Traps

The group walked through the Pale Forest, surrounded by an unchanging expanse of white trees. There were no paths, and ordinary people could easily lose their way. Fortunately, they were all Wizard Apprentices with Sorcery to guide them. Even so, every so often, Sain had to cast a spell to make sure they were still heading in the right direction.

After following the direction indicated by Sain's Tracking Spell for seven hours, they reached the edge of a lake. Mist floated across its entire surface. Together with the Pale Forest's white trees and the low temperature, it filled them with a dark, bone-chilling unease. The mist over the lake was so thick that they could not see what lay within it.

Green and the others hid behind trees at the lake's edge and discussed what to do next.

"What rotten luck. Why did it have to be a Fog Lake?" Sain said, staring at the mist blanketing the water.

Green understood why Sain was troubled. A Fog Lake was a phenomenon that occasionally appeared at lakes in the Pale Forest. Thick mist enveloped the lake and its shores, forming a natural barrier. The good news was that plenty of creatures came here. The bad news was that catching them was nearly impossible.

The dense mist of a Fog Lake interfered with detection Quasi-Sorcery within a certain range. That meant catching White Crows here would be difficult. Any that escaped would fly into the mist. If even one got away, White Crows would avoid this lake for a long time, and those within a certain range would steer clear of it too.

Under normal circumstances, the team could catch a few White Crows with traps and return with their task done. That clearly would not be enough now. If they failed,