After they avoided the large cat, the group walked along the trail observing the wildlife. It was obvious that neither Nat nor Jeff knew that they were seeing a positively incredible amount of wildlife for a city park. Everything from small birds to deer wandered past them, and none of it seemed afraid of Man.

Serenity wasn’t sure how much of that was because of where they were; it was entirely likely that a good bit of it was because they were dungeonborn creatures, made rather than raised normally.

As they walked towards the triple nexus itself, Serenity watched for the planned encounter. Raz was going to herd “something interesting” towards them; he and Aki hadn’t wanted to say what, and the joy they seemed to get from the secret was enough to keep him from pushing too hard.

They were nearly at the nexus itself when Serenity heard Aki call :To your left!:

Serenity searched, then found what she was talking about. Ahead of him and a little to the left was a moose. “I didn’t know we had moose.”

“Neither did I.” Rissa’s eyes were on the same thing. “I also didn’t know moose were bright blue. I’m pretty sure they’re not supposed to be.”

Serenity saw Nat’s camera turn to find the moose, following the direction Serenity and Rissa were facing. The reporter must have looked as well. “I’ve seen moose before. Is it steaming?”

“No. Steam would be rising, that’s falling. It might be a mist but I think it’s probably a freezing fog. Either way, it’s actually colder than its surroundings.” Nat sounded confident yet astonished.

:It’s my first magical beast.: Aki announced proudly. :It’s called a Boreal Moose. I thought about getting sparkweed but when you said you wanted a show, I thought this would be better than a magical plant.:

“What is that thing?” Jeff’s words made it clear he didn’t hear Aki.

Nat shook her head. “A cold-based moose of some sort.”

“I’d have to get closer to use Analyze,” Serenity stated, “But it’s likely that it’s a magical variant of a moose. It’s likely no more dangerous than a normal moose, as long as you don’t get close enough to feel the cold.”

Past the moose, Serenity could see a young dragon; it had to be Raz. He should be in the view of Nat’s camera, but neither she nor Jeff said anything. Raz reared up on his hind legs and spread his wings in a show, trying to make the moose move away from him and towards the others. It didn't seem to have much effect, since the moose simply snorted at the distant "bird", but it did start to meander towards the group of humans. Raz turned and disappeared into the trees behind him.

Serenity didn’t say anything about the dragon; Raz would make a great easter egg for people to find in the footage later.

The moose was now almost close enough and still moving closer. “Move on down the path a bit. I’ll catch the moose’s information and share it.”

Basic Analyze

Boreal Moose

This moose has adapted to live in climates that would normally be too cold or too warm by becoming more cold-tolerant and generating its own cooling field, which it uses as a defense against both the weather and predators. Herbivorous and generally calm and nonthreatening to other species, the Boreal Moose is a challenge for predators that cannot deal with its cold. Like any other large herbivore, the Boreal Moose can be dangerous to the unwary.

Serenity wondered if the moose would be difficult for non-cold-tolerant plants, or if it simply wasn’t cold enough to be a problem. The description didn’t say, but Aki might know. He’d have to remember to ask later; asking now might be a problem with outsiders present.

Serenity shared the description. “We’re almost to the nexus itself. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to see directly there; I expect the moose is more interesting than the nexus if you can’t see magic. We’re already in the ley lines.” They were only a little higher in magic density than the rest of the dungeon; Serenity suspected that was because the entire dungeon essentially became the nexus.

“This is good. I’m not sure which will be more interesting, the magic moose or the interview.” Jeff Rosenthal shook his head. “I think we’re good. Can you point out the nexus from here?”

Serenity nodded. “It’s at the base of that hill - it’s not a single point, it’s actually a pretty big area, but that’s where it starts.” The spot he pointed out was barely on the edge of the nexus area. It was as close as he wanted to take a camera, since the hill-homes couldn’t be seen from there. Aki was planning to increase their camouflage, but she hadn’t had time yet and they were visible from the actual center of the nexus.

Nat took a couple sweeps of the area, then they turned to leave.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Before we get too far, there are a few more more questions I should ask.” Jeff stopped without actually asking a question.

“Okay?” Serenity wasn’t sure what the problem was; unless he was going to get personal the way Made did, there wasn’t a problem with asking questions. That was why they were there, after all.

“How did this all start? Why is the Tutorial here?”

That question shouldn’t be causing Jeff any concern. Was it a later question that made him seem nervous? “I don’t know. All I know is that the Voice arranges a Tutorial when it reaches a new planet. I don’t know how the Voice travels or why it reaches planets when it does.”

He’d never thought to ask the question that way. Why the Voice arrived wasn’t important to Vengeance, but maybe it was something Serenity should look into.

Maybe it would just tell him?

Voice? Why are you here?

[Order’s Voice follows where Order’s Reach extends]

What is Order’s Reach, and how does it grow?

[You are not currently permitted to be informed]

How do I-

Serenity wasn’t even done with the question when the Voice spoke again.

[Ask someone else. I cannot reveal more to one aligned with the Lost Planet]

Serenity had the feeling the Voice had pushed as far as it could to tell him why it couldn’t say more, but the term “Lost Planet” made him wonder. Did the Voice mean Earth? What else could it mean?

While Serenity was talking with the Voice, Jeff had worked up his courage to ask the next question. “All of the instructors except you are outsiders. How do we know they aren’t just another invasion, sabotaging us?”

That was an excellent question. It was one Serenity had been wondering himself. “All I can say is that instructors get better rewards at the end of the Tutorials based on how well the students do. That’s the Voice’s way of trying to get them to teach correctly.” Serenity paused. “Still, that doesn’t fix all the possibilities. All I can suggest is an old political slogan - Trust, but Verify. Use what you’re taught as a starting point to learn what you can, but know that the truth is almost always more complex than what can be taught in a few weeks.”

The reporter nodded as though what Serenity said made sense. “One more question. If you’re from Earth, how come you’re an instructor? How do you know so much about all of this?”

That must be the question he’d been working up to. He’d asked it carefully, but Serenity knew why it was the last question - that way, they’d have all of the others even if Serenity got upset and was unwilling to answer more.

It was a question he’d expected and carefully prepared an answer for with Rissa’s help. Her original plan was to talk about visions of the future, but he hadn’t wanted to reveal her abilities so they’d gone with a plan that didn’t talk about the future at all. It was a complete fabrication, but it was still a better explanation than “I went back in time and am trying to fix everything that went wrong in the original timeline” or “my girlfriend has visions of the future and I want to fix them”.

The “visions of the future” one didn’t explain enough, and things were already diverging from the original events; the events he remembered would be moving and might well not happen the same way, even if he didn’t affect anything beyond what he’d already done. This way, no one would expect him to know the future.

Serenity smiled slightly. “I believe I mentioned before that Earth has never been completely without magic. There have always been spellcasters on Earth; we simply tried to keep it quiet and not make waves. Our magic is … somewhat less spectacular than the magic from a Path, which makes it easier.”

Serenity paused and waited for Jeff’s nod of understanding before he continued. “Our technology is unusual, but so is our magic. That matters for me, because before the Voice came, I was a Death mage. Before you ask, no, I don’t mean a necromancer. Necromancy is far more limited than Death magic.”

Serenity reminded himself not to go into too many details. This was answering a question, not teaching magic. “The Life and Death affinities are considered advanced Affinities, but they are both extremely common on Earth. They’re common enough that a Tutorial could easily have a dozen people with each; one would be unusual on another planet. This meant that they needed teachers for those Affinities. They had a Life mage, but they didn’t have a Death mage. Since I was in the Tutorial and am fairly good at Death magic, I was asked to do some teaching.”

“Was it really that simple?” Jeff didn’t seem to quite believe it.

Serenity smiled wider. “Pretty much. I made the mistake of casting a spell in front of a teacher who knew they were shorthanded. They couldn’t force me to accept, but they certainly made it easier to say yes than no.” Serenity paused. This was a perfect place to slip in the lie. “One of the reasons it was easier was the promise of information about what it’s like off Earth. When I’m in a Tutorial and not teaching, I spend a lot of time talking to other instructors or reading stuff about the greater universe.”

Serenity told himself it was partly true. He did spend a lot of time with the other instructors. Learning about the rest of the universe wasn’t the reason, but surely that was believable?

Serenity was sure it was obvious he was nervous. He wasn’t certain if other people could tell he was lying, but it was possible. He’d always been terrible at it. Hopefully the partial truth would be close enough?

Jeff seemed to have bought it at least. “Oh, we’re back at the parking lot. Before I go, one last question - can we make it go away? It’d be easier to fight the invasions if they weren’t supported by the Voice, wouldn’t it?”

It probably would be, but Serenity wasn’t going to say that. “As far as I know, it’s impossible. I’ve never heard of the Voice leaving anywhere it’s been.”

That was true, though Serenity was starting to wonder if there was something he didn’t know. What had the Voice meant when it called Earth a “lost planet”?

The word “lost” echoed in Serenity’s mind and reminded him of Althyr asking him to “restore the Lost”. Was it possible that it was connected, or was it just the same word being used for two separate things? He’d have to ask his mentor the next time he visited.

Come to think of it, that should be soon. He’d finished the book on the Void, after all.