Fanbound #51

        “What are you talking about?!” Aurada asked, incredulous. She squinted at the shadowy form, trying to see who was insulting her.
        “You would have been killed by Nuru, if you hadn't been such a coward.”
        “B-But Sscourge pulled her off! Nuru herself didn't want to fight anymore, because the artifact was too good.” Aurada reasoned.
        “You were scared, you know. You were secretly relieved that Scourge saved you the fighting.”
        “Well...that's not a bad quality...”
        “Shameful, for a Floran! If you had tried a backstab at one point, and survived, I would have let you off with some honor, but that...” the voice trailed off as if too disgusted to go on. The other voice made Aurada jump by inserting another hissing coward!
        This wasn't just plain insulting, whoever was speaking was trying to undermine her sense of self-worth. Exacerbating her doubts with uncanny precision.
        “Those are my friends!” Aurada backed out of the room, but bumped into a cold barrier. She turned to see a brick wall where the door used to be.
        “Friends...” the voice scoffed, “A fierce Floran doesn't make real friends, in case they must turn on them one day.”
        Aurada stood up straighter, turning to face the shape in the darkness, “Only a truly courageouss Floran makess real friendss. If your ssolution to the problem iss to never make friendss, then you are a coward!” her voice radiated confidence.
        “Perhaps...” the voice said. Suddenly, the armored hunter was shoved to the ground, twisting as she fell to land on her back. The world spun and danced around her, as if she was caught in a wave, until she realized she was lying flat on her back on a sort of soft ground. She lifted her head, and let it fall back down on...grass.
        Aurada was on her feet in a flash, looking around at the forest around her. She was back, staring at the city in front of her.
        “Hello, dear...” said someone behind her.
        In a blink, Aurada had a warm, pulsing jugular vein under her nails, staring into the face of Esther Bright, who had a rifle aimed at her face. “Hello. Please take your nails away from my neck.” said the elderly human. For her age, she had been fast, and would not have hesitated to pull the trigger.
        Aurada stepped back, her face turning a bright shade of green as she blushed, “Ssorry...I jusst acted without thinking...”
        “Don't feel down about it. Did you have a bad dream?” Esther sympathized, rubbing her neck but keeping the gun ready.
        “Really bad...” Aurada wondered if it was just a dream...
        “You just collapsed  after saying you smelled beakseed bread and prompting our investigation. None of our efforts to wake you up succeeded, so I volunteered to stay behind while Kevin and Nhu scouted the city.”
        “Oh...Okay. Should we jusst wait, then?” Aurada asked.
        “I think that would be the wisest path forwards. If you go after them, you might go the wrong way and miss their return.” Esther said, interlacing her fingers. Aurada grunted in an acknowledging manner and began to pace back and forth before residual fatigue forced her to stop.

        Kevin and Nhu walked up and down the dusty streets and avenues of the deserted city for at least an hour, looking for some sign of life or at least a clue to what happened to everyone, but found only houses with unlocked doors and no furniture.
        “What do you think could have happened to this place to leave everything bare?” Kevin asked nervously.
        “My guess is as good as yours. Doesn't look like an epidemic to me. They would have left all of their stuff or burned it if it had anything to do with a pathogen.” Nhu said.
        “Can't have been a natural disaster. The place would be completely destroyed, especially on a volcanic planet.” Kevin reasoned.
        “If I hadn't seen the monitor on the ship, I would bet my life on this planet being a forest planet.” Nhu said.
        “An attack, maybe?” Kevin asked.
        “The doors are unlocked, not broken. There isn't any sign of a fight, either.” Nhu said. They were silent for a few minutes, checking in each house as they passed. It was all the same, though, and every time they looked in to a room they were greeted with the same sight: Sandstone walls and wooden floors. The ceiling was thatch, but it showed no sign of wear or weathering. In fact, the place looked immaculate. No dust on the floor, no cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling...
        Finally, they reached the city, where a towering sandstone temple rose into the sky.
        “I swear to God I didn't see that until we got here.” Kevin said, squinting up at the tower. It seemed to reflect the harsh sunlight.
        “Well, shall we go in? We're not getting anything done staring at it.” Nhu asked.
        “I guess so.” Kevin led the way into the tower, rifle held at the ready, but the only thing that greeted them was the whistling wind that rushed through the tower's spacious windows. The walk up was uneventful, except for when Kevin almost tripped and fell. Kevin kept stopping to inspect the bricks, and discovered that each one was absolutely perfect in every way. They were all perfectly rounded, with a smooth surface all around. No chips, and no scratches.
        “I don't like this. This feels like a trap, to me.” Nhu said, looking around.
        “Everything is too perfect for everyone to have just left. Even if they were all here, no community could keep it this clean and orderly, unless they replaced every brick they stepped on and swept afterwards.” Kevin said. Nhu was preaching to the choir.
        “So there was never anyone here from the start, maybe?” Nhu proposed.
        “I have no idea. It seems like it just appeared.” Kevin said.
        “Maybe it did! What does the artifact we're after do?” Nhu said, sweeping a fist in an triumphant arc. He knew everything had an explanation, and was unsettled when he did not know it.
        “Umm...Courage could tell us, I guess, but Nuru's out for the count back at the ship.” Kevin stepped out onto the top floor of the tower. It was an Ascension tower, as could be seen by the platforms that jutted from the tower and out into the air. But again, nobody was there. In the middle of the room sat a wide sandstone pedestal, inlaid with the red crystal that Avian used for their tech. On the top sat a globe that was colored a deep, starry purple. Inside swirled small currents of lighter tint.
        “We may have found our culprit. That looks like an artifact to me.” Nhu said, stepping forwards to retrieve the object. He didn't really want to touch it, but he figured he had to. Nhu reached out, fingers beginning to close on the artifact...