Burning Embers Part I: Origins [Arc 1-5]

Arc 5 Chapter 4

The rain had not stemmed. An entire uneventful day later, most of which Nat spent in his room and the library, the weather had remained exactly the same, hindering their investigation greatly. If anything, it was more intense than it had been the previous day. Deciding to follow-up on their suspicions of Alelund, they had Andrea tail him all day. As a result, they were now outside, wearing rain-cloaks while struggling to keep up with the young noble.

Falling down heavier and heavier, the rain showed no signs of letting up. Furthermore, with more clouds approaching the city from the west, it was likely to only get worse from here-on out. In any case, they could not allow that to hinder them. Despite limited visibility, Nat's sharp eyes were able to barely make out Alelund's silhouette in the distance, and he continued to lead the group in that direction.

Soon. We need to go faster! The noble moved far faster than anticipated, and his speed seemed not to be slowed by the cold or rain. Despite their waterproof cloaks, the cold bit into Nat's bones, slowing down his movements greatly, with more and more of his body's energy being devoted to keeping itself warm. Underneath the cloaks, all of them wore little protection, since the mansion was very warm inside. 

At this point, they had almost lost sight of their target, the silhouette becoming more and more blurred as the rain reduced visibility, and even the hunter's sharp eyes and farsight skills struggled to keep up. At this rate, we're only gonna end up lost. It was indeed true that it didn't snow in most of Terrasia, but it could get quite cold in most parts. Ariogow was no exception, and featured heavy rains all throughout winter.

Knowing this, all three of them were well aware that they couldn't stay and wait for a better opportunity when the weather was clear, as that was unlikely to happen. Not just that, but soon their cover would be blown, as Nat had been quite careless on occasion and the servants were already quite suspicious of them.

However, despite all of that, he had started to tire and slow. The cold was unrelenting, and he had eaten only half an hour prior, and was therefore quite short on breath. Andrea seemed to be faring even worse, lagging behind the group, though Zero seemed to not be running out of steam just yet. Understandably so, given his endurance stat was higher than the other two. 

Though Nat's stats had scaled quite well as he levelled, and his endurance was above average to begin with, a combination of factors led to it being severely reduced right now. There was also the fact that it was very dark, and the rain further limited sight. Nat had no inkling as to where they were at this point, but he could not see the mansion behind himself either.

It was only his night-vision and farsight that had guided him so far, and his comrades were effectively blind. Dammit, I'm losing him! No sooner had the thought crossed his mind that he slipped in a wet puddle, losing his footing and tumbling over twice before coming to a halt face-down. His clothes were drenched and covered in mud, and he could see bright spots in his vision.

He head a voice, but is sounded far off, as he was roughly but effectively dragged back onto his feet.

"Oi, can you hear me?" It was Zero.

"Y-Yeah..."

"Pull yourself together, Nat! We don't have time!" Andrea displayed unusual aggressiveness in her tone.

"S-Sorry.." 

He looked around, his mind getting into a state of panic as he failed to spot Alelund. They were on a slightly sloping hill, but Nat could not spot any landmarks that would help him identify their precise location.

"W-We're lost!" he said, losing his composure.

"Tch." Zero tried to hide his disappointment, but failed. "Do you have any spare skill points?"