James cancelled the Shadow Meld advantage and returned to his hiding spot in the trees. Moving carefully, he turned his head and looked for a shadow as far back as she could see.

'We need to get the fuck out of here,' James stated as he activated Shadow Step. In his rush to leave the area, he forgot about Onyx.

"Shit!" he mumbled as he tried to find her.

Rocko appeared next to him, "What is going on?"

James stayed still and waited, his eyes searching for Onyx and keeping an eye out for any alarm from the fire. 'I checked out the people around the fire. One of them is a crystal-haired mage, who also appears to be a Champion.'

Rocko frowned, "Then why are you running?"

Onyx slipped out of the shadows and gave James the stink-eye. If he didn't know better, she was giving him shit for leaving her behind. "Good girl," he encouraged her, ruffling her scruff. At first, she resisted, but she started to wag her tail after a few seconds. "Let's go," he whispered.

"I don't understand why you are running. There is a Dungeon you need to explore." Rocko continued.

'You knew they were there, didn't you?' James accused.

Rocko responded too quickly for James' liking, "Why do you say that?"

'You told me not to appear at the Dungeon. You knew people would be there,' James continued.

Rocko shook his head, "It is never a good idea to appear right next to a place like that."

James smiled, 'I remember something about you saying you couldn't lie to me. Did you know, or were you told, that there would be a Champion at or near the Dungeon? So answer only yes or no.'

Rocko's eyes twitched as he tried to figure out how to answer no. Finally, he caved, "Yes."

'Why did you set me up?' James demanded.

"The group thought you could handle this Champion. He started at the same time you did and is lower level. He already has one Dungeon First under his belt, which would give him a second." Rocko explained.

'So?' James asked.

Rocko sighed, "The group decided that you needed experience fighting another Champion. Since he was lower level, he would be a good target."

James paused and looked down at Rocko. "You and your group can go fuck yourselves. I don't kill on their command. I have no beef with that man or whatever he is, and I am not about to risk my life at four-to-one odds that I can kill someone I don't know anything about," he hissed.

"Glad am I to hear those words," said a voice behind him.

James spun around, raising his shield to the ready position. The crystal-haired man hovered half a meter off the ground and about five meters away from him. The man had a staff in his hand but was otherwise not making aggressive actions. James hadn't drawn his sword up to this point and thought doing so might provoke an attack. Onyx had turned when James did and growled. The man had snuck up on them both.

"I have no quarrel with you," James said, holding his position.

"To whom were you speaking?" the man asked, ignoring the statement.

"None of your business," James responded, placing his hand on his weapon.

The man held his empty hand, "I prefer to avoid conflict, but I espy only you and your Familiar. And you were not directing your ire toward her."

James kept silent, planning his escape. Darkness and then an Astral Portal should get him out of here. He would deal with Rocko later.

In the direction of the fire he could hear movement and some shouting. The man sighed, "My name is Ashrel Ajit. I don't know if it will mean anything to you, but you have my word that my people nor I will cause harm to you or your Familiar, so long as you mean no harm to us."

James shook his head and backed up a few steps, "I am sorry, but it is better if I leave."

Ashrel smiled slightly condescendingly, "And where could you safely travel to in the middle of the night and the middle of a swamp? Were you hoping to test the Dungeon yourself? You were not planning on joining us; that is obvious. Otherwise, you would not have slinked off the way you did. We were a surprise to you, and based on the few words you spoke, you felt you were entrapped."

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

James took another step back. He noticed that Onyx was moving back as well. He would have to get her to join him when he stepped through the Astral Portal. "Again, I have no quarrel with you," James repeated, "If you want to explore the Dungeon, then I won't interfere."

Ashrel studied James for a few moments, "Very well. Please take note that we will enter the Dungeon at first light. You may present yourself then, and we shall discuss your participation at that time."

At that point, the dwarf and the young man appeared through a break in the trees but well within the range of James' Darkvision. The dwarf raised his crossbow and aimed, but the young human only squinted at the shadows. Ashrel held a hand to the dwarf without taking his eyes off James, "Lower your weapon, Draggon. He has no quarrel with us so you will give him no quarrel in return." Draggon lowered the crossbow, but it was still held at the ready. Some cursing could be heard from further back as the Mage made his way through the swamp with a small globe of light illuminating his path.

James took a few more steps away from Ashrel and took heart from the fact that Ashrel didn't move from his spot. Once he was a fair distance away, he could see that the Mage had arrived with this light globe and was talking with the other three. It was more than the others were talking about while Ashrel continued to watch him, even though he was almost sixty meters away.

James sprinted over a small hill and kept running for several minutes. Onyx kept pace while James weaved between trees and jumped over pools of water. Rocko would appear ahead of him and then quickly be left behind. James wasn't in the mood to talk to him then, and Rocko had been silent since Ashrel appeared.

Once James was confident they were far enough away, he used his shield to create some Darkness and opened an Astral Portal. He didn't even bother saying anything to Rocko as he stepped through; Onyx was on his heels.

&&&&& ASTRAL SPACE &&&&&

When James and Onyx arrived in Astral Space, the area had not changed. It still appeared as a giant cloud of white in all directions. The only exception was a small globe of Darkness that surrounded James. When the Darkness dropped, James was still standing in the same spot. Onyx sat at his left, looking up at him, but her tail was oddly still. She knew something was wrong.

James was fuming. He was raging inside. His vision blurred as the fury consumed him. Taking a deep breath, James tilted his head back and screamed. It was a long scream filled with anguish and wrath.

He leaned forward and put his hands on his knees when he was done. He always appreciated the cathartic release of emotions, and the euphoria from the post scream helped ease the tension in his body. Onyx cocked her head at him and twitched her ears forward. James had to smile at that. He loved dogs and found them more expressive and honest than humans. Scratching her head, he stood up and looked around.

He had no plans on what to do next but knew he didn't want to deal with Rocko at the moment. Part of him wanted to talk about it with someone, sort it all out in his mind, but he soon realized he didn't have anyone to talk to. Veronika was someone he was romantically interested in, but he didn't know her well enough for this. Ferdinand was a business partner. Jones was blunt and honest, but he had more layers than James had seen so far. Glezda wouldn't understand, and Ignatius was too removed from humanity to care.

James decided on Veronika. If he hoped to have a relationship with her, then he would need to be able to confide in her. He had never had someone he could confide in when he was a SEAL. Some things were classified and Need to Know. He had done some things he wasn't proud of but were done out of necessity. Perhaps this would give him a chance to develop that kind of bond.

Activating the Primary Astral Anchor, James transitioned to his room at Ferdinand's. Then he moved a bit to a spot he knew was heavily forested and would allow him to appear without being observed. Before stepping into Real Space, James changed his appearance, removed and stored his armour, and changed his clothes.

&&&&& REAL SPACE &&&&&

James walked along Ash Rumbo's street and enjoyed Onyx's company. Rocko had yet to make an appearance; as far as James was concerned, that was fine. He spent some time ensuring he was not being followed while doing some shopping and working on his 'Urban' Skills. The lizard-man at the warehouse was the same as the day before, and the exchange went quickly enough. James told him that he would like some Alchemical items added to the return pile for tomorrow so that he could see if Glezda could duplicate them. Alchemical items were not hard to make, but they required a Skill most people didn't have. James was hoping it would open up a market they could exploit without dealing with Rare items. The lizard-man said he would have to clear it through Ferdinand and left it at that. After going with a couple of bags of Enchanted Items, James tried to stuff them in his Backpack of Holding, hoping the sacks would work the same as the bundles. He was pleased to note that it did. This gave him some ideas on carrying large quantities of other items that could just be stuffed in a bag. He even went so far as to buy a stack of ten leather sacks that he was able to store in his Bag of Holding.

When James and Onyx left the anti-teleporting zone, he found a secluded spot, stepped into Astral Space, moved to his room, and stepped out again.

----------------------------------------

James set his features to the default he used when dealing with Ferdinand and Veronika. Placing the backpack on the bed, he reached over and pulled the bell to alert Jones he had returned. Onyx jumped up on the bed, and James was too tired to admonish her. Eyeing the washstand, James walked over and poured water into the basin from the pitcher.

"Enter," he shouted when a knock sounded at the door. Onyx raised her head and watched the door.

The door opened, and a guard appeared and looked around the room, confused. It wasn't Jones, but someone James had seen around a few times. "Aye?" the guard finally asked.

"Has Veronika returned home yet?"

The guard paused for a long moment before nodding, "Aye."

James waited a few moments, but no additional information was forthcoming, "Can you let her know I would like to speak with her?"

The guard nodded again before quickly closing the door. The guard wasn't very talkative, which usually made for a good guard. With his hands and face washed, James picked a towel to dry off. A small note fell from the folds of the towel to the floor. Catching the note before it hit the floor, James opened it and saw only one word.

AMBUSH

Onyx's growling was the only warning James had as the door burst open and guards poured into the room.