Mission start

As we head down the stone path to the ground, the anxiety begins building up and thoughts rush into our heads.

“Do you guys know why the point of the first mission is to put to rest members of the same kin as us?” I ask.

“It’s hard to say. Maybe is has something to say if we could put to rest slumberwalker we have more attachment to?” Lafanda answers.

“Good theory. We can use blessings and protections, and we showed we are capable of defeating slumberwalkers with that fight on the first day of travel. That means there’s more to it right? Our superiors don’t tell us anything, but the ones we saw returning were visibly affected by it, so is definitely something that requires a lot of fortitude.” Juni adds.

(Makes sense, Salazar seemed to be unshakable in terms of morality. Even if I don’t like the guy, seeing him like that made me feel uneasy. Then there’s Gora, Lumiere and Ruina. I tried to ask them once in the times they would return to HQ, but they said it wasn’t something that could be explained, only experienced. And finally, they would always say the same thing when you asked about it, be it Gora and the others, Mr. Tom and the instructions or even other members.)

“You can only be a real member of the resting guild after your first mission.” I say.

“Yeah, they would always say that and never elaborated any further. Kind of annoying if I’m being honest. How are we supposed to be ready for the mission if they keep withholding information?” Juni says.

“Well, we are almost there, so I guess we can finally experience it ourselves.” Lafanda says.

“Right!” Juni and I say in unison.

We finally reach the ground and begin making our way over to the thermal pools we saw all the way up from the tower. It takes over a full hour of walking but we reach our destination. Looking back to it I can see the tiny city on top of the mesa. We can see some reflection of light on the top, probably from the amour of the soldiers up top of guard posts.

We each begin to look for signs of our respective targets. Juni head to the pools, Lafanda and Mimi to the trenches and cave openings, and I start to look around at the tall stone formations all around.

As I analyzed it is hard to notice any sort of detail or something out of ordinary. Minutes go by and I got nothing to show for it.

(Okay, I severely underestimated how hard it is to be an investigator or a hunter… Wait that’s it! A hunter.)

I remember what I read back in the information hall.

“Humans are terrifying hunters.” That’s all that I need.

“Holy Nightmare Protection: Beast Sense.”

I pour all my focus on my senses.

(Touch and taste won’t be as useful. Sight, hearing and smell on the other hand…)

I feel the cold of Umbravar.

It takes some fine tuning, but I start to see it. My vision loses all color, becoming black and white. I can easily hear in the distance Juni’s steps, and Lafanda and Mimi talking to one another. The smell of sulfur and eggs from the pools becomes overpowering to the point my eyes start to water, but I try my best to power through.

I do another look over the places I already passed by and don’t see anything different. But over the putrid smell, I catch a whiff of something familiar. I try to lock on to it and eventually I’m able to.

I follow the familiar smell. But even if I’m calling it familiar, I have never smelled it before. And yet I know it is something I am familiar with. I get to the point where I’m even having to close my eyes and begin following the scent stumbling on the rocks not knowing where I’m going.

I reach where it’s coming form and open my eyes. I’m away from the main pools, but close enough to it that I have a clear view. Especially with my sight enhanced like this.

I can clearly watch what the others are doing from here and I don’t know why but I’m also fairly confident they have no idea I’m watching them from afar. I analyze the surroundings, and I see it. Behind the cover these stone formations are providing.

Claw marks.

Just one more thing before I can be certain. I use partial transformation once again on my arm and place on the marks.

A perfect match. Actually, not all that perfect. The marks are a little bigger them my own claws which makes my anxiety grow even more.

I’m ready to head back to the group, but before that I have one more thing I want to check.

I return my senses to normal except my hearing. And pay attention to where I am, ignoring the faint noises that the others are creating.

I can’t hear another living creature. However, I can hear something that I couldn’t before. Dripping and water flowing. We are pretty far from the pools but the ground bellow me is wet from the flowing water. I pay attention around me once again, but I can’t see what it could be.

I follow the sound and find what I was looking for. A small hole in the rocky ground. In fact there are many holes. I look into it and can’t really see anything, but the sound gets a lot louder.

Theres a massive cave beneath us.

Probably hollowed out by the all the water pools.

I’m satisfied with my search. When those slimes and Chimera appear, this human will definitely appear again to watch from the distance.

I return to the group with my findings. Getting closer I call out to them.

“So any luck with your targets?” I ask.

“Yes.” Juni answers first. “Near the thermal pools there are dozens of openings where the water flows down beneath the soil. The slimes are hiding there. I’m sure. Once it turns night, they come pouring out.”

“Me and Mimi also found large spaces here where the Chimeras might be hiding. But we found multiple possible entrances that go into the underground, and the heat is really strong. Waiting for the slimes at night might be best to draw them out.” Lafanda says.

“I also think the is best to wait for all of them to come out. There is definitely a human on the outskirts of the pools, but I have no clue where they will be coming from. Better to wait for them to come to us.”

(And also, if this guy’s nest is anything like the one from this body, it should be deep inside the caves we found. It is too dangerous to go after it.)

“Alright, let’s find a position.” Juni takes the front.

We look for a bit and find the ideal position to prepare our ambush. We make sure to positioned so each of us can each take our own target down as soon as they show up.

It’s close to the pools but has good view of the entrances Lafanda and Mimi found. And it is in front of lots of tall rock formations where the human would love the hide behind.

With the location selected we waited. And it doesn’t take long for the night to come.

The silence is deafening, and as the darkness grows the steam from the thermal waters starts to grow thicker like fog.

Juni and Lafanda are looking ahead at the pools, while Mimi and I look towards the back waiting for the human to make his move.

Suddenly a bubbling noise starts to happen in the pools. Even though I want to look backwards I know I can’t. The plan is to wait for all of us to have visual confirmation of our targets and them move in.

“Did you hear that voice?” Juni asks.

“I’m not hearing anything Juni” Lafanda answers

“Me neither.” I say.

“Is coming from there! They’re calling for help!” Juni says in a panicked voice.

I can hear footsteps from right behind me.

“Juni, wait! Have you made visual with any of the targets?!!” Lafanda says.

As she says that, Mimi who was right beside me is pulled away. I once again begin to hear footsteps.

(Damn it. So much for communication.)

I turn around so I can see what is happening. I can barely see Lafanda and Mimi running into the steam and vanishing into the darkness.

“Guys, that’s not part of the plan!” I say as get ready to follow them.

But as I take my first step, I hear a woman voice coming from the back.

“Please, help! Someone, anyone, I’m here, please!” The voice speaks in a low tone. It sounds scared.

(What is that? Did someone from the town followed us? No, it can’t be. An illusion?)

“PLEASE, I DON’T WANT TO DO THIS! SOMEONE HELP ME. OH GODDESS HELP.” The voice screams.

I don’t know what to do.

(Do I ignore her? If it’s an illusion I will be separated from my team. But if it’s real I would never forgive myself.)

I remember myself back in the cave. Scared, screaming for help. Maybe someone else awakened and is being attacked by the human. Maybe the human awakened!

I run towards the voice.