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"Oh that Spring was absolutely fantastic," he said, and then he looked around and saw Evian walking over with Ember by his side,

"You never did join us."

Evian gave a light smile,

"Yes, I was preoccupied at the time," he said.

Ember blushed and while that was as good as giving away what Evian had been busy with to avoid the Spring, Gryon\'s senses picked up someone else reacting bashfully to the conversation and when he looked toward what he felt, he saw Carleine\'s cheeks were red... Almost as red as Embers.

"Oh," Gryon said, his brows furrowed as he tried to deduce what had caused such similar reactions from the two and that was when Carleine felt his eyes on her and glared at him,

"What?" she asked with her tone level and all inklings of bashfulness already quickly thrust aside.

"Wh- Nothing," Gryon said, startled by the suddenness of Carleine\'s inquisition, "It\'s nothing."

*Click* *Clack*

The sounds of heeled boots called attention to Zayda\'s arrival. She walked side by side with Baron Angus whose lips were turned upside down and pursed in a tense frown.

At first, Evian thought he would be coming along with them but that thought was almost immediately proven wrong when the Baron eyed them all and stood straight at attention,

"I wish you all good luck. I will, as I always have, remain in my Manor with a good handful of my capable Captains in case these grounds need defense.

The rest of Kalkoa\'s forces will be available to support you and they are led by the best talents in the City besides myself. Most notable of whom are..."

The Baron pointed grandly ahead toward two fellows who stepped forward and gave a low bow as they waited to be introduced by him,

"... Aegir and Haegis Kalkoa. I think you will find them more than suitable in combat."

Aegir and Haegis had features that showed them to be Angus\' blood relatives. They also had large builds not inherited but deliberately built up to match the Baron they so much respected.

Anyway, with the imminent threat of arriving beasts, there was no time to exchange pleasantries besides the already proffered introductions and once Zayda urged the brothers Aegir and Haegis along (Evian assumed they were brothers), the two turned around and called to rally the City\'s forces as they all charged out.

"Finding the origin of the influx of beasts has never been difficult. A portal always opens at the border and they begin to pour out." Aegir told the Crew as they ran.

"Portal?" Evian asked. It was the first he would hear of this and the first the rest of the Crew had heard of it as well.

Both Aegir and Haegis nodded but it was Haegis who actually spoke,

"Yes, Portal. No one knows what creates it, or why it always appears but it does and it\'s a one-way trip. The Beasts come out and never return or retreat through it. They just run amok until they are put down- taking down anything and anyone they can reach."

"Damn it," Zayda said with a groan, "We spent way too long relaxing in the springs. I should have asked to see a Beast Carcass, maybe managed to understand it more."

Aegir shook his head,

"There are never any Beast carcasses left behind," he said, "Once defeated, the Beasts melt into a grey, cold shadow. This also happens when they are touched by the rays of the sun. It\'s why their attacks only happen at night... Sunlight kills them."

"Huh," Gillert said, "So the assault can\'t last forever then."

"It can\'t," Heagis said, "But nighttime is more than enough for them to destroy the City if left unchecked."

"Evian," Ember whispered to him as they ran side by side, "Grey, cold--"

"I know," Evian said. The first thing he thought of when he heard those two words, was Eldritch energy.

\'Assistant?\'

[Yes?]

\'Is it possible?\'

[Hmmm... It IS possible that you are about to face Eldritch constructs. Where they originate from or what exact race they are will have to wait until we- you actually see and feel them. I should have better answers for you then.]

\'Wow, you\'re being really helpful right now. That\'s a first,\' Evian teased.

A disgruntled voice replied him,

[I\'m always helpful... As long as your questions involve Decadence and are not the type you need to sacrifice Soul Points to learn.]

Evian resisted the urge to let out a scoff at the Assistant and simply ended the conversation right there and then.

Meanwhile, conversations on the way to the Infestation continued,

"If the City is really that unsafe, why not move away?" Gryon asked and everyone in the Crew raised their brows at him.

They all found it ironic that he would suggest that to a group of people in distress when he and they, recently spent an entire year fighting an almost pointless battle to end a tyrannical rule they could have simply walked away from.

He felt the eyes on him and rounded on them all with wide eyes,

"What?" he asked.

Gillert gave him a pointed look and his expression changed as he realized just how he might have just sounded like a hypocrite,

"Oh come on," he said, "Ours was different. We had a chance."

"Did we?" Ember asked quietly,

"Yes, we did. This- This City- Their situation... I mean, it\'s all been sounding like a never-ending ordeal."

"Well, we can\'t leave," Aegir said, "If we did, where would we go We have legacy here, and until every able fighter in the City is struck down, we will continue to keep the denizens safe."

Silence... And then,

*RARRRRRRRRRR!!!*

"We\'re here," Haegis said as though the chorus of beasts\' roars had not already made that clear.

"Get into formation!" Aegir yelled as the other Captains rallied their respective squads and spread out to create a boundary of sorts,

"Remember, we must not let them get close to the City or lives will be lost!"

Even as Aegir spoke loudly and with command, there was a melancholy in his tone that told Evian and the others that the Beasts had gotten to the City before and many lives had definitely been lost.

Haegis turned toward Zayda whom he rightly recognized as the leader of the Squad,

"Dame Zayda," he said respectfully, "It\'s time."

Zayda acknowledged him with a nod before she turned to the others, especially Evian as he had been the one to say there was no need for reinforcements,

"You heard him," she said, "Get to it."

Evian happily retrieved his Spear, the two silver Spearheads gleaming with readiness to stab and cut.

Ember retrieved her sword, Gillert did the same, Carleine armed herself with a Dagger (her preferred weapon), and Gryon\'s body swelled with his tattoos increasing his strength at the cost of speed but even as he grinned with a predisposition for malice, he looked over at Zayda,

"What about you?" he asked because she had made it sound as though she would be hanging back.

"I\'ll get involved when I need to-"

*Rumble*

The stomping of beast paws striking against the floor with heavy thuds in multitudes that all blended together to drown each other out and yet at the same time elevate each other to a new scary thunderous pitch, interrupted whatever else Zayda wanted to say.

*Whoosh*

With a sound of rushing wind, Evian charged at the multitude and it didn\'t take long for him to realize that the rest had followed him but his attention was not on the members of his Squad at that moment- His attention was on the Beasts who he finally got a solid look at for the first time.

He wasn\'t sure how to describe them;

They had wrinkly, leathery black skin that blended in with the dark shade of night. Their eyes, big and wide were a deep bloodthirsty red that shone bright and gave them away if they even dared attempt stealth.

Their heads were too deformed and shapeless to be described with similarities with any other known creature- So let\'s just say they looked horrific, scary, monstrous, vomit-inducing, and leave it at that.

And yet, even though they all had lean builds, there was a ferociousness in their limbs, in their steely-looking claws that ignited fear regardless of the martial strength they gave off.

Having those red eyes staring at you all around was bound to induce, at the very least, a bit of fear but the Crew was resolute.

Besides, while the massive numbers were imposing, the Beasts remained very much in a range they could deal with.

*BAM*

The first to get close to Gryon received a mighty fist that deformed its already horrific head and sent it slamming into another.

Evian spun his Spear and with an almost nonchalant swing, he cut through the head of one and went on to stab the second Spearhead into the head of another.

No souls pulled out of the Beasts, confirming that they were soulless but a greyish mist oozed from their defeated carcasses and flowed into Evian\'s body without him actively trying to absorb it.

[200 Quasi-Eldritch Essence Absorbed]

\'Quasi-Eldritch essence?\' Evian repeated as he fended off a beast with the shaft of his Spear,

\'What\'s that?\'