"Good evening, dearies," the demonic cat meows with a Cheshire smile.

"That's unsettling," Alex remarks, stepping back.

Marcus, Shadow, and Stella step forward to shield Alex from the men in black robes, aware that they are ready for a fight. However, Alex feels frightened by the dark energy emanating from them, leaving him unprepared.

"Well, my dears, shall we have a pleasant conversation?" the wicked cat asks, advancing alongside its master.

"I believe not," Marcus responds, extending his arm.

Shadows slither across Marcus's outstretched arm as he opens his mouth, conjuring an ominous purple magic circle. As he hears Shadow emit a sinister hiss, a peculiar purple mist bursts forth from his mouth, engulfing the surrounding space. At the same time, Alex listens to the tormented coughs emanating from within it.

"There's just nothing quite like a poison from a Phantom Viper," Shadow says with a sly smile.

"Then it's my turn," Stella adds.

Once Stella rears up on her hind legs, a spell circle forms beneath her, and her horn radiates with a starlit glow. Letting out a powerful *Niegh*, Stella pounds her front hooves down, causing shooting stars to rain from the sky, striking the robed figures and the cat.

"Did we obtain them?" Shadow inquires carefully.

"Don't jinx it like that!" Alex gasps in shock, aware of what happens to those who say that...

Amid the smoke from Alex and Marcus's familiars, a colossal serpent materializes, formed of stone and jagged metal. At the same time, a spectral horse takes shape, its streamlined body evoking a sense of impending doom, with a mane and tail undulating ominously, infused with decay magic.

Alex was correct; unfortunate events occur when someone "jinxes" it. Together with their familiars, Shadow and Stella, Marcus and Alex must confront three hooded figures and their own three familiars.

"What do you want from us?" Marcus asks, worried about their answer.

"Oh, not much! It's just purrrfectly simple," the cat replies, flashing his charming Cheshire smile.

"All we want is you," the cat adds, directing his tail straight at Alex.

"OVER MY DEAD BODY!" Stella exclaims angrily, her horn glowing.

"With pleasure, deary," the cat grins with a Cheshire smile.

The dark figures start casting fire magic, and Alex observes flames erupting in front of them while a giant snake slithers toward him and his friends. As the dark figures unleash their magic, it sweeps over Alex and strikes Crystalcliff. He hears the citizens screaming in panic as they prepare to cast their magic again.

Just as the giant snake prepares to strike Stella, Alex suddenly notices the moonlight intensifying. Everyone turns to look up as the three moons of Etheria shine brightly, casting a beam of moonlight that hits the giant rock snake. They hear its cries of agony as it vaporizes before their eyes.

"It equalizes the opportunities, but I think we should also relish a slight edge," a voice calls out from behind Alex.

Alex tries to turn around, wondering who just spoke, and sees a familiar face emerge into the moonlight.

"T'ae!" Alex exclaims, smiling.

One of the shadowy figures began to tremble, while the others and their companions stared at him, watching as he tried to back away in fear upon seeing T'ae.

"We need to run. Why is he here, of all places, the Druid of the East, Lord T'ae Glorypetal?" one of the shadowy figures says, his voice trembling with fear.

"I'm so happy to see that my reputation has made an impact!" T'ae beams with a bright smile, clearly proud of the recognition.

T'ae twirled his staff and struck it down before him, causing a green, nature-based spell circle to emerge beneath him, expanding as it did. It entered the Crystalcliff, and Alex wondered about the spell T'ae intended to cast.

"Allow Nature to guard her children while defeating your foe with a mighty blow; let each step tremble the earth and extinguish fire, Ent Guardians!" T'ae invoked his magic.

Trees begin to erupt from the ground inside the spell circle, their groans audible as they shift. Alex is astonished to witness T'ae summoning Tree Ents- monsters made from tree trunks. Some of these creatures in Crystalcliff come to the rescue, while those surrounding Alex confront the dark figures.

Alex observes as the Ents engage the enemy directly while the three dark figures respond with fire magic. Meanwhile, the two remaining familiars rush toward Alex.

A Magic Circle materializes before Marcus, revealing a serpent-inspired design and an eerie purple color. Alex observes as Marcus prepares to cast a spell.

"Shadow Mind," Marcus chants.

As shadows rose from his spell circle, the dark figures writhed erratically, as if they were blind. Alex looked at Marcus, understanding that it was his trick; he must have summoned an illusion spell, as Alex had been readying himself for this type of magic before coming to Crystalcliff today.

Alex observes Marcus, T'ae, Shadow, Stella, and the Ents battling to protect him. Disturbed by this, he retrieved his wand from the holster and cast the same spell he had cast before.

"Draconic Scales!" Alex exclaims as he casts his spell.

Everyone begins to counterattack. Alex and his friends are surrounded by a protective barrier of scales, summoning their spells with spell circles appearing ahead of them.

"Shadow's Lightning!" Marcus recites his incantation.

"Viper's Mist Venom," Shadow whispers as he casts his incantation.

"Nature's Furry," T'ae intones his incantation.

"Cosmic Missale," Stella recites her incantation.

"Draconic Arrow," Alex recites his spell.

***

Each of the five spells hits the enemies directly, making the evil horse familiar vanish amidst the turmoil. The cat and three shadowy figures struggle as they confront their numerical disadvantage.

"Well, that was unexpected that he could cast magic," the cat says, shaking the dust off himself.

The cat leaps onto one of the dark figure's arms, noticing a magic circle directly beneath them. The cat smiles as it glances back at Alex and his friends.

"While you may have succeeded in this minor confrontation for the time being, I assure you that you will be joining us," the feline cautions Alex as they disappear within the magical circle.

T'ae, Alex, and Marcus entered relaxed, no longer prepared for battle. Alex wobbled, feeling as though he might collapse onto the floor.

"Was this the first magical battle against others?" T'ae asks, looking at Alex.

"Can you tell?" Alex playfully teases T'ae with a warm smile.

***

While T'ae laughs at Alex's jests, he assists him in standing up, and they begin heading back to Crystalcliff. As they walk, Alex spots T'ae's Ents organizing the town as they near the adventure guild, which doubles as an inn.

"Welcome back. I heard what happened. Are you okay?" Faelar asks curiously.

"I'm fine, thank you, Faelar," Alex answers with a smile.

"Are there three rooms available, by any chance?" T'ae inquires.

"Yes, I do, how many nights?" Faelar asks.

"Just until tomorrow; that works," T'ae replies.

"That's good. Here are your keys," Faelar says, handing them over.

"Thank you."

Alex, T'ae, and Marcus ascend to the second floor to access their rooms. They bring Alex to his room first, placing him on his bed, which surprisingly feels soft for a guild.

"Wow, so soft," Alex says.

"I know, they're the one thing I like in the Adventures Guild," T'ae smiles.

"Well, it's time for bed. See you tomorrow," Marcus says, waving goodnight.

"Same here. Well, good night then," T'ae adds.

"Good night, guys," Alex replies.

After T'ae and Marcus left Alex alone in his room, Stella used her magic to manage the lights. She lay down beside the bed and began to drift off to sleep. Meanwhile, Alex was slowly falling asleep, his day having been filled with one event after another. However, he felt content knowing that he could help both Marcus and T'ae.

"I wonder what tomorrow will bring?" Alex asks as he drifts off to sleep.