Chapter Text
"Hmm...I see...honestly this turned out better than expected, but I think if we added a little bit of sumeru rose pollen it might make it easier to go down"
Tighnari just finished testing medicine Made entirely of mushrooms and asked Lumine for help, as Collei was out on a scouting run that's expected to last for about a week or so.
"That is true but wouldn't that defeat the purpose of it being entirely mushroom based?"
"That is true however something this bitter tastes like poison more than anything..."
"Traveler, Tighanri!"
They both turned around as they heard Paimon call out their names.
"You guys are still at it? Honestly just thinking about it makes Paimon feel sleepy...anyways, Paimons got something to munch on!"
"Ah, thank you Paimon. And yea, but after 2 days I think I finally got it down, but...the flavour is a little concerning...and I have to wonder if there's a way to speed up the process of making it"
Tighnari said, still lost in thought, puzzled about what he should try and do next as the final product wasn't what he had hoped it would be.
"Actually Tighnari, Paimon was wondering, what is this medicine supposed to even cure?"
"I'm glad you asked! You see just like how the more you chew your food, the easier it is to eat. The same works with medicine. For example, if you take a specific type of medicine for a longer period of time, chances are that the virus or even your body could become immune to it and in worse cases even reject it. And some people can't take certain medicine as their body has horrible side effects causing it more harm than good. So what I'm trying to achieve is make an alternative medicine as a possible replacements for cases as such"
"Honeslty Paimon got lost after you mentioned food..."
Lumine then clapped with her hands.
"Alright guys. How about we eat and continue later?"
"Now you're speaking Paimons language!"
They all shared a laugh as they started to chow down on the fruits and pita pockets that Collei prepared for them before leaving. Though they were cold, they were still edible and pretty tasty.
As they were eating and talking about whatever came up suddenly someone showed up.
"Tighnari, you there?"
"Oh hey there Cyno!"
Paimon was the first to greet their unexpected guest.
"Ah, hello Traveler and you too Paimon. It's great that you're all here. As it turns out you two are exactly the ones I've been looking for"
As Cyno said that Tighnaris interest got piqued.
"Oh? Cyno. Did something serious come up?"
"You could say that. You see some merchants spotted a group of eremites in the desert. Though it wasn't anything to worry about at first, when they were returning to the desert 3 days later that same group was still there. Out of curiosity they took a risk and asked why they were there and as it turns out a smaller group of them went missing a while back and they've been looking for them. They asked for help"
"But they're eremites and it's the desert! Don't people usually get lost in there quite often?"
Paimon cut in with a very valid point.
"That's true however this case might interest you. Because the small group that went missing was with your old friend. Jeht"
Lumine stood up.
"Tell me the details"
Tighnari sat her back down.
"Calm down now. I'm sure Cyno was on it. After all, these types of cases always go through him"
"That's correct. I've got some information however I can't leave the academiya at the moment. As it turns out people have reported some type of drug smuggling and it's been effecting students quite badly. Either way I went out to look for the Traveler hoping she would be willing to take this one as it is her friend. I asked Dehya to wait for you at the entrance to the Desert at Caravan Ribat. She can give you the details as she was my informant"
Lumine thought for a second.
"I see. I'd like to but Tighanri still needs my help"
"I see...."
"Paimons got an idea! Paimon will stay behind and help Tighnari and then we will come find you as soon as we finish up! Though Paimon would much rather stay by your side, we can't just leave one friend lost and the other in need of help right?"
Lumines expression softened and she shot a small smile saying 'thank you'.
"Alright then. Once me and Paimon are done here both of us with Collei and Cyno will come and join you. If you end up finding your friend first then you should wait for us at Caravan Ribat alright?"
Lumine turned to Tighnari and nodded.
"Alright if you guys settled everything then you should be on your way."
As Lumine was about to leave Paimon floated towards her and hugged her tightly.
"You better stay safe for Paimon got it? Don't you dare disappear aswell!"
"I won't. I promise."
And so Lumine left Paimon with Tighnari and headed towards Caravan Ribat in search of Dehya, who will inform her about her newly found commission to find her friend.
After 2 days of travel she finally arrived and Dehya was right there waiting for her with her crew.
"Traveler! I was waiting for you. How have you been? Good I hope?"
"Hey Dehya. I've been doing pretty good. I hope same goes for you and your crew?"
"Yes thank you. Now then, to the more important matters"
Lumine nodded showing Dehya to continue.
"Here's the thing. The eremites were spotted on the north between the Desert of Handramaveth and Realm of Farakhkret. The merchants use the route in order to trade with the people of Fontaine and the route ain't pleasant. My crew often guards that specific group of merchants, and they are one of the only ones using that road too. Don't ask me why though. Hell if I knew. Anyways the eremites are stationed quite literally in the middle of nowhere and as I spoke to them, they've searched basically the whole Handramaveth area. As close as they could get. I tried searching for some traces left behind, but I've got nothing. I returned and requested help from Cyno but it seems he's busy. As for me. I'd love to continue but I've got to earn money if I wanna survive and a wild goose chase won't be getting me that. However once I've got enough I'll come find you"
"You've already helped plenty. Thank you Dehya"
"Sure thing, it's what friends are for. Good luck to you. You'll need it"
Lumine made her way up and sure enough, she found the group of eremites still sitting there.
Considering the time it took her to get there it must of have been 2 or 3 weeks since their group disappeared. It was surprising they haven't given up the search yet.
"Excuse me"
The 4 men turned towards her eyes sharp as daggers.
"Didn't mean to put you on guard. You're Jehts group right?"
"What's it to ya?"
A man with a scar running across his face looked like the leader and the scariest of the bunch. He had a heavy raspy voice.
"My name is Lumine. I'm a friend of hers, and I came to help in the search"
The men laughed.
"A girl such as yourself? Please. You'll be swallowed whole. Listen. Jeht is strong and can hold her own in the desert, and don't get me wrong I know better than to underestimate one of her friends, but please. We have been looking for 2 weeks. I doubt you'll be any better than us. We are running low on provisions so tomorrow we will be heading back they're probably all dead by now anyways. God knows what creatures we don't know about live under the sand. But if u wanna run to your death, then be our guest. We won't stop you. But don't say your weren't warned. But then again. Dead men don't talk."
Lumine ignored him and headed off for the hills that surrounded the Realm of Farakhkret. Once on top, she had the high ground and vision from above. However she had no luck, and it was getting dark.
Lumine descended and took refuge under one of the cliffs, that looked sturdy enough to not collapse at night. As she was falling asleep, wind started to pick up. She followed the grains of sand in the wind, tracing them all the way towards the giant ruin guards ruin at the place known as Wounded Shin Valley.
Then she got up.
'If something as heavy as a ruin guard...no wait. If there's sand then it can't be stable everywhere..don't tell me..'
She ran down and made it to the Wounded Shin Valley just around dawn. She was tired but that didn't matter.
She looked around until she found a piece of cloth, specifically from eremites. It was almost completely buried in the sand and as she pulled it out she recognized it.
It was the white cloth strip that Jeht would wear in her hair right above her braids. Considering she found that, it could only mean they got swallowed by the sand. But if that is the case finding them will be difficult. However others finding her will be even harder. She looked around and tied the cloth on one of the ruin guards metal pieces. On the cloth with some red dye she wrote:
Beneath the sand
This way her friends will be sure to find them. But how does she get down?
Lumine was thinking her thoughts running faster than ever.
She took her dull blade and stuck it in the sand.
'deeper. Even deeper! I have to make it COLLAPSE'
Suddenly as the blade reached the pure bottom of the sand. The blades handle almost touching the ground the sand beneath her suddenly swirled around into a typhoon swallowing her whole leaving nothing behind.