The Soul Keeper

I followed the broken branches and trampled mossy trail for nearly an hour. Walking amongst the trees, I couldn't help but feel on edge. While I once felt safer beneath the canopy of the forest, ever since I'd gotten somewhat used to flying, the inability to do so alarmed me.

I shook my head and pushed such thoughts away. I had to focus on finding Samantha and the others. A while later, my ears perked up as I heard what sounded like someone talking. I hastened my steps and followed the sound.

As I approached the source of the sound, I slowed down and proceeded carefully. I didn't want to barge into an unknown situation carelessly. A short moment later, the source of the sound came into view.

A huge wave of relief washed over me as I saw Alex, Samantha and Joshua standing among the trees. They were discussing something with a low voice. As Samantha spoke, I saw Joshua's face go pale. With a sigh of relief, I stepped out from behind the trees.

"Kai!" It was Samantha who shouted. "I thought you were stuck under that monster!"

"Rina, Vincent and Erik helped get me out of there." I said with a faint smile. "But more importantly, why on earth are you guys all the way over here? You worried us."

Alex and Joshua glanced at each other, then at our surroundings. "Let's go back." Alex finally said. "It's best if we talk about this when everyone is present."

I hesitated, what was all this about? Still, Alex seemed wary of something and I trusted her, so I nodded and gestured back towards the ruins. "Let's go then, I'd like to be back before nightfall."

Our two-hour long journey back to the ruins passed in silence as both Alex and Joshua constantly seemed on edge as we walked. Samantha seemed just as clueless as me since she constantly glanced at the two of them.

We arrived at the ruins at dusk. As the sun dyed the sky crimson and purple, we stepped out of the woods and rushed towards the group of four, sitting by the entrance of the ruins.

I sighed a breath of relief as soon as I saw Alina, sitting with her back leaned on the wall. She was still somewhat pale, though not as much as a few hours ago. As soon as she saw us, her face lit up.

"You're all ok!" She said with a weakened voice. "I'm so glad!" She breathed a sigh of relief. I heard Samantha sniff. Before any of us could say anything, she darted towards Alina and hugged her.

"I'm so glad you're ok! I was so scared that I'd lose you…" She could barely speak through her tears. Alina also teared up. "I'm ok, don't worry."

"Alex!" I glanced at Rina, who was having her own reunion with her dear friend. She was also tearing up. My lips formed a faint smile as I took my place at the fire.

Only when I sat down did I notice how damn exhausted I was. The fight with that spider had nearly killed me and afterwards I had to take in those hundreds of souls. Not to mention the psychological stress I was under these last couple of hours. I had genuinely thought we'd lost one of us, if not more.

"So," I said after a while. By now, everyone had already cried their tears of joy. I wasn't interrupting anything. "Alex, Joshua. Why did you guys leave?"

The rogue fiddled with his cloak while Alex sighed. "We noticed that we were being watched." Her words cut through our smiles, shattering them. "It was Joshua who noticed it. We decided to go and have a word with them, but as soon as we made a move, they fled. We were chasing them." She sighed and shook her head. "But they were too fast. I'm sure they used spells to hasten themselves. We had absolutely no chance of catching up."

Silence followed her words before Erik spoke with a low voice. "Were they players?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't know. We never got close enough to properly see them."

"It's an entirely different problem if they're human players." Vincent said after a moment's hesitation. "If they are players, then why are they spying on us? Who hired them and why?" He sighed. "I feel uneasy, we shouldn't stay out in the field for too long, Erik."

The young paladin nodded after a short moment of hesitation. "Do you agree as well, Rina and Alex?" He asked, glancing at the two girls.

"I only want to check the library for a bit." Rina said. "One hour is all I need. After that, I'd also like to get out of here." Alex nodded enthusiastically.

"What about you, Kai?" Erik asked as his blue eyes met mine. I flinched. "You're used to being alone, so I won't pressure you to come back with us." Erik added, seeing my surprise.

"No, I'll come with." I said, forcing a faint smile. "But I don't think heading back to Stonepatch Village is the right course of action here."

My words were followed by a nervous silence. No one seemed to want to say anything, so I took a breath and continued talking. "Asher and Astrid both told us they'd been hired by someone in the city, right?"

Rina nodded. I continued. "In that case, why don't we go and pay that someone a visit?"

"We don't know who it is, though." Alina chimed in. "How are you planning on finding them?"

"I'm sure they'll approach us when we enter the city. Besides," I said with a shrug. "There isn't much left for us to do back at Stonepatch Village, is there?"

"No." Rina said with a sigh. "But me and Alex will not be joining you."

I flinched. "I see." I tried to not show how upset I was, but I clearly failed.

"I'm sorry Kai. We can't leave our little sisters alone. We came here because we were worried about you, we thought you'd die. Now that you're fine – and mostly capable of looking after yourself – we have to get back to our families." Alex's words were kind, yet they stung.

"I know," I said with a forced smile. "Thanks, for all your help. You've saved us more times than we can count."

Low conversations followed my words after a short while. We decided on setting off tomorrow at noon.

Exhausted, I lay on the soft grass and listened to my friends as they conversed and joked around. I was sad that Rina and Alex weren't going to be with us for long.

With a sigh, I watched the sky. The stars shone brightly; I could never see them so clearly back at home. I watched the two moons as they travelled through the sky. It was beautiful, more so than the dark nights I'd seen back at home.