“I was going to save this for after we made it through the trial, but..” Melisande fiddled with her silver tufts, “..I think I’m going to stay in Vasmoria after this.”

“Huh? Really?” Emilio looked surprised.

It was the first he’d heard of this, and it was clear that Melisande knew the impact of such news as she looked down, only briefly meeting his eyes.

“I saw it when we were in Indasia. The mage academies in Vasmoria are famous around the world–and with the money I’ll earn working as an adventurer, I’ll be able to attend classes,” Melisande explained.

“You’ve been putting a lot of thought into this haven’t you?..” Emilio asked, holding a melancholic smile.

Everett added in, “One of my ol’ friends went to Vasmoria to learn magic! He’s pretty successful now as a tutor, though..he doesn’t respond to my letters anymore.”

Brushing the bumpking’s words aside, Emilio continued, “I guess I’m not a very good teacher, am I?”

“It’s not that! You’re a great teacher–really, Emilio!” Melisande clarified.

“Then?”

“Well, it’s just..after the battle last night, I realized as I am right now, I’m just holding you back,” Melisande explained, “It’s not just that one time–it’s been like this. I understand I’m inexperienced, but if I do this, you won’t have to coddle me anymore.”

“I don’t mind–” Emilio tried to reason.

Melisande stopped him, “Emilio, please. This is what I’ve decided is best for me.”

It took him a moment to accept it as he opened his mouth, about to try and reason otherwise, but nodded, “Alright then. But, you better send me letters about how it’s going–I can’t have you flunking and making me look bad,” he playfully said.

The silver-haired girl laughed, pridefully placing her hands on her hips, “I’ll ace everything they throw at me, don’t worry about me.”

After that unexpected revelation, they continued moving on before the quiet demi-human who kept a quicker pace, staying ahead of the rest, spoke out.

“What about you, blondie?” Yuna said.

“Huh?” Emilio looked ahead.

Yuna clarified, “Where’s the first place you want to go?”

“Oh,” he let out, putting his hand to his chin, “Err..”

Though he initially posed the question, he hadn’t put much thought into it himself yet as the others looked at him, awaiting his answer.

Pondering it, when he truly questioned where he wanted to go, he found himself only with one answer as a natural smile appeared across his lips.

“I think I’ll go pay my folks a visit,” Emilio said.

The genuine, wholesome answer drew a smile from the others as well, though Yuna’s was questionable as she kept her mouth hidden with the fabric of her scarf.

“Home, huh? Not a bad idea,” Everett said.

“Yeah, I think I’ve worried them enough by now,” Emilio laughed.

–

Trekking through the forest, none of it was recognizable to the parts he explored when first arriving in the valley, though the group found themselves now hiding together behind a mossy boulder.

STOMP. STOMP. STOMP.

Passing through was a behemoth with mossy and small shrubs growing on its rocky hide, stomping through with a size that produced tremors with each stop.

“Imagine how much meat he’d bring..” Everett whispered, almost salivating.

“Imagine how flat we’d be if he stepped on us,” Emilio retorted.

Such beasts were equal parts aweing and terrifying; grand in size and appearance, though something he hardly felt like being noticed by.

After the heavyset beast passed by, the four moved on, delving deeper into the woods while keeping an eye out for malicious critters and people alike.

“I’m just going to say it,” Everett declared, “I think we should’ve taken out that rock beast.”

“..And why’s that?” Melisande asked.

Yuna stopped her, “You already know that. There’s only one thing that motivates that man.”

“Right..food,” Melisande sighed.

There was no denial from the shielder, only doubling down as he marched onward, “Food is the source of life, and that thing had a helluva lot of it, I’m telling ya’!”

“I think you’ve had enough food for a lifetime,” Yuna calmly responded.

Such a response stifled Everett for a moment as his brain processed what she meant, “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!”

The boisterous remarks from Everett and the scathing rebuttals from Yuna that tended to follow left Emilio only hoping he didn’t conjure a headache amidst the already troublesome situation they found themselves stuck in for the next few days.

Though something finally of intrigue was found as he led the way, pushing past a tall shrub to find a surprising sight: a quiet lodge sitting in the middle of the forest.

“..A lodge? Here?” He remarked.

Following behind him, Yuna stopped as well, “Hmm..That’s not conspicuous at all.”

“Yeah, I know, right?” Emilio agreed, “I mean..who’d be living out here, anyway?”

Though some caution was taken, it was completely irrelevant to Everett, who brazenly strolled into the perimeter of the mysterious lodge.

“Looks like we just found our new camp,” Everett smiled.

“Hey, watch out! We don’t know who might be here,” Emilio warned.

Melisande added, “Emilio is right–we need to be careful.”

It was like reeling in an unorderly child as the Milligarde bumpkin seemed like a dog drawn by curiosity, though Everett begrudgingly listened.

“Alright, alright..” Everett sighed, “I just think maybe you’re all getting all tied up too much! For once, maybe somethin’ is just going our way.”

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t count on that,” Yuna coldly said.

The lodge itself was built in a small clearing in the woods, tucked away behind trees that were abnormally close together, almost as if forming a wall itself to hide it away from the rest of the valley.

“So, what, are we just not going to check it out?” Everett asked, looking at the others.

“I think we should just..we can’t blindly barge in, you know?” Emilio said.

“Right, right..yeah, I get it–It just feels like forever since I slept in an actual home with walls and a roof!” Everett sighed out.

“I get it,” Emilio laughed.

–

In the bowels of a dark room, a bald-headed, tan man held a smile, looking up as he sensed the arrival of trespassers, though welcomed it.

Held in his grip was a splitting maul, using its blunt side to strike a nail engraved in the floor that was etched with mystical inscriptions.

“..I hope you enjoy your stay, my new toys,” the man held a malignant smile.

–

There wasn’t a lot of inspection to do, other than the presence of chopped wood in front of the lodge, the windows were completely sealed, allowing no glance to its interior.

“Anybody home?” Everett asked, knocking on the boarded window.

Melisande circled the lodge, checking for any windows or cracks in the wood, though it was surprisingly well-maintained.

Joining her in this check-up, Emilio noticed the state of the singular lodge as well, “..Are you getting the same idea I am?”

“Yeah,” Melisande nodded, “..It seems like this place is occupied, or at least recently was.”

While they investigated the state of the structure, their attention was called by Yuna who shouted for them:

“Hey! Something’s going on here,” Yuna remarked.

As Emilio and Melisande turned their eyes from the wooden lodge, with Everett doing the same, they looked around to find a wall of fog now completely surrounding the sector of the woods.

“Huh? Wasn’t it clear just a minute or two ago?” Everett scratched his head.

They met up at the front of the lodge, stepping towards the mysterious fog that enclosed around the building.

This doesn’t feel normal. I can sense it–there’s mana laced in this mist, Emilio thought.

Sticking his hand out to touch it, Everett’s armored fingertips lightly met the white mass of vapor before a spark hissed out, causing the man to stumble back, “Gah-!”

“Are you okay?!” Melisande asked.

“What happened?..” Emilio wondered.

Upon closer inspection, there was no damage inflicted on Everett, only a brief pain described by the man’s yell.

“..Huh, nothing?” Everett looked at his hand, surprised it wasn’t wounded.

Yuna didn’t turn her attention from the thick barrier of fog, picking up a blade of grass and slowly bringing it near the wall while the others watched intently.

Just as the grass touched the barrier—ZAP. It was rejected and blown back, though kept intact.

“It didn’t burn the grass?” Melisande asked in surprise.

Holding up the verdant sliver of grass, Yuna displayed that it was completely unscathed, “Seems like it.”

Enacting another test, the others stood back while Emilio began to conjure a spell, able to carefully concentrate as he brought his hands together to manifest a powerful force.

He momentarily activated the first stage of his Dragonheart System, accessing the azure flames before using them to bolster a fire spell of his: “Volley of Ifrit.”

A half dozen streams of azure flames roared out, curving around through the air before crashing against the fog wall in unison, resulting in an explosive wave of bright-blue flames that swirled and exploded continuously.

“Woah..!” Everett reacted to the heat.historical

Despite all of the flashiness, after the flames dissipated and Emilio breathed out, there wasn’t any damage dealt to the nebulous barrier.