They both exit Lena's private room, through the manor, and back outside. When the door closes behind them, Zyra unleashes a sudden burst of excitement.
“Holy Gods, I can't believe she just gave you a four-stone bracelet like that!” She seizes the knight's left hand, which has the magical accessory around its wrist, to examine the gift. “That's so amazing.”
“I should take the opportunity to practice casting before we leave.” The knight responds casually to the upbeat mage. “It'll be hard to do so otherwise.”
“I'll join you.” Zyra invites herself without a second's hesitation, and without even looking up from his wrist. “Also, have you always been a left-handed caster?”
“Not exactly.” He responds with hesitance, fearful of crossing the line into boastfulness. “I can cast with either hand.”
“Seriously?” Surprised, she finally brings her face up to reveal an expression of amazement. “You really are something, Sir Atticus Dayne of Threcia.” A sly smile crosses her face as she teases him.
“Please don't refer to me like that.” The knight bluntly responds, embarrassed at being spoken to like nobility. “It's not uncommon for people in Threcia to be that experienced by the time they're adults. Pyromancy is taught there practically for free.”
“Brag about it, why don't you.” Zyra finally lets go of his hand. “I guess we shouldn't waste time. Let's meet up with the others.” She walks off with excitement in her step towards the guesthouse, eager to give the news to the team.
Once there, their four teammates are again huddled around the fire pit, currently unlit. They all look up at the knight and mage with curious gazes, anticipating something important.
“So, what did she talk to you about?” Veros is the one to ask.
“She gave Atticus something special.” Zyra answers for her comrade, who takes it as his cue to lift his left hand and display the bracelet, which is met with varying levels of surprise.
“What on Earth?” Shocked, Veros quickly rises to his feet to get a closer look, noticing the accessory's four stones. “She just gave this to you? No strings attached?”
“She did.” Atticus replies matter-of-factly.
“Well, I'll be damned.” Kellar utters, admiring the bracelet from his seat. “Guess we have two mages on our team now.”
“Do you even know four-stone pyromancy spells?” Veros inquires again.
“Some.” The knight gives a non-specific but confident answer. “But because I haven't practiced magic in a very long time, I should be wary of doing them for now.”
“Here!” Royd interjects, pointing at the fire pit. “Light us a small flame, then.”
Realizing that it would be a good way to get himself started, Atticus accepts the offer and kneels down next the fire pit, leaning his chest and shoulders over the short stone barriers. He brings his left hand forward, pointed at the unburnt tinder in the center of the pit, and makes the 'Combustion' gesture with his hand – palm down, index finger and thumb extended, other fingers curled. He concentrates for a moment, taking deliberately paced breaths, slightly furrowing his brow with intense focus. After several seconds of waiting, a small, controlled flame emerges from his finger, lighting the tinder successfully.
“You did a silent incantation again!” Zyra exclaims, impressed with the knight's performance.
Atticus, satisfied with how he did, leans back from the fire pit with a sigh of relief, followed by a small nod of contentment.
“Goodness.” Royd comments, bewitched by the lively fire that now inhabits the pit. “A hell of a display.”
“I gotta say,” Kellar chimes in while stroking his chin, “this makes me a bit more optimistic for tomorrow.”
Veros nods. “Indeed. With our new equipment and access to even more magic, I think our chances are actually somewhat decent now.” He sits back down and looks at the knight. “You shouldn't waste any time. Take the next few hours to get the remaining rust off your casting abilities. I doubt it would take very long.”
“Good point.” Atticus agrees and stands up. “I'll go outside and practice.”
“I'll come with you!” Zyra, still excited, follows him outside as the others resume gazing at the flame.
For the remainer of the evening, the knight and young mage spend their time behind the guesthouse, practicing various spells, specifically of the one and two-stone level in order to warm Atticus up again to the usage of magic. Throughout the session, Zyra maintains her upbeat attitude, continually impressed at his successful attempts at silent incantations. Once mental wear starts to take its toll, the two finally call it a night, promptly falling asleep as soon their heads touch down on their cots.
The next morning, early enough for the sun's veiled radiance to barely cease the requirement of lantern light, the long-awaited journey further north is in its final stages of preparation. The six Mistwalkers once again don their armor and the weight of their newly-acquired equipment. They've retrieved their horses from the Terrance stable, and are at the northern exit of the fortified village, where they speak to Lena one final time before departing.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“Have you all taken enough food to last the entire trip?” The chief asks.
“We have.” Veros answers, patting one of multiple sacks of provisions secured to his horse's saddle. “All of this should last about five days minimum, maybe up to ten if we ration enough.”
“And you have all of the gear you chose yesterday?” She continues to inquire.
“We do.” The team leader pats the new bow slung across his back.
She looks over at Atticus, back in his pitch black Threcian armor. “And you?”
He wordlessly holds his left hand up, revealing the four-stone pyromancy bracelet she gave him the previous night.
Lena smiles and nods. “Good. Then I guess everyone is set to leave, then.”
“Thank you for everything you've done for us.” Zyra speaks up with a sad gaze.
“Indeed.” Veros agrees. “You've helped us in ways we simply didn't expect. We can't express our gratitude enough. You gave us information on the dangers ahead, gave us new equipment and several days' worth of food for the trip. I don't know how we can repay you.”
A smile crosses Lena's face again. “You can repay me by clearing out this damn fog.” She responds in a playfully curt manner. “Then after that, you can come by again and tell me how you did it.”
“We'll be sure to tell you of all manner of obstacles we overcame and strange sights we witness.” The team leader promises with a smirk.
“Which shouldn't be too hard.” Kellar interjects. “We've already come across some weird shite so far in our trip.”
“The mist is definitely home to some grim oddities.” Lena's face straightens as she thinks back. “When I first came upon Terrance, there was a circle of charred bodies on their knees in front of the manor. It was like some terrible ritual had been performed.”
The light-hearted demeanor drains from Veros's face, practically going pale entirely. “What did you just say?” He questions her with urgency. “Did those charred bodies attack you?”
Lena nods, curious at the sudden change in atmosphere. “They did. Luckily they weren't very strong. How did you know? Did you encounter something like that, too?”
Veros looks around at the other Mistwalkers in his team, who share the same stark expression as he does, before answering. “Yes, we did. At Legarthat.”
“Legarthat...” Lena ponders to herself. “On trips back to Zenith Gate, I never go through there, as it's too close to Tumarda River. I go around it.”
Many questions begin to swirl in everyone's heads, especially Veros, who had completely forgotten about the Legarthat encounter as well as the unded high monks until now. He can't believe he hadn't thought to ask Lena about these things earlier.
“Tell me,” Veros continues his interrogation, “how many bodies were among that ritual here?”
“I think about twelve, maybe fourteen.” Lena answers to the best of her ability, but it's clear she isn't one hundred percent certain.
“That's half the amount we encountered at Legarthat.” Erik breaks his usual silence to join in the deliberation. “Though Terrance isn't that much smaller.”
Veros isn't sure of what to make of this information. Is some lunatic, or group of lunatics, capturing and sacrificing Mistwalkers? How is this possible, and why has no one done anything about it? Has the Legion not noticed or received reports?
“One more question.” The team leader continues. “Have you found any undead monks since being here?”
“Monks?” The elder woman responds with bewilderment. “As in from the monastery? No, I can't say that I have. Why? Have you seen them wandering around?”
“We have.” Veros answers honestly. “We encountered two undead monks ourselves a few days ago, and have heard of another being found towards the west.”
Lena narrows her eyes and spends a moment to rack her brain for plausible explanations, but can't conjure any. “That's... incredibly odd. I've heard nothing about monks making any sort of visit to Armasstadt leading up to the mist appearing. I'm sorry, I'm afraid this is the one thing I can't really help with.”
“It's fine.” Veros is quick to dismiss the topic, feeling as though he's pressuring his generous host. “You've done more than enough to assist us. I don't mean to take your kindness for granted by interrogating you all of a sudden.”
“No trouble at all. If anything, you've given me something to look out for.”
“One more small question before we head off, though. About how far north must we go before we might run into these intelligent undead?”
“If I had to guess, I'd say about twenty miles at minimum, thirty at most. Our normal daily patrols go five miles up and they've yet to encounter any, so they definitely don't come anywhere near Terrance.”
“I see.” Veros takes this new information into consideration. “So we have quite a grace period before we might see them.”
“Maybe if we're really lucky, we won't run into any at all.” Kellar interjects.
“Possibly, but let's not get complacent with the thought.” The team leader still encourages alertness. “Alright. We shouldn't waste anymore time. Lena, thank you once more for everything you've done for us during our short stay.”
“And once more, it was my pleasure.” Lena responds in kind. “Be careful on your journey. I'll be praying for your success and safe return.”
“Until we meet again.” Veros exchanges his farewell with a small bow of the head before turning his horse and riding towards the northern gate. Kellar, Royd, and Erik follow him, but Zyra and Atticus stay put for an extra moment to offer a more personal goodbye.
“You really gave me the motivation I needed to continue.” Zyra, with glazed over eyes, voices her gratitude once again. “Thank you.”
“I didn't give it to you, child.” Lena responds somewhat sternly, but with her usual warm smile. “I simply brought the motivation you already had inside you up to the surface.”
“I'll take good care of this bracelet.” Atticus speaks up, lifting his left hand once again. “When we've accomplished our mission, I'll return it to you personally.”
“Then I'll tell you to just keep it personally.” The chief quips back lightheartedly. “If you use it with success, then it has found its new owner. I do, however, expect you to come back and tell me every detail of your journey. I wasn't joking when I said I would want to hear it.”
“We'll do that.” The young mage responds.
“Good.” Lena gives a single, content nod. “Now, go on. Your comrades are waiting for you.” She beckons them to proceed through the gate, where the others are waiting just beyond the boundary of the arcane barrier.
Zyra gives a silent nod of acknowledgement and urges her horse forward, slowly trotting ahead with Atticus following immediately behind. As the pyromancer approaches the transparent wall of the magic dome, she turns her head one last time to see Lena still watching them depart, and gives a timid wave goodbye. Lena lifts her hand and waves back. Zyra faces ahead again, and the entire group rides onward to enter the grey abyss.