Late at night with only the stars and the shadow casting light of fire magic to light their path, a small task force appears in the forest that houses the cleansing pool. The group of 4 men seem relaxed, but that doesn't mean they aren't prepared to respond to any threat that may come their way; this is evident from their scanning eyes and hands always placed near their tool bags and weapons. The group consists of a single young mage, and 3 older men, one ranger and two swordsmen.
A long haired, dark skinned man with a shortbow and shortsword who seemed to be the leader of the group holds up his hand, motioning the group to stop. He glances toward the young, fair-skinned and feminine looking mage and opens his mouth.
"I heard that you weren't exactly made aware of why we are here. Our mission is to claim water from a cleansing pool for some noble. Initially we were going to ignore the task, but we recently gained some intel that apparently a cleansing pool can be found in this forest. We were even given an endless flask for this task... which is why you're here."
The young mage's eyes widen.
"A-a-a... A cleansing pool!? Draining those or relocating their water is strictly taboo! You brought me here just to activate the flask!?"
The shorter of the two swordsmen shakes his head in dissapointment and sighs before responding.
"Despite how rare a mage that joins a mercenary group is, you'll only gain higher treatment if you are actually useful. Treat this as a test of loyalty to the Glaives; we have money first, and conventional morality second in this group. Don't you have a reason for joining? If you don't, you might as well quit while you're ahead."
The taller of the two swordsmen, a bald, pale, scar faced man slowly nods with a grave face.
The young mage hesitates, before eventually settling into a determined face.
"...Alright, I'll do it."
The originally expressionless dark skinned man cracks a sinister smirk as a response.
"Good. If you declined, you wouldn't leave this forest alive; even if my two dear companions were fine letting you go, I don't tolerate traitors. Now make yourself useful and track the location of the pool with your mana; we've got a job to do."
**********
Atop one of the trees, Annie and Simon are staring down at the sinister seeming group, and have gotten a good grasp of the situation as a result. The only problem was-
"I wish we had enough time to dry off and put on something to wear..." Simon mumbled.
"Wet dogs take much more time to dry off anyway; treat it as you airing yourself off. We gotta take care of these guys first; if they drain water from the pool, even a little bit, it will have negative effects on the land nearby; that's what I read at least. It's a taboo for a reason. Also even I didn't get to put my clothes on. What I'd give for fur right now..."
"What, you want fleas or something?"
"You have fleas!?"
"Nah."
"..."
"...Ahem. That aside, when do we attack? And do we kill them?"
"Heheh. Just follow big sister's lead; I've got a plan..."
Simon rolled his eyes in response. (When something like a plan is coming from her, I'm far from encouraged.)
*************
The group of mercenaries steadily and cautiously approached the pool, following after the focusing mage, who's hands were outstretched and glowing with a turquoise light; a spell known simply as Sense Mana. Yet he suddenly opened his eyes and stopped. Noticing this, the short swordsman looked at him quizzically.
"What'd we stop for?"
"The mage's brow creases slightly before he answers. "The pool is just ahead. But something isn't right... I feel a sense of unease."
Hearing this, the dark skinned man did not mock him for his supposed cowardice; instead, he was only alarmed.
(I had a feeling this wouldn't be so simple. Suddenly getting a tip toward an unprotected cleansing pool? There's something sketchy after all.)
As he thought this, the mage seemed to be surprised as well.
"I feel a cold, otherworldy wind nearby!"
They settle into formation, with the young mage at the back preparing to support them in case of a confrontation when suddenly they hear an ethereal voice, as if belonging to a lost young girl of a forgotten age.
"Leave here... Or face the consequences..."
Even the hardened swordsmen felt themselves shiver, let alone the novice mage, who felt a chill creep into his heart. Before they could lose themselves in fear, the dark skinned man roared at them.
"Fools, it's a mental attack! Harden your hearts; merely an amateur playing tricks on us! Get out little girl; we are not the type to attack innocents anyway. Leave us be, and we can be at peace."
What he said was not a lie technically; outside of a job, they really wouldn't harm innocent people. But considering the circumstances, the men knew they couldn't follow their normal set of principles, especially considering how valuable the cleansing pool water they were hoping to obtain was. The dark skinned man was truly testing his ranger capabilities as his eyes scanned the tree tops above them, only barely illuminated by the mage fire still conjured near them. Yet even he saw nothing... A faint feeling of unease started to grow ever further, as his thoughts stretched to the supernatural...
**********
"Hey, Annie." Simon whispered.
She glances back at the dark colored mass behind her, who was Simon hugging her close on a thick tree branch.
"What? Remember, we are still in the middle of the plan. Make it quick."
"Well, you still aren't wearing any clothes... So holding you like this is... Concerning."
Simon due to his excellent nightvision could see Annie roll her eyes at him.
"Remember, you have a manaless body; if you hold me like this, that mage kid and that ranger guy can't sense the direction my mana is coming from, due to both your thick fur and innate mana rejection."
"Yeah, I guess... But still, you should really learn to be more modest."
"Nah, sounds boring."
"..."
She breathes deeply, and imbues the power of wind in her voice yet again, letting it carry over to the mercenaries, and whistle through the tree leaves in the night.
"If you do not leave, WE will make you leave..."
"Huh? We? Wait, you mean I gotta help too?"
She glares at Simon as a silent response to his cat like yellow eyes staring at her in the dark.