Alice took a deep breath as she leaned her back against a tree. She needed to slow down, think things through. No matter which way she sliced it, they weren’t getting past that open field without her using magic. Biting her lip, she tapped two of her fingers back to the selenite stone in the hilt of the dagger. The green light followed her fingers, trailing like a comet as she traced a sigil onto her forehead, then onto the ground in front of her. The green symbol pulsed, the light around it wobbling as yet another illusion manifested. She looked around for the seventh time to make sure that Ingrid wasn’t anywhere watching her, then crouched down to examine the illusion.

Before her was a translucent, three dimensional image of the camp floating just above the ground. Certain details were blurry and unclear, the illusion unable to fill in the pieces Alice hadn’t seen clearly. Normally she’d spend days scoping out a location, stalking through the hallways and looking at it from every angle to construct a perfect map. This was so half-baked Keaton would probably show an emotion. The camp itself wasn’t the issue, she could deal with that reactively.

The towers and their positions, that was what she needed. She rotated the image over and over again. Squinting at the east side of the camp, she looked closer. Her heart skipped a beat as she noticed a rock ledge close to one of the towers. It was obvious, and provided no cover whatsoever from the tower it was in front of. From every other tower, it would be completely hidden.

She stood up straight and placed her fingers in the sigil on her forehead, once more spreading them until she dispelled the illusion. Tapping the selenite once more, she retraced the sign for the camouflage spell. As she did, a second glow, this one a dull pink, radiated from the hilt of the dagger. It could already tell that it was going to be needed. She sighed as she pulled up her scarf and tossed up her hood. Malori and Kallen had better be staying put, or she was going to lose it. As she faded into the environment around her, she began to stalk in the direction of the one tower that would be a threat.

Ingrid pulled her knees closer to her chest, staring at the dirt in front of her. Alice had been gone for the better part of the last hour. She tried to focus on the picture in her mind from the previous evening. The way the sunset perfectly outlined the woman’s face against the backdrop of the mountain valley. The way strands of her hair that either hadn’t made it into her ponytail or had come undone swayed in the gentle breeze. The way that despite the breathtaking view of the nature she so dearly loved, the only thing she could look at was Alice. All she had to do was focus on that, focus on it and ignore the chaos in her head and fear about this entire thing.

Why had she said yes to this? She wanted to help the angel, and make sure other people didn’t meet the same misfortune that Cofaen and Osnan had. It had only driven the stake further into the ever-growing wedge between her and Alice. Right as it had shown signs of mending slightly, she picked it away like a scab and reopened the wound that Kallen joining had caused. She closed her eyes and tried to take deep breaths. It was still the same Alice. Despite everything that had happened, it was still the same Alice. Why did everything have to be so complicated then?

“I-Ingrid?” Malori murmured. “Is everything a-alright?”

She clicked her tongue. Every time Malori gave that worried look those big, innocent eyes made it hard to not answer truthfully, no matter how badly she wanted to. She grumbled and rested the side of her head against her knees, looking in the general direction of Malori and Kallen, but not meeting either of their eyes.

“I’m just worried. Alice has been gone for a while now, and she seemed really shaken up by everything,” Shaken up might not have been the best term for it, but it was the one that came to mind. In reality, she was probably just trying to dance around the word ‘angry’ by any means necessary.

Malori gave an understanding nod as she looked off into the distance. “I-I think so as well. She r-really didn’t like the idea of helping the a-angel. Or Cofaen and Osnan, f-for that matter.”

The half elf couple was another talking point that made Ingrid’s heart sink. Why had Alice been so against helping them? Even if it was a trap, they were still people. They still needed help. If Alice had gotten her way, would she have really just let them die?

She thought back to the half orc boy in the slums of Baile Stioballan. Alice had been so adamant about not helping him. It was the first time she had ever heard her speak like that. Surely this was a different context, but it was a similar situation. Ingrid wanted to help someone who needed it, and Alice was against it. Alice had been so generous in the years before this, going out of her way to help Ingrid and Mattias with anything they needed. This new, selfish side of her just felt wrong. But it was still the same Alice, right?

“Even if she doesn’t like it, we still need to help others, right?” Kallen said, tilting her head. “No one else is here to help, so who else is going to?”

Ingrid frowned. She wished there was something she could say against that.. What she said was true, though; no one else was here. Who knew how many more people would be hurt if they decided to ignore the problem before them. Besides, even if someone else did come, would they have the same capabilities as them? They might not even be able to use magic, or fight. They could just add to the list of victims.

“I just don’t like this,” Ingrid sighed. “I don’t like fighting with her. I don’t like having this rift between us. Things have gotten so much more complicated since Mattias went missing, and it’s all happening so fast I don’t know how to properly react to it. A few weeks ago she was a close friend, someone I talked to about my problems. Now… This.”

The other two were quiet for a moment, letting the sound of the wind through the trees be the only answer. It was oddly calming. She closed her eyes and just let herself be in the moment, not thinking about anything. Her mind drifted and danced over the consciousnesses of the flora and fauna around her, who acknowledged her existence and moved on. She was simply a part of the forest.

Eventually, it was Malori that broke the silence again. “I-If it’s not too much to ask, what exactly was your r-relationship with Alice? It seems rather c-complicated.”

Ingrid clicked her tongue as she was pulled out of that moment of calm. Now really wasn’t the time she needed Malori asking these kinds of questions. Nevertheless, she opened her eyes. She didn’t want to be rude, and her relationship with Alice was rather ambiguous.

“I suppose it does look like that. I met her one night when I was… struggling. I saw her at the brothel and I paid for a night. I had a good time, so I started going back. After a while, we started talking more. I think it started with me just venting about some of the problems I was having, but she listened. She really listened, not just pretended to. It felt good, I guess.”

“W-When could you tell that you were f-friends?” She muttered.

Ingrid furrowed her brow. It was a strange question, not really one she had ever thought about. “I don’t think there ever really was a moment. That went on for a while, and we kind of just were. I don’t remember who started calling the other a friend first, it’s just something we do now. Does that make sense?”

Malori nodded, seeming to think deeply about it. She fiddled with her staff before speaking again. “Is there something m-more than friendship between you two?”

It took Ingrid a minute to process the question, blinking slowly as it registered. Her face felt hot as it did. “N-No, there’s nothing like that between us. We’re just friends, albeit intimate ones, but that’s more because of the nature of how we met. It’s just a normal part of how we interact,” She explained. The question had caught her off guard. Did they really seem to have that kind of tension between them? Maybe Malori was reading too far into things. She did have an intense love for romance.

The esper seemed like she had more thoughts on the matter, but didn’t say anything more. She leaned back against the tree she was sitting by and closed her eyes.

“Well, I think it’s good you have a friend like that!” Kallen chimed. “I don’t have any. I’ve got plenty of acquaintances, just people I’ve met while traveling and helped out, but no consistent friends. Since I started wandering I think the longest I’ve been with one person is only two or three months.”

Ingrid winced. Kallen probably didn’t realize that that kind of statement stung. She thought it was good, but she’s a part of the issue forcing a wedge between them. She quickly shook the thoughts out of her head. It wasn’t fair to blame this on Kallen. She wasn’t trying to do any of this maliciously, she just wanted to help people. Malori just had a hopeless crush. Neither was trying to create a problem. She sighed. That just made the entire thing harder. Conflict was simple when one person was clearly in the wrong, trying to cause a problem. Then she could point to one thing, fix it, and everything would go back to normal. How was she supposed to fix Malori’s feelings? Fix Kallen’s desire to help people? Why would she even want to if she could?

Just as she was getting lost in her thoughts again, there was a rustling ahead of them. She quickly sat up, grabbing her staff. Kallen stood up against the tree, holding her glaive at the ready as Malori scrambled over to her.

As Ingrid started to rise to her feet, the form of Alice turned a corner and approached them. Her heart ached. Normally Alice would have snuck up on her to surprise her. She didn’t realize that that would be something she’d miss.

The dark elf pulled down her scarf. “We’re gonna set ourselves up in the woods near the east side. There’s a ledge Ingrid and I can hide under to approach the camp, and Ingrid, you can shape the stone and get us a tunnel under the wall. That’s the entry plan, sound good?” She explained. There was no playfulness or joking in the statement. It just felt cold.

“Um, yeah, I can try my best,” She nodded. Alice didn’t even look at her.

“It’s not a big ledge, so we’re gonna wanna stay close to the ground. Let’s move to the location and wait. We’re doing this at night.”

Not waiting for an answer, she turned around and started walking off in the direction of the camp. Ingrid blinked, not realizing initially that the explanation was over. Quickly scrambling to her feet, she hurried off after Alice. She wanted to ask what had taken so long, but she didn’t feel like any sort of questioning would yield any results. The past several days were more firsts from Alice. She’d never seen her that angry, never gotten in that kind of fight with her, and this was certainly the coldest she had ever seen her. The worst part of it all was that sinking feeling that it wasn’t a topic she could broach. All she could do was sit there and say nothing. She couldn’t even go to Malori or Kallen for help. They were part of whatever gripe Alice had. It fell on her and only her. It was suffocating.

Ingrid shifted awkwardly in the new clothes that Alice had given her. They were ragged and worn, and didn’t feel like they were doing a great job keeping the cold night air at bay. She normally would have thrown clothes like this away. Alice had been adamant on both of them disguising themselves, for obvious reasons. Looking up at her friend, the woman didn’t seem to mind them at all. She even had her scarf removed, now replaced with a dull gray makeshift one.

I guess I’m not the only one going out of my comfort zone, She thought, looking longingly once again at her armor. Her staff she could keep in her bag to pull out at a moment’s notice. Armor like that took several minutes, not exactly something she could do on the fly. She pulled up the mask that Alice had given to cover her face over her nose. Breathing would be slightly irritating, but nothing actually detrimental. Honestly, it felt like the easiest part of her outfit to deal with. After all, she couldn’t think of any fool who would complain about something as mundane as a tiny piece of cloth on their face.

“How do I look?” She asked nervously. She had followed Alice’s advice and patted dirt along her forehead and face. Hopefully she’d look less like a sun elf and more like someone who just needed to bathe.

She faltered slightly under Alice’s scrutinizing gaze. It felt like she was looking for any aspect to call her out on. It was a bad feeling.

“Looks good. Keep your hood up and we shouldn’t have problems,” She deadpanned.

Ingrid winced at her cold tone, then turned to look at Malori and Kallen. Kallen gave her a wide smile and a thumbs up, invoking some mixed feelings. Malori stepped forward, nervously looking up at her.

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“I-I-I know that it’s not much,” She muttered quietly, taking a quick glance at Alice. “B-But I could mentally link us, maybe? It would m-make it easier to communicate, and we wouldn’t have to wait for a s-signal.”

Ingrid looked at Alice. It was a legitimately good idea. She was a little surprised that the dark elf didn’t bring it up before as a method of communication. After all, giving a vague statement of ‘we’ll signal you’ without any definitive signal wasn’t exactly a rock solid course of action.

She made an irritated grunt. “Fine, but set it up with Ingrid. Don’t wanna have to deal with you pokin’ around in my head.”

It was something. Malori let out a small whimper as she shrunk away from Alice. It made Ingrid’s heart hurt, like she was looking at a kicked puppy. The esper closed her eyes, not unlike the way Ingrid did when she tried to communicate with plants.

Um, I-Ingrid? Can you hear me?

Wincing slightly, Ingrid tried to say something back. Yeah, I canhowdoIdothis hear you, She let out a small gasp as she heard her own voice in a way she never had before. She never thought talking was something she’d have to trial and error her way through after learning the first time.

S-Sorry, I should have warned you first. It takes some g-getting used to. Sometimes people will a-accidentally mix their normal thoughts into what they’re t-trying to say, She explained.

A small blush crept over Ingrid’s face. She thought she heard some strange–what was the mental equivalent of stumbling over words? “Do you um, have any tips for this? How do I know what I am and am not sending to you?” She asked, embarrassed. Suddenly she was a lot more thankful for the mask.

Malori frowned. “I’m n-not really sure how to explain it. I’ve n-never really used it like this, and it’s always been something that f-feels natural to me, like breathing or crying. I mentioned a-a while ago that when I was little I had trouble even d-differentiating whether or not I was speaking out loud or mentally.”

Ingrid grimaced, but nodded. “Alright then, I suppose this is going to be a learning experience for both of us. I’m sorry in advance if I accidentally send thoughts I didn’t mean to.”

“I-It’s fine! R-Really! I um, just want to be able to make sure you and A-Alice are alright,” she said reassuringly. She gave another awkward smile, like she was trying to look like she was confident and failing to hide the copious amounts of anxiety hiding beneath.

Ingrid smiled, tousling her hair. It really was soft. Maybe that was just another esper trait. “Don’t worry. If Alice is here, we’re going to be fine. Just make sure Kallen doesn’t accidentally bite off more than she can chew in a fight. Okay?”

The girl nodded. “O-Okay… And I d-don’t think it’s an esper trait, holy magic is s-surprisingly good for maintaining yourself. I think it might be b-because it’s adjacent to healing?”

“Well, I’m off to a good start on that learning,” Ingrid grimaced yet again.

Malori gave a small, adorable giggle. “I-I think you are!”

“If you two are done, we need to get going,” Alice interjected.

The smile left Malori’s face as she nodded, then returned to Kallen. Alice looked over at Ingrid, then gestured with her head in the direction of the camp before walking away. No words of encouragement, no ‘see you’ to Malori and Kallen, not even a look that betrayed any emotion. She really hoped Alice didn’t notice the wind around the two of them picking up slightly, or the air cooling as she hurried off after her.

The two of them began to move through the trees as quietly as they could. Ingrid didn’t do nearly as well on it as Alice. It was likely a mix of Alice being trained for this sort of thing as well as her dark elven heritage. Sun elves had a slight ability to see better in the dark, but dark elves could see things as clear as day. It was almost certainly going to make sneaking up to the camp much harder. She wanted to ask why Alice waited for nightfall, since the only people who it would really disadvantage were her, Malori, and Kallen. The thought of that didn’t sound all that appealing with the way things were though.

She ended up relying more on sensing plants and nature around her than her eyesight after a bit. Seeing better didn’t always mean seeing perfectly. When she closed her eyes and opened her mind though, everything was a perfect picture. She could sense every root, every slight change in elevation, even the dead twigs and sticks that were in the process of rotting away and fertilizing the ground for the rest of the plant life. As she did it, the change was almost immediate. She still made noise, but she didn’t have to slow down or squint to make sure she was going to step on a dead branch or something. A part of her hoped Alice would notice. A part of her she really wanted to ignore hoped Alice would be proud of her.

Finally, she could make out a break in the trees. She would have expected to see torches and the like lighting up the camp, but realized that something like that would have just been a waste of tinder. Alice made a motion to stay low to the ground as she started skirting around the treeline, not turning to make sure Ingrid listened. Inching forward to the edge of the woods, Alice pointed forward. Squinting, Ingrid saw the ridge that she had mentioned. She was going to have to crouch uncomfortably low, but it would completely block anyone from seeing them from that angle.

She furrowed her brow. It would definitely block that one angle, but it didn’t have much in the way of cover from any other vantage point. Did Alice notice something about it that she didn’t? Maybe she just couldn’t see something in the dark that Alice had picked up on, and she was doubting her for nothing. She could feel her heart pounding as she stepped forward, trying to keep pace with Alice, who seemingly refused to slow down. Her breathing felt shaky as she left the safety of the trees behind, stepping out into the open air. Trying to ease it felt like a near impossible struggle. If she couldn’t get it together she was fairly certain any one of the watchtowers would be able to hear her hyperventilating from across the camp. Nevertheless, she pressed on, deciding to put her trust in Alice once again.

Alice moved silently and swiftly across the stone. Ingrid doubted she’d even have a way of knowing the woman was there if she wasn’t staring directly at her. It never ceased to amaze her the way that she moved through the shadows like a ghost, eerily quiet.

The trek across the open ground felt like it lasted hours from the sheer stress of it, but it likely only lasted a couple of minutes at the most. Near the end, Ingrid felt her heart completely stop as she was finally able to make something out in the shadows. Her eyes locked onto the watchtower that she and Alice were approaching. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t pull them away. It felt like she was looking at death. The tower was just, right there. In front of them. There wasn’t a single barrier between them and someone blaring some sort of alarm to tell the rest of the camp that there were intruders. Her breathing began to pick up as she thought of it.

Before any of the horrible scenarios could play out in her head, she felt a hand grab her wrist. It was a strange mix of gentle and firm that landed right in the middle. Alice’s hand was comforting, but a part of it insisted that she keep moving. Finally she was able to wrench her eyes away from the tower to meet Alice’s. The vibrant yellow irises managed to stick out in the dark like little rings of hope. Ingrid gulped. No words needed to be exchanged. Even amongst all of the turmoil the two were going through, the eyes were still soft, concerned. They were making sure she was alright.

She gave a small nod, then took a deep, shaky breath in. Nodding once more, a bit more confidently this time, she continued behind Alice. All she had to do was trust her. She could ask her about the plan afterwards, but there wouldn’t be a chance for that if she froze up here, had a panic attack, and got both of them caught.

Her heart shot up into her throat as they passed the tower, pounding so hard it sounded like a percussion instrument. Alice didn’t flinch. Ingrid kept following. After the next minute that felt like an hour, they were at the wall. It was pieced together with wooden spires, sharpened at the tops. On the other side there were likely supports holding the walls up. Her heart sank. They felt incredibly solid. Would Kallen be able to break through them alright? A quick tap on her arm told her that now wasn’t the time to think about that.

Alice pointed at a spot at the base of the wall. It was still hidden from everything except from the tower only a dozen or so meters behind them. Opening up her mind to sense the life around her, she could tell that the coast was clear on the other side of the wall. No one would see them. She winced as she sensed the presence of the dark elf in the tower. Were they really this lucky? She stared at the place Alice had pointed out.

Ingrid gulped. She hadn’t used any magic since the giant wall around the warehouse. Last time she made something close to that scale was the tree in Lhanbryde, and she struggled to use even basic spells afterward. She had had nearly a week of downtime after the warehouse, but the worry was still there. She closed her eyes and mentally inspected the stone. It didn’t have any softer points or weaknesses that she could feel. All she needed was a tunnel. Not even a big one, just a couple of feet. She summoned a massive wall of stone around an entire warehouse. This was something far simpler.

Taking in a breath, she tried to steady her breathing. She tried to imagine the stone as a thin veil in front of her. Holding out her hands, she pressed against it, wincing as she did so. The strain from her still exhausted magic sent jolts of pain through both of her hands and up to her forearms. She wanted to stop, to pull her hands back from the veil and massage the stinging sensation that the jolts left away.

That wasn’t possible. Alice was right there, and she was counting on Ingrid. Ingrid had dragged her into this plan she didn’t want to do, and now she was going to be the one that quit before they had even really started? Gritting her teeth, she pushed through the veil, grabbing onto the sides of it like two sliding doors. Her breath caught in her throat has a particularly bad shot of pain, like someone had pinched a major nerve in both arms. Ignoring it as best she could, she pulled on the doors, struggling to pry them apart. Sweat dripped down her forehead, and the brief jolts from before became a constant burning pain in her hands and forearms.

She took in another quick breath, then pulled again. She let out a gasp as she felt some give for the first time. Just a little more. A little more and it would be enough for her and Alice to wriggle through. She felt a pop in her nose that she would worry about later. Spreading out her stance, she grunted with exertion as she repeated that mantra over and over again in her head.

Just a little more. Just a little more. Almost there. Don’t screw this up in front of Alice. Just a little. Bit. More!

Opening her eyes, she gasped a little more loudly than she had intended. Despite opening them, she couldn’t see anything. It was all just a hazy black void that began to show pinpricks of color at an agonizingly slow pace. Once she could actually start piecing together what she was looking at, she realized it was Alice, her face plagued with worry. Ingrid looked around and realized that she wasn’t standing. She must have fallen over, and Alice caught her. Her mask felt sticky against her face as she began to realize that the popping noise was most likely the start of a particularly bad bloody nose.

“Princess? Princess you with me?” She whispered, jostling her slightly.

Ingrid felt warm. Even in all of this, even with both of them at odds, Alice still cared.

Still the same Alice, She thought to herself, taking another deep breath. She nodded, using her staff as a support to bring herself to her feet. Her knees still felt wobbly. Turning to the base of the wall, she let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t large by any means, but staring her in the face was a small hole, just big enough for her and Alice to fit through.

“Y-Yeah, I’m okay,” She huffed, still short of breath. “Come on, we should keep moving, right? It’s easier to get caught if we stay in one place, right?”

Alice furrowed her brow. All Ingrid could think about was all the things she’d give just to know what was happening behind those eyes as they scanned her face. They gradually softened, finally turning away.

“Alright. I’ll go first,” She said quietly as she crouched down and crawled into the hole.

Ingrid quickly followed behind. It was cramped, but there was enough room for her to crawl through using her aching forearms to pull herself through. Once she was at the other side, she looked up to find Alice reaching a hand down to help her out. She took it without a second thought.

Despite the desire to dust herself off, she knew that the ‘dirty’ look was the only thing keeping her from immediately being clocked as a sun elf. If someone looked particularly close, they’d probably be able to tell anyway.

“Which way do we go?” She whispered to Alice.

Her friend leaned back, cracking her spine loudly as she stretched, then gestured to follow. “Pretty sure the prison’s this way. Keep close and stare straight ahead. Just look like you know what you’re doing.”

Ingrid grimaced. She could barely do that when she wasn’t in a camp full of people who would probably kill her on sight. Reluctantly accepting that there was no way her heart rate was going to slow down in the slightest, she followed her friend through the clusters of tents and wooden buildings.

After passing the first row, they were in the camp proper. Her heart pounded harder than she even thought possible as a burly dark elf woman walked past them, a spear on her back. Surprisingly enough, she didn’t seem to give the two a second glance. Ingrid let out a breath that she didn’t realize she was holding in.

“Hey, Princess, pretty sure that building over there’s where the angel is. Mind confirming it?” Alice asked quietly.

“Yes, give me just a moment,” she responded. Walking around with her eyes closed would probably attract unwanted attention, so she fought the instinct to close them as she tried to sense what was around them. It was always harder to do with her eyes open, strangely enough. It was like her brain could only take in so much information, and the visuals around her just clogged it up. She focused her mental prodding on the building that Alice had pointed out. She could ignore everywhere else, she just needed to sense what was in that singular building. There were a couple of presences, but one stood out. It felt warm, like sunlight. “She’s definitely in there.”

Alice nodded, not looking back as she adjusted their course to head towards the building. Every time they passed by another dark elf, Ingrid felt her heart stop. Her brain would scream at her that they were going to be the one to realize that they were infiltrators. She tried to focus on Alice. It wasn’t quite straight ahead, but it was close enough. It was something more tangible at the very least.

After what felt like an eternity, they approached the building. Alice looked back at her. Ingrid gave a nod. Now was the time to do this. Alice returned the nod, walking up the handful of steps to the door. As she reached out for the handle, the door swung open.

Ingrid was fairly certain her heart had legitimately stopped beating for a moment as a tall, smiling dark elven man looked down at them. He had an air about him that oozed as much confidence as Alice had back in the brothel. Messy silver hair that reminded her of her brothers covered his head. He glanced between them with deep crimson eyes as he leaned against the door. Covering his shirtless, muscular torso was an ornate tapestry of dragons and flowers that extended to his right arm and down to his fingertips.

He leaned down to look at Alice, the smile never leaving his face. “Yellow eyes? Neat, I like it,” he chimed.

Ingrid saw Alice reaching back and slipping her left hand into her pouch. He seemed to notice too.

He sucked in a breath. “Ooh, I wouldn’t do that. Don’t wanna cause a scene or any–” He was cut off mid sentence by Alice flicking her right hand out and up towards his throat. It was almost too fast for Ingrid to process. Somewhere in that blink of an eye, Alice had her dagger in hand and had thrust it directly at his neck without any warning. “Come on, I’ve used that trick too, whaddya take me for?” He laughed.

Ingrid’s heart sank as she saw his hand on Alice’s wrist, thumb pressed into the tendon. She heard Alice grunt as the knife fell out of her hand. Looking around, Ingrid began to see several armed dark elves approaching the group, weapons drawn. Her heart was pounding, and she could feel the air cooling as she started to lose control of her breathing.

“Ah! Where are my manners,” The man grinned. “My name’s Berith. It’s a pleasure to meet you ladies! I guess you could say I’m a big fan.”