The ruined cathedral was dark, only giving form to unrecognizable shadows that played tricks on the eye as even the slightest bit of movement would give them life in the sight of caution. Alestra protested the idea to light up the path, as any lurking Molve would be able to plan an ambush on them from a mile away, so they were forced to stumble in the dark. The creepy and consistent dripping of water travelling through the dead halls like an ominous call.

          Phantom was a different story, he could coordinate his way in the dark like it was midday, and pointed out a number of concealed stones to Káel, which was helpful, but also made him feel a twinge of cheating guilt as they racked up on points his group wasn't responsible for.

          The trio tip toed through the stone halls, cringing at the smallest sound they made, since it travelled further than a chunk of juicy gossip tossed to a hoard of famished valley girls. They had gone into a basement of sorts, where they found a small webbed room full of tarnished armour and rusted weapons, but blunt blades were better than nothing and they quickly armed themselves with one rusty dagger each.

         They cautiously left the room, looking both ways for any undesirable guests before Alestra signalled their new direction and sleuthed away. 

          When Káel rounded the corner and took a couple steps, he felt a jabbing poke on his shoulder. Janiel and Alestra were both at his sides with Puff taking the lead, so the feeling of surprise mixed with panic when he quickly realised it wasn't one of his teammates. He turned to look back, and saw a short shadow of a person standing behind him. With a yelp he jumped away, clasping his hands over his mouth in a vain attempt to cover up the mistake he'd made.

          The shadow let off a cry of its own, only this one was higher and far more timid. "I-I'm so sorry!"

          "Talli?" Káel whispered, trying to shake his frown when a more irritation leaked through his voice than he'd intended.

          Talli dropped her head with shame, and gave Káel a look of fear mixed with surprise.

          "What are you doing here?" Janiel hissed. "With a noise like that we'll definitely be found!"

          "I-uh-I...." she stuttered looking between the three completely flustered. "My group was caught and I-I hid... and now I don't know wh-where they are." She scuttled away when Janiel took a demanding step towards her, the corners of her eyes starting to glisten in the dim light Alestra had made. "And-uh..."

          "Wait, they were caught in here?" Káel whispered, looking over her shoulder for any glowing orange eyes.

          "Y-yeah, they were so quiet... and when we saw one w-w-we turned and ran.... B-but there was one behind us," she whimpered, her voice cracking with a nervous squeak. "And uh.... I'm lost. C-can I um... Stay with you guys for a b-bit?"

          "Sure," Alestra said with a soothing whisper, dimming the light to gently hug Talli before her frantic shaking jigged her into a fit of sniffles. "How did you lose the Molve?"

          "I-I fell through a crack... And I-well, I guess it th-thought I died..." she muttered, quietly sniffling before her nose leaked everywhere. "It g-got Mi'karu though..."

          "Wait," Janiel said, her face suddenly growing dark. "If it had thought that it would have jumped down to help you... This is a game, the last thing they want to do is kill us all. Did it get your ribbon?"

          Talli wiped her teary eyes before showing her bright green ribbon to Janiel in innocent confusion.

          Janiel gave it a drilling stare, attempting to pierce the mystery. "That means it knew you were alright, but it still left your ribbon. That doesn't make sense."

          "Maybe it was looking for a way down to her," Alestra added.

          "Or it knew she'd run to the closest group of students," Phantom chimed, his voice peppered with amusement. "It's easy to catch food with something else to find it for you."

          Káel's heart sank with dread as he viewed the corridors. "Talli, did it follow you?"

          She gasped, the violent trembles returning to her shoulders and shooting straight down her spine. When she watched the black void of a hallway behind her nothing gave life to Káel's inquiry. The shadows sat rigid, and in the spell of absolute silence nothing could be heard short of Talli's suppressed whimpers.

          "Finally, some excitement," Phantom cheered, looking around at the three dark halls they were stuck in the middle of. "To be quite honest I don't think I've ever been down here, but as a treat I'll tell you there's a Molve coming from that way for sure," he chimed, pointing down the path Talli had come from. "But there's more than one of them down here."

          Káel didn't want to risk dismissing Phantom's statement as a joke, paying his full attention to the corridor Talli had come from as he spoke just enough for his teammates to barely make out his statement. "I think we're being followed." 

          Janiel looked around, holding back a sigh of irritation. "Well, which way do we go?"

          Káel pointed to the same path Phantom had shown. "Not that way for sure, if the Molve followed Talli it's coming from there."

          "Alright, let's go with this one," Alestra replied, pointing to the path directly across from it.

          The group stealthily made their way down the hall, trying to go as fast as they could without making any noise. Phantom cheerily strolled alongside them, humming an unrecognizable tune to himself, and pointing out all the stones they were forced to pass, due to the higher necessity to escape than win, and grinding on Káel's patience in the process.

          The group had gotten far enough from the danger area to slow their pace, when they turned a corner to face a bright fiery little bird that immediately swooped down to land on Puff's head. It chirped quietly to Puff as the dragon's resting face of dumb joy fell to worry, warbling his condolences to Vera's guardian. 

          "Your other buddies are in trouble, a Molve got Brim and his guardian," Phantom reported. "The Phoenix came to request help." His shoulders bounced with a playful chuckle as he folded his arms with a mocking coo. "Speaking of Molves, you didn't think you'd lose it by simply tip toeing away, did you?"

          Káel looked behind him at the long, dark, and hopefully empty, hallway, then glared at Phantom. "I don't see anything."

          "That's what it wants," Phantom replied, followed by a less than assuring snicker.

          "I'm not buying it," Káel replied, trying to keep his whisper from reaching any unwanted ears but failing in the process.

          "Who are you talking to?" Janiel whispered.

          "Puff says we're still being followed, and Cinder came to report that Vera's group is also in trouble," he lied, using the dark environment to his advantage, concealing any unintentional actions giving away his farce.

          Janiel looked at him in disbelief. "Whatever you say, nomad whisperer."

          Káel ignored Janiels side comment, and continued to let out his frustration on Phantom. "But y'know what Puff, I personally don't see a massive stone beast with glowing orange eyes, and to prove it." He shoved his hand into his pant pocket, and pulled out Phantom's rock.

          Alestra squinted at the rock as Káel bounced it in his palm. "Why are you walking around with a rock in your pocket?"

          "You guys go hide, just in case," Káel warned, poising to chuck the rock down the path they had come from.

          Janiel pulled Talli and Alestra into a smaller path, and they ducked down out of sight to watch him in nearly disappointed confusion.

          Káel sent the rock soaring down the hall, watching until it was engulfed in darkness, landing with a small thud, and then another thud as it fell to the ground. He shot Phantom a contentious grin, but as he made his leave, the faint glow of orange eyes cracking open caught him in his tracks, and he leapt behind the wall with his group.

          Phantom played along and jumped behind the wall, sitting down beside Janiel who was at the end of the lineup. "Oh! I wonder what that could be!" He chuckled, only to be met by a shush from Káel.

          Talli leaned forwards to look around the corner, but was yanked back by Alestra, who shook her head. The four silently shuffled as far away from the corner as they could, while the Molve slowly prowled the hall, letting off a low growl.

          "You really think this is going to work?" Phantom said playfully. "You do know it can see, right?"

          Káel almost let off a growl himself at how right Phantom was, that Molve would come around the corner, and it would have to be blind not to notice four huddling teenagers, a fluffy white dragon, and a bright flying fireball.

          "Dammit," Káel muttered, getting into a crouch and crawling towards the corner. "Someone hand me a dagger."

          Janiel placed her dagger in his palm without even questioning his actions, and nodded.

          "Wh-what are you doing?" Talli whispered, her voice wavering in fear.

          "My assigned role," Káel replied, giving them a thumbs up before disappearing around the corner.

          It was just a game.

          The phrase looped in his mind as he rounded the corner, knowing exactly what he'd find himself facing. The Molves looked like a nasty piece of work, but his teacher's promise that they'd only go for his ribbon seriously turned the freak factor down.

          At least while it wasn't chasing him it did. 

          The Molve immediately locked onto Káel and growled while he got to his feet, attempting to look as collected and calm as possible.

          "What?" Káel pointed the dagger at the Molve in a taunting manner. "Aren't you going to chase me? You fat, lazy boulder."

          The Molve narrowed its eyes at the cocky teenager, relishing the fantasy of tackling him while he screamed for help and stealing his ribbon. Getting ready to break into a sprint, it stopped, and curiously gazed at the other person who strolled into its view. 

          He was tall and masked, clad in red with a nonchalant atmosphere about him as he joined the boy's side. 

          There was more than one thing off about the man. 

          The molve had seen him in the field of Cobalt and passed him off as a guest. Now that he was here however, trespassing on a training exercise as if he'd somehow shirked Mrs. Vienta's attention, he was dangerous.

          The Molve took matters into its own paws, letting out a barking snarl. 

          That eerie red man was to be immobilized immediately and brought to Lady Samanthra. Dead or alive.

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6/20/2018