At around late afternoon, after a few hours of riding with the Hippocampi, the walls of Northwich appeared in the distance. Aiden brought their guides to a halt just far enough away from town so nobody could see them. The Hippocampi dove to the water after a quick farewell to their new friends. Harnessing the power of Flow, Shani pushed their wreck in the harbor's direction with a swell to guide them along. The cool wind caressed her face, giving Shani a moment of peace. Raising her head, the fishy air flooded her lungs, recalling her of how Kei used to bring her fish every day to eat when she was younger so she wouldn't go hungry. Shani opened her eyes to find Kei soaring above them, her feathers rustling in the breeze and her wings extended wide open. Watching Kei made Shani smile, but with town approaching closer, she had to let go of her for now. Shani staccato whistled five times, directing her to fly across town and wait for them there to ensure her safety.

A low muffled voice sprung up from Nia’s bag, which hung around her shoulder, causing her to reach in. She dug out her transmitter, curious about who was attempting to contact her. Nia answered with a short ‘hello’ and turned up the volume to hear the person better on the other end. The group grew quiet and leaned in to inspect the transmitter in Nia’s hand, intrigued by who it was.

“Hello, can you hear me?” Cecilia’s hushed, rapid voice emanated from Nia’s device accompanied by the ruffling of clothes being crammed together.

“Ah, miss Cecilia, how are-”

“I’m sorry, but there is no time for pleasantries. There are a few shady individuals lurking around, and currently, the guards are investigating townsfolk. Two of them questioned me this morning about the Tsunami Swords and if I knew anything about the plant you asked me. To avoid suspicion, I shooed them away with the excuse of being busy.” There was a brief halt on her end.

Nia grew worried from the unusual pause, “Cecilia, are you okay?”

“Yes, I'm fine. Sorry, there was a nosy man peering through my window. Anyway, I’m afraid they might be on the lookout for you and your friends. Everyone in Northwich heard the deafening roars and watched the out-of-control weather from afar last night, so the scene here is tense. Please be careful wherever you are.”

"We will," Shani replied before Nia responded. Feeling terrible for putting Cecilia in this situation, she continued with a question, “W-What are your plans, ma'am?”

“Don’t fret about me, I’ve been packing all day with the help of a friend and we will leave town by nightfall, though it is a shame I must give up my beautiful plants. I managed to get my son to take over the greenhouse, but I’m getting off-topic here.” A loud slamming of a luggage bag interrupted her, “I suggest you also leave as quickly as possible. Who knows what might happen if they find out it was you who was looking into this plant. For now, I must go now, take care.” With that, the transmission cut on Cecelia’s end.

“Damn it, it must be Sephtis 'n' his group -” Aiden banged the plank below him with his fist, “- how’re we gonna git our stuff or even git oot o' town?”

Sebastian cupped his fingers under his chin, brainstorming a way to reach the remains of their belongings in their rooms and get their mounts. With a shake of his head, he blinked and let his chin go, “The only option to get out of this is to sneak in and out and hope no one will recognize or stop us.”

“Yeah but, how will we even land, let alone get close to Northwich? They’ll be on us the moment they spot us!” Camila dramatically pointed towards town, looming ever closer.

Nia scrunched up her eyebrows until an idea popped into her mind. Incapable to hold in her excitement, she turned to Shani, “Shani, can you somehow create a thick fog around us? Large enough to not arouse suspicion, but not too big that’ll cost you all your beads on your bracelet?”

As Shani calculated the amount of Flow it would require to cast the mist, the rest of the team watched her, “I-I think I can. Since it isn’t a momentum-based Flow, i-it shouldn’t deplete too much of a bead.”

The group gathered their gear from the splintered boards and held onto the broken remains of the gunwale. With a smooth circular flow of her wrist, Shani pointed upward as one bead on her bracelet glowed with a faint blue. Vapor slowly climbed from the lake until it was several feet above them. Shani clenched her fist once she was satisfied with the height, forcing the mist to condense on itself, thickening to the point where the haze obstructed the sky above. She held her current position and, with the other hand, caused the waters below them to push them forward to town, causing the bead to illuminate brighter.

Within the hour, the group managed to arrive, unnoticed, on the shores of Northwich near its port. Its people on the pathways grew confused by the sudden fog appearing out of nowhere, but not all too surprised seeing fall was nearing. There were a few mutters about it being the start of another weather disaster from the night prior, so instead of waiting for the storm to come, they decided to go home. Taking advantage of the chance, the five of them hurried from cover to cover in case soldiers were patrolling the routes, their footsteps pattering on the wood below them.

Showing up to the gate into town, Sebastian led the way to only see two dark, blurry figures securing the entrance. He held up his hand to signal to the party to stop in their tracks as he realized they must be guards. Nia beat him to the idea, picking up a nearby rock and throwing it in an arc above the troops, landing on the other side of the gate. Somehow, Nia had achieved to hit crates of metallic assortments and caused them to collapse onto the ground with a heavy crash. The men turned in the direction of the sound and went to inspect what had made it. As soon as the coast was clear, the group moved through the entrance and into town without any problem.

Surrounded by the slew of structures within Northwich, everyone in the group noticed the town roads seemed to be deserted. Only the ghostly mist Shani had created filled the streets. Darkness crept on them as the sun's rays hid beneath the horizon, transforming the buildings with hazy outlines. The wispy lights from buildings and streetlamps pierced the opaque mist all around them. Silence occupied the air, not even a single dog’s bark echoed through the sky.

“It almost feels like a ghost town,” Sebastian silently remarked, inspecting their surroundings over the large wooden containers.

“Would actual ghosts complete the setting?” Nia scoffed with a slight smile on her face as she helped look.

Camila turned in Nia’s direction, dumbfounded by the words that had just impaled her ears, accompanied by the only words that could escape her mouth, “Shut up.”

After making sure all was clear, they all knelt down and crept toward "The Gargle," taking care not to be noticed. With Sebastian leading the way, he opened his eyes wide, searching for any distorted shades remotely close to them. The soft clacks of their footwear disturbed the quiet atmosphere, hoping no one would investigate. As they drew near to their destination, Sebastian came to a complete standstill, causing Camila to collide with him face first.

With a low groan, Camila slapped Sebastian’s back, “What’s gotten into-”

Sebastian moved his index finger to his lips and muttered, "Quiet," with his other hand pointing in front of them.

A fuzzy dark shape could be made out, walking toward them at a slow pace. Feeling his heartbeat like a drum, Sebastian and the others looked around, frantic to find a place to hide. The figure got closer and closer to them, but with nowhere to conceal, Sebastian had no choice except to stand up and draw his weapon. The figure, veiled by the fog, materialized before them, wearing a shadowy blue garment with white long sleeves and a hood. Just as he rose and wrapped his hand around the grip of his katana, he backed off in surprise.

“Oh my dears, I’ve been searching all over for you!” Elizabeth’s elegant voice cut through the thick mist from under her royal blue hood as she uncovered her hands from the draping sleeves. Draped over one of her arms looked to be four cloaks, each one varying in colors.

Shani shot up with a smile, “Miss Elizabeth, I-It’s nice to see you again!”

Releasing his weapon, Sebastian’s shoulders relaxed, “Yeah, we thought you were someone else. Almost sliced you up there, sorry about that.”

“Not to worry, but now’s not the time to chitchat -” Elizabeth pointed at herself with her thumb, “- Cecilia asked me to assist as I helped her on packing.”

“Ah, so you’re the friend she talked about on the call.” Nia stretched her legs as she stood up.

Camila followed everyone and lifted an eyebrow, “I may not know who Cecilia or you are, but if you can help us out, then it’ll make this whole matter easier.”

“Oh, I do not know you as well. I was under the impression there were only four of you, so I only brought enough cloaks for who I saw the other day.” Elizabeth scratched her head and frowned as she showed them her arm with the long pieces of cloths dangling.

Aiden, who had risen when Nia had, saw that one was a lot bigger than the rest, “Hmm weel ah could carry her as th' cloak is over both o' us, that wey it’ll juist look lik' ah have a hump.”

“Um, excuse me, I do not agree to be part of this stupid plan. May I recommend Nia became the hump? She’s far more suited for the role than I am since she’s a little-”

“Good plan! Now here, each one grab a cloak and conceal yourself. I’m assuming you all have personal belongings you must collect, so make haste.” One by one she handed the hooded cotton material to everyone, “This is the most I can do for now. I have my own possessions I must gather.”

With cloaks in hand, each one covered under the fabric they had been given; Sebastian under a dark, regal purple, Nia with a bleak grey, Shani blanketed below a deep aquatic blue, and Aiden partnered with a scowling Camila on his back covered in an earthy dirt brown. They thanked and bid farewell to Elizabeth as she once again disappeared into the cloudy void whence she came. They rushed through the streets, now covered behind their hooded cloaks, taking care not to draw notice to themselves.

It was not long before they arrived at the lit exterior of “The Gargle” where they noticed that the festive sounds and mouth-watering smells were absent. Aiden strode to the front and stopped the group as he kept his grip on Camila. He glanced at the rest as he listened with one ear for any sounds that might indicate an ambush. Using his head, he gestured everyone to follow him and walked indoors. As he had suspected, the chairs and tables that he was used to seeing filled were empty, with only the light to occupy the room. One after another, the group entered, keeping their faces obstructed by their hoods in case someone might be watching as they made their way to their hall. Finally, at the front of their doors, Aiden let Camila down as silently as he could. Once the group was ready with their hands at the ready to unsheathe their weapons, they opened both doors, entering their rooms with eyes peeled open.

After a quick scan of the room, Sebastian found nothing to be out of order, “Seems safe for now -” He ungrasped the grip of his blade, “- but let’s hurry and leave. This place is giving me the chills.”

Mere minutes later, Sebastian, Nia, Shani, and Aiden had gathered the remaining items they had left in the room the prior day and stuffed them into their bags. Now ready to leave town, the three exited the room to find Camila waiting for them outside of their door with her backpack over her shoulder. Once more, Camila hopped onto Aiden’s back under his cloak, still not happy with this arrangement. The group nodded to each other, then tiptoed upstairs to leave the tavern. As they came to the last step, Aiden noticed someone reclining on the wall beside the exit and paused to glare. Sebastian popped from behind him to see why Aiden had stopped and recognized the man; his scar on the right of his face looked familiar but replaced the metal armor he had worn before with a mail shirt over a long, red padded jacket. He carried an intriguing, short crest, tarnished helmet by his hip. His other hand clutched the grip of a sheathed longsword with a circular hollow pommel and wide crossguard, different from the two swords he carried last time.

“And w'ere do you think you are goeng so fast?” Sephtis’s devilish grin immobilized the group right where they stood.

“It's none o` yer business Sephtis -” Aiden released Camila so he could move freely, “- now git oot o' our wey or I’ll do it maself.”

Forcing her way through, Camila locked eyes with the person who organized the raid on their village, the killer of her parents. Her face turned flaming red as she pulled out her daggers and pointed one at him, “You! You’ll pay for what you did, you snake!”

Sephtis lifted a brow and stared at the girl accusing him of whatever he did not know, “You’re gonna have to be more specific, my dear. I have dwan many t'engs to people, and it’s so hard to remember dem all.” A slight chuckle escaped his chapped lips, unable to contain the hilarity of the situation.

“Don’t give me that crap, you know exactly what you did!” A tear formed in the corner of Camila’s eyes. Clenching her teeth, she held back her distraught, “You killed my parents along with many of our village and kidnapped them!”

His finger tapped the pommel of his sword, Sephtis humored her question, “Village, village… oh, you mean, from last week? I’m surprised you were able to escape dat!” Unsheathing his longsword from his hip, his smile curled inwards and tightened against his teeth, “I don’t like to leave a job undwan so allow me to gut you like a fish right now.” Sephtis raised the metal up to his mouth and licked the flat surface near the edge of the blade’s gust of wind rune, inches away from the crossguard.

“Like you’ll even get the chance before I slit your throat,” she hissed under her breath. Camila took a step forward, her heart beating a thousand times per second.

Using his free hand, Sephtis snapped his fingers. Doors from the hallway behind them opened and out came his goons, all wielding various weapons, from butcher knives to bats. The kitchen swarmed with more of his men, leaping the bar that separated the cooking area from the main dining room, all cackling and ready to kill their prey. Camila stepped back, looking around to see they were completely surrounded. Shani and Nia took out their weapons and covered the team’s back as Sebastian unsheathed his dark katana.

A short growl left Aiden’s throat as he stared at Sephtis, “You still can’t fight yer own battles, kin ye, Sephtis?!” He reached behind his back to grab his war hammer and dragged it out in front of him.

“If you’re going to die anyway, why boder on de small details?” Again, Sephtis snapped at his men.

The men charged at the group, war crying at the top of their lungs. As soon as they were close enough, Aiden swung his mighty weapon and sent three men flying into the air, crashing into the wall next to him. As Aiden struck, Camila and Sebastian ducked to avoid the blow and leaped forward, connecting in battle with others while their primary target was Sephtis. Nia let go of her bowstring, putting an arrow straight into a man's arm to avoid murdering while allowing Shani to move in closer and block. Managing a sliver of Flow, Shani shifted her right heel to the left, causing the stone flooring to dart in the same direction, resulting in an avalanche of people tumbling down. With the opportunity at hand, Nia quickly shot out arrows to as many fallen Whisper members as she could before they stood up, avoiding their vital areas.

Camila pushed their sword back with all of her might to overpower them and cut their leg, paralyzing the bandit on the spot. With one down, she moved on to the next person, who was about to stab Sebastian’s side as Aiden covered her back with a loud impact from his hammer into the ground. Sebastian forced his katana forward to free himself of the stalemate against a pair of sickles, allowing him to stab into their poorly armored leg. After removing the blade from the lackey’s thigh, Aiden shouted a quick ‘dodge’ to him and Camila. They both ducked as they had before, giving the war hammer space to swing above them, smashing more out of their way.

Now that a good chunk of the members was down on the floor, Aiden saw between the faces of the standing goons to realize that Sephtis had disappeared. “Damn it, he’s gone!”

“He’s what!?” Camila got on her feet to examine the crowded area. As Aiden had mentioned, there was no trace of him, “How could I let him get away!? We need to chase after him!”

The moment Camila exclaimed her frustration, more Whisper members poured into “The Gargle”, shielding their only exit. Aiden punched the face of a lackey holding up a chair, “Na kin do, he cuid be hiding anywhere by noo 'n' his men aren’t going to juist let us search fur him. Not to mention he cuid tak' hostages. We need to escape!”

With no other choice left, Aiden whistled as loud as he possible, so it would soar above the shouting. Revved up into another swing, Aiden made a small area around them from the impact to grant ample space to step forward. Now out of the stairway, Nia and Shani saw the number of people that were attempting to kill them. Wide-eyed, Nia stared at the fallen for a hot second then shut her eyes, becoming short-breathed and shaking. Shani, concerned for Nia, placed her hand on her shoulder and told her to, “Hang in there”. Covering for the both of them, Shani side-kicked a girl back with such force, she flew back and into the narrow hallway where the rooms were. The group formed a circle with Nia in the middle to protect her as the Whisper enclosed around them, snickering and laughing with weapons lunging at the team.

Screaming of fear erupted from outside, turning the heads of everyone inside to the doorway. An explosion from the entrance scattered wood everywhere and in came Titan, shattering the eardrums of those close to her with a mighty roar. A single swipe from her was enough to throw bodies out of her way and cut a small path for the team to reach her. Aiden placed his hammer back on his back and picked up Nia, who was still having a panic attack.

“Git on Titan ye three, I’ll tail behind ye!” Pulling his leg back, Aiden kicked someone that was struggling to get back up, knocking him out on the spot.

Without hesitation, Sebastian, Shani, and Nia ran to Titan, who had lowered herself so it was possible to climb on top of her easier. Shani, who had never seen Titan before, exclaimed in awe, “T-This is a dire bear!”

“It is! Noo git on!”

One at a time, they mounted the hairy beast before them. Once they were all on, she raised to her normal height, bumping their heads to the rocky ceiling. Titan strode back through the now-broken wooden doorframe and into the chilly night, where they met more shouting enemies. Not wanting to risk being stabbed, Titan charged forward with her claws, with Aiden kicking any who were too near to her side. She surged through the wave with a tremendous roar, while they cowered in terror, hands over their ears. Aiden maintained with her speed, allowing them all to escape unscathed. Both of them ran through the desolate streets to where the others had left their horses once they had all passed through the wall of thugs.

Cool winds brushed their faces as they raced to the stable. Titan’s noisy breathing as she ran caught the attention of townfolk, opening their windows from their warm homes to investigate what was going on. The fog that Shani had set up before began to disperse, revealing their path more clearly to them. Their escape amounted to them arriving at their destination where they saw, meters away, their horses under a warm light. Sebastian looked next to them, amazed by how Aiden kept up with them from across town with Nia in her arms. It must take a significant amount of stamina to accomplish such a feat.

As they approached the modest stone barn, the scent of manure mingled with hay flooded their nostrils. Its wooden doors were hanging from its hinges, broken from when Titan had burst out not too long ago when she heard the call from Aiden. All three horses; Standout, Saturday, and Masskara were still behind their wooden gate, safe but startled. Unmounting Titan, Sebastian and Camila hurried up to their respective horses, snapping over the broken wood. Aiden softly let down Nia onto her feet, seeing as she was now more responsive.

Somewhat ashamed, Nia scratched the rear of her head, “I’m sorry for making you have to carry me. You could have gotten hurt back there.”

“Don’t worry aboot it, ah wasn’t gonna leave a friend in need o’ hulp behind.” He smiled and ruffled her hair, “Na let’s git oot o’ ‘ere, ah have a feeling they aren’t gonna let us leave easily ‘n’ we are gonna need yer hulp.”

With hesitation, Shani waved her hand toward Aiden, “H-Hey, Aiden, would it be alright with you if I-I rode with you? I don’t have a horse anymore. A wagon brought me to town the other day.”

A small chuckle escaped him, “Aye ye kin, just don’t pull on Titan’s hair-” Aiden placed one of his large hands on Titan’s head and petted her, “- she won’t forgive ye if ye did that.”

Dashing out of the stables in a gallop on their mounts, the party raced towards the main entrance of Northwich with Sebastian in the lead and Titan in the rear. Sebastian recalled where the entrance was and turned the corner that would head straight toward the gates. Like Aiden had spoken, their exit up ahead was being blocked by members of The Whisper with weapons and shields in hand. As he saw this, Aiden sprinted ahead of Sebastian with his warhammer in one hand and Shani holding on around his waist. Titan bellowed tremendously, accompanied by a deafening cry from Aiden, staggering quite a few of the thugs. One man tripped over, making another stumble on his feet. Aiden adapted to the situation and took it as a possible opening. He stormed forward toward the now startled man and swung his hammer in an upward arc. They were launched backward, battering through the rest and causing a domino effect of people. Now with the way open, the party erupted past the gateway and out into farm-filled outskirts of Northwich.

“I think we made it out safely!” Nia called out to everyone as she gripped onto the reins of Saturday and looked behind her. As if the world was answering her, four armored men on horseback burst out of town, charging towards them faster than they were riding. Turning back forward, she took out her bow from across her shoulder, “I take it back, incoming!”

Sebastian took a glance back. They were racing forward faster than their own mounts could ride, “How are they gaining on us so fast?!”

Turning her whole body around so she was riding backward, Camila squinted to get a better look at who was chasing them. The saddles of the horses seemed normal, but she noticed a section of armor dangling from their necks with a black stone with blue cracks. “They have an enchanted plate of armor!”

Within seconds, the four thugs reached them with their weapon at the ready. Camila, being last, anticipated an attack first with a swing from a short sword, which she dodged with ease. From her hips, she drew out her silver daggers in time to block an attack coming down on her. One of the other men caught up to her on the opposite side of the other goon and took out his short sword. Quickly, Sebastian pulled back on Standout’s reins and cut him off by placing himself between them. He caught sight of a snarl form on the man’s face in the moonlight, his hand drawing out his longsword. As a counter to the threat, the notable swish of Sebastian’s katana rung in the air when he swiftly took it out with one hand. Their weapons clashed with a clang, pushing back their arms back, their metal blades shining from the ghastly glow of the moon.

Nia mirrored what Camila had done; she turn her body so she was facing back and pulled her bow’s string back with an arrow in its nocking point. The constant rapid motion from Saturday made it challenging to aim at the goon gaining on her. She waited with anticipation of every gallop, then released the arrow, hitting the man right in the shoulder, causing him to fall off his horse with a powerful crash. Shani spun her head back after hearing the cry of the fallen man. She was not in a position to attack head-on and using Flow un-discreetly would out her, so she let out a powerful triple staccato whistle. Thunder cracked in the clear sky, causing one man to look up in confusion. Plummeting down from the heavens, talons dug into the man’s bones. He was snatched up into the air as his howls of agony grew distant. Kei’s screech sent tremors down their spines as she let him fall onto the hard ground.

Camila’s daggers collided with the member’s short sword once more as they passed by a windmill, the sweeps revolving around its axis. Another clash broke out next to her, Sebastian fending off the other beside him in a heated battle. Swish, clank, crash! Neither pair was giving up, determined to best their opponent. Each slash Sebastian made, his katana felt lighter in his hand. The dark smoke from when they fought, Namazzi reemerged once more. The sudden appearance of the haze blinded the man, grunting as he waved his free hand to clear the smoke. Bewildered by the abrupt event, Sebastian took the opening to swing, slicing the thug's steel-plated side. Unlike Namazzi, he had not pushed the goon back; instead, he suffered a minor injury and collapsed to the ground from the momentum. A gleam from the Obliriumite hanging off the front of the horse catches his eye. Utilizing all of the strength he could muster, Sebastian grabs it and yanks it from the armor. As he did, the horse slowed down to what seemed its normal speed, unable to keep up with Standout.

Clang! Camila blocked the longsword about to impale her stomach with a shove from her dagger. The man, powerless to stop his propulsion, stabs the air falling from the leather seat, dangling on its side with only his legs holding him as he screamed in fright. A smirk rose from her lips and stabbed him in the leg, incapacitating his whole body as the horse veered away from her with the other three horses. Now that the last two members had been taken care of, Camila, along with Nia, returned to their normal riding positions.

“That’s the last of them. Let’s get out of here before more arrive!” Back in the lead, Sebastian steered the group off-road North-East toward the distant mountains of the Yadi Ridge.

About an hour after their escape, Sebastian spotted water in the near range, glistening under the bright moon. It looked to be a rather big river without a bridge in sight, so getting across it now did not seem possible. Instead, they agreed to stop for the night so the following day they may trail the river up north and find a way across it. Shani asked Kei to scout their path for any that had the courage to have followed from town.

Unmounting Masskara, Camila expressed a loud, frustrated sigh, “That’s the second time that worm has escaped me. When the hell is this gonna end?!”

“Just be glad we made it out alive-” Nia’s feet landed on the soft grass with a soft thump after jumping off Saturday, “- this could have ended a lot different.”

“Don’t you dare talk to me, this whole mess is still your fault!” Camila snapped at her, “I wouldn’t be out here, beyond my breaking point, looking for a deranged psychopath!”

“I don’t want to fight, we just narrowly-”

“To hell with what you want.”

Stepping between them, Sebastian looked straight at Camila, “It’s been a long day, let’s just rest, okay? We have a long way until we reach Mt. Elra. If you do this now, you won’t be able to rest at all.”

Camila stared at Nia, the air clogged with suspense as if she was shooting knives out of her eyes, then switched her gaze at Sebastian. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, “Okay, you’re right. Hopefully, along the way, we can find where everyone is.” The sudden realization hit her like a rock. Outraged with herself, she growled, “Damn, I should have demanded to give me the location of where they were!”

Aiden hopped off Titan, “Ye would have wasted yer breath. Sephtis ne’er lets oot secrets that benefit him.”

“B-But wouldn’t it have been good to try?” Shani stumbled as she leaped off, then looked up at Aiden.

Without a word, Aiden shook his head. He removed the hammer from his back, placing it on the ground, “Best we can do is look for them ourselves. With any luck, we might squeeze the information out of someone that follows him.”

Not much dry wood was found in the area for a fire, but Aiden intervened to say it was better to stay in the dark so they would not be spotted. It was unanimous amongst themselves, deciding to only take out the necessities to sleep. Kei returned sometime later, communicating to Shani with small clicks they had nothing to worry about. It relieved them to hear this, so with that, they settled down to set their sleeping gear.

Even with them all laying down, not much sleep happened as the events from the day kept repeating in their minds and being on alert for anyone to spot them. Sebastian replayed the fight he had on horseback and Namazzi; both times his katana let out the smoke. He was not able to wrap his mind around what it meant or what possible enchantment his weapon held, or enchantments? “Is it even possible for it to have more than one enchantment?” This was a question he would have to ask Nia tomorrow, but for now, the stars above him called.