Some time had gone by. Achlysa had passed out as soon as she had seen his face. He heart was contented and her mind, calm. Her body concentrated on getting her temperature back to normal. That meant, she had to take rest while her body worked. Bendra had carried her into a cave je had spotted earlier.
After making sure it was safe, he laid her down and conjured up a fire. He was uncomfortable leaving her alone, however, if he did not, they might not have anything to eat when she woke up. He went out and searched for a while. When he was back, he had managed to catch fish from the waters that flowed through the now lively forest. He was also lucky to find coconuts.
On his way back, he could not help but admire the environment they had been trapped in. However, even though the scenery was breathtaking, he could not help but feel it was too artificial. Like something or someone had created this place to look as real as possible but their efforts gave birth to a place that wasn't really real.
Bendra entered the cave after scouting the area a few times over. Once he was truly satisfied, he went back. Achlysa was still asleep. Her breathing had calmed down and she looked calmer. Her temperature was also close to normal. She was going to be up and running again. That made his happy. He had been so worked up that he did not notice how tired he was.
Now that he was sure everything was okay, exhaustion set in. He had sat between her and the opening of the cave. The fire could not go off since it was conjured by magic so only magic could undo it. Nothing had seemed out off but one could not hurt to be too careful. His head was clouded. His eyes became heavier each time he blinked. The rock he had leaned on became more comfortable and soon, even he succumbed to slumber.
They did not know how long they had been a sleep. They both woke up due to the harsh wind that blew furiously into the cave. Bendra woke up and looked around. Achlysa was in a sitting position rubbing her eyes. From the corner of his eye, he saw something that shouldn't have been. A dark figure had silently sat on the other side of the cave.
The fire shone brightly, so at first glance one would not notice it as fast. The person sat there silently. He did not make an attempt to move. Even after he noticed the two wake, he still sat there, motionless. The only thing he did, was poke at the fire that burned without the help of firewood, leaves or even paper.
His curiosity must have been captured or je was simply ignoring them. Achlysa and Bendra looked at each other. They wanted answers but they knew they had to be composed to do so. Achlysa adjusted herself to face him. Bendra was on guard. He did not want to underestimate him or whatever he was.
"Who are you?"
He did not budge but continued his constant poking. Achlysa knew it was risky doing what she was about to do but right now, her choices were limited. She waved her hand and changed its color from red to blue. The flames gobbled up the stick he had been using. This seemed to have caught his attention. He looked up and tilted his head in confusion.
"Who are you?" Bendra echoed Achlysa's question.
His head snapped to his direction. He was not bothered by this action. In fact, it did not even hurt him. Achlysa's hands were on her neck. The sound that kept echoing in the cave bothered her. The person did not answer. Did he not know how to speak? And if so, how did he communicate? Were there others like him? Did they know of a way out? Or was this a trap within a trap?
The person was really tan. The color of his eyes were reflected by the light from the flames. He looked young and that was all that was visible to them. When they did not respond. The young man snapped his head again, this time he faced Achlysa. His eyes grew darker. He looked angered.
They held their hearts in their hands as they were on guard. What they did not expect, however, was its speed. The young person was before Achlysa in a split of a second. He cracked his head two more times and waited. Perhaps he assumed she had not heard him. He waited and when no response came. He raised his hand in the air with the same speed he had used before, ready to strike.
Achlysa was sure her speed was nowhere near his but, that did not mean that she was going to let herself fall into harms way. As he was about to strike, she set her whole body on fire. She had a resistance to fire so she wasn't really burning. The boy retreated but did not fall back. He headed straight for Bendra!
He luckily dodged but did not escape unscathed. The young man did not stop with his first attack, he had two more that followed each other sequentially if the first one missed. Achlysa extinguished the flames and jumped in to help. With her full strength she hit his temple. His attention was drawn to her and for a while she had been dodging his attacks.
However, she began realizing his pattern. Across, up, aside then down. When he used his other hand he was a bit slow and the attack was not at full strength. All she had to do was time it just right. And for this to work she needed distance. Before he attacked her again, she pushed him back and jumped back herself.
Step one, complete. Bendra must have caught one too. He was beside her when she landed. The young man did not seem fazed when they teamed up. He came at them with the same speed he had before but this tile he attacked both of them. Immediately, the two parted and backed away to either sides. As Achlysa did this, she came back and hit a pressure point in his slow loving arm. Bendra came and blocked him attacking her since she was unable to be on defense.
They both heard a crack sound but he made no sound. He stopped and moved back before disappearing into the dark. They waited, still on guard bit he did not come back. They were not sir who he was and what he was after. Right now what they had learned was only one thing. Fire. It attracted them bit also frightened them. It was an unknown to them. And one lore thing, they could not speak. Their language was also strange.
Achlysa felt a warm liquid fall from her hand but she was sure it was not hers. She grabbed the hem of her dress and tore it. She used the fabric to tie Bendra's arm tightly. Once done, they moved out. They were not sure what was out there but it was better there than here. The young man might have gone for reinforcements. Bendra extinguished the fire.
Yet, when they stepped out of the opening, they found themselves in a different domain. This time they were inside a building of some kind. Bendra summoned the fire again. The building was covered in drawings. From the walls to the ceiling and even the floor. None of them could tell what they meant but they couldn't ignore it either. As they walked further into the building hand in hand, a strong foul smell filled their nostrils.
The smell came from a certain room. Bendra stopped walking. He was tempted to walk into it but je was not sure he could handle what was in there. Lifting the hand that held the fire, he tossed it into the room. As soon as they saw what was in it, a part of him wished he had ignored it. Corpses. Lots of them, both young and old, decayed and fresh lay on the ground in a pile.
He summoned another fire but as he wanted to walk away, he could not feel her. She was gone. But how could that be? He was sure he was holding her hand like his life depended on it. So, where was she? And whose cold hand was he holding?