Episode 121

Beams of sunlight pour through the wide opening in the surrounding forest canopy and radiate down upon the huge stone dais. Loud clacks and shuffling of boots upon rough rock sound out. Bach lunges forward with his practice sword and readies a swipe at Aristespha. In the moment, Aristespha tenses and shifts from a defensive stance into a countering posture. Bach hesitates, leans away with his guard forward, and springs back. Stepping back, he twists his mouth uncertainly and grumbles to himself with frustration weighing his tone.

Sebastian's ethereal form coasts down next to him, narrows a translucent blue eyed stare, and sighs. "Bro, you had a good shot ready. You should have taken it."

Tossing his head back, Bach glances up at the cloudy, blue skies above, groaning. "I know, I know... But, I saw her tense up, and she was about to attack me."

Nodding in agreement, Sebastian furrows his brow and crosses his arms. "Yes. She was about to attack you. She hadn't gotten that far. When you hesitated, you gave her the chance to take control of the exchange."

Grumbling under his breath, Bach levels an annoyed gaze at Sebastian and grimaces. "Yeah. I know. Hence, that's why I jumped away. I didn't want to give her an opportunity."

Sebastian leans close, focusing his attention upon Bach, and whispers. "You already did. Again, you bailed on the attack too soon. You just got to go for it sometimes, bro."

He drifts in front of Bach and presents a reassuring smile. "Okay. Let's break it down step by step. Listen carefully."

Sebastian motions Bach off to the side and explains quietly. Aristespha tosses back her long, silvery blue hair, stretching her arms out, and twirls the practice blade. Resting a hand on her hip, she glances over to the side and shrugs towards the shady sidelines with a smug smirk. Sitting upon the flat stonework, Cideeda's long, fluffy tail wags, and she taps through different settings on her aetherphone. Sotalia leans forward from her seat on a bench and peers over Cideeda's shoulder. "What are you trying to do?"

Blinking her emerald green eyes away from focus on the screen, Cideeda perks her furry ears, rests a claw tip on an indicator icon, and curls a toothy grin. "Turning up the frame rate for the video capture. It should make the slow motion playback better."

With a nod, Sotalia settles back onto her spot on the bench and glances over towards Dretphi. She gazes at Dretphi's attentive body language, tilting closer to her, and smirks. "So, what do you think, girl?"

Dretphi narrows her steely gray eyes and contorts her tan face. Straightening her sitting posture, she pushes her platinum blonde braids over her shoulders and sighs thoughtfully, curling a faint frown. "Cautious to a fault. Needs to assert himself..."

Perking up her eyebrow, Sotalia cracks a humored grin and chuckles to herself. "Well, yes, but I was asking about his sword fighting."

Blinking blankly, Dretphi glances down at Sotalia confused and furrows her brow into a puzzling stare. Sotalia rolls her golden eyes, shaking her head of fiery orange, wavy hair, and stretches out her legs and arms. Nearby on the end of the bench, Mark watches with a smile and combs his hand through his bushy beard. In a lull of conversation, Bach glances away from Sebastian hesitantly and calls out. "Hey, Mark. Are you really sure it's okay for us to do all this sparring on this..."

He glances down and around at the stonework surrounding him. "Ancient ritual site? I mean, isn't it, um, sacred or something like that?"

Cocking his head to the side, Mark visibly ponders between blinks, wrestling a grimace. His darker hazel eyes dart between his memories, and he snorts loudly into a laugh. With a wide, humored grin on his dark tan face, he shakes his head and chuckles heartily. "Please. It's just an old rock with stuff carved into it."

His gaze drifts upwards through the opening to the sky above, and he shrugs his shoulders under his robe. "Can't be all too sacred when the birds shit on it everyday."

Bach furrows his brow with a hint of disbelief and eases out a reluctant sigh and eyes his brother. "Okay... I'll give it a few more tries."

Floating off to the side, Sebastian signals a thumbs up towards Aristespha and nods at Bach. "Remember. No opening is going to be ideal... Some are just better than others. Don't let that alone deter you from taking them."

Pulling a long breath through his nose, Bach straightens his back, rolls his shoulders, and walks up towards Aristespha. Sliding her boots upon the stone dais, Aristespha readies herself and smirks at Bach. "Whenever you are ready."

The two wield their practice weapons and wait. Aristespha observes each shift of Bach's weight on his feet. Bach's blue eyes dart between possibilities, settling between a few options. Tensing his body, he steps forward carefully and keeps his sword at the ready. Aristespha tightens her grip and gracefully matches Bach's movement, repositioning herself in anticipation. Cideeda taps the record button on her aetherphone, Dretphi trains her full attention upon the action, and Sotalia leans with her stare ahead. Mark watches with twitches of intensity between casual observations. Sebastian sounds out a reverberating sigh and rests his hands at his side, staring at his brother. "Come on, bro! You got this!"

Bach leads with cautious thrusts, and Aristespha calmly parries each. With a fast step forward, Bach guides a swing of the practice sword at Aristespha's side. Her violet eyes track the attack, and Aristespha directs her sparring blade, intercepting and deflecting. Narrowing his determined stare, Bach pushes forward with a flurry of swipes and thrusts, pressing the next attack after each counter. Weathering the onslaught, an eager glint sparks in Aristespha's eye, and she launches an attack during the recovery. Bach's body tenses, and he springs back, parrying thrusts. Backpedaling in his retreat, he summons the strength and empowers a deflection, shoving Aristespha's sword swing back. His blue eyes widen, and recognition seizes his focus. Hesitation emerges upon his face, Aristespha readying herself for a counter. He drifts his attention inwards. Furrowing his brow, a surge of determination from within washes over Bach, and he lunges forward, blade ahead.

Surprise springs Aristespha back, and she assumes a defensive stance. Bach tightens his grip on the practice sword, steadying himself, and studies Aristespha's maneuvers. Between mutual exchanges, Bach presses attacks, and Aristespha retreats, her frustration growing with the pressure. Both launch flurries of thrusts, swings, and swipes to the parries, deflections, and counters of the other. Aiming her aetherphone towards the action, Cideeda slinks in orbit along with the wandering duel, dipping and ducking for the best angle. Sotalia sways with the action. Dretphi analyzes each motion. Mark grins at the demonstration, watching on eagerly.

Aristespha grits her teeth, pushes back against the last in chain of attacks from Bach, and powers a heavy swing down. Bach raises his blade, intercepting, and redirects the energy, starting to back away. His eyes dart around, and a surge of determination quells stale hesitation. He steps forward into the space next to Aristespha within the shadow of her last attack. A confident grin splits from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes focus upon a target. He twists the sword grip, revealing the flat of the practice blade, and finds his target.

An echoing smack bounces off hard surfaces and filters into the surrounding forest. A reflexive high pitched yelp breaks free from Aristespha. Retreating from the broad side of the practice sword, she stiffly hops away into a stumble, her posterior cheek muscles tightly tensed. Contortions of shock, confusion, and fury mix upon her flush, ivory face. She hisses through a jaw clenching wince and covers the back of her pants with a free hand. Bach blinks blankly. Eying the practice sword in his hand, he glances at Aristespha warily and unconsciously hides the sparring blade behind him. Sputters of Evuukian curses slip out from Aristespha, and Sotalia rushes over next to Cideeda. "OH... Tell me you got THAT."

A toothy grin parts wide on Cideeda's light brown face, and she winks. "Want to see it in slow motion?"

Standing up with her hands covering her mouth in surprise, Dretphi flutters her steely gray eyes. Excitement swirls up her, and she lowers her hands to reveal a proud smile. Mark claps and chuckles with a grin. "Nicely done. I was wondering when the hell you'd get a good hit in. You picked up the pace in the end."

Sebastian's ethereal form hovers up to the side of Bach. He glances over at his brother, leaning close, and maintains a stiff upper lip. "Bro..."

Bach glances over, and Sebastian flashes a pride filled grin. "Damn... That was impressive fighting."

An appreciative smile appears on Bach's tan face, and he stands taller. "Yeah... I... I don't know. After that first bit, I just keep pushing and... Well..."

Sebastian nods, glancing briefly over at Aristespha rubbing her backside between mutters of Evuukian curses, and hovers closer to Bach. "Now. She got flustered and let her guard down. That was great work to keep the pressure up, but you can't always hope for that to happen with everyone. Some can keep their cool for a lot longer than you'd expect."

He meets Bach's gaze, smirking. "So, before the next round... Let me give you some advice."

Briefly gritting his teeth, he lowers his voice and quietly speaks, shielding his mouth with hand. "You can probably score two-"

A string of irritated Evuukian sounds out with Sebastian's name intermingling between phrases. Staring wide eyed at Aristespha, Sotalia squelches a laugh into a snort. Sebastian twists his mouth uneasily and whispers to Bach. "Let's just go for one more hit today. And, bro, I'd avoid smacks with the flat of the blade. She really doesn't like those."

Bach glances around the ghostly visage of his brother to the violet, furious glare of Aristespha, and turns his head to Sebastian. "So... There's a story behind that, I guess?"

Awkwardly averting his gaze, Sebastian releases an embarrassed ethereal sigh. "Yeah. Um. Yeah, you could say that."

---

The warm orange glow of the campfire contrasts the cool darkness encroaching the surrounding site. A light breeze sifts through the thinning trees, and a faint drone fills the air around the camp, soft patters of leaves breaking free above the din. Dretphi stacks the last of cleared plates with traces of dinner in a wood crate and glances over towards Mark sitting on a log. "Are you sure you do not want me to clean these?"

Mark gazes over from the idle conversations between others and waves off Dretphi's concern, smiling reassuringly. "Oh, I'll get them tomorrow. After that wonderful meal, I'll be happy to clean them later. Well..."

He smirks with a chuckle. "A few whelps that hang out around here will."

With a nod, Dretphi locks up the container, turns around, and walks up to the circle of log seats. Cideeda leans close to Sotalia, shows her aetherphone screen, and taps the display. A slow motion replay of Bach launching his attack against Aristespha plays in the video app. Sotalia pokes at the phone quickly, slides between frames, and smirks mischievously. Furrowing her brow, Cideeda cracks a thin grin. The two glance over at Aristespha, barely containing their amusement. Aristespha's long, pointed ears twitch, and she darts her violet eyes around. Settling upon Cideeda and Sotalia snickering, she narrows an unamused glare upon them and crosses her arms, tilting her nose up indignantly. "If you think you can match me, I welcome your challenges."

Sotalia's golden eyes widen, and she contorts an awkward, reluctant smile on her light tan face, hesitance creeping from the edges. Brushing back a stray lock of fiery orange hair, she idly scratches a dark gray patch underneath her pointed ear and laughs lightly. "I think I'll keep to my magic, girl. I leave the swords and stuff to the rest of you."

Cideeda blinks her emerald green eyes, dons a halfhearted toothy grin, and waves off the proposition, her furry ears drooping slightly. "You know I'm not one for direct confrontation."

Sebastian's ethereal form leans close to Aristespha, and he cranes his head around, meeting Aristespha's gaze. Furrowing his brow, he smirks lovingly and calmly speaks. "Dear... Come on now. We're all friends here."

Drawing in a long breath, Aristespha huffs and fights against a forming pout. Shaking his head, Sebastian chuckles with a smirk. "It's only fair after all the times you got hits in."

Bach glances over sheepishly from his seat on a nearby log, presenting a reassuring smile. "Yeah. Again, uh, I'm sorry. I got a little caught up in the moment and all..."

Aristespha relaxes her shoulders, wrestles with the smirk on her ivory face, and sighs in resignation. "It's fine. You did nothing wrong, Bach. It is just my... pride... was not anticipating that attack. But, it was a fair hit."

Rolling her eyes at herself, she cracks a smile and nods at Bach. "I am actually happy that your skills have improved."

A sinister grin appears, and she perks up her eyebrow. "Now... You are a proper challenge. I shall keep that in mind in the future."

Bach blinks blankly, tilting his head to the side. Sebastian grits his teeth and shrugs his shoulders at Bach's glance over at him. Dretphi covers a yawn and scans around at the campsite. "Think it is time for bed. Good night all."

Stretching out her back, Sotalia gets up onto her feet and steps away from the campfire. "Gods. I guess it is late. Well, I'll see you all bright early in the morning."

Popping up from her seat, Cideeda puts away her phone into her shorts and sways her long fluffy tail, working the drowsiness from her body. "Yeah. A long day of driving tomorrow for me."

She waves towards the remaining people seated near the fire. "Night. Don't stay up too late. It'll be hard to sleep on the ride back tomorrow. This is the bumpy stretch before we camp at the rest stop."

A few idle minutes later, Aristespha flutters her eyes open, glancing around, and sighs with resignation. "I should turn in, too."

Standing up from her spot on a log, she bows respectfully towards Mark. "Thank you again for being so accommodating and everything you have done for us."

With a smile, Mark nods his thinly haired head. "Oh. Not a problem. You get some sleep now. Sounds like you will need it for tomorrow."

Aristespha trails a playful glare at Bach, cracking a smile at the end to Bach's piquing confusion. Sebastian grants a wave and follows behind Aristespha.

Idle moments pass in the relative quiet of the forest. The embers in the fire pit dim with the occasional snap and crackle. Mark glances over at Bach, cocking his head, and furrows his brow curiously. "So, after all this time, you still don't know how you got that power?"

Bach shudders back to awareness and meets Mark's gaze. Wrestling different thoughts upon his face, Bach sighs his defeat and shakes his head. "No. I keep on going through each moment I can remember. But... I still can't figure out what I did that was really... Special?"

He rests his chin upon the palm of his propped up hand, darting his eyes inside his mind, and hisses out his stale frustration. "I mean. I was just desperate. Fighting that Nightmare Geist... I just kept digging deeper into my reserves. Gods. I didn't even know I could do that much. But... It felt WEIRD. Then again..."

Sitting back, he holds his hands out puzzling, narrowing his stare towards the past. "I was scared shitless, fighting an unholy horror, and trying to stay alive. So, THAT may have been it?"

Mark nods understandingly and sighs with a tight smile. "Yeah. I know that feeling. Really hard to clearly remember things when things weren't clear to begin with."

Opening his blue eyes wide, Bach shakes his head and groans out his old frustrations. "You're telling me. There was an odd feeling right before everything got bright, and I blacked out. Then, I just remember waking up. No sign of the Nightmare Geist, and everyone that was part of the trip was really confused."

Furrowing his brow, Mark cracks a smirk on his dark tan face. "Yeah. Such a thing is already hard enough to explain even when you know what it is."

Bach nods in agreement, rolling his eyes at himself. "Gods, yes. I mean, there wasn't really much to report. Big monster showed up. We all flung magic at it. Everyone blacked out. And, we woke to it being gone."

He groans and narrows an annoyed gaze towards Mark. "Damn investigators from so many places wouldn't stop bugging us for DAYS. Damn. Just remembering it all... They were NOT happy with all the gaps in information. Thinking about it now..."

Twisting a frown on his face, he sighs and furrows his brow. "They were probably frustrated that they couldn't find out where that Nightmare Geist ran off to. To them, it couldn't have just disappeared. They hadn't figured out I wiped it out."

Mark nods slowly and grimaces with a snort. "Yeah. No. They probably were more concerned with IT than anything. Partly because it was still a danger to them. But, I wouldn't doubt they had other interests."

Bach rubs his eyes into a pinch of the bridge of his nose, sniffs a long breath in, and groans. "Gods, yeah. After all the crazy shit people have tried to do, I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to capture it for experiments."

Focusing his attention upon Bach, Mark perks his eyebrow, tilting his head curiously, and inquires calmly. "So, you have this power now, and you decide to go into hiding. If you don't mind sharing, why did you do that?"

Rolling his blue eyes at himself, Bach sighs heavy with old frustration and shakes his head. "At the time... Because, I didn't want to turn into the next Dark Lord... As silly as that sounds, now. But-"

He grits his teeth briefly, darts between the thoughts in his head, and combs his fingers through his longer brown hair. "Even without that reasoning... All I knew is that I had this power without any clue on how to use it. And, I didn't have any good options to find out more about it."

Squinting his eyes, Bach straightens his posture and cocks his head to the side. "I think I can explain it... Um..."

Moving his hands with his thoughts, he gazes at Mark and carefully pieces together his words. "It's like, um... It's like waking up one day and finding a bomb in your bedroom. You don't have a clue how to disarm it. You can't move it since it's bolted to the floor. And, if you do anything other than walk around the room, it starts to beep. You just know that's not good."

He scratches the back of his head, the stale frustrations, disappointments, and pain coloring his tone. "Your first thought is to leave the house. Because, it can't possibly be safe to stay in there. But, you put so much time and money in the house, and people wonder why you don't stay in your own house. You want to tell them about the bomb, but that just causes more questions that gets you all the wrong kinds of attention."

Narrowing his eyes, Bach gazes at Mark and shrugs his shoulders. "I mean, do you really want a bunch of random people interested in the bomb going through your house?"

Mark cracks a smile and snorts into a chuckle. "Actually... I totally understand. A smarter attitude than I would have had at your age."

Bach quirks his brow and eyes Mark closely. "Really? What would you have done?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Mark grins humored and strokes his bushy beard. "Well. Something stupid! I know that much. I was a wild one back in the early days. Not much would have stopped me from just trying anything."

He tilts his head back and focuses an inquisitive gaze at Bach. "Okay... If you knew then what you know now about the power, would you have done things differently?"

Bach pauses completely in thought. His stare drifts inwards and grows distant. Opening his mouth a few times, he flounders for an explanation and sighs with the hesitation. He pulls in a long breath, blinks back to awareness, and glances at Mark, frowning unsatisfied. "I don't know. I've done a lot of good things with this power. But... I've done a few things I regret. And... How easily I could do them..."

A long pause later, Bach fights with a frown on his face and swallows hard. "THAT scares me."

A gloomy mood overtakes Mark, and he eases out a sad exhale. "Yeah. Yeah... I totally understand that, too. I'm just glad that you had a lot more restraint about it all and learned that way. Because, figuring out the other ways ain't fun. It can take a lot of pain before you take a moment to pause and think about things."

Sliding his attention over upon Mark, Bach tilts his head curiously. "So, I guess you learned the other ways?"

Mark nods, slacking his shoulders, and wrestles against a pained frown on his dark tan face. "Yes. The details are pointless now. But, let's just say I got caught up in a bunch of those conflicts before you were born and did a lot of shitty things for what I thought was right. It wasn't until things went from bad to fucked that I realized the situation I was in."

Blinking his surprise, Bach inquires further. "So... What did you do, then?"

Donning a humored smile, Mark glances around and holds his hands out towards the surrounding area. "I said, OH SHIT... Then, I ran off into the woods for a few years."

He leans closer to Bach, twisting a grimace on his face, and sighs with the memories. "Not the greatest plan. BUT, I was a real dumbass. Well, if I couldn't figure out how to unfuck the situation, I figured I could at least not add to it anymore. Remove myself from the equation."

Bach crosses his arms and rocks his head side to side, searching his mind. "I can understand."

Mark bows his head down and motions with his hand, laughing. "I figured you might. Anyway, I just couldn't sit on the sidelines forever. Things happened to where I was forced to do SOMETHING. So, I had to figure a new way to do things, because I wasn't going to do the old ways."

Nodding with the sentiment, Bach cracks a reserved smile, chuckling. "Can't fault you there."

He pauses in thought a moment, straightens his posture, and exhales. "I just... I just wish I knew why I got this power. There's got to be some justification for that."

Mark shrugs, brushes out a stray leaf from his bushy beard, and dons a humored smirk on his face. "I don't know. Might be as simple as you needed it when fighting that Nightmare Geist."

Narrowing his gaze, Bach tilts his head and frowns slightly. "Yeah... But, I was done with that for years. Never used it, until recently. I mean people theorize the Abstract Prism might have some kind of intelligence to it. You'd think it'd pull back that power to make sure things don't go out of control."

Scratching his chin, Mark quirks his eyebrow. "Well, you showed restraint and respect for the power..."

Bach contorts a spark irritation through his wince and rolls his eyes heavy with sarcasm. "Oh. Good. The all powerful entity in charge of magic is misunderstanding all my hints that I DON'T want this power."

Mark chuckles and grins slyly. "Who better to grant such power than someone who doesn't want it?"

An exasperated groan escapes Bach, and he shakes his bowed head. "GREAT."

Smiling reassuringly, Mark snorts and gazes at Bach. "Hey, I don't know how all that works. Though... If there's anything I do know, it's that there's a lot more going on in this world. What you do with what you've been granted might lead to far bigger changes down the line."

A smile briefly appears on Bach. An ill-humored smirk settles upon his face, and sarcasm flows out in his voice. "Ah. So no pressure really. Don't worry, the future of how greater forces decide the fates of many might be on your shoulders."

Mark shakes his head and rolls his eyes playfully dismissive. "I'm certain such decisions take a little more to make. So, you don't have to put all that on your shoulders."

He cracks a sly grin and winks. "But, just in case, I still think some great, noble uses of that power might be good for all of us. You seem to have a good head for it. So, it seems like something made a good choice, IF there was one made."

A genuine smile grows on Bach, and he gazes over at Mark appreciatively. "Um, thanks. Really."

In the lull, the ambient sounds of forest fill in the gap. Bach gazes out into the remaining embers of the fire. The distance grows in his stare. His eyes flutter with drowsiness and close briefly. He quickly straightens his back and blinks back awake. "Well, I better get to bed."

Mark nods and smirks simply. "You should. You got a long day tomorrow."

Bach stands up from his seat upon the log, steps over towards the camp site, and pauses a moment. He glances over at Mark and nods appreciatively. "Thanks for the talk."

With a slight bow, Mark smiles. "Anytime."

With Bach's departure, Mark holds his hands up to the radiant heat from the glowing pile of embers in the fire pit. From the forest, a white glow brightens. Goris meticulously steps out, carefully approaching the campfire, and stands near Mark. "Everything good tonight?"

Mark nods, stretches out his lower back with a faint wince. "Yup. Just enjoying the last bit of heat before I turn in."

Goris turns its head and stares down at the spurts of flame above the coals. Mark glances up at Goris and cocks his head, furrowing his brow. "You think that Bach is the key to something going on?"

With a flicker from its eyes, Goris gazes down at Mark and shakes its head. It explains in a dismissive tone. "The architects never worked that way. They were careful in all affairs and designs. If they designed the Abstract Prism as they designed all other things, then there are multitudes of factors constantly being evaluated. No single vector alone could influence a great change during nominal operation."

Returning his stare to the fire pit, Mark ponders out loud. "Yeah. That makes sense. I figured as much. But, even then... It's still strange that something allowed Elder energy after all these years."

Goris gazes upwards a moment, narrowing its eyes, and emulates a sigh. "Yes. I wish I understood."

Easing himself up off the seat upon the log bench, Mark straightens his back out, gritting his teeth, and grumbles. "Me too."

Goris watches Mark wander off to the largest hut with a wave. Seconds of quiet contemplation, it picks a new direction and quietly marches out towards a new patrol path.

---

A blue all terrain truck rolls down a long stretch of highway. Inside the vehicle, Isaac keeps his head forward and stares out the windshield at the road. Guiding the truck into a gentle curve, he darts his eyes towards his side mirror and furrows his brow. His focus settles upon a worn, gray van distantly behind him. Straightening out the steering wheel, he hums to himself and gazes ahead in thought, furrowing his brow. He wrestles an uneasy frown on his face, brushes back stray, wispy white hairs, and tightens his grip on the wheel. Running the tail of the blue scarf between his fingers, he briefly grits his teeth and glances at his rear view mirror from the corner of his eyes.

Squinting into the reflected distance, he watches the plainly dressed driver and passenger of the van maintain watch ahead. Seconds pass, and Isaac grumbles to himself. "Who are you people..."

Settling his attention forward down the road, he raps his fingers on the steering wheel and sighs out his frustration. The blue truck coasts down the highway running within a valley between tall hills coated in mixes of waning green, bright yellows, brilliant oranges, and deep reds. Gentle winds sway the nearby trees of thinning branches and pluck autumn leaves free. Isaac draws a long, deep breath in. Blinking his eyes, he focuses his gaze down the highway and searches along the side of the road. Darting his eyes towards road markers, he steadies the vehicle down a long straight away and tenses against the chill going down his spine. Easing out a long breath, a shudder of paranoia accompanies his uneasy stare ahead. He mutters uncomfortably. "That same damned van... ...a few days ago... ...doesn't make sense..."

Blinking back to awareness, he settles his gaze upon a large, tall metal highway sign.

"Lands Between Train Depot"

Isaac's gray eyes widen, and an intrigued smirk emerges on his face. Furrowing his brow, he quickly reads through the reflected afternoon sun at the various icons and notations. Another chain of different advertisements and other postings spread out further from the main highway sign. A sly grin cracks from the corner of Isaac's mouth, and he briefly darts his eyes towards the rear view mirror. With a bubbling of confidence, he relaxes in his seat and taps his finger upon the top of the steering wheel.

Minutes pass, and the blue all terrain truck follows down the highway, with a distant worn, gray van keeping pace. The pair traveling down the stretch, more vehicles from other directions pass on by, and a number turn onto the main roadway from side streets. The van gradually tightens the gap, the speed limit signs reducing at each major junction. Isaac maintains a nonchalant facade, and his gray eyes dart between different mirrors, gazing upon the individuals in the van with vague familiarity. He searches the starts of civilization ahead. Glancing between the points of interest, he studies the restaurants, stores, and other facilities surrounding the dense industrial core of the Lands Between Train Depot. Drifting his attention towards the other side of the highway, he searches the different advertising signs. Springing his eyes wide open, he cracks a sly smirk and settles upon a motel around the outskirts.

He flips on his turn signal and watches his rear view mirror carefully. The passenger in the van stirs, turning to the driver. The driver maintains a calm exterior and simply nods. Isaac slows the truck into a middle turn lane and waits for oncoming traffic to pass. The gray van passes on by, and he observes from the corner of his eye. The worn vehicle continues deeper into town. It turns on its own signal and pulls off into a fueling station. Isaac draws a humored smile across his face and drives his truck into the parking lot of the motel. Guiding the all terrain vehicle into a spot, he slowly gathers his belongings and sneaks peeks towards the van at the pumps.

The driver side door opens, and a fit man in plain clothes steps out. Sorting through his wallet, he directs his voice inside. "Contact high and let them know the situation. I'm going to fill up the tank."

A woman inside nods and opens up the glove box. "On it."

Retrieving a rugged tablet, she clicks a side button and taps in a long code on the screen. She glances over at the man and calls out. "Could you go inside and find out what snacks they got?"

Stepping closer to the driver's side door, the man leans over and nods with a smirk. "Yeah, I was thinking the same. Your usual if they got it?"

With an appreciative smile, she snorts. "You know it. Get extra, it's probably going to be a long night."

The man closes the driver's door firmly and studies the pumping system's options for fuel. The woman gazes down upon the different apps on the screen, the official GAA logo and legal statement on the desktop background. She opens up a messenger app and quickly types out a message.

"Target stopped at a motel near Lands Between Train Depot. Target may be suspicious and could be preparing to change up transportation or otherwise. Request backup to monitor Train Depot and surrounding area."

---

Early morning light beams upon the wide main street in front of the fenced perimeter of the Lands Between Train Depot. Large hauler trucks pass through gateways, employees enter through checkpoints, and customers arrive at designated lots outside the protected core. Surrounding the depot, flurries of activity occur within shops. The next wave of customers filter through the Pancake Shed near the motel, and another line of trucks roll out to their destinations.

From a camouflaged observation point, two GAA scouts peer through the trees and across the street, watching the area around a motel room. One gradually pans his binoculars along the stretch of the structure and settles upon the blue all terrain truck in front of one section. He draws in a long breath and whispers. "So... What's the activity report from the night team?"

Blinking his faintly glowing green eyes, the mage scout twists his mouth and softly explains. "After checking into the motel, he went over to the Pancake Shed and ate. Seems he was talking to a few people in there and sat down with someone. They're trying to figure out if it's anyone of significance, but nothing has come up yet. Some kind of exchange happened, but we didn't have a good angle on it."

Squinting into the distance, he sighs and ponders out loud. "Apart from that, he headed back to his motel room, seemed to go to bed at a decent time... And, here we are."

The binocular scout furrows his brow and glances over inquisitively. "That's it? Anything else? Did the magic monitoring teams detect anything? Or, did the lookout over at the depot spot anything weird?"

The mage scout shakes his head and turns his stare towards another part of the motel, grumbling. "Fuck all. From what anyone can tell he's just been in his motel room all night after getting something to eat."

Rolling his eyes, he blinks hard and refocuses his gaze back upon the motel room in front of the blue truck. "There's been some magical activity. But, honestly, nothing out of the ordinary for your average mage performing basic things. Which means, this guy may have just been doing nothing but watching TV... Given what he's capable of."

Peering back through the binoculars, the other scout settles back into position and scans the building front. His aim shifts quickly and he focuses the lenses. "Hey. Check THIS guy out."

With the mage scout watching carefully, he trains his full attention upon a guy in a hoodie walking up to the blue truck. The thin man walks up to the driver's side door. The binocular scout whispers. "Is that him? Everyone reported he was in that motel room. What's going on here?"

The mage scout keys up his radio and narrows his stare. "Motel Watch to all. We have someone approaching target's truck. Can anyone tell me who this is?"

The hooded man reaches into his pocket, pulls out a set of keys, and puts them into the driver's side lock. With a twist and pull, he opens the door and slips inside. The scout with the binoculars leans forward slightly in surprise. "Oh shit! It might be him. He just unlocked the door and got inside."

The all terrain vehicle starts up, and the hoodie wearing man inspects the cab. The mage scout calls out on the radio. "Target vehicle started by unconfirmed driver. Requesting that someone track that vehicle."

Crackling over the radio, a voice responds. "Gray team ready. We'll tail behind it."

The truck backs away from the motel room, turns, moving forward, and rolls up onto the main street. The blue truck moving down the way, a worn, gray van pulls up to an intersection, merges onto the road, and follows far behind. Shaking his head and resting the radio down, the mage scout blinks his faintly glowing green eyes and grumbles. "Who the fuck dropped the ball on THAT? Gods damn it. Did he slip out the back or-"

Squinting his stare, he snaps his full concentration upon the distant structure and reflexively keys up the radio. "Magic activity at the motel door. Repeat. Magic activity at the motel door."

Training his binoculars at the building, the other scout twists his mouth uncertainly. "The door knob is turning. The fuck? Is he still in there?"

The motel room door opens slowly without anyone behind it. A massive plume of thick, obscuring smoke blasts out from the doorway and floods the parking lot. The mage scout yells out with a tight grip on the transceiver. "Eyes on the motel!"

A translucent figure launches out from the obfuscating cloud, zips through the air towards the Train Depot, and drops down out of sight in the middle of the industrial zone. The radio crackles to life, and another voice sounds out. "Something breached the perimeter of the depot and landed between some buildings. Dispatching team to investigate. No eyes on it currently."

A brief lull later, another transmission keys up on the channel. "The back window to the motel room just opened up! The smoke covered the area, but we saw something camouflaged run through it into town. Pursuing now. It just went down an alley."

Squinting hard, the mage scout searches the obscuring mist flooding the front of the motel and growls out. "DAMN IT. It's charged with energy, I can't make anything out from this far away."

Tapping through different buttons on his binoculars, the other scout grits his teeth and hisses. "Fuck. I can't see through it, either. Something is messing with thermal vision."

The two exchange glances, nod at each other, and glare towards the motel. They ready themselves to their feet, and the mage scout keys up the radio. "Motel Watch moving in closer to check the room. Requesting backup."

Rushing out from the woods, the two GAA scouts reach the road, check both ways, and rush up to the edge of the thick plume of smoke. The both peer through the vision blocking haze and glance at each other unsatisfied. The two exchange silent signals in a frustrated conversation. A faint sputtering sounds out from inside the motel room, and the two men tense at the ready. The flow of smoke wanes quickly from the doorway, and the thick plumes filling the front lot of the motel gradually drift away into thinning clouds. Both scouts carefully watch the dissipating mists and maintain their position near the motel room. The fog fading enough for semblances of visibility, the scouts cautiously approach the entryway.

With backs against walls on either side of the door, both take turns peering inside and checking their angles. Initial inspections later, they crane their heads and slowly scan the interior. Through the haze, they spot the expected, intact motel furniture and a large flask into the middle of the room. The mage scout focuses his glowing green stare at the bottle and sighs into whisper. "Some kind of alchemical smoke bomb."

He darts his eyes between a number of points around the room and signals the okay. The two step inside cautiously. The other scout gestures towards the open bathroom door. Both quietly approach the entry, tensing in anticipation. They peek inside the empty bathroom, checking the open shower curtain and the lifted back window. The two share an exhale of brief relief and shrug. Both walking towards the exit, the mage scout halts at a tap of the shoulder from the other. Turning around, he notices his partner's signal towards the bed and tenses. The two gulp hard and ready themselves. With a quick gesture of an incantation from the mage scout, the bed end lifts up, and the other scout aims a pistol down at the empty floor. Breathing sighs of relief, the mattress and frame drift back down, and the pistol slides back into its holster.

The two quickly exit the motel room. One pulls the door shut, and the other keys up a radio. They start to secure the area, and the remaining traces of obscuring mist coasts away and down onto the ground. One section of the plume maintains its shape long enough to filter into the far off brush. The cloud sifts into the forest, leaves stir, twigs snap, and movement sounds out softly. Well within the confines of woods, Isaac stands up tall from the disappearing fog, straightening his back, and continues walking deeper into the forest. He cinches up his backpack, tightening his grip on his bag, and grins slyly. He glances back towards the motel through the woods and shakes his head, rolling his gray eyes. "Have fun..."

He trudges through the woods and peeks towards the highway going away from the depot, narrowing his distant stare to his thoughts.

---

Bach stares up at the ceiling of the living area, yawns, and adjusts the pillow under his head. Scooting up the arm of the couch, he gazes around the room. Drifting his attention away from a rerun of the Next Adventurers of Nexus, he catches a glimpse of Dretphi stepping into another part of the kitchen. Pulling himself up to a seat on the couch, he notices Cideeda sitting at the dining table. Subtle twitches wag the tip of her tail, and she studies an image on her aetherphone. A few moments later, her emerald green eyes focus upon a piece of paper, and she meticulously inks in a series of connected glyph sketches. Her furry ear flicks over towards Bach, and she glances over with a smirk. "Hey. Been staring at the ceiling?"

Bach sighs, glancing outside at the bright noon sun, and shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah. Almost got sleepy enough for a nap, but... Then, the sun came out, and it just got too bright. Now, I'm wide awake."

He slides back against the couch arm, crossing his arms, and twists his mouth. "I hate to say this, but... I'm actually a little bored right now, and I don't know what I want to do."

Cideeda nods her head of short, multi-colored hair, rests her chin on her propped up hand, and hums in thought. "Yeah. Not much to do at the moment."

A smile forms on her light brown face, and she chuckles lightly. "You can always show me a few more of these symbols."

Bach rocks his head side to side and smirks. "Sure. But... It just feels weird to be waiting after all the other stuff we've been doing."

Stepping in through the hallway archway, Sotalia rubs her golden eyes, glances between Bach and Cideeda, and rests her hands on her hips. "Anything going on?"

Bach shakes his head, and Cideeda shrugs, finishing up inking in a symbol. "Nothing really. You?"

Sotalia arches her back, swaying her hips idly side to side, and sighs. "Got all the latest presents sorted for all my nieces and nephews. Next time any of us head into town, I need to stop by the post office."

Brushing off her apron, Dretphi steps in from the kitchen, walks up to the refrigerator, and glances through the bar window towards the dining table. "Lunch will be ready in fifteen minutes."

She closes back up the door to the fridge, pausing in a thought, and contorts her face in indecision. "I overheard. It is strange. Waiting for the information. Hoping to react fast."

Sotalia crosses her arms, puffs up her chest, and groans. "I know, girl. I wouldn't mind a simple local job off the guild board. But, I want to get to whatever before Noxian has a chance."

Nodding agreement, Bach combs the white streak in his hair off to the side over and ponders out loud with an uncertain tone. "Yeah. I know. The waiting is the hardest part, an ancient philosopher once said."

Phasing in through the wall, Sebastian's ethereal form glances around at the assembled team, and he perks up his brow. "So. Who called this meeting?"

Sotalia pivots slightly, lifting her eyebrow, and tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair. "Well, we're trying to figure out how to kill some time without it being too involved."

Furrowing her brow, Dretphi twists an uncomfortable frown. "Awkward situation."

Sebastian briefly darts his attention to another source. He hovers further into the room and settles upon a spot above a pulled away chair at the dining table. "Yeah. No sense in us running around and get caught up in other crap. Hopefully, if this access point exists, we'll get location from Mark soon. Then, we can act."

Bach slides down the couch arm and sprawls out on the cushions. Staring up at the ceiling, he shrugs his shoulders and chuckles. "I mean, I guess there's a few things we can do around here to pass the time..."

He furrows his brow at the sound of footsteps closing. Startling to full attention, he glances down at the practice sword dropped upon his chest and gazes up at Aristespha's stare. Alternating between the sparring blade and Aristespha, he cocks his head to the side quizzically. Aristespha hoists up an amused eyebrow and cracks a smug smirk. "Sounds like you might be interested in another match."

Bach awkwardly blinks. "Uhhh... Could be..."

Aristespha laughs lightly and rolls her violet eyes with a toss of her long silvery blue hair. "Good. After lunch, if you want."