The ascendant of

Kiyen had heard that within each cave there were multiple ecosystems, but he never thought he would encounter such a dazzling landscape.

In front of him stretched a vast terrain covered with tall, violet-hued trees whose trunks seemed to reach for the sky. Glowing mosses covered nearby roots and rocks, while small flowers and luminescent fungi dotted the ground.

The sky was a shade of purple and emitted a soft, diffused light, but enough to see around.

A crystalline stream meandered through the terrain, and bluish sparkles reflected on its surface, floating in the air.

The temperature was also pleasant.

The place was beautiful... she had never seen anything like it in her short life.

Kiyen frowned as she noticed the total absence of sound. Everything was still and quiet, perhaps too quiet.

Only the faint murmur of water broke the stillness, making the atmosphere feel even more strange and distant.

"It's... strange," Kiyen muttered to himself.

"Don't get too attached to this place" Lyssara warned him, touching his shoulder.

Kiyen pulled his hand away sharply, and the girl, far from being annoyed by his hostility, smiled again.

"Yes, I've heard those stories of people getting trapped.... " Kiyen replied. "Now I understand the reason. This place seems too..."

"Pure. Clean. Beautiful" completed Lyssara. "And that's why it seduces you. It makes you forget why you came here. Many say the greatest danger is the beasts of the abyss. And I'm not telling you no, I've seen several... I've even faced a couple, and they're serious stuff. But the worst risk is getting carried away in this place. See the mushrooms under the trees? The pure, crystal clear water? If you drink it, you're dead. If you eat anything, you're worse than dead. Everything here is a trap. That's why everyone comes just to do their mining work and then leave."

As he said this last, a sly glint crossed his amber eyes.

"Although... that's not entirely true." He added, "There is something else that can be done."

Kiyen looked at her suspiciously.

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"Everything, but I'll explain when we get there."

Lyssara stopped her pacing and approached her companions with an animated attitude.

"Guys!...just so you know, I'm going to leave you unprotected for a while. Can you manage without me?"

"Like I need you!" growled the brunet.

"Protection?" asked Kiyen.

Lyssara let out a laugh.

"Wow, you sure are a newbie. In every group there is someone called the guardian. He's the one who protects them from the creatures, from the beings of the abyss... and also from other miners while the rest work."

"Other miners? But... Aren't there only supposed to be five people coming in?"

"Well, they'll come in from somewhere else, I don't know. I only met one of them once and that bastard got away from me, but there's one thing I'll never forget..."

His expression turned grim.

"I didn't recognize his face. And I know a lot of people. His clothes were different too, too nice to be someone from the suburbs, but unfamiliar to belong to a family with a patent... maybe he came from another city. In the end, no one knows what lies beyond the corrupt lands. Who says there aren't other unfortunates like us?

""But.... how do they all get into the same cave if they're on the other side?"

"That's the mystery, Kiyen. No one knows. Anyway, it doesn't matter now. It's rare for it to happen."

"So rare that he has the luxury of slacking off. Only a couple of times she's had to guard," the brunet sneered.

Kiyen watched Lyssara closely; at first glance she didn't seem like someone made to protect anyone, but it was clear to him what she was capable of. He had seen her split a man in two with a single kick. She was definitely no ordinary woman, and that made her very mysterious.

"Lyssara," Kiyen was encouraged to ask, "Why do you come here? You don't seem to need to, you come from a family with a patent."

Lyssara's face hardened instantly. She brought her face closer to Kiyen's until they were only inches apart.

"Don't get overconfident with me," she whispered to him.

Kiyen felt his warm breath on her face and knew that wasn't just a threat, it was a warning.

So, she decided not to pursue the subject further.

Roy, Ryan and Mariana touched their bracelets, and a spike appeared in their hands. Kiyen spotted a cluster of glowing turquoise metals growing around the lake. They headed in that direction to mine.

"Come on," Lyssara told him, sliding a finger down the line of his back.

Kiyen startled and scowled at her. She, in response, laughed.

They both walked away and, for a few minutes, walked a good distance down a dirt path. The trees swayed in the light breeze. Kiyen thought he made out fruit among the branches and his mouth watered, but, remembering the warning, he suppressed his appetite.

"Where are we going then, what do you need me for?"

"You stole me."

Kiyen arched an eyebrow. Not only had he ignored her question, he was bringing up a topic that had nothing to do with it.

"You want revenge, is that what you seek?" Her fingers fiddled with the hilt of her daggers.

Lyssara shook her head.

"If it were for that, I would have beheaded you in the cave by now and then eaten your corpse." Her tone was mocking, she even stuck her tongue out at him, but, for some reason, Kiyen felt that she really would be capable of something like that.

"Well, then, why bring up the theft?"

"That you managed to steal from me, and that's not an easy thing to do."

"Still, you did get me," Kiyen admitted reluctantly.

"But not when you did. I wasn't able to feel it at the time. It was only later when I realized I was missing the bag. That's when it was easy to deduce that the skinny brat hiding from everyone was the culprit..."

"You've got a bit of an ego, you know? You say that like stealing from you is some great accomplishment. I assure you I don't even remember you, so it shouldn't have been hard."

"How charmless you are sometimes," she said, pouting and folding her arms.

Kiyen looked at her with curiosity. At times she had the attitude of a child and at others, of a murderer. It was preferable not to get too involved with people like that. Those who moved between ambiguity could be the most dangerous.

"It's this way," Lyssara indicated, adopting a more serious attitude. She rested her hand on Kiyen's head and gave him a gentle nudge, as if to get him to duck.

The boy followed her, sliding in beside her. They passed through thick brush and fallen logs until, on the other side, a cave appeared before them among the trees.

"What's in there?" asked Kiyen cautiously, peering into the dark entrance.

"Beasts of the Abyss," she asserted.

Kiyen looked at her with eyes wide as saucers. Why had she taken him to that place, was she crazy? She was definitely very crazy.

"I need you to go in there..." she started to say.

Kiyen frowned and shook his head immediately. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that he would rather fight Lyssara than one of those beasts.

"Come on, don't be a coward. You've never seen one."

"And I'd rather stay that way," he spat. "Besides... what do you want me to go in for? If you want to kill me, we can fight here and now."

"Because you're fast," she remarked.

Kiyen didn't change her expression, and she sighed.

"Oh, please don't be an idiot, Kiyen. If I saw you stealing and flattered you, what do you think I need from you, if not to steal? I have an important mission with the beasts of the abyss. Something that was only recently discovered... Hardly anyone understands it, but those who succeed, get paid well."

"Steal what from them? What belongings might these beings have? I've never seen one, but I understand they are monsters... or are they?"

"Yes, they are, but we discovered that they guard eggs."

"You want me to steal an egg from them, are you crazy?"

"Damn it, let me finish! But yes, I need you to steal an egg."

Kiyen was about to blurt out another comment, but she covered his mouth with her hand.

"Listen to me. We've done this mission before. The first time we almost made it, but Paul, who was playing the thief, chickened out and got caught. Still, he survived, huh? That's why I know you could do it, you're better than him."

Kiyen slapped his hand away. He was annoyed, the whole thing seemed crazy to him.

"And what's in it for me? I'm not going to take a job like this for a handful of kurps."

"Obviously you'll get your cut, and it will be plenty, I promise."

"And how can I trust you?"

Lyssara smiled mischievously and, with provocative slowness, let her fingertip run down Kiyen's neck, tracing a light trail to his collarbone.

Then, in a velvety voice full of amusement, he whispered:

"I'm beautiful. Isn't that motivation enough?" 

Kiyen averted her gaze, seeking to appear nonchalant.

"No, of course not." 

When your life depended on getting food to survive, beautiful women mattered little.

Lyssara sighed.

"Well, Kiyen, I have no way to prove it to you, but at least I promise you one thing: the hardest job will be mine. You'll go get the egg, while I'll be in charge of distracting the creature, keeping it away, and keeping it entertained."

That sounded like a fair deal. If he was really going to take that chance, maybe it was all true... though it was still dangerous.

"And then the creatures will just let me walk away like it's nothing?" inquired Kiyen sarcastically.

"Something like that... The ones that don't follow me might be asleep, hibernating... or whatever they do in there. But you'll be able to steal it, the egg is in plain sight, just be quick and if you make noise, like happened to Paul, you'll die."

"Didn't Paul survive?"

"Yeah...sort of. Partly. But you'll do better, I assure you."

What a shoddy lie.

"Damn, it's too risky... And what do they want an egg for? Besides, you can't take things out of here, it's forbidden."

"Only minerals. Of the rest they say nothing, because everything is cursed: the food, the water, even the wood. That's why nobody takes anything from here."

"And why would an egg be any different?"

"Because they've done it before..."

Lyssara sighed impatiently.

"Look, Kiyen, I'm getting tired of this. Tell me quickly if you're in or not."

"How much?"

"Five thousand kurps."

"And how much will my share of the profit be?"

"That, Kiyen... that will be your share."