Andras woke suddenly as his head banged against something. He tried looking around but found himself inside a small dark compartment. He could hear an engine and the gravel from outside and feel the slight bumps in the road. His arms chafed against the restraints and his head felt heavy because of the collar. Try as he might, there was too little space to try and move, and after that, he would still need to break free of the cuffs. Andras tried to remember what happened and could faintly remember visiting a place and that something terrible had happened. Some words echoed in his hazy mind, they were too vague to understand, but the voice was uncommon for him.

"Mon Dieu, there's a man on the road!"

The car stopped. Andras hit his head quite badly, but not too much to lose consciousness. There was nothing he could do, as he could not even scream, for someone had stuffed something inside his mouth. He could hear a voice talking, a voice similar to what he remembered.

Jack watched someone on the road. This rugged, lethargic figure waved his hands as he saw the oncoming vehicle, forcing it to stop. Jack rolled down the window as the man shuffled toward him.

"Is there a problem?"

"Ah, yes. Um, could you give me a ride to the next town?" Norman asked.

Jack was certain that Andras was still asleep or should be. He knew it was best to stay calm and act normally. For an outside viewer, he was just an old hunter on his way home for everyone else.

"Sure thing. It's not too far."

"Thank you." Norman sighed with relief.

"Sit on the front seat. I keep my rifles in the back."

After getting on, Norman could smell the woods from the man. Looking back to the back seat, the man truly stuffed it full. There were rubber boots, hunting jackets, all sorts of bags, and of course, the rifles in their carry-backs. He could only wonder why the man had stuffed all of them on the back instead of the trunk.

"So, you are a hunter?" Norman asked.

"Yes, I work as a beast hunter. What happened to you? You seem to be in rough shape." Jack tried to switch the subject.

"Uh, I got lost and wandered out for a while." Norman was a bit embarrassed.

"You must be lucky. I wouldn't be alone in these woods at night."

Andras could hear two people speaking. Though he could not recognize who it was, perhaps they could help. Andras started banging his head and legs against the sides and roof to create as much noise as possible. Jack responded by immediately turning on the radio, which sadly wasn't enough.

"Do you hear something?" Norman looked around.

"Yes, I should get this old piece of junk inspected at some point." Jack laughed fakely.

Jack's laughter didn't impress Norman. He noticed an inspection stamp on the windshield. The seal looked entirely new.

The radio picked up a local news broadcast.

"Citizens are asked to remain indoors until further notified. Major general Thomas G. Fawkes has issued his statement on the issue and states that there is no reason to worry."

"There seems to be something going on."

"Seems so. I saw a military convoy going past me a while ago." Jack preferred this subject.

"Do you know where they could be headed?"

"Hmmm, if I would guess by the road, I'd say they're going to Bertim."

"Bertim? Are you sure?"

"Well, they could be going further, but I also saw some police, and the traffic seems to stay away from there," Jack told his reasons, mostly because he didn't want to have anything to do with the border guards.

"I need to go there." Norman pleaded.

"Don't be foolish. The police won't let anyone inside."

"Then just drop me here."

Jack could see Norman had become slightly passive-aggressive and suspicious of his words, but there would be no problem if he got him out of the car.

"If that is what you wish." Jack stopped on the side of the road.

Jack sharply watched as Norman got out of his car, and as he switched to look at the side mirror, he couldn't see a trace of Norman. The situation seemed suspicious, so Jack got off the car and looked around. Norman tried to sneak very carefully to the trunk while Jack patrolled, but he heard the gravel grinding with Norman's steps. Jack walked to the other side of the car. He slowly peeked around the front like stalking prey. There was no sign of Norman because he had already gone invisible, but Norman had to watch Jack staring back at him. Norman slowly backed away from the trunk, trying to cause as little noise as possible. Jack noticed the open trunk and immediately rushed there. He went around and looked inside. There was almost no time to react.

"How?" Jack saw that it was completely empty.

Just in time, Norman had used his magic to make Andras invisible as well, as he couldn't get him out of the car in that state. Norman held his breath as Jack tried checking the trunk. Jack didn't see anything there but had to make sure his eyes weren't fooling him. His hand went closer and closer to Andras like a snake slithering towards a mouse, trying to go close enough to strike. Both Andras and Norman kept still like statues, hoping he would not sense them. As his finger touched Andras, he couldn't help but jump slightly. The sweat on Norman's brow was flowing, hoping he wouldn't notice. That moment felt like forever, yet their hearts must have hit a thousand times during it. Slowly, Jack lifted his hand as he thought there was nothing there and started looking around. Jack breathed in, corrected his glasses, and took one of the rifles from the back seat. He deduced that the two must have worked together, and Norman had distracted him while Andras fled. Jack watched the ground and looked for trails of footprints, as there surely should be some if they had fleed. They couldn't have gotten far, especially with Andras shackled up. Jack's instinct told him that he should follow Norman, and it would lead him to Andras as well. Jack knew he would most likely not need the rifle, only if they could remove the collar.

"This won't take long." Jack loaded the gun.

As Jack said that, he could hear his car's engine revving. He was sure he had left it to idle. Before Jack could notice, the doors and the trunk had been closed, and the vehicle started moving. Jack dropped his rifle as he hurried to open the doors, but they were locked as he tried the handle. At that moment, he saw Norman appear in the driver's seat, gasping for breath. The car turned around and speeded off while jack fell to the ground. He took his weapon and aimed at the driver but decided to put the gun down.

"Noun, it would stain the leather."

"I'll find them there," Jack noted there with a sinister smile.

Norman stopped the car after driving for a while and opened the trunk with Andras inside. After opening the ties, Andras jumped out.

"Phew, thanks, Norman."

"No problem, now get in. We need to go."

After sitting in, Andras had a few questions.

"How did you do that?"

"Did what?"

"He didn't notice us."

"Oh, that. Well, there is more to my spell than you know." Norman dodged around at first.

"Spectre is not a spell that makes me invisible; it makes you unable to perceive me. Its major drawback is that you can still sense me in other ways, and I can't cast it unless no one sees me. That's why there is a secret technique. It's called Incognito." Norman explained. "I'll show it to you."

"Alright-What?!" Andras nodded but was shocked after blinking.

He could see the empty seat, and Andras knew Norman had to be there, but it felt like there was nothing more than air. The pedals moved by themselves, and so did the steering wheel, but Andras had the urge to take hold of them, or the car would go out of control. Andras tried poking the air, but even though his finger stopped, it was like his hand had stopped, not that he made contact with anything. If he wasn't concentrating on the idea of someone being there, he could dismiss touching Norman without even blinking twice about it.

Suddenly Norman returned and took a deep breath.

"You see?" Norman smiled smugly.

"You were there the whole time?"

"The whole time."

"You didn't even notice that I plucked some hair from your beard." Norman showed the hair between his fingers.

"Wow!"

"By holding my breath, I remove all possible ways to sense me and anything I touch. I can also use my spell to make others invisible as long as I touch them. That part is called unseen aid."

"I did not know you had such hidden talent." Andras was still quite impressed.

"It's not mine, and I wouldn't usually show it."

"Oh, yeah, sorry."

"It's all right."

"Um, do you know how to get this off me?" Andras pointed at his collar.

"That's a magic restriction chain. I think it requires a key or a smith."

"You reckon the key doesn't happen to be in this car, don't you?"

"No, my guess it's on that hunter, and you'd need to take it from his dead hands." Norman thought slightly cynically. "Did he happen to tell you exactly why he kidnapped you?"

"I think he said something about us ruining the fox hunt, so he tried to sell me off as revenge."

"Yeah, we made a few enemies with that."

"Wait, how did he catch you?"

"I think he drugged me."

"Haven't I told you about stranger danger?"

"But he seemed such a nice fellow."'

"How about not accepting treats from a stranger in the woods?"

"Then how are we going to take this thing off?" Andras tried pulling the collar.

"Well, I was going to say that we could just rip your head off and put it back, but I don't think that's a good idea."

"So you have no idea how to get it off?"

"Do you want to try and take the key from him?"

"No, I don't think I can," Andras confessed.

"Then we're frankly shit out of luck unless we find a hacksaw."

"Could he have that under all that junk?"

Norman gave him a displeased stare, but sadly one that Andras' missed as he was already rummaging Jack's belongings like a dumpster diving raccoon. Somehow the ride seemed to take longer and be more irritating than an itch on the back.

Orel and Slacume traversed carefully through the village. Neither knew where danger could surprise them next. The blood moon gave light to pathways but also formed concerning shadows.

"We should hurry to the father." Orel reminded.

"I don't know if he's going to be any help at this point." Slacume doubted.

At last, they arrived at the church, but Orel noticed how the lights had gone out from all windows, and the whole building loomed in silent darkness. Before they could enter, they heard a sound coming from the road that led to the forest.

"Is that a car?" Slacume heard.

A line of headlights shone through the fog as a convoy of armored vehicles burst through the barrier. Orel and Slacume waved their hands so they could spot them.

"It's the ADF! We're saved!" Slacume rejoiced.

Thankfully for the two, the cars turned to drive towards them. As the dust settled, the back doors opened, and the well-equipped soldiers rushed out, led by the captain. The slender figure marched forward, quite concerned. With him were his trusted lieutenants and captain.

"Are you two alright?" James asked.

"Yes, I am Slacume Potomac, servant of sir Lionel, and this here is Orel,"

"The Duke hired our party to get rid of Barghest," Orel explained further.

"I see. I mistook you for civilians. I am Major James Periwinkle of the Frogfoot. We have come to rescue you. Could you tell me about the situation at hand?"

"Um, this fog came about, and our party and I got separated. They're still lost." Orel explained.

"Don't worry, we will find them," James assured.

"Oh, and we found this cave," Orel remembered.

"A cave?"

"Yeah, the father asked us to get rid of the boggarts. We found where they were, but this one boggart had killed them all. It had carved some ritual circle around a mysterious hole in the ground and tried to trap us inside the cave." Slacume explained hastefully.

"And one of us got trapped there while we escaped." Orel was still anxious about Isao.

"Sounds that there's more going on here than what we thought, Major," Diarmuid noted.

"Is your party member still stuck there?" James wanted to confirm.

"Oh, he's not a party member. We just met him in the fog. He helped us to get rid of Barghest." Orel corrected. "But he's still stuck there."

"Hmmm. Could one of you come with us to show the way?" James asked.

"I'll go." Slacume applied.

"Are you sure?" James wanted to confirm.

"yes." Slacume felt hardened.

"Good, but we still need to assess some things." James reminded his subordinates.

"Hey, boy. Who told you to go after those boggarts?" Diarmuid leaned in.

"Father Ostwind, the town priest." Orel was baffled by the question.

"Hey, Smith," Diarmuid yelled into his vehicle.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" An officer popped out from the back.

"You're from here, weren't you?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Are there usually brownies here?"

"Yes, sir. Many houses have them."

"Have you heard of them turning into boggarts?"

"Um, no, sir. It rarely happens." Smith was baffled by the question. "There were some weird disappearances of them from time to time."

"Then, do you know the town priest, father Ostwind?"

"Yes, sir. The father is well-known in our community. He is very kind and friendly, though he gets often lost in thought." Smith smiled.

"How long has he been here?"

"Um, I'd say twenty years."

"What are you on about this time, Cumhaill?" James heard the conversation.

"Call me a skeptic, but why would a priest be in such a hurry to ask strangers to get rid of those things?"

"Someone named one of them. It said 'mister' named it and ordered it to do the ritual." Orel explained.

"A named boggart?" Orel's comment threw James in disarray. "So there is someone behind this."

Diarmuid felt very smug for a moment but knew that it made the situation direr. James collected himself and tried forming a plan. There were a lot of unknown factors he felt needed uncovering. Otherwise, there would be a catastrophe. All this stress made his glasses fog up, but with a moment used cleaning them, James felt ready to take action.

"Alright, gather around," James ordered.

"Yes, sir." The lieutenants agreed.

James turned to the lieutenants waiting in a row to discuss the plan.

"Alright, so first and foremost, it seems that most of the civilians are already in their houses. We need at least two platoons to try and persuade them to evacuate. If we fail to convince them, they should be relatively safe as long as they stay inside." James had assessed the situation.

"Let us send your platoon, Aberdeen, to investigate the cave. The second platoon is most fit for that." James turned to one of his lieutenants.

"Yes, sir." Angus had no objections.

"Sadly, only our MSVs were able to penetrate the fog, so we will not have the police force to help us until they are adequately equipped. Cumberland and Wellington, your platoons shall conduct the evacuation. This spot shall be our meeting place. Return here once you are done."

"Yes, sir." Claire and Arthur agreed.

"Alright. Firstly, radio check." James took out his radio.

Only static came out of their radios.

"It seems the fog cut our communications. Let's swap to telepaths."

Though radio mainly had replaced them, the military still utilized those able to use telepathy. It was a rare innate spell that ran in some families of mages. Telepathy is categorized as an internal mystic mutation related to the brain itself. It is one of the few talents that haven't been replicated. Unfortunately for the users, it is very restricted, as only other telepaths could receive messages, which they could only send to one person at a time and only to those they had seen themselves. Before radio, it was perhaps the fastest form of communication, used by nearly every nation, though their limitations eventually called for innovation. The introduction of radio and other forms of communication radically dropped employment which led to many revolts. Each platoon in the Albian military usually had a telepath, depending on the availability. Telepaths usually served the army as self-respecting mages and had no intrigue to use it in conmanship or as secret communication. The military is one of the surest ways to find employment, and it pays well for telepaths. They are given specialized training to message even under stress and taught fast reading and writing. Though they are a necessary part of a platoon, telepaths are rarely given higher ranks because their magic is usually used up by their mutation and does not leave room for spells.

"But, sir, we only have three telepaths. How do we split them?" Claire pointed out.

"That is a good point, lieutenant."

"If the third and fourth platoon unites to evacuate the civilians, one of their telepaths could be left here." James proposed.

"Good idea, sir." Claire nodded.

"I shall offer mine, sir," Arthur suggested.

"Very well."

"What should I do, major?" Diarmuid asked as everyone else had their orders.

"If you think you're on to something, be my guest and continue your investigation." James did not want to bother him.

"Then, I'd like to keep this boy around." Diarmuid pointed at Orel.

"Why?"

"What?"

"What's the issue? He is from a party, and we can try finding his pals."

"He does not seem that useful." James looked down on Orel.

The comment may have hurt, but Orel didn't doubt that he was still outclassed in this situation.

"He fought Barghest and found the cave." Diarmuid bent the narrative in his favor.

"Alright, fine. You are officially scouting anyways."

"Okay, that's it for the briefing. Get to work now. Glory to Frogfoot!" James lifted his hand as he told his men to scatter.

"For frogfoot!" His soldiers cheered.

"You heard what the boss said. Get a move on!" Claire commanded her units.

The cars turned around to be ready to embark. Soldiers checked their equipment and readied themselves. They should be prepared for action at all times, which is not often the reality. This was a good chance for them to get promoted or given medals for their efforts.

"Folkland! You will stay here." Arthur gave orders to his platoon's telepath.

"Yes, sir!" Folkland stepped out of the vehicle.

"You're the telepath?"

"Yes, Major. The name is Guss Folkland.” Folkland introduced with pride.

"You there. You come with me." Angus gestured to Slacume.

"Oh, right." Slacume walked towards the car.

"See you, Orel!" Slacume waved him off.

"See you." Orel felt a bit awkward.

"You sit in the front with me." Angus kept the door open for him.

The cars drove off and scattered around the village. Two vehicles went for the houses, while the third one, with the guidance of Slacume, headed to the woods. Only the Major, captain, telepath, and Orel were left.

"I think I'll check out the church," Diarmuid informed James.

"Just go." James lighted a cigarette for how much done he was.

"Boy, come with me."

"Alright." Orel felt like he had no word in the matter.

They approached the door, and Diarmuid banged on it with his giant fist.

"Is anyone home?"

No word was answered to them. The church was deathly quiet. They waited for a moment, yet no answer ever arrived, nor did the father.

"Excuse me," Diarmuid sarcastically said as he took hold of the massive doors.

Orel took a step back. He had a bad feeling about it.

Diarmuid pulled on the doors until they began creaking and slivering. The massive muscles in his arms bulged, and veins grew until the doors finally gave in and opened. A foul stench flowed from the inside, like rotting flesh. The two quickly concluded that whatever lay inside was not good. Still, they had to step inside the dark sanctuary to find out.