"Try not to make too much noise. We're never alone, so it's always best to not draw attention." Aeden carefully followed Enidra through the wetlands, listening to her advice even though it didn't make much sense to him.
"Aren't you being too cautious? The moving tree and sticky water were annoying but not really threatening."
"Wood Dancers and Wicky are playful but not malicious. They're the Swamp Dame's servants. She likes it when it's lively…" she paused for a few seconds, deep in thought. "Sometimes, liveliness is the best you can hope for here."
They continued along the greenish lake, littered with glowing duckweeds and darkened hyacinths. Aeden spotted what seemed to be a frog, lunging from one red lily pad to the other while chasing a crimson fly. Gobbling it was easy and quick, but the toad's stomach burst the next moment, attracting another swarm of flesh-eating insects. Wooden maws were munching on live rodents a little further, caught by a tree's hunting bark.
Mist hands elegantly danced around the uncanny vegetation, snuffing out swamp lights in what appeared to be an invisible war. The young man didn't know their purpose, but as unsettled as he was, Enidra's lack of reaction allowed him to remain calm. She navigated skillfully through the foggy shroud, telling him to stop at times and to accelerate at others.
"Enidra-..."
"Shhh," she interrupted. "You're too loud."
"I'm literally whispering."
"It's still too loud. Look at our feet."
Aeden glanced at the herbs and noticed that none of it was parting with their steps. "It's still…" The arborescence no longer spun in magnificent displays, nor did the water sprout pranking tendrils to harass him anymore. Everything visibly froze in time, like the woods he was familiar with would.
"The Weeper's Lull. Close your eyes when I tell you to." Enidra seemed to dread the ambient hush and started treading with even more alertness.
Splashing sounds escorted them across the bog, whose end even managed to disturb the Sorcerer. Hanging corpses swayed with eerie creaks, half-eaten by bizarre plants and ravenous creatures.
They had no traits he could call human, albeit resembling them in shape. Rows of globulous, rotting eyes pulsated all over their heads. Swollen, decaying flesh veiled their cracking pale skin while yellow teeth glistened through their monstrous mouths. Their foul stench managed to overpower the wetland's rancid smell, at least in that place, which made Aeden hesitant to pass by.
"What are they…?"
"Shunned remains… those who proved themselves disobedient." Not understanding her was one thing, but he felt Enidra was being cryptic for a reason.
"You said 'your kind' when talking about spellcasters. Doesn't it concern you too? I find it hard to believe that you'd survive such dense Mana without being one."
"Is it that surprising?" she softly chuckled. "Outsiders often asked us about that. After all, there are no Mana-users in Luascach."
"How is that poss-..." Her hand suddenly jerked up, signaling for him to stay silent.
"It's here." A chilling wind crept on his back as his hair stood on end. "Don't open your eyes, no matter what you hear or smell."
Eyelids immediately shut, Aeden could feel gentle vibrations traveling through the water, coming from right behind him. Something slowly moved over his head, purring in a strange, incomprehensible tongue.
It exhaled a warm breath on his face, a peculiar scent wafting under his nostrils. Buried impulses stirred, and a burning curiosity almost made him look. He could feel his already crumbling mental defenses fragilize anew, beckoning the most primal of his instincts with sweet caresses.
Sobbing sounds broke the crippling lull, resonating in the Sorcerer's ears like a soothing melody. Faint words echoed between crying notes, spoken in a language known to no other.
"erif fo dlihc O, doolb rieht ni snur eliuG..."
Fear paralyzed the young man's thoughts, remembering the Fae's encounter. It still marked him, and this sense of helplessness only reminded him of those dreadful moments.
Why was he so easily scared? Wasn't he a Sorcerer? Didn't he accept his mother's legacy, ensuring her incoming death in the process?
Yet reverberations of previous lessons came back to him. Power, especially for his kind, is drawn from the mind. A strong spirit nourishes one's might through the roots - their spellcasting prowess.
So why were his wits so fragile?
'Move, I dare you. Prove it. Show me that you will not collapse. Otherwise, I'll take control again~" Familiar arms circled his shoulders, hugging him while urging in a feminine voice.
It started with a finger twitch… and he twisted his wrist, then raised his hand. Inch by inch, he knew he could do it. He needed to overwhelm his terror for the sake of everyone and everything he held dear.
'Almost there~' The whispers guided, sly and devious.
However, when he finally reached for the creature… he realized he grabbed but air.
Eyes jerking open, Aeden saw that there was no entity around. What happened?
"You did good holding on. The Weeper's lure is irresistible for the unprepared," Enidra let out a sigh of relief, resuming her walk. "They say that only madmen can withstand it. You don't seem crazy to me."
The young man simply grimaced, following her.
"This Swamp hosts too many monstrosities. What's a Weeper?"
"The Weeper. There's only one. You could say he's the Swamp Dame's guard dog. He patrols the outer edges of her territory. People fear him."
"You don't seem to. You're the one who found me there, right?"
Enidra paused. "It's different. Anyhow, I'll hide you, but you'll need to follow my instructions. Understood?"
"Isn't it a village of non-spellcasters? I might be unable to use spells for now, but I'm trained in Eastern Numidean martial arts."
"It's not that simple. Please, just respect the rules. I'll help you get out of here if you do." Enidra pleaded, her expression serious.
"Fine." Aeden gave in, though he remained cautious. "What should I do?"
"Never go out at night. Ever. I can't say why, but know that it's for your safety." She then pointed towards flying little lights, routinely smothered by misty fingers. "Following the wisps is also prohibited."
"Where do they lead to?"
"You don't need to know. It's best if you don't talk to anyone. Actually, not speaking at all is preferred."
"Now you're just bullying me."
A laugh parted her pulpous lips. "Outsiders rarely understand our way of living. You'll find it uncanny, but it's necessary. We're almost there."
Past a wall of undulating, emergent plants stood a row of shining lanterns. Their soft sheen revealed a soil path over deep waters as dusk slowly settled.
"We must hurry."
Enidra broke into a run. She blindly weaved between collapsing steps and strange, wooden spikes that randomly rose from well-hidden traps. 'A hunting tool, perhaps?' Aeden was confused by the contraption but pondered on it no longer. He needed to follow.
They soon reached a large, wet meadow that extended over half a mile.
Ligneous, circular houses jutted up to the skies in irregular formations, piled on top of each other in chaotic bundles. Abnormal architecture made the elevated habitations incline and bend in uncanny angles, birthing an oppressive feeling of 'wrongness' wherever Aeden looked.
Feeble gleams revealed incongruous shadows near the crooked windows, watching. He could almost make out humanoid shapes jumping from one plot of earth to another as they approached the settlement.
"Absolutely do not steer away from me. Atypical as it is, be welcomed to Luascach, our humble Swamp-vill." She spoke in a lowered voice, much tenser inside her town than outside it.
Glancing at the glistening, suspicious eyes in each corner, the Sorcerer almost wished he had stayed with that fighting tree. At least, he wouldn't have been met with such hostility.
"So much warmth. I can't wait to get stabbed in my sleep."
__
Louise's flail mercilessly crushed Decima's neck, forcing her to the ground. The Homunculus tried to get up, only for an armored foot to break her last remaining arm in a single, powerful impact. Naturally, her cry of agony was equally loud.
"Deci! Al Diru-..." Before Nihil could even finish his incantation, the Ombre grasped the air with her free hand.
The creaking of chains echoed through the plain as they materialized, ensnaring the boy's throat and forcing him onto his knees.
Andromeda looked at the Mathematician, still trembling in sheer horror. It wasn't because of her, but rather a residual side-effect of the Fae's appearance. Madness always took over mortals in their presence. Megissa was only human, and her current state was the best she could hope for after a direct confrontation with them. Had it been any other person, his mind would have broken.
"You guys are really a bunch of fools," she sighed, retrieving her weapon back. "I'm not here to kill you, nor did I kidnap that Sorcerer child."
Nihil coughed blood after she relieved the pressure from his throat. "-... Why should we believe you? When we came to ourselves, Aeden was already gone, and you attacked us."
"Don't be dumb. It was a necessity." Louise gave them an irritating smile. "The simplest of Fae tricks are still unfathomable to spellcasters of your level. You could've been manipulated without even being aware of it. I needed to make sure you hadn't disposed of the boy in your own psychosis."
"We would never do that!" Decima's head sprouted back, shouting more than ever.
"You'll never stop yelling, will you?" The Ombre kicked her in the face hard enough to send her flying towards her friends.
"Anyway, rejoice! I won't have to carve you up. You're perfectly lucid… or as close to that as possible." She glanced at Megissa with a grimace. "Patch yourselves up. We're departing soon."
"What are you talking about?" Nihil rose with difficulty, his gaze full of hostility. "Why should we follow you?"
"We're going to save your friend, halfwit. Like an idiot, he lost to his urges and went berserk. Last trace he left was near a Mana Biome, north of here. I think you'll like our destination."
She whipped the air with her flail, ominous Mana oozing from her black armor. "You'll play nice and be my faithful little dogs, or I'll make you taste a fate worse than death."
Her overwhelming bearing reeked of danger, which only made them shudder at the prospect of accompanying her. Still, she said she knew where Aeden went and was even willing to save him.
With someone as powerful, there was a chance they could make it in and out of a Mana Biome alive, but… they only hoped that it wasn't too late.
Their dear friend, after all, was alone.