Emery

Avuri and I quickly dashed from our makeshift camp toward the ambush point. We had both taken a few extra steps to remain hidden; we were suppressing our Qi as much as possible, allowing only a thread between us to communicate as well as the small bit of Qi required to keep our clothing strong against the sharp blades of grass in the Highlands.

Even if we had taken it slowly, we probably would've made it to the area before the caravan would have, but we still rushed anyway, only taking enough precautions to remain as hidden as possible.

Once we were within eye-sight of the little outcropping that extended nearby the road, we slowed and kept hidden within the grass.

"We can't exactly watch while we're crouched in the grass," I tugged on Avuri's loose sleeve, "do you think you should watch from above?"

"I think I'll have to. At least one of us needed to see what happens, and where they run off to afterward."

I nodded. "I'll watch our immediate surroundings then. Do what you need to do, but be careful."

Avuri pulled me in for a quick kiss and whispered "For luck," against my lips. "Give my arm a good tug if you need me to focus back here."

I nodded, gave her arm a squeeze, then put myself into guard mode. I focused all of my senses on watching our surroundings. We had a general lay of the land around the area thanks to Avuri's previous use of First Snow, so I knew that, aside from the location we expected the ambush to occur, there was also a nearby entrance to some antlion tunnels that I would need to be mindful of.

Neither of us knew enough about how antlions operated. We weren't sure what kind of senses they used while underground, which left us both a little on edge. There was every chance that us being on the ground above a tunnel could set them off. And with our position so close to the enemy we needed to track, I was hesitant to push my own Qi into the soil to see what was below us.

Instead, my plan was to use my eyes and ears as much as possible to watch for any movement in the grass around us, but also to try to keep myself aware of any shaking in the ground.

The tension in the air never wavered, despite us for all intents and purposes being on standby.

Until I heard the distinct sounds of combat distantly coming from the road. I wasn't sure at that point how long we had been there, but I knew Avuri would be watching. Whenever it was over, she would return and let me know what she saw and we would decide how to proceed.

The noises didn't last very long. Whatever was happening on the road was quick. What seemed worse to me was while I could clearly hear some of the expected sounds of combat - shouting, screaming, impacts - what I didn't hear was the sound of metal of metal, or the exchanging of blows. Even without vision, I could tell everything was one-sided.

Avuri had mentioned that the caravan had been moving with a couple scouts, so I had made the assumption there would be a fight of some kind. My assumption now, without additional information, was that the scouts were suppressed quietly before the rest of the caravan was attacked.

The sounds had lasted no more than three minutes. Even the screams and crying that usually followed attacks like this were quiet. Which likely either meant everyone was dead, unconscious, or even worse. It was another couple minutes before Avuri returned to herself. Her eyes locked on me immediately, already misting. Her expression was deeply painful.

"I know which direction they're headed. We need to move quickly to keep up with them." Avuri's face still looked pained, but she was ready to move. "I'll keep an eye on them periodically with Frist Snow to be sure we stay on track."

I nodded, and tensed my legs for movement. "I'll be right behind you. What did they do?"

"Two scouts, four guards, and three adults were dead in seconds. All of their bodies were moved into some kind of storage item, as was the caravan itself. The demons are moving a child and one adult with them, tied up and unconscious."

I took a deep breath. While I would have liked more information on the combat itself, Avuri did relay the most pertinent information. And I wasn't about to ask her for more details than she was looking to share. Once we had finished tracking the enemy to their camp, we could discuss plans then.

"Demons?"

"Demons." Avuri confirmed, and I could feel her certainty through the bond. "There are a few Cultivators with them, but two of them are definitely demons. Horns and all."

"Understood." I sent back, and then we traveled in silence. Every so often, Avuri would scuttle into the grass to check her First Snow technique, making sure we were still on their trail. Thankfully, her range was wide enough that we were more than capable of staying undetected. Honestly, thanks to Avuri, the tracking could not have possibly gone better.

It was quite a while before Avuri eventually stopped. After another look with her technique, she sighed. "They're gone."

"So, a tunnel."

"Probably. I have a general idea of where they would have disappeared, but I don't know if it's safe to look around at ground level with First Snow. I might tip them off that there's a Cultivator nearby if they have lookouts in the grass."

"Right." Avuri's technique may have allowed her to see distant places in relative secrecy, but the concentration of her Qi wherever she focused would create a light snow fall. Typically, as she had done earlier, she would put herself higher in the sky, letting the little snow flurry she caused get diluted by the height and wind. "Do we search manually then? While keeping ourselves suppressed?"

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"I don't know." Avuri sent. "I suppose so? Let me take another look from above. Maybe I can find a break in the grass cover or something."

"Okay. I'll keep an eye out here."

With a nod, Avuri once again focused on her technique, moving her senses to a distant location. This time, however, it didn't take long before she returned.

"I think I've got it. Near where I lost track of them, there's a small gap in the grass. The area is covered, but it looks like a camouflaged bit of textile rather than the Highland grass."

"Lead the way, then." I sent, motioning her forward with my head. Avuri offered me a resolute nod before turning around, remaining crouched to hide within the grass, and shuffled off in the direction we had been moving previously.

At the slower, more stealthy pace, it took us a little bit longer to reach the spot that Avuri had noted. However, when we physically approached the spot, the 'camouflage' was immediately noticeable. Avuri was right - there was a large, textured bit of cloth that had been set up to mimic the grass around it when viewed from a distance. There was some Qi involved in crafting the illusion, using it to make the long strips of cloth wave in the breeze like the blades of grass did, however, up close, they didn't much look like the grass at all.

The cloth was clearly fitted to a trapdoor placed over a large cavern entrance. Whether it was Cultivator or antlion made wasn't immediately apparent - mostly because neither I nor Avuri had any knowledge to tell the difference between them - but there were clear signs of Cultivator additions to it.

Rather than what I imagined an antlion burrow would look like, this tunnel went down at a medium grade, and had clear steps carved into the hard-packed dirt that made the walls. It honestly looked like it would be an easy climb.

Avuri eyed me, anxiety clear in her posture, as I held the trapdoor open. All I could do was give her a reassuring smile. "Are you going to be okay going down there?"

"I'll have to be. I just don't like being underground."

"I know."

While I wasn't as afraid of being underground as Avuri was, I did understand her fear. I didn't think it was quite a phobia for her, but Avuri was terrified of being physically bound in some way. While tight spaces or being confined made her uncomfortable, her true fear was related to being unable to have freedom to move her body - which, by extension, meant that going underground with the possibility of very tight spaces, cave-ins, and that sort of danger made her wary.

Even just standing by the entrance to the cave, I could see her getting anxious. More so, I could feel the beginnings of terror creeping across our connection. I did my best to project calm and reassurance as much as I could, but it could only help so much.

"I could scout in there on my own if you'd rather stay here. At least to see what the initial caverns are like." I offered. If I went down a ways and there were support beams of some kind holding up the tunnels, it might help.

Avuri shuddered with a deep breath, trying and mostly failing to stabilize herself. "No, I'll manage."

I stood there, staring for a moment, wishing that either of us had had some kind of movement related technique. Something that could get Avuri out if anything did go wrong. But there wasn't any point in dwelling on it when techniques involving intricate means of movement were so rare.

In the end, I nodded. "I'll be with you the whole way. Stay close to me if it helps, and if we get too far underground just say so."

Avuri let out a tiny snort of self-depricating laughter. "Don't worry, if it gets too bad, I'm sure you'll feel it well before I say anything."

I gently placed the trapdoor back down on the ground, and scooped Avuri up into a tight, squeezing hug. Standing outside a demon's hideout may not have been the place, but I didn't particularly care at that moment.

"You'll be alright. I'll be with you every step. And when we come up out of there, things will be better."

I felt Avuri nod against my shoulder as her own crushing embrace loosened. I let her go and moved back into place to pick up the trap door again. A little rattled myself, and feeling Avuri's anxiety, I took a deep breath to calm myself before looking back at Avuri. "Ready?"

She didn't speak, or even send any thoughts across our link. Instead, she merely put on a brave face and stepped forward. I was still directly in front of her, so I would be going first, but we both stepped into the tunnel. Once Avuri's head was below ground level, she gingerly let the trapdoor rest on the ground above her head.

The tunnel wasn't lit in any way, with just a few bits of light sneaking through where the door didn't meet the tunnel perfectly. I considered using Qi for light, but was concerned that doing so would make us known. As it was, we were both suppressing everything except a tiny thread of our link. Down here, we didn't need to worry about strengthening our clothes, so there was nearly zero Qi use between us.

In addition, even if the Qi use didn't get us noticed, the far more mundane issue of casting light in a dark cavern would be an obvious sign we were approaching. Doubly so if the demons didn't typically use light sources while in the caves.

I slowly descended the stairs step by step, using nothing but my sense of touch once the bits of light faded. The tunnel went mostly down, but I could tell the incline was evening out as we went. It took a bit, but eventually I was pretty sure that I was walking on pretty even ground again. A little further beyond that and my hand that had been grazing along the wall got caught on a new texture - wood.

I felt around carefully in the dark and followed the wood up to the ceiling - which was still comfortably above my head - and then back down on the other side of the wall.

"I think there's a wooden support beam here. Like in a mine." I sent to Avuri, trying to give her what little reassurance I could.

"That's…something I guess." I received her mental shrug in response, but I thought I could feel her anxiety give way a little bit, too. At least dealing with a cave-in would be less likely.

We continued further in, passing through more wooden support structures every so often. The tunnel was actually quite a bit larger than I had suspected it would be, and certainly more than large enough for human sized things to pass unobstructed. My fairly short height was one thing, but even Avuri was able to comfortably stand and walk, only needing to occasionally duck under a wooden beam or rock.

I had been mentally counting the number of wooden supports as we slowly creeped forward. It was 39 of them before I saw the glow of light further down the tunnel. It was spilling out of somewhere further ahead and around a bend.

"I think we made it."

"Should I First Snow?"

I thought about it for a moment, but the decision really didn't take long. The activation of Qi so close to a potential enemy camp was too risky.

"No. Stay a little bit behind me. I'll try to get closer."

"I'll be ready in case something goes wrong."

I could feel Avuri shoving away her fear and anxiety as much as she could, focusing on whatever was going to happen next. As I stepped forward toward the light, I was ready to call my Qi the instant I was spotted - if I was spotted.

Ideally, I'd get close enough to peek around the bend and see what the situation was. If luck was on our side, we'd be able to get the jump on the enemy.

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