Traverse The Fog

Morgan was investigating another house when he heard the call to band together. Once he arrived, Team Breeze slowly turned the village inside out in search of a class-two resentment. Nothing.

"Maybe it already moved on to a new hunting spot?" Morgan suggested, closing the door to the last mud-walled hut.

Both he and Lilie turned to the silent, and Anari crossed her arms as she thought about how to proceed.

"Should we wait and see if it comes back?" Lilie suggested, glancing up at the canaries circling the village.

"No." Anari shook her head. "If the type-two has not attacked us by now, I'm certain it's gone." She turned northward, frowning. "It might have left for Mellor."

The others grew serious. This wasn't a good sign if it were true. Wraith nests weren't spontaneously born from nothing, but from people who transformed. And if the supposed class two left for Mellor, it's all but confirmed to be a hotbed for wraith activity. With this in mind, Team Breeze deliberated for a minute before coming to a conclusion: It was growing late. And time would be better spent departing for the city now and coming back later on the return to Avalorn instead of waiting for possibly nothing.

They went off once they had retrieved their gear. A day's travel through woodlands with a thick canopy still separated them from their destination. But on the bright side, the fog was light today. The improved visibility trivialized creatures that relied on surprise attacks, such as the white-spotted hyena.

Time passed. Walking through forests all the time wasn't glorious, and soon, tedium began to set in. It struck Lilie first, who soon fell into a trance.

What is wrong with me? She listlessly thought.

She sighed. Yet that was more than enough for Anari to notice her.

"Lilie, to the front," she said, glancing back at her.

The Half-Elf flinched. Now, she was about to be chastised again. Glancing at Morgan, who returned it with a warm smile, Lilie slowly stepped forward. Heavy-footed, she marched as a felon heading toward her executioner. Once Lilie was beside her team leader, she forced herself to lock eyes with that unshakable, purple gaze.

She's so strong, Lilie thought.

To her, Leal Anari was an idol worth looking up to—intelligent, beautiful, and always radiating courage. Lilie hoped she would learn these traits after years of working together. So far, it hasn't happened.

Is she disappointed in me?

Her heart sped with trepidation. Were all her efforts for naught? And would the woman before her, her friend and teacher, who taught her step-by-step about being more than some lord's silly daughter, eventually cast her away, deeming her too weak to rely on?

"What with that look?" Anari whispered, a soft smile curving her pale lips. "It's alright."

Then she linked elbows with the Half-Elf, lightly squeezing her hand. The latter gasped in surprise. Anari had never done such a thing in a long time. Ever since... In any case, relief and joy surged in Lilie's heart against the depression welling in her heart.

"I know," she said, sighing again to release her pent-up tension. "But you two risked your lives for me. And what do I have to show for it?" —her voice lowered to a near whisper— "Nothing."

Anari remained silent. She listened to Lilie vent her insecurities with nothing but a warm smile and attentive gaze. And it was enough for Lilie. Sometimes, there wasn't a need for a grand speech. Why bother? Just being there was more than enough proof that Lilie was not alone.

So Lilie continued to vent about her dreams of changing Avalorn for the better. It was like she had returned to the days when things were just a bit less complicated. With the minutes flying by, Lilie soon stopped as she realized that Anari had simply remained silently smiling at her antics.

"I sound like a whiner," Lilie muttered, looking away with her ears flushing.

"That's not true." Anari shook her head. "Everyone here knows that you try your—"

Chirp!

Lilie froze. Instinct took over as she went for—A roaring gale flung her across a few meters away and whirling into the grass.

She heard a cry coming from Morgan. "Class two!"

Dazed, she struggled upwards and was shocked to see Anari defending against something. It appeared to be a bifurcated woman who eerily drifted upon dark mists that hung around her like a cloak. Thin strands of hair obscured her face, and where her legs once belonged, they were replaced by gangrenous entrails that nearly swept along the ground.

The class two lifted its arms, now shaped into bony sickles, and struck downward, which would easily lop off an arm. But Anari was prepared and launched another gale. The attack forced the wraith backward, and its hair parted, revealing a rotten, gray husk with its lower jaw missing, and a long tongue dangled lifelessly.

Seeing it brought no pause to the team as Morgan shot frost shards. But the wraith reacted quickly. It flittered in the air like a fish underwater and dodged Morgan's attack. Meanwhile, Lilie brandished her revolvers and fired.

Not a single round struck. The wraith silently screamed, and the shadows that clung to the trees turned darker and darker. It flew into one, only to appear right before Lilie. Heart rushing to her throat, Lilie dropped her guns and reached for her shillelaghs. Then bone met blackwood. Sparks flew as the scythes slid downwards against Lilie's weapons.

The wraith was poised to attack again, but Lilie refused to wait for death. Sacrificing life runes, she stomped the ground. Mana churned through the nearby roots, and the pinewood twisted its branches and shot like javelins toward the wraith.

Another miss. But it was enough to put space between the two. The wraith silently shrieked as it swam into the darkness, narrowly evading a gray crescent and more frost shards.

"It's a shade. Position eight!" Anari roared as she threw out three small marbles.

They landed before the three and illuminated the area with a brilliant, gray light, dispelling the darkness that gloomed it. Both Morgan and Lilie followed suit with their own marbles. Soon, the immediate area lit up brighter than a staging area.

Now, the class two's avenues of attack were limited to beyond the trees from where they stood. But light alone wouldn't deter the shade. It slashed behind trees in different locations, circling them, hunting and waiting.

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"Watch out!" Anari said as she invoked a wind crescent into a shifting shadow.

A drudging swing of bone against wood was heard from behind. The next moment, the shade barreled forward at Morgan with arms wide open at lightning speed. Having already shaped his daggers into a sword and board, Morgan met the strike by strengthening himself through his life runes.

The two crashed into each other, and Morgan was tossed into a roll. But before the shade could strike again, Leal struck with a blade sharpened by arcane lights and was followed by Lilie, who unloaded her revolvers.

They both missed as the shade swam around them with ease. Silently howling, it slashed downward on the rising Morgan. Its blades dug deep against the icy shield, fracturing the ice.

But it was a trap. The shattered shards honed themselves into blades and shot forward like arrows into its chest, tearing rotten flesh. Black bile spilled from its wounds, and the shade silently shrieked as thick, sickly black haze spilled from its mouth.

The three maneuvered outside the area and into the dark, shadowy pines.

"Group up!" Anari commanded.

But at that moment, the shade sprang from the darkness before her, slashing downward! The sound of shattering glass came from Anari. Arms illuminating viridian hues, she angled her sword diagonally, meeting both sickles with her blade. But the wraith's strength was too strong! Anari's blade was pushed back, and a sharpened bone sliced through her sleeve, meeting the protective guard underneath. The next moment, a round punched through the wraith's wrist, forcing it to retreat into the shadows.

"Are you okay?" Lilie cried out as she appeared from around a tree.

"Where's Morgan?" Anari instead asked.

"Here!" Morgan came from the opposite end.

"Try to stick together," Anari said.

She positioned herself between the two, ready to defend. But what came next was misery. The shade moved like a rapier, swiftly striking from the shadows. It only appeared for a second before returning to the darkness.

A second felt like a minute as Team Breeze was forced to move deeper into the darkness from the shade's corrosive haze. Without much light, they endured attacks from every source of shadows, even their own. However, they remained strong against their first shade. Team Breeze managed to pull by the skin of their teeth with lacerations minor enough to be cleansed by the health vials they carried on their person.

However, being able to survive barely meant they could strike back effectively. The shade could somehow anticipate their every move through some unknown means, prolonging the battle and forcing the Wayfarers to deplete whatever mana crystals hid in their pockets.

After blocking another attack, a chest-heaving Lilie remarked, "Any ideas, Team Leader?"

Anari kept her gaze on the fog and shadows. She bit her lip as she formulated a plan, only to throw it away at the slightest fault. One mistake was all it took for someone to lose their life.

"I have an idea," Morgan suddenly spoke up, his hazel eyes searching for the shade.

"Report."

"Freeze it," he quickly answered. "No wind. And do you have another light?"

Anari's gaze flashed with understanding. "We'll cover you."

The Anari and Lilie moved and began attacking the shadows, drawing the shade's ire. Now free of scrutiny, Morgan withdrew a metal flask and channeled mana into it. Water gushed, and he transfused it along his ice-shaped weapons into a dense pall around them.

The shadows were now around them. And from it, the shade grew into a frenzy as it sprang before Lilie and Anari. It tore and swung before them, forcing them more and more into the dark mists.

"Morgan?" Lilie shouted as the haze around them grew thicker and thicker.

"Its ready!" He moved to join the two.

"Then, I'll be the bait," Anari calmly said.

She separated from the two but remained within the large pall. And in what appeared like a stupid mistake, she tripped over herself! And as if waiting for the slightest chance, the wraith attacked! It sprang from the darkness, scythes already swinging down onto her and shredding her to pieces!

At that moment, Morgan reached out to it and closed his fists! Dozens of water runes shattered in his arms, and the pall covered the wraith's entire form and flash-froze!

Meanwhile, Anari dropped a marble that flashed brilliantly before the shade.

And that was enough. The wraith fell like a statue onto the ground, unable to meld with the shadows as everyone struck at once. Wooden branches shooting like javelins impaled it to the ground. Frost shards the size of arms crashed onto it. And crescents imbued with arcane energy sliced it into pieces. Team Breeze wasted no time, using everything they could to shatter the wraith's body until nothing was left.

Once there was nothing but black sludge on the ground, Morgan and Lilie collapsed onto the ground. Chest-heaving, Anari then positioned herself between them and stood guard.

"Well done, Morgan," she choked between breaths. "What are you calling that?"

Morgan bitterly chuckled, his arms feeling like anchors. "Come on, Team Leader, I don't have a thesaurus. Can't I just call it 'Morgan's Surprise' for now?"

Lilie, who was reaching for her spatial pouch, broke into a fit of giggles. "Shut up."

Thus came the much-needed rest and recovery. Once the mana crystals and healing potions had been handed out, the trio returned for their packs and called for the canaries.

Onwards, they left toward Mellor. During their travels, Anari was the first to notice the lack of wildlife, which added to their unease. Nerves taut as the slightest sound, Morgan smiled to lighten the mood.

"That shade would have been nothing if Cyrus was here," he said, breaking the silence.

Anari and Lilie nodded thoughtfully. But Lilie's expression turned expectant as she turned to the former. "Are you planning to request Cyrus to join us?"

"Yeah." Morgan nodded. "Our lives would be so much easier."

Under the hopeful gazes of both Morgan and Lilie, Anari maintained a composed demeanor. "Unless another team gets to him first, why not? Then, we'd have a full team again..." —Her voice softened to a whisper— "...If Atlas decides to stay."

The joy in their gaze was stifled under Anari's final words.

"There's no way Atlas would lead his own team." Lilie could not interject any faster. "He's too lazy."

Her hands squeezed tightly, which weren't left unnoticed by the fiery-haired Wayfarer. His gaze remained on them, but he said nothing.

"Don't assume things will forever remain the same, Lilie." Anari remained stoic, her purple eyes ever toward their destination. "A Wolfram-ranked Wayfarer is required to lead a team if he ever wishes to rank up in the future."

Lilie's shoulders quivered. And the team was soon left in silence as she processed Anari's words.

Time passed. Team Breeze made camp and took shifts resting. It was relatively peaceful, which was more than they could hope for. On they went. The silence pervaded every corner of the forest trekked. And had any lone traveler remained in such places would have definitely gone insane by the sounds of their own breathing. That was until the Team Breeze heard a bell toll far in the distance. It rung thick and strong with only five intervals of silence between them.

The three turned to each other. Both Morgan and Lilie watched Anari close her eyes and listen. A moment later, did she open her eyes and nodded, proving everyone's doubts.

"It's coming from where Mellor supposedly located. Be ready."

Forward they went. The closer they drew, the louder the bell rang. Not enough to deter them, but enough to still their thoughts whenever it broke the silence. The group had several conjectures of what what was causing it. From a simple broken bell tower to the call of a mercenary group like the steel hawks. And there were some other, darker ideas, but Anari shut them down the moment they've appeared.

But the group was then left silence once they broke through the forest line and into an open field. There. Far in the distance was a city nearly three times the size of Avalorn. Its brick-ridden streets and buildings now veiled in thick plumes of fog that clung to them like cobwebs, draining whatever vestige of life they once had. And these buildings lay either broken or on the cusp of nearly ruined despite the strong bones that kept them standing. Sprawling cathedral-like buildings littered nearly every corner of Mellor. And barely, just barely, one could notice the shifting of something past broken windows and fallen walls.

And somewhere in this darkness, a bell tolled.

The three remained watching the city for some time until Lilie and Morgan turned toward their leader. Said leader nodded in response.

"Prepare for Mellor."