The plan for the festival was all but set in motion. Even though they’d all been over their roles and responsibilities time and time again, Kaia’s father was still reluctant to let Kaia go. It was only because Cassero and the rest of Kaia’s uncles had overruled Agolois, and for that Kaia was grateful. Despite having what was arguably the easiest task of handing out flowers, Kaia was still excited to be able to go into the city with the rest of the family. Her and Aea had every intention of proving that they should always be invited to partake in the ‘family business’ from then on.



For the rest of the night, Kaia had some time to herself, before she’d be expected to turn in for the night. Considering how important their plans were for the final day of the festival, Kaia was not about to jeopardise it by sneaking out once the men had fallen asleep. So, Kaia made herself promise to be back by the campfire before dark, which gave her nearly an hour to do as she pleased.



With her blonde hair tied back and her favourite hunting chlamys fastened over her tunic, Kaia held her makeshift spear firmly in her hand. The evening light was quickly disappearing, so Kaia was trying her luck at finding some fish. Kaia had her pants rolled up past her knees and was otherwise bare footed, the water lapping at her calves as she tread purposefully through the shallow water. Even if she didn’t catch anything, Kaia found the sound of the waves and the cool breeze on her face relaxing. It was a shame she only had less than an hour to enjoy, but she was grateful all the same. If anything, she was beginning to wish she’d left her bow at home. Kaia had brought it along just in case she decided to hunt through the trees instead, but now that she could see the water around her legs, she had no desire to leave before she needed to, which meant that her bow and quiver were just more things to carry.



As Kaia felt something oddly sharp and squared under her foot, she took a step back and looked directly down. Something dark was poking through the sand. If she’d not felt it, Kaia would have assumed it was nothing more than a rock.



Curious, Kaia held the spear under her arm and knelt down as far as she could without getting her pants wet. Kaia reached into the water and began digging the sand and pebbles away from the object, her enthusiasm and curiosity building as she began to understand the size of the object. After only a few hurried moments, Kaia had cleared enough sand away to be able to grab hold of the handle and pull the rest of the box free.



Grinning, Kaia inspected her treasure. It was a rather plain and ordinary looking chest or box of sorts, but seemed to have been hidden in the sand for quite some time, as the edges seemed to be jammed shut.



Without delay, Kaia hiked back out of the water and took a seat on a large rock, the box atop her crossed legs. If Kaia had to guess, it was made of some sort of metal, but wasn’t overly heavy. The bottom of the box felt rough and coarse from being buried in the sand for who knew how long.



Eager to know what was inside, Kaia ran her fingers along the edges, looking for some sort of clasp. Easily, Kaia found one on each side, then another under the handle, though all three were jammed shut. Not deterred, Kaia set the box down, then slipped off the rock and set her spear down in the sand. With her hands now free, Kaia took out an arrow and carefully began wiggling the tip under the clasp, careful not to break her arrow, but with enough force to slowly work the latch free.



It became apparent that time was not going to be on her side for long. Even as Kaia worked on the three clasps, the evening light was quickly fading. It would not be long before Kaia would have to begin her return to camp. However, the gods must have been pleased with her patience as the last clasp finally came free. Kaia, carefully lifted the stiff lid of the box and peered inside.