Kaleeth tried her hardest to keep her breathing silent. At the very least, she was keeping the volume below that of the nearby stream, but the wamasu was already suspicious of their presence. It had their scent, and they were in its nest. The beast would do anything to protect its eggs, so it was very alert at the moment. Both she and janius were hiding behind the rocks, so she couldn't see it, but with a beast of its size, even its sniffing was easily audible. 

The wamasu's heavy footsteps reverberated through the entire cave, so it was easy to tell that it was very close to them, probably right on top of the ogre's body. The beast shifted around the cave, first checking on its eggs, then continuing to search for the intruders. Several long, tense minutes passed as the creature searched. Kaleeth held on tightly to Janius, unconsciously searching for any form of comfort. She could feel his heart beating just as fast as hers, and with good reason. She had never been as close to death as she was at this very moment, a thought that struck fear in her very soul. She looked Janius in the eyes, with tears in her own. She did not want to die, and wished she hadn't been so stupid as to suggest setting foot in the cave. 

When Kaleeth looked away from Janius for a moment, she noticed a dead silence in the cave. She had not heard the wamasu leave, but neither did she hear it shuffling around any longer. Had it laid down to rest, perhaps gone to sleep? They would need to wait a while just to be safe, but perhaps they could sneak out? She decided to take the risk to peer around the rock, but before she could even make a movement, her worst nightmare became reality. The wamasu's large scaled head appeared around the corner, its eyes meeting theirs. They had been spotted. 

The wamasu immediately let out a growl, then lashed out and tried to crush them in its jaws. Fortunately, the narrow width of the cave saved the pair. Its wide body could not squeeze far enough into the cave that its head could reach them, even if it cut it very close. Its jaws snapped down with unbelievable force mere inches from their heads, causing Kaleeth to let out a frightened scream. Fear had overwhelmed her, and she was practically sobbing by this point. There was a brief glimmer of hope when she noticed that the wamasu could not reach them. No matter how hard it pressed against the cave's stone walls, it could not get any closer to them. After a few moments, however, she felt a charge in the air. Electricity started to arc across its scales, concentrating in its mouth. It would take a few moments to charge, but once it unleashed its storm of lightning, what could they do? She had no wards or magic to block the lightning. She felt powerless to do anything to stop it.

---

Meesei gladly hugged Sabine. She looked at her with a smile and a proud expression. "You did well, Sabine. I know the Trial of Heart can be a difficult one, not because it is physically difficult to complete, but because of the emotional conflict it can create. I did not think for a second that you would fail, though. You are not a person who would leave someone to die like that. Now, I am sure you are tired from all that running. Would you like to return to the common quarters and rest, or perhaps stay and talk? If I am not mistaken, there is more we can tell you about the Trial of Body."

Thorantilth nodded in agreement as he chimed in. "Indeed we can. The last trial is much more straightforward than the previous two. There are no puzzles or tricks, it is just the merits of the trial itself which provides the challenge. We can tell you anything you like to help you prepare."