Mel burst into the camp, startling Shane. He dropped the bowl he was carving.

“Mel! What’s wrong?”

The others emerged from their various duties, gathering around the red-faced young woman.

“Is everything okay?” Sabrina asked, her hopeful tone belying her concern.

“She found it,” Bernard said with a grin. “You did, didn’t you?”

“Way to go ruining it, Bern!” Mel said with a smile. “Yeah, I found a way up. Way easier than the way we came down. If we pack up right now, we can be halfway back up the plateau by the time night falls.”

Sabrina looked taken aback. “Really? Right now?”

Mel clapped her hands together, forcing a cheery smile despite her own personal misgivings. “Come on, hup-hup! You can kiss all this goodbye and say hello to a nearly identical forest!”

Nobody would meet her eyes for a moment.

Okay, Mel thought, that might have been laying it on a bit thick.

Sabrina stepped up, reaching into her beat-up leather satchel and taking out a faintly glowing scroll sealed with red wax. “Before we go, this is for you.”

Mel frowned, taking the scroll. She gasped as soon as she noticed what it was.

[Aspect Seeker Scroll]

(Copper Rank, Item)

(Rare)

A yellowed parchment scroll sealed with the wax insignia of the Raiders Company. The magic contained within directs the wielder to a bindable aspect of any rarity located within the area.

Imprint: Break the seal with mana to activate. One time use only.

“How?” Mel asked. “This thing costs a thousand BP!”

“I haven’t bought anything since we started,” Bernard said. “We would have pooled together our points if it was possible, but sadly, it was not. All the hunting we did together added up. Not to mention…the other stuff.”

Mel nodded. Many of the zealots had been slain by Bernard’s marksmanship.

“You need this more than me,” Mel said, though she could tell before the words were out of her mouth how they would be received.

Instead of grimacing, Sabrina and the others laughed. “You know how we feel about fighting now. We’ll do it to stay alive, but we aren’t playing this game. Think of this as a gift. A ‘thank you’ for all you’ve done.”

Mel looked at the scroll, sorely tempted. “I don’t know how long this’ll take me to find.”

“Take all the time you need,” Sabrina said with what seemed like a forced smile. Little by little, the people she had first run into had returned over the last week. This, however, was like Sabrina before the Bloodtide Covenant. “We’ll stay right here,” she assured Mel.

“You’ve hunted all the monsters into oblivion,” Shane pointed out.

Bernard motioned around. “Listen to how quiet the forest is, Mel. My grandma could take a stroll out here safely without worry of a monster or vicious animal harming her. We’re safe enough until you return.”

“We’ll be fine, Mel,” Shane continued. “Take as long as you need.”

“It could take me days,” Mel argued weakly.

“Then it takes days,” Maddie countered. “We have plenty of food from the pond. My catfish noodling is better than ever.”

There were groans all around the camp. Eating catfish day in and day out was tiring.

Still better than simple berries though. At least cooked catfish had some minor buffs to stamina and health.

Mel broke the seal with her thumb.

The scroll unfurled and floated in the air. She immediately saw a streak of light race off to her right. It zipped through the forest and disappeared into the green foliage.

Mel blinked in surprise, worried that the trail would fade, but it stayed just as strong. It was leading her to an aspect.

She longed to follow it into the wild, magical unknown.

“Does it work?” Sabrina asked hopefully.

Mel turned back to her, surprised she couldn’t see the glowing trail. “It does.” It was everything she ever wanted. An adventure. The end of which promised power and new strength, the likes of which she couldn’t imagine.

After the last several days of listlessly searching for a path away from power, Mel couldn’t deny that she needed this.

Sabrina could obviously see how torn she was. She stepped up, wrapped her arms around Mel, and kissed her cheek. “Stay safe, Mel.”

Maddie came forward with a small pouch stuffed full of food. “I know it’s not the tastiest, but it’s something you can eat on the move. Get that last aspect, Mel.”

“You deserve it,” Bernard said gruffly.

Shane held up a small, badly carved hunk of wood. “I’m not super good at this, but here’s a carving I made.”

Mel took it, turning it over in her hands. “Uh…what is this?”

“Can’t you tell?”

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“Nobody can tell,” Nathan said.

“I figure, what with magic being a thing now, once all this blows over, I can become a crafter. Make things for you. It’s supposed to be a badger. Because…y’know, you remind me of a honey badger.”

“Honey badger don’t care,” Mel said with a grin.

“Honey badger don’t give a shit,” Shane added. “See? I told you she’d get it.”

“Personally, I think Mel is more of a jaguar,” Maddie admitted, missing the point entirely.

“Nah, she’s clearly a basilisk!” Nathan said.

Sabrina smiled and stepped back.

Mel pocketed the gift. “You sure you’ll be fine here while I’m gone?” Something didn’t feel right.

“You’ve killed everything,” Sabrina reiterated. “We haven’t seen any other living human either. Everybody has likely already moved on to more powerful areas. You killed all the monsters. Why would they stay when there’s nothing to hunt?”

That did make a lot of sense. If Mel came across an area devoid of monsters, she’d move on too.

“All right,” she said, turning to look at the line of light racing away toward the promise of power.

Hugs were shared one after the other. A few more gifts were exchanged to help Mel on her way so she could return faster. Without needing to worry about food or water, she could keep moving.

It wasn’t like they needed their leather canteens with a source of water so close. And they could always catch more fish. Maddie really was quite good at catching them.

And then Mel was on the move.

She found herself backpedaling, keeping her camp and her friends in view. This had been the longest in the trial that she had stayed in one place. It was the only safety she knew. “Don’t die on me while I’m gone now!”

Sabrina cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted back. “I should be telling you that! We’ll try not to be killed by the gnats you haven’t slaughtered yet!”

And then the camp was hidden by a screen of trees and brush. Mel found herself recalcitrant to look away, but eventually she had to admit that this was what she wanted.

Bit by bit, the tension between her shoulder blades fell away. She began to feel free to explore without worrying about her friends.

Mel picked up speed. With so much deadfall in this section of the woods, her [Rustwing Boots] improved her speed further, allowing her to vault over shallow dips and dells. It was a shame she hadn’t been able to raise their rarity.

[Rustwing Boots]

(Copper Rank, Armor)

(Uncommon)

A pair of well-used boots belonging to the Rustwing Company of old. Known for their swift flanking maneuvers, the Rustwings served the Old Lord with grace and skill until they were betrayed and cut down by the very lord they served. An echo of the past wearer’s Deeds has been instilled in these boots, improving their parameters.

Imprint: Raises movement speed on difficult terrain.

Mel hurried through the woods, feeling the wind in her blonde hair and, for once, feeling free and unburdened. This was entirely different from just a few hours ago when she was still out looking for the path back to the plateau.

Now she could finally hit Copper and get her last aspect. She followed the line of light unwaveringly, her mind summoning up all manner of aspects that she might want.

Flame aspect would be of great use, but so would Ice. She lacked something as free-form as an elemental aspect.

She also wouldn’t say no to an aspect styled after one of the mythical Kindred or one of the Olympians. Zeus aspect would be badass, but not as awesome as Stygian or Hades aspect!

Mel slowed down, reminding herself that she needed to pace her progress. There was no telling how far away the aspect was, and if Bernard was able to get an aspect seeker scroll, then other people would be able to as well.

She couldn’t help the grin that blossomed on her face though. A small part of her hoped that she’d see Warren or Jimmy there. Without the fear of her friends getting in the way, she wouldn’t hold herself back.

Even if they weren’t there, the odds were high that somebody else would be looking for the same aspect as her. Which meant she needed to keep some of her strength in reserve.

The farther she went from her camp, the more monsters she would run across. She didn’t want to bog herself down by getting into protracted battles. Not when an aspect was on the line.

On the way back though…we’ll see.

The glowing line wound through the trees, slowly curving to the right where the forest abruptly ended.

Suddenly Mel’s boots were hovering over the edge of the plateau, overlooking the fantastical landscape of disjointed planes segmented by sheer, stony cliffs. The horizon was a blend of color from elemental magic and biomes mixing with the weather.

Walls of shimmering light, like an aurora erupting from fissures the size of city blocks, created a tapestry of varying arenas. There was no other word for it in Mel’s mind.

Each area separated by those walls of light was so distinctly different that it had to be on purpose. Some plateaus and arenas were only a dozen or more feet below or above another, while others were the height of skyscrapers.

She saw blizzards ravaging one plateau, while another was shrouded in black murk, another looked like it was raining blood on a corrupted land of flesh and bone. A distant giant dragon wheeled above a smoking volcano, breathing fire into the air.

Far to the north, Mel saw the largest mountain she had ever witnessed. It seemed to touch the very heavens.

Rather than being daunted, Mel was more energized than ever. The Convocation opened up into ever more insane landscapes, and Mel loved it.

Everything was plunged into greater chaos than ever before. There was no mistaking it. The difficulty of the Convocation was increasing the deeper she went.

Plateaus rose or fell before her eyes, joining arenas that would otherwise be impossible to gain access to. A grinding sound below Mel’s feet dragged her attention to the ledge of her own plateau.

A series of stone slabs erupted from the side of the cliff, making an easy way down to the next plateau. One of open fields and rolling hills with large monsters the size of minivans roaming around.

If there were any people there, Mel couldn’t see them. However, the aspect scroll’s line of light led straight through that plateau. She would have to go through it if she wanted her aspect.

Mel grinned to herself, took one tentative step forward to test the strength of the stone, then hurried down the steps before they could vanish.

She had no idea how long they would last, and all thoughts of how she might return to her camp had flown from her head as soon as she saw what lay beyond the rolling plains.

A plateau of constant electrical storms filled with craggy spires and pillars hidden in a haze of mist and rain. She couldn’t see where the line went beyond that as it got lost in the labyrinth that was the storm-lashed plateau, but Mel was excited all the same.

She was finally free and unburdened by worry. Her friends were safe up on a plateau far from the fantastic and terrible things before her, but to Mel, this was heaven.

It was like a theme park for fighting monsters.

The moment her feet touched down on the soft downy grass, the stone stairs retracted into the cliff face, leaving her stranded.

She had just enough time to turn and see a strange creature rushing toward her, the thick triple horns on its head aimed to impale her against the wall of rock behind her.

Mel grinned and summoned her twinblade in a burst of silver ash.

Now this is what I’ve been looking for.