He managed an extra hour of sleep after getting back from the jailhouse, and woke up with a groan. The sunlight made him squint, already hurting his eyes and he'd not even opened them yet. His head was banging, he was dehydrated as hell and his guts felt like they were tied in knots. He stayed lying there with an arm covering his face for a few minutes, feeling sorry for himself. Then he started chuckling. Then outright laughing.

"...Fell down the fucking well, haha."

Last night had been one for the books. As a montage of moments moved through his mind, he decided that how he was feeling, right now, was all absolutely worth it. Looking James in the eye without laughing was going to be difficult today. Talk about 'full of surprises.' Here was a guy who, when you get past his unapproachable grimace, was actually a good-hearted dude. Smart. Caring. Died trying to save someone from a burning building, for Christ's sake. But Hoe. Lee. Shit, was he ready to roll around in the mud if you gave him the chance. Picked up a chair as soon as he saw his friend in trouble. Chopped it up with those goons at The Brass Monkey. Stole a fucking horse!

James was officially 'The Best.' But the award ceremony would have to wait, because there were more important matters at hand.

"Alright Zell," he said aloud to himself. "Game day."

And just like that, his hangover was promptly ignored. He sat up, dug the heels of his palms in his eyes, then with an unnecessarily loud strain, stretched his arms. He went to the bathroom and drank a litre of water straight from the tap, then went back into his room and banged out a tonne of press-ups and sit-ups, having to use his imagination in place of loud music. After a shower, he armoured up, then went downstairs and got himself a big breakfast that he ate while chatting with some of the others.

"Alright, doll," he greeted MacKensie, at one point during the morning. Zell quirked an eyebrow when she acted strangely, all-but blanking him and making herself scarce. Strange.

He did a poor job of holding back a grin when he greeted James, giving him a nod and a knowing look. Of course, he remembered that they'd made an agreement that last night stayed just between them. That didn't mean he couldn't be a fool though.

"Can I get another cup of tea, Frederick, please mate? My throat's a bit hoarse."

"Well, I..."

"Well, now that you mention it..."

Later in the morning, when things got a little more serious and Barracker gave some advice about the upcoming mission, Zell nodded his understanding. Killing actual people instead of monsters, definitely had a sour ring to it, but Zell would do what was required, in order to ensure the safety of his teammates. As for the ghost enemies; Zell was one of the ones who didn't possess any elemental magic, but he trusted the others to have his back in that regard. He was not perturbed.

As had quickly become a habit when travelling, Zell took the lone rearguard position. Even though they travelled on the man-made roads of civilisation this time, he still kept his awareness on the surround, ready to jump into a front-line position should any trouble arise.

He was happy to note that Adam was back to normal again after seeing him converse with Barracker and even squeezing some potentially valuable information out of the wagon driver who'd stopped to chat. Being at the back alone had given him the chance to assess his friends the way he'd survey his team before a football match. Their demeanours. Their countenance. Their energy. It was a team-captain's job to make sure his troops were ready on match-day. He was no longer a team-captain of anything, but old habits die hard. Everything seemed well, aside from MacKensie acting weird earlier. It was probably nothing but he decided he would eventually say something, just in case.

He walked up front as the wagon driver left them on the road. "Looks like the cult like to play dirty," he said, patting Barracker on the back as he passed him (for no reason other than the vampire happened to be within reach.) Zell turned to face everyone who was stood around. "We should be careful. If the enemy is pulling off charades like that, then we shouldn't put it past them to have double-agents all around the local area. Be wary of anyone in Cherrad who is being a little too helpful."

"Here, a little extra something in case you ever need it."

When James handed out the spare knives, "Cheers boss," Zell came up alongside MacKensie to recieve his. He tested how the scabbard fit in his right boot and it was pretty snug, so he took off his boot and tied the scabbard to his ankle, then put his boot back on. Then he turned his gaze onto his french buddy and lowered his voice. "If something's bothering you, you'll only make it worse by overthinking." He grinned. "I need you at your best so you can save my dumb ass when I inevitably do something insane, okay?"

As he walked away, his eyes went skyward and he wondered about Sil the falcon. Once the party was moving again, Zell checked in with Fenna. "Hey, Fenna mate?" he began, steering himself alongside her. "You know when you were saying about your magical connection with Sil... can you communicate at all with her? Like, is there any chance she could possibly sniff out an ambush and warn us...? Anything like that?"

Morning came and Fenna woke up. Today was the day they would start their assignment. Or quest perhaps? Regardless of how it was called, they had to complete their contract and hopefully get some answers. She got dressed and packed her bag before going downstairs for a breakfast and to meet up with the rest of the party.

By the time the group had gathered, Fenna noticed Joji was missing. She asked if anyone had seen him, but no one knew his whereabouts. She turned to the innkeeper and asked him that if Joji would come, he would inform their party member they had left to deal with the contract, and included a physical description.

When Barracker gave an explanation of what they could expect she listened intently. Spill innocent blood? Fenna wasn't sure she could, but maybe she'd feel different after being attacked by those cultists. She accepted the vial of spectre oil and put it away safely.
"Thank you, I'll make good use of it," she told him.

It was obvious the citizens were used to leaving parties, as they barely got any attention. A greeting from another party going in a different direction, a salute from a guard. A knot of tension formed in her stomach. They were really doing this now, the gold contract. It should be doable, she reminded herself. They had fought their way through the Mazy Hillocks and survived, a feat that surprised the people who knew about party and monster classifications. A cold contract should be easier than dealing with Aurok, and they had an experienced adventurer with them this time. She continued to remind herself of this until MacKensie spoke up.

"It is," Fenna agreed. Even though there was some stress involved with actually going there, the looming task had made sure she hadn't been able to completely relax. All she had done was distract herself and pass the time until the day finally came. And her fellow ranger made a good point, sitting still and doing nothing for a long time would make it more difficult to get into it again.
"I agree. Even though rest is needed, too much isn't good. I do look forward to getting this contract over with and returning to the city."

They stopped when a man on a wagon greeted them and she returned the greeting. For the most part she listened to the conversation that followed and she accepted the blade in the scabberd from James as she thought about what was said. Brainwashed cultists, an evil cult. There was a good reason this was a gold contract of course. She caught what Zell said to MacKensie and it was good advice and maybe she'd have a talk with her to try and determine what was bothering her, but not yet. That should be a more private conversation.

When Zell addressed her she faced him. "Sil understood what needed to happen with the cube when I threw it in the air," she said in response to his question. "And she understood when I wanted some company. I'm certain she'll warn us when she sees something she perceives as danger, but I don't think she can understand complex orders. At least not yet. We do have an emotional bond, which is why she was able to fight with us against Aurok, which was strange behaviour for a bird of prey. I did spend time getting to understand her and our bond in Valheim, but I haven't tried giving commands yet. I suppose it's possible though, I just need to work out how exactly."

It was quite a bit of walking they had to do. They had left early, early enough so that she hadn't been able to do her early morning exercise routine at least. All the same, the mage hadn't wanted to tire herself too much before heading out on the road either. It would be plenty of walking and moving about just to get to where they were going, and if they had to make camp before getting there so be it. Other than that, however, the mage was simply glad she'd been able to meet the new member and get to tell the rest of Second Chance her little side-mission to Cherrad along the way perhaps. In that vein of things, they were perhaps getting closer to said on-the-way destination as well. However...

“These enemies are vulnerable to elemental damage but regular weapons will not touch them,” the paladin told them all. “Unfortunately, there will likely be some innocent people who have had their minds enslaved by the wraith and stand in our way. We will have to spill blood. I know its hard but harden your hearts, because any hesitation will end in your death.”

Well, she was at least better prepared to fight whatever came when they would head into the Temples of Hades. At least in terms of appropriate damage types and so forth. The idea of having to kill innocent mind-warped individuals along the way wasn't exactly one that she looked forward to, though, but it also made sense that they'd have to deal with bloody and tough work. Lillianna herself had never been a soldier. She had tried to 'soldier on' at times, but that was as close as she'd gotten to that outside of the combat and near-death experiences she had within the Mazy Hillocks. Even then, the nightmares still came to her from time to time about her near-death experience....likely would still afflict her for some time to come at that. Easily.

But Barracker had been a curious sight to be introduced to, even if she was the last in the group proper to even get to do so. Albeit his true nature was something of a concern in general, but she could feel 'something' about him or on him that just screamed 'different' in the magical sense. Not that she had some 'extra sight', but-....eh, well it was limited to spirits really. Maybe it was just gut instinct then? Status of being a magic caster in general? Either way, he seemed earnest and willing to work and fight with them. Had some veterancy and experience as well, which was going to be very useful for them moving forward in her mind and was something she had verbally noted being thankful for about him after the two had been introduced.

"Afternoon there, adventurers," he greeted, tipping his hat. "You ain't, per chance, on business in the area, are you?" He pointed back the way he came. "The village of Cherrad's up yonder way. They're in dire straits, right now, what with Hades' Temple gone rogue 'nd all. They've been waiting for the Adventurer's Guild to send some help about that."

“Yes sir, we're Second Chance, and we took the job from the Guild. I'm Adam, it's nice to meet you. It's too bad what's happened there. Is there anything we should know about the temple so we aren't caught off guard? We're not from here so any help would be appreciated.”

Hmm. A friendly passerby was certainly a welcome sight, especially one that had information. Not that they didn't perhaps stand out like a sore thumb as adventureres really. So, eh, it was at least nice to get some information. The mage gave a causal friendly wave with her free hand, even as her other hand held her staff as a walking stick for the time being, but not wanting to interrupt the mage would allow Adam to speak to the man without jutting in verbally. In all honesty, she had gotten the information she wanted and needed from the man regardless without having to say a word! It certainly made things more convenient.

Though...how was Cherrad going to react to her asking around about a dead adventurer? It was certainly something odd, and she wasn't sure if it'd raise eyebrows or open some kind of old wounds. But regardless, she wanted to look into that man's history and past if she could. Learn more about the one who had helped save her life before the group has saved it not too long after she almost threw it away with her own two hands. Even now she still felt a small chill on the back of her neck and uncommfortable warmth in her arms and stomach just thinking about it all. Ugh.

"Oh right!" Rummaging through his pack he found what he was looking for, a set of 10 knives with scabbards greeted him, thanks to the whole "getting thrown in jail" thing he had forgotten he bought these, they weren't daggers or specialized knives, they were just utilitarian blades that he had gotten for his party members, in case they needed them.

One by one he passed them to their new owners "Here, a little extra something in case you ever need it"

"O-Oh, thank you James."

Lillianna accepted the new knife with mild surprise as she was knocked out of her train of thinking once more, but would gingerly put the tool inside of her bag of things for the time being as well. It was just a basic knife for survival utlity, it seemed, but all the same she was glad for it. Anything extra that might prove useful one way or another on or off of the road really. In that vein she was thankful, though hopefuly the passerby had some more good information to hand them in the meantime. Not that it was a guarantee, really, but she felt it prudent to get what they could along the way to the Temple proper. Anytthing that might help them do better, act better, or plan things out better than they'd had the pivledge of last time.

Made her for a second wonder if the souls of those dead party members were still there, back in the Mazy Hillocks, as well. She would, however, lightly shake her head side to side to try to help her brain sift out said thoughts all the same.

"Information? Hmmm," he thought about Adam's question, his eyes searching the party as he did so. "Well, s'gotta be at least twenty cult members up in that temple, to be sure. A small army, it must feel like. They've got weapons, magic and they're not afraid to come out and use 'em on the neigbouring villages."

At least if the wagon driver's information was reliable enough, that was certainly some good information to know ahead of time. Plus with them attacking neighboring villages it meant more trouble, perhaps trouble of the sort that Cherrad proper had tried to petition the Adventurer's Guild to provide help against at that. But no one sending help there? That was perhaps the oddest part unless it didn't pay enough to convince many adventurers to take up the task, among other potential reasons. Not a good sign of things, perhaps, in that sense.

The wagon driver didn't seem to take well to Barracker either, at least from how he looked at the native man in Lillianna's eyes, but in truth the mage wasn't very well-rehearsed on the other man's life and such otherwise. Heck, everyone else had gotten to seemingly know him a bit better than her in one way or another thus far to boot. But the time was still early, and there would be time and experiences to share that would allow her to get to know the other man better. More than that, hopefully this would allow them to better counter the threats ahead somewhat that they had just been informed about to boot.

As he looked at Barracker again, he was suddenly reminded of something that might be useful.

"Actually... there is something you ought'a know. The village of Wensleydale, a couple'a miles on other side o' Temple Hill: A man came to the village, last week, looking for help to rescue some injured folk who'd escaped the cult and were at the bottom of Temple Hill in need of some aid and escort. Wensleydale sent ten of their men with the man to go and get the escapee 'nd bring them back to safety. Only, it turned out t'was a trap. The man was actually a cultist who was luring in unsuspecting villagers for recruitment. One villager managed to get away but told that the rest were beaten and taken prisoner." The wagon driver shook his head. "It'll give a man nightmares wondering how they manage to brainwash innocent people. Be careful adventurers. This cult is not above using deception in it's evil workings."

Well...Barracker had been right about one thing regarding this mission in his warning prior to their departure. Mind controlled or forcibly-indoctrinated people were certainly going to be on the table for this.

Indeed, the would be perhaps to enough of an extent it ouright made the mage feel perhaps reasonably uncomfortable with the thought of having to kill a poor soul like that. Yet at the same time it was something her mind began trying to harden her up for at the same time to cope with the thought. If they were going to try to kill her, then, it stood to reason that she could defend herself and had to defend herself with potentially lethal measures without hesitating about it. This wasn't some modern court that penalized you for killing a knife-wielding robber in your own home, nor was it a perfect situation at all in the general sense really. A mess....was a mess....was a hell of a mess.

And if tropes were any indication, for all she knew Cherrad had a mole for the cult there who had been brainwashed already or something like that. Just ready to mess things up and turn a pit-stop into a madhouse. Ugh. But perhaps she was overthinking thing again in that sense, yes? Maybe it'd be a good side stop and they could gather what she was after there before continuing onward to the Temples of Hades.

Yet still, a light grimace came onto the mage's face as these thoughts crossed her mind, and her hand clutched her staff just a bit tighter.

Adam listened to the wagon driver's response, reminded of what Barracker had told everyone as the non-vampire described the cult’s wicked ways. “Unfortunately, there will likely be some innocent people who have had their minds enslaved by the wraith and stand in our way.  We will have to spill blood.  I know its hard but harden your hearts, because any hesitation will end in your death.” This was not the same as killing an ogre or water ninja who wanted good men dead, not at all. And that fact kept the Druid deep in thought as he thanked the wagon driver for the information and James for the knife after offering his sympathies regarding the villagers. 

This was not going to be easy, and the swordsman probably had the right idea, which Adam acknowledged by nodding when he said it. The red-eyed man wanted to try saving who he could. Wanted to ask Barracker if some roots could be grown to trap the brainwashed instead of killing them. But he didn't need to be James to know that strategically, that wasn't a good idea. These cultists could pretend to be submitted by the plant magic, then strike when they were least prepared for it. Or become a hostage that the enemy could exploit. Not only would this prevent them from succeeding in the mission and learning what was in those letters, it would leave the enemies free to hurt more innocent people. And that left the right course of action plain as day, though the Druid did sigh and shake his head before speaking.

“Zell is right. I'd like to trust everyone and even help anyone who is brainwashed, but if we fall for anything it jeopardizes our chances of success, and then nobody is safe.” Adam wasn't happy about it, but he was resolute. He looked at the members of Second Chance, at least secure in the knowledge that they would be going through this ordeal together. Fenna and Lillianna seemed to have doubts based on their expressions, not that he blamed them. He would be sure to help them in this regard if it was needed. Barracker was ready for this, no doubt aided by his experience with adventuring. Zell was being himself. And MacKensie was a little off this morning; he hoped she was alright, and made a mental note to talk with her later. But the one who the fisherman had his attention towards now was their Cleric, their leader and strategist, and it was the latter that the team needed now.

“James, how should we proceed?”

The road through the region was a gentle incline, taking Second Chance around and through a cluster of hills that signalled Central Mytheria reverting to type - the naturally hilly terrain of Central Mytheria was only flat in patches.

As the party came around the hill that originally blocked their view of what was ahead, the vista suddenly sprung upon them; the sight of the village, Cherrad, the hills and trees sprawled out beyond.

The road would now gently decline, lowering them into what was undoubtedly one of the smaller villages in the region. Cherrad was a place of no more than 50 houses. Complete with a meeting hall, a modest church of Iris, an inn, post office and one or two other amenities that passers-by might be interested in, it would be difficult to tell which building was which, seeing as all were as similarly built as the houses people lived in. Cherrad was kind to outsiders, but they were simple folk, with a way of life that didn't take kindly to the changing times or the general 'living speed' and chaos of the city they neighboured.

In the backdrop, Temple Hill could be seen, almost big enough to be called a mountain.

“James, how should we proceed?”

Adam's question made him close his eyes, he needed to organize his thoughts, this was it, the start of the mission, the dangerous mission. There was no room for more fuckups and that meant thinking things through.

Thinking like that it was easy to choose his priorities.

• The lives and health of the party
• Returning home
• The quest

It was clear what the next move should be

He opened his eyes "We divide" Better explain before looking like an idiot "Right now we need information and the villagers seem like our safest bet. but I don't want to spend too much time there so we should spread out and talk to different people" But carefully "We also should use the buddy system, if that driver words are to be trusted then we are working against someone competent in subterfuge, so we form pairs, a ranged attacker and a melee fighter, Zell and Kass are our best melee fighters so they get a buddy each, on the other hand I think Fenna and me can work as a unit to pass as another fighter making our pair a trio"

This was the hard part, the social aspect.

He then signaled to Adam, MacKenzie, and Lilly "That means you three should choose who you pair up with, the most important thing is that you choose someone you think you can work well with, I want to think that everything will go smoothly but for all we know there may be moles among the populace" It is what he would do if their positions were reversed after all.

"To prevent from visiting the same people a pair take the left, another the middle and we will take the right. As for the information, everything is useful, rumors, stories, even suspicions may have some truth to them, we depart as soon as the pairs are formed"

Part of him chaffed at just giving orders like that, he was not accustomed to doing it but the party had voted him as the leader and he could at least try to act the part. He moved towards Fenna "Hope you are okay with going with me, truth be told I think you are the better fighter" He tried to smile but he only managed to grimace more "Do you think you could ask Sil to keep an eye on the others? I know I am being paranoid but, well, I rather be needlessly paranoid than be right"

In all honesty, he felt uneasy, part of him felt like he was overestimating their foe, their tactics seemed... crude for a lack of a better term, too focused on short objectives and revealing their existence too soon, if they had mind magics as the wagon driver told them then their best move would have been to slowly corrupt the people of the nearby villages with the big cities none the wiser, then create a distraction and proceed with their true plan in secret, but if their cult was like those back home then it would explain the sloppiness, too many actors with their own thoughts and all it would take was someone acting on an idea too good to share to spoil everything. Still, being cautious never harmed anybody.



"Are you all ready?" He waited for confirmation "Then let's go, good luck, stay safe"

MacKensie watched the wagon roll away from them, considering what the stranger had told them. How evil to prey upon the good nature of people with such treacherous traps. She'd sooner respect monsters, for at least monsters were upfront and straight forward with their evil intentions. The wagon driver's story also reminded MacKensie that this would be difficult. They were dealing with an intelligent enemy - one that could out-think them, if they let their guard down.

"Looks like the cult like to play dirty," Zell said, drawing the frenchwoman's attention from the wagon that had almost disappeared from sight. Her eyes followed his movements as he went to the head of the party and turned to face them all. "We should be careful. If the enemy is pulling off charades like that, then we shouldn't put it past them to have double-agents all around the local area. Be wary of anyone in Cherrad who is being a little too helpful."

MacKensie's eyes flared at the idea of double-agents. She hadn't even considered that (a second reminder in quick succession, that they had to be on guard and strategic.) Fortunately, Second Chance had intelligence and cunning among their own.

"Oh right!" James piped up, next in turn to speak after Adam agreed with Zell. Her blue gaze fell on him. "Here, a little extra something in case you ever need it"

MacKensie smiled and held her hand out gratefully. "Thank you so much, James," she said, drawing the knife to look at it briefly, before sliding the blade back in the sheath and putting it away in her rucksack. For now, she would keep it for outdoor food-prep and eating. She already had a bigger dagger on her hip that was fit for combat.

"If something's bothering you, you'll only make it worse by overthinking." Her heartrate quickened and anxiety grew at Zell's voice and words. This was not something she was even close to being ready to address! But Zell being Zell, lightened the mood with a joke to mask his words of wisdom. "I need you at your best so you can save my dumb ass when I inevitably do something insane, okay?"

Well, it was a half-joke. Chances were that the man would probably end up doing something crazy. She couldn't help but smile, and she nodded. "I'll be sure to be ready to rescue you, as usual," she returned.

And it was left there, thank the lord. She let out a breath of relief when he walked away, then mentally told herself that she had to get her act together. She could not let these issues get in the way of her performance as an adventurer. Too much was at stake. And so, she attempted to take his advice and stop overthinking. It was time to be mature and get on with the task at hand.

Adam turned to the party leader. “James, how should we proceed?”

And James laid out a plan of how to approach Cherrad. MacKensie listened, nodding every now and then. When the decision was left to them who to partner up with, MacKensie immediately spoke up, her eyes going straight to their new party member. "Barracker - You and I?"

Once they were ready to split, MacKensie nodded thanks for James' well-wishes and gave her own. "Good luck everyone."

Barracker and MacKensie entered Cherrad on the left side, meaning to skirt around the edge of the village and enter further along. On their route, they came across an old woman, who was sat on a stool, tending a small beehive. She spotted them and gave a welcoming smile.

"Good afternoon, Madame."

"Afternoon, miss," the old woman returned.

"My name is MacKensie. MacKensie Trydant. And this is my friend, Barracker Kassel. We are adventurers, come about the Temple of Hades."

"I thought so," she said unhappily. It was only now that MacKensie realised that under her polite smile she wore a sad expression. "I've a son who's up on that hill. Part of that dreaded cult." She shook her head. "He's a good lad, our Steven. Always been a righteous soul, ever since he was a boy. He pledged his life to the worship of Hades and the service of that temple. He understands how sacred life is. He'd never hurt a fly, if he was in his right mind." A single tear rolled down her cheek. "Some kind of magic has brainwashed him, you must understand. I know him. Nobody knows him like his mother, I'll tell you straight. Please... if there's some way to save him without hurting him... I know he's done wrong... but he'll repent for his sins, if you can break the spell over him." The old woman held out her hand and MacKensie felt obliged to hold it. "Please... save my boy."

They talked for a little bit longer, but there wasn't much the old woman could say in the way of useful information... "Thank you for speaking with us." ...And so MacKensie and Barracker moved on to find someone else. "How awful," she whispered to Barracker sympathetically once they were out of earshot. "Do you think this spell might be broken if we kill the Greater Wraith?"

Zell stood by Fenna as she explained about her connection with Sil in a little more detail, rubbing his chin as he listened. When she finished, he nodded. "Well, I'm sure she'll make herself useful either way." He looked around to see if he could put eyes on her. "Clever little thing."

When James told everyone the gameplan for Cherrad, Zell signalled he was on board with lazy salute. MacKensie paired up with Barracker, leaving Zell with the option of either Adam or Lillianna, and seeing as Zell was not particularly enthused with the idea of going to church (he'd not seen one of those since before he was a teenager) that left only one choice. He regarded James sidelong.

"Why don't you and Fenna go find the Church of Iris with Lillianna. It'll probably be somewhere in the center of the village. Me n Plant Man'll check out the right side, see what we can see. Sound good?" With that decided, he gave a little nod to Adam and started walking. "Come on then, mate."

The steady descenting road that led them into Cherrad gave them enough time and enough of a view of the place for some contemplation.

What a fucking boring-looking place, was the city-boy's assessment.

He couldn't imagine having to grow up in an area with less buildings than the average road in London. What on earth was there to do, here? There couldn't have been any night-life. No gyms. No leisure centres. The few girls around would likely be related to you.

"Jeez, bruv," he said to Adam as they walked side-by-side. "If I was born here, I'd probably be begging to join the cult, just for something to do."

He smirked at Adam, although something told him that the younger man probably wouldn't find the humour in such a dark quip. When they got into the village, they started asking around. Zell let Adam take the lead whenever the Druid chose, but didn't neglect to make a few inquiries himself.

"Alright there, my mate," he greeted to a man in the road. He raised his left hand to show the villager the Source crystal embedded in the back of it. "Zell Brooks. Of Second Chance. Just wondering if I could ask you a few questions about the cult on the hill up there."

...

No luck on Zell's side. The englishman wasn't even sure what questions would be good to ask. All he knew was that their contract was to kill the Greater Wraith. This cult was just in the way. But he at least understood that it was possible to get some information that might prove useful, so hopefully his fellow party members would have better questions than him. And hopefully get better answers too.

Fenna listened as James explained his idea. Splitting up, it made sense. It was the best way to gather as much information as they could. When James asked if she was okay going with him, she smiled reassuringly. "Of course I don't mind." It would be up to the others to see who would join them. She listened to his follow-up question and nodded. "That should be doable."

There was no doubt in her mind Sil could recognise the people who were with her and that she understood danger, protection and being on the look-out. It didn't take her long to find the falcon, perched on a roof. The moment Fenna looked at her she flew down and Fenna extended an arm. "We need your help, we're all going separate ways. Keep an eye on everyone, will you? Like eggs in a nest. Come to me if the others are in danger." She did her best to think in images and feelings as she tried to explain what she wanted from the bird. If she was not mistaken the bird understood. It was hard to tell, but just as she knew where Sil was, she also knew about that. As if there was a feeling of understanding coming from the bird.

Sil flew up and choose one of the tallest building to sit, her eyes focussed on the village.

When Fenna turned to the others it seemed like the decisions were made. MacKensie had chosen Barracker, and Zell decided to go with Adam. That left Lilliana to go with them and by the sound of it they would be visiting another church. It worked out well this way, Fenna had accompanied Lilliana before and James was a cleric.

After the others went left and right, Fenna turned to the other two. "I suppose we'll head straight the the center and towards the church then," she said. "It's a good starting point and Lilliana needs to be there as well."

She started walking, taking in the small village as she followed the earthen path between the houses. One woman looked suspiciously at them from the doorway and Fenna smiled politely in response. Not all villagers would be happy about foreigners, especially with that cult in the area. A man with a chicken under his arm nodded a greeting and directed them to the church when Fenna asked.

The building wasn't as grand as the one in the city, which was no surprise. It was only slightly bigger than the houses with a roof that stood out a little above the other houses, but it would have been easy to miss.

Barracker was in deep thought. The paladin had dealt with weaker types of spectres before, but never a Greater Wraith. He had though studied hard so he wasn’t completely out of his depth. Wraith’s usually laid down a sphere of influence wherever they manifested into this plane of existence. This could muddle the minds of men, cloud their morales and corrupt them to serve and worship it. This Greater Wraith must’ve been a powerful one to take over the whole temple. As everyone discussed the situation, Zell came forth with a friendly pat on his shoulder. Barracker gave a nod to his friend, Zell spoke about double agents among the villagers of Cherrad, Adam nodded in agreement. “I concur with Adam and Zell,” Barracker said with a grimace.

Leader James spoke and gave everyone a knife,which Barracker thanked him for. The paladin reviewed the blade of the knife and then slid it back into its sheath, attaching it on his chest piece in a way so that he could draw it and throw it with quickness and ease.

Overhearing Fenna’s explanation about Sil, Barracker thought that he was glad to have eyes in the sky, watching down on the group.

The group discussed their thoughts among each other, valid points came from everyone. The first counter measures to cover such space with the numbers they came with, was from leader James, suggesting that the party split into two duos and one trio, one taking the left side, one the middle and the last the right side of the village. So this is what it is like to be part of a party. Barracker felt very much one of them as they didn’t look at him like other people do, like that wagon driver did. They ignored his vampirism and took him for what he was.

MacKensie chimed in and picked Barracker as her partner to pair up with. “Stay swift,” he said with a quick salute, his own way saying ‘be careful.’

As the two made their way away from the group, they skirted around the edge of the village of Cherrad where they met an old lady who was sat on a stool tending to her small beehive. As Barracker and MacKensie came up walking towards her, she gave a warm smile. "Good afternoon, Madame." MacKensie said.

"Afternoon, miss," the old woman returned.

Barracker stood quite, letting MacKensie introduce him. "My name is MacKensie. MacKensie Trydant. And this is my friend, Barracker Kassel. We are adventurers, come about the Temple of Hades." Barracker raised his hand up and gave a smile towards the woman.

"I thought so," the old lady said unhappily. "I've a son who's up on that hill. Part of that dreaded cult." She shook her head. "He's a good lad, our Steven. Always been a righteous soul, ever since he was a boy. He pledged his life to the worship of Hades and the service of that temple. He understands how sacred life is. He'd never hurt a fly, if he was in his right mind."

The wraith’s sphere of influence is strong. Barracker thought to himself, he would wait until it was just the two of them to say.

A single tear rolled down her cheek. "Some kind of magic has brainwashed him, you must understand. I know him. Nobody knows him like his mother, I'll tell you straight. Please... if there's some way to save him without hurting him... I know he's done wrong... but he'll repent for his sins, if you can break the spell over him." The old woman held out her hand and MacKensie held it. "Please... save my boy."

Barracker saw the pain from the old lady, she was yearning to have her son back, back to his usual self. This village of Cherrad had to be cleansed of this Greater Wraith as soon as possible. “If there is a way, we will find it,” Barracker knelt down beside the old lady and went to pat her but held back, This brought back memories of when he first returned to Valhiem after being bitten by the vampire that changed his life. He stood helpless in front of Areleth and mother Anne, telling them that his mind had not been corrupted to evil and savagery, even if most people would say it was too late for him.

They spoke for a little bit longer. "Thank you for speaking with us." MacKensie and Barracker moved on to find someone else. "How awful," she whispered to Barracker sympathetically once they were out of earshot. "Do you think this spell might be broken if we kill the Greater Wraith?"

Barrackers eyes narrowed in when the wraith was mentioned. “By what my studies have shown me over the years of being a paladin… mostly. The main source behind clouding a person's thoughts and mind, will die when the wraith does. It should work that way, but I have only dealt with lower wraiths,” he grimaced once more. “The wraith’s sphere of influence is very strong. If we are not careful it could even try to attach itself to one of us.”

When James suggested the team split up, Adam nodded in agreement. The cult was in the temple, not the town, so there shouldn't be any danger while they gathered information. And he didn't have any real preference for who he would team up with, though a small part of him wanted more time alone with their Ranger. That wasn't relevant to the mission though, so he pushed those thoughts aside. Zell volunteering to go into town with him was fine; his joke about the cult was stupid.

Adam had taken in the place, seeing a charming village where people were close and nature was plentiful. Cherrad was likely a much more upbeat place without the cult there; that's what Second Chance was for, right? For all the discomfort Adam had of killing people that could be saved, he knew the team's work would help a town return to its former glory.

He said none of this to the swordsman though, instead just sighing and shaking his head. Frankly, Adam didn't have the desire to lecture right now; he knew Zell would step up when it mattered. Instead, the red-eyed man would focus his energy on talking to the villagers and hopefully getting useful information from them.

And at first, the Druid shared his friend's luck with regards to finding information. But eventually after sharing the story the wagon driver told with a friendly shopkeeper, the latter gave him an important lead.

“Oh, Nick? He was just here, dropping off some meat at a nearby store. If you hurry, you can probably catch him before he leaves town.”

Adam thanked the entrepreneur, then explained the situation to Zell, telling him he would meet up with the rest of the team after talking with this guy. Running off after this, the fisherman eventually caught up with the man; a portly, balding fellow wearing worn clothes pushing an empty cart with “Nick's Meats” written on it in white paint out of Cherrad.

“Excuse me sir, my name is Adam and I'm here with my team to deal with the monster afflicting this town. If you don't mind, I had a few questions I was hoping you could answer.”

The cart owner was happy to oblige, and the two of them had a nice conversation before the meat salesman resumed his travel away from the town. The red-eyed man went in the opposite direction, finding his team so they could proceed with whatever happened next together.

Feanor Moss came into the church in time to hear the conversation between Sister Gwen and Lillianna. He'd been informed that adventurers had finally come to deal with the situation on Temple Hill, something he'd been anticipating for quite some time. After speaking with a friend, he'd caught up with party and now waited for a chance to speak, intrigued by the topic of the two women's conversation. After he understood the situation regarding Sister Gwen's brother, he intruded.

"Hello there," he said softly. "I couldn't help but overhear - I'm sorry to hear about your brother, Sister Gwen - the situation is more dire than you understand. The ghost of your brother is in danger of permanent purgatory, trapped in a restless state, in the Mazy Hillocks for eternity, if something is not done as soon as possible..."



When the party met up on the other side of the village, Lillianna anxiously explained the emergency she'd discovered regarding the ghost who'd warned them about the direwolves in The Mazy Hillocks. She could not stand by and let the spirit of that man be destined for such a horrible fate, and had to go with Sister Gwen to help her save her brother's soul. She had to leave at once, and return to Valhiem to prepare a ritual that would release the ghost from this world.

It was an unfortunate situation, but Lillianna Steiner, after being begged by Sister Gwen and convinced by Feanor Moss, would abandon the mission to help. She apologized to her party members and promised to meet up with them in a few days, once her task was complete.

Second Chance would be without their wizard for the foreseeable future.

After wishing Lillianna luck, the rest of the party left Cherrad and headed to the foot of Temple Hill, to start the climb up to the Temple of Hades where they would camp outside until the full moon shone bright enough to open up the temple entrance.



Feanor Moss could not believe his luck. It took all his charm and powers of deception to convince the two women that Gwen's brother's spirit needed saving as soon as possible. Using a mixture of truths and old legends, with lies made up on the spot, he'd riled up the trainee priestess into such a tearful frenzy that both of their pleas to the inexperienced adventurer had somehow managed to convince Lillianna to abandon her own party!

He only hoped that his warning would reach his leader, The Listener, in time to prepare the cult for a fight.

The church proved to be a decent source of information, now he had an idea of the amount of people who were corrupted by the cult, which was one more detail to keep in mind, more than anything he was worried about the prospect of an ambush by the brainwashed villagers, they knew the terrain better than his party did, that and the other thing.

"Good luck"

He watched as Lilliana bid her goodbyes to the rest of the party and then departed, of all the times they could have lost a party member he didn't expect it to happen before they even entered the temple, worse still, Lilliana was the powerhouse of their group in terms of raw magical power, once more he was thankful that Kass had joined their party.

Looking at the others he could tell they all didn't learn much anything worrying which was good it meant that they should be able to pool their info.

"According to the Sister in the church the Temple was manned by a devotee of Hades, a few acolytes, and some local youths, if we count the people that were lured in then we are looking at around 17 people at minimum, we don't know if more people got involved so let's be careful" He looked at the resolute faces "Another piece of info is the fact that the gates of the temple are enchanted to open automatically at night, some religious belief that the spirits enter at night as the living do at day so we should camp at the outskirts until it is dark, our vision will be obscured but so will be theirs"

He looked at their resident tank "Kass, where I am from there are legends that those with vampirism have means to see in the dark, do you possess such an ability?" It would be so useful if he did. Finally, he looked back at the rest "I also think we should change our formation, still in diamond shape but with Kass at the front and Zell at the back, he can teleport so he can react the fastest of all of us" He paused for a moment "If anyone has any sugggestion feel free to say it, there is no such thing as a stupid idea"

She tried to object. She tried to say something, anything that would convince Lillianna to stay with them. That they wouldn't be too long, that they would be back in Valhiem before the end of tomorrow. That MacKensie herself would do whatever she could to see this 'spirit ritual' through with her friend. But nothing could sway Lillianna. And it was hard to argue when Sister Gwen was right there, her eyes red and cheeks streaked with tears. The whole situation was extremely difficult. And so, MacKensie could only give Lillianna a big hug, unable to unwrinkle her brow as she let go and looked with concern at the white-haired wizard.

"I don't like that we are splitting up so far," MacKensie said. "Please be careful, Lillianna. I have such a bad feeling about this."

As their party leader gave them the run-down on the information he and Fenna had gathered, MacKensie couldn't help but turn her head to look at the disappearing shapes of Lillianna and Sister Gwen as they went back into Cherrad. Her stomach twisted in knots as she wondered what the future would bring because of this terrible idea to part ways. Lillianna was now alone, and as powerful as the woman was, she was so shy and tentative, not to mention she was always so far in own her head, MacKensie could never tell if the wizard was fully aware of what was going on around her. And now Second Chance was without their biggest source of elemental damage - about to go into a hostile territory wrought with danger that could only be combatted with elemental damage. Furthermore (from a more selfish persepctive, to be sure) she was completely bereft of weapons or spells that could help against their ethereal enemies. She was not only vulnerable, but severely limited in her capacity to influence the outcome of this mission. All of this made her extremely uneasy.

"Kass, where I am from there are legends that those with vampirism have means to see in the dark, do you possess such an ability?"

MacKensie looked at Barracker as she waited for his answer. The paladin had already proven his value today, just in his knowledge alone. An affirmative answer here would merely be a bonus. What he'd told her earlier, about the spectres 'sphere of influence' was heartening to hear. The idea that they might be able to save the cult if they could only take out the source of the problem, was good to know. Avoiding battle with those people who were against them, would be another matter entirely though.

"I also think we should change our formation, still in diamond shape but with Kass at the front and Zell at the back, he can teleport so he can react the fastest of all of us" He paused for a moment "If anyone has any sugggestion feel free to say it, there is no such thing as a stupid idea"

"The Greater Wraith's influence will die along with the monster itself, and the living members of the cult will hopefully regain their senses and be free of the evil that has corrupted their hearts. And so, I suggest that stealth and quiet should be employed, if at all possible. If we can get to the main chamber in the temple without being detected, then we might be able to avoid spilling human blood." She shook her head as she realised her mistake. "I mean; human or elven or any other race who is... alive and not evil."

Later on, when they climbed Temple Hill and got to the entrance of The Temple of Hades, MacKensie laid her hands on what she thought was the rocky surface that covered the entrance, looking up at the beautiful temple. Now she could see it close up, she admired the beauty of the statues around and columns that decorated the building. The place was amazing.

Making camp, like last time, had MacKensie feeling like a bit of a spare part, so she patrolled around - not too far away - to make sure nobody was spying on them.

Barracker and MacKensie rejoined with the group on the other side of the village, where party member Lilliana had explained about a soul confined to purgatory, unless a ritual was done to set him free. She spoke with such passion about needing to do this for the restless ghost.

This was bad timing for the party as her skills were valuable to the mission but Barracker did feel sympathy for the ghost and so he found it hard to disagree. Not that he would speak out against her, even if he wanted to. He was new to the party and hardly knew Lillianna, so he kept his thoughts to himself. The party was full of a range of class builds and individuality skills alongside himself that would prove useful, so hopefully they could manage.

“Farewell Lilliana, stay swift,” he gave a salute.

Barracker listened to leader James’ estimation of the cult numbers and deemed it a solid guess. In answer to the clerics question, the paladin nodded. “It is true, I do have night vision. I also am a bit of an insomniac,” a trace of a smile flickered on his face. “So i will make a decent watchman,”

James carried on, giving out formation orders. Barracker thought it to be a wise choice. He gave a nod, James had a good sense of strategy and it was easy to see why the party had chosen him as a leader.

"If anyone has any suggestion feel free to say it, there is no such thing as a stupid idea"

First MacKensie suggested a stealthy approach. “Good idea,” which Barracker added and expanded on. “If a decoy is required, I volunteer myself for the role. I have defensive magic in addition to my shield. I may be able to draw away the living and hold them off without causing casualties. This would leave the rest of you an opening to sneak to the main chamber and deal with the wraith.” he bowed his head to James. “Only a suggestion. I will follow your command.”

The climb up ‘Temple Hill’ was short, Barracker now walked with his sword and shield at the ready, his huge claymore blade resting on his shoulder plate as he gripped the hilt. They made camp quickly. Barracker helped out where he was required. He took a seat on a fallen stone pillar and rested his tower shield next to him.

Once everyone had settled he gave them some advice and knowledge from his bestiary studies. “Wraiths are floating entities, which can be difficult to hit due to visual distortion, but they are slow. They have semi physical talons, which they will try to strike you with, but their most dangerous attacks will be dark magic spells they throw at you, some of which can cause temporary paralysis. Many acolytes of Hades can use magic also so be prepared to face melee fighters and spell casters.”

Barracker proceeded to explain the most common layout of the temple, which commonly consist of one long hallway through the centre of the building that would lead to the main chamber. While shut down, the long hallway would be barred by several sets of puzzle locked doors. There would be ways around this likely guarded corridor. From the entrance there would probably be doorways to kitchen areas, and library areas that may provide an alternate route to the main chamber. One of these rooms might even have a hatch door to the basement floor where the living quarters were.

Adam was distraught that Lillianna was leaving the team. She had been a loyal member of the team, electrocuting herself to help everyone in their fight against the water ninja. And she was probably the one he was closest with in Second Chance after MacKensie, especially after their talk on the roof. The Druid knew though that doing the right thing wasn't easy; she had to be hurting also. So instead of trying to convince her to stay, he settled on making the mage promise she would find him if she was in trouble and gave her a hug before she left the group.

The red-eyed man wanted to process this loss for a while, but that would have to wait. Right now everyone had to focus on the mission at hand, the slaying of the monster in the temple. After helping with setting up the camp as needed and giving his friends food from his supplies if they wanted any, Adam listened to his fellow teammates as they provided insights and ideas. James with an important question, MacKensie with her desire to avoid hurting innocent people (which added to the Druid's admiration for her), and Barracker's insights on the temple's layout all would contribute to the success of Second Chance. Stealth seemed to be the consensus of everyone there, and Adam couldn't find fault with that. If they were trying to isolate the beast, his magic could perhaps contribute to that.

“We'll be indoors, so that means I won't be able to grow as many plants as usual. However, if we can get to an isolated room, maybe I can barricade it to prevent anyone from coming in. Please watch your heads.” Saying this, he used his magic to shake a nearby oak tree, watching as acorns fell as a result. Adam then mystically moved a few dozen of them to his now-opened bag. “I can grow these into oaks that will be as useful as my magic normally is.” It was no lightning bolt, but it would have to do.

Fenna had been in the church and watched the emotional exchange between Lilliana and sister Gwen, she had heard everything Feanor Moss had told her. And still she was surprised Lilliana was adamant to return to the Mazy Hillocks immediately to help the spirit she had been in contact with. There was no stopping the mage, so Fenna hugged her. "Go to the Adventures Guild, ask for aid. Do not go into the Mazy Hillocks by yourself. It was the only advice she could give, because their current quest was also important and she didn't feel much for delaying it by joining her in the quest of the spirits. Surely there were other adventurers who could help her and if all went well they would see each other back in city.

After she left it was time to focus on the mission. The diamond shape made sense, Mackensie's stealth idea made sense and focussing on the wraith itself seemed like their best shot.
"I have nothing to add at this point," she said. "I agree with the points raised."

They continued up the hill and to the temple; it was an impressive structure and, as Barracker explained, it had several rooms. She sat down and took some bread from her bag to eat. She watched Adam collect some acorns and from what she had seen from his magic didn't doubt they would be useful at one point.

"Are we going to attempt the locked puzzle doors or go straight through the other rooms?" she asked the others. "I suppose going through the other rooms will mean we're at risk of running into cultists and whatnot, but having to wait at every door and figure out how to go through will delay us and cultist may catch up to us. Either way, I don't think we'll reach the wraith without running into at least a few cultists." She paused. "Personally I wouldn't mind trying the doors and if we fail to get through we can still decide to try and go around them."

Unlike the others, Zell was not restrained by the need to be polite or understanding.

"Lily-Pad, are you fucking mental?" His perfectly calm tone was a comical contrast to the question itself. It was muted incredulity. "This can't wait 24 hours?" Zell looked around at his comrades' faces to check that they were hearing the same thing he was. It sounded ridiculous. Of course, this was a ridiculous world they were in - metal ninjas and giant centaurs running about the place - but the fact that Lillianna was so insistent on leaving the group for some random ghost she'd known for five minutes showed a loyalty flimsier than a dandelion in a tornado. "He's dead - no offence, love," he added to Sister Gwen. "We've got living people here who need our help, not to mention you're the one the magic attacks."

It was no use. It was like she was under a spell and couldn't grasp the fact that she was leaving them up shit creek without a paddle. And why this couldn't wait one extra day, when they didn't even know how long that ghost'd been dead for, was beyond him. Zell was pissed. He didn't even say goodbye.

"Screw it," Zell said as he stood with his hands on his hips, watching the two women go. "We didn't need a wizard in our first battle. We'll get by without one now." He listened to James as the Cleric got them back on track. At the change in formation, Zell just said, "Fine," but he was suspicious of James, thinking that their leader might be trying to protect him because he didn't possess any magic. The thought of such a thing made him even angrier, but he held it in. A potential plan slowly came together while Zell stood, promising himself over and over that he wouldn't let anyone die tonight. He would never forgive himself if he survived and one of his comrades didn't. And he wouldn't forgive Lillianna either.

At the camp on top of the hill, Zell snacked on some beef jerky from his rations while he paced back and forth, keeping an eye on the entrance to the temple while thinking about what they might face. When Barracker gave them all the information he had, Zell was listening and nodding as he took it in, still pacing slowly up and down with his hands on his hips. It seemed that nothing would brighten his mood until Adam did his druid-thing and pocketed a few acorns, bringing a teethy one-sided grin to the Englishman's face.

"Props on the creativity, Adam. Not a bad trick, mate." He was extremely impressed. "Not bad, at all."

After Fenna threw in her two cents about the route they should take, Zell agreed at least in part. "You're probably right; I doubt we'll get to the wraith without having to contend with any cultists. But I reckon if we go down the main corridor, we are announcing ourselves." He shared his gaze with everyone. "I don't mind going straight down the middle, but it won't be stealthy, I'll bet that much. So it's either puzzles, locks and kicking through the front door. Or it's a quiet job the long way around. We can't have both." He gestured to Barracker. "I commend your bravery volunteering to be a decoy, n all that, but I think our resident monster hunter should be in the fight with the monster. Whatever we do, we should fight as one."

He looked at the darkening sky, feeling the anticipation in his gut. He was ready for whatever came next.

George was crouched behind a small lion statue, sweat appearing on his forehead as the unidentified person patrolled closer to his position. He could hear voices further away, men and women both, but he was unable to make out what they were saying. He couldn't hear the footsteps, but had caught snippets of blue clothing when he dared to peek a little. It was time to act.

"Die cultist!" George roared as he jumped out with his wand swirling a pattern. Ice-blue energy coalesced around the crown of the wand as the snow-blast spell activated, ready to fire. "Huh?" George paused, looking at MacKensie with confusion, before slowly lowering his wand, the magic disappearing into thin air. "You are not a cultist. You have my sincere apologies."

He suddenly grunted in pain, then held his ribs, almost falling to one knee, but he pushed through it. "Hardul, you can come out. It's safe."

A dwarf dressed in casual beige and brown threads slowly rose from behind a rock. He was clearly scared and uncertain. He had long, braided ginger hair and a healthy beard to match. No weapon or armour. A clear difference from George, who wore mage's robes with long gloves and carried a spare wand and dagger on his belt. George was a tall fellow, with parted black hair and a mustache that curled upwards at both ends.

"I am George of the adventurer party, Hidden Hand," he greeted, limping forward and offering to shake MacKensie's hand. "We underestimated the numbers of the cult, and their insidious traps set within the Temple. It proved our undoing. Most of us are dead but one was taken prisoner. I managed to get out with this prisoner from a village off to the northwest. But I'm not leaving without my friend, only the entrance has been sealed shut." He looked over at the rest of Second Chance. "I'm surprised the Guild sent another adventurer party so soon. Good news."

Aside from his “trick,” Adam didn't have anything strategic to contribute at that time. Putting a few acorns into his pockets, his mind drifted to the ones they had lost. With Lillianna gone, there were now four members of Second Chance gone. Was this something that would continue? The Druid knew he would do the right thing whatever the circumstances, but what if he ended up alone in this strange world? It wasn't something he wanted to think about, but it felt like a real possibility. The shared experience of coming from Earth had helped unite them all, and Adam did not want to lose those bonds. The man decided for now that he would simply fight to the best of his ability, and trust in them all to keep going as one.

And if they didn't? Well, maybe Glee could use a new teammate or something. Perhaps the-

“Die cultist!”

The new person's declaration startled Adam out of his thoughts and he quickly prepared himself to grow some vines around this new threat, only for the apparent ice mage to stop his assault and start talking. It seemed he and his prisoner acquaintance had managed to escape, and the Druid was certainly sympathetic with what happened to them, but he was also reminded of the experience of a certain cart owner and spoke.

“It is nice to meet you both. I'm sorry for what happened to your friends. However, I hope you understand our need to be careful” the red-eyed man said to George, still ready to cast at any moment. Now addressing Barracker, the nature magic user asked “is there any way we can know for sure if they're with the cult?”

It seemed Adam had something strategic to contribute after all.