"So, our destination lies somewhere in the outskirts of the Haunted Glade." I say and point at the rough location where it should be.

"Alright. I'll lead the way." He says, and I nod in agreement as I roll the map before I think for a moment.

"I should get a weapon with me." I say and look at him as he just sighs and suddenly starts dragging me somewhere. He lets go of me after we arrive in a store with clothes.

"I wanted a weapon... not clothes." He just looks at me and allows the lady to get my measurements as I awkwardly stand there. 

After everything is done, I notice Merle whispering something to the lady, and I raise an eyebrow a bit. Then, I receive clothes made exactly for me. That was quick...

I thank the lady and go try thek out. It's a black, sleeveless turtleneck top and dark brown trousers. I put them on and then notice another piece of clothes. 

I take it and realise that it's a set of archer sleeve gloves. It's made specifically for a left-handed person... so he noticed. I slip them on and notice how perfectly they fit. It's not a bad outfit, although I don't think that it's practical for fighting... why would I fight in the first place, though? 

I take my old clothes and walk towards the lady and Merle. "It fits very well. But could I please buy a belt and a pouch?" The map and mirror won't magically fly around by themselves after all.

"Of course! Please choose whichever you like." The lady nods with a clear business smile and shows me the variety of the belts and pouches that they sell here. 

I choose carefully a belt with a pouch and try it on with the new outfit. It falls into place perfectly. I nod to myself as I realise that I have only 3 silver and 15 bronze Rousk on me.

"Uh... how much is this, Miss?" I ask politely, hoping that it's within my limit. She only smiles and chuckles. "It's free, sir. It's a gift from the Village Elder herself. This young man just informed me that you're getting dispatched on a mission assigned by the Village Elder."

That's surprising. I didn't think that Ellirith would keep her promise to support me during my search. But how the heck did she get my measurement? I'm pretty sure that they had them even before the lady took them earlier.

"Thank you, Miss..." I say and bow my head slightly in gratitude as I then look at Merle and nod at him as well. He seems to understand, and he says goodbye to the lady. We exit the store, and I feel a bit awkward in the new outfit, although it's quite comfortable to wear as it fits perfectly.

Merle then drags me to another store, an armoury where I get a bow, a quiver full of arrows, and straps with a sheath attached to them and put on my thigh, sheathing a dagger made for close combat and self-defence.

I put the mirror and map into my pouch and leave the clothes at the armoury, entrusting them to the smith who seems to be an acquaintance of Merle.

Finally, we make our way out of the village with Merle leading the way while I follow him. It was a good choice to take him with me.

It takes almost 2 days to travel to the Haunted Glade itself. During those 2 days, I learnt shooting at real, moving targets, and slept outside for the first time.

Now, finally. We're here. Hewie flies around and sits down on something oddly shaped... A chill runs down my spine once I see what it is.

I look at what she's sitting on, and I feel chills run down my spine. A grave... Hewie is sitting on a grave.

I look around the clearing, now realising why it's called 'Haunted Glade'. There are graves all around with unreadable Elaris letters.

Rusty, old, and even broken swords buried in the ground near each grave. The earth is damp... the flowers all around are wilted and look almost black.

I glance at Merle before I feel an odd and chilling aura from somewhere. Suddenly, I hear Hewie shouting at me with a hint of urgency in her voice.

"Alaire! Protect yourself!" But before I can even reach for my dagger, I see shadows flying towards me, swarming me, making me realise that they're spirits.

They're dark, and their faces look creepy, a bit distorted even. They seem to be crying and weeping, bloody tears running down their angered, almost saddened faces.

Defeaning screams and cries of the vengeful spirits overwhelm me, making me stand there completely still.

Merle attacks them whilst I remain stunned, but his attacks don't do any damage at all. My body moves by itself, but I trip over a lump of dirt that's covered in dark green grass.

"Alaire! Snap out of it!" Merle yells at me, but it takes me a moment to collect myself, and my eyes widen a bit. I stand up, and I get an eerie feeling. I unsheath my dagger and attack the spirits to help Merle, but it doesn't do anything.

The spirits are slowly getting to me... My mentality is breaking apart slowly. I stumble slightly, closing my eyes in pain. My head feels like it's about to burst!

My eyes snap wide open, my pupils contracting when I suddenly experience an unfamiliar sensation running through my body.

Black and light lightning fills the whole Haunted Glade, destroying and killing off the vengeful spirits who cry and screech loudly, disappearing into thin air.

I see only darkness around me. My body hurts, and I feel like my heart is about to burst in my chest.

Hewie flaps her wings, flying around as she suddenly glows a bit, doing something as I feel calmer... 'I hope he feels better... I still can't use my powers fully, so one soul fragment should be enough.' Hewie thinks, looking over me from the air.

Merle gets hit by the sudden lightning, getting stunned and unable to move. He simply observes everything, his eyes wide open.

I faint and hit the ground once the magic in the whole area calms and settles down, only sparks flickering around. The whole Haunted Glade is now calm and completely silent. Not a single sound can be heard.

Once he's able to move, Merle rushes over to me, but the remaining sparks of the magic lightning hit him.

He quickly thinks of a way to wake me up, looking around. He rushes over to the nearby stream and uses his wind powers to snatch leaves and form a makeshift leaf bowl, filling it with water.

Then he runs back to me and splashes me with the water, but it only turns into mist and dissipates.

Every other method he uses to try and wake me up doesn't work. The magic sparks refrain anything from interfering with my unconscious self. 

I remain unmoving on the ground, lying there as Hewie sits down on the ground nearby, and Merle picks my dagger up from the muddy earth and holds it, waiting for me to stir a bit. To show at least a little sign of life...