CHAPTER 19: INTO THE WHITE FOG

The sun had just disappeared behind the horizon when the ten of them stood on the edge of the road leading into Valle de Fichi. The fog in front of them looked ominous but their hearts were already hardened and no fear could be seen in their eyes.

Mavi walked to the front of the group and turned around to look at his comrades. He nodded at them and said, "I will be putting a tracking spell on you guys, please take no offense," he said with a slight smile.

The people looking at him also gave him a smile and waved their hands, indicating that a tracking spell was not a big deal since it was necessary for their mission. Mavi smiled at them and then started the incantation. He waved his hand towards their bodies, including the King, and a cluster of small soft blue lights flew out of his fingertips and etched themselves onto the bodies of his friends and manifested into a small drawing of a raven, his own symbol.

"Thank you, My Lord," Rigel led the team to thank Mavi. Mavi smiled at them and took his place beside his King once again. He reached out and held Allerick's hand, nodding to the man slightly.

Allerick, knowing that they had no time to waste, hardened his heart and stood straight as he ordered with a low but powerful voice. "Onward," he said as he took the first step and entered the thick fog while the rest followed closely behind him.

When they stepped inside the fog, their vision was greatly reduced. They could only see two meters ahead. Their surroundings were shrouded in thick white fog. They had to use their flashlight imbued with magic to be able to see further. Even then, it didn't help much since the light seemed to be swallowed up by the fog.

The temperature inside the fog was also very different from outside. It was so cold. It was the kind of cold that penetrated deep into the bone and even made one's soul tremble. The ten of them gritted their teeth and persisted with the distance they kept between each other and to not huddle.

Their surroundings were quiet. Eerily so. There wasn't even the smallest sound of a bug. Not to mention the bigger animals. They must have been hiding ever since the fog spread. However, they kept their vigilance up and tried to listen to even the softest sound. They also took note of each other's breathing and footsteps.

Mavi was leading on the front while Allerick was in the tail, guarding them. He was the king but he had never been the one to be protected. Not when it really mattered. He walked with confidence and vigilance that had been tampered for thousands of years. Every cell of his being was alert and ready to lash out at any time.

"Do you guys… hear something?" one of the team members, Roscoe, broke the silence after they had been walking for a while. He had a very keen sense of smell and sound and so he noticed the strange and subtle sound first.

The sound wasn't loud, even in the dead-silent forest. It was so subtle and smooth that it even sounded almost like a normal breath of a person. Which was probably why it was only Roscoe who found something strange.

"What sound?" another official, Chet, asked as he stood in the middle of the line, ramrod straight. His eyes wincing and darted around.

"Listen closely," Roscoe motioned for him to shut up and cupped his ear with one hand, trying to determine where the sound came from. He said softly, "the sound is as soft as a baby's breath. The interval is long between each breath. There were also soft chimes after each breath."

The rest of them listened to Roscoe's description and tried to perceive the sound he talked about. With their eyes closed, they focused their energy into their hearing, and soon enough, they heard the sound Roscoe was talking about.

"It seemed… to be getting louder?" Seho said doubtfully. His eyes were already opened and he was staring straight ahead.

"It's not getting louder," Roscoe said, his face positively grim as he crouched down and motioned for the others to do the same. He then took out his rifle and aimed at a distance in front of them. "It's getting nearer," he said between gritted teeth. Even with the rifle having been imbued with magic, he still couldn't see anything through the thick fog.

"What?" Chet exclaimed as the others' faces also dropped and their stance went rigid at once.

"Chimes…" Mavi said to himself as he was thinking with his eyes trained to the sky.

"What is it?" Allerick, who was standing beside him, already had his sword drawn as he asked his warlock in a soft voice.

"Let me try something," Mavi said after a while as he rummaged through his pouch for a transparent crystal the sixe of a palm. He held it above his head as he chanted a blessing. 

The light from the crystal came out so suddenly and so blinding, it almost illuminated the entire forest as if it was daytime. The team member looked up ahead where Mavi was pointing the crystal and found a huge owl flying above them, circling leisurely with its eyes fixed on them.

"Crimson owl," Mavi breathed, almost choking.

The crimson owl, like the name, had a crimson body. Its size was three times larger than even the largest owl. It flew silent and like Roscoe said, only the soft flap of its wings that sounded like a baby's breath and the chimes made from the friction of its feather could be heard. It attacks fiercely and swiftly. Their favorite food was brain. Human brains to be specific, But they could also survive off of other creature's brains. They just liked the human brain more.

They basically had zero magic and were relatively easy to kill because they attacked purely with strength and speed.. However, their blood was extremely toxic. Even a drop of it could corrode all the way to the bone.

They were originally native to the Asian continent. Appearing at the forest of Valle de Fichi at this time could only mean one thing.

"Who the fuck brought this creepy thing here?" Aaron cursed as he got ready with his bow and arrow.

"Rigel Chet, Aaron, circle around and corner it, Mavi will trap it, careful of any blood dropping on you," Allerick readily commanded them as he stood beside Mavi, ready to assist the warlock as the latter took out a long silver chain to trap it with. "Do not engage directly and just evade," Allerick warned them. Having received their order, the three people named immediately dashed forward whilst the remaining five stood at a distance with their weapons drawn, ready to assist at any time.

Maci, on the other hand, walked towards a tall tree with a thick trunk and wrapped it with his chain. He held onto the rest of the chain and turned towards the three who were busy dealing with the owl. They were running here and there, dodging left and right and rolling on the ground this way and that way to make sure they didn't have direct contact with the bird.

The owl, having been enraged for not being able to kill its prey, attacked even more vigorously at the three. The other five who were watching felt their hearts clenched as it dove towards Chet with glinting eyes.

Chet cursed, having been rolling on the ground for a while, he immediately got up and threw his whole body to the left to avoid the beak of the bird. The bird, having missed its prey once again, made a sharp turn and went for Chet once again.

"Head over here!" Mavi shouted at Chet and ordered him. Chet looked behind him at Mavi who was standing in front of a tall tree with chains in his hands. He gritted his teeth and made his way towards Mavi. He skidded to a halt right beside Mavi and turned around facing the bird who was already halfway to them.

"What do you need me to do?" Chet asked Mavi with gritted teeth. He was sweating profusely but his breath was still even.

"When it's close enough, I want you to jump as high as you can towards the tree," Mavi said to him as he was getting ready with his chain.

"Alright," Chet said and readied himself. He clenched his fist and crouched down low to the ground. He gritted his teeth when the owl was close enough and jumped up! He jumped high enough for Mavi to safely chain the bird who maneuvered towards Chet when he jumped up. The bird, seemingly even more enraged, let out a cry as it shot towards Chet. Mavi, at that time, was ready with his chains and sent it flying over to the bird and it encircled its body and pulled it towards the tree trunk.

However, when the bird was just securely chained onto the tree, dozens of what appeared to be thick thorns flew and stabbed the bird! Immediately, Allerick who had been watching Mavi, flew over to the warlock and held him in his arms all the while throwing the red cape he was wearing upwards to help block the blood that was raining on them before flying backwards to a safe distance.

Chet, who was closer to the bird, almost didn't manage to evade when the thorns flew. He cursed loudly before jumping even higher with the help of the tree branch and managed to evade the blood at the last minute, only burning the tip of his sword which he immediately threw away with a pained expression.

"Where the fuck did that come from?" Yara cursed loudly as she threw their bags and capes up ahead to block the blood and pulled her team members away.

"Fuck, everybody cover your nose!" another member, Joleen, shouted and cursed. "There are Lotus Spiders for fuck's sake!"

Her shout managed to send the other member into hypervigilance and the atmosphere once again turned tense. Even more than when the owl appeared.