AN: Sorry for the wait! Things have been quite hectic with the holiday season and, ya know, everything basically on fire. I've personally had a couple of bushfire emergency watch and acts. Not to mention that the smoke is making me feel constantly headachy and nauseous. Anyway, have a long chapter to make up for the wait. Hope you enjoy~

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Chapter 5:

There appeared to be more explorers inside the labyrinth now. As it was mid-morning, it made sense. But they seemed to be mainly focused within the first floor. Though the trek to the stairs to reach the second was short, Drayce didn't see anyone else along the way.

However, as he stepped out onto the lush grass of the second floor, Drayce got that distinct feeling that they weren't the only ones who had ventured here recently. It wasn't anything alarming. They were venturing within a labyrinth, a place where guilds explored at will. So of course, there would be someone else milling about.

After recent events, however, Drayce just couldn't help but be cautious. "Hm?"

"Again?" Blayke griped as he stood next to him. "What's wrong?"

"Rude," Drayce chided lightly with a click of his tongue before he shook his head. "Anyway, I think there's someone else on this floor."

"I think you're right," Faelen said with a tone of nervousness. "Nashoba is sensing something as well."

Drayce turned to face his teammate and found Faelen crouched down on the ground next to Nashoba, his arm over the back of the white wolf. Nashoba had his ears straight up, his eyes focused forward, and his tail down. His hackles weren't raised, so he wasn't in defensive mode. He was in cautious mode, though.

And he wasn't the only one.

"...Probably just rookie explorers," Blayke muttered, even as he subconsciously took a step closer to Caelem, whom of which also looked uneasy.

The only one of their party who wasn't wearing an expression of nervousness was Zohar. He gazed at their surroundings with interest, his posture relaxed, the coffins that he wielded as weapons floating idly by his sides.

Perhaps they were just feeling nervous about entering a new floor. Zohar had ventured through these paths before. If he suddenly started to act defensively, then something was clearly out of line.

Even so...

"Yeah, I'm sure it's nothing," Drayce said with a smile. "But just in case; Cal, stay close to Blayke and I'll take the lead, ok?"

Caelem nodded his head and took a step closer to Blayke as well. "Ok," he said simply.

They fell into a somewhat comfortable silence after that. Drayce, as he said, took the lead with a hand on his cannon. Behind him was Blayke, and close to him was, of course, Caelem. Taking up the rear was Zohar with Faelen and Nashoba in front of him.

Though Drayce thought it might have been best for Zohar to take the front with him, since he had been to this floor before. But perhaps it was best that he took the last spot. He didn't want to have either Faelen or Caelem there, and he knew that protective Blayke preferred to be near the front so that he could launch himself into battle as soon as possible.

As they silently move deeper into the labyrinth, Drayce thought he heard a sound. It was faint, but it didn't seem to match their surroundings. Before he could ask if anyone else heart it, Caelem suddenly uttered a sound of surprise.

"D-did you hear that?" Caelem asked, similarity to when he did previously, which caused everyone to promptly turn to face him.

Next to him and grasping a hold of Nashoba's collar, Faelen nodded his head. "I did this time," he murmured as his ears twitched.

"I heard a faint sound," Drayce replied.

"It was a startled yelp," Caelem said firmly. "Followed by another...sound. A monster, I think."

"Hmm," Zohar murmured in thought. "Perhaps that rookie guild has encountered the FOE on this floor."

Blayke arched an eyebrow. "FOE?"

"Hm? Oh, it's just an abbreviation for Formido Oppognatura Exsequens," Zohar explained. "Just something to call the monsters that are far larger and more powerful than those that are smaller than they are."

Drayce wasn't sure what those three, long fancy words Zohar just said, but it sounded dangerous.

"Great," Blayke muttered bitterly.

If a guild had indeed come afoul of a FOE, then Drayce had to see if they're alright and if they needed help. It might be a rookie guild, it might not be. It might be veterans fighting with the monster. He didn't know.

And he didn't like not knowing.

"Let's go," Drayce urged.

Blayke sighed as he reached for his sabre. "Needless to say."

Nashoba seemed to understand what Drayce wished to do as he darted forward, leading them down a few winding paths. Drayce took the lead as per usual, while the others stayed close behind him. They reached and then passed through a set of doors, and immediately stopped dead in their tracks.

Near a pool of water stood two figures. One with green hair and obviously a pugilist. The other was a therian, though his class was less obviously. They, male in appearance, did carry a bag on their back, indicating that they were likely a gatherer. The pugilist stood before the other, the two huddled behind a boulder for safety.

They weren't what drew his full attention, though. It was the large creature throwing a right fit between two streams of water. And it seemed to have its full attention on the two explorers.

It looked like a massively overgrown caterpillar of sorts. Blue and pink in colour with large, menacing pinchers on top of its head and two more near what Drayce could only assume was its mouth. Er, mouths? Two more black, and more likely than not venom covered pinchers were located near its rear.

It was...ah, much bigger than Drayce had anticipated. Far bigger than those Wild Dogs that was for sure!

It also looked far more ferocious. Trashing its head from side to side, pinchers snapping agitatedly. To say that it appeared pissed off was an understatement.

Drayce really didn't want to fight the thing...

"Let me guess, that's a FOE?" Blayke muttered, seemingly through gritted teeth.

"A toxipede to be exact," Zohar answered dryly.

"Even better..."

Drayce had heard a few tales about those creatures called toxipedes. Like the name suggested, they were rather poisonous. The toxin was life-threatening if not taken care of immediately.

They didn't have Fiorello with them today.

"Whatever it is, it's furious," Drayce said as he shook his head. "I don't know what's going on here, but it's clear that those two there aren't trying to fight it."

Hopefully, they didn't have to either. Still, he had to do something.

Drayce straightened his posture and reached for his cannon. "Everyone stand back; I'll use my Decoy Shields to distract it so we can slip behind it. Do not engage it unless absolutely necessary. Nashoba, stay with Faelen. Theo, a little help?"

The cartoonish white ghost that was Theodore immediately appeared next to Drayce's head.

"He's ready," Zohar replied.

"Good," Drayce said as he let Theodore nuzzle against his shoulder rather affectionately. "Theo, help distract it while I get the decoys ready, ok?"

Theodore all but purred happily in response. A rather odd reaction from the wraith, but a welcomed one nonetheless. Ah, he probably just enjoyed the prospect of being useful.

"We'll go north-east," Zohar suddenly said to him. "Lead it south-west for now."

Right.

"Let's go."

Though it went against his better judgement, Drayce dislodged his shield from his back and dropped it to stand next to him. He wouldn't safely manoeuvre around the enormous creature while lugging a heavy shield with him. He'd have to rely on his Decoy shields for now.

Drayce trusted the others to get themselves out of danger, so he focused on what he needed to do. As Theodore boldly and fearlessly floated toward the toxipede, startling the creature with his appearance, Drayce took a moment to study the FOE further.

While he would do whatever was necessary to ensure that they didn't have to fight the thing, he still made some mental notes to himself.

A back attack was unlikely to be too successful due to the two claws-like appendages on its rear. Though its large stature gave Drayce the impression that its sides were vulnerable. He didn't want to agitate it any more than it was, but he needed a counter measure in case his Decoy Shields didn't get its full attention.

Heading downwind from the FOE, Drayce managed to set up two Decoy Shields in front of the thick foliage. With the shields in place, he ducked away, out of sight before Theodore also abruptly disappeared from view. The Toxipede immediately honed in on the decoys, drawn there by the shields' natural agitating effect towards monsters, and charged forward.

"You two, run!" Drayce ordered the two unknown but bewildered explorers.

They seemed stunned for a moment before the pugilist snared the therian by his wrist and immediately led him away.

He headed over to where he dropped his shield. As he picked it up, he heard and felt the destruction of his Decoy Shields. He winced and spun around to watch as the toxipede stood on the exact spot he had placed the decoys. It continued to thrash its head wildly, looking for more prey that knew was still out there.

However, it was somewhat of a distance away. Enough for Drayce and the others to slip behind it and to find somewhere safe.

Lugging his shield onto his back, Drayce quickly located north and headed in its direction. Not wanting to risk calling out to the others to find their location, Drayce was relieved when Theodore abruptly appeared again and silently led him to where Zohar could be seen.

"Is everyone all right?" Drayce immediately asked, slightly out of breath.

"All are accounted for," Zohar said as he reached out and took Drayce by the upper arms and pulled him toward a small alcove where the others had taken shelter. "Including our two guests."

"Thank goodness," Drayce murmured, quickly surrounded by the rest of his guildmates.

"You all right?" Blayke immediately asked and Drayce nodded his head.

"Yeah. Man, that thing is pretty damn big, huh?"

"I'm just glad that we don't have to fight the thing."

So was he!

"But it looks like we're going to have to use an Adriane Thread or continue forward," Drayce mused aloud as he glanced over his shoulder, getting a glimpse of blue as he did so. "Getting around it a second time is not a sure thing. We'll worry about that later, though."

Drayce shrugged off his shield again and stood it near the entrance of their little hideaway. Some protection was better than none. As he did that, his gaze shifted to the two figures that had taken refuge along with them.

"Go ahead and see what that thing's doing now, but don't leave the area," Drayce instructed the others as he slung his gun over his back. "I'll check on those two."

Blayke looked displeased by something and side-eyed the two cautiously. "You sure?"

He was simply acting that way because he didn't know them, so Drayce wasn't worried.

"It'll be fine, don't worry," Drayce said as he clapped a hand on Blayke's shoulder. "I'm sure they're just two explorers."

Blayke didn't look convinced. "Can't be too careful.

"You'll come to my rescue if anything happens~" Drayce teased, which earned him a roll of the eyes from Blayke.

Dropping his hand from Blayke's shoulder, Drayce made his way over to the two still unknown explorers. They were talking to each other in hushed tones. Though, from their body language alone, it appeared that the pugilist was worried for their companion, while the therian appeared to be attempting to alleviate their concern.

"Hey, you two all right there?" Drayce called out in a friendly manner as he approached them.

The green haired pugilist immediately turned to look at him. "Whew, yeah, we're good. That bastard came out of nowhere."

The brown-haired therian nodded his head rapidly in agreement. "Yeah. Thanks for the help!"

"Yeah," the pugilist replied before he folded his arms across his chest in a slightly indignant manner. "I mean, I probably could have taken it on by myself, you know. Just caught me by surprise."

"Sure, Sal," the therian answered with a rather fond expression on his face.

Drayce smiled at the two. They felt and appeared completely harmless. Glad that he was able to help the two out. "Well, the name's Drayce."

"The name's Salim," the pugilist replied and pointed to his companion. "And he's Tokala."

"Hi!" Tokala replied cheerfully.

"Despite the circumstances, it's nice to meet ya," Drayce said in earnest. "My guild's name is Angelward. Are you a two-man guild?"

"Ah, yeah..." Salim said, hesitantly.

A light shimmer of red caught Drayce's attention and he focused in on Tokala. Around his neck was a necklace that was on a silver chain. But it was the red crystalline pendant that caught his eye more than anything else. "Huh...That necklace?" he muttered unwittingly.

Tokala glanced over at him and his smile abruptly faded as he reached up to clasp his hand tightly around the red pendent. It in a matter of seconds, he shoved it back under the collar of his shirt. He kept his hand pressed against his chest, clutching it through the material.

He was suddenly very tense and cautious. Had that necklace gotten him into trouble before? Perhaps some unwanted attention at least. It was quite eye-catching. It wasn't often that a lotus was depicted to be bright red. No, more of a ruby red.

Hmm...

"Sorry, your necklace reminds me of something," Drayce said with what he hoped was a friendly, completely non-threatening smile. "That's...a lotus, right?"

Tokala took a slight step back to stand closer to Salim and Salim himself seemed to respond with a protective step in front of him. Tokala continued to peer around him, however, to look at Drayce with a slight sense of curiosity in his eyes. "Yeah?"

"I don't mean to pry," Drayce continued to reassure. "It's just quite beautiful. And it...reminds me of something I've seen before. Quite recently actually."

Tokala seemed to perk up at that, though his hand seemed to tighten around the hidden pendant. "It does?"

Though Tokala looked curious, Salim's frown unexpectedly deepened and he seemed to grow tense. He kept himself firmly planted in front of Tokala, who inauspiciously stayed hidden behind. Clearly Salim was protective of Tokala for a reason. There was a difference between being protective of someone in general, and being protective for a reason.

That pendant was in the shape of the lotus on that box they had only just discovered. Could they be that lucky? Or was it merely a coincidence? Or...something else? Either way, he couldn't be a hundred percent sure that pendent was the same. Caelem would know, but he may get excited at the possibility and may unintentionally startle Tokala. And, clearly, he was skittish enough.

Drayce needed to try to defuse the tension somehow. And the best way was to show that he was an honest person.

"Well, you see, I'm an archaeologist," Drayce explained with a smile. "Come from a longline of them. And I've seen that pendent shape somewhere else. A small treasure box, to be precise. One we can't open."

"Huh, is that so?" Salim replied as he folded his arms tightly across his chest, looking somewhat sceptical. Not fully though, so cautiously sceptical?

He wasn't going to get anywhere with the way they were currently. They were in the middle of the labyrinth and Salim and Tokala were both hesitant. Drayce wasn't going to demand to look at the necklace in order to prove his theory that it might somehow be connected to the wooden box back home. It might just be a coincidence. But it truly looked so similar to the small indentation.

Well, there was really only one thing to do.

"Listen, I'll be honest; that necklace is very familiar to me, but I won't demand to see it. You have your reasons of being cautious and I won't push you. But, could I at least ask you to stop by my guildhouse? Even just for a visit? You're new to Iorys, right?"

Salim and Tokala remained silent as the shared a look. They quickly looked back at him, both of them wearing quite quizzical expressions. As if they couldn't fathom him somehow.

That was a look that Drayce was getting a lot these days. Sheesh!

"Your guildhouse?" Tokala finally asked.

Drayce smiled. "It's known as the Crescentia. You can't miss it. It's a big old place near the market district and the path leading to the labyrinth. The name plaque is out front."

"We'll see," Salim was the one to relent as he dropped his arms from his chest. He still looked tense, but less guarded now.

"Drayce!" Blayke suddenly called out to him. "That bastard has finally skittered away. We can get back to what we were doing."

"Great!" Drayce said in response before he turned back to their two guests. "We're just mapping this floor for now. What about you two?"

"Eeh, we're just looking around," Salim replied.

"Um, yep, just being nosy," Tokala added with a friendly grin on his lips.

It was obvious, though, that they weren't being fully honest. Drayce couldn't believe that there was any maliciousness involved, though.

"Being nosy and picking fights with monsters, perhaps?" Blayke asked them, picking up on their previous dismissiveness.

"We didn't do anything," Salim replied adamantly as he glared at Blayke. "That bastard was all pissed off before we encountered it."

"That's right!" Tokala insisted, frowning as he jumped to Salim's defence. "We just walked around a counter to find it already irritated. It was thrashing around as if looking for something. It then turned to face us before charging at us!"

Huh, already irritated? Maybe there was another guild ahead of them? Or maybe another monster had irritated it?

Or maybe...

Well, whatever the reason, that was certainly quite the introduction to a FOE. Were they all like that? Overly aggressive? And he though the Wild Dogs were bad!

"Strange," Zohar mumbled from behind Drayce. "They are usually content on pacing their territory."

Drayce glanced over at Zohar to find him with a slight crease on his brow. "Do you know much about it?"

"Only the essentials. I've encountered a few on my...travels," Zohar admitted. "I've never encountered one this aggressive before."

Hmm...Yeah, that was rather strange. And curious.

"Well, whatever happened, it's over now," Drayce said in a hopefully pacifying and comforting manner. "That toxipede, or whatever it was, had wandered off. We can get going now. You two can tag along, if you want. I can only assume there are more of those FOEs on this floor?"

He directed that question toward Zohar, turning his head to face the necromancer. He received a nod from Zohar, affirming his assumption.

"What do you think, Sal?" Tokala whispered to Salim.

"I'm more than enough to protect ya."

"Yeah, I know. It's just...I'm curious. They seem really nice. And maybe you can show them how awesome you are when we eventually encounter more monsters."

"Well, I am pretty awesome. Hah, alright. Only because you want to."

"Thanks, Sal."

Pretending to have not overheard their conversation, Drayce waited expectantly as the two turned away from each other and back to him. "Well?"

"Sure, we'd love to tag along," Tokala answered cheerfully.

Drayce's protective side was relieved and he smiled at the two. "Well then, why don't I introduce everyone? This is Blayke, Caelem, Faelen, Nashoba, and Zohar. Guys, this is Salim and Tokala."

"Hi!" Faelen happily chirped next to Drayce before he moved toward Tokala, likely drawn to his fellow therian. "Are you and Salim a guild?"

Tokala regarded Faelen with a sense of curiosity, but friendliness nevertheless. "We're best friends. We grew up together from the same village."

"Ah, I see. That's cool."

Drayce chuckled to himself as he left Faelen asking Tokala friendly, non-intrusive questions, and picked up his shield. "Well, let's get back to exploring, then."

Despite Blayke's cautious nature, Salim and Tokala fell in easy with the others of their party. Faelen was the one doing most of the talking, mostly to Tokala who chatted back easily. Caelem walked quietly behind them, looking at Tokala with curiosity while Salim ensured that Tokala didn't stray too far from him.

Zohar took the rear once more, gazing at everyone in front of him with a...peculiar expression. It caused Drayce to wonder if he was feeling left out. Or if he was pondering about something.

Drayce made the mental note to talk to him about it later. Whether he was fine with taking the last spot or not.

As they entered a clearing with pools of water and twisting, moss covered trees, a flash of blue caught their attention. And they all winced and braced themselves. Another one of those toxipedes could be seen at the southern end of the clearing. Pacing back and forth between pools of water.

Salim made a sound that was a mixture of disgust and agitation. "Uuuuugh, it's that shitty centipede bastard again."

"It doesn't appear to be the same one," Zohar pointed out.

"And it's not immediately chasing us," Faelen added from where he crouched next to a defensive Nashoba.

That was right. The thing must have noticed their presence. They hadn't exactly been very quiet the last few minutes. The FOE was just simply pacing back and forth for some reason.

"Is this their normal behaviour, Zohar?" Drayce asked as he turned to give the necromancer his full attention.

Zohar stared at the FOE for a few seconds before he nodded his head and turned to look back at him. "Yes. They are surprisingly placid when it's not breeding season."

That answer was reassuring, but it also piqued Drayce's interesting. How far had Zohar travelled into the labyrinth? And how much did he know about its inhabitants? Prior information was indeed very handy; he just couldn't help but wonder if Zohar had travelled so far...alone.

That thought troubled him.

"Whether this is normal behaviour or not doesn't matter," Blayke suddenly mumbled. "It's still in our way."

Ah, good point. Just by looking at their surroundings, it appeared to be pacing on the path they need to move forward. Maybe he could use a decoy shield to distract it and they can slip behind it? But...would that leave the FOE irritated? Just like the last one?

"Couldn't we, like, throw some food in the opposite direction and sneak around behind it?" Tokala suddenly suggested.

Drayce held his chin in thought. "Hmm. That could work. We don't have any food on us, though."

Tokala brightly and motioned to the bag on his back. "I do!"

Salim immediately whipped around to face him, indignant by something. "You're not giving that bastard any of my food!"

Tokala laughed as he swung the bag from his back. "Relax, Sal," he said as he reached into his bag. "I have some Moon Apples. Maybe I could throw one of those."

"As long as it's not any of my meat," Salim muttered as he folded his arms somewhat childishly across his chest.

"Ah, a meat-man, huh?" Drayce chuckled.

"That's all he eats," Tokala answered. "I have to shove vegetables down his throat with a stick. Now, where did I-ah!" A triumphant look appeared on his face as he pulled out a moon apple and promptly handed it toward Salim. "Here's one. You throw it, Sal, you have better aim than me."

"Just don't hit it," Blayke warned.

"Where should I aim?" Salim asked as he stepped forward, readying himself for the throw.

"Aim to the right of it," Drayce suggested. "So, it'll have its back to us as we slip past."

Salim nodded his head, his eyes narrowing slightly. He then hitched back his arm, paused for a second, before he threw his arm forward, sending the apple flying. His aim was pretty good, actually, the apple landing softly on the grass a foot or so away from the toxipede before bouncing across the ground.

The sound and the moment of the apple rolling immediately caught the attention of the FOE. It wheeled its head around in the direction of the apple and snapped its pincers a couple of times. It then seemed to locate the apple. Unexpectedly, it made a slight chirping sound. A happy-sounding sound. It then scurried over to the apple and lowered its enormous head.

With the FOE clearly distracted, Drayce motioned for the others to follow him. And keeping as quiet as they could, he led them around the toxipede, ensuring that he was between his guildmates and the monster at all times.

But, thankfully, they got around the toxipede without issue. And a few seconds later, the FOE went back to its pacing, seemingly unaware of them have ever being there.

"Well, that was certainly easier," Drayce said and gave Tokala a pat on the shoulder as he walked past him to get to the front of the party once more. "Great job, Tokala."

Tokala flushed lightly at the compliment and rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks. I just figured that everyone loves food, including monsters. Salim certainly does!"

"Damn straight I do!" Salim said, loud and proud.

Caelem tilted his head to the side questioningly. "You have a lot of food on you."

"Oh, ah, I really enjoy cooking, especially over a campfire," Tokala explained with a sheepish shrug of his shoulder. "And Sal eats whatever I cook. As long as it's vastly meat, though!"

Blayke folded his arms across his chest, seemingly accepting that answer. "Well, knowing how to cook is a good skill to have."

Drayce blinked when he realised that Blayke was staring potently at him from the corner of his eye. "Dude, why are you side-eying me?"

"I'm just thinking that you having the skill to actually eat something would be a good skill for you to have," Blayke answered, with a noticeably accusatory tone in his voice.

Now, Drayce was just indignant. "I eat!"

"Only after someone reminds you to eat or shoves a plate of food right in front of your face."

"Nooo, don't you nag me. Ash is already on my case about that!"

Faelen laughed at the two of them, which prompted Tokala to turn to him with an amused and curious expression. "Oh, you have more guildmembers?"

"Yep! They're at our guildhouse cleaning up the library," Faelen explained.

Hmm, speaking of the others, they had better continue their own investigation for anything strange or unusual found on this floor.

"Let's get back to trekking," Drayce instructed. "We're losing daylight."

They quickly fell back into formation and fell into a comfortable silence.

As the leader once more, Drayce ensured that they kept a steady but cautious pace. Not only did he have to look out for danger in the forms of monsters, but he also had to keep the thought of bandits to the back of his mind. He also needed to carefully inspect their surroundings in case they find something either connected to the trinket box they discovered, or something that could lead them to another treasure.

"H-hey," Caelem stuttered unexpectedly. "You ok?"

Concerned, Drayce turned to find out who Caelem was directing that question to and paused when his gaze landed on Tokala. Despite the light red flush to his cheeks, he also looked pale. Washed out. Dazed even, as he tiredly turned to regard Caelem.

"Hm. Huh? What?" he muttered.

Salim was immediately pressed against his side, his arm around his back and waist. "What? You have a headache?"

"Sorry!" Tokala squeaked before he sighed and touched his forehead with his hand. "I'm fine. I just felt tired all of a sudden."

"Why don't we all sit down for a while?" Drayce asked gently.

Tokala shook his head, though that didn't seem like a good thing to do. He leaned heavily against Salim, even as he insisted, "I-I'm ok!"

Of course, he wasn't convincing anyone. But...Drayce felt it would be best for them to continue moving. Just for a little bit longer. He just couldn't help but feel that there was...something to their surroundings. He couldn't quite explain why he felt that way. He just did.

A hand settling on his back pulled Drayce from his thoughts. He turned his head slightly to regard the one who had gained his attention and noted that it was Zohar.

"There's a shaded area just ahead," Zohar enlightened. "Let's push forward just a little bit more."

Drayce looked at him cursorily. Did Zohar also feel as if there was something unusual about their surroundings?

"Sure, sounds good," Drayce said.

Salim continued to hold Tokala close to him as they returned to their trek. Slower, this time. But they kept a steady pace nonetheless. Zohar walked with Drayce this time, however, leading them to an area that was quiet and shaded. It looked safe enough for them to sit a while if need be.

Although, it was getting late.

As they turned a corner heading eastward, Drayce glanced over to Tokala, noting instantly that he didn't appear as pale as he did previously.

"Hm? You're looking better. Did your headache ease already?" Drayce questioned.

Tokala brushed aside his hair from his forehead. "I...yeah, I guess it did."

Drayce turned to look down that path they had just passed.

That area? Strange.

...Well, he would have to file that peculiarity to the back of his mind for later. The sunlight was growing dim. "Hah, it's getting late."

"And no sign of those damn stairs," Blayke muttered bitterly.

"We haven't checked every nook and cranny yet," Drayce tried to pacify. But he had to admit, he was curious. Where could a set of stairs hide? If it was hidden behind the foliage, surely someone would have found it by now?

A slight tug on his sleeve pulled him from his thoughts. "Drayce?"

Drayce immediately looked to his side, knowing that it was Faelen who wanted his attention. "Hm? What's wrong?"

"Nashoba is acting defensively again," Faelen explained as he released his hold on Drayce's sleeve to gently run his fingers through Nashoba's fur in an attempt to calm him.

"I see," Drayce muttered. Now that Faelen mentioned it, Drayce did feel as though they were being watched.

It didn't feel like that of those FOEs they had encountered, either.

"Let's return home for now," Drayce said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an Adriane Thread. He always kept at least three on him in case of emergency. "I'm still not overly comfortable with trekking around at night."

Noting that it was indeed growing dark, Tokala turned his attention to his companion. "Sal?" he asked softly.

"I'm not comfortable with it either," Salim instantly replied, his arm still firm around his waist. "You should return to town, too."

"Not going without you."

"As if I'd let you wander out of here on your own anyway."

Tokala smiled fondly. "Right."

Drayce regarded the two. "Do you guys have an Adriane Thread?"

Salim turned to look at him, confused. "What's that?"

So, they weren't official explorers.

"Take this," Drayce insisted as he pushed his Adriane Thread in their direction. "It'll take you straight back to town in a flash."

"Wow, really?" Tokala uttered in awe as he reached out to take the thread from him.

But Drayce kept a firm hold on it and looked at the both of them firmly. "Yeah. Official explorers can buy them at the market."

Tokala immediately retracted his hand and looked sheepish while Salim winced. "O-oh..."

Drayce sighed and opened his hand, letting the thread rest in his palm. "You can still use it. All I ask in return is that you visit the Crescentia. I don't know why the two of you are in the labyrinth alone, but now that I know about the two of you, my protective instincts won't let you wander about on your own. It's too dangerous with five people, let alone two. Certainly not without the use of an Adriane Thread."

Both Tokala and Salim just stared at him for a moment in complete silence. Gauging his sincerity, or perhaps baffled by his deal.

Finally, Faelen broke the silence by cheerfully stating, "You really should visit the Crescentia, Tokala. It's amazing!"

Tokala glanced over at Faelen, his shoulders hunched slightly in apprehension. However, after a moment he managed a small smile and nodded. "...Sure," he uttered as he retrieved the Adriane Thread from Drayce. "We'll be sure to visit."

"We'll see you later, then," Drayce said.

Tokala gripped the Adriane Thread in both his hands, and a second later a bright light enveloped both him and Salim. When the light faded, the spot where they once stood was completely empty.

"You sure it's ok to let them know about the Crescentia?" Blayke asked.

Drayce wasn't worried about those two knowing. "It's fine. They're not anything to be concerned about. They're...searching for something. And I think we can help them."

"I see," Blayke said, still somewhat sceptical, but that was just his nature. He sighed and looked away as he muttered something under his breath. "Living up to your compassionate title, it seems."

Drayce tilted his head to the side in question. "You say something?"

"Nah. Let's go," Blayke said as he reached into the pocket of his armour and pulled an Adriane Thread of his own. "I'm actually getting hungry."

Now that he mentioned it, Drayce was, too. Ash was sure to have the kitchen fired up.

"Let's get home then," Drayce said simply as Blayke activated the Adriane Thread for them.