So, the three of us began walking through that dark forest, trying to locate the rift without stumbling across any of the soldiers or knights who were going around searching for the monsters who had been terrorizing the area. And if we could've found some of those monsters ourselves and dealt with them as well, I wouldn't have objected at all. Either way, finding the rift was the priority. As far as I understood, the moment I went through with the rift, all this other stuff would stop. I wasn't sure if the rift was empowering these roaming monsters, or if it was empowering something else that was responsible for those monsters. But whatever it was, going through the rift was supposed to stop it.

It must have been difficult for most people to navigate this forest in the middle of the night. The tree canopy was so thick it blocked out any moon or starlight, and it wasn't as though there were any city lights to work with. It really was pitch-black.

Fortunately, none of us had a problem with that. Asenath and Shiori were more than capable of seeing in the dark just fine, and I knew a spell to give myself nightvision. Plus, the stealth-vision that Pantler thing had given me waaaaay back when the others and I ended up on that Seosten prison planet after killing Charmeine would allow me to spot a fair number of enemies that would have been camouflaged in the shadows. We might as well have been walking around in broad daylight, which gave us advantage over those armored soldiers. As did the fact that the other two could hear them from half a mile away, and I had my ghosts, invisible of course, scouring the whole area around us. Which not only helped with navigating this place, as they could warn us about any dead ends or whatnot, but also helped us avoid any of those soldiers. We really didn't want to try to explain what we were doing away from the nice, safe village they had sent us to. Let alone how we had even left the place without anyone in there noticing anything.

All in all, we had basically every advantage when it came to searching this forest, and plenty of reasons to avoid ever running into those guys. So honestly, I shouldn't have been even the least bit surprised when one of the soldiers found something first. That was just the way these things seemed to go, really. Frankly, I probably should have just planned on it working out that way.

Our first indication that the soldier had found something was a loud horn being blown. It was coming from a mile or so to the west and deeper in the woods. We all spun that way, even as I sent the nearest ghost to investigate. It only took him a few seconds to find the spot where the soldiers (there were two of them) were blowing that horn from. It turned out they had gotten themselves trapped with a massive tree and a rock wall at their backs while several creatures stalked around them. The things looked a bit like panthers, several times larger than they should be, and made from a mix of shadow and oil. They also had what looked like flickering candle flames for eyes, and kept walking through solid objects like other trees and the heavy crossbow bolts that one of the soldiers shot at them. Once, one of the creatures completely inverted itself in midstep, transforming its back end into its front end and vice versa. A second later, one of the other creatures did a similar thing, except this one split itself in two, with a new head walking right out of its side, followed by a full body.

All in all, the things were very creepy, and I could see why that Daegal guy, the one who had helped escort us to the village, had warned us that they were almost invisible in darkness. I had the immediate feeling that these ones were intentionally allowing those troops to see them, soaking up their fear. Although whether they actually got anything tangible out of that, or simply enjoyed it, was up in the air, along with so much else. The point was, those guys were in trouble.

Explaining that much to the other two with a few quick words, I checked again through the eyes of my ghost. It wasn't looking good. It was clear that these troops had come into the forest with several ideas about how to hurt these things, including flaming torches and what appeared to be some sort of liquid they were throwing at them. But none of those ideas were working. The creatures were toying with them, making a show of getting closer.

I could also see through other ghosts that reinforcements were on their way. Unfortunately, they would be too late. These guys had wandered too far away from the others. Was that why they were the ones being attacked right now? Were these monsters like wolves, picking off what they saw as the most vulnerable targets? And what did any of this actually have to do with that rift?

I wasn't sure, but what mattered was saving those guys. Yes, it would complicate things when they saw us. Unless they didn't see us, of course.

With that in mind, I warned Shiori and Asenath that I was going to disguise them. I could see through my ghost that we only had a moment for that. The creatures were enjoying terrorizing those guys, but any second now they were going to get bored of that and attack. Especially given the other soldiers were racing that way as quickly as possible.

Producing a couple enchanted coins, I pressed them up against the arms of the other two while speaking the incantation. Immediately, they were changed to look like a couple generic human women. The point of those coins was to have disguises handy, even when I couldn't use my facial shifting power for whatever reason. Or, like right now, when I needed to disguise other people. They were made to allow whoever was put under the spell to blend in with a crowd. Hence looking so very average.

The two of them looked at one another before Shiori quickly asked, “What about you?”

“Oh,” I informed her while turning back to face ahead of us, “I definitely have a disguise.”

There was no more time to waste. As soon as I knew Senny and Shiori were as ready as they could be, I teleported us to the spot my ghost was looking at. In the same moment, I shifted into my Jacob persona, letting the long coat blow out behind dramatically as we appeared directly between those two soldiers and the creatures stalking toward them.

We all knew that the humans were as likely as the monsters themselves to react violently to our sudden and unexpected arrival. Sure enough, they both fired crossbow bolts right at us. But Shiori and Asenath each snatched one the incoming bolts out of the air, chorusing together, “We're here to help you!”

Of course, the men had no reason to believe that. At least, they had no reason until I took a step toward the creatures themselves, who had paused briefly as though confused by our arrival. Before they could decide to attack anyway, I adopted my most dramatic voice while calling out, “You have made a terrible mistake by hunting in the lands of my claim!” At the same time, I deployed the sand from my staff, enlarging it so it would cover more of me. I wanted this to look as imposing as possible. Not for these creatures, but for whoever was behind them. Because from the moment we had appeared, I had been able to sense the strong Necromancy scent all over these things. They had definitely been artificially created and controlled. And whoever was doing it had to be watching through them just like I had been with my ghost. We were dealing with a Necromancer of some sort. Which meant it was time for me to play up my whole Jacob act. Maybe I could intimidate or simply provoke whoever this was into doing something stupid like showing themself. That would make this whole thing easier. It was just too bad there wasn't time to warn the other two about my alter-ego, but hopefully they would play along and wait to ask why I was posing as some random guy later.

Instead of thinking about that, I made the sand spread around me, acting like a cloud to mostly obscure myself from sight. At the same time, I activated a spell on my collar that would make my face light up with a crimson glow. “This land is mine, and the people in it are under my protection and authority! You cower behind your constructs, crawling in the muck and covering yourself with filth as you pray that you may proceed unnoticed. You hide and curl into the waste of animals to maintain your secrets while sending your puppets to do your work. You play-act the part of strength while blubbering in terror that a child might see you and spoil your hiding place to those who hold true power. You think yourself the flame that will burn this land and birth it anew, but you are no more than the forgotten droppings of a long-dead rat. Irksome to clean out, a pale reminder of things more dangerous, but no true threat.”

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I was saying a lot of words. Not just to provoke whoever was behind this, but also to give myself a chance to try to extend my Necromancy sense far enough to figure out where this person was. They had to still be controlling these things directly and looking through them. Maybe I could trace that line of power back to the source. It was worth a shot anyway. Even if it did mean I had to play this up even more. At least Laein probably would've enjoyed it. Though I had a feeling she’d have a few pointers and criticisms. After all, I hadn't even triggered an intimidating thunder background noise or put any flames around me.

Behind me, I could sense both those soldiers and my companions gone completely still while they watched me. Or at least listened. I was keeping myself almost entirely hidden in that cloud of enlarged sand. They couldn't see anything, and all the other Necromancer would be able to see through his constructs right then was my glowing face. Which grew brighter then as I continued.

“You are nothing. You are the dirt upon which I will construct a house for the orphaned children, who will grow with stories of your ineptitude and failure. All that you have done, I will undo. All you have made, I will unmake. The tower of your triumph will be washed aside, and all who ever hear your name will remember you as the fool who did not know well enough to run when you should.”

There. Honestly, I was barely paying attention to what I was saying, mostly just winging it while mixing in things I had heard Laein say. Hopefully it was at least somewhat coherent. But either way, I managed to follow the Necromancy power trail back through the forest. With help from more ghosts, I tracked it all the way across several miles of ground to what turned out to be a cave. My ghosts couldn't get any closer without alerting the Necromancer in there, but it was clear that that was where they were. And, judging from the power I could feel emanating off of that cave even through my ghosts, I was going to guess that it was the home of the rift as well. Talk about two birds with one stone. I wasn't quite ready to go ahead and count my chickens yet, but at the very least I was going to start laying out straw for nests.

Of course, things did get slightly more complicated then, as the rest of the soldiers showed up, coming to an abrupt halt all around the clearing with their weapons raised and ready as they took in the no-doubt rather confusing sight before them.

That confusion probably wasn't helped by the fact that I had my hand outstretched toward those creatures. Before I had finished with my little speech, whoever was behind them had tried to interrupt me by having them attack. But I had used my own Necromancy to hold them in place. I'd barely registered that it even happened. The things were twitching and struggling, but couldn't move more than a few inches in any direction. These soldiers were seeing some guy surrounded by dust with a red glow over his face standing in front of their friends while clearly holding those monsters they had been hunting. I wasn't even sure how much they had heard, but either way, the fact that I was opposing whoever was behind these things was clear. Or at least, I really hoped it was. The last thing we needed right now was for them to decide that I was actually behind these attacks.

Their leader, the guy who had first come up to greet us when we had arrived in this time, took a couple steps forward. He had his sword raised, and I saw the flames of a weak but at least working ghostfire spell dancing across the metal. He really had come prepared to fight intangible creatures. “I know not who you are, stranger. But if you mean us no harm and intend to stand with us against these beasts, state such. And prove your honesty.”

I paused briefly. A lot of things were running through my mind right then. Mostly that we could simply teleport away right now and go deal with both the Necromancer and the rift in that cave. We didn't need to involve these people any further.

But on the other hand, I wasn't certain how long it would take to get through whatever protections that Necromancer had up around the cave. Nor did I know how many of these panther things he had wandering around. What if I teleported away only to find out that these men had been slaughtered in the forest before I could get to the person in the cave? What if they died because I abandoned them?

Of course, there was always the chance they would die because I took them into danger. But at least in that case, I would be around them. And, to be honest, something told me we would need their help.

Besides, there was also something in me that didn't want to just leave this guy behind. Whether it was simply because I was impressed by him showing up with ghostfire on his sword, or something deeper, I couldn't say. But bringing them with us felt right. Even if it would make everything more complicated.

So, I took a breath before letting it out as I answered him. “You wish to see proof that I am your ally? Very well. Lift your eyes… and see.” With that, I did several things in rapid succession. First, I triggered a light spell that was stored in my staff, illuminating everything around us. Then I finished what I had been quietly working on over the past minute. Namely, ripping apart the Necromancy that was holding these creatures together. A second after the area was lit up for these troops, they would witness what appeared to be the monsters disintegrating before their eyes.

Finally, I teleported us. Not just myself and the other two girls, but the entire group. That one was a bit of a stretch. Moving what turned out to be about thirty people several miles after what I had already done might have been enough to leave me winded if I wasn't so hopped up on adrenaline. As it was, I slammed my staff down in what I intended to look dramatic, but was mostly meant to stop me from staggering.

We were all around the mouth of that cave, and the troops were stumbling into one another with cries of surprise about having been suddenly teleported. Meanwhile, Shiori and Asenath were openly gaping at me now that the sand was gone. I felt self-conscious under their attention, but tried to push it down and stop myself from blushing.

Instead, I turned to focus on the leader of these troops. “We are not your enemies. We share a common foe. The person in this cave is the one responsible for those creatures, and the source of his dark power lies at the heart of it. If we aid one another, I believe we may erase this threat and allow the sun to shine upon this land once more.”

It took the man himself a moment to respond, clearly collecting himself after all that. In the end, he glanced toward the cave, then back at me before stepping closer. “I believe you speak truthfully, but it is not my own opinion that must be weighed. Our king has sent a witch to our aid. It is she who you must convince before we may move forward.”

A witch? A witch sent by Arthur? I had the sudden realization that the person we were about to see was probably Athena. Or Nimue as she was known right now. That could complicate everything, to be honest. Complicated even further than it already was. Especially if she went and undid the disguise magic I had put on the others. Or maybe it was Gaia--Morgan now. Was this while she was with Camelot? Or before or after--I wasn’t sure about the timeline.

But before I could say anything, a female figure walked forward past several of the troops, who stepped aside in deference to her. Or possibly reverence. It wasn't Athena. Nor was it Gaia/Morgan. Actually, it just looked like some random woman I had never seen before with dark hair.

She took us in, looking all three of us up and down for a moment. Her eyes landed on the disguised Shiori briefly before moving to Asenath’s equally-magicked form as her nose wrinkled like she was confused.

Then the strange woman held up a strange stone and spoke three words quickly. As she did, a glowing field appeared around the four of us, and the soldiers outside were frozen, stopped in time. No, I realized belatedly, this was some sort of time-dilation thing where we were moving much faster than the people out there. I was pretty sure there was also some privacy magic mixed into it.

“Right then,” the ‘witch’ announced. That was when her form shifted and changed. Suddenly, I wasn’t looking at an unfamiliar woman anymore. “Shiori, Asenath?”

“I really hope you can answer some questions I’ve had for a very long time,” Aylen, looking several years older than the last time I had seen her, announced.