Pleased as we are to have another Jester's Box and Rook Chest, Dawn put off deciding who gets to open them until we put some miles behind us. We resume our traveling formation with Victoria and I driving the vardo and enjoying the relative calm of driving through the country side. I know we were there for only a few days but, aside from the wholesale killing of mercenaries, it's good to finally be away from the big city. I don't believe anyone can just recall the day they become desensatized to the visual and audio stimulation of everything, but it is jarring to be suddenly away from it all.

A wind light enough to rustle leaves without bending branches carries the smell of rain and I glance at the greying skies. I pull on the lever, erecting the cabin and revealing a new canopy extending over the driver's area.

"Nice." Vic nods her head and smiles when I conjure an Arcane Shield to act as a windshield when the first few drops of rain start falling. Aside from the initial casting cost, there is zero MP drain since nothing is dealing me any damage and it won't go away until I dismiss it.

It doesn't take long for the drizzle to turn into heavy rain with lightning streaking through the clouds. The flyers have all come back for safety reasons, and because Kona hates being soaking wet. Elsbeth and Serenity join her in the vardo as well. Vic and I, however, are quite content with the pattering of rain, the clopping of hooves, and my Manipulate Water Spell.

By creating two spheres of water with really high surface tension and heating them up to a comfortable 102 degrees fahrenheit/ 39 degrees celsius, a bit cooler than a typical jacuzzi, we had two, perfect, little heaters. I set my head on her paldron covered shoulder and she sets her head on mine. I want to finally bring up the book. I want to know everything about her. But, more than either of those things, I want this moment to last forever.

Our quiet ride continues as the rain eventually stops and we drive up the muddy road. The sky is still grey and looks ready to drop more rain at any moment. I ask Vic if she wants to call the others back out, but she just shakes her head. I keep glancing at my radar and monitor our surroundings as I straighten up in my seat. Even with the shield and the hot water globes, the wind still gets to us. I make sure all of the extra moisture is extracted from our clothes and our immediate surroundings before summoning a couple bedrolls for us. One of her hands finds its way under all the bedding and we lace our fingers together. My heart is doing backflips and I have to consiously slow my breathing down. She can hear me and gently squeezes my hand tighter.

A few miles later, we reach the first step on our journey into some true wilderness. According to what Sonny could recall about the area we're heading to, it had been abandoned by the enlightened races for several generations. Victoria revealed a little more of the area's history when she told us that after so many battles, many believe it became the birthing ground of several evil beings, including the seventh recorded wraith, the second in Regalus.

In other games, wraiths are incorporeal spirits of pure evil, specters that use life draining Abilities. In Arc, they're a lot more powerful. Instead of an angsty, shadow blanket, you'd be face to hooded face with the culmination of sin and corruption. It takes a massive concentration of shadow and necrotic energy to create something like a wraith. The only good thing about its creation is that in its newly created form it starts at level one like anything else and takes hundreds of years to become a threat to the world.

Somewhere in this ninety mile long and thirty mile wide area, which roughly includes portions of a mountain range, a river, parts of a forest, and the plains in center, the wraith has made its home. I take Richter's word that the area is about the size of Delaware and that, hopefully, the odds should be good enough for us to avoid running into it. When the NPC's explain that a wraith is about forty to seventy feet tall, he amended his odds slightly, saying that at least it should be visible from a distance.

For now, we find ourselves at an ancient junction. The flat, earthen road veering right would eventually take us to Coronus, the capital city of Regalus. The only clue that there was even a road that goes left is an old two post sign. In the form of an upper case H, the horizontal plank arrow pointing right marked the distance left until Coronus. The remnants of another plank above it are long gone, save for a few rusty nails and a sliver of wood still hanging around in the upper right. Whatever cities once lay to the west are probably in the same state as their sign. Even the road that used to stretch in that direction has been reclaimed by nature and overgrown with grass. From our spot on the road, all I can see with zoom is grass. Grass, and a far off mountain range where we could eventually carve out Linqs.

I give Vic this piece of information and she calls for Sonny to come out. Moments later, we have the vardo a half mile away from the road. Sonny has me on Meteora and we're using it like an elevator, rising into the atmosphere to get a better look. Unfortunately, aside from the curvature of Arc, there is also a black, swirling mass of clouds covering the area from above. The epicenter is smack dab in the middle of our planned route. There's something moving around the clouds that no matter who hard I try to view it or Scan it, I can't get a clear view. When we drop in elevation, however, the storm is no longer visible and the sky just looks like a rainy grey. Unsure about this meteorological phenommenon, I relay all of the information back to the others.

"It's because of the wraith," Kona answers, still wearing one of the Whisper Ear Cuffs, "We told you it takes an immense amount of energy and sometimes it drastically affects the environment."

"And what about the thing moving about the clouds?" I ask, "Is it the wraith? It did look fairly big..." No one could give me a definite answer.

"Any ideas? I don't like the thought of going in blind." Dawn interjects over the radio.

"We can send in a scouting party ahead of us," Vic answers as we float down next to her. "Conner can lead a small team, since that's his expertise." She looks over Sonny and raises a curious eyebrow.

"Oh! Yes. Yes, I would love to accompany him. And yes, we will be very professional, sir- ah!- I mean ma'am…"

I turn away so Sonny can't see my silent laughter and Vic just smirks at the flustered Machina. Dawn speaks a plan into our ears, "Conner and El will ride the Nightmares, Kona takes her Broom, and Sonny on her sword. They'll give us about a mile, mile and a half lead. I want them in pairs, spread out but visible to each other. We'll form a triangle, pushing into the depths of… Does this area have a name?"

Victoria touches her ear and looks somberly out into the distance, "Historians call the main stretch the 'Denagrin Plains' after one of the larger, former cities, but everyone in Coronus called it 'Corpse County.' You can have three guesses why and they'd all be correct."

Before moving forward with our plan, Dawn calls us all together in a sort of town hall meeting so the people of Linqs aren't just being blindly led into the jaws of hell. Everyone is silent during the explanation of the plan and the big reveal of their current location. The older ones gasp in surprise, at least knowledgeable of the name and what it pertains to, but other than that there are no other reactions.

"We're not too far from the main road, and now I wish we could have brought this up sooner." Dawn shifts in her spot at our table in front of the dining area. If she's thinking what we're all thinking, then I'm glad the mantle of leadership is no longer on my shoulders. Still, she glances over at me and I straighten up in my chair, trying to show my support. There's a tired smile crawling on her face and we look back at the crowd, "We will not hold it against anyone who wishes to return to Kes Solomas or back to the main road."

Parents, children, and couples are holding on to each other tightly, but there is a steely resolve in their eyes. The soldiers and the reserve units all stand, arms crossed over their chests. Boulder, the ursine Faunus is the first to speak in his growling, baritone, "We are with you, Commander, and we will not abandon you at the gates of our new home."

The crowd resoundingly echoes his sentiments. Our shoulders slacken and we release our collective breaths. Still, Dawn waits a moment in case someone has a change of heart before voicing the rest of her plan for tomorrow morning. Tonight, we'll music, good food, and plenty of rest before heading into Corpse County.

With little to no cover in terms of trees, brush, or even rock and earth formations for long distances, we move in a sort of formation suggested by Richter called a Bounding Overwatch. We modify it to include the vardo in the center to act as a sort of tank, the vehicle and not the party unit. Essentially, we form two, wedge shaped squads that will leap frog the other in parallel with the vardo rolling up behind.

It is the slowest way for us to move, but in terms of security, versatility, and firepower, it is our best choice. Gorm, Reiger the Dwarf, Boulder, Rachel, and Richter work together as the left wing. Taymin, Elsbeth, Victoria and I will act as the point squad on the right and will have the vardo following closer to our side. Each squad will be spread out in an upside down V, pass the other squad by several dozen yards, stop, allow the other to pass, and continue this way until we can find cover or concealment. With at least one person with Zoom II or stronger and everyone having access to ranged attacks, we follow in the footsteps of our scouting party.

Conner and Elijah, the Saureon Scout turned Cook, ride the Nightmares while Sonny surfs low on Meteora. Less experienced and lower in level, she is their utility backup.

Conner, Vic, Dawn, and Gorm wear the Whisper Ear Cuffs as the leaders of each squad, directing us until we get used to the pattern of movement. Dawn drives with Serenity, who is ready to deal heavy lightning damage. Kona has her arcane shield dome around the vardo and will provide extra support.

For two miles, we take turns sprinting through the open land on high alert. What was supposed to be a long, gliding arrow traversing the plains ends up looking more like a pock marked, bingo card. Vic had to reprimand us Travelers for messing up her beautiful lines like a drill instructor and we jump to quickly address the issue. It took a few cycles of leap frogging to get the hang of the maneuver, and a few more to form a better pattern of movement. Something else we all eventually become aware of, aside from our lack group coordination, is a haze gathering in the air as we travel further.

At first, I thought it was just me, but I realize we all probably thought the same thing. But, when Conner brought up the fact that the fog doesn't cause any Debuffs, we all became very aware that things could've gone worse had the fog been hostile in any way. It doesn't thicken or thin in any direction we move in, but none of my other visions fair any better, which is a weird thing to happen to Thermal Vision. Elijah returns to us to give a report a little too long to convey over the radio concerning a herd of blue elk with strange black stripes, as if the blue part wasn't strange enough for us. They were passing by when a large, grey lagolion pounced one of the elk into the dirt. A second one appeared just as suddenly with its own elk in its clutches.

We turn to each other for clarification, but none in our group have ever heard of the monster. The Saureon looks sheepishly at us before explaining in his hissing tone, "It's a giant, lean looking rabbit, bigger than a grey wolf. Paws replaced with claws and fangs like daggers. Like a Dire Bunny… Anyway, it means the elk are either very much edible or they're edible only to local predators. Either way, there's still a food chain. That's good news for us."

Before taking off he explains that as long as there's an ecosystem, then we can find a way to live in it. It also means that the wraith haunting the area either leaves certain lesser beings alone or it stays in one place. Also good news.

The bad news, is that if they drop out of the sky the way he describes, then there's almost nothing we can do to intercept them. Even Enhanced Hearing and Smell won't be able to detect them before they land, not that they've been any good in the fog.

Fuzzy death from above is not in my top three ways to die in this area, especially with a four story shade somewhere out here in the mist. I don't want to take the thing on alone, but an icy, sliver of fear regarding all the NPC's pricks at the edges of my mind. There are only four players and everyone else is highly susceptible to a little thing called "a painful, permanent death." As we pass Gorm's squad I worry about these kinds of things and my ankles get tangled up in something hard, sending me sprawling.

My flailing wrenches everyone's attention to my direction and a scowl crosses Victoria's face, "Winters. Watch wh-- What is that?"

It takes a while searching the ground to find and pick up the offending object, reading the description out loud.

[Bone Spear. Improvised Simple Weapon. ]

At the end of the short, poorly carved spear, someone tied the jagged end of a broken bone, most likely a femur. I'm a little annoyed that I didn't think of doing something similar back in the beginning, but here isn't the place to sulk about it.

With a simple glance, Elsbeth tells us it was crafted by a kobold, a type of monster similar to goblins except reptilian in ancestry and appearance. Some games have them as descendants of dragons, but El dismisses that idea as a fairytale most likely spread by the kobolds themselves.

She also adds that they may have gotten used to the mist, "Keep your eyes open." I relay her message to everyone present and Vic sends the information to the waiting ears. I wish we would have found time to teach everyone ASL. The girls picked it up so fast in the Rentas Woods and we all could have been using it now. Well, except for the other players who would learn it at a normal pace. Or over the ear cuffs. Or through this damn fog.

From my position on the far right, I watch blue dots sweep by from the west and listen for the vardo's reinforced, wooden wheels and the clip clop of the clockwork horses.

Gorm's squad stops and circles back around to us. Shortly after their arrival, the vardo comes to a halt next to us. I can hear Dawn asking Victoria if Conner is sure about something and she just nods once, staring into the mist. It doesn't take long for our scouting party to return to us. They're hesitant, but they concede to sharing a simple Quest with a peculiar failure warning.

[Open Major Quest: Welcome to the Neighborhood

[Claim territories within the wraith's influence.]

[Reward: Clear a section of Fog of War in each territory claimed, ???.

[Failure: -1500XP, -15random Stat.

[Forever haunt the location of your death. Traveler's will relocate their revival point to the area of their death. Arceans and monsters will return as a ghoul or a shade until their subsequent re-death.

[Warning: Once accepted, you cannot leave the area of influence.]

"Fog of War?" I shake my head and recoil from the description screen.

What the hells have we gotten ourselves into? What's with the failure punishment? If a player dies, they'll be forced to respawn back in the same area that they died, most likely trapping them in a cycle of death that will eventually drain them of all of their XP, not to mention, repeatedly dying over and over again with little chance of escaping. With punishments like these, I can see why this place isn't swarming with players or Arceans.

Vic and her soldiers, however, are straining to suppress manic grins at the prospect of pitched battle. Our last similar engagement ended fairly well, save for the escape of our most wanted Halfling Necromancer and his soiled and shabby Bard.

"Do you think we'll run into Dez here?" I ask, now that I'm thinking about him.

Kona shakes her head, "His fetish seems to be bones, the creepy little knee knocker, and ghouls and shades are not the kind of undead he would like. Besides, it's not like anyone could make a deal with a wraith, especially this one who appears to enjoy playing games."

"Hey," Dawn grumbles indignantly, "I'm half knee knocker, you know?"

"Funny," Richter says, resting crossed forearms on top of her head, "I just thought you were short." Dawn swings her weapon with deadly intention, but Richter teleports behind me, the smoke from his Blink Step swirling around the Thunderstruck, "Hey! That could have hurt!"

A thunderous roar off in the distance startles us, but the soldiers, Vic, and Dawn move into a formation creating a wall of shields and spears. The group triangulates where the sound came from and shifts position to aim at it. After a moment's hesitation, I join the line and summon the arcane shield, protecting Reiger to my left.

"What do you think that was, lad?" He asks, gripping his Thunderstruck tightly. The din of battle echoes soon after and we tighten up as a group. Two, distinct types of yelling can be heard through the fog: a throaty, bellowing kind of growling and a screeching, hissing kind of yelling. But, when no one bursts through the thick air to attack us we look over to our commander.

"Vic, Richter, will a single wedge formation work in this fog? I don't want us spread out too far in case magic gets involved." Dawn, Kona, and Serenity board the vardo. In the driver's area she readies a blueprint screen for something, but stops, stares into the corner of her vision and pokes at it in the air.

A rectangular, semi-opaque map appears in my vision in the bottom right. It sits vertically and is filled with all black. Presumably, our little group is the tiny blue dot at the bottom center.

"Do you think we have to clear the whole area?" I ask, looking up at Dawn who's formulating a plan on the blueprint screen. She shrugs her shoulders as does everyone else I look at.

"I suggest we move in a column of wedges, two rows with the vardo in the center," Vic offers, creating a visual example with her hands and Dawn agrees.

"Alright," Dawn says, sharing the blueprint with the squad leaders, "Conner and Sonny, combine with Gorm's Squad. Elijah, join Vic's. Let's see if we can clear some of this damn fog."