The fog slithered between the trees like a rotten breath, weaving shadows that twisted beneath a gray sky threatening to crack open. The Sylvan Bastion loomed in the distance, its living trunks pulsing with glowing sap, green torches hissing like snakes in the mist. Eryn crouched behind a gnarled oak, the crumpled leaf in her hand—marked with the blue streak of the Partial Map—trembling as if it smelled blood. Melisa hunkered beside her, spear still but humming in her fingers like an eager hound. Astrid and the two new Templars, silver armor glinting faintly in the dim light, formed a silent line behind, their breaths barely a whisper in the fog.
Eryn raised a fist, and the group froze. Her gray eyes sliced through the haze, spotting an elven patrol: five lanky figures, tattered cloaks and rusted spears, stumbling over broken leaves with clumsy steps. With two fingers, she pointed to the ground: my steps or death. Melisa shot back a mischievous wink, twirling her spear in a silent arc.
There was no warning. Astrid lunged like a thunderbolt, her spear slicing the air and burying itself in an elf's chest with a wet crunch; the body dropped soundlessly, swallowed by the mist. A new Templar spun toward another, her hand twisting its neck with a sharp snap that faded into the silence. Melisa leaped, her dagger whistling like a wraith and sinking into a third's throat; the elf gurgled, collapsing with wide eyes. The second newbie severed a tendon and finished with a slash to the heart, dark blood splattering the mud without a betraying sound. Eryn crouched low, rifling through the remains until she found a pale crystal pulsing like a tiny heart. She pocketed it with a swift motion: fifty Sacred Crystals.
"Too easy," Melisa whispered, wiping her dagger with a grimace. "I want something that screams before it drops."
Eryn glanced at her, eyebrow raised. "Ask for that when Ardyn sends something with brains." She activated the comm crystal, her voice a cutting thread. "Eastern patrol, wiped. Moving to the bastion."
"Perfect," Renn growled from the other end, his hoarse laugh slicing through the static. "Make it hurt."
The group slipped through the trees, edged shadows moving as one heartbeat. The Sylvan Bastion came into sharper view: walls of living trunks, tall as three men, sap glowing like exposed veins. Automated watchtowers—at least six—swiveled with crystal eyes flashing red, scanning for heat in the fog. Eryn took cover behind a trunk, the blue streak on the leaf tracing paths like open veins. "Unprotected flanks," she murmured, pointing with a finger. "That's where we cut."
Astrid sniffed the air, spear ready. "Smells like nervous prey. We going?"
Eryn nodded, curving her hand: four, now. The attack was a silent lightning strike. Melisa spun her spear in a golden arc, beheading a kobold with a whistle the fog devoured. Astrid charged another, impaling it against a tree with a dull crunch, wood splintering under the weight. The newbies moved in tandem: one slashed an elf's legs with a clean cut, the other drove her spear into its chest before it hit the ground. The bodies crumpled, and a blue flash sparked from the streak on Eryn's leaf, fleeting runes marking the mud. The remains dissolved into ash, swallowed by the earth like an erased secret.
Melisa frowned, dagger in hand. "What the hell was that? Did the map suck them up?"
Eryn pocketed another crystal, her voice a surprised thread. "It does more than guide. One hundred fifty more." She looked at Astrid, firm. "Pull back. We've got their attention."
In the sanctuary, the amber crystal hummed like a restless heart, its golden light licking the marble walls. Renn stood before the altar, cold biting his fingertips as he drummed the stone. Seraphina was at his side, her white robe glowing under the light, her hand brushing his arm with a chill that sank deep. Eryn burst in with the Templars, her crimson cape flowing like liquid blood, her spear striking the floor with a dry echo.
"Bastion located," she said, unfurling the leaf with the blue streak. "Outer patrols are easy meat. Seventy down already, and the flanks are begging for more blood."
Renn leaned in, eyebrow raised. "Seventy? Not bad. How close are we to cracking it?"
Eryn pointed at the sketch, her voice sharp as granite. "Living trunk walls, automated towers with crystal eyes. Inside's a hornet's nest, but outside they're blind. The paths are their grave."
Seraphina cut the air with her icy tone. "Ardyn won't come. His pride is his troops. Keep slicing till he's got nothing left."
Lilith, perched on a bench, wove shadows between her fingers—a wolf that unraveled into wisps—and snorted. "How about we make it fun? My illusions could drive them mad before you skewer them."
Renn clapped her back, making her stagger. "Easy, Seraphin. I like the quiet and deadly. Eryn's in charge for now."
Melisa laughed, spear on her shoulder. "Long as I get to stab something. This edge is starving."
Valka stepped forward, her white armor creaking faintly. "The western river's ours. Narrow stretch, rocks, and rough current. Trap them there, and the water does the rest."
Renn turned to her, intrigued. "How do we set it up? I don't want them swimming and laughing."
She smiled, ice-blue eyes flashing. "Rocks to pen them in, nets underwater to tangle them. They drown before they scream."
Nyra cut in, warm but sharp. "And traps on the paths. Sharpened branches, spike pits. If they flee the river, they fall dead."
"That's my style," Renn said, slapping the altar with his palm. "Eryn, to the forest tonight. Valka, the river's yours. Nyra, the traps. Let Ardyn wake up with less every day."
Lilith stood, wings buzzing. "I'll help with the traps, Nyra? I want to see them trip screaming my name."
Nyra eyed her, sizing her up. "If you shut up for once, sure."
"I'll try," Lilith said, winking with a thin smile.
That night, the forest was a shroud of fog and silence. Eryn led Selene, Thalia, and a new Templar down a path flanked by bare trees. An elven caravan approached, lanterns flickering like dying eyes. Selene drew her bow from the shadows, her arrow whispering through an elf's throat; he fell mute, lantern snuffing out in the mud. Thalia charged the flank, her spear crushing a chest with a dull crack the wind swallowed. The new Templar slipped behind a kobold, slicing its tendon and finishing with a heart-slash, swift and echoless.
Eryn activated the crystal, voice low and cold. "Seven down. Not a breath."
"Perfect," Renn replied, satisfied. "Keep cutting."
Selene wiped her bow, muttering, "I want something that fights, not folds so fast."
Thalia kicked a body, chuckling low. "Patience. This is just the appetizer."
In the distance, the river roared like a hungry beast. Valka emerged from the water, her white armor dripping like melting ice, nets taut beneath the current. An elven patrol—ten figures—crossed the narrow stretch, boots slipping on rocks. She raised a hand, and Templars hidden along the banks shoved stones that rolled with a muffled rumble, boxing them in. The nets rose, snaring legs and weapons; the elves toppled into the water, screams choked by the current dragging them like broken dolls.
Valka spoke into the crystal, voice calm as a frozen lake. "Ten under. The river sings red."
In the Sylvan Bastion, the hall reeked of resin and fury. Ardyn slumped in his branch-throne, fingers twitching on the gnarled armrest. Darion leaned over a splintered map, while Kael paced, armor clanking with each furious step.
"Another caravan gone," Darion said, dry. "No tracks, just blood."
Kael slammed a trunk, the echo ringing. "A thousand troops, Ardyn! Crush them now!"
Ardyn silenced him with an icy glare. "And lose it all in a blind swing? I don't play that way, Kael. Sit or patrol alone." He crushed a dry leaf, green dust falling like ash. "Darion, set a deal. Crystals for peace. They pay or keep bleeding."
Darion dipped his head, a sly smile curling. "Ready by dawn, my lord."
A panting elf burst in, cloak muddied. "Southern patrol, slaughtered! Just broken arrows."
Ardyn straightened, eyes narrowing. "Then they've already chosen."
Back at the sanctuary, night cloaked the air, the amber crystal humming softly. Renn lounged on a bench, Lilith tracing invisible runes beside him. Eryn and Seraphina spoke nearby, voices sharp, while Nyra and Valka marked a map with pebbles.
"Seventy kills weigh heavy," Eryn said, spear on her shoulder. "The flanks are our blade."
Seraphina gave a faint smile, golden eyes cold. "Ardyn will break. Every death drags him down."
Melisa strode in, sack clinking with 100 Sacred Crystals. "Scored a decent dagger," she said, raising it with a grin. "And an elf who squealed before shutting up."
Renn drummed his knee, thoughtful. "If he offers anything, let it be crystals, not words. Otherwise, we keep chopping his legs."
Lilith rested her chin on his shoulder, wings brushing him. "It's gonna be a treat watching him unravel, huh?"
"Damn right," Renn growled, closing his eyes with a crooked smile. "Let him shake."
The bracer buzzed, a blue hologram flaring. [System: Resources updated: 157,450 Sacred Crystals, 0 Epic Materials.]