The entire unit stopped as Nireus Chronis commanded. Thick thrilling mist began to form around them. It crawled its way closer, coating everything that it touched. Instinct made the knights grab the hilt of their swords, preparing for whatever obstacle would soon come. Even the harions began neighing, blowing a gust of air out of their noses.
Arsen and his squad, including Haemon, Tereus, and Rhene, positioned themselves around the wagon with Aeneas and the others.
When the mist reached only meters away from them, it converged into a wall of nothing that prevented any of its mischievous parts from passing through. A trait that confused everyone.
Although also perplexed, the two researchers, Lyra and Anastasia, were curious about what happened and didn't take long to conclude that the mist was magic someone or something cast. Since their wagon was close to the front of the line, near the commander of the expedition, they didn't waste time and informed Nireus about their hypothesis.
Nireus trusted their words with no doubt. He also thought that for a natural phenomenon to behave in such a way, magic must've been involved.
"Prepare for combat!" he shouted. His command made all of the knights with him focused, prepared to use the power of their Zeal to slay anything that may attack them.
Pairs of fiery glints started to appear inside the mist one after the other. It was a familiar tint of light blue. Everyone felt that they were glowing eyes which made them frantic as they waited to unveil what the creatures hidden in the mist were.
Then, at the front, one of the pairs of glowing eyes slowly drew closer. Emerging from the mist was a familiar regal beast that made Nireus take a sigh of relief. It was Fen, the wolf that accompanies Linus.
While Fen was staring at Nireus, other wolves started to manifest from the thick fog.
"Do not attack their allies!" Nireus commanded.
Some of the knights continued being wary because a pack of wolves is known to be more fearsome than a few lions. Even with the lord of Arsida, and the strong knights with him, a fight against the pack of wolves would mean the demise of both sides.
"Oh, it's Fen!" Tiriara shouted. She went down the wagon and rushed towards the gray wolf. Some of the knights tried to stop her, but she didn't listen and jumped forward to hug Fen. Although Fen sat and remained calm, he stared at the lord of Arsida who was worried and prepared to cut him down if he sensed that he was a danger to his daughter. The absence of Linus made Nireus more cautious as he didn't know how Fen would react.
"Where's sir Linus?" Aeneas said. He and the others also went down the wagon.
Neoma also hugged the gray wolf, "How are you doing, Fen?" she asked while rubbing his cloud-like fur.
"Woah, what an amazing beast," Algar muttered.
On the other hand, Anastasia was worried, "Are you sure they won't attack us?" she asked Lyra who explained how they knew the gray wolf in front of them.
After a while, Fen stood up while the other wolves entered the thick mist once again. Then, Fen stared at Neoma before facing forward.
"I think Fen wants us to follow them."
Tiriara hugged Neoma from behind resting her chin at the girl's shoulder, "You can talk to Fen?" she asked with the tone of her voice being high.
Neoma shook her head, "It's like… I can feel what Fen's trying to say," she replied.
Still, Tiriara was amazed that Neoma could understand Fen and it showed in her expressive face.
Nireus decided to do as Neoma said. He commanded everyone to return to their steeds and wagons so that they could proceed.
Once Fen noticed that they were prepared, he howled, and then the other wolves followed suit and made a symphony that was both majestic and chilling. At the end of their howl, the mist began to move and covered everyone.
Fen looked at Nireus before running forward. As soon as he saw the gray wolf move, Nireus also commanded his unit to follow.
"The thick mist is following us," Aeneas muttered.
With her eyes and mouth wide open, Tiriara replied, "You're right."
Created by the wolves themselves, the thick mist serves as cover against hostile creatures in the Great Verdant forest. And as it stops those from the outside from looking in, it also prevents Nireus and the others from seeing the outside. Making them unable to know the path to take towards the hidden village of Mene. Once he realized it, Nireus knew that the map Linus made was either fake or only halfway towards their settlement.
The group moved at a decent speed for a few hours before the wolves and the mist they created started to slow down. And then, Fen stopped. He took a glance at Nireus and his unit before entering the mist. After some time, the thick veil of mist started to dissipate.
Slowly, a vibrant place came into view. Once the mist from above was all gone, everyone could see gigantic trees converging into a single canopy. The number of branches and leaves should've made the entire place hollow and dark. Yet, the same leaves seem to reflect the light of day making it look like natural sunlight passes through. Everyone could hear the sound of falling water not far from where they stood.
Only when the entire mist was gone did everyone notice that they were surrounded by people, all having the same unique appearance of silver hair and eyes. They were also armed and with a wolf beside them. Curious onlookers from a distance shared the same trait. Children who were playing with wolf cubs also stopped and stared at the visitors who appeared similar yet so foreign to them.
Huts made of wood and other materials found in the Great Verdant forest such as magical leaves and stones, line upward in small hills covered in short green grass. Their sizes differ, and when observed longer, hints of modern architecture could be found. People's clothing was also close to that of what Panterans wear daily. The only difference was that theirs didn't seem to match, and were altered to appear more tribal. Such as adding wolf fur at the edges, etching magical gemstones, and other ornaments around their body. A small river flows past the hills with the water coming from a fall not that far away from them.
"Stand down. They're our guests." The great warrior Linus said as he approached them. With his command, all the other warriors assisted everyone else in unloading their supplies and getting their harions settled in a place where they could eat and rest. Meanwhile, Linus went straight to Nireus.
"How's the journey?" he asked.
Nireus chuckled, he pulled out the map Linus gave him and returned it, "I think you gave me the wrong one," he replied.
With a smile, "I must've," Linus said. Then, he scanned the people that came with the lord of Arsida, as if looking for someone.
"She's in that wagon with my daughter."
Just as Nireus pointed in their direction, Tiriara and Neoma went down the wagon, pointing at Aeneas while laughing their hearts out.
"She became more joyful."
Nireus smiled and responded with a nod to Linus's sentiment.
"Father would be happy."
While the two were speaking with each other, Tiriara started running towards the wolf cubs, Neoma didn't know what to do and just followed, and Aeneas was trying to stop them. The other squires were left astounded by the place as they kept staring around. They're also awed by the silver-haired locals. The oath they swore to the Proud Lion about secrecy before being in the unit of Nireus slowly made sense for them.
Worried that the wolves would become hostile once his daughter touched the cubs, Nireus tried to approach and stop them.
"Worry not, the wolves can sense malice and youngs are rather playful," Linus said.
"I see."
Tiriara nabbed the first cub she saw, rubbed her cheeks towards it, giggled, and shouted, "You're so cute!"
In response, the white wolf cub started licking and pawing her, which made the girl more excited and wanted to hug the cub much tighter.
"Hey, be careful you might crush it with your strength," Aeneas said.
Neoma was also petting the same cub, she felt shy at the thought of carrying one with her.
The locals approached Linus, they wanted to prepare a feast for their guests. Aside from the Moonlord and Linus, only the great warriors, and some warriors of Mene knew that people from the outside would come.
Linus nodded his head while placing his left hand on his chest.
"Are we allowed to offer them gifts?" Nireus asked.
Once again, Linus nodded in his response.
The knights began handing gifts to the locals, such as clothing, foods like biscuits and pastries, toys, and other stuff. They allowed them to pick what they wanted. In return, the locals gave them something back. Some gave gems, magical parts of plants or beasts, and some children even gave random leaves. Although the knights tried to tell them that it was gifts and not a trade, the locals persuaded them to accept their gifts as well.
Squires helped in handing out the items as well as talking with the children of Mene. Tiriara was even playing with a girl around their age.
Nireus and Linus approached Neoma who was with the other squires.
"Come, you should meet your grandfather," Linus said.