Ethan allocates their team formation positions. Wendy scouts ahead while Lucy protects their rear. Ethan takes his place in the middle. They were five feet apart, moving silently through the forest towards their goal. They had no weapons or gear. Ethan would do what he could to help them. He would slow them down with his injuries; they needed protection from the forest.
"Alas, do not say anything about what I am doing here. This is our little secret just for us."
Wendy and Lucy nodded in confirmation. Their eyes sparkled as he took a ball from his robe. He had decided not to leave his weapons at home. He knew that their enemies were powerful.
"Alas, Lilly, help Wendy and survey her surroundings for danger. Keep us safe from monsters and the other students."
The ball glowed purple and floated out of his hand, hovering a foot above Wendy's head, her mouth open. Lucy's eyebrows rose, and her ears perked up.
"Alas, Zelda, protect Lucy and kill monsters that attack us."
Ethan took four exquisite knives from his robes, stretching his hand out. They floated to Lucy, floating around her like a shield. Ethan asked Ting-Ting to be his seat, and she hovered above the terrain. He sat on her. They moved through the forest, and Lilly warned Wendy of monsters and other students who lay in wait for them.
Soon, they reached the Enchanted Garden, and the search for the artefact began. Half an hour later, Lucy finds the Crystal Flower, an artefact that enhances magical abilities. They realise that time is short. The other teams have two hours on them. They decipher the second clue, which leads them to the Echoing Cave. As they approach the cave, Wendy holds her hand up and slowly backtracks.
"Hail, there are students inside searching the cave. What should we do."
"Alas, we need to go inside. Let us search the cave as well. We have the right to do so."
As they enter the cave, they are confronted by the young noble with the purple wand, who refuses to give them his name. An argument breaks out between the two groups. Ethan tells them that if they find the artefact first, they have the right to the next artefact area. They accept, and the teams start searching the cave again.
After twenty minutes of searching, Lucy stumbles and falls into a rock wall. Half her body was inside the wall, and her legs were the only part visible. Wendy rushed to her side and helped her up before the other team could see them. The wall was an illusion. Wendy and Ethan hugged Lucy and kissed her. They make sure the other students are not watching them. The wall was not solid. They kiss for three minutes, hands roaming each other's bodies. Wendy pulls away and then holds Lucy back as she grinds her pelvis against Ethan's leg.
"Hail, we got carried away and are running out of time."
They look at each other, out of breath, clearly aroused.
"Alas, we go through when they search on that side."
They wait till the students disappear around a bend and rush through to the other side, which is pitch black. Lilly floated out of Ethan's robes, and her patterns glowed golden, illuminating the area. They walk forward and search the new chamber before them in silence. Zelda and Ting-Ting float around them for protection. Ethan discovers the Whispering stone near a small altar at the back. Wendy and Lucy run to him, hugging and kissing him. Five minutes later, after lots of kissing and groping, they head back.
Wendy pushes her head through the elution. The students could be heard in the distance. Ethan decides they should leave as silently as possible. Outside the cave, they read the scroll for the next clue. Time was running out, and they needed to finish before lunch. It would be a draw if nobody finds the artefacts in time, and then a fighting challenge would follow. Their hormones and attraction to each other were their biggest hurdle.
"Squee, I want to do things with you. My urges feel overwhelming."
"Hail, my body is super sensitive. I can still taste you, Ethan."
"Alas, we need to focus on our goal. We cannot let our group down. I want you both."
They had become more aware of each other since last night. Ethan had done things that he never would have dreamed of with them, and they had also done things. They figure out the riddle, the next clue, leading them to the ancient ruins. Lucy warns them that the students from the cave are following them. They move faster to try and lose their pursuers and throw them off their trail. Wendy warns them that many students are hiding around them, waiting in ambush.
Navigating the terrain slowed them down as Lilly guided Wendy. The ruins are enormous. They reread the scroll. The two needed help deciphering the clue. Ethan points to a tower in the distance. He has a gut feeling. They rush to the tower and search for half an hour. Time was running out. Wendy became agitated, and Lucy started apologising for the most minor things. After forty minutes, Wendy and Lucy were at each other's throats, accusing each other of misreading the riddle.
"Alas, come here, girls."
Ethan hugs them tightly, kissing their foreheads. Wendy jumps out of Ethan's reach, pointing her finger at Lucy. Lucy apologises and bows to Ethan, tears falling to the terrain. Wendy pats Lucy on the back, a guilty look on her face. Ethan holds both women and picks them up, grunting.
Ethan understood that they had a lot riding on the challenge. Their pride as demi-humans and the fact that they wanted to show those assholes they were wrong about them. Now Ethan knew how they would react when stressed. He was relieved to see this reaction from them. You always fought with the people you loved the most when stressed.
"Alas, we should look around the tower. Logic dictates that it should be on the outside if not inside. Ting-Ting, take me down to the base of the tower."
Ethan held the two as they flew out a window and descended into the ground. Ethan places them down gently. With all the effort, his right side was covered in blood. Wendy and Lucy saw his wounds had reopened, and their eyes widened.
"Hail, I am sorry."
"Squee, me too. We did not mean for you to."
Ethan hugged them to his chest. Lucy's words cut off.
"Alas, I understand."
They decide to split up for now and search the area around the tower to save time. Ethan walks ten steps to the designated area he wants to search when Lucy cries out in pain.