"Heli? Where exactly did you bring me?" Alma descended down the almost blindingly dark path of the cave. Her friend had been in front of her up until a second ago, but then vanished suddenly from her senses. Her hand rested firmly against the rock wall, a crutch in the absence of light that gave her a feeble sense of direction. Walls of primordial stone that shifted from the planet to form the cavern that invited deeper into its bowels. Heloise had warned her against using any sort of light source, for fear of disturbing any of the lurking creatures that hid in the corners and crevices.

Cool air blew down from the surface, indicating that she wasn't too far down yet. Turning to look back, she could still catch a small ray of light peeking in through the aperture at the end of the cave, which was gradually getting smaller and dimmer with every step. As the palpable darkness grew, Alma began to see patterns in the dark. The thought of an unseen presence in the dark besides their own frightened her. She despised the possibility that those unnatural apparitions could entrench themselves this deeply into her planet. If she had known she was going to be led into an abyssal nightmare, she would have at least had the good sense to reject the witch’s offer of adventure.

A pungent, cloying aroma had also started wafting into her nose just a few moments earlier. It was making her hungry, a feeling that always came at the most inconvenient times.

“Alma!”

Alma stifled a scream. Her friend’s voice had startled her out of her thoughts.

“You smell that, right?" Her friend's voice came from the dark. "They’re a species of fungi called Victolia’s Virtue, named after a mother who poisoned her children with sweets because they always scared off her potential lovers. The scent entices you to eat them, then the spores attach themselves to the mucosal lining of your stomach and spread out aaaall over your insides. Nasty little things. The name's a bit sexist if you ask me… Alma? Please say something. I swear if you left me all alone again—”

“Is that you, Heli? Sorry, figured you turned back. I thought maybe that smell was one of your new perfumes—Wait, that’s not why we’re here, is it? To concoct your next big smell?”

"What? Of course no—Oh my Dark God, Alma! You freaking genius! Remind me to pick a few on our way back! But no, that's not what this is about."

"Well, you said it was life-changing, and with you that can mean anything. Remember the nail polish—?”

"Damn it, Alma. Quit presenting my quirky idiosyncrasies as if they're faults! Besides, that nail polish raised my cuteness factor by at least ten points!" She winked even though no one could see it.

"There's no such thing as a cuteness factor."

"How can you say that when I'm living proof? Just cause you don't have one, doesn't mean it don't exist." She grabbed Alma by the arm. "And I def wouldn't call you out here for something so frivolous."

"Yes you would."

"Shut up and trust that I called you for your tactical expertise," she said in a mockingly sweet tone. "Now stick close, the spell of night vision only works for me."

Alma and Heloise continued down the winding cave tunnel for almost an hour. Alma had once again been forced to be led blindly by her friend and her whims—literally and figuratively—and who was now also being suspiciously quiet. Whatever was preoccupying her mind must have been more important than what Alma first guessed. Heli had always been prone to drag Alma along on arbitrary adventures ever since they were children. Most of the time it was harmless fun but there were occasions when her egocentric personality would drive them into the arms of danger.

Now, Alma admits, Heloise can be quite the histrionic person on any given day, but she's previously shown off a genuinely kinder, more altruistic side that many aren't privy to. Of course, with the hardships she faced in her own childhood, one wouldn't blame her. And in that trauma, Alma has found a friend she can call a kindred spirit.

After several more minutes, the narrow passage they had been traveling down opened up into a large cavern. Heloise signaled to Alma to stay put, and with a twirl and a flair, unwrapped the long shaft she had been carrying on her back. She held in her hand her magic staff, which was made from the wood of the rare alderstar tree and treated with a special mixture of dragonrose-nightgazer tincture. The handle sported a mithril-alloy grip that was riddled with fingerprints from constant use while the top split into five gnarled twigs that resembled contorting fingers, each one longer than the last. In the palm of this ligneous hand sat a large, intricate and metal oval that clasped around a jagged, brilliant red crystal. The staff itself carried with it a pleasant scent of the witch's own design.

Natura Scintilla!

As she spoke the magic words, the crystal at the top of her staff began to emit a bright glow, bathing the cave in a warm, saffron light. The witch’s enchanted, orange irises adjusted rapidly, returning to their regular yellowish-green pigmentation while Alma’s real-touched sight took slightly longer. Even despite her enhanced perception, the young sniper's eyes behaved the same as anyone else’s.

“A little warning next time.” Alma spoke through squinted eyes. As light enveloped the room, she began to make out the entirety of the chamber they were in. Stalagmites and stalactites protruded from all around, making her feel as if she had just walked into the jaws of a hideous, subterranean beast. The only signs of life were the roots of ancient trees bursting out from cracks in the cave ceiling. For a moment, she thought she had detected some movement in the remaining darkness, but ultimately decided to refrain from pulling out her weapon.

Her friend, who was rarely, if ever, braver than she, simply smiled back charmingly. Standing there with staff in hand, in the center of the cavern, was the witch Heloise d'Aulnoy.

“There she is,” said Alma, “in her full spellbinding glory.”

A young girl about the same age as Alma. Skin as fair as porcelain, with a healthy color in contrast to her best friend’s sickly pale complexion. She had soft facial features, almost the exact opposite of the markswoman’s sharp, more prominent looks. Her round cheeks, small nose and plump, flawlessly-shaped lips were usually the standard when it came to the image of an innocent maiden, if not for the striking amount of makeup she was rarely ever seen without. Vermillion rouge highlighted her soft cheekbones while her lips were painted with a pinkish cotton candy hue. The area surrounding her perfectly wide eyes were coated in a glittering burgundy that reminded one of a cosmos far beyond. It was easy to guess what her favorite shade of color was.

Like most stylish girls her age, the greatest care was shown to her hair. A long mane of fair waves cascaded over her shoulders—mellow, golden-colored curls that evoked a feeling like that of chiffon cake. This girl took great care when it came to her appearance. Indeed, she was the Yin to Alma’s Yang.

The glamor didn’t stop short of her physical appearance. An enormous pointed cap that curled at the end sat unswayingly atop her head—the kind stereotypically attributed to witches and wizards, except that hers was double than the average size. The ease with which she wore it was undoubtedly due to magic. Made of a heavy woolen fabric, the color was of a mint green shade with a gilded lace adorning the brim. Surrounding the base of the cone were crisscrossing metal bands reminiscent of bronze that formed what looked like connecting X’s, the very center of which was adorned with a large and yellow Sundrenched flower. An enormous flower known for its glowing center whenever in the presence of active magic. Small sprouts were magically growing out of the brim. Her matching long-sleeved dress ended in a black skirt that stopped right above her knees and bare legs. A burgundy sash coupled with a few pockets was wrapped around her waist, with a compartment on the back that could hold her staff. On top of it all, she wore a cream-colored cardigan.

Though she would never admit it, Alma was always a tad fond of her friend’s fashion sense. As all she had in contrast at the moment was a simple black turtleneck with black pants, an ensemble she believed gave her a tactical advantage in dark places.

Heloise made her way to one of the rocky walls of the cavern, mumbling to herself about specific rock formations and their placements.

"Hmm. According to the info I received, the entrance should be…" She dug into one of her pouches and pulled out a crumpled note with hastily written instructions on it. The young witch ran her hand along the cold stone and pressed down firmly, repeating the phrase as she had written it earlier.

Māmīt nappašu!

The gem on one of her over half-dozen rings began to glow and a magic circle began to form and spin rapidly around her hand. The illusion of the stone wall vanished and the true form of a long, blue door appeared. Runic symbols had been scrawled all over it.

"Not my usual magic, but looks like it worked,” said the witch, sighing rather theatrically. “Well, that’s that for the easy part,"

A sudden loud bang resounded throughout causing Heloise to scream. A bullet lodged itself into the lock of the door, before quickly dissolving.

"Alma! What in nature's name?!"

"Hey, it was worth a shot." Alma was holding her smoking pistol while grinning stupidly. In her attempt to impress her friend, she hadn’t realized a second layer of magic had been protecting the door.

"Only you could be so cringeworthy. Just please keep your crude devices trained on the obstacles that move. This door could’ve easily had a reflect-retaliation spell on it and we might’ve both been full of holes by now.”

“Besides.” She showed off the crumpled note in her hand. "I've got the key for it right here, don’t you see?"

"Where did you get this intel from, anyway?"

Heloise said nothing and simply smiled. It was clear Alma wasn't going to get the response she wanted.

"Heli…?" Alma narrowed her eyes. "Is this gonna lead us to some hidden contraband? From who? Don’t tell me it was that hacker dick from The Red Hat Society. I thought you broke things off with him."

"Would it kill you to remove that stick up your ass? Or is it that pleasurable?"

Alma furrowed her brow. Despite how long they've known each other, Heloise's crude way of speaking always seemed to catch her off-guard.

"Besides," Heloise continued. "He and his trolls already got what they deserved. You give one small tip to the Psyber Centralia and down goes their entire operation. See? I like to work within the boundaries of the law sometimes."

Sci-Soldiers, an unusual branch of law enforcement that came into existence in the last few decades to deal with the rise of technological warfare. They’re found in most technologically advanced countries and are the ones responsible for policing computer-related crimes. Malachias, in this case, had their own specialized sect of these forces that worked directly under the Scarlet Church: The Psyber Centralia. The Red Hat Society were a criminal group of wizards that used magic to hack into major computer systems for their own personal gain.

"Good job, I guess?” Alma wore a weary frown. “Their brains are probably mush by now… Why can't I ever get a straight answer out of you?"

"That's not really something witches are known to give." Heloise glanced at the markings on the door. She then traced her finger along the grooves of five different runic symbols. Each one emitted a small, blue glow after being touched. After interacting with all five symbols, the blue light they were emitting began to blaze a fiery green before going out in a puff of smoke. A lock was heard clicking on the other side. Heloise smiled at Alma, as if telling her not to worry.

Alma rolled her eyes and said nothing, refusing to give her haughty friend any sort of satisfaction.

Just beyond the door, without any warning whatsoever, was an enormous, obtruding chasm that stretched down deep into the planet.

Alma let loose a chuckle that quickly grew into an uproarious laugh. A cackling that echoed throughout the entire cavern.

“I hope you didn’t pay too much for that shoddy intel,” said the sharpshooter, wiping a tear from her eye.

Heloise clicked her teeth and banged the bottom of her staff on the rocky ground in front of the pit. Peering over the rim, it was difficult to estimate exactly how far down it went into the planet. She kicked a smallish pebble over the ledge and waited to hear the sound of it landing. It took around ten seconds for it to finally answer back.

The witch hated having to solve problems. If it hadn’t anything to do with magic, she would usually just rely on Alma to do most of the work. However, in this situation, her pride was refusing to ask her friend for help. She lowered the glowing tip of her staff down into the hole, illuminating the rim. There, spiraling the walls of the shaft, were descending steps of rough-hewn stone.

“Aha. There’s our way down. And for your information, I didn’t pay a thing so cut the sass. The secrets of this place came from an old book I had in my collection. According to the research I’d been doing, buried somewhere deep in this old tomb is a cache of powerful magical items.”

“And where’d you get the book?”

“I bought it off one of the traveling green elf merchants during my vacay in Northern Eldon. Gorgeous place. The beaches are to die for.”

“So… You did pay for this info.”

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” She clicked her heel down three times in succession.