam and heat wafting off the water, I assumed that the water must have been extremely hot.

"Were these springs ever used by you before all this happened?" I asked.

"The waters were certainly safe enough to use albeit a bit hot," Astra said, "but, no. We never used them. They are dangerous."

"What do you mean?"

She didn't reply, leaving me suspicious. It honestly made me realise how similar she was to Andi – the constant hesitation to answer simple questions. It was frustrating. Was it really hard to answer? But, then again, both of them also reminded me of Fury. He was the same, always hesitant to answer a question anyone could answer.