24 Unexpected Guest
When they got back at the inn, there is no one there. Mizuki and the others tried to look for them around but there was no sign. Isidore even have asked Valor if he saw them but he had no idea either. They panicked and got hysterical that the others might have died a while ago before they got a chance to get out of the dungeon. It was clear earlier from what they saw that the place were totally destroyed and there is no sign about Jeruzen, or Faye, or Maku, Balthazar and Dave.
"What if---?" Chaneri uttered.
"Let us not jump into conclusions yet." Isidore interrupted her.
"There could be an explanation behind this." Mizuki said.
"Maybe they got caught? There was no sign of their bodies at the battlefield earlier." Marjorie added.
"Why don't we go back and find out what really had happen?" Zhia suggested which they agreed immediately.
Isidore ready was about to activate the runes when Chaneri stepped inside the circle. He was bothered that Chaneri might get into trouble again and something worst might happen for a child like her.
"Chaneri, you may stay." he pushed her out of the circle.
"But--?"
"No buts. That's enough trouble for today. I cannot let myself to put you on a risky situation again. It is best for you to stay here." He said that leaves a sad expression on Chaneri's face.
"Moonlight does need some company." Mizuki tried to convince her. "Well, be back soon."
Chaneri gave him a plain smile and latter stepped out of the circle all by herself. She watched as the four disappears and teleported somewhere back at Nethilor.
They arrived at the library located at Pevansheer - the eastern city of Nethilor, where Isidore had taken them earlier before they infiltrated the plaza to save Zhia and Marjorie.
"It is too dangerous to roam around Nethilor now, they must have added additional knights to guard every inch of the kingdom." Isidore said as he flip the curtain and looked outside the window. It was already dark but the streets were filled with chevaliers covered in armors and cuirasses. There was no other person on the streets aside from the guards that keeps on roaming and guarding at every corner of the roads.
"Marjorie, you know what to do." Isidore said to her which she immediately understood.
She secretly sneaked out of the backdoor and tries to find a suitable place to cast her spell without her getting noticed by the guards.
"Mist Generation: Zero Visibility Fog!" The whole city suddenly got foggy. It was so thick that there were nothing to see. The guards were clueless and assume that it was only an ordinary fog so there was no trouble, for it will just disappear soon. Marjorie just chuckled and return inside the library.
"It's all set. Any time soon, Pevansheer will be shrouded in mist. Yet my spell were not good enough to reach the other cities." Marjorie said.
"It's alright, we can disperse from here and find separate ways directly to Metropolis." Isidore added.
The four is on the move towards Metropolitan Nethilor — the center of Nethilor where the palace and the plaza was erected. The fog follows them by the command of Marjorie giving them enough cover to hide from the guards that have been assigned everywhere.
Ironically, the others were also on the search to find them. They have escaped from the explosion earlier which were hundreds of flames rained upon them by the Ember Flare at the behest of the king. Balthazar managed to teleport them using the teleportation crystal Isidore gave him at the critical moment before the attack hit the ground. They were sent in a nearby forest located at the outskirts of Nethilor to the east. However, Jeruzen was not with them. He had his own teleportation crystal so Balthazar was rest assured that Jeruzen might have escaped as well.
"I can sense them." Dave uttered upon activating Spatial Concentration to locate the whereabouts of Isidore and the others in the area. "They are going back to the plaza." He pointed towards the foggy section of Pevansheer.
"That mist sure quiet is handy, huh?" Faye uttered with elegance.
"Lets hurry before they can go even further!" Balthazar ordered.
And so the four is already on their move to stop the others from moving forward.
Isidore and the others were moving silently through the shades of the city with the assistance of Marjorie's mist when four unknown figures appeared in front of them and stopped them on their way to Metropolis.
They were surprised that they were detected by the enemies so soon. Zhia charged forward and tries to land a blow.
"Hey! Hey! Stop!" The voice said.
"Maku!?" She recognized the voice immediately and withdraws her scythe.
"I am glad that you're okay but please, stop doing that!" Marjorie squealed. "We could have killed each other right here."
"You can remove the mist now, Marjorie." Faye uttered as she flapped her wings to clear the mist around her.
"Lets go back now." Balthazar commanded them.
Isidore teleported the eight of them directly back to Mt. Brimlet in the blink of an eye.
When they got back, Chaneri was in the kitchen preparing their meal for the night.
"Why you're the one cooking?" Balthazar asked her.
"Big Bro haven't got back yet so I decided to do his chore." Chaneri answered referring to Jeruzen.
"We thought he's with you." Isidore hopped into their conversation.
"No, he wasn't." Balthazar replied.
"What if big bro did not get out of there?" Chaneri said with a shaky voice.
"Don't say that Chaneri. Jeruzen is tough! He could have easily get himself out of there." Maku said lively to ease the lady.
"Lets just wait for him, he'll arrive soon." Isidore said.
They have waited for about an hour but nothing showed up on the door. Chaneri got restless and insisted on going out to find her so-called brother. Balthazar stopped her and insisted that he'll go out to find him instead.
When he opened the door and was about to get out of the inn, a figure swooped down from the night sky. They were alarmed by the unexpected arrival of the character. She was covered with bruises and some of the feathers on her wings were disarranged.
"I come here at peace." A graceful voice of a woman greeted them. It was Hatysa.
What shocked them the most is to see Jeruzen's unconscious body within her grasp. She handed the conscious body of the man and Balthazar immediately carried him towards the cozy couch in the corner of the room.
Before they know it, Hatysa was long gone from where she was standing earlier. She left immediately without formally saying any goodbye. They were baffled to think why would Hatysa save her enemy. After all, she was still an alph.
