"How many heals did you get from Eophi?"

Argent asked, adjusting the straps and fasteners of the extra belts and holsters he had pulled from his pack. He geared himself from head to toe with everything he needed for the battle ahead, strapped securely onto his person. The combat to come would be no place for cloaks or packs.

"A half dozen. Two standard, four lesser."

Gauge replied, holding out three of the bottles spaced between his knuckles. Argent collected them from his companion and slotted them into the leather at his waist, before digging into his pack to retrieve every extra shell for his pistols that he had.

"Any surplus goods?"

"I didn't want to raise or answer any questions, so I didn't push the deal too hard.. She was only willing to make the trade at all after testing that tincture you made– it worked by the way."

"I'm relieved to hear that, I hope it helps them.. Though maybe I should have kept some for us."

Gauge shrugged, situating the contents of his quivers and taking count of the remaining ammunition. Seeing as Argent had opted to leave his bow behind, the alchemist had passed his quiver over to the rogue, which Gauge had attached at his hip.

"It won't be an issue if we don't get wounded in the first place."

"That simple, huh? Why didn't I think of that?"

"You smart types are always over-complicating the obvious."

"Mm."

"Speaking of, I understand our time is short.. But mind telling me why we're going in now? Shouldn't we wait until morning?"

Argent shook his head.

"There's ups and downs to either move.. You benefit from the dark as much as these creatures do, and nothing we've seen has directly implied that sunlight damages or hinders them. The only true benefit to daylight would be easier visuals, and I don't think that alone outweighs the fact that the longer we spend in this forest, the more whatever is hunting us learns, and grows."

He flipped open the breach of a pistol, chambering a blasting shell before snapping it shut and into battery. Holstering it deftly, he repeated the process with his second weapon.

"I'm willing to make due with torchlight and glowstones."

"Fair enough."

With the last of the equipment situated, Argent allowed himself a moment to breathe. Exhaling in a deep sigh and sitting down, he looked over at the now lukewarm supper he had prepared for them earlier. Staring at it for a long moment, he ladled a portion into his mess kit and took a bite.

"You sure you wanna do that?"

Gauge questioned, raising a brow.

"I hate to see it all waste.. And you know what they say, an army marches on its stomach."

"Just keep it light. This isn't a winter siege, or a long march.. It's a skirmish. Hell, it's practically an assassination."

Argent supposed it wasn't entirely inaccurate to say so. The major difference being that 'assassination' was typically used in a more negative context, reserved for 'humanoid' individuals. When targeting a monster like this, it was really more of a slaying, or a hunt.. Though that begged the question of who was really hunting whom here, in the dark depths of the woods.

"Have you tranced yet? I had enough for two arts."

"Kioku's tits, good call."

Gauge settled into a spot across from Argent, taking a few deep breaths and closing his eyes. He remained still only for a moment, before pulling back to the waking world with a click of his tongue.

"Tch.. Not quite for me. Close though."

"The downsides to higher levels, huh?"

Argent said sheepishly, giving the rogue an apologetic look. Gauge waved it off, rising to his feet and giving the alchemist a nod to follow.

"It's fine. You ready?"

Argent shoveled one last spoonful into his mouth before setting the bowl aside and standing as well.

"Ready as I'm going to be."

"Stellar."

Gauge led them into the forest quickly, covering the distance to the river with ease thanks to the guidance of his waystone. But as soon as they began to move in the direction of its source, their progress forward was quickly hindered by the sound of crashing in the brush.

"Wolves. Four."

Argent acknowledged the rogue's callout with a nod. Drawing his pistols and moving into a position slightly ahead of his companion, putting his trust in Gauge to have much better luck firing an arrow past him if necessary, rather than risk any fratricide with a pistol. The infected wolves burst through the trees and into the dim light of Argent's lantern in full charge, their gaping mouths hanging wildly open and oozing with strange drool, though the creatures themselves remained eerily silent. Devoid of bark or howl, with only the sounds of their breathing and movements to give them away.

Torquing one leg back into a weaver's stance, Argent leveled his pistol and took aim at the closest enemy as it burst through the underbrush. The shadows of their enemies contorted wildly as the glowstone lantern hanging from his belt swung with the movement, before the flash from his barrel lit the forest like the sun. The shot struck the wolf in full frontal, blowing off the bottom portion of its jaw before sinking deep into its chest in a haze of blood.

Its body crumpled in a heap, the parasitic mushrooms on its back pulsating as the life faded from their host in ways that caused its nerve endings to spasm and twitch.

At least they go down normally.

Argent thought to himself, as the sound of an arrow being loosed split the air. It struck the broadside of the second wolf closing in on him, stalling the creature long enough for the alchemist to form the hand signs for [Firebolt]. As the kai manifested itself in the palm of his off-hand, he hurled the projectile into the face of the wolf. The searing energy burned its way through fungi and fur, knocking the animal onto its side. Even as it kicked and struggled to regain its footing, it did not yowl or whine in pain. It was disconcerting to say the least, but Argent didn't have the luxury of being put off by the details in the middle of a fight.

The third wolf, uncontested, had closed in on him from the side and taken a lunge for his legs, snapping at him with two angry bites. Backstepping, but without any physical arts or enhancements to boost himself, Argent managed to very narrowly avoid the first bite from the creature's dripping jaws– but the second caught him around the ankle, the wolf's fangs sinking into the leather of his boots and clamping his bones with uncomfortable pressure. Before he could truly be brutalized by the animal shaking its head with him clamped in its mouth, an arrow soared from the edge of the clearing and caught the wolf in the neck, forcing it to let go. Argent looked thankfully towards where Gauge continued to outmaneuver the fourth wolf in the background, the canine unable to contend with the rogue's skillful utilization of [Shadow Veil] and [Agility].

Drawing out the long edge of one of his seax, Argent regained his footing and put himself back on the offensive. He was far more comfortable with the blade now thanks to his practice sessions with Naiara, and it was with a different confidence that he swung his weapon against his foe. A series of quick, clean attacks cut through the wolf's shoulders and forelegs, rendering the creature inert. Turning then to square up with the burned and wounded wolf, Argent prepared himself to be rushed once the creature had returned to its paws– catching the movement just in time. Unbalanced by its injuries, the wolf was unable to keep up with Argent as he clashed against it with a strike of his own. The seax knife cutting deep and pushing the animal off to the side, sending it sprawling in a lifeless flop.

"Pretty clean, but there are going to be more."

Gauge commented, causing Argent to look up as he fought to still his heavy breathing. The rogue was pulling a handful of arrows from his pin-cushioned opponent, checking their tips briefly before placing them back into his quiver.

"Thanks for the support. That one almost had me."

Argent replied, flicking the blood from his seax and sheathing it, before pulling the arrow from the wolf in question. The haft had splintered just above the arrowhead, cracks running down the length of the wood. Tossing it aside, Argent took a moment to eject the spent shell from his own weapon and reload it.

"No sweat, It's the least I can do with you taking the vanguard. Things are going to get real dicey without a frontal fighter here to hold the line for us."

"It's alright.. I need to be able to hold my own in fights like this, if I'm going to operate as a flex party member. This is good practice."

"Don't call it practice. This is real, life or death fighting right now. It's experience, not practice."

"Ah.. Yeah, I guess you're right."

Emerald eyes followed the illumination of the glowstone, tracing over the bodies of the wolves spread throughout the clearing. It was sometimes easy to forget when it came to dealing with monsters, since fighting them was the natural way of things. There was a sense of disassociation there that didn't make it feel like killing... But it was. It wasn't enough to perturb him, but Argent swallowed a lump in his throat as he noticed now the smell of blood fresh upon the air of the clearing.

"I'll mark this spot with the waystone. We can come back and process the bodies later."

Gauge spoke while adjusting the artifact in question upon his belt, siphoning kai into it. Argent nodded and turned his attention back to the woods. Following once Gauge motioned for him, the two of them continued deeper towards the source of the mountain river. Enemy encounters increased in frequency and density as they delved further forward, facing off against varying groups of infected wolves and jellycaps. Avoiding the utilization of any offensive dark-type arts, the two did their best to maintain a high mobility assault, strafing their way through the trees and engaging enemies using hit and run ranged tactics as much as possible. Preferring to expend ammunition rather than healing potions, Argent burned his way through three scatter shells, two blasting shells, and a thunder shell in the interest of maintaining superior firepower; whilst Gauge shot his way through a rough two-thirds of a quiver, give or take the few arrows he had been able to retrieve.

"I guess this is where they were all hiding... Killed more of the damn things in the last hour than the rest of our time here."

"It would seem their numbers weren't exaggerated.. Just the scope of their territory."

"Why would they be a problem this far in? Other than, you know.. The fact that they would inevitably spread."

"Don't forget they aren't acting naturally. It's possible that whatever is sourcing and controlling them is intelligent enough to pull them in when it senses a danger in the area, and send them out to prey on the townsfolk when they're vulnerable."

"That's pretty extreme. Wouldn't it have to be like... Clairvoyant? How would it know?"

Argent shrugged, taking a sip of water from his canteen and adjusting his remaining shells to place them in the easiest to reach positions on his belt while Gauge marked the location of their latest combat with the waystone.

"It could probably use smaller groups of mobs as scouts. Feel things out periodically."

"Well, we've got to be getting close."

Gauge muttered as he lifted his foot from the ground, watching as the space his boot had occupied filled in with water. The more they progressed, the more marsh-like the terrain became, despite the landscape retaining the general geography of a forest. It didn't seem like the extra moisture was natural. It was sticky and rancid, a murky slosh that stank of damp soil and rot.

"Is it just me, or are the trees getting.. Tighter together?"

The question answered itself, as the light of Argent's lantern spread past the nearest tree in his path, revealing beyond what looked to be the walls of a fort. The trees clustered so tightly together that they were touching, forming a veritable log wall. They were draped with all manner of vines and mushrooms, entirely overgrown with stinking foliage. In the center there was a wide opening, perhaps the space of four or five trees... Though to call it an 'opening' was perhaps not entirely accurate. There was a gap in the trees, to be sure, but it was filled trunk to trunk with a twisted, writhing mass of tortured flesh.

"Kioku's tits..."

Gauge breathed in disgust, his eyes wide as he took in the misshapen wall of wolves. It was as though a pack of the animals had melded together with an endless blob of fungal slime, the odd foreleg or hindpaw protruding grossly from the flesh. What appeared to be fully functional heads complete with angrily biting mouths jutted from the creature, snapping viciously at the air. Argent was at a loss for words, his mind reeling for options on what the source of all this could be. The rampant corruption and foulness present in these woods defied all expectations. Lost in his thoughts, the alchemist barely noticed the sound of shifting and crumbling dirt from beneath him.

"Watch it!"

The warning was too late, a black tendril of amorphous, jelly-like rot sprung from the ground like a spear. It pierced Argent through the thigh despite Gauge's best efforts to push him aside, and he cried out in pain as the spike tore through his flesh, followed by a sickly burning sensation from deep within the wound. Gritting his teeth, Argent drew a seax and cut the barb from his leg, watching as it squirmed and retracted into the ground. The earth below the began to churn, and Gauge half-tossed Argent over his shoulder in a forward dash as the alchemist struggled to retrieve a potion from the slots at his waist. A barrage of spiked appendages burst from the ground in a line behind them, following in hot pursuit. At the last moment before they connected, Gauge huffed in exertion and threw Argent forward as he cut to the side, guiding the spikes away from where the alchemist landed. Rolling across the ground, Argent fought to bring himself to a stable position and pulled the stopper a healing potion loose with his teeth, pouring the liquid into his throat. The torn muscles of his leg began to mend, though they were hindered in their recovery by a lingering corruption deep within the wound itself.

"Hex venom..."

Argent growled, recognizing the sensation now that it was in his flesh. It wasn't truly a poison, but rather a form of middle-tier curse, one which sapped the kai of a living creature and caused a necrotic effect.

"Alright then.."

Accepting the reality that he was now waging a battle of attrition against a timer, one which could be stalled but not stopped given their current items and equipment, Argent took the initiative. With the tendrils of darkened slime pursuing Gauge throughout the trees, he closed the gap on the wall of wolves and fired dead center with a blasting shell. The force of the bullet blew a hole through the flesh of the monstrosity, its body rippling like jelly as a clearing of sorts became momentarily visible on the other side. It was a short-lived result. Before Argent could react, the living barrier had sealed itself, regenerating with rapid pulsations as its 'roots' near the base bulged and contracted.

Cursing under his breath, Argent loaded another shell and then drew both weapons, firing them together into the thing. The creature tore and sputtered, its malleable body flexing in ways that were beyond unnatural, but it grew back just as quickly as it had before. Apparently perturbed by the incoming fire despite its lack of lasting damage, a wide tentacle sprung up from the ground and swung at Argent like a club. Shaking the ground as it struck, causing him to stumble as he sidestepped and forcing him back. Gauge had shouldered his bow, doing combat with the tendrils of the wall with his dual tomahawks in hand. Weaving between attacks and slicing out at the offending limbs of slime as they emerged from the earth.

"What are we supposed to do about that?!"

Gauge barked, fatigue pulling at the tones of his voice. He had managed to evade the ground spikes this far, but Argent could tell that the rogue's movements were slowing. The wall was serving its purpose. It was stalling them out, breaking them down, using up their supplies and energy.

That's it, isn't it...

The thought moved through Argent's consciousness as he considered the expenditure of time, energy, and kai. There was no magic or ability that could permit a creature to simply regrow itself infinitely, without resource. It was feeding off something. Drawing kai in from somewhere... And while it was unlikely that they could destroy such a source, even if they could locate it, what they could do was remove the entity itself from the source. Unfastening the clasps of his hip satchel, Argent reached inside and pulled two items from its depths. One a piece of parchment, the other a complex looking combination of a winch and crank, set into a steel cylinder.

"Gauge, cross with me!"

He called out, motioning for the rogue to run past his position as he held the parchment out with one hand and unfurled it. Runes of a shimmering black ink glowed in the low light, taking on a fiery illumination as Argent read them aloud and channeled his kai into the scroll. Gauge recognized the distilled ink from the raven daisies, recalling Argent's words about it being ideal for retaining magicks and writing inscriptions. Cutting on his heel and running towards the alchemist, he crossed in his wake just as Argent swung his hand away from the scroll, the runes hovering from the paper and into the air. They swirled with a low hum of energy and light, remaining airborne until Argent touched the shaft of Gauge's bow.

Quickly dodging away to avoid the pursuing spikes, the alchemist watched as the sigils and runes flew onto the weapon, glowing there as though carved into the wood. Noticing this, Gauge slotted his tomahawks into their rings at his belt in order to re-draw his bow. Looking the symbols over, he knocked an arrow and fired it into the wall of flesh. The projectile exploded violently on impact, but yet again failed to deal any lasting damage. The rogue clicked his tongue, watching as after the shot, one of the runes on the side of the bow lost its light and faded away.

"It's still not enough!"

"It will be, but we only have one chance!"

Argent fought to connect the steel gadget to the barrel of one of his pistols, fixing them together with a series of heavy mechanical clicks. Once he was satisfied that the attachment was stable, he drew his other pistol and made a dash for the wall.

"When I signal, I need you to volley the enemy at its sides and base! Any spot where it connects to the trees or the ground, as many as you can hit at once!"

Gauge looked at the creature. His eyes moved quickly and a frown pulled at the edges of his mouth as he assessed the marksmanship required for such a feat. Shooting any more than four arrows was beyond his confidence level, but.. He could make it work with four. If he lined the shots along its bottom, the first and last arrows would hit close enough to the sides to do the job... Or at least he hoped so.

"Got it."

"I'm counting on you!"

Raising both pistols, Argent fired a blasting shell into the creature's core. As the projectile created its hole, almost immediately he fired his second pistol, sending a length of rope tipped with a hooked grappling device through the opening. As expected, the flesh of the wall began to rapidly regrow to fill the hole, anchoring itself around the rope. Argent turned and ran back into the forest, throwing the attached pistol over the highest branch he could manage, before wrapping it tightly into the winch device.

"Now, Gauge!"

The rogue was right on queue, loosing his volley on command. The arrows gathered the light of his weapons sigils and glinted through the air like sparks, striking the wall of wolves like a precision bombing. As its central body was torn away from its roots, Argent activated the reeling mechanism on his weapon, straining with all his might to maintain a hold on the device. Using the tree for leverage as much as physically possible, he screamed beneath the pressure as the creature was pulled away from the earth, the weakened pieces of its anchoring tendrils ripping away as it slammed against the tree with a sickly splat. Writhing and squirming like a thousand worms, it immediately sought to creep downwards and regain contact with the mucky soil beneath.

"Not happening!"

Gauge shouted angrily, rushing into the fray with a torch in one hand and a tomahawk in the other, swinging wildly at the mass of flailing appendages. Taking a second to catch his breath, Argent forced himself upwards and raised a hand towards the mass, reaching into the aether to project the command for [web]. Sticky fibers sprung forth and tangled the enemy, pinning it to the tree and gluing it to itself. He winced as his breathing became laboured. The hex venom was eating away at his arts capacity, leaving him with very limited kai to be utilized for casting, but he had to finish this. Closing his eyes and digging deep, he sought out the command for [firebolt], readying it for use. Suddenly, as though by a will not his own, the symbols for [kai mirroring] affixed themselves in front of his projected incantation.

"Wha..?!"

He yelped as he opened his eyes, greeted by a flash of raw energy. The firebolts he had summoned were not made of fire at all, but of pure arcane energy, and they were far more potent than they had any business being. The bullets of kai rocketed forward and tore through the enemy with impunity, sizzling through its flesh. As the mutant creature trembled in the final throes of death, a thought fixed itself in his head, a repeat of words he had spoken back at camp earlier.

"If you mirror Element, the result will be Arcane."