The task force moved cautiously through the Wastes, the map from the ruined temple guiding their steps. The air grew colder, the Void's influence more palpable with each mile. Kael and Liora led the way, their uneasy partnership holding under the weight of their shared survival. The team, though still divided by race, began to rely on each other's strengths, a fragile unity forming amidst the desolation.
As they paused to rest, a sudden commotion broke the silence. Supplies—carefully rationed food and water—were found scattered and ruined, the containers slashed open. Torren, the grizzled Solaris warrior, pointed an accusing finger at Liora. "This is your doing, Lunari! Sabotage to weaken us!"
Liora's eyes flared with indignation. "You think I'd risk my own life for this? Check your own before blaming me!" Her voice cut through the rising tension, but the damage was done. Kael stepped forward, his expression hard. "She's right, or she'd be dead too. But someone here isn't what they seem."
The team turned on each other, voices clashing as suspicion took root. Liora's hands tightened on her daggers, her pride stung, while Kael scanned the group, his jaw set. The Lunari archer Sylis muttered about Solaris greed, and a young Solaris recruit glared at the Lunari, fists clenched. The unity they'd begun to build crumbled under the weight of mistrust.
Liora stormed off to cool her temper, disappearing behind a rocky outcrop. Kael, driven by a nagging doubt, followed to investigate. There, hidden among the debris, he found a torn cloth bearing the mark of a radical faction—a group known to exploit the Void Plague for power. The sabotage wasn't Liora's doing; it was an inside job. He returned, evidence in hand, and confronted the team.
"Stand down," Kael ordered, holding up the cloth. "This wasn't her. Someone among us is a traitor." The group fell silent, eyes shifting uneasily. Liora reappeared, her gaze locking with Kael's. He met her stare, the apology unspoken but clear in his tightened grip on the cloth.
"I don't need your pity," she said coldly, though her shoulders relaxed slightly.
"And I don't give it," Kael replied, turning away. The words were harsh, but the gesture—clearing her name—hinted at a shift. The team resumed their march, the traitor's identity still a shadow among them, but the incident left Kael and Liora with a grudging respect, a crack in the wall of their hatred.