…They were being watched.
It was subtle, and that explained why Finn hadn't noticed it until he consciously searched.
The surveillance wasn't from any of the patrons having their breakfast in the inn, or even from the receptionist, but rather, it felt distant, like they were being watched from a very far place.
They are probably using a tamed beast with good eyesight… Finn finished writing his name, careful not to show any change to his demeanor. He smiled brightly at the bubbly receptionist, who gave him a key to the suite Althea stayed.
A suite? Finn's eye twitched slightly, even more suspicious.
As Althea led the way up the stairs to their 'suite', Finn could only hold himself back from speaking till they entered the suite itself.
They reached the top floor with fewer doors in the corridor, showing that it truly was the VIP floor. All the doors here opened to suites.
Immediately they entered their assigned suite, Finn scanned the spacious room vigilantly. It had six doors to separate rooms besides the large living room that took up most of the space.
By all standards, this was a luxury suite in the sense of the word. The furnishing did not particularly meet the highest standard of lavishness. For example, the Slade Family Estate — Finn's home — was more richly furnished than this was, but the simplicity of this suite also had its own appeal.
It was in no way what he expected their reception to be like.
Finn was in the process of getting to his knees to look underneath the furniture for any kind of listening artifact or maybe even a small tamed beast that might be covertly hidden to listen in on their conversations, but Althea stopped him. "There's nothing in here. I made a thorough check," she assured.
Finn paused, then nodded, getting back to his feet. Althea was more capable and more knowledgeable than he was in things like this. If she had made a thorough check, then he could take her word for it. Her check would've covered what he wouldn't have even thought to check if he searched.
"But we are really being watched strictly. Why didn't I notice when I was walking through the city?" Finn frowned.
Althea didn't answer, simply packing her purple-colored hair tighter in the ponytail she tied it. She walked to the nearest window and looked down at the far street below, before closing the panel and facing Finn.
"Something weird is going on in this town—"
"—right?" Finn butt in, but Althea continued without pause.
"I don't know what it is, but I intend to find out. For the meantime, don't act suspicious. We'll wait for the others to arrive. When they do, I'll take the opportunity to get a clearer understanding as we move around."
Althea waited for an assent from Finn, who gave a short nod to assure her. She promptly moved to her room after that, leaving Finn to his own devices.
Well, that was brief… Finn slumped into one of the couches, finally able to relax after his days-long journey through the woods. He figured he needed a bath and a proper rest, since it was all he could do as he waited for the others to arrive.
.
.
On the evening of the sixth day, almost at the seven day deadline Althea had given, the last member of his group arrived. It was the freckled-faced, brown haired girl that arrived last. The others had arrived in intervals starting from the evening of the fifth day, and even crossing to the earlier hours of the next morning.
They had all been escorted promptly to the inn, where Finn spent the most of his day sitting in the lobby/dining room at a seat close to the doors, just to receive them quickly and show them to the suite.
After the brown haired girl arrived, Althea finally made another appearance. She had been in her room the whole time, leaving the rest of the duties to Finn.
Not that Finn had any objections. It was their test, and she was simply an observer.
Althea reiterated what Finn had already told the others as they arrived, before briefing them of their next day's schedule. They were required to visit various chaotic soul mass outbreak sites throughout the day, so it was a busy day ahead.
.
.
In the early hours of the next morning, Finn woke up at the exact time the bell back at the Seneschal Ossuarist School usually rang. His body had already gotten used to it. And it wasn't just him.
Immediately he walked out to the living room, he saw the entire team up and about, preparing for the day. Althea took her time, though. But Finn reckoned she was going through the Seneschal Sword Dance motions within the confines of her room.
Finally, at the crack of dawn, the whole team, together with Althea, were ready for action, waiting outside the inn for their guide to arrive.
But it wasn't until more than an hour after the day broke that a man strode casually towards them.
Isn't that Greg? The head guard from the tollgates? Finn raised a brow as he made out the man's features the closer he got. Yeah. It's him… Is he our guide?
"G'morning," Greg waved his large, muscled arm in greeting as he got within talking distance. "You lot are early risers. I thought I'd have to wait for you..." he chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. But seeing as there was no response besides a blank stare from the Ossuarists, he cleared his throat, "Ahem. Alright, shall we head to the first location?" He motioned and led the way without waiting.
Finn held back a wry smile at the man's attempt at being cordial. Their response had been instructed by Althea right from the start. They weren't to show much reaction to anything that was said to them, and even the usual banter that should have happened between the characters he had for teammates were prohibited for the time being.
Finn could see how uncomfortable that had made the head guard. From what Finn had seen of his natural behaviour the previous day, it seemed like he had been instructed to be as cordial as possible in his interactions with them. Something that went against his natural stoic, straightforwardness.
It was probably why he'd thrown it straight out of the window and defaulted back to his natural state after their lack of response.
He led them through the town in silence, weaving his way through the early morning bustle of merchants, travelers and even Arcanists already going about their day. They exited the city easily, heading straight west till there were no more buildings.
Finn nearly snorted at the 'ease' at which they'd left the town. He had felt at least five gazes lock onto him the closer they had gotten to the supposedly 'unguarded' edges of the town.
"We're here," Greg grunted, stopping in place and nodding towards the distance where the air shimmered and twisted like a desert heat was deforming the air.
But there was no heat at all, rather, the cold morning air still blew about, carrying a chill with it.
That's a raw chaotic soul mass deformation. Finn narrowed his eyes, observing the phenomenon with interest. He could see now how chaotic soul masses truly caused entropy, decaying the very fabric of the world.
Seeing for himself how the soul mass ahead intertwined with mana, making it chaotic and visible as it twisted in the air like something the world itself didn't know how to deal with, hit totally different than simply hearing about it.
"Alright, Finn…" Althea called, startling him out of his thoughts. "You're up."