Northern Sector Rika & Elyra
Rika skipped ahead on the cobbled street, her twin daggers spinning in her fingers as she hummed a strange tune. She stopped now and then to inspect a lock, a loose chain, or even poke a signboard just to see how it swung.
Elyra, walking behind her calmly with her staff in hand, sighed softly. "You really can't go ten seconds without touching something, can you?"
"Locks are talkative, Elyra," Rika said without turning around. "Every little scratch, every notch it's like they're whispering secrets."
"Right. Just don't get us arrested."
"This area's too quiet for guards. Which is weird. Even birds aren't chirping."
They walked under an arch where ivy clung to ancient stone. The air felt colder suddenly.
Elyra glanced around, her blue cloak billowing in the wind. "This place is off. No energy. No sound."
"You feel that too, huh?"
Elyra nodded. She extended her hand and closed her eyes. Small runes glowed softly along her wrist.
"I'm sensing… traces of illusion magic. Really faint, but strong enough to dull sound."
"Someone doesn't want people hearing what's going on here," Rika said, eyes sharpening. "That's trap-maker behavior."
Elyra paused in front of a darkened building what once looked like a bakery. The windows were fogged and blackened from the inside. The door was half-open.
"Should we?" Elyra asked.
Rika smirked. "You ask that like I wasn't already halfway inside."
The catgirl vanished through the door. Elyra sighed and followed.
Inside, everything was coated in dust. Half-eaten bread sat on a plate like it was abandoned mid bite. Chairs were overturned. A bottle of wine had rolled onto the floor, cracked and dry.
Rika crouched by the counter. "No signs of magic battle… but someone left in a rush."
Elyra ran her fingers along a glowing sigil on the floor, barely visible.
"This ward… it's broken. Sloppy. Probably a rush job to keep something in, not out."
They turned toward the kitchen where they found the wall completely blown inward.
Beyond it, a hole led underground. Stone stairs, freshly carved.
Rika licked her lips. "Now this is getting fun."
"We're not going in blind," Elyra said quickly.
Rika was already one foot down the steps.
"Rika!"
"Relax. I won't trigger anything."
"You are a trigger!"
"I take that as a compliment."
Elyra followed, her staff glowing with soft white light.
Down below was a strange chamber a hidden hideout. But empty.
No people. Just scrolls scattered everywhere. Papers marked with the same sigil Rei had found earlier the burned eye.
Elyra picked up one and read aloud. "'To see pride, you must lower your own. The eye is always watching.'"
Rika sat cross-legged on a crate. "Cryptic cult stuff. Definitely Maestro's vibe."
"There's also this…" Elyra stepped toward the back where a mirror hung crookedly on the wall. Except the reflection didn't match the room.
Rika stood. "Uhh, Elyra? That's not our reflection."
The mirror showed a tall figure with golden eyes, brushing his hair slowly. Then it cut to black.
Rika's tail bristled. "Okay. Yeah. No more mirrors for a while."
Elyra frowned. "We need to tell the others. There's more going on here than just hiding traces."
They turned to leave, but just as they reached the top of the stairs
A soft voice whispered from behind the broken wall.
"Don't look away…"
The two girls froze.
Rika didn't turn. "You heard that too?"
"I did," Elyra said.
They bolted out of the bakery and into the light.
Neither of them looked back.
Rika and Elyra didn't stop running until they were several streets away. They finally slowed down in front of a stall that had a sign reading:
"CHEEZUS: Blessed Wheels of Wonder"
Rika bent over, panting. "Okay. That whisper? Definitely not friendly."
Elyra calmly brushed off her cloak. "Agreed. But we'll talk about that with the others. For now…" She pointed at the stall. "...I want cheese."
Rika blinked. "Wait, what?"
"I like cheese."
"You just got chased by an invisible whisper ghost and now you want dairy?"
Elyra nodded completely seriously. "Yes. Ghosts don't cancel lunch."
The stall owner a small old man with a monocle and a wizard hat for no reason waved at them. "Welcome to Cheezus! Where the cheese is divine and the aftertaste is eternal!"
"That… sounds ominous," Rika said.
Elyra smiled. "One wedge of Sharp Sky Goat, please."
The vendor handed her a slice wrapped in leaves. "Made from goats who graze on clouds."
Rika raised a brow. "Do clouds have flavor?"
"Depends on the goat," the man said solemnly.
Elyra took a bite, nodded in approval, and then pointed at a particularly spiky cheese. "That one looks aggressive."
"Crumbled Thunderhoof," the vendor said. "Aged five years. It bites back."
"I want that one," Rika grinned.
They both sat on the fountain steps near the market. Elyra nibbled neatly. Rika chomped like she hadn't eaten in days.
For a moment, the tension was gone.
"Hey, Elyra?" Rika said mid-bite. "If I die from magic cheese poisoning, tell the others I went out doing what I loved."
"I'll write it on your grave," Elyra replied dryly.
"Make the letters glow."
"I'll add a trap. Just for you."
They laughed.
Just two weird girls eating expensive cheese in a haunted city.
As the sun peeked through the cloud covered sky, Elyra leaned back against the edge of the fountain. Her long hair glowed faintly in the morning light. Rika, still chewing on the Thunderhoof, gave her a sideways glance.
"You're weird, y'know," Rika said. "Like, calm weird. The kind of weird that makes me nervous."
Elyra smiled, not offended. "And you eat pencils and like locks too much."
"Fair," Rika replied, raising her hands. "But still. You always seem so... composed. Like even ghosts can't rattle you."
"They do," Elyra said softly. "I just learned to look composed so people don't ask questions."
Rika tilted her head. "Is that elf wisdom or elf trauma?"
Elyra took another small bite. "Both."
There was a quiet moment between them, filled only by the soft burbling of the fountain and the bustling sounds of Esteria's morning streets.
"You ever scared?" Rika asked. "Like… when the whispers were right behind us, I felt like my ribs were gonna crack."
Elyra was quiet for a beat. Then she looked over, meeting Rika's yellow eyes.
"Every time I hear something I can't see, or feel magic I don't understand, I'm scared," she said. "But fear's just another sense. You don't ignore your ears or eyes. So why ignore fear?"
Rika blinked. "Huh."
Then: "You'd make a good villain, you know that?"
Elyra smirked. "Too much effort."
They both laughed again, and this time it wasn't nervous.
Just real.
From across the street, a bard played a slow tune on a strange guitar like instrument. The tune was off-key, but peaceful.
Elyra finished her cheese, brushed her fingers on a napkin, and stood. "Come on. Let's find the others. We still have a mystery, a prideful villain, and a possibly immortal chain guy to deal with."
"Ughhh," Rika groaned dramatically as she stood up. "Can we at least get more cheese later?"
Elyra paused. "...Yes."
That made Rika grin like a gremlin.