{-Kaius-}
Their communication test worked fine, as usual; enchantments made by the very gods themselves didn’t wear down nearly as much as mortal alchemy did. But he understood the purpose of it all, too. Messengers might need a lot in order to be taken down, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t still be careful. They didn’t want anyone to end up getting hurt.
It was chilly this close to Palus’s section of the sea, and it certainly wasn’t helped by the dense trees above them. He could barely tell which direction they were headed in. If he was any less confident in his companions, in fact, he might’ve even suggested that they were simply going around in circles.
But he was willing to trust the process. Besides, Tevie was kind enough to “ask” the plants to clear a path for them, so it was just like a leisurely stroll.
And like a leisurely stroll, there was, of course, a conversation.
“What do you think we’re supposed to be finding here?” Tevie asked. “As far as I can tell, there’s nothing big that we’ll need to take care of—nothing that’s taking up the forest’s space.”
“We were all there—none of us know for sure,” Hayze muttered. “I’m sure it’s something that ‘we’ll know when we see it’ or ‘just use your best judgment.’ Those are always the worst missions…”
They each heard Kiri’s voice through their charms remarking, “Yeah, pretty much. I can try, but I don’t think I’m going to get any more information on it. You’re just going to have to do as Hayze said—use your best judgment.”
Kaius shrugged. “I presume, if something starts eerily glowing or it simply reeks of best-forgotten things, we get rid of it. This far out in the forest, we’re unlikely to find anything besides that and Skiá.”
“Just be careful, alright?” Kiri stressed after a moment. Hearing the mild panic under the otherwise calm tone, he felt bad mentioning it. “Destroying the traces of Achadus aren’t going to mean much if you end up spilling ichor in the process.”
“You don’t have to worry,” he assured them. “It’s rather unlikely we’re going to run into anything, let alone something dangerous. We’ll be back in Sanctuary with a completed mission before you know it.”
Hayze and Tevie both mumbled their agreements, so that Kiri could hear it.
“Alright. Let me know if there’s anything else you’ll need.” There wasn’t really any sign of it, but they all knew that Kiri was ‘gone’ and no longer a part of the conversation.
Hayze sighed. “Well, if no one knows what we’re looking for, then we better get moving. It isn’t going to find itself…”
The following silence, though, seemed to be something that none of them wanted. And, while it might not have been the best topic of conversation, Tevie was once again the one to break the quiet.
“What do you think Orestis has against this guy?” he asked, though it was more hesitant than before. He might’ve been the youngest among the group, but that didn’t make him dumb—he could recognize the patterns in some of their missions.
“Whatever it is, it’s something we’re not supposed to know,” Kaius remarked. “If it’s something Orestis wants done, then I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do but follow His orders.”
“This kind of mission is far from new,” Hayze mumbled. “Kaius and I have seen how these kinds of things play out. And it almost always turned out better if we didn’t know the why. All we should focus on is our mission at hand, not all the little pieces of backstory behind it.”
Kaius began to think of something else they could focus on—perhaps he could ask Tevie about the plants here, that’ll keep his mind occupied—when a voice echoed through the trees.
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“W-what did I dr—ag you… into, my—my dear..?”
It didn’t sound right. It came in pieces, fragments—but it was different than if someone was speaking slowly and stumbling over their words still.
“Is there someone else here?” Tevie looked around, but Kaius was beginning to think that there was no one to look for.
Hayze confirmed it when she shook her head. “It’s got to be a projection—and one either attached to a rather worn object, or an inexperienced magic user. Given the region we’re in, I have the feeling it’s the former.”
“Do you know where it’s coming from?” Kaius prompted. “I am, unfortunately, not as adept at such things as you.”
She considered it for a moment, then said, “Probably just north of here. I’ll lead you to it.”
He’d thought he’d want some kind of noise before, but voices of projections were never a welcoming distraction. They always sounded so real, even if there was the slightest bit of something off about them. It didn’t help that they usually signaled something bad.
This particular illusion was worse, because it wasn’t just a scene meant to scare or intimidate. It took a more melancholy tone.
“Y—you didn’t… to…”
Kaius decided that he probably spoke for all of them when he remarked, “Let’s just get rid of this. The sooner it’s gone, the better—undoubtedly something we’re supposed to be getting rid of.”
“Its magic has faded a long time ago,” Hayze remarked. “It’s a little hard to figure out where it is when it barely gives off more of a magical signature than either of you do.”
Tevie sighed. “I couldn’t tell where the forest parted earlier, either. Whatever it is, it’s tiny, and that’s just going to make things harder…”
“Both… goi—ing to d… ere…” the projection yet again echoed. Kaius usually prided himself in being mysterious, but that thing was just downright creepy.
He hadn’t even realized they were nearing a river, to be honest; he didn’t know Seothian geography, not like he used to, and there weren’t any telltale signs. There was no sound of rushing water, no obvious change in the flora or fauna, nothing. Yet still, they found themselves at the bank of a river, only mere moments away from stepping onto the likely-thin layer of ice.
There was a vague wisp—like the smallest sliver of smoke—near the river, slightly splitting off into two. It must have been the figures to accompany the voices; a feat of moderate magic, but one that even some Seothians would be able to manage with enough practice. Whatever was making the illusion, though, was either far older than he’d been imagining, or certainly not something chosen to weather these conditions.
Given the implications of the former, he much preferred the idea of the latter.
While they slightly spread out to look for the cause of the illusion, they heard a few more disjointed voices.
“But we… House of—the Phoenix. Even if we… ce—ase to be in the… like those—will return from… ashes. We’ve done it—it… I’m sure that we… it again…”
Well, if that wasn’t the third most sacrilegious and, quite frankly, completely wrong statement Kaius had ever heard. Then again, once upon a time, he might’ve even shared that point of view.
Old Seothians certainly were stupid, weren’t they? Or perhaps he could only say that as one who now served the gods, having had all those years to understand the true scope of things.
“Worshiping phoenixes, were they?” Hayze muttered. It wasn’t necessarily the same kind of vague understanding that the other two might’ve had; her mortal life had been in Idkor. Even before giving up that life to serve the gods, she knew the truth. “No wonder we have to get rid of their existence. They’re dumb enough, I’m surprised they even made it that far to begin with…”
“Do you think one of them was Achadus, then?” Tevie prompted. “This is all just about someone with an interest in phoenixes?”
“I have a feeling it’s more than that,” Kaius remarked. “I suppose we’re just going to have to keep going in order to find out, though. Do either of you have luck finding the enchanted object?”
Just then, Hayze bent down and brushed away some foliage. “This might be it. Only one way to find out, though.” She picked it up—some kind of stone—and destroyed it with her magic. In a second, those vague wisps were gone, and all of the voices seemed to have disappeared.
“That’s one down,” Kaius said, once they could be sure that it was really it. “Only who-knows-how-many left to go.”
“Maybe we should just keep following the river,” Tevie suggested. “It’s just about the only notable thing here. There’s a chance more of the projections—or whatever else we’re supposed to be getting rid of—are in the area.”
Hayze nodded. “Seems to be the best option. Let’s get going.”