Morio was surprised when he woke up to Elanya and Rigesh asleep in the front seats of the steam trucks. He found them very bold considering the company they were with, but he shrugged it off and knocked gently on Rigesh’s driver window. His junior staffer jumped, hitting his head against the leather headrest. Narrowing his groggy, green eyes, he yawned loudly and rolled the window down ready to complain. Before he could do so, Morio shook his head and pointed to Elanya, still sleeping peacefully wrapped in her blanket, her head against the window.

“Did you finish your modding?” he asked quietly.

Rigesh nodded as he suppressed a yawn. “Yep. Took half the time with two people etching.”

“Ah, that explains it,” Morio nodded, “did you just get to sleep?”

Rigesh wiped a spittle of drool from his bottom lip, sighing. “We did. Even after El helped me with most of the Rune Etching, I still had to do my own mods and take her for a test run. Judging by you being awake, we couldn’t have been asleep for no more than three hours.”

“Lucky for you, the real work starts tonight, so you can do your napping until then,” the Senior Inspector leaned into the truck to pull the switch to pop the hood, “go sleep in the back while I look through some stuff.”

Almost like a child, Rigesh sluggishly moved from the driver’s seat and into the back, using the whole seat to stretch out his long legs. He put an arm over his eyes to shield them from the bright morning light and fell asleep again like he hadn’t been woken up. Morio knew it would be a while before the two woke up, so he started on his inspection slowly. From the previous modding Rigesh had done for their other work truck, he was impressed at how well the boy could work without him hovering over him. It was Morio’s blueprints, but his Junior Inspector was able to adapt his own means into creating something more efficient. What had always been puzzling to him was how strong Rigesh’s magic was despite how weak his Water Magic seemed when he attempted to etch a Water Rune. He shouldn’t be surprised knowing Rigesh’s situation with the Knights, but Morio could feel the magic exuding from these runes were much more than just mediocre. Day by day, Rigesh’s magic grew and Morio was concerned that Rigesh would get ahead of himself if he realized his own full potential. Comparing his runes with Elanya was hard--they were almost equal in power. Her Water Runes had as much strength in it as Rigesh’s Fire Runes. What could be wrong with the boy that his magic was growing even without casting Water Magic?

He closed the hood of the truck and glanced into the horizon of Sogara-dai. Any other time he would be concerned about Rigesh’s change in magic, but he hoped that these changes would be in their favor when they enter the city. The pistols were enough with Elanya’s soul sword, but they needed all the help they could get. An ominous feeling slid over his shoulders the longer he looked at the cursed city, the bad feeling soaking into his joints as if to freeze him on the spot.

The rest of their group woke not too long after noon, wiping the sleep from under their heavy-lidded eyes. Elanya and Rigesh still slept within the steam truck, oblivious to the motions of the morning. Nemedion saw Elanya sleeping against the passenger window and tensed when he saw the outline of Rigesh’s sleeping body on the second seat, anger heating up the blood under his skin. How could she have opened herself up to a commoner like that, he thought to himself. The sight rubbed him the wrong way, as though she was purposely doing this to make him upset. Was this a ploy to put him in his place or was this something else?

Orantal stepped in front of Nemedion, her pale fingers placed delicately on her hips, shaking her head in disappointment. She reminded him of the assurances he gave to their small group that he wouldn’t bring his personal feelings into their mission. She watched the turmoil in his dark blue eyes fight against logic like a raging storm. Everyone could feel the difference in the air, how it shifted to something lighter and warmer than the monotone cage they felt previously bound in. The initial unease from before had diminished into a comfortable flow, and while Morio and Orantal could finally breathe a sigh of relief at such, Nemedion and Yahna refused to accept change. Maybe they were frightened of what the future held for them as they traversed more into an undead grave. Maybe they were afraid to finally come face to face with the possibility that they would not be able to succeed in their personal endeavors.

A few hours later, Elanya and Rigesh woke up and made their way to their neatly cleaned camp where the rest of the group had gathered to talk about their plans going forward. Elanya was impressed at how domineering and commanding Morio was in her absence when it came to wrangling up their crew of mismatched persons. All their belongings had been packed and placed in the corner of the camp as their departure was approaching. Rigesh dropped down in front of the small fire, sighing as he asked Morio about taking one more test run before sealing the Etches. Instead of inquiring, he volunteered Nemedion, Orantal and Morio in helping him channel magic through the steam truck to complete the final step of the magical shields. He wasn’t met with resistance and so he spoke with Elanya about their plan to cover their truck in shadows and sneak in through one of the holes in the city walls. They had both observed the routines of the ferals surrounding the outside. Because of their unpredictable behavior, they thought it best to kill the stragglers off instead of trying to sneak their way past them. They would still be shielded with Moon Magic, but they had to take every measure to ensure that they had an escape route and wouldn’t be followed inside in case the Flesh Hoarders became suspicious.

As the day continued, Elanya divided the jobs around for everyone before they hit the road. Orantal took inventory of their combined supplies to calculate how long they would last within the city before they would need to salvage anything they came across. Rigesh and Morio took to looking over the steam truck one more time, adding more runes to the engine and changing out old motor oil. Elanya struggled with what jobs to give to Nemedion and Yahna, both being useless in outdoor activities and not knowledgeable about survival. She reluctantly paired Yahna with Orantal to help examine their supplies and then asked Nemedion to come with her to scout around the area. She scaled the side of their desolated hideout with Nemedion on her trail like a lost puppy.

She settled onto the middle of the roof, then chanted the Air spell to herself, hoping to transform her eyes for Eagle’s Eye. Magic surrounded her eye in a burning sensation, stinging as tiny tears formed in the edge of her inner eye. She felt her eyesight go in and out as she stared out into the distance, some of the distance becoming clearer then fading off into a blur. Her natural eyesight was a bit below average and she wished she had brought her glasses along to heighten her vision. Once the spell crumbled in her eye, she recoiled, hissing at herself for not making any progress in a week.

“Are you alright?” Nemedion asked her, leaning forward to touch her shoulder.

Small slivers of shadow wrapped around his hand before he pulled back. It had been a while since her shadows disliked being touched by him. She didn’t need to be able to see his face in her peripheral to know that he held his burning hand in shock.

She sighed, ignoring the irritation in her right eye. “I’m fine. I’m just practicing an Air spell.”

He snorted. “You hardly use Air spells for anything.”

She shot him a glare before she summoned Eagle’s Field in front of her. “I use all Elemental Magic, not just Moon Magic.”

“What’s that? Is that a new spell?”

“It’s Eagle’s Field.”

“...and?”

Elanya huffed, craning her head around to look at him. “It’s an Air spell used for long distance scouting. I can see everything within a three to five mile radius.” She hoped that when she mastered the spell, she would be able to see more than three miles since she felt only a bit useful. She assumed that Rigesh observed a lot more than she did when casting his Eagle’s Eye.

“When did you learn that? You specialize in close combat, you would never need to use something like that.”

“In normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be using this spell. But since I’ve been keeping watch at night, I thought that learning this spell would help us keep an eye on our enemy.”

Nemedion narrowed his eyes. “You recently learned this spell.”

“Rigesh taught me.”

Nemedion rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders, anger rolling up his neck with a flesh of red. “What do you mean he taught you? You are a Meister! Your knowledge in magic far exceeds anything a commoner like him can teach you.”

“Last time I checked, commoners can be Meisters, Nem. Besides, I don’t know many long distance spells like that and I have never scouted, so he offered to teach me something new.”

She held her tongue before she mentioned that Rigesh had actually taught her a simplified version of a much stronger spell. The last thing she wanted to do was to have her friend more pissed off at their useful comrade.

“It doesn’t matter who taught me, what does matter is that we all need to be prepared before we walk into the city. The opening we chose isn’t too populated like the other ones, but there is still a large group of ferals on the inside. We need to use everything at our disposal.”

Nemedion crossed his arms, scrunching his face like he smelled something foul. “Fine, fine. Whatever.”

Elanya held her composure, counted to five, then turned to face her friend again, hoping she was still capable of speaking to him normally. “Have we gotten any Spirit Birds from the Dean?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yes, he knows that we are about to enter the city. While behind on schedule, he suggests that we take our time while in the city. Magus Meister Estil was dispatched along with Magus Meister Toman to protect Yulin-dai in case our plans fell apart. It also doesn’t help that there seemed to be more uneasy tensity between Vaikoln and Titaneous since the attack happened.”

Elanya snorted. “You mean to tell me that instead of the Magus Meisters of Sun and Moon Magic coming to aid us at this poisoned city, they chose to protect Yulin-dai instead? What would it matter to be wary of Titaneous now when this threat has no discrimination? These creatures will tear through any Titanian just as they have any citizen of Vaikoln.”

“It does suck now that you’ve said it out loud.”

Elanya rubbed circles into her left wrist with her thumbs, cooling her temper. “They don’t expect us to come back. I don’t understand why powerful users like Magus Meisters couldn’t just come here to wipe out the whole damned city. Titaneous is not the real problem here. They could attack and then what--become the next prey for their zombie predators?”

“We will be successful, Ellie. They are protecting Yulin-dai in case we fail, but they could be helping to repair the city with more reliable magitech just in case Titaneous decides to take advantage of our chaotic situation.”

“Magitech won’t matter if those things don’t react to it,” Elanya sighed, “and there’s no telling how long it will take us to scout the whole city.”

“How long do you think we should be in there?” Nemedion asked.

Elanya tilted her head as she thought. “I would say about a week and a half.”

“Considering our luck, it will be much longer than a week and a half,” Nemedion murmured to himself.

Idle chatter passed between them as the day progressed onward. The dark skies darkened even more in anticipation of the chilling night. Everyone gathered their things into the back of the steam truck and took their positions. Morio and Rigesh held their hands on one side of the truck while Orantal and Nemedion held the other, ready to channel their magic through the steam truck. The two students would be pushing Earth and Fire Magic while the two Rune Specialists push Air and Water Magic. Once enough magic was poured into the steam truck and safely containing all of the elements in the transmission, the vehicle would be able to output a shield by any one of them. Morio and Rigesh hoped that the shields would be strong enough for the upcoming battles they were bound to have. If Rigesh’s pistols were anything to go by, then they would be fine. Elanya stood off to the side while she watched the four of them funnel their magic into the beat up vehicle. She mostly observed Rigesh and took notice of his flaring aura as he pumped Air Magic with ease. His aura seemed more brightened today, like he had leveled in power. Suspiciously, she wondered if his magic was evolving. As the days had passed them by, he had grown stronger. Was it the effects of the gun or something else? Was the block she felt on his magic slipping?

Her thoughts were interrupted by an unamused Yahna sighing surly beside her, watching them pour a bundle of magic into their Runic shield. Elanya was tempted to order her to stay outside the city to ensure that the rest of their group wouldn’t get into trouble, but they might need her. Her healing knowledge and skills were valuable for the next couple of hours while Orantal recouped from using her magic.

After the four finished, they all staggered against the steam truck. Like Rigesh’s pistols and Valla, the truck was taking a significant amount of magic from them to be stored to be used as a shield until it needed to be replenished again. None of them had ever used a multi-elemental shield before, so it was expected that they would be a bit drained the first time.

“This is incredible, Morio” Orantal says, catching her breath, “you and Rigesh created another multi-elemental weapon.”

“If this truck is considered a weapon, then what they are doing is illegal.” Nemedion stated as a matter-of-factly.

“We will deal with it when we get there,” Morio dismissed him, “is everyone ready to depart?”

The group nodded, dispersing to settle themselves inside the truck. Morio sat in the driver’s seat, his trembling lips crushing the end of his barely lit cigarette. Orantal placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. She sat in the passenger seat to navigate him with the path they agreed on while also acting as his extra pair of eyes. Nemedion sat at the back of the steam truck, keeping a steady hand on his sword. He would be defending the back with both offensive and defensive magic if they become overpowered by a hoard of Flesh Hoarders. Yahna sat in the second row, crossing her arms to keep herself from shaking. While seemingly ignorant of most things, she seemed to have realized what this part of the mission would entail. She would have to keep up with the rest of them.

Elanya also sat in the back with Nemedion, her shoulders slacking against the edge of the second row seat as she tried to relax herself. Shielding the truck would take all of her concentration. She couldn’t focus on everyone around her, nor could she worry about whether they would be attacked or not. Her Moon Magic would only be able to do one thing, blanketing the truck in shadows to blend them with the darkness.

Rigesh stationed himself on the top of the truck, holding himself to the roof with his hidden dagger. While he crouched low with his left hand on his dagger, he hoped that he wouldn’t need to use both of his pistols to fend off any enemies. He didn’t want to repeat another round of falling from a moving vehicle and hitting his back. Clenching his amber pistol in his right hand, he curled and straightened his fingers, waiting for them to move. After inhaling through his nose, Eagle’s Eye came over both of his green eyes, converting them to a sunlit gold. He could trust no one else’s eyes but his own when it came to spotting the enemy in hiding.

Once the gray sky became dark enough, Elanya began to start an incantation, shadows wrapping seductively around her. It slowly slid over her skin like an insect’s silk wrapping into a cocoon. As she tuned out everything around her, her vision darkened and her skin hardened. The shadows stretched over all over her body until it cradled her face, leaving her enough room to breathe. Yahna leaped away from her and held onto the passenger seat, terrified at the darkness creeping around Elanya. Soon shadows escaped from her body and outlined every crevice of the truck.

“Nosu umbraka, noctio letan custorum nosu.” She chanted over and over in Mvag as the shadows stretched its power around the truck, leaving only the windows open to view.

The shadows ran slivers over Rigesh as he held himself on the roof. He felt shivers slide down his spine as he felt the darkness dance around him. Some strands flicked at him like fire embers, slowly caressing his hands and his legs. The heat radiating from his body felt like it was being chilled, like cold water dousing a fireplace. He had never experienced Moon Magic this way.

Morio started driving toward the south side of the city where they spotted a large hole in the city’s wall. Only a few feral Flesh Hoarders stood outside the wall, dithering around with no objective whatsoever. Many of them were so rotten that their insides dragged along their bodies, leaving a obscured line of blood trailing after them. Some of them were like the poor unfortunate soul that Elanya killed the other day, blind and walking in agony. Those creatures wouldn’t be a problem for them, but they still held their guard as they approached the city in secret. The real problem would be having to maneuver them through the sparse spotting of the Flesh Hoarders without alerting them to the group’s presence.

While using his enhanced eyes to canvas the area, Rigesh noticed that some of the Flesh Hoarders were lingering around the hole’s entrance. If their confrontations with the ferals that attacked them a week ago and the ones that blew up the Airport were anything to go by, then he would assume that some of them were laying awake in the darkness, waiting for them to make a slip up. The Flesh Hoarders were more intelligent than what they previously perceived. As they advanced on the opening hole, Rigesh crouched lower and aimed his weapon in front of him, ready to attack at the first thing that leaped out at him. They passed the first couple of ferals with no trouble, the creatures faltering out to the side, some trying to consume another or others wandering aimlessly until they decay to death. The hairs stood on the back of Rigesh’s neck the closer they came to the hole and the amount of Flesh Hoarders began to decrease. His instincts were telling me that the smarter Flesh Hoarders were hiding on the sides of the wall, waiting to jump on their truck like the first two did a couple of days ago.

His assumptions were correct once they drove inside the city and a group of Flesh Hoarders huddled on the insides of the walls and behind large chunks of rubble. They looked a little healthier than the ferals stumbling outside the walls, with an ugly glow to their yellow eyes and their skin hanging on them like melted rubber. Rigesh couldn’t tell if these Flesh Hoarders held enough magic to notice a large, shadowed object moving past them, but he gave it no more thought as they rode deeper into the city, swerving around rocks and debris in the streets. Orantal looked out into the distance trying to locate a safe place for them to stop and make up camp, but since they didn’t know the layout of the town with the rubble and trash everywhere, it was hard to trust any place they stopped. Yahna clung to the seat in front of her in terror, her nails digging so hard into it that one of them chipped. She watched as they passed by the hungry monsters looking for any sight of them. For a moment, she thought that one of them locked eyes with her and it took everything within her to hold back her yelp. Morio looked back at her annoyed, hoping that they couldn’t smell the large amount of fear she was exuding. He had to find an abandoned place before they found out.

“Nem, could you hand me the map?” Orantal asked.

Nemedion dug into his satchel and pulled out the school’s version of Sogara-dai. No one had been here in over three hundred years and most of the city’s history had been destroyed or told through hearsay, so Orantal wasn’t sure if she could fully trust the map. However, they couldn’t keep driving around with no particular place in mind.

“If this map is somewhat accurate, then we’re in one of the poorer slums. Not only is this city's huge, but it could take us forever to get around it with these crumbled buildings in our way.”

“Some of these streets are obviously unusable. Find us a place in some side streets away from the hole we entered.”

Rigesh continued to watch the Flesh Hoarders behind them, frantically looking around for human flesh. Sooner or later, they would find them. If he killed the ones tracking them, then they would have time to find a hidden hideout and he could cover up their trail so new Flesh Hoarders wouldn’t be able to find them.

He leaned forward to Orantal’s side of the truck and knocked on her window, scaring Yahna in the process. Elanya didn’t lose focus or exit her continuous trance of her shadow incantation. “We’re being followed by the smarter ones. They can’t see us, but they know we’re here.”

Orantal tsked. “Dammit, I haven’t found a place for us.”

“I can buy you some time,” he said swinging his pistol, “I’m going to clear them out as best as I can and lure them away.”

“Raylith’s Light, are you fucking mad?” Morio asked, turning his eyes away from the road to look at Rigesh.

“I’m quite fine. Trust me, I can handle this. I’ll be able to find wherever you guys decide to stay.”

He removed his dagger from the rooftop of the truck and waited for Morio to stop the truck for him to hop off. If he made too much noise, then there would be a higher chance of the Flesh Hoarders finding his location. The creatures were intelligent, but not well known in the arts of being sneaky. Still submerged in Elanya’s shadows, the truck rode off without him and turned down a small street that hadn’t been blocked off by rubble and destruction. Rigesh kneeled down behind a large, broken slab of concrete and observed some of the Flesh Hoarders moving toward him. He counted four of the most thoughtful ones, ignoring the rest of the ferals swinging in and out of the fragmented entrance. If he worked slowly enough, then he could take all four of them within five minutes, but that didn’t count alerting any reinforcements that could be hiding nearby. No, there wouldn’t be any reinforcements, because they assumed that the enemies sneaking into their domain had nothing that could kill them.

It had been years since Rigesh was up against four opponents at once while he hid in the shadows. He considered sniping them from a distance, but on the off chance that they did have someone in hiding, he didn’t want them to track his position, nor find their way back to their group. Despite being shielded in Moon Magic, Elanya was vulnerable to attacks as most of her magic and concentration was centered around her and the steam truck. She would have to dissolve the shield, if she wanted to fight. In turn, that would leave the rest of them vulnerable with no protection unless they found shelter at that time. Rigesh had to move fast if he wanted to buy some time for her and Morio.

One of the Flesh Hoarders, whose eyes seem to glow brighter than the other three, looked around suspiciously. This one had recently come into some magic from some doomed soul who had thought escaping west would save them from the damage in Yulin-dai. That Flesh Hoarder would be the first target to handicap. It would be annoying to deal with four unkillable creatures, one of them wielding enough magic to fight back and increase his stamina.

Placing his left hand on his right knee, he casted Earth Magic around his shins, then made a dash for the lurking creatures. He kicked the strongest one, pinning it down with his rock covered knee, then shot toward one of the weaker ones. One of them was caught by his magical bullet and disintegrated into the air. As he pinned down the stronger one, he quickly broke its neck, hoping to delay it as he dealt with the other two. Hissing at him with barely restrained anger, they leapt toward him, claws swinging every way trying to catch his flesh. Rigesh ducked below a swing and punched one in the stomach. It staggered back, and wasting no time, Rigesh shot that opponent through the head, black blood splashing on his face. He danced around the third one that flailed toward him, pivoting around until he was behind it. In one quick motion, he pulled the Flesh Hoarder’s arm back, breaking it as he pushed it away with his rock covered leg. The wailing creature fell to the ground cradling it’s broken arm, but Rigesh showed it no mercy as he stepped on it and shot it through the chest, it’s body rotting away into the wind.

Finally alone with the stronger Flesh Hoarder who was doubled over healing it’s neck, Rigesh took his time as he took in the pitiful appearance. This one didn’t cry out in pain like the weaker or feral Flesh Hoarders, which led him to believe that the intake of magic must be doing more than giving them power. The Flesh Hoarders that attacked the Airport in Yulin-dai barely registered any pain when they were sliced through by the security guards, and they healed almost immediately since their magic intake was more than doubled. The magic was numbing their chronic pain of being living rot. Rigesh whistled thinking about how awful this curse really was.

“I know you aren’t a feral,” he said, placing his foot on the Flesh Hoarder’s neck, “nice try blending in, though.”

With a flick of his wrist, he summoned Earth spikes from the ground, pinning the Flesh Hoarder permanently underneath his foot. The creature struggled to move but was powerless against Rigesh’s strength and magic. Black blood oozed around the spikes and spilled onto the sandy ground.

“You’re not someone super important, obviously easily disposable. But someone sent you out here to attack us,” Rigesh put more pressure into his foot as he pushed harder on the creature’s neck, “which means that there is someone controlling the non-ferals.”

After a strained hissing, the creature finally spoke. His voice was harsh and haggard, as if speaking was a bother. He had a heavy accent while he spoke, very similar to the people who live in the Northeast of here. Vai was not his first language. “There will...many more...after me.”

The Flesh Hoarder was stating the obvious, Rigesh knew that more would come after them. They had been watched since their gritty battle with the three ferals. It was only a matter of time before word got back to the one leading the rest of them. They had to have had a Queen controlling them.

“Tell me where your leader is hiding,” Rigesh demanded.

The creature hissed again, spluttering as more of its dark blood soaked into the ground. “You...never get anything...out me...human.”

Rigesh tsked. He doubted that this Flesh Hoarder was told anything important. In the end, it was just another grunt and it irritated him that he couldn’t dig anything else up from him. If its body wasn’t already an endless mass of pain, he would torture the creature until it squealed all of Sogara-dai’s secrets. As much as he wanted to drill into him about numbers and such, the creature would tell him nothing. Spinning his pistol around in his hand, he shot the Flesh Hoarder three times before it’s body died within the stale breeze. Before more Flesh Hoarders came to provide any back up, he followed the faint trail of Morio’s steam truck.

Orantal had found a semi-stable building at the end of a skinny, dank alleyway. It was a dead end, easily forgettable, especially since the entryway of the street was cluttered with large concrete slabs, decomposed trees and other trash. It was a good place to hide, especially since it wouldn’t take too much trouble to move the trash out of their way when they leave again. The door had been opened when Rigesh walked toward the end of the alleyway. He could hear loud voices, two of them of obvious displeasure. Before he walked into another cursed den, he composed himself then walked through the doorway, casually placing his amber pistol back in it’s holster.

“I’m back--”

“And here’s the fucking idiot now,” Morio whirled around toward him, away from Yahna, whom he assumed was screaming at his friend, “took you fucking long enough.”

Rigesh shrugged as he strolled in. “I wasn’t gone more than ten minutes. You could have at least had more faith in me, Morio.”

Yahna zipped past the rest of them and ran straight into Rigesh’s arm, who didn’t have enough space to move out of the way. She latched onto him with a wicked, but crazed smile and tilted her neck back in a seductive manner.

“Rig, I was so worried about you. You could have been killed.”

He shrugged again, this time peeling Yahna’s slender fingers from his person. “Well, I’m fine and everything’s been dealt with,” he scanned the room for help or a change in subject, “I caught them by surprise. So, is this where we’re settling into for the next move?”

The living quarters of the home wasn’t as bad as he expected. Glass from broken windows were scattered across the room with destroyed bits of wood and marble. The structure still held up, considering that the rest of the building was leaning over with the possibility of collapsing at any moment. The house they chose to hide in was connected to other townhouses in a row, still very far from the middle of the city. The area, determined from most of the destruction and debris, along with the less-than-quality materials used to build the homes, was stationed in the slums. Judging by the broken windows and half opened doors along the stretch of houses, the area was ransacked and looted. Furniture, such as couches, chairs and beds, were missing from the home. One of the rooms in the back held a stiff mattress on the hardened floor, missing the matching dressers and tables. A lamp had been knocked over and broken at the neck with a trail of black smudge flowing from it. A fire had been lit within, then knocked over causing the flame to flare out. Looks like the flame withered not too long after it, since the building still held itself, despite the strain on it.

Orantal sighed as she looked over the map of Sogara-dai. “Looks like it. Maybe we can move closer to the center soon, but we won’t know unless we’re sure we won’t run into anymore Flesh Hoarders. The maps are also unreliable with most of the roads being blocked off or completely destroyed.”

“Can’t Elanya just shield us in Moon Magic until we find a better place?” Yahna asked as her lip curled at the destruction.

“It would be a waste of her magic, unless you want to move at night where we have a disadvantage.” Nemeidon replied.

Elanya laid her back against the wall closest to the door. “I would rather conserve my magic for killing off the Flesh Hoarders,” she turned her face to Rigesh, wryly, “how many did you get and how many more do you think is behind them?”

Rigesh couldn’t contain his grin. The woman knew a lot more about anticipating their enemy more than he had assumed. But he couldn’t deny feeling the bloodlust slip from her. The feeling familiar when he killed the Flesh Hoarders sneaking up on them.

He leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the door, crossing his arms as he thought. “I killed four of them. I’m guessing here, but I think maybe six more may be coming after them. It won’t be long before they snoop around here.”

“We took precautions to move as much concrete and rock in front of the alleyway to hide ourselves from them.” Nemedion crossed his arms as he glared at Rigesh.

“It won’t be enough to deter them,” Elanya said shrugging, “we need to go take care of them before they attract more for help.”

“How can you be so sure that more won’t show up after this group is taken care of?” Morio asked.

Rigesh sighed. “Technically, we aren’t sure. However, I can surmise that they came as a group, then split into two to attack us from the front and behind. Once the back group fails to give them some kind of signal, the front group will move in to deal with us.”

Orantal looked up from the map, grimacing as she looked over to the rest of the group. “I hope you’re right.”

Elanya pushed herself up from the wall and cracked her knuckles. “It’s the most logical. If they had a group too big, it would just cause confusion for them, assuming that most of them are deficient ferals not capable of communicating. A big group is too obvious and wouldn’t be able to hide from us. A small group of ten would allow them to sneak around without us noticing, while also being enough to overwhelm a group of six.”

“If four wasn’t enough the first time, then six would be enough the second time around. They won’t lose too many men but,” Rigesh rolled his neck, freeing himself of any cracks or creaks, “they underestimate what kind of skill we have at our disposal.”

A drop of sweat crept down Orantal’s face as she continued to look at them. “Oh no, you’re not thinking about going out there now, are you?” She glared at Rigesh with an exasperated expression. “You just came from out there and you want to fight more? There’s two of you against the possibility of six.”

Elanya waved away her friend’s concerns. “Three of us. I’m taking Nem for backup. Besides, we took on more than a dozen at the Airport.”

Nemedion widened his eyes, uncrossing his arms as he waved them around in frustration. “What? Ellie, despite the luck we had at the Airport, we are in their territory. They can catch us off guard.”

In a rare sighting, Elanya tilted her chin upward and flashes a mischievous grin. Behind slanted eyelids, her eyes glowed an uncanny color of maroon, decorated with swirls of dark green and light brown. Her whole demeanor changed, making the air around them darken.

“Let’s hope we catch them off guard before they catch us.”

When the three fighters established a solid plan, everything fell into place. Rigesh sought out the hidden group of six Flesh Hoarders casing the area with his Eagle’s Eye and Nemedion turned the corner to ambush them with as much Fire Magic he could muster around his fists. He lunged into the unsuspecting crowd, forcing them into a small corner as he burned his way through them. With ease, he slammed down a Flesh Hoarder trying to grapple him, the creature’s back cracking on the ground. An inhuman imprint surrounded the disabled Flesh Hoarder from how hard Nemedion threw it down. As fire engulfed his right leg, he stomped another one into the ground, scorching the area around him with blackened marks.

Rigesh had his own opinions about Nemedion, but he could not deny that the man was talented with his magic. He remembered that the man had been introduced as a Meister of Combat Arms, someone who specializes in physical fighting, using huge bursts of elemental magic as melee-like weapons. At first glance, Nemedion looked every part of the entitled aristocrat--pretty face, nice blue eyes and a slight rebellious nature when it came to his brown dreads dipped in blonde. His light, caramel skin was bound to attract any rich and available woman that catches his fancy. But ignoring his lean frame and handsome features, he couldn’t doubt that the man possessed enormous power at his disposal and was very much the warrior he boasted to be. It is usually unwise to overcast oneself with such powerful magic, but a Meister of Combat Arms trains for the overwhelming pressure on their bodies because they have to become one with their magic. Nemedion was flawless in his flame covered body as he aggressively pushed the Flesh Hoarders into a tight position. Rigesh was honestly impressed, though he shouldn’t have thought twice about a student from one of the nation’s leading universities.

Elanya and Rigesh moved to trap the Flesh Hoarders in a corner while they avoided being burned to a crisp by Nemedion’s Fire Magic. With Rigesh holding the rear with his pistols, Elanya dashed into the Flesh Hoarders and swung her sword as she pulsed Moon Magic through it. Almost like a ballerina on an opening night, she danced around them and striked to kill. Three of the Flesh Hoarders fell immediately after she swiped across them with a large claw of Moon Magic. Rigesh spun around a Flesh Hoarder coming toward him while shooting the other two behind him dead. He hooked the last one with his leg, then shot that one dead once it touched the ground.

“Well, that was fun,” Rigesh wiped his forehead with the bottom of his T-shirt.

Elanya agreed with a short laugh before she looked to Nemedion and grinned. “Good job, Nem.”

Nemedion released a harsh breath as he shook his arms out. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to go out like that, maybe that wasn’t a bad idea.”

“Let’s head back to see what our next move will be.”

The group of three were still pumped with adrenaline and decided on taking a detour back to their new hideout. A few weak ferals were loitering around the entrance that they came through, unaware that a group of humans had slipped past them. For the first time since they met, Nemedion and Rigesh grinned at one another as they basked in the bloodlust ringing in their ears. They refused to have pity on the lethargic ferals walking around nearly blind, because it would be better for them if they cleared their escape route. They were already half dead, killing them would only be an appropriate mercy. In this time, the three warriors would be able to blow off steam and take their frustrations on the creatures who had caused their distress. All three of them would be able to use their magic without any restraints as long as they made it back to the others to rest while they recuperated their magic.

They hadn’t ended up fighting too many Flesh Hoarders within the broken walls of Sogara-dai. After disposing of the original group, they doubted that another group would be migrating toward their direction. Because of how weak the ones they encountered were, Nemedion had proved a big help in marshalling the monsters into a chokehold, allowing Elanya and Rigesh to slaughter them like pigs in a barn. Elanya thought about reporting back to the Dean about their weaknesses, especially how effortless it became to deal with them when they hadn’t fed on human flesh, but she wanted to get more information to send into one big report. She hoped that the Dean would still be able to get their Spirit Bird within Sogara-dai as the city seemed to have a strange flow of magic. She decided not to comment on it with the rest of her partners.

Inside the abandoned building, Orantal sat in the middle of the floor, straining her eyes as she looked at the outdated map of Sogara-dai. Mumbling to herself, she traced the outline of the city as she studied possible routes deeper into the city. The few routes they had passed while driving to their current location had been a pain, primarily because many of the streets had been blocked off or were inaccurate. No one had been in the city for over three hundred years, meaning that any information that the outside world has couldn’t really be trusted. Because Orantal wasn’t much of a fighter, only qualified in healing, she made it her duty to study as much as she could about the environment and enemy terrain as much as possible. Morio could navigate without her, but she thought that two eyes were much better than one. He sat down next to her with an unlit cigarette hanging out of his mouth, arms crossed in vexation as he followed her fingers with his eyes. The city was a maze. It was constructed to be a maze, and it hurt his brain even further trying to figure out ways to bypass main highways without smaller streets constantly leaking back into them.

Yahna, ever so useless, paced every corner of their hideout, biting the end of one of her broken nails as she stared at her feet. She looked lost in thought, too anxious to be aware of her hostile environment. When she noticed Rigesh walk in behind Nemedion and Elanya, her demeanor changed and she snaked her way around some of the debris to him. Rolling his eyes, Rigesh defensively put up his arms to fend her off as she leaned and felt all over him, checking to see if he had any injuries. Morio yelled at her, losing the ability to focus on his task. From there, both of them began to start bickering, much to the chagrin of Orantal, who desperately tried to keep her attention on maps and texts about Sogara-dai. Nemedion and Elanya went to her side, sifting through papers and texts that Laoshin University loaned to them for their journey. Elanya placed an encouraging hand on her best friend’s back, sending her a sliver of warm magic down her spine. Orantal welcomed the encouragement as she sighed then set back to her task with one hundred percent focus.

The texts and information was purely speculation. They came to that conclusion after thirty minutes of skimming through pages and pages about the history of Sogara-dai. The accursed city had been cut off from the capital, therefore information and updates had been stopped. The city being cursed by a witch and turned into Flesh Hoarders had been the only fact that had been proven. The King and Queen of Zalatine of the time had verified as much, and they had done everything in their power to make sure none of the other prospering cities would be affected by them. The kingdom had made plans to quarantine the city in case the creatures had decided on their attack, but after months of noncommunication, they just determined that the threat had been contained to the city. After a year of being isolated, the Kingdom of Vaikoln thought it best to erase everything pertaining to Sogara-dai. The city did not exist, it was merely a rumor. A legend. A myth.

There was nothing left. Rumors changed into old tales about why no one crossed from the east to the west. Some say that the desert that holds Sogara-dai is plagued with darkness capable of draining all the magic from a person’s body, leaving them weak and defenseless as they die within the desert. Others say that it was too expensive to build train transportation to the east and that going from west to east, or south to east, would incur a major debt for the kingdom, so no one would traverse through unless they were taking an airship or a boat. No one could be too concrete about the details, since no one ever came back from the deserted plains and flying over it showed a dark cloud that stretched over for hours.

The three of them stayed up through the night as they slaved away at their research. Morio retired for the night, wanting to get a few hours of sleep before the sun came back up. Yahna wanted to continue their argument about sleeping arrangements but lost when Morio laid his head against his pillow and immediately fell asleep in the spare room where his and Rigesh’s tools were stored. The rest of their belongings were also stored within the room out of fear for the steam truck being unreliable in driving too far into the city.

Yahna huffed as she tugged her blankets around her shoulders and slept beneath the broken window in the living space. Rigesh decided to lend an extra pair of eyes after Yahna fell asleep, hoping to make himself a bit more useful.

“Okay, so what facts do we have?” asked Rigesh, scratching his head as he read through some dubious information.

Orantal sighed, annoyed with the amount of useless information they came across. “Facts so far is that a witch did indeed curse the city.”

“Any more facts?”

“Well, it could be more of a hunch, but Countess Eman is still alive and leading the Flesh Hoarders.”

“Alive? None of these Flesh Hoarders are alive,” Nemedion murmured.

“Okay, but do we have any real, concrete reason why the city was cursed?” Rigesh pressed.

Elanya shrugged. “From what I gather, it just seems like Countess Eman didn’t show the correct hospitality to a witch and she got cursed. All of a sudden, everyone’s a flesh eating creature capable of gaining magic from human organs.”

“There isn’t any mention of who the witch was, either.”

Elanya bit her lip as she thought about the story Umbara told her. The Goddess of Death posed as a human and erected an irreversible curse because of her fondness for a human man. She didn’t really elaborate further about what the human man had done to catch her eye or what Sogara-dai had to do with his supposed demise.

“And there wasn’t any help about what other weaknesses they could have besides Moon and Sun Magic,” Rigesh traced his finger underneath a crudely drawn picture of a Flesh Hoarder, “assuming that there were any survivors from this tragedy who knew about anything else. This city has been in ruins for a long time and finding any descendants would be like finding a needle in a haystack.”

“While there aren’t any other weaknesses that involve immediate death, we witness them starving to death if they haven’t consumed any flesh in a long period of time. I remember talking to a merchant in Algara-daishi who mentioned that once they actually die, then their bodies can be burned and disposed of with any elemental magic.”

Orantal struggled to control her hands from balling up the ancient papers in front of them. “I just wish there was more to know about the city, you know? How many people lived here? What made the city strive during its heyday over three hundred years ago? There isn’t anything here that could help us because King Razel thought it would be a good idea to erase the entire existence of a city that was rumored to be one of the biggest and most influential cities of the time.”

Nemedion scoffed, rolling his eyes after skimming another ridiculous line in one of the textbooks. “We all know that King Razel didn’t make the best decisions in that time period.”

The four silently remembered their history lessons and agreed. Despite all four of them having different experiences of education before their adulthood, every school or educational establishment taught about the history of Vaikoln, especially about King Razel’s rule three hundred years ago dubbed “The Snake Reign.” Anything that king did was done in secret and set back the nation until he died of old age.

“There isn’t much about them outside of here, but maybe they have a library…” Rigesh mumbled to himself.

The three students of Laoshin University sucked in a large breath as they turned to look at him. He looked confused, blushing as he tried his best not to look awkward.

“What? I hope I didn’t say anything stupid.”

“Rigesh, you are a genius,” Elanya said as she smiled at him, bright white teeth and all.

His mouth twitched into an awkward smile as he tried to comprehend their surprised expressions. He scratched under his left eye to keep from flinching away from them.

“Maybe, you do have some talent in yourself. Ow!” Nemedion flinched as Orantal elbowed him into the side and looked at Rigesh with a warm, impressed smile.

“We might not have anything, but who's to say that their own history was destroyed here,” she said, “we need to find their library. There has to be some kind of information we can extract from there.”

Rigesh was going to comment on how much books from Sogara-dai would be worth to the outside world and how he could catch a nice price on the black market, but he reframed from spilling his thoughts. The last thing he wanted to hear was Nemedion comparing him to a criminal instead of a commoner.

Orantal shuffled around some papers to find the crude map of Sogara-dai. Straining her eyes, she looked through every street and every building till she found a large structure near the middle of the city. Taking a colored pencil from her utensil pouch, she scribbled neatly in the square that marked The Library.

Nemedion grimaced, tilting his head to look at the newly marked building then at the black mark that indicated their hideout. Far. The library was in the core of downtown Sogara-dai, compared to their dilapidated hideout that was barely in the outskirts of the enormous city.

“If we think about this map and city as any other, then how long should it take us to get from here to downtown?” Nemedion asked the question no one else wanted to ask.

Usually good at calculating distances and travelling due to his job with the Transit Bureau, Rigesh answered first. “A little bit over an hour if you’re driving.”

Elanya groaned as she mashed the end of her palm into her eyes. “Fuck. Walking could take us a couple of hours.”

“That’s if you don’t factor in the blocked off roads, the streets storming with Flesh Hoarders and a possible incorrect map.” Nemedion said matter-of-factly.

The four became silent again as they thought about their options and ran over the current information they had handy. They had nothing they could really work with unless they wanted to base their next actions on what hearsay and hope within the map they were given.

Orantal looked from left to right at her best friends and a new budding friend. She placed her hands on both Nemedion and Elanya’s shoulders, then smiled toward Rigesh. Even when the odds seemed to be put against them, she tried her best to hold strong. It was one of the reasons why Elanya and Nemedion appreciated their friend, because she could put them at ease with her sweet determination and motivation.

“Let’s rest a couple of hours before the sun comes up. We can think about the rest of this tomorrow, okay?”

The other three nodded at her, their rapidly beating hearts steadied as they basked in Orantal’s warm aura. Elanya felt her friend’s magic and closed her eyes as she inhaled the aura around them. To her, it felt like fresh spring flowers in full bloom, the smell of honeysuckle flowing in and out of her nostrils. The colors that came to mind were yellow and light baby blue. It reminded Elanya of one of her few summers in Zalatine with her father as he sold his wares.

“You’re right,” Elanya touched her friend’s small hand on her shoulder, “we can think about this in the morning.”

The two held a short embrace before they settled themselves on the opposite side of the room, away from Yahna and her snoring. Nemedion set up his blankets next to his friends, conveniently next to Elanya. Their closeness made Rigesh a bit uncomfortable, but every time he thought back to the magic whirlpools of her hazel eyes, he assured himself that he had nothing to worry about. Why he was worrying about such things, he couldn’t understand. Instead of going to sleep next to Yahna, something the cranky woman will complain about in the morning, he settled himself in a corner next to the door, his pistols still in the holsters connected to his belt. Once the small rune of Fire was diminished by one of the other people, darkness slid across the room and enveloped them in uneasiness. Rigesh waited five deep breaths before he leaned on his side, his back against the door, and looked toward the three lumps. He was perpendicular to them, catching small glimpses of the expressions between Elanya as she spoke softly to Orantal. After the small woman yawned, Elanya held Orantal close to her, placing her chin on her friend’s head.

A slight envy nestled around Rigesh’s heart as he watched the tender moment between the women. Despite wrapping his blanket tightly around his shoulders, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine, almost like an icy finger dragging down his back. He turned around abruptly, but he was met with the corner he slept in and the darkness. When he turned back to his other side, Elanya and Orantal were still wrapped within each other’s arms, starting to fall asleep. Nemedion tossed and turned on the cramped floor, shivering under his own blanket. He didn’t want to admit that sometimes he could be a superstitious person, but something didn’t feel right, and he knew that he shouldn’t ignore an obvious warning.

After a couple hours of sleep, the group sat in a circle in the middle of the living area, silent as they looked at the map of Sogara-dai. They were able to think about a fast route to the heart of downtown, but when Morio had tried to drive the steam truck through the destroyed neighborhood, each main road was blocked by debris and large holes were scattered across the small streets. He could see some unsuspecting Flesh Hoarders walking among some of the bigger streets in confusion and anguish, screaming out in pain. A few of them attacked each other, consuming each other’s flesh in hysterical anger. It would be an easy feat to plow through some of the blockades and deeper into the city, but it was bound to attract more Flesh Hoarders and delay them even further. They needed to come up with a solution before they ran out of supplies and returned to Yulin-dai empty handed.

It was a good idea for them to raid the library, not only because they would find important historical information about the city, but it would allow them to do their reconnaissance without them approaching further danger. Elanya already knew that if they disposed of the Queen of the Flesh Hoarders--Countess Eman, then the city would crumble. The Magus Meisters of Sun and Moon could do their own separate mission and wipe out the source. Of course, it could have all been dealt with sooner if the Magus Meisters had decided on providing back up for them in the first place. It boggled her mind that they would try to send her in by herself against an unknown enemy. Did they not realize what her failure could have meant for the entire world? They are twiddling their thumbs while the threat continues to loom on the horizon.

Breakfast came and went as tensions flared within the group again. They were more stressed and overwhelmed now that they were inside the city’s walls and it was only a matter of time before they would have to fight against more Flesh Hoarders. The more intelligent ones were likely to sniff them out soon. A solution was out of reach for them. Yahna started arguing with Morio again, refusing to accept that he had the back room to himself. Rigesh opted to scan the area from on top of their hiding place hoping to have a better understanding of their surroundings. He knew he could easily jump from building to building to scout the area, hiding in small places in the shadows to keep from being seen, but not everyone else would be able to follow him. Being the most agile of the group, he would leave everyone else behind, even Nemedion and Elanya who seemed to be warriors through and through. Besides, he wanted some time to himself and inhale the stale air. He was tired of thinking too much yesterday, and of being cooped up in this small corner of the neighborhood. If he had his way, he would just take Elanya with him to the heart of the city, sneak around the library and get what they needed without being dragged down. The two of them had the necessary powers to get through enemy territory without being seen and he had been in the military long enough to know how to fight multiple men at once. As long as they weren’t on top of a moving vehicle.

Nemedion and Orantal hovered over the old texts borrowed from the University, frustrated that they could only go by the information they had already found yesterday. Elanya suggested that some of them scout some of the city and then report back like she and Rigesh did when they were camping outside the city, but Nemedion disagreed.

“The Flesh Hoarders are stronger deeper within the city. We need to stay together as a team from here on out.” he said, without looking up, a hardcover textbook in his hands.

“How are we to gather information if we’re unable to move deeper into the city?” Elanya placed an impatient hand on her hip, clenching and unclenching her nails in her skin. “We can’t just stay in this abandoned house hoping we witness a miracle.”

“It’s too dangerous to split up the group when only a few of us can fight,” Nemedion said, motioning his head to the bickering Senior Rune Specialist and Flight Attendant.

“What do you suggest we do, Nem?” Elanya asked, itching to get out of the cooped house.

“I suggest that we wait it out. If we go further into the city, we will be walking into a swarm of those creatures, and driving around in a maze.” Nemedion was less confident of their progress after pouring most of their energy into a map and textbooks that couldn’t give them what they needed. At this point, Nemedion wanted to play it safe and stay as close as possible to the exit of the city.

Orantal sighed, pushing her long, blonde hair behind her shoulders. “I don’t want to stay in this building longer than necessary. I think scouting would be a good idea.”

Offended that Orantal did not agree with him, he glared at her. “You can’t be serious. It’s too dangerous.”

Orantal pointed a small finger to the ceiling, gesturing to Rigesh who was sitting on the roof surveying the neighborhood. “Why don’t Elanya and Rigesh go and scout? Those two are the only one who can kill those things and we won’t be so overwhelmed later since there will be fewer of them to deal with.”

She meant her words to add further to the argument why scouting would be beneficial, but typical Nemedion took it as an insult against him. Despite their teamwork yesterday, Nemedion still was not a fan of Rigesh. To suggest that Elanya should partner up with Rigesh, instead of himself, Nemedion felt a bit peeved. He had always been partnered with Elanya for most of the missions given to them around the University and investigations for the Magus Meisters. Not being by her side was not in his possessive nature.

“How can you find that commoner more helpful than me?” he asked, affronted.

“That commoner has magic that can kill Flesh Hoarders,” Elanya hissed at him.

“Ellie, his magic is sub par at best without those pistols, you won’t be properly defended if you go out along with him.”

“Then you come with us like you did yesterday,” she shrugged, ignoring the blatant fact that Nemedion possessed no stealth skills, “I don’t care what you do, but I’m not going to sit around and wait for the next couple of weeks. We need to get home.”

Morio and Yahna had concluded their own argument in the background with Morio eventually relenting on the biggest room. Yahna planned to take the entire room, but had no objections to sharing it with Rigesh. Everyone knew that he would immediately refuse, considering no one liked being in the same presence as the woman no more than a moment. The feeble-headed woman walked her way into the trio’s circle, chuckling at their indecision.

“I don’t know why you’re arguing on who’s going to scout when it’s obvious that Rigesh doesn’t have the combat experience that you have,” Yahna placed a sassy hand on her waist, “and if you’re as strong as they say, Moon girl, then you really don’t need any help. We would all just be in your way.”

The group wasn’t ignorant to how useful Rigesh had been, and no one had ignored the fact that Rigesh held certain skills that would be great for scouting. Orantal and Elanya stared blankly at the woman, a bit aghast that she knew nothing about the man that she had previously dated. Morio obviously knew that Rigesh had been a Knight, but how could Yahna not know? Rigesh didn’t make an effort to conceal that information from anyone. Nemedion hadn’t been told, but he was less likely to believe the man.

Nemedion was almost swayed by the woman’s words until Orantal interrupted. “We all have a purpose on this mission, even you,” she rolled her bright, blue eyes, “Elanya can’t do everything by herself--we are a team. How about we take a break right now and come back in the morning, it’s getting late.”

They all begrudgingly agreed, separating themselves into different corners of the abandoned house. Yahna returned to her room while Orantal asked to have some space in the back corner of the living room. Since Elanya asked to continue taking night watch now that they’d established themselves, Nemedion took his place near Orantal as she laid under her huddle of blankets, showing a disinterest in her communication phone. They all had brought them, thinking they would work, but once they hit deep inside the desert, all communications had been futile. She hoped to read over some loving text messages sent by her family and friends from a month ago. As the sky darkened and everyone was left alone, Elanya decided on relieving Rigesh from his post on the roof since he hadn’t returned. After closing the front door softly, she looked up toward the roof, seeing Rigesh’s legs dangling as he hummed an unfamiliar tune. She scaled the side of the building, disregarding the back ladder, and pulled herself over the edge, catching Rigesh laying on his back, arms folded beneath his head. His eyes were closed, his face looking carefree that it made Elanya a bit envious.

“You sound stressed,” he patted a spot next to him, “come look at the stars.”

“You aren’t even looking at the sky.” Nor were there any stars in the sky, the vast canvas painted dark with an indigo haze and black smudges.

He cracked open one eye, then grinned. “Cause I couldn’t appreciate it without a nice companion.”

Elanya settled next to him as he opened his other eye. He looked so content watching the shadow of the sun descend into the darkness. She wondered how he was able to be calm and relaxed considering the people downstairs.

“You shouldn’t stress yourself trying to control people who won’t listen,” he turned his head to look at her, “all you can do is what you’re able to do.”

Elanya held her knees up to her chin, wrapping her arms around her shins. She thought about how difficult it was having Nemedion and Yahna in their group. Yahna didn’t care about anyone and anything that wasn’t about Rigesh--or herself. She didn’t mind that her actions irritated the group or that she wasn’t taking anything seriously. And then there was Nemedion, who let his jealousy get the best of him. His greatest weakness was his pride, arrogance overshadowing his aura. It bothered her so much that he always rejected her plans when he always agreed back at school. He deflected to acting like the wealthy asshole she met three years ago in their Freshmen class instead of the righteous mage he claimed to be. She couldn’t believe she ever thought of him as anything more personal.

“You don’t have to tell me about what happened earlier or about the mission. Let’s just talk about anything.”

“I’m excited about being a Senior once the summer is over,” she blurted out, “and I hope that I can do a lot of fun things in Yulin-dai before I leave the city.”

“How long have you been in Yulin-dai?” he asked.

She ducked her head to look at her dirty shoes. “Three years.”

“Do you like it?”

“It’s okay.” She said, “It’s much better than being in Asarian Frost.”

Rigesh pushed himself up to face Elanya as she sombered. “Why is that? I heard Asarian Frost is a homely city.”

Elanya scoffed. “Homely to locals and tourists. I stand out with different colored hair and eyes.”

“You don’t think you stand out in Yulin-dai?”

She shook her head. “Physically, not really. Everyone has skin color close to mine and they don’t really question my eyes. But there is an overwhelming air that makes me nauseous when I go out sometimes. It’s a fast paced city.”

Rigesh chuckled. As she listened to his gentle voice, tension eased out of her tight body. “That’s how I felt about Zalatine, me being a small boy from the country. All the enormous buildings and billowing crowds of people made me self-conscious.”

“But why move to Yulin-dai then?”

He looked toward the hazed sky, pondering his answer. He remembered it being a spontaneous decision after leaving the Knights. There wasn’t any way for him to return home and face his family. Being an only son, his role within the family was to work hard to make his father proud and support his sisters. It was his job to make a way for his sisters to go through school and eventually get married. As the third oldest of six, he was always known as the big brother, even to his older sisters that teased him for his responsibility. Fleeing to Yulin-dai still allowed him to be able to provide for his family, but escape their disappointment.

“I wanted to be close to home, but not actually in it,” he finally answered, “I wanted to escape my family’s displeasure.”

“Why would they be displeased with you?”

He tried to summon a significant amount of Water Magic, but only a swirl appeared in his palm. “Because their cocky, useless son left their house overconfident and would have returned a failure. Especially after everything I went through with being in the Knights.”

Elanya hovered her hands over his as he continued to conjure water. With a whisper, she commanded the water to expand. It surrounded them like a cloudy mist, light reflecting from the droplets. Elanya could understand his desire to get better with his magic, but she felt something holding him back, restraining his powers from their full potential. She wondered if she should mention feeling this block, but the only person who will be able to give him strength is himself.

“All I can see is someone who has risked himself repeatedly for a good cause. You’re not useless, Gesh.”

He stopped casting his magic and grabbed both of Elanya’s wrists. While surprised by the sudden touch, she soon relaxed herself, hoping to control her shadows.

“Thank you. Hearing it from you makes me feel better.”

“I hope that you will go to visit your family and tell them how much you love them,” she said, looking intensely at him, “They won’t be disappointed when you return. I’m sure they are worried about your well being.”

Rigesh attempted to laugh the thought away, but the thought of seeing his family scared him more than anything. As he let her go, she suddenly grabbed his wrists, offering him a reassuring smile. “Your family is so precious, please do not be afraid to make things right before things are too late. I wish I had had more time to spend with my mother before she disappeared. Don’t think too much about it now, but make a reminder to visit them, okay?”

He nodded, albeit slowly. Before he could ask about her mother and her disappearance, Elanya shook her head, indicating that it wasn’t a story for her to tell now. However, she started to feel remorse. She came outside to start her shift where he had initially started conversing to make her feel better. Now, Elanya had felt guilty for bringing up such sad memories and thoughts.

Before she could apologize, he shook his head, smiling so wide that she noticed a small dimple on his right cheek. “Don’t apologize for anything,” He boldly placed a hand on her face, rubbing his thumb down her cheek. Then he moved a strand of her curly, red hair behind her ear, “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Elanya blushed. She could feel a hot flush move down her throat. Rigesh grinned at her, tilting his head as he took in her rare expression. It was a treat for him, experiencing the different sides of her personality. She could be reserved and aloof, quick to have a temper, but also kind and bashful. He enjoyed seeing this side to her. It made him extremely happy, more than it should have.

“Well, I’ll leave you to your shift,” Rigesh stood on the edge of the roof then dropped down, landing in a solid crouch like a cat. Elanya would have to prove to Nemedion that Rigesh did have the reflexes and skills that would be beneficial for scouting. She knew him to be useful. She also wondered if he scaled the building instead of taking the ladder up.

The next morning, everyone sat in an ominous circle while they had breakfast around an artificial fire created by a Fire Rune. Nemedion and Orantal held their texts in their arms as they shoved oats in their mouths. Rigesh came back in after a short watch outside. Morio and Elanya sat next to each other as they tried to enjoy a cup of coffee. One insignificant person was missing from the serious circle.

“Should we have this meeting without Yahna?” Orantal asked.

Rigesh waved away her concern as he nibbled on some stale bread. “Yahna is useless in strategic meetings. No sense in causing a commotion this early in the morning.”

Nemedion agreed. “I’m already tired of that woman.”

They concurred with him silently. Yahna’s obnoxious meddling would only continue to hinder their preparation for scouting. It took the whole night for Nemedion to come to terms with their need for scouting, so he gave in, hoping that it would hasten their progress. Along with Orantal’s earlier sentiments, he grew tired of staying outdoors, sacrificing basic hygiene, excluding taking mouth cleaner, and a proper bed. If he had to comply with what the majority wanted in order to go home, then he would do it. So taking the sudden lead with no resistance from the other, he held the map in place and skimmed his finger around the neighborhood. He laid out specific things he wanted the scouters to do, along with marking safe places to hide in case they would need to move from their current location. Holding in his own anxiety, he looked toward the two of them and nodded for them to leave, resisting the urge to call back to Elanya before she turned away from him and looked through her things. There was an awkward feeling in the pit of his stomach, one that had been bothering him since he went to sleep the first night they settled into the abandoned house.