After an hour's rest, the group packed up and continued following down the trail where the scent of their friends lingered. Felix and Reta took their turn at the front with her holding the reins. They didn't move with haste, keeping a slow but steady pace due to the rough terrain they were in. Dirt paths were a luxury they hadn't seen since entering this forest, and the dense fog made it all too easy to get lost.

  Still, everyone kept still in solemn silence, gently rocking and bouncing as they moved along. Reta even slouched forward, resting her elbows on her knees with half-open eyes staring ahead at gray mist. Felix leaned to the side rail of the front bench, his weight on his left arm with a fist on his cheek to keep him in a sitting position.

  His eyes fshed wide open, rejuvenated and sitting upright in full alert. The motion startled Reta by how fast he reacted, gncing at him in bewilderment.

  "Is something burdening you?"

  "I hear moving waters." He said, his serious tone bringing forth a sense of urgency. "There's something ahead."

  Reta didn't hesitate, tugging at the reins so that the horses would slow down. Keeping his eyes peered ahead, Felix swung his arm around and knocked at the side of the carriage.

  Knock-knock-knock!

  He waited a few seconds for them to signal back.

  Knock!

  The women inside knew how to respond, they practiced this on the first night when they started this journey. Nyitzcha fastened the belt around her, keeping her pouches ready. Janette pulled the bnkets off and grabbed her book, motioning for Vardare to swoop in. He nodded back and flew into the open book, allowing her to close it shut and tuck it into her satchel.

  "There!" He pointed ahead, his friend waiting several seconds for the fog to clear up. She pulled the carriage to a complete stop, climbing down the carriage with Felix by her side. They found themselves faced with the aftermath of another attack, before them stood a dozen corpses scattered across the ground. Felix looked around, his heart racing as he knelt down and pced a hand on a body's chest pte. He was one of the few that wore dense metal armor, though its appearance was aged with a bit of rust and wear as evident by the scratches and dents around it. Most of the other bodies wore leather armor around their chest, possibly archers judging by the crossbows some of them carried.

  What stood out most was the sigil these armored men wore, the sunflower emblem. The same imagery Perdilius paraded around with his group.

  Felix clenched the sigil around his fist, tearing it off and stuffing it into his bag.

  "What for?" Reta asked, standing by him.

  "Just in case." He responded, scanning around the pce. "Whatever happened here, I'd much rather not be in the receiving end of it."

  Reta turned around and whistled back, signaling the others that it was safe to approach. Just as Nyitzcha pulled the carriage in, Janette stepped out and audibly gasped, cupping her mouth and looking away.

  "Oh gods." She muttered, averting her eyes from the dreaded spectacle.

  Nyitzcha walked by and whistled. "Huh, quite a show."

  Reta moved past the bodies toward the sound of rushing waters, coming to a ledge with a few wooden stakes with rope draped down the cliffside. This was a ravine, a split between the earth with a heavy drop and a waterfall at the right side. Looking across, she could make out the ruins of a bridge at the other side, connected to a tunnel where the path should have taken them to.

  "Hm." She kicked a pebble off, watching it take several seconds before spshing into the bottom coursing river below. With a shake of her head, she retreated back as Nyitzcha's face scrunched up upon noticing something.

  "Hold on a tick," She squatted down, reaching out and plucking an arrow off a dead man's neck. "Ah crap."

  "What is it?" Felix looked up.

  The dwarf scoffed and tossed the arrow over her shoulder in disgust. "Fuckin' wild pointy ears, das what. We got tree huggers makin' a fuss with d'ese preachers 'ere."

  "Tree huggers?" Felix asked, completely lost by her vocabury.

  "Elves!" She bellowed, marching off and turning a body on its back. "Found me a bugger right 'ere."

  Felix and Reta caught up behind her, peaking over her head. This body was different from the others by the clothes he wore, if they could call it that. He wore leather but not the same simple type that the others did, this was crude, fastened around his legs and chest, and his body was painted with green markings with a hood draped over his head and a mask concealing his face.

  "See?" She called out, pulling his hood off and plucking the mask crudely. "See dem paint marks on his face? Pointed ears, tanned skin, youthful complexion? D'ese aren't yer ordinary social elves ye see hitching around, and dey ain't them royal High Elves thinking they high an' mightier den us. D'ese are Woodnd Elves, stuck up nature lovers who prefer livin' in de woods and rollin' round in the dirt."

  "Not a fan of them?" Felix joked.

  She scoffed and tossed the mask to him. "No more d'en d'ey are of us."

  "Are you almost done over there?" Janette cried out from the carriage, her loud voice causing an echo.

  Felix waved back when a body coughed out, hacking and choking. His legs kicked out and his gloved hands cwed at his throat, startling the others. Felix scrambled over and threw himself to the man's side, kicking up dust and removing the stranger's helmet. His wet bck hair clung to his scalp with traces of blood on the side of his head.

  This man's blue eyes fell on Felix, grasping at his colr with a fixed grip, his skin pale with bck veins appearing at the neck. Felix spotted the arrow sticking out from the man's waist, resembling the same poisoned arrows they found at the fort ruins.

  "You-You." The man's raspy voice sputtered, trembling as he forced the words out. "You're not one of ours."

  Felix held the man up. "Where did the others go? Where have you taken the girls?"

  This man blinked, his eyes lit up as a malicious smile crossed his face, revealing his bloodied teeth. "I know you," He gargled out, spewing blood down his chin. "You're the boy who was shacking with them beastkin. Fancy sticking yer prick in those monsters so much that you come to find them? P-Pathetic."

  Felix clenched his teeth when Nyitzcha pulled him back, straddling around the soldier and sitting on his waist. "Ye see dis?" She asked, holding up a bck bead.

  The man watched as she tossed the bead up high and snapped her fingers. "Ignis!"

  Boom!

  The soldier's eyes fred up, his heart racing as the dwarf dug into his pants and stuffed a few beads down his undergarments.

  Nyitzcha fshed him a cheeky grin. "Be a good boy an' tell us what happened, or I be blowing yer load so hard yer legs be soaring 'cross de clouds like a birdie."

  "No-no, stop!" He pleaded, panting loudly and turning his head to Felix. "You want the girls, right? F-Father Perdilius, he took 'em! T-Took 'em into the mountain pass o-over there!"

  He reached out with a trembling hand, pointing at the tunnel where the toppled bridge used to lead into.

  Felix turned his head, agitated by the sight. "Aaaa damn it! Tell us there's another way through!"

  Nyitzcha gave the man a warning look as he shook his head frantically. "Yes-yes! U-Up across the mountain side, you'll have to travel over it."

  "That looks like it would take a few days' worth." Janette mentioned, peering at them from a few feet away. She kept her arms wrapped around her in discomfort, keeping a hand up to block the sight of the other corpses from her peripheral vision.

  "What the hells happened to ye lot?" Nyitzcha asked.

  "We were ambushed," He coughed out, chest fring up as the bck veins spread out further across his skin with each breath. "Ack! Ca-Caught by a flurry of arrows. Nasty Rangers stuck me good."

  Felix gnced up ahead, spotting a metal cage beside the ledge. "What of the girls?"

  "Did-didn't see 'em, I thinks Father took 'em with." He sputtered, pressing his hands into the wound on his belt. He clenched up and turned to the side, spitting out more blood to clear his airways. "Gods, please! Please, give me somethin' fer the pain!"

  Nyitzcha stood up from his p, arms crossed. She gave Felix a look as he nodded back in approval.

  "Here." She reached out, offering the wounded soldier some herbs.

  "Ellena's Grace?" He chuckled, his gloved hand pinching at the stem.

  "Chew it." She instructed. "Should damper the pain, help you pass like yer yin' yer head on a women's p."

  "No antidote?" He looked between their faces, with Reta shaking her head sealing his fate. He plucked the herb into his mouth and chewed, swallowing it fast.

  Felix set him back down when the man grabbed his tunic. "Wait! Wait, please!"

  "What now?" He asked.

  The man dug under his armor, fishing out a crumbled note and pcing it into Felix's hand. "Please, give d'is to my son Vasil. T-Tell him I'm sorry, tell him to be strong. Tell him-"

  He choked, gargling on blood and breaking into a coughing fit. His skin churned into a ghostly white complexion, the bck veins crawling under his skin like death's grasp embracing him to his fate. Felix looked on with sadness, watching this grown man older than him reaching death's door.

  "T-Tell him- Tell him Ruso loves... h-him-" He gasped out, his body slowly calming down until his breath faded into a lingering sigh. Felix knelt down, closing the pale man's eyes. He unrolled the note in his hand, seeing a rather well drawn sketch of a young boy stuffing his cheeks with stew. Janette inched over his shoulder as he turned the drawing around, seeing the name Vasil written across it.

  Standing up in silence, Felix carefully folded the drawing and pocketed it.

  Nyitzcha dug into the man's pants, retrieving the beads left there much to Reta's disgust. Janette reached out for Felix's arm.

  "What now?" She asked, watching him stare across the ravine. He turned his head over toward the waterfall, recalling the man's instructions.

  "We take the long way, simple as that." He stated, staring across at the tunnel entry. "We're so close, I can feel it. So damn close."

  "We'll get there, Felix." She comforted him, "Give it time."

  "The longer it takes, the more I worry."

  "As do I, but what can we do?" She argued back, "We're doing the best we can."

  "I fear that my best isn't enough." He muttered, gazing at the dense forest to their right.

  "Oy!" Nyitzcha called out, demanding their attention. "I know we's all moving across over d'ere, but how we doin' dat with the carriage? Ain't no way we pushin' dat thing up those slopes!"

  "Trees might not offer enough room either." Reta added, crossing her arms.

  "See? Even Nori acknowledges dis." The dwarf stated.

  "Stop calling me that." Reta hissed.

  Snap!

  Felix turned his head around. "Shit, hide!"

  The women looked at him with puzzled expressions.

  "What?" Janette asked.

  "Hide!" He ushered in a low voice, dashing toward the carriage. "Someone's coming from the woods!"

  "Bugger." Nyitzcha muttered, sprinting as fast as her little legs could carry her.

  Janette climbed up the front reins of the carriage when Felix shook his head. "No-no, that's too slow!"

  He looked over as voices called out from the trees. In a panic, he tripped and scurried over to a nearby bush, climbing through and prickling his clothes through the thorns. He didn't see where Reta and Nyitzcha hid, but Janette managed to climb down the carriage when she hunched over and clutched her tummy in pain. The wound she received from a bolt the other week had not fully healed, and it came back to bite her at her most vulnerable.

  It was too te, the carriage was clumsily left out in the open and she could hear people fast approaching. Prying the door open, she climbed inside the carriage and covered herself with her bnkets.

  Felix shook his head, frustrated but unable to help her. His eyes peered out as a trio of Rangers appeared from the high trees, running down the thick branches with ease before sliding down its vines and nding at the scene.

  They resembled the same attire as the dead one before, draped in brown leather with hoods and masks to hide their faces. Only these ones came armed with bows and jagged daggers hilted at their thighs. One of them signaled the other two with hand motions, instructing them to spread out. They roamed around, inspecting the bodies and keeping an arrow pulled back, ready to fire.

  Felix scooted in, his chest pressed into the grass as he aimed for a better look. It was hard to tell what gender they were, as all three were slim and defined, with subtle curves at their waist and a bit of plump to their thighs. Their arms were bare, revealing their toned skin and green tattoos painted on like stripes across their biceps. They wore guards on their forearms, with gloves meant for climbing and enhancing grip strength.

  The nearest Ranger held his bow out, pacing around the lonely carriage as the horses watched and huffed, stomping a hoof and flicking their tails. They didn't care, probably just curious as they watched these newcomers inspect them. This archer whistled at their buddies to approach them, staying close as they threw the carriage open and looked inside.

  "Please." Felix whispered, praying that they didn't see her. "Please."

  "Hey, don't!" He closed his eyes, his heart dropping as he heard that familiar voice cry out. "Look, it's just me. I-I'm unarmed!"

  Janette was pulled from her carriage, her bnkets tossed aside as she was thrusted against the cart with a dagger pointed to her naval.

  "No please! Please don't, I'm begging you!" She held her hand up, eyes clenched shut.

  The Ranger traced their dagger down her dress, noting the pained look on her face and her hand pressed to her stomach. They pulled her hand away, revealing the scar imprinted on her from the bolt.

  "Hurt." She opened her eyes, met with the green eyes of this Ranger calling out to her. "Are you hurt?"

  "Y-Yes." She nervously responded, "Please, look I-I don't know anything. I don't know what happened."

  "Why are you here?" The Ranger asked.

  Felix figured that this one was a man by his voice.

  "T-traveling, I'm traveling!"

  "She does not belong!" His friend called out, pointing his arrow at her. "We should just end this now and take this cart for its worth."

  "No-no please, look if it's values you want, you-you can just take it!" She bargained, patting at the carriage. "I didn't bring much, only foods and clothing."

  "Lots of clothing for one woman." The third one, a woman, called out as she inspected their bags at the back. "She's not alone."

  "I am! I am alone, I was never good at dating heh."

  The first Ranger narrowed his eyes, stepping back as his friend inched his bow over to her face.

  Janette sunk down, her eyes staring at the arrow with her hands raised. "Please!"

  "No'Vak, drop it." The first Ranger called out, lowering his friends bow.

  "Drop it yourself!" He shed out, pushing the Ranger away. "You know what happened the st time we let travelers in. No more, none!"

  Felix was ready to pick himself up when someone whispered out to him. "Psst!"

  Nyitzcha hid behind a tree to his right, digging her hand into her pouch and scooping out a fistful of powder beads. Felix traded one st look at the Rangers before giving her the okay.

  "Where are the others you travel with?" The second Ranger demanded as the woman Ranger held Janette up with a dagger to her throat.

  "I-I don't know, I'm alone I swear!"

  "Where are they!?"

  Janette froze as several beads rolled across the floor until one of them tapped the second Ranger's foot.

  Nyitzcha raised her hand for Felix to see, counting down with each digit.

  Five.

  Four.

  Janette slid down the carriage, climbing aboard the front as the Rangers stared at the beads.

  Three.

  Two.

  Felix braced himself, curling his hands into fists as Nyitzcha giggled to herself with one finger left.

  One.

  "Ignis!" She called out, revealing herself and snapping her fingers.

  KA-BOOM!

  Sylver