Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Kalivas and Kalliope stood side by side watching the group leave. She was uneasy about letting them leave without an escort, but her uncle had seemed to think it was okay. Something else unsettled her and that was the strange behavior from Mia.

"I would not worry too much about them." Kalivas said after almost fifteen minutes of silence.

"Why is that, Uncle?"

"Things will just simply work out. However, I do want you to do me a favor."

"Anything."

"In about an hour, start tracking them. Do not get within range of Lucius' senses. Simply follow them."

Kalliope looked to the man beside her. His eyes were locked on the horizon with a critical gaze. She could tell he was thinking about something, but whatever it was, was beyond her.

Nevertheless, she agreed to his request and fetched her two men. About an hour later, they prepared to leave the fortress. She was stopped once again by Kalivas and handed a communication crystal. Kalliope tucked into place over her ear and gave a slight bow before they left.

It was difficult to follow their tracks, but according to Uncle, they were heading to the valley near where they last fought. She knew where that was, so if the information was correct then they would be rather easy to find.

However, they needed to also stay out of range of the boy's senses, so they would be unable to get within visual distance of them. The best they could do is come within sight of the valley and its cliffs and wait for something untoward to occur.

They waited for what felt like hours, but was really only a fifteen to twenty minutes. It felt like they were wasting their time. Truth be told, that would be for the best.

When she thought about it, Kalivas and Mia both were acting strange. Did they both know something she didn't? If so, what would it have been? Was it relating to Lucius? To the reinforcements? Something changed this morning, but there was no clear reason why.

At that moment there was an explosion of mana.

"Lucius!"

Without thinking too deeply about what was happening, Kalliope rushed toward the cliffs as fast as she could. Both soldiers on her team yelped at her sudden movement and tried to shout after her. They attempted to follow but their speed simply could not keep up.

As she approached the cliffs, the mana became denser and stronger. Sounds of battle echoed through the valley below. Flashes of lightning and explosions of mana from Arts colored the horizon.

Whatever was happening was too much for Lucius. Something told her that he was in a lot of danger. Kalliope just knew she had to get to him and fast.

"I have to get to him. This feels wrong, everything feels wrong. Mia… What did you do?"

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While scouting ahead, Mia made her way to the location of the dead drop. There was a rock set between two, Y-shaped cacti. Underneath it were two gray colored crystals. Along with them were instructions.

They informed her that these small crystals were partially charged with mana, and when fully charged would let out an explosion equivalent to a Master Rank fire spell. Mia carefully placed them under her armor and made sure to consciously remind herself to not use any mana abilities while they were there.

The last thing she wanted to do was set them off before they were ready, let alone while they were on her person. Shuddering at the thought, she swiftly returned to the group.

Lucius had his nose in the air and seemed to be sniffing something. He looked slightly confused, but did not say anything.

"Everything alright?" Mia asked, ensuring she had a measured tone.

Many times she had gone on assassination and espionage missions. Never before had she felt as nervous as she did now, but she put as much energy as she could into calming her heart and steadying her voice.

"Hm. I thought I picked up on something odd, but it's fine. It's gone now. Though, we should be careful." The boy finally answered after walking around and sniffing the air in various places.

"Sure, let's move. Renton, Marie, keep an eye out for whatever it is that has Lucius on edge." Mia ordered.

She felt bad, but she kept them in the dark. No doubt they would judge her for what was going to happen, but this was for them. Hopefully they would understand, but if not, then at least they would be alive and that was enough for her.

The group carefully made their way to the top of the valley and waited at the edge of a large cliff overlooking the bottom of it. The cliff itself was bereft of any sand due to its height and angle allowing the wind to blow sand away from the surface.

Lucius stood several feet away from the edge and continued to sniff the air. "Hey," he said. "I think our new members are here… but I think I recognize this scent…"

Mia did her best to calm her heart. It felt like it would pound out of her chest and she was worried that Lucius would hear it. If he did, then he would know something was up. However, his statement of recognizing the scent of the assassins shocked her away from those thoughts.

"Hey Mia, Lucius. Long time no see!" A familiar voice called out to her, surprising her even more.

Three people stood shoulder to shoulder. A human man with a bow, an elven warrior with a sword and shield, and a woman with a greatsword strapped to her back were all approaching them.

"Jen? Paul and Lethen too? You guys are our reinforcements?" Lucius said with genuine surprise.

Mia understood why he was taken aback. She was too, though she was expecting an elven woman with dark hair. Not Jen. Were the assassins delayed? Did they change their plans because Lucius' old allies showed up?

What was going on?