Dharen blinked, finding himself suddenly within a vast jungle. Monolithic trees known as Skywoods that dwarfed their surroundings rose into the air like towers, each competing for primacy within the dense surroundings. Vines crept alongside the tower-like trees, latching on with an insurmountable grip. Though the occasional ray of sunlight that broke through the thick canopy made it clear that the sun was still high in the sky, the jungle floor was relatively dim. From every direction came the sounds of various life; birds called out from above, and the foliage rustled overhead as a group of tree-dwellers swung back and forth.

He breathed in the air, noting the uncomfortable warmth and humidity that it contained. The brush rustled to the side; his attention jerked towards the nearby foliage. His muscles tensed in response, ready to enter battle. From within the brush appeared a small Kerell, a canid monster of such relative harmlessness that it was of little note. It gazed curiously at the assembled party of warriors, whiskers twitching. Then, it whirled around and dove back into the brush.

Dharen watched the rustling brush for a moment longer before pulling his attention back to the surrounding jungle. The sounds of various monsters spilled through the air, roars and howls and yelps. Yet, he knew that none of those were the quarry that they seeked.

He knew that for certain. The Nulzan were not monsters that postured and roared; they were not beasts that sought fights with clamorous uproar. Instead, it was said that they were silent predators. It was only just before death that one might hear the clicking that they used to coordinate with one another, to stealthily destroy all enemies that encroached on their domain.

So, rather than focus on the vociferous and the boisterous, he focused instead on silence.

Now, in a jungle that seemed to be veritably teeming with life, that was not an easy task. He was assaulted in every which direction by a cacophony of sound, by the challenges and calls that filled the air. Yet, eventually, he was able to notice that one direction was not as tumultuous as others.

He looked to the others, silently gesturing towards the absence of sound. Understanding his meaning, they nodded in affirmation - except for Riell. She motioned for the others to wait, before preparing a small device. She placed it on the ground beside the teleporter that they had used just prior. She then pricked a single finger with a knife, letting out a small droplet of blood, smearing it across the surface. The device - a small metal plate - began to glow ever so slightly with an arcane blue, indicating a magical effect was activating. She motioned them closer.

“I purchased this for a hefty sum from one of the Golem-owned shops in the Market - a smaller, temporary version of the teleporters.. It will be functional for 12 hours now that it has been activated. I have keyed it to myself, allowing me to return to this location at will.” She whispered in a discreet voice.

“And what of us?” Anand demanded. “Do you plan to leave us should things become difficult?”

“Of course not,” she replied with irritation. “The teleporter will transport all entities within six feet of me. So if I give a signal, be sure to move in close enough.”

Mollified, Anand nodded. Dharen, along with the others, also indicated his understanding. As one, they made their way through the heavy underbrush. With so much on the line, even Anand was silent in concentration.

In the dim lighting, Dharen made out a flash of arcane illumination. He felt a spike of adrenaline at the sight - or more accurately, at what it represented. They were no longer alone. Another Alliance’s group had teleported into the jungle. It was no longer just a battle against the Nulzan; at any moment, at any time, they could be ambushed by one of their own. It was a troubling thought.

He looked over to Riell, who had been chosen as the de-facto leader of the party for the duration of the mission. Her face had adopted a grim expression. She looked at Dharen and the others. With a voice strained by the discordance of a difficult decision, she whispered: “We will do what we must.”

The assembled warriors mirrored her grim acceptance. They did not wish to attack their own; but, as Duende had said, they must prove themselves the strongest. Whatever the cost. The future of the Vezian Alliance demanded it.

They stalked through the jungle’s thick undergrowth, working their way towards the direction of the arcane light. Though they made haste in an attempt to reach the other Alliance quickly, they did not abandon stealth entirely. Dharen, in particular, felt strangely at home within the chaos of the jungle. He slid under giant arching roots, clambered over obtrusive outcroppings, and slipped his way through dense growth with the ease of a natural. His high Agility proved itself, providing him an ease of movement that was surpassed only by Anand.

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Watching Anand travel through the jungle was an odd, and surprising, sight. He crept through the jungle in a manner that was considerably different than Dharen would have anticipated. If Dharen traveled with the ease of a natural, Anand moved with that of a true native. Only the frequent looks of disgust and disdain betrayed the man’s inexperience with the jungle environment; the combination of his high Agility and Luck made it seem as if the environment itself went out of its way to allow his passage.

On the other hand, most of the others were traipsing about with all of the skill one would expect of a city-bound human. On occasion, they would slip and slide in the mud; it wasn’t long before they were coated in muck. Still, they tried. It was enough that their relatively poor attempts at stealth were muffled by the overwhelming clamor of the jungle.

After a tense session of slowly sneaking through the jungle, they reached their destination. To Dharen’s relief, the unknown party had remained near their teleport point; it would have been much more troublesome to track them through the jungle.

The unknown Alliance’s group was composed of six individuals, just as theirs was. Dharen and the others halted, taking a moment to observe them.

“- do you think have arrived?” a leather-clad man questioned. He had a multitude of daggers and throwing knives strapped to his sides, and was in the midst of juggling a number of stones.

In response, the most heavily-armored of the group responded: “It’s best to assume that we are far from the first. I wouldn’t put it past some of the other Alliances to attack early, rather than directly fight the Nulzan.” To Dharen’s surprise, a feminine voice reverberated from within the giant suit of armor. It was ridged with spikes, and the helm was adorned with a barbaric motif that brought to mind images of bloodshed and battle. “And stop juggling those.”

The man let the stones drop to the jungle floor, squelching into the wet mud and sending a spray of muck into the air. He nonchalantly pulled out several throwing knives, and began to juggle those instead.

The armored woman let out a sound of exasperation at the sight. She turned towards another member of their party, a man wielding a quarterstaff. He leaned against it, looking somehow casual and alert at the same time. In the dim lighting, Dharen could just barely make out the form of a soulseed shard embedded into the dark wood of the shaft.

“What do we know about the other Alliance groups?” she questioned.

The man looked at her, thinking for a moment before responding. “Not much in the way of specifics, unfortunately. The Durian Alliance group will likely be composed of brute seeds and the Urtans tend to be a complete wild card. The Vezians are -”

The man paused, a look of concern crossing his face. “Did you hear something?” he asked.

Dharen strained his ears to listen. He realised that he could hear a faint rustling sound, quickly increasing in intensity as it approached. Then, from out of the canopy overhead, something far more vicious than a Kerell appeared.

Dharen watched carefully as a pack of Ilcrest plummeted down from a great height, throwing themselves into the air with abandon. At the quarterstaff wielder’s sound of alarm, they looked up to find twenty dangerous jungle monsters just a moment before they reached them.

The knife-juggler reacted first. In a flurry of motion, he snatched his throwing daggers out of the air and sent them spinning end over end. They flew with unerring accuracy. What was even more surprising was the change that the throwing knives underwent mid-flight. Rather than slowing down over time, they only increased their speed. Thus, the small knives slammed into their targets with enough force to redirect their plummeting drop and send them barrelling into their companions.

The other warriors were not quite so quick to react. As a result, most of them were injured in some way by the sudden ambush. Dharen noted with some amusement that, although the woman did not move quickly enough to dodge the incoming attack, an unfortunate Ilcrest impaled itself upon one of the armored woman’s spikes. They were apparently not entirely decorative. It scrabbled against her armor with its claws, scratching vainly at the sturdy metal shell.

She shrugged her shoulders, awkwardly attempting to extricate the struggling Ilcrest. Another shrieking creature assaulted her as she did so, forcing her to beat the beast back while suffering the imbalance caused by the impaled monster.

After sending the monster in search of easier prey, she continued trying to shake off the skewered Ilcrest. Eventually, she gave up on that avenue of action. She reached up, large greatsword in hand, and cut inwards. Dharen winced at the reckless action. Still, it seemed that her faith in her armor was rewarded, as her blade cut through the shrieking Ilcrest before glancing upwards along the spike’s edge and slicing apart the beast enough to dislodge it. The mangled pieces fell to the jungle floor, a pooling lake of blood and muck growing beneath them.

Having been freed from the restricting weight, she charged in to help her companions.

Not all of the group was doing so well, as was evinced by the disfigured corpse of one of her companions; he had been unable to react quickly enough to the suddenly emerging threat, and suffered a broken neck before he had the chance to defend himself from the plummeting Ilcrest..

Despite that, the Ilcrest pack was being steadily beaten back. It was clear that the group had significant experience working together; they had closed up in tight ranks and were fighting with a high degree of coordination.

While they watched, Held silently unslung his bow, stringing it carefully. He pulled an arrow from his quiver, running two fingers along the arrowhead’s length. It began to glow with a brilliant flame. He nocked the arrow, pulling back powerfully on the limbs of the heavy bow. He looked towards Riell, eyebrows raised in a questioning glance.

Catching his gaze, she nodded.

The arrow flew. Pandemonium struck.