Markus slowly opens his eyes after an exhausting experience the night before. He's sitting next to the fireplace with his back against the wall. He sees Eclair stretched across the floor still sleeping in front of the fireplace, but Aurora is already sitting up while working on a piece of fabric. Weapons, armor, and equipment are all neatly organized in piles beside each fairy. Both of the girls had their own bags next to them, which they retrieved last night before sleeping.

The fireplace now has only ashes and embers within it. Some heat can be felt, but it's sufficient for the small stone cabin. Markus looks around to make sure nothing out of the ordinary has happened. His eyes see the wooden chair still jammed against the door, while everything else seems normal.

Markus begins to slowly wake his body up, and to stretch himself after sleeping in an uncomfortable position. Aurora knows he's awake now, and begins to tidy up her area. The noise from both Aurora and Markus finally awaken the sleeping Eclair.

Eclair sits up in a half daze, her long curly hair now frizzy and unkempt in numerous areas. She sees Aurora already putting her belongings away, and starts to copy her actions. She isn't really paying attention and yawns constantly through the process. Markus has a wry smile from watching her, but soon decides he needs to also get ready.

Aurora suddenly flies up and nearly comes up to Markus' face. With a cool stare, she says “Non mouent.” Her right arm begins to glow as bands of symbols appear. Markus quickly realizes what's about to happen.

Aurora's right hand then touches the forehead of Markus. The translation magic once again causes immense pain, crumpling him to the floor. A few minutes pass before the pain subsides. Now Markus knows what Jonathan meant at Little Creek. Aurora can wield magic too.

The early morning is occupied with everyone gathering their belongs, and preparing for the next journey to Montillo. Eclair and Aurora have their bags ready, and have now started equipping their armor and weapons. Markus meanwhile is already wearing his combat vest, and is digging through his backpack.

Markus is hungry, and a good meal would start the day right. He remembered a few MRE packs that should be inside the backpack. When he finds one, he grabs it and pulls it out onto the floor. He then stops moving while looking inside the backpack.

“Oh my god! Dan... you son of a bitch. Why didn't you tell me you put the Tannerite in my bag!?” Markus yells loudly to himself. He can't help shaking his head in disbelief at the discovery.

“What's... Tanrite?” Eclair asks curiously from behind. She's stubbornly getting her sword and belt adjusted correctly. Aurora and herself are now just finishing the last touches of their preparations.

“Tannerite. It's an explosive. I've been walking around with four pounds of explosives on my back this entire time.” Markus replies. He grabs one of the plastic containers and shows it to the fairies. “This is it. This container is two pounds and I have another in the bag that's the same.”

“Ha... ha... Seriously? Is it really dangerous?” Eclair asks with some concern in her voice. Even Aurora has stopped what she's doing to cautiously look at the container.

“Well... ya, but you can only set it off by shooting it.” Markus says, and then suddenly starts bouncing the plastic container in the air. Eclair and Aurora immediately take a few nervous steps backwards. “It's fine. Tannerite is very stable. It won't go off even if you drop it, smash it, or even burn it.”

Markus bounces the container one last time before putting it back inside the backpack. He then turns back and smiles at the girls. They just glare at him. It was obvious they didn't appreciate his joking around.

“Alright. Sorry.” Markus says softly. He then grabs the MRE on the floor and waves it around. “Look, lets have some food. It has chicken and other goodies.”

The mood lightens once the meal is ready and everyone starts eating. The entire time the fairies kept asking Markus about MRE's. They were especially amazed by the flameless heater to cook the food. Markus was glad to answer their curiosity. He explained rations for soldiers back home, and numerous uses they provided along with their long shelf life.

When the group finished eating, the girls placed their bags inside Markus' backpack before he loaded it on his back. Trash was thrown outside in a designated pile and everyone was set to leave. Markus put his shooting gloves back on, and grabbed his rifle. He walked out the wooden door of the cabin with the fairies hovering right behind him.

It's early morning, with the sunlight beaming through the cave entrance and the skylights above. The air is cool and fresh compared to the cabin. Markus starts to walk forward, but stops to take a look right.

At the far end of the cavern walls, a large archway leading deeper into the cave can be seen. He thinks back to the previous night, of all the sounds and voices he heard. No doubt many secrets still remained in the area.

“Hey Aurora, whats through that archway over there?” Markus asks.

“Nothing really. The bulk of the dwarven fort ruins are there, but they've been picked clean and explored for ages.” Aurora replies back. “We can look real quick since we have all day to reach Montillo now.”

Markus is already walking in that direction before Aurora finishes talking. The group moves together, passing under the archway. Immediately to the right of everyone, a large pond can be seen illuminated by natural skylights in the ceiling. A beautiful image of a sleeping bear sits carved into the rock wall above the pond. It's intricate details are elegant, left undamaged by time and weather.

Moving further along, Markus sees the remains on numerous homes and buildings within the large cave. More skylights above provide plenty of sunlight as they explore. The ruins are mostly of stone, all badly damaged and strewn all over the ground. Many are simply foundations or low walls now.

Markus wanders into various side passages leading to small plazas or tiny neighborhoods of homes. It's quiet as everyone simply observes the remains of this forgotten fort. Occasionally, a nearly intact building is found, sometimes with roofs or portions missing.

Quickly, the end is reached, as the group arrives in front of a large stone building at the very back of the cave. The building has large pillars up front, and a large door opening. Markus moves first, walking into the building. Inside, he only finds a large, empty square room. Whatever interior it had has long since been looted or destroyed. The fairies spread out while exploring the building, everyone looking at details, carvings, and other interesting items.

“Hey! I found something!” Aurora yells out. She's at the back wall of the building, which is built directly into the cave. Eclair and Markus soon walk over to see what she's found.

They're now all located to the far left of the back wall. Aurora points to a hole in the wall, just a few inches above Markus' head. She then says “There's a room or passage behind this wall. I'm sure of it. Markus can you give me a light.”

Markus grabs his vest flashlight, flicks it on, and points it nearly inside the hole. Aurora grips her spear with both hands, and squeezes her body into the hole. A minute passes without anything from Aurora, which makes Markus and Eclair a little anxious. Finally, she returns with excitement.

“There is a room and a passage! I see a lot of things inside, but... something bad must of happened inside. There are a lot of skeletons in there.” Aurora says with concern. Her words cause Eclair to fly up and peer inside the hole herself.

“She's right...” Eclair says out loud. “I wonder what happened, but there must be valuable things.”

Markus remembers the words from last night, from a voice he could not explain. The sounds of clashing metal from last night also flood his mind. He ponders to himself as he holds up the flashlight. Would there be ramifications for what he's about to do? Too much would be left unexplained if he left now. He quickly decides on what to do next.

“Girls, I'm going to blow up the wall.” Markus says with committed voice. “I can't just leave something like this alone. Let's find out what's inside.”

Aurora and Eclair look at each other. They realize Markus is serious, but they can't help feeling excited too. They give him approving nods, and fly out of the hole. Everything is thinking the same thing now. What's inside?