Sora Brontarian
A faint, indistinct sound stirred me awake, and a beam of orange light crept into my eyes.
I rubbed my eyes and looked out into our camp. Two members of Jossie's cluster were running toward the trunk of a World Tree, mumbling words I couldn't make out.
Is the fatigue getting to them?
I scanned the camp looking for Stravos.
He was nowhere to be seen.
Did he desert us?
I got up, walked over to Jossie, who was fidgeting in her sleep, and shook her awake.
"Jossie, wake up; it's urgent," I said.
Apparently, she was a heavy sleeper. Unfortunately, we couldn't afford that luxury right now. So I gave her a small zap of lightning.
She shot to her feet, raising her guard and throwing a fist into the air.
"Sora, seriously, what was that for?" she asked, glaring at me.
I pointed at the members of her cluster, who appeared to be sleepwalking.
"Is that normal for them?"
Jossie's look was worried.
"No, never. What do you think is causing it?" Jossie asked, getting to her feet.
"Exhaustion, stress- there could be many things, honestly," I said, scratching my head.
Footsteps trudged through the moss behind me. I turned and saw Voen and Nerena walking towards me.
"Do you guys have any ideas?" I asked, pointing at the students running into trees.
"None other than the things you already mentioned, but I think we should get them on the ground so I can treat them at least," Voen said, walking past us as he asked Simon for some help.
"What about you, Nerena?"
She stood with a blank stare, as if her mind were elsewhere, but after a few moments she came to her senses.
"Do you remember the conversation we had with Cyrus in Mira's medbay room?"
That conversation felt like it was so long ago; I'd nearly forgotten what was said.
"Kinda. Why?" I asked as Voen and Simon brought the sleepwalking students over, laid them down, and gave them an herb.
"Well, I am inclined to believe that he was telling the truth."
Voen gave a shocked look, and I processed what she was trying to get at.
"Go on."
"Well, I was attacked at night by a creature similar to what Cyrus showed us from his research earlier in the year, but I never saw it again. I did some research on the topic. That research caused me to run into Cyrus in the middle of an investigation, and these sleepwalking symptoms match exactly what he was describing to us."
"So you believe that whatever attacked you, Mira, and Cyrus is potentially somewhere in this rift, and preyed on Jossie's clustermates?"
Nerena nodded slowly.
My hair frizzed, puffing up like cotton balls.
Yet another thing added to my plate to worry about.
"Looks like the entire school owes that guy one big apology when this is all said and done," Voen said, feeding one of the clustermates water.
"Do you think he's still alive? I don't know how anyone could survive in a place like this alone." Simon said, handing Nerena her drone.
Despite being frustrated with him, I did wonder how he fared out here, and part of me felt a little bad for not trying to find him. Despite not really having the time or resources.
No one deserved to be alone, especially in a rift of all places.
"Personally, I think he's alive. I mean, we all know he's got a screw loose. I doubt he'd die that easily. You all saw what his body did after that bout with a spider. He should be fine. If he can survive something like that, I'm sure we'll run into him sooner or later," Voen said, helping the sleepwalking kid sit up as they began to wake.
"You may be right. Only the High Pantheons know at this point." I said, scanning the area.
"So what exactly does this thing look like? And where is Stravos? Wasn't he supposed to be on watch?" Jossie asked.
Right on cue, someone stepped through the brush ahead of us.
It was Stravos, and he looked worse for wear. Anger and resentment radiated from him. His hands were bloody, and his combat suit was torn and riddled with holes.
"Stravos, where did you go? And did you see what attacked my clustermates?" Jossie asked, her expression firm and her voice commanding.
Stravos's face showed annoyance, but he quickly shook it off as Ida and the rest of his cluster approached.
"Whatever it was, I chased it off, and before I could land the final blow, it escaped into the night," Stravos said as he sat on a nearby log.
"He doesn't appear to be lying," Voen said to Nerena and I through our tether link.
"Why didn't you wake us up?" I asked.
"It didn't feel within my scope to handle, and your rest was important."
Was he acting considerate for once?
"Fine, I guess. But now that we know the creature that's been attacking the students is here in the rift, and nearby, we need to figure out our next course of action while we make our way back to the base," I said.
"Well, it's simple. When it approaches us again, we will take it out as a unit; it can't escape from all of us, can it?" Ida said, handing Stravos some water.
"We should bring it back alive," Nerena said.
"We could leave it in Stravos's Astral forge. That way we can clear Cyrus's name, and potentially learn more about its origins," she continued.
Stravos grimaced at the words.
"What is it?" I asked him.
"It's whatever; just stay alert; it's quick."
I nodded.
"Well, now that we've got that squared away, let's hurry up and get back to everyone else."
Everyone packed up their things, and we followed the Truth Seekers back to the base.