Cascade gasped as she tripped on yet another root that protruded out of the ground of the tunnel. She felt Omar's steady hand grip her arm and stop her from falling.

"Thank you," she whispered. She did not dare to speak any louder, as it would disturb the eerie silence that filled the dark tunnel.

"You're welcome," came the whisper in reply. Omar was laser-focused in the tunnel. He could feel the tunnels and the passageways, using the light breeze which he ran through them. Anytime somebody tripped, he could catch them and stop them from hitting the rocky ground.

Suddenly, Omar heard something. A soft groan coming from around a corner. Coming from a passageway. Omar stopped walking and tugged Cascade's arm lightly to inform her that he was stopping.

"Why are we stopping?" Cascade whispered quietly. Everyone else stopped.

"I heard something," Omar whispered back.

"Wh-"

"Shhh." Omar put a finger to his lips and knelt down on the ground, moving forward on his hands and knees to feel around for whatever it might be that made the sound. He strained his ears to see if he could hear the sound again. Then he heard it once more. So I really did hear it.

Omar continued forward, but all he could feel was the sandy ground, the rough rocks, and the roots that ever threatened to yank him down. Omar was beginning to lose hope that he would find whatever, or whomever, it was that had made the sound.

Omar was about to turn back when he felt something. Some kind of leather. It was in a strange shape. He wrapped his hand around it. Half of it was rough and had soil and mud on it. The other side was smooth and soft. A shoe.

Omar felt upwards, but the leather continued. It was a boot. Omar whispered, "Hello?"

A hand shot out and grabbed Omar's wrist. "Are -ou re?" came the quiet, raspy voice.

Omar was confused for a moment. Then he understood what the girl had said. "Yes, I'm real. Andrea, shine a light over here!"

A small flame appeared, carried in the palm of Andrea's hand. As she walked forward, it illuminated the face of the figure that lay on the ground.

Cascade stared at the girl in astonishment. Why is this girl in this tunnel? Cascade shook her head. We're lucky Omar heard her. She looks like she's not doing so well.

The girl had dark blonde hair, cut short just above her shoulders. It was ragged and uneven, and matted with soil. Her eyes were blue and her face was covered in freckles. She wore black all over, just like Sephtis did. She was shivering and was missing one boot. A terrified expression was set on her face.

For she was frightened. Ano'ter person who can make weird t'ings happen? she thought. I don't need this 'ight now. I need a normal 'erson who won't kill me.

"It's all right. We won't hurt you." Cascade knelt down in front of her and cleared some of the mud and dirt from the girl's face. "What's your name?"

"Ema-ai."

"Emanai?"

Emanai nodded. "I ne- wa-er."

"Oh!" Cascade pulled a goblet made of ice out of the air. Then she filled it with water. "Here. Drink this."

Emanai was frightened at first to try it. It had been made by the girl's strange powers. After all, Sephtis had used his power for destruction and killing, nothing else. But Emanai needed to drink. She would have to trust these strange people. After all, they would hardly hand her poison to make her die; she was going to die if she stayed there in the tunnel any longer anyway.

Emanai drank the water. It was sweet and cold, and for some reason, the goblet never seemed to empty. Not that Emanai noticed Cascade's small hand movements from the sidelines. She was too busy drinking the water to pay attention to that.

When Emanai had drunk enough water, she looked around for somewhere to put the goblet. She gasped as it dissipated in her hand and fell to the ground as snow, which almost immediately melted. "So... are ye guys all able to do... stuff? Like that creepy guy me used to work for?"

"Yes. The four of us can control the elements. The 'creepy guy' is the only different one. I believe his name is Sephtis. We've been looking for him." Cascade explained in a friendly tone. She didn't wish to frighten Emanai. Luckily, she was good at changing her personality to fit whatever the situation required.

"Yes. That's 'is name. But he liked us to call him "my lord" or sometin' like t'at." Emanai scowled at the thought.

"So you don't like him?"

"Didn't like him? We all hate him. He makes us work day an' night, with no rest. If we make one mistake, one tiny slip up, then he kills you." Emanai snapped her fingers to emphasize her point. "I 'ad to run away with two others, both of 'em didn't sur'ive. Then I 'ad to run away while 'e chased me, an' I had to jump into a lake. I 'ad to crawl through this tunnel, hopin' to find the end, until I finally collapsed. As far as I know, I'm the only person in t'at slave camp t'at has made it out."

Andrea gave out a deep sigh. "This might give us an advantage. A group of people who know about Sephtis that have a grudge against him."

Cascade nodded thoughtfully.

"From the way you've responded to all the things I've said so far, I'm guessing you don't support Sep'tis eit'er." Emanai raised her eyebrows.

Cascade chuckled. "No, we don't. We definitely don't support Sephtis."

Emanai gave an inner sigh of relief. Good. They're with me. They're probably safe to be around. Thoughts flew through her head, thinking about the extreme stroke of luck that she had received. What were the chances t'at they would 'ave found me? One in a t'ousand? Less?

Emanai's thoughts were distracted as Cascade put her hand on her shoulder once more. "Do you think you could tell us where his camp is?"

"You want me to go back to t'at horrid place? Right after I've escaped!? You couldn't convince me to go there if you 'anded me a million suns!" Emanai started to get up but then collapsed on the ground again.

"Are you all right?" Cascade immediately became overwhelmed with concern.

"I- I think so. I think I just need to rest some more."

"Okay. That's all right. But we really need you to help us get to the base. You don't need to walk there. You don't have to even go anywhere near the base. Just tell us the way you got here, then we'll go to the base." Cascade smiled at Emanai.

Emanai laughed, astonished that they were so mindless. "It's not t'at simple." she said it as if it was obvious. "It's a maze down there. You'll never find your way without direction. I don't even know if I know the way."

"We can get out of the tunnel ourselves. Just once we get out." She knew that Concord would be of use with the tunnels in any case. Once he caught up with them.

"What were you planning to do, just wander around the forest and try to find the base?"

"Well, we figured we'd find it-"
"So yes. T'at was your plan. Well, that forest is treacherous. Yet anot'er maze, except it's filled with beasts and murderous plants. The perfect place for an evil base, but a terrible place to have to get through if you want to attack the base."

"Well, great." Cascade sighed.

"No, it's not great." Emanai shook her head.

"She was being sarcastic." Andrea was looking at Emanai with a strange expression on her face.

"What's sircasic?"

"Sarcastic..." Andrea gave a deep sigh. "I don't want to explain right now. Let's just start moving."

Cascade shook her head. Andrea didn't care much for explaining things that others didn't understand, although she was often the person who didn't understand. Cascade smiled a little at the irony, as now Andrea was in a position that she was usually in, and Emanai was in a position that Andrea was usually in.

Andrea glared at Cascade for the thought and sped off down the tunnel. Cascade sped off close behind her, but quickly overcame Andrea as a result of her long stride. She probably doesn't understand sarcasm anymore because Sephtis means everything he says. Cascade had a feeling she would find out a lot more about Emanai soon.

Andrea groaned as Cascade passed her. "Why does she have to win at everything?" she muttered.

Cascade chuckled and sped up. "Because you need to try harder!"

Andrea tried to speed up. "This isn't going to work." She thought she had been pushing herself to her limit. But to her surprise, she sped up. She was able to keep pace with Cascade. "Who knew?"

"I did."
Andrea rolled her eyes at the answer. "I should ask less rhetorical questions."

Cascade chuckled and punched Andrea in the shoulder playfully. "You're right. You should."

"Exactly my point."
"Indeed." Cascade was grinning now.

Andrea was about to reply once more, wondering if she would ever get the last word, when Cascade was knocked to the ground. Concord and Omar whizzed past, travelling at such high speeds that you could barely see their movement. They had accidentally knocked over Cascade in their race.
"Hey! We need to be a little quieter here!" Cascade called out.
"Well, if we go fast, then we won't need to worry about quietness because we'll already be there!" came the reply echoing back, followed by cheerful laughter from Omar.

Cascade shook her head. Andrea offered her hand out to Cascade and she took it. "Thanks." Cascade nodded her head in Andrea's direction.

"No problem."

"Well, the forest is right up through this lake. But can somebody remind me 'ow we managed to find our way through t'at tunnel?" Emanai was a little confused.

"I sensed where all the passages were and so I was able to navigate it without being fooled by any dead ends and other things." Concord explained.

"You make it sound sooooooooo simple."

"It is, once you understand it."
"Exactly. It's the understandin' t'at's so complicated."

Concord wasn't sure how to answer that.

"Well, how long do you think it will take us to get through that forest, Emanai?" Cascade asked.

Emanai gave a grim laugh. "You're obviously not from around here. It depends on how the forest is feelin'. It lets you pass when it wants to. The least amount of time it could take you... maybe fifteen minutes."

"That's not too bad." Andrea interrupted.

"Um... I think that there's a 'most amount of time', Andrea." Cascade looked worriedly at Emanai.

"Yup! There certainly is. Forever."

"Forever!?" Andrea's jaw dropped.

"Yup. Forever. If you get eaten by some monster or somethin' you'll certainly be stuck in there forever. And also if you lose your way, you might be. The point is, you can easily die in there, and so... yeah. You'd be there forever."

"If you gave us a... percentage of the likelihood that we would survive. What would you say?" Cascade asked.

"Five percent."

"Five percent?" Andrea shouted.

"Yeah."

"What about if you can control the forest?"

"More."

"Percentage."

"Fifty."

"Wow. I like those odds better." Andrea nodded, smiling. "What about with a guide who knows the forest and its dangers well?"

"Seventy percent. But you're not gettin' t'at guide."

"What else is the guide going to do? Wander around and hope that some villager is going to give shelter to a worker of the evil raider?"
Emanai sighed in despair. "I s'pose you have a point. But my percentages might not be right. They're based on what Sep'tis told us and what I seen the three times t'at I tried to go out there."

"You've been out there three times? Then you would know it really well, wouldn't you?"
"Things move in t'at forest. Things don't stay the same. If you find a landmark, chances are you'll never find it again. Having a guide will only help you avoid signs of an animal that's disguised as a tree or somethin'."

"How come nobody knew about the monsters in this forest?"

"Because nobody lives here."

"Why not?"

"Because it's supposed to be cursed. And also, of course, the only way to access the forest is by the tunnels. Or from the air."
Cascade nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, it's going to get dark soon, so if you're going to leave, leave now, or there's no way I'm going to be your guide. I'm not going into t'at forest at night."

"All right. Let's go. I'm sure we can face whatever dangers we run into along the way." Cascade held a confident tone in her voice.
"So you say." Emanai looked unconvinced.

Cascade ignored the comment. Then she dove into the water and swam up to the surface, the others close on her tail.

They ran through the forest after Concord, who could sense where the base was in relation to them.

"Duck!" Emanai whispered. They had to be quiet so as to not disturb the supposed "monsters" that live in the forest.

Suddenly, a strange animal with antlers, four feet, and hooves, and armed with sharp teeth and claws, jumped out from in front of them. They ducked just in the nick of time.

"What is that?" Andrea asked as she looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of the animal once more.

"A Hephylstiltefilyzenishul! They're deadly!"

"A what?"

"A Hephylstiltefilyzenishul! Their weak point is in between their antlers! They've got un-piercable skin everywhere else!"

"I'm just gonna call it... a Heffy." Andrea was still peering around, looking for the Heffy.

Cascade rolled her eyes. "Well attack the Heffy already!"

"I can't see it anymore!"
Cascade sighed and shook her head. Then she caught a glimpse of the Heffy. She quickly shot a few blades of ice at it.

The Heffy snarled as it saw the blades coming. But it didn't attempt to dodge them. They simply bounced off its skin.

"Hmm." Cascade sighed.

The Heffy was preparing for attack. It clawed at the ground. Then it charged towards Cascade, its sharp antlers poised for attack.

Cascade shot more blades of ice at the Heffy, this time aiming for the narrow space in between the two huge antlers.

The blades of ice slid between the small gap between the antlers, killing the Heffy instantly. As the Heffy hit the ground, it slid forward a few meters, stopping at Cascade's feet.

Cascade let out a huge sigh of relief when the Heffy didn't slide far enough to hit her. That was close.

Then they were back on the road again. The pace quickened considerably.

"Come on!" Emanai whispered. "Let's get into the trees! Bein' here on the ground makes us vulnerable to more attacks from animals like the Hephylstiltefilyzenishul!" She ran to a tree and scrambled up it effortlessly. She was multiple stories high in only a small amount of time.

"I'm not sure about going up there. I don't really like heights." Concord was nervous. "And I won't be able to see the base from there."

"Well, you're going to get killed if we stay down there. The forest is in a bad mood today." Emanai gestured to the trees around them.

Concord sighed. He still didn't like it.

Andrea, however, had different feelings on the matter. She had followed Emanai up with no trouble at all.

"How did you learn to climb so fast, Emanai?"

"You kind of have to. I mean, if you don't, Sephtis kills you, so it's kind of a requirement."

"Oh." Andrea hadn't meant to bring up that subject. She clamped her jaw shut and was determined not to make any more comments on the matter.

Cascade followed Andrea up shortly afterwards.
"That's one thing I think you'll always be better at than I am, Andrea. Climbing, and sports in general."

Andrea blushed. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Now Omar was up in the tree. He was surprisingly adept at climbing trees. It appeared that the air moving around the branches helped him sense where to move next.

Concord, encouraged by the fact that Omar had made it up the tree with such ease, followed shortly.

"Let's go. We've got no time to lose." Emanai ran across a branch, not appearing to mind the dizzying drop below.

Andrea and Omar didn't seem to mind either.

Cascade, on the other hand, was worried about running down the narrow branch, which was, in fact, only about a foot in width. But she found an easy solution to the problem. She simply created banisters for herself and Concord.

Concord was grateful for the banisters. While Cascade might have been able to manage without banisters and preferred them, Concord was a different matter.

Concord didn't have very good balance, and when he didn't have connection to the ground, he was nervous. He would easily fall off the branch if he didn't have the handles.

As they jumped from branch to branch, Cascade instead made bridges for herself and Concord.

Soon the branches started to widen as they jumped to larger, older trees. They could move faster now, and they were more comfortable.

After a little while Cascade had an idea. Why didn't I think of this before?

"Andrea! Emanai!" she called forward in as soft of a voice as she could manage.

"Yes?"

"Instead of jumping from branch to branch, we can just travel along my ice bridges. I can make one that goes all the way to the base. I think I'm skilled enough now."

"You couldn't have told us this earlier?" Andrea shot an exasperated look towards Cascade.

"I didn't think of it till now!"

"All right then. The present is better than the past anyhow, I suppose."

So they traveled along the ice bridge instead, dissipating it as they moved forward, to cover up their tracks. 

Once they had moved to the trees, Omar had become their guide. He had quickly moved ahead of the others, moving in wide leaps and bounds as he felt the breeze moving through the branches. To travel, he created larger gusts of wind to propel himself forward. He needed to stay a bit ahead of the others so that he could try to hear the people moving around in the base, to lead him there. Except he would only be able to hear them if he wasn't distracted by the sounds that the others made as they walked along the bridges.

Omar was also trying to use his sixth sense to tell where the base was. He was relatively sure that he knew where it was. They could only hope that he was right.