The wood elf blinked, once, then twice, at the brunette man. Did he not even know where he was? Why would he think they were in the Port of all places? There wasn't even the scent of salt on the wind, instead, the air was quite earthy, more akin to the elven forest she had grown up in. Not to mention the severe lack of ocean, to say the very least.

"We're in Oak, you know, the castle town, hence all the stonework, creepy catacombs and the like. You... You did say you read the request, yes?" Kailani queried, starting to have doubts that he was as capable as she had presumed him to be. Still, he was the only one around that could lend her a hand right now, and leaving Nimbus with the spectral child meant she would be completely alone if he didn't accompany her.

The dragon slayer glanced down at her feline companion, whose golden eyes gave her a look as if to say he was just as confused as she was. If he had nothing else to say on the matter, neither did she. There was no point driving him into a corner of questions when they had a job to do. The fact he didn't know which town he was in wasn't going to change the fact that he was here to aid them in their little ghost problem.

“I guess that is my fault. I have been pretty busy. Running quests, training, and keeping up with my various studies. I guess I just lost track and got my missions mixed up. At least fighting spirits is better than fighting fish monsters.” Amir flustery stated.

The reasoning was the best he could explain. The young scholar did not want to seem incompetent and damage his reputation. He needed that to get the high paying quests. Amir did not want to go back to little baby quests like getting a cat out of the tree, it was often the same cat. Not even the magical talking exceed type. Not to mention that magic research and development was expensive.

“At least I made it here. A mission is a mission. This is still a chance to do well and help people. I just have to revise some mental plans. ”

Amir spoke and worked on adjusting his mental state. He wanted to make sure he had the best possible mood to engage in battle. If he focused too much on his blunder, who knew if the mage could even perform well. Amir needed to make up for his mistake with an excellent showing of capability. The library in his brain was switching out books on water based monsters to spectral type. If Amir could speculate and figure out what they were dealing with first, it would save them time and energy when fighting.

As the young male started to explain, clearly flustered by his mistake, the wood elf couldn't help but chuckle.  It seemed he had made a genuine error, how he had managed such, she wasn't entirely sure, but she wasn't about to blame him if he was simply feeling a little fatigued from overdoing it recently.

"It's fine. Like you said, you're here now and I can use the help. Don't fret too much." She'd give him a small pat on the shoulder in an attempt to cheer him up. While she hadn't made the exact same mistake as the young man herself, she had made plenty of others in the past. It was only after years of training that she'd even begun to feel somewhat competent on her own.

"If you do manage to think of anything that could help us along the way, let me know, I personally don't know too much about spirits. I had assumed the rumours might have been a hoax or something." The wind mage confessed with a small shrug as she stepped forward to step carefully towards the other side of the room where their path lay. Any information he could provide them with would be better than nothing in her opinion.

Peering down the hallway itself, she'd note it wasn't too different from the last, albeit a lack of stairs to travel down. She'd wait to see if Amir wished to take the lead again or not, not overly fussed either way.

The young man nodded in return to the wind mages suggestion. He did not think too much about his blunder, instead choosing to commit to it. He absent mindedly took the lead back in front of the party. He was not thinking about it when he did it, just a habit as he had done it before.

“Spirits are all around us usually. From the research I have done before they can be considered neutral in nature. They can range from orderly to chaotic, or even good and evil. The main influence on them is how they died, and their age. The more brutal the death with built in resentment the more evil they are usually. The older any spirit is, the more powerful they are. As a general rule. There are always exceptions to these rules. It is more of a general rule of thumb.”

Amir had disseminated a lot of information as they walked. He could tell that the general direction they were heading in for the catacombs was down. The air was getting a stale feel to it, in addition to a damp staleness. The air quality was getting worse and a chill touched his spine. Amir could feel that the presence they walked towards was not an exception. It was feeling particularly evil. Amir had to ignore his urge to say f this crap he out. He was not a scary cat but he valued his life. He only had the one compared to some magics that he had heard of.

Torches continued to light up and flicker as they strolled through the hallways, Amir relaying the information he knew about spirits as if reading straight out of an encyclopedia. A unique ability, that surprised the wind mage, he certainly was full of surprises. Holding her chin, she'd stare at the stone below their feet as they walked, processing the young man's words.

"So it's likely that the one the kind spirit mentioned before is being forced to remain due to a more powerful and violent one with a lot of resentment. In which case, there are a couple of different ways we could deal with them." She tapped her chin, "If perhaps we can speak to it, we could learn why they are resentful. In doing so, we'd learn what is tethering them to this realm and stopping them from passing on. Then, if it's within our power, we could help them so they can pass peacefully." she paused, knowing that was a lot of 'if's.

"But if that fails. We'd have to find a way to simply destroy their link to this world and forcefully send them on. Hmm..." She trailed off back to her thoughts. One was definitely a more peaceful solution, but there were so many variables. The other was more violent and if they failed would only enrage the spirit further. Neither were necessarily fantastic choices.

"Which do you think would be the best course of action?" The wood elf asked, seeking his opinion on the matter. It wasn't just her decision to make alone, he was a part of this as well.

The scholar did not have to think too hard about a solution to the situation. He had read some documents about dealing with evil spirits. The main consensus being to get rid of them as soon as humanly possible. Letting them marinate in their hatred and spite only led to even more negative outcomes.

“We try to take it out and lay it to rest as soon as possible. Give it a chance and it will not hesitate to take us out.”

This is what the scholar knew based on past data. The chances of something being this evil and kind, was as best of a chance as being comfortable with a cactus up the rectum, not an impossible occurrence just really unlikely.

The temperature of the catacombs was starting to drop as they went deeper. The torches did not provide any warmth to the trio, Amir could even start to see his breath. The sensation of danger was pounding on his chest more and more. He could feel the tension in his muscles as he hyper fixated on his surroundings. Amir was prepared to blast apart a bug that so much as skittered across the ground.

“I hope we can end this soon. Truthfully the suspense is killing me. We have not even found the master spirit in question.”

Amir did not have to complain. The complaint was to help him focus and ease the tension. He would still be weary of everything around him including the flickering shadows. The young mage needed to speak just to fill up some silence.

(262 | 758)

So focused on her goals of helping out the people of Oak and how to deal with an angry spirit. Kailani had managed to distract herself up until now, but as the duo continued to venture further down the hall, the sensation that the walls were closing in on her began to set in. Her anxiety peaked as her heart began to beat rapidly and her body started to sweat. It had been so long since she'd felt this level of fear. The fear that there was no escape. She had thought that she was over it, but alas it appeared that was not the case.

"Yes, same." She squeaked, barely managing to form even those two words to agree with the brunette. She found herself reaching out unconsciously to grip onto the back of his shirt. Her whole body trembled by this point, as she struggled to force her eyes to remain open as she fought off the instinctual need to close them. It was then that she heard it. An ear-piercing shriek, unlike anything she'd heard before. It sent another shudder down the wood elf's already shivering spine.

As they stepped forward a little more a burst of light would flash before them, illuminating the large open room in front of them. Larg coffins carved from stone lined the chamber's walls, spaced evenly down to the end where a spectral figure similar, yet different to the one they'd met before now stood.

This one was far larger in size and rather than a soft feeling of warmth, it emanated a chilling air. The room's sudden illumination instantly notified it of their presence as it turned and released another shrill scream from its core before rushing towards the duo, the air thick with its malicious intent. The wood elf's eyes widened in panic, as her overprotective sisterly instincts kicked in, fighting her grip on Amir's shirt and jerking him to the side in an attempt to toss him out of the creature's path.

Amir was not feeling brave. It was not helping that the other mage present was holding on to him tightly. He was more taunt than a rope used to hoist a piano. The tension in the air alone could be cut open with a knife and served on a plate. The air was getting so chilly that the humid underground moist air was even starting to make frost. It spoke as a testament of strength because going underground at some point was supposed to get hotter not colder.

The ear piercing shriek that split the air had Amir jump out of his skin. The thought of a banshee crossed his mind till he realized he was still alive. When the grim darkness became illuminated for them to see, his mind was still not happy.

“Coffins. Why must it be just regular coffins? A nice sarcophagus would have been better. I could at least pretend something else was going on.”

His nervousness started to make him babble as fear unrivaled his usually sharp thoughts. Amir was feeling cold, aimless, a bit tired, and a lot hungry. He could only blame himself for skipping breakfast on the last part. Amir was too busy reading a book in the early morning to bother with such an important meal.

A scream was all Amir could hear before two things happened. One Amir was easily pushed flying by the dainty elf. Her strength was enough to ram the scholar into the floor with a light tap, let alone some actual strength behind it under the guise of protection. The second thing was the magic that Amir had at the ready went off at the same time. The only issue with it is the lack of aim. When Amir had fired off the spell was the same time that he got sent flying. The wind was knocked out of the poor guy. It would take him at least a minute to recollect himself from the sudden blow that loosened some of the bones in his body.


(340 | 1,098)

As the howling spirit passed through Kailani she was quite literally chilled to the bone, the freezing air of the spectral beast leaving her shivering as if she had just jumped into an ice bath. At least she had saved Amir from the same fate, she glanced down at him, clearly a little winded from being tossed to the side.

"Oh s-s-s-sorry." The wood elf tried to apologise through chattering teeth. She was aware she'd grown stronger but compared to her usual combat allies, she was the weakest of the trio by far. To the point she'd forgotten just how easily she could toss someone as lightweight as the brunette. Now was not the time to dwell on it though, as the shrieking creature was attempting to come back around the room for a second attack.

Holding her hands out in front of herself, she'd face them up to the ceiling, the very close ceiling, she shook here head, trying to shake away the thoughts penetrating her mind due to her claustrophobia. Focusing back on her hands she'd summon forth the magical power that resided inside her body to her fingertips, siphoning in the air around her as she formed, sharp, claws of wind. Now to see just how effective they were against a spirit.

Leaping away from Amir, she'd position herself so that the spectre would have to choose one of the two to charge. Fortunately with the brunette on the ground, catching his breath she seemed like the bigger threat to the creature as it rushed her rather than her ally. Just before it could engulf her body in its own icy one once more, she'd swipe with her left hand, striking it directly in its center, causing it to howl as if in pain as it was thrown back due to the innate pressure of her wind magic.

With a click of her wind covered fingers and a flick of her wrist, another magic circle would form beneath her feet. An eruption of wind surged from her feet, like that of a raging storm, to propel her forward as she struck the creature once more, this time with her other set of claws. Knocking it away once more. Glancing over to Amir, the wood elf would check how he was going, hoping he'd picked himself up by now. Her claws only had a couple more swipes left in them before her offensive magic would fade.


Notes:
Cast Gixi (B-Rank) - 2 out of 4 strikes used.
Cast Qeelak (D-Rank) - 5m lunge/dash

Amir was not able to respond to the apology at the moment. He did not blame the elf as his body has always been weak. It was a condition that had not changed since he was a kid. His mom said it was because he was born too early. The consequences of that being why he was always reading at an early age, the habit that stuck with him throughout life.

“Nope. You are all good.” Amir managed to get the words out after the struggle. It was a shame his magic had missed. He had hoped he could have taken it out. A prolonged battle never really worked out for him. He had to be at least semi useful during the situation. From his vantage point on the ground Amir did math. He had time to run calculations as the ghost was not focused on him.

“Your weary bones require sleep. Let the night embrace you and grant your rest.” Amir uttered the spell and willed it to work.

A mana circle appeared on the ground in the designated area. He cast the spell in front of himself and aimed for a point in which the ghost would walk into. When Kailani had used her impressive magic to hurt it and knock it back. Amir had calculated the distance and used the gap to open the spell, allowing Kailani to be just outside the border of the spell. The spell ironically was able to affect the boneless ghost. It grew noticeably slower.

“It should be easier to hit now.” Amir gave advice from the ground. He was inside the boundary and was not adept at controlling his magic. It meant that he was moving slower than he would have liked at the moment. Amir made up his mind not to start training like crazy later. He was a bit ashamed to say that his abilities had been slipping.


(319 | 1,417)

"Nice!" the wood elf called, seeing his magic slow the creature, as she once more cast her own magic to lunge at the spectre. As she closed the distance with a whoosh of wind she struck it with a quick one, two, combo of claws before her magic's force blew it flying back again. Her magic dissipated from her fingers however the spectral being seemed to be acting quite sluggish. while she couldn't be sure, how close it was to being destroyed, she could only hope that its lethargy wasn't only Amir's magic but also its weakening soul.

Closing her eyes, she'd focus sending mana to her mouth, opening her jaw wide, revealing her elongated cuspids as she sucked in the air from around her, filling her jaws as a magic circle grew outwards. The wind she drew in slowly coated her face, creating a dragon-like mask. With a mighty roar, she'd release the jaws of the dragon, sending the mask of air flying towards the ghostly creature, its fangs crunching down on it causing both the mask and the spectre to both dissipate in an instant.

Breathing heavily from exerting so much energy in such a short amount of time, Kailani would glance around, the cold eery feeling disappearing. Still cool as one would expect the underground to be, but not to the point it chilled her to the bone.

"I think... we're done." She panted, slowly walking back towards the hallway they'd entered from. The only way to be certain was to check on Nimbus and the childish spirit they had left him with. Upon the duo returning to the first room, they'd discover the exceed all along, the spirit of the child able to pass on now nothing was tethering it to the physical realm.

Succeeding in their quest, Kailani would wish Amir well on his journey and hoped he'd make it safely to his next destination. Which she could only assume would be the Port.

The moment the spirit was slowed down the fight was pretty much over. Amir could notice a few details about the battle but they were not really important. The only thing of importance that Amir believed he noticed was the elongated teeth in the tiny girl. Based on how they looked Amir speculated her to be a vampire or a dragon slayer mage. He would not view her any less if she was either of those options.

The fight ended and it was time for them to head back out. Amir was ecstatic as he hated being in the catacombs. He could only hope he did not have to come back here anytime soon. There were plenty of other less terrifying places in Fiore he could explore. They could be just as deadly with only half the amount of creepy. As long as the mission was complete Amir would turn it in and make his way back to Astera.

[Exit]

(159 | 1,576)