The thin, reddish glow from the setting sun fades across the sky into the spreading dark blue night. Thick rows of trees border the sides of the gravel road. Off to the side in a packed dirt alcove surrounded by thick underbrush, Cideeda lifts the hood of the humvee and casually inspects the engine compartment. Leaning down to a toolbox on the grass next to her, she opens the lid and picks a few choice tools out from inside. With a contemplative gaze, she stands back up and ponders to herself, rapping her free hand's claw tips upon the front of the vehicle. She purposefully places tools upon a quarter panel, the powerplant turbine cover, and an access panel. Walking around from the passenger's side, Bach studies the scene, lifts a curious brow to Cideeda, and cocks his head to the side. "So... I get lifting the hood up to make it look like we're adventurers with a broken down ride. But... What's with all the tools spread everywhere?"

Cideeda places her hands on her hips and reveals a sly grin on her light brown face to Bach. "Oh! THAT is just to sell the situation better. It's one thing to see a hood up and think MAYBE the vehicle is broken down. But if it looks like someone really frustrated tried to fix it..."

She points to Bach and smirks smugly. "THAT sells the deception."

Sweeping her hands out towards the ploy around her, she perks her furry ears and wags her fluffy tail. "Appraising the evidence here, you could easily assume rather than not."

Bach steps a few meters back towards the road, carefully looks over the presentation, and nods in agreement. "Oh yeah. All that DOES make it more convincing."

Squinting his eyes in thought, she pulls a smirk over from the corner of his mouth. "Maybe a roughed up service manual... Face down off to the side?"

With a glance over to the front of the vehicle, Cideeda nods slowly, a scheming smile forming. "OH. Definitely. I'll see if I can position it... Angry."

Bach chuckles amused and pivots around, scanning the vicinity. Midway through his slow spin, he spots Sotalia off to the side holding her aetherphone up in the air. Sotalia carefully sweeps the device side to side, judging the signal indicator on the screen between shifts. Watching the frustration upon Sotalia's light tan face, Bach watches the fluctuating bar graph on her phone display. "So... Any luck getting a good signal?"

Sotalia frowns with a slight snarl of the upper lip and sighs, resting her arm back down at her side. "NO. Gods. It seems to be about the same no matter where I aim."

Rolling her golden eyes, she shakes her head of fiery orange, wavy hair. "AND, it's no faster at downloading the new images from Kaleb than what Aristespha is getting in the humvee."

She turns to Bach, shrugs her shoulders, and smirks wryly. "Well, if nothing else, it's making us look like hapless adventurers to anyone watching."

Bach nods in agreement and warily eyes the dense forest beyond the clearing, flicking his blue stare between flits of paranoia. "Yeah... Hope so. I mean, Dretphi and my brother think we should be far enough away from any possible big patrols. And being close enough to the main roads, they'll probably just keep an eye on us and nothing more..."

He squints to a far off point in the shadowy mix of canopy and nightfall. "To avoid drawing attention to themselves... In theory."

Narrowing her stare out into the wilderness, Sotalia crosses her arms and rolls her shoulders with a faint frown. "That'll only buy us so much. I don't think they'll be very agreeable once we get closer."

Bach fights an uneasy grimace off his face and sighs, tensing his shoulders. "Yeah..."

A comforting smile appears on Sotalia, and she gazes over at Bach. "Nervous?"

Bach plainly meets Sotalia's attention, blinks, and twists his mouth. "Kinda scared. Actually."

Sotalia nods, biting her lip, and averts her eyes away briefly. "Well... Let's just say you aren't the only one dealing with some nerves. But..."

She flashes a genuine smile over her shoulder. "I think we'll handle it just fine."

Some comfort relaxes Bach's posture, and he gradually releases a long exhale. Silent seconds later, he glances over to Sotalia and lifts a curious eyebrow. "Question."

Sotalia gazes back over to Bach, furrows her brow, and guides her fiery orange, wavy hair behind shoulders. "Yes?"

Bach quizzically eyes Sotalia and carefully forms his inquiry with a respectful tone. "I was wondering what... Um... Irritated you when we drove past the convoy?"

Sotalia draws in a lungful of air through her nose, contorts her mouth, and rolls her shoulders, squirming momentarily. Staring at Bach, she softens her defensive exterior towards a smile and grumbles out her embarrassment. "Oh. You know. Just being fucking angry at that Tassilda. She pretty much confirmed my suspicions about the whole hot tub thing."

Cocking his head to the side, Bach springs his blue eyes open wide in surprise. "Wha- Huh... OH. How the hell did she do that?"

Tensing her arms, Sotalia puffs up her chest, wrestles down a reflexive snarl, and sighs out her frustrations. "She waggled a vial at me that's the same shape and size as the vial that I found in the hot tub filter with that melted wax blob."

She narrows her golden eyes into an annoyed stare and grumbles. "ALSO, that smug look of hers left no room for doubt with me."

Bach grits his teeth briefly and nods, summoning up sympathy with memories. "Yeah... THAT would probably irk me, too. I mean, Sebastian has pulled some pranks on me that I'm STILL not quite over."

Sotalia debates the options visibly upon her face, glances over to Bach, and relaxes her arms. "Well... To be honest... I can deal with the whole hair dye dispelling thing. It's-"

Pausing with a confused gaze at Bach, Sotalia motions with a rolling hand in front of her, piecing together her sentence. "Oh, gods. As silly as it sounds, it's really the whole... Experience of... Um... Well. Being reminded of the past again?"

She squints at her thoughts and sighs. "Gods, there's a Grath word for it. Does that make sense?"

Bach stares into Sotalia's eyes and slowly nods in agreement. "YES. I completely understand."

Drawing in a long breath, Sotalia smiles appreciatively and exhales out her nerves. "Yeah. I guess you would."

She slowly pivots away and stares up to the starry night sky solidifying above. A dull frown creeps from the corners of her mouth and regret tinges her voice. "Well, to save you the terrible details, I was quite the royal fucking know-it-all, arrogant bitch when I started adventuring. Fucked up my membership in a really nice group because of it and practically got my old guild stage name blacklisted. Hence, why I was taking small time escort missions to dangerous towns... ALONE."

Rolling her eyes at herself, she shakes her head and closes her eyes into a cringe. "Dyed, straightened, and cut the hair to try to keep from being reminded of that past self."

Bach nods understandingly and glances over towards the humvee, putting his hands in his pockets with an awkward smile. "Well, I know that's a hard thing to deal with. But, if nothing else..."

Stepping closer to the vehicle, Bach aims his voice nonchalantly over the shoulder towards Sotalia. "I'd keep the hair. It looks really nice."

Sotalia steadies her stare up to stars, keeping her face away from Bach. Her cheeks blush, her golden eyes flutter, and she stumbles back to a semblance of her usual confidence. "Uh... Well, of course. Thank you..."

----

Morning light finds the sparse gaps in the thick overhead canopy and beams down upon the forest floor. Dretphi and Cideeda cautiously lead the group along a narrow, hard dirt game trail. Cideeda's furry ears flick around and meticulously scan the soundscape. Her emerald green eyes search distantly, and she maintains a constant watch of the horizon. Examining the trail ahead, Dretphi inspects the condition of the underbrush bordering the path, squinting at the faintest details, and focuses upon the trunks of nearby trees. She glances over shoulder, and aims a quiet voice back. "No signs of recent activity. The path is used regularly. We should be careful."

Behind Cideeda, Aristespha flexes her fingers, wander her violet gaze around the vicinity, and grimaces uncertainly. "Should I cast the camouflage bubble, again? I should be able to manage a quarter hour without too much strain on myself."

Cideeda briefly turns her head back with a comforting smile towards Aristespha. "Don't think so, right now. I don't hear anything unusual right now."

Sniffing the air with her eyes closed, she visibly deliberates over the odors, contorts her light brown face, and shakes her head. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Normal forest scents. And, everyone here."

Bach blinks blankly, and a thought lodges itself into the front of his mind. Lifting up the visor of his helmet, he lowers his nose close to the collar of his duster and vents some air from inside the garment. He satisfies his curiosity and pats his clothing back down. Smirking amused, Cideeda flicks an furry ear away from Bach and rolls her emerald green eyes. Sebastian's ethereal voice gently sounds out from the sword at Aristespha's side. "We should pace ourselves still. They've been here a while and probably have some surprises somewhere."

Flicking her golden eyes between the scenery of the dense woods, Sotalia twists her mouth in contemplation and sighs uneasily. "It would also be nice to make sure we don't trigger any magical detectors... Needlessly."

Aristespha nods, reaches to the side of her pack, and grips a fluid filled vial. Halting with an idea, she leaves the container alone in the pocket and holds her hand back to Sotalia. "Grab hold of my hand, Sotalia."

Sotalia furrows her brow, cracks a small grin, and eyes Aristespha's hand. "Aw, getting a little scared and need me to hold your hand?"

With a dismissive snort, Aristespha grumbles playfully and flexes hand in a gripping motion. "Why, yes. And, someone's big reserve of magical energy would really make me feel better right now."

Sotalia takes hold of Aristespha's hand firmly and leans close with an inquiry. "Okay. So, flow a little or a lot?"

Aristespha glances over her shoulder and smiles calmly. "A little. I figured I would save the potions..."

Rolling her eyes, she smirks. "And, tap nearby resources."

With an amused nod, Sotalia matches pace behind Aristespha and faint wisps of magical flow gently glide across the held hands. Slowly between paranoid stalls, the group continues along the path. In the surrounding forest, the air remains still in the dense buffer of trees. The only signs of wind rustle the leaves in the canopy far overhead.

A sharp, distant, wooden snap echoes out.

The team abruptly stops with the signal from Dretphi. Cideeda's ears hunt through the noises rising up from the natural background. Leaning to the side around Dretphi, she squints her eyes ahead into the distance. Both her furry ears fix onto point. Her eyes narrowing, she angles her head to a target. She hand signals to her ears, directs everyone's attention ahead, and holds up two fingers to the team. Searching behind the group, Dretphi motions towards a thick patch of undergrowth meters back and crouches down, swiftly comparing the woodland covers upon her armor plating to the scenery. The team lowers their collective profile and backtrack next to the abundant ferns and brush. Bach searches for an easy entry, side steps wide off the path, and hides behind a flora coated log. Sotalia and Aristespha follow Cideeda's lead, and all crowd tightly within a thick, obscuring patch of forest cover. Checking in front of her, Dretphi grips her gauntlet around a small bush and muscles it promptly out of the ground. She brushes the dirt trail lightly with the small plant and stirs up the forest floor off the path, leading away from the group. She forcefully replants the shrubbery and tilts in purposefully along with her ruse. Carefully, she creeps backwards down the path, keeping watch ahead, and settles in with the team in hiding.

Two young evuukian men amble along the game trail and point towards their nature themed outfits. During the casual conversation, both maintain grips on the strings of their bows. They approach closer. One points distantly down the path, slowly traces the route up to recently disturbed dirt, and settles his finger point at the tilted bush. The other nods in agreement. Both ready their bows, retrieve arrows from their quivers, and nock them. The two step quietly forward and scan the woods. One inspects the stirred dirt leading off the path and surveys the underbrush leading away.

The other evuukian man cautiously walks up the trail, closing the distance to the thick undergrowth patch. Dretphi secures a tight grip on the combat knife at her side. Cideeda silently raises a laser pistol barrel up and lines up a rough aim at the man. Sotalia and Aristespha ready their hands, preparing for casting. Remaining nearly still, Bach presses his palm firmly upon the ground, his eyes faintly glowing. A hair thin magical wire extends swiftly out from his hand, races underneath the forest floor debris, and flows towards the underbrush opposite from the team.

The evuukian man uncomfortably close to the hidden group stops, turning his head towards the thick patch of undergrowth, abundant ferns, and flora coated log. He squints his eyes into the dense obscuring forest cover.

An unseen force loudly zips along the ground meters from the tilted over bush, rustling the brush and kicking up a flurry of leafy debris. Both men snap their attention upon the chaos. Locking full focus on the motion, both take aim and draw bowstrings. Flows of magical energy rush out from their arms, enter into the bow, and wrap around the arrow. The two let loose their arrows. Misty streaks tracing behind, the arrows rocket towards the same target. Both missiles impact the ground with loud, powerful thuds. Moments later, small bursts of magical energy vent out from the arrow dirt embedded heads. The rustling of forest debris sprints off into a thick grove of ferns, leaves parting along the way. The evuukian men exchange eager, hungry grins, voice one word in unison, and nock new arrows, rushing off to the chase.

Seconds later in the settling silence surrounding, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia release muted sighs of relief. Relaxing his body, Bach glances over between Aristespha and Sotalia and whispers out a question. "What did they say?"

Aristespha lifts an eyebrow and curiously narrows her violet eyes towards the distant evuukian men. "Lunch."

Bach smirks smugly and chuckles to himself. "Well... Hope they packed one."

----

Chelindia settles into the wide pocket in the middle of a four-way trunk split of a tree. Seating herself onto the soft mossy covering, she rests her back against one of the main branches and plants her boots against the opposing branches. She tilts her head up and stares at the noon sun peeking through the heavy leaf cover above. Her dark tan fingers idly twirl her dark green braids, and the shifting light through the canopy glints off her wincing turquoise eyes. A strong wind gently rocks the upper limbs of the tall, old oak along with Chelindia. Closing her eyes, Chelindia rubs her forehead and grimaces against the thoughts manifesting visibly. Over the minutes, her face contorts between shades of conflicting emotions, and she sways her head side to side at each indecisive moment. She grits her teeth, releases a long sigh, and opens her eyes, furrowing her brow with a surge of regret. With a distant stare, she feels the string of the bow hanging from a small branch nearby. A gust calmly sways the tree. Chelindia watches the finely crafted bow swing with the motion and squints at the elegant inscriptions shining in the light. Staring at the writing, her frown sharpens and somber breath slips out. Deep thought pulling her inwards, the world outside fades from her awareness. Her turquoise eyes focus upon the phrases and settles upon the simple signature at the end. Sadness bubbles up onto her face, and she drops her head firmly upon the bark behind her. She gazes into the blue sky above, covers her face with her hands, and sighs deeply.

Different faint voices below snap her harshly back into the world around her, and she blinks back to sharp awareness. She swiftly, quietly grasps her bow, lifts it free, and leans her head cautiously out from her hiding place. Peering down through the obscuring leaf and limb mass of the tree to the ground over thirty meters below, her eyes observe a group of people traversing a game trail. She studies the armor of the large figure in the lead, furry ear flicks of the fvalian, and the silvery blue hair of the evuukian woman. Cocking her head to the side in confusion at the odd, fiery orange, wavy hair and brown horns of another woman, she lifts an unamused brow at the tall, heavier man at the back. Chelindia snarls her upper lip, snorts softly, and pulls out a bulbous headed arrow from the quiver hanging off another small branch. She readies the bow, nocks the arrow, and aims high up through the leafy canopy. Drawing the string back, flows of magical energy spiral around the arrow and sink into the glowing ball tip. She adjusts her posture and the elegant inscription shines, flashing its meaning into Chelindia's eyes. She freezes in place, and uncertainty locks her grip tight on the bowstring. Summoning her will, she grits her teeth, regains her aim, and-

Sotalia's voice wanders up through the foliage and lands squarely upon Chelindia's long, pointed evuukian ears. "...I hope Faelatelia..."

Chelindia's eyes spring wide open, and she instinctively relaxes the bowstring forward. She unnocks the arrow, ceases the magical flow, and holds it tightly, the magical energy gently venting out from the head. Kneeling down, she peers out from hiding and aims her long, pointed ears down below. With a faint sigh, Aristespha softly agrees and glances over her shoulder at Sotalia. "I do hope she is okay. Even if she is part of the group, she may still be approachable. I do hope we can talk some sense into her."

Rocking his head side to side in thought, Bach ponders out a possibility with a shrug. "I mean at this point, she might be looking for a way out. A lot of these groups don't make it easy to leave once you get in, especially after you learn what they're all about. She could just be playing the part because there's no other good options available to her, right now."

Flicking her furry ears around in the drone of the rustling leaves surrounding, Cideeda furrows her brow a thoughtful moment between searching flicks of her emerald green eyes. She relaxes her posture and comments. "Understand that. Really hope that's the case, because that's an easy job right there. Sneak close under the cover of darkness, get her, run back to the humvee, and just drive as fast as possible from here. Be too far away for them to do anything when they figure it out."

Inspecting the trail ahead, Dretphi nods in agreement. "Simple. Effective. Minimal contact with hostiles."

Sebastian's ethereal tone resonates out from the sword at Aristespha's side. "Gods, let's hope it's that simple. But... Probably won't be. I'm really not too sure what we should do if she's really into this whole Terra Priest thing."

Placing her hands on her hips, Sotalia twists her mouth derisively and groans dismissively. "GODS, I really hope that girl isn't buying everything these people are selling."

Chelindia watches the team walking away. The conversation fades into the background forest din, and she blinks blankly, recovering into full awareness of the world. She stands up upon the pocket within the trunk split, guides the quiver over her shoulder, and places the bulbous tipped arrow back in. Tilting the bow into a beam of sunlight from above, she slowly read the inscription. She closes her eyes tightly, bows her head down, and firmly grips the bow. In a moment of silence between waves of wind, she whispers out a gracious, appreciative evuukian phrase and gazes upon the writing on the bow with tears forming. Wiping her eyes, she secures the bow on herself, gestures along with a series of incantations, and silently runs along the long length of a thick branch leading towards the group. With faint flows of energy pulsing across her body, she leaps off, glides through the air, and lands silently onto the next large tree. Running without a sound through the tree, she launches onto the next, trailing the team from above.

----

Bach surveys the mossy carpet surrounding the base of the ancient, gigantic tree and lowers himself to a seat upon the dark green ground. Laying against the trunk of the tree, he flips up the visor of helmet, breathes out his fatigue, and blinks his blues tightly. "Man... That was a tense hike to get here."

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Aristespha sits down on a massive, risen tree root, slides her pack off, and flips up the canvas top. Rummaging around the contents, she retrieves a number of colorful, fluid filled bottles, presenting them to the group. "Then it is a good thing I have stamina potions for everyone."

She pulls a satisfied smirk from the corner of her mouth and waggles a glass container. "A few of each flavor."

Cideeda sweeps up a bottle with a light purple liquid, checks the handwritten label, and uncorks it. With a smile, she drinks it back and sighs out satisfied. "Tarot root. Nice."

Settling down prone upon the ground, she crawls up to the edge of the obscuring undergrowth, retrieves a pair of binoculars from her small pack, and dials in adjustments. "Now, I think we should still have an angle to spy into that huge clearing even from here."

With a bottle in hand, Dretphi eases up next to Cideeda, retrieves another set of binoculars out of her backpack, and lifts the full face visor up on her helmet. "I hope. This area seems undisturbed. Far enough away. Plenty of cover."

Bouncing her steely gray eyes between other lesser secluded spots, she frowns. "Few options remain otherwise."

Sebastian's ethereal visage materializes sitting next to Aristespha, and he sweeps his gaze over the entire group. "Okay. So good, so far. Now, let's see what we can find out from here. And, most importantly, if Faelatelia is walking around the place. We need to try to confirm she's even here, first. Then, we'll figure out what we should do."

Cideeda carefully twists a knob on the binoculars, slides herself over a bit, and aims the lenses through the heavy foliage. "Well... It's not much, but I got a decent view of some of the open space between everything. See some people moving around between all those old buildings."

Contorting his face, Sebastian hums in thought and sighs unsatisfied. "It's a start. At least we can get an idea of how big this group is. And, maybe, figure out a schedule for their patrols."

Holding his chin contemplatively, he grumbles, pondering out loud. "Dammit. It'd be nice to get a clear, full view of that area."

He narrows his stare out into the forest towards the huge clearing and sways his head slightly in deliberation. "BUT... We've had one close call already today. I think it'll be best to hang back for now. Take a moment to scout all this better."

Nodding towards Sebastian, Bach stops momentarily, furrows his brow, and glances between the team. "Hey, um... Just an idea... We could try that magical camera drone trick, again. I still don't know how close I can get it, but it won't be any of us getting close."

Cideeda lowers the binoculars, pats a small bag hanging off the back of her vest, and grins toothily to Bach. "OH, I'm up for trying that. I haven't seen any Terra Priests using anything remotely technological."

Lifting an eyebrow, she smirks with an eager spark in her emerald green eyes. "So, I REALLY DOUBT they'd notice a wireless video feed signal, even right inside their camp."

With a smile, Sebastian nods his approval and tilts his head to side, visibly pondering the option. "Not a bad idea, bro. That'll be a good one to try first. Even if they do find it or get suspicious, we'll clear out before they know to start looking."

He glances over to Sotalia sitting upon a partially buried rock and notices her constantly searching the trees above. "Something up, Sotalia?"

Sotalia crosses her arms, tugs at the corner of her mouth, and drums her fingers anxiously. "I don't know. Keep thinking I'm feeling some really faint magic nearby. But..."

She narrows her suspicious stare and wrestles with a grimace. "This forest already has a weird vibe to it. So, it's REALLY hard to tell."

Nodding with a faint, uncomfortable frown, Aristespha closes her eyes. She reopens a pair of glowing violet eyes and scans the immediate area slowly. "I HAVE noticed a lot of leftover, ambient traces from stale magical activity."

Her head lifts up towards the treetop. "Between the Terra Priests, certain types of plants, animals, and possible spirit activity-"

Her swiftly eyes dart around to many points above. "Above us!"

A firm, collected female voice fills the air around the group. "I would like to speak to you all. I believe we have similar goals. But first... How do you know of Faelatelia?"

Cideeda's furry ears search frantically for a source. Dretphi cautiously surveys locations far up in the trees. Aristespha watches the surroundings with glowing violet eyes. Sotalia frowns with a sneering upper lip and softly growls her discomfort. Bach's eyes flicker to blue, he searches above along with Aristespha. Crossing his arms, Sebastian hums with a ghostly reverb and sighs thoughtfully. A few seconds of silence later, he speaks with an explanatory tone. "We are here because of a guild quest directly sent to us. We are to find Faelatelia and exercise our discretion as to what to do once she is found. We think the mission came from her parents."

The woman's tone shifts sharply inquisitive and a direct question echoes down. "How do you know that?"

Checking the canopy above, Sebastian turns slowly and scans the woods around him and the team. "We helped Faelatelia's friend from a similar situation. She recommended us to Faelatelia's parents to perform a similar task."

He narrows his stare up at the dense leaves above. "Her name is Valavera."

The voice above starts to respond and halts abruptly into a lengthy silence. Moments later, the woman respectfully inquires with a softer cadence. "Will you agree to a peaceful meeting?"

Sebastian observes the team, seeking input. With hints of reservation, Aristespha nods slowly. Bach agrees, slightly shrugging his shoulders. Cideeda twists her mouth and sighs out a reluctant acceptance. Dretphi nods respectfully. "If she meant us harm, conversation would be counterproductive."

Glancing over to meet Sebastian's quizzical gaze, Sotalia grumbles and pantomimes out her hesitant agreement with a hand motion. Sebastian unfolds his arms and presents a professional smile. "We all agree. Let's see what we can do."

A minute later, the figure of Chelindia slips into sight from behind a large tree. Carefully approaching the small clearing, she greets Sebastian with a slight bow. "My name is Chelindia. I am the assistant to the leader of this Terra Priest commune, Meredosia. I know where Faelatelia is. And..."

The sliver of a frown sneaks out from her stoic facade, and she stiffens her upper lip with a faint sigh. "I want to get her away from here."

Sebastian relays his understanding with a nod. Chelindia wanders her turquoise eyes over the group and lifts an inquiring eyebrow. "May I see the guild posting?"

Retrieving her aetherphone from a pocket slowly, Aristespha taps through a few menus and presents the display of the device. Chelindia steps closer, leans her head forward, and squints her eyes, reading the text. "Do you all have guild IDs?"

Everyone slides out cards, flips out wallets, and lifts lanyards, revealing guild identification. Sebastian smiles awkwardly and shrugs his shoulders. "I would but my current condition doesn't allow it."

Chelindia nods awkwardly, draws in a long breath, and sighs graciously. "Thank you. I needed some confirmation for your intentions."

Furrowing her brow slightly, she straightens her posture and cautiously watches the team. "To keep things short, Faelatelia tried to leave the group after going with Meredosia on a secret assignment that... I do not know all the details yet. Faelatelia ran away but was captured at Meredosia's request. She is in a prison inside the building on the outskirts of the commune. I WILL assist you in your mission. I only ask we do so as CAREFULLY and QUIETLY, as possible."

Aristespha quirks a brow and narrows a curious stare at Chelindia. "If you will excuse me prying, why do you want to help us to get her away from here?"

Pauses in thought, Chelindia briefly reveals the internal conflict upon her face and assumes a more wary demeanor. "I have known Meredosia since childhood. We joined the Terra Priests together a long time ago, and I traveled here with her to form this new commune under the best of intentions."

A frown manifests upon her dark tan face, and she slowly shakes her head of dark green, braided hair. "Unfortunately, SOMETHING has changed. Things are not what they should be. I know there is much to be done about... THIS situation."

Furrowing her brow, she tightens down a determined grimace. "BUT... The first thing that needs to happen is to get an innocent girl far from the danger she is in."

She lowers her head down, exhales out her nerves, and lifts up, gazing at the group pleadingly. "You are the best opportunity I have to do so. And, I fear you the best I will have before the situation gets any worse."

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia exchange a mix of concern, reservation, and uncertainty. Sebastian mulls over the situation, gauges the feelings of the group, and dons a small grin towards Chelindia. "Okay. Let's talk more about this. I think we should explore this more."

Chelindia bows appreciatively and pulls a slight smile on her face. "Thank you, so much. How about we discuss the patrol routes... And, most importantly, where they are often NOT at night."

----

Dim lamps cast out circles of illumination upon the ground between the ancient, stonework structures encircling the huge clearing. Faint spots of moonlight slip through the thick canopy of old trees and around with the wind and scattered lightning bugs. Ambient sounds of the forest night fill the air and wash the space in a background drone of life. Two evuukian sentries stand outside the entryway of the stonework building isolated from the rest of the main encampment. They idly stare out into the night at the empty pathways in the vicinity. The light haired man groans out a long sigh, and the dark haired guard commiserates with a slow series of grumbling nods.

From behind the cover of perimeter overgrowth, Chelindia points out the two evuukian men to Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia and keeps her voice low. "Those are the only two guards active right now. Night patrols go much further out than during the day."

Shaking her head gradually, she vents out her ambivalence with a vague snarl of the upper lip. "It is so strange that I am now thankful that Meredosia never listens to my security recommendations."

Sebastian's ghostly voice whispers out from the sword at Aristespha's side. "Do you think those two guards would cooperate with you and let us get Faelatelia out of here?"

Chelindia lowers her head, sorts through a flurry of thoughts with her eyes, and bites her lower lip uncertainly. "I do not know, for sure. They were part of the founding group with me. While not as vocal as I am, I do not think they like what is going on either. They are outstanding scouts and hunters. But..."

She furrows her brow and twists a grimace. "Have been relegated to... THIS."

She glances over to the weapons upon Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi and eyes magical items on Aristespha and Sotalia. Lowering her head down, she pleads with an uneasy grimace. "They are good people. But... I can not risk them performing their duties. I DO NOT want them hurt."

From the sword, Sebastian chuckles lightly and explains reassuringly. "Don't worry. We prefer keeping things alive whenever possible. We have plenty of options to do that."

Raising an inquisitive eyebrow, Sotalia turns her head slightly towards Chelindia and poses a question. "So, would anyone, or anything, detect a directed, localized spell in the area?"

Chelindia blinks in thought for a few seconds, shakes her head, and twists her frown. "No. Anyone with significant magical ability is part of Meredosia's inner circle and lives with her in the main building."

Narrowing her stare off to the side, she sighs faintly. "Or... You are the three other founding mages that are probably too tired from enchanting arrows all day to notice anything right now. As for detection devices..."

She wrestles down a grimace. "Another ignored security suggestion of mine."

Aristespha and Sotalia exchange sly grins and signal the rest of the team into a huddle.

The dark haired evuukian sentry lifts his gaze upwards and watches the leaves gently sway, catching glimpses of the moon in the late night sky. His mouth forms an elegant, thoughtful, and insightful series of sentences in evuukian, no sound escaping his lips. He halts in sheer surprise and calls out to the other evuukian, nothing audible leaving his mouth. Turning to face the other guard, he watches the light haired man vigorously rub the bases of his long, pointed ears in bewilderment. Both meet the other's confused stares, attempt to converse, and simultaneously arrive at the same frightening revelation. They reach for their swords. Both suddenly freeze, startled still. The two men slowly lift their hands up away from their weapons, straighten their postures, and awkwardly wait.

An armored gauntlet slides over the shoulder of the light haired guard and firmly grips over his mouth. Shame, unease, and irritation mix upon the man's face. He gawks down towards the other sentry, and all other emotions clear away for sympathetic terror. The dark haired guard's hands nervously curl slightly, and he attentively stares down. Sharp claw tips flex uncomfortably close, threatening a VERY sensitive lower region. The fvalian hand moves away enough and points, directing the man backwards. The dark haired man nods, following instruction with fresh cooperative enthusiasm.

Cideeda and Dretphi guide their captives around the sides of the isolated building and out of sight. With combat knife and laser pistol against prisoner backs, the duo head the evuukian sentries to the back of the structure. Holding out an arm to each captured guard, Aristespha watches the two backpedal their heads into her awaiting hands. With violet glowing eyes, she secures her grip on the back of their heads and releases an enveloping flow of energy. The two evuukians yawn reflexively, flutter their eyes closed, and drop their heads in slumber. Dretphi, Cideeda, and Bach ease the men down to the ground and prop them gently up against the back side of the prison structure. Aristespha breathes out her strain and rolls her shoulders to stretch. "That should keep them sedated for a while. It will be a nice nap for them."

Lifting up a pocket flap on her vest, Cideeda pulls out large plastic cable ties and hands out sets to Bach and Dretphi. Out from the thicker undergrowth, Chelindia and Sotalia walk up to the rest of the group. Grinning triumphantly with a smug air, Sotalia interlocks her fingers and stretches her arms out. "Gods... It's been a while since I used that silence spell. Still works."

Chelindia steps up, kneels down in front of the two guards, and smiles satisfied at their soft snores. "I must say, I am impressed."

Standing back up, she glances over to the group and quietly walks to the corner of the building. "Okay. We should be quick. We have a few hour window before the first night patrol comes back."

Inside the dark cell, Faelatelia stirs in her sleep. Her very long, pointed ears twitch at faint, muffled noises trickling into her room. A loud metallic scrape grinds out into the air from the door, startling her wide awake. The heavy metal door opens, and Faelatelia squints her sky blue eyes against the sudden rush of light into the room. Chelindia steps through, smiles warmly to Faelatelia, and grins, noticing a picked-clean plate. "I am glad you ate. You are going to need your strength tonight."

Blinking bewildered, Faelatelia narrows her confusion at Chelindia’s Americ words and shields the light from her face tan, blue hinted face. Her eyes adjusting, she notices Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sotalia, and the ethereal Sebastian behind Chelindia and gawks bewildered, hope growing.

----

Pulses of light scatter out into the forest. Fireflies drift upon the gentle breezes, sifting through the densely packed woods. Faint shimmers of magical illumination swirl along branches high up in the canopy. Tiny transparent forms flit into existence and disappear without trace. An ethereal fox slowly turns its head towards the top of a small hill, stares off distantly, and nonchalantly fades away. Chelindia reaches the crest of the mound, surveys the vicinity, and relaxes her shoulders. "It should be clear from here. This land is home to many small spirits. We usually avoid sending patrols through and keep to the perimeter out of respect."

Dretphi nods, sweeps her gaze ahead, and surveys the grove, focusing upon the vibrant plants covering the ground. "Is it safe to cross?"

Sitting upon the ground, Faelatelia finishes off a stamina potion, fights through weight of fatigue, and meekly explains. "Yes... The spirits here are peaceful... Most just ignore people."

Deep, full breaths later, she stands up straight with help from Aristespha and Sotalia and nods appreciatively. "I'm ready again. I'm sorry."

Sotalia smiles reassuringly at the evuukian teenager and gently pats her shoulder. "It's okay. You've only just been stuck in a prison cell for weeks."

The group slowly traverses down the hill and crosses a wide, rocky creek at the base. In the still spaces of the area, colorful flickers of life leave misty trails and disappear into the grasses. Shadowy outlines fade into existence, affix their attention briefly upon the group, and blend into the night. Faelatelia smiles brightly and releases a happy sigh, observing all the activity around. Others watch in awe at the brief sightings of spirits that momentarily pay attention, resuming their normal routines moments later. The party walks along a worn dirt path through the active, busy forest grove. Cideeda's furry ears flick, and her emerald eyes open wide. Snapping her head towards a spot along the horizon, she points a claw tip out. The team halts, drops low to the ground, and waits. Dretphi squints through her helmet visor and confirms Cideeda's suspicions with a nod.

A dozen evuukians in dark, nature themed outfits crouch in wait behind an outcropping of rocks, bows at the ready and arrows nocked. Chelindia narrows her stare, cocks her head in confusion, and mumbles a question to herself in evuukian. Aristespha's eyes flick to glowing violet, and Bach's illuminate blue. Dretphi directs the group's attention into the distance at two people sitting near a luminescent rainbow flower upon a brightly leafy plant. Glints of moonlight reflect off of tools, vials, and carrying cases near the two people. Sotalia quickly casts a spell quietly between her hands, holds her finger points together, and squints through the opening at the duo in the distance. "I think those are reagent hunters. Looks like they are collecting samples from a chromatic chrysanthemum?"

Furry ears twitching, Cideeda tilts her head, furrows her brow, and repeats a few phrases in evuukian. "What does THAT mean exactly? Because... I don't like the tone he used."

Aristespha, Chelindia, Faelatelia, and Sotalia glance at each other in shock. Sotalia grits her teeth, clenches her fists, and growls. "Gods, we need to warn them."

Chelindia frowns darkly, grips her bow tightly, and mutters angrily in evuukian, shaking her head. With a firm grip upon the sword at her side, Aristespha glances over to Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi. "They are planning on shooting them."

Sebastian's ghostly visage forms prone underneath the fern coated forest floor off the path, and he immediately stares out at the situation. "What?"

Shaking her head, Chelindia contorts her face with the surges of emotion. "This is NOT right. Not right at all. I do NOT know what is going on here."

She sneers and hisses out. "THESE are people Meredosia recruited."

Stiffening her upper lip, she glares ahead resolutely, reaches into her quiver, and retrieves the bulbous headed arrow. "I cannot allow this to happen. I can make a distraction, BUT you all need to get away from me before I use it-"

Sebastian interrupts with a scheming grin and glances over to the group. "Wait, what does that do?"

Glancing behind her, she lifts an eyebrow at Sebastian. "Um, it is a magical signal flare. It will erupt in a bright light with a plume of smoke, a few seconds after firing."

She narrows her stare at the evuukians preparing for an attack. "Unfortunately, at this distance, if I shoot at them, they will have enough time to clear away from it and guess what it came from before it triggers."

Bach trains his glowing blue eyes upon the ball headed arrow, grinning mischievously, and holds his hand out. "Let me see that."

A sly smile appears on Sebastian, and he winks to Chelindia. "Let me get their attention for a bit, then."

Gliding low along the forest floor away from the group, he circles around in a wide path and silently flies towards the dozen evuukians in hiding. The leader starts whispering commands, signaling out orders, and readies his bow. He grins menacingly, nocking an arrow. Standing up with the group, he takes aim, and-

Sebastian's booming ghostly voice echoes out into the woods. "WHAT INTERLOPERS HAVE ENTERED MY SACRED GROVE?!"

The evuukians clumsily spin around, awkwardly point bows at the floating, brilliant visage of Sebastian above, and reflexively let loose arrows. The missiles zip and tumble through Sebastian's form, disappearing into the forest far from anyone. In the distance, the reagent hunter duo frantically search the area and notice the bright ghost.

A man's voice spits out. "Holy shit! The fuck is that?!"

The other distant figure, scrambles to hastily pack up the equipment, and snaps back with a feminine cadence. "Let's not stick around and find out!"

The evuukian leader curses, spotting the two reagent hunters sweeping up their belongings and escaping into the brush. He tries to call out orders in evuukian, splitting his attention with boisterous banter from Sebastian. Off in the middle of the team, Bach's eyes dim back to normal, and he passes the bulbous arrow carefully to Chelindia. "Okay. It's triggered upon impact now."

Chelindia warily eyes the arrow, nocking it. With extra care, she readies her bow, draws the string back, and takes aim, flows of energy spiraling into the arrow. Aristespha pulls a short grin, grasps hold of the sword, and closes her eyes thoughtfully. Sebastian pauses his random ramblings of forest spirit superiority and annoying, distracting flights around the evuukian crew. Laughing proudly, he spreads his arms wide and grins manically. "Maybe you need a taste of my POWER! ... BEHOLD!"

Chelindia lets loose the arrow. From the center of the evuukian squad, a ten meter radius bubble of thick white smoke engulfs the area in a second. Coughs, gags, and sneezes echo into the forest along with furious evuukian curses. Sebastian's ethereal form materializes next to Aristespha. The group rushes into their escape. Glancing over to his brother, Sebastian smirks, furrowing his brow confused. "Nicely done, bro. But, I thought there’s supposed to be a bright flash?"

Running with the team, he holds his finger up and snickers. "Wait for it."

A bright, blinding flash lights up the dome of dense mist and floods the nearby woods with a white light, beaming out through the gaps between trees. Furious screams of aggravated evuukian swears shatter the peace.

----

The humvee powerplant spins up to life, and Cideeda checks the gauges instinctively through her startup routine. Chelindia stands with Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, Faelatelia, Sebastian, and Sotalia. Stepping up, Faelatelia wraps her arms around Chelindia and softly whispers thankful evuukian words between sobs. With a warm smile, Chelindia embraces the teenager, pats her on the back, and releases her. The two exchange heartfelt goodbyes. Chelindia wipes a tear from her eye and gently commands the young one into the humvee. Faelatelia nods and follows Dretphi's guidance, laying down on the far back seat. Turning to the rest of the team, Chelindia bows graciously and exhales her relief. "I can never thank you enough. I could not have managed this myself and feared I would have caused more harm than good overall in any such attempt."

Sebastian nods with an appreciative smile. "Well, we should thank you, too. As much as I trust ourselves to get the job done, you saved us from a lot of trouble and unnecessary risk. I just hope we haven't stirred up the hornet's nest too much. I don't think that one group is going to report anything good back when they get back."

Chelindia chuckles and quirks her brow amused. "Actually... That may help my plans."

Sotalia crosses her arms and examines Chelindia's expression with hints of apprehension. "How so?"

Drawing a long breath in, Chelindia ponders out loud between contemplatively twitches on her face. "Well... I am certain Meredosia will want Faelatelia captured, again. And... Seeing how all the outer patrols somehow missed spotting her..."

Lifting her eyebrow, she smirks slightly. "I might be able to convince her to allow me to take charge of a search party... Of MY choosing."

A sly smile graces Chelindia's face, and she places her hands on her hips. "Of course, I will pick a team made up of founding members of the commune. It will be a good chance to break the rust off our skills, and..."

She sighs calmly and lowers her head slightly. "An opportunity to talk about things, freely. Honestly."

Nodding in agreement, Bach scratches the back of his head and furrows his brow curiously. "Huh. Yeah. Seems like things aren't going the way you think they should."

Chelindia crosses her arms, hisses in a tense breath, and bites her lip. "A lot has happened to give me many moments of pause. I don't think I am alone in that regard. Most of us are older and wiser now. Seeing how Meredosia has taken to twisted interpretations of the principles of the Terra Priests, and who she has surrounded herself with... I think many of us will take our leave."

Aristespha lifts a quizzical eyebrow at Chelindia and inquires respectfully. "What do you think will happen if you and your group leave?"

A frown weighs heavily upon Chelindia, and she shakes her head slowly, uncertainly. "I do not know. I once considered Meredosia very close. As much as I hoped my constant presence by her side would keep her reasonable and my suggestions would guide her back to the right path... I feel that the situation is beyond anything more I can do. And, I just can't follow her anymore on whatever path this is."

Aristespha nods understandingly, steps over to the open door of the humvee, and rummages around for a pencil and paper. Pulling out her aetherphone, she taps through the contact list and writes out some information on a piece of paper. She holds note out,returning in front of Chelindia. "Here. I do not know what you plan to do after this, but this is the contact info for Captain Hackle of the GAA and Captain Hays of the Borderland Rangers. I do not know what assistance either could provide you, but one of them might be able to work something out for you and your group. They have proven reasonable in their judgment of a few interesting situations."

Apprehensively grasping onto the paper, Chelindia examines the information hesitantly and respectfully stows the document in a pocket. "I will consider it. A few members of the founding group are not welcomed by the law in a few regions. But..."

A faint trace of hope appears on Chelindia's dark tan face. "Maybe, something can be worked out. It might prove better than other alternatives."

Glancing up to the late night sky, she bows to the group and presents a sly smirk. "I need to get back. There is a search party I need to organize. I think we are going to avoid checking the roadways and search other remote passages to old, secluded outlooks that are nice and private."

The team shares a humored moment, and Chelindia departs with a final wave to Faelatelia. Chanting out a few incantations with gestures, Chelindia flows energy down her body and gracefully launches up into the tree tops, leaping off another branch into the obscuring night.