I followed the directions they gave and headed out. The exit I took closely resembled the entrance to the Dwarves’ cave. Emerging into a fissure, I found myself between cave walls, with sand underfoot marked by impressions. As I bent down for a closer look, Rabbit quickly pointed out the specific shoe prints I was searching for.

  "Are you sure these are the right prints to follow?" I asked.

  "Absolutely. While most of these prints are clearly Goblin, and there are some larger humanoid-sized ones, this set matches everything I know about Saresh. We need to hurry, it's getting dark," Rabbit responded.

  "You mean getting light?" I looked up at the sky, noticing the pre-dawn light.

  "No, you idiot. The attack started at dusk. Remember, we manipulated time within the city walls. We're still affected by that time dilation. That means in about 10 minutes, we'll have only the light from two moons and no sunlight to guide us," Rabbit explained.

  I thought about staying inside until it was light, but then realized the flaw in that plan. The sun would not rise again for a week with the city still caught in time distortion. Hiding underground might have seemed easier, but I doubted it would have been safer. I had just caused that uprising, and I figured it was better to give them space and let things settle on their own. Besides, I had already gotten plenty of sleep, and I had made a promise to meet up with my friends and the Dwarves.

  I wasn't sure how far I would get from 10 minutes of dim illumination, but I began running nonetheless, following the path that Rabbit had outlined for me. Since I was in a fissure, the darkness was deeper than usual, shrouding the surroundings in near-total obscurity. With only one direction to follow, I doubted there would be any issues until I reached the top of the fissure, where paths diverged.

  As I emerged from the crevice, I found myself surrounded by trees, their shadows cast by the dim light. Far from me was the entrance I had initially used. Reflecting on it, I marveled at the sheer size of the city, which must have spanned an immense distance to cover such vast territory.

  I disregarded it and pressed on along the path Rabbit had laid out for me. Within six more minutes, the sun's glow vanished entirely, leaving me with nothing but the eerie glow of a red moon to illuminate my way. Its position was far from ideal, as had it been directly overhead, my visibility would have been significantly better. However, as it stood off to the right and was nearly full, the moon transformed the forest I was traversing into a scene straight out of a horror movie. The red moonlight cast elongated, sinister shadows, creating an unsettling atmosphere in which the darkness was only pierced by the blood-tinged illumination.

  "Is it just me, or do the moons feel off? Like, creepy in a way?" I asked.

  "The woods are unsettling right now, but that's not what you're picking up on," Rabbit replied. "What you're feeling is probably just a bit of fear from the uncertainty." I opened my mouth to argue, but Rabbit pressed on, cutting me off. "No, listen. Earth's moon follows a predictable path, aligned with the sun, which creates consistent shadow patterns. These moons, though, are balancing against each other instead of the sun and the planet. One night, they might be in the sky, moving in strange directions, and the next, they might not even appear. That unpredictability throws off the shadows, making everything feel wrong."

  He might be right, but I couldn’t shake the feeling there was more to it. The moons moving erratically across the sky, casting strange shadows, could definitely mess with my subconscious. Still, it seemed like something more profound was bothering me. Maybe it was the double shadows when two moons hung in the sky, but even that didn’t fully explain it. Until I could figure out exactly what was wrong, I’d have to let it go.

  As I followed Rabbit’s path through the woods, the trail, once marked by only a few distinct footprints, led us to a large tree. Suddenly, a multitude of overlapping tracks appeared, surrounding its base.

  “Look at this,” Rabbit said as he analyzed the scene. “These are all Saresh’s footprints. They circle this tree multiple times. He must be nearby.”

  I looked up, and in the lowest shout I could muster, I called out, "Saresh!" There was no reply, so I tried again, "Saresh, it’s Alf."

  For a few seconds, there was no response. Then, I heard a rustle from above. I turned my head toward the sound.

  "Alf," a whisper floated down from the tree.

  "Come on down. I’m alone," I replied, my voice steady.

  It took a couple of minutes more, but eventually, Saresh climbed down from the tree. Just as he reached the ground, I received a notification:

  You have gained level 5 in Tracking.

  "How did you find me?" Saresh asked, his eyes wide with a mix of surprise and relief.

  "How do you know I ever left you?" I countered playfully, keeping the mood light.

  "That would make sense," Saresh conceded with a chuckle. "I doubted you would have made it out alive if you had stayed."

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “I’m just kidding with you. I helped them, left, and then followed your footprints. It looked like you hadn’t walked for long before you climbed up this tree,” I replied.

  He frowned at me, likely trying to discern if I was telling the truth. Nonetheless, he said, “It’s dark. I know you mentioned the village to head to, but I wasn’t about to try it in the dead of night. There are things out there we can't see, and it’s been pitch black for a while.”

  His words made me pause and reassess. From what I'd observed, darkness had only just fallen, and it wasn't pitch black thanks to the moonlight. The moon, although currently veiled by clouds, still cast a faint glow. This discrepancy made me wonder if something had gone wrong with the time dilation or if he was not being truthful.

  Just then, as if reading my thoughts, Rabbit chimed in, “I think it’s your new Night Vision Ability. You can’t see in complete darkness, nor as well as the Goblins, but now you can see much better than most humans or even your former self. It didn’t occur to me before, but the light you’ve been seeing tonight is actually quite bright compared to previous days at this exact time, even without the moon.”

  That must have been what I was feeling off about. I was surprised that I didn’t notice right away. However, I suppose I wouldn’t have, since I was inside all day.

  I then looked at Saresh and realized he couldn’t see nearly as well as I. If I were to travel with him, he would need some light. I had briefly considered using my light sticks but quickly dismissed the idea, knowing they would make us easy targets. Instead, I turned to magic, reciting a short incantation.

  With a deliberate motion, my arms traced an arc before coming to a stop, and a small yet radiant light appeared at the tip of my hand. Unlike the soft glow Kaylie had once conjured, this light was strikingly bright. It matched the size of the orb she had used to guide us through the submerged tunnels of the spider's lair, but my recent transformation had amplified its brilliance to my eyes. At that moment, this brilliant orb pierced the darkness, illuminating the path ahead.

  I held the light away from my face to avoid being blinded by its intensity. It lit up the ground clearly for about eight feet, beyond which its glow gradually softened, blending with the ambient moonlight and casting a faint, steady glow over the surrounding area.

  “Come on,” I said, gesturing for him to follow me.

  Saresh stayed put, looking skeptical. “You’re kidding. That light is so dim that it barely illuminates you. We can’t navigate with that. We won’t see where we’re going.” For him, it was just a small thumbnail-sized light, but to me, it shone brightly.

  I thought about what to say for a moment, then said the best thing I could think of to make him follow. “I’m going to head out. I’m not certain that Rokus isn’t hungry. It has to be out here still.”

  Saresh fell silent, presumably concerned that any noise he made would draw the monster's attention. He trailed behind me in the darkness, navigating the terrain as best he could. After tripping and struggling to his feet three times, he finally closed the gap between us and tentatively grasped my shoulder. From that point on, with each misstep, I was there to support him, using my weight to steady him and prevent any further falls.

  Eventually, he voiced his confusion, “Where are we going?”

  He asked this because I was leading us back the way we had come. “We’re heading back to meet up with my friends and the Dwarves,” I explained. “I didn't send you there earlier because they probably would have tried to kill you on sight. But now that you're with me, it's different. Traveling together as a group will be much safer than heading back to the village alone.”

  Saresh seemed dissatisfied with the explanation, but he kept his thoughts to himself. Over the next fifteen minutes, his footing grew more stable, though he still stumbled occasionally. The clouds gradually parted, revealing the red moon in all its radiant glory. The landscape was bathed in its eerie glow, allowing even Saresh to see with greater ease. For me, the moonlit surroundings became as clear as daylight, and I received a much better and different view than I had ever seen in my life.

  As moonlight shone, the nocturnal creatures emerged, revealing a hidden world of vibrant activity. The animals appeared odd in this light, as their details were obscured by the monochromatic hues. Instead of discerning the colors of eyes and fur, I was met with eyes that shone like solid, glowing orbs and fur or feathers drenched in various shades of red. It was as if the entire spectrum had been muted, leaving me submerged in a surreal, crimson landscape.

  The animals seemed to recognize that I could see them and chose not to disturb us. I didn't encounter anything particularly unusual, just some birds and small creatures peeking out from the bushes. The sounds they produced startled Saresh, causing him to contemplate retreating to the safety of a tree. However, I gently nudged and encouraged him to keep pressing forward.

  After several hours of travel, we finally arrived back at the location of our initial campsite near the temple. We had agreed to meet there because the village was too far away, and this location was familiar to everyone in my group.

  As we neared the campsite, we moved stealthily toward the river, taking cover behind a tree before I dared to call out to the others. Still wary of potential arrows after my previous mishap, I scanned the area carefully. I noticed that our companions on the opposite bank hadn't bothered with concealment. Instead, they relied on the natural barrier of the river and their significant numbers to deter any would-be attackers.

  “It's Alf!” I yelled three or four times before someone I recognized answered.

  “Alf? You’re alive?”

  “Kaylie, is that you? Are you all safe over there?” I called back, my voice tinged with relief.

  “Yeah, it’s me. And the Dwarves are quite grateful,” she responded, her voice carrying clearly across the water.

  My concerns weighed heavily on my mind. History was full of examples where, even after being rescued, people still betrayed their savior. I thought about the aftermath of the Russian Revolution and how the rise of communism had left the country in disarray. The subsequent civil war had drastically depleted its food reserves. Facing the threat of widespread famine, the United States stepped in and provided substantial food aid to Russia. Yet rather than showing gratitude, the Russians began exporting grain to profit from that kindness. It seemed that every time someone extended a gesture of goodwill, there was always someone ready to exploit it.

  Navigating the riverbank required some careful maneuvering, but Saresh and I eventually found a path that kept us both dry and safe. As we reached the other side, I was immediately greeted by Sana and Kaylie, who had been anxiously waiting.

  Overwhelmed with relief and joy, I pulled them both into a warm embrace. Kaylie returned the hug enthusiastically, while Sana seemed momentarily stunned by the gesture. Despite everything, I felt immensely grateful that they had survived what I had feared was a foolhardy mission of my own making.

  "Where's Jack? He needs a hug too," I said, my smile brightening the tense atmosphere.

  Their smiles faded, and in unison, they replied, "He has been taken."