Behind a clay kiln around a kilometre into a Wild event was a shitty place to be every which way Areli looked at it. He’d known that getting to Coalpass was going to be a pain in his ass but the extent had been shocking. After hours of crawling through corn fields with Wildfolk all around them, they had made it to the outer houses of the town. The town’s walls were a good deal onwards but Areli hoped he could find a way to sneak them through the backyards and alley ways that were between them and the town proper. 

As sore and tired as he felt, the afternoon had been a considerable win. They’d managed to skirt past the Wildfolk with only a minor incident as a floating lady verbally assaulted Elayne. 

Areli still had no idea what Harlea meant by floating lady, with Areli returning from his scouting to find his friends in a different spot than he left them and telling him a story of how Elayne was scolded so firmly that she flew five metres through the corn. 

He wasn’t sure he even wanted to know. It was always better to head into the Wilds with the mindset of doing your job and getting the whole ordeal over and done with. One foot then the next. 

Areli’s next step was to get them into the pottery in front of them. It was a rickety two storey farmhouse surrounded by pots, kilns, and trash but the place had caught Areli’s attention with just how much of its doors and windows were barred shut. Only one of the windows on the second storey looked like it wasn’t completely hammered shut. When he’d returned to their last hiding spot in the corn fields, Areli had told Harlea about it because he’d wanted to go out and around the peculiar house, just to be safe. 

And, as further evidence of no good deed going unpunished, Harlea had instead ordered him to get them there so they could clear it and then hole up for a little rest. 

And so, with all four of them hiding behind the two large kiln ovens the long dead potter had used, Areli tried to figure out how he was meant to get them into the fortified house. Braving another look around the corner, Areli was relieved to not see the Wilded man wandering through the work tables any longer. The backyard had four or so of the large wooden work tables, each one stacked with a mess of clay pots, plates, utensils, and other small goods that they must have been selling. 

Three of the four of them were completely under the large verandah at the back of the house, with the last being the oldest and left out for the elements with the less loved tools of the trade. The space under the verandah was far too limited for Areli to take the four of them through and he hadn’t seen anywhere on the ground floor that looked any good for getting them inside. 

His eyes flicked back up to the top of the verandah once more and a wave of nausea hit him. 

Being inside was going to be fine, good even. Areli would be glad of a rest before they committed to getting inside the town to calm his nerves and draw some heat from a rune. Getting inside without being spotted by a Wildfolk felt increasingly unlikely. 

It was the way they moved, erratic and aggressive. Their direction and speed could change at any time and Areli had no way of knowing what they were thinking, if anything. Normal folk were easy. Most had habits and nearly every guard Areli had met was the same humdrum normal folk who was just doing their job. They’d only search if Areli wanted them to and they’d look to do anything unpleasant as quickly and painlessly as possible. 

When you had a Wildfolk that happily sprinted into the corn fields to headbutt the side of the abandoned barn before prompting sprinting off in another direction, it made sneaking a good deal harder.

The Wildplains of Coalpass were in a worse state than Areli had ever seen, with the weather and the folk being serious levels of fucked up. The weather was a constant fog and rain that left Areli itching and every person Areli had seen had mutated far worse than he’d seen before. The corruption seemed like it was physical more than mental, with those caught in the Wilds developing masses around their body and bleeding profusely from the sores that covered their whole bodies. 

According to the contract’s dossier, the corruption wasn’t fast acting and they’d have plenty of time before they’d have to be concerned about any changes for themselves. The news had come as some small relief in the midst of the overwhelming amount of horrid information that filled the rest of the files.

The town had been struck by the Wild event four years ago and the town and the river that ran through it had been abandoned as the corruption spread. Seeing the extent of damage in the outer ring of Coalpass’s Wildlands boded poorly for when they got inside the town.  

The insane and the foolhardy. That was who cleared the Wild nodes these days. In the south, Karitia sent the army to clear the rare Wild events that occurred in their jungle. The job was a holy task that was glorified every year at the morning shrines for the bravest and strongest soldiers who braved the wilds. 

Areli felt for the knives on his hip and pushed out from behind the kiln. The malformed man that he had seen before was quietly stumbling along the small fence that separated the property from the corn fields. A shimmering green tentacle shot out from his left shoulder blade and drooped down to almost brush along the ground. The blood pouring down the tentacle dripped onto the floor behind him as he slowly made his way away from Areli. 

Areli appreciated the weird gross human, the way he moved slowly and, more importantly, away from the back verandah. Giving the mutant time to move away, Areli noted the odd cadence the man had from the tentacle’s weight and the way he hunched over to keep himself moving forwards. 

Looking back to where he had been hiding, Areli found Harlea had taken his place and now watched with his axe at the ready. They had all been on edge since the woman in the cornfield. Elayne swore the lady had yelled that she had to keep the mud off her dress; a sentence that made no sense as Elayne lay face down in a puddle. Then, she was launched clear into the next row and the woman disappeared before anyone except her could see her. 

It didn’t matter what had happened. Nothing in the Wilds ever made sense and debating the whys of the Wilds could be done after the Node was closed. Sneak in, find the node, close the node. Easy as that. 

Or first, a short rest in the house, Areli supposed. He’d be able to scale the side of the verandah from one of the work tables and the cupboard next to it. So long as he could get over there. The backyard was mostly tufts of weeds breaking up the large dirt patch littered with crap. 

As Areli approached the edge of the verandah, the windows on the second storey disappeared from view. They couldn’t see much of the upper storey but he remembered the window he’d spotted was on the right side.

Getting up to the top of the verandah would be ok, so long as it held under his weight. Checking on the only Wildfolk he could see, Areli snuck a few extra steps closer to the worktable. 

Another few steps and he was out in the open properly. Wasting no time, Areli sprinted across to the small gap between a cupboard and a cluttered work desk and dove down into a crouch. 

Nothing moved around him, with the yard as silent as the grave around him. After giving himself a few seconds to settle, he grabbed onto the edge of the workbench and levered himself up. 

Dust flew up from the top of the desk, threatening to make him sneeze but he resisted the urge, plugging his nostrils with two of his fingers. 

With an exhale and a horrid feeling at the bottom of his stomach, the moment passed. Areli took the fingers out of his nose and he blinked away the discomfort. By the kiln, Harlea’s head  sticking out like a sore thumb and he waved to try and get Areli’s attention. 

“Idiot.” Areli quietly mumbled to himself as he let his anger warm him. The workbench held a large number of clay plates and bowls splayed over the available deskspace but so much clutter limited the amount of space he had to step up. If he could get a foot up, he’d have plenty of space on the top of the cupboard. Then, he’d have plenty of space to pull himself up onto the roof. 

The closest support beam was not so far away from him and looked quite solid. With any luck, the other beams would be in just as good of a condition, despite the lack of maintenance. 

Areli carefully worked his hands around a stack of bowls at the edge of the bench and lifted them up into the air. Holding his breath, he brought them down onto the floor and gave the backyard one final check. 

Pushing several plates back to make enough space came next and he then committed. He stood back up, leant backwards and hopped his foot onto the top of the workbench. With his left hand grabbing the top of the cupboard, he sprang up to catch the side of the roof with his right hand. He caught onto a shingle, it held firm as Areli twisted his left foot to come up to his chest to get traction on the cupboard’s top. 

With a deft kick from his right foot and a flick of his tail, he hopped up onto the cupboard and then scampered quickly up to slide onto the roof. 

Rolling to the side, Areli ended up on his stomach, hands running over the wet moss and leaf litter that dominated the top of the shingles. 

Every instinct in his body told him to freeze. The scents were unfamiliar and the location was unnatural. When he’d kicked off the bench, it had shifted considerably and the roof had groaned much more than he’d anticipated when he landed. 

Areli forced himself to shuffle onto his knees. Experience told him hesitation would get him killed as well. Such was the life of the Damnable’s favourite scout. 

Areli pushed himself up and scurried over to the closest central rafter. The solid piece of timber ran diagonally up from the far corner of the porch to the side of the house. 

Two-stepping his way along the rafter, Areli was careful to apply pressure on his foot as he went, checking that the shingles were steady just for good measure. 

The two windows waited for Areli as he moved up the roof; one boarded up and the other with only a pair of tattered shutters hanging heavy on their hinges. Areli moved carefully towards the second window, the shutters filling him with equal measures of trepidation and curiosity.  

Of the two shutters, the right was faring far worse. One of its hinges had snapped and left the shutter leaning heavily on the other shutter to stay upright, with much of its weight hanging on the tiny metal latch that connected the two shutters. Areli gave the left shutter a gentle prod and listened for sounds inside the house. Much like the rest of their day in the Wild plains, the silence pressed down on Areli, being as much a constant pressure as it was a relief.  

With a quick look back to the kiln, Areli spotted Harlea’s head and much of his torso poking out from the edge. Harlea gave him a thumbs up and Areli shook his head in response.

Harlea loured back from his poorly conceived cover, then looked back to the kiln before disappearing to talk to the others.  

Areli turned his attention to the shutters, gently prodding at the right shutter to feel its weight. The bottom hinge worked surprisingly well but struggled to keep the weight balanced as he pulled the shutter forward. 

He worked the shutter open but couldn’t see much past the windowsill. Pushed up against the inside of the window were two large wooden panels that sat as close as possible, offering only a slight crack around the windowsill’s edge to get through. As Areli shifted to get a better look, the right shutter’s remaining hinge creaked in complaint. After moving the right shutter back to where it was happiest, Areli then brought his left hand up to work on the small latch that held the two shutters together.  

Whatever was blocking the window was a dark brown wood and seemed more like some furniture pushed up to the window than the wooden boards nailed on the outside of the house. As he eased the latch open, he propped the right shutter up and guided it around to latch onto the side of the house. The left shutter swung open with minimal complaint and caught nicely on the catch set onto the side of the house. 

After a quick double take at both of the latches, Areli reached inside the window and gingerly prodded one of the pieces of wood. Flexing from even the slight pressure he placed on the panel, the wooden panels had to be quite thin and poorly supported. His hand traced along the edge of the left panel to find it had been secured on the outer section of the furniture. A wardrobe was Areli’s best bet, probably pulled in front of the window as a hasty barrier. 

Pressing against the panel, Areli was content that it could be gently shifted if he was able to get into the window properly. And if they were willing to make a bit of noise. 

With a final press on the mid section of wooden panels, Areli shuffled back out of the window and inspected the fields behind them again. The corn stalks swayed gently in the wind, with several patches of field rustling on their own accord being the ominous exceptions. Fortunately, the three shapes moving through the corn were quite far from Areli and his friends and moving further as they stumbled away. 

At least for that moment. And they were slow now but Areli had no inclination what lay in the cornfield. Clearing the window would have untold consequences and Areli had no basis to judge just how dangerous it was going to be. How he loathed the Wild plains. The Wild Node removal contracts were never worth the risks associated. He’d told Harlea that they just skip contracts like these, and it did as much good as when he used to tell Osexi.  

Areli refocussed on his role: The scout. The canary. He needed to get him and the others inside and then he’d head back out to find a path to the main gate of Coalpass. With the number of buildings lining the road from where the pottery sat, the next part would be the smoother sailing. 

Areli snuck his way over to the edge of the balcony and dropped down onto his stomach. There was no movement over near the two kilns where the others should have been, remarkably quiet despite how terrible his crew was at sneaking. 

Areli’s hand ran along his belt and carefully balanced his weight over the edge of the roof. The fact that Areli hadn’t heard anything from the Wilded man sent a shiver up Areli’s spine. He was on the opposite side of the verandah but could see little in the way of the right side of the house as he lay belly down. If he was lucky, it had wandered out into the fields and far away. If luck wasn’t on his side, Areli’s eyes watched the blind corner half a metre from his head as he lay exposed on the verandah. 

A whisper played on the edge of his hearing and Areli kicked his way back onto the verandah. He was doing himself no benefit worrying about what ifs and he needed to move faster if he wanted to be out scouting before the sunset. His shoes pattered over the verandah as he crossed to the other side. The right side offered less vision of the back of the kilns, with the majority of large pots being stacked nearby but it made no difference as his friends finally took his advice on sitting tight. 

As Areli reached the corner of the verandah, he felt the whole roof wobble and he paused with a grimace. The beam swayed as he retrieved his foot and Areli carefully worked his way closer to the top of the verandah. 

He made sure to mark the weaker section of the roof in his mind. When the others came up, they would go the same path as Areli. He’d need them to go up one by one as well and it would benefit them to think light thoughts when they were moving to the window. 

The closer to the house they were, the stronger the verandah felt at least. The section near the right side of the house was built all the way out to the corner and felt secure enough that he was confident to give the corner a quick peek. On the right side of the house, the house’s owners had built a nice garden path down the side, with plants that had managed to not only survive the Wilds but thrive. The Wilded man was nowhere to be seen in the alley, out of sight but firmly at the back of Areli’s mind. Pushing his weight back onto the safety of the verandah, Areli checked the back of the kilns and found Harlea fiding between the pots.  

Areli nodded and pointed down the side of the house and mouthed the word, “Wildfolk.”

Harlea pushed out from behind the pots and moved several steps into the backyard, “Psst, is it safe?”

“Harlea.” Areli whispered urgently across to him and pointed for him to go back to the kilns.

Harlea paused mid-step and checked the yard around him. He gave Areli a half-grimace, half-pout and then hurried over to the left side of the verandah. 

Areli stifled a groan and hurried back to where he’d climbed up. Once he arrived at the side of the verandah, he found Harlea behind the bench and only slightly out of sight, “How are you this bad at sneaking?”

“What do you mean?” Harlea asked genuinely.

“Go back to the kiln.” Areli shooed him away.

“How does the window look? Can we get in?” Harlea stepped back from the bench and onto the bowls that Areli had placed on the ground. With a series of cracks, the bowls spilled and broke under his weight and Harlea danced back several steps, “What in the Nine?”

“Harlea.” Areli seethed, “It’s open but there is a wardrobe blocking it. Or something. I need more time.”

Harlea’s ears perked up at his words and he moved back to the workbench, “Oh, I can help.”

“Wait, no.” Areli tried in vain to get Harlea’s attention but was ignored. 

In one swift motion, Harlea hopped onto the bench, launching himself up to grab onto the side of the verandah with both his hands. Then, with only just enough time for Areli to move out of the way, Harlea pulled himself up and over the verandah and plopped down onto his belly. 

Areli shuddered at the sound of the verandah creaking under their weight but couldn’t fault Harlea for how seamlessly he’d muscled his way up onto the roof, “You’re the worst.” 

There was no reply from Harlea as he scooted around Areli to make for the open window. 

Areli gave space and let Harlea make it to the side of the house before he pursued him. Once he joined Harlea, Areli began again with a whisper, “The panels are thin but the wardrobe is heavy. We need to figure out a way to shift it without making noise. Or another way in.” 

“Mmmm, I can shift it. Even just a bit and Fiona or you could get a look in so we know what we’re dealing with.” Harlea stroked his beard and nodded. He stood up and put his head in the window.

“Stop.” Areli hissed at him, “Give me a second to check around. We can’t be sure that nothing heard you climb up here.”

Harlea paused, looked at Areli and then took his hand back from the shutter. He then put his finger up to his lips to remind Areli to be quiet.

“Next time, Elayne or Fiona is second.” Areli whispered as he sidestepped back to check the side of the house. Knowing better, He stayed close to the house and worked his way to the corner once more. Everything was still quiet and the Wild folk were still far out in the fields with no indication they’d heard any of the commotion. They were tantalisingly close to getting some reprieve if Areli could get them inside. Even ten minutes where Areli could equalise his heat and close his eyes would be fantastic. 

Then, a dull thump followed by a loud crash shattered the uneasy silence. Areli leapt back from the corner of the house, dropped into a crouch and took a knife from its holster. 

Harlea was still at the window, face now riddled with guilt and his hands out of the window and sitting neatly on his chest. 

Areli dashed over to the window and checked the backyard below them. No Wildfolk nor any change except Fiona’s face now at the edge of the kiln, looking extremely unimpressed. Behind, two of the Wildfolk had changed their direction to head towards them and Areli’s heart sank.  

The window was unblocked, revealing a cramped room with a large wardrobe flipped on its side dominating the centre of the room. The contents of the wardrobe had spilled out on its side as it sat perched precariously on the edge of a simple wooden cot. The left side of the wardrobe had hit the floor and there was enough space for Areli to squeeze inside.  

“It just collapsed.” Harlea whispered next to him.

Areli stared daggers at Harlea and poked his head inside. The room had toys and children’s clothes strewn throughout but there was no sign of danger. 

“When I pushed it. But it was really light, I had no idea it would just tip over like that.” Harlea clarified as Areli pulled himself back out of the window. 

“Get inside and clear. And watch for anything Wilded.” Areli ordered and he turned his attention back to Fiona and Elayne. Fiona had taken a step out into the yard with a bijou in her hand with Elayne carrying her sword in one hand and several bags in the other.

The two Wildfolk were beelining towards them, mercifully at a slow pace but an impending problem for Areli to account for. 

“We’re heading inside. Push the wardrobe back when you get inside. Let’s go.” Areli called down to her, “And be careful of the right side of the verandah.”

Fiona needed no further encouragement and rushed to the side of the verandah, with Elayne in hot pursuit. Areli turned back to the window, flicked his throwing dagger around in his hand so its hilt sat neatly in his palm.

Harlea had already disappeared inside and Areli vaulted through the window as quickly as he could. Already at the door, Harlea gave him a nod as Areli pushed past the wardrobe, “All clear.” 

“Good. The other two are coming up now.” 

“Easy. Did they have our bags?” Harlea asked as he put his hand on the doorknob. 

“Shit.” Areli tried to remember but shrugged, “Hope so. Maybe we leave them here so we don’t need to worry about them in town?”

“Perhaps, let’s clear the house before we worry about it.” Harlea said as he eased the door open. 

Areli leapt over the wardrobe and cleared the side of the cot to join Harlea. Clearing the rooms in the house would be easy if they were all so small. There was little space for much more than the cot, wardrobe and a pile of dirty clothes in the corner. Along the left side of the floor there was a light red hue that had stained the floorboards and splotches of black mould spreading up the wall. 

Areli turned up his snout and joined Harlea. They’d need to find a different room to hole up in. After listening for a moment, Harlea carefully opened the door up and stepped through. 

A light creak announced their arrival in the house but they found nothing but an empty hallway to greet them. The oppressive quiet returned once more, broken only by the slightest noise of Fiona and Elayne climbing up to the verandah.  

In the hallway, there was another door and a set of stairs leading to the lower storey of the house. Opposite the doors were several windows partially covered with red tinted drapes that hung loosely from bars above each window. 

Harlea moved first, keeping his axe low but primed for action. Creeping into the hallway, he stopped at the next door for Areli to join him. 

Out of the windows, Areli could make out the substantial wooden palisade’s that surrounded the main town of Coalpass. The wall had been built to last, with each of the large logs being fashioned from large trees. A haze sat between Areli and the wall, obfuscating the details of the wall from where he sat, with the fading dusklight providing a harrowing testament of the night he was going to have. 

Harlea hissed at Areli and he snapped back to reality. The second door was already slightly ajar and Harlea had his hand resting delicately on its front, ready to go. 

Areli gave one final look through the first door for any sign of Fiona before he tiptoed over. As he arrived, Harlea pressed on the door and snuck inside. 

Areli gave him space as Harlea hovered in the doorway, eventually moving inside with the slightest whisper to inform Areli, “Nothing.”

The second room in surprisingly good condition. There was an adult’s bed with a set of drawers that had been ransacked a long time ago. On top of the bed were several bags that were half-stuffed with odd pieces of equipment, some adult clothing, and a collection of jewellery and coins packed between the clothes. Areli noted the valuables but checked the corners of the room before he walked around the bed to stand next to Harlea.

“Not as bad as the other room. Boarding up the windows was the right choice.” Harlea noted quietly.

“Yeah, none of the red stains either.” Areli agreed and stepped out through the door, “we can rest in here.”

Harlea murmured back a half-response before falling silent as he entered the hallway again. His eyes darted across to the first room before he stepped towards the staircase. Areli thought he heard something as well but couldn’t tell if it was from outside or somewhere inside the house.

“Harr-gh” 

The sound drifted up from the stairs to greet them.

“Did something just say my name down there?” Harlea whispered as he drew closer to Areli, “That can’t be good.”

Areli pointed to the stairs and took the lead. Testing each of the stairs carefully, he crept down them, pausing whenever a stair felt loose so he could show Harlea where not to step. 

Light feet and silent breaths. Stealth was all about taking it slow. He ignored the disgusting scent that assaulted him on the first floor and focussed on being as silent as possible.

Slow rasping breaths heralded problems that Areli needed to resolve as he spotted a sinister red glow from a door at the back of the house. The bottom of the door was illuminated by a bubbling puddle of crimson and Areli worked hard not to gag at the overpowering stench of iron.  

When Areli arrived at the bottom of the stairs, he risked a glance back and found Harlea slowly inching down the first few stairs, visibly uncomfortable as he tested the stairs. 

Areli signalled for him to wait and motioned towards himself and then the terrifying, nightmare door. Harlea cocked his head to the side but paused while Areli pulled away from the stairs. 

The door was on the back left of the house, sitting slightly ajar and with no space around it that wasn’t slick with blood. 

Complimenting the rasping breathing was a soft weeping and they both originated from the same room. Someone or something was in there, only one by the sound of their quiet muttering and gentle whimpers.  

Drawing closer, Areli stepped into the thick, viscous blood and caught a glimpse of what was inside the room. A dull red illuminated the back wall of the room and a thin fog swirled around the ceiling. 

One man sat with their back against the wall, clawing at their shoulder as they muttered angrily to themselves. Areli pulled out his second knife, settled his breathing and charged through the door, “Now, Har!”

Burst through the door, Areli moved towards the closest corner. Left to right, the room contained only one Wildfolk amongst the wreckage. The blood dominated the floor, seeping up to discolour the desk, chair and couches that were spread around the room. The man had pitched himself up on his bedroll, with several bags tucked under his arms. His arms ripped and tore at his shoulder as blood poured out from the litany of scratches that covered his body. He glanced up at Areli for only a second before he shuddered and went back to tearing long gashes down his neck with his long claw-like fingers. 

Areli worked his way around the room, feeling the blood soak through his shoes but ignoring it so he could clear the back side of the door. The window was barricaded and there was nothing else in the room but the poor man. 

Harlea burst into the room and skidded to a stop. He took stock of the situation, keeping his distance from the Wilded man and spotting Areli before he dropped his guard. Areli gestured for calm and Harlea nodded and turned his attention to the man at their feet. 

The Wilds had done a number on the poor lad. Open sores and old wounds covered him from head to toe as what remained of his bloody clothes clung to his body. Several patches of pus-coated scales jutted out from several places on his body and broke up the deep gouges that crisscrossed down his body. His body had tried to form scar tissue as it healed supernaturally but the man was relentless with his scratching, tearing at his flesh as he wept for mercy. 

“They’ll come for all of us, you know.” The man croaked as stared dead ahead. 

“What did he just say?” Harlea asked Areli as he hovered impatiently.

“No clue.” Areli whispered back. 

“The lizards.They’ll sneak in and steal you away if you don’t lock the windows. If you leave your dirty clothes on the floor, they’ll smell them and, and come and take you.” The man spoke, his voice raising as he started to build into a fevered pitch, “They’ll eat your innards and ‘nap you when you’re sleeping.”

“Real nice.” Areli glowered as he watched the man dig his hands deep into the side of his face to rip out several large scales. Blood pulsed and poured from the new wound as he tossed the scales away to begin working on a spot on his left forearm. 

The man whimpered and fussed as he wormed his fingernails into the top of his forearm, scratching at the rancid pus and ooze that had started to form, “They’re going to come for me. They’re going to take me.”

“Hey. Stop.” Areli stepped towards the man and sheathed one of his knives, “Sit still and I can help you.”

The man yanked one final scale out of his wrist before he turned his attention to Areli. As their eyes met, his lip curled upwards and he whispered desperately, “Sit still and I can help you.”

A wisp of Wild magic swirled around his hand as he reached out towards Areli and shook from the exertion of holding it out straight. Areli leant backwards but the man followed, folding forwards as he tried to close the distance between them. A font of blood rushed out from his front as he leant and he let out a pained gasp as he tried to speak again, “Let me hel-”

Before Areli could throw his knife, Harlea’s right axe swept past Areli to slam the man in the shoulder, catching him in the moment that his thin frame leapt towards them. The axe forced the thin man back again the wall, crushing his shoulder against the solid wood and rending a large section of his side from his body. The man dropped to the floor and crawled towards Areli desperately. Areli’s knife caught him in the eye and he spasmed as the blade touched the back of his skull. 

Harlea’s left axe came next and finished the job, tearing through the top of the man’s jaw and pinned his nose to the wooden floorboards as he screamed in agony. He squirmed beneath them as he tore at their boots until Areli grabbed his knife and forced it to carve deep paths through his brain matter. 

Areli ripped his knife back out and gave space. He prepared himself to strike again but but shouldn’t have bothered. What Harlea’s axe hadn’t done in destroying the man’s brain, his knife had. The man still twitched on the floor but what corrupted life he had still possessed was gone from his eyes. 

Harlea wrenched his axe back from the body and placed his hand on Areli’s shoulder. Mimicking a deep breath, he looked deep into Areli’s eyes, “You good?”

“Yeah. Fine.” Areli blinked away the desperation in the man’s eyes, forcing himself not to dwell on the swirling red and purple patterns, “We should tell the others not to come down here.”

“Agreed, we get set up and prepare for the town.” Harlea said as he gave him two pats on the back before he turned back to the door. 

Areli watched Harlea before cleaning his knife. The top section of one of the couches was still in decent enough condition. Placing it back in his holster, Areli stepped around the man but avoided meeting his eyes.

The room sizzled around him as he fled through the door. He shut the door behind him as he watched the blood evaporate at his feet. 

Harlea covered the distance to the stairs quickly and Areli wasted no time joining him. At the top of the stairs, Elayne waited with a concerned look on her face.

“Don’t come down here. We’ll hole up on the top. We shouldn’t stay here long.” Harlea whispered to her.”

“What in the hells happened down there?” Elayne asked anxiously.

Harlea looked back at Areli and motioned for him to go first up the stairs.

Areli happily took the lead, whispering to Elayne as he forced his way past, “Nothing. Just go close the wardrobe before the Wildfolk figure out how to climb up onto the roof.”

He truly, truly loathed the Wild plains.