"It's too late," Mai stated matter of factly as they turned to examine the dying body of the kobold Alex had cut. "These monsters are known to hunt in packs, and if a group is this big, there are usually more."
Alex winced as he stopped the flow of Spirit into his body. Falling to one knee, he gasped and realized why Mai had been so insistent on him not experimenting with the energy. "C-can we go around?" He managed to get out. They had only recently crossed into the grasslands; maybe if they retreated to the forest?
Mai looked over and recognized Alex's condition. "You used more Spirit?" She asked worriedly. When he nodded, she shook her head. "Then you must have a great deal naturally if this didn't kill you. The awakening usually drains initiates for days afterward."
He was about to respond, but Mai shook her head. "That doesn't matter right now; with your condition, we can't make it back to the forest on foot. And I hadn't planned on you releasing your Spirit during the fight; something I didn't tell you earlier was that monsters are drawn to those who use this energy."
Alex's eyes widened; that would have been useful to know.
"It wouldn't have mattered had you listened to me." Mai reminded him. "But it was my fault for not informing you earlier; when we get a chance, I'll fill you in on what I know."
Alex nodded and then tried to think of a way out of this. Reluctantly, he snapped his fingers and slightly boosted the noise to use as a slightly worse version of the trick with his amps. Taking in the information the sound gave him, he realized something unfortunate.
"There's a group of around 20 of them coming from that direction." He pointed to where he could feel the kobolds coming. "They should be here in a couple minutes."
Mai took in that information and then cursed. "We'll have to shadow travel out." She concluded. "It might allow the Inquisition to follow our tail, but we don't have much choice."
They couldn't just teleport back to the forest because that would be in the direction of the Inquisition. That had an even greater chance of giving away their position to the enemy.
But on that same note, if they teleported toward their destination. "Can you get us past the Kobold's territory?" If they were set upon again, it wouldn't matter. Using magic drew the Inquisition, and using Spirit drew the kobolds.
She dropped to the group and started preparing her spell. "I'll try to bring us past their territory, but I don't know if it's within my power." The shadows started to roil beneath her.
Alex struggled to his feet and walked closer. "Got it, I'll be ready."
Her shadow consumed them, and they disappeared.
—
Inquisition Forward Camp [Heroes Task Force]
Charalampia Kanelli POV
—
Charalampia, or as her friends called her Chara, nervously entered her tent. It was rare that she got the chance to directly commune with her goddess, but what made the situation worse was that the topic of conversation was her failure.
She kneeled before the communications crystal and watched as the object lit up in her presence. Chara marveled at the wisdom of her goddess on full display as Athena's divine presence filled the tent.
She shivered before giving her report. "The operation on the village succeeded just as you advised your holiness. We managed to capture the messenger." She licked her lips. "However, we apprehended an unforeseen sorcerer during our raid. Said sorcerer allied with the messenger and escaped our custody." She finished, almost shaking at the disapproval she sensed suffusing the room.
"You failed." A voice echoed from the crystal that was impossible to describe.
"Yes, your holiness. I tried to engage the sorcerer directly to stop them from escaping, but he was capable of blocking my ability to call for your magic." Chara swallowed as she remembered trying to reach out to her goddess only to feel nothing respond.
It was silent for a minute as Chara felt the presence switch to multiple feelings but settle of interest. "This… 'sorcerer' you fought; he was unrelated to the messenger my brother sent you to retrieve?" Chara froze; that was the first time her goddess had questioned her for information. Was this sorcerer really so powerful?
"We believe so, and I used your gift to confirm it to the best of my abilities." Chara hesitated. "He could use magic within an Isolation circle, so perhaps I accused him of sorcery too quickly." She admitted somewhat guiltily. Whatever that man used to power his abilities, he couldn't have taken it from the Earth while inside the circle.
"I wish to know more about this 'sorcerer' whether or not he steals from the planet; he is unknown to me and, therefore, has piqued my interest." Chara's eyes widened, a personal quest from her goddess. "In addition to assisting in whatever my brother has you doing, I wish for you to gather more information on this man."
Chara bowed. "Of course, your holiness, it will be done." She secretly hoped the two missions wouldn't interfere with each other. While she would always choose to serve Athena first, her brother was a difficult man to disobey. Especially when he had sent one of his Paladins to assist this group.
"Paladin Kanelli!" Someone shouted from outside her tent, and Chara cursed their timing; one does not interrupt a meeting with a goddess! "One of our sensors detected the messenger's magic signal near the Plains of Kadesh."
Chara perked up at that news and turned to the crystal; most likely, the two would still be traveling together. At least now she didn't have to beg for more information. Athena disliked having to explain things twice. "By your leave, I will go now to complete my missions."
"The city of Ephesus," Athena commanded. "The messenger will be there." The godly presence disappeared, and Chara was left staring at the dark crystal. Ephesus was a large city located past the Plains of Kadesh. Not where they would typically begin the search. But…
She needed to tell the commander.
—
Somewhere in the Plains of Kadesh
Alex Bishop POV
—
Alex stumbled out of the shadow of a passing cloud and fell into the grass below him. Scrambling to his feet, he hefted the stolen sword and listened for any enemies.
"Shit." He didn't have enough sound to constantly use the sonar trick, but he kept an ear on his immediate surroundings. That was when he heard the thud of something falling behind him.
Turning around, he saw Mai sprawled out across the ground. Alex ran over quickly and got down to try and see what was wrong. The girl was breathing heavily, and her black hair was plastered to her face with sweat. Already, she looked ready to pass out, her eyelids slowly blinking closed.
"Hey, Mai! Stay with me here." He called out. "What's going on?" It was probably some sort of Magic overuse, but Alex wasn't exactly an expert.
"D-damn it." She managed to get out and slowly reached out to her shadow. "I-I underestimated the strain." She explained softly; all that shadow travel must have been hell on her stamina.
"Well, what do you need? Can you just rest for a couple of hours, or is this something worse?" He hoped it differed from Spirit, where you could die from overuse.
"I j-just need to get an elixir." She mumbled and tried to reach into her shadow, probably to pull something out.
"Wait!" Alex tried to stop her, but it was too late. Her fingers sunk into the shadow, but the added strain of the technique caused her to pass out. He grabbed her hand and found she was even warmer than before. "Shit."
What did he do now?