Chapter 52: Is it uncharted?

The priest seemed out of place amongst the squad of warriors. He was also shorter than the average height of the group, making him stand out even more. Despite that, he seemed like an earnest enough man.

"Gentlemen, this is Thadius. He'll be with us from here on out." Elroy finished, giving Thadius a few light pats on the shoulder.

The rest of the evening was passed in silence, save for the soft snoring from Thomas and the whispering guards nearby. Then once everyone was fed and sound asleep, Thadius got up to circle the camp. The dying light the campfires did nothing for his sight, but he wouldn't need it in the surrounding darkness.

He walked the perimeter, hoping to get a feel for what lay beyond the boundary of the misty wall. But his aura detected nothing beyond the cloudy entrance, so he settled for a calm midnight stroll to pass the time.

He strolled silently, and he enjoyed the quiet that reminded him of his time in Yune. Yet, his attention fell on the solitary tent in the camp that belong to Captain Dain. Light could be seen inside, and when Thadius concentrated, he could barely make out whispers coming from inside.

"Are you sure this is wise, sir? Sending his youngest son off to die?"

"He arranged for it himself." Dain replied.

Thadius didn't recognize the first voice, but it was obviously a subordinate. The subject matter;however, was completely unexpected.

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"But the consequences should we fail-"

"We won't fail. In fact, we won't do anything. The mists will do the work for us." Dain reassured his guest.

"And the general's man? What about him?"

"It's just another one of the general's whims. The man may seem strong, but he wouldn't be here if he was." There was a pause, and a shuffling of paper before Dain continued. "Get some sleep, we have a long day tomorrow."

"Yes sir."

Thadius watched as the subordinate walked out of the tent before he made his way back to his squad. But a message stopped him in his tracks.

[THE YOUNGEST

You've stumbled upon a plot to kill a young noble by leaving him in the Mists of Croaka. Will you leave him to his fate? Or will you return to Todos beside him? His fate is in your hands.

DIFFICULTY: D

REQUIREMENTS: Learn of the plot to kill the young noble.

REWARDS: Unknown]

It was a quest that couldn't be accepted or denied, and no one had asked him for anything. The very nature of the quest was to wait for the outcome.

'I'll just have to see how it goes.'

Thadius thought as he slipped back into camp.

He gradually revealed his presence while he walked back to his squad. He didn't want to sudden appear on his bed roll.

Yet, before he could lay down, he felt someone behind him.

"Where have you been?"

Thadius turned around to find Elroy glaring at him. "I went out for a stroll, sir."

"Couldn't sleep?" Elroy asked with his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"No more than you, sir."

"I woke up to relieve myself. Then I saw your roll was empty..." Elroy explained as he looked over said bed roll. Then looked back at Thadius with a look of pure hatred. "And it's been empty for quite some time. Does a stroll take so long? You can obviously find your way in the dark, so I doubt you were lost."

Thadius was completely thrown off by Elroy's tone, and he had a feeling that a half-assed excuse wouldn't cut it.

"As I was walking, I heard some disturbing information from the captain's tent. And I was wondering whether to notify you."

Elroy still had his eyes narrowed in suspicion, but the hatred had dissipated, replaced by reluctant curiosity. "What did you hear while you eavesdropped on a private conversation?" He asked menacingly.

Thadius walked closer to Elroy so he could whisper the words. The squad leader put a wary hand on his sword at the sudden approach, but the movement was ignored.

"The captain plans to abandon you in the mists. I don't know when, but it has something to do with the fact that you're a-"

"The captain wouldn't do such a foolish thing!" Elroy hissed.

"He said he had someone's approval. You may not believe me, but it's what I heard, sir."

"What I don't believe," Elroy came face to face with Thadius, "is how you just happened' to walk pass as it was being said." He said as the hateful look returned to his eyes.

The two stared each other down while the final embers of the fire extinguished. Though when Thadius held his ground with an unwavering gaze, Elroy sighed and stalked over to his bed roll.

"Go to sleep." He ordered as he lay down.

Thadius obeyed readily, laying down and closing his eyes. Unfortunately, he wasn't tired at all, so he opted to rest his eyes instead.

After a few hours of quiet waiting, Thadius opened his eyes to the dawn light. And once the sun was up, it wasn't long until the rest of the guards were up and about. And in minutes, the camp was packed away on the carts with everyone lined up in front of them. The moment to enter the mists had come.

Captain Dain paced on his horse at the front, checking over the formation before addressing his unit. "Alright you lot, we'll be entering the mists to engage the croaka. Though that's not all we'll be doing.

"Our second objective is to map the mists in order to improve the efficiency of further expeditions. So I'll be assigning squads to do so." The captain looked directly at Elroy. "Elroy, your squad will head west once we enter. I want a detailed mapping on any new territory you come across."

Elroy nodded, then Captain continued giving instructions to other squads. Yet, the other squads were to branch off further into the mists, and most of them were to go east or south.

Thadius stepped closer to Elroy. "What's wrong with the west side? Is it uncharted?"

"It's been charted...until a certain point. And the mists as a whole is mostly uncharted." He replied quietly.

"And you don't find that strange that we're the only ones headed west!?" Thadius whispered fiercely.

"You're jumping to conclusions." Elroy said as he grit his teeth.

"Sir, you know this is-"

"Is there a problem?" Captain Dain called out as he trotted up to Elroy. The squad had been placed at the very edge of the formation.

"My fourth," Elroy glanced back angrily at Thadius, " has some concerns about being the only squad assigned to the west, sir."

"Are you concerned as well?" Dain asked.

"It's a lot of ground to cover with only one squad, sir."

"Of course it is! And I never intended for you to go about it alone. Others would have joined you eventually." Dain said as he glared at Thadius.

Thadius narrowed his eyes as he returned the glare. Dain just shook his head. "Hmph, I should have expected some fear from the new recruits. It's your first excursion after all."

The captain scanned the formation until he laid eyes on the man he was looking for. "Charles!" he shouted. "You'll be going west with the Elroy's unit!"

"But sir! I thought I was too check on them after-"

"Well I've changed my mind!" Dain roared.

Thadius recognized the voice of the subordinate he heard last night, and he looked just in time to see a terrified expression on the man's face as he accepted the order.

As Dain walked away, Elroy turned on Thadius. "Satisfied?"

"That was the one he was talking to..."

"What a coincidence." Elroy sighed as he turned back around. Thadius didn't miss the troubled frown on his face as he eyed the captain.

'Coincidence my ass! This is exactly how you do your diet and get rid of a questioning subordinate at the same time! I've seen this too many times...' Thadius shook his head as he remembered all the drama in the medieval shows he used watched. Now he was in the thick of it.

When Dain returned to the front, the signal was given to march, and the the city guard steadily made their way into the mists. Once they were inside, the noise of the unit was muffled as moisture clung to every surface.

By the time Charles came over with his squad, everyone's face was covered with dew as if they had been sweating.

"Come on, let's get going. We're burning daylight." Charles said as he walked up to Elroy.

"After you lieutenant." Elroy replied.

The two squads split off from the main unit and headed west. And the deeper they walked in, the more Thadius noticed how quiet it was. He turned around to Thomas.

"Nothing to say today Thomas?" he asked quiet.

Thomas looked around nervously. "It's not that, just a little rattled is all."

Everyone else looked just as tense. It showed in the way they moved. Thadius could read the mood, and decided to keep silent as they traversed the great marsh. The only sound could be heard was the soft squish of the wetland under their feet.

Along the way, Elroy and Charles often huddled over a map to keep track of their progress and stay on track. And Thadius kept his aura stretched out to its full 150ft(46m) radius so they wouldn't get ambushed easily. Progress was smooth until Charles stopped after a few hours.

"This is where we part ways." he said firmly.

"Sir?" Elroy said with a confused look.

"From here, I'll be going south. You will go south-west. This way, well be able to cover more ground and make it easier for one another." Charles shrugged.

"And the croaka?"

"You should be able to handle a few stray croaka, right?"

"Y-yes sir." Elroy replied.

"Good. Be sure to make it back to camp before nightfall." Charles said as he turned to leave. Thadius and the rest of the squad could only watch as the other guards walked off into the mists.

Thadius stepped up to the dumbfounded squad leader. "Sir, we should-"

"Save it!" He growled, "This isn't some plot or scheme! It's an efficient tactical decision. Why have two squads cover the same path when twice as much ground can be covered if they split up?"

"Because the place we want to map is uncharted enemy territory! And if you haven't noticed, visibility is extremely limited!" Thadius countered. Thomas looked around frantically at the mention of enemies while Banon and Marcus gripped their weapons.

"Then we'll have to be careful won't we?" Elroy said before he stalked off.