Chapter 53

"We're here."

Wipa stood at the entrance of the cave. The rocks were jagged and rough-looking. There was a rock that seemed to serve as a shrine as many colourful ribbons were wrapped around it. There were offerings of fruit laid at the bottom of the rock as well as a variety of ornate clothing and even some dolls.

Pranee couldn't help but stare at the entrance. She could barely see inside the cave yet intrigue filled her mind as she wondered what could be hiding inside. She felt herself take a step forward before her trance was interrupted by a shrill exclamation.

"Whose gifts are those?" Anuman asked. He stood in front of Tanet in an almost protective fashion as if the

"I'm not sure. It's either for the dead or for the kinnari in the cave," Wipa remarked.

Kinari. That was a familiar word to Pranee but she couldn't remember what exactly it was. Her eyes scanned the group to see if anyone was willing to explain but most of them stayed silent while either staring at the shrine or at Wipa.

"Why do you know so much about the cave?" Tanet tapped his hand against his leg.

"Why do you want to go into the cave so badly?" Wipa shot back.

"The nagi queen said that she was losing soldiers here," Tanet said defensively. "And she needed a really important item. I think... it was–"

"Don't tell her anything," Shashi shouted. They turned their head to Wipa with narrowed eyes. "What's the catch, Wipa? Why are you helping us?"

Wipa raised an eyebrow. "I'm just getting back what belongs to me and you need to be here too by coincidence."

"How do you know?"

She gave a dismissive wave. "Ask the princess. She arranged this whole thing with me last night."

Pranee's shoulders tensed up. Shashi's eyes lingered over Pranee as they waited for her response. She cleared her throat.

"Wipa knows the threat better than we do. All that we know is that we have to retrieve a sacred sword." Pranee gave a small shrug that was accompanied with a nervous smile.

Shashi looked annoyed as they gritted their teeth. "Wipa just mentioned it was a kinnari, right? We don't need to rely on her that much–"

"You've never seen a kinnari feared like a spirit before, have you?" Wipa's voice was an octave higher and her eyes were locked on Shashi.

That only caused them to scrunch up their nose. They didn't speak for a few seconds before letting out an inaudible grumble.

"I thought so." Wipa wrapped her long hair into a bun before looking at the rest of the group. "Okay, so there's a kinnari in the cave as you heard. I know they're divine beings but this one has fallen from grace and enjoys clawing at anything that dangles. For those of you with long hair put it in a bun. No ponytails."

"Kinnari is the... half person with the lower body of a chicken, right?" Anuman asked meekly.

"That's correct, whatever-your-name-is." Wipa pointed at Tanet's wizard with a smile. "This kinnari also hates the scent of men. So... if you were born with male parts, it's best to stay outside the cave."

"What if we just go inside?" Tanet asked. His eyes were narrowed and his eyebrows were furrowed as he processed what Wipa said.

"Then you end up dead like the nagi queen's guards. Pranee said she only saw men performing all the duties while you apparently visited the palace so I'm willing to bet that the queen didn't anticipate that the kinnari would have this type of issue."

"How do you know this?"

"Let's just say, I tried to come in here with a certain demon to retrieve something important and it was led to him needing to regenerate a certain area in his home realm for many weeks." Wipa shrugged. "I won't stop any of you from coming in but I can't guarantee your safety. Just a handful of people should get the job done."

"Alright, I'll be going in then. Anuman, protect the prince while I'm gone." Bayu summoned her staff from thin air and held it in her hand.

"I'll have to stay back on this one," Chann said. There was a slight shake to their body but they attempted to keep their calm expression. "Birds are... very scary to say the least."

"Okay so, me, Pranee, buff girl, and I'm very sure Shashi is coming along, right?" Wipa directed her gaze to Shashi and they gave a curt nod.

The group split into two and Pranee walked towards Wipa. She hastily tied her wig into a bun, in hopes that it would ward off the kinnari. Her hands dropped to her chest and it lingered over the necklace. Should she just put it away into a bag?

She hesitated for a moment before putting it underneath her robes. Pranee let out a sigh and prayed that the mission will go well.

"I'm coming too." Kiet let out a grunt as he hauled a bag onto his shoulder. "You'll need the extra help if it's a kinnari."

Pranee turned around with an open mouth. "Are you sure? Aren't you worried about... well..."

"Not worried at all." A faint smile appeared on Kiet's face. "I'll be fine."

Pranee nodded and didn't question it. Kiet made his way to Bayu and did a short introduction. Bayu seemed to respond well as they talked and Wipa

There was a tap on Pranee's shoulder and Shashi stood there with a sheathed dagger in their mouth. The sheath had odd leather straps attached to it and Pranee quickly took it from their lips.

"Wipa told me to give you this." Shashi spat onto the ground. "Said that it should go around your thigh for easier access? I'm not sure. You just have to be extra careful since you're the only one without a staff."

Pranee's fingers fumbled over the dagger as she tried to figure out how to put it on. "Ah, thank you."

Shashi's knee gently touched Pranee's leg. She looked up to meet their gold eyes only to see that they were dull and almost brown in colour. "You can stay behind if you want. There are four magic users going in already. You don't have to worry about us."

Pranee pursed her lips together. "I'll be fine. I feel like I should go in there."

They didn't seem convinced as they continued to look at her with a worried expression. Pranee didn't say another word and they seemed to have let the topic go as Wipa signalled for everyone's attention.

It was time to go inside.