"...four tables by the radius by radius again..." 

 

  The green plain in front of Iris was bathed in a mellow light, which hung behind her, creating long shadows in the swaying green sea. She tightened her grip on the softly purring kitten latched onto her neck as she saw each wagon in front of her jump violently in a slowly advancing avalanche.

 

"Iri-?" Kia lifted her head to look at the tall undead just as a rock appeared from behind the wagon in front of them. "Aw." The wooden cart jumped violently under them, causing the necromancer to hit her pale cheek on Iris's collarbone.

 

"Are you hurt?" The risen asked the undead, rubbing the mage's reddened cheek.

 

"That's not the line." The suddenly awakened girl grumbled at the warm undead while adorably puffing out her cheeks in displeasure.

 

"What line?" The risen said while resting her head on the girl's forehead.

 

"You are meant to say, Did I sleep well?'" Kia gave her best impression of the elf's accent.

 

"I don't sound like that." The elf protested.

 

"You do." The girl jerked the risen in counter-protest before frowning at the elf some more.

 

*Sigh* "Did you sleep well?"

 

"I did."

 

"I'm glad to hear it. Did you dream today?" Iris combed some loose strands of hair away from Kia's face.

 

"I didn't."

 

"But you were quite talkative today." The elf gave the undead a small smile, causing the girl to frown in confusion. Sensing weakness, the ferocious hoplite quickly stole a kiss from Kia's lips.

 

"W-what do you mean by I was talkative?" The girl sheepishly stuttered.

 

"You were talking about four tables and a radius of something for the last bell or so. Could you explain?"

 

"Tables? ...Four tables... Four tables, ah, you mean that!" The girl triumphantly raised her pointing finger into the air. "I told you already I was calculating the cost for a spell that would protect me from life mana."

 

"And what do four tables have to do with it?" An image of the girl surrounded by four grand oak tables on all sides flashed inside the elf's mind.

 

"The table is a symbol I use to calculate the circumference of a circle since some ward spells project a perfectly spherical bubble around the caster, while some make a smaller ellipse and some even cling to create a skin-tight protection blanket around the caster. I was planning to make the ward into a sphere shape since it costs the least to maintain, but I got stuck on how I would supply mana efficiently to it since all my mana is partially stained with death mana, which is volatile in the presence of life mana. I could use pure mana manipulation to fill the ward, but that's dangerous since the mana around us is life mana and that doesn't sound safe to make a ward from the same mana that damages you. I could technically make the space around me empty of most mana by using powerful wind spells like a tornado, but..."

 

"But what?"

 

"But I would have to undress." The girl stared at the elf. "I don't want to do that; I have an image to maintain, you pervert."

 

"I am not a pervert," The elf hugged the girl closer to her as she softly whispered into her heart. "I'm very happy I will be keeping your beautiful body all for myself."

 

"Ahhhh"

 

  A banshee-like shriek suddenly sounded from the front of the caravan, causing the two undead to snap their heads toward it. Iris swiftly stood up and grabbed her spear before running toward the front, with Kia right behind her, just as the entire caravan ceased.

 

"Oh no, no, no! This cannot be happening to you Ba." Iris peered over the gathered crowd and saw Nu sitting in the driver's seat shaking her slumped-over brother.

 

  The already gathered humans parted themselves as Kasheng rode closer to the distressed human. When the shaman climbed beside the boy she gasped loudly, her heavily tattooed arm hesitantly reached for the boy's mask before backing away.

 

"Quickly someone give me a knife and an arrow." 

 

  As Kasheng's hurried words rang inside everyone's heads multiple hands holding knives and entire quivers reached out toward the venerable shaman. Expertly handling the knife the shaman cut the leather straps attaching the mask to the face of the heavily wheezing boy. As the mask fell on the ground with a hollow thud a collective gasp deafened everyone as the people closest to the siblings stepped back.

 

  Ba's face was covered with small yellowish bumps deep under the skin.  The boy winced in pain as his now exposed skin was touched by the elements as the masked woman snapped the arrow and poked the young blister making the boy cry out in pain.

 

"I'm sorry Nu. You have to let go of him imminently though." Kasheng's morbid voice reached Iris as she carefully picked up Ba's mask with the broken arrow and rested it on the unresponsive boy's lap.

 

"NOOO!" The young human screamed at top of her lungs while hiding her head in Ba's clothes.

 

"She shouldn't do this if she values her life." Iris heard a harsh but true comment spreading through the small gathering. The risen felt her cuff being pulled as she began to walk back away from the grieving humans who must already think of Ba as a dead man walking. "What is it?"

 

"Why is the girl crying?" The girl stopped walking causing the elf to be pulled backwards.

 

"She is crying because her brother contracted Bloom."

 

"That is Bloom?"

 

"I will not even allow you under any circumstances to get near that human so don't even think about doing anything." The elf warned, squeezing the petite's girl's hand. She absolutely would drag the girl by force away from the caravan if any more of the humans contracted the demonic disease.

 

"I won't do anything I promise just tell me why is she crying." Kia moaned for the elf to explain like a child not receiving their favourite treat.

 

"Ba had fallen sick with Bloom." Iris explained.

 

"Why can't they cast a healing spell on him then?" Kia tilted her head in profound confusion.

 

"Because when a person is afflicted with this disease healing spells accelerate their demise." Iris lectured the girl but instead of horror appearing in the girl's shining eyes at a mention of the incurable disease defining everything anyone had ever known a familiar spark of curiosity flashed in the girl's eyes. "Don't even think about it."

 

  The girl met the concerned elf with silence before she was suddenly thrown toward Iris.

 

"Siri, El-Iris! Please save my brother! They can't take him from me! I will do anything you want to! I will even become your slave if you save him!" Pitiful cries for help assaulted the pair's ears as the teary girl without her mask clinged like a slave to Kia's black dress not letting go.

 

"You must know how to cure Ba. Th-the spirit, I saw it beside you. That must be a sign!"

 

  Kia's slacken posture instantly straighten as Nu pleaded for their help. Iris sympathised with the twenty year old humans as she too would beseech her greatest enemies with pleas if the doll-like mage was dying but Bloom was too dangerous to allow Kia to stupidly risk her life for a lost cause.

The tall elf pried open Nu's hands from around the girl's slender legs before pulling her free, leaving the wreck of a human to slump into the ground and break down into a hysterical cry.

 

"Iris." 

 

"I told you no. It is dangerous to even try to help Ba." Iris looked at the stubborn necromancer. A terrifying image of blue and golden flowers growing around the girl lying on a path of rotten wasteland inside her mind causing her to squeeze the girl's cold hand harder. "I can't risk you, magic fuels the disease and I don't want to see what will happen if it infects you."