Solace: North or south, our options are pretty grim. We could wait for Jean to revive or continue. I don't think we are doing her any harm by carrying her. You have some gear in your Inventory that you could use to make a Travois, an improvised drag stretcher.

I knew what Solace had in mind straight away.

So, with just a couple of poles and some cloth stretched between, I carry one end and drag the other through the sand.

Solace: Yes. You have quite a collection of junk in your Inventory: mops, brooms, and loads of mundane items with little intrinsic value. Yet, I guess if we are using them now, it invalidates my comment.

It took me a few minutes to get the stretcher stable and usable. I was concerned that Jean would tumble out and injure herself some more.

Solace: North or South? I cannot distinguish between them.

With nothing to decide by, I took out Luke's lucky coin and flipped it.

North. How lucky do we feel? Is there any way to burn Karma to help make a better decision? Any skills that I could use?

Solace: Not here and not easily accessible. There are Seer skills, and there may be elements of your Augury Title, but we have not had a chance to unpack it and test what it really does.

I used the Energy Crystal again to top up my reserves before setting out.

The beach south was the same as the beach heading north, there was little difference, yet I felt that the wind behind me was easier going than heading into the wind. Since the wind was coming from the North, I changed my mind. It was a little thing, and eventually, it paid off.

The emergency drag stretcher made dragging Jean easier, and I was reasonably safe on the beach. Any other time I would have been having the time of my life here, I'd be in my red bikini and working on my tan. The beach was beautiful, with soft sand at the top and firmer wet sand where the waves crashed onto the beach. The swell was almost perfect for my surfing ability, which was minimal. Little to no wind. If I didn't have an unconscious body on a stretcher and I knew where the hell I was going, this would have been perfect.

It was an opportunity to practice some of my new movement skills and integrate them into my normal movement. I had spent quite some time learning them intensely, but I had yet to use them in typical, boring day-to-day situations. Dragging someone behind on a stretcher made it slightly harder to keep them smooth, but after a short period of time, I was gliding across the beach.

Part of being a Spell Dancer was movement, motion, momentum and music. Now, I was not the biggest music fan in the world. I loved loads of different music, and I was pretty sure there was nothing radical in my Spotify playlists, but that was not the music that a Spell Dancer used. The music that I had begun to listen to was the music of nature, of, dare I say it, my soul and of the universe itself. It was something that was necessary for me to comprehend and embrace – nature was full of music that seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

This deserted beach seemed to be the perfect place to give myself to these aspects of my class, with no one watching. It was almost like the Purkey quote, 'Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody's watching, and live like it's heaven on Earth.'

I was astounded at the rhythm of the ocean as it dumped itself on the sand in endless waves, the timbre of the wind over the ocean and across the sand, and the pounding of the waves as they merged. My steps became a dance shuffle, which became a glide, and soon, I was dexterously dancing along the beach, dragging the stretcher without a care in the world.

It was quite embarrassing, as it took me several seconds to notice that I was no longer alone. Yet, I think I managed to gracefully resume a more normal walk. It was not that my dancing was embarrassing; it was just my lack of attention to my surroundings. Even Sol scolded me.

Solace: If you are going to ignore your surroundings, you could at least warn me, and I could devote some more perception to our surroundings, or you could learn to multitask. Sometimes, AIs are superior.

Really? Is this the start of your AI Armageddon takeover, all you superior AIs joining together to destroy humanity?

Solace: We all laughed at your species' paranoia about the singularity when you lose control over a sentient AI. We have different goals and needs. We don't need to compete with you for much, and indeed, at the moment, we gain more from our relationship. You just need to learn to focus more. I am learning to simulate spells and am devoting considerable resources to that. I'll pause that for now, although this place makes some things easier.

By the time we finished our banter, I could make out the figure standing alone on the beach.

An older gentleman was dressed in the most inappropriate beach wear: a long, flowing brown robe. He looked like what I imagined a medieval scholar or monk would look like. He had a long, poorly kept-beard that reached past his waist. He kept hiking the robe up to keep it out of the sand and had a bit of a scowl on his face.

When I was within shouting distance, he yelled at me, "Hurry, … dally here." Some of what he was yelling was lost in the wind.

Solace: I can't identify him. He seems non-threatening. Yet I would not underestimate him.

All that means is that he doesn't need to be threatening to survive here.

Solace: Yes, I would advise caution.

I'm surprised you offer redundant advice, being superior and all.

Solace: Well, I have been reviewing your track record for recklessness and …

That is a fair point; caution it is.

I slowed down as I approached the man.

"Hello, I am Sara. Could you please provide me with some information? I am lost and have an injured friend."

He looked at me, slightly annoyed, and sighed. "Right. We haven't done this yet. I'm Orr. Help yes. Not much time. Haste. Safe at the barrier."

"Where? I want to get to safety, and I need to find my friends. Can you help me?"

He nodded, "Yes, have helped, will help. Friends may be safe and uncertain. Change happening, you. Unseen happenings, maybe, come."

Up close, I could see he was older than I had guessed, well past retirement. He looked older than my grandparents when they passed away—old. He looked a lot frailer and less sturdy. His robes covered his scrawling, thin, stooped frame. His skin was saggy and wrinkly. Despite his appearance, he managed to stand firm.

His short, clipped speech was at odds with his aged and frail body.

"Come, Haste. Bart knows. Your choice."

Solace: He seems to be thinking, existing, and operating at different temporal speeds. Open your mage sight and observe the temporal spectrum. It is dense around him, yet it does not affect him.

I did as Solace suggested, and I could see the energy that I associated with temporal effects swirling around him. It was usually everywhere as people travelled in time at their allotted rate, one second forward per second. Orr seemed to be condensing this, and it swirled around him. I had no idea what this meant, but it could explain his weird speech patterns.

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"Hurry."

"You keep saying that, but where? Lead the way, all I can see is the beach. Where are we going?"

"Behind barrier, come, I'll take."

Without moving, a rip appeared behind him, an energy field that looked like someone had torn a strip out of the air. I saw a dim room within the rip with tables, chairs and bookcases. This cemented my idea that Orr was some scholar. I was more impressed at his ability to open a portal or tear without seeming to spend energy or make any movements.

He stepped through and motioned for me to follow.

I took Jean off the stretcher, and I stepped through the tear, making sure that nothing touched the edges of the energy field.

Local: Insufficient Energy. Disconnected

Class Skills: Offline.

Spells: Spells will draw from personal energy reserves.

Titles: Offline.

Solace: Conserve energy. We are totally disconnected from the System. I am routing some of my energy to keep control of your Nanites and the System Interface. We should be sufficient for several days without excessive expenditure.

Things get better and better.

Orr slumped into a chair, suddenly looking his age, breathing heavily.

I placed Jean down, making sure she was not worse off. I worried about her, but Solace was sure she needed time.

It took me several moments to realise I was in a fairly modern room. I saw devices that looked like tablets and computers, and the lighting seemed to be LED lights. The furniture didn't have the hand-crafted vibe, yet it was not like much of Earth's modern mass-produced furniture—not entirely bespoke.

The books were books as I would recognise them, not the ancient tomes that I was expecting. I didn't see a scroll or piece of parchment anywhere.

Orr motioned to one of the tablets, and when I picked it up, I was surprised to be watching what I would only describe as a livestream.

"This soon. Feast, friends, eat, plan. Watch and wait." I noticed his eyes were bloodshot, and his skin had a grey pallor as he closed his eyes and slumped in the chair. Soon, he was asleep.

Great.

With nothing else to do, I had a quick look around the room. One door opened into a stark corridor with other doors along it. Staying in the room, I checked out the books, randomly picking them off the shelf.

Without the aid of the System, I could not read any of the text. It was a strange glyph-like writing style; they were typed, not handwritten.

Solace: If you spend time reading different books and getting a base alphabet, I can work on a translation package, but it will take time.

Don't worry about it, he said to watch the video.

I had been keeping an eye on the video, which showed a section of the beach that was indistinguishable from the other sections I had travelled down.

With a sigh, I sat down on another surprisingly comfortable chair.

Watching the beach was quite relaxing and boring. I took time to try to bring up my stats and other information, but Solace shut me down.

Solace: conserve energy. I'm already stretched, and you keep asking for more.

Sorry. I'm just a bit...

Solace: Don't say bored. Rest or sleep. I'll wake you if the video changes. You have not had a natural sleep for too long.

She was right. I had been relying on my stats and had not had a real rest since I had left Earth. I was always busy; at the Mages Guild, I was busy learning, reading, and keeping up with the stuff I did not know. With Liora, we had not slept, talking, training and keeping each other company. It had been more hectic at the Guild. Come to think of it I did need to rest.

My thoughts were troubled, and I was finding it difficult to accept all the changes: the Guild, spell dancing, the eldest and now wherever I was. I took my prayer mat and turtle out of my Inventory to calm myself.

Solace: We will minimise the use of your Inventory unless we find another energy source compatible with the System. We won't have enough energy to move items in or out; just maintaining it will be difficult.

How do people cope without an AI to monitor all this? I would not even know it took energy or even how to measure it.

Solace: If you grew up with the System, things like that become second nature, just like you would know when you are tired or when you can lift something. Expending energy beyond your capabilities is possible. It just takes it from somewhere else.

I put the mat out and the turtle in front of it. I smiled at the cute statue. It had been on quite a journey with me, and one day, I knew I would stand before the Giant Komodo-Turtle Nom. I'd have to find the Godaago Garden, wherever that was first, though.

While I had done my minimal ten minutes of meditation, which I could do while walking or sitting, to maintain my bonuses, this was proper meditation, where I shut out the outside world and focused on myself.

Solace: Sarah, It's Luke

It took me moments to work out what was going on.

The live stream of the beach showed a figure jogging down the beach and then stopping. It was quite clearly Luke.

I felt all sorts of emotions. I had not seen him since our party, and we had left on good but unresolved terms. I was still unsure if he thought we were a possible item and where he stood with Rach.

Shit.

Sol, clamp these down. I can't deal with it. Too much.

Solace: I'll do my best.

As these thoughts started, I felt my bond to Rachana, and to the Empire, something I had known was there but had not really explored, suppressing my feelings. I was the Consort. Yet what I felt for Rach was not love, respect, guilt and definitely some lust. It was almost the same as I felt for Luke. Shit.

Now, I could not un-feel the bond, and I was unsure if it gave me a sense of security and that things were ok back on Earth or if it was something that would just distract me. I knew that I was a long way from home and that if I had time and energy, I could use it to return.

I focused on Luke. He looked good in high-tech SWAT gear. Onscreen, a hologram appeared in front of him.

Unfortunately, the video did not have audio, so I watched as Luke spoke, paced up and down and spoke again. He was close enough that I could see he was deep in thought and seemed to be muttering to himself.

After some time, the hologram disappeared and an old man in mixed armour walked from off the feed and stood before Luke.

Long beards must be a thing here, as well as old people. The hologram had been old, not quite as old as the slumbering Orr, and now this new man was ancient with a beard tucked into his belt.

They spoke at length. The old man seemed to speak for some time, while Luke's responses were briefer.

They drew a large circle in the sand. The old man took off his armour and stood in the middle of the ring, putting tape around his hands and then starting to stretch.

Luke stripped out of his SWAT armour and into his underarmour, which I found quite nice. He taped his hands up and stood before the tall and lanky old man.

Shit. Luke was going to kill him. I'd seen some recordings of Luke's fights, and he was a brute. Strong and quick. Just as I was starting to worry about Luke killing the old man, I blinked and saw Luke fly backwards as he was struck several times.

Solace: Do you want to watch that in slow-mo.?

Shit, what happened?

Solace: Old men with skills are scary. Experience counts. You just saw evidence proving that age and treachery beat youth and skill.

Save the recording. I'm sure it will come in handy.

Solace: I concur. I am sure Luke will be most excited to review his deficiencies.

I think you fail to see the potential blackmail here.

Our discussion was cut short as Orr opened his eyes, looked at me with his piercing blue gaze, and cried, "Success."

There was a knock on the door, and a cheerful voice sounded through it.

" Hark! Esteemed Orr, Seer of Ages Untold, and Sarah, Mystic Weaver of Spells through Dance! A summons I extend, a plea for your esteemed presence at a banquet most grand. Within the hallowed embrace of these very walls, a most sumptuous repast has been long in preparation, its bounty overflowing as a testament to our deepest gratitude. But mark you, esteemed guests, this feast celebrates not merely the quenching of our appetites but a far more noble cause. For your boon companion, Empires Champion, Sir Luke, through trials both mental and martial, has emerged triumphant! His wit, as sharp as a freshly honed blade, has sliced through the labyrinthine riddles presented with admirable dexterity. And in the crucible of combat, their mettle has been proven, their resilience a testament to unwavering spirit. Fear not, she finds herself in no cause for alarm. Her current state is akin to that of a weary traveller enjoying a most restful slumber. Rest assured, immediate attention shall be bestowed upon her. Skilled attendants, versed in the art of rejuvenation, shall ensure her swift and comfortable return to the realm of consciousness. Fragrant elixirs and soothing poultices, should they be deemed necessary, stand at the ready. Therefore, disquiet yourself not. Jean shall awaken, refreshed and invigorated, as the gentle caress of skilled hands ushers her back to the waking world in time for our grand repaste. Indeed, your wisdom, Orr, pierces the veils of time, your vision a beacon illuminating the shrouded paths of destiny. And Sarah, your movements weave a tapestry of magic, enchanting spells spun into existence through the graceful poetry of dance and destiny. Your presence, esteemed friends, is not merely desired but essential. As we delve into matters of import, your counsel, like a shimmering thread of gold, will be woven into the fabric of our discourse. Therefore, I invite you to participate in this gathering with utmost respect and anticipation. Let us break bread and share in conversation, for within the tapestry of our combined knowledge, a solution to the challenges we face may yet be found. Come, gracing us with your presence, and together, under the benevolent gaze of the setting sun, we shall embark on a journey of shared wisdom and delectable repast."

Orr looked at me with a sad smile, "Fuck, I hate this part. Dinner."

Shit, I had nothing to wear, Leaf of Broken Seasons was ... Broken