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After resting for a few minutes to catch their breaths, the group starts preparing to move on. Callum and Cian harvest usable materials from their prey, assisted by Maeve, while the others take turns meditating to regain their mana and helping to strip corpses. Emily, though, watches their surroundings.

She pulls out the sealed Mensacus to check it after a few minutes of observing the quiet trees. The seal still seems solid, the cursed object only leaking enough corruption to reduce her intelligence by one. She uses burning hands to open the black iron lump anyway, just in case, and releases another flood of corrupted mana.

Woah, that’s a lot of build-up again. It did say it converts death, so I guess killing so many beasts near it caused that.

She reseals it, hoping that it’ll struggle to find enough fuel to weaken the metal again, given that most of the nearby beasts are already dead. An hour after the fight’s end, they finish resting and harvesting their victims, deciding to leave some of the less valuable materials behind, having filled their spatial storages. They gather together once again to continue their march.

The rest of the day passes quietly, with only a couple of small beast groups attacking them. The night is also calm, returning to the same still quiet it was on their way into The Glade.

The next morning they set off into the noticeably thinner fog, getting closer to the edge of the unsettling forest. They run into a few beasts, but Emily and Dante deal with them easily before they trouble the rest of the group. However, an hour after they eat lunch, Enzo flags an oddity in his earthen detection scan.

“There’s a small group of people ahead fighting some beasts,” he says with surprise, looking at Oscar.

“Really? Let’s go check it out. Stay quiet and don’t get spotted until I give the signal though.” He nods to Emily, so she quickly sets off a scan to locate the people before leading the group towards them.

They creep forward, carefully stepping over dry branches and slipping around bushes to avoid making noise as they close the distance. Within a few minutes, Emily starts to hear the frantic sounds of battle, so she drops infra-sight to get a clear view of the fight.

Standing in a small formation, with their backs pressed together, are five mages. In the centre of their formation is a sixth, lying on the floor and bleeding profusely from a deep gash across his chest. Surrounding them are ten mudscraps, held off by arrows of fire and blades of wind.

Three of the mages, a short man with messy brown hair, a tall woman with an ashen, dirt-speckled complexion, and a short woman with long matted black hair, all cast attack spells frantically.

They’re panicking.

Emily looks to the other two, a tall man with a nasty-looking scar running across his left cheek from his lips to his ear, and another tall man with a dirty blonde ponytail. The scarred man has his hands pressed to the floor, sweat dripping from his brow as he blocks the mudscraps’ ground diving, and the blonde man maintains a thin barrier of water around them all.

Emily turns her head to Oscar, expecting him to suggest helping them, but is surprised by his expression. His face is cold and indifferent as he watches the small group struggle and, when he notices Emily looking at him, he silently signals to retreat.

Raising a brow, Emily looks back at the group, focusing on their crests. They bear two different designs: one has five wide, green petals surrounding dozens of small silver or bronze stamen-like petals; and the other has five pale blue petals spiralled around a silver or bronze star.

Ah, I see.

A knowing grin spreads across her face as she turns around and creeps away from the struggling mages.

Good luck house Hellebore, ally of house Mandrago.

The other members of their group follow Oscar’s instructions without question, although a few with slight hesitation, leaving the suffering mages to their fates. They move quietly, accompanied by the sounds of spell chants and tearing flesh, not speaking until the fight leaves their earthen detection radius.

Once they’re clear, Maeve breaks the silence.

“Why did we ignore them?” she asks quietly from the middle of the group, clearly unnerved by their actions.

“Didn’t you see their crests?” Oscar asks in return.

“No.” Maeve and most of the group members behind Oscar shake their heads.

“I see. They were mages of house Hellebore and Periwinkle. The Salvia household has no friendship with those two households, so I saw no reason to help them.”

A wave of understanding spreads over the group as almost everyone seems satisfied by his answer. Ivor glances uncertainly between Oscar and Emily, but seeing her say nothing, he holds back his curiosity.

Quickly moving on from the distraction, the group continues walking through the outskirts of The Glade. They only run into a couple more beasts before nightfall, and calmly set up in a small clearing as the light above starts to fade.

Sitting alone at the edge of the camp, enjoying the faint moonlight falling through the trees along with a light drizzle, Emily turns her head as Ivor approaches her carrying a hunk of meat. Handing her the food, he sits down next to her and asks the question he’s been holding on to since earlier.

“Are you okay with ignoring those mages? Aren’t you allies?” he signs with confusion.

Emily scoffs at his question, reaching down and resting her hand on the pouch holding the Mandrago’s communication crystal, which they’ve still never contacted.

“I was never told to help the family’s allies, and if I don’t say anything, they won’t know I ever could have,” Emily answers with a dismissive shrug.

“Okay.” Ivor nods, dropping the subject. “We should be leaving The Glade tomorrow. Are you looking forward to getting back?”

“I don’t know about you,” Emily says, stretching her arms behind her head. “But I’m looking forward to getting in a real shower again.”

Ivor silently chuckles while nodding in agreement. They chat for a bit about their plans when they return to The Dome before Ivor stands up, patting Emily on the shoulder.

“I’m going to head to sleep then. Good luck,” he signs, turning towards the tents.

“Sure. Sleep tight, don’t let the mudscraps bite!” Emily says with a grin, receiving an exaggerated eye roll, that she can see through the back of his head, in return.

She chuckles while turning back to gaze out into the forest.

I wonder if Jules will really be second circle when we get back.

A warm smile spreads across Emily’s face at the thought, and the rest of her watch slowly creeps by, the next morning coming far too slowly.

***

The next day they break camp early, excitement and anticipation filling the group. Emily stands at the edge of the clearing, as everyone else finishes packing away tents, looking back into the depths of the magical forest.

I do want to get back to my workshop, but I’m gonna miss this mana density.

She takes a deep breath, looking at the stats that increased during her meditation last night and enjoying the refreshing feeling of mana filling her lungs.

ˉˉˉˉˉ

[Attributes:] Strength 12 (16), Dexterity 34 35 (36), Agility 26 27 (29), Vitality 13 (16), Intelligence 60 61 (60)

_____

“We’re ready. Emily, help with the barrier please!” Oscar calls from the centre of the clearing.

Tearing her attention away from the forest, she follows his request, gathering all of the barrier stakes and bringing them to him at the head of their formation. They set off into the trees, marching with light-hearted chatter as their caution slowly starts to slip.

They don’t meet any beasts through the morning, and as the sun sits high in the centre of the sky, Emily steps out of the treeline into the open plains beyond. It feels like a weight is lifted from her shoulders as she leaves the concentrated mana within The Glade, and her groupmates behind her all let out sighs of relief.

“Congratulations, everyone!” Oscar says, walking out ahead of the group and turning to address them with a wide smile. “Well done on surviving an incredibly successful expedition into The Glade!”

Everyone cheers, and Emily smiles, joining in with the infectious atmosphere. After letting them celebrate for a bit, Oscar calls for calm again before continuing.

“I called for our transport this morning, they should be arriving soon. For now, let’s settle down and eat some lunch.”

They move further away from The Glade’s border just in case, and sit down together with some more ocelax meat.

“You know what else I’m looking forward to?” Emily asks as she takes a bite from the tender flesh, practically tasting the mana infused into it.

“What?” Dante asks as all of her friends turn to look at her.

“Eating something other than cats again.”

“Haha, true,” Dante chuckles.

“I certainly won’t miss this aspect of the trip,” Enzo comments, looking down at the meat in his hands.

“I don’t think anyone will disagree with that one,” Oscar adds dryly.

Emily gasps exaggeratedly with mock horror.

“You mean ocelax isn’t your favourite food? Given how much you made us eat, I was sure it was.”

Everyone laughs, and Oscar cracks a grin, joining in with Emily’s act.

“Damn, you realised? I guess the cat’s out of the bag.” The group all groan at his pun. “I just can’t get enough cat meat. You know, we actually had enough rations left to never eat any, but I just couldn’t resist!”

Lunch passes enjoyably, and soon a motorcade rolls into view. Emily notes the reduced number of cars coming to collect them, clearly already informed about their missing members. As everyone else notices too, the jovial atmosphere fades. Realising this, Oscar chooses to address the deaths of their companions.

“While this trip was a resounding success, we can’t forget the sacrifices made along the way. In a few days, the Salvia family will be hosting a proper wake to show respect to our fallen comrades. Attendance isn’t mandatory, but I’m sure it would mean a lot to the families of those lost if you all chose to come. Now,” he says with a clap, moving on from the depressing topic. “Let’s get loaded into these cars and get back!”

The cars soon come to a halt before the group, the drivers stepping out and opening the doors to welcome the mages aboard. Emily, Ivor, Enzo, and Dante once again climb into a car together for the return journey, mirroring their trip out.

“Wake me up when we get there please,” Enzo says to Emily and Ivor, purposefully not looking at Dante sitting next to him.

“Sure,” Emily nods with a smirk, watching Dante exaggeratedly feign offence.

They sit in silence, and Emily watches The Glade slowly fade into the distance through the window as the motorcade trundles onwards. No one speaks in their car for the duration of the trip back, all lost in their thoughts or sleeping to pass the journey quickly.

Soon, Emily’s attention is drawn towards the metal behemoth rising up in the distance, Chroni. The tall wall looks daunting from below as they quickly approach. When they reach the base of the wall, they stop and the car’s engine is turned off at the entrance to the access tunnel. Emily knocks Enzo and Dante’s feet, waking them from their slumbers as she watches Oscar alight from the front car through the window.

He approaches the guards blocking the entrance to the city, speaking to them for a few minutes. They fall silent, but Oscar doesn’t move to re-enter his car.

Did something go wrong?

Emily starts shifting forward in her seat, preparing to leave if needed. A minute later, a young-looking guard in loosely fitted body armour runs over. His clockwork rifle is swinging from a sling hanging loosely over his shoulder and, in his arms, he tightly clasps a silver metal slab with several green magic crystals embedded in the surface.

He presents the slab to Oscar, who places his palm against it and injects mana. The glow of mana envelopes the slab for a second before it fades and the guard nods at Oscar, saying something Emily can’t hear. Oscar says something to them before turning and returning to his car.

The cars all start their engines again and drive forward into the tunnel through the wall, the guards stepping out of the way to let them pass. They drive quickly through the fiery underbelly of the city wall, passing the burning coal fires powering the mechanical workings hidden within the metal monster surrounding them. The repetitive hiss of steam and the grinding of gears welcomes them back to the noise of the city.

A small smile parts Emily’s lips as she sits back and enjoys the mechanical hum. The cars leave the tunnel and continue deeper into the city, soon coming to rest before the same elevator their journey started at. Everyone disembarks their transport, and Oscar gathers them all before the elevator doors.

“We’re almost done, and then I’ll release you all to finally get the rest you deserve. But first, we need to divide the loot!”

Excited chatter breaks out among the group and Oscar has to hush them to continue speaking.

“It won’t be long. We’ll head to the Salvia estate and divvy it up there. Now, everyone make your way orderly into the elevator and let’s make a good impression!”

He turns and gestures towards the elevator as it opens on his cue. Emily frowns at his choice of words.

Make a good impression? Are there people waiting for us in the station?

Everyone files into the elevator, but Oscar reaches out and stops Emily before she enters with everyone else.

“You should wait next to me. Honestly, if it weren’t for keeping my family’s face, I’d make you stand in front of me.”

Emily groans as his words confirm her suspicion.

“Who’s waiting for us up there?” she asks, unamused.

“Fair play,” Emily concedes as the elevator doors shut and they start rising.

The group chatters excitedly behind them, but Emily waits in silence, staring at the closed doors ahead.

Wait, did his family spread the word to their allies, or the entire Dome? If it’s The Dome then maybe...

Her thoughts are cut off as the doors slide open before her and a slow applause greets their entrance. Emily and Oscar step out of the elevator, side by side, and as Emily glances around at the crowd, she sees a streak of hazel barrelling towards her out of the corner of her eye.

Turning with a grin, she opens her arms wide as Juliana rams into her at full speed. She giggles while spinning Juliana around to kill her momentum, holding her tight. A few moments after they stop, Juliana releases her and pulls back, frantically looking her up and down, going slightly pale as she sees the tattered state of Emily’s robes and the armour beneath.

“Are you okay, Emi?” she asks with concern.

“I’m fine, Jules. I told you we’d come back safe,” Emily answers with a warm smile, pulling her back in for a kiss.