Evening came faster than expected. Luna had spent the rest of the day watching the wood cutting operation and how the stockade was being set up. They cut some corners to speed things up, tying several trunks together with a single piece of vine rope around them, instead of carefully looping every trunk separately when connecting them. But with limited material they did the best they could and in the evening a good 60 meters of stockade were already set up, secured on the inside with extra trunks.
If they could keep the same speed they would be done in just another two days and could finally proceed to constructing some proper buildings to live in. With evening dinner ready Evelyn, Luna and Fiona took their bowls and retreated to the beach to talk.
After they settled down Luna started the conversation. “If we are going to travel together, we will have to plan ahead. I can carry a big backpack with a lot of things, but I cannot carry supplies for three people. And with all the things in your tent, I don’t see how we can possibly take it with us.”
“I figured it is time for some answers and questions, so I’ll just put it on the table. When the last king died some noble houses were also attacked and many people were killed. Fiona is related to me, but I am not her grandmother, I am her mothers’s grandmother. Fiona, it is more your story than mine, do you want to tell it?”
Fiona picked up the story. “I was born in the Zollan kingdom 20 years ago. My family used to be influential nobles, but some of them were killed when the new king took over. The relations with the king were strained but our family retained control over our lands. My father inherited the family lands from his father and for a long time it seemed the family holding might be contested, since my father had no heir. The day I was born, I was made the heir of the family, against all custom that men are the head for their families. That same week they came and killed my family and tried to kidnap me, but grandma Evelyn fled with me.” She stopped for a moment to drink some water and shifted into a more comfortable sitting position.
Evelyn decided to add something about herself. “You must understand that I am a lot older than I look. Most people had no idea who I was, so it was easy to just settle down in a town and raise Fiona in obscurity.”
“Dungeon item that improved your lifespan? And how come you are here now?” Luna asked them.
Evelyn blinked at her. “I did not expect you to know that. Few people do these days. Yes, I had the luck to find an item in a dungeon when being an adventurer was more than just sitting on your ass all day and telling stories. I just got sick of the politics and went to study my alchemy in peace and after some decades people simply stopped remembering me. Very handy I can tell you.”
“To answer your second question.” Fiona interjected. “Because I have blonde hair and look like my mother. Someone saw the resemblance and went and tattled on us. Guards showed up and started asking questions, so we packed up and left.”
“I take it none of you has an Identify Skill?” Luna asked her next question, which was confirmed by both. “Since you seem rather oblivious. How old do you think I am?”
“20? Just like me I guess” Fiona replied and Evelyn added. “Yes, somewhere around there.”
“Thanks I guess. But you are off by about 4 years. 9 month ago I didn't even have a Class.” Luna told them into their rather astonished faces.
“What. You are 16?” Fiona asked. “But you are taller than I am! And you have much more muscles.”
Evelyn had a laughing fit. “I can’t believe I asked a 16 year old girl to take us with her when she goes to scout the inland. Oh, in all my long life, this must be the funniest thing ever.”
“Yep, you did. I am just naturally tall and well proportioned, thank you very much Fiona.” Luna told them a little peeved. “So, are you still coming? My first Class is Pathfinder, I literally get a shit load of experience for exploring this continent. I got 2500 XP just for stepping foot on it for the first time and recently another 2000 XP for mapping an area.”
“You have a map?” Evelyn interrupted her. “Can I take a look?”
Once again Luna had talked too much and now she had to either explain why she would not let her look at the map, or show the Pathfinder Map to her. “Ah, I might as well. Here, take a look.” Luna fished the Pathfinder Map from her pocket and placed it on her hand, where it transformed into the flat wooden map.
Evelyn started to laugh even harder and then produced her own Pathfinder Map from her own pocket. “Maybe I should have mentioned that a long time ago I had friends who gave me expensive gifts. This was one of them, I am curious how you got yours?”
“Simple. It was given to me before I left the capital. From the stocks of the Pathfinder Guild.” Luna told her.
“Curious. They used to hand those out to adventurers to map areas and dungeons, but they fell out of use a while ago. Then you also noticed that you cannot find the human kingdoms anywhere on your map right now?” Evelyn asked her.
Luna nodded. “Yes, I talked to Parrot about it. My map starts in the water. If the ships return in a few days it means they cannot leave the area again. But he said they had no trouble last time, so I’m not expecting it.”
Evelyn and Fiona were intently studying Luna’s map. Pointing out the surrounding terrain and possible options where they could go. While they did so Luna noticed that the map was showing her much more terrain than she had actually traveled. She looked at the areas visible and then realized that everything she had been able to see from the hilltop was also visible on her map. She had never noticed it doing that before, but she also never climbed up to a high place.
Luna interrupted the two women and pointed at the map. “This area along the river on our side is really hard to travel in. But if we used one of the rowboats and crossed over to the other side, we could travel along the river edge on the flat rocky ground. I don’t know how far that will take us, but I’d like to reach the big lake upriver.”
Evelyn simply shook her head. “That won’t work. I don’t want other people to know where Fiona and I have disappeared to. Using the rowboat won’t be possible without anyone noticing.”
Luna scratched her head. “That makes it a lot harder. You must understand that there are Monsters out there and traveling through the forest is nearly impossible with the underbush. Just two days ago I was surprised by the boar I brought back while trying to hack my way through. I can manage alone if I must, but for all three of us? The forest is out of the question.”
At this point Fiona decided to pitch in. “Then we should row over at night, you go back with the boat and have someone else row you over the next day.”
“That might work.” Luna conceded. “People might still connect your disappearance with my departure, but it’s not like they can just start following us. That still leaves the question of how you are going to bring all your things?”
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Evelyn evaded the question and simply said. “That won’t be a problem.”
Luna looked sceptical but let it go in the end. At the current pace they expected the village stockade to be finished in two days, so they planned their river crossing for the night after that. Luna had promised to stick around until the settlers were reasonably safe and she had scouted the area around them, warned them of possible threats and that was it. There were over a 150 people there, with a wall between them and whatever was out there, they should be safe enough. Even without people with two Combat Classes, they were far from helpless if they stuck together. A smith with 26 Strength and a well made axe was still scary, even without Skills.
They finished the dinner while talking about travel preparations. Luna would hunt for more rabbits and Evelyn was going to make them a rabbit stew that should be good for a few days. Evelyn was hoping to find more edible plants once they left the camp, as she had not seen anything beyond the tree line so far.
Just before they returned to the camp Luna remembered to ask one important question. “What exactly are you looking for? I mean, you said you were looking for a place to disappear. The question is, what would such a place look like?”
Evelyn scratched her head. “That is a question I ‘ve been struggling with since we decided we had to leave. We are all a bit spoiled by the safety of the human kingdom, even if I can still remember when dungeons were more numerous and monster attacks were not just a rare event that happens once every few decades.”
“So you’re saying you have no idea?” Luna asked.
Evelyn just shrugged. “We’ll just have to find out. I just really don’t want to stick around to see more people arrive until someone recognizes us.”
“Now that part I can understand.” Luna said and proceeded to walk back to the camp. Their talk had gone on for a long time and it was already late into the evening. They decided to just go to bed. Luna cuddled up in her blanket and fell asleep quickly.
Luna woke up fully rested. She still marveled at the effect each time she woke up. For over 16 years she had been a terrible sleeper and had never woken up early on her own. Now she was not only up and about before most other people were even awake, she was also feeling great about it.
Luna decided to use the early hour to take a quick bath without any other people being around. With some fresh clothes and an extra blanket she made her way down to the beach where the river spilled into the ocean and hopped it. She could not get too far in, the current still too strong at this location, but she quickly dipped herself in and scrubbed away the last few days of sweat and dirt.
The water was cold and the air was even colder when she got out of the water, so she quickly dried herself with the blanket and hopped into her clothes. Only after she had her cloak draped around herself was she starting to feel warm again. It had still been necessary and had led to little discovery that was going to mess with their travel plans.
Back at the camp she greeted Evelyn and Fiona at the fire and told them about her little bath and asked if any of them had considered the strong currents and how they were going to cross the river without ending up out on the bay. The blank looks told her everything she needed to know, but it wasn't like she had done any better than them. Without her early morning bath she would have discovered it when they put the boat in the water and started rowing.
“Plan B it is then. We go north along the coast and turn inward the next valley over.” Luna told them.
Evelyn shrugged. “I don’t see how else we could leave from here. The river is too big to cross any other way. North it is then.”
They had breakfast together and then split up to prepare things. Luna checked the forest line again and there still were no signs of larger animals. The village council had decided to use the opportunity and simply chop down more trees and drag them into the village proper for later processing. While the majority of people were busy setting up the stockade, around twenty men were still busy chopping down tree after tree. There were still people in place to watch the surroundings and make sure that nobody went off into the forest alone.
Satisfied that everything was done correctly Luna went to hunt rabbits and gather fruits and wild vegetables for her travel rations. The other Hunters were currently standing guard at the stockade construction site, so Luna had the northern hunting grounds to herself. Luna left carrying an empty backpack, but with full gear otherwise. She would have to talk to Evelyn about getting some kind of hats, the sun was starting to get really intense at noon the cloak she was currently using for its hood was simply too hot.
After encountering the Jaguar twice Luna had started to be a lot more attentive when moving alone. She had started moving more slowly and deliberately. She was constantly looking around to see as much of her surroundings as possible. It was thanks to this that Luna noticed that someone was following her. They were trying to use bushes and trees to break line of sight, but she was able to see movement from the corner of her eyes.
She sped up and used a group of bushes to hide, then activated Conceal Presence and snuck around the other side, then dropping on her belly and crawling away through the high grass. After 10 meters she had reached a small bluff in the land and crawled behind another bush. Luna deactivated Conceal Presence and waited.
It took a few minutes, but eventually three men came around the group of bushes she had used to break their line of sight. They were looking around, but eventually started cursing. Luna recognized one voice clearly. It was Christoph.
“I told you to find her, you idiots. She cannot have vanished!” Christoph was complaining to the other two men.
[Christoph]
Level 37, Human
[Roman]
Level 28, Human
[Egon]
Level 31, Human
Roman turned around and started talking back. “And I told you to get one of the Hunters to help us. None of us have any Skills to track her. She is a god's damned member of the Pathfinder Guild. Not one of us has a useful Class for this kind of shit.”
Christoph raised his hand to placata Roman. “I know, I know. But she told us about the land around us, so she must have a map and that little bitch disrespected me in front of the council. Now they no longer listen to me. She ruined our first plan to take over the settlement. We got a lot of money riding on things going well, maybe even a noble title..”
Egon had been looking around the whole time and finally decided to take part in the conversation. “Or maybe you two could shut up and help searching.”
Luna decided to bail. She had no interest in a confrontation, especially with Egon and Roman who she had never talked to before. She used the bluff in the land to retreat further backwards and then walked ducked through the high grass until she reached the cliff. She followed it back to the base and did not see any sign of the three men again.
She returned empty handed to Evelyn who raised an eyebrow at Luna’s luck at hunting and gathering. “I have a problem. Christoph and two of his friends were following me.” Luna told her.
“Did you kill them?” Evelyn asked her.
Luna shook her head. “No. It did not feel right to attack them. If I had shot any one of them and let the others live, that would be a huge problem.”
Evelyn massaged her temples. “Ok. Change of plans, we leave tonight. We do not tell anyone, we just leave.”
Luna wasn’t happy with that idea. She had been here to help the settlers establish themselves and she told Evelyn that she did not want to put them in danger.
“Have you seen any monster close enough to the village that they are an actual threat to anyone?” Evelyn asked Luna, to which she shook her head. “See, there is your answer. No need to stay, especially not if one of the people you try to protect is wishing you ill. Come with me to the tent to pack.”
Luna followed Evelyn into their tent and opened her travel trunk, looking at all the things she would not be able to carry with her. There was no way she could lug around this much gear. The extra bow was a must have, but the metal items would simply be too heavy. Luna’s thoughts were interrupted by Evelyn. “Need something from the Trunk for traveling?”
Luna simply closed the lid and shook her head, only to jump back with a yelp when the trunk shimmered for a second and then disappeared. “What did you do?” She demanded.
Evelyn put a finger on her lips and whispered. “I told you there will be no problem carrying all the stuff. Ever thought about what else there was in dungeons to find and what the rich and powerful never told anyone about? There are more secrets than you imagine, but now is not the time to talk about that.”
Evelyn proceeded to make all the items disappear from the tent, until only Luna’s big backpack, small backpack and bedroll were left. Luna had been watching Evelyn the whole time trying to process what she was seeing. Then she sat down on the ground and started repacking the backpacks. Essentials for during travel went into the small one and everything else, including her bedroll went into the big one. By the time she had finished Evelyn was waiting for her and Luna simply dropped the backpack in front of her, only to watch it disappear into nowhere like everything else.
“It is a few more hours until evening and would suggest we wait before leaving until everyone except the people on watch have gone to bed.” Evelyn said to Luna. At that moment Fiona entered the tent, looking around. “There is some commotion near the stockade. Maybe you want to go?”
Luna sighed and started walking. She could see a group of people standing at the stockade and Luna pushed her way through. In front of the group was Christoph addressing the gathered people in a loud voice. “I tell you, the Pathfinder Guild knows more about this continent than they told us. This girl has been running around for the past days and she is not telling us a damn thing. They even conspired so the news about the increased Experience gain could not travel back with the ships. We need to detain her and find out how much they knew before we even came here.”
The crowd was starting to get riled up and Luna realised that she really did not want to be here right now. Luckily she had not stepped out in front of the first row, otherwise Christoph would have called her out immediately. She activated Conceal Presence and noticed the massive Mana drain it took to work with so many people around. She quickly sneaked her way through the people, then switched Conceal Presence for Windwalk and sprinted back to Evelyn’s tent. She quickly belted her axe, attached the bow to the backpack for easy carrying and slipped back out.
Fiona wasn’t in sight, but Evelyn was waiting near the fire. “I have to leave, right now. When you leave tonight, travel north along the cliffs through the grassland. I will find you. If you speak to William, tell him that Christoph has an agenda to take over the settlement.” Luna told her, then she started strolling north looking as relaxed as she could possibly manage, hoping that nobody would see her. She managed to slip away and activated Windwalk, speeding across the terrain until the camp was no longer visible. She looked around for a proper spot to wait until night and decided on an old apple tree. The thick canopy was perfect to hide inside and up in a branch fork she felt it would be safe enough to take a nap later.