Chapter 10 - Watchful Moon
Come morning, we both slept in. We ate soup for breakfast, a cheap and bland watery mixture formed from the few herbs I grabbed while out in the forest. I gave the leftovers to Void, and Evelyn mirrored my actions.

The way back was much quicker, now that I knew just where the Grotto was. Genevieve trailed us the whole time, since it was so close to the river. Evelyn and I stayed in the trees; she used her moth to keep another eye on the sky. With the sky dark and cloudy, it was likely that Aurleons were roosting nearby.

When I finally hopped down onto muddy ground, I noticed the section of river that led into the rocky enclosure was much higher. I kicked the water and frowned. Evelyn asked, "How'd' you get in last time?"

"The tide must have been lower," I realized. I dropped a pebble in to try judge the distance to the bottom, but then Void dove in and swam to middle area. I winced. That meant that the water was at least three feet deep. I was distracted when I noticed an underwater pink shape suddenly rocket out of the Grotto and rush straight towards Void.

"Dodge!" Evelyn yelled, and Void swiftly turned and swam back over to our bank. The rippling figure suddenly burst out of the water with a menacing hiss. Sapphire blue dragonfly wings faded into a magenta body, accented by faded orange lucky runes. I recognized her from last night.

I noticed Evelyn about to call for Coco to strike from the sky, her staff already drawn, when I suddenly told her, "Stop." She looked at me like I was insane. I kept my gaze on the water, and she up-swiped her palm. She let out a little ah when she read the text.

Genevieve suddenly burst out of the water. She glided over to the hovering Sylvorpa, and nudged her in friendly way. Stargazer Lilly gave her a questioning look, and Genevieve huffed and nudged her towards me. I stood tall and waved in a friendly manner. Lilly gave me a dry look, then turned back to Genevieve.

She circled around Genevieve, and then she darted into the Grotto. It was clear invitation, and when Genevieve sent me an uncertain look, I waved her on. Evelyn watched next to me. "Why'd' Genevieve go in?" she asked, puzzled.

"Maybe because Stargazer Lilly invited her in? I don't know why, but she acts likes she's guarding the cave for some reason. I saw my Lupora, Canach, around here as well." I said, glancing around discretely before sitting down on the soft mulch leading into the water.

When Genevieve finally came back half an hour had passed. Evelyn and I had taken to sparring using sticks. It was mostly a contest of who could trip the other first, honestly. So distracted by this were we that when Genevieve exploded out of water on a few feet away from us, both us screamed in shock. Evelyn yelled at Coco for not warning her, and I gave Genevieve a look that promised murder. I swore she smirked at me.

Genevieve dragged herself out of the water, and I watched with confusion as she trotted a ways off. I traded confused looks with Evelyn, then followed her. She led us to the base of a small hill. She paused a moment, and then braced her front hooves against the sloped ground. I nearly asked what she was doing, when she reared back and slammed her hooves into the wall. She moved to a different place, then repeated the action. Each time, a massive crack appeared and spread. Now I understood. She was targeting weak points in the wall in order to crumble it. I walked up to the wall and slammed a foot in to the wall, further breaking the integrity of the barrier. Taking from my queue, Evelyn and Void helped me out.

Soon the wall simply collapsed in. I jumped in, Evelyn and the Sylesties following her, and we looked around. It was nearly dusk, so we could barely see anything. Evelyn took out her fire staff and the orb burst into flame, creating light in the dark area. Off in the corner, Canach walked up. He nudged me, and I threw my arms around him. "You're so fluffy!" I exclaimed, stroking his long neck fur. I feel something bump my arm, and I look up to see Stargazer Lilly next to me, smiling. I reach out to stroke too, admiring the way muscles pulsed under her skin. Beneath me, Canach pulled out of my hold. I stroked him one more time, and asked, "Are there any other Sylesties here?" He shook his head, but I was not discouraged. I found two of my Sylesties, and that was good enough for me.

Evelyn shifted behind me, and I winced. "We need to get back to our room," She said awkwardly. I nodded and stood up. Canach huffed and walked up to the hole, and then he looked back impatiently. Stargazer Lilly was playing with Void.

I stood up, brushed off my knees, and walked outside. I scanned the sky cautiously, but didn't see anything. Evelyn tugged at my sleeve and said, quietly, "We should get going." I nodded to her.

When we finally got back to the tree house, it was around 10:00 at night, so I apologized to Evelyn for having no time to search for other Players. She waved me off, and we both settled in for the night.

A few moments later I noticed that Canach hadn't fallen asleep. He was standing guard, I realized, in front of the door. "Canach, get some sleep," I hissed at him. He gave me cold look, and continued standing guard. I pursed my lips. I was too tired to deal with this, but I didn't him want to be groggy in the morning. I sighed and rolled over. "Take shifts with Lilly," I muttered.

I missed his soft, relieved smile.

Chapter 11 - Error
When I finally woke up, it was to the amazing smell of breakfast. Evelyn was at the small kitchenette that came with the room, and she sent me an apologizing glance as she flipped pancakes. I blinked at them, and she explained, "I found ingredients on sale in the market. It was kind of surprising, but its one of the few things that I actually know how to make."

I stretched and walked to the window. The soft light was beautiful when shining on the horde of soldiers- wait what? I looked on, alarmed, as ranks of elven soldiers stood positioned around a figure predominantly dressed in gold. As if sensing my gaze, she turned and looked straight at me.

I shuddered and closed the blinds. "Hey, I just opened those." Evelyn whined, just as she was placing the pancakes on a couple plates. I turned and gestured to her. She hummed and walked over, and I opened the blinds for her. "Who is she?" Evelyn asked, frowning, and I shook my head in confusion when Evelyn saw the elf. "Does...does she seem sort of familiar to you?"

I narrowed my gaze at the prominent figure, whose back was turned, and replied, "She kind of does, now that I think about it. What I'm worried about are the soldiers. Are they after us? We need to check it out." Evelyn sighed, and I realized that neither of us had had any breakfast.

"Let's eat while we're over there," I suggested. I picked the pancakes up, still warm, and exit to the stairwell leading to the base of the hotel. The rest of Sylesties were nowhere to be found, but I wasn't too worried. They knew how to care for themselves. We put our cloaks on, however, as neither of us wanted attention.

Evelyn and I ate breakfast while we made our way over to the guards. Many other elves had had the same idea, and we blended into the crowd, who were all shouting questions to the figure we identified via the others around us. Queen Annabelle stood on a dais and she raised her hands her hands for silence. It took a long time, and was punctuated by rebellious mutterings. Evelyn and I shared nervous looks. This crowd was not happy.

"Elves, while I am sure many of you are highly displeased over the sudden increase in soldier presence, I am here to tell why that is, and to assuage your fears. I am sure all of you heard about the attacks by those you all have dubbed the Soulless. All of them were-" I stopped listening to Queen Annabelle for a moment to look at Evelyn. She shot me a bewildered look, and I shook my head before continuing to listen to the speech. "As a result, the council has decided that soldiers are to be posted at strategic positions all around the city. Also, permits must be acquired to pass through our gates," this was met with a lot of grumbling, "and anyone out in the forest must have an escort." This was met with open hostility. "Remember, all of this is to help protect you." Queen Annabelle began to talk of other things, but with the main part of speech over, I turned to Evelyn.

She watched with wide eyes. I nudged her and hissed, "You were here earlier, weren't you? What's this about?"

She looked at blinked as if coming out of a dream. "I don't know! All of this is completely new to me!" She whispered, and then grimaced. I knew she didn't like being out of loop, and her expression hardened. "Then lets find out." I sighed as Evelyn dragged me over to a burly looking man who was shaking his head in disbelief. "Sir, what's all this about?" she asked. I flinched and backed up a little bit.

He startled, and rubbed his brow. "Travelers, huh? You shouldn't have come, but I guess you haven't heard. Right after the Cataclysm happened, rumors kicked up about Sylesti- and human-looking things wandering around the forest. They didn't really attack you so much as try to infect you. They chased you down, and once they touched you, you became one of them."

"Like a zombie?" Evelyn asked, confused.

"No, zombies had to die first," the man continued gravely, "and these things spread by touch. It's said that they chill your very soul when you encounter them. They are completely black, and everyone who's been able to get away has called them completely soulless. That's why they refer to them as Soulless. Anyways, they began to have an insane increase in frequency about 5 months ago. The same time rumors popped up about the Players returning. Some elves are saying that the Players came back to save us. Most say they're the ones behind the attacks."

"Me? I'm convinced that the Players have something to do with those Soulless. They appeared when the Players vanished, and just happening to become so much more aggressive right when the Players return? There's no coincidence, I'm sure." The man sighed and looked at us with an intense gaze. "That's why the Queen is setting up such constricting measures. I'm not in full agreement that her way is the best, but it's what she can do." He looked away, and I got the feeling that he was done.

I seized Evelyn's wrist and I looked around for a private corner to talk. Unfortunately, the plaza that we stood on held no hidden alleys, and the tree houses by default had no hidden corners to talk in. Evelyn walked back to our room, and I followed her.

Once we were safe in private, Evelyn announced, "We need to check out those things immediately."

I shook my head, "What about searching for more Players? If there are two of us, there are bound to be more. Besides, they might know about these Soulless."

Evelyn looked torn for a moment before caving, "Yeah, you're right. Lets make a complete sweep of the city. We'll stay a week, and then we need to go check on these Soulless things."

I nodded, "Yeah. While you're looking around, be sure to keep an ear out for these rumors. By the way, have you seen our Sylesties around?"

"Mhm, they left before you woke up. I opened the window to let some air in and they scrambled out the window." I gave her a curious glance. How early had she woken up? The sun had only been up for an hour when I got up. She looked away, and I felt awkward.

Hurriedly, I drew out my map and spread it out. "Well then, let's draw routes."

Chapter 12 - Epilepsy
The week passed uneventfully. The man was right about the rumors. Evelyn and I heard them wherever we went. The Sylesties had been oddly distant, but not to the point of alarm. They still came each night to our room, which Evelyn and I were splitting the cost of. Nothing noteworthy happened, besides a few a few false alarms.

When we finally ventured into the forest, the Sylesties stuck to us like glue. This went much quicker, and three days in, we found a pair of Soulless. They were just like the descriptions, black as ash with dead eyes. As we were side-by-side in a tree, Evelyn nudged me, and I nodded furiously back to show I saw them too. Beneath us were a Vorkid and a Luffox. I glared at them for moment, then checked out the Luffox.

The panel pulled up, and I gazed at a steel gray female Luffox named Storm. I stared at in confusion, and then scrolled down and found the message stating the pet had been released. I shared a glance with Evelyn, and she raised an eyebrow at me. I couldn't tell what she meant and burned to ask, but didn't want to attract attention to us. Beside us, Coco and Canach were deathly silent, and were both puffed up in...was that fear? I inhaled sharply and looked over to Evelyn. Her expression mirrored mine. I saw something flicker in the corner of my eye, and I looked back down to the panel.

The Luffox was no longer steel gray. It was black, the same color as it was now, and the whole screen was beginning to flicker rapidly. I stared in major alarm. It was like one of those scenes when a virus was overtaking a computer screen, where the entire thing was flickering odd colors, and the data was getting scrambled.

Eventually I noticed something that muted me in horror. Very slowly, the black color on the Luffox was bleeding into the rest of screen, slowly over taking the screen, which had given up any hint of its original appearance to pulsate violently.

When the entire screen had been engulfed in darkness, the interface suddenly flashed blood red. At this point I wasn't looking at Evelyn for assurance. I was too petrified with fear. The ugly, glaring red suddenly vanished. In the middle of the screen, was an image of the black Soulless Luffox. Her pose was different, and I nearly fell off the tree when the image sprang up. She was looking out of the screen, teeth bared in sadistic delight, right at me. With a final flicker, the screen closed.

Trembling, I looked up. Somewhere in my mind, I registered Canach openly growling. Down on the forest floor below, the Luffox stared straight at me. Beside her, the Vorkid suddenly hissed and spread beetle wings. The next thing I was aware of was Evelyn, grip tight around my wrist, yanking me away into the next tree.

Both us jumped at top speed from tree to tree, but the chase was in favor of the Soulless. The Luffox followed below, and the Vorkid trailed us in the trees. I scrambled over another limb and heard Evelyn yell, "We need to split up!" I shot her a look of surprise, but I could voice a protest, she suddenly split away, Coco banking after her with a startled squawk.

I hopped away from her, hearing the Vorkid faltering with a menacing whir. I didn't turn to see if it followed me; I only kept a sharp eye on Canach. I nearly fell when a few sharp barks suddenly rang out below me. The Luffox dashed below us, clawing at the base of the tree. I listened, but didn't hear the Vorkid's wings. I scanned our surroundings thoroughly, but didn't see the black bug.

The Soulless must have split up, I reasoned. Canach yelped and pulled on my sleeve. I staggered onto another tree, nearly falling when I realized how unstable the other tree had suddenly become. With a crash, it fell onto the forest floor. Below, the Luffox growled angrily. I was startled to find the base of the tree shredded. She jumped at our tree and began to claw at the base of our tree, and I needed no encouragement to continue jumping.

What I hadn't planned on was Canach jumping onto a separate tree. I only had the chance to give him a frightened look before being forced to jump away. "Get to the river!" I yelled on impulse, "I'll meet you there." I then turned away from him and began to head towards the large tree that signified the Shrine.

When I finally glanced down at the Luffox, she suddenly jumped up and began to climb the tree. I leaped away hurriedly and thoughts flew around in my head. I realized suddenly, she had been trying to separate Canach and I. That's why it faked being unable to climb trees. But why would she do that? My musing was interrupted by the sound of rushing water. Below me was the river.

I looked at it, then backed up to the tip of the branch I was on. Behind me, the Luffox was still growling. I looked at her, and she was slowly edging towards me. The branch creaked dangerously, and she backed up a little bit.

I dug frantically around in my bag for something to help. The vines began to creep around me, creating a thorny barrier. I knew that they wouldn't help that much though. Those claws could rip right through them, just like that tree. One touch and it was all over. My gaze scanned the river, but I didn't see Genevieve below. I was happy for that.

With a hideous cry, the Luffox sprang at me. I screamed and the vines unconsciously whipped down to secure me to the branch. My hand closed around something heavy and wooden, and without thinking, I yanked it out of the bag and swung it at the attacking Soulless.

A loud thump rang out, and the Luffox, stunned, fell into the river to be carried away by the current. I watched until I could no longer see her drifting, then inspected the staff in hand. I blinked in surprise when I saw it. It was the starter staff, the one you could get if you didn't attack one of the trolls. The mossy orb at the end however, had a large black blotch on it, and I inspected it cautiously. It was irregularly shaped, and I reasoned that that was the spot I had hit the Luffox.

With a hiss of disgust I realized that the blackness on the staff was spreading. I jumped to the ground and picked up a fallen log. Vigorously scrubbing at the black substance that crumbled like charcoal, I used whatever I found on the floor to be rid of that ugly corruption. When I was done, a crescent had formed on the green part of the staff, but all of the black was gone.

I heard a sudden whinny of delight, and Genevieve suddenly burst out of the water, snuggling right up to me. I laughed and scratched her neck, and Evelyn suddenly dropped out of the trees with a cry of "Nikki! You're safe!" I spotted Coco and Canach behind her, and I laughed, breathless with relief.

"How did you get rid of your Soulless?" I asked her.

She smiled and brandished her staff proudly, "That bug got burned!"

I giggled, showed her my staff. At her confused look, I explained, "It's the starter staff thing. I knocked the Luffox into the river with this. Where the end touched her, it turned black, so I had to scrub the stuff off." I gestured down at the forest floor, which had a pile of black dust on it. Evelyn grimaced when she saw it. I gently tucked my staff away and pulled out a small purse. Gently, using a leaf, I scooped a large amount of the dust into the bag, drew the strings, and tucked it into my bag.

"What are you doing that for?" Evelyn asked, confused. She waved a hand vaguely at the bag, and I didn't miss the way Canachs hackles rose when she did so. Coco puffed up as well, and I made a mental note to find out why.

"To test it out, and investigate." I answered promptly. "Isn't that what we came here for?"

"Well, yeah." Evelyn seemed embarrassed, so I recommended we get back the hotel. She agreed, and we walked off.

Deep in the bag, green slowly faded into black.

Chapter 13 - Passage
Frightened by our first encounter with the Soulless, I brought Evelyn to the local Brewery to see what the elf there had to say about the dust, the very next day. Chris, the owner, was horrified.

"This stuff is made of evil." He whispered, when we showed him a sample. "I dare not touch it. Where in Sylestia did you find it? "

Evelyn shot me a panicked look, but I was prepared. I replied easily, "My friend and I were gathering in the forest. We encountered one of the Soulless, and I managed to knock it into the river with a bag. The bag crumbled into this substance, and we brought it to ask if you could examine it.

"The Soulless?" Whatever the man had been expecting, it was not that. "You are very fortunate then." Chris leaned in to the substance, and with a swirl of runes, his glasses expanded into a double lens to function as a microscope. "That's odd...you've brought me something very interesting. Very well, I'll take a look at it. You'll want a scrupulous examination, I assume?" At our answering nods, he promptly turned to business. "It will take several days, as these things take time."

After I settled the price (Evelyn had lost interest and was looking at the various ingredients), Evelyn and I went back to the hotel to pass time. We had just gotten back from lunch when knocking suddenly rang out. Evelyn and I shared a confused look, and she wandered over and opened the door.

The knocker was an elven knight. I tensed up immediately, and was glad that all of our Sylesties were outside at the moment. He appeared young and blonde, and introduced himself as John. When Evelyn inquired why he was here, he held up a small vial. In it was black dust, and both of us recognized it as the substance we asked to be tested. "I'm here at the request of the crown to have you both explain how you acquired this material," John said flatly. "Participation is mandatory. I'm here to escort you."

Evelyn gave me an uncertain glance, but I shrugged at her and swept my cloak around me. She took the lead, and we both followed the knight out to wherever he was taking us. We finally arrived at two of the largest tree houses I had seen. One looked high security, thick walls made of tightly interlocked vines, and there was a tunnel that connected it to another building. Though a little more welcoming, guards were openly posted around the premises. Evelyn ducked back to walk alongside me and whispered, "Are we being taking to jail?!"

I shook my head at her, "I don't think so. I think were being taken to a place that other people can't overhear. Whatever what's-his-name told them, its got to be something alarming."

Evelyn hummed and replied, "His name was Chris, I think." I smacked her arm, and she laughed. I smiled back at her, but I'm sure both of us could tell that we were terrified.

John led us in a courtyard. It was open air, and I was thankful to see Coco circling overhead. At one corner, Queen Annabelle sat in an elegant throne. Several other elves in extensive finery sat in chairs flanking her. As John led us to a pair of chairs to the left of the room, I noted that Chris sat across the room from us. He staunchly refused to my curious gaze, and I gave up, instead choosing to look at the rest of the rooms occupants. Around eight people, mostly elves, but with a few humans sprinkled in, sat in chairs behind us. They gave us curious gazes, seemingly as confused as we were.

When we were finally seated, Queen Annabelle stood up and clapped for silence. There was no need, however, as everyone was silent already. "Honored guests, we apologize for so suddenly pulling you to this questioning. As I know many of you have jobs you need to get on with, we will be as brief as possible," She said commandingly. I shrank down a little and glanced at Evelyn. Her back was straight, and she was glaring fiercely at the Queen. I nudged her and she eased up a little. I gestured to the sky, and when she spotted Coco, she sighed and sat back.

Queen Annabelle was speaking again, and I listened, "Today, in the forest, a new, possible volatile substance was found. As it has been deemed a threat to our city, we have come together to determine what this substance is, and how we can negate its effects. First, Chris Allaleh, who reported the substance, will explain what he has so far determined."

Chris stood at this, and said haltingly, "When two strangers first approached me with the current sample of the substance in question, which I will here on out refer to as cursed dust, I thought it looked suspicious. My suspicion was only increased when the pair claimed to have acquired it from the Soulless." This was met with a lot of muttering from the people behind us, and I glanced behind in curiosity. "When I proceeded to test it routinely, the cursed dust at first seemed completely torpid. However, when I dropped a bone into the dust, the bone turned black where it had touched the dust. Further experimentation shows that plant matter is unaffected, though all Sylesti and human body parts turned black as well."

"I discovered that the black parts of the affected objects actually spread around the object like a plague, even after removing all of black from the original object. When the black part was removed, it crumbled into cursed dust." Something about that set off alarm bells in the back of my head, but before I could address the subject, Chris was continuing, "After that I deemed the cursed dust hazardous and notified you, your highness."

Queen Annabelle nodded sharply. She then turned to us. I was too busy trying to remember something that I felt I had forgotten, so I missed what she said to Evelyn, and Evelyn's subsequent reply. The next thing I noticed was that Evelyn nudged me and said, "Hey, take out the branch you used to whack that Soulless Luffox. "

I blinked and complied. I drew it out gracefully, but nearly dropped it when I saw the orb at the tip, or rather, what was left of it. The rest of the orb had turned entirely black. Not a single trace of green remained, but, oddly, the wood itself remained completely intact.

All around me guards tensed. I grimaced at the crescent shaped corruption, and then said, "Uh, I didn't realize that the rest of the thing would corrupt too. What, ah, what do I do with this?" Queen Annabelle was the first to react, ordering a guard to run up with a satchel. The particular satchel was made of plant fibers sealed with tar. I gently tapped the crescent into it, and it snapped off easily. A leaf was brought up and it swept up any remaining particles.

After that I gently set the staff on a table that someone pulled up. Swiftly, a servant walked up with gloves and took it away. Probably to test it, I realized, and my mouth pinched. Queen Annabelle, seeing this, explained, "The wood will be returned to you after we've ascertained that the wood is safe. If this cursed dust can turn people into Soulless, we cannot let it out into the general population. Indeed, I might even have to introduce even more drastic protective measures."

"I must ask, however, what exactly did you put on that log to make it corruptible? And what attachment to it do you have?" Queen Annabelle asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Thinking fast, I said, "I said bag earlier, hadn't I? Well that bag was attached to a branch I picked up one day and found it to be perfect for a walking staff. It was empty on the day Evelyn and I encountered the Soulless, because I hadn't found anything yet to put in it. I've grown rather attached to it, so, that explains that? I didn't mention it, because I didn't think it was relevant." I fumbled a little at the end, nerves putting holes in my logic.

Queen Annabelle nodded, and I let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully I could stay mute for the rest of the interrogation. Her next words, however, turned my veins to ice. "Why do you wear cloaks all the time? Spring is here, aren't you warm?"

Evelyn, thankfully, saved us by saying, "We're a pair of travelers who come from much farther south. While it might be warm to you, its quite cold to us." She rubbed her arms and smiled sheepishly.

A soldier suddenly dashed out of the door that the assistant that had taken the staff into and ran up to Queen Annabelle. He whispered in her ear for a moment, then stood off to the side. Queen Annabelle nodded sharply to him, and then turned and gave me an intense look. I shuddered, and rubbed my arms vigorously underneath my cloak. She then turned to the soldier and gave him a commanding nod. He saluted and ran back through the door he came in through.

Queen Annabelle then said, "Arromand Fellichi, please take a podium." A man, one of the elves behind us, stood and walked over to another podium next to Evelyns and mine. "Please recollect your encounter with the Soulless."

The elf, Arromand, gave us a nervous look, then spoke, "Me and Aru, we were out in da forest. We were 'unners, before. Well, we found Lupora tracks and normally woulda' then taken the opposite route. We didn' wanna fight with dem Sylesties, they're dangerous. But something was off about dem tracks. We found dis black lookin' dust around dem. Looked just lahk dat cursed dust. Aru picked it up; said he didn' lahk it. He dropped it quick-lahk. We den went de odder way and-

"That will be enough." Queen Annabelle commanded, and I nearly missed it distracted as I was with translating Arromand's speech. Queen Annabelle then gestured to John who had been standing off to the side, and he walked up to Arromand, vial in hand. When the already nervous elf saw the dust up close, he began to shake like a leaf.

"Cursed, foul, defahled essence!" He spat, backing away. "Dat is definedly da stuf dat Aru touched. Burn dat ugly dust!" John glanced back uncertainly at Queen Annabelle, and she gestured sharply for him to back away.

"You may sit, Arromand." Her tone left no other option, and the shaken elf wobbled back to his seat. "So, we can infer that this cursed dust is generated by the Soulless." She frowned in thought for a moment, then said, "I need time to think this over. New measures must be implemented, especially if this is a new way for the Soulless to spread. Or perhaps even an old one, that we have just now discovered. Regardless, you all are dismissed. Nikki, is it? You may have your staff back."

Someone ran out from the side, placed my staff on the table, and rushed back inside. I picked it up and swept it into my bag, missing the end of the Queen's speech. When I stood to leave, Evelyn grabbed my sleeve. At my questioning glance, she muttered, "Annabelle wants us to stay behind. She wants to talk to us." I paled, and sat back down with a thump.

*If you want to me to pm you with a grammatically proper version of Arromand's words, just let me know.

Chapter 14 - Minus One, Plus One

A guard led Evelyn and I into a private room that was completely closed off. Only one door led out, and we saw a couple of guards standing outside, keeping watch. What surprised us, however, was that there was only one other person in the room besides the Queen.

Queen Annabelle and her companion sat at a table with two open chairs across from them. Reluctantly, Evelyn sat down first, as I took a moment to cue in on the silent invitation. The other elf was a man who looked like an extremely high ranking soldier. His dark expression made Evelyn shift uneasily, and I nudged her in reprimand.

"My Queen-" The soldier was the first to speak, a low gravelly tone that sent shivers up my spine.

"Peace, Tello. We are not here to threaten. I merely wish to speak with these travelers. You very well know how hard it is to get a decent conversation around here. Relax." Queen Annabelle spoke offhandedly, examining us closely.

Tello replied respectfully, "Your Highness, it would be an insult to my position as Commander of the Royal Guards if I were to let down my guard around complete strangers."

Seeing that Tello would not let up on his hostile stance, Queen Annabelle sighed and said, "Then please don't interrupt our conversation. Now then, you said were from the south? I must admit, I am curious about that. Where?"

About an hour passed with nothing but idle chatter. Queen Annabelle kept to her word, and quizzed us relentlessly about our "home". What questions I could I answered based my off of my knowledge about Esior's Haven, and Evelyn used her knowledge about the Viridian Meadows to describe our cover story of orphans on a farm in the countryside.

In turn we asked a few questions about her life wearing the crown, but we didn't dig to deep. We had both read enough books to know what sort of cloak-and-dagger politics hid behind the glamour of court life. Despite the pleasant atmosphere, Tello retained an aloof as he staunchly refused to speak and seemed to grow more and more irritated as time went on.

After the turn of the hour, a guard walked in discreetly, and whispered into Queen Annabelle's ear. I couldn't hear what he said, and Evelyn's equally confused expression showed she had no idea either. I noticed that Queen Annabelle had automatically pacified her expression, presenting only a calm mask that revealed nothing. A quick glance at Evelyn's narrowed eyes confirmed she had seen it too.

A cage on a cart was wheeled in, and loud, high pitched snarl rang out when the wheels caught in door frame. The cage itself was only about a foot high and covered with a fine, silk cloth, embroidered in gold. The cart was brought up swiftly by a servant, who, after whisking the cover off, quickly bowed and left the room as fast as possible.

I didn't pay attention to the swift retreat as I was too distracted by the small creature left behind. It sat, frowning irritably, so immeasurably fluffy that I nearly reached out to touch it. Only its small teeth, bared into a threatening growl, made me think twice. Evelyn nudged me and waved her palm subtly. I blinked at her and then discreetly checked out the...female Puffadore.

I was about to read more on her, but Queen Annabelle spoke softly. "Her name is Candle." She sighed and continued, "Candle was a gift from the human royal family. Ever since the Cataclysm, she has been acting so officious and stubborn...it is very hard to imagine her as the playful companion I have had for nearly half-a-century. She was- is, very special. A breed of Puffadores specially bred for their colors. The Players called them themed, long ago. Her theme is Monarch."

I frowned and glanced over at Evelyn. She too was puzzled by the sudden introduction. "Speaking of the Players, did you know my ancestor, Queen Annabelle I was the first elven queen to work with the Admins?"

This caught Evelyn and my attention at once. "R-really?" Evelyn blurted. I glanced at her, startled, before returning my gaze to Queen Annabelle.

"My full title is Queen Annabelle Laniszhe Paleora Coramantle IX," Queen Annabelle smiled. "The Coramantle family has held the throne ever since recorded history began. We took the crown after a devastating attack by the humans back before the Players arrived, which dethroned the previous family. At least, that is what we assumed. All we have from back then was passed on by spoken word, so there is no real way to tell for certain. It could have been trolls, for all we know."

I sat back and noticed Evelyn staring blankly at Tello. I turned towards him, but he wasn't looking at us. Rather, he stared angrily at Queen Annabelle. Soon, he spoke, "My queen, why have you brought tha- Candle here?" His slip up and irritated tone did not go unmissed. I wondered why he disliked Candle so much.

I was so distracted by my thoughts that I nearly missed what happened next. Tello visibly choked at Queen Annabelle's rather innocently sounding next words. "I was hoping to see if I could pet her."

He leaped to his feet roaring, "Are you mad?" but it was too late; Queen Annabelle had already thrown the cage door wide open. Tello ran forward and threw himself in front of her while drawing a sword from the sheath at his side. His caution was for naught, luckily, as the Puffadore, when it sprang out, leaped onto table in a flash.

I froze and Evelyn jumped away, nearly falling over with an undignified squeak of alarm. The entire room seemed to focus straight on me. I gripped the armrest with white knuckles as Candle approached me with a sniff of curiosity. Whatever she found seemed to satisfy her, as she then jumped away with a cheerful bark. She took one look at the cage, snarled, and then sent a beam of magic straight at it. The metal crumbled like paper, and Tello seemed to freeze in shock. Queen Annabelle, however, seemed to be smiling.

Queen Annabelle walked slowly up to Candle and very gently extended an arm. The Puffadore sniffed it thoroughly and then shoved her nose under it much like a cat requesting to be petted. "Wha-huh-how?" Tello stammered, watching his queen pet the threat who was showing as much aggression as a sloth.

Evelyn and I exchanged glances, both completely in the dark as to what exactly was going on. On the other side of the room, the cage hissed pathetically, half melted from the previous attack.

"Easy," Queen Annabelle said as her hands reached down to scoop up her very satisfied Puffadore. "They both are Players."

Chapter 15 - Shaken

I sat there frozen, unable to speak. Evelyn made a weak, strangled sound, similar to a cat getting washed. "I, uh, wuh, why would you think that?" Evelyn sputtered nervously while very slowly returning to her seat. Tello stood awkwardly off to one side, sword still drawn. His bug-eyed look didn't make me any more comfortable.

"I needed proof; that is why I called Candle over." Queen Annabelle said smoothly. "Her pacified attitude is what convinced me. Of course, that special aura of yours was the first thing to clue me in. Normally I would not have taken note of your insistence on wearing those cloaks because of the heavily traveled port which attracts a lot of travelers, but once I actually took the chance to really look you over, I noticed several odd behavioral cues. Evelyn seemed very enamored with the sky, or, more specifically, the Aurleon in the sky, which in turn seemed very interested in the hearing. Nikki, your cloak twitches without any body movement at times."

I blinked owlishly for a moment, confused, before realizing I must have been moving my vines without thinking. "Alright, alright, we're Players," Evelyn sighed, "but that brings up questions. What exactly are you planning to do about it?""

Queen Annabelle narrowed her eyes at us, then said, "You've shown so far that you wish no harm on my people. I do want to ask, however, why you act so different from the first Players, why they left, and what you know about the Soulless and the connection between them and yourselves."

Evelyn replied, "We don't know why we act differently. We've never met these other Players, so we can't really say even how we're different. We came after the Cataclysm, so we don't have the slightest clue on why the others left."

"What were the rumors about the Players returning from?" Tello interrupted.

"That was most likely me, Evelyn sighed, "I popped out of a portal in the middle of the Umbra Forest. Somewhere near the Forgotten Tomb, I think. I followed the river and would have come here except for an unhappy incident with bandits. I ended up meeting up with Nikki down south at Esior's Haven. We then took a ship back up here."

I continued smoothly, "I popped out on a boat sailing down a river towards Esior's Haven. I kept a low profile; however, I think the guards there knew of me, as I was always watched. After a few months, Evelyn found me and we took a boat up here."

I could see the silent question in the elves' eyes, and so could Evelyn as she said, "I don't know why the Soulless reacted to us. Our adventure earlier, where we acquired the cursed dust, was us trying to learn about the Soulless by finding them ourselves. Rumors didn't tell us much, and who knows how they had changed over the course of multiple retellings?"

Queen Annabelle leaned forward and laced her fingers together. Her lips pinched once before she said, "That was extremely risky," -both of us shrugged in response- "but I don't think you're lying."

Tello sighed and rubbed his forehead, saying "But that brings up even more questions. What happened before you were transported here? Are there are even more of you?"

Evelyn frowned and answered, "We came up here in order to see if we can find anyone else who is a Player. What we heard led us to the Soulless, but no other Players. That's why we introduced each other as travelers. We were planning to travel to another place to search if we couldn't find anyone here."

"I'm thinking it's a regional thing." I spoke up, "I mean, I came in around the Viridian Meadows, and Evelyn found herself in the Umbra Forest. I don't really understand why that would be, but it's a safe enough guess."

"And of before you came here?" Tello persisted.

I pursed my lips and glanced over to Evelyn. She had a thoughtful look on her face before replying carefully, "I can't remember anything previous to our transportation. I do, however, have vague memories of not being here and...also being here? Its hard to explain, like I was distant but able to see Sylestia. I don't really have an explanation of how I know how to speak Sylestian and what all the Sylesties are. Its all sort of, um, innate. Evelyn shot me me a nervous look, and I figured that she didn't exactly want to reveal the truth about this world.

"Yeah, same for me." I nodded, but both Tello and the Queen looked skeptical. "Look, neither have solid answers. Both of us were planning leave soon anyways, maybe well figure out more on our travels."

"You are leaving to find more Players, right?" Queen Annabelle frowned slightly at this. "I'd like to request that you stay in touch with me while you travel. One of you chose an object to enchant so we can communicate."

Tello frowned, but anything he could have said afterwards was negated when Queen Annabelle stood suddenly. "I hereby call this meeting over. Tello, please summon an escort for these pleasant ladies back to their current place of residence. I need to arrange a few things. Players, expect a scholar to visit you tomorrow. He will set up the enchantment and show you how to use it."

When Evelyn and I were waiting outside, Tello whispered to Queen Annabelle. I couldn't hear what they were discussing, but Evelyn could hear through her moth, which she had hidden nearby. Her lips pinched, and I raised an eyebrow in question, but she shook her head silently at me.

Then our escort, John, arrived, and we walked off.

Sorry for the slow updates! I really should get the plot moving, but I needed to establish some things here very quickly~

Chapter 16 - Splash!

When we got back to our room, Evelyn blurted, "They're planning on tracking us through the communication enchantment!"

I pursed my lips for a moment, and then replied, "After this enchanter does his thing, can we try to alter it? So all it does is act as communication enchantment?"

Evelyn snapped, "What matters is that they lied to us! I don't want to be stalked!"

I felt my temper rising and took a deep breath to steady myself. "Evelyn." The chill my words drew her attention. "I don't want to be stalked either. However, you have to understand her position. We are two Players, the first in three decades. You can't blame her for being unwilling to part with us. On top of that, we have a suspected link to a major threat to her queendom*. A queens duty is always, first and foremost, her queendom. You have to think about it."

Evelyn was silent for a moment as the fire slowly left her eyes. She flopped down on one of the two beds and said, "How do you suggest we alter the enchantment?"

Thinking it over, I suggested, Do you have any Mission Sylesties, uh, ones who focused on the INT** stat?"

Evelyn pinched her fingers for a moment, then shook her head, "No, I don't. Coco was a tank who did physical damage, and Void was a DD*** whose focus was strength. What about you?"

"Genevieve might be able to, she's my magic tank. Lilly and Canach are Mission pets for HEL and STR, respectively." I stretched out and mirrored Evelyn's fall onto the second bed.

"Well we can't ask her now because the enchanter is due tomorrow, and we already have our route planned out, so what d'ya' want to do now?" Evelyn asked, crossing her arms above her head. I stayed silent, no ideas popping into mind. We had at least three hours until sundown, so we couldn't just crash for the day.

We stayed silent for a while, just listening to each other breathe, when Evelyn said bluntly, "I wanna ride Genevieve."

I sat up quickly, wide-eyed. "You want to ride Genevieve? Have you ever ridden a horse before?"

"Yeah!" Evelyn shot back indignantly. "It can't be too different. I mean, they both are horse-like."

"Evelyn, horses by definition are horse-like. At her answering hum of indifference, I facepalmed. "Don't we need a saddle or something, as well as reigns?"

"Bareback riding is a thing! I can totally improvise!" Evelyn protested.

I pursed my lips, but figured watching Evelyn getting tossed around by a horse-fish (fish-horse?) would be more entertaining than just lying there. I rolled out of bed, and Evelyn followed, taking it as assent.

When I got down to the waters edge, watching Genevieve, Lilly, and Void splash around together caused another thought to form. "Evelyn, Genevieve's hips move side-to-side, not up-and-down like a normal horse. Most likely, her muscular system is completely different than a normal horse. Are you sure about this?"

"Totally! I can ride nearly anything on four legs! Only two can't be that different," my fellow Player boasted, walking down into the surging tide. I gazed after her hopelessly, then shrugged and sat down with sigh.

The next few hours would prove to be very interesting.

*Queendom: As there is no king mentioned in the storyline that I can remember, I figured the elves were instead ruled by a matriarch, which would make them a queendom, not a kingdom.
**INT=Intelligence, HEL=Health, STR=Strength, etc.
***DD=Damage-Dealer: a pet who focuses on damage above any other stat

Chapter 17 - Rule-Breaker
As promised, the enchanter came the very next day at exactly 8:00 in the morning. Her irritable manner spoiled our own, and Evelyn and I had to wait an awkward half an hour while the elf scribbled runes with a staff over my Prancer Held from a Winter Festival forever ago.

To my pleasant surprise, the reindeer was animated much like Evelyn's moth, and his control bracelet fit snugly around my wrist. Strangely enough, to both me and Evelyn's surprise, the reindeer expressed sentience. To the reindeer's displeasure, Prancer had to stay still while runes wove around him. Evelyn also had her own reindeer, but she admitted in a slightly frightened tone that she couldn't remember ever getting him. The enchanter knocked before I could ask her further.

An orange-haired elf introduced herself as Jane McRoney, and the elf enchanter we had been waiting for. I sucked in a sharp breath at the introduction, but made no further sign to indicate recognition. Evelyn glanced my way and winked at me, showing she recognized Jane's last name as well.

As soon as Jane as left, we packed up the final little knick-knacks that Evelyn and I had picked up in our time at the Sanctuary. During that time Evelyn was muttering constantly, cursing her blurred memory. "I don't even remember getting reindeer! How is that supposed to work? I can't even- ugh! Do you have any idea how creepy that is?"

I flinched when she threw a small elixir into her bag with a little more force than necessary, causing all those already inside to clink harshly. "Evelyn, before you shatter your combat supplies, you should probably stop throwing things. Besides, we have bigger fish to fry."

Evelyn slammed her bag shut with a passion that made Coco beside her flinch and flutter back a little. "What?" She snapped. All of the sylesties tensed, and I noticed that Canach's claws were out.

I had to calm her down, and fast. Luckily, I had something that was bothering me to distract her. "Can you really not remember the Advent Calendar or even the Winter Festival? I can, so why can't you?" I asked.

She paused, then bit her lip. "I- I- it's all blurry! I can't remember!" she wailed, flopping down onto her bed. I grimaced, and she suddenly sat bolt upright. "No! Wait, okay. I remember there was a Fall Festival, and I kept getting wiped by the stupid zombie things! And I only managed to kill one of the bosses, because she, he, uh, something was the only boss I could find! That was in...in 2016? Maybe? Yeah, 2016."

I huffed in relief, and then recounted carefully, "The last thing I can remember was the end of the Winter Festival in 2016. The Admins had announced that they weren't going to do a spring festival because they were near finished with the Mega-Zone and didn't want to have to stall so close to the end."* I looked at Evelyn and bit my lip. "That makes about a two month gap. Now that that is settled, what we now need to know is why that gap is there and how that affects us."

"Why is there a time gap? Why are we here in the first place?" Evelyn groaned and rolled over. "This is just going to lead us in circles."

"No kidding," I huffed. "Anyways, I think we should head down to the docks. We have about half an hour before our ship leaves."

Evelyn grumbled and slung her satchel over one shoulder. I mirrored her action, noting with relief that the Sylesties had relaxed. "To Ethernia!" I called with slightly forced cheer. I expected Evelyn to either groan or laugh. What I got was cold silence.

When I turned around, all the Sylesties had already scattered to the trees. I turned and ran quickly to Evelyn, who had not stopped to turn around. Vaguely, I wondered what had made Evelyn so irritable.

In my wondering, I missed the faded green ghost that peeked out from behind the door.