"You said that day would be the start of something you didn't understand yet," Opal says. "I don't understand what it was, either."

     "That will come later," Cassandra says.

     "It's okay Little Gem," Varian says. "Neither me nor your mother had any clue what had begun inside her that day. But what we did know is, to find that orb, we had a lot of searching ahead of us..."

Varian watches Cassandra tromp off towards the shelter. He has to admit, he has no idea why she is so riled up. But he assumes it may still have something to do with everything that happened with Abhu.

     "So, what's it like under the sea?" Hugo asks Misty, causing Varian's attention to return to the visiting mermaid. "Are there lots of treasures? I'm sure you've found lots of treasures."

     "What're you going to do, pull an underwater heist?" Varian remarks. When Misty appears confused, Varian explains to her, "Blondie, here, is a thief."

     "I am a procurer of valuable objects," Hugo corrects. "And we are currently in search of some very valuable orbs."

     "We actually don't know their monetary value," Varian says. "But we need them to find something important." He is still amazed by Misty's existence, but they don't know this mermaid. He doesn't want to give away every detail of their mission.

     "It sounds like a noble quest," Misty says. "I really wish I could join you! But my tail will only get me so far..."

     "There's nothing wrong with having a tail," Varian says, but he facepalms when he realizes how stupid this sounded. Even Ruddiger shakes his head.

     "Smooth," Hugo says.

     Misty chuckles. "It was a pleasure to meet you guys. I'll let you get back to your quest, but if there's any way I can help please let me know!" She waves, and then disappears under the water with a splash of her fins.

     "Yeah, our quest..." Hugo says. "Where to begin when we're marooned on an island?"

     "An island that is hiding the next orb," Varian reminds him. He imagines the smooth, shiny surface of the one they've already obtained, tucked safely in his backpack inside the shelter. He is thankful that the Lorbs didn't consider it dangerous and confiscate it. "We need to search every inch of this place until we discover its location!"

"Hmm... We know the indigenous leaf-folk don't know or care a thing about it," Hugo says. "Anyone else around here we could ask?"

"I'm not sure," Varian says. "Cass might know, though, since she's been here before."

Varian starts to head to the shelter after Cassandra, but Hugo stops him. "Hey, what is going on with her and grouchy Achoo, anyway? I heard some shouting last night, but I needed my beauty sleep and deemed it too unimportant to investigate."

     "Yeah, they had a bit of a tiff," Varian says. "Some harsh words were said, and, well... He's basically done with this whole thing."

     "I'm assuming he took a swing at you, hence the darkening contusion on your face?"

     Varian nods. "But, uh, I took the first swing."

     Hugo's eyes widen in surprise. "No way!" He laughs hardily, slapping Varian on the back. "Looks like li'l Freckles is growing up!"

     "Would ya stop that?" Varian shoves Hugo away, but he still has a small measure of pride inside of himself at the compliment. "I-I shouldn't have done it. I probably just made things worse."

     "I doubt it made the situation worse with your raven-haired lady love," Hugo smirks.

     "Don't talk like that," Varian scolds.

     Hugo shrugs. "I'm just sayin'."

Varian hopes Hugo is right, even though he knows he isn't. Cass didn't seem the least bit proud that he had punched Abhu, and she especially wouldn't be if she knew that the blow he landed probably only managed to give Abhu a black eye, while Abhu's blow practically knocked Varian out.

And now Abhu has disappeared, off somewhere on this crazy island to most likely get himself into some sort of trouble. How will his attitude and decision affect their mission once they are able to leave the island? He will probably want to take his journal with him. Varian has the passages memorized that he has already decoded, but he strongly suspects that there is still more to that journal than they have discovered. He only hopes he can figure it all out before their time on Terapi Island is up.

The days pass by, long and slow. Varian, Cassandra, and Hugo begin a coordinated search of the island, planning on covering every inch of it by the time the boat arrives. The first couple of weeks, their efforts are futile. Misty even attempts to help where she can, but to no avail. They don't find a single sign of the orb, or of Abhu. But they continue their hunt, never once lessening in their endurance or determination.

And once the day is over, they have a beautiful view on the beach to wind down and relax to the sound of the crashing waves hitting the shore. Varian would almost call it romantic, if it weren't for Cassandra's adamant refusal to even look at him when they are sitting in the sand... and Hugo constantly being the irritating third wheel. Varian hasn't been able to get a single moment alone with Cass since the day she showed him the grove of strange plants to help with his bruise, which has finally healed.

Now it is almost the time for the new moon. In only a couple of days, the boat will arrive... and they haven't found anything. Varian is worried they may end up having to spend another month here to continue searching for the orb. And each day they haven't progressed in their mission is another day his father is trapped in the Dark Kingdom.

     As Varian, Cassandra, and Hugo trek through the jungle in an area they haven't been before, Cass grumbles as they push through the thick vegetation. "This would be a lot easier if I had my sword..." All at once, she halts and holds her arm out to stop the guys.

     "Shh, do you hear that?" She whispers.

     The three of them listen to the sounds of the island; birds singing in the distance, frogs croaking, insects buzzing, water trickling nearby, and... footsteps stomping through the foliage?

     "Someone's walking ahead of us," Varian says.

     "Could it be our leafy amigos?" Hugo suggests.

     "No, the footsteps are too heavy," Cass says. She picks up the pace, while still remaining stealthy.

     Before long, the three of them see the familiar figure of Abhu up ahead. Where has he been this whole time?! Varian is about to call out to him, when Cass stops him.

     "Wait," she says. "Look at him."

     Varian takes a moment to observe Abhu. He is walking slowly, cautiously. He glances around anxiously, causing Varian to duck lower. Once Abhu is sure he is alone, he speeds up. Why is he acting so suspicious?

"I say we follow the Ditcher," Hugo says.

"For once, we're in agreement," Cassandra says with a smirk. This may only be a small one, but her smiles always cause butterflies in Varian's stomach.

After tailing Abhu through the jungle for a few minutes, he disappears behind a curtain of vines. The others follow him, and gasp in surprise at what they see:

A large lagoon of crystal-clear water glistens magnificently, the deepest blue any of them have ever seen. Walls of rock encircle the pool, while tall palm trees and thick shrubbery block out the sky above them. The beautiful sight is captivating, and for a moment the three of them forget that they are supposed to be remaining out of sight.

     "Over there," Hugo whispers, pointing to Abhu's current whereabouts. The three of them duck behind bushes and boulders as they silently follow him to the rock wall closest to the lagoon.

     At this proximity, Varian notices something on the wall and gasps. "It's an infinity symbol!" Only this one is a normal symbol, no extra image attached.

     "That little sneak found the orb, and wasn't even gonna tell us!" Cassandra hisses.

     "Well, he found the location of the orb," Hugo corrects. "Judging by the way he's acting, I doubt he's figured out how to get to it."

     Sure enough, Abhu is running his hands along the rock wall, as if searching for something. He has discovered the infinity symbol, but it looks as if he can't identify a way to where the orb is.

     Varian plans on spying longer, but Cassandra can't hold herself back anymore. "Were you ever planning on coming back?" She shouts at Abhu, revealing their hiding place. "Or where you just going to find the orb and keep it for yourself?"

     Abhu spins around in shock. "What are you guys doing here?"

     "We've been searching for the orb, and we found you," Varian replies. "Turns out, you already know where it is."

     "Well, sort of know," Hugo adds.

     "I can't believe you spied on me!" Abhu says angrily.

     "I can't believe you punched Varian!" Cassandra shouts.

     "Hey, he punched me first!" Abhu retorts. "I thought that black eye was never going to heal!"

     "Oh, I'll give you more than a black eye," Cassandra says. She clenches her fists, but Varian rushes in front of her to keep her from attacking.

     "Hold on Cass. I totally get your desire to knock him out, but I don't think fighting will get him to tell us what he knows about the orb." He turns to Abhu and adds, "That is, if you know anything about it."

     Abhu rolls his eyes, but nods. "I know that it's going to be impossible to get this one."

     "What makes you say that?" Hugo asks.

     Abhu points at the infinity symbol on the wall behind him. "This isn't the real entrance to the orb. This is only painted onto the rock to get our attention."

     "Okay, so where's the real one?" Cassandra asks.

     Abhu points to the lagoon. "Down there. A couple days after I discovered this place, I dove in to investigate and found it etched into the stone wall."

     "Alright, but I'm still failing to see the impossible part of this," Varian says.

     "You know how we had to use air to get into that first tunnel, and then earth to get into the hatch?" Abhu replies. "Well, getting to this orb... requires fire."