Natavali’s apprentices turned out to be quite the little magic trackers, moving like hounds on a scent once Nenaat’s spell had locked onto the area where the natural order and energy of the forest were disturbed. Thin tendrils of blue, magical light threaded through the trees in front of them, guiding them along the path of least resistance towards their new waypoint.

            The quick pace seemed to come easily to the black-clad mages, each of them weaving through the foliage with speed and grace, and for the most part, Kevza had no issues keeping up. Endurance training had been a common time kept in his daily routine since he was a child.

            The rest of his team, however, weren’t used to such an extreme demand. They had their own training, of course, but they lacked the intensity the Coven instilled so mages would have the strength to fight and harness their magic at the same time.

            Noa and Nidi, in particular, were huffing and puffing, sweat dripping down their temples by the time the lines of blue magic whirled to a stop and flurried out of existence, back to the void from whence they had come.

            “Oh my gods,” Nidi wheezed, wiping his face with his sleeve. “They’re fast…”

            “Practical lesson number one,” Kevza said, slightly out of breath himself as he passed by, clapping the boy on the shoulder. “Never skip cardio.”

            “I’ll remember it,” the other twin gasped, arching back towards the sky as he panted. “Stars…”

            Nenaat’s skill was truly great, he couldn’t help but think about it as he took in the area they’d arrived at. The thick, young trees were scattered, trunks snapped in sharp, jagged lines throughout the brush, with three large cart-style shipping wagons broken down into terrible condition along the path, their wares spread about with no rhyme or reason. Clearly, the cause of this chaos had no care for the goods the unfortunate travelers had been transporting, going so far as to leave one batch of goods half soaked in the water nearby.

            “Search for residuals,” Natavali instructed, his little group of Magi fanning out to search around the broken carts and shattered trees. “The traces should lead us on.”

            “Your friend never takes a break, does he?” Danae muttered, pulling out a scrying stone to help in the search.

            “Natavali is nothing if not dedicated,” Kevza said quietly with an awkward chuckle, a splash of green magic sweeping through the wreckage as he searched for signs of carnage or disturbance in the weave of the Meridian around them. The light swirled together over his hand, coalescing into a small orb,

            “Well?” came the question, drawing the alchemists’ attention back to where the four other magic users stood, watching. There was a strange glint in Natavali’s eye, but Kevza was quick to dismiss it.

            “Four… and six,” Kevza answered, counting the small markings that appeared on the face of the magic orb.

            “Four and six?” Noa questioned.

            “It’s a common tracer spell,” Nenaat explained, beating Kevza to the punch. “So we know how many people to look for.”

            “So we’re looking for ten people,” he nodded, looking around at the mess of broken wood and overturned carts. “Makes sense with how big these are.”

            “I’m afraid that’s not quite how the spell works,” Natavali spoke up. “The first component is to evaluate the health state of a person.”

            “…oh,” the young man said, realization dawning in his eyes, even as the Magus turned away to direct his students in their own magic executions. “So some of them are…?” He trailed off with a sad look.

            “They’re over here,” Xavi called from the other side of the wreckage, partially hidden behind a grouping of glowing ferns on the bank of the small gurgling creek. “Good news is it looks like it was over quick.”

            “Master, I would like to see if they can tell us about what happened,” Baru said, turning to the Magus for approval. Natavali acquiesced, waving the young man towards the medical officer.

            “Wait…” Kevza thought, even as a dark, foreboding-looking purple fog began to swirl around the area, and an unnatural stillness came over them as they subconsciously bunched together behind the young man. “He couldn’t mean…” But he didn’t get a chance to finish the thought as the fog took shape and confirmed his suspicions.

            Death magic…

            “I didn’t expect this,” Kevza confessed quietly, watching Baru wave his hands over the bodies, a sliver of his magic pulling forth one of the four spirits. As it took shape, the air grew even more melancholy. The man didn’t look like he could be older than twenty, even with the ravages of death obscuring the edges of his soul.

            “His whole family has at least a small affinity for necromancy,” Kata whispered next to him, a small smile on her lips, seemingly unperturbed by the scene in front of them. “They say he’s the best they’ve had in the last six generations.”

            “Offer peace in the presence of the dead, Kata,” Natavali scolded quietly, the girl giving a quiet sound of embarrassment before falling silent.

            To speak with the spirits of the dead was a delicate affair and a rare gift. In good taste, it was only done when needed, and only when a spirit was willing, often to say their final goodbye and let any vital last wills be known. There were those, of course, who tried to force the dead into subjugation, (or vice versa), but to those who pursued such a path, there was no end but their just retribution. And as he watched, Kevza couldn’t help but feel that the young Magi was being extremely respectful of the power he held at such a tender age. If this was his strength in his teenage years as a junior, what might he grow to become once he became a Magus with some hard-earned experience?

            At the level Baru had called, only the summoner could hear the words of the spirits, so the rest of them were left to watch as the dead man gestured and gave his piece without voice. After several silent minutes of eternity passed, Baru lowered his hands, at last, and the spell faded away, the spirit returned to its sudden rest.

            The young man swayed for a moment, Natavali taking several steps forward to steady him on his feet.

            “I’m sorry, Master,” the boy said quietly, looking pale. “I wanted to hear all of what he had to say but… I should have let go sooner. The veil is so strong here...”

            “Sit and rest a moment,” Natavali ordered, helping the boy to the ground. “You have done his soul a great service.” The boy looked like he might keel over as his teacher continued. “I am proud of you.”

            “…Thank you, Master.” The pallor of his skin couldn’t hide the pleased flush that colored his cheeks at the praise.

            With the youth needing at least a few minutes to recover, Kevza set about busying himself with removing a few planks from the broken carts, setting them together as neatly as he could before gesturing to Xavi. With his help, they gently moved each of the bodies away from the cloying edges of the flora and to a clear spot nearer to the path, laying them out respectably.

            “Did you get their names?” Xavi asked quietly once the task was done and a protective ward was laid around them. “We’ll need to tell their families.”

            “They had no other family except the ones they were with. Everyone they cared about was in the caravan.”

            “Did they know what attacked them?” Danae asked softly.

            Baru shook his head. “No. He said that by the time they realized there was danger, they were already dead, and the others ran away. I couldn’t get the other three to answer me either. All he knew was that it was large and fast.”

            “Which is still something that can help us,” Kevza said with a small nod. “We’ve helped them as much as we can. Let’s look for the others and get them to safety. Then we can come back for the bodies and light candles for them at the altar stone back in town.”

            “Kevza’s right,” Danae said softly, shifting the blade on her belt. “We’re losing what little daylight we have down here, and I’m not wanting to hike back with any injuries in the true dark.”

            Kevza threw out his hand again, the green ball scattering over the debris and weaving through the air as he tweaked the searching parameters of his spell, feeling along until the magic settled.

            “That way,” he said, gesturing to where the green magic had formed a whisp of a line, drawing out to the northeast, towards the meditation springs that Guild Master Fairgreene had been so concerned over.

            “Let’s be off then.”

***