Chapter 13

"I've found it!" Ember hissed quietly.

Autumn's eyes brightened as she looked over.

Noticing the commotion, Ace glanced over. Ember quickly stepped onto a patch of dirt, effectively killing whatever was underneath.

Autumn gaped at Ember, "You killed it?!?"

"Relax, it's all part of the plan," Ember comforted. "This is a parasitic silkworm, it can produce a transparent, almost undetectable gas that causes hallucinations. Once the others sense this one's blood, they should come over in swarms. I found out about them on my travels a while back. Unfortunately, they're only found between the border of Leafwind and Silversky."

"Wow," Autumn commented before a thought struck her. "Do you possibly have a way to stop the hallucinations from affecting us?"

Ember's face went blank. "...I haven't thought that far."

Autumn's eye widened as she yelled, "Ember!"

The adventurers, already used to their strange antics thought nothing of it and continued walking.

"Why didn't you remind me when I told you my plan?" Ember argued.

"...I didn't think that far either..." Autumn sighed.

"Well, we need a solution before the parasitic silkworms start swarming!"

"I know! I'm thinking!"

"Think faster!"

Autumn desperately raked through her memories. "I've got it!" Autumn exclaimed. Taking a deep breath, Autumn put a hand in front of her. Concentrating, A thin layer of energy appeared around them.

The energy barrier formed a dome around them right before the parasitic silkworms wriggled their way out of the ground. Hissing furiously, they released a transparent fog that quickly spread through the air.

Autumn huffed as she fought to catch her breath. "Are you ok?" Ember questioned worriedly.

"Just a bit...out of breath..." Autumn said as she fought to keep the barrier up.

"Let's get out of here," Ember said, throwing a glance at the adventurers. Their dull, unfocused eyes paid little attention to them. Quickly supporting Autumn with a shoulder, Ember pulled her away.

...

"You can put the barrier down, we should be far enough away," Ember stated.

Autumn nodded and the barrier quickly faded.

"Are you sure you don't want to sit down?" Ember asked, concerned.

Autumn nodded once more. "I just used a bit too much energy. We still need to get as far away as possible."

"If you say so," Ember replied. "Oh, let me see your map for a second."

Autumn pulled out a map from her necklace and tossed it towards Ember.

After a while of staring, Ember groaned and tossed the map back to Autumn. "I can't find where we ended up. You try."

Autumn glanced at the map before sighing. "It's upside down."

Ember looked away with a guilty expression.

Autumn pointed to an area on the map, "Let's go here, it's not too far away and there's supposed to be a dense forest. It should be easy to cover our tracks there."

Ember nodded. "Let's get moving then."

In no time at all Autumn and Ember made it to the forest. Tall trees stretched out their branches, blocking out the sun.

"Perfect!" Autumn exclaimed.

Ember twitched her ears before saying, "I think there's a river somewhere around here."

"That doesn't quite sound like a river. It's more like sticks breaking..." Autumn froze, turning to meet Ember's gaze.

"Not again!" Ember wailed.

The crisp sound of clapping echoed through the trees. "Thanks for giving me the nightmare I didn't need," Sol said.

'It gave Sol a nightmare? I should use those parasitic silkworms more often,' Autumn thought before lightly slapping her face. 'Focus! I need to find out where they are...'

The sound of leaves crunching caused Autumn to whip her head towards the left. Narrowing her eyes, Autumn snarled, "Show yourselves."

Tap. Tap. Tap. One by one, the adventurers walked out of the shadows. With a sweet smile, Sage asked, "Why don't you come back nicely? We'll even overlook the parasite problem you gave us."

Ember scoffed, "Not a chance. We all know what you want, and unfortunately, we don't want to be your slave."

"Familiar," Azura corrected. "You don't unconditionally obey our commands, just slightly obligated."

Autumn and Ember turned to stare at him with disbelief in their eyes before yelling, "Does that even make a difference?!"

"Yep," Azura bluntly answered.

Rolling her eyes, Ember spat, "Whatever. Let's get out of here, Autumn."

"Not so fast..." Ace quickly interjected.

Ignoring him, Ember pulled Autumn away, breaking out into a sprint.

Sighing, Ace raked a hand through his hair. Jerking his head towards where Ember and Autumn disappeared, he stated, "Let's go."

...

"...hah...great...hah...job," Autumn panted. Ember had quite efficiently led them to a steep cliff. With the adventurers blocking the exit, they were cornered. Cautiously peering over the edge, Autumn winced as she noticed the churning waters below. The sharp tips of stalagmites were barely visible through the foam.

"Don't worry, I have a plan," Ember said nervously.

Autumn turned her head. "I don't think I trust your plans anymore," she scowled.