"Lizzy, do you smell any rabbits?"

Lizzy says "Yeah, tons!"

"Can you pick out a female by scent? Think you can catch one alive?"

Lizzy says "Yes, I can track a female. Catching one alive will depend on how robust they are."

Muyaun says "They are pretty hardy, they don't die of fright like normal rabbits."

Lizzy says "Then I can probably bring one back alive."

"Alright, do your best. And remember, it has to be equal to Myria's mass."

As Lizzy and I are talking, I help Muyaun to dismount and then follow suit. Once we are off, Lizzy moves into the grass, but she is hampered by the snow. Without Asuna's ability, Lizzy sinks almost up to her belly into the snow.

Even working against the snow, Lizzy is still fast, probably faster than the rabbits. The main reason to send Lizzy is her earth abilities, any rabbit that tries to hide is in for a rude surprise. I have faith in Lizzy's hunting ability, so I turn my attention back to Muyaun.

"Muyaun, can you brief me on the tribes and the various conflicts between them?"

Muyaun says "Of course! I've been observing them for a century."

While I watch Lizzy move around sniffing, I listen to Muyaun describe all the tribes. The amount of conflicts they have takes a lot of time to list out, but I listen carefully. Not only do the animal types quarrel, but even similar animal types fight for superiority.

"I thought the tribes were fairly stable in their rankings?"

Muyaun says "Not exactly. It is just that it normally takes years for a change to be seen in the rankings. In the hundred plus years I have been observing there hasn't been a single five year period where the rankings didn't change. Of course there are some that are stable, like the Ogre tribe."

"The Ogre tribe? What can you tell me about them?"

Muyaun says "They have been the number one tribe the entire time that I have been around. Physically, they only lose in strength to the Ox clan, and not by much. That is only in contests of pure strength, in combat no one is their match. Having four arms gives them a huge advantage over all the other tribes."

"Four arms? That's odd! Are they actually related to ogres?"

Muyaun says "Not as far as I know. Other than the extra set of arms they are not much different from humans, except they are larger."

"So, no animal traits like ears or tails?"

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Muyaun says "No. Although they are called the Ogre tribe, I actually have no idea what animal they were mixed with."

"They sound interesting, how are their attitudes? Do they bully the weaker tribes?"

Muyaun says "No, they mostly keep to themselves. They don't flaunt their strength, but at the same time they don't ever refuse a challenge."

"So they respect strength?"

Muyaun says "Not strength specifically, it would be more accurate to say power. Combat power is their primary goal as far as I can tell."

While I want to ask more questions I am distracted by Lizzy as she finally makes her move. With a sudden burst of speed that throws up a plume of snow, Lizzy chases down a rabbit. The rabbit tries to run but it is no match for Lizzy's speed and it gets caught.

The rabbit squeals as Lizzy catches it and it continues to squeal as Lizzy carries it back to me. Just from looking I can't tell its gender, but I can tell that its mass should be just a little bigger than Myria. I will just trust that Lizzy didn't make a mistake about its gender.

When Lizzy reaches me I use a small amount of power to put the rabbit to sleep and end the squealing. I also don't want it to be awake for what I am going to do next, that would just be cruel. Once Lizzy sets it down I kneel next to it and cut open its chest to expose the heart.

Looking at the heart I compare it to Myria's and find it to be close enough to work. So I spread my sacred power throughout the rabbit's body and use it to keep the rabbit stable. Then I focus and pull all the rabbit's life essence into its heart, which isn't easy.

In fact, if the rabbit was awake this would be pure torture as I am slowly pulling the life out of it. The rabbit of course dies, but the heart, full of life force, keeps beating steadily. I quickly sever all the veins and arteries then surround the heart with power to keep the life force from draining.

As soon as that is done I quickly place it in my pouch, hopefully that will keep it in stasis. What I am really hoping is that the life force won't drain away, I want to give it to Myria. If I can merge the rabbit's life force with Myria's she will be stronger and live longer.

If it doesn't work then it will be a simple matter to get rid of the rabbit's life force. Either way I am fairly confident of being able to replace Myria's heart and fix her. Now we just need to return to the tower so that I can unfreeze Myria and try it out.

"Alright, we need to get going. Muyaun, once you have taken care of what I asked, you can come to Illium to find me."

Muyaun says "Understood!"

"Even though you joined under different circumstances, your tribe is still eligible for all the same benefits as the other tribes."

Muyaun says "Thank you."

Lizzy and Asuna split the body of the rabbit while I give Muyaun a quick rundown on the options. I also tell her the plans that are currently in motion, she seems particularly interested in the city. While I would like to talk to her more, once Lizzy and Asuna are done eating I mount up and we head towards the tower.

As we travel I leave choosing the path to Lizzy while I try to think of the best way up the mountain. Reaching the mountain will be the easy part, but even for Lizzy climbing it will be difficult. The more I think about it the more I think that heading to Illium to use the portal might actually be faster.

It would certainly be easier, especially since that would mean Lizzy could stay in her nice comfy stable. The tower wouldn't be very comfortable for her, at least not until she can shrink. Having convinced myself I tell Lizzy about the change in plans and she instantly changes direction.

There are plenty of other things that I need to do in the beast lands, but none more important than Myria. To help pass the time and occupy my mind I have Asuna create me a stack of ice plates. Then I start throwing them into the air randomly for her to try and shoot down.

Her hit rate is really low, but it is still good practice for her and a good distraction for me. In about an hour she is running low on mana so I stop the game, but she doesn't want to stop. To keep her from over exerting herself I ask Lizzy to stop and we make camp early.