The night was still full upon the land, the shattered remnants of the moon only bringing in scant light upon the jungle floor. I blinked away the sleep, rubbing my ribs. Emmaline leaned in, whispering conspiratorially, and I decided that whatever happened that woke me up, nothing was permanent so it was water under the bridge. I leaned in to hear her whisper, and I followed her finger as she pointed into the gloom. 

I peered past her where she pointed, but I couldn't see a thing. For awhile, I thought my vision was obscured by the large fern leaves that surrounded our small campsite, and so I slowly got up. Most thought my muscled bulk meant I was loud, but I had lived in these jungles for most of my life. I was almost cat-like in my movements, and I let Emmaline lead the way, barely brushing a leaf as we left our companions sleeping soundly just behind us. 

I smelled the pungent, sweet smell of euchavest trees and the wet that accompanied the moistened leaves above, the ground soft beneath my feet. Something small scurried away in the undergrowth, Emmaline hopping away to bump into me. I smiled and steadied her, endeared by her manner as usual. Another few minutes passed as we searched, but there was nothing we found. I didn't have dwarf eyes, but my vision was good, and we simply could not see anything that glimmered in the darkness. Just blackness and the scattered moonlight. 

"I tell you, I am almost sure there was something here," Emmaline remarked, though she wrung her hands, embarrassed she might have just been seeing things, I imagine. She should have known I wouldn't blame her. I wasn't bothered by most things that couldn't be immediately fixed, particularly from a friend, and apparently lover. Only having one lover before, I wasn't an expert, but it seemed I was patient, which made me happy.  

"I believe you," I told her, peering past some brush to check if I missed anything. "How about this, we haven't checked south of our position. Let me go back to the camp real quick and see if everyone's good, and I'll be back here in less than a minute. You ok?" 

She nodded, seeing the sense in me giving a quick look without making a sound whereas she might wake them up if she tripped. Emmaline waved me away and bade me to hurry up. 

As I went to check on the Basileans, Emmaline stood under a tall jungle tree and kept hidden, her hat hiding her golden hair. The sounds of insects chirping in the boughs above drowned out her breathing, and clouds passed over the moonlight, obscuring the shine. And yet, almost as quickly as it had disappeared, the glimmer appeared once more. But not as it had before, faint and distant. It returned, almost just under her nose. The shade from the clouds above dispersed, and before her, just past the brush, was a small shrine that gleamed from a mystifying treasure. 

Two, small statues stood, facing one another. They were roughly hewn, and yet intricately designed. The statue on the left was beautiful. It was wrought in the shape of a regal griffon, standing on its hindlegs, it's beak opened wide as if in a warcry, and on its head was a diadem. Its wings folded as if to ward prying eyes from what it held in its taloned paws. Within its clutches was a precious stone, a diamond as clear as springwater, yet it glowed like a distant star. A thread of silver wound around it, steel clutching its body, connecting it to the silver as a necklace piece. 

To the right was a monstrous opposite. A cobra, or something with the head of one, reared up, maw open in sinister aggression. Its serpentine neck flowed down into a body not unlike a scorpion, and yet its tail was unhooked and serrated, curling around its limbs to provide the base of the statue. The enigmatic serpent had two hands, almost human, just above its great claws. Within their fingers was another stone. Where the first was clear, this multifaceted jewel swirled with darkness, indigo and what seemed like the crimson of blood sliding in and out of view within the ensconced shadows. A golden chain was attached, held by a brass crown around its form. 

Behind her, leaves rustled as I made my way back. But I was not there yet, and she had a choice. Whichever she grasped, the other statue would melt before her eyes, swallowing up the gem it held and leaving the jungle floor unmarked as if it had never been...