On the morning of the next day the party of fifteen headed for what appears to be an abandoned town. The huts were dilapidated and the forest appears to have taken back most of the land, in the middle of the town is a stone well.

"Likely abandoned due to the dangers of the jungle." Nakt commented. "But it's not a bad place to set up camp, split up to scavenge for some supplies."

"Report back to the well if you find anything interesting." Nakt used the well as their landmark while he brought Hektor to his side.

"Scout the area, make sure that we are the only ones here. The last thing we want are stragglers from the north." Nakt ordered, Hektor obliged and whistled to command his flock of birds.

"I will be meditating here at the well, Instructor." Hektor said, still focused on his goal to summon more sprites.

"Do what you need to do." Nakt then looked towards Faisal. "The map that we have is basically useless isn't it?"

"Indeed, we have no landmarks and the best we can do is to head south east of our current location." Faisal responded.

"Then we might as well just ask Hektor's birds to help us." Nakt concluded as he eyed a few of Hektor's flying companions.

"That might seem like a great idea but the black mist encompasses that region, it'll swallow the birds whole and only waste our resources."' Faisal informed him.

"So we can't head back to the west and we can't just head back south either… a spellcaster would be extremely useful right now."

The black mist of the eastern jungles made it hard for birds to traverse the sky close to it, it is said that messenger birds actively avoid coming near the area when a message is sent out from the eastern region of the kingdom. Normally traveling through this region can be considered suicide due to both the powerful monsters and the ever present black mist.

The message that Hektor sent earlier is likely the last one that he'll be able to send or even receive for the foreseeable future.

Souls: 260 -> 235

25 more souls were spent and the constant recovery of mana gave Hektor a headache, but it was finally done. Ten flame sprites floated around him while he took a sip from his waterskin. The flame sprites then formed a circle right in front of Hektor.

[10 Miniature Flame Sprites have gathered, due to a common master the sprites are now merging.]

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Nakt, Hektor and Faisal watched as the small flickers of light formed into a ball, the size of someone's hand.

[Congratulations, a Full Flame Sprite is now under your command.]

Hektor took a chance and he couldn't be happier with the reward that was given. A smile formed as he waved his hand forward. "Firebolt."

The sprite sent out a ball of fire that was just as large as its own body towards the stone well, Hektor clenched his fists in excitement.

A crow perched itself onto Hektor's shoulder, the sprite seeing this molded itself into the form of a bird similar to the crow. Though it still kept its flame-like glow.

Nakt was dumbfounded while Faisal tried to wrack his brain for an explanation. "No..wait.. AHA!"

"It is said that those who command the spirits are either blessed by the gods or simply have the knack for it. As someone that is loved by animals, I believe that Hektor is someone that is closer to the spirits than we initially thought."

The rest of the other disciples came back with bits of resources in hand, Garnesh managed to find some fruits while Paul once again brought the best bounty.

"Edible mushrooms, Beetroot and some wild potatoes." Paul said proudly, knowing that the group would rely on him more due to his ability.

"Great work everyone, we will continue our journey tomorrow." Nakt informed the disciples. "For now I want everyone to practice the basic forms of their martial arts."

"While I'm sure that the frontlines gave you a bounty of experience, I am also sure that there is no such thing as too much training."

They spent the rest of the day like they were back at the dojo, Nakt wanted them to be prepared for the trials ahead.

---

Hektor woke up to the squawks of his birds, soon enough he heard a loud clang from the Paul's shield.

"WAKE UP EVERYONE! INTRUDERS!" A different disciple called out.

Hektor walked out of the tent only to see that they were now surrounded. Orcs and goblins filled the vicinity and a few leathery winged creatures were flying above them.

Was it the smell of the campfire? The trail they left from down the river? The smell of blood?

All of these questions filled Hektor's mind as he instinctively whistled to call his remaining birds.

The disciples watched as the two instructors cleaved through the small army of demons and orcs with ease.

"Oi! What the hell are you guys doing?" Tarik screamed out. "Get inside a building, We are taking it from here."

Right as Tarik said this Hektor watched a mace-bearing disciple dropped dead right in front of him, taking an arrow right to the head. The sprite remained on Hektor's shoulder while his eyes darted around the battlefield. He soon jumped forward and tried to make himself useful.

Surrounded, tired and without much sleep their camp didn't have the slightest chance at victory. This much was obvious to almost everyone involved. Which is why those that did run inside decided to make themselves useful.

The disciples rushed forward knowing that their lives were forfeit. Nakt and Faisal cleared a way through for them, sending five of the last remaining disciples out into the forest.

Paul, Garnesh, Tarik and Hektor along with another disciple who appears to have lost an eye.

'One moment you're relaxing, thinking that the dangers of battle are behind you.' Hektor thought as he whistled to command his birds. 'In another you're ambushed and all you can do is run…'

"Which gods did we anger to deserve such a fate?" Paul's voice was shaking, he was clearly frustrated by the situation.

"I don't know… and at this point I think that they are just laughing at us." Tarik responded. "But at this point, we have to get used to it… We need to keep adapting if we want to live."

The five of them ran, they had no other choice but to do so.

Souls: 235 -> 247