As the night fell, Bailey and Markus went to sleep as usual. However, in the dead of night, Bailey arose from her bed upstairs in the cabin and went out. She left the barrier and went deeper into the forest.
Enhancing her body with flame essence, she dashed through the trees like a blazing shadow, leaving only a faint trail of red behind her. She eventually reached a small base, fortified by stone walls and guarded by knights under the command of Count Brick, a noble in the Crimson region of the continent. The base, or rather camp, was in an abandoned manor of a baron. The backyard was used for training, whereas the main building with three levels, including the ground floor, was used by the commander and knights for official duties. There was a different building for sleeping to the right side of the manor.
The knights saluted Bailey as they let her in and showed her to the commander's office. They awoke the commander, an overweight bearded man, with a stomach wider than even his greatsword which seemed to collect dust on a shelf on display.
"Who disturbs me at this hour!" he demanded to know groggily from sleep.
As he entered his own office and saw Bailey staring out the window, his face paled as he met the retired Hound of Crimson.
"Lady Nuune… my apologies- I did not know you were the one visiting. W-what can we do– I mean how may we serve!"
"I need to use your communication device to send a message."
"Right away–" he said looking at the knights. "Well what are you waiting for! You heard her! Go get it" he shouted to two knights, snot and spit shooting from him.
'What an unsightly and poor excuse for a commander he is. I should include this in my report… or maybe not. His incompetency is what allows us to have a hidden camp in the forest. I will gently consult them.' Bailey thought as she waited.
The commander was still in the room but she paid him no attention. Instead, she replayed the recent events. Markus' progress was good. Too good. Either there was something extremely wrong or she was not told the complete picture, such as how such a boy can be infected.
The knights came quickly and handed Bailey a crystal which glowed a bright yellow.
"Leave me." She commanded.
The knights rushed out again and the commander followed, albeit much slower.
"Destination: Kunar.
Recipient: Charlotte Windbourne
Message title: Report 8 on Markus Windwave.
Content: The boy has been making good progress, and even greater speed…"
She recounted recent developments but also talked about past actions and how those fit.
"Therefore I find myself thinking he is either a spy, faking weakness; a true genius who could potentially become a master; or has a hidden element about him. Is… it possible he is an Imperial Vessel? They do not often have elemental power because of the clash but rare cases have been reported… I will await a response and consider doing an inquisition on his constitution in the meanwhile. Yours faithfully, Bailey Nuune."
The message was sent and Bailey left the camp, returning to the cabin. On the way back she realised she did not bring up the incompetence of the camp commander due to her focus on the issues around Markus but she could always mention it next time.
In the morning, Markus awoke at 5:30am and got ready as usual. He saw Bailey at the table, having her coffee and reading the same book with the black cover. However things seemed to be different. Bailey kept an eye on him discreetly and yet something still felt off.
As he brushed his teeth, the voice inside his head spoke.
"She is acting strange. I think your grasp of the essence shell was too… unprecedented. She left for a while last night and now acts as if nothing happened but you feel it too, she is acting differently. Suspicious. I think I will stay back and let you learn normally for a while, or else she might figure out more than she is supposed to." the voice said, not trying to scare Markus but at the same time informing him.
'So what should I do?' Markus asked.
"Just be yourself. But try to keep your distance. If she tried to do an inquisition you are as good as dead. Keep yourself alive for the next three weeks and you can blend back into that school of yours." the voice advised.
'Got it.' Markus replied, getting ready and grabbing breakfast.
He sat opposite Bailey, eating his sandwich. Thinly sliced bear meat with vegetables was his staple food however, it was quite nice.
They went out at 6am to the field and began essence training once more.
Going over what he had already learned, Markus became even faster with his essence enhancement and now began to gain a feeling for the essence shell. Overall, he had a good foundation. But he could develop later, for now, he had one more task ahead of him.
"For the next few weeks, we will do combat training. You will use your essence trying to form a weapon. This is a delicate process and you probably will not be able to do it by the time you go back, however that is fine. A wooden stick will be used for your sword training. The point is to train your instinct and ability to use a weapon. When you go back to the academy you will be given a weapon until you can make your own. But can you guess what you can do even without an essence weapon?" Bailey asked
"Coat the weapon so I can use it against elemental constructs?" Markus asked.
Bailey was taken aback. It could be instinct. But what if it weren't.
"Yes. It is more difficult however, so was the shell. And you exceeded with grasping the essence shell, so maybe you will with this too. Let's begin." Bailey instructed.