บท 548: A long day
Before leaving the challenge, the Guides gave Hera a brief explanation of what other people would see when they entered. In essence, they would see a few stone statues of various shapes and sizes, and they would be the adversaries during the race. The statues would be random, but they would be mostly humanoid, with a single four-legged one. Another thing Hera had to know was that if someone were to use a mount of any kind, the statues would have their own as well. It didn't matter if it was something temporary or permanent, but that information wouldn't be available to them.
What Hera could tell was that the moment Nimbus changed his form, all the statues created their own mounts. The rides would be thematically appropriate to the statue itself. For instance, a statue with a lion's head would likely have a lion or a tiger as a mount. Again, that was only a visual thing. The actual attributes of the mount would just mirror the mount used by the challenger. If they didn't have a mount, then the runners would be close to the total attributes of the challenger. In the end, this challenge was about proving your skill and not just having better items.
With all that out of the way, Hera said her goodbyes to the guides before exiting the challenge. Everyone was on the other side waiting for the Empress, and they were even surprised about how quickly she returned.
"Is everything ok?" Helena asked.
"Yeah, this one is more simple. It lays out everything for us as soon as we get inside. Basically, this is a race, and it looks like there are some obstacles in the mix. I saw a part of the course, and there were some things for us to vault over or under. I don't know if there is an actual 'right' way to go through the obstacles," Hera explained what the guides told her. She never actually saw the course, but all she had to do was to walk up the island to see it, "Oh, another thing. I saw a bunch of statues, all armors, but those had different designs and shapes. And one of them was like a dog, I think. It was hard to say. I was worried that getting too close would start the race, and I wouldn't be able to leave halfway."
"That was a good call. It's hard to tell how long that race would last. If it's a marathon, it will take ages for it to be over," Alex nodded.
"And we kind of need you to get back in a decent time frame," Adriel looked to the horizon, where the sun was already setting.
"Right. Do you need to change anything with the drones? If not, we should get going. I can explain things better when we are back in the camp."
The group agreed with Hera's suggestion and quickly remade their makeshift cart with Nimbus dragging them behind. Twenty minutes later, when the last rays of the sun vanished on the horizon, they arrived at the campsite once again. Before dismounting Nimbus, Hera told the group that she wanted to take a shower before anything else. Today was a very long day. They finished two challenges and went all the way to the third island. Most of them got beaten up in one way or another, and Hera almost died, even if, at the time, she had no idea that was a possibility. Spending the entire day being buffeted by the ocean made them all feel sticky. In the end, everyone decided to go to the private rooms to shower before dinner. Adriel and Mylo would stay behind to cook and catch some more fish while the rest of the group headed to the doorway. To make better use of their time, Helena and Bonnie went to Shane's private room while Alex and Blue took Hera's.
"You two can take a shower first. I'll be the last, so I can have a talk with my court," Hera told her friends as they all went inside her private room.
"Is there a reason why you have to talk with them in private?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, we love Nimbus. I can't say much about the others because, well, they don't talk to us, but you don't have to wait to be alone to talk to them," Blue added.
"I know. But it feels... Rude to talk to them with you guys around. Especially if it's, like, a more serious conversation about the skills or something else. I know that that's not a problem for you guys, but talking and only having you hear my side of the conversation feels really bad, and having me tel you all about what they are saying it's just annoying for everyone. Remember back home when you guys tried to help me when I was talking with them about the skills I should get? You know, during our last break."
"Oh… yeah..." Blue nodded. There was a moment during the last time they stayed in Boothudurn where Hera was trying to come up with ideas for what kind of skill she should get next. Unfortunately, she was talking with all her court and friends, which meant that she had to tell everything the court was saying and only then state her opinion. That caused a lot of confusion and issues with who was saying what. In the end, that discussion took way longer than it had to, and it was understandable that Hera wasn't in the mood to do something like that again.
The real reason as to why she wanted to be alone was to talk to the guides. Hera couldn't do so the previous day, but she wanted to see if everyone was okay and if she didn't hurt anyone during the test. She also wanted to ask a bit more about her title and if they could give her some advice about it.
After a quick game of rock-paper-scissors, Blue was the first to bathe. Since Hera had an actual bathtub here, they would all take some time there before leaving. That gave Alex a chance to talk to Hera about one thing that was bothering her.
"Hey… Are you ok?" the assassin asked from the kitchen while she was getting a glass of water. Last night, Hera had a moment to change a few things, including the cups they used. Now, everyone had their own glass with their names in beautiful calligraphy and an image of something they liked. For Alex, it was a cute drawing of a puppy wielding double daggers.
"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Hera replied without looking up from her tablet, there were a lot of texts from her dad and the Royal Explorers, and she was going through them all.
"Hera. I know you. Ever since you came back from the cave, you have been acting a bit weird. Did something else happen? Is it because I told you I can talk about… a thing?"
Hera looked back to Alex, but her eyes quickly darted away. That feeling of looking at something spoiled washed over her again, " It's not because of that. I understand why you can't say anything."
Alex smirked, "So something is going on?"
Hera stopped before letting out a long sigh, "Yeah. There is. But it's not something talking will fix, and I don't think you will want to know. It also makes me feel like a very crappy friend."
"Try me. Maybe there's something I can do to help. And it has something to do with the title you got, right?"
"Yeah. It does. I even tried looking it up online but couldn't find anything about this title," Hera explained.
Nimbus approached Alex and pulled three cups, one with a griffon flying in the sky, one with a snake doing a full lap around it, and the third had just the phrase, 'May the coffee be stronger than my children.' He filled them with water and walked back to the living room after whispering, "Remember that this was never her option. She didn't choose any of it."
Alex looked at the Sentinel with a confused expression but didn't say anything. Just waited for Hera to continue talking. However, the explorer wasn't going to continue the conversation. Frustrated, Alex walked over to the couch and took Hera's tablet before staring her in the eyes, "Talk to me. What is going on?"
"Alex…"
"No. Don't give me that. You are weird, like really weird. I noticed how you keep getting away from Helena and how you always try to be close to Adriel. This is not a jealousy thing. I trust you enough not to worry about that, but It's odd when he is the person who makes you the least comfortable in the group. You also seemed to be looking beyond Mylo when talking to him, and if Blue gets close to you, you assume a more stable position, almost as if you were bracing for impact."
"I... I was doing all that? Really?" Hera stared at Alex in disbelief.
"Yeah, and now you have a sour face when you are looking at me, and it's not because of what I'm saying now. You have been doing this for a while already."
"I'm sorry… I never wanted you guys to notice that. Does everyone know?" Hera looked away.
"I don't think so. Maybe Helena realized you're doing something like that. The reaction you had with her was the strongest one, so… I don't know," Alex rubbed her temple, "Now, please, tell me what is going on."
"I honestly don't know. I have an idea, but I'm not sure if that's the case," Hera took a deep breath, "Ever since I came out of the cave, I've been seeing mana in a different way. Seeing is not the right word. I just get feelings. For instance, when I'm looking at Helena, I have that same feeling that you have when you are looking at a dark corridor in the middle of the night. You know that fear of not knowing what's in there? The thing you feel when you're watching a horror movie, and there's a scene where you can't see anything. That's what it feels like to look at Lena, and it kills me. How can I be scared of her?"
"But are you? Afraid of her, I mean."
"No! Of course not, but that is the feeling I get when I look at her. Probably because of her mana, or at least that's what I'm assuming. Looking at Mylo is like looking at a mirage, and Adriel gives a cozy feeling, like being wrapped in a very soft blanket surrounded by fluffy pillows. Blue is like seeing a storm, which could explain why I steady myself every time I see her getting close. Bonnie and Shane are weird. They don't have a specific feeling but several things mixing together, like watching a blender work. Everything feels so weird, and I don't know how to stop or change that. Then again, I just got that title, so it might just be something that takes some getting used to," Hera blurted out, speaking so fast that she didn't even have time to breathe. When she finished, she was close to hyperventilating, but Nimbus and Daskka got closer to calm her down.
"Right… But what am I?" Alex couldn't help but be curious since she was the only one Hera didn't mention.
"You…" Hera looked into Alex's eyes, trying to come up with an excuse or a reason why she couldn't tell her. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind, and she knew that keeping this secret would hurt the assassin, "Just… keep in mind that I don't know how to control this, and I really don't think it has anything to do with how I feel about the person. I mean, c'mon, being afraid of Helena and thinking that Mylo is so mysterious that it is almost like an mirage is just nonsense."
"I agree, but you are starting to scare me. What is wrong with me? Or with how you feel about me now, and I mean like, my mana, not me personally."
"You feel like a mix of a balloon and a cactus. Something soft and filled with air, but it's prickly at the same time," Hera replied.
"That is not that bad… Why were you so worried?" Alex tilted her head.
Hera hesitated for a moment, "Because… there is one more feeling. It's a small part of it, but… it somehow feels like I'm looking at something rotten. Like if you end up in a dumpster filled with old fruit. That nausea that you feel just by staring at it before the smell hits you."
"Oh, I see," Alex took a step back, taking the information in.
"That doesn't mean I think you're sick or something like that. I want to be perfectly clear about this."
"But I am. We know I am. I am cursed, and that's a fact," Alex replied with a solemn expression.
"But that's not necessarily a bad thing," Hera tried to comfort her friend.
Alex scoffed at that notion, "Hera, trust me. It is a bad thing. I think I'm the only person alive who knows how bad this is. And honestly, that does make sense. When I look at myself in the mirror, I also see something rotten, something diseased that should be purged. I would be lying if I said I never considered that for various reasons."
"Alex…"
"No, really, you don't have to worry about it, and I understand. Maybe this is even a good thing. You can help me know if I'm getting worse. If you look at me and start throwing up, I'll know I'm in trouble," Alex chuckled, trying to play it cool, but anyone could tell she was worried about this.
Hera reached out and grabbed Alex's hands, "Listen to me. As soon as we get out of here, we are getting that thing out of you. I promise."
"I'm the one who said we didn't need to worry about this, remember?" Alex tried to pull her hands back, but Hera held them tightly.
"I do. And I shouldn't have accepted that. I know the Royal Explorers are doing their own thing, but my objective now is to find a way to get rid of that curse. I'm even going to start now. I'm sure there is stuff about curses online that I missed the first time I looked into that."
"You can't. The more you think about it, the stronger it gets, remember? I'm already worried that you might be affected by it. Let me do the search," Alex replied.
"So? Maybe that's the way to go about it. I'll get infected by the curse, and that way. We can talk about it and figure out a way to fix this," Hera suggested.
"NO!" Alex yanked her hands free, "You are not getting cursed like I am. Especially with all your court. We have no idea how they will interact. I appreciate the offer, but I don't want anyone else to be affected by this."
"Alex…"
"No! That is not up for discussion. You are not getting cursed just so I have someone to talk to!" at that moment, Blue came out of the bathroom with a large smile, and Alex took that cue to head inside, slamming the door behind her.
Blue looked at Hera and then back to the bathroom, "What did I miss?"
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