Kagetsu was so excited that she wanted to keep mining, but Altaïr held her back.
The sharp clang of metal striking stone was rare in nature. Any Large Monsters nearby could easily be drawn to investigate.
"All right, all right. Are you planning to dig all night? The ore isn't going anywhere. We can deal with it after dawn."
At that, Kagetsu reluctantly put away her Iron Pickaxe and returned to the campfire with her companions.
Altaïr added another piece of wood to the fire. "Finding Star Jasmine is still our top priority."
They had already told Kagetsu what had happened to Honeysuckle and Star Jasmine on the journey there, so there was no need to explain it again. He continued, "According to Honeysuckle, if Star Jasmine is safe, he's probably still living somewhere in this canyon, waiting for her to return.
"If we find him, that completes our main objective, and we can take care of the other two jobs while we're here.
"He's lived in this area for several months, so he must know quite a bit about the local mining sites and caves. Asking him would be far better than wandering around searching blindly."
This explanation was mainly for Kagetsu's benefit. Altaïr worried that the promise of easy money from mining would distract her from the search.
Sure enough, Kagetsu immediately perked up.
"Don't worry! With Little White around, finding someone will be a piece of cake!"
The Bilbobrix perched on her arm, its wings as white as snow, gave a low, confident buzz as if to say, "Leave it to me!"
The group spent a fairly comfortable night in the small cave.
—--
Early the next morning, the Hunters emerged from the cave and approached the edge of the canyon, only to stop short at the sight before them.
It looked nothing like the beautiful valley Honeysuckle had described, with its lush slopes, clear water, and winding creek. The canyon floor was now a complete wreck.
The earth had split open, rock walls had collapsed, and countless boulders of every size lay heaped across the canyon floor. Even finding stable footing would be difficult.
The collapse had clearly happened some time ago. Patches of green had already appeared among the piled rocks, most of them fast-growing grasses and vines.
"What a shame," Isis said regretfully. "If the collapse hadn't happened, this would have been a good place to build a camp."
"Yeah! Then we could live here and mine!" Kagetsu agreed enthusiastically.
Altaïr frowned, paying no attention to their quiet exchange.
He had been confident that they would find Star Jasmine, but now he was no longer so sure.
Uruki were exceptionally hardy and skilled at shaping their surroundings. Even in a dry place like Loc Lac, they could cultivate beautiful flower gardens.
Honeysuckle was proof enough. Trapped underground for several months, she had not only given birth safely but also created a hidden garden of Brightmoss and luminous fungi, then raised her cub to be plump and healthy on the meager food it provided.
But now...
Altaïr had begun to wonder whether the male Uruki named Star Jasmine had even survived the earthquake and landslide the year before.
He could only hope they would not search for ages, only to dig a body out from beneath some giant boulder.
Altaïr rubbed his cheeks and pushed the grim thought aside. "Either way, let's head down and take a look first.
"Honeysuckle said they made their home in a cave beneath the cliff on the east side of the canyon. We'll check there first. If Star Jasmine really is still alive, he should have left some sign behind."
Altaïr's blunt assessment silenced Isis and the others. No one felt like making small talk anymore. Using their Clutch Claws and rope, they descended the nearly vertical cliff face.
After searching along the eastern cliff wall for a while, they soon found a spot that matched Honeysuckle's description of the cave.
Its entrance was so low that the Hunters had to crouch and crawl inside.
Two flower baskets hung on the walls within. Any lingering doubt vanished. This was where Honeysuckle and Star Jasmine had once lived together.
The flowers in the baskets had long since withered, which was hardly surprising after so much time. Altaïr stepped forward to examine them more closely when Clawdia suddenly called out.
"Look at this, meow!"
She pointed to a corner of the cave, where a crude basket woven from vines held nuts, dried berries, grass seeds, and other food.
Altaïr picked up a few pieces and examined them. A smile spread across his face. "These haven't been sitting here for very long. Looks like our little Uruki friend is still alive."
The group searched the tiny cave, barely a dozen square meters in area, more thoroughly. They found crude tools made from ore and several coils of vine that had probably been intended for use as rope.
Altaïr held a small tool shaped like an axe in front of Sajji. "Here. Take a sniff."
Sajji flattened his ears. "Boss, I'm a Felyne, not a dog, meow."
Even so, he carefully sniffed the tool a few times before shaking his head. "I can't smell anything, meow. It's been at least a few days, meow."
Clawdia came over to try as well, but she got the same result.
Altaïr looked at Kagetsu. "Your turn."
"Leave it to us!" Kagetsu scratched the back of the large moth on her arm, leaned close, and whispered, "Don't let me down, Little White!"
Little White buzzed in reply.
The Kinsect unfurled its coiled, butterfly-like proboscis and rubbed it back and forth across the small axe. It looked more like it was licking the tool than sniffing it.
After a moment, it suddenly spread its wings, took off from Kagetsu's arm, and flew out of the cave.
Kagetsu breathed a quiet sigh of relief, then waved excitedly. "Little White found a trail! Come on, follow!"
Altaïr and the others exchanged a glance, then hurried after it.
As though it knew it had to wait for them, the Kinsect kept its speed down and stopped every so often to let them catch up. It wound through the boulder-strewn canyon until it finally landed on a moss-covered rock.
The Hunters followed close behind.
Several boulders had fallen against one another, leaving a triangular opening between them. Altaïr poked his head through and saw a deep cave that seemed to lead straight underground.
A rope woven from flowering vines had been tied to the edge of the opening and hung down into the darkness.
Kagetsu covered her face. "Looks like he went underground. What a pain..."
Sajji shot her a sidelong glance. "If your pregnant partner fell into a fissure and vanished, you'd search properly too, meow."
"You have a point." Kagetsu's expression turned serious. She leaned toward the opening, drew a deep breath, and shouted into the cave, "Hey! Can you hear me? Your partner asked us to come find you!"
After calling out several times, she pulled her head back and explained, "Sound should carry quite far through a cave. If he hears us, the easiest thing would be for him to come running back on his own."
Kagetsu's method sounded almost too simple to be reliable, but it did make a certain amount of sense. Altaïr exchanged a look with Isis, and the two joined her in shouting.
Unfortunately, the Uruki seemed to have gone deeper underground than they had expected. They shouted for a long time, but no response came from within the cave.
Her voice growing hoarse, Kagetsu coughed a few times. "Did he dig all the way down to the magma or something?"
"Want to try something louder, meow?" Sajji asked, pulling out a rocket.
"Don't be reckless." Altaïr tapped him on the head. "Looks like we'll have to climb down–"
Before he could finish, a low rumble rolled out from deep within the cave. Rock ground against rock in the distance, sounding like something had broken apart or collapsed.
Isis opened her mouth. "We... didn't just cause a cave-in with all that shouting, did we?"
"How could we have? This isn't the Snowy Mountains, where one good shout can trigger an avalanche." Even as he said it, Altaïr felt a little uneasy himself.
"Either way, let's climb down and take a look. Now that we know he's still alive, we have to drag him back no matter what."
--------------------
Power stones and reviews plssssss