Maya returned to the living quarters with some papers from the research facility in her backpack, only to be stopped by one of the queen's guards. He eyed her up before clearing his throat.
"I heard you're investigating the Nulfire in freetime. How come?" He asked.
"A prisoner was involved with it. I have a feeling it has some kind of an effect it hasn't had in years. It may still have an Embercaller controlling it," Maya answered, keeping a professional edge.
"Well, it's a pity you're not allowed to go around doing solo investigation. The queen ordered you to never investigate the Nullfire again, and return to work," the guard told her.
Maya rolled her eyes like a stubborn child, before finally nodding. The guard left when she agreed, leaving her alone.
She went to her apartment, sitting on her couch and sighing. They really are trying to keep secrets from me. It's their problem that I'm three steps ahead, though. The other Nullbounders are with the queen, but I'll make sure the island is safe, she though, taking out the documents from her backpack.
One of the documents had the statics of how the number of Embercallers had dropped in recent years. From roughly 60 to just 1. Another one was a pages of a newspapers titled 'Embercallers may not be extinct, even after the incident' and 'Records of unknown fire reported on Ashfall island. Evacuation started'.
The last Embercaller caused a mass evacuation? Maybe it was communicating with Hexa through the fire, and that's why she stole it, she thought.
Far, beyond the waters, a dark figure sat on a rock on Ashfall, a volcanic island. Her black hood covered the top half of her jet black face, wearing black, torn robes. Her straight, black hair fell just past the shoulders.
Infront of the slender figure, there stood a few shorter, similar, yet more simple-looking figures. The tall one spoke to them.
"Etheriants has found our location. Minions, get ready for some visitors," she said with a low tone, a start of a smirk plastered on her black face.
In Blacklight prison, half of the criminals considered less dangerous than most had already been transferred to prisons on other islands.
Hexa was still there, since she's in the more restricted side. She heard a voice that sounded like a guard's. She looked around, but nobody was there, but she still heard the voice clearly.
"Let me go," the voice said.
Hexa's first thought was that this was probably just a test. The usual voice was her mother's, not some Nullbounders. They had to be tricking her. But when her mother appeared outside the cell, being held in the grasp of the guards, she knew they weren't just teasing her.
Her vision turned completely black. The next thing she saw was chains breaking, before being brought back to reality by a loud snap. Her handcuffs broke.
At the same time in the forest, the newfound team had already gotten ready to fight whoever was in control of the fire.
Aurora brought in some stones, fire hardened wood and copper she found nearby. Hazel and ocean were sharpening sticks and making some shorter-range weapons, while Aatos was making a crossbow, kneeling on the forest floor, stripping bark from a branch.
"If we're going after the queen, we need more than just sticks," he says quietly.
"Sticks work fine," Remy said stubbornly.
"You'll thank me later," Aatos said, shaking his head.
He bent the greenwood bow into shape, tied the vine string, and began carving a trigger notch.
The others watched carefully, half impressed and half nervous. Then Aurora spoke up.
"Are you sure this will work?" she asked.
"Of course it will work. Just trust me," Aatos replied, handing her a small dagger from the rock next to him, then continued. "Use this to protect yourself when you really need it."
Aurora took the dagger and gave Aatos a nod.