They can create illusions, too.

Meera didn't wait for the Mistblade to make the first move. She jumped aside and threw a chakram at it. But the construct was fast. It brought up its shield and blocked the blow. Meera swung the chakram around with Mirror Wing and left a deep cut in its throat, which was sealed immediately.

Please don't tell me the mists heal them too.

Tamas' screams had cut off when the Mistblade revealed himself, and she was sure more Mistblades were on their way, thanks to Mist Telepathy.

Meera didn't have long, so she got to work right away. The Mistblade was about the same level as the rest of them. She launched a Mirror Shard Barrage, keeping it aimed at his chest. The Mistblade dispersed, and thanks to all the mists, it was hard to make out where it had gone. She expected him to come up on her back, and he did.

She used Mistwalk for the first time, and it was surreal. As the Mistblade emerged behind her, she drifted on the mists behind him and slashed its back, followed by two more slashes, before the Mistblade teleported away.

Its whispers grew more erratic as it always did when it began taking damage. She was ready to throw out Vampiric Chains and suck the thing dry, but only it never reappeared. She still heard the swirling mists and whispers, which meant it was close, but everything was shrouded in gray mists.

Damn your invisibility skill.

She turned invisible as well. The mists were obscuring enough light from Mirithia that Meera didn't even have to hide among the shades of the trees. Using Nimbus, she moved up off the ground by a few inches to not make any sound while she moved. The swirling sounds moved to her left, but she would only attack once she was sure where the Mistblade was.

She stayed as still as possible. She had a feeling that these things would know if she moved. Meera focused on the ground, and to her left—where she suspected her foe was—the leaves moved ever so slightly.

She threw her chakram right away. It hit something as it was stuck in the mist, but the construct didn't make any sounds of discomfort. Meera threw another chakram, teleported to them, and slashed the mists like a mad woman.

The sounds of the swirling mists shifted behind her, so she used Mistwalk again, appeared behind it, and slashed it a few more times until, finally, the thing died. The Mistblade appeared momentarily before its mists joined up with the rest.

I hate fighting these things. For once, I would like to fight something that is flesh and blood.

She kept her feet off the ground as she left. She didn't turn off Shroud of Shadows until she was far away from there. An idea popped into her head, and using Nimbus, she got around to the branch level and stepped onto a branch.

It's best if I stay up here.

She walked from tree to tree, covering the gaps with Nimbus. It didn't take long for Tamas' screams to start up again. Her eyes had begun to get droopy when they started, and she was shaken wide awake once again.

She had half a mind to take off Gem of Echoes and get some sleep, but that would be equivalent to a death sentence. If their strategy was to tire her out, it was working.

Her Stamina was falling fast from keeping Mirror Eagle's Perceptivity up, and she felt the Gem of Echoes also used up her Stamina. I will need to test this theory later. For now, it's one foot in front of the other and ignore the screams.

She did that for a while until they were grating on her nerves. She couldn't even be sure; she was heading in the right direction. She cursed Kalrina for making a compass that only worked until it reached Azeria.

I should have asked for a compass that pointed the way to the Shadowsteel Warlord.

The screams got louder and more dire. She could feel the pain in Tamas' voice if it was actually Tamas' and not another illusion. The last illusion had been so good that Meera didn't even hear the swirling mist sound, or maybe she had overlooked it because of Tamas' visage.

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She shook her head, ignored the screams, and moved on. She walked a little further, and the cook's cries got even louder. Now she was sure that she was walking towards the screams. Then she heard the whispers.

"Make him scream louder."

"We must draw the other."

"She cannot escape."

"We will kill her."

"Kill her."

"Then we find the mistress."

All of these were jumbled together, so to anyone without ears like hers, it would sound like hissing. They kept repeating more variants of the same thing. She ignored most of it and focused on only one thing—make him scream louder.

She activated Shroud of Shadows, carefully made her way to the screams, and gasped when she saw the scene below. In a small clearing, they had tied Tamas and beaten him so severely that the man was hardly recognizable. His nose was smashed flat. One of his eyes was swollen shut. He had many cuts all across his body. The poor man's moans were so pitiable that they brought Meera to tears, and she didn't even know him.

I have to save him from them.

But she couldn't just jump down there and attack as two Mistblades surrounded him, and who knew how many more were hiding in the mists, waiting for her to fall into their obvious trap.

Okay, Ambush Tactics, show me how it'll be done.

The skill popped some ideas into her head, most of which involved figuring out if it was a trap. Once that was done, then she just had to kill them. She activated her Shroud, used Nimbus to walk on the air, and did a sweep of the whole area. As she did, she concentrated as best as she could on listening to the swirling sounds of any hidden Mistblades.

She didn't hear any other Mistblades, thankfully. Now, she had to confirm whether Tamas was the real one or another illusion created to lure her in. She picked off a few leaves from the trees, positioned herself over Tamas' head, and let the leaves fall.

The leaves fell on Tamas and didn't go through his body. Meera smiled. The pair of constructs looked up, but they didn't see her. If they had, Tamas would've been dead, and this would have descended into a fight.

She ran through some scenarios in her head, and there was no solution that didn't involve fighting these things. She hadn't forgotten how they had skewered her last time. Whatever she had to do, she had to do it quickly. But Mirror Blast was out of the question, as that would kill the cook, given his delicate situation.

She smiled as something clicked. She pulled off her Level 2 chakram, landed to the side of the Mistblades, and lined up her throw. She tossed the chakram and decapitated the two Mistblades in one throw. Meera wasn't sure if this would kill them, but she hoped it would do considerable damage at the very least.

She recalled her chakram and waited at the ready for the Mistblades to reform. They did. But before they could dissipate into the wind, she threw her chakram again and, with Mirror Wing, chopped them to bits again, and this time, they didn't reform and joined the mists permanently.

She let out a sigh of relief and freed Tamas, who wept, holding onto her. "Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. I thought…I thought—"

"It's okay," Meera said. "You're safe…for now. Can you walk?"

He winced and almost fell, trying to get to his feet. Meera caught him and helped him up. "I got you. I would say take it easy, but we don't have that luxury."

Tamas nodded. "I understand. Can you please promise me one thing?"

Meera frowned a little. "What?"

"P-Please don't leave me behind," he quivered.

Meera finally realized what they had to do to survive this long. They had left others behind just like this. They must have been caught by the Mistblades and tortured, just like he was, to draw the rest out.

"The things we do to survive," Meera said, more to herself than him.

He lowered his gaze. "I'm not proud of what we did, but can't you see there was no other way."

"It's okay. I understand. I won't leave you behind. Now, we need to get out of here. I imagine the others know what we've done here."

Tamas nodded, relieved. "Thank you. I won't slow us down, I promise. I know a place where we can take refuge from these infernal mists."

Meera smiled. "Then lead the way."

Tamas started the arduous task of walking. His left leg must've been injured pretty bad as he tried putting any weight on it and winced. She could only watch for so long. She threw a chakram and cut up a branch into a walking stick. His pace picked up from there. Not much, but enough to not make her flinch at every little noise.

He finally stopped at a big tree and bent down to move a big bush. He was about to tip over, so Meera did it for him. Inside was what seemed to be a small cave. It must have formed naturally as the tree grew around something, or someone could have dug it themselves.

Tamas entered first, and Meera quickly followed him in. She moved the bushes in place.

Tamas leaned against a root or a dirt wall. It was hard to tell as it was almost pitch black in here. Places like these made her regret giving up the Night Vision skill. Meera found a spot on the ground opposite Tamas.

"We used this as one of our hiding spots," Tamas whispered. "We should be okay here for a little while at least. Dawn should be breaking soon. We can strike out then." He moved a little and flinched. "Maybe we can wait a little longer."

Sleep was already encroaching on Meera's vision. "Yes, let's wait a little longer. We both need the rest. Then we can see how to get out of these mists."

Just as Meera was about to sleep, the screams started again. This time, it was Urvan's. Even Tamas sat up straight at that but put on a brave face. "That is how they lure you out. Illusions and screams. Pay no mind to them. Urvan is dead. I'm sure of it." He didn't sound sure.

Meera nodded and, against her better judgment, pulled off the Gem of Echoes and placed it in her belt. It didn't take long for sleep to find her after that.