"So, you believe the problem is not natural, and it is coming from within the jungle," Ralis summarized what Feyrith had told her once he was done explaining the situation to her. They'd just sat through a town meeting that was meant to replace the one that had been interrupted the day before. It had been decided that one of the new elves would go with the humans to protect them and help them get stone so they could fortify the town, while the other would stay here to defend the town if needed. Just as the meeting had finished and he'd walked outside, Ralis had called him aside to speak to him.

That was good, though. Feyrith had been meaning to talk to her about what he, Arbane, and Lanna had found out, anyway, and there hadn't been much time to talk about it at the meeting itself. If Feyrith had more tangible evidence, perhaps it would have been discussed more closely, but as it was, the humans' primary concern was to make the town as defended against other attacks as possible, which Feyrith could not fault them for in the least—it made perfect sense.

"Strange magical energies have been coming from there as of late," Ralis continued, her eyes narrowed in thought. "But it has not been significant enough to go explore such dangerous territory."

Feyrith's eyes widened a little. That sounded very familiar. "I was sent to investigate strange energies to a ruin south of here."

"You mean where your magic was taken?" Ralis asked, and Feyrith nodded.

There were many different types of magical energies, this didn't have to mean anything, and yet Feyrith couldn't help but connect the two. The more he thought about it the more he was starting to think that those energies had appeared only to lure him in. Surely the elves who had captured him had been planning to do what they'd done. He wasn't sure how Edwyr fit into this, but it seemed odd that they had been ready to take Feyrith's magic like this. Either way, if those energies had been meant to do more than simply get an elf to come investigate, then it still meant that it had been caused by those elves, which meant that this might have been, too.

"I unfortunately know nothing about your mission," Ralis said, letting out a deep breath. It didn't show on her face, but Feyrith could tell she was frustrated by this, and understandably so. If she knew something more about his mission, perhaps some detail Feyrith had not been privy to, it would make their deduction easier. "But if these energies you were sent to investigate were somehow caused by a rogue group of elves, then...."

Feyrith nodded, relieved that she was coming to the same conclusion, though he couldn't help but feel strange about it. It still felt like he was being far too subjective with his deductions. "Even if this is not connected, I do believe the problem is coming from within the jungle. But I have no idea how to traverse it safely in order to discover what it is."

Ralis straightened up, her eyes lighting up with interest. "That is a problem I may have a solution to."

Feyrith blinked at her. He'd not been expecting that in the slightest. "Truly?"

"I was working with others on something that would allow for exploration of the jungle." Feyrith didn't miss the grimace of displeasure on the other elf's face at those words. "We devised a tent of sorts that would be enough to give anyone looking to stay within the jungle protection against the beasts."

Feyrith wasn't sure what he'd been imagining but a tent was not it. It seemed so...simple. Still, if it could shield them from the animals, then it was much better than nothing. He had trouble imagining it, though. Wouldn't a beast easily break a tent apart?

"The Council did not like our idea because it needed to involve illusion magic to work, however," Ralis continued, her tone now outright annoyed. "But seeing as I have come here without permission, using illusion magic will hardly make things worse."

"Illusion magic?" The words left a strange taste in Feyrith's mouth. This type of magic was forbidden, and even though he'd been banished, it still seemed wrong to consider using it on some level. A level he would ignore. "So the tent would appear to be something else?"

"Yes, precisely," Ralis replied, bowing her head. It was such a normal elven gesture, and yet after living with humans for a month Feyrith couldn't help but feel taken aback by it. "We envisioned the tent to look like a boulder, and even made a spell to make the surface as strong as a rock as well, in case a beast decided to interact with it in some way, but we never got to create it."

So there was a way to survive in the jungle after all. It would be cumbersome to constantly set the tent up and recast the spell because while he didn't know much about illusion magic, he knew that it had to be maintained to some extent, but at least it would give them a way to rest in the jungle without constantly worrying about their lives.

"So, you would...accompany me?" It felt awkward to ask, likely because going into the jungle was insanely dangerous, but Feyrith had to ask.

"Yes, of course," Ralis replied easily as if she couldn't think of a single reason why a mission like this would be problematic. "But first we must help reinforce the town. And gather fabric to build the tent."

Feyrith nodded, more than on board with this plan, even though he wasn't sure what he could do to help. He supposed he'd just go find Lanna and Arbane and see what they were doing and help with that.

"I wish I did not have to leave this place," Ralis said softly, her voice full of regret. "But if the beasts truly are being driven out by something within the jungle, then the way to help the humans is to put a stop to that. And without my help, you will not survive."

Feyrith knew she was simply stating a fact, and yet he felt his stomach tie itself into knots. He might very well die attempting this, even with Ralis present, but he found himself undeterred. The elves' primary goal was protecting humans, and he was going to do his best, even without magic.

Having nothing else to discuss for the moment, Feyrith went to search for Arbane and Lanna. But he barely made it a few steps before they appeared from behind a nearby house and waved him over. Frowning, Feyrith followed, not sure what this was about. Both the humans seemed upset, but there could be plenty of reasons for that. Solely the situation they were in was enough.

"You're planning on going into the jungle," Lanna said once Feyrith reached them, not even making it sound like a question. She sounded accusing more than anything, but her eyes seemed hurt instead of angry.

"Yes. The answer must be there."

"Look, Fey, Lanna is just upset you didn't tell us," Arbane explained, sounding more calm, though he was frowning, his lips pursed, clearly unhappy with the situation, as well. "I am a little upset, too."

"I would have said goodbye, of course," Feyrith replied, feeling a little offended that they were assuming he'd just disappear without a word, especially when he might never return. But clearly that was the wrong thing to say because Lanna's previous frown turned into a glare as she huffed.

"We're going with you," she said, her voice stern and resolute, folding her arms over her chest. "No arguments."

"But what about Sunwood?" Feyrith argued, despite of what Lanna had just said. The woman's eyes softened, but she looked no less determined to accompany him.

"With these attacks happening so often, everyone's been training to fight. And Kass and her people are excellent fighters," Lanna said, smiling. Feyrith must have missed something last night, though if Ayd was considered to be in that group, he had to agree. "The two of us won't make a big difference against this many beasts."

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Feyrith supposed she had a point, and of course Lanna and Arbane could decide what to do for themselves, but it still didn't feel right to him. But then again, because of this, Ralis would be leaving also, and her presence made a much bigger difference than that of the two humans, no matter how good they were at fighting, so perhaps he was being illogical.

Feyrith wished there was another way, but unfortunately, there wasn't.

"Are you certain about this?"

Arbane grinned. "Of course we are. We wouldn't ambush you like this if we weren't. Now come on, let's go help around here."

Feyrith followed the two humans down the street, watching the people around them work on their houses. Some were fixing up their roofs, while others were nailing wooden planks over their windows, or carrying material around. There were no quasir to be found, those that weren't off with the people gathering stone likely hidden away somewhere other than the vulnerable stable.

They spent the day going from one house to the next, helping out with whatever the people living there needed. Feyrith took all of the less difficult tasks on account of his lack of experience with manual labor, but he was pleased with his abilities, even if the task at hand only involved hammering a nail or carrying something somewhere. It felt good to help, even if due to his lack of magic his ability to do so had been decreased tenfold.

He was almost shocked when he noticed the sun was going down when he finished boarding up what felt like the twentieth window. He couldn't believe the day was almost over already, though his sore muscles were more than proof of that even if the sunset wasn't enough.

He just hoped that the night would be calmer than the one that had come before.

Feyrith didn't stop working, though, not while there was still some daylight left, and was about to walk over to the next window when he heard people talking with excitement somewhere at the end of the street. He turned around, looking for whatever had caused that reaction, only to see Enaryl talking with Ralis, surrounded by the people who had left to gather stone that morning. And behind them, just beyond the gate, was a large, quasir-drawn carriage full of grey rock.

They'd been successful, then. They had left town with three such carriages, which must have been out of sight outside. He doubted that even with this much stone there would be enough to fortify the entirety of the wall, but even a large section would be much better than nothing.

Feyrith watched the group discuss something he couldn't hear, likely where to put the stone and how best to do it, before Ralis walked away and Enaryl turned to the humans, walking outside through the gate again. Only then did Feyrith turn his attention back to the task at hand.

Once he was done boarding up the windows, he looked around, trying to find more houses with yet unprotected windows. But he couldn't find any anywhere near him. Deciding to just look around and see if anyone needs help with anything he could manage, he started to walk, heading toward the town center. All around him, humans were working hard trying to fix up their houses as much as possible before nightfall, but their movements were slower than they were in the morning, their eyes tired and their shoulders slumped. It was clear they were exhausted, but Feyrith couldn't help but appreciate their dedication and determination to continue anyway.

Over the noise of people working and talking, though, he noticed arguing. At first, he was tempted to ignore it and keep walking but then he realized who the voice belonged to, and immediately he turned around. He didn't much feel like involving himself in yet another argument Ralis and Ayd were having, but he felt he had to. He couldn't help but feel disappointed that what he'd said yesterday had apparently had no effect.

But when he made his way around a house to get to them, he didn't see the anger he'd witnessed yesterday.

"What is it to you if I want to come with? You need all the help you can get," Ayd snapped, glaring at Ralis who narrowed her eyes at him.

Feyrith blinked. Ayd wanted to join them? How had he found out about what was being planned? Only then did Feyrith notice the large, multi-colored tent standing behind Ralis. The thing had been made up of several types of fabric, but there were no visible stitches, which meant that Ralis must have knitted the cloth together with magic. The tent stood up seemingly on its own, but Feyrith assumed Ralis had used some kind of spell to make it stay like that. He was very curious as to what it would look like once magic had been used to disguise it.

"You may be Cursed, but I do not wish for you to die," Ralis said, making Ayd frown harder. But before he could say anything back, Feyrith cut in.

"If you want to come with us, your help would be greatly appreciated."

Ayd flinched, looking at Feyrith, but his momentarily surprise quickly turned into a small smile. He seemed strangely unbothered by the fact that they could all very well be going to their deaths, but Feyrith appreciate the support.

"The smaller our group is, the better our chances of staying unnoticed and therefore surviving," Ralis told Feyrith, clearly dubious about this. If she had a problem with Ayd joining them, she was certainly not going to like that Lanna and Arbane were as well, but he needed to tell her about that because he wouldn't go back on his promise to let them join. And so he did.

Thankfully, Ralis' face didn't change much aside from a displeased turn of her lips. "We will need a bigger tent, it seems." Then she fixed Feyrith with a stern stare. "Do not invite anyone else. Inviting more humans along is of little benefit."

Feyrith nodded, even though what Ralis had said felt somewhat insulting to the humans. They were very capable, no matter how the elves tended to think of them as helpless. But he agreed in essence. The more people they brought the more difficult it would be to stay hidden in the jungle. Even just not getting separated would be a bigger problem with a larger group, and there were few benefits to having more people with them, not in an environment like that when even getting around on quasir would be difficult.

Ralis turned around and pulled her staff off her shoulder, pointing it at the tent. "Crysla fens osri kes lenthareth."

As soon as the words were spoken, the air around the tent shivered, making it look blurry for a second before slowly but surely, the image cleared as the tent began to transform, changing from a variety of colors to dark gray, and its shape turned bulky, jagged, and rough, until finally there was a massive boulder standing in the tent's place. It still roughly retained the proportions of the tent, being much wider than tall, but it looked perfectly convincing.

"Are you serious?" Ayd said as he laughed, touching the disguised tent. Feyrith thought the elf was mocking Ralis, but the delighted grin on his face was more than enough to prove him wrong. Feyrith found himself relaxing a little. He only hoped Ayd and Ralis would stay this civil during their journey.

Then Ralis cast another spell, this one made of many words that Feyrith didn't recognize. It made him wonder what Circle Ralis was in that she was so knowledgeable in magic. There was no noticeable difference when it came to their boulder tent, but Feyrith knew what it had done before Ayd even touched it again. The surface of the tent had turned rock hard.

He watched Ayd rap his knuckles against the tent, still grinning when he turned to face Feyrith and Ralis. "This is very good."

"My research team thought so as well," said Ralis, sounding just slightly pleased with herself. Not that Feyrith could blame her. This was very effective, even if the Council refused to allow Ralis and her team to use it. It truly made Feyrith wonder just why the Council hated illusions so much.

"Could this work for something like a cape?" Ayd suggested, his head tilted in thought.

"I cannot imagine that a moving rock would not draw attention," Ralis replied, her voice flat, to which Ayd rolled his eyes.

"It doesn't have to be a rock, does it? It could be something like a bush to blend into the environment. Or better yet, invisibility."

Feyrith expected another fight to break out, but Ralis just sighed. "Well, disregarding the fact that even partial invisibility has never properly been achieved, it would take weeks or even months to create a spell that could possibly to some extent replicate the effect. We do not have time."

Ayd looked somewhat disappointed, but he begrudgingly shrugged, clearly agreeing with Ralis' sentiment.

"Wonderful. Then I suggest you ready yourselves. We leave at dawn." Ralis threw the staff over her shoulder again. "I need to go procure more fabric."

And with that she left, walking up to the road leading to the Elder's house. Feyrith swallowed, suddenly hit with a wave of nervousness. Dawn was far too close for his tastes, though he knew that the sooner they left the better for everyone. But what if they failed? What if they died? What if—

"It will be fine," said Ayd, interrupting Feyrith's thoughts.

"You can't know that."

A wry smile appeared on Ayd's face. "Sure. But you can't know it will go wrong."

Feyrith wanted to argue, but there was nothing to argue against. Technically, Ayd was correct, even though them failing was much more likely than them succeeding.

"Thinking about what might go wrong won't help," Ayd continued, giving Feyrith a sympathetic grimace. "You said it yourself. We have to stop this. I don't want what happened to my village to happen anywhere else."

Feyrith nodded, feeling more than a little guilty for momentarily forgetting what Ayd had been through. Goddess only knew how many friends he'd lost that day, and Feyrith hadn't truly thought about it until now.

Ayd patted his shoulder. "So, it will be fine. We will stop whatever is riling those beasts up and save the day."

Feyrith couldn't help but smile at him, feeling some of his anxiety lessening. Ayd's unwavering resolve was infectious, it seemed. Realistically, Feyrith still didn't think the chances of them surviving were high, but he would try not to let that overwhelm him.

They had a mission to complete and thinking about how they could all die was not going to make him effective at completing said mission. The lives of every single human living in the north at least hung in the balance. They would not fail at preserving those lives. They couldn't.

But despite telling himself that, there was no ignoring the clawing doubt in his heart.