Orrin’s [Teleport] required that he know the area he wanted to travel to. In their mad dash to rescue Brandt from Lord Sanerris, he’d seen some of the country of Odrana but not well enough to pinpoint the area they needed to go to. Finley convinced Orrin to use his [Locationist] to travel back to the front lines of the war. Orrin figured in the worst-case scenario, he could [Teleport] himself away.

The trio popped into a bustling camp with people running around and shouting, even this late at night. Seeing a [Locationist] appearing, two officers rushed in and started issuing demands. Finley took Orrin’s hand and quietly crept from view.

“I thought your camp was supposed to be disbanded,” Orrin whispered. A group of soldiers lined up as a woman with a sword almost as big as Daniel’s began shouting orders. Orrin did a double-take. The soldiers wore broken armor and held mostly spears. Most of them were younger than he was or old enough to be his grandparents. One old lady was holding on to her spear like it was the only thing keeping her upright.

“I disbanded my men. These are conscripts that they pulled in after I left.” Finley’s fist clenched over and over as they walked. “The faster we find the [Hero], the faster we can get these folks back home.”

Orrin and Finley moved through the chaos without getting stopped. The tents at the edge of the camp were abandoned, which made sneaking out easier than he’d hoped.

“How far away is the place you saw my friends?” Orrin whispered as they crouched behind one of the tents. The canvas was cut and flapping hard in the wind. “I can try to send them a party invite if they’re close enough.”

“About five miles to the west there is a small forest outcropping disconnected from the elves’ main stronghold. I was tasked with patrolling it and setting up a permanent presence there if possible. That’s where we need to go,” Finley said, his eyes glinting in the moonlight. His head moved slowly but consistently, watching everything. “How long can you run before you need a break?”

Orrin thought back to what his answer would have been before arriving in Asmea. A minute or two? “I can keep up with you. Let’s go.”

Orrin reveled in the feel of the wind rushing against his face in the dark. He increased his dexterity enough to make Finley work to keep up and focused on using [Map] to avoid any dangers. Twice, he circled back and tapped Finley’s shoulder to avoid patrols from either Odrana or elven forces. It took less than an hour to get to their destination, with Finley being the anchor slowing them down.

The forest outcropping was nothing more than thirty or forty trees within sight of the elven forest. Thick bramble covered most of the floor under the trees, making it hard to see inside, especially in the dark. Orrin slowed as they approached and tugged Finley’s sleeve, crouching near a large boulder.

“Someone is hiding in there,” Orrin whispered, zooming in on his [Map]. “Only one person and they’ve posted up on the northern side of the tree line, closer to the elven forest.”

Finley nodded and his hands gestured through a complicated arrangement of movements. He waited a few seconds and sighed. “You don’t know hand language, do you?”

“Nope.” Orrin smiled. “Other than this.” He flipped Finley off.

“I’ll go around and move in from the west back toward our position. Give me five minutes and then you come in as well. You don’t need to move fast, just approach and try talking to whoever it is. If they attack you, I’ll retaliate from their blind spot,” Finley explained, ignoring Orrin’s middle fingers.

Orrin could try to use [Camouflage] to approach but that would require both leaving Finley behind and hoping the person didn’t notice him. He liked Finley but he wasn’t about to start casting even more spells in front of him so he nodded.

The man unsheathed two of his daggers and crept off into the night.

Instead of waiting five minutes, Orrin watched on his [Map]. It was a good thing he did.

Finley made it to the other side of the trees by going south and around. He was a few hundred yards away from where Orrin would have stopped in his position when more dots appeared on Orrin’s [Map].

“Shit.”

Orrin ran straight toward Finley. Instead of wasting time going around, he cast [Teleport], using his line of sight through the small batch of trees to jump the distance directly.

Four people, not including the original target, were dashing at Finley, who had yet to notice them. They were too far away to see clearly but the one out front carried a sword that looked familiar.

“Daniel?” Orrin yelled as his feet hit the ground on the other side of the forest. “Is that you?”

The charging figure slid to a halt and the sword in his hand pointed in Orrin’s direction. There was a hushed demand to the person nearest him and Orrin shielded his eyes when a flash of light blossomed above his head.

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“Orrin?”

That’s Madi’s voice. Orrin smiled and waved. “Hey guys, where have you been?”

Orrin was tackled to the ground. He never saw Daniel move but his friend had him in a bear hug. His beard was trimmed but full and tears were rolling down his face as he laughed.

“I knew you weren’t dead. I told Madi over and over,” Daniel said as he let Orrin go. He picked up his friend with ease and gave him another hug. “Didn’t I, Madi? Orrin’s too smart to get killed by those pricks.”

Madeleine Catanzano approached with balls of light hovering around her. Each orb gave off a slight hint of different shades of red, blue, and yellow. She hovered at a safe distance.

“Daniel, are you sure it’s him? We just captured Finley Madvarr over here. It’s too coincidental.”

She thinks Finley took the information they gave and made a doppelganger of me? Orrin was impressed at how distrusting she was being. He was a touch proud.

“Madi, it’s me. Fin helped me. There’s a bunch of stuff going on and—”

“She has a point,” Daniel interrupted him with his sword pointed at his face. He’d gotten quicker. “Tell me something that only the real Orrin would know.”

“You suck at Mario Kart. Toad is a terrible choice to pick.”

Daniel tackle-hugged him again. “It’s him.”

“I’ll never understand you two,” Madi said, shaking her head and letting the majority of her floaty balls of light disappear. “Finley is with you?”

“Yeah, he is. Fin helped me a lot.” Orrin smiled and waved at Fin as they approached the rest of the people they’d almost fought. Madvarr sat on the ground with his hands behind his head. “We’ve got a lot to tell you.”

Daniel and Madi introduced their strike team.

Tem was a [Locationist] offshoot called a [Mapmaker]. He spent most of his time exploring the world and mapping it out but could return to spots with ease. While his [Mapmaker] class allowed him to use [Teleport] for cheaper mana costs than a [Locationist], he rarely worked in the field preferring to be alone. Lord Silas Catanzano was paying him an astronomical fee to keep Madi safe with a quick escape option.

Reyhana was an elf, loaned out to help by Arandir. Neither he nor Reyhana would explain what her class was but she could hide them in plain sight, even in the middle of the day.

Orrin recognized the fifth member and pushed Daniel’s arm off his shoulder to shake the man’s hand.

“Good to see you, Brandt.”

The tall [Knight] took Orrin’s offered hand and pulled him in for another hug.

“Everybody is really touch-feely today,” Orrin complained as Brandt tried his best to crack his ribs. “It’s good to see you too, big guy.”

Brandt held Orrin’s shoulders and studied him for any injuries. “You’ve saved my life too many times to count and Lady Catanzano’s as well. I’ll never be able to thank you. I’m relieved you are alive.”

Orrin tried not to blush and changed the topic. “Tell me what you guys are doing here?”

Madi started explaining with interjections from Daniel. The five of them moved through the border of Odrana and the elven forest, keeping Odrana’s stronger forces on their toes. They raided smaller parties, trying to gain information from them. Sometimes Reyhana would sit out as bait, using a cloaking spell that she had to keep the rest of them from being seen. If they were discovered by a force too large, they’d run.

“Most of the time, we run,” Brandt chimed in. “The elves fight only when people enter the forest, so we’ve been working as more of a deterrent than anything. Except a few times…”

“He’s talking about me,” Daniel said with a sigh. “We raided Sanerris’s mom’s place and fought our way through a few guards. Madi bought some information from a broker that you were being held there.”

Daniel blinked and glanced at the moon. “Someone left a dead body that looked just like you. If Madi hadn’t figured out it was a trick…”

“He was angry that we’d gotten bad information and took it out on the next few patrols we came across,” Madi explained.

“I was there,” Orrin said after a pause. “Lord Sanerris sent some thugs to kill me or maybe Anabella… that’s his mom… set me up. I don’t know. There’s a lot of moving pieces. That’s why we came here. There’s a power play going on between Lord Sanerris and his mother who used to rule. They’re provoking wars with the elves and Veskar to gather support for themselves. They’re even trying to kill Fin and some other friends I made at school.”

Daniel wiped at his face and turned an incredulous eye at Orrin. “School?”

Orrin smirked and told them his story, from waking up under Sanerris’s control to moving to his mom’s villa. He explained what Anabella had sold him as his mission and what he’d come to believe it actually was… a distraction.

“I’m still stuck on the school part,” Daniel smirked. “Did they teach you magical algebra?”

Finley, who sat on the ground patiently being ignored, spoke up. “What’s algebra?”

“It’s math,” Daniel answered before he saw who asked the question. “Are we sure this guy is on our side? He almost killed me last time.”

Orrin laughed. For the first time in weeks, he felt free and right with the world. Daniel was being an ass, Madi was moving between Daniel and Fin ready to defuse a fight, and Brandt stood by undecided on what he should be doing. It wasn’t Earth and it wasn’t home, but this situation was what he’d been dreaming of.

“I trust him,” Orrin said, noticing everyone was giving him weird looks. “Don’t give me shit, I needed a laugh. I’ve been a prisoner for weeks. Do you know how hard it is to keep a fake story about where you’re from straight?”

“I thought his name was Casimir when we last met,” Finley added. “But when Madi was talking about your quiet friend who asks questions and watches out for everyone, I had my suspicions. I arrived back at the Sanerris School to find that Orrin had recently saved the life of Rhys Tonsa. Someone tried to kill Maeve as well. We think I was next.”

Madi covered her mouth. “Is Maeve alright?”

“Does every noble know everyone else?” Orrin asked. “Maeve buried the person who came after her. Literally.”

“We spent a lot of time together during state dinner functions and treaty negotiations. All the kids get sent off to mingle,” Madi explained. “You’re lucky you found us again. We only came this way again because we’d received word that a large group was moving north from Veskar. This was supposed to be a recon mission only.”

Orrin and Finley exchanged a look.

“You think—”

“That’s probably—”

They both nodded at each other.

“What are you two talking about?” Madi’s hands rested on her spear, back to its short form on her hip. “What is it?”

“Fin was going to be sent out on a patrol and killed by that group from Veskar but I doubt they’re actually from there. Anabella is trying to start a war with Veskar and blame them for the deaths of the other Lords’s kids to back her claim to rule Mistlight,” Orrin explained.

Daniel watched Orrin. He slapped Gertrude, his giant sword, on his back. “You have a plan. Out with it.”

Orrin smiled. “You’re going to like this one. It’s as crazy as you are. The Sanerris family wants a war. Let’s bring them what they want.”