The morning sun had risen, casting a brighter light over the land, but the chill of the season still clung to the air. The bamboo forest was draped in dewdrops, its shoots and leaves shimmering in the cold, making the atmosphere inside even more biting.
Their breaths came out in frosty puffs as they threaded cautiously through the bamboo, ever mindful of faction activity in the area. After a twenty-minute trek through the dense green scenery, they finally arrived at Hestia's Hall.
At the edge of the bamboo grove, a sandy path cut across them, leaving a small patch of tall grass at the other side. To their left from where the sandy path originates loomed the entrance to Hestia's Hall, marked by a towering black and gold iron gate. To the right, the sandy path curved toward Atlas and other Halls, closer to the heart of the boarding world.
Spotting the Hall's main gate, they quickly retreated into the cover of the bamboo, finding a secluded spot. Aeron handed his Regeni phone to Luna, as hers had malfunctioned. She swiftly sent a message to the law executives stationed at the boarding world's entrance, marking their location.
"So, now we wait?" Corsair asked, rubbing his hands together to fight the cold.
"Yeah, it should be no more than ten minutes," Aeron replied, checking his phone—6:48 a.m.
...
Seven minutes passed before they heard a sudden rush of wind. They stood at once, alert.
A black hover bike with occasional deep blue hue flowing all over appeared, leaves and shrubs scattering in its wake as it came to a stop in front of them. Two law executives, a man and a woman, were seated on the bike, their black tech suits obscuring their faces, though their builds gave away their genders. The man controlled the bike while the woman sat behind him, holding a bag full of goods on her shoulder like Santa Claus.
Without dismounting, the woman handed the bag to Luna, though something felt off. They never looked her in the eye, avoiding her gaze as if on purpose.
Without a word, they sped off the way they came, leaving the three of them watching, both in awe and curiosity. As soon as the hover bike disappeared from view, two figures jogged out from the gate of Hestia's Hall, scanning their surroundings.
They wore deep gray hoodies over black combat trousers, their black leather boots crunching lightly on the sand.
"Let's go into the forest. They might be hiding in the bushes," one of them suggested, his companion nodding in agreement.
They split up, moving cautiously into the forest, combing through the undergrowth.
Meanwhile, Aeron, Corsair, and Luna huddled in an abandoned wardrobe hidden under fallen leaves and thick shrubs. The wardrobe was large enough to fit them all comfortably, and they listened in tense silence.
After a fruitless search, the two faction members regrouped. One, a brown-haired with tired eyes, yawned. "I can't believe we're raiding that abandoned place today. I'm so not ready. If only it were tomorrow... or next week."
"You say that every time," his taller companion muttered, his black hair falling into his eyes. "You're never ready for anything. You just want to sleep all day."
The brown-haired one flushed with embarrassment. "Shut up. It's not all the time."
"You're lying to yourself. If we don't gather resources, we won't be able to fend off other factions when they raid us."
"Even if we scavenge every resource on this side of the map, we still wouldn't stand a chance against some factions, like Shadowmere Groove. They claimed Narcissus, and no one's ever dared to do that—not even Starfall Reach," the brown-haired one shot back, the dark circles under his light brown eyes deepening.
"Don't let Horlan hear you said that, you'd be banished at once," the other warned, his tone emotionless.
"Are you going to tell him?" The tired one gestured with a lazy hand.
There was silence.
"You know I'm right," the brown-haired one continued. "It's only a matter of time before Horlan loses his head, and we'll all either run or join another faction."
"You're forgetting Horlan has a black shard." The black-haired said.
"So what? We don't even know how powerful it is." The brown-haired replied, worry evident in his voice.
They paused just outside Hestia's entrance. The black-haired turned to his friend, his brown eyes gleaming. "So, what are you suggesting? We leave before the raid tonight?"
A weary smile crossed the brown-haired's face. "Yeah, before it's too late."
Closing his eyes with a sigh, the black-haired shook his head. "You know what you really need?"
"What?" the other asked, confused.
"A girl," he said with a smirk, opening his eyes. "If you want to leave, go ahead. We each have our own paths to take."
Without another word, he unlocked the gate to Hestia's Hall and stepped inside, leaving the brown-haired one standing there, stunned and deflated. Reluctantly, he followed moments later.
As soon as they were gone, Aeron, Corsair, and Luna burst out of the wardrobe, grabbing the resource bag. Aeron slung it over his shoulder, and they made a dash for Hephaestus'.
After a solid ten minutes of running, Luna slowed, her breath ragged as she leaned against her knees. "S-sorry, I need a minute..."
Aeron and Corsair stopped, turning back to her.
"It's fine," Aeron reassured her, still panting. "Their raid isn't until this evening. We've got time."
After a brief rest, they resumed their journey back to Hephaestus', this time at a slower, more manageable pace.