It can't be, Blanc thought to himself.
Step. Step.
It was no beast. A human. And only one of them. The steps were clear, but not heavy. Less likely to be a man. Perhaps a child or a woman.
"A human," Blanc whispered, "north-west of here, quite a bit of distance, probably a woman."
"What should we do?" Celine whispered back, "Should we go to her or just keep searching for the cave and ignore her?"
"What if she knows of the cave?" Blanc wondered, "We cannot risk it. I suggest we kill her after questioning her."
"BLANC!" Kael spoke out loud, but a hand from Blanc covered his mouth.
"Shh, you dumb little…" Blanc began whispering, but suddenly stopped.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
"Her walking quickened, she is going towards the mountain, west of here," Blanc muttered, beginning to run, "We follow."
So, the three followed after him, even though they did not have time to disagree. They hoped that there would be enough time to do so, in case it came to it.
Celine was the only one barely able to keep up with Blanc as he ran, but she held back, slowing down to the point that Kael and Lune would not lose sight of them.
Blanc ran like the wind. And by the Vita, he was fast. His steps were barely audible even at that speed, where he did not care about where and on what he was stepping.
His bow was at the ready, an arrow, placed as he ran, on the string, ready to fire it at a moment's notice.
A few minutes later, after he had covered a fair bit of distance, he first spotted it.
As he guessed earlier, only after her steps, she was a woman, a tall, young, and fair woman at that, with dark hair tied in a ponytail.
She looked well built and had the body of, if not a warrior, at least a survivor. She looked strong, even though she was only carrying what looked like a handmade basket filled with mushrooms.
But she could never be as strong as he was.
"Hold, or I will make sure you can never run again," Blanc ordered as he came to a stop fifty feet away from her, bow drawn and ready.
The woman stopped, raising her arms in the air, a sign that she did not hold a weapon.
"What now?" she asked with her back facing towards him.
"That remains to be seen," said Blanc shortly after Celine, Kael, and Lune arrived as well. The twins were clearly out of breath.
"Quite the group," the woman said, completely calm.
"Quite the tongue," replied Celine, drawing her sword, "Who are you?"
"Who wants to know?" asked the woman. But a yelp soon left her lips as Blanc's arrow fell inches away from her feet.
"The next one will be in your neck. Reply to the question addressed to you. Now!" Blanc ordered.
"My name is Miyanna. I am just trying to survive," she replied.
"And why are you in the Golden Forest? Commoners are not allowed to enter it," Celine said.
"The same reason you are. Running from the war. But commoners? Wait, are you perhaps…" said the woman as she tried to turn around, but stopped midway as Blanc spoke.
"Keep your questions to yourself. And do not turn around. Start walking,"
"To where?" asked Miyanna.
"To where you live," replied Blanc.
"Why would I… Fine, fine. Follow me," said Miyanna, giving up. "And could you please, for the love of all that is good, stop pointing that arrow at me? It makes me uncomfortable."
Blanc laughed at her words, "Why the fuck would I-" he began replying before Celine's gaze made him drop the arrow, and agree to it, "Very well, then."
"Thank you," muttered Miyanna, as she walked in front.
"Anybody else you live with?" Celine asked.
Miyanna shook her head before offering a direct, cold reply, "No."
Silence fell before them as they walked for the next few minutes. Blanc's side, not knowing what other questions to ask next, and Miyanna not wanting to give them a reason to harm her.
It seemed that Blanc's group, including him, did not know who the woman who walked in front of them was.
And she surely did not plan to tell them, even though she did not know, as well, who they were. But she had her doubts as to who her new captors were.
As the silence began to grow louder and louder, by the minute, they finally arrived at the place Miyanna found rest, as well as the place Blanc and the rest were looking for. The cave.
One would surely doubt that only one cave existed on the sides of a whole mountain, but this surely was the cave they were looking for, for one reason only.
On both sides of the cave's entrance, engraved in the rock of the mountain, stood the sigils of Blood Denegis, the slit-throated crow.
All four remained silent when they had seen the sigils, even though they stopped to look at them for a moment, in hopes that the lack of a reaction would not give answers to this Miyanna who walked before them.
"Keep her here, and do not let her do anything funny," he told Blanc to Celine and the rest as he entered the cave, bow and arrow at the ready.
The cave's entrance was wide enough for all of them to enter comfortably, and its interior held more than Blanc ever expected. Even more than Elion had let on.
Soft-glowing light artifacts glimmered in the corners of the entrance. To the left stood a wooden table surrounded by several sturdy chairs, worn by time but still holding strong.
To the right, carved into the rock and partially hidden behind a massive wooden plank, was a built-in cabinet. Its shelves were lined with wooden plates, spoons, forks, stone mortars, and there was even a proper fireplace for cooking.
Everything they could need to prepare and eat a meal.
And then there was something else.
A set of stairs, cleverly hidden between two cabinets, led downward to a pool of water. The water was crystal clear and warm, not man-made like most of the cave, but natural, and strikingly beautiful.
A stone bench sat near the edge, inviting one to sit and dip their feet into the warm, soothing waters. But Blanc didn't linger. Not yet.
He moved on to explore the rest of the cave above.
At the far end, carved into each corner of the back wall, were four short tunnels.
Each opened into a room containing a large bed and a closet. Just what Celine, Kael, and Lune would need to rest well. The sight made Blanc smile.
One of the rooms, however, looked lived-in. Most likely Miyanna's.
Not for long, Blanc thought as he stepped back out. Nothing in the room struck him as dangerous or out of place, and besides, his upbringing told him not to intrude where a lady had made a space her own.
Unfortunately, at the farthest reach of the cave, down a cramped tunnel, he found a single wooden toilet. The waste dropped straight into an underground river.
A fact that thoroughly disgusted him.
Right then and there, Blanc made a silent vow. That from now on, they would boil every drop of water they intended to drink.
With that, he returned to the entrance, and looked at his captive, seeing her face for the first time, with her bronze eyes shining in the sun, before he turned towards Celine and the twins who were waiting expectedly.
"It's perfect," he smiled at them, before bowing, "I welcome you to our new home."