Hera, Bonnie, and Helena were waiting by the doorway. Despite Shane's ssage that she should be around by 12:30, it was already almost 2 p.m., and there was still no sign of her. Helena was getting worried. Shane wasn't one to be that late. She wouldn't always be on ti, but these delays seed odd. They tried contacting Ninleyn and other mbers of the order, but no one seed to know what was happening. Despite that, it was still just a delay, so no one got very worried. That was understandable, it wasn't rare for sothing to happen, and people get stuck in a room or in a place with no internet connection. It didn't an that she was in danger or anything, just that there might have been so issues with whatever path she took.
It was 2:16 and Hera considered going to the guild and start working on her skill when a woman with light pink hair above a burgundy headband, dark circular shades, and a large puffy teal coat that went all the way to her knees ca through the doorway. Behind her, there was a muscular man with short pink hair, black plug earrings, blue jeans, and sneakers with a fitted yellow long-sleeved shirt. Aside from the large backpack on his back, there was a purple staff with a floral pattern wrapped around so red cloth.
"Lena! How are you, girl?" the woman walked forward and gave Helena a big hug.
"Shane, it's been too long. Did sothing happen?" Helena hugged her back.
"Yeah, we got stuck in a sandstorm, and the Kobold Road doesn't have a good connection,” Shane pulled out her tablet and started tapping it, making a lot of sand fall to the ground, "If you think this is bad you don't want to know how much ca out of my panties earlier."
"You need a bath. Luckily the hotel here is done."
"Oh, that would be great," Shane turned to Hera, "Oh, sorry. I didn't introduce myself. I'm Shane, and I'll be your counselor during this camping trip. That big hunk of at behind is Mylo. He's a friend of mine that will help us out."
Mylo looked around, "Where is the at?"
Shane turned to him, "I ant that you are the at. It was a joke."
"Oh… sorry. I'm just hungry."
"We'll get sothing to eat soon. I promise," Shane turned to Hera again, "And you are?"
"Right. Sorry. I'm Hera, and this is Bonnie. I'm an explorer, and she's a researcher."
"Another explorer, great! Do you have the treasure map skill already?" Shane gave a big smile.
"I do. That was the last role quest that I got. Without counting the extra roles," Hera said.
"Oh, what did you pick? I have the mage, crafter, researcher, and hunter roles."
"I've just got the assassin and hunter for now. I kind of want to get mage next, but I don't know if that's going to happen."
Mylo's stomach growled, and the man turned red because of the noise, "Sorry," he looked away, feeling embarrassed.
"It's better if we talk later. Can we head to the hotel and grab so food?" Shane asked.
"Yeah, that would be better. Let's go," Helena guided everyone back to the city.
Rutigan created so space for the hotel by the castle, just outside the path leading to the doorway. His goal was to give the humans a chance to get settled in before heading to the city. Not just that, but it was also a way for him to be near the people coming in and occasionally drop by to et them. This was one of those monts. Rutigan was aware that Hera was waiting for soone important. He didn't know anything else aside from that. Even so, anyone that was important to Hera would be important to him. After so light convincing and bribing a couple of guards, he even got them to let him know when Hera's guest arrived.
That's why he was rushing outside the castle right now. He knew that Hera and her friends were not the type to waste ti, and when they went to the doorway, Rutigan was ready to et them by 'accident' by the hotel. But the guards never ca around to let him know that soone had arrived. In fact, they only showed up to let him know that the humans seed to give up and go back ho. Later they went back again to the doorway, but it took so long for them to co out that the King's responsibilities couldn't stay on hold anymore. During one of his etings, one of the guards let him know that Hera's guest had arrived. Rutigan did his best to rush out, but when he arrived in front of the hotel, Hera and the others were already in one of the rooms.
"I'm sorry, my king," the guard who he bribed said.
"It's ok. It's not your fault. I guess not all humans are as punctual as we are," Rutigan sighed.
There was a long pause with the King just staring at the hotel before the guard said, "My King… Can I have what you promised?"
"Oh, yes. Co with to the kitchen. I have a few bags of chips and so chocolate hidden from the cooks," Rutigan replied with a sad smile.
Inside the Hotel, Shane had gotten a nice room for her and Mylo. They tossed everything they brought on the floor and ordered so drinks and food from the room service. After downing her second beer, Shane slamd the bottle on the table.
"Man, that hit the spot. That desert was brutal."
"Yeah. I don't like sand," Mylo nodded.
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"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" Shane stared daggers at the man who just smiled before taking a sip of his beer.
Shane seed much younger than Hera expected. She should be in her mid-twenties, just like her. Yet, she felt much more comfortable in her own skin. Even after eting two people for the first ti, she could be herself without worry. That was an ability that Hera had lost a long ti ago.
"So, let's talk business," Shane turned to the group.
"Isn't it too early? We woke up at 3. I want to sleep," Mylo said.
"You can go to bed later. I'm really excited about this," Shane smiled and turned back to Hera and Bonnie, "So. Ninleyn told you guys that I was searching for a ruin, right?"
"Yeah. It has sothing to do with your lead," Bonnie nodded.
"Exactly. I found an old text that described a room with gigantic valleys of orange stone and a howling beast that ca from the darkest depths of the abyss. Where the sun gives you only a small reprieve from the overwhelming shadows that devour all. It said that hidden in the labyrinth of rock and silk, there laid a temple for the old race. The court that I'm following is from that old race. I don't know the na yet, but the one picture that I found showed so elental arrows being flung around. I'm not much of an archer, but if I get a court like that, I 100% will change that," Shane chuckled.
"Is it ok for you to tell us that already?" Hera asked.
"Sure. It's my lead. I can do whatever I want with it. Anyhow, connected to the Kobold Road, there is a room called the Distant Grasslands. Ironically, that is a desert of orange sand with so eternal sandstorms that I thought could fit the description. You know, orange, howling winds that ca from the abyss. There was even a small valley there near the sandstorm. I have no idea what would be the silk, but it was my best bet."
"Was? So you have another one?"
"Yeah! People found another doorway in this room, right? So, the guild sent a scout group to explore it and then found a few others going all the way to the 7th layer. The one I'm interested in is in there. Here, let show you a picture," Shane pulled up her tablet and, in a few seconds, turned it around.
The image showed what looked like dry, cracked ground, the type that one would see in places going through a drought. Seeing everyone's reactions, Shane swiped to the side, and the reveal was that the first picture was, in fact, a photograph taken by a drone. Each of the cracks on the ground was actually a valley large enough for ten people to walk side by side. She kept swiping without saying a word, and the more they looked, the more it all matched with what she just said. The entire area had an orange tint when the sun was shining, but that only lasted a few monts since most of the valleys only had any sunlight at noon. To top it all off, the last picture showed a corridor of giant trapdoor spiders filled with spiderwebs.
"See?" Shane asked.
"Yeah, that fits perfectly. It's terrifying to think about those spiders though," Hera had goosebumps just seeing the pictures. She wasn't afraid of spiders, but those seed to be at least the size of a car.
"Oh, yeah, that will be a big issue. But we can do it. Besides, this is the temple of their race! I'm positive that a hint about a mber of the Court of Heroes should be there. If not, we will find sothing that points us in that direction," Shane leaned back on the couch, making Mylo, who was starting to doze off, fall headfirst on her lap, "Ouch! C'mon man, don't sleep here. You're going to be all sore."
"Sorry. I'm just tired," Mylo yawned as he woke up, "Sorry for being rude, but I'm going to bed."
Bonnie waited for him to reach the bedroom before asking, "Is he ok?"
"Yeah. He just gets a bit slow when he's tired. But I can't bla him. I've been dragging his ass all over the place," Shane looked towards the bedroom, "Why do you ask? Are you interested?"
Bonnie blushed, "No. I an, I wouldn't not be interested, but still, I'm just worried. Besides, he's with you."
Shane laughed, "Don't worry, we are not together. We have been in the past, and we still have so fun every now and then, but we are both single. You're free to shoot your shot."
Bonnie stared at the bedroom door with a vacant expression. Seeing that, Hera held back a chuckle and turned to Shane, “Two questions. Do you mind if we bring the rest of our party? We have a controller, an assassin, and a crafter. The second one, how soon do you want to go? If possible, I wanted to wait for like a week.”
"A week… that's doable. It will take a couple of days for the guild to say that anyone can go in that room. Besides, Mylo could use the break, and we could maybe train a bit together. For the first question…. Yeah, sure. As long as you all accept that I have the last say in anything we find in the temple. And none of you touches anything before asking . I don't want to have the legacy I'm working so hard on stolen."
"I'm ok with that," Hera nodded.
"Yeah, it's a fair deal," Helena smiled.
They talked for so ti, but Shane was very tired as well. After about half an hour, Hera and the other got up to leave.
"Lena, Bonnie, can you two go first? I need to have a private discussion with Hera," Shane said.
They left the hotel room, leaving the two won alone for whatever Shane wanted to say.
"Hang on, let check if Mylo is really asleep. I don't want him to hear this."
"I can help with that," Hera tapped her foot on the ground, and the two were surrounded by a green soundproof barrier, "There. No one can hear us from outside."
"That's…. Handy. Can I get the code?"
"I'm a subjective mage, sorry."
Shane shrugged, "Right, what I wanted to ask is. Do you know the…. How was it again?" she pulled her tablet and spent a few monts trying to find sothing before giving up, "Screw that. If I say green apple. Do you think of a specific fruit?"
Hera stopped for a mont. She knew that Shane was an explorer, but could she be talking about Peaches? "I do…."
"It's the fruit emoji people use to talk about butts?" Shane continued.
"Yeah."
"So you know Peaches?"
"I do!" Hera gasped. It was the first ti she t soone who had the guide skill.
"I'm so glad. For one, Peaches is aweso, and it's a sin that we can't talk about him or everyone else. And this will help a lot in there. We can double our ti and think of the questions together."
"That's true! If we can use the first answers to prepare for the second round, things will be much better."
"Yeah! Oh, and I want to talk to you later about the places you've been to. I wanna gossip about the guides sooo bad," Shane chuckled, but that quickly turned into a yawn.
"I should go. You are tired."
"I really am. Thanks for all the help."
"I'm the one that should be thanking you for bringing us along," Hera smiled and walked to the door.
"Oh, before I forget, later I want to know about your relic and the roles you have. We should compare so notes."
Hera nodded and left the hotel room. Soon they would head out to this new room, a place that was incredibly beautiful and dangerous at the sa ti. Not just that, but they would need to cross a few rooms before getting there. Hera wondered what they would be like and she could barely contain her excitent.
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