Location: Thegara, Moon Valley, Vine Castle, Dungeons.
Zaira doused herself with the scent-killer potion, the bitter liquid clinging to her skin like cold oil, concealing her scent, matching it with the scent of the moss on the walls. She pulled a dark mask over her mouth, her eyes gleaming with silent calculation. The witch told her no one should see her face, otherwise she had to kill them.
With swift, measured steps, she approached the guards from behind, unseen, unheard. A flicker of fire ignited in her palm, and the paper of the spell started burning low and hot. The shifters barely had time to sense her presence before their bodies wavered, knees buckling as they slumped to the ground in a muffled thud.
Inside her dim cell, Elaika stiffened. The plop of torches and flesh against stone echoed faintly through the silence. She stood, the chains at her ankles whispering. With cautious steps, she neared the door, heart thudding low like a warning drum. She listened.
