Tales of Xalthia

by xXGhostStalker

*DISCLAIMER: This holds no relation to Tales of VS. This is an original story* A mysterious lineage. An unimaginative power. Oblivious to Tsuki Himura, he defends his kingdom from evil and learns of a sinister plot. Forced to seek help, he travels the globe for much needed allies. Join him as he learns more about the world and about himself as something awakens inside him

38. Nightwings in Snow

Tales of Xalthia

Chapter 37: Nightwings in Snow

The rest of the day in Haven Village proceeded at a normal pace. Before everyone knew it, the time of the celebratory banquet came and everyone had a great time. Tsuki and his companions, as well as Reis and Shadow, were given high praise for their efforts in not only their actions that saved the villagers from slavery, but the rebuilding efforts as well. After Tsuki and the others reconvened with each other after going separate ways, there was still time before the banquet so they decided to pitch in to help the village despite them urging them not to worry about it. It was a selfless act that resonated strongly with the villagers which made them remember the old days when Faeries and Beastmen could live in harmony with Humans.

The celebrations of the banquet stretched on into the late hours of the night and died down around the very early hours of the following morning. When the sun rose the next day, everyone was back up and doing their usual routines as if the Shinobi attack never occurred. Most of the village was practically put back together, minus a few missing windows for some buildings and a few minor rebuilding projects that still needed to be addressed. Some of the villagers even say that the events of the other day were a blessing in disguise, in a way, because the mild destruction they caused gave the villagers a reason to spruce up the village a bit more where they couldn't before.

Tsuki and the others were up and energized along with the rest of the villagers just in time for Ramza's request for support came through. To the surprise of many except Ramza, not one but four small squads consisting of 4-5 mercenaries were led into the village by Ryoka and Ramza. All of them didn't look to be your run-of-the-mill mercenary either; they all had the looks and experience of seasoned, capable fighters. Amongst the rather large group, there were many Faeries and Beastmen mixed in with Human mercenaries. There were even a couple traders and merchants as well.

With the help and guidance of Ryoka, Ramza was able to explain the purpose of their presence and assured them that this was a move that would be kept under tight lock and key. The mercenaries that Seara had sent out were to operate exclusively within Spiral Woods to help ease any worries that the villagers may have. They were to act as both village guardsmen as well as hunters, builders and sellers. With an established security for the village, people would be able to breathe a little easier now. They all knew that if the village could be discovered once already, then there's the possibility that it could be discovered again. They saw this as a great boon for them as they now had able-bodied, seasoned fighters to defend the village instead of a ragtag team of volunteers. Ryoka did his best with the village security, there was no denying that, but that didn't change the fact that most of the villagers just didn't have the experience or fortitude for such a role.

Amongst their number, there was also a familiar face mixed in that came with the group that also didn't surprise Ramza. That familiar face was Seara herself with a smug look on her face as she watched off to the side and helped coordinate the newly established collaborative efforts between the mercenaries she brought in and the villagers. With Ryoka's aid, they were given use of a newly built, vacant building near the town plaza to use for a new Guild Branch. Since this was an unofficial branch, they weren't going to have the funds and resources that headquarters would usually provide so they had to rely on what they had. That wasn't an issue for them, however, as Seara had brought with them more than enough necessary funds for their future operations as well as any materials and supplies they would need going forward, at least until they can establish themselves.

Witnessing all this take place in such a smooth and easy manner, Tsuki and everyone else was left pretty much dumbfounded. Ramza had told them about Seara and talked about her a little bit and while they had brief interactions with her back in Chesberry, they were completely caught off-guard by the events they were seeing. It created many questions about her as they were able to get a glimpse at just what kind of person Seara was. It was already an impressive feat that she was able to single-handedly shut down the Guild Branch in Chesberry and re-structure it completely under a new lead but this just takes things to a new level. They've only been in the village for not even two hours and they've already comfortably established themselves essentially among the village. All Tsuki and the others could do was stand off to the side in the town plaza and watch them work. They were all like a well-oiled machine that completed tasks quickly and efficiently.

Tsuki was at a loss for words for a good while as he watched what was happening. Based on the stories he was told about Seara, he knew that she was a capable mercenary, but much like everyone else, he didn't expect anything like this. "Uhh…Ramza? I know you've told us about Seara but…who, exactly, is she?" he asked with a nervous sweat.

Melphi couldn't believe what she was seeing, either. He had told her that she had made many connections with people during her years of being a mercenary and how some of those connections were rooted in not just Ersheath but all across the world, on different continents and islands. Just this reaction alone was pretty substantial. To have this many strong, capable mercenaries at her beck and call and not having anyone to bat an eyelash showed that he wasn't exaggerating in his story about her. "When you said that she has connections, you weren't kidding. I don't even think Shana has this many mercenaries at her disposal…" she said. Seara may be an A-rank mercenary but if this is the kind of response she can garner in such a short time, she couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of response she would get if given enough time to process the full extent of her connections. If all the connections she's made played a factor into how the Guild assigns rank, she may as well be considered an S-rank in her own right.

Ramza may not have the look of surprise that everyone has, but he did have a distraught and troubled look as he let out a deep, heavy sigh. This wasn't the kind of response he was expecting from her nor was it the type he was asking for. He could only profusely apologize to Ryoka for this sudden influx of newcomers. "When I asked her to send a few mercenaries out this way, I didn't mean a whole legion…" he said. He bowed slightly to Ryoka. "I apologize for this. I didn't mean for this many people to be brought here" he said.

Ryoka couldn't help but laugh a bit at his expense. Personally, he was more than pleased with the number of willing and able-bodied mercenaries that signed up to defend their little hidden village. "Don't worry about it, lad. Besides, the villagers don't seem to mind all that much. The added security will definitely help them sleep better now" he said. He saw that the villagers were actively helping the mercenaries integrate themselves into the village as they welcomed them in with open arms, even the Humans. "That girl…Seara, was it? She's an eccentric one, that's for sure. I've only talked with her briefly, but I can tell she has deep love and adoration for our kind" he said. He almost couldn't believe how fast the villagers took to her. The kindness and warmth she gives off was a feeling that they've all longed for to have back.

Lynette let out a faint nervous laugh as she scratched her cheek. She definitely had a different aura compared to other mercenaries. "It's like she has her own organization within the Mercenary Guild…" she said.

Ramza rubbed the side of his head, still looking troubled by all this. "Honestly, if she really wanted to, she could easily make her own Mercenary Guild that could potentially rival the current one" he said. With the amount of people under her wing and the number of outside connections she's made, she could be quite a force to compete against.

Elle shook her head a bit. After seeing such a response on short notice, she could believe what he said. All of the mercenaries that she brought with her all had the same look to them. They all wholeheartedly believed in Seara and saw her as a true leader. There were many of them with different backgrounds and circumstances to them but one thing they all had in common was a sense of true, undying loyalty. It makes her wonder if she has a fleet of ships to go along with the amount of people that side with her. "Pirate Lord, indeed…" she muttered.

Tsuki looked at all the different mercenaries that she brought with her. A lot of them were around his age, a few years old and younger, but there were some older individuals. "I just hope she didn't resort to dirty tactics that other pirates do such as shanghai" he said, slightly joking in his response.

As they talked, they didn't notice that Seara had approached them when Tsuki made his little comment. "How rude! I'll have you know that all of these people are here willingly and volunteered to be under my wing of their own volition. Only pirates with evil intentions resort to dirty stuff" she said in a slight scolding tone of voice.

Ramza scratched the back of his head and chuckled a bit as Tsuki's comment brought back some memories. "Now, that's one thing you don't have to worry about. I once thought the same thing too, at first. She doesn't force people to join her. If anything, she rescues those that have had that misfortune and sometimes, they end up staying with her" he said. He remembered her telling him that there were many that serve under her wing that were, in fact, shanghaied into the pirate's life by other nefarious pirates. It was thanks to Seara that they were able to free themselves from those shackles. They were all given a chance to return to their homes and while many were returned, others decided to stay to serve under her. Only this time, under fair conditions that almost made working under her a luxury of sorts.

Seara put a hand on her hip as she nodded at them with a smirk on her face. "I may be a pirate, but that doesn't mean we don't have a code to follow. I just dish out punishment to those that deserve it" she said.

The Code she's referring to was something established among pirates of the high seas. There was no such thing as a Pirate Guild, but pirates operate under a similar mindset as other guilds do. While there was no formal ruleset like the other guilds do, every pirate crew has their own Code to follow. Unfortunately, pirates are naturally considered lawless brigands and tyrants of the seas since the Code is always different among the many pirates out there. There were some that took to more nefarious deeds such as illegal trafficking of Humans, Faeries and Beastmen to acts of pillaging and attacking merchant and civilian vessels while others had a morale code to set them apart from the rest. Seara formed her crew to abide by the morale side of things while punishing those like her that used the pirate's name for their own greedy, nefarious purposes. Naturally, this has caused her to come into contact with people associated with different kingdoms, some of which had a rich, powerful background to them.

Phi tilted her head a bit with curiosity. She definitely made herself out to be an interesting pirate, all things considered. "Honor among pirates, huh? Never thought pirates had honor to begin with" she said.

Ryoka bowed slightly to Seara to show his appreciation. "I greatly appreciate all of this. You should know though that our village is small and discreet. Which means, there isn't much that we can do to provide for all of you and the pay won't be as substantial as other towns" he said. To stay hidden, they aren't connected with the Merchant's Association. This severely limits the amount of income and resources that Haven Village receives. They've made a business agreement with the snow village of Imil out in the Rosedes Tundra and they receive monthly supplies from Esseand, but that's about it. Everything else either came from crops that the village grew or by means of supervised hunting in order to prevent the forest's ecosystem from falling out of place from excessive hunting.

At that moment, another voice spoke out in a deep, male tone. "No need to worry about that. We didn't volunteer and expect to be awarded for our generosity. All of us serving under the Captain all feel the same way" the voice said. A male with short, orange hair and blue eyes wearing a similar pirate outfit approached them from behind Seara. He had a firearm that resembled the two that Seara had strapped to his waist along with a pirate's saber sheathed at his hips. Not only that, he had a pair of long, orange-furred fox ears with a short but fluffy tail. He was dressed up like he was in charge. "We all want to lend a helping hand to the oppressed Faeries and Beastmen whenever we can" he said.

Seara patted the man that approached them on his back. "This is one of my best coordinators. He'll be in charge of Guild Branch operations around here" she said. With his skills and level of experience, she foresaw little to no problems in the upcoming future.

The man patted himself on the chest and gave everyone a wide grin. "The name's Takuto Yoshikawa. It would be my pleasure to provide aid to my fellow kin" he said. He then turned to face Ryoka, holding his hand out towards him. "It's an additional honor to be of service to the famed Bloody Reaper. Even today, your story is told amongst our kind" he said.

Allie tilted her head a bit. "Bloody Reaper?" she said with a confused look on her face.

Takuto nodded as he started to reminisce about the past a little bit. "The former Knight Commander of the Sirione Royal Guard was a formidable force. His skills with a scythe, a weapon that was difficult to master, made him a strong, dependable ally and a deadly threat to his enemies. Stories say that the Bloody Reaper was able to single-handedly defeat a monster horde back in the prime days" he said. There were many stories and talks about Ryoka that he may not be aware of. Some even use him as inspiration to better themselves. Even in Sirione's darkest times, the people still cling onto the hope that the Bloody Reaper will re-emerge on the battlefield.

Ryoka scratched the back of his head a bit. While something like that did occur in the past when he was younger, he felt that the rumors and stories were a bit exaggerated. "I feel like some of those stories are a little bit embellished. I'm not as all-powerful as people may think" he said. This became apparent to him after his failure to protect the royal family from their fates and Sirione's subsequent fall from grace. He extended his hand out towards his, grabbing hold of it to shake hands.

Takuto chuckled a bit as they shook hands. "Regardless, people are still remember your name and your story. In fact, I'm one of the many youths that looked to you for inspiration" he said with a big smile on his face. He looked like he could barely contain his excitement.

Seara giggled a bit, turning her back to them as she held her arms behind her head. "When I first brought up your name when I was looking for volunteers, he was one of the first to throw in his bid" he said. Truth be told, the vast majority of her crew all wanted to volunteer. However, Ramza told her to keep the numbers low so it was a bit difficult to pick the perfect people for the job.

Takuto pumped his arm with vigor and enthusiasm. "No offense Captain, but you wouldn't understand. The people of Sirione hold Ryoka in high regard. Knowing that he's alive was like a prayer that was finally answered" he said.

Ryoka scratched the back of his head, looking a bit uncomfortable with everything he's been saying. He didn't realize how much people looked up to him. "I really think that this is all exaggerated nonsense. I don't recall doing anything to warrant such praise from people" he said. Especially now in the current times, he wasn't as young as he used to be. He still may know his way around the battlefield but his skills have noticeably diminished over the years as he got older. Back in the day, he wouldn't have issues with small fry Shinobi. "So long as you temper your expectations of me, I think we'll get along just fine. I'm an old man, at this point" he said.

Seara nodded as they seemed to come into an agreement. It was always good to see new business relations forming. "I'll stick around for a while and help Taki get everything situated around here. I would also like to talk to those Shinobi that surrendered themselves and see what information they could give me" she said. Being former Shinobi at this point, they would surely have some good intel that she could use. Maybe locations of work camps where there are more slaves being held or any insider information about the Shogunate or the Syndicate. She knew that once one becomes part of the Shogunate, whether it's willfully or forced, they're given certain bits of information and if anyone tried to leave the Shogunate, their resignation is paid with their life to keep information from spreading. When she heard that

Ryoka nodded. He's been wanting to have a conversation with those that surrendered so this works out perfectly for him. He wanted to give them time to adjust since they were now free from servitude. "Of course. I can call on them later" he said. He glanced towards Tsuki and the others for a moment. "I've also sent out a message to King Raiku, detailing everything that's happened. I imagine that he'll send out a detachment to investigate how they were able to encroach this far inland, but I don't expect a response for at least a few days" he said.

Reis held his hand up to his chin in thought. The only coastline that was nearby was the small beach that they washed up on. The next closest shoreline is in the Rosedes Tundra, which is kept under close observation by the Nightwings. The surrounding areas were high cliffs that went out to the ocean or tall mountains. Either they managed to get around the tight watch of the Tundra or they came in through one of the local ports down south which would raise concerns about port security. "I can't imagine them just walking right in. Any ships coming from Sirione would cause immediate alarm and any that come up as unregistered will be met with tight scrutiny" he said.

Ruko briefly remembered their encounter with Albert. He had used what Cliff called Shadow Traversal to flee the area. "Could it be the same thing that Draven used?" he asked.

Lynette shook her head. While the feeling of Arcanum was certainly there, the levels of it were vastly different. "I don't think so. I sensed more power coming from him than I did any of the Shinobi. I would assume something as convenient as Shadow Traversal would come with a high requirement" she said.

Elle folded her arms in thought. There was one other alternative that could have happened. "It's possible that they were smuggled in and not by just anyone. Someone with a high level of influence to bypass port inspections" she said.

Seara took a step forward. "I may have some insight on that. Have you guys heard of a man named Clive Retter?" she asked.

Tsuki tilted his head a bit. It was a familiar name that he's heard come up a few times in the past. "I've heard his name spring up back in Chesberry. He's famous for his stone masonry work, right?" he asked.

Seara nodded at him. "Correct. Retter Industries is at the forefront of stone masonry. No other business even comes close to the quality of products they distribute. Much of their work is highly regarded, even amongst the royalty and rich" she said. She put her hand on her hip and then shook her head. "Unfortunately, despite their unique standing, that doesn't shield them from the grips of corruption. Me and my crew have reasons to believe that Clive Retter has been conducting illegal business. I talked about this with Ramie in Chesberry, but at the time, I didn't have enough supporting evidence to back up our theories" she said.

Ramza recalled her mentioning that she was investigating him when they met up for the first time back in Chesberry. The fact that she's bringing it up now could only mean one thing. "You've discovered something, haven't you? A possible link?" he asked.

Seara mumbled to herself a bit in silence. "Possibly. My First Mate has been taking charge in that investigation and he may have discovered that Retter Industries were the hosts behind that slave auction. While much of the auction site was destroyed, he did find some documents left behind in the rubble that had their name and business stamp on it" she said. She then reached into her bag and took out a scorched piece of paper. It was all torn up so it was impossible to see what was fully written on it but the Retter Industries logo and stamp were clearly visible. Alongside them were also markings and stamps that linked back to the Syndicate. "Not only that, but once the incident of the slave auction came to light, Clive Retter, the man in charge of Retter Industries, disappeared without a trace along with any paper trail in order to cover his tracks. This could be an extreme coincidence, but my instincts tell me otherwise" she said.

Ramza glanced at the sheet of scorched paper as he stroked his chin. "Well, that isn't suspicious in the least" he said, sarcastically. "There's a strict ban in place that outlaws any business dealings with Sirione that most of the kingdoms abide by in an attempt to cut off as much external aid for the Syndicate" he said.

Cheria looked towards Ramza with a concerned look. "Wouldn't that have an affect on the rest of the population though?" she asked. She understood why such a ban was put into place, but she couldn't help but worry about the consequences that came from it.

Ramza nodded slowly. It's unfortunate that the innocent bystanders have to suffer for it. "It does. Sadly, there's nothing we can do about it though. The less external support and aid they have coming in, the better it will be for all of us in the long run. Once the Syndicate is removed from power, then the ban can be lifted" he said. Such a thing is still far off though.

Cesela was concerned that the person in charge for allowing the auction to take place was missing. All it meant was that he could relocate and start up his operations again. "Do you have any idea where he disappeared to?" she asked.

Seara shook her head slowly. While she didn't have any leads as to his whereabouts, she was confident that it won't be long before she does. "I do not, but my First Mate is on the hunt, like I said. He has quite the discerning eye so nothing stays hidden from him for very long" she said.

Tsuki wanted to be involved in this as much as possible. Not just for Cesela's sake and all of the other Faeries and Beastmen, but for himself for wanting to inflict as much hurt onto the Syndicate as he could. Because of his past run-ins with them as a child, he developed a bit of a personal grudge against them for targeting Cheria and nearly abducting her all those years ago. "Is there anything we can do to help?" he asked.

Seara looked at Tsuki, shaking her head and patting herself on the chest. "Nope. You can leave the investigation to the professionals. Besides, from what I hear, you folks have your hands full with enough as it is. Once we know something, I'll be sure to let you know" she said. Ramza had told her in one of his letters that they would eventually become entangled with the Syndicate, so providing them with as much information as she can was the best way she could help out. "By the way, has anyone seen a man named Shadow? I have a message to deliver to him" she said.

Phi shook her head. Now that she thought about it, he hasn't shown himself since her impromptu training session with him yesterday. "I saw him yesterday afternoon but haven't seen him since" she said.

Seara sighed heavily, rubbing the side of her head. She was partially convinced that he was avoiding her at this point. "Disappeared again, huh? It's like he can smell me coming" she said.

Nagi tilted her head a bit at her response with a curious look. "How do you know him?" she asked.

Seara was silent for a moment as if she hesitated to answer. "Let's just say, we have a mutual agreement of sorts. That's all I can say" she said.With how he operates, it makes things a bit difficult for her but she knows how to keep track of his movements. "Anyways, you're all headed off to the snowfields to the north, right?" she asked.

Reis nodded before pulling out a rolled up sheet of paper from his bag. "Correct. I've already notified the checkpoint as well as the Commander. They will be expecting us shortly, so we can't dawdle for much longer" he said.

From the Spiral Woods, it's only about an hour's trek if they stick to the main road. The town of Imil where they were going lies dead center in the snowfields. Due to the harsh environment, not many settlements have made their home in the snowfields. According to the map, there were three other settlements around the snowfields, each branching off in the cardinal directions. One directly north where the Glaciers were, one to the east which was nestled up against the snowy alps, and one to the west along the frozen coastline. These were small settlements, smaller than the average village with a population count ranging from 20-40 people which meant that Imil was the largest town in the Rosedes Tundra with having an estimated population of about 150 people.

From the checkpoint under normal conditions, trek by foot could range from as little as an hour up to as long as three hours, depending on the amount of snowfall and how well the main roads are kept. In the Winter months, which is where they were in now, trek by foot was almost impossible, if not, highly ill-advised. Temperatures drop below zero and the trails become too dangerous to traverse. People wind up burying themselves in snow and with the amount of snowfall, it's unlikely that they would be found until the snow melts. By that time, they would be long gone. In order to prevent this, special transportation is used during these Winter months, which is what they'll be using to get around the snowfields.

Ryoka faced Tsuki and the others with a humble bow. "As the Elder of the village, allow me to escort you guys out of the forest. It's the least I could do for all of your help" he said.

Takuto patted his chest with a wide grin on his face. "You guys can rest easy, knowing that the village will be safe and secured" he said. He then looked over towards Seara. "I'm going to need your help finalizing some things, Captain" he said.

Seara nodded at Takuto and turned towards the village but stopped to look back at them one more time, offering them a wave goodbye. "I look forward to the next time we meet. Good luck out there" she said.

Seara and Takuto took their leave as they headed back in towards the central plaza. At the same time, Ryoka made his way over to the village gates and waited for Tsuki and the others. They all took one last look back towards the village and based off the scene that they were watching, there was no doubts in their minds that they would be alright.

Ryoka watched them as they shifted their gazes back towards the village and cracked a slight smile with a light chuckle. "Shall we get going then?" he asked.

With Ryoka escorting them, they made their way through the Spiral Woods. However, instead of taking the path that they had taken before, he led them through an alternative route. It took a bit longer than the other one but eventually, they would exit through the west side of the forest after a walk that took slightly over an hour. The pathway they followed wasn't maintained very well as it looked to appear fairly new and incomplete. Despite that though, they made it out without any issues.

Once they were out of the forest, they were greeted by brisk, chilly wind. The large, snowy mountains were plainly visible off to their right with the checkpoint to the Rosedes Tundra far off in the distance. They couldn't see it from where they were at, however. They could see some bits of snow off in the distance though.

Ryoka pointed down the main road that extended far off towards the horizon ahead of them. "Keep to this road and you'll reach the checkpoint in no time at all. You might have a run-in or two with a few of the local monsters, but I don't suspect they'll be a match for you" he said. He stretched his hand out towards Tsuki. "Although our time was brief, it's been a pleasure working with you" he said.

Tsuki chuckled a bit and reached for his hand to shake it. "Likewise, though I have a feeling we'll be meeting again" he said.

Ryoka let out a slight laugh. "I would hope so. I'll be expecting a call whenever you guys decide to march onto Sirione. No way will I be sitting out on that" he said. He briefly glanced down towards Cesela as the two of them shared a look of mutual feeling. He reached into a small carry-on that he had brought with him and took out several pairs of coats, each tailored to their sizes. "Take these coats with you. They'll keep you warm" he said.

Ruko reached out and took one of the coats from him and ran his hand across the fabric. It was soft and the amount of wool felt just perfect. "Amazing. Whoever stitched these together did a great job" he said.

Elle took a coat for herself and nodded. She could tell right away that they were made of some pretty high quality materials. They couldn't ask for better coats. "No kidding. These will definitely keep us warm. You sure it's alright to have these?" she asked.

Ryoka nodded at them as he handed the rest of the coats out. "Of course. The village tailor insists that you guys take them. His daughter was amongst those that were almost taken away so he wanted to make sure he used only the best materials" he said. What he won't mention though is that the materials he had used to make these coats was in extreme short supply because most of their stock was destroyed. He glanced back down at Cesela for a moment. "You take good care of yourself out there, okay? The path you have chosen to walk will be a difficult one, after all" he said.

Cesela looked up at Ryoka and gave him a smile as she patted her chest. "Don't worry. I'll be okay. I'm stronger than I look, remember?" she asked.

Allie looked between the two of them, tilting her head slightly. Knowing what she had overheard, she knew that she would be staying with them, but she couldn't help but sense a bit of sadness. "Are you sure you want to stay with us?" she asked.

Cesela looked at Allie and nodded. "Yes. I haven't done anything to repay you guys for saving me yet. Besides, I want to be a part of your group" she said. She looked over towards Tsuki, looking down towards the ground and fiddled with her fingers nervously. "I-I hope I'm not being a burden…" she said.

Tsuki looked down at her and saw that her feelings were genuine and serious. He could see an intense fire burning in her eyes. He didn't know what served as it's fuel, but whatever it was appeared to serve as a powerful motivation for her. "If this is what you've chosen for yourself while also weighing in the ordeals and struggles that lay ahead, then I've got no reason to deny you" he said. He glanced over to Cheria for a moment and for a brief instance, he saw excitement and thrill in her eyes. "Cheria, would you-" he said.

Cheria suddenly interrupted him, knowing what he was about to ask. "Yes! Leave it to me. I'll make sure to properly train her" she said. Cheria was a skilled archer in her own right. There was nothing left for her instructor to teach and while she may not be on the same level as her or Lydia, but she could hold her own. Having someone to teach might also be what she's looking for in order to further improve her own skills too.

Melphi glanced up towards the mountains and took notice of the gathering clouds. "I sense a snowstorm is brewing up in the slopes. We should head out before it comes down on the Tundra" she said.

Reis was in full agreement with her. Being trapped in a snowstorm is the last thing they want to have happen to them. "Then, we better get a move on. It won't take us very long to reach Imil from the checkpoint" he said.

Ryoka took a step back towards the forest. "Haven Village will always be open for you. Feel free to stop by whenever you're around" he said. He gave them one final bow. "Good luck out there. Until next time…" he said. He then turned around and headed back into the forest.

Tsuki and the others said their goodbyes as they waved him off until he disappeared into the thick woods. After he was gone, they all gave each other the same look with a collective nod before walking away from the forest and back onto the main road heading northwest. The closer they approached the checkpoint, the colder the temperature became. They could feel a sharp decline because they could start to see their breath. After a short walk along the main road, their green, grassy surroundings started to become blanketed with piles of snow.

After an hour's walk along the main road, they had arrived at the gated checkpoint, which was essentially a large gate with a number of small buildings on either side of it. Their travels across the main road was relatively peaceful with only a few skirmishes with the local monsters. Since they were entering a freezing cold environment, the monster variety had changed so they saw some that they've never seen before such as Sleet Boars and Frost Wolves. The temperature at the checkpoint felt as if it were in the single digits. However, thanks to the coats that Ryoka had given them, they were able to stay warm, but they could still feel the bitter cold.

The checkpoint had minor military presence. Since they were far from Nargelond, the Nightwings had no reason to have a heavy armed presence, especially since they were essentially operating within Ersheath borders. An increased armed presence would raise questions and concerns more so than they already have since the public are under the impression that the Tundra is occupied by enemy forces. There were a number of armed guards standing around the checkpoint and others were doing their best to stay warm by standing around the various fire pits. Since not many people tend to travel this far our north, overall security was rather lax and the atmosphere felt relaxed.

As they approached the checkpoint, the guards standing by the gates took notice. Since they were expecting their arrival, they had prepared the special transports along with any necessary supplies they would need. The transports that they used to cross the snowfields had a similar design as to the Skiffs that people used to cross the desert with slight modifications done to them. Probably one of the biggest differences is that it appeared that each transport could seat at least two people rather than one.

Tsuki and the others approached the gate with Reis leading them and as they did, one of guards stepped towards them and saluted Reis. "Vice Commander, it brings great relief to see that you're safe and sound. After hearing about what happened at Nobuo Shrine, many of us thought the worst" he said.

Reis returned the salute to the guard. "I apologize for any grievances I may have caused. Anything to report that happened during my absence?" he asked.

The guard nodded at him, dropping his salute. "Do you recall the two survey teams that were sent out?" he asked.

Reis folded his arms and rubbed his chin in thought. "Survey teams…you mean, the ones that were sent out to investigate the Glacier and the strange activity around Melte?" he asked. He remembered that Flynn had sent out these teams not long before they parted ways. "Did they discover anything?" he asked.

The guard shook his head slightly with a worried expression. "The team investigating the Glacier are still conducting operations around the Glacier with almost no success. As for the team sent out to Melte…I'm afraid to say this, but we haven't heard back from them yet" he said. It's been a few days since the two teams were sent out and it was starting to become a concern that one of them haven't checked in yet.

Reis didn't like the sound of that. The survey teams were made up of 6 people that were all handpicked by Flynn and himself. They were all more than competent enough to handle a task as simple as a survey. "That's concerning. What has Flynn said about it?" he asked.

The guard shook his head again. "Nothing much. The Melte Team were skilled individuals, so there was no need to worry. However, considering the rumors that we heard, many of us are starting to feel a bit restless" he said. Even the most strongest and capable team could have something bad happen to them. The lack of response from them was unbecoming.

Reis couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. "I was responsible for putting that team together. I know who was in it and they all know the importance of periodic check-ins…" he said. The people he put together for the Melte Team were good at their respective jobs, so there was no reason for them to break protocol. That is, unless something has happened. "I'll talk to Flynn about this when I get back to Imil, don't you worry" he said.

The guard nodded and finally decided to acknowledge Tsuki and the others behind him. "These must be the folks we've heard so much about" he said.

Tsuki tilted his head a bit. They were talking about something important, so he didn't want to interrupt them. When they finally acknowledged them, he made it seem like they were famous or something. "Come again?" he asked.

Reis shook his head a bit. "Don't mind him. So, do we have clear conditions to ride?" he asked.

The guard nodded though looked a bit concerned. "For the moment, yes. However, conditions are rapidly deteriorating. The snowstorm from the peaks is quickly descending, so there won't be any time for side trips" he said. The winds had been slowly picking up speed and gaining strength for the last 20 minutes. Because of the impending snowstorm, most of the checkpoint has been closed down and secured. "I'd love to chat, but the weather won't allow it. The Commander is waiting for you" he said.

Reis scratched the back of his head. He felt a little bad for not being able to stay and talk a little. "I'll be around for a while so I'll stop by later once the snowstorm has passed" he said.

The guard nodded and turned towards the snow Skiffs. "The Skiffs are calibrated and ready to go" he said.

Lynette walked up to the snow Skiffs and examined them. Up close, they looked almost exactly like the desert Skiffs. "Didn't we see these back in Chesberry?" she asked.

The guard nodded. "The design is slightly different to compensate for the difference in environment, but yes. We have a collaborative deal with the Sand Surfers" he said. Their Sand Skiff design was ingenious when it came to travel across harsh terrain. The fact that they were able to traverse across the sand dunes with ease inspired them to make a deal with them in order to get some Skiffs of their own for snow travel.

Ruko took a closer look at one of the Skiffs and eventually found the Sand Surfers' logo. "I didn't know Colin had such connections" he said.

Ramza shrugged his shoulders a bit. "Well, he did want to expand his operations. He conquered the hot sands and now he's challenging the snow" he said. The overall design of the Skiffs could use tweaking, but they served their purpose. "At least, we can count on their reliability" he said.

Reis climbed onto one of the Skifffs and powered it on. He looked back towards them and patted the empty seat behind him. "We have to move quick if we want to beat the snowstorm. Imil is straight north from here. Just follow the lanterns on the side of the road. Everyone mount up" he said.

Cesela walked up to the Skiff he was on and climbed onto the seat. "This seat is mine!" she said.

Everyone paired up and climbed onto their Skiffs. The only one that didn't get on one was Melphi. She simply took her first steps out into the snowfield and looked back at them. "I've got my own method of travel. I'll meet you guys there" she said. Rather than transforming into her dragon form, she summoned her wings and took off flying.

Lynette scratched the back of her head a bit. It must be nice to be able to fly. "Wait, couldn't we have just flown on her back?" she asked.

Reis shook his head. "While it would expedite things, it wouldn't be wise to fly in with a dragon. We wouldn't want to cause any alarm in Imil" he said. The presence of a dragon could indicate that Dolothlond discovered their location and send them into a panic. "Not only that, but the weather conditions during a snowstorm around here aren't favorable. Visibility is, essentially, zero so flying in the middle of it will be dangerous" he said.

Elle nodded to herself a bit as she fiddled with the control mechanisms of the Skiff. "I suppose that makes sense" she said. She eventually figured out how to activate the Skiff as it soon roared to life.

Nagi, who was sitting in the seat behind Elle, was looking a bit concerned. While the designs of the Skiff were rather simplistic, they've never actually used one before. "Is it really wise for us to operate these things ourselves?" she asked.

The guard standing next to them simply bowed to them. "Normally, we would assign a driver, but there are simply too many of you and not enough Skiffs to go around. Since time is of the essence, we can't afford to take multiple trips either" he said. He then walked up to the front of one of the Skiffs. "The basis of their operation is rather simple, though. Simply move the throttle forward to speed up and pull it back to slow down" he said.

Tsuki soon brought his Skiff to life as he revved it up. "That is rather simple but I'm sure it's not as easy as it seems to actually drive around" he said.

Cheria made herself comfortable on the seat behind Tsuki. "I'm sure we'll be fine. It can't be that complicated, right?" she asked.

Tsuki wasn't sure how good of a driver he'd be but he was willing to get it a shot. "Only one way to find out. Unfortunately, there's only room for two on this, so Allie will have to retreat into the Caliburn" he said. He looked around and saw that Allie was standing in a daze, looking out across the snowfields. "Allie? You okay?" he asked. It was in that moment that Tsuki felt something. A slight ringing in his ear accompanied by a faint voice, but was unable to make out what it was saying.

As for Allie, she heard the same voice speak to her telepathically clear as day. "It's you…so, you've finally arrived. I shall await you…in the Glacier" the voice said. The voice had a soft tone to it that sounded female.

As Allie stared out across the distance and pondered the voice she had just heard, Phi walked up to her and put her hand on her shoulder. "Allie, we have to get going" she said.

Phi's words snapped Allie out of her daze, shaking her head. "Huh…? Oh…right" she said. She turned and walked back over towards Tsuki and Cheria, putting her hand up against the Caliburn strapped to his waist. "I'm feeling a bit tired, so I think I'm going to get some rest for a while" she said. For some reason, she suddenly felt drained of her energy. She soon disappeared into a ball of light where it was sucked into the sword.

Cheria was concerned about her since she wasn't acting like herself. Last time she got like this was in Chesberry when she suddenly felt weak. She also noticed that at the same time this happened, something went on with Tsuki. "Are you okay, Tsu?" she asked.

Tsuki didn't know what that ringing was or what that garbled voice meant, but it didn't appear that it was directed at him. He can only assume that it relates the his and Allie's shared feeling of being called to the Glacier. "Y-yeah, I'm fine" he said.

Ramza soon started up his Skiff as he revved it up. "I hope so. Can't have an impaired driver on our hands" he said.

Phi walked up to the Skiff Ramza was on and took her seat. "So, we're going north from here, right?" she asked, looking towards the guard.

The guard nodded, pointing his finger down the pathway leading out from the checkpoint. "Yes. If you follow the lanterns on the side of the road, you'll get there in no time with plenty of time to spare before that storm hits" he said. If they stick to the path, they would reach Imil in roughly 30 to 40 minutes. He expects the snowstorm to fully descend down onto the snowfields within the next hour.

Ruko revved up his Skiff as well and made sure all of his stuff was secured. "Any dangers we need to be aware of out there?" he asked.

The guard hesitated for a few moments before answering. "With the impending snowstorm, most of the monsters have sought out shelter…" he said.

Lynette didn't like his moment of hesitation. "…most of them?" she asked.

The guard sighed heavily. "We've received reports recently about a snow beast lurking around the Tundra. Unfortunately, we don't have much information on it, so we don't know it's exact location, but those that claim to have seen it say that it's quite fearsome" he said. They only have the reports that were submitted by a number of frightened locals. No one from the Nightwings have been able to confirm them, but with so many of them being reported from all around the Tundra, they couldn't simply disregard it. "Exercise extreme caution if you encounter it. Based on the reports, it's a hulking, four-legged creature with large horns on its head" he said.

This was the first time Reis has heard such reports. It would seem a lot has been happening around the Tundra while he was gone. "This is news to me. We'll be careful" he said.

Tsuki could feel the winds start to pick up based off the whistling of the winds. Snow was starting to blow with the wind. "We better get moving before we lose visibility" he said.

With them in agreement, they took off with their Skiffs through the checkpoint and out into the Rosedes Tundra. Beyond the checkpoint, they could see nothing but a thick blanket of snow all around them. For most of them, they haven't seen such deep snow levels. Cayhill saw its share of snowfall but nothing to this degree. The further they traveled north through the Tundra, the more the temperature continued to drop and with the added impending snowstorm, it dropped even faster.

Their travel across the snowfields was uneventful for their benefit. It was just like the guard from the checkpoint had said; most of the local monsters have sought out shelter to ride out the impending storm. The winds were really starting to pick up speed as they could see the snowstorm fast approaching. Operating the Skiffs turned out to be a lot easier than they were thinking. It took a few minutes to figure out what the controls did, but they were able to get the hand of it.

After about 40 minutes of speeding across the snow, they could finally see what appeared to be the town of Imil. The town itself was fairly large with buildings made out of stone and concrete. For Tsuki and Lynette, Imil brought back memories of Crescentia with it's rustic, countryside looks. Since they were so far our north and in an area that was supposedly under Dolothlond occupation, no supplies from any of the big towns and cities got to them. Which meant that they needed to grow their own stuff, which was a challenge itself considering the living environment they were in. Food growth had to be done in a certain way to compensate for the bitter colds, but somehow they made it work with similar devices used in Chesberry to bring about cool air.

The Skiffs soon pulled up to the outskirts of Imil where they saw Melphi standing in front of what appeared to be two guardsmen standing by the town gates. It looked like the guards were giving Melphi some trouble as a bit of shouting could heard from the distance and it appeared they also had their weapons drawn. Wanting to alleviate the situation before it escalated, they continued on with their Skiffs towards the town gates. As they pulled up to the gates, the attention of the two guardsmen shifted over to them.

One of the guardsmen took notice of Reis, who was at the front of the pack and quickly saluted him. "Vice Commander! Perfect timing, sir! We could use your help right now. This Dragonkin suddenly came down from the skies!" he said.

Melphi sighed heavily, shaking her head and looking completely calm. "I'm telling you, I'm not who you think I am" she said. When she arrived at the outskirts of the village, she landed a fair distance away so that people wouldn't see her flying in. Unfortunately, it just so happened that she encountered a small patrol coming back from the snowfields as she put away her wings. The two of them then proceeded to apprehend her which led up to the predicament she was in now.

The other guard shook his head vigorously, waving his arm. "Nonsense! Why else would your kind come all this way? You must be a spy or something!" he shouted, pointing his spear at her.

Melphi's patience was growing thin and almost made it snap when he extended his spear out towards her. By reflex, she grabbed onto the shaft of the spear with a tight grip and snapped it like a twig as her eye color briefly changed to yellow. "I would advise knowing who you're pointing that thing towards if you know what's good for you" she said as she glared daggers at him.

The two guardsmen were looking a bit nervous as they stepped back a bit. In that moment, Reis clapped his hands loudly. "Alright, that's quite enough. Soldiers, stand down. She's not our enemy unless you want her to be" he said.

The first guard looked towards Reis in disbelief. "But sir…!" he said.

Reis shook his head. "Stand down. I'm not going to say it again. She is the Commander's guest, along with the rest of these people" he said. He understood why they were so on edge. Dragons were their enemy and it would only be natural to assume Dragonkin are as well, considering the hostile relations between them and Humans.

The guards eventually complied with his order and soon returned to their post by the town gate. Thankfully, they didn't cause too much of a commotion, but they did attract some level of attention from the villagers. It was clear that they were feeling uneasy, knowing that there was a Dragonkin in their presence. Reis did his best to soothe the people's worries and calm the situation down.

After a few minutes of talking with the villagers and Nightwing soldiers, he returned to the group and bowed to Melphi. "I apologize for this. I'll make sure to tell everyone else not cause you any more trouble" he said.

Melphi let out a deep sigh along with a faint streak of fire from her mouth as she calmed herself down. "It's alright, I suppose. They were just doing their jobs. It was my fault for not being more aware of my surroundings when I landed" she said.

Lynette was pretty surprised to see their reaction to her. It was the complete opposite of what she has gotten before. "Does this happen often?" she asked.

Ramza nodded at her. "More often than you would think. Remember, many people around Ersheath fear Dragon and, subsequently, Dragonkin. That fear tends to lead to irrational aggression, most commonly from the knights. I imagine it's much of the same for the Nightwings" he said. Considering who their enemy was and what their well known for, it doesn't take much thought.

Reis scratched the back of his head. "It wasn't always like this. We used to have our own squadron of dragons. However, recent struggles with Dolothlond and their new War General have diminished our numbers significantly. Now, we don't have a whole lot of options left" he said. They never had numbers on their side to begin with. They were just a small rebellion up against an established military force. "Any that were left turned on us and fled" he said.

Melphi shrugged her shoulders. The fact that their dragons turned on them and fled came as no shock to her. "Well, that's not surprising. Dragons are built on strong instinct and survival. Once they feel that their life is in danger, they'll do what it takes to survive, even if that meant turning on their masters. People don't realize just how intelligent dragons are" she said. There might be some out there that are willing to defend their masters with their lives, but that only occurs if the bond between Human and dragon is deep and mutual. In this day and age where dragon's are essentially forced into servitude by Dolothlond, there aren't that many people out there that have that kind of bond. "My Lady, Shana, is one of the few people I know that can nurture a natural bond with dragons" she said.

Cheria started to shiver as the temperature started to take a severe drop with the increasing winds. The snowstorm was right above them, just minutes away at this point. "C-can we h-hurry up inside? I'd prefer n-not to f-freeze out here" she said, clinging onto Tsuki tightly for warmth.

Reis nodded. "Our command center is in the center of town. Follow me" he said.

With Reis leading them slowly into the town on their Skiffs, they made their way across the snow streets of Imil. The streets were empty as everyone from the village have retreated into their homes to ride out the snowstorm. The drive through the streets only took a few extra minutes before they reached a large, two-story building. By this point, the snowstorm was fully on top of them as visibility took a dive. They couldn't see very far in front of them and the strong, blowing winds and snow made it even more difficult to see.

They quickly got off their Skiffs and grabbed their things before approaching the two-story building where a guard was standing by to escort them inside. Once they were in, they had a chance to unthaw. The comforting warmth felt amazing since they were out in what felt like subzero temperatures now. They could hear the whistling of the intense wind outside as windows rattled. As they unthawed, they removed their coats so that they could dry off and hung them on the provided coat racks.

Tsuki and the others were sitting around by a fireplace for the next several minutes while Reis went off to meet with the Nightwing commander. They didn't mind the wait since it gave them a chance to warm up. None of them were used to such bitter cold, not even Melphi who seemed to be the most effected by it. She was practically curled up right in front of the fireplace with several blankets wrapped around her body. Thankfully, the people inside the command center were generous enough to offer them some freshly made hot cocoa.

Nagi took a sip of the hot cocoa and felt it start to warm her right up even more. "Mmm…that sure hits the spot. I was prepared for the cold weather but that added wind chill made it so much worse. I felt like my fingers were going to freeze right off" she said. She glanced over towards Melphi. "You must really hate the cold, don't you Mel?" she asked.

Melphi had her hands cuffed in front of her as she breathed small streaks of fire in them to warm herself up faster. "I can handle the cold to a certain degree but not something like this. Us Dragonkin don't adapt to the cold very well unless you had Frost Dragon blood in your veins" she said. With weather conditions like this, she would definitely feel weakened by it. If she had flown in her dragon form, the bitter cold from the air would have been enough to bring her down. The higher she would have flown, the colder it would have gotten.

Cesela took a big sip of her hot cocoa before setting the cup down to rub her hands together. "I can't believe people actually live in this kind of weather" she said. She was used to the more tropical types of weather. She could handle a little bit of cold but not a whole lot, especially when there's added wind chill thrown into the mix.

Elle felt the chill but it didn't really her all that much. Now, if it got any colder than this, that might change. "It definitely takes a special kind of people to tolerate such harsh conditions" she said.

Phi glanced over towards her and couldn't believe at how unaffected she appeared to be. "It doesn't seem to bother you all that much though…" she said.

Elle shrugged her shoulders a bit. "Perhaps it's because the element I specialize in is Water, and subsequently, Ice" she said.

Ruko scratched the back of his head. Based on his limited knowledge when it comes to the elements, that didn't sound right. "I don't think elements work that way…but what do I know?" he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Cheria looked over towards Tsuki as she curled up in the blanket that was given to her. "So, our destination is the Glacier to the north, right?" she asked.

Tsuki nodded. "That's the plan. That is, assuming the Nightwing commander allows us entry" he said.

Ramza already finished his hot cocoa as he set the empty cup on a nearby table. "Any word from Allie? She didn't look too good back at the checkpoint" he said.

Tsuki shook his head. He hasn't heard a word from her but he could feel that some of her energy had been drained for some reason. "Nothing as of yet" he said.

Lynette tilted her head a bit as she couldn't help but feel like this has happened before. "Call me crazy, but this happened when we first arrived in Chesberry, didn't it?" she asked.

Nagi thought back to their first arrival and all the things that took place around the desert. "Wasn't that because of that Daemon invocation though?" she asked.

Ruko didn't like that thought at all. "Oh no. Don't tell me there's another one of those rituals again around here…" he said.

Melphi shook her head. If there was anything of that level happening again, they would all be feeling the effects of having their Mana drained. "We aren't experiencing any Mana loss, so it's probably safe to rule that out" she said.

Ramza stroked his chin a bit. "Then, if it's not that, then what would drain her Mana like that?" he asked.

Cesela was a bit worried about Allie's well-being. This was the first time she's seen her looking so drained. "Will she be okay?" she asked.

Tsuki nodded at her. "She'll be fine with a little rest. Something like this won't keep her down" he said.

After another minute or so has passed, Reis came into the seating area where they were at. "Sorry about the wait. It took a bit longer to debrief him on what's happened" he said.

Tsuki looked towards him and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. So, can we see him?" he asked.

Reis nodded. "He's expecting you guys. It appears that he's been looking forward to this meeting for quite some time now" he said.

Ramza stood up from his seat and brushed himself off. "Best not to keep the man waiting any longer then" he said.

Reis was in agreement as he turned around to face towards a set of stairs leading up to the second floor. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to see him" he said.

The all gathered themselves up and forced themselves to walk away from the fireplace so that they can meet up with the Nightwing commander. Reis led them upstairs and down one of the hallways until they got to set of double wooden doors. Reis approached the door, knocked on it and waited for a response from the other side.

After a few seconds passed, a muffled, deep voice spoke out from the other side. "Finally. Bring them in" the voice said.

Reis opened the door and allowed Tsuki and the others to enter the room. Once they were all in, Reis entered as well and closed the door behind them. On the far side of the room standing behind a wooden desk was a tall, muscular man with short, silver hair that went down to his shoulders.

The man standing on the other side of the room had his arms behind his back as he gazed out the window. On the other side of it, they could see the intensity of the snowstorm blowing outside as the windows rattled. "Well, if it isn't the famous group of foreigners I've heard so much about. With everything you've all been involved with, you're starting to become something like local heroes" he said.

Cheria scratched her cheek a bit with a slight tilt of her head. "But why would the commander of a rebel force be interested in a band of foreign travelers?" she asked.

The man put his hands on his hips as he chuckled a bit. "The real question is, why wouldn't I be interested?" he asked. He then turned around to show his face. He had a pair of red eyes and a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek. "Especially when someone in that group is the beloved daughter of Taichi and Emma" he said with a wide grin.

Cheria looked at him with wide eyes, shocked and surprised that he knew not only about her, but her parents as well. "Wait, you know mom and dad!?" she asked.

The man chuckled once more and reached into one of the drawers of his desk. After rummaging through it for a few moments, he pulled out a picture frame containing an old picture. It was a picture of a much younger version of not only himself, but of Taichi and Emma as well as the rest of what can only be assumed to be their former companions. Shana and Raiku were in the picture as well. Aside from Shana, they all looked to be in their late 20s. The picture was dated back 24 years ago. "Of course I do! They're old travel buddies of mine from back in the day" he said. He took a good, hard look at Cheria. "Yes…you have your mother's looks and your father's eyes. I see both of their strengths and talents inside of you" he said.

Cheria shook her head a bit, unsure of how she should go about breaking the news about Eresseas. "If you know who my parents are, then I'm not sure how to say this but…" she said.

The man held his hand up, shaking his head. "It's quite alright. I already heard about what's happened to Eresseas. Both Raiku and my scouts have confirmed this" he said. He was pretty disturbed when Raiku had informed him of what's happened to Eresseas. He couldn't believe that Caius would do such a thing. They had a few run-ins with Caius and the former king of Honegroth during the time they spent together traveling. Back then, he had such high hopes and dreams for when he would take the throne. However, in the recent months, they had noticed that something had changed. They aren't sure what triggered the change, but they believe that whatever it is was the cause behind Caius' drastic personality shift. He was never this aggressive and violent before. "As much as I want to march on over to Cayhill and help them out, my hands are pretty much tied up until things around here settle down" he said. He let out a heavy sigh, lowering his head a bit and shook it before glancing back up at them. "But first, let's get introductions out of the way as well as a recount of events from your side so that I'm brought up to speed. The name is Flynn Callus. Commander of the Nightwings, at your service" he said.

Tsuki and the others proceeded to introduce themselves to Flynn and gave him a brief recount of everything that's happened throughout their time together. It was hard to believe that a simple mission to investigate suspicious cargo could spiral into something like this. Going back over recent events, they all started to realize just how quickly things suddenly fell apart. They all knew that something was going on behind the scenes prior to their return to Eresseas, but nothing of this scale. For some members of the group, it wasn't easy recounting what happened, especially the events surrounding Eresseas. It took Phi a good while to get over the fact that not only Mike, but Stahler as well betrayed them. They had worked together and fought side-by-side for so long and they were able to turn on them as if it was as easy as flipping a switch.

The topic of Arcanum seemed to be of great interest to Flynn. He has heard bits and pieces of it before, but hearing it being spoken in such great detail and what disasters could potentially come from it really opened his eyes to the real, unknown dangers that were out there. To make it worse, Caius and those responsible for overthrowing Eresseas seemed to have this unknown, dangerous power under their control. He was starting to realize just how grave the situation was.

Not only that, but the news about Kaito and their near-deadly encounter with him at Nobuo Shrine was also of great and immediate concern. Reis was a powerful man who was more than capable of taking on some of Dolothlond's elite fighters on his own. He was probably the second strongest fighter amongst the Nightwings after himself. The fact that he couldn't even stand up to him at all was deeply concerning. He had a feeling that he would be outmatched prior to sending him to the Shrine, but he wasn't just outmatched; he was thoroughly and utterly defeated in every regard. Not only that, but Tsuki and his friends didn't prove to be a match for him either. They may have had him outnumbered, but he far outclassed them and this was something they were unaware of in the reports they had on him.

Flynn was sitting back in his chair, rummaging through a few folders and piles of papers. He was making notes on the information that they brought back about Kaito. "This is all valuable information you're giving us. I know that this wasn't intended, but I appreciate you informing me about him" he said. The information they had on Kaito was bare minimum, at best. Since they didn't have any concrete information up until this point, they had to rely on old data.

Ramza folded his arms, impressed at how calm he was. "You still intend to fight against such an opponent?" he asked.

Flynn nodded as he finished updating the information. "Of course. We might be outclassed, but that's not going to stop us. Not until we expose the corruption of their War Council" he said. The War Council holds the most power right now in Dolothlond. Due to certain private matters concerning the royal family there, all power and authority was transferred over to them.

Ruko was interested in Kaito and the history the two of them shared. He recalled Melphi mentioning that Shana, along with Taichi and the rest of her old companions, had several run-ins with him in the past and that Shana was the one that dealt the supposedly killing blow. "Is he really that much stronger than before?" he asked.

Flynn nodded at him and spread out a few older documents that contained now-outdated information along with any previous notes about him. "Based off your testimonies, yes. He was a powerful individual back then, but not at this level. Necromancy is a forbidden field of research and was banned with strict punishment if one is discovered using it" he said.

Lynette had several flashbacks play through her mind about their encounter with Kaito back in Nobuo Shrine. Almost none of their attacks seemed to faze him at all. "Necromancy…if that's what we can expect from it, then we're going to be in for some trouble" she said.

Elle nodded. "Thankfully, Necromancy has one big weakness. If you can break the spell, you'll break its effects. The problem with that, however, is that you need to find the source of the spell" she said. If they knew what the source was to the Necromancy empowering Kaito, then they'll be able to deal with him.

Reis folded his arms as he leaned up against a bookshelf. "How would we locate the source?" he asked.

Elle stroked her chin in thought. "It could be a number of things, to be honest. To the naked eye, it's very difficult to perceive the energies it gives off. However, someone with special talents that can perceive Mana will be able to sense it as clear as day" she said, glancing over towards Lynette. "Me and Lyn could feel the vile and twisted energy coming off of him and I'm sure Cesela could see it with her Aetherflow talent" she said.

Cesela nodded. She remembers "seeing" all of the twisted Aer swirling around Kaito. It was one of the most bizarre things she's ever seen before. "I sure can. I've never seen such twisted Aer before, not even during all my time while being enslaved to the Syndicate" she said.

Flynn mumbled to himself as he scratched his head. "Which means, if we don't have someone who can perceive Mana, then we won't be able to realistically search for the source" he said. He sighed heavily, lowering his head and shaking it. "If only Maria were here…" he said.

Cesela tilted her head a bit. "Maria? Who's that?" she asked.

Flynn showed them the old photo of himself and his former companions. In the photo, there were 8 people, 4 men and 4 women. Obviously, three of the men were Taichi, Raiku and himself while two of the women were Emma and Shana. The remaining three members were all new faces for them. He pointed to the short girl in the photo who has light violet hair held back in a singular ponytail with blue eyes with a staff on her back. She looked to be the youngest of the group at around 18 years old. "Another old companion of ours. She may look young, but she was quite brilliant and talented and probably more dazzling now than she was before. One of her talents was able to sense and "read" Aer, which ended up saving us on several occasions during our travels together" he said. He stared at the old photograph with a nostalgic look on his face. "She's like a little sister to us" he said.

Phi looked at the old photograph and compared to how everyone used to look then and what they looked like now. Taichi, in particular, looked more relaxed back then before he took to the throne. "Where is she now?" she asked.

Flynn shook his head a bit, grumbling to himself. "That…I don't know. Last I heard, she set off to the Principality of Loné to advance her studies into aetherology. After that Wellspring sprung up on Nula, she became fixated on Aer currents and the nature behind Wellsprings" he said. He then took out a number of papers that were stapled together and placed them on the desk for them to look at. "The Nula Disaster was a curious topic when it happened. Many researchers and scientists flocked to the disaster zone to try to study it. Maria would also follow suit after our journey came to an end, but she wanted to first delve into the mysteries that still lie in the field of aetherology before she tackled such a dangerous task" he said. The papers he had laid out were written out by Maria herself. She talked about aetherology in a general sense and went into some great detail about it as well as some things that she learned through her time in Loné. Unfortunately, what she wrote seemed alien to him and was difficult to understand. However, he held onto the papers just in case he ever encountered someone who would be able to decipher what she said. Whatever it was that she learned had to be extremely important knowledge with how detailed it was. "She sent me these papers several months ago, around late April. I've tried reaching out to her for a simpler explanation, but I've not heard from her since then" he said.

Tsuki was a bit worried about the sudden drop in communication between them. With bonds as tight as theirs, he would think that Taichi and his former companions all kept up-to-date with each other on a regular basis. "Does her silence not concern you?" he asked.

Flynn scratched the back of his head. Considering it's already late December with the new year around the corner, it would be natural to be worried. "Ordinarily, yes. However, she wasn't the type to run off into danger before at least letting us know first. That way, if something does happen to her, we'll know where to look. Since she hasn't made any mention of any trips to the Isle of Nula to anyone, I can only assume that she's too absorbed into her research and studies" he said.

Lynette tilted her head as she picked up the stack of stapled papers and flipped through the pages. "She must be very dedicated to her research" she said. She read through all of the reports and findings she's learned and while she was able to understand bits and pieces, a lot of what she wrote was on a whole different level of understanding. There was one thing, however, that really caught her attention though. "Guys, look at this. It looks like she's discovered that the Wellsprings are, in fact, not natural phenomenon" she said. For as long as they've been researched and documented, people have concluded that Wellsprings were naturally occurring. That they were all just a part of life like how storms and natural disasters are. There was no way to stop them and, unlike with bad weather, they were almost impossible to predict. What she's wrote seems to debunk all of that, to a certain degree.

Melphi raised an eyebrow as she took a closer look at the papers that she was holding. "What did she say?" she asked.

Lynette scanned the papers as her eyes darted from left to right as she recited what she wrote. "Wellsprings are as natural to the world as your typical, everyday storm or the occasional natural disaster such as earthquakes and tsunamis. They are violent, deadly and almost impossible to predict which results in loss of life or significant damage to the affected areas. This is what we were led to believe by leading researchers and scientists" she said. She flipped some more pages, skipping through the lines of text she couldn't fully grasp. "After research and numerous experiments, I have concluded the previous ruling to be false due insufficient evidence, or lack thereof, to support the claim that Wellsprings are naturally occurring. Wellsprings are the result of an explosion of uncondensed Aer that could no longer be maintained properly. This could be the result of an unexplainable shift in the Aer itself which causes it to become unbalanced and unstable. Why this happens is still a mystery" she said. She flipped a few more pages as her eyes scanned across them. The level of detail she put into this report was amazing. It just bothers her that she can't understand most of it. "Aer flows through our world the same way water does. We just can't perceive it on a normal basis. These flows go unimpeded unless outside interference occurs. For water, it could be something manmade or blockage of some kind due to shifting weather patterns. Aer, however, falls on the spiritual side of things and thus cannot be blocked by physical matter. The only thing that can serve as blockage would be the spirits that govern over the different elements" she said.

Nagi held her hand up to her chin in thought. It would seem that Maria had reached the same conclusion they did regarding the nature of Wellsprings and how they might be connected with the Great Spirits. "The spirits that govern the elements…she must be referring to the Great Spirits" she said.

Ramza expressed some interest in what she had discovered. At first, it was mere speculation that the Great Spirits were related to Wellsprings, but maybe there was more than just that, after all. "Luan would love to get her hands on this report if any of it proves to be true…" he said. He then looked over at Flynn. "Would it be alright if I got a copy of this report? I know someone who's probably one of the leading researchers into the nature of Wellsprings. If there's anyone that might be able to understand everything your friend has written here, it'd be her" he said.

Flynn recognized the name that Ramza had mentioned. He recalled seeing her name pop up a few times in some old letters he received from Maria. "Luan…you don't mean Luan Himari by any chance, would you?" he asked. Maria apparently had learned heard of Luan and her studies into aetherology and became fascinated in her research. Despite being much younger than herself, she was impressed at the wealth of knowledge that Luan possessed and has been wanting to meet her for some time now. "If she's the person you're talking about, then by all means. I'll get copies of these made for you right away. Maria has been a fan of her work for a while now, so knowing that her research will be seen by someone she admires will no doubt make her ecstatic" he said.

Elle shook her head a bit with a puzzled look on her face. "If the Great Spirits are the real cause for the formation of Wellsprings, then what could possibly be their motive?" she asked.

Melphi could only speculate on the matter. "Perhaps there is no motive. The Great Spirits have, effectively, closed themselves off from the real world ever since the Humans tried to kill them back in Year 1505. It's possible something happened that caused a disruption in their Aer flow that was out of their control, thus creating a Wellspring, Think of it like an engine that is leaking gas due to a missing component" she said. With how limited they are in terms of available information, it was almost impossible to make a solid conclusion.

Cesela scratched her head a bit as she thought about what she said. "A missing component, huh? I wonder what that could be…" she mumbled.

Flynn let out a soft sigh, sitting back in his chair. What they don't know yet is that the report Maria had wrote relates to the Glacier. "From what Reis has told me, you wish to seek passage through the Glacier. Are you aware of the danger inside?" he asked.

Cheria tilted her head a bit. "What danger?" she asked.

Flynn wasn't surprised that they weren't aware of it. It's so small in size and located in such a remote and harsh environment that it didn't pose as a big risk. "A Wellspring resides deep within the Glacier" he said.

Tsuki raised an eyebrow. "There is? Is that why you're conducting operations around here?" he asked.

Flynn nodded. "If Wellsprings are the cause of a Great Spirit, then we seek an audience with it. With the aid of a Great Spirit, we might be able to turn the tide on Dolothlond. In order to do that, however, we need to figure out to awaken it" he said. He took out a few more scraps of paper and laid them out on the table. One of the papers had a drawing of large shard of ice with pencil strokes coiling around it as if to signify the Aer emitting from it while the other two contained notes of observations and the numerous failed attempts they've tried in order to awaken it.

Lynette took a look at the two sheets of paper and read through some of the methods they've attempted. Some involved using specific objects to try and contain the out of control Aer while others involved trying to seal it off. "Are you sure you're going about it the right way? All of this seems a bit forceful and intrusive. If the Great Spirits sealed themselves away from humanity, then trying to get their attention through methods like these won't get you anywhere. If anything, it would just make them more mad" she said.

Flynn shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head. "Well, what other option do we have? It's not like we can walk up to it and say hi. The Wellspring may be on the weakest one out there compared to the rest, but it's still dangerous for people to just casually approach it" he said. If they can figure out how to contain the uncondensed Aer that was spilling out, they can better study it. "If you guys have any ideas, then you're all welcome to try. I'll inform my survey team of your arrival once this storm passes" he said.

Reis wanted to know about something they recently learned of. "What about this snow beast I heard about? Based off what I heard from people, it's quite dangerous. I wasn't aware that the Tundra housed such a creature" he said. He's made many patrols all across the Rosedes Tundra and not once has he come across any evidence of it.

Flynn glanced over towards Reis, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not surprised you aren't. It's recently come down from the mountain slopes. Apparently, the locals call it the Lord of the Mountain. It's a giant, four-legged tusk beast that makes it's home high up in the mountains and protects its lair from any that are unfortunate enough to stumble upon it" he said. According to the locals, it never comes down onto the Tundra. There was no reason for it to leave its lair. So long as people left it alone, they could co-exist together. "For some reason, however, it has descended onto the Tundra and no one knows why. Because of the weather changes, climbing expeditions have halted, so there shouldn't be anyone messing with its territory. That is, unless someone has been doing it in secret or somehow manipulating it" he said. He glanced over towards Reis. "That was why I had you form a scouting team to Melte. If you recall, we received unconfirmed reports of suspicious activity taking place in the vicinity of the village. The scouting team's last report brings confirmation to those reports but have yet to disclose what's going on. They wanted to gather more information before making their conclusion" he said.

Reis tilted his head a bit. They must have sent out a report while he was away. "I see…and you think it's somehow related to the snow beast?" he asked.

Flynn nodded as he showed him the sheets of paper that had their report on them. "They witnessed individuals wearing black cloaks with monsters under their control through manipulation. The scouting team wanted to investigate these cloaked individuals a bit more as they seemed to be dangerous" he said.

Cheria was becoming more curious as they talked about this snow beast. "What is this 'Lord of the Mountain'?" she asked.

Flynn reached for a book on a nearby shelf and opened it to a marked page. On that page was a picture of the beast in question. He wasn't kidding when he said it was a massive, four-legged tusked beast. "An Elder Behemoth. These types of monsters are labeled extremely dangerous and aggressive. Proof of kill can be quite profitable, if you can survive the ordeal" he said.

Ramza glanced at the page in the book and immediately recognized it. "Behemoths, huh? I've seen a few bounty requests about these during my time as a mercenary. We tend to complete bounty requests for cash rewards and other accolades as a side job in-between contracts. Behemoth bounties, in particular, tend to have bigger than average rewards, depending on the risk and urgency levels" he said. He's never taken down a behemoth himself, but he's heard a few tales of people that attempted to and even fewer that managed to succeed. For instance, there was one mercenary that managed to kill a behemoth with help but at the cost of their left arm when the behemoth took a bite out of him. Miraculously, the mercenary survived, but was forced into early retirement because of his injury. The reward for killing the behemoth would be more than enough to sustain himself for a number of years, though. "I guess it's to be expected to find one high up in the mountains, but an Elder Behemoth? Those are extremely rare" he said.

Tsuki looked over towards Ramza. It just seemed like your tougher than average monster, so he didn't know why this was any sort of significance. "What makes it so rare?" he asked.

Ramza took the book from Flynn and handed it over to Tsuki for him to glance over. "Behemoths, in general, are dangerous and powerful monsters. A colony of them is more than enough to topple a kingdom. Elder Behemoths, however, are the stronger and deadliest breed. The only viable way to kill one with as few casualties as possible is to first weaken it by hitting it debilitating Artes and even then, it takes several squads of mercenaries to take it down. Elder Behemoth bounties are only given to A-rank mercenaries and are listed as an SS Mark, the highest possible rating" he said. Normal behemoth bounty requests are generally ranked as an A Mark, but there are some occasions where they get listed as an S Mark.

Ruko heard about the bounty system that mercenaries engage with, but didn't know much about it. All he knew was that it offered mercenaries extra pocket change. "SS Mark?" he asked.

Ramza nodded. "Bounty requests have a ranking system. Each request is given a Mark which determines the level of difficulty one would face, the threat value and risk factor. It starts at the F Mark and goes up to the SS Mark. The higher the Mark is, the higher the rewards are but that also means a higher danger and risk level" he said. He grabbed a blank piece of paper and a pencil and started to draw a sketch on it. "As you know, mercenary ranks go from as low as F-rank and as high as A-rank, with the rare exception of S-rank. The rank of the mercenary dictates what type of bounties they can accept. For example, a B-rank mercenary can accept any bounty request that ranges from F Mark to B Mark. Anything higher than that is not allowed in order to prevent some overzealous mercenary getting into something that's over their head" he said. The diagram he drew was pretty basic, so it should be easy for them to understand what he is trying to say. "When it comes to S and SS Mark bounties, they become an organized, group effort. Typically, S Mark bounties consist of a group of 8 people while SS Mark bounties consist of 24-32 people" he said.

Phi couldn't believe it took that many people to take on an Elder Behemoth and that's assuming everything goes off without a hitch. "That sure is a lot of people…" she said.

Ramza was just glad that SS Mark bounties are extremely rare. It wasn't often that S Mark bounties pop up and it's even less so for SS Mark ones. When they do spring up on a bounty board, however, A-rank mercenaries are quick to act on the opportunity. "And just because there's a lot of people working on a collaborative goal in mind, it doesn't meant they'll succeed" he said.

Melphi nodded in agreement. He heard the horror story of what happened when the last SS Mark bounty popped up. "Didn't the last attempt at an SS Mark bounty result in the deaths of all 32 people involved? I heard My Lady talking about it one day with a grim expression" she said.

The way the story went was that a group of 32 highly skilled and trained mercenaries gathered up to take down a giant ape that appeared in the southern region of Menorion last year. This ape decimated several towns and villages, killing numerous people and livestock. These mercenaries managed to trap the ape and attempted to bring it down. However, the fight quickly became one-sided as mercenaries were picked off one-by-one. Some were crushed by boulders being flung around or stepped on by the ape's massive feet, others were literally ripped apart and some unlucky few were even eaten alive. No one survived and the ape has yet to re-emerge.

Ramza shrugged his shoulders while shaking his head. "You'll never see me taking part in those types of bounties. I don't care how high the reward is" he said.

Melphi heard a similar statement from Shana. The fact that she made that statement considering her position as an S-rank mercenary and how strong she was made her terrified when she said it. "My Lady has taken on an Elder Behemoth once before and even with the power she wields, it proved to be a challenge. She suffered near-fatal injuries and lost more than half of her group" she said. She couldn't forget the awful state she was in. She had suffered a broken arm, a few broken ribs and was hit by one of the beast's claws, inflicting a serious injury that caused her to lose a lot of blood. "She swore to never take part in such a challenge again. The risks and dangers involved far outweighed the benefits and rewards" she said.

Ramza stroked his chin in thought. The fact that even the strongest mercenary in the world, who was known for her raw power and sharp intuition, barely proved to be a match for an Elder Behemoth was deeply concerning. If they were unlucky enough to run into it, they would be in some serious trouble. "It's unsettling to think that Shana, of all people, almost died to one. We'll definitely have to be mindful of our surroundings while we're in the snowfields" he said.

Flynn nodded. There was a bit of good news in this though. "Thankfully, none of the villages have been attacked by it. In fact, you could even say it's trying to avoid them, though I'm unsure as to why that would be given it's nature" he said. He glanced over towards Reis, who was still reading the report he gave him. "The survey team noted that they found tracks in the snow that belong to the Elder Behemoth not far into the outskirts of Melte" he said.

Reis took note of the date that this report was written. It was three days ago, roughly around the time everything took place in Nobuo Shrine. "And this was the last report we've got from them?" he asked.

Flynn was silent for a moment before answering with a nod. "Yes. They have yet to report back in since. I've considered sending someone out, but since the survey team was formed by you, I thought it would be best to let you handle it" he said.

Reis wanted to know what happened with his team. He had a gut feeling that something has happened. It just bugs him that he can't do anything about it right now. "Once this blizzard passes, I'll head out to Melte to check up on them" he said.

Tsuki was concerned about his safety if he went out alone, especially after hearing about everything that's been happening. "Would you like some help?" he asked.

Reis shook his head. "I appreciate it, but no thanks. You folks have used up enough of your time as it is already. Besides, I know my way around the snowfields. Even if I do run into trouble, I'll manage" he said. He didn't want to put the survey team in jeopardy if he arrived at Melte with a large group. "It's easier to move around solo than with a team" he said.

Cesela put her hands on her hips and gave him a look as if she were scolding him. "But there's safety in numbers!" she said.

Reis scratched the back of his head. While she was right, he wasn't going to back down from this. "I'll be fine, don't worry" he said. He then turned to face the door. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get some things ready to go in the meantime. I wish you luck in your expedition through the Glacier" he said. He headed towards the door and left the room.

Phi watched him as he left the room. He had a good heart, but that tends to make him reckless. Almost like a certain someone she knows. "I'm not sure if I should call him brave or reckless" she said.

Flynn let out a soft sigh as he leaned onto the desk, resting his chin on his hands. "He takes responsibility seriously. He's put himself through some tough training to ensure that those he's responsible for don't lose their lives. The death of his sister had a huge impact on him" he said. He would used to spy on him when he went off to train himself and the regime he would undergo was some pretty intense stuff. He has always regretted that he couldn't do anything to save his sister and does everything in his power to prevent such a thing from happening again.

Cesela was worried about his well-being. He had told her that she and his sister would have gotten along very well and that she reminds him of her. She may not know who his sister was, but she would like to think that she wouldn't like to see him push himself so hard. "I still can't help but worry for him…" she said.

Flynn mumbled to himself as he gathered up the papers he had laid out on his desk. "If it's any consolation, he's been in a number of dangerous situations during his time in the Nightwings. No matter the danger, he somehow manages to come out on top. Just have faith in him" he said. After he finished cleaning up his desk, he stood up and walked around it towards the group. "Allow me to show you to the guest rooms. Unfortunately, we're grounded until the blizzard passes. Besides, I'm sure you are all tired" he said.

Tsuki scoffed at his remark as he shook his head. "Please, I have plenty of energy left in me. No snowstorm will slow me down" he said.

Flynn chuckled a bit with a grin on his face. "I like your energy, kid. No wonder Taichi and Emma have taken a liking to you" he said. He recalled that there was a particular knight under their employ that they were fascinated in. So much that they literally entrusted the life and well-being of their daughter, their most cherished and prized gift, to him without question. Taichi's approval in particular was very interesting to hear about. With him changing a decades old tradition of royal weddings, he never thought he would ever approve of someone to be as close with Cheria as he was. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if the two of them had planned this all from the start when they noticed how close Tsuki and Cheria were as they were growing up.

Flynn took them around to the different guest rooms where they were given a chance to rest. Each room had two beds, so they stuck with the same pairs that they used for the Skiffs to hunker down until the snowstorm passes. Eventually, Tsuki and Cheria were they only ones left and the last ones to be given a room. The room they were given was a bit more luxurious than the others. The rooms had a lot of fancy and expensive decorations to it. Even the velvet red rug looked like something you shouldn't step on. They were definitely in what one would call the deluxe suite. The only difference, however, is that there was a single queen-sized bed within a wooden frame and had matching red curtains to close for privacy.

Cheria was taken back a bit by the lavish furniture and décor of the room. It almost reminded her of the castle. She felt that this room wasn't the right fit for her, which was a strange thing to say considering the fact that she was still the Princess of Eresseas. "I-it's a nice room and all, but is this really a guest suite…?" she asked.

Flynn nodded at her as he welcomed them inside. "Call it the royal treatment. Out in the wilds, you may be traveling around as Cheria the adventurer, but you're still a royal princess deep down" he said. There was more to it than that though. He wanted to talk with the two of them in private and what better way to do that than a familiar setting.

Tsuki felt a bit weird about this setup, especially with there only being one bed. "Royal treatment…? This is almost like a honeymoon suite…" he said.

Flynn walked into the room, shutting the door behind them and went over to sit down on the small couch. "It's been a long time since I've had a chance to see Tai and Em, but I've heard that they're doing pretty well. You really do have both of their traits inside of you" he said, glancing over towards Cheria. He almost felt that they were both standing in the same room as her.

Cheria shook her head a bit. "I think you're over exaggerating a bit. I'm not nearly as strong as dad or as perceptive and intelligent as mom is. If anything, I'm sorely lacking" she said. She has always been told that by many people. About how she carries on the traits of her parents. However, she felt like she felt short of that and has tried her best to carry them. It felt like a huge responsibility as well as a burden. There were times where she felt like she would be crushed under the weight of it all if she made a single mistake. "My parents are far more capable than I am. They see the world in a different way, probably because of their adventures before they ascended the throne. As for me, I'm still very much ignorant in how the world works" she said. She walked over towards the window, putting her hand up against the glass as she felt it shake and vibrate from the intense, howling winds outside. The snow was so thick that she could barely make out the lights from the lanterns outside. "I'm too weak to save anyone, let alone the people of Cayhill. I couldn't even save my friends that fell from Nobuo Shrine. If I can't even save the people around me, how could I possibly be capable enough to rule an entire kingdom…?" she asked.

Flynn shook his head, sitting back in the couch. "You're getting ahead of yourself. The day you become the new queen is still years away. All you need to do is prepare yourself for that role" he said. Talking about this brings up some old memories and nostalgia back when he traveled the world with Taichi and Emma. "Your mother had the same worries as you did while also being saddled with a royal engagement with the Prince of Loné. She was inexperienced, much like you are. She doubted her abilities to rule and thought herself to be incapable. That all changed when Taichi entered the picture. At the time, the two of them couldn't stand each other's company. Emma was full of self-doubt and worry and Taichi didn't want to be involved with royal affairs" he said. He couldn't help but think back to their old travels. All of the bickering that went on between them made it seem like they were completely different people compared to the present.

Tsuki had always been interested in the old stories about them. They heard a little bit about them and their old travels from Raiku. "It's still funny to hear how different the two of them were. You wouldn't even know it" he said.

Flynn nodded in agreement. "Looking back at it all, their growth was nothing short of amazing. Emma went from someone who sorely lacked confidence in herself and her abilities to a top-notch queen who is considered a master in Magical Artes while Taichi went from this lone wolf adventurer who wanted no part in anything to a beloved king who puts his people first" he said. Their old travels consisted of a little over a year and so much had changed in that time. Not just for the two of them, but for everyone they interacted with. "You say you're weak, but if you ask me, I see that you're plenty strong already. You've managed to hold it together after the fall of Eresseas and overcame a number of tough obstacles to get here. Don't sell yourself short" he said.

Cheria wasn't sure where he was seeing all of this growth of hers. She felt like she hasn't improved much since Eresseas fell to Honegroth several weeks ago. "I don't know about that. I feel like I'm still being protected by Tsuki. I don't feel myself being any stronger now than how I was before…" she said.

Flynn let out a soft sigh. Like mother, like daughter, it would seem that she inherited Emma's case of self-doubt. "That's not true at all. From my perspective, I see a kind, strong girl with a fierce resolve and determination, just like your mother was" he said. He then glanced over towards Tsuki, who wasn't sure whether to chime in. "From the stories I've heard and from what I can gather about him, Tsuki is a strong and capable individual, but he tends to be a bit rigid and reckless. When I look at him, I see a strong, inflexible barrier. However, that inflexibility is his greatest weakness. A good nudge in the right spot and that barrier will come crashing down like shattered glass. He's a glass cannon, you might say; strong but fragile" he said. He wasn't fully aware of his abilities with the Sigil or the deep-rooted power that lies within it, but the way he was now, he was almost just as strong and capable, if not more so, than how Taichi was back in the day. "He protects you just as much as you protect him. You both serve as a strong pillar of support to the other. Just like Taichi and Emma do. This has nothing to do with you being a Princess and him being a knight and bodyguard either. This is simply because of the deep and tight bond that you two share. So long as that bond is nurtured, you will become an unstoppable force that might even give your parents a run for their money" he said.

Tsuki scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit awkward with this conversation. "Why do I have a feeling that there's an underlying message in that?" he asked.

Flynn shrugged his shoulders before standing up. "Who knows" he said. He then made his way over towards the door. "I'll leave you two to rest. Let me know if there is anything you might need" he said. He soon left the room,

With him gone, Cheria took the time to walk around the room to check it out. It really was a royal suite, right down to the small silverware and teapot. "Well, I'll admit that this room is pretty cozy" she said. She spun around on the tile floor. The room was pretty spacious.

Tsuki scratched the back of his head a bit as he looked around. "At least, he knows how to treat guests. A bit too fancy for my tastes, though" he said.

Cheria thought about what Flynn had said to her. "Do you think I can do be what he said?" she asked.

Tsuki nodded. He didn't have much room to chime in to their conversation, but he agreed with the many points he said. "Absolutely. You don't realize just how much you've grown but we all see it" he said.

Cheria mumbled to herself. If they're both adamant about it, then there had to be some truth to it. "If you say so…" she said. She looked out the window and saw that the blizzard seemed to be intensifying. The windows were starting to rattle even more. "Hey, at least we still have-" she said. Just in that moment, the lights turned off. Because of the intensifying blizzard, the whole town ended up losing power. Because the blizzard was blocking out the light, it became pretty dark in the room.

Tsuki wasn't surprised in the least that they lost power. He was more surprised at the fact that they had power for so long. Tsuki looked out through the window and couldn't see anything, not even the lanterns. "Well, this room does have a fireplace…" he said. He walked up to the fireplace, placing some of the provided wood inside of it and ignited it. It took about a minute before the fireplace was fully ignited. At least with this, they'll able to keep the room warm.

Cheria went through one of the closets and pulled out a few blankets for them. "Want to sit by the fire then?" she asked. She might have grabbed a bit more than she could carry because she also grabbed a couple pillows.

Tsuki looked over towards her and saw that she was bringing like half of the room's linens. "Do we really need all that…?" he asked.

As she approached the fireplace, she ended up stepping onto one of the dangling sheets, causing herself to trip. Tsuki expected her to trip with how much she was carrying and tried to catch her but as he reached out to grab onto her, he ended up being dragged down with her. With the sheet and pillows dropping around them, Cheria found herself lying on her back on the ground in front of the fireplace with Tsuki hovering over her. From another person's perspective, it looked like Tsuki had pinned her down on the ground.

The only sounds that could be heard were the howling winds from outside. Tsuki and Cheria were staring down at each other which created a certain mood. Cheria stared up at him with shaky eyes and a deep blush. Tsuki found himself in a similar state. She hasn't noticed that when she fell, but her battle dress came undone a bit. If one could listen closely, they could probably hear their intense heartbeats. Time seemed to come at a standstill for them as the mood only seemed to intensify with the storm. In that moment, it was as if they forgot they were a Princess and knight. Titles and position were forgotten as human impulses and emotion took control of them. After what felt like an eternity, Tsuki impulsively started to lean in closer to her while Cheria just laid there, her face becoming more red. They both could feel the pounding of their heartbeats as she seemed to accept what was happening.

Tsuki could barely take his eyes off her. He had always thought she was beautiful, but with his duty to serve as her bodyguard, he had always shoved those kinds of thoughts to the side. However, now that they weren't technically playing the roles of a royal Princess and her knight, he has been letting his guard down around her a lot more than he has previously. As a result, all of the thoughts and feelings he had pushed aside had been slowly starting to come back. There were moments like this that have happened previously such as their time in the hot springs in Basilwell and when he woke up in Esseand after their encounter with Draven. However, given the setting that they were in plus with what Flynn had told them before leaving, this moment seems to have escalated even further.

Seeing how defenseless she was with a hint of bashfulness, Tsuki felt himself almost being drawn in to her. Thoughts of all their time together from childhood to the present flowed through his mind, even some thoughts he probably shouldn't be having that may be crossing the line between Princess and a royal knight. Before he knew it, their faces were just inches from each other that their noses could almost touch. "Cher…" he said in a soft voice, taking hold of both her hands.

Cheria's eyes grew more shaky as his face leaned in closer to hers. She felt incredibly embarrassed to be seen in this state as her face was bright red, but she didn't fight back. Instead, she took hold of his hands as she continued to stare up at him, her body lightly trembling. Flynn's words about how they should nurture their bonds the same way that Taichi and Emma do echoed through her mind. For her, she didn't care about titles or position. It didn't matter that she was a Princess or that he was a knight. It didn't matter that she practically picked him off the streets that wore practically nothing but rags and old clothes. She didn't care about their individual upbringings. She knew what her feelings were clear as day and she never tried to pass them off. To her, he was far more than just a bodyguard and protector. He was the most important person to her, right next to her parents, if not more.

The feelings Cheria had for him were strong and were impossible to fight against. Every time they have moments alone like these, she wishes for nothing more than to just melt away in his embrace. If she had to list her weaknesses, her greatest one would be Tsuki. In this moment in particular, she felt powerless as she took in the moment without struggle. "Tsu…I…" she said in a soft voice.

Their faces drew a few inches closer. However, just before this intimate moment could hit its peak, Allie suddenly started to materialize in the room next to them and spoke out. "Master…?"she asked.

With Allie's sudden appearance and voice, the two of them seemed to immediately freeze up and snap back to reality. Quickly realizing the mood that filled the room and what they were about to do, both of their faces turned the brightest red possible and caused Tsuki to quickly push off of her. Cheria became extremely flustered as she tried to contain and gather herself as best as she could, realizing that her battle dress became undone a bit. However, no matter what she did, her face continued to glow the brightest red. They both realized that they used the opportunity they had and allowed their inner feelings to act out.

When Allie fully materialized, she looked at the both of them and saw that they were acting very weird. Cheria had her face buried in a pillow where she could almost see a heavy steam cloud rise up from the top of her head while Tsuki was looking a bit panicked. They were both acting very suspicious. "I sensed Master's heartbeat rising to incredible levels, so I woke up. Is everything okay…?" she asked.

Tsuki was still trying to process what just happened and what he was about to do. He was fully aware of what he was doing which made it worse. "N-nothing! I-it's nothing. Don't worry about it, Allie. I-I'm okay…" he said. He can't recall ever feeling this flustered and embarrassed before. He could feel his heart beating like crazy.

Meanwhile, Cheria kept her face buried into a pillow. She was mumbling and groaning, but the sounds were too muffled from the pillow, so they couldn't hear what she was saying. The moment the two of them just had was something that she was both prepared and unprepared for. Her heart was ready to embrace it, but her psyche wasn't which was why her body was lightly trembling. There was no denying what was about to happen in that moment. With the mood that they were in, the two of them were about to have a passionate kiss and who knows what else if Allie hadn't appeared. The thought of what could have been only made her face glow even redder as the almost visible steam cloud over her head grew more heavy.

Allie grew more suspicious with how the two of them were acting. It was obvious that something happened and she could probably put the pieces together if she wanted to. Given their reactions though, she made the decision to let it rest as to not make things worse. "Mmm…you both are such weirdos" she said. She stretched her arms up over her head, feeling much more energized and invigorated compared to how she felt back at the checkpoint earlier. The sudden drain of her energy was gone, but it still concerned her. "So, what did I miss?" she asked.

After Tsuki took more than a few deep breaths, he managed to compose himself enough to fill her in on the things they talked about with Flynn. The mention of the Great Spirit within the Glacier made her curious. She recalled that she heard the voice of a girl and how she felt like she was being called to the Glacier. Maybe it was the Great Spirit reaching out to her, given that she's a Great Spirit herself.

Allie was sitting on the edge of the bed as she absorbed the update that she was given. "So, we just have to wait for the snowstorm to pass, huh?" she asked. She glanced over towards the window. The winds were still blowing as strong as they were for the last several minutes. "The Great Spirit of the Glacier…I wonder what they're like" she said.

Tsuki shrugged his shoulders, trying to have a normal conversation after what just happened. "W-who knows. No one has seen a Great Spirit for centuries, so it's anyone's guess" he said.

Cheria soon spoke though slightly muffled from the pillow as she had managed to compose herself enough to talk, lowering the pillow from her eyes to look at them. "Maybe the reason you feel like you're being called is because of that Great Spirit. Having someone who was the same as you nearby, perhaps they thought to reach out to you for help" she said.

Allie scratched her head a bit. She was still very much unaware of what she was. She keeps being told that she was a Great Spirit, but she didn't feel like one. "I don't know. Something tells me that isn't It" she said.

Tsuki cleared his throat and shook his head as he finally regained himself. "I suppose we'll find out once we get there. The biggest question is, how are we going to talk to it?" he asked himself. According to what Raiku and Luan had said, you would need to wear special protective gear to even get close to a Wellspring. He had memories flash through his mind when they went through the Cavern of Solace and came close to the Wellspring there. They were still a fair amount of distance away from it but they still felt immediate effects on their Mana.

Cheria took the pillow from her face, still slightly red, as she took in a deep breath. "I'm sure we will think of something" she said. She gathered up one of the blankets and sat down next to the fireplace, bundling herself up. She could start to feel the room getting colder.

Tsuki could feel Allie's Mana levels were somewhat back to normal. "You feeling better now?" he asked. He was curious to know why her Mana levels suddenly dropped. She experienced the same thing back in Chesberry too and apparently, it wasn't because of that invocation ritual.

Allie nodded, patting herself on the chest with a wide smile. "I still feel a bit tired, but I'm okay now. I'm sorry if I worried you…" she said, holding her hands behind her back while looking down.

Tsuki shook his head and stretched his hand out toward her and patted her on the head, "It's alright. So long as you're okay, that's all that matters" he said.

Allie simply nodded at him again with the same wide grin before turning to walk towards the window to look outside. She put her hand up against the glass and could feel the cold coming through it. It was like she was looking out at nothing. "It's so hard to see out there" she said.

Tsuki made a quick glance out the window. The level of urgency by the guard at the checkpoint finally made sense to him. "That guard wasn't kidding. We would have been in some serious trouble if we got caught up in that" he said. It was already naturally cold outside because of the frigid temperatures. If they had gotten caught in a blizzard like this with no shelter, then there was a good chance that they wouldn't have survived the bitter cold. If they weren't done in by stumbling off a ledge, then the frostbite would have done the job.

Cheria wondered how a town like this could even function with blizzards like this. That same thought was applied to the two other villagers in the Tundra. "I wonder how these places don't get buried in snow. With a snowstorm like this, you'd think it would be easy to get snowed in" she said.

Tsuki scratched the back of his head a bit. "Hopefully, we won't find ourselves trapped in here by the time the storm passes" he said. Being snowed in would be the worst possible thing especially with no power. No power means no heater and firewood only lasts for so long.

Allie shook her head as she turned from the window and walked away. "You two worry too much. Why don't you take a load off and relax for once?" she asked. She walked up to Tsuki and grabbed him by the arm and pulled him over towards Cheria. "Nothing we can do right now anyway, right?" she asked. She then sat down in front of Cheria, pulling Tsuki down with her.

Tsuki found himself being pulled over towards the fireplace where Cheria was and before he knew it, he was pulled down onto the ground and sat next to Cheria, shoulder-to-shoulder. Allie then proceeded to take another, more heavy blanket and threw it around the both of them before making herself comfortable in Tsuki's lap

Allie giggled a bit as she was enveloped by the warmth of the both of them and the blanket. "Nothing beats sitting by a fire in the blistering cold" she said.

Tsuki and Cheria stared at each other, their faces growing slightly red since they still haven't fully gotten over their little intimate moment earlier and decided to play along with her as they made themselves comfortable next to the fireplace. For the next hour or so, the three of them talked amongst themselves about various topics as they waited for the storm to pass. Unfortunately, the storm was still going strong, so they will probably be stuck for a good while as it showed no signs of slowing down. However, this did give them a chance to have some casual talk.

After about another hour had passed, both Tsuki and Allie had fallen asleep. The warmth from the fire and the relaxing and comfortable mood had slowly made them drift off. Cheria was on her way of falling asleep too. She wanted to enjoy this moment of peace with the two of them for as long as she could. While they do get their moments of peace as they travel, it's private moments like these that are hard to come by. They're always traveling in a group, so there wasn't a lot of time where they spend apart.

After about 30 minutes had passed since both Tsuki and Allie fell asleep, Cheria was starting to nod off. She rubbed her eyes and yawned a bit as she took a look out the window. The storm wasn't as strong as it was, so she could tell that it was slowly starting to die down. "If only moments like these lasted forever…" she said to herself. She looked down at Allie, who was curled up on the floor and using Tsuki's lap as a pillow. She couldn't help but let out a light giggle at the sight. "I'm surprised you could fall asleep so easily again after just waking up" she said.

Her eyes then shifted up towards the sleeping face of Tsuki where she became transfixed with. He looked totally defenseless while he slept. Earlier events soon started to play out in her head again, causing her face to turn slightly red. She really did wonder what would happen if Allie hadn't popped up. She wasn't sure how to feel about it. She felt relieved that they snapped out of it before going too far but also a little disappointed that it stopped. Her feelings for him were clear and it was plain to see that he shared the same feelings too. However, he didn't seem like he was ready to take the next step forward. All she could do was wait for the right time to come for him to speak the words that she wants to hear come from his own mouth.

Cheria leaned in a little closer to him, pulling her hair behind her right ear, her cheeks rosy red. She was about to say something just before Allie popped up. Unfortunately, he won't be awake to hear them but she had committed herself to finish them. Thinking back on it, this was now the third time she almost lost him. The first time was back when they were still young and Tsuki was still living on the streets. She found him in his sewer hideout deathly ill. Because of the typhoon that hit Eresseas and lingered for a few days, the temperatures in the sewers had a significant drop and because of the wet environment, he had no way to warm himself up. If it wasn't for the intervention of the royal doctors, he would have died. The second time was when he was gravely wounded by Caius back in Basilwell. It was an injury that would have surely killed him if it wasn't for the barrier he had put up and the healing done by Lynette. Finally, the third time was when he was blown off Nobuo Shrine. He's gotten lucky so far, but she feared that she would lose her chance.

She could feel her racing heartbeat as she came to realize that this would be the first time she would declare her true feelings. "I love you, Tsu. With all my heart. I want you to stay with me. Not as a bodyguard or a knight, but as something much more. I'll wait for you for as long as I have to" she said in a soft tone. She then sealed the deed by kissing him on the cheek. Afterwards, she felt like a weight was lifted off her and could breathe a sigh of relief. She got closer to him and rested her head on his shoulders, taking his hand and resting it on her lap as she rested her hand over his. She soon closed her eyes and slowly drifted asleep next to him.

The next two hours passed by in an instant. The snowstorm finally stopped and the sun's rays could be felt once again across the town. Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of snow build-up considering the strength of the snowstorm and how long it was. Everyone was expecting to be snowed in, but that didn't seem to be the case. It didn't take long for the townspeople to be back out of their houses and cleaning up the mess the storm made. As for Tsuki and the others, they felt recharged and ready to go back on the adventure. It was still early in the afternoon, so they had plenty of daylight left. They regrouped and met up with Flynn and Reis in his office. When they entered Flynn's office, they saw that Reis was geared up and ready to set out to Melte.

As for Flynn, he had his finger up to his right ear and seemed to be talking to himself as he stood by the opened window. When Tsuki and the others entered, he held his hand up as if to tell them to give him a minute. "…Understood. I'll be sending out a group to the Glacier now. Hold out as long as you can" he said. After a moment, he took his finger away from his ear and let out a heavy sigh. He had an expression on his face that almost screamed bad news.

Reis was concerned about what he was told. "That was the survey team, right? What happened at the Glacier?" he asked.

Flynn shook his head. "Nothing good, that's what" he said. He looked up towards Tsuki and the others. "I'm not sure if your arrival here to investigate the Glacier was timed or an incredible coincidence" he said.

Lynette tilted her head a bit. "What does that mean? Who were you just talking to?" she asked.

Flynn mumbled to himself a bit. "That was my survey team from the Glacier. With the snowstorm gone, communications are back up and they've informed me that they've encountered some trouble. Some samurai suddenly appeared from a shadow vortex of some kind and is impeding on our efforts to awaken the Great Spirit. Thankfully, there have been no fatalities, but there are a few that have been injured" he said. He didn't fully understand what the member of his survey team said. Whoever this person was had the ability to travel through some sort of portal. The fact that he came out of nowhere was a clear indication that he didn't simply stroll on in.

Ruko didn't understand how he was talking to his survey team. They were the only ones in the room and he looked like he was talking to himself. "Umm…I'm sorry, but how could you have been talking with them?" he asked.

Flynn reached up to his ear and took out a small, strange-looking device and set it on the desk. It was small enough to fit in one's ear with a loop to attach it to the ear. "With this. It's an experimental tech we call Communo-Link, or ComLink for short. A ruin of the ancient civilization was discovered in Nargelond and we salvaged whatever we could. This was one of those things" he said.

Nagi looked at the strange device and tilted her head. It was a bizarre-looking thing that looked simplistic but also advanced in terms of technology. "Com…Link? What does it do?" she asked.

Flynn understood their confusion. This was experimental technology that they've kept under tight wraps. Only a certain few people had access to one. Raiku was one of them. "It's a device that lets you speak with someone across a wide distance, so long as the other person has their own. It sends out an electronic signal to the device you're connecting to and transmits your voice so you can talk with the other person in real-time, rather than waiting on a carrier pigeon" he said.

Ramza raised an eyebrow with a curious look. "Instant communication and correspondence, huh? If such a device was main use, that would make it easier to relay information to others that may need it" he said. Such a device would revolutionize the way communications are handled across vast distances. It would certainly put the carrier pigeons and hawks out of a job.

Flynn shook his head, picking the device back up and placed it in his ear. "Unfortunately, it's still being developed. The materials we salvaged are hard to understand and have only been able to produce a handful of working units. Not only that, but the range is very limited. You could probably speak to anyone in the Tundra if they had their own ComLink, but go beyond the checkpoint and the signal drops off. It's also very easy for the device to pick up interference. Any drastic changes to the surrounding Aer or bad weather will cause a disruption, rendering it useless" he said. Because of the snowstorm, he wasn't able to reach out to his survey team. The effects from the blizzard caused too much of an interference with the signal. The limitations to its range of effectiveness is also the reason why his signal was cutting in and out back when he reached out to Raiku prior to the events of Nobuo Shrine.

Phi was curious about the device, but her concerns were more focused on this samurai that appeared at the Glacier. "What about this samurai? You said he appeared from some shadow vortex?" she asked.

Flynn nodded. "I don't understand it myself, but that's what they said. Some strange portal appeared out of nowhere and a man wielding a katana stepped out of it. According to what they said, he hasn't attacked them yet, but when the survey team tried to force him out, he defended himself. The strange part about it is the fact that while he has caused some injuries, he hasn't killed anyone yet" he said. It was odd behavior. It was clear that whatever intentions that the man had weren't good ones, but he didn't sound like someone who would go off and pick random fights. He only acted out in retaliation and defended himself.

Tsuki stroked his chin and fell into thought. The mention of the shadow vortex and how the samurai suddenly stepped out from it kind of reminded him of how Draven escaped. This was giving him some bad vibes. "That sounds like Shadow Traversal. Which means…" he said.

Melphi let out a heavy sigh as she shook her head. "Another lackey of Caius, it would seem. Like our troubles weren't enough already. The question is, why would they appear there?" she asked. She could probably wager a good guess and it had something to do with what their current goal is.

Cheria was starting to get a bad feeling about this. It all really did seem very coincidental that they would appear now. "Perhaps, they want the power of the Great Spirit as well" she said.

Allie shook her head. For whatever reason, she felt like she couldn't let that happen. "We have to stop them, don't we?" she asked.

Tsuki nodded in response. "Of course. Regardless, the Glacier is still our destination, so one way or another, we will run into them" he said. He then patted his chest and gave Flynn a look of determination. "Leave this to us. We'll deal with the samurai and make sure nothing happens to your survey team" he said.

Cesela looked at the group and chuckled a bit with a small shrug. "Never a dull moment, huh? It's like trouble always has a way of finding us" she said.

Reis couldn't agree more with that statement. It's just been one thing after another with this group ever since he met them at Nobuo. "You can say that again" he said. He then started to head towards the door so that he could leave for Melte. "Well, I'll be heading out now. I'll keep-" he said.

Suddenly, the door to Flynn's office flew open. As it did, a soldier wearing scouting-type gear dragged himself into the room, gravely injured. It appeared that the soldier had a broken right arm, an injured left leg and was bleeding heavily. His scouting gear was torn to shreds and the man was covered with ice and snow. He had clear indications of severe frostbite along his hands and nose. "C-com…mander…" he struggled to say.

Reis immediately recognized the man. He was one of the people he appointed for his scouting team of Melte. He rushed over towards him and grabbed hold of him as he was on the brink of collapse. "Hey! Stay with me! What happened to you!? Where's the rest of the scouting team!?" he asked.

Lynette quickly rushed over to their side and immediately started to perform Healing Artes on the man. He was in very bad shape. "This injuries are serious and the frostbite has made them even worse. I'll do my best, but I don't think I can save him" she said.

The soldier could feel the warmth from her Healing Artes, but he knew that he was too far gone at this point. He needed to deliver a message before he succumbs to his injuries and frostbite. "T-they're all…dead. W-we were investigating around M-Melte when we were s-suddenly ambushed…by those people in black cloaks" he said.

Reis was shocked to hear the fate of his team. The people he had appointed to it were all highly distinguished and capable fighters. "It can't be…" he mumbled. He knew some of the people he appointed to that team. This news hits him pretty hard. He took a deep breath in order to stay calm so he could hear the rest of his report. "What happened in Melte?" he asked.

The soldier let out a few heavy coughs as Lynette did her best to make him comfortable. "When we arrived, we noticed a…significant drop in population. Many people were missing without reason, leaving just as many abandoned buildings…" he said. Melte almost resembled a ghost town. Considering it used to be an active village, it was a little unsettling. "W-we used one of the empty houses…as a base of operations. We…wanted to figure out where all the people went. After two days…of investigation, we noticed that more and more people were going missing. Then, on the third day…it happened. We were gathered around the outskirts…when those people in black cloaks ambushed us. They controlled monsters and had this…strange aura to them. No matter what we did, nothing seemed to faze them…" he said. It was a bloodbath. He watched everyone on his team fall one by one. They were easily overwhelmed and given no chance to escape. The only reason he survived was because their leader gave him a chance to escape. While he did manage to get away, he was still injured. He assumed they didn't follow was because they thought he would have been easy monster bait out in the snowfields. Thankfully, he was still resourceful enough to avoid most monsters though he did get caught in the snowstorm which slowed down his return to Imil significantly.

Nagi contemplated what he said and she wasn't getting a good feeling about this. In fact, she almost felt sick in the pit of her stomach. "Missing villagers…men in black cloaks…abnormally high power…" she said. Just the thought of it made her shudder.

Reis could feel the anger in him rising as he gritted his teeth, but took a deep breath to remain composed. There was one thing he wanted to ask him. "The men in black cloaks. Did you guys figure out who they were?" he asked.

The soldier coughed once more as he felt his body start to give out. By this point, he couldn't feel anything below the waist. His body was going numb. "It…it was D-Draxus…" he said. His vision was starting to become heavily blurred as the strength was leaving his body.

There was a collective shock and surprise amongst everyone in the room. It's been a long time since they've heard of any recent Draxus activity. The last time Tsuki and the others heard about them was when they returned to Eresseas and learned about what happened to those that the knights captured. It would seem the dismantling of operations around Cayhill didn't faze them one bit.

Flynn was highly disturbed by this news. He had no idea that there was cult activity taking place in an area he was suppose to be keeping a close watch on. "So, those cultist worms came out of hiding, huh? That explains why communication with them stopped. This changes everything" he said. He glanced over towards Reis, shaking his head. "Normally, I wouldn't have an issue sending you off to do an investigation on your own, but Draxus is far too unpredictable. I don't feel comfortable enough to send you out on your own" he said.

Reis looked over towards Flynn, almost shocked to hear him say that. "But sir, I can't just leave things like this!" he shouted.

Flynn shook his head again. "I understand how you feel, but I don't have anyone to spare to send out with you. The Nightwings can't afford to lose you" he said. They were short on numbers. The loss of the survey team was a hard blow for them and will make things more difficult around town.

Ramza had an idea about how to solve this issue. "I have an idea. Why don't we split up? Half of us head off to the Glacier while the rest join Reis and head to Melte?" he asked. It only made the most logical sense. It was clear just from walking around a bit that their numbers were extremely thin. They barely had enough to keep the town defended. "What do you think, Tsuki?" he asked.

Tsuki was in full agreement. "Absolutely. We can't afford to ignore what's happening at the Glacier and we also can't allow Draxus to continue with whatever it is they're doing in Melte" he said. He looked at the others and they were all in agreement. After what they witnessed in Prophet Castle, they weren't going to take the chance and let them slip away.

Flynn could see that they were all determined to pitch in and help out. "Are you sure about this?" he asked. He was surprised at how quickly they all made up their minds. It reminded him of the good ol' days.

Phi could never forget the sight she saw in the dungeons of Prophet Castle. All of those decaying bodies of innocent people that were tossed and piled up in a cell. The fact that villagers of Melte were starting to disappear made her extremely concerned. "I've seen what happens when Draxus continues their operations unabated. If that is what's happening here, then it needs to be stopped" she said.

Reis looked at Tsuki and the others and couldn't help but let out a faint chuckle with a smile. "Thanks everyone. I'm in your debt for this" he said.

The soldier could faintly hear what they were talking about. It seemed like they were going to head out to Melte and he couldn't feel more relieved. "Please…be careful out there. Look for…a house with a blue roof. That's where we…made our base" he said. He struggled to reach his arm out towards Reis. "The church…under the altar…search…" he said. His arm then dropped and dangled lifelessly. Unfortunately, he died before he could finish his sentence.

With the passing of the soldier, Lynette stopped her healing efforts. His physical injuries were healed up, but there was nothing she could have done about the broken bones and frostbite. "He's gone…I'm sorry" she said.

Reis let out a heavy sigh as he laid the soldier down on the ground gently. "It's okay. You did what you could and he was able to pass on his message to us" he said. With their help, he could feel a little bit more confident for a successful recon mission. "So, how are we dividing up?" he asked.

The group talked amongst themselves for a short while to figure who's strengths could be used better for each location. After a short deliberation, they decided on the teams that will be going to the Glacier and to Melte. Tsuki will lead the Glacier Team and those that will join him are Cheria, Phi, Lynette and Elle. Reis will lead the Melte Team and those that will join him are Ruko, Nagi, Melphi and Ramza. Since Allie was connected to the Caliburn, she would obviously be joining with the Glacier Team. As for Cesela, the situation in both areas were too dangerous for her. Exposure to the Wellspring, even a little bit, would have a drastic effect on her and taking her into a place where Draxus was conducting operations in was ill-advised. Cesela didn't like to be left behind, but she understood the circumstances. Flynn offered to watch over her while they were gone.

Once the teams were set up, they gathered around the town entrance. With the Skiffs, they'll be able to reach either destination from Imil in less than an hour. Each group didn't know what to anticipate in either place, so they needed to take extra caution. They were dealing with a lot of unknown factors when it came to Draxus and the samurai served under Caius. Each group foresaw some level of difficulty and did their best to prepare by stocking up on Gels and checking on their equipment.

Flynn approached both Reis and Tsuki and stretched his arms out towards them, holding a ComLink in each hand. "Use these to keep each other updated. I'll also be listening in on the communication, so feel free to ask me anything" he said.

Reis took the ComLink from him and placed it in his ear. "About time mine was fixed. If mine hadn't broke, it wouldn't have been so hard to get in touch with you" he said.

Tsuki took the device in his hand and looked at it. "How do I use this thing?" he asked. There were no visible buttons on it, so there wasn't an obvious push-to-talk button.

Reis put his finger up to his ear. "Channel your Mana into it like this. It's pretty easy. Try it out" he said.

Tsuki tilted his head a bit before putting the ComLink in his ear. He then did what Reis did by putting his finger up to his ear and channeled his Mana. Moments later, a small incantation circle appeared between his finger and the device and heard it click to life. "Uhh…testing 1, 2, 3…" he said.

Both Reis and Flynn heard his voice through their own devices. It was a simple method to communicate though they're not quite sure how to power it without the use of Mana. It consumes a small amount to activate the device, but if one's Mana levels were very low, they wouldn't be able to use it. It's one of the things that they're trying to improve on.

Reis channeled Mana into his ComLink as it came to life. "I read you, loud and clear" he said.

The fact that he could hear Reis' voice so clear through his ear was crazy. "These are pretty convenient, huh?" he said. Despite how simple the technology was, it was still pretty impressive especially because they salvaged centuries-old scrap.

While there were many things to be concerned about, Flynn was confident that they will be able to manage. "You guys better get going. The faster you can resolve the two situations, the better" he said.

Cesela walked up to Reis and looked up at him. "Promise you'll be back in one piece?" she asked. She stretched her arm up towards him, holding out her pinkie finger.

Reis looked down at her and chuckled a bit, patting his chest and giving her a confident grin. "Well, I certainly don't intend to die out there, so you got a promise" he said. He reached for her hand and locked pinkie fingers with her.

Elle approached Nagi, looking very concerned for her. It wasn't going to be easy for her to confront Draxus again and still, she decided to go with them to Melte anyway. She was worried about not only her well-being but her mental state. "Are you sure you want to go with them?" she asked, placing her hands on her shoulders

Nagi nodded at her, placing her hands over hers and smiled. "Yes. I'm stronger than what I was once before. I need to face my past and conquer it. Otherwise, I'll never grow" she said. She was afraid to come face-to-face with Draxus again, but she was determined to settle her past demons. If she could overcome Draxus' shadow, then there was nothing she can't overcome.

Cheria walked up to her, sharing Elle's concerns. She recalled the state she was in when Georg and Phi brought her back from Prophet Castle. She looked like a broken person who barely had any light left in her eyes. "Make sure you don't push yourself, okay? Remember, you're a different person now" she said.

Nagi smiled at Cheria with another nod. "Thank you. I'll be okay" she said.

With that, Reis and the rest of the Melte Team boarded their Skiffs. They waved them off before activating them, the engines roaring to life. Moments later, they took off across the snowfields, heading west from their location. They watched their snow trail until they could no longer see it. Once they were gone, Tsuki and the others got onto their Skiffs.

Flynn looked over towards Tsuki. "I'll send a message out to Raiku and update him about what's going on. He'll want to hear about Draxus and the attack at the Glacier" he said. Since he was too far away to contact him via ComLink, he had to rely on a carrier pigeon.

Tsuki nodded at him. With all that's been going on recently, keeping him in the loop was the smartest option. However, he had a gut feeling that he had this all planned from the start, aside from being blown off Nobuo. "My instincts tell me that he already saw all this coming, but I appreciate it" he said.

Flynn couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh. He probably couldn't be more right about him. "You too, huh? That man is always three steps ahead of everyone, it seems" he said. He stepped back from the Skiffs so that they could leave.

Cesela walked over towards Tsuki and the others. "Try not to be too reckless out there, okay?" she asked.

Cheria giggled a bit and patted her on the head. "I'll do my best to keep him out of trouble. Don't worry" she said.

Allie nodded, putting her hands on her hips. "We'll make sure Master keeps his recklessness to a minimum" she said.

Tsuki felt like he was being made fun of. The bad thing about this was that he had nothing to say to argue back. "What are you two, my babysitters?" he asked.

Phi sighed, shaking her head a bit. She wanted to feel a little bad for him, but she just couldn't. "Well, you do have a bit of a reckless streak. It's not surprising that there are people that want to rein" she said. His tendency to be reckless was always a problem, even back in the Royal Eight. He was a capable fighter, but there are times where he does a little too much.

Elle chuckled a bit as she walked over to her Skiff and climbed onto it. "Poor Tsuki. Looks like the girls are in charge of the family" she said. She knew that Tsuki didn't have it in him to argue back with Cheria. Throw Allie into that mix too and he will have lost the argument before it could start. Of course, they only do it because they care.

Lynette shrugged her shoulders a bit. As much as she wanted to offer words of sympathy towards her, she couldn't. "He did bring this upon himself though" he said.

Tsuki dropped his head with a heavy, defeated sigh. "I'm being ganged up on here…" he said.

Flynn let out another hearty laugh as he watched the females of the group pile on him. "You're an interesting group, that's for sure. We shouldn't keep you waiting any longer though" he said.

Cesela stepped away from the Skiffs and stood next to Flynn. "Make sure you all come back in one piece, okay?" she asked.

Tsuki waved them off with a casual salute. "We'll be back before you know it. Just have some hot cocoa ready for us" he said.

They turned on their Skiffs, waved them off and then sped off across the snow, heading straight north. From what they were told about the Glacier, it was a massive ice cavern that was carved out by the survey team. They were expecting it to be quite chilly inside of the Glacier and considering the terrain, they would need to be careful with how they proceed through it. The caverns were dug fairly straight forward, so there weren't any winding pathways like the Cavern of Solace had. However, they can expect to be assailed by monsters and a bunch of other environmental hazards.

As for Reis and the others, they had no idea what they were heading into. The fact that all of the villagers kept disappearing one after another was very unsettling to them. There was something going on in Melte and Draxus was at the center of it. If the villagers were disappearing, then there was a very strong possibility that they were either being taken into captivity or being used as sacrifices for their rituals to worship and resurrect the fallen Archfiend and Daemon Lord, Sarex. The fact that they had the ability to manipulate monsters as well was deeply concerning especially with the nearby sightings of the Elder Behemoth. That was one creature that they hoped they wouldn't come across.

To be continued…