Recollecting herself, Essairyn pressed on. The town inn soon came into view. Finding the place was fairly simple, but it was a bit of a trek maneuvering around the closely situated buildings. By the time she arrived, Darren and Aispin had settled down and just met the rest of the mission group.

Upon informing Aispin that she couldn't buy 120 mid-potions, one of the new group members elucidated the intent of the supposed shopping instructions. All of the supplies didn't have to be bought at Farinheld, for they had already acquired most of them before arriving. The 120 number was only an ideal maximum for preparatory mission expenses. The instructions had duplicated on both ends of the group without communication clarifying their collaboration.

Although it was uncharacteristic of the Knights to misconstrue mission details, they rarely worked with Academy students who weren't sworn underneath the Order. Even the perilousness of the mission was hushed among the upper knights and academy officials. For fear of tipping off the very unknown people they were after, the Farinheld mission retained a high level of secrecy. Other underlying reasons existed, but the hidden complexity of the situation buried any further explanation to the mission group. One of the members zoned in on this peculiarity.

"Isn't it odd that we don't have a superior to oversee this mission?" pointed out Izlende, a platinum-haired, blue-eyed girl of twenty years. She wasn't a knight, but Academy students knew that chief-level knights were assigned to supervise missions.

"Yeah, I thought someone was coming with you," added Theryn, a sandy blonde with almost shoulder length hair. His sea-green gray eyes glinted as he narrowed them in dramatics, whispering loudly, "You don't think they're setting us up for failure?"

Despite the half-joking tone of his voice, the rest of the group unconsciously furrowed their brows hearing this conspiracy theory. "Don't fool around, Theryn. This is a serious mission. Do you even know what rank it is?" lightly chided Rakun, the tallest of the bunch. His warm brown eyes reflected reticently beneath sleek pitch-black hair tied in a high pony-tail.

Theryn sighed ruefully with quirked smile and shrugged shoulders. "Beats me. I was just glad for some fresh air and a break from studies. Argh, Benni caught me yesterday. I would've gotten my ass kicked if it weren't for Bodraig suddenly appearing to inform me about the mission. Got the hell outta of there, I dodged a real bullet!"

Rakun's side-bang drooped around his jaw as he tipped his head to the side with a light disapproving shake. "Should've gotten your ass kicked. You skip way too many classes, I don't even know how you're still passing," he tutted with mirth.

"Aw, did you miss me? I'll make the next class just for you!" Theryn quipped boisterously, making Rakun roll his eyes ever the slightest before he turned back to the group with a faint smile. "Our apologies, we got off topic there."

"It's okay Ra," assured Aispin with his arms languidly crossed while he reclined against a wall beam. "Nice to see Theryn as lively as ever. I feel like I haven't seen you all in ages. I didn't think we'd meet in this manner, though."

Rakun nodded with a grave air. "The mission is B-rank. I can understand why Ennrion and I are here, but for the rest of you, it's concerning." The others dipped their head slightly in acknowledgement. After knowing Rakun for years, they knew his words weren't meant to be offensive. He was straightforwardly honest to where he was almost blunt, but his naturally mellow tone always softened any edges.

"Either this will be a mostly melee mission, seeing as the four of us are knights out of six that I know, or the Academy and Knights really screwed up in their furtiveness." Ennrion stated it plainly. Seeing his stern smile, Izlende bent down to the sitting man and pinched his cheeks to erase the austere lines. He willingly let her do as she wished, almost seemingly pleased by her affectionate action. She let out her breath lightly at his softened expression, straightened her back, and placed one hand on the top of Ennrion's chair.

"First thing's first. Everyone, state your name, position, and rank. Let's be prepared for whatever happens. I'll go first. Izlende Ryrarin. You can call me Izra. Dual-mage. Mid-upper C rank. Short-sword, knight. Upper E rank."

The dark scarlet-ash eyes of the sable-haired man seated to her right glimmered with quiet self-assurance. "Ennrion Azolil. Longsword, knight. Low-mid B rank."

"Rakun Umista. Katana, knight. Low-mid B rank."

"Theryn Fenens. Broadsword, knight. Upper D rank. Gods, I hate going after these two."

"Brynhilde Melisande As'nyte," proudly began the brunette seated the furthest away in the group encirclement. Her hands laid elegantly on top of her crossed legs. "Spell-mage. C rank."

Theryn rolled his eyes melodramatically. "Could you say it any more condescendingly?"

Brynhilde's bright brown-amber eyes flickered in annoyance as she huffed. "Well sorry for being born more talented than you, you boor. I'm only stating what is."

"Tch! You're only a C because of your elemental blood. You haven't even improved your rank after all these years while Ra and Rio—" "Please don't call me Rio, Theryn." "—are already rank B."

Visibly peeved, she snapped back. "Cultivating magic is much harder than any knight training you know!"

"Blah, blah, whatever with your magic training nonsense. You depend on spells anyway, so what's your big deal? Not even a true-mage despite being an elemental, heh!"

"Ancient spells, takes years to learn and properly cast! Why do you always have to pick a fight with me about the same damn thing?!" Brynhilde's cheeks bubbled up in a rosy shade. Her little outburst and dignified pout almost made Rakun chuckle in amusement.

Theryn waved his hand dismissively. "And why do you have to act so haughtily all the time?! Flinging your middle name around just 'cause you're a royal. It's not like you're the next in line."

"Argh, you!!!" She seethed and almost vaulted from her seat toward Theryn who stuck a finger in his ear in boredom. A steady hand placed itself on her shoulder, preventing her brash reaction. Brynhilde looked up in surprise to see Rakun gaze wordlessly at her. She quivered inside, not noticing his subtle movements until he was by her side. She could never fathom those sharp yet softly clear eyes. Unknowingly, she clenched her fists in ambivalence.

Essairyn attentively observed this whole exchange. Already, she formed loose understandings of the group and interpersonal dynamics. What an interesting bunch... There was definitely more to them than what met the eyes.

Although Theryn seemed happy-go-lucky, she sensed something deeply somber and resentful underneath that skin-tight masque. And the stable Rakun exuded a tautly-wrapped mystery that was speckled with subtle idiosyncrasies. Brynhilde was vain, and perhaps rightly so for she did invariably work hard at her magical craft while still being part of the royal As'nyte family. But the tale of her struggle reached deeper than the mirror surface. Ennrion was a lake hidden by the moonless forest. She couldn't quite make heads or tails of this guy. Izlende, on the other hand, Essairyn's heart beat a little quicker upon her grasped impression of this silver-haired girl. She had a striking feeling that they were going to be great friends. It was an intuition that she rarely felt with people, and it was unfailingly correct. After learning the hard way, Essairyn endeavored to clasp these friendships with firm yet gentle arms. She had to make the best of her new life and rectify her cold ways.

With a serene, resolute sigh, Essairyn indistinctly smiled. She looked forward to conversing and fighting with them in the future. Getting to know people stirred her locked empathy, and group battles generally excited her due to their increased complexity. This adventure just got a whole lot louder.

Similarly, Darren looked upon the quarrel with good humor and spirits. The barren roads wouldn't feel so cheerless alongside this motley crew. Clearing his throat, he caught the attention of the others and stated his position and rank. Essairyn followed after a slight hesitation. She wasn't sure about her true rank and position, so she simply asserted, "Low C rank knight, Upper C rank mage."

Izlende blinked twice, lightly inquiring, "Hm? Sounds like you're strong, but you don't know your mage-type or have a definite melee weapon?"

Essairyn slowly nodded. "Um, you could say that I haven't quite decided on a single weapon yet. As for mage-type, I guess I'm a combat mage? ...sorta."

Izra laughed ebulliently. "You don't sound too sure. Oh! That reminds me, Aispin did say you two were travelers as well as newbies, and that you didn't join the Knight's Order. How come?"

"I like traveling around, so I figured it would be better for now if I wasn't bound by the Knight's Oath as I'm still learning about this world."

Izra's high-pony tail and side-bang swayed luxuriantly about her shoulders and right cheek as her head bobbed listening to Essairyn. She and Rakun could almost come across as siblings with their matching hairstyles with reverse placements of the bangs if it weren't for their contrasting hair and eye colors, not to mention, the manifest scar gracing a few inches up the left side of Izlende's scalp. Essairyn imagined that Izra chose this hairstyle for the confident purpose of exhibiting that scar.

"Cool! I'm all for freedom and adventures!" Izra lifted her palm up for a high-five, surprising Essairyn for a split second before she completed the action. "So we have another longsword D rank knight, and combat mage...knight C rank. Ahah..these coexisting positions are always confusing to classify."

"Well now we're a little better on the magic situation at least—"

"But aren't mages the ones being captured the most?" Theryn interrupted Ennrion. "How do we know if Izra, Bryn, and Ess—" "Brynhilde!" "—airyn are actually the bait in this mission?" He ignored the vexed brunette and looked at the rest of the group.

Rakun released a heavy breath. "It's good to be cautious, but hopefully that's not the case. I doubt the Knights would deliberately endanger the mages. We can only follow the instructions of scouting the town and discovering who exactly's behind the abductions."

"Yes, it doesn't do us any good mulling over this now," voiced Izlende. "Let's get to work and talk to the townspeople. We might get more clues, and then we can discuss battle plans when we reconvene after dinner."

Everyone agreed and proceeded to assign various sections of the town for each to cover. Information and familiarity with the surroundings was crucial to preventing further incidents or sneak attacks. Although the town wasn't large, they were few in number. And while they were under the guise of an adventurer group, it would be tricky to not alert the enemy in their reconnaissance. The longer they stayed in town, the more suspicious they would appear.

That night, Essairyn laid in bed with Akari curled up by her side. Lavender-hued fallow-brown orbs stared at the star-lamps bumbling lazily in the skies. These night-lights dusted the dark with pale auroras. Their gentle glow quelled Essairyn's roiling anticipation, guiding, beckoning her to sleep.