As Wren and the other prepared their horses, Naya walked out towards them. "Wr-I mean, Madame Priestess!" She yelled out and Wren turned to her with a smile, "Heh, yes Naya?" As Naya got closer she waved to the other and most waved or nodded back. "I know they gave you a small medical kit, but I brought you a healing balm that I've been working on," Naya reached both hands out towards Wren; she held a small, wooden container. "Hm..." Wren had a skeptical look on her face as she reached out for the container. "Oh come on, its better than the last one I promise! I didn't have to use old and spoiled ingredients this time." Rose and Camila giggled in the back ground, "Sorry Naya, you know I just like to give you a hard time," Wren grabbed the balm from Naya's hands, "I appreciate the thought you put into this Naya. I'm sure it will work wonders. Oh, I will be gone for a few days on this mission and we will be within the Southern borders. Do you need any medical supplies or herbs local to that area?" Naya's brown eyes lit up and the golden flakes in her eyes seemed to sparkle, she spent the next 5 minutes explaining the plants and other items she needed. "Take care of your self Lady Wren. I'll be here ready for your return; and for my supplies!" Naya said with a big grin as she waved them off.
Shortly after, the group departed to the Southern Territory. As they traveled, the sun rose and lit up the sky; soon after small animals and birds began to stir for the day. After a few hours of riding, Silas, who was near the front of the group suddenly put his hand up and stopped the horse; everyone else followed suite. "What is it Silas?" Wren said quietly as she prepared to "Reach Out" to see if anyone was around." As soon as she Reached out she noticed there were some individuals huddled not far within the tree-line. "3 or 4 to the right. Their spiritual energy is weak, but...they all have something else attached." Wren said hesitantly as she slowly opened her eyes so she could better focus. "I will approach them Madame," Silas said as he slowly motioned for his horse to began walking forward once more. "Silas wait!" At the same time Silas turned back towards Wren, something jumped out of the tree-line right towards his horses neck. The horse reacted noisily as the humanoid looking creature sank both its claws and its fangs into the horse's shoulder, causing all the other horses to react wildly as well. "Dumuzi!" Hearing Wren call his name, he quickly teleported into the tree-line to assess the situation; Wren followed closely after.
As they were heading towards the tree-line, Silas pulled his staff out from the saddle and bashed the creature on the head, causing it to immediately let go of the horse and fall to the ground. "Shizu, go with the Priestess," with Silas having the second highest position within the group Shizu obediently nodded and called his horse to go forward. "Rose, Camila, be ready in case there are more. I'm going to ride forward. Stay here and stay alert. Rose, make sure and tie it up." Silas said as he turned and rode forward. The sounds of branches breaking could be heard into the area where Wren, Dumuzi, and Shizu were. While they were wrapping up, Rose quickly grabbed rope from her pack, dismounted her horse, and tied the creatures hands and feet. All the while Camila was looking out for on coming attacks. As Rose finished and stood up, Wren and Dumuzi teleported back to the group with similar featured creatures on their shoulders. Shizu followed close behind with one on the back of his horse.
"What the hell was that about?" Shizu asked as everyone regrouped. "I'm assuming their bodies were forcefully taken over by trapped spirits. They had strong negative energy attached to them which caused their deformities. If you look close, this is just a group of young teens; possibly orphans." Shizu tossed the last young girl near the other 3. "Would you not be so rough with them you jerk? They're still human," Rose said angrily, Shizu just rolled his eyes. "Silas, did you see any other tracks near?" As Silas rode forward he dismounted his horse and began tending to its wounds. "No Madame Priestess. There was nothing." Wren crouched down to where she was level with the 4 possessed individuals, who had been arranged so their backs were supporting one another. All of them had been knocked unconscious, and they were all bound. "Dumuzi, Shizu, Rose, set up a small perimeter around us; Silas, please be a direct guard for both Camila and myself from any oncoming attack." Everyone did as they were told, except for Camila who was nervously standing near Wren who was still crouching near the teens.
"U-um...P-pardon me, L-Lady Wren," Wren looked up towards Camila and motioned for her to come closer. "This may seem like an odd request, but I need to borrow your back," Wren said nonchalantly, which caused Camila to have a confused look on her face and also caused her to blush slightly. "I-I d-don't-" Wren chuckled, "Sorry for saying that in such a way. I'll rephrase it; I need you to support me as I complete the banishing of the spirits. I will be in and out of a spiritual state as I complete the ritual and since I'll be sitting, I need you to support me. The easiest way to do that is to sit back to back. I also request that you allow me to harness a bit of your spiritual energy. Since there are 4 individuals, it will all but deplete the spiritual energy I have stored within my body." Camila nodded and positioned herself behind Wren, "I-is there any-anything e-else you need m-me to do?" Wren adjusted her position to a seated one, crossed her legs, and pulled a small bag from the belt around her waist. "I just need you to relax, focus your breathing, close your eyes, and allow my energy to pull from yours." "Y-yes Madame," Camila said as she too got into a comfortable spot, closed her eyes, and tried to calm her breathing and her nervousness.
In the small bag, Wren had some dried herbs, a small container, and a small thin blade. She softly began speaking the words from the banishing ritual. She opened the small container that had a dark red paste and swiped her thumb across the top, then swiped her thumb down starting between the eyes of the first teen, down to their chin. As Wren was completing the ritual everyone else was on guard, watching their surroundings. Wren was the only one who could "Reach Out" with her spiritual energy, so the others relied on their instincts. "I don't get the feeling that this is over," Dumuzi quietly said to the others. "Something doesn't feel right..." 'It feels like the hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end,' Rose thought to herself; everyone was on high alert. As Wren finished up the first ritual, the young teens facial features began to return to normal. Their hands that had elongated fingers and sharp claws, were now the normal working hands of a young boy. Wren opened the boys mouth to see that his teeth went from sharp fangs, back into normal human teeth. 'So he naturally has an ability for shifting,' Wren thought to herself. She also checked and saw that his pupils were back to their normal size and not covering most of his eye.
"Madame Priestess, I know you are in the middle of a ritual, but if at all possible, could you quicken the pace? It will be dark soon and we need to take shelter." Dumuzi said in an apprehensive tone. Before Wren answered the young boy gasped deeply, opened his eyes, and began struggling. "Relax Marco, I am only here to help, you were taken over by a dark spirit, I'm going to let you sleep now," as she finished talking, she reached both her hands up and a thumb on either side of his head. He slowly stopped struggling and closed his eyes once more. "Silas, would you please switch his place with the young girl in the pink? She seems to be worse for wear, and I can't exactly get up right now." She smiled and shrugged as Silas quickly did as he was told. "Silas, please have Dumuzi scout out a close location for us to camp for the night, have Rose collect any sort of edible or medical foliage, and stand guard with Shizu." Wren took a deep breath as she prepared to complete another ritual. "I know Shizu is well respected, but I can't help but be cautious because of Abena. I trust you and I know your strength is far greater than his own, please be careful and make sure he does not contact anyone from Ekleipsis." Silas had a slightly surprised look on his face then nodded and walked over to where the others were located. 'This is going to be a long night...' Wren thought to herself as she prepared to complete another ritual.