The sound of dozens of people moving about woke Gene from his peaceful rest. After stretching his body, he woke his teammates and got their help putting the pews where they belonged. Fern made everyone another magical berry for breakfast. Aliya went and did her prayers around the room but didn’t do a ritual like the night before.

At the front of the church, Cleric Jorne was giving another speech to the followers of the Righteous One. Gene also did some meditation this morning. He would do it from time to time but it wasn’t because of any faith. It was simply because his father taught him it was a way to focus his inner energy. At least now, he didn’t have to go fetch water from a stream near the bottom of Mount Azriel just to have to a more difficult climb up. All while his father relaxed his pale skin under his black umbrella in the training area as the birds sang in the morning.

During his meditation and thoughts of his father, the monk heard the main doors open. He opened his eyes to see who it was. A person wearing a dark gray traveler’s cloak walked down the main pathway to the front of the room. They had their hood on so Gene couldn’t see a face. Once they arrived at the front, the person entered Cleric Jorne’s office. Gene resumed his previous activity. If they were the man the Jellybeans were waiting for then the good cleric would notify them. If not, then it was none of the monk’s business.

Sure enough, after Cleric Jorne finished his sermon, he had the Jellybeans gathered for a meeting. Surprisingly, Buddy decided to join the group. Perhaps he was going to use whatever information they were given to conduct a search of his own. The small office was again cramped, everyone was forced to stand and some tables were moved to the side. Both Buddy and Meowlynn decided to sit on the main table. Kira threw the wizard a disappointed look.

"You can't expect me to stand the whole time. I need to enjoy rest when I can. Besides, I'm helping save floor space," claimed Meowlynn.

"It is fine," assured Cleric Jorne. "Now let's get to the business at hand." He pointed towards his guest. "Please let them see you. We can trust them."

The cloak was pulled off, revealing a man around the same age as Gene. The mid-twenties man was wearing a beautiful purple tunic and fine fitting black pants. Even his boots were well polished despite a bit of dirt on them. His hair looked freshly cut, short and light brown. Piercing blue eyes and strong jaw accented by sharp cheekbones gave him the appearance and aura of a commander. He was clearly a noble, judging by how slender his body was and how it had almost no definition to his muscles. Only Meowlynn looked taken by the man's looks.

"My name is Gerald Malorne. Son of Henrik Malorne, High Chancellor of Erend. I am an advisor to him but it hasn't proven useful as of late."

"Why are you here," asked Kira."Isn't your father the one hunting down religious people?"

"Sadly, that is true but that has only been the truth for the past couple of years. My father use to be a follower of the Righteous One but after a private meeting with a plain-looking man, my father changed. This whole city has changed with him."

"How does that explain your business with the church now?" Aliya nervously fidgetted with her holy symbol while she asked the question. It was as if she wanted to trust the man but every fiber of her being wanted to flee as fast as possible.

"I am still a believer in the Righteous One and what he stands for. I give aid to the community when I can although I sometimes need to do it secretly for obvious reasons. I bring rations and clothes when I can all while helping investigate strange occurrences happening in my city. Which is one of the reasons I'm here today." Gerald explained himself clearly and with conviction. "I have received word that you are looking for missing children."

Gene decided that now he would finally talk to this advisor. "We are. Can I ask you a question before we continue?" The nobleman nodded his head. "Why is your father doing this and why haven't you stopped him?"

A slightly defeated look appears on Gerald's face. "The man who met my father must have cast a spell on his mind! He poisoned his thoughts!"

"Who was this man?" The team's thief wanted to know who the team was up against.

"His name was quite odd. His name was Sheild, like what soldiers use to protect themselves. Sometimes he returns to the castle to ask for things in private."

"That is the fucker who took my daughter and crucified me to my fucking house!" Buddy's rage surprised Cleric Jorne and Gerald.

"I'm... I'm sorry," stuttered Malorne. "Let me help you with some information. When a child goes missing a few days later a large green beam of light shines from the abandoned black tower to the south-east of the city. The bog that formed in that area is also a recent development. It has been expanding for the past couple of years. We have made expeditions into the swamp but everyone ends up almost where they started. They walk in a straight line but somehow appear where they began even though they don't recall turning around."

At that moment, Buddy stormed out of the office and exited the church. "That was very helpful," thanked Gene. "We will need to prepare if we are going to investigate the bog. It seems very clear that is where we should go but I am worried that time is of the essence. How long after a kidnapping does the light appear?"

Gerald cleared his throat, "Usually two or three. It hasn't appeared for a week or so. That man's daughter might be in that tower."

"But it seems like today might be her last day," whispered Kira. "We need to go now!"

"No, we need to prepare first. Let's go to the market and resupply for the trip. I think rope would be an excellent thing to have," explained Gene. "I noticed that the people have to say something to come into the church. Can I assume that we would as well?"

"Yes, of course. How foolish of me to forget such an important detail. You have to say, "I come bearing nothing but peace." Cleric Jorne felt a little embarrassed that he forgot to tell them. "I made the secret code myself."

Gene was growing tired of both being in this small office and listening to these two strangers talk about how important they are to the people. "We will come back after we finish preparing. Aliya, you should stay here for your safety."

"Alright," sighed the gnome. She agreed with her leader. It would be best for her to stay away from the city's market given her current status.

Gerald walked forward and extended his hand to the monk. As Gene clasped the man's hand he noticed his surprisingly strong grip. It was probably from all his political dealings. "When you return, I will take you to the bog through the city's secret entrance. It is the closest and safest way to get there. Not to mention the closest starting point between us and that damned tower."

"Until then," said Gene. "Let's get any supplies we need and then meet back here." The Jellybeans walked to the door as a team before splitting off. Each person went their own way to gather supplies or information.

A light breeze hit Gene's face but it saddened him to not feel the sun's warmth. He spent most of his life in warmer climates so the cooler temperatures of autumn were almost alien to him. He found his way to the central plaza after a little difficulty and wondered how everyone was going to find their way back to the church. In, hindsight, he probably should have thought of that before they left but it was too late now.

The monk at least knew exactly what he was looking to buy. He was searching for a climber's pack. Many people bought them in Velo since there was a mountain chain to the north-west of the city. After asking around, he found that a general goods store had some in very limited stock. Its location was not far from the west street leading into the plaza.

The shop was painfully dull with a depressed woman running it. She produced the kit that the monk wanted as well as a couple of maps. One was of Erend, and the other was the most recent known world map. Tn his younger years, after his father had abandoned him in Velo, the monk had to learn many skills to survive. After the woman that Gene called his mother took him in, she helped him find people who could improve his skill set.

One such person was Xarcius. He was a man of the cursed race. He had a wonderful black horns that looked like a bull's. His skill was a dull blue with lines of gold. This man taught Gene the skills to be a cartographer and it was something the monk enjoyed doing in his free time. He bought these two maps to help with future adventures and mark off key locations like the church or secret entrance.

He paid the woman and left her glum little store. People droned about without effort or much purpose. It almost horrified the monk since Velo was rich with all kinds of people and activities and most people were smiling. That might have been because religion was almost nonexistent in the city with the sole exception being Lady Luck since gambling was a huge part of the culture. The owner of a famous bar called Gold and Glory was a worshipper himself.

The church was amazingly already marked on the map. This is because the map was dated three years prior which would have been before the fall of the church. Due to that, the Righteous One's house was labeled as a major landmark. Feeling that his team would struggle to get back on their own, Gene decided he would round them up and go together. Locating his friends did not prove difficult because they were the only people with a spring in their step and the fact that they wore any colours that weren't just grey or brown helped too.

Once the Jellybean's leader gathered everyone, he used his new map to find the way back to the church. It was not as complex as the followers of the Righteous One hoped it would be. In fact, Gene now believed that the followers purposefully took people looking for their shelter on a convoluted path to try and disorient them. Upon arriving, the monk walked up to the door and knocked three times. The giant door reverberated the sound throughout the surrounding area but no one came to open the door. He repeated the process again and listen very carefully for anyone moving. The sound of feet shifting could be heard from beyond the door. Gene put his face close to the doo and whispered, "I come bearing nothing but peace." Just then, he could hear the unlatching of a lock and the door swung open. Aliya was on the other side with a big grin on her face, thankful to see her friends again.

The group made their way through the church and back into Cleric Jorne's office. Only Gerald Malorne was sitting there waiting. "I assume you are now ready to go?" He was clearly bored but determined to end whatever was happening. He must be desperate too to aid a bunch of strangers just because they have the same goal. "I will take you to the hidden entrance and then I will take my leave. I am not useful when it comes to anything outside of my city walls, especially combat."

"Can we just get this over with," sighed Meowlynn. "I'm all for saving the day and all but I also want to take in the city, do some shopping and visit the bar."

A few people rolled their eyes at the comment. Gerald stood up and exited the room with the Jellybeans following. When they left the church, Gene took out his map of Erend and a quill. He was determined to record the path they took so they could permanently have knowledge of and access to this passage. They went west, then went into a building, moved through it, came out the back, and walked down another street before going into another building. The monk knew that the nobleman was trying to make sure the group could never find their way to the passage again. To the man's credit, Gene did get lost once or twice but having the map and being able to identify the buildings they were close to placed him back on track.

They arrived at the outer wall of the city. According to the map, they were at a southern part of the wall, not too far from the south-east gate. It struck Gene as weird that the hidden entrance was in the slums as opposed to closer to the castle. Watching quite closely, the monk observed that there was a brick barely sticking out out the dirt and that Gerald pushed in on some stone in the wall about five bricks above it.

The wall magically parted open, revealing a path beyond that lead to the bog. As soon as the group passed through it, the wall closed, locking them out. The final stone to return to its original position faintly glowed before becoming mundane again. The monk marked that brick with purple ink before facing his team for their next challenge.

"This climber's pack will help us get through this place." Gene went through the pack and produced two long coils of rope, a hammer, and a fair bit of pitons. "We are going to create a pathway that can't be moved easily."

"Wow, Gene! That is brilliant." cooed the wizard.

"That is pretty damn clever," agreed Fern. "I also bought a coil of rope so we shouldn't be worried about running out."

Me too," said Kira. "When you said to get rope I thought it was a great idea." With this much rope and still one more coil hiding in the pack, they were set. Gene was happy that his words inspired his teammates.

The only human then hammered a piton into the earth by the outer wall and tied some rope tight around it. "Shall we go?" he asked. Everyone grabbed onto the rope and moved ahead.

This swampy area gave Gene a really bad vibe. Not only way his team wading through sticky mud that felt like it threatened to swallow them at any moment but there was also a dense fog covering the bog. It was no wonder how anyone could get lost here. Whenever even the slightest piece of land appeared and it was not extremely soft, the monk drove a piton into it and tied the rope around it.

They had finished three coils of rope and still didn't feel any closer than when they started. Gene pushed this thought out of his mind. Submitting to that feeling was the same as giving up and he was not going to do that. The whole reason they were here, in this mess was because of him. It was his stupid and sometimes blind honesty that got Buddy's daughter taken away. It was him who got Buddy crucified to his own house. Even still the assassin never took his rage out on the monk. And Gene had been wondering why. Instead, Buddy just accepted help from the man who betrayed him. That thought stung Gene to his core. He wanted to be the reason people smiled and felt safe. Yet, he was able to do the exact opposite of that in a single sentence. If his team abandoned him, he would understand.

On the fourth coil of rope, Gene stopped and ushered everyone forward. Just ahead of them was a faint shimmer, similar to a mirror. It was almost invisible and stretched as far as the eye could see. "This must be it," said Meowlynn as she admired the magical force. "This is probably what returns people to the start of their walk through the bog." Her hazel eyes sparkled as she talked. This even seemed to distract her from the fact that her boots were slick with mud and grim. She had been casting a cleaning spell as she walked but gave up shortly after noticing how pointless it was.

"How are we going to get past this?" asked Ciylia. She was twisting her long hair with her finger. Gene couldn't tell if it was a habit or out of frustration. The tension was causing the team to get flustered but not their leader. He would think of something. He looked at his closest companion in the group, Fern, and was struck by an idea.

"Fern, can you try to pass through?" the monk asked. "I know there is a chance that you will get sent back to the beginning but you have the potential to be the fastest among us and you could follow the rope back to us."

"How do you figure that and what does it accomplish?" Fern was unamused by the idea of being a test dummy.

"You can turn into an animal to get through the bog quickly and then tell us how you felt as you passed through. Maybe it will give us a hint on how to get past it." Gene knew Fern was a logical man and knew he would agree to this idea.

"Yeah, okay." Fern cracked like an egg. He couldn't deny how correct his leader was. The druid stepped up to the unknown force and touched it with his hand. He waited for a moment but there was no reaction. Next, he shoved his entire arm through but got the same result. Finally, he tried to walk through it. A searing pain attacked his mind and his senses shut down. When he could open his eyes, he found himself all alone.

The druid ran forward and soon found the rope they have been using to mark the path. He then looked ahead and saw the city of Erend so he turned around and transformed into a horse. Even though his hooves kept getting stuck in the mud, he was still moving quickly and since he didn't see any predators on the way to the shimmer on the first trip, he felt confident there wouldn't be any on the second trip. That way he didn't have to worry about defending himself.

Sometime later, he saw the group and became himself again. "This thing attacks your mind and senses before sending you away. If we could somehow toughen our thoughts then we could get through," explained Fern.

"I will try," announced Gene. "I will try to empty my mind and go through. I think I could help pull you to the other side once I'm there." No one opposed him. His confidence spoke volumes to his team and their trust spoke volumes to him. The monk closed his eyes and focused on clearing his thoughts. After he had completed that task, he walked forward still with his eyes shut. To make sure he didn't waver in his focus, the monk grabbed the pommel of the dagger that Buddy lent him. It was resting in his waist since he didn't really use weapons. His father had taught them that they were useless.

Anguish invaded Gene's mind as he entered the barrier. A single thought came to the human as his head felt like bursting. It was a memory of training with his father. It was a cloudy day with a light drizzle. They were sparring and his father caught one of the monk's punches. His father turned to him and said, "Gene, your punches lack conviction. "It is not simply enough to hit your target. You must picture yourself going through them but not so much that you keep your defenses down. You must find a balance in order to master yourself and your combat style." The memory faded and he imagined himself pushing through to the other side to be able to help his friends. He struck the air with his fist and then tumbled onto the oddly solid piece of land.

Gene opened his eyes, the shimmering force was now behind him with the rest of the Jellybeans on the other side, cheering although he could see them, he couldn't hear them. The monk motioned for someone to come over. Aliya grabbed her necklace and walked forward. As soon as her hand emerged on to his side, Gene grabbed it and pulled with all his might. He stumbled back as he brought the gnome through. His plan was a success. One by one, each member was pulled through. The task became easier as more people could help pull the next one through.

Once everyone had hade it through, they took a break to rest. "There are only six hours of daylight left," said Kira. One of her unique talents was the ability to know how many hours the sun would be visible in a day. The monk wasn't sure if six hours was a blessing or a curse as he couldn't be sure if Buddy's daughter would be safe until then.

The Jellybeans finished their rest and continued moving forward. The journey was more pleasant as the swampy terrain became less muddy and easier to move through. "I can see a clearing," whispered Ciylia. Just ahead of them was an open space and in the centre of it was a gigantic black tower. A huge boulder was sitting in front of the main entrance with the bones of many animals and a few humanoid corpses surrounding it.

"Do you think that rock killed all those things?" inquired Aliya.

"That isn't a rock," replied Kira. "That thing is breathing. Ciylia, can you toss a rock over there?" The shorter ranger pointed to the left side of the tower.

"I guess I could do that," said Ciylia. The elf grabbed a smooth rock from the ground and threw it as far as she could. When the stone hit the ground, the creature grunted and slowly stood up. It was tall, bloated, and had sickly grey skin. It had sharp teeth with a slack jaw. The creature also had massive and strong arms with warts covering its skin.

Aylia clutched her holy symbol and created the illusion of a short male human to the right of the creature. She then made the sound of laughter, projecting from the visage.

"Oh my," whispered Meowlynn. "I think that thing is a troll. I have only heard about them in stories but it's my first time seeing something so hideous." The troll ran towards the illusion and jumped up into the air. It slammed its two fists down on the fake man.

The projection remained but the monster kept smacking its hands on the ground where the illusion hovered. The creature looked like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Let's try to sneak past it," suggested the thief. Everyone followed her lead and tried to move quietly to the tower's entrance. The druid stumbled as he walked making a loud shuffling sound. The troll heard him and turned to face the party.

Fern morphed into a big brown bear and charged at the monster. He swung his huge claws down, carving into its flesh. The troll roared in pain before punching the bear across the face. Meowlynn dropped a ball of acid on top of it, melting its face as Gene circled around to punch it in the ribs. The monster still targeted the bear as it bit into the back of Fern's neck. The rangers both shot arrows into the troll but it didn't affect the creature.

The wounds it had were healing quickly, even the melted skin seemed to be growing back. Aliya tried to hit it with holy fire but she shot wide because she was afraid to hit Fern.

The troll took the bear and threw it against the tower. Fern roared out in pain as he tried to stand up with all his paws. His bear form was looking badly injured. The monster then tried to crush the monk. As it raised its giant fist into the air, a bolt of fire blasted it in the arm. Unlike the acid the wizard had used before, her bolt of flame was burning the troll's flesh to ash.

Two more arrows pierced the creature's hide, followed by a short ray of light. The blessed beam moved through the troll's body and illuminated the back of its knees. Gene kicked as hard as he could into that spot causing the creature to wobble. Fern finally got back up and jumped onto the troll, knocking it over. More fire rained from above and peppered the monster, burning its skin off. It screamed and thrashed on the ground, making disgusting gurgling noises.

The monk wanted to put an end to its misery and thrust his hand through the eye socket of the creature. He could feel the brain against his fingertips. Gene out his arm in deeper, cracking some of the skull so he could grab the back of the brain. Once he wrapped his fingers around it, he yanked up with as much force as possible. The troll's wailing ended as its brain was ripped from its skull. Meowlynn and Aliya continued to roast the troll and all its matter until it quit twitching.

"Ugh, if I never see another troll again it would be too soon," complained the wizard. The stench was nearly causing both Kira and Aliya to vomit.

"Let's get inside," said the leader of the Jellybeans. "We can rest in there and hopefully get away from this lovely smell." The team went through the entrance together to face whatever danger awaited them on the other side.