Sang, in Arboria…

  “It is time for you to return to Lakeside Landing,” whispered Dienna. She quickly motioned for me to grab my things. “Vienna and Saevel will make sure you make it safely back to your people.”

  I set the small knowledge crystal on the table in front of me before standing. “But, I thought we had more time?”

  All of my things were already packed in the inventory crystal, ready to go at a moment’s notice. The smaller healing crystal remained in a holder on my belt. I didn’t dare let it leave my sight.

  “The council isn’t thinking about the bigger picture,” she said in a quiet voice, as her hand wrapped around my wrist. Light flickered over the two of us, protecting us from others overhearing. “They believe that things shouldn’t change, and our alliance with Lakeside Landing isn’t helpful.”

  “But, so many are using the portal,” I replied, making sure to not break contact as she led the way out of the room.

  “They say those who leave don’t have the same values as the rest of us.” She shook her head and sped up. Her staff didn’t make a sound when it touched the floor.

  “Tell my daughter that our village stands with Lakeside. We will honor our promises.”

  My heart pounded as we scurried through the empty halls, before breaking out into the sunlight.

  “Aren’t you coming with us?” I asked, not liking the idea of leaving her behind.

  “No, I need to stay here, or you might not get away.” Her words hit me like a blow and I almost stumbled. “Don’t worry about me, I have my ways.”

  The bright sunlight flickered down overhead as she threaded her way through the enormous tree trunks. I kept pace as best as I could, thankful for her grip on my arm.

  A raptor purred within a bush, and Dienna stopped. “Rengu, you made it…”

  The beautiful creature stepped out and nodded to Dienna.

  “Rengu is bonded with my daughter, she will get you to them.” She turned to look at me with a frown. “You will need to ride on her back. It is a high honor, since you are not bonded.”

  I swallowed hard as a bright yellow eye flickered in my direction, but I nodded.

  “I will do my best.” Somehow.

  #

  Alex, near the Fortress…

  Something was wrong with the wall, and the entire situation in front of us. Daybreak started in the far distance as a slight lightening of the sky, but the slight increase in visibility didn’t help the feeling.

  No one was going through the gate. Earlier, on our way here, beetles, enslaved Azurafolk, and others had been slowly filtering in through the gate in the middle of the thick stone wall.

  Now, nothing moved in front of us, and not a single Forger was present.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked quietly, still trying to figure out what was going on.

  “They sent out many parties into the canyons,” said one of the cloaked watchers. “Everyone has been going, not coming.”

  I leaned closer, searching for something, anything, out of place. That made sense, with what Lenna said about the Aethelians.

  I switched to my other vision. Auras leaped out from various places on the wall.

  [An OFFENDER has been detected in your area with a bounty. You have been given a temporary boost to stats and abilities.]

  [Bastial, Chokepoint, Firestorm, Level 195, Unknown, Unknown, OFFENDER.]

  Even the notification didn’t help as I studied the bright orange blobs that sat on either side of the gate. Two more were on top of the wall, and lines of power connected all four of them.

  “There is a Forger guarding the gate,” I muttered under my breath.

  Sile stiffened, but nodded, and turned to look more closely out the window in front of us. “We will rest here in the back until tomorrow.”

  I needed food after all the travel to get here, though my feet thankfully didn’t ache. The long hike should have tired me out, but didn’t. So much had changed about me.

  The drain on my energy increased as I studied the auras, but I took a second to glance around the room as well.

  The two cloaked individuals had close ties with one another, while Sile glowed brighter than both of them. Connections stretched from Kabi to me, and from me to Dengu and Lenna.

  I cut it off as my stomach grumbled.

  Food, rest, and then more time to figure out Bastial and what he could do.

  Kabi and Dengu circled closer to the back of the room, and that's when I realized there was a small opening that led to a much larger space. Turning away from the window, I joined them and Lenna. A small cavern with two different gathering areas greeted me. One had bedrolls already, so we headed to the other.

  Kabi plopped down with a sigh.

  “Are you doing okay?” I asked, before taking a seat.

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  Dengu paced a little before curling up closer to the wall, as Strange popped out of my shadow. He raced close to his bigger friend, and hovered close by. The two had catching up to do.

  Lenna took a place next to me with a soft smile.

  “I didn’t tell him about my cousin,” he muttered. I knew he meant his father.

  “Now really wasn’t the time,” said Lenna, softly. “Plus, it sounds like that's a normal thing that happens within the Steadfast families. You will have plenty of time to catch up once this is all over with.”

  I dug around in my inventory and pulled out more of the tasty meat. The first bit helped settle my stomach. “I feel like we’re so close.”

  “Taking the Fortress is going to be a lot of work.” Kabi tapped his lower hands on his thighs. “I’m glad we only need to play our part.”

  “Removing the Forgers from this planet is a good first step,” I said with a nod, before taking another bite of meat.

  “First step?” asked Lenna. She nudged my foot, shooting me a glance.

  “I mean, after this, what’s our goal?” I glanced between the two of them. Dengu and Strange weren’t paying attention to us, and looked to be in a deep conversation of their own.

  “I don’t know,” added Kabi. “Some rest and time with my family is important. I’d love to show you my village, though it's in ruins by now, I’m sure.”

  I set a hand on his knee. “See, that can be our second step, help clean up your home village.”

  Noseen's comments about not leaving the planet immediately came to mind.

  I quickly added, “Plus, we have so much we can do in the dungeon.”

  “I wish we could communicate with others back home,” said Lenna, with a frown. “I didn’t leave on good terms, and cannot imagine what my parents think right now.”

  “They know you’re here and safe.” At least, I hoped Noseen had mentioned that to them, or at least to my dad to pass along. “Plus, maybe I can see if Noseen can restore the portal to your world.”

  Kabi’s eyes went wide and Lenna’s head snapped in my direction.

  “What?” Both spoke at the same time.

  “I mean, I can ask.” I shrugged, suddenly unsure of the request.

  “That’d change everything for my people,” she said with an open mouth.

  “They already have access to the Sisters,” I added with a frown.

  She threw a hand up in the air. “But that’s only useful for those already much higher ranked. This world is a natural progression. It makes sense the two were connected to begin with. The System tried to help the lower world’s people grow.”

  She just shook her head, muttering something under her breath that I couldn’t hear.

  “Don’t count on it just yet, I have no idea if he’ll agree,” I added, hoping I wasn’t offering something that Noseen couldn’t do. The connection to the Sisters had helped them as much as Lakeside Landing. And I had to admit, this might not be something he was interested in. Though, I hoped I could convince him. It sounded important to Lenna.

  Noseen’s comment about the ramifications of blowing up the portal weighed on me a little. Now, Lenna brought in the idea that the System was helping her people, even though it’d also helped the Forgers. Once we got rid of the Forgers from here, reestablishing the connection was a good thing, right?

  “Helping my village, and a connection to an outside world for it to manage, would change its status pretty quickly.” Kabi’s hands fluttered like they were looking for something to hold onto. “Most of the people fled to the water tribe, thankfully, but that might bring them back home to the forest.”

  “The forest is amazing,” I said. I loved the towering trees and mushrooms, especially compared to the hot canyons and dry air. “Oh, we can hunt down all the Harvesters as well as Forgers. We’ll keep plenty busy.”

  Simple goals compared to pushing an invasion off the planet. Yet, it sounded perfect. Especially if I could see my family again.

  I swallowed hard, thinking for a moment about her. Then I pushed that away. Once we took care of Dilom it wouldn’t matter, and I could take that secret to my grave.

  A heavy hand landed on my shoulder, and Kabi stared at me. “Heavy thoughts…”

  “Just a little, but I’ll be okay. We are close to our goals and getting a break for a while. It will all work out.” His hand slipped off my shoulder as I spoke. “Plus, I bet you cannot wait to get back to the dungeon.”

  The concerned look vanished from his face as he slowly nodded his head. “Figuring out something for my profession can take priority, which will be nice.”

  “Growth is good.”

  He repeated it after me. “Growth is good.”

  “We should rest,” said Lenna. “The suns are coming up, and dusk is when we’ll strike.”

  My sleep schedule was all messed up, but some rest would be nice. A visit to the Academy in the dungeon might help as well. It was a plan!

  I pulled out my sleeping bag and laid it out before crawling on top of the comfortable surface. The smooth rock above me reminded me of the safe area for rune users, and that I’d left Danilo's body behind.

  I didn’t dare argue with the First when he made the request, and it made sense. Still, he’d given me his heart, literally. Even while dying, he’d wanted to help. I had to make his sacrifice worth it.

  I owed it to him.

  The break would give me time to explore Mana Crafting as well. Figure out what had changed, and what hadn’t. Merging the two skills had to create something better than them individually, right? Already, my perception skill that worked with auras was different, since it used more energy than before.

  That meant something was different, and I needed to discover what. First, though, I had to focus on the Forger problem, since the profession problem had been solved, at least for the moment.

  I closed my eyes and found myself back at the lake by Lakeside Landing.

  “You must really love this lake,” I said with a smirk.

  A buzz arose from near my shoulder. “You did it.”

  “I did. My profession evolved.” Even saying it out loud felt good.

  “It took you long enough,” said Noseen, as I felt a weight settle on my shoulder.

  I didn’t let his words weigh on me. He grumbled about everything.

  “Is there a way to connect the portal from this world back to Lenna’s world?” I asked. “If not, it's okay, I just wondered.”

  “See, you are smart.”

  That had to be a good sign.

  “I plan on something of the sort, but it will take time.”

  “Great minds think alike,” I added, leaning back on my arms. The bright sunlight reflecting on the water felt so real, along with the breeze. It was pleasant.

  “What did you get?” Noseen asked after a moment. He buzzed a few times as well.

  “Elementary Mana Crafter.” I wondered how long it’d take him to ask. “Though I haven’t had a chance to do much with it.”

  “That… That wasn’t what I thought you would end up with. Interesting.” The weight lifted off my shoulder and Noseen buzzed away from me for a moment. “New pathways always appear around those of our kind. It makes sense that’d happen with you as well. First Shadowstalker, and now Elementary Mana Crafter.”

  “New pathways?” I asked.

  “Same with the Firsts. They change things for their people. Devourers always bring about bigger changes. Those old enough to know, watch for the ripples.”

  “Why are we hunted then?” This didn’t make sense.

  “I thought you were smart.”

  I resisted growling at him and let the ideas settle in my brain.

  “Because the people in power don’t like change. If things change, they might not be in power for much longer.” Hopefully, that was close enough to what he was looking for. At least it made sense.

  “At least you can still think.” He buzzed twice. “But yes, those in power, especially those of lower ranked planets, want to remain in power. Take the Jungle Folk. Nothing has changed for too long. Their people are dying, yet those in power still didn’t do anything about it.”

  “But now they have access to the Sisters,” I added, thinking of Lenna’s people and the last of humanity. “Plus, my people are there now.”

  “Yes, and can you imagine how those in power feel about that?”

  Unease settled in my stomach. Humanity finally had a home in Lakeside Landing. If Lenna’s people tried to take that away, that wouldn’t go well.

  For them.