“The Exploration Guild formed not because curious minds wanted to explore the world, I mean yes to a certain extent, but primarily because so many wars have left behind many unchecked ruins filled with dark energies. While adventurers and even royal troops can handle most of these threats, our goal is to chart paths, find, and locate any of these areas that are off the beaten path. At least that was the original intention, now yeah okay, fair enough it''s filled with people who just like finding new things around the world.” - Senior Pathfinder Terrance Bell, Lecture on the history of the Exploration Guild.


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    Sophie sighed wearily as she nursed a small mug of juice next to the campfire, admittedly the gooseberries here were not as pleasantly sweet or delicious as the ones back at the estate, but she didn’t mind. Of course they still didn’t trust her at all, but she had volunteered to keep watch and convinced the others that at least she wasn’t malicious.


    There was some obvious skepticism to her version of events given the convenient nature of her occasional bouts of involuntary unconsciousness blurring the details of her initial foray into the forest. Though a few snorts of disbelief shot through the party it did confirm two unfortunate fears for them. The first being that the bandits weren’t just bandits but were likely either the undead or the elves, both far more dangerous to deal with than average bandits. The second being that far more was afoot than met the eye and they needed to regroup with The Crows or retreat entirely in light of this new information and a plus one.


    It wasn’t a futile trade however, aside from being rescued she did learn she was in the Mistveil, almost a week’s ride from the Rosengart duchy. She had tried but failed to hide her shock, the Mistveil was nowhere near! She tried to explain that she felt like barely a day had passed when she awoke in the cart and they had then ruminated on the possibilities of what might have occurred when the rogue, Arnold suggested some mixture of a stasis or binding spell was cast. It would make a modicum of sense, she hadn’t felt like she traveled that much at all, but Sophie hid her surprise when they moved on to other topics, why would anyone need to cast a spell on me? I’m just a maid! I don’t think even Mortiz hated me this much! It was all too suspicious, and she worried that perhaps the Ducal household might not have been responsible after all, but if not them then who?


    She squirmed trying to find a more comfortable position to sit in, the question still gnawing at the back of her mind. Who would go through so much effort to get rid of her? She wasn’t worth much, at least as far as she knew. She just served Eva as friend and maid, surely she wasn’t that threatening? It annoyed her more than she expected to not know the answer to that question and she tried to divert her thoughts to the elves.


    According to the blond captain, Gil, elven raiding parties had penetrated deeper into Carrador as of late, as if driven by some other purpose. And while most had dismissed it as just matters of war, adventurers were generally told to avoid them so as to not antagonize relations between the guild and Sel’Minora, the elven stronghold they likely arrived from. The undead were another matter entirely; the corpse hounds or skinwalkers as they were called by the guild, had always wandered the mistiest areas of the woods but as of late they had grown more bold. No one would have originally suspected they had anything to do with the string of attacks on the nearby villages and towns. They were too mindless and mostly territorial, but based on her testimony that view might need to be changed soon enough.


    She was thankful though. If their words were true, then she had spent just under a week in the wilderness of the Mistveil and didn’t die. Their offer to take her with them to Eichafen, and by extent civilization, was very welcome.


    A small frown crawled its way onto her face, the nagging feeling of being watched once again kept her alert. The fire had effectively set a small area around the camp as the safe zone, with the fog being physically repelled by the flame. She downed the mug of gooseberry juice and stood up for a patrol, her eyes darting back and forth as she slowly made her way around the camp’s edge.


    Her sanity was frayed at the edges, that much she knew. Her time in the woods had taught her to be paranoid if also a bit delirious. Every noise was potentially hostile, every movement another creature intent on eviscerating her. Was she just hallucinating?


    Sophie diligently scanned every bit of terrain that she could from the perimeter, high and low, bush to tree. Nothing caught her eye nor did anything appear amiss. She was prepared to return to the fire when a small noise reached her ear.


    A bush just barely moved, the rustling of its leaves and branches seemed to just sway in tandem to what little wind existed in this foggy hell. But it lingered just long enough that Sophie suspected something was amiss, as if someone had accidentally bumped into it and tried to play it off as the wind. She debated alerting the team, but some small part of her didn’t want to raise trouble, didn’t want to draw attention to herself if there wasn’t a problem and bit back her shout. I could always yell if I get stabbed again.


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    She inched her way forward, trying to act as natural as she could as she closed the distance. Please let me be crazy, please let there be nothing.


    The tiniest rustle shattered her dreams, no breeze or gust of wind, just the terrible realization she had just willingly walked up to danger. In the middle of berating herself a figure popped up from behind the bush and stumbled forward, Sophie stiffened, ready to run or yell only to gasp.


    Ripped up leather armor showing signs of being slashed and stabbed covered up bloodied tufts of auburn fur and hair. One tired eye glossily stared at her as the other swollen eye rested painfully shut. Crazed mutterings escaped from unsteady lips as the cat looked up at her.


    The two spent a moment simply staring at each other until the catkin wavered and collapsed with a soft “nyeh”. Sophie simply stared in shock as the catkin collapsed in a heap before she moved to help, the sense of confused panic stalling her.


    “I need some help here! I-I found a survivor!” She hollered.


    A languid shuffling began before gaining momentum as sleepy-eyed adventurers slowly woke up to the situation before their eyes. In moments Gil began barking orders as Sara, the taller sword and dagger lady, began performing emergency medical treatments with Arnold helping lift the cat into a tent with a table. Thulgrim moved forwards to the perimeter into defensive positions before Annalise gave Sophie a small nod and joined him.


    She stood watching this team effortlessly slide into their positions and grew jealous. It’s just like the stories, the teams that just click and work. Sophie tried thinking of some way she could help and found herself remaining still, growing more acutely aware of just how different life in the estate was compared to the outside world.


    It was as if her shouts had startled the very soul of the forest itself, the wind grew fiercer as the almost inaudible sounds of wildlife and nightmares began picking up. A malevolent feeling tickled the back of Sophie’s mind and she shivered from the chill down her spine, sending her back next to the campfire.


    For her, the worst thing was the screams of the catkin as her wounds were being treated. Every time she yelped in pain Sophie could feel herself casting a wary eye at the wilds beyond the fire, the oppressive atmosphere threatening to overwhelm this bastion of safety.


    Sharp growls and jingling echoed from further in the forest and Sophie watched as the others shared nervous glances before jumping to begin packing up. Thulgrim and Annalise rushed to take down the tents and pots and Sophie spent another minute just watching them before an angry glance from the dwarf sent her scurrying to help.


    Cries of pain pierced through the forest and just as suddenly silenced when the trio from the tent hauled the now unconscious catkin out, plopping her on a small rock by the campfire. Gil and Arnold moved to help the other two and gestured for Sophie to go help Sara instead.


    Despite being out of commission the cat looked far better than the pallid and blooded figure that emerged at the clearing only moments ago and Sophie gained a greater appreciation for the healing arts. Sara had wordlessly handed her a damp cloth and Sophie understood immediately what to do. Like when she had taken care of Eva when she grew ill, clean and help maintain a stable condition until she recovered. Her mind jumped at the task, something very much within her purview in this strange environment and she gave Sara a curt and acknowledging nod. Wordlessly the war dancer and healer returned a nod of her own before she hopped up and moved to help her comrades wrap up the camp.


    Sophie took advantage of the moment to brush some hair out of the cat’s face, yup same one. A pang of regret clutched at her heart, if she acted earlier at the time she might’ve saved more than one. And as she stared at the cat she shuddered at the thought of watching one’s friends get ritualistically executed in front of them and how they would feel.


    “Oi, hop to it. It’s time for us to move knifey.” The dwarf bellowed as they gathered what little supplies were left.


    Sophie ignored his insult and tried lifting her charge on her shoulder only for her bad leg to begin wobbling.


    “Hey, hey, do you think you can hold on for a few hours of hard trekking?” Annalise quipped from the side as she supported the cat’s other shoulder.


    “Ngh, yeah.” Sophie replied curtly, trying her best to steady herself.


    “Don’t make that face. You got this! Here, lower yourself a little and oop.” Annalise said as she shuffled the cat more onto her after a quick glance at Sophie''s leg.


    Sophie for her part nodded appreciatively and was surprised at how effortlessly the other girl had bore the brunt of the catkin''s weight and made a mental note to thank her later back in town.


    The group managed to deconstruct the camp so quickly and were already moving as Sophie carried the cat with Annalise. Yet, the feeling that they were being watched never really going away even as they moved only further motivated this rapid relocation. Two in front, the two with the cat in the middle and tow in the back. As she sucked in a small breath and looked around, Sophie felt something missing inside her click into place. She felt like a part of a team and in this moment, that was enough for her to smile.