Orantal nearly had a heart attack when her friends returned from their scouting venture caked in dirt, plaster and sweat. Elanya’s pants were ripped open from her knees down, her shirt stretched out from its elastic bands. Her red hair was covered in black soot and shot up from every direction possible, stiffed by whatever debris she ran into. Under her right eye was a small purple bruise, but the rest of her body had nothing else save for a few scratches. Rigesh’s shirt barely clung to his frame, the back ripped up from top to bottom. The knees in his dark jeans were ripped open, and while it certainly wasn’t a bad fashion statement, it didn’t seem to be comfortable since the hole was larger than the knee itself. Thick, black hair was swept every around his head, loosened from his usual updo, even thick strands dangling in his eyes. Saying that the two looked like a mess would be an understatement. They manifested the very essence of disturbed filth.

Before Nemedion opened his mouth to argue to possibly make the environment more stressful, Morio suggested that the two settle down first to catch their breaths. Elanya craved a strong brew of coffee, one that Morio happily supplied for her while she exhaled. Rigesh flopped onto his pallet, struggling with himself to stay awake, exhaustion overcoming him in tenacious waves. Yahna crept next to him, hoping to lay her claws into him while he lay vulnerable, but Orantal snapped on her, accusing her of being a foolish wanton. She gasped then made her way to the back room to complain to no one else but herself.

After one heavy dose of bitter coffee, Elanya spoke about clearing out the area and going into their new hideout to clean out the rest of the Flesh Hoarders. They mentioned their encounter with a Stoneguard and explained Rigesh’s new terms for the new types of Flesh Hoarders they came across. The group swallowed uncomfortably as she described the awful beast. Morio tried to hide his nervousness by lighting a cigarette, but he accidentally destroyed it when he summoned Water Magic instead of Fire Magic from his thumb. Orantal and Nemedion showed obvious fear and displeasure at the new turn of events.

“So, how do you suppose we deal with those things?” Nemedion asked.

Elanya shrugged her shoulders. “To be honest, I’m not sure. Once we set up in the new hideout, we’ll just be sneaking into the library to get information, then leave as soon as possible.”

“What is the plan now?” Orantal asked, voice shaking.

“We rest tonight, then we head out at the first break of morning,” Elanya answered, wincing as she touched her small bruise, “once we’re settled inside and case the area again, we’ll go inside the library. We’ll take anything valuable--texts, runes, anything--and bring it back to Yulin-dai. Let’s skip going to the temple so we don’t have to deal with anymore Hunters or Stoneguards.”

“None of this seems right. We should just leave now,” Yahna complained from the back room, “we’ve been at this for over a month and it’s getting too dangerous.”

None of them wanted to disagree. That dreadful feeling was quickly spreading to the others. Everything had progressed much more slowly than they anticipated. Their families were probably worried about their well-being, especially the noble families of Orantal and Nemedion. If the two of them didn’t return soon, the nation would lose two of the best Meisters of their generation and Laoshin University would lose all reputation after the Dean foolishly authorized them for this task. Unfortunately, they were too far deep in the mission to just turn back around, especially empty handed.

“For now, let’s just pack all of our belongings in the steam truck and get some rest. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”

The group dispersed, settling to their sides of the abandoned house. Orantal watched as Elanya packed up her bags, cautiously shifting her snacks to the side. Like a mothering hen, she placed her pointer finger to Elanya’s cheek and healed her small bruise. Emotion welling in her chest from her stress filled day, Elanya threw her arms around her friend and nuzzled her face into Orantal’s blonde hair, overlooking the haggard smell of her dirty mane.

“Oh? What’s this? You don’t usually show much physical affection in public.” Orantal patted Elanya’s arm wrapped firmly around her.

“I’m just thankful for you, Ora. You’re always healing me, taking care of me.” Elanya tightened her hold on her friend, a slight blush appearing on Orantal’s cheeks. Then she leaned into Orantal’s ear to whisper, “And I shouldn’t be scared to show affection, especially to someone who likes me so much.”

Elanya released her friend and continued packing up her things, her hand absently rubbing the spot beneath her eye where her bruise was. Orantal opened her mouth to ask Elanya what she meant, but she closed it immediately after. If Elanya went out of her way to whisper to her, then it was something that only Orantal was privy to. She noticed that Elanya wasn’t her usual self--the tactical and intimidating woman who prided herself in being the stoic Meister had receded behind a wall, anew. Besides herself and Nemedion, Elanya was distrustful of nearly everyone who ever crossed their paths. But this wasn’t the same Elanya in front of her. This Elanya was reckless, obliging and sociable. Orantal looked at Rigesh who had his back to the rest of the people as he packed his things and spoke to Morio about Magitech. It was his influence, she thought. Had she finally decided to move on?

An hour or so later, everyone retired for the rest of the night. Elanya convinced everyone that she should stay up a little later for a short night watch, for safety precautions. Once she dipped outside, climbing to the roof, Orantal laid on her dusty pallet next to Nemedion and tried to sleep. Her mind kept racing in anticipation for tomorrow and moving deeper into the city. She loathed the thought of running into the Hunters or the Stoneguards. Rigesh and Elanya couldn’t protect everyone else if they ran into those things, they could only fight to protect themselves. She wished she knew combat like her friends so she wouldn’t be a bother. Her talent had always laid with healing and defense. All her life she was considered too small to fight, too weak to hold a weapon in her hands unless it was a healing staff. However, Orantal realized she used her own body as a crutch to not fight, because in reality, she didn’t want to dirty her hands, nor did she want to experience killing another human being. When she met Elanya freshman year at Laoshin University, the talented but frightening Moon Meister, she expected her roommate to be a large woman, but she found herself meeting a woman barely taller than her with agility like a cat and lean muscles.

The other female students had their hearts set on being healers, some of them specializing in specific Meisters like Meisters of Water or Earth. Only one or two of them were actually interested in becoming a Meister of Combat Arms and they were rather large women, way taller than she was. With being the only Meister of Moon on the east coast, Elanya had to work as hard as the other students and be in peak physical condition. Though the two never spoke about it, Orantal surmised that Elanya had been bullied a lot for her magic and conditioned herself to be physically strong if she were to get into an unsavory fight.

Orantal worried that Elanya would spend all night thinking to herself instead of getting rest. She just couldn’t find herself to fall into slumber like everyone else. Nemedion slept like a baby next to her, cuddling under his orange, woolen blanket. Next to his face were his hands, balled up protectively over his black framed glasses. She rubbed her hands down his back, easing some of her magic down his back so he could sleep better. Turning her head away, she watched Morio nod off to sleep in the corner next to the window, his seemingly favorite spot to drink coffee in. Yahna retired in the back room directly after conceding to the fact that they would not be leaving and would continue with going deeper into the city. Rigesh sat beneath the broken window closest to the door wrapped up in his own blanket, cleaning the inside of the barrel to his onyx pistol. Unable to suppress her sigh, she exhaled and bunched multiple blankets on top of her, hoping that total darkness would allow her to fall asleep too.

She blinked a few times as she was swept up in black and a moment turned into an hour. Tiredness finally enveloped her and she slept for a bit until a small movement woke up from her frivolous sleep. Orantal froze on her side as she listened to soft shuffles, then the rough squeak of the window opening and closing nearby. It wasn’t the window Morio lay beneath since she would have heard the sound coming from above her, this sound was from below her. Strange the door hadn’t opened, just the window. She took five slow, deep breaths before she rose slyly from her pallet then to the just opened window. Nemedion and Morio were still asleep, so it wasn’t hard to guess Rigesh had been the one to sneak outside. A knowing smirk appeared on her face at the ensuing scandal outside and she wouldn’t miss intruding on her best friend’s privacy for the world.

Instead of climbing through the window secretly like the person before her, she stepped outside through the front door, closing it shut as slow as possible so it didn’t make a sound. Outside was quiet, all except from the two different types of chuckling from the rooftop. Orantal waited five minutes on the ground before she climbed up the ladder, and in one slick movement, moved behind a half standing chimney. Pushing some rubble to the side with her hands, she kneeled down and peeked around to see the two chucklers with their backs turned to her, facing out to the large moon above them, shrouded in omnious, dark clouds. Her heart pumped with excitement as she watched her best friend throw her head back to laugh with Rigesh.

“...and then, bam! One of the cadets is coming out of the barracks with his knickers soaking wet.” Rigesh laughed.

Elanya covered her mouth as she let out a snort. No embarrassment between them, they both laughed a bit louder together, until they tried shushing one another.

“I’m glad I can finally give you a heartfelt laugh,” Rigesh said, leaning on his hands behind him.

She chuckled, wiping a small tear from her eye. “Well, who wouldn’t laugh at such a ridiculous story?”

“True,” he stretched his back and yawned, “it’s much better seeing stupid stuff in the military barracks than what I usually see at the Tower.”

Elanya’s eyes sparkled. “You live in the Tower?”

Rigesh yawned again, failing to suppress it as he attempted to cover his mouth. “Yep, with my ever loving cat, Targesh.”

“Targesh, named after his sulky owner, Rigesh.” She placed a hand on his shoulder and frowned, “You should be sleeping right now. You don’t need to stay up to keep me company.”

He touched her hand, grinning like a fool. Heat pooled in her stomach as she thought about his handsome smile. “We have a dangerous move tomorrow and I won’t have anymore alone time with you. These scouting missions aren’t enough.”

“Well, you should focus on better, more important things instead of on me.”

“Why?” he asked with a curious smirk.

“I don’t need you doing something stupid tomorrow. We need you and your pistols.” Elanya crossed her arms, knowing she was giving stupid excuses because of her own insecurities and anxieties.

Orantal covered her mouth to stop herself from an amused giggle. Elanya was playing hard to get when it was obvious that their attraction for one another was not one-sided. Why was she suddenly holding herself back? Orantal had always known her as someone who was direct, upfront with what they wanted and would do what was possible to get it. From the start of their destined meeting, she knew that Nemedion would never be in her reach, forever unattainable. But Orantal could see Rigesh’s intentions as clear as day, a much more pure and attainable goal for Elanya. Why was she so scared to commit? The group had been joined together at the hip for well over a month, so Elanya shouldn’t be so surprised that their bond grew as much as it did.

“It’s too late to push me away, Ellie,” Rigesh held her hands, rubbing small circles into her wrist, “you already know I’m smitten. I’m trying to make the best out of this mission without chickening out. I would rather do all this flirting back home at a nice bar in downtown Yulin-dai.”

Silently, Elanya looked down at the hands holding hers. She didn’t want to say or do anything that she would regret. Growing up, she knew there was always a risk of losing part of her heart when dealing with her emotions. After losing her mother, she shielded herself from unneeded affection and unwanted feelings until being an adult got the best of her last year, allowing herself to be tangled up in Nemedion’s incompatible web.

She looked up at him, this time with an unsure expression, biting away at the skin on her bottom lip. “I’m scared of losing myself again, and of messing up what I’ve worked so hard to build within myself.”

Rigesh touched her chin with his forefinger to keep her from looking down again. “I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, Elanya.”

“I know.”

“It’s been awhile since I’ve genuinely laughed and chatted with an interesting woman. This is nice. You are nice and I would do anything to continue my time with you.”

“Let...let me think about it some more. Everything is on my--on our--shoulders and the last thing I want is to fail my mission for being selfish.”

It wasn’t the answer that Rigesh wanted to hear, nor one he expected, but he accepted it, keeping his thoughts to himself. Elanya could see the disappointment in his eyes and her heart nearly shattered. He deserved much better than her.

“Rigesh, I know you wouldn’t hurt me. I just don’t want to hurt you.” She closed her eyes and concentrated on the warmth coming from his hands. “I don’t want you to deal with me and my burdens.”

“I took on your burdens when I came here with you.”

“Because you wanted to help out with your pistols, I thought.” Elanya raised a playful eyebrow.

Rigesh shrugged. “Or follow this really attractive redhead in order to flirt with her as penance for bothering her in the street.”

Elanya rolled her eyes. “With your ex-girlfriend in your arms.”

“It’s not my fault that the crazy bitch stalks me everywhere I go. Ugh, the day she leaves me alone will be when pigs fly.”

“You must have something really exciting about yourself that keeps her coming back.”

Rigesh said nothing, but replied with a toothy grin.

What a little kid, she thought.

“You don’t have to keep thinking about this, I know that returning back to Yulin-dai with information about Sogara-dai is your priority, but,” Rigesh slowly rubbed his hands down her arms before he held her hands in his again, “at this moment, will you indulge me?”

Intertwining her fingers through his, she shook in anticipation, butterflies fluttering along her stomach. At this moment, under the cloudful midnight sky, she could be selfish. She didn’t have a positive feeling about tomorrow and everything after that. Would this be the last time she experienced a kiss? Would this be the last day of her young life? She never knew much about her mother’s disappearance, but she could imagine that this was how she felt on the last day with her father.

Silence passed between them, but their warm fingers were still interlocked. For the first time in her short life, Elanya was lost for words. She was concerned her breathing had stopped, only to slowly let out a shaky breath. Rigesh watched her under hooded eyes, basking in her aura of foreign emotions constantly at war. He believed himself a selfish person when it came to his own feelings about another person, but patiently waited as the hesitant woman before him struggled. Feeling small tremors through their bonded fingers, Rigesh gave her hand a small squeeze, one that sent reassurance through her indecisive body, especially as he raised her knuckles to his lips.

Unable to wait for a proper answer to his request, Rigesh leaned forward into her, pressing his lips on hers, wanting to enjoy even a small taste of her. Leaning back afterward, tilting his head slightly to the right, he gazed into her embarrassed face, a slight red simmering beneath her brown cheeks. Their fingers were still together and she didn’t wrench herself from his space, instead closing her eyes slowly and leaned forward, a welcoming invitation. And so, Rigesh leaned forward again to capture her lips, opening her up to his own taste and his own elation. He knew it was tough for her to be emotional, so he vowed to be emotional for the both of them.

Finally breaking their linked fingers, he slid a hand up her neck and behind her head, holding her gently as he continued to kiss her hungrily, thirsting for her like a dying plant in the desert. Coaxing her nice lips apart, he mingled his tongue with hers, feeling closer to her than he had before. She followed his lead, easing her own uncertainty into the back of her muddled mind. Her breathing became rapid and heavy, hot with something that she wanted to keep savoring. Soon, they were both drinking in each other, sampling each other like fruitful flavors until Rigesh broke their passionate kiss to show appreciation for her open neck. He moved his hands down the side of her body, wrapping his strong arms around her waist as he pulled her into him, her hands on his broad chest. His face was buried in the curve of her neck as he kissed her more there, his mouth opening a bit as she felt the hint of his teeth. She leaned into him, eyes closed but filled with stars, her face flushed hotly as he ran his fingers gently through her hair.

Rigesh moved from her neck to her ear, nibbling on the edge, eliciting from her a soft whimper. He blew his breath against her ear as he watched her face gloss over in heated passion. With her head tilted back, he moved to hold her chin, touching her bottom lip with his thumb seductively.

“I hope your answer will be even sweeter than this.”

Rigesh leaned back again, releasing her face of his enticing hands. Shoulders hunched back, his weight positioned on his hands behind him, he showed an arrogant smile, looking her over intently. Her mind blocked out doubtfulness. Her heart knew the answer from the first time Rigesh spoke about what had been brewing between them. And her body acted on it’s own accord, reaching out to him once again, giving him another invitation. Rigesh wasted no more time as he claimed her lips as his own, desperate with longing and ardor. Fire shot through her veins, consuming her body with flames of lust. She felt his own aura, tinted with bright colors of orange, red and white, burning with a fury of desire. Tongues weaved around in their mouths between loud, harsh gasps. Hands grasped at clothing, an unnecessary but needed barrier to hold against their uncontrolled carnality if they touched sensitive skin. Touches were preferred regardless of restrictions, but anything deeper, more than just the bare tease of their kisses--more than just his thumb massing circles on her breast above her thin shirt--it would be hard to manage. Lest the people sleeping below heard them.

Like he had done to her before, she sank her claws into his hair, locking them together as they kissed. It was that action that riled something inside of Rigesh causing him to push her beneath him, pressing his body against hers. Elanya encased her legs around him as they both went down to savor each other thoroughly.

Orantal stared wide eye for what seemed to be forever. She didn’t expect to witness such a vigorous and lustful scene. While happy for the duo, she couldn’t help but be saddened by her other friend’s loss. A quick second of pity passed before she continued reveling in excitement, watching the couple lather themselves in love and yearning. Watching Rigesh’s hands wander everywhere made her giddy and she nearly alerted them with a loud cheer until a hand covered her mouth. Thinking her life was in danger, she elbowed the person restraining her and pushed away from them. She summoned a bit of Fire Magic around her closed fists until she saw Morio holding his side, softly grunting in pain. Covering her mouth so she didn’t make a sound, she leaned over him to check his side and whispered apologies.

“What are you doing, Morio?” She asked, a bit shaken.

“Trying to keep you from making that cheerleader scream before you scared the shit out of two people who are trying to makeout in peace.” He said, shuffling himself behind the chimney, nervous that they were making too much noise.

Ashamed, Orantal chuckled behind her hand and peeked her head from behind the chimney to look at the two again, both too oblivious that others were spying on them. Her happiness for Elanya nearly took her over. She imagined her friend would be too embarrassed to even talk about what happened, just like how she kept quiet about the obvious meetings she used to have with Nemedion. The latter wouldn’t be embarrassed about being watched and Orantal presumed Rigesh would even grin about it like the cocky man he is.

“I was just so excited…” she murmured.

He nodded. “It’s nice seeing people you love be happy.”

“Well,” Orantal fiddled with her thumbs, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ellie like that before.”

“Even when she was with Nemedion?” Morio asked, knowing all too well about the secret relationships within the student group.

She shook her head. “No, she wasn’t like that with him. But they were never together officially with Nemedion being the son of a Duke and Elanya being a commoner. However, she never gave off any signs that she really liked him more than what they were. Nem obviously has feelings for Elanya and if he had asked her to be official then she probably would have said yes, but that wasn’t the case.”

“You don’t think she loved him?”

“I think she liked him enough to where she thought they could be something more, but it was all an illusion, one he shattered for her when he told her about his fiancée.”

Morio made an O shape with his mouth as he took all this information in. He was starting to understand Elanya and Nemedion a little more and why the boy tended to dote on the woman like a possession. The aristocrats wanted their cake and eat it, too.

“You’re not very surprised by these turn of events,” Orantal sniggered, changing to a lighter tone.

“I expected as much when we crashed landed in the desert that it was bound to happen. Anyone can tell that Elanya isn’t the same person she was at the beginning of this trip. She’s loosened up and everytime she did something that didn’t seem like her character, Rigesh was next to her, doing the same stupid thing.”

Orantal smiled up to Morio, stars twinkling in her cerulean eyes. “I hope this is real for them. They look so good together, I would kill to have a girl like Elanya as my girlfriend,” she sighed, blinking with a clouded stare, “Rigesh better not mess this up for himself or I will take Ellie for myself.”

Morio was surprised at learning Orantal’s sexual preferences, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he watched the young woman sigh again as she looked up at the shrouded sky.

“What do we do about the other two?” Morio wondered, looking down at the ladder.

Orantal hesitated, then shrugged her shoulders. “Honestly, if they find out about it, then they have to deal with it, nonetheless, we have a mission to finish. Rig and Ellie know that this is a priority, no matter what their feelings are.”

Morio agreed. “I believe in those two,” he scratched the fuzzy goatee on his chin, “but I wish I believed in the other two. Let’s hope that this doesn’t blow up in our faces.”

They both craned their necks around the chimney to look at the oblivious couple. They were laying on their backs, holding hands while they looked up at the darkened sky. Small words had been exchanged while they looked upward, but a solemn vibe cascaded the roof, setting a depressing tone. Happiness was there, but Orantal could detect the small hint of sadness between them. She didn’t feel too good about the rest of the trip and what came after either, but there was no going back from this point on. Grabbing a hold of Morio’s hand, she led him back to the ladder and they climbed back down, sneaking inside the house while the other two slept. Nemedion hadn’t stirred from his pallet on the ground and the door to Yahna’s room was still shut. Morio and Orantal returned to their previous spots on the floor and sat in a long, somber silence until they both fell asleep with dreams of a capricious tomorrow.

At the crack of dawn, Elanya rounded everyone up and herded them into the steam truck. She sat in the passenger seat with a cup of coffee and their heavily edited map in her lap, circling some areas around their new hideout to avoid. Morio extended his neck to have a better understanding of their path as she explained new, cleared roads and a perfect place to hide the truck. With his own cup of coffee in hand and a lit cigarette in his mouth, Morio raised his eyebrows at the amount of planning that went into building the map. He assumed that she and Rigesh had been fooling around during their scouting adventures, but he was mistaken by the amount of work that had gone into cleaning the streets, judging by the marks on the map.

Orantal lay snuggled into Nemedion on the backseat, unable to fully wake herself up. Though his caramel face looked burdened by the extra weight at his side, his azure looking eyes watched his friend with tender concern. Heavy bags decorated her eyes contrasting with her pale skin. She didn’t sleep too well last night and he wondered if maybe it was because of him sleeping next to her. Nemedion wasn’t too sure if Orantal was still afraid of men, besides him, being close to her.

Rigesh, looking the very vision of the undead, leaned his head against the back door of the steam truck. To his sides lay his pistols, a precaution for an unexpected ambush from the back, but Yahna doubted his usefulness in such a crippled state. She observed him restlessly, her knees up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them in an anxious manner. Her suggestion for returning home immediately was vetoed last night, and with no one willing to back down, she must endure the risk of being torn apart by Flesh Hoarders because of the Moon Meister and her friends. The strange, blood haired woman had cast some sort of spell over Rigesh and Morio, but managed to make Yahna hate her even more.

Almost thirty minutes later, they arrived among the rubble of the abandoned shopping center that Rigesh and Elanya had cleared yesterday. Covered in grey dust from smashed concrete, the edges of the foundation were overlaid with dark, green mold. Most of the entrances had been boarded up with molded wooden planks and large pieces of furniture. The day before, Elanya had broken in through a side door on the bottom floor that had been locked with fungus covered boards while Rigesh had scaled the side of the building and entered from the roof. They were almost apprehensive when they walked up to the broken double doors of the front market and pushed it aside to walk in. It looked no different from the mess they saw yesterday with the added hint of fighting. Wanting to be cautious, the group walked together up the first two floors to make sure that there were no Flesh Hoarders lying in wait. Hopefully, not another Stoneguard.

Rigesh stopped beneath the large, dolorous hole in the ceiling above, sighing as he remembered his unfortunate fight with the Stoneguard. He cursed at himself for trying to wrestle down the monster with his raw strength instead of just keeping his distance. It almost cost him his damn shoulder. Morio raised a suspicious eyebrow, his curious brown eyes seemingly asking the question of who did this. Rigesh sighed again, confirming that he helped in the destruction of the third floor of the shopping market. That’s a story that Morio would tell the rest of the guys back at the Transit Bureau, that’s for sure.

The second floor had been decided on for sleeping arrangements. It wasn’t inhabitable like the third floor, nor was it as messy as the first floor. Morio hid the steam truck in the small alleyway between the shopping market and another old business building, covering the top with a dark tarp to blend with the environment.

The group walked around the second floor, inspecting the small shops to see if anything could be salvaged. All the pots and glass within the store Elanya crash landed into yesterday would be of no use, so they ignored that store front to check on the rest. Yahna paid more attention to the room that held dusty clothing, scanning through the racks to see if there was anything she could bring back with her. Occasionally, she scoffed at the quality and style of some of the clothing she picked up, but still shoved them inside of a bag. The others ignored her, leaving her to her devices as they looked through a shop that may lead to some clues about Sogara-dai’s culture.

The antique shop filled with an assortment of trinkets next to the material shop was a starting clue into what the city could have held. Nemedion and Elanya sorted through a large basket of jewelry that had carved unfamiliar symbols, some of it pulsing faintly with a little magic. Orantal and Rigesh looked through a shelf that held a small wooden figure, some of the faces scratched beyond recognition and some words incomprehensible. Because no one knew anything about Sogara-dai, the assumed language had been decided of a rougher Vai, but the writings and symbols on some of the wooden figures and jewelry stated otherwise. Their culture was explained as civilized and advanced, but it seemed as though their language had not adopted Vai. Like the few people who lived in Gong-dai that spoke Wa Shei, did Sogara-dai have it’s own language that they spoke?

Morio held up a decorative slab that had been weathered by time and squinted his eyes as he tried to read the complicated language. “I don’t know what this could be. But I only know one language anyway, I’m not gifted like the rest of y’all.”

Nemedion plucked the slab for the older man’s hands, pursing his lips as he started doing his own analysis. “Well, it’s not Mvag, nor Elraeli.”

“It’s an older version of Wa Shei,” Rigesh said as he scanned over another slab from a fallen shelf, “which makes sense considering that Sogara-dai used to be a part of Gong-dai.”

“Does that mean you can read some of this stuff?” Elanya asked.

Rigesh shrugged. “It will take me some time, but I’m sure I can translate it. Since they’ve been cut off from the rest of Gong-dai for three hundred years, their Wa Shei will probably be really rough for me.”

Nemedion chuckled as he crossed his arms, throwing his slab carelessly to the ground. “Hm, you really are full of surprises, aren’t you? No one but the country bumpkins speak Wa Shei.”

“Ah yes, please demean me on my upbringing as I continue to be useful to the rest of the team,” Rigesh picked up a few more decorative slabs to hold in his arms, “if you have a problem with it, you can translate old Wa Shei, but unless you got something useful to say, I suggest you shut your mouth.”

The Rune Specialist turned on the heel of his foot and exited the antique shop, leaving Nemedion to an annoyed Elanya and Orantal. Morio quickly followed his coworker outside the room, hoping to not be caught up in the fight between the University students.

“Nemedion!” The girls yelled.

“I’m sorry. I got carried away.” He attempted to apologize.

“Got carried away my ass, Nem, you can’t keep taunting Rigesh each time he does something you don’t like,” Elanya argued.

“And it’s super rude to talk to a Gong-dai native like that, especially since you know their background. Most of them have no choice but to speak Wa Shei unless they uproot their lives and move into Yulin-dai and it’s surrounding towns.” Orantal growled through her teeth.

Nemedion crossed his arms, opting to look at the rest of the shop instead of toward them. “Alright, I got it. I’ll stop. Out of all the languages, I can’t believe it’s Wa Shei. No more than several thousand people speak that language nowadays, even the natives in Yulin-dai opt to speak Vai.”

“You can’t just expect people to just forget their first language, even if it is slowly dying,” Orantal said running her hands over a concrete slab, “I’m sure Rig has worked super hard leaving the countryside and learning another language.”

Elanya rolled her eyes and walked toward the door. “Nem, just behave yourself. If I hear you mess with him or his accent after the stupid shit you both pulled the other day, I will pummel you myself.”

Orantal held her face as emotionless as possible, trying her best not to laugh at her friend’s remark. Nemedion scratched his head, confused. “Accent?”

Several hours after the six of them settled into the large hall connected to several different hallways, Rigesh had made it through a couple of the slabs, though he looked a bit miserable as he continued to read through them. He tried his best not to forget about his first language, especially when running across other natives from Gong-dai, but because he was so used to speaking and reading Vai, he didn’t think much about grammar. Speaking to himself internally, he always thought in Wa Shei, not the common tongue of Vai. Now as he’s put on the spot about his knowledge, he felt overwhelmed.

Old Wa Shei was like another language, with complicated words that weren’t needed anymore and particles that meant something completely different three hundred years later. He found it much more beautiful than what he spoke today, thinking that the modern version could sound a bit chunky. But the language, as many people didn’t speak it, was ever changing. Originally, it was a coded language for refugees fleeing from Titaneous many hundred years before Sogara-dai fell. If he thought about it that way, then he was making assumptions on what he was reading and hoped that his coding skills didn’t fail him now.

He laid on the floor, his head against his bag balled up underneath him. Scanning across one of the concrete slabs, he sighed as he guessed the content. The words came up as some type of song talking about the disaster that befell Sogara-dai. But some of the lines didn’t make sense, phrases like; a magic washed through the queen, a death that wagered with the living, and tempted by the desire of the body--was this some type of riddle? If it was, he couldn’t resolve it. His mother constantly spoke in old time riddles when she lectured him and it incensed him to no end. He started to regret ignoring her lectures instead of listening to them.

“Did you find something important?” A voice asked from beside him.

Without looking over, he answered in Wa Shei absentmindedly. “Wam sunkyu faixin dan yuchin Miyou.”

“Um…”

Rigesh turned his head slightly to meet a pair of puzzled, blue eyes. Orantal frowned a little as she ran the strange words through her head.

“Ah, I’m sorry, Ora,” he sat up from his bag-pillow and laid the slab on his lap, “I was a little too invested in these. Just a bunch of riddles and confusing phrases.”

Orantal pulled her small knees to her chest as she looked over to the concrete slab on his lap. “Is there anything that I can help you with? I may not know Wa Shei, but maybe if you read me some of the words, I could figure something out.”

Unable to resist, Rigesh smiled at the petite woman and shuffled her hair with his hand. “Sure, why not? They say two heads are better than one.”

While initially concerned with Nemedion yelling over to them about Orantal consorting with a country bumpkin like him, he noticed that the dreaded man was busy pacing up and down the hallways, following Elanya as she walked in and out of the old shops. He didn’t know what she would be searching for, but as long as her search kept her pig-headed friend away from him he couldn’t complain. Yahna, bundled in as many stuffy clothes as possible, sat next to Morio who lit up a cigarette after unfurling a rolled up magazine. Still not much contribution, but she was no longer upsetting the group with her ridiculous conversations, instead looking more frantic the deeper they travelled into the city. On occasion, Rigesh would watch her stare daggers into Elanya’s back in resentment, but he could only guess that the old hag blamed Elanya for their dangerous journey. Like Nemedion, as long as the woman wasn’t bothering him, he was thankful.

“Can you read me a full translation of the slab on your lap?” Orantal asked politely.

“I can, but it’s a bit rough.”

“Rough is better than nothing.”

Squinting his eyes at the carved words in concrete, Rigesh began to read aloud the riddles:

On content winds, a goddess rode into the spoils of city

With a light behind her knee

And an ache in her burned breast

She cried for a love too mortal

On jealous hills, a queen wept of her ugliness

With sins cluttered in her stomach

And green inside her tongue

She cried to destroy man

On disrespected words, an anger emerged from the clouds

A magic washed through the queen

And her people shivered in compliance

She cried on the door of death

On ruined culture, a people crumbled after

A death that had wagered with the living

And half a people felt that

They cried on ever ending agony

On recovered sleep, the people rose into the sun

Eating to fill their emptied hunger

And tempted by the desire of body

Magic seduced in their rotten veins

O’ our mother city, our living heaven

Sogara-dai has crumbled

Orantal gulped as she listened to the menacing poem about Sogara-dai. The flow of words were a bit strange, but the descriptions of the events seemed a bit saddening. “What do you think it means?” she asked.

Rigesh tilted his head as he stared at the slab, switching out some of the more common words with the archaic ones. “The first verse is talking about someone coming into the city for a particular purpose. Maybe that interfered with the countess’ own plans for the city or whatnot, cursed her for mettling in her business.”

“By ‘a love too mortal’ do you think that maybe they both fell for the same man? I also wonder why they refer to the witch as a goddess instead of the witch?” Orantal leaned against her knees thoughtfully. “But it could just be a translation error.”

As he continued to graze over the confusing poem, Rigesh started to think that maybe this was way more than a riddle. Over and over again, he soaked in the words until they made more sense to him. This wasn’t just flowery words to confuse him, it was a deeper meaning--the tale of the fall of Sogara-dai. Everyone knew the story by now--an offended witch came into the city, had something against the Countess, then cursed them to eternal damnation--blah, blah, blah. That was pretty evident to what happened according to the text, but there were small clues he was piecing together.

An important piece of the poem was missing, a part that not even the citizens knew about. Or maybe not a part that the citizens knew about, rather a part they weren’t sharing. Shame. It was overlaying shame that was blocking his further progress with the poem. Rolling his eyes, he placed the slab to his side and rubbed his hands down his beragged face. He hoped that their texts in the library didn’t leave out key points like the slab before him. All he could gather from it was that there was a surviving population after half of them were cursed and they lived long enough to leave behind word of their tragedy. Well, he also had his speculations that the witch wasn’t a normal human and could possibly be a goddess, since no human is capable of turning thousands of people into undead creatures. Her purpose for entering the city had nothing to do with the countess initially--she was enamored with a human. Rigesh could only guess it to be a man. He just struggled to connect the three man players together, especially since he knew nothing about the man in question and it was pure assumption. Information that had been originally published to the rest of the nation told nothing about another mortal being involved besides the countess.

“I think we will learn more in the library. Will you be coming inside with us?” Rigesh asked once his irritation subsided.

Orantal nodded, an excited light danced in her eyes. “Yes. I don’t want to be left behind and I know I can help with reading texts.”

“The more brains, the better.”

The two of them watched Elanya and Nemedion return from their cautious pacing around the second floor of the abandoned shopping center. In Elanya’s hand was a cracked bowl with several different elemental runes, but they didn’t have the usual glow of powerful magic. They seem to flicker in and out with fading light, only seeming to be stable once Elanya ran her fingers through the pile.

Morio finished up his cigarette, then took notice of the bowl of weak runes. “Where did you find those? They’re barely emitting enough magic to get a hearth going.”

“I scavenged around the shops to see if there is anything we can use to get the stink off of us. I think a nice long bath or shower is due for all of us.”

Everyone nodded, agreeing and exuding strong anticipation at the notion of finally washing their aching bones of filth. Yahna had been secretly stealing from their private stash of Water Runes to rub dirt from her important bits while the others suffered for it, trying their best to keep clean in the environment with their small supply of hygiene products. Their breaths hadn’t stank with the mouthwash they brought, but the same couldn’t be said about their skin, with what few times they could actually clean themselves. Dispersing the small amount of runes to her comrades, Elanya pointed to the opposite ends of the hallways; showers had been found in the back of the rest rooms where she and Nemedion were scavenging around. While the rest rooms were broken down with years of collecting dust, it was not unclean. Unlike other places, rot was scarce and the only trouble they would deal with was a crumbling ceiling and cracked floors. Taking their bare necessities, the group divided off into their own genders and into the best place to get clean from their dirty situation.

Yahna found a stall in the far corner, completely secluding herself from the two other women. With a quick flick of her wrist, she etched two Water Runes onto the closest wall to the stall and summoned a shower of water down. Not even caring about getting her clothes wet, she stripped them off then sighed once water fell down upon her smarting body. She washed her hair first, closing her eyes in a rare pleasure that the other women hadn’t seen before. As long as she wasn’t bothering them, then she was free to enjoy what little hygiene that they could afford.

Elanya wanted to save some of the few spare Water Runes she found, so she and Orantal decided on showering together, etching three Runes to the wall across from their stall opening. Once they freed their tainted skin of their grimey clothing, Elanya helped Orantal take down her thick blonde braids. A few places on her head had knotted up from not being brushed daily and Orantal not sleeping in the best positions from their previous hiding place. As her long, champagne colored hair fell down her small back, Elanya lathered up a small quarter of shampoo, massaging every single side of her friend’s head working out the kinks and snags. She couldn’t compare her hair length despite dealing with her own annoyance of curly mess, but she could understand Orantal’s irritation at having to deal with it now, and in Sogara-dai of all places.

The shower came down hard on their backs, enjoying their silence company--Elanya’s rough hands still working through the knots and tangles, and Orantal leaning into her friend’s body. Orantal felt no shame about the selfishness of being pampered by her girl friend, yet she knew that Elanya didn’t mind it. Closing her eyes, she took the time to remember the dimensions of Elanya’s body--lean, muscled but not without it’s perfect womanly touch. Breasts a bit smaller than hers, which was still a good size considering that Orantal was well endowed for her own tiny body. Lovely cocoa skin free from ugly blemishes, except for the small dark spot on her healed cheek. While she knew that the students in Yulin-dai prefered a light shade of brown, especially for fear of the people of Titaneous, Orantal thought Elanya was the epitome of a warrior goddess. Her curves were much more rounded than her own which made Orantal feel more small in comparison. But that small bit of jealousy in her heart couldn’t match the admiration she felt for her best friend every time she looked at her bare.

Once Elanya finished working annoying stray strands out of Orantal’s hair, she quickly set to work on plaiting it, having two big small braids fall on each side of her friend’s head. It wasn’t much, but it was a simple hairstyle to deal with their uncomfortable travels unlike the complicated hairstyles of Asarian Frost. After her tumultuous experience, Orantal wouldn’t complain and take anything convenient.

Before Elanya could rise up, Orantal pulled her back down, settling her between her own bare legs. Wanting to return the favor, she set to wash Elanya’s curly red hair, thankful for its shortness and tightness. Again, they basked in a comfortable silence, still oblivious to the other woman’s shower. Because Orantal had only brothers back home, she relished the opportunity to wash through another woman’s hair. Much curlier than her own, she struggled with the bounce and rejection of her friend’s texture as she combed her finger through it. After ten minutes of idling running her small hands through such thick hair, she pulled all of Elanya’s hair into a high bun atop her head. She knew that Elanya didn’t like such looks, often hiding behind her red strands like curtains blocking out the sunlight. At the look of Elanya’s uncomfortable twitching, she released a few strands from the side of her head, small ringlets bouncing in front of her ears and cradled her cheeks. Her tempting neck exposed, she searched a second longer to see if maybe Rigesh had left a mark on her, but there was nothing there. Knowing Rigesh as she does now, she suspected that he restrained himself. She imagined his reaction seeing Elanya wearing an unusual updo showing off more of her luscious brown skin. Grinning to herself like a maniac, she welcomed her teasing thoughts.

When Elanya subconsciously reached for her exposed neck, lost in thought, Orantal decided on teasing her friend. “Do you have something on your neck?”

Her friend looked startled, clawing at her neck in a semi-panic. “No! At least, I don’t think so…”

“You don’t think so?” Orantal poked.

Elanya looked away looking for the soap, trying her best to save face. “Let’s wash up. We could have all kinds of dark spots on us from all the filth we’ve been through.”

Orantal nodded her blonde head, controlling her mouth from forming into a smirk. “Okay, hand me some soap.”

They both stood in front of the rushing blast of water spilling out from the Water Rune. Only a little longer and the rune would run out of magic, not even their own would be able to replenish the old weakened rune. Lathering themselves up with suds, they washed vehemently at their dirty bodies, watching a disgusting, dark pool of water settle at their feet. Their soap smelled of lavender and citrus, a combination Elanya was rather fond of when she browsed through the hygienic aisle at the supermarket. It was the closest smell she could get to the memory of her mother, a smell she enjoyed while laying on her mother’s heavy bosom after a long day of playing around. Maybe the familiar aroma will help calm her nerves for what to expect next.

“Ellie?”

“Yes, Ora?”

“What do you think about the people of Sogara-dai?” she asked randomly.

Elanya tilted her head as she washed the right side of her neck. “What do you mean?”

“Well, obviously we don’t know much about them and what happened here was an unfortunate tragedy, but don’t you kinda feel, I don’t know, more annoyed at them than pity for them?”

Shrugging directly beneath the shower of water, Elanya sighed. “I mean, the people here are definitely not the righteous people that they wanted people to believe three hundred years ago. If anything, I feel like they were super arrogant and blinded by their own devices to care about how they affected other people. Witches don’t just curse an entire populace of people because their Countess offended her--that’s a bit overkill.”

“Yeah, it is,” Orantal ran her hands down her body, soap sliding down her skinny legs. “I was listening to Rigesh translate that poem from the slab we found earlier, and I thought that the city was hiding something, that maybe the city as a whole had done something to offend the witch where she wanted their whole existence erased.”

Finally done with the soap, Elanya welcomed the rush of water over her skin, getting rid of the small specks of suds that clung to her body. “What are you thinking?”

“I think maybe it has something to do with a man.” Orantal started.

Elanya stayed quiet, but nodded to her friend to continue. She wasn’t sure about divulging the information gathered from Umbara, but she knew that the goddess wanted her to learn about the tragedy on her own time rather than give her a helping hand.

“I think the witch loved a man and that the Countess took him from the witch. But I don’t think it’s for the reason of simple jealousy--that man knew something and the Countess didn’t want him to share his findings.”

“How do you suppose that?” Elanya asked, curiosity tingling in her skin. The Goddess of Death spoke about witnessing cruelty in Sogara-dai, but she assumed that it was something akin to jealousy. Her lover, a human man, had died. She didn’t know how or why, but the consequences of such a horrendous event scarred the goddess enough to plague a whole city. Whatever the two saw before the man’s untimely death must have been something that the Countess didn’t want to be known. Orantal’s hypothesis seemed a lot more likely to be the case.

“Think about it, Ellie,” Orantal spun around so that her back was facing the shower, water beating down on her tiny shoulders. “No one knows anything about this city. Not only was it destroyed physically, but King Razel went out of his way to burn anything relating to the city to the point where everyone believes it is a myth, which means that, despite his own faults, he knew about something going wrong in this city. The tales are spun in a way for everyone to feel bad about what happened, but what if all of it was just to cover up something atrocious?”

Elanya crossed her arms, thinking intensely as she soaked up Orantal’s speculations. She had to admit that she didn’t think Orantal would be logical enough to contribute to the surrounding mysteries, but she was proven wrong. Had something in the poem Rigesh translated sparked a key to their problems?

“I think you are on to something, even though I don’t know what. We need to take as many books from that library as possible and find the secret that these people were hiding. Even if we don’t get closer to confronting the Countess, we will still have enough to share with the Magus Meisters.”

“Do you think if we did face the Countess that she would tell us what really happened?” Orantal murmured.

“I think facing her would get us killed. If she is the one really controlling the horde of Flesh Hoarders then we can guess that she’s beefed up with more magic than we have. The Countess was once a renowned mage, more skilled and powerful than even the Meisters of that time,” Elanya tapped a thoughtful finger on her upper arm, “and if that’s the case, we need to get out of here as soon as possible.”

The men separated from one another as soon as their feet crossed the threshold of the bathroom. Nemedion claimed the largest stall for himself, slamming the door hard to make an imposing statement. He shuffled out of his clothes quickly, then placed four Water Runes in the corner of the stall, drowning his dirty caramel skin with enough water to flood a village. Unaware of his messy shower, water pooled beneath his feet and onto the floor throughout the bathroom. Morio rolled his eyes, but he shouldn’t have been surprised by the man’s inability to care about others besides himself. He and Rigesh split the remaining four Runes, hoping two would be enough with it’s weak magic output. Morio slipped into a stall in the middle of the bathroom while Rigesh settled into the back of the room, way away from Nemedion.

Morio hadn’t said anything regarding Rigesh’s magic, but it didn’t stop Rigesh from feeling uncomfortable about casting the very magic that had been the bane of his existence--Water. Etching Water Runes was hard because he couldn’t channel his own magic into the rune to emit something strong and powerful, however activating Water Runes hadn’t been a strain on his magic, though he sometimes felt out of wits after using a little bit. He couldn’t understand why his body refused to connect with Water. Of course he heard of people not being sufficient with their magic, but he had never heard anyone not being able to cast any of the elementals. Sometimes he couldn’t even feel water going through his veins, feeling empty and incomplete.

Not wasting anymore time on his insecurities, he stripped out of his clothes and placed his two Water Runes on the wall opposite of the stall door. Unsure of himself, he slowly slid his pointer finger over the runes to activate the Water magic within them. He felt a sharp pain through his wrists, his veins bulging with blue magic sizzling inside his skin, but he continued to push through like he had done the past few weeks with his pistols. A second later, more water than he anticipated spurted from the runes, overwhelming him with gallons of water. He hadn’t been able to activate that much water before, even with a stronger Water Runes, and he looked at his hands in confusion, watching as the blue Water Magic extended up his veins. He felt cold fluid moving throughout his body in something that initially felt foreign, but then all too familiar-- a similar sensation when casting the other elemental magic. It was the first time in his life where he felt Water flow within himself, how cold and torrid it was as it raged in between the folds of his body.

After looking around suspiciously, thankful he hadn’t caught the attention of either man showering in the bathroom, he chuckled to himself. But his small moment of happiness was overshadowed by concern as he brought a hand up to his nose, feeling a drop of blood. A tiny line formed from his right nostril. He tasted a copper drop when it reached the top of his lips, the line beginning to turn into a small stream. Rigesh couldn’t remember the last time he had a nose bleed, at least as an adult, and one that wasn’t caused by some drunken fight at a bar. Turning to look for something that could show his reflection, he found himself surrounded not by the doors of his janky stall, but by white fog so thick that he could barely see his feet on the ground. He reached out to feel for a solid wall, but every step he took was another step into the void of the fog. Was he hallucinating? Had he been spirited away? Just like that, he was separated from his party and thrust into an unknown situation he couldn’t wrap his head around.

“Tsk, tsk,” an unfamiliar voice penetrated through the fog, warm and velvet. Whipping his head around in different directions, Rigesh finally caught sight of a shadowy figure slowly becoming visible through the grey clouds.

The woman stood only a few feet before him. She was enveloped in several white fabrics, a long dress that draped across the floor and a shawl wound tightly around her sagging shoulders. Bits of light reflected off the small designs of rhinestones that trailed along the hem of her dress and sleeves, and the studded belt hugging around her waist. Her salt and pepper hair was tugged into a tight bun on the top of her head, silk white ribbons woven in and out of the bonded strands. But what had confused Rigesh even further is that he could not accurately describe her face. It was as if there was a blur covering her whole face where he could only make out the slight wrinkles on the corner of her eyes and delicate mouth, a mouth that was turned down in consideration.

After taking in her appearance, and recognizing her gender, Rigesh struggled to cover his bare body while also attempting to stop his nostrils from bleeding. The woman just scoffed at him, shaking her head as she eyed him speculatively.

“It’s a shame to hide such beauty,” she tilted her head with a mischievous smile, “though, I still prefer my Tunka instead.”

“Who are you and where are we? How did you do this?” Rigesh asked a volley of questions, still holding his hands over himself embarrassed.

The woman waved a lazy hand. “So many questions that I might answer. But first you should look at yourself, you’re bleeding.”

“I’m aware.” Finally accepting his nudeness, he brought his knuckles to his nose and wiped at the blood spilling over his lips, blood still seeping down in a steady stream.

“It seems like your body isn’t holding together well. You’re progressing a lot faster than what was expected.” The woman moved forward to him as he took a step back, mistrust darkening in his eyes. “What? You won’t allow me to help you?”

“What is it that you want?” he asked sternly.

Scoffing again, the woman moved forward, this time the space between them vanished instantly as she shoved his hands away from his face and cupped his cheek. Like a mother taking care of a small child, she wiped away the blood from his nose with her thumb, the blood finally stopping it’s red stream. Once his lip was clear of his blood, she sighed and rubbed her thumb down his cheek. “You poor child, so much on your shoulders and yet the humans do not appreciate you.”

Rigesh held still as she continued to caress his cheek, watching her with more confusion as he struggled to look into her smudged face. A few silent moments later, she stepped away from him and cleaned her bloody fingers on her white dress, but the red liquid disappeared instantly the minute that it touched her angelic wardrobe.

“While close, you aren’t as smart as the woman who leads your group, but you are just as strong, so make sure you pay more attention to your body if it ails you. Magic can be a powerful weapon, even against one’s self, do not underestimate your power,” the woman held up a glowing white hand and pointed it to Rigesh, power surging all around her. “I will help you to unlock that force within you, but use it wisely. Your body will only take so much before it can get accustomed to your true nature.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course not, you poor child,” she shook her head as if scolding a small child, “but you will know soon. I cannot properly lend you my aid, and thus, all I can do for you at this moment is heal you of your limitations and show you the proper path. The knowledge that you find in that library will be the key to defeating the Flesh Hoarders, use the words of their ancestors wisely.”

Rigesh narrowed his eyes. Having grown up in the thralls of Wa Shei, he knew when someone was speaking to him in riddles. Despite her cryptic nature, he had the feeling that this oddity had pulled him from his shower to begrudgingly compliment him for coming this far. He didn’t like feeling as though he were a joke.

“You’re not going to play silly games with me, witch. If you really want to help clean up the mess that you made, you would tell me exactly what I should do,” Defiantly, he folded his arms across his broad chest and held a smothering gaze. “Tell me what the Countess did to piss you off to where you had to do all this? Was it over some guy?”

The woman’s face was stoic except for the small smirk forming at the wrinkled corners of her mouth. If he could see her eyes properly, he would think he could see a storm raging in her pupils. She licked her lips slowly, then held her hands behind her back, walking slowly around his still body in a circle. Teasing his questions with a languished walk, she examined him thoroughly, as if she had underestimated him initially, or as if she was intrigued with the person she didn’t expect him to be. Secrets were hiding behind the hazy film caped around her small frame.

“Tunka was not just some guy, he was a love that ached so much that I still feel it three hundred years later. My bout with the Countess had something to do with him, yes, but not in the way you’re thinking. She did not want the attention of my male, she wanted to be rid of him.”

Rigesh held her breath as she walked in more abated circles around his still body. He was less embarrassed about being nude and more frustrated that he had to play around with the witch to get some insight on what he should be looking for.

“I have seen a lot in my long celestial life,” she said, the space where her eyes might have been locking onto his, “but what I experienced in Sogara-dai made me question myself, my purpose and those that come to me with their prayers and dreams. Humans have raged war against each other, killing over things not important--jealousy and greed entrapping human souls into a ridiculous game of trying to match gods outside of their reach. However, the people of Sogara-dai imagined those same things and escalated it into another level that even surprised me. Tell me, Rigesh, how do you feel when you look at the scars on your flesh? Do they make you wish that you could bring your comrades back?”

Rigesh moved his tongue around his mouth, licking the sudden dry spots on the inside of his cheeks. He tried not to think about what happened several years ago when he barely escaped a battle with his life. Many of his comrades--his closest friends--had not made it back. His heart started beating rapidly at the memory of trying to save his best friend, watching blood spill from his guts and the life ebb out of his eyes.

When he didn’t answer, the woman continued with her suffocated pacing, this time paying closer attention to the marks that marred his body. No doubt she was doing this to get a rise out of him, to see if he would take the bait or surprise her again.

“I know that you are fully capable of seeing this through, poor child, but you must understand that what you discover here will be more disturbing than you believe. The people of Sogara-dai got their just desserts and should never have your pity, no matter what you read, no matter what you see. You may not see it now, but if you knew what was planned for the future, you will rejoice in my decision.”

“You keep saying that they deserved it. Even if they did, you don’t have to lie to yourself and say you did it for the greater good. I don’t need to be able to see your face to know that you didn’t care about those people or what they had planned for others, all you cared about is that they took your lover, and in a fit of anger, you did what you wanted to do.”

Finally, she stopped walking and planted herself behind Rigesh’s back. He didn’t bother turning around to face her, feeling her burning gaze into the back of his neck.

“Maybe you are right. But this is fate, Rigesh, and even I can’t change that.”

The fog cleared and once again, Rigesh found himself standing in the middle of his stall, water still gushing violently out of the two Water Runes he strained to activate. As the water pummeled the top of his head, he sighed to himself, thinking that maybe too much time in the water had muddled his brain. Reaching up to feel his nose, he didn’t feel any blood leaking from his nostril but he wiped away at it, dried blood sullying the side of his fingers. That angering confrontation with that witch had definitely happened. His nose had stopped bleeding and he was pretty sure that he hadn’t hallucinated that.

Taking time to compose himself, he inhaled then exhaled through his nostrils and closed his eyes, focusing on the inner workings of his body. His veins were no longer bulging with the cerulean colors of his Water Magic, but he could still feel the chilly flow move through his body. Despite his vexation with the immortal witch, he was glad that she seemingly ailed him of his limitations--even if it was to keep his body from straining itself. He knew he couldn’t pretend in front of the others much longer about the burden of using his elemental pistols. Each time he held his treasures in his hands, he felt an ascending strength warm his bones and loosen his muscles. However, after drawing too much of its power, especially the Water Magic he wasn’t disciplined with, he had to fight to keep himself steady and his eyes open or he would blackout. It wasn’t a big deal engaging battles with his pistols, but when he and Elanya cleaned out hordes and hordes of the Flesh Hoarders, he felt overcome. Each time he got stronger, but each time afterward, his body would protest. The bleeding nose was new though, a bit concerning.

Rigesh couldn’t be sure how long his spirit had been separated from his body, but he quickly washed himself clean and hurried to the hallway where everyone else had already dried and clothed themselves. And by clothed themselves, he meant wearing as little as possible to save from dirtying more clothes since they weren’t sure when they would get another reprieve like this. Morio laid out on the floor next to their makeshift campfire in a baggy shirt and his boxers, all care out the window like the smoke from his cheap cigarettes. Nemedion didn’t bother to put on a shirt, instead wearing his navy sweats. His long brown dreads weren’t tied behind his head as usual, he opted to let them free over his shoulders as he relaxed hunched over the welcoming fire.

He expected the girls to be more modest about their clothing, but after several weeks sharing space with their male cohorts, they seemed to lack care as well. Yahna found some cream colored shift from one of the abandoned shops and walked around mostly naked as she stressed herself with yoga poses. Each time she bent her chest, she grinned at him, aware her pink nipples could be seen through the thin layer of fabric. He promptly ignored her as he walked over to join the group, his still wet body dampening the spot he sat on. Like Nemedion, he decided that wearing a shirt was too much of an effort.

Elanya and Orantal sat huddled next to one another, both engulfed by T-shirts way too large for their small frames. It saved them the trouble of wearing pants underneath, which led Rigesh’s imagination astray thinking about their underwear, or lack of. His eyes wandered to Elanya’s bare neck, her hair in a small knot on the top of her head instead of hiding away her skin like usual. He found it rather seductive, despite how simple her overall look was. Yahna disrupted his thoughts as she walked in front of him, blocking the heat from the fire, her eyes darting at the other women. She had some nerve to show displeasure of their appearance when everyone could practically see through her lingerie. She turned her head, ready to say some tauntly joke toward him, but she immediately grimaced and showed a concerned face. He knew that it was the face of a nurse.

“What happened to you? You have blood on the corner of your nose?” she asked, leaning into his space with an inspecting eye.

Bringing his knuckles back to his face, he rubbed deeper into the side of his nose, finding a small trace of dried blood hiding in the crevices. “I had a nosebleed.”

“Are you okay?” Orantal asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. I’ve had worse before.”

It took everything in Orantal’s body to not look at Rigesh’s as she thought about what might have been worse than a nose bleed. Most of the scars that marred him were not overly deep, looking more like lines painted on him, but she couldn’t ignore the big long gashes that looked like a pain to heal.

Morio rose up from the floor and ran his fingers through his slightly grown beard, appearing older than he was. They had no time or resources to spend on his curly gruff. “So what are we doing now?”

“We rest for a couple of hours,” Elanya started, stretching on the hem of her oversized shirt. “Head over to the library and raid for as much information as we can, then leave as quickly as possible. It’s not safe to stay here anymore.”

“I don’t think it’s ever been safe here,” Yahna mumbled under her breath.

“I haven’t been able to send any Spirit Birds to the Dean since we’ve been here, so it’s probably imperative that we get back soon.” Nemedion added, frustrated that his magic had once again proven to be useless against the mysterious force of the city.

“As long as you don’t take too long in the library,” Morio grunted, “I know that the knowledge in those books are invaluable and worth a fortune, so don’t get distracted. When you guys were taking out the trash, I made an escape route that will get us through the city with the least amount of obstacles, but only if we can cut down on our time.”

Yahna sighed, throwing her hands up irritably. “Why don’t we just leave now? What would books dated before their curse tell us about their weaknesses?”

“A clue, perhaps.” Rigesh said quietly.

“What do you mean, a clue?” she asked impatiently.

For a quick second, everyone locked eyes with each other, excluding Yahna who hadn’t been obviously paying attention. After being stuck in the city for the last two weeks, going through half-translated slabs and an irregular feeling each time they moved to a new area, Sogara-dai was not a city that held splendor, only secrets. The burning question scorching at the back of everyone’s mind was what happened between the witch and the countess. The punishment was just too extreme for such a petty excuse of being offended. If they couldn’t get anything concrete from their known knowledge then it was because the city was hiding lies that would affect not only Gong-dai, but the rest of Vaikoln.

He ignored her and looked between Orantal and Elanya. “I think it’s best if not all of us go inside the library,” he inclined his head toward Yahna, “since not all of us know what we could be looking for. We can move faster with fewer people taking up space and time.”

“I’m willing to stay on the lookout in the truck. I can have it running and ready to go the moment you hop in.” Morio added.

Yahna rolled her eyes. “Alright, well I’m going with.”

“You will slow us down if we run into Flesh Hoarders inside that building. Might as well stay with Morio and be a lookout, which even then might be too hard for you,” Rigesh mockingly said.

“Well, Blondie is going with you, why can’t I?” she whined.

“Because I’m well aversed in studying all textbooks and looking for clues instead of focusing on the best way to fuck someone over,” Orantal snapped, a sudden cold chilled in her frosty blue eyes.

Elanya placed a comforting hand on Orantal while she scrutinized Yahna. If all went well, they would have all that they needed in under an hour and on their merry way back to Yuli-dai. She couldn’t let this woman ruin everyone’s chance of success.

“This should be an in and out task, so it would be better if you stay out in the truck with Morio, then you will already be ready to leave. Nemedion will be staying back too,” she locked eyes with her shocked friend who struggled to speak, “since he will be better to protect the both of you and alarm us if anything goes wrong outside. Rigesh, Orantal and I are confident in what we should be looking for.”

She knew that her words were extra fluff to ease Yahna’s irritation, but it couldn’t do the same for Nemedion. Despite his excelling at Mvag language from copious amounts of studying, he wasn’t much of someone who learned magic and knowledge from old texts stored in a library like Orantal was, so it made sense for her to come along rather than him. And since she and Rigesh had come to some sort of revelation while going through the old slabs, she would be more valuable as well, though Nemedion had probably deduced some similar thoughts. Rigesh spoke Wa Shei, a key language of the people here, and he couldn’t be left out. Yahna was hopeless and Morio needed to be alert and ready to leave at a dime’s notice.

With an exasperated sigh, Yahna conceded and gave no further protest, covering her bare shoulders with a blanket and moving away from the group. To Elanya’s surprise, Nemedion sighed to himself and proved to not be combative about the fact that he would be staying outside.

“Fine, the faster the better,” he said.

She gave him an exhausted smile and placed her other hand on his shoulder. He returned her smile with one of his own, the first one that anyone had seen since they began their journey. “Thank you, Nem. What would I do with you?”

He chuckled. “Not much.”

With roles discussed, they all huddle close to one another after dousing their campfire, hoping to stay warm for the next couple hours of rest. They combined their blankets together, creating a giant spread over their bare bodies. Nemedion and Morio slept on the outside of their huddled group; Nemedion’s arm was nestled around Orantal as she shivered from the cold and Morio’s back was turned away from Yahna who pressed her back against his as she squished herself into Rigesh’s chest. Reigning in his anger, he decided to allow her to sleep on his arm while he wished for anyone else to take her place.

Orantal snuggled into Elanya’s chest while her arms were tightly wound around her friend’s waist, almost possessively like a spoiled child. The trio of students were cuddled together so tight that heat waffed from them like the sun beaming on the crystalized sand during the summer. But their huddle revealed that their nature was more like a pack of wolves, bundling together through a quiet winter snow. Elanya’s back was pressed against Rigesh’s, both trapped by the slumbering arms of their friends. Even though they couldn’t wrap their hands around each other in a solid moment of comfort, they liked the heat they felt through their connected backs, a thin layer of Elanya’s T-shirt was the only thing separating her from feeling the sizzle of the skin on his toned back. Both closing their eyes, they studied the body of the other person--Elanya felt his magic and energy in an assortment of colors while Rigesh focused on the edges of her body and her low breathing. If they wanted to savor in this moment of peace, they had to make do with what was available.

Elanya felt more embarrassed than she wanted to admit, closing her eyes to try and listen to his rapid heart beats. It was a new feeling, but she enjoyed his irregular rhythm as it quelled her into a short slumber.

The sun’s rays hadn’t had a chance to peek behind the sill of the dark horizon when everyone took their positions outside of the Sogara-dai library. While Yahna continued to huff and puff from the very moment they woke, she stayed out of everyone’s way and planted herself in the front seat of the steam truck. Morio sat next to her, lighting a cigarette between his nervous lips, trying his best to focus on the task in front of him. He could barely move his body to look around once the students started gathering their things from the opened back doors. How long would it be before they came back with their spoils? An hour? Two? How could he sit outside in his truck, still as a brick wall and hiding beneath a black tarp, where Flesh Hoarders walked around the area unawares?

The truck was parked in a secluded side alley crowded with rocks the size of a medium dog scattered up and down the lane. The front of the large library was swarming with Flesh Hoarders, as this area marked the bustling downtown of the city. It was a miracle the library was still standing strong, one of it’s strong Corinthian columns half crumbled to the right side of the building. Stairs leading into the entrance held a portico, dirt and dust browning the walls that were once shimmering in a solid ember. A couple of Flesh Hoarders, looking more like humanoid monsters than snarling creatures, were leaning against the half fallen structure with a bored look, one that made the entire group uncomfortable. Their lukewarm, yellow eyes were drowned out by ill-concealed intelligence. These new groups of Flesh Hoarders seemed competent and aware, much different from the ferals they had been encountering on the outskirts of the city and in the slums of the city. They had finally come across the zombie civilization plaguing the barren city for three centuries--the real concerning threat.

Rigesh, Elanya and Orantal had several satchels and backpacks at their disposal, hoping to be able to stock up on ancient tomes and spell books that could be archived with the other ancient texts of Vaikoln. Nemedion stood outside of the truck, watching them with an uncertain glare at his two friends. He hated being divided from Elanya for most of the trip and now he would be parted from Orantal as well, being stuck as a reluctant lookout. The three exchanged words between themselves, too low for the others to make out their hushed conversation. Orantal embraced Nemedion then made her way over to Rigesh who patiently waited near the blighted secret entrance. Elanya murmured something to Nemedion, who in turn, chuckled at whatever her flippant remark was. The two embraced in a big friendly hug until Elanya broke off slowly and turned to join Rigesh and Orantal.

A few meters from their hidden truck was a hidden entrance to the library. There were waning oak double doors holding together by strong, mossy vines. The map showed that this entrance was the furthest away from the main rooms, acting as a path for traders to bring books, tomes and papers in bulk. Agonizing over whether to kick in the door or not, Elanya decided on slicing away the vine holding fast on the oak doors while Rigesh jammed his knife beneath the lock, opening it as quietly as possible. Once the door opened, there was no turning back, no backing out. As soon as they stepped through the aching threshold, they started into a hard sprint down the long hallway connected to the abandoned entranceway.

Elanya ran in the front while Rigesh ran at the rear, keeping Orantal protected in the middle while she absorbed everything around her. Despite how putrid the outside of the once beautifully constructed building looked, the inside was something to be adored. The hallway quickly opened up into a large room with several stairs trailing out to other, almost infinite sections. Gold velvet adorned the rails of the bookcases and stairways and thin threads of gold melted in circular designs on the smooth ruby carpet. The amount of books inside this treasure chest could put the Great Library of Zalatine to shame. The bookshelves were still intact, along with the pillars that held the foundation together unlike the front columns that looked like they would tumble over in any second. But they shouldn’t dally around gazing at the wonder before them, they didn’t want to test how much longer the library would hold up.

Stopping in the middle of the biggest room, the three of them hurriedly searching all different paths receding from the center circle of the bookcases, watchful of sneaky Flesh Hoarders lying in wait. Only the sound of their own breathing could be heard, not the haggard ones of the creatures. Nothing like the incessant crying and scrapping that Elanya and Rigesh experienced when they entered the shopping market. A Stoneguard would be hard to ignore considering it’s big size and even bigger roar. Judging by the looks of the surrounding area, books placed neatly on shelves and things arranged in particular order, the library was kept in pristine shape--at least, as pristine as one can keep it with a dissolving ceiling and an onslaught of dust.

“Where should we go now?” Orantal asked, her voice barely audible.

“We could look anywhere and still find something valuable to take back,” Rigesh said, stalkingly slowly down a row of dusty bookshelves, his long fingers running along the book’s spines curiously. “These books would be worth fortunes.”

As he hooked a finger onto the top of a book, gently pulling it from it’s home, Orantal cast him a suspicious glare. “These books belong in a museum,” Orantal cleared her throat toward him, “and not on the black market to fill your pockets, Rig.”

He opened the dusty book, smirking as he turned his whole body to face her, his eyes never leaving the turning pages before him. “Whatever do you mean, Ora,” he teased.

She huffed then looked around for a different row of books hopefully containing some knowledge of advanced healing magic. As Sogara-dai held powerful knowledge and resources that led to their wealth and fame, she was sure that she would find different techniques to improve her healing magic. Some would call her old fashion, turning their nose up at the way she conducted magic like a hedge witch, or how she mixed potions and salves instead of studying technological medicine, but she couldn’t deny herself the pleasure of feeling one with the very essence of life.

A rugged, green book caught her eye on a shelf above her. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached toward the top shelf, her short fingers barely brushing against the top of the spine as she attempted to ease it outward. Huffing in frustration, she leaped up to make a more solid contact, instead she knocked herself into the shelf and a few books hiding on top fell down on her. Orantal sniffed to herself, hoping to hold in the small bout of tears as pain rippled through her arms and shoulder when she attempted to shield herself from the onslaught. Rigesh, walking through a couple of bookshelves a few rows from her, called out to see if she were okay. Her voice wavered when she replied, but she insisted that he stay being useful elsewhere to save her the embarrassment.

Once she dusted down her ragged clothing, she started collecting the books into a stacked pile until her mind pulled back to the green book. She didn’t know what the feeling was, but her instincts were telling her to look within the book. After blowing away the dirt, she turned the spine toward her so that she could read the fading gold lettering. It read Dissecting Magic Anatomy and judging from the section embroiled at the bottom, it was in the wrong row, if the other books talking about boring spells to help with cultivating crops was anything to go by. Curiously, she opened the book and started flipping through the pages, many of them scribbled over with a personal, distinct handwriting. After shuffling through a few more pages, she heard a small, ripped tab fall from the book and land on the floor.

Orantal rolled her eyes at the unfamiliar words, but she could still under the numbers, so she turned to the pages the numbers stated. Unable to fight the urging feeling inside her brain, she slid herself down the bookshelves and immersed herself in the weird assortment of caricatures.

From a couple of rows over, Rigesh worried whether Orantal was alright, but he assumed that she had lost herself in whatever book that caught her fancy. The books he found so far looked valuable enough--mostly just first editions of a few books he knew about when he was in the military and was hard core studying. If he thought about looking for some ancient tome that held the key to defeating the living dead, then he walked down the wrong aisle of books. He leaned his head back slightly as he caught Elanya’s small frame moving out of his perifrole going up twisted stairs with minimum debree. Grinning to himself, he closed the current book he was scanning through and stuffed it into his satchel, sneaking his way through the mazes of bookshelves behind her.

At the top of the staircase was an open spaced room appearing to be an open office. A desk was stationed in the middle of the room, three large bookshelves flanking each side excluding the front. Unlike the appearance of the whole city and wasteland of Sogara-dai, the desk was clean, barely enough dust on it to be called abandoned. A half used candle wick sat at the left corner, along with an ink pen and ink well. Behind the desk was a stable enough chair, but it had obviously had seen a lot of use from the small splinters in the edges of the legs and the scrape marks beneath the desk.

Elanya slowly dragged her fingers along the edge of the old oak desk, closing her eyes as she took in her surrounding. It was faint, but someone had been here not too long ago. Whether they were human or not, she could not tell.

“Someone comes up here regularly,” Rigesh said as he looked over the left bookshelf, finding a lot more interesting books than he did downstairs. “It’s almost as if they don’t mind that they’re inside of an infestation of undead.”

“Did you find any important books?” she asked him as she turned her attention to the right bookshelf, plucking a maroon book titled Bonding With External Magic Forces.

He shrugged. “Important enough, yes. One that would help us with understanding what the fuck is going on? Nope.”

Looking over the book in her hand, she didn’t turn around to face him. “Stealing first edition books won’t do us much, Gesh.”

Instead of feeling guilty, Rigesh plucked a book to entertain himself and chuckled. “They sure will help me. I’m currently out of a job and my expensive bike is gone, so I need all the money I can get, especially if I want to take you out when we get back.”

He could hear the pages slow under her fingers while she flipped through the book, chuckling to himself at the fact that he may have rattled her. Like her, he didn’t look away from the pages in his book, making note of some of the long distance spells he could use in the future. Maybe he would keep some books to study himself instead of selling all of them.

“What can you tell me about this area?” Elanya asked him slowly, almost flipping to the end of the book.

Without barely a murmur, both of Rigesh’s eyes changed into a burning gold and his sight enhanced as he turned to search around the room. Tuning with his Eagle senses, he crouched low, moving his head searchingly left and right around the room for anything that would jump out to him. With his observant skills, he could find clues that could lead them to their mysterious visitor. As Elanya watched him with keen interest, she wondered if Rigesh could only use magic pertaining to an Eagle or if he was gifted with the ability to imitate other animal senses. This type of magic was rare not because it seemed hard, but because there was never a need to imitate animalistic senses depending on how much power one had at their disposal. A handful of the King of Vaikoln’s scouts used something akin to Eagle’s eye, but they varied from whatever animal that person favored. It wasn’t a surprise that Rigesh liked the eagle, considering the ink on his back and his affinity for the wind. As much as she wanted to hammer him with more annoying questions about his background with the Knights and what other senses he could imitate, she wouldn’t get the complete truth from him. Each time he recounted a memory of his time in the military, his eyes glazed over in painful remembrance.

Rigesh made his way around the desk and took notice of the drawers, the edges of them heavily worn and used, not jammed like he would have thought. He caught a few glimpses of finger prints scattered around the dull silver handle of the top drawer, a lot more than the bottom and the right accompanying ones. Gently, he tugged on the drawer but it refused to budge, not due to its condition, but because it was locked. There didn’t seem to be a lock that could plainly be seen, nor was there a key placed about.

“There is a drawer here, but it’s locked. Judging by the more recent footprints on the floor, the person is rather slender--super lightweight but not too small. Definitely an older male…”

Elanya raised an eyebrow at his pause. “But?”

“But I can’t be sure because there are several other odd footprints. There is a second set here that seems to be the same person, while the others delve into several different sets.”

Knowing her bad eyesight, she knew that there was no point in her trying to look after the footprints that he spoke of. She knew she should trust his judgment, but she just wanted to make sure that their assumptions are accurate.

“How can you differentiate between the same set person and the others?” she asked curiously, gently placing her chosen book back to its rightful place. She stood behind the desk, leaning her hip against it while she crossed her arms in simple thought.

“Because the person of the same set always comes to stand in front of the desk. Every single footprint is distinct, not one person will ever have the same one. These never once lead behind the desk like the other sets, which means--”

“Which means that this spot is a constant meeting spot for multiple people and not someone coming up to read. That would explain why the area isn’t as tarnished as the rest of its counterparts.”

Rigesh smirked, his eyes flickering back into his usual bright green shade. He came around the desk to stand over her as she continued to lean on the desk, her back facing toward the entrance of the stairs.

“I feel like you already discerned that and didn’t need me to look around for clues,” he said softly, his face barely an inch from hers.

Maintaining her poker face, she crossed arms, scoffing at him. “I know you found more clues than just some simple footprints, like the locked drawer. And don’t forget about the description of one of the main footprints.”

“I also know the key is hidden in a book on the third shelf behind the desk too,” he placed his hand on her hips, pulling her close to him, “and I’m guessing on this next one, but the different sets of footprints are generational.”

Elanya hummed to herself as she thought about the prints being generational. Itt was a rather big leap but it’s not like she could see them herself. Unfolding her arms and softening her poker face slightly, she placed her hands on Rigesh’s chest, craving more of his warm closeness while she worked out the clues in her head. There was no way humans were living in the middle of the Flesh Hoarder’s domain to meet up at the library, and if so, what could they possibly be coming to meet about? On the other hand, there could be more intelligent Flesh Hoarders meeting here for a certain purpose, but what would they have to talk about in private while in the middle of their stronghold? There was no need to be secretive about their plans unless there was some type of faction in Sogara-dai. She ruled out the last one after her experience with dealing with the abnormal Flesh Hoarders like the Stoneguards and the Hunters since there didn’t seem to be too many of those around.

“I can see the clogs moving behind your eyes, El” Rigesh said, leaning his head slightly to look at Elanya’s face.

“I’m just thinking about what anyone would use this place for...unless there are humans still living in Sogara-dai.”

This time Rigesh scoffed, reaching his finger out to twirl a curl of her apple red hair. “We’ve barely survived the last two encounters with the Flesh Hoarders, humans living here sounds highly illogical.”

She leaned away from his strong arms and held up a battered notebook, its spine was barely held together by a dirty orange thread. At least, she believed it to be that color. It wasn’t a very flattering orange.

“Maybe this will be able to give us some answers,” she waved it around, the notebook smelling heavily of fresh soil.

Flabbergasted, Rigesh’s eyebrows knitted together. “What is that?”

Looking down to inspect each ragged corner of the notebook, flipping between some of the tattered pages, Elanya tapped it thoughtly with her forefinger. “Seems like some sort of diary.”

“Where did you…” Rigesh looked down and saw the drawer beneath her hip had been opened. “When did you…”

“It’s not hard to corrode a lock, Gesh. You should pay more attention to your surroundings.” She answered his unfinished questions.

Mischief twinkling in his grass green eyes, Rigesh moved into her space, his nose touching hers in a playful way. Unable to help himself, he forgot about his surroundings, the very thing that Elanya had playfully berated him for, and peppered small kisses around her mouth, cheek and chin. She stilled beneath him, closing her eyes and allowing him his seduction as she held their important clue in her hands. Despite her better judgment, she continued to allow him indulgement as he trailed more kisses along her neck. Her hands acted on a will of their hold, slowly rubbing up Rigesh’s chest, spreading a teasing awareness between the both of them.

Rigesh sighed into her throat. “As much as I want to go back home, the long ride doesn’t seem so fun with everyone else there.”

Elanya chuckled as she leaned forward to lay her head on his shoulder, her breath warm on his neck. “You don’t have to be secretive about showing your affection.”

A tiny sliver of fear crept up her neck at the thought of being secretive and hidden. There was nothing she hated more than pretending with her own emotions, especially with people that she tended to admire. After blowing up at Nemedion a couple of months ago, the possibility of reliving that pain scared her.

Her slight pause couldn’t be hidden from Rigesh, who leaned back to gaze into her face and slid his palm up her neck to cup her cheek. He didn’t understand her sudden show of hesitation, but he didn’t want to deepen her past disappointment. Almost possessively, he pressed his lips against hers, opening them with his tongue like he was gasping for air. She quickly accepted him, savoring the taste of him and erasing away the uneasy fears settling around the once cold borders of her heart. Ignorant of her past fervor, he was honest in trying to ease her worries away.

In the distance, they heard a small squeak and approaching footsteps that could belong to no other but Orantal. Elanya was quick to snap out of her lustful trance, but Rigesh was not, his lips still lingering on hers with small peppered kisses on the edges of her mouth. A few weeks ago she couldn’t have imagined the man hanging all over her like a lovesick puppy, but she enjoyed the new aura encompassing his person when he took every opportunity to touch her. How ironic she felt that tinge of insecurity of their hidden relationship when now she was trying to quickly detach herself from his softhearted arms before Orantal saw them. It had nothing to do with shame and more to do with how persistent and nosy her friend could be.

He pulled back from her face, but barely moved from her space when Orantal finally reached the top of the twisted staircase, huffing and out of breath from running. His hands had scarcely left her sides when their friend looked up after catching her breath, half curious and half anxious.

Ignoring her friend’s bruised lips, Orantal swiped down her clothes then held up a green book for them to see. The concern in her eyes eclipsed her nosiness. “Guys...I have...I found…”

After exchanging a worried glance with Rigesh, Elanya rose up from the desk and walked over to her friend, easing her worries as she rubbed Orantal’s shoulders. “Did you find something?”

“Ellie, this city...it has some pretty bad secrets,” she handed over the book to Elanya, still trying to catch her breath, “I can’t read old Wa Shei, but I can read magic and the human body. This text is a spell book about magical augmentations.”

“What about magical augmentation has you huffing and puffing? While discouraged, many people still practice magical augmentation.”

Orantal trembled harder. It was as if she were about to explode. Elanya held the smaller woman in her arms. “Shh, it’s okay. What did you find?”

“They were doing magical experimentation, Ellie. Cutting up humans full of potent magic and harvesting them in order to create more powerful mages to produce a more powerful spell. All these notes, even though I can’t read them, speak about small incantation circles of blood magic that lead into a bigger incantation.”

Rigesh walked over, the hair standing up on the back of his neck indication that he was distressed by the news. “Smaller incantations that lead into a bigger incantation would be hard on the body. You would need several people to do that and at least all of them need to be magically inclined like us. Were they trying to summon something?”

Orantal shook her head. “No, they weren’t trying to summon something. They were attempting to bring someone back from the dead.”

A beat passed before Elanya spoke, “But that’s impossible. Even with several of the world’s most powerful Meisters, no one would be able to rise from the dead.”

“I think they knew that, but,” Orantal squeezed her eyes shut as the magical equations and pictures ran through her mind, “I think they were trying to revive a powerful person in order to steal their magic.”

Elanya let go of Orantal and started to pace around the venerable desk, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. Is this the secret that Umbara was speaking of when she was hinting that the city had done some foul things? She couldn’t understand why a progressive city such as Sogara-dai would attempt such an archaic way to achieve power. Who had Lady Eman been trying to resurrect? Was it her lover? No, while the woman seemed selfish, she assumed that the Countess would do something this outrageous in order to bring prosperity. Could King Razel have known what she was planning and tried to erase the project from history? Instead of learning more about this mess, she ended up with one answer and several more questions.

“Does the book say why?” She asked.

“No,” Orantal answered, “this book seems to be more educational and scientific than personal.”

Elanya finally stopped pacing and went to the frayed diary. This was the only thing available that could give them a personal insight on what had happened. The person who had been meeting there knew about the city’s nefarious plans and she needed to figure out what she could do to stop it.

She opened the rundown diary and flipped through the pages, grimacing when she realized she couldn’t read it. “Gesh, I need you to translate this now. Read it out loud.”

He took the diary from her and sat down behind the desk, the weakened chair struggling under his solid weight. Squinting at the harsh handwriting, he almost doubted that the original language was Wa Shei. The first few pages didn’t seem like it was written down at the desk, rather like they had no time and feared that they wouldn’t be able to get their words down. The top was dated nearly three hundred years ago and below the date a name was scribbled: Keiv. Rigesh looked up to them, anticipation wafting off him in thick waves. The two women nodded to him indicating that they were ready, and so he read.