By the time I logged back into the game, a few hours had passed and what greeted me, perceiving the world around Lenore, was a road surrounded by fields. The only one nearby was Sigmir, carrying Lenore on her shoulder.

“Welcome back.” Lenore told me, once my mind was fully aware.

“Thanks, it’s good to be back. You’ve left the city?” I asked, my senses greatly limited while in my Hallow. Looking out, into the distance, worked only through Lenore’s eyes, even if I was able to get a sense of my surroundings.

“Yeah, even after you disappeared, there were quite a few people who had a rather distinct interest in me and Sigmir, by association. We dropped the others off at the Adventurer’s Guild, gave them the pelts and stuff we acquired in the mountains and got out of there, before things got dicy.” she explained, both amused at the fact that I managed to get kicked out of another town without being present but indignant that she had been implicated, as if she was merely a mindless beast, following along its owner.

“Ylva stayed with them?” I asked, not wanting to engage with her amusement. I had a feeling it would only give me a headache.

“Mhm, that way, we can easily meet up.” she confirmed, causing me to give a mental nod of agreement. Before we could converse further, Sigmir spoke up, demonstrating her impressive, if slightly uncanny, ability to sense my presence, even while hidden within my Hallow.

“It’s good that you’re back.” she said, reaching up to give Lenore a gentle caress. The gesture amused me, just a little, to the point that I wanted to return it. Pushing out from my Hallow, I manifested next to her, stumbling a little on appearance. Apparently, I inherited some of the momentum Lenore had, when moving out of the Hallow, an effect that most likely would cause some physics-teachers severe headaches. Luckily on Mundus ‘because it’s magic’ was a valid explanation for phenomena that broke my understanding of the laws of physics, sparing me from trying to make sense of it.

“It’s good to be back.” I repeated my earlier statement, as Sigmir caught my hand in hers, while I took a moment to look around, taking in the surrounding area. There was little to see nearby, a mix of fields and meadows, with the mountains some distance behind us. It was reasonably easy to figure out where Neamov was, simply due to the massive cliff that towered above it. I still wanted to know if there were precautions against rockfalls or similar events, as the cliff struck me as a rather precarious place to walk beneath. Alas, that would remain a mystery for the time being.

“How long do you think the others will need to catch up?” I asked, still taking in the surroundings. I could see some buildings dotted about, most likely the dwellings of the farmers working the area, in addition to some copses of trees and a couple of shrubs in the distance. All in all, the land looked cultivated and tamed, making me feel a little disappointed. Maybe it was due to our previous travels, with the rather dangerous, wild lands surrounding us, but if the rest of western Aretia looked like the area around us, the travel would be utterly boring. Maybe we could find some bandits or something, just to liven things up a little.

“Likely, two days. We should look for a nice place to spend the time. I’m sure we could do with some relaxation.” she suggested, getting a nod in agreement. I had a few ideas what we could do to spend the time, some of which even included clothes.

“Lenore, would you be a dear and take a look from the air? An area near a brook, or some other water-source would be greatly appreciated.” I asked, getting an avian nod in agreement, before she took off.

Sigmir and I continued to enjoy our walk in silence, simply making our way down the road without any haste or pressure, when, maybe half an hour after taking off, Lenore returned into a range where she could transmit memories and complex thoughts. What she transmitted was simple enough to understand, images of a rough footpath, leading away from the ancient road, towards a particular stand of trees. There was a meandering creek nearby and even a couple of small ponds, with shrubs growing along their edges.

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With a mental nod, I agreed that it looked like a good spot to make camp while waiting and told Sigmir about it. She, too, agreed with me and we paid attention to the path that was ahead of us.

Despite paying attention, we would likely have missed the path, the spot near the road a little overgrown with shrubs, concealing it unless one was in the air or already aware of its existence.

“That doesn’t seem suspicious at all.” Simgir remarked, a little amused at the way the path was concealed. It might have been coincidance, but it felt far more likely that someone had an interest in keeping people from following said path.

“We should be careful.” I agreed with her remark, mentally switching from the casual way I had been walking to a more vigilant approach, my mind ready to react to danger.

Before we got far, I felt a suspicious ripple in the Astral River, similar to the sensation of magic usage but not quite. It was familiar nonetheless, the sensation of somebody using Observe to glean information. There was a short window between the use of the ability and its success and into that window, I managed to slam a burst of Darkness-Magic, badly focused but infused with the idea represented by the Concealment-Rune. It was crude, the magical equivalent of smacking a fly buzzing around me and it was just as effective. Instead of divining information on Sigmir and me, the user, whoever they were, got a burst of Darkness-Magic to the face. It wouldn’t deal any actual damage but I had a feeling that someone nearby was questioning their life-choices.

Focusing on the sensation, and my link to the Astral Power I had just used, allowed me to track back the skill to the trees we were moving towards.

“What happened?” Sigmir asked, having noticed the sudden burst of power I emitted, as she moved to shield me behind her.

“Someone just tried to divine information on us.” I replied, while focusing on the distant sensation, “Let’s see who was that curious.” I added, my lips twisting into a snarl.

She acknowledged my idea with a grunt, while making sure that her shield was affixed to her arm, just in case the next measure taken by whoever was within the trees came by projectile. Similarly, I made myself ready to react with walls of Ice or shield of Darkness, depending on the situation. At the same time, I let my Eisblumen stretch out a little, wrapping around my arm, just in case something managed to close in.

“Do you know why there’s someone running away on the other side of the trees?” Lenore asked over our connection, still flying high in the air above us.

“Someone just tried to divine information on us and failed.” I replied, closing an eye to see through her eyes when I felt her invitation, her intent saying a lot more than her words ever could.

On the ground below, two running figures were quite visible. Clothed in a mix of green and brown, with some leaves and twigs stuck to their clothes, they were clearly dressed to hide out in the foliage but now, when running, their concealment didn’t help them. What made them stand out even more was the lingering trace of Darkness-Magic sticking to one of them, faint but obvious to Lenore’s eyes.

“And that is our someone.” I nodded, mostly to myself. “Would you agree that their actions are not the actions of an innocent being?” I wondered, seeking Lenore’s agreement. Moments later, I received it and decided that someone who was sneaking around, hiding in the trees and fleeing as soon as they were detected would most likely be some sort of scout or bandit. Pushing Lenore to dive down, I prepared a magical attack, waiting until she was in range and once I felt that the distance was short enough, I lashed out.

Moments later, I regretted my action, the mind stronger than I had anticipated. Not strong enough to let my magic fully lash back against me, but strong enough to make it a painful experience. My connection to Lenore was disrupted and I felt myself stagger, just a little. Sigmir, obviously, noticed my condition, waiting for me to steady myself, keeping an eye on the trees, just in case.

“Give me a moment.” I told her, trying to shake the sudden headache. I was still a little out of it when Lenore landed on my shoulder, looking rather shaken as well.

“They got away, whoever they were. Your magic staggered one of them but if you ever do something like that again, I might peck you.” she told me, using my voice to speak out loud, instead of using our connection. I could merely nod, as even thinking too hard was painful in that moment, let alone use mental or magical abilities.