"What do you mean you lost him?"
Hestia hissed through her gnashed teeth. Her gaze burned with anger as she glared at the pudgy Knight in front of her.
Sir Orvyn's cheeks turned red in embarrassment and shame. As a Knight his senses failed to notice a Squire disappear in the area he was responsible for.
And as if that wasn't enough, it happened to the Squire most important to his allies. As the sole disciple of the baron, Hex status was equal to his.
By the time he had noticed that he couldn't sense Hex's existence close to him, he had dashed in the cave. Before going in he had alerted the others. But he couldn't find the Squire.
The others had hurried over, whilst keeping an eye out on paths leading to and from the cave.
Ivrain and Briella stood beside him with sour expressions. The three of them had been doing Missions for years now.
Normally if someone dared to talk to any of them in such a manner they would explode. Whether they were right or wrong wouldn't matter.
But today they had to accept it.
They still remembered the Commander's warning before coming to Grindeston.
The military would save them even if they angered the Kingdom, but if the baron was angered, not even the Heavens would intervene.
"Lady Hestia," Ivrain said, trying to soothe things, "I think we should prioritize finding the young Squire for now."
Hestia looked like she wanted to snap at Ivrain, but held her words back in the end. She took a deep breath and looked at the other Knights.
"Ivrain is right. The only place we haven't checked so far is there." She pointed at the dark chasm in front of them. They reached here after combing through the surrounding area.
"If he is down there maybe he needs help. And even if he…even if died I need to see his body."
Her tone made it clear that she had decided to descend into the chasm. She was dreading to find the young man's corpse, but she wouldn't be at peace without trying everything.
"Hestia," Adgar said with a sigh, "let one of us go down with you."
The way things were developing worried Adgar. The Squires might be in danger now, but soon even the Knights might not be safe.
"No Adgar. You guys need to remain alert and focused. The other Squires still need you guys to protect them," Hestia refused Adgar's help.
"Let me go with you," someone said, appearing behind them through the cave. The long legged beautiful girl stood straight with her spear held in her hand, pointing to the sky.
"You?" Hestia raised her brow, confused why the girl wished to take such risk for a boy she barely knew.
"Yes. I am strong. I am excellent at combat and I am a Squire."
Her words were powerful and concise. She pointed out the biggest advantages of taking her along, especially the third point.
Despite having an alliance, Hestia would never take a Knight outside her team to a dark chasm to save one of her own.
Especially since they were dealing with an organization composed of individuals from different backgrounds.
But someone like Althea had the minimum strength and the necessary weakness. An experienced Knight like Hestia would easily be able to deal with her.
Althea's team seemed reluctant to let her join Hestia but they knew it was the best way to alleviate the other team's anger.
They agreed to divide the team in three parts. One would be the Knights keeping a closer watch on the Squires.
The second part consisted of Adgar alone. He would stay close to the chasm so he could provide back up if required.
And the third and last part would be the duo of Hestia and Althea.
"Wait," Hestia stopped Althea from jumping down after the others had left. She shook her head and unveiled her mark.
"You will go first," Hestia said to Althea as a green vine shot beneath her, twisting and twirling towards the bottom of the chasm.
Althea didn't say anything. She grabbed the vine and descended. Her military training made her adept for such maneuvers.
They made their way down very quickly. Althea used a soft glowing orb on her feet, illuminating the space beneath her.
She noticed the sharp points of the spikes glistening in the light. Using her spear she flattened the sharp edges effortlessly.
Nimbly, she made her way forward. Her speed didn't falter.
Hestia followed behind her. She was less agile than Althea, but she made up for it by using her vines to swing from point to point.
"Look." Althea suddenly halted and pointed at the spikes at her right. They were also flattened, a bit rougher than theirs, but it was evidently done by a human.
"They seem recent," Althea judged expertly. Tracking and analyzing tracks were ingrained in her.
"That should be that brat," Hestia exclaimed in joy. She felt relief having found evidence that Hex was alive.
She didn't think it could be someone else. The chances of someone coming down here and passing through recently was very slim.
They followed the trail of broken spikes and arrived at the opening through the wall.
Without hesitation they entered the opening. The sound of bones under their feet didn't disturb them. If a predator appeared, both ladies were confident in dealing with it.
The only thing they tried to discern from time to time was whether a fresh body or fresh set of bones lay somewhere on the floor.
To their relief, they didn't find any.
Thud.
Crack.
Bang.
Muffled sounds of rocks falling could be heard after they passed the floor with bones.
"It looks like the path in front of us will collapse," Althea said, looking warily at the walls around her.
"Yes. More reason to hurry. Who knows if that boy is trapped under a rock or not."
Hestia's words were harsh, but her face clearly showed her concern. She was worried.
"There!" She pointed suddenly as they ran forward. There was a faint glow in the wall up front.
They increased their speed.
"Someone is there," Althea's sharp Hawk-like eyes saw the bodies laying in front of the light.
"It's him," Hestia recognized Hex immediately.
As soon as she reached him, she dropped on her knees and inspected him.
"A few broken bones and injuries. But he is breathing," she exclaimed.
"These two are alive as well," Althea said as she inspected Gorge and the light brown haired girl. She turned towards the body with a caved in skull.
"It seems he was killed by Hex," she said as she searched through the clothes. She found a pouch and a few notes. She pocketed them.
"They are his," she said when she noticed Hestia's gaze. The Knight seemed protective of the boy and she didn't wish to fight her.
Bang!
Both ladies turned to see a large piece of wall fall down. It was not far from them. The cracks seemed to widen.
"Hurry! We need to leave." Hestia said as her vines wrapped around Hex and pulled him up. The vines coiled around her.
"What about these two?" Althea asked. She had already hoisted Gorge and turned the girl around.
It was only now that Hestia paid attention to the other two people. She didn't recognize the boy, but when she saw the girl, her eyes widened in shock.
"Take her too. I didn't think I would see her again. I want to know how she ended up here."
The crack on the walls had grown wider. It would collapse anytime.
They quickly took the three people on their shoulders and ran.
Bang.
Just as they got away, the walls finally gave up.
Large pieces of the wall broke and slid.
The women ran with all the strength they could muster. With the fall of the first wall, soon the others would follow.
Hestia focussed on her energy, making vines appear along the wall further down the path.
The cracks were traveling along the wall.
"Hurry!"
They grabbed the vines and started to climb. The walls beside them started to break and fall.
They were racing against time.
Just as they neared the top, the crack spread over. The wall supporting the vine broke.
They felt the vine snap.
"Noo!"
They lost the support of the vine. They were so close. They could feel the vine turn loose.
"Gotcha."
But right as they were about to all, a pair of strong arms appeared around the ladies and pushed them up.
Adgar was hovering in the air and pushing them upwards. He looked at the stunned ladies and grinned.
"Never seen a man fly, little birds?"