A fire glowed warmly in the small fireplace in Cameron's office. He took a kettle and poured some its contents into mugs he gathered on his desk. He gestured for them to sit. Iliana sat on a chair demurely, her white cloak shifted around her orange clad legs. Markos stood while Caelyn sat in the other vacant chair.
Cameron quietly pushed the steaming mugs into Caelyn and Markos's hands. He looked at Iliana for a moment and poured the Ember something from a jug. "Forgive me, Sister. I almost forgot that you don't drink hot fluids."
Iliana smiled politely. "It's all right. It's not often that a Sister comes through. Thank you for your thoughtfulness."
Markos carefully blew on the fluid and sipped it. He was pleasantly surprised that it was a hot spiced cider. He had expected it to be bitter dandelion coffee or pine tea.
Cameron settled in a chair behind his desk with a sigh. "We don't get many guests here at the wall. Please forgive our accommodations."
Caelyn leaned forward, sipping his cider from the mug. "We're only looking to pass through. We have to confirm what you are dealing with before we figure out how long we'll be staying."
Cameron tugged the scarf from his face to reveal a long scar across his cheek to his chin. "It's not pretty. We've been trying to keep people cloistered in the wall until we figure out what's happening. But for the past fortnight, people on the edges have been ripped apart. Rumors have it that a figure in black was lingering outside the victims' houses before they were found... like that.
Iliana closed her eyes and raised her right hand. A small orb of light gathered in the palm of her hand. Markos watched in wonderment. Caelyn's mouth was a thin line as he waited.
When she opened her eyes, the illumination of the orb and her eyes intensified until it was almost blinding. The office seemed dark and dull once the light dissipated.
"Iliana?"
"I sense two." Iliana commented as she drank the contents of her cup.
Caelyn frowned. "Aphotic?"
"One is. The other is a man that feels close to the edge. They are at the edge."
Markos looked between Iliana and Caelyn. 'She did say that magic users could sense each other.' He held the mug between his chilled hands. Even with gloves on and Iliana near by, he still felt the bite of the wind.
"Night is the worse time to go after an Aphotic but... Iliana, what do you think?"
Her gaze moved from Caelyn to Markos, she thoughtfully pursed her lips together. "One Maraium sword and armor. Two rifles and Maraium shot. I can conceal us for the night but it'll be prohibitive in the morning for me to stand against the brunt of it. If we wait, it'll kill again."
"I could draw its attention," Markos offered. "If it's after me, you can take it down while its distracted."
"You only have one set of Maraium armor?" Cameron looked startled.
"Markos is in training but we haven't had the time to forge him plate."
"Well, if its not taboo... one of the ones taken was a retired templar."
Caelyn lowered his head and pressed two fingers from his right hand against his lips.
Markos paled. Iliana's hand tightened at her sides before she spoke again. "Bring the armor and the sword, if it's not broken. It's abnormal but our lost brother would want the fight to continue."
Cameron nodded and slipped out of the room. Markos placed a hand on Caelyn's shoulder and waited. He didn't know what to say. It felt strange. They were the same age but there was a weight to the templar that made Markos feel like a child in comparison.
Iliana drew a sigil in the air with her finger. "Mara comes to claim us all in the end. We can take the armor back to the temple."
"If Cameron has it, it means he doesn't have a family to mourn his loss." Caelyn shook his head. "A life of service to die alone in a shack at the wall." He looked up at the ceiling before looking between Iliana and Markos. "No glory in that."
"We can avenge him by destroying the Aphotic." Markos offered unsure of what to really say.
"Something like that." Caelyn shrugged and Markos moved his hand. "It's not quite that simple."
"There are a few ways that we deal with Aphotics... Maraium disrupts its body enough that it can't regenerate. I can absorb and purify it with my own fire. It just leaves a mark on me." Iliana's expression softened as she offered a small smile to them.
"Leaves a mark?"
"I've left the walls of the convent. As a Helka, that means I will not guide the next generation of sisters. I will likely rejoin the Word along this journey." Iliana raised her hand as Markos started to protest. "It's an inevitability. Please don't be sad. It will happen at some point. It doesn't mean that my journey will end here."
"The man on the edge is something we'll have to focus on. He's a mage. A cornered man is dangerous when magic is involved. Maraium can interfere with magic but if he drops a burning tree on you or drops you in a pit, the armor won't help." Caelyn tapped his cuirass as he spoke. "How do you think he'll react when he sees two templars and an Ember?"
Markos pursed his lips together and folded his arms in front of his chest. "He'll drop us into a pit and go after Iliana."
"Why do you think he'll go after her?"
"Power. She's a conduit into the Word. He could draw that life from her to fuel his own magic." Markos shivered at the thought of it.
"Right. How do you deal with that?"
"Uh, don't give him a chance to cast his spell. Just shoot him with a Maraium round."
"Good. Don't give him time to get the spell off. What do you remember about Aphotics?"
"They are drawn to those that use the Word. They consume anything in their path."
"Which means what?"
".... it'll go after Iliana as soon as it senses her." Markos frowned as he looked at Iliana. "So we have to split our focus between neutralizing the mage and the aphotic."