Rumored Youth

The investigation's progress was slow. What was thought to be a month-long mission at first was looking to be longer than that. All the discoveries were made during the first week and progress slowed to a halt after that.

Nyana's mood soured with each passing day along with the rest of the team. In an effort to figure out where the search went wrong, Nyana called everyone together to discuss their next actions.

The team gathered outside the house on the outskirts of the village. It was morning but it was raining heavily, making it seem like it was already nighttime. Nyana paced back and forth, frustrated at their lack of progress. "I don't want to drag this out any longer. More than a week has gone by without us finding anything new. We searched nearly every corner in this village and outside it as well."

The elf that specialized in tracking spoke up. "We came here too late. There are no fresh clues anymore." The other elves nodded their heads in agreement.

Had they arrived months earlier when the tracks were still fresh, this mess would have been solved in a jiffy. Now, all the tracks were gone and the only things they can find are either already discovered or too old to be of use.

No one wanted to admit it, but the chances were that they were going to return without completing this mission. Considering that the team was comprised mostly of new recruits, this wouldn't look good on their records, failing their first mission, but there was not much they could do about it.

Nyana stopped and slumped her back against a tree. "Come on, there has to be somewhere we haven't checked yet."

"But there isn't. We've searched this village inside out, not once, not twice, but five times at that," one of the elves on the team brought up.

"Oh, but there is one place I know of that we haven't checked yet," Idrill suddenly said. Everyone's attention shifted to her.

Nyana pushed herself off the tree and stood in front of the elf. "And what is this place that you speak of?"

"It's a place that is kept hidden underground. Only the elders know about it, and truthfully, I don't even know where it is. I only know that this place exists," she told everyone.

Nyana raised an eyebrow and skeptically asked, "Why would the elders be keeping this place a secret?"

"That's because if people knew about this 'place,' this village would be invaded by not only every other race, but even the Gods themselves, isn't that right, my dear disciple?" Idril turned to her disciple, who jumped a little off her seat at being called on out of the blue.

Idril spun her wrist. "Why don't you tell everyone about this place? After all, you've been there."

"Um... It's a lake. I don't know where it is either because I was teleported there, but the water there is special. By bathing in it, you can slow down aging," she explained to the group.

Nyana nearly choked on her own breath upon hearing those words, and she wasn't the only one who was astonished at what Selphie just said. The rest of the elves were looking at her in disbelief. Only Idril kept an aloof face. Even Kies was rendered speechless at the sound of a lake that slowed aging.

"Is what you speak of true!?" Nyana demanded.

"It is..." Selphie quietly replied.

"I can't believe it..."

No one spoke for some time. There were only the sounds of the crackling fire and crickets as everyone was trying to process this shocking piece of information.

"Are the poisoners after this lake?" Kies asked.

"I wouldn't doubt it. The place is likely covered with foliage. Getting rid of all the vegetation in a way would definitely help in finding it," Nyana reasoned.

"But the problem is that we don't know where it is either," Kies pointed out.

"I don't think we can get the elders to spill the location. If this lake is real then they won't tell us, even considering the situation that this forest is in... Actually, especially considering the situation that this forest is in," Nyana mumbled in a somewhat annoyed voice.

"We will just have to find this place ourselves then," Kies purposed the obvious solution.

"Easier said than done," one of the recruits said with a sigh.

"Well, at least we now know our next course of action," Nyana said on the bright side.

"Suppose so..."

Nyana clapped her hands and shouted, "Okay, let's get some rest, everyone. We have been searching nonstop, day and night with no sleep for a week now. Let's be at our best tomorrow." She turned to Kies and said to him individually, "Even you. I don't want you going ahead on your own and causing a ruckus when the rest of us are asleep."

Kies said nothing and simply nodded his head once to show that he got the message. "Great." Nyana put the fire out and the night came to an end.

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