Anfey and his friends had already left when the guards arrived. They headed south and went deeper into Forest Clarm. Even though they were not sure about the exact location of their destination, they knew they were heading in the right direction.
Out of everyone, Anfey was most at ease. His movements were all very light and rhythmic. Suzanna was next to him and was using her combat power. She was not as light as Anfey, but she appeared much more powerful. Next to them were Christian, Blavi, and Hagan. Christian and Blavi were gliding above the ground. Even though they were carrying Hagan, they were still very fast and were not hindered by the extra weight. The two were going against the wind, but they were not slowed. But it was also clear they were not using their full power.
The day before, they had arrived in the forest. Now they were already deep into the woods and could see the dark mountains ahead.
Christian and Blavi let Hagan down and floated into the air, then disappeared into the forest. According to the plan, the two would look for the magic coordinates they left the day before.
Anfey jumped onto a tree and gazed at the mountains. Perhaps because the Heart of Nature had sensed the forest, it had activated itself. Thousands of trees appeared then disappeared in front of Anfey’s eyes. He did not know the exact area he had covered, but he could very easily sense the coordinates. It was more effective to just use the Heart of Nature to search for the coordinates.
"Can you call them back?" Anfey asked Suzanna.
Suzanna nodded and raised her sword. She released a sword radiance and made a loud whoosh. Christian and Blavi stopped after hearing the noise and quickly returned.
"What’s wrong?" Christian asked as he landed on a branch.
"We don’t need to spend all that time searching," Anfey said. "It’s right this way." What he had just seen in his vision was chaotic, but he could sense the right way. Anfey was used to relying on his intuition and did not question himself. For example, whenever he sensed danger, he would immediately abandon his mission. He didn’t need a reason. He only needed to trust himself to stay alive.
Christian glanced at Anfey and shrugged. Blavi, on the other hand, grinned. "Good," he said. "I didn’t want the trouble anyway."
"Hey!" Hagan called, waving his arms. "I’m still down here! Are you going to pull me up or not?" He thought he would have to hike through the forest and was relieved that Christian and Blavi were not going away.
The five of them continued to travel through the forest. The sun slowly set behind the horizon, but the darkness did not hinder them. All five of them were wide awake and did not need to stop and rest. When the sky began to lighten, Anfey stopped and motioned his friends to stop as well. Anfey stood still to observe his surroundings for a few moments, then he suddenly jumped forward and landed on a small clearing.
Christian and Blavi smiled when they saw the familiar clearing. Christian turned and whispered something to Blavi. Then he let go of Hagan and rose higher into the air. He could feel the magic coordinates, even though it was a bit late. Blavi frowned and chased after Anfey, with Hagan still on his back. When he caught up, he saw Anfey sitting next to a small pond, smiling. Suzanna was blushing furiously and kicked Anfey on the arm. Blavi didn’t know what had happened here to the two of them, nor did he care.
"Anfey!" Blavi called.
"What is it?"
"Christian’s heading over there," Blavi said. "I’m afraid…"
"Of what? He will understand," Anfey said softly. "Perhaps he already knows."
Blavi sighed and shook his head. "Good," he said. "I don’t want him to treat me any different."
"Neither do I," Anfey said. "But don’t worry about it too much. I’m sure Christian will see the reason behind our actions."
"Are we there?" Hagan asked. His eyes were bloodshot and he sounded exhausted.
"Almost," Anfey said, nodding.
"Let’s head over there right now."
Suzanna stood by the pond and stared at the water as if she could not hear the conversation around her.
"Suzanna," Anfey called softly. He didn’t want to excite her too much by recalling their first meeting.
Suzanna blinked and turned to him.
"We’re leaving," Anfey said, placing a hand on her shoulder gently. Ever since they were married, Suzanna had been more accepting of physical contact. She did not shy away from Anfey’s touch.
Suzanna sighed and nodded. She fell in love with Anfey partly because of his intelligence, but his intelligence was not the whole reason. The events around their first encounter were very important, as well. Her past was a stone weighing her down. She endured cruel training, and her only purpose was to protect her father. The only thing that was hers was her dreams.
Christian was a hardworking person. He was not a prince raised in luxury, and he knew the importance of working with his own hands. He had already cleared out a tunnel and entered the cave. When Anfey, Suzanna, Blavi, and Hagan arrived, he was climbing out of the tunnel and gagging.
"This is it?" Hagan asked. His exhaustion disappeared completely at the thought of seeing an element lock.
Anfey nodded and snuck a glance at Christian.
Hagan did not wait for any of his friends. He jogged towards the tunnel and disappeared. A few seconds later he reappeared, pinching his nose. "What is in that cave?" he asked, frowning. "It stinks!"
Anfey smiled but did not say anything. When they were leaving, he and Blavi had killed all the remaining orcs. There were hundreds of bodies in that cave. No wonder it stunk.
"Christian?" Blavi called nervously. Christian was a prince and a natural leader. Having two leaders on a team was rarely a good thing, but thankfully Christian and Anfey respected and trusted each other. However, for a follower like Blavi, it was best to be in the good favor of both leaders. If Christian disliked him, it could affect his future greatly.
Christian took a deep breath and smiled at Blavi. "I’m fine," he said. "Don’t worry." Then he raised his hand and summoned wind elements. Strong gusts of wind blew into the tunnel. Blavi hurried over and summoned wind elements as well. The two of them stood for a few seconds and cleared the foul air in the tunnel.
Anfey walked over after they stopped and said, "Let’s go."
"I’ll go first," Blavi said eagerly.
Anfey nodded. "Be careful. Hagan, stay close to me."
Anfey turned to look at Christian as Blavi disappeared into the tunnel. Christian smiled at him. "Are you not surprised?" Anfey asked.
"It’s normal," Christian said with a shrug. "I had a feeling."
"You don’t look so well, though."
"You wouldn’t look good either if you smelled what I smelled!" Christian said, rolling his eyes. "The air in there was putrid! I had to use a magic shield, or else there was no way I could breathe in there."
"I see," Anfey said. "I’m glad you aren’t disgusted by what we did."
"Don’t worry," Christian said. "As long as you had a reason, I will understand."
"Guys, you can come in now," Blavi said. His voice was muffled.
The four of them climbed into the tunnel. Blavi was still blowing away the foul air and was advancing slowly. Christian summoned a few small fireballs to light the way. Since it was not their first time there, the group quickly found the cave with the chest.
The mysterious chest was floating in midair and the chain of the element lock was glowing faintly. Hagan completely ignored the treasure in the cave, as if the chest was the only thing there.
Anfey opened his dimensional ring and gathered up all the gold. Last time he was there, he had all of Saul’s belongings with him. This time, Anfey was confident that he could take all the gold coins.
After he had gathered about half of the coins, Anfey realized he could see the ground. In the corner of the room was a small black box that was previously obscured by the gold coins. Anfey picked the box up and carefully opened it. Inside the box was another, smaller box.
"Hagan, how is it going?" Christian asked.
"It’s a element lock for sure," Hagan grunted.
"Can you open it?"
"Probably," Hagan said. "Give me some time."
"Do you need to take a nap?" Christian asked. Hagan looked exhausted and he did not want to risk an accident.
"I’m good," Hagan said. He did not look up from the chest at all.