"Another long night, huh?" Kalso said, as they were assigned to patrol the surroundings of the camp tonight. He’d been on night duty with Cassian for the past two nights, and Cassian nodded with a weary sigh. They started trekking through the forest, a good distance from the camp, tasked with surveilling the area around the mountain beside it.
To their luck, this was the least likely spot for an attack—assaulting from the rugged mountain side was far tougher than the flat, tree-filled approach. "Hope it’s like the last two nights," Cassian muttered, sighing. The previous two nights had been peaceful, with only a few monsters straying near the camp. They’d only had to kill one or two to scare the rest off.
"yeah, it’s been so tiring to stay up all night and keep moving on another, I heard you were also fighting in day too?" kalso asked as he pulled out a ciggrate.
Cassian eyed Kalso’s cigarette, its scent completely different from the harsh ones Lucy smoked after sex. This one was sweet, almost alluring, drawing him in. "Man, you don’t know how fuckin’ irritatin’ it’s been," he grumbled, "barely sleepin’ a few hours before wakin’ up again. I ain’t even tired, just pissed off..." His gaze fixed on the cigarette, intrigued by its aroma. "What’s that thing?"
"Oh, this?" Kalso said, taking a deep drag before blowing out a cloud of smoke and offering it to Cassian. As Cassian took it, Kalso grinned. "Wild herb called Maria, named after some prostitute who’d slip it to her customers before, y’know, doin’ the deed. Sends ’em on quite the trip..."
Cassian had never smoked—mostly ’cause Lucy told him not to—but he wasn’t against trying it. He took a puff, coughing as he exhaled. "What kinda trip?"
Kalso chuckled, snatching the cigarette back. "Trip to heaven..." He took a deep puff, blew out a cloud of sweet smoke, and handed it back to Cassian. "Well, not a literal heaven like they died, just mad pleasure from doin’ the deed. Folks got addicted, went wild for it. When some found out she was druggin’ ’em with this, that prostitute Maria got her head chopped off. But this wild herb, Maria? Became a damn celebrity among low-lifes. Everyone started usin’ it, gettin’ hooked. Don’t worry, though—it don’t hit us Circle Warriors like it does normal folk. Just makes us a bit relaxed..." Cassian exhaled a plume of smoke, passing it back, and nodded. "You might be feelin’ it already..."
Cassian, noticing his body feeling a touch lighter than usual, agreed, "Yeah, I do feel a bit light..."
"Good, but that’s all we’ll get," Kalso said, tossing the cigarette stub to the ground. "Us Circle Warriors’ bodies won’t let us get more intoxicated than this. I just smoke it to chill a bit."
Cassian nodded, intrigued by the cigarette’s relaxing effect—something he only felt when sleeping, but not quite as deep. He glanced around as they trudged up the mountain. "So, how was life back in the Magic Empire? Do they discriminate against us Circle Warriors?"
"Nah, it’s fine," Kalso said, shrugging. "I know you folks from Andhrarta Kingdom were told they do, but it wasn’t bad. Circle Warriors there get a bit more say in how things are run..." He paused, then added, "But that’s just what my parents said. Can’t be sure myself—I was little when we left for here."
"Then why’d they leave?" Cassian asked, confused, finding it a bit suspicious. "They could’ve stayed and hoped for your breakthrough there, right?" It seemed odd that Kalso’s parents traveled all the way to Magesteria, not even one of the free cities near the Magic Empire. Though Magesteria Kingdom was the third closest, it was strategically placed, bordering nearly twenty kingdoms, including the big ones—Magic Empire and Andhrarta Kingdom.
"Dunno, but my mom loved the sea, so that might be why..." Kalso said, shrugging his shoulders. Suddenly, Cassian raised a hand and hissed, "Stop, I hear footsteps ahead!"
Kalso froze, gripping his halberd tightly as Cassian whispered, "Keep your domain completely dormant—not even a ripple. Silence your breathin’ if you can..." He paused, then added, "Only move from here when I give the cue." Before Kalso could ask what the cue was, Cassian vanished, leaving him stunned and confused. Even with his sharp instincts, honed from hunting with his parents, Kalso couldn’t pick up any trace of where Cassian had gone—though he might’ve if he used his domain. It was downright frightenin’ how undetectable Cassian was.
Beyond wondering what cue to wait for, Kalso was irritated, but Cassian was already on the move, and he didn’t want to screw this up. As a hunter, he was decent at makin’ his presence disappear—not as slick as Cassian, but good enough. He went completely silent, blending into the shadows.
Cassian’s killing domain was perfect for this, though he didn’t realize how exceptional it was, assuming everyone’s worked the same. Crouched on a thick tree branch—one sturdy enough not to creak as he shifted—he spotted a cloaked figure, like the ones they’d seen when they first started moving. There weren’t as many this time, though—maybe a hundred or so.
He didn’t sense any Circle Warriors among them, not that he’d pick up on one if they were hiding like him. But he did feel one figure radiating intense mana, likely a mage of a rank similar to Carlo’s—too strong for him to take on without war armor.
The question now was whether to slip back to Kalso and go back with him to warn the others or go it alone. Even if they bolted back at full speed, those cultist bastards would be right on their heels, leaving no time to rouse the camp. And who knew if the attack had already kicked off? These cultists weren’t cocky enough to think a hundred cloaked figures could take on a thousand soldiers—some damn strong ones—with just this group.
Cassian slipped back to Kalso for further discussion, moving silently through the forest. Kalso, crouched in the bushes, nearly jumped out of his skin as Cassian appeared behind him, but he stifled any sound, quickly sensing the presence of others nearby. "Man, you gotta teach me that stealth technique," he whispered, awestruck. "It’s fuckin’ amazin’..."
"Yeah, later," Cassian muttered. "First, we got two choices: race back to warn the others about the incomin’ attack or deal with these bastards here and see what we can do next." Both men fell silent, thoughtful. Cassian continued, "If we head back, there won’t be enough time to prep for a hundred of ’em—maybe more comin’ from other sides. They fucked up last time, so they’ll hit harder now. Makes sense to take ’em out here, but you sure we can handle it?"
"Well, we can," Cassian said, his voice steady but not cocky. "I didn’t sense any Circle Warriors—just normal mutated cultists and one mage, ’bout Pyraxis rank. I can handle those mutated freaks easy enough, though the mage might be tricky. We’ll be fine, and if we take this group down, it might spook the other groups into holdin’ off." His plan sounded solid, but deep down, he wasn’t entirely sure it was the right call—yet his killing domain pulsed, urging him forward for reasons he couldn’t quite grasp.