---

Fia didn’t care much about who or whatever Vesemir meant by authorities. Now that their time within the library and vault was finished, she hoped that perhaps the scroll the archaeologist claimed could end the otherwise endless torment that lingered within the forgone city. It alone seemed to be enough to drive the phantoms back as they made their way towards camp. But was it enough? Fia didn’t know.

“I would care if you quelled the suffering that remained.” commented Fia, but offered no other urgency to the matter. It was late, and despite the brave faces many of the others displayed, Fia could tell that fatigue and weariness was weighing down on everyone. Fia herself wasn’t immune, feeling her eye lids grow heavier as the sight of the carriage and fire from the camp was coming into view.

Alas, rest seemed to be put on hold again. While the party was wandering the seas of shadow and discovering the buried treasures within, the camp was not entirely safe from the forgotten wilds of the twilight forest. A single man approached, distraught, and down right inconsolable as he clung to their host’s leg. Nothing in camp seemed amiss besides the workers’ disappearance. Whatever took them didn’t seem to be man or beast. Perhaps the phantom stretched beyond the city limits and pulled them into that illusory realm of past torments.

Fia walked to the crumbling man in a panic. Roxas knelt by the man, invoking some of her magic to help calm him down. Fia moved closer. “It’s alright, dear. You’re not alone anymore. We’ll find the rest.” said Fia, she stood straight and looked towards Forbann, but kept her eye on the man, “Forbann here will keep you safe, won’t you, darling?” With Forbann staying at camp, Fia returned to the group. Vesemir was on the brink of heading out alone, and Gray was right there with him.

“I’ve still half a tank, I’ll help find them.” said Fia. She covered her mouth with the back of her hand as she yawned. Then she put her hands together and raised both of her arms into the air, stretching out her whole body trying to stay awake. “I hope we can sleep in the coming morning after this, though. But since we are going to be leaving camp again…”

Fia put her palms together and whispered a few words to herself. She raised her index finger to her left eye and just above the carriage manifest a glossy white sphere with a pupil and red iris. The orb was an exact replica of Fia’s own eye. The face of the eye rotated all around, testing its field of view. “Now I can keep an eye on the camp while we’re gone. We don’t want any more surprises.”

Either Roxas' healing spell soothed the soul as it was to the physical injury, or it was simply the charm of a lovely elven lady, the young porter no longer throwing demented fits anymore, and soon was convinced to rest inside the wagon after someone assured him that his friend will be found.

"I've known Stepan for almost a decade. There is no way I am going to leave him behind!" Declared Vesemir with a sheer resoluteness. He then returned to the group that would conduct the rescue effort.

When the disembodied eyes formed on a vantage point Fia had choosen, Gray couldn't help but be curious. He thought the sorceress had magically dismembered her own eye and had it floating in thin air, but then came the explanation, and that wasn't the case.

"That's a useful spell..." Gray muttered before counting the participants and looked up to the sky, where the Polaris shone. He nodded at Fia's commentary about their delayed resting time, and notified that they still had a few hours until the dawn.

"And, yeah, let us not waste any time."

And so it began another march into the forest. The first trek after they walked past the paved road was anything but dry, likely due to the heavy rain several days ago. It allowed Gray to pick up the missing henchmen's trail immediately, and as far as their sole prints indicate, it seemed all four were drawn together like a herded flock.

The lantern shone ever bright, but it did little to accelerate their speed. The trail was getting a more vague as they took a turn and routed past a giant boulder on the left side of the path. The forest were thicker in this area, and there was a great tree, and before that great tree (that hopefully wasn't another ent) the pathfinder finally stopped, his masked face stared at the bushes nearby, where stains of blood could be seen in its silky leaves.

With great caution, he walked slowly, and as he arrived at the other side of that tree, Gray suddenly unsheathed his eastern sword and placed the lantern on the ground, which revealed strange marks on the soil, akin to something that was made by dozen of poles being stabbed to the ground repeatedly.

"Ready your weapon!" he commanded before kneeling near a silhouette of a man lying on the ground. His coughing and wheezing indicated that this unfortunate poor sod was still alive, but severe wounds on his body and blood-frothed breath didn't make his condition look optimistic. He would not survive without any immediate medical attention.

"I am wrong," said Gray, the direness of this situation seeped out from his emotionless mask. "This is not a work of a phantom, not at all---"

Suddenly a melodious voice sounded in the cold misty air. It felt distant, but also clear at the same time. The ominous singing resonated like magic that halted the flow of time. Like a lullaby sung in unknown language that somewhat felt soothing.

Avea, avea, mont kein, Híris Ingwën...
Im ithen ava heliañ...

♫

Pedir sánë bezañ qualin rhovan
Lyen ket lerta tremen

The singing came from the east.

Even someone as seasoned as Gray Flame was somewhat distracted by the singing, and although the ranger was quick to regather his senses, he did not expect the dying Tretagoran porter to suddenly reach his hand upward and stiffly but surely brought himself to stand.

"Yes, my lady! I will come for you..."

Gray was alerted and retreated from the shambling wounded man, reaching for his eastern sword as his eyes scanned the surrounding darkness. Vesemir was visibly disturbed by the scene and was the first to call that man out and seem to have intended to stop the man.

"Dimitri, where is Stepan? Hey, Dimitri! Where are you going? Someone stop him! Look at all that blood!"