The cave was quiet except for occasional crackles produced by the bonfires. Wavering light sources all around the place cast people’s dancing shadows along the walls that looked eerily funny.
Everyone was using such a precious chance to meditate, hoping to top up their mana reserve.
As more and more people were done with resting, they started whispering to each other to kill the boredom.
“Is Miss Sennefer going to kill that Baphomet?”
“I’m positive she will. A Baphomet is nothing against a truth-finder like her.”
“But she has not come back yet. How many hours was it?”
It was mostly apprentices talking. In order to prevent them from scaring themselves to death, Maher stepped in and spoke, “Baphomets are different. The one we saw displayed the same level of power as a level-1 truth-finder. But here in the Abyss, it has a natural advantage that might keep Miss Sennefer occupied for quite a while.
“It’s difficult to fully kill a Baphomet, so Miss Sennefer is probably thinking of ways to escape right now. Running away shouldn’t be hard for her.”
Those words somewhat soothed the anxious apprentices.
Angor now fully understood why wizards in the Abyss did not usually move large groups of people or resources between settlements and bases. If the evacuees of Cinder Rock bumped into a Baphomet but without someone like Sennefer to protect them, they would be damned for certain.
When the cave was fully occupied by depressive silence again, a union guard watching the entrance suddenly drew everyone’s attention by casting a spell. He created a full body armor using pure magic and peeked behind a corner. He then shook his head and canceled his spell.
“Cage, what’s the problem?” Maher asked.
“It’s nothing, captain. I thought I heard something coming from outside, but I didn’t see anything with my spirit feeler. Must be the wind.”
Like the last straw, the false alarm successfully broke the mental threshold of several apprentices, who started either cursing or crying.
Unlike wizards who had more ways of escaping, these apprentices feared badly that they would lose their lives in the next second. Maher’s comforting words were no longer enough to keep them sated.
Like a spreading disease, the great agitation soon reached Angor and affected his cool as well.
“You will hurt yourself if you keep hiding your dark thoughts to yourself. How about letting it out a bit? I won’t mind.” Madelyne saw Angor’s sick look and thought to provide some suggestions.
“Ma’am, knowing how to control one’s emotions is the basic of Mind Manipulation art. Don’t worry about me, I have my ways to vent out my ire, which do not include yelling and screaming, by the way.”
“Care to tell me a little more?”
“Well, I can sleep, find people to talk, read a difficult book, or listen to relaxing music.”
“You won’t find any musicians here though. Oh wait, I almost forgot. You’re the ‘music box alchemist’.” Madelyne smirked. “What, are you going to take out one of your boxes?”
“There’s no need for that yet. Besides, I don’t think everyone will appreciate that.” Angor glanced at the cave and saw several hysterical apprentices. Playing music right now might have the opposite effect.
“Alright, no music for us. You mentioned talking, right?” Madelyne kept her smile. “You can always tell me what’s troubling you.”
“There is indeed something on my mind... Captain Maher said something about another danger besides demons. What is it?”
“I don’t know about that.” Madelyne shrugged. “I used to come here a lot when I was still an apprentice, but I never saw anything. By that time, a new establishment was already planned. But later, something put it to a stop. As for what happened, I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Moonfrost Union.”
Of course Angor wasn’t going to bother the union guards for this matter. It was not like he had to know the answer.
He decided to change the subject. “Plants can grow around here. But I didn’t see any man-made structures when coming to the cave. This place is called the ‘Frozen Ruins’, right? Where are the ruins?”
“No idea either. As I said, I’ve been here before but did not see anything in particular except for this cave.”
“Did they just call this cave the Frozen Ruins then? That’s strange.”
“I heard it from a half-demon before, that the name came from an ancient era when the inhabitants of Abyss considered this place as their holy ground. That era is called the Age of Ancient Frost. It was about... a hundred millenniums ago.”
“I see... So there used to be ruins, or the ruins are still here, but people just can’t find it. By the way, we can speak to half-demons?”
“Most demons are smart enough to talk, on condition that they deem you worthy of their time. But you should remember that all demons consider humans as prey or food. There was not a single record that proved a demon acting friendly toward human beings. Half-demons, however, are sometimes peaceful enough to coexist with us. As a matter of fact, the Undying Street is built with the help of half-demons.
“This may be because half-demons are bullied by both demons and other creatures in the Abyss, so some of them decided to side with humans instead. Still, only a small number of them did, so don’t lower your guard when dealing with them.”
They spent several more hours talking about the general situation in the Abyss Plane, then something else happened at the entrance.
The guards of Moonfrost Union assembled at the entrance and went on full alert, only to see a figure with white hair and flame-orange eyes approaching, much to their relief.
Sennefer finally came back. And she did not look so well.
“Miss Sennefer, are you alright?” Maher was clearly worried now.
“I’m fine. I just need some time to get back my lost mana.”
“How did you deal with the Baphomet?”
Sennefer scowled. “The environmental advantage of the Abyss almost granted it enough power to defeat me. Almost. I could not kill it, so I ran. In order not to lure it to the team, I had to go the long way.”
“The long way? But there’s only—”
Sennefer nodded. “You’re right. I went to the Frozen Valley.”
Several wizards who were listening to their conversation knitted their brows. It was now a convention among wizards that no one should go there these days because of two things—an ill-tempered Abyss Dragon and a deadly curse that would find its way to anyone foolish enough to get close.
Nobody knew why the valley was cursed. But they did know that it was almost impossible to lift the curse, should anyone accidentally contract it.
“Did you perhaps...” Maher checked Sennefer’s form up and down.
Sennefer exposed her right shoulder, allowing everyone to see a strange mark printed on her white skin. The mark almost looked like a beautiful tattoo, if one did not consider the extremely vicious energy leaking from it.
Sennefer tightened her robe again. “Before I can do something about this thing, I will not be able to use my ice arts.”
The listening wizards grew restless.
The biggest part of Sennefer’s power lay within her “conflicting powers”, such as unleashing fire and ice against her enemies at the same time. With one element sealed, she would be greatly weakened. It would be disastrous if the team met with another Baphomet or a demon of a similar level.
Soon, the comfort brought by Sennefer’s return was replaced by distress.
“There are ways to get rid of the curse, right?” Angor asked Madelyne.
“There are. You either find the Abyss Dragon who created this curse, or ask someone of the same level to cure it, which means a level-3 truth-finder. But right now, the only level-3 truth-finder we know of, who’s in the Abyss Plane, is Mister Monkey.
“Since neither approach is likely, we’ll have to proceed as is and hope for a safe trip. If that Baphomet finds us again... we’re doomed.”