Eryth and his crew members bolted in the direction they had a scream from. The latter rushed ahead of his crew leaving them behind while using the trees around to his to move in faster.
He got to the end of a cliff with an opening at the bottom where he caught sight of a group of men wearing blue cloaks that covered their entire body from head to toe, dragging some individuals, children among, into a carriage.
The dark brown-haired man furrowed and launched himself from the top of the cliff. He landed and rolled on the ground, stabbing his dagger into the back of one of the men immediately after he regained his balance.
"Quick! We've got company!" The men yelled out a battle cry and each pulled out a dagger. They began chanting words while surrounding the dark brown-haired man. But their chants were overlapped by screams as Blutox, and Danila struck down some of the men.
"Fall back, retreat!" One of the men ordered while taking steps backwards.
Eryth raced after him and slit his throat open before he could escape. He extended his hands at another and shot him down with a fireball from the rune marking around his hand.
The dark brown-haired man moved towards the carriage and pulled it open for the captives to exit disappearing into the woods.
Just then, Syrie arrived at the scene while wiping a stain of blood from her face. "You guys are fast," she said as she scanned the scene.
She turned to watch as Eryth brought out books among other things from the carriage. "What is it?" Blutox asked.
Eryth shrugged. "I have no idea… it's a book about the Chaos gods." He flipped through the pages before tossing it back into the carriage.
"Who are this people?"
"The cult of Kagurath," a voice said from behind.
The four turned to see an elderly man in a grey robe holding a long staff which he used to support himself. He had long white hair that poured down to the peak of his back with wrinkles and freckles sprinkled on his face.
"Be calm… I am friendly," he announced.
Blutox hesitated before dropping his hand which was already gripping the handle of his sword.
"My name is Ashraf, I am a Priest of Drayat, the Guardian of the Forest."
"Ashraf," Eryth mutter. "Do you know who these guys are?"
The man nodded. "I do, for many years I've watched members of the Cult of Kagurath kill others in this forest, an action they deem part of their way to salvation."
"What do they want?" Syrie queried.
"The Cult of Kagurath desire the awakening of the One Below All, Kagurath, the Chaos god," he revealed.
"They used to only kill because they believe the dead souls will transcend onto the goddess of the Dead, Rapulnu and with that she will be able to revive what they believe in…" he continued. "Things haven't been working out well so now they kidnap people to use them as sacrifice to summon beings from other realms that'll perform the killings, instead a few people, this beings will be able to do mass killing."
"How do you know all this?" Eryth asked.
"I live and reside in the forest, and the cultists usually speak of their plan in this woods or their hideout… I have witnessed it all."
"Then why didn't you stop it?" The dark brown-haired man inched closer to the priest. "You heard them saying out their plans… you saw them making their moves, you've seen them murdering innocent lives, why didn't you stop them?"
"I took an oath… I am a priest of the Protector of the Forest, I only interfere if it has to do with the safety and well-being of this Forest," he continued. "As long as the forest is not harmed, priests of the forest do not interfere with worldly affairs."
The dark brown-haired man scoffed. "Then why now?"
"Because if they are left be, the beings they summon will cause disaster for the Forest I took an oath to protect."
[Don't, Eryth… do not. That is the way of a Forest Priest.]
The dark brown-haired man sighed. "Fine… could you show us where their hideout is?" Eryth asked.
The man nodded. "Indeed… follow me."
The priest led them through the forest, past lakes, through a lot more trees and finally to the end of the forest. He pointed to a mountain across from where they were before turning his heels and starting away. "Good luck."
Eryth looked back at the man as he disappeared into the forest before turning to the mountain. "We need to stop this cultist before they summon whatever it is they intend to."
"Great, more detours," Blutox stated.
Eryth sighed. "I know… I know… but after this, I promise we'll head straight to where you want us to, no more detours."
"Fine, let's kill some cultist."
The four took some tactical position while taking in the situation on the other side of the mountain. The cave entrance was guarded by two members of the Cult of Kagurath.
"What do we do now?" Syrie queried.
Eryth put his hand up, signalling for her to wait as he looked around the place carefully. He watched as two other members dragged a few bodies into the cave.
He smiled and turned to the others. "So, who wants to be a member of the Cult of Kagurath?"
"Are you planning on disguising yourself as one of them?" Syrie questioned.
"Uh-huh… I can already see myself in there."
Blutox furrowed. "What if we just attack them straight on."
The dark brown-haired man shook his head no. "Starting the fight from the outside will give the inside a heads up, but if we start from the inside, it'll be a surprise attack."
"And how do you plan to pass those guards without fighting?"
"Well, right now all I'm thinking is us going in as members of the group, and then we unleash hell once we are in."
The other three all nodded in agreement before Eryth clasped his hands together.
They all sat around the Dark mage, staying in range of the round rune marking that appeared on the ground below them. It only took a few seconds before Eryth and Syrie's bodies suddenly got engulfed in the robes the members of the Cult of Kagurath had on, while Danila and Blutox's clothes changed torn and injuries appeared around their bodies.
"What is this?" Syrie queried
"Illusion… it should stay active as long as you guys remain in my range."
"Why am I a victim?"
Eryth smiled. "We all have a role to play, now move…"
A few moments later, the crew moved through the trees and climbed up the mountain until they reached closer to the men guarding the entrance.
"For Glory," one of the men mumbled.
The dark brown-haired man hesitated for a moment before repeating. "For Glory."
Just as they were about to enter the cave, the man called back. "Wait."
Blutox's hand reached for his sword in his belt which had been made invisible by Eryth's act.
"You must have been away for a while," he said, inching closer to the dark brown haired man. "It's now for Glory, for salvation."
Eryth threw his head back and laughed. "This cursed world has blinded me… my… it's good to be back. For Salvation."
The man smiled before ushering them in. As they entered the cave, a different group took Danila and Blutox away while Eryth and the Lamia were led through a different location.
'Tell me if anything happens'
[Got it]
"When do we get to meet the master?" Eryth queried.
"What?" The man's voice came up with a sign of anger before it was shadowed with calmness. "Oh… we are actually having a meeting right now at the grand hall, it is where we are headed."
"I see."
The dark brown-haired man leaned in and whispered into Syrie's ear. "I'm gonna sneak away and leave an image of myself here," he revealed.
"It'll move however you want it to." Without waiting for a reply, the Dark Mage disappeared into a thin passageway.
....
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