"KAI!" Noble's scream brought the man instantly to her side.
She pointed to the entrance of the only natural cave in the entire settlement. The angle of the entrance was steep, and the wide mouth led to an exceptionally deep tunnel. If Noble had focused on the eerie darkness, she would have shivered, but her attention was much closer than the cave's depth.
The handsome archer landed lightly by his side, his eyes opening wide in genuine surprise at the underground contents. "Wagons?"
"Pink wagons…Sarai said that Rukee had pink wagons." Noble looked at the rose colored paint adorning the wooden wheel and panels.
"Hello?" The handsome archer called into the cavernous space.
No answer came except the echo of his beautiful voice as it rebounded off the walls.
Entering the cave, Kai ran his hand along the side of the wagon until he reached the opening in the back.
Noble waited at the entrance while he glanced inside.
"The goods are all still here," he reported.
"Bodies?" Noble was scanning with her second sight, but sometimes shapes could be deceiving.
"I don't see any, but I wouldn't mind a second pair of eyes." Kai glanced at her.
"Oh, yes. Coming." The floating woman had been reluctant to enter the cave, but she wasn't about to let her Flaw prevent her from investigating properly.
She joined Kai at the back of the wagon. Things were exactly as he had said. Nothing seemed to have been disturbed. There were also no people.
The other three wagons stashed behind the first in the underground cavern yielded identical results.
"Nothing has been taken from what I can see. At least there are no large gaps where something should be." Noble examined the contents of the wagons carefully. Other than the metal pan, which seemed to have bounced off a shelf from the first wagon, everything was tied down properly and in perfect order.
Noble frowned. 'It was almost like I was supposed to find it...'
A chill ran down her spine.
"I don't see any people, either." Kai peered deep into the cave. "But I also cannot see the back wall."
"I cannot sense anyone either." Noble spread her sense wide. There were no beings to be found, not even Nightmare Creatures. "I don't see any sign of a struggle. Do you?"
"None. Even if Carson was wrong and they took shelter instead of braving the storms, why would they leave their stuff here?" Kai mused aloud.
"It doesn't look like anything is wrong with the wagons. That one looks like it might have been pulled by an echo or one of Lady Eunbin's enthralled creatures. Maybe they lost it along the way, but then why not leave that wagon and bring the other two?"
Kai shook his head.
"It makes no sense. It's like they just…disappeared."
Noble gulped. There were only three ways that people vanished without a trace in the Dream Realm.
One was their own choices. Either they got lost or didn't want to be found. The caravan being lost without their gear made zero sense.
'They also wouldn't have gotten lost when they have made this journey so many times.'
The other two choices involved being forced to leave by other humans or Nightmare Creatures.
'If those are the options left, I don't know what to hope for.'
Human intervention would mean that someone was strategically taking out merchants of the Song Domain. That was disturbing.
But a Monster who took humans without any bloodshed? That was absolutely chilling.
No matter how much the pair looked, they could not discover any more clues about the fate of the lost merchants. As the shadows in the cave grew deeper, they were forced to abandon their investigation.
"I'll see what information we can gather about the other missing traders," Kai promised as they exited the cave.
Instead of feeling relieved, Noble only felt more burdened as they came into the open air. "I wish we had found more. I don't like this mystery hanging over our heads."
"Nor do I, but there's nothing we can do about it. The light is almost gone, and the ambassador is expecting you. If I keep you out after dark, what would he think?" Kai's teasing lightened the mood, bringing a small smile to Noble's face.
"I'll go home as long as you are certain the government will continue to take a closer look at this problem."
"Now that we know more about it, how could we not?" Kai responded. "Unless something more serious comes along, I will make it a top priority."
"Thank you." Noble felt a small bit of relief.
She had so many other things that required her attention. Not to mention that finding lost people wasn't exactly in her skill set.
"That's it, then. I'll have to file a report in the waking world, of course. An agent may reach out to you if they want more information, but I doubt it. Thank you for bringing it to our attention." Kai took a deep breath. "Are you ready?"
Noble nodded. "Whenever you are."
"I know it's a weird question, but have you ever been transported by a Saint between Realms? It can be a bit of a strange feeling."
"Twice. Once by Saint Cor and another by Saint Jet." Noble recalled the nausea that trip had caused. She hoped now that she was a Saint, it would not be so unnerving.
"Then you are practically a professional." Kai smiled and held out his hand. "Get ready for trip number three."
Noble took his hand, and in a blink the world around them blurred and took shape once more.
Noble found herself in an opulent apartment in one of the fanciest high-rises in all of the NQSC.
"Oh, I hope you won't mind. I usually have my tether at government headquarters, but lately I have just been wanting to come home and go to sleep. There is nothing like getting beauty rest. It's great for the complexion." Kai touched his cheek after releasing his travel companion.
"Yes, I have heard that." Noble wasn't sure what else to say.
Who was she to comment on the beauty treatments of a former pop star? Noble coughed.
"Thank you for the help, Saint Kai. I will be on my way now."
"Master Noble?…" the handsome archer hesitated, "I hope you will not take this the wrong way, but your presence…it's rather substantial."
"My presence?" Noble smiled. "I'm flattered you think I have such a big personality."
"No, uh. You know what? Never mind." Kai rubbed the back of his neck. "Safe journey, Master Noble."
"Thank you, Saint Kai."
A moment later, the cold of the Jade Palace replaced the warmth of Kai's bachelor pad.
Wiping a bead of sweat from her brow, Noble leaned against the palace wall.
'That was too close. If Kai were not so easily flustered, I would have been in some hot water.'
Noble hadn't counted on Kai being more aware of her presence when he was pulling her between worlds. It made sense in hindsight, especially if he had a lot of experience transporting people.
Well, it wasn't a mistake she was about to make twice.
'I'll just avoid him for the time being.' She decided. 'It will all blow over…probably.'
That was a problem for Future Noble. Current Noble had a party to attend. With a bright smile, she returned home to her family and her favorite place. The only pink she saw that night was icing on Sarai's cake.
The laughter was ample, and soon all the outside problems melted away. By the time Noble went to bed, she had almost forgotten the trials of the day. It was only in the moment before her consciousness left that she gave the haunting scene of the afternoon a final thought.
She couldn't help but wonder. Had she missed something?