Only a few hours had gone by, and even though I'd taken a nap in my armor, it wasn't as restful as I'd hoped. "Good morning, sleepy-head," Ysevel's voice reached my ears, followed by a gentle kiss. "Fuck me, is it time to go already?" I asked in a drowsy voice. "I would, but unfortunately, it's time to go," she chuckled and helped me to my feet. "Damn, foiled again," I groaned sarcastically, rubbing my eyes and shaking my head to wake up more quickly.
"Are you sure about Ed coming along?" she asked, to which I nodded my head. "He's exceptional at recognizing and analyzing attacks; always has been. I'm just hoping whatever relationship he seems to have with Balgrim won't interfere with anything," I said distantly. "I hope you're right," she replied gravely.
So am I, I thought, even though I knew she heard it.
Just as the words left my mind, I felt a mighty tug on my core. It was evident that Ysevel had felt it as well, as she, too, forced herself to catch her breath.
"What the hell was that?" I asked. "I-I don't know, at least not for sure, anyway," she said somewhat distractedly, as if an old memory stirred in her mind. Whatever image she had in her head, it was blurred to the point where I simply couldn't figure it out. "Come on, we should meet with the others and see if they felt it, too," I suggested, but she could only offer me a blank, confused nod.
We made our way downstairs and met up with the others. Balgrim was anything but pleased to have only gotten what might have been two or three hours of sleep, but we still needed him to lead us to where he'd tracked the creature. We followed him down to the courtyard, where Calduran was waiting for us, with a carriage prepared just behind him.
"Didn't expect you to see us off," Mom said with a grin, clasping his thick forearm tightly. "Well, if what your friend there said was true, you might be in for a good fight after all," he replied, nodding at Kalia. "She hasn't led us astray yet, after all, she was the one who taught us how to deal with the Thran, though I'm sure there are still some terrorizing your lands," she said with a sigh.
"I'm grateful for all the help you've given us so far, Siraye. When I saw you again the day you arrived with the others, I could hardly believe my eyes. I know Balgrim might have his reservations about you for what you did, but I trust that it was the best judgment call you could have made at the time. Just like then, I know you'll do whatever it takes to get the job done," Calduran replied, the corners of his beard around his mouth scrunched as he offered her a smile.
Mom bowed and signaled for us to come forward, and we did as requested, lining up around her and Calduran in an arc. "The Order of Nightfall's Blade will see this mission through, Great Calduran Lytehammer. I promise," she beat her chest twice, prompting us to do the same. While he tried to hide it, I could have sworn I saw a tear run down the side of his face, though I couldn't tell whether it was from pride or him having to say goodbye to her again.
He stepped aside and had his servant open the door for us to enter the armored carriage. This time, Mom decided she would sit up front to watch for any dangers and ensure Balgrim wasn't going to lead them astray. We waved at Calduran as he watched our carriage begin to move down the street that would lead to the northern gate.
"I wonder if we'll get the chance to come back here after this is all over," I thought idly, still impressed by the mana-stone infused architecture. "If we're successful in our mission, I'm sure he'll consider reforming his policy on foreigners," Ed said with a chuckle, prompting the rest of us to do the same.
"Thanks, by the way," he began again, forcing me to curl an eyebrow and scoff. "For what?" I asked. "For taking me along with you, and keeping Meliss here, where she'll be safer," he muttered, though I knew what he was trying to say. "Don't worry about it. Just make sure that you stay as safe as you can, alright? She needs you just as much as you need her, so don't do anything stupid," I said, tilting my head forward to let him know I was being serious.
He paused and looked at me for a moment, likely wondering what could have led me to say that. When Ysevel smiled and nodded at him, he seemingly figured it out.
Now all we have to do is kill this monster and find out what Balgrim was really up to, I sent her and the others, getting slow nods of agreement from them.
We rode off through the northern gate and headed roughly along the same path Athar, Ysevel, and I had taken the night prior. We reached the area where the orb once was, and found there was more of the same, dead ground beneath where it lay as the first one we'd seen.
"That can't be good," Ed said with widened eyes as he stared at the ashen ground that surrounded the crater it had made. "Look over here," Balgrim called out, gesturing to something in the ground a few meters away. There was a massive footprint in the earth that could have easily been mistaken for one of the valley's terrain features.
The others and I moved over to where he was, but Kalia examined it more closely, rubbing a pair of fingers in the dirt and bringing it up to the nostrils of her helmet. She instantly reeled backward, as if some pungent smell had riddled her senses.
"It's sick, or perhaps it's been so heavily influenced by Leech mana that it's become that way," she said plainly, but through our connection, I could feel her apprehension toward Balgrim beginning to grow. "Which way did it go last night?" Mom asked. "It went off to those north-western mountains, though I don't know why," Kalia replied, raising a finger in the general direction she could trace with the residual mana and footsteps.
"Is there anything of note over there, Balgrim?" Mom asked, turning to face him. "N-Nothing I'm aware of," he replied, though the shakiness in his tone let us know he was telling the truth. To his credit, I wouldn't have wanted to be held by my throat again, either.
"Then let's go see what it's hiding," Mom said with a wolfish grin.