CHAPTER 76: SUPERNATURAL SCAVENGER HUNT

{Elira}

~**^**~

I couldn’t shake off the heaviness in my chest—not after the week I’d had.

Still, I followed Cambria and the others into the cafeteria, trying to appear as though I hadn’t spent half the night thinking about my mother... and the letter from the student council.

The cafeteria was its usual storm of voices and clinking metal. I joined the food line, gripping my tray with half-hearted energy.

The air smelled of toasted bread, grilled sausage, and sweet berry yoghurt—comfort food for another long day.

I added a couple of banana pancakes, some sausage, and a jar of yoghurt onto my tray.

Not my usual enthusiastic selection, but I wasn’t sure how much I could eat with my mind spiralling in a dozen directions.

Cambria stood beside me, as always, calm and focused. She had a salad, an egg, and the same pancakes I’d picked.

We found a table by the wall—our usual spot. The rest of the girls slid into their seats one by one. Nari groaned as she flopped onto the bench beside Juniper.

"The pancakes better be worth the wait," she muttered, stabbing one with her fork. "I swear, if I stand behind another indecisive student, I will combust."

"You mean people like you?" Tamryn said without glancing up from peeling her egg.

I couldn’t help smiling. It was becoming familiar, this morning routine.

This rhythm. It didn’t feel like home, but it wasn’t the void I’d felt my first day either.

I had barely taken my second bite when a soft beep crackled through the overhead speakers. The cafeteria quieted instinctively.

"Attention to all first-year dormitories," came a woman’s clear voice. "This is a reminder that today’s scheduled Club & Dorm Activities

will begin in one hour. All first-year students are to report to Hall C after breakfast. Today’s feature: a Supernatural Scavenger Hunt, hosted by the Dorm Council."

The voice faded with a light chime, and noise exploded in the room again.

"Oh my," Nari gasped, her eyes sparkling like she’d just won something. "Finally, something fun! I hope it’s not like last week’s weird banner-painting thing. I’m still offended they didn’t pick mine."

"Yours looked like a bloodstained mop," Cambria said, gently sipping her hot tea.

"It was abstract," Nari sniffed. "Right, Elira?"

I blinked. "I—I wasn’t... here at that time."

"Don’t worry. You missed nothing," Tamryn mumbled.

Juniper leaned toward me. "You ever done a scavenger hunt before?"

"Not one that’s described as supernatural," I said, eyeing the announcement poster flashing on the digital board near the entrance.

"They enchant the clues sometimes," Juniper said with an almost-smile. "It’s meant to challenge both instinct and ability. It’s kind of a big deal."

Well, great. More challenges. I silently hoped they wouldn’t expect me to lift boulders or talk to spirits.

Still, there was something about the buzz in the air—the shared anticipation—that I couldn’t help but get swept up in.

---

I hadn’t expected Hall C to be this crowded.

Hundreds of us first-years filled the space, all organized into random teams.

I didn’t even realize I’d been handed a silver band marked Team 19 until I looked up and saw Nari waving hers.

"Looks like we are together, Lucky Girl," she grinned at me. "Try not to fall behind."

Great. That meant Juniper, too. I saw her nearby, sliding her band over her wrist.

Cambria was two rows down with another team, and Tamryn ended up in Team 22. I was on my own here.

Just as I adjusted the band, a sharp voice called out from the front of the room. A tall girl with slicked-back hair and robes that screamed ’Upper Year Authority’ stepped forward onto the platform.

"Welcome to ESA’s Annual First-Year Scavenger Hunt," she announced. "Your theme today is Echoes of Power. You will be solving magical clues across campus. Some clues are riddles, some are objects enchanted to respond only to specific frequencies—mental or magical."

I swallowed.

"You will have three hours. Once your team completes a clue, you will be magically marked with your progress: no outside help, and no cheating. Let fate and instinct guide you. You may begin."

A chime echoed. The energy in the room exploded.

We barely stepped out of the building when our first clue shimmered into view under a moonvine pot.

"I stretch high and burn low, whispering secrets only shadows know. In daylight, I stand guard; in dusk, I hum low. Seek me near the silent bell’s echo."

"Sounds like the old sundial garden," Juniper said without missing a beat.

We all ran. Well, some ran. I jogged behind, trying to ignore the sweat forming under my collar.

The sundial garden wasn’t far, but it had enough twisty paths that we lost a minute or two. When we arrived, Nari was already digging under one of the benches.

"There’s something here—yeah, found it!"

It was a strip of parchment inscribed with strange characters.

I leaned in. "That’s... rune language."

"You read that?" Mako, the quiet boy on our team, finally spoke.

"A bit," I admitted. "I saw a reference chart yesterday in the archive room."

I squinted. The message wasn’t long, but the characters were tightly packed.

"’Where words are kept but tongues are still, beneath the ancient eyes on the hill.’"

"That’s the statue grove," Juniper said instantly. "The eyes—they say the statues can see through time."

We took off again.

---

I surprised myself by leading the way this time. I remembered the layout Rennon showed me in the Archive Room.

The statue grove was old, eerie, and surrounded by trees that seemed to belong in a different century.

Beneath the largest statue, we found a hovering crystal key, glowing faintly.

Renata muttered a soft spell, and it dropped safely into her hands.

"Next," she said, flipping the next clue.

By the time we reached the final location—a magically shifting garden maze—my legs ached, and Nari was complaining again.

"Who the hell builds a maze that resets every thirty minutes?"

"The council," Juniper replied dryly. "The same people you said weren’t creative."

"Touché."

Inside the maze, we made two wrong turns. One ended in a fake portal that shrieked at us. But then I spotted it—the lantern glowing high above a gnarled branch.

"This way!" I shouted.

It was the final marker.

---

We finished in just under two and a half hours—placing fifth overall.

"Could’ve been better," Nari said, twisting her band off. "But I guess not terrible."

Juniper looked at me. "You solved the rune clue. We wouldn’t have gotten this far without you."

Even Mako gave me a thumbs-up.

I blinked at them. "Thanks. I... I guess I was just lucky."

"No," Juniper said again, firmer. "You were prepared. That matters."

For the first time since setting foot in ESA, I felt something... solid.

I wasn’t just floating, waiting to be mocked or discarded. I’d contributed. I mattered.