Meisla sat alone at the table in her house, rubbing a tender spot on her head. Upon seeing her return with the adventurers, Meisla’s father had given her a hard whack on the head and scolded her for sneaking off. Then he had hugged her tightly, and her mother had joined in as well. Now both of Meisla parents stood outside with the elders as Canno healed Bronson’s wounds.

Few cheered when they returned with the boar. It was their creature who destroyed their homes after all. Yoviene handed Chief Renlo a small sack of gold and muttered, “For the damages.” and asked for Canno to heal Bronson.

Meisla lifted her head as her brother, Denlo, walked inside, looking like his usually pale and gloomy self. The dark rings under his eyes do not help his appearance.

Denlo stared blankly at Meisla and said, “Hey.”

Meisla raised her eyebrows in annoyance, “Hey? Can you say anything else besides your usual one-word sentence?”

She hated how he wasn’t as lively since returning home and made that abundantly clear as much as she could.

“I could have gotten hurt, you know. You could show more concern for my wellbeing!”

Denlo’s eyes widened for a second as he quickly walked past her. Meisla could hear him mutter under his breath, “Glad you’re alright.”

He went straight for his room, and Meisla started to say, “I heard Varl- “before stopping herself. Denlo paused, Meisla could only see his back, but she saw his body tensing.

“Never mind.” She said after a few uncomfortable moments of silence, and then Denlo slammed the door shut.

Was it really Varlo I heard? Or did I imagine him? She remembered the ghost tales to scare the kids. The souls of adventurers who the Mage had killed haunting naughty children who wandered off at night. But she couldn’t believe it was Varlo himself coaching her on.

As she pondered further, her parents came inside. Renlo sighed loudly, throwing the small pouch of gold onto the table, and Farla walked over to a cupboard pulling out a box of herbs as she spoke to her daughter, “ I’m going to boil some tea. Your father and I have a lot of work ahead of us.”

“The adventurers are making their way to the forest now. And we are left to clean up the mess their monster made. Oh, how terrible it will take us so long to repair all those houses.” Meisla’s father smirked.

“You should have returned the money she gave you.” Farla scolded as she poured water from a pot into a kettle over the fireplace.

“She gave it to me willingly. I never said anything to her. It will only be a few hours for the other earth blessed and I to fix the walls. But it is strenuous work controlling the earth repeatedly.” Renlo shrugged.

Farla looked at her husband again and rolled her eyes, “Says the man so skilled with his blessing.”

“I was able to use my blessing today.” Meisla chimed in.

“Oh, when you went off on your own with a bunch of strangers who could probably care less about your safety against a beast that could have torn you to pieces?” Renlo asked sternly, but Meisla can see his eyes shone with pride.

“I already said I was sorry! The boar was being controlled by this thing made of light that blocked the elven woman’s spell, so I set an arrow on fire and shot it down! It exploded into tiny pieces!”

Renlo gave his daughter a rare smile as he said, “It sounds like you are starting to awaken to your blessing of fire. With practice, you can do a lot more than setting arrows on fire. I’m proud.”

Meisla felt the muscles in her face strain at the huge smile she gave.

“But please understand.” Meisla's father continued, returning to his stern demeanor, “Rushing off into danger is reckless. You’re lucky that you didn’t get hurt, and what about the next time something happens? You have to be more careful.”

“I know, but I hate just standing and doing nothing. The Mage made that beast go on a rampage; he came into our village and tried to destroy our homes. I had to do something. If I mastered the blessing, I would charge into the forest and take him on myself.”

“I imagine you would win,” Renlo said with a dry chuckle.

The sound of a kettle whistling filled the room. Farla poured the hot water into a teapot and placed the tea leaves inside, leaving it to brew as she grabbed some cups.

“We understand how you feel, Meisla.” She said, placing the cups on the table.

“You’re getting older and want to prove yourself. We want you to be careful. We don’t want to lose another child.” after setting the cups down, she quickly turns back to the teapot, but Meisla could see a few tears stream down her mother’s face.

After a few moments of silence, Farla rejoined the table and poured the tea for everyone.

Meisla was the first to speak again, “Alright. I’ll be more careful.”

“Thank you,” Farla said, reaching over to Meisla and kissing her on the cheek.

“So, do you think Yoviene and her friends can kill the Mage?” Meisla asked.

“She certainly seems determined to,” Farla replied. "Those with the blessing of fire can be quite stubborn, so I know she’ll put up a fight.” she winked at Meisla.

“I doubt she’ll succeed.” her father said flatly as he slurped the tea, oblivious to the heat.

“Why not? That boar is supposed to be able to stand against elemental magic, and we don’t call him the “Mage” for nothing. I doubt he’ll have any weapons.” Meisla responded. She imagined a frail and sickly older man hurling a fireball at the beast.

“Just a feeling. What we should be asking ourselves is why did he come out of the forest? All this time, and he tries to sneak into the village now. For what?”

“Well, he did release the boar. Maybe he sensed it as a threat and tried to force it to kill everyone or us to kill it?” Meisla speculated, sipping the bitter tea.

“Perhaps.” her father replied, still skeptical.

“He’s always stayed in the forest. Luckily, no one else saw him. That would have caused even more panic.”

“It’s pointless to dwell on it. We should at least have some faith in that woman to get the job done. And we have to focus on repairing the damages made by that beast soon.” Farla said.

“You’re helping as well?”

“Yes, everyone is complaining about the smelly hairs that the boar left everywhere, so I was going to sweep up and start repairing some of the furniture it broke.”

“Ahh, okay then. I’ll guess I finish my tea and head to bed early since it's been a long day.” Meisla said as she started to get up from her chair.

“You’re helping too,” Renlo said, finishing his tea.

“What!? Why?”

“Because I said so.”

“That’s so unfair! I stopped it from rampaging!”

“You were talking about wanting to do something. Here’s another chance.”

“What about Denlo? He’s been doing nothing!”

“Don’t worry about your brother. He’s coming to help too. Now finish your tea. It may not matter much for you, but it’s getting cooler outside.”

Meisla groaned loudly as she sat back down and finished her tea. She looked outside and wished she left with Yoviene to fight the Mage. She left a mental note to herself to draw the group of adventurers after she’s done helping. The girl’s head was full of images of Yoviene and her companions in heroic poses as they fought the Mage.

*****

Night fell as Yoviene, and her group traveled through Darlocke forest. There was an unearthly beauty to the dark forest. The tree branches stretched and twisted together in the sky like joining hands, allowing only shards of moonlight in. However, it was not difficult for the group of adventurers to see. They noticed that the flora emitted a soft glow of blues and greens. A light mist rolled through the forest floor. Yoviene heard light buzzing above them. She looked up and saw large insects the size of a small infant buzz above them. The bugs were thin with beady black eyes and two thin antennas. The creatures were either oblivious or uncaring of the mortal presence below. The leaves above held more interest.

Yoviene and her allies continued wandering through the forest, unsure where to go. They walked close together, Yoviene leading the group, Sylvar and Bronson on both sides of her, and Gaerra and the boar in the back. Gaerra controlled the boar directly now, giving it simple commands while under her thrall.

“Do you two sense the Mage’s presence around here?” Yoviene asked Sylvar and Gaerra.

“No,” Sylvar spoke first, “I can feel the minds of the plants and animals, but something about this place just feels wrong.”

“I agree.” Gaerra chimed in, “There’s an energy here that's permeating through everything here. I’m not exactly sure what it is.”

“Is it the Mage’s “corruption” like that old man said? Is the air poisonous, you think?” Bronson shuddered.

“Well, none of us started choking to death, so I’m sure we’ll be fine,” Yoviene said casually.

“Of course, you’ll be fine, Yovey!” Bronson shouted, “Your body will just burn up whatever toxins get inside you, Ms. Fire-blessed!”

Yoviene stuck her tongue out at the large man and lightly punched him in the arm as they continue. Gaerra looked at the two humans fondly, a sparkle of jealousy in her eyes.

Don’t tell me you’re jealous of those buffoons. Sylvar chided Gaerra telepathically.

It’s rare to see Yoviene smiling. I wish we could be better friends. She’s so cold sometimes.

She looks even more frightening with that smile.

You’re too mean, Sylvar. Gaerra sent flashes of anger to Sylvar, making the man see red, his cheeks turning a hot crimson hue.

And you're too nice. Sweet and innocent like a baby. Sylvar returned the gesture by flooding her mind with joy, causing laughter to well up inside her. The woman covered her mouth with her hands but was unsuccessful. She let out a bellyaching laugh. Bronson looked at Gaerra and joined in on the laughter. He laughed even harder as he saw Sylvar's face stuck in a comical expression of raw fury as he fought the emotions coursing through him like a toxin.

Yoviene rolled her eyes as Gaerra regains her composure, “Can you two be more productive with your abilities, please? I don’t want us to get ambushed while we’re all goofing off.”

“Sorry.” Sylvar and Gaerra said together. As Sylvar face returned to normal, he shot Gaerra a glare, not bothering to send his thoughts of the pranks he'll plan after their mission is over. Gaerra felt the desire for playful vengeance radiating out of Sylvar. The party all became silent and continued moving through the forest.

Moments passed as Yoviene started to speak again, “Gaerra, how’s the boar.”

“Nothing’s been wrong with it since I fixed the spell, and it’s been following my commands,” Gaerra replied while she looked over at the shedding and drooling creature behind her.

“I’m confused; so is the Mage human or an elf? I thought only elves have the blessing of mind?” Bronson mused to the group.

“The old man did say that he used the elements, but not another blessing. A human with the blessing of mind is impossible.” Sylvar said.

“Maybe he’s actually a demon? Or maybe he did some crazy experiments on himself that lets him use all the blessings the Gods granted to their creations!?” Bronson exclaimed.

“Does it really matter what he is?” Yoviene asked with annoyance on her face.

“He’s going to die no matter what tonight. There’s no point in speculating about what he is.”

“But what if he tries to retake control of the boar?” Gaerra countered.

“We should take more time to scope out the area and found out as much as we can about him.”

“Gaerra, it’s five against one. If the boar keeps him occupied, it’ll be an easy kill.”

“Still, I don’t think we should be rushing off into a fight. It isn’t a good idea.” Gaerra started again.

“We need to turn bac-” Gaerra immediately paused.

Sensing the same thing she did, Sylvar pulled out his two daggers and held an arm out, signaling for his human companions to stop. Yoviene and Bronson pulled out their weapons slowly in response. Sylvar darted away from the group quickly to scout ahead.

What is this feeling? It's… so… wrong… The elven man's thoughts flew over to Gaerra through their mental link.

He’s not a regular mortal. He can’t be. She replied.

Sylvar closed his eyes to focus. Concentrating on the minds of those around him, Sylvar created a kind of mental echolocation; his mind’s eye drew rough outlines of the living organisms in the area. What the elf sensed a few feet ahead of them, beyond the simple thoughts of flora and fauna of the woods, was a void. Nothingness cut out into a human form. Its thoughts eluding Sylvar. It walked through the forest floor, oblivious to the party’s presence. It took Sylvar all he could to quell his instinct of probing the stranger’s mind. Something told him that if he tried to peer inside the void, it would sense him.

Sylvar opened his eyes and quietly moved a few feet ahead for a better view of the stranger. In the distance, he saw the figure wearing a black robe with a hood obscuring his face. His back was facing away from Sylvar as the stranger wandered through the forest, looking at the insects above as if in a waking dream.

Sylvar returned to the group without bringing attention to himself and whispered to them, “The Mage is up ahead.”

Yoviene lips curl into a cold grin as she said, “Time to get to work.”