{Rin}

An hour passed with the group making very little in the form of conversation. Rin and Xhez mostly just sat next to each other with their backs to one of the few trees in this desolate location, with Xhez keeping track of how much longer her disguise could go for. It would likely be difficult to hide Xhez going in and out of her bag in this place, but if she ran out of Essence, they would have to do it.

The pause gave Rin a brief window of time where her mind strayed from the mission at hand. Instead, she began thinking about her family.

[I wonder if Tristan ever went on a raid like this. It's been a while since I looked through his journal... Maybe I should check to see.]

Her mother came to her mind as well.

[She's getting sicker, for some reason. The letter didn't go into too much detail but I hope she's alright. Whatever's left from this mission, maybe I could send it back to her.]

Something soft and slightly wet pressed itself against her left shoulder then. Rin blinked, glanced down, and found Xhez leaning against her. The way her heart melted left Rin with a smile on her face she felt probably looked stupid. Unfortunately, she had that smile on her face often these days.

She noticed Alea was glancing her way out of the corner of her eye. She could feel a glare coming from her, for some reason.

Before she could dwell on it for too long, however, one of the adventurers said:

"Ah, fucking finally!" Seth pretty much yelled suddenly.

Rin looked over at him and noticed what he was referring to.

The last adventurer had arrived.

He was a tall, thin man wearing black robes that all but screamed out "mage". Half of his head was shaved, and Rin could see a long scar running down from his left eye to his jawline.

As he approached the group, for just a second, his eyes made contact with Rin's. He averted his gaze almost as soon as they locked, but Rin still noticed.

"There you are. You really kept us waiting, you know?" Dominic said, lightheartedly.

"I apologize," the man replied. His voice was raspy and quiet. "I had some things to look after. Greetings, everyone." He bowed. "My name is Cruz. I am ready to begin the mission as soon as you wish."

"Yeah, let's get this over with," Seth responded in agreement.

"Hold on, hold on. We still haven't come up with a plan," Dominic stated. "Haven't introduced ourselves either."

"You can spare that last part," Cruz responded. "If we must form a plan, then so be it. Let u do so and begin the mission immediately."

"We should just start now. Isn't our plan just to run in and wipe them out? What else do we need to talk about?" Seth asked.

"Roles," Dominic answered quickly. "Being eager like that is cool and all, but if we all run in to wipe them out at the same time, we might just get ourselves killed."

"You might," Seth corrected him. "I'll be just fine."

"I'm sure you will be," Dominic replied. "Regardless, for everyone else's sake, of course, let's talk strategy." The man kept a pleasant smile on his face the entire time, making Rin wonder how often he'd dealt with people like Seth.

Eventually, Seth sighed.

"Fine. Just do it already."

"Gladly. Anyway, everyone, can you please let me know what exactly your specialties are?"

"I am a combat mage," Alea answered confidently. "Probably the best one here."

Jane, the mage who was among the four adventurers Rin didn't know before she arrived, scoffed.

"Bullshit," she replied. "Maybe if you keep studying you might reach my level one day."

"Is that right?" Alea asked, putting her hands on her hips and walking up to her. "It's funny that you think me being trained makes me worse than you. Are all adventurers that stupid?"

"Risking my life every day in the field is better training than anything they do at that academy of yours, sweetheart. Don't worry, you'll see soon enough."

[Great, they're having a bitch-off,] Rin noted, rolling her eyes.

One by one, the adventurers began listing off their strengths. No one mentioned their weaknesses, of course. Adventurers had egos to maintain, apparently.

In the middle of it, Rin felt Xhez squeezing hard on her wrist, though.

"Hm?"

She glanced over at the sprite. It was then that she saw the state Xhez was in.

She hadn't noticed it until now, but Xhez looked absolutely petrified. Her eyes were wide, fixed on something ahead. Her body was stiff and Rin could hear how shallow her breathing had become.

When Rin traced her eyes line of sight to see what exactly had her so terrified, she found Xhez was staring at the mage who'd just arrived.

"Xhez?" Rin asked, as silently as she could. "What's...?"

"That man's Spirit..." Xhez answered before Rin could finish. "It is dark. Terribly dark."

Rin looked back at him. He certainly did carry an imposing aura. However, Rin was hesitant to say that his Spirit being "dark" as she put it meant he was evil. Or, that it meant he was there for reasons other than helping with the mission.

[The guild has never been shy about the fact that it takes in ex-convicts. Dylan used to work for the Red Trident. Maybe this guy's Spirit is dark like that because of what he's done in the past. It's not something to be concerned about right now, though. All we can do is focus on the mission and keep an eye on him.]

"I'll keep my guard up," Rin promised. "But, we should stay focused on the raid. I'm serious, Xhez," Rin said, placing a hand on the sprite's face and turning her so that they were looking into each other's eyes. Rin needed to make sure Xhez understood this. "One mistake could end it all out here. You need to concentrate."

"I-I understand," Xhez replied after inhaling slowly. "I... I was surprised. But, I will not waver."

"Hey," Dominic called out to Rin.

"Yeah?"

"Just wanted to know where you want to be positioned during the raid. I, uh, am not too familiar with hand-to-hand adventurer strats."

[Oh.]

The answer came quickly to Rin.

"I should be up in the front."

Those five words, spoken casually by Rin, seemed to be all it took to stun the adventurers in front of her.

"What?" Dominic asked, looking quite baffled.

"I should be in front," Rin reiterated. "I mean, it's not like I can do much from a distance, you know?" She laughed somewhat awkwardly. The others did not look too sure about her answer. Maybe they had a hard time imagining what she could do standing in the middle of all her enemies.

Rin, however, knew this was the right position for her. Maria had hammered it in more than enough.

As someone who was set on the path of taking down monsters with nothing but her fists and techniques, it was easy to fall into the claws of fear and anxiety. Maria wanted nothing more than for Rin to do away with that.

For now, anyway.

So, even if Rin too felt slightly uneasy about it, she had to commit.

[I came out here to challenge myself. I have to do this.]

"A-Alright then," Dominic replied, regaining his composure. "You will be with our frontlines, then. And, I believe you said your sister was a healer, correct?"

"Yes."

"She can stay near the other mages, then. Look out for yourself though, okay?"

"I will," Xhez answered.

"Good. Then, in that case, I believe our plan is settled. Seth, Rin, and I will all engage first, forming the frontline of the team. Jane, Alea, and Cruz will position themselves behind us, and up on top of the walls if they get the chance to reach them, attacking from a distance. Allison and Xhez will position themselves beside them, healing the team whenever they can. Finally, Carter, our only archer, will snipe the enemies from afar, wherever he sees fit. Our primary targets are their mages and shamans. Once they're out of the way, we take down their archers, and, finally, we eliminate their fighters. Once everyone outside is done, Rin, Seth, and I can enter the fortress and begin clearing it out. Does that sound good, everyone?"

The adventurers all nodded.

"Can we get this shit going already?" Seth asked.

"Yes, yes," Dominic laughed as everyone stood up. "Let's get moving. Remember, everyone, treasures are nice and all, but there may be captives in the fortress as well. Keep an eye out."

It was a rudimentary plan, but it was better than nothing. Considering that all of the adventurers here were Rank C or below, maybe this was the best they could reasonably ask for.

Rin looked over at Xhez as they all began walking toward that fortress in the distance.

"Be careful, okay? If you need help, call me. I'll drop whatever I'm doing to help you out."

"I will be as safe as I can be. Do the same, please."

"I will," Rin said with a smile. "Good luck."

And, with that, it was time for the raid to begin.