Day: 3757

Days Left: 1723

Lives Saved: 21

It had not been verbally discussed, but Talon knew that everyone else also wanted to know about the state of The Warren. A singular raven was sent, staying low and hidden in the tree line as a bird in The Abyss would draw attention and Talon would be immediately recognised. They continued soaring. Mind split into multiple, the mental strain already exhausted Talon and they struggled to flap their wings as the ravens grew further apart, some staying at the Raining Marshes, others in search of Alfreda and Rin, and the one heading to The Warren.

Talon did not want to hope for anything, to see that despite all the chaos and so many key figures of leadership and protection disappeared that the city and its people were still standing, that Jules and their other friends were unharmed.

The raven finally arrived at the edge of the forest, perching on top of a branch, daring not to go any further without the cover of the trees. The city built of emerald wood remained somewhat standing. On all sides of The Warren, the city walls were damaged, replaced with questionable repairs, likely those with the skills or properly reinforce had fled or had worse fates. Figures walked along the battlements, not in uniforms or with professionally crafted weapons, all instead in monster form.

But what scared Talon was the fact that the field was empty, only scattered belongings. No one was living outside the city. Were they all living in the city? Was Jules? Or had an antagonistic force taken control and did not allow outsiders to squat and wait for permission for entry? Were they scared off or had simply they allowed everyone to enter regardless of risk? It was too difficult to tell from this distance how many people were on the other side of the walls. What of the resources? Ivette and Corinna calculated it, being careful on rations and when to expand. What if all The Abyss plants were gone or destroyed? Did the silver food packets still drop? What of The Warren's citizens, were they harmed or had to acclimate into this new dynamic to survive?

So many questions and yet Talon could not get the answers, not yet. If anyone recognised the raven or Talon in human form, perhaps they would send out a search party for the others, or rather a hunt would be a more accurate word.

Talon circled around the edge, hoping to see anything else, a sign of the state of the city, but could find nothing from so far away. With nothing else to do, the raven flew back scouring the forest near the Raining Marshes for any sign of the missing Princess Alfreda and Rin.

The ravens were having difficulty flying in the torrential rain, so much heavy downpour that it quickly exhausted their wings, and so Talon opted to switching them out in phases, only pushing them through this ordeal for a certain length of time before they resigned back to the safety and dryness of the emerald forest. But there was no sign of Rin or Alfreda in the marshes, at least not from above.

With how pitch dark it was in the water-filled ditches and ponds, Talon was unable to see if there was anyone in them, and could not swim down far as a bird, and so Talon had to leave it to the others to search the Raining Marshes, with Calixte taking the lead in investigating each and every pool. Talon had not known Calixte as long as the others, but they knew about his hydrophobia, how difficult this all had to be for him to be doing this yet how convenient his monster mask was for this, being able to not only breathe underwater but also with his light-up antenna to see what was down in the depths.

Whilst unable to search the pits of water, Talon kept an eye out for any dangerous monsters that might come their way, as well as explore the other places surrounding the Raining Marshes on the off chance that Rin and Princess Alfreda had somehow escaped from their drowning fate.

Apart from the emerald forest, adjacent to the Raining Marshes was a barren hard rock land, the sky gloomy and dark regardless of the time of day. Talon risked flying lower due to the looming mists that surrounded the place, covering the ground in a blanket of mystery. Hidden amongst the mist were several pitfalls, likely designed this way to cause prisoners to fall and injure themselves, a few of these chasms were inhabited by monsters, and Talon almost lost a few birds to a twenty-foot monster that was trapped inside one, only its hands able to squeeze out and grab at unsuspecting prey for its lunch. Other monsters attempted to swat at the birds as they flew past, most likely still recovering from the recent blood moon's affects, ravenous and blood thirsty.

Talon, with years of experience at evading crowds, kept safe with little to no worry, keeping at safe enough distance for most monsters' heights and reflexes kicking in when giant ones emerged out of the mist too suddenly.

For every crevice and pitfall Talon passed, they sent down a raven to investigate, scanning the area quickly should Rin or Princess Alfreda having took residence or traces of them befalling to a monster, a fear of Talon's as there may be no evidence of what happened to them if that was indeed the reality. How long would they search for? Talon shook this line of thinking out of their mind; it was only the first day of searching, that level of pessimism and despair should be saved for later.

The main group of ravens followed the sight in the distance of tall mountainous piles of discarded items; the sector's Land of the Lost. If Rin and Alfreda were surviving in this sector, this was a likely place for them to visit or at least be sheltering nearby. The monsters here were more docile, the live ones at least, as many bodies scattered the place, the aftermath of the last blood moon. Talon was too desensitised as they checked each body to see if it was Rin or Alfreda, though fortunately none were, but nor were there signs of any being scorched by a fire demon.

After a few hours of searching, Talon's ravens regrouped back at the border of the emerald forest. They merged together, forming back into Talon's human form, who collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. Talon gulped some water from their flask, and shivered from the movement of their arms, feeling those wings protruding out of their chest and shoulders, even though they were bound as flat as possible. Before the others headed back to the forest to recuperate, Talon felt around their body, determining if their prolonged use of their monster mask caused further deformity, but could not tell with all the layers of clothing. A further inspection was required later in private.

Kai patted Talon on the back, complimenting their work, and Talon did their best not to squirm or show discomfort at the touch, the slight nerve twitch of the wing nearby.

Calixte had to be heavily persuaded to take a rest, exhausted too from all the swimming and deep diving, practically hauled back to the forest by Sumit and Elis and forced to sit down against a tree. Calixte took off his mask, immediately dabbing himself with a towel, breath heavy and sharp, noticeable twitching whenever a significant droplet of rain ran down his body.

"We've made good progress," Kai said with little confidence, seeming to say only to break the silence.

Talon glanced over at the pools of water, all the ones explored marked by twigs and sticks stuck in the ground, though some had already fallen over from the perpetual rain.

"We'll find them," said Cori.

"Will we?" Sumit mumbled, slightly shocked at letting it slip before fully committing. "It was a blood moon when we got separated. They were in their monster forms. Alfreda might be fine, sure, a rock underwater, but Rin? Her body would have been made entirely out of paper. Paper in rain?"

There was a long stretch of silence. Everyone had thought this already, that the best odds were that they would only find Alfreda. Unless Rin somehow escaped the pool in her condition, there was likely no trace of her whatsoever. But someone finally voiced it. The possibility of Rin's death. A true death. She would not be replaced by a stranger with memories lost, for how could that happen when there was no body left? It would not even be able to heal in that weather.

"Have you spotted anything yourself?" Cori asked Talon.

"Not yet," replied Talon. "No signs of them. But I'll keep looking, for Rin and Alfreda, for Corinna, Lili, and Henry too. I'll see about the other nearby sectors as well."

"We'll try every pool there is," said Kai. "Just in case."

After a few more minutes resting, everyone got back to work. Talon transformed and set off into the sky, dividing and scouting whilst the others continued searching the pools of water.

Day: 3758

After an hour of walking, Rin stumbled and fell to the ground, parts of her body still constructed out of paper flattened or scattered, a couple swishing up into the air dramatically before lazily floating down into a heap.

Alfreda stepped forward, about to help her up, to pick up the disconnected paper pieces before remembering what her own body was made of currently, still rock with smoldering heat that would burn Rin to a crisp from the slightest touch. Instead, all she could do was watch as Rin struggled to gather the pieces of paper and reattach them back to her body, smoothing them over like she was turning herself into papermache.

"We should rest," suggested Alfreda.

"I can keep going longer," Rin groaned, finally standing up again.

"You're exhausted." Alfreda rolled her eyes.

"I am fine."

The two stared each other down, neither relenting, until a shadow passed over them. Their eyes shot upwards, hands ready on their weapons when they saw it.

A raven.

"Is that..." Alfreda's voice choked in her throat, spluttering out ash.

"Talon?" Rin lowered her weapon. "But I thought they went back to the village? How likely is it that they would hand masks like that? That turns you into a bird?"

"I doubt the probability is that high." Alfreda paused, trying to discern the distinct shape of the wings and beak, the colour of the feathers if it was truly a raven or a different kind of black bird. "No, it must be them."

Before the raven flew off and out of view, Rin and Alfreda ran after it, pushing through their exhaustion and how difficult it was to move in their deformed states, shouting out Talon's name before finally the raven turned sharply, swooping down and descending onto the ground before them.

The raven stared blankly at first, before light returned to its beady eyes, Talon assuming more control over the creature. "We've found you!" their voice squawked and shrill through the bird's mouth.

Rin almost collapsed again out of sheer relief. "What are you doing here? How are you-"

"Calixte and Sumit told us everything," replied Talon. "We came to help. The others are looking in The Raining Marshes. Calixte last saw you in one of the pools."

"Thanks to Rin we got out," said Alfreda. "Are those monsters gone?"

"Presumedly."

"Is everyone else alright?" Rin asked. "How's Corinna? The Grim Fairy hasn't taken her yet, right?"

Talon paused, head lowered. "We don't know where she is. She's still missing, along with Lili and Henry."

Alfreda tensed, her jaw setting firm. "I'm sure they're together. We can find them. Is Calixte with you? What about the children?"

"The children are with Ms Ivette at the village, they're safe," replied Talon.

Alfreda nodded, relieved in their safety.

"Calixte is at The Raining Marshes, with Sumit and Kai."

Rin relaxed at hearing that.

"And um..." Talon hesitated, turning to Alfreda. "And your sister is here too, with her husband."

Alfreda stared at them. "What?" she said quietly.

"What's the queen doing in The Abyss?" Rin questioned, asking on Alfreda's behalf who was currently speechless.

"Long story short, she got overthrown and is now a prisoner," Talon cleared their throat from the awkwardness. "But she's here to save you."

"She has a husband?" Alfreda frowned.

"We can save the questions later for the reunion," said Rin. "Let's get moving. Neither of us are in the best state to go back through the Raining Marshes again. We'll have to go the long way around to get to the emerald forest. Can you guide us?"

Talon nodded. "You got it, I'll let them know."

*

Despite the lack of urgency, there was still a rush, a desperate need to see Rin and Alfreda as soon as possible, after fretting about their wellbeing for two months. Though Talon had told everyone that they were indeed alive and walking, they were still hesitant about the specifics. Perhaps Alfreda was fine in her fire demon form from being in the rain, but what of Rin? What state was she in? These worries plagued Sumit and the others, but hope finally shone brighter. They did it. They found someone again. For now, Henry, Corinna, and Lili may be lost, but at least someone else survived that attack.

Since Rin and Alfreda couldn't travel through the Raining Marshes, and no one else fancied trekking through it either, they opted to meet in the emerald forest where it was dry. After leaving the perpetual storm, Sumit, Calixte, Kai, Cori, and Elis quickly gathered their belongings, dabbing themselves with towels as they walked with hurried steps, following Talon, the ravens gathering together in a formation, still scouting ahead for danger, but was struggling to speak, some of their ravens too far away and losing focus.

The group traversed through the forest, winding through the trees. Sumit's heart ached in his chest, to see either of them, to wonder if there had been a chance to save them earlier if he done something differently. 

Calixte himself was spiralling too with guilt, if he had not lost control during the blood moon, if he had not lost himself and saved Alfreda and Rin from those monsters, to snap out of it and tell Sumit and the imps what had happened, to help them then and there, but instead he was trapped in his own body for a month, relying on Sumit to help and protect him, to waste further time that Alfreda and Rin needed, that perhaps Corinna, Lili, and Henry needed wherever they were. No one could have been lost if he had just remained sane. He had failed everyone. Whatever happened to Alfreda and Rin was all on him.

They reached the end of the forest, bordering onto an area belonging to a new sector, a dark and drab place, dry earth, clouded and misted skies, a cold breeze, dead trees, and cracked ground. Talon regained more ability to speak, supposedly getting closer to the ravens that were guiding Alfreda and Rin. Though the reunion was closer, everyone stayed on guard, Talon having warned how monster infested the area was and the dangers that lurked in the mist.

Sumit got out a torch, needing to hit the sides before the light flickered on and cut through the darkness, before focusing it on the ground, realising how close he had been to falling down a pit. "Careful everyone. Watch your feet."

Elis instinctively held onto Cori, both fidgeting with their monster masks.

Throughout the journey, everyone had stayed human, only using their monster masks when necessary, and though it had not been vocalised openly, Sumit knew it was because of what had happened to Calixte, his agitated feelings trapping him for a month, taking his consciousness. What with all the stress, no one had taken the risk to use their mask so frequently until now.

Sumit was the first to don his monster mask, transforming into a horned demon, his conjoined twin on his back, somewhat vacant, wielding three swords, the torch in his remaining one. Calixte was already in his amphibian form, but the others followed Sumit, putting on their masks, about to transform when there were two silhouettes through the mist.

One a taller figure, the other short. It was them. Sumit's breath caught in his throat, his surroundings falling in silence as if everything else was blocked out.

"Rin?" he called out.

The figures paused, turning around and he heard a muffled voice call back.

"Rin!" Sumit rushed through the mist, the silhouettes growing larger, clearer and defined.

"Wait! Sumit!" Kai yelled behind.

Sumit halted, confused on Kai's distress when a large hand descended down before him, cutting through the mist. He toppled over to evade it, scrambling up off the ground, Kai helping him.

The large hand, the size of a car, swiped through the mist, another hand punched up from the ground, pulling itself out from a presumed pit in the ground, and a large shadow engulfed Sumit and Kai.

"Fall back." Kai pulled at Sumit, leading him away as the unknown monster in the mist craned its neck, glowing yellow eyes piercing through the darkness, set on them.

"Whatever it is we can take it," protested Sumit, brandishing his multiple swords, but allowed himself to be drawn away further.

"We don't know what it can do, nor can we see," argued Kai. They regrouped with the others who had chased off after them into the mist.

"Where are they?" Cori asked. "Was it not them?"

"We need to get out of this mist," said Kai. "We disturb one monster, it can lead others here."

"I've already told Rin and Alfreda," said one of Talon's ravens, perched on Calixte's shoulder.

"Okay, let's tread carefully and-" Kai paused as Sumit grabbed his arm in warning. Kai slowly turned around, the others freezing as the pair of yellow eyes he saw earlier was only ten metres away, a vague silhouette of a towering monster managing to peek through the mist.

Sumit clutched his swords. "There's only one of them," he said, eyes darting to the two figures in the mist nearby, Rin and Alfreda. "We can take it."

"No, hold still," said Cori. "We cannot tell so easily in the mist. See if it loses interest. Do not move."

Sumit clenched his jaw, disliking how easy authority came to a former queen, asserting herself into control in his group. "You're Alfreda's sister, I'd thought you'd be able to fight like her too, had the same lessons."

"I cannot fight so easily in this state."

"Surely you can in your mask?"

Cori did not reply.

The pair of yellow eyes remind staring at them before eventually turning away.

Everyone slowly let out a breath of relief, though still stiff.

"Let's head back slowly," Kai whispered. "Talon could you-"

The Talon perched on Calixte's shoulder flapped their wings.

In the distance, a large hand of a shadow bolted forwards, swiping something up, or rather someone.

Sumit recognised the screams.

"Rin!" he yelled, body already moving to go to her aid, the others not far behind. 

Greatest apologies for the lack in updates. My health these last couple months has not been great. But it has been improving recently. I will be releasing chapters once as soon as they are finished until I am caught up with the regular schedule.

Thank you for your patience and for those still reading.

-Blair