After some time, Flint turned towards Armand and Seraphine.
"What're we doing next? Are we going to investigate the cave?" He seemed itching to get involved in the action.
Armand glanced at Seraphine, who nodded.
"The thing is, I've only prepared teleportation circle enough for two people..."
However, at that moment, a thunderous blast tore through the area, followed by screaming. Parts of the cave that were located above ground cracked apart and collapsed into ruin, accompanied by a cloud of dust and a rain of rubble.
The group gasped. Seraphine swore under her breath. They had been too late.
She quickly retrieved her mirror shard from the subspace and activated 'Watcher's Eye' to see the condition inside the cave. While the circle seemed to be pretty much intact, the small chamber they had been in had mostly caved in. Forcing a teleportation into such unstable space would be too risky. She gritted her teeth, feeling a familiar pain coursing through her left eye.
With this, she was sure there was a teleportation circle deep inside the cave's network that went directly to the Order of Exile's base. And somehow, they had a device that allowed them to bypass the cave mutants.
Armand's jaw tensed as he arrived at the same conclusion. Seraphine threw an annoyed glance at him.
"We should've split as I said."
"The Deathstalker was as close as it could be to swallowing us whole. Are you confident you'd be able to defeat it by yourself?"
"....I can at least escape by myself!" The Deathstalker's anti-magic shell would be a bad match for Seraphine, but there was no need to tell Armand that.
"And then what? We don't even know how many enemies there are."
She looked at him unyieldingly. "I wasn't planning on confronting them, I just think we should've looked for more clues."
Armand sighed. "There were too many unknowns, too little time. I stood by my decisions. The children were a priority."
"..." Even Seraphine could not argue against that, especially not in front of Darryl and Lia, who had just escaped a terrifying ordeal.
Flint amusedly observed their exchange, which had become far more casual than expected. He did not expect the polite but aloof Armand to warm up to the mage this quickly. He put an arm around Armand's shoulders with a smirk. "Looks like you two are getting along pretty well."
Both of them stared at Flint with a slightly irritated look, which he found even more amusing.
*****
Immediately after the explosion, the Magistrate's knights escorted the people back to Dohara. The group waited until they could not be seen before going back to the base and preparing to set off.
Sir Regulus and Dame Ardent welcomed them back with delight, standing beside their horses. They seemed to have finished packing their belongings.
"Thank you for finding the children, and for making sure Commander Kingsley returned safely." Sir Regulus bowed his head, hand crossing his chest. Dame Arden followed suit.
"We did what we had to." Armand simply smiled and returned the bow. Seraphine nodded and asked.
"How are you two? How's Sir Kingsley?"
"We've recovered enough, thank you. As for Sir Kingsley, he went back with the first wave of the knights. His injuries aren't light, but not life-threatening. Oh, he told me to return this to you."
Dame Ardent pulled a bundle from her saddlebag, wrapped in heavy velvet cloth and handed it to Seraphine.
"He said to convey his gratitude; without this, he didn't think he'd have made it back."
"No gratitude was necessary. It was a fair exchange. Hmm...." Strangely, Seraphine did not take it. Although she did not possess foresight like Istaroth, she had a weird feeling that the balance had yet to be equal. "You know what, Dame Ardent, I think it'd be best if you keep it for now."
"What? Why?" Taken aback, Dame Ardent looked at her quizzically.
"Just so."
"Ah...alright." Dame Ardent awkwardly put it back inside her saddlebag. By now, the group had sensed that Seraphine really disliked explaining things, so they decided to just go along with it.
After packing everything, they set off to Dohara.
*****
It was almost midnight when the knights parted ways with the group, as they headed back to the Citadel to make a report and treat their injuries properly. Having been to the place housing the slum children twice, Flint offered to escort Lia back, with Darryl in tow. Seraphine and Armand decided to look for an inn to stay in. While the Magistrate had offered to accommodate them in the Citadel, they declined the invitation so as not to draw unwanted attention.
They found a mid-range inn that looked clean and respectable. After washing up and placing their stuff down in their respective rooms, they sat down to have a late dinner. By now, it had been almost 3 days since they first entered the cave, and both of them were starving.
While they waited for the soup and grilled lamb they ordered to arrive, Seraphine stared at Armand. She was holding a mug of plum wine, while he chose red wine for the occasion.
Seraphine sipped on her wine, finding it delicate but slightly too sweet. "So...Armand, why exactly are you looking for that person?"
The question slightly caught him off guard.
"How strange. I thought you'd know the answer to that question already, Miss Seraphine." He took a slow sip of the wine.
Seraphine noted that he seemed to revert to his polite manner when he was faced with uncomfortable situations.
"Obviously, I don't know everything. Watcher's Eye is not omnipotent. Also, even if I can, it doesn't mean I should. I have some sense not to pry too much into people's personal stuff."
"Hm... how unexpected."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. You just seem like the type to not care what other people think."
Seraphine narrowed her eyes, which resembled cherry blossom petals. "Is that supposed to make it less offensive? You know, you don't have to answer if you don't want to." At that moment, the food arrived, and she eagerly dug in. She started to eat in silence; her table manners remained impeccable throughout.
Stunned, he regarded her for a moment. Being in his position, Armand was used to people pushing their own agenda on him and not taking no for an answer. Her nonchalant demeanour and slightly blunt disposition made it quite refreshing.
Perhaps it was the wine, but he actually felt he did not mind continuing the conversation.
"How much do you actually know about me, Miss Seraphine?"