Stef threw himself up the stairs two at a time, chasing the young man who had blown past the guard post and shot up the stairs.

They put layers of signs in brilliant red letters, constantly illuminated, telling people NOT to go into sections reserved specifically for security personnel. Go figure that people would ignore the signs when they matter most — in times of crisis!

It was dangerous on top of Spearpoint’s walls! They weren’t made for random people to strut about the top!

Forget about the monsters, Stef himself had almost fallen off the walls a half dozen times! Especially on days like today!

The stone stairs were slick from rain, but the moss and lichen that were growing in the cracks provided firm footing. Stef couldn’t even tell what class the young man wielded; he had the robes of a mage. But judging by the speed at which he climbed the stairs, he had the physical attributes of a monk.

And he carried a sword! Monks didn’t carry swords! As far as Stef knew, none of the religious orders of monks even operated on the Savage Expanse!

“Stop! This area is restricted!” Stef shouted just in time for the young man… monk… mage… to stop moving. He finally landed [Identify.]

[Feng Sai, Level ??? ???]

Stef’s eyes widened. Question marks meant the level disparity between them was a vast gulf. The man stood staring into the far distance at the monster trundling through the jungle. Stef didn’t hesitate. He threw himself forward, grabbing at Feng’s back.

It was too late to back out now. His hand closed around a fistful of cloth.

He saw the look on Feng Sai’s face — bewilderment, panick, fear. Then the world exploded around them in green fire, the horizon blurring before being ripped away. Stef felt his ears pop.

Something incomprehensible pulled Stef forward across a vast distance. He found himself screaming as he crossed a black ocean. A white pillar larger than anything he could ever imagine or perceive was approaching them, flying toward them until it obscured the horizon, stretching for as far as he could perceive in any direction.

The young man seemed frozen, unmoving, and Stef was stuck to him. A horizon flew

“Don’t! You — ” Feng spoke, took a step back.

Stef hit the ground with a thud, scraping his hands against cold, sand covered stone to rise to his feet. His boiled leather armor was stiff, restricting his movements as he reached for his mace — then stopped. That wouldn’t do him any good. He frowned.

He wasn’t paid enough for this!

“What the hells was that! Didn’t you see this…” Stef stopped and looked around. “That area was off limits to civilians, Feng! Are we… where did you teleport us to?”

Stef looked around. A small, dark, dry room confronted him, cold stone lit by magic orbs embedded in the wall. They cast a hauntingly pale light. The air was dead dry, only noticeable to Stef because of how abruptly it had changed. The air had always been wet at Spearpoint; they were in the jungle.

And now they were here.

The guard’s training rolled through his head. When in doubt, [Identify.]

[Spirit Stone Wall, Level ???]

[Spirit Stone Floor, Level ???]

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[Feng Sai, Level ??? ???]

The door to the side burst open and four men started shouting in a series of noises unlike any word Stef had heard a human make. Stef slid his mace free from his belt.

Feng’s hand grabbed Stef’s, stopping him in his tracks. Feng gave a pained smile, shaking his head no. His other hand was held up towards the guards who had burst into the room.

“Apologies.” Feng said. “It looks like you’ll be staying here for a while... I didn’t know this was possible. This opens a lot of doors.”

“Where… where is here?” Stef asked. His head spun around the room, inspecting the walls.

“Apologies. I’m afraid that you’re very far from home.” Feng said. Feng motioned to the guards. Two of them pulled the heavy stone doors completely open; the other two stood beside the door and stared at Stef.

Feng Sai waved him forward.

“We’re not in the Savage Expanse anymore, are we?” Stef said, following astride Feng in the network of tunnels beneath Sandgrave.

Feng stopped and drilled into Stef’s eyes with a searching gaze. Stef wondered if he was using [Identify] on him. Then Feng Sai barked a string of alien words to the guards around him. Two began running down the tunnel ahead of them.

“No.” Feng said to Stef.

Stef opened his mouth to complain. Then stopped.

He was only a few months into a two year commitment to tour as a guard on behalf of Spearpoint. The pay was minimal — it was expected that much of the compensation would come in the form of levels.

Bullshit. He thought to himself. Only a few months in and a level three hundred Titan was stomping it’s way down to destroy the city!

He wouldn’t be any good against it!

Lower level rangers could pepper the monsters with arrows while higher level warriors tanked its attacks, but for Stef, it meant certain death.

Feng Sai must have been the young scion of some great and connected political dynasty, who had used an emergency teleport to exit the city — and perhaps the continent entirely.

“Thank the gods.” Stef said. “You evacuated the city? And I just hitched a ride. Where are we?”

“You’re… alright with being so far from Spearpoint?” Feng asked.

“Fuck yes. There was a good chance I’d die if we had to defend the wall!”

They rose out of the tunnel into the cold night of the desert. Feng looked unnerved as he stared up at the sky. Stef, for his part, began casting [Identify] on everyone around him.

His heart started to sink with what he saw. Without fail, every last person here was either marked as level zero or too far beyond him for Stef to [Identify] their levels. That meant that each of them, without fail, was either completely unleveled — or fifty levels above Stef’s own. Which made this a very, very dangerous place for someone only leveled into the twenties.

“What is this place? We’re far from Illyria, aren’t we?”

“Apologies. I’m afraid so. This is the Bloodstone continent under the control of the Grim Tempest Sect.”

People were gathering in the street just to stare at them as they crossed the tiny desert town. The entire city seemed alive in spite of it being night time; Stef had heard of desert cities where they slept through the day. He had never seen one in person. The deserts were inhospitable and empy. Only an insane person would build a city in their heart.

Raging winds cut across the desert, whistling through the brickwork buildings above them, carrying streams of sand above the city.

The entire city was constructed around what must have been a precursor ruin; the very same precursor ruin they had just excited out of.

“Was the situation truly so dire? The Trailblazers seemed confident you could repel that monster.” Feng asked, pulling Stef from his thoughts.

“The Trailblazers, sure, yes, they had more than enough power to stop it, but the local Guildmaster hasn’t even been seen in over a year! She could probably kill the damn thing herself. Iscassia the Green, off gods know where doing gods know what. Can you believe that? Off gallivanting in an unexplored jungle. Guess that’s why they’re Trailblazers and not Protectors.”

“That monster seemed on the level of the Feng Patriarch, at least. You’re saying this guildmaster… Iscassia… is at least that strong?”

“Are you the Feng Patriarch?” The guard asked, staring at him. “That was an incredible teleportation magic. I assume its linked to this precursor ruin and not your own power, though? I heard that the cost of a cross continent teleportation amounts to the yearly wealth of a city.”

Feng laughed.

“Apologies. No. I am not anywhere near the level of the Patriarch.”

Stef scratched his chin.

“Yes, Icassia could definitely defeat it. Easily, even, with the help of the other high rankers in the Trailblazers.” Stef said. “Spearpoint is supposed to be a relatively safe city — in all its history, there’s never been an attack on that scale! That they’ve told me about. I’ve spent the last few months mostly just arresting drunks. I’m done with that city! Just point me towards the nearest boat home. I — ” Stef reached for the pouch of coins that he typically kept at his belt. Then he realized he left all of his money behind. “I think I’ll need to find a few weeks of work.”

“I could arrange that for you.” Feng said. “And please, call me Sai. Feng is the Patriarch — my… father.”