Search for the cave.

The horizon turns a stunning shade of orange as day fades slowly to night. A sliver of sun still shines brilliantly behind a sea of clouds, but soon land will be blanketed in shadow. Thankfully, you're nearly at your destination.

To the west, grassy plains would continue until you were to arrive at Twilinae Forest, but that isn't your destination today. Instead, you move south. The terrain becomes courser as green turns to brown, and the soil turns loose with gravel. Another hour or two more and you'd arrive at Fort Yerme, albeit down a deep descent, but that isn't where you're headed either. Instead, you follow instructions drawn out for you by Monarch in order to find this supposedly hidden cavern.

Not only would it take ages to search without a map due to how much land you'd have to cover, but you've already come across all number of caves in the ground of various sizes, and you're not about to start jumping into random holes.

"What were we looking for again?" Eva asks.

"It should be within a hundred or so feet of here," you answer. "It says the entrance is somewhat large, at least enough to where we won't need to crawl, but it'll likely be partly covered by a fast-growing plant covered in tiny purple flowers. When you're standing at the entrance, you'll see a dead tree about twenty feet to your left, and the sun will be setting behind you."

"I've seen a handful of dead trees," says Niki.

"But we will be facing east," Nyllia chimes in. She turns the appropriate direction and holds up her hand. "So while standing this way, we will turn left to see a dead tree, and it should not be far. Then we need to look down for flowers."

Amara steps forward and peers around cautiously. "Though most of us can fare pretty well in the dark, we should not not drag our feet. It will only become more difficult to find out destination after the sun finishes setting. And with the night comes many dangers as well, especially this far from the borders of any city." Then her ears twitch.

She turns, and whether or not she could have reacted in time becomes irrelevant as party members like those you have, such a reality doesn't need to be tested. Nyllia slices through the shadowy figure before it comes anywhere near Amara. Its round body melts as its cloven in two, leaving behind a puddle of what was once a slime. Though, it did appear much larger than most you've seen in the outskirts, and it moved so quickly as well.

"You are thinking the same as I," says Nyllia as she turns to you.

Amara lays a hand upon Nyllia's shoulder with a grateful smile. "Thank you very much."

"It was nothing, Amara," she responds.

You nod. "Yeah. How often do slimes get super powerful?"

"It does happen on occasion," Nyllia explains as she flicks the remaining goop from her two-handed blade. "Slimes feed off a number of different things. Sometimes actual food, other times scraps of fabric, but also magic. The fact that we are so near to the dungeon may have something to do with this. Keep your eyes up. Monsters here may be more deadly than usual."

Your FONE then buzzes in your pocket.

"Don't stray far," you say. "Keep looking, but I don't want somebody to get ambushed. My FONE is ringing, so I'll need a minute. They might be in trouble."

Upon the slab, there are many names, though one stands out from the rest with a magical shine. Lynx. You hold the device up to your ear and shut your eyes, hoping nothing has truly gone wrong. "Hey. Are you all right?" you ask straight away.

Lynx responds. "Hi! Well, the thing is... we're at the temple, but before we get any closer, I just thought we'd check in with you. Don't freak out or anything, but could you do that projection thingy again? We might need some advice."