Treasure-hunting: Into the Unknown

"Zachary, where did you get the pill? And that treasure beast of yours...?" Elva asked, a frown on her pretty face as she stared down at the fourth-grade purple therapeutic pill in her palm. It was certainly not the first time that Zachary had produced such a valuable pill, but beyond that, she was even more confused about how he even managed to get the magnificent Blazing Roc.

"Look, all you need to know is that I don't steal or rob anyone to get my hands on these things. Don't worry. I know that you worry about me a lot these days, but I'm not the old Zachary anymore," he answered.

He was serious, and Elva decided not to press the matter. The least she could do was give Zachary the benefit of the doubt, and everyone had done quite a bit of growing all this time. Who knew what Zachary had really gone through, so she shouldn't continue to judge him for what she only thought she knew. Instead, she decided to be relieved, knowing how Zachary had changed, because that was what she wanted the most.

Elva swallowed the pill and immediately felt it take effect, healing her injuries with great efficiency. Even the serious damage that would often take days to heal was already almost gone within two hours.

"Elva, do you think you could lead me to the ice cave?" Zachary suddenly asked, by the time she had recovered from her injuries.

"The ice cave? Why would you want to go there? I think it's a better idea to wait for a supervisor. We'll need extra help. If it's just the both of us, I'm not sure that we'd manage to save Bruce," she replied, a little startled and unsure.

"Bruce? Oh, I'm not going there to save him. I care about the cave. From how you described the ice cave, I feel as though it must be a maze. If we do it right, following the correct passages, we'd be able to get through the cave. Otherwise, we might just get hopelessly lost," he responded coolly.

"You want to just go in there and..." At that instant, she realized what he was trying to do.

"Come on, let's do it! If your hunch is right and that it's a warrior's abode, there will be a lot of treasures!" Zachary grinned, alight with excitement.

"But Zachary..." Elva fidgeted uncomfortably, not sure if this was a good idea. If he did go in there and find himself hopelessly lost, it would simply be terrible.

"Look, Elva, are you going to come with me and walk on your own or do I have to pick you up and carry you?" Zachary raised an eyebrow at her.

Elva flushed deep scarlet, flustering at him. No matter how worried she was, the idea of being carried by him was worse. She huffed and got to her feet, striding away quickly without another word.

S

ound it were entrances to passageways in all directions.

'Damn it. The maze is really designed to mess with you. I think I'm in trouble now, ' Zachary thought to himself. All this time, he had assumed that this was one of the usual mazes meant to deter raiders. But now he was sure that there must be some kind of illusion at play. Even if he had chosen the right path, he could still end up getting misled by illusion and routed back through the way he came.

"Where are you, my treasures?" Zachary muttered, looking around for any sign, anything strange, or any indication that there might be an illusion. If this cave was indeed enchanted in some way, its power must be coming from some treasure.

After looking around, Zachary spotted something strange atop the cave, seemingly blended into the cavern wall. It was not stone or iron, and it was emitting a weak aura. That certainly proved that it wasn't like everything else in this cave. It was camouflaged so well that if you weren't looking very hard, you would've never noticed it.

He stretched out his arm and summoned the Blazing Roc. Pointing at the strange object, he commanded, "Orion, bring that thing back to me."

Orion took off into the air, flying all the way to the top of the cave with a few beats of its tremendous wings. It reared back and took the item directly into its mouth before soaring back down. Landing next to its master, it laid the object into Zachary's waiting hand.

And as it landed into Zachary's palm, the surroundings began to transform and shift all around them. The huge array of entrances began to fade and vanish, replaced clearly by a broad tunnel path that stretched all the way to the end of the cave. At the other end, the riveting aura of powerful treasures emanated.