Since setting out from the inn, farmlands dominated the landscape, and I was saddened that I did not get to see them fully grown. Save for a short stop for lunch, where I utilized Qubit's new trick, we spent the entire day on the road. With the sun beating down, the journey felt like it would never end, but at the very least it gave me plenty of time to simply think.

There was nothing concrete that I ended up thinking about but rather summed up what I thought were potential futures for me, both good and really bad, as well as played out various scenarios on what I imagined I would or could do in them. I knew it was silly but it passed the time, took my mind off the glaring sun, and gave me a false sense of confidence that I was sure was going to dissipate the moment any of my imagined scenarios actually happened. This was a common occurrence for me, as I tended to do this whenever I was nervous or anxious about something, and truth be told, I was worried about what would happen when this journey reaches its end.

As the sun finally began to set, I felt myself finally release the tension that I had been holding in my body, making me feel exhausted despite only sitting all day. Staying out in the sun was definitely not going to be good for my nerves, and unless I could get used to it, was a big deterrent to becoming a mercenary if I would have to constantly travel under these conditions.

I'd have to take all the night shifts in whatever it is I end up doing if there are any. At least those are typically unwanted.

As the sky darkened, I removed my veil to get a better view as our destination, which seemed to be a stone-walled town, came into sight. There were a couple of sources of light illuminating the gate, but compared to what I was used to in the modern-day, the entire town may as well be completely in the dark. The town itself seemed to be shaped vaguely rectangular and was smaller than I expected. Surrounding the town proper was a small stretch of clear land beyond which various buildings were sparsely dotted around the farmlands. Arriving even closer, I saw there was a river running on the outside of the left side of the wall, which seemed to have been built right on its bank.

The roads outside the city were deserted, but within the gate with its portcullis raised, there were people milling about, presumably guards. There were quite a few milling about, a couple with lanterns in hand, all of which turned to us the moment they noticed the cart approaching, making us all squint. They seemed to be agitated as their hands immediately flew to the swords at their hips. The sudden tension melted just as quickly as it started when Lucie brought the cart to a halt and raised her hands.

"Miss Decker? Oh, thank the stars you have returned." One of the guards stepped forward after motioning for the lanterns to be lowered.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"A spirit has slipped beyond the walls and is killing people. Horrible deaths. No witnesses yet so we don't even know what to expect. People are afraid to step outside at night."

"Bloody hells, when did this start?" Larry jumped out of the cart and strode forward, a deep worry on his face.

"Four days ago. We don't know when the poor lass was killed, but she was found a little past midnight. Fresh. We immediately began a search and found a second body." As the guard talked, his expression grew grim as if he was beginning to feel sick from the memory.

"That's the day we left. That cannot be a coincidence. How many have turned up?"

"Five so far. All young lasses. Two were found on the second day and one on the third. Nothing so far today, and hopefully it stays that way. Everyone is being cautious and cutting. You all should too if only to ease the people's minds." The guard lifted his open hand for us to see, and I was confused for a moment until I saw the line of dried blood on his thumb.

Without hesitation, Larry partially unsheathed his sword and quickly ran his left thumb over the edge. He did not show any sign of discomfort in his expression as he did it, and soon enough Lucie and Tristan followed suit with their own blades. Seeing them cut themselves so calmly made me wince inside, and I realized I was going to have to do it too when the guard turned to me with a seemingly questioning gaze.

"She can't cut herself," Lucie interjected before I could do anything, confused as to the meaning of this ritual. "She is an ascended we met on the way and helped us fight a spirit."

"Not a good time to be visiting." There was initially a look of surprise on the guard's face before it turned into pity. "There might be a lynching if you aren't careful. Do you have a place to stay? I would not recommend going to an inn now with people on edge."

I gave a brief look of confusion to Lucie next to me who returned a reassuring smile.

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"Don't worry, you can stay with us. We have plenty of room to spare, especially with the villagers of Evergreen soon to be on their way."

"We aren't a charity you know," Tristan called out, displeasure distinct in his voice.

"We agreed that Feli... Baron Thornton will make the final decision when he returns, if he hasn't already, and knowing him there is no way he would refuse to help in the first place." Lucie spoke pointedly, speaking half to Tristan and half to me, although an annoyed expression was creeping in over her smile.

"Unfortunately, the Baron has not yet returned. It is why we have been eagerly waiting for you all to come back. The mercenary guild doesn't care, and there is no one here to talk some sense into them. Most of my men are greenhorns, and I can't say even I have much experience actually fighting a spirit that is not only presumably the size of a man but been gorging itself with mana, should we actually find it."

"Oh, this is just wonderful." Larry remarked sarcastically as he looked down and scratched the back of his head in thought, "The smart ones are always the worst, and from the sound of it, this one fits the bill. What about the church? I can't imagine Andre sitting still while this is happening."

"He has been staying awake at night ready to help us fight it, but with just him able to confidently face the spirit and willing to do so, had to stay where we could find and call on him. Said he will help us search as soon as you all return."

"We'll go see him now then. Afterward, we will need to rest a bit if we are to fight another spirit. Call on us anyway if ya do find it though. Tomorrow we will speak to the mercenary guild as soon as they are open, but can't make any promises. You know how they are."

"Couldn't ask for more."

I felt out of place as I listened in, and, as glad as I was to have a place to stay, felt a sense of dread creeping in as memories of my encounters with the werewolf flashed through my mind. Being associated with my three travel companions seems to entail a certain amount of contact with dangerous spirits, and dearly hoped I would not have to face or even see one anytime soon.

We rode past the gate, with Larry walking beside us and watchful of our deserted surroundings. The streets were narrow, with the one we were on heading straight into what seemed to be an open plaza, with the black silhouette of a church looming over the rest of the buildings in the night. Once we got closer and entered the square plaza from one of the corners, I could see many stalls having been set up, but all closed and deserted, with the only sign of life being what appears to be a patrol of three guards on the other end. Diagonally to our right was the church entrance, wide open and lit up from the inside. It faced the river on the opposite end of the town from it, making a straight line all the way from its entrance, across the plaza, down another street, and to a distant gate.

"It's eerie, it being this quiet. Everyone must be really spooked." Larry commented, as the only sounds heard were the wheels of our cart and the hooves of the horse on the cobbled street.

I had to agree with him, but I was also impressed by how compact the entire town was built. Most of the buildings seemed to be three stories tall, with the occasional four-story building, while the only ones smaller being those adjacent to the walls. For the most part, stone was used to construct the lower floors and wood for the upper ones.

We stopped the cart by the steps of the church and everyone hopped off.

"You should come along. No sense waiting out in the cold and it might be good for you to meet Andre. He has a huge collection of maps from across the world. It's quite amazing, actually." Larry said to me before heading up to the open doors.

"He does? I've always wanted to see what the mainland looks like." Lucie voiced her curiosity as she followed along, seemingly not worried about Chestnut walking off.

With no better alternative, I followed suit and found, once we got through the circular, walled vestibule, that rather than filled with pews, it was set up more like a dining hall, with two long, low tables running down the length of the room, at the end of which a large fireplace roared behind a podium. Along the walls were windowsills lined with unlit candles, under which were cupboards filled with what appeared to be mats and blankets. Two beautiful, ornate chandeliers whose candles stretched far out illuminated a high ceiling glittering with gold pain like stars. The tall but thin stained windows running along the walls possessed metal shutters with large bolts to keep them shut, but were currently wide open. The tiles on the floor were patterned like a long, golden diamond made out of triangles and running up the length of the hall up to the podium, with three hexagonal rings surrounding it as if they were orbiting it.

With the main hall being deserted, we continued on to the door to the left of the fireplace, where Larry knocked before opening it without waiting for a response. Following behind, we entered an office that was packed with bookshelves lined with books, scrolls, and various wooden boxes. Another smaller fireplace was lit within, providing a pleasant warmth to the room. Sitting behind a desk, with his feet crossed on the table and leaning back with a steaming mug in hand, wearing deep blue robes with yellow accents was a man that looked to be somewhere between his late 20s to early 30s. He had blonde hair, matching neat stubble, piercing ice-blue eyes, and a face that almost seemed chiseled to perfection. If this was back on Earth, I would have guessed he was a Scandinavian model.

As we filed in, he raised his mug in greeting before taking a sip, his eyes going over each of us and our sorry, dirty states from the fight, and eventually lingering on me. It was slightly unnerving.

"We heard some serious stuff at the gate. What's been going on?" Larry inquired as he took a seat in one of the two chairs opposite from the priest, presumably Andre.

"You sure missed out on a lot but seems like something interesting happened on your end too. Who's that?" The priest asked without taking his eyes off me.

"An ascended we met on the way. She helped us, but that's not important right now."

"I guess it can wait." He conceded with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "We do have a monster to sniff out."