Bound Evil

The trip back to camp was quiet. Emily trailed behind Ashe as they moved through the city streets. The last time they'd seen each other had been when Ashe delivered the book before Emily's departure, and there hadn't been much time for words then. Now, though, neither seemed eager to revisit the past.

During their previous encounter, Ashe had been concerned that Emily wasn't herself—which, in part, was true—but Emily refused to feel guilty. She had acted on her own will and still aided the group.

That was what had left her so puzzled by Ashe's earlier outburst.

Now, though, Emily saw a completely different expression on Ashe's face. Her forehead had smoothed, her shoulders had relaxed slightly—as if some of the tension had melted away.

Emily decided she couldn't handle the silence any longer. "So, how was it here for you guys? I heard Hermes sent a team to capture everyone. How did you get out? Where did you hide?"

Ashe seemed to be heading toward a cluster of tents, which could only be their assigned space. She kept walking backward, turning to face Emily as she spoke.

"We're not that hopeless, Emily. Atticus sensed them coming a long before they arrived. But to answer your first question, we took refuge within the roots". She said with a lazy smile.

Emily pursed her lips.

"Right… Well, I wanted to say… good job on that ward. It saved my life. Without it, I would have been crispy."

Ashes' smile widened.

"I'm delighted. Honestly, even if you don't feel it, I want you to know that I'm so relieved you're back, we all are."

Now, it was Emily who couldn't help the grin breaking out over her face.

"Everyone? You sure? I'm certain at least a few were not happy to see me return. At least then there would have been one less person to carry to our end destination."

Ashed shrugged.

"I'm here for my sister, but I also want to help you wherever I can. We're actually on our way to see her now to discuss exactly that."

Emily cocked her head.

"When will Kael arrive?"

Ashe scratched the back of her neck.

"Not tonight, he's grieving, I believe he said he had something to talk to you about that. Either way, for now, Selia's going to explain our next step."

"What about Atticus and Gerade?" Emily asked, unable to help herself. "Surely they should be the ones to do that."

Ashe hummed.

"Well, there's been a bit of a restructuring while you were gone. My sister has temporarily taken over for the missing Marth."

This made Emily's brows lift. Team two was in charge of their strongest fighters. Emily had seen Selia fight; she was powerful, but her skills lay in admin, not leading the frontline into battle.

As though she had heard Emily's thought, Ashe snorted.

"Right now, she shares team two's duties with your… partner."

Emily blinked twice before she got Ashes' meaning.

"What? Alex is a team lead?"

Ashe nodded.

"I don't know why you are surprised. He's highly skilled in combat. Has a good tactical mind and, most importantly, after the prison incident, he's trusted by Kael and well-liked."

Emily opened her mouth to argue, but stopped herself. Ashe wasn't wrong. Alex had always been on his own, yet he seemed to make friends effortlessly. Slipping into peoples good graces with ease. Of course, it wasn't entirely fair.

He already knew all these people, had met them before, but still, it felt strange to watch it happen so naturally.

Ashe sighed.

"After what happened, it was an inevitability. Kael lost a lot of men, and the power vacuum needed to be filled. That, coupled with our recent imprisonment and everyone's volatility, made it necessary to give him a more official title."

All that happened while she was away?

Maybe she should have taken more of an interest in the group dynamics.

The thought was discarded almost as soon as she had it. Still, she'd have to get Alex to give her a quick rundown. Politics was the most insidious superpower there was.

By now, they had reached one of the tents. Ashe tugged the flap aside, and Emily stepped inside. Warmth greeted her, a sharp contrast to the crisp air outside, and the interior was surprisingly cozy for temporary lodging. Rugs and cushions were spread neatly across the floor, and soft lantern light danced over the walls. Selia had already made herself at home, sitting cross-legged on a cushion, a stack of pages balanced in her arms. She flipped through them with focused precision, barely glancing up as Emily entered.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

What Emily hadn't expected was Nox being in the room. He was sprawled on his back, a tome held lazily above his face, only half-reading it. The moment they stepped inside, he snapped the book shut, more intrigued by their arrival than whatever he'd been pretending to study.

Emily couldn't help teasing.

"What's the twerp doing here?"

Nox pouted.

"I don't know what that is, but it sounds rude."

"Oh no, it's a term of endearment, trust me," she said coyly.

Nox's eyes narrowed, but he never got the words out because Selia spoke.

"Welcome back, Emily. We would have greeted you sooner, had we the opportunity. Regardless, I'll get straight to business because I know you prefer that. We'll be leaving in the next two days."

Selia plopped the stack of pages down beside her with a serious expression.

"The place we are going is one even the Ashvali fear to tread, so Kael is making sure we're prepared for the worst of it. You should spend this time wisely. There are records of the environment and creatures within the city. As a full-fledged Shaman, you have access to the collective pool. Read them when you have a chance."

Emily crossed her arms.

"Fine, I'll see what I can do. But let's say we do get through this desert, where do we go from there?"

The tent flap rustled as a hand pushed it aside, and Alex stepped through.

"I believe I'm more suited to answer that question. When we get through the grey sands, we'll end up on the edge of the wastes, and after that, the marshlands. The outer parts of the wastes are supposedly easy enough to cross, but it's the marshland we're after anyway. Once we reach that, we're at our halfway point."

Emily's brow rose. He made it sound so easy. She had not forgotten the dangers lurking in the sands, but he made it seem like this would be a cake-walk.

"If you say so. I suppose in the meantime I should go and do some reading then-"

Ashe piped up for the first time since they had entered.

"Actually, I was hoping you would come back with me to our tent. We have some things to discuss, and I could help you with some runes."

The offer was quite tempting, but Emily wanted to get rid of the side quests, so she could relax.

"How about you just come with me? The collection is in the city, right? So you can just tag along."

The collection was not quite a public library; Emily had heard about it during her 'education', but had never had time nor reason to visit. It was a place where people could get knowledge depending on their rank. As a Shaman, she had full rights to look up the more forbidden topics.

Ashes' eye flickered away before refocusing on Emily

"What if they won't let me in?"

Emily shrugged.

"It won't hurt to ask. We can discuss things there, and maybe you can find some knowledge to add to your own."

Ashe still looked hesitant, but she stopped arguing at the mention of information. Emily was surprised.

Emily was surprised to see that neither Alex nor Selia argued with her choice to leave right away.

In fact, Alex seemed to almost expect it.

"Fine. Do that. See what you can find—but make sure you return by tonight. A lot of people want to see you. Eat a meal with them, show them you're still on their side."

Emily swallowed the lump in her throat. Why did that request feel more foreboding than the desert itself?

Emily didn't answer, but she didn't say no either, and Alex knew that was as close to an answer as he was going to get.

She would be back, if only to find a place to lay her head.

After saying their goodbyes, they headed out of the tent, but Ashe did not look happy.

Emily normally wouldn't have asked, but Ashe was acting so strangely that she couldn't help herself.

"Spill it, what's going on? You would normally be chewing at the bit to get your hands on possible books. What gives?"

Ashe glanced away again, and it was starting to get on Emily's nerves.

"Is it so much to ask that you rest? You've just got back, and the moment I bring you home, you rush out again as though you can't stand spending time there," she finally said.

As Emily's eyes swept to the towering father tree as they moved down the busy street. People instinctively parted around them like a school of fish sensing danger.

"...Don't get me wrong. I will rest. And just so we're clear, I'm not doing this out of some selfless pursuit. I need information right now to protect myself. Once I have it, I intend to relax and unwind like the rest of you."

Ashe hummed at this information and glanced up, finally able to hold her gaze.

"I- Fine, but after this, you have to come to our tent. I have much to show you"

Emily sighed, but nodded.

They had arrived at the collection, which was a building not too dissimilar to the crucible. The large structure simply had fewer people entering it.

When they got inside, they were greeted by clustered shelves of scrolls. Each one is as thick as Emily's wrist in circumference.

Navigating through the place turned out to be harder than they expected, until they found a Shaman who had another title relating to the care of scrolls. Ashe called him a Lorekeeper.

The man helped them get into the restricted section, and even though he seemed hesitant to allow it, Ashe could enter with her. He then retrieved two scrolls on the topic they were looking for and left them to read.

Emily was only a quarter of the way through hers by the time Ashe had finished. And from what she'd gleaned so far, things were not looking good.

The scroll Emily had picked up was titled The Grey Dunes and Its Afflictions. It went on to describe the so-called demons Zauren had mentioned. These creatures were purely metaphysical—having no physical form, yet leaving a tangible mark on the world wherever they appeared. They spread corruption simply by coming into contact with their surroundings. According to the text, they were not native to this plane of existence, but originated from one of the outer planets Alex had mentioned.

What made them particularly dangerous was that they could not be killed, only warded off temporarily.

In the meantime, they bend the wills of nearby creatures, forcing them to attack any intruders who dare enter their territory. That, at least, was the only silver lining: the demons seemed confined to the Grey Dunes, refusing to venture beyond its borders for reasons unknown.

Even being in their presence was said to twist the mind, and the longer one spent in their domain, the harder it would be for them to leave.

Geographically speaking, Alex had been right: there was no way around. The Grey Dunes stretched like a scar across the land, where nothing could grow naturally. Any creatures that survived there had become twisted, aggressive versions of their former selves.

Emily and Ashe searched for some kind of answer to their dilemma, but nothing came up until Ashe came across a particular passage.

"Wait, Emily, listen to this: 'It has been observed in the presence of large quantities of natural power, the demons have taken longer to approach. In contrast, no ritual has managed to stave them off longer than those scouting parties with large numbers of Shamans."

This particular piece of knowledge was useful. In normal terms, Emily thought it meant those with large capacities for Source lasted longer, which was good news. However, there was also one other interpretation. An item that could hold a large amount of power should count, right?

If that was the case, something like the refined source had to work, right?

They weren't all that charged right now, but Kael still had plenty of the tiles, and Emily had plenty of power. Especially if she had time to charge them up. The outlook was grim, but at least they had found something that could be of use.

Blood points: 719