Underneath Lake Morveth.
"The strange disappearances across the Human Realm had come to His Highness's attention as well," Finnian said, idly poking his dagger with one finger as they climbed back up towards the floor where the Shifting Vein was.
"It was quite difficult to connect them at first. Every disappearance had a very carefully well-crafted background."
"Like what's going on in Rudaheim," Zerath said.
He nodded. "It took some time but eventually, His Highness realized that something was operating on a larger scale - which is being deliberately obscured by smaller, insignificant reasons like family disputes, jealous lover, hatred and so on. He brought it to Crown Prince Elvin's attention, but he didn't consider it to be a significant issue. It's designed to look insignificant on the surface."
Vivia asked, "So what did Brother do?"
"He employed Martin Grisbane for the task."
The shock didn't just register across Vivia's face, but Judith's too.
"Lady Claudia's cousin who has been missing since months?"
Finnian dangled his dagger playfully. "Count Martin is a judicial officer experienced in corruption and fraud cases, among many others. The initial theory was that the kidnapped victims were being smuggled - likely to Rudaheim, as slaves."
Zerath tipped his head to the side. "So the line of investigation was to uncover which nobles acquired an unexplained surge of wealth."
Which was essentially what Lucian had been investigating as well.
"But there were no such transactions. Tax and land fraud were the usual crimes, but nothing as grim as selling your own people. So Count Martin chose to become the bait himself."
Silas arched his brow. "Courageous."
Vivia's brows creased. "How did he lead the abductors to him? He wouldn't have known how they selected their targets."
Finnian chuckled with an amusing glint. "He spread a very particular rumor that he was close to uncovering the entire operation. The rumor reached the ears it was intended for. He disappeared within the week."
But wait…
I remember Count Martin was looking to talk to Clairette before he vanished. Were he and Clairette working together on this?
Vivia glanced at her ring. It stayed dim. There were so many questions only Clairette could answer, if only there were some way to reach her.
She sighed and looked up - then was suddenly taken aback. "W-What?"
Finnian smiled again. "That's a beautiful opal you're wearing, Princess."
She cleared her throat. "Thank you."
"It feels magical somehow."
She didn't allow her smile to falter. "Beautiful things often feel magical."
"Hmm~"
Judith picked up the thread of conversation. "But if Count Martin was abducted, does that mean he was forced to…"
She left the rest unsaid, finding it too distasteful to complete.
"I don't think so. We don't know what methods he used to avoid mating with a demoness, but he's an upright man. He wouldn't have let himself fall to such depravity."
"So it was Count Martin who informed Prince Aeren about this ritual?" Zerath asked.
"Not the exact ritual or its specifics," he hummed merrily. "Probably he, too, didn't understand what they were doing. He simply stated that some fanatic cult was performing a dangerous ritual on veil-born children. He didn't know the purpose then, though by now, he must have."
He blinked. "How did he manage to send any message when he's trapped as a prisoner?"
Arzan guessed. "Magic?"
They were nearly at the third floor's entrance.
Finnian took a small crystal from his robes. Its three sides formed a sharp triangle, and the mesmerizing purple hue drew a sharp breath from Vivia.
"This is one half of Twin Echo Crystals. The other half lies with the other user. In its complete form, it looks like a perfect diamond. You tap on it twice. The other half resonates, which allows limited and brief communication. But Count Martin's message arrived quite later than we had expected - and I know why."
He pointed upward at a certain part of the cave's roof. "Do you see that?"
Everyone looked up at once and squinted. Faint inscriptions ran across the stone above them.
"Those look like symbols," Arzan muttered. "Is it a magic seal?"
"Correct answer."
"But why? I don't think the abducted prisoners are wizards or syrevars who could use magic. These are common people. Placing magic seals is irrelevant."
"The seal wasn't meant for them. Its main purpose was to prevent Shifting Veins from forming naturally in the cave."
His eyes went wide.
"A Shifting Vein is a natural phenomenon - but imbued with magic. If a Vein appeared out of nowhere, and a prisoner was able to inadvertently escape, then…"
"They could declare their ordeal to the whole world," Zerath completed his train of thought. "It cannot control where you end up, but anything is better than this prison."
"So Count Martin wasn't able to communicate earlier because this seal blocked the communication," Vivia said.
"Yes. But he eventually found a way out, which was when the first message arrived. These seals span over one area at a time. Sometimes between two seals, there can exist a narrow pocket of space where neither seal reaches. It's not enough for a Shifting Vein to form, but brief magical communication becomes possible within that gap."
Arzan said slowly. "So you had already broken the seal before we arrived, right? Otherwise, the Shifting Vein wouldn't have formed to begin with, nor you would've been able to unlock the wall to the third floor."
Watching a delirious glint take root in Finnian's eyes, Arzan shuddered.
"The young Syrevar is such a bright demon. Would you perhaps consider us together someday? I assure you the experience would feel like such a tantalizing poison~" he sounded almost intoxicated.
"Never! My-my lord won't agree to it either! Right, my lord?"
"Of course, Arzan," Zerath smiled.
He relaxed.
"Perhaps in the future, though? When humans and demons aren't at each other's throats anymore."
"..."
Silas wondered. "What about the Shifting Vein in Nethermoor's cave then? Arzan hadn't broken any seal."
"But the cave had collapsed naturally," Arzan offered. "The structural damage probably broke whatever seals were in place and undid their effects."
They reached the top of the stairwell when Silas asked, "Was that when you came into the picture? If Prince Aeren wanted to know what kind of a ritual it was, he would've needed a wizard's help."
But Finnian didn't answer. Instead, he was staring at the wall ahead of him.
Vivia peeked. "Is something the matter? Wasn't the entrance open when we came through?"
Finnian turned, a merry smile lit on his lips. "Ladies and gentlemen, we've gotten trapped here. Someone undid my magic and sealed the entrance."
Judith sneered. "So the culprits finally show their cowardly faces."
"So we're locked in!?" Arzan gasped.
Zerath gave it a thought. "There's a way out from behind the altar. Silas, Eurus and I had escaped using that same route. If this cave is the same as that one, then the same escape route must be here too."
A low rumble from beneath their feet shattered their hope. Vivia instinctively pressed her hand to the wall to hold for support - when something slick coated against her skin.
"Water?"
Droplets of water soon perched upon Arzan's forehead. Before he could express his own confusion, a violent tremor followed. A thundering sound, as if something massive had cracked open, resounded across the cave, so loud that Vivia thought her ears would bleed out.
"What is happening!? What was that sound!?" Judith was barely able to keep her ground.
The answer soon became clear when a massive wave of water blasted in through the cave, drowning their voices of confusion.
Silas closed his eyes. Gnashing his jaw, he cursed every God out there in the world.
"Do these freaking caves have to collapse every single time!?"
"How is the water coming in!? From where?" Arzan staggered back, horrified.
"This cave is under Lake Morveth," Finnian hugged himself with a sense of exhilaration of the impending doom.
"Soooo are we going to drown?" Silas asked the inevitable question.
Vivia turned to him with a dumbfounded look. "Drowning is the least of our concerns. Every water source in Emberlain is poisonous! We'll die of toxicity long before we even sink!"