Iris and the other survivors sat in a long, weary silence underpinned by the dull cacophony of rain striking leaves, roots, webs and puddles. The Hammer Guy had regained his stamina, and was now crouched in front of the opening, peering out into the woods to keep watch. The Moonrose tonic had brought Whirl back from the brink of death but couldn't replenish the blood she had lost, leaving her eyes dull and her skin pale.

Iris sat huddled with her knees to her chest, shivering cold. Starting a fire was out of the question, not only would it potentially draw spiders or other creatures to their hovel, but there was no dry wood or kindling to speak of. She had considered changing into dry clothes, but quickly realized they would be soaked too soon to even make a difference.

"I'm sorry for asking," the mage spoke up towards Iris, "but what level are you?"

She had noticed she was the only one suffering from the cold, but was disappointed to learn that others had noticed too, "six," she replied quietly.

The Hammer Guy looked back over his shoulder, "did you just say you're level six? What are you even doing here?"

"T-That's a long story," Iris replied, her chattering teeth betraying her.

The Hammer Guy sighed, "as if it wasn't going to be hard enough keeping you all alive in the first place."

"I can keep m-myself alive!" Iris snapped, instantly regretting her outburst

The Hammer Guy snorted in doubt.

Iris's eyebrows raised with an idea, "in fact, I m-might be able to help keep all of us alive."

She reached around inside her bottomless bag for a moment before withdrawing the last rosewart in her bag, and offering it to Whirl, "this is a healing mushroom from my village, maybe it will h-help."

Whirl accepted the rosewart in a frail hand, and began cautiously nibbling on it. She nodded weakly in appreciation.

"And," Iris continued, reaching back into her bag with both hands, "this should help all of us."

She pulled out her second serving of elk roast from the night before, still steaming hot after nearly a day in the timeless void of her bag. The others all perked up at the sight and smell, and all eyes locked onto the meat. Iris tore off a chunk and passed it to Whirl, then tore another chunk off for herself before passing the meat to one of the fighters. Soon they were each savoring their small portion of meat, except for the Hammer Guy, who devoured his quickly and returned his attention to watch. Iris closed her eyes and savored the warm snack. It wasn't enough to stop her legs from shaking, but her cold hands delighted in the warmth and the first bite relaxed her chattering teeth.

"What are your names, anyway?" Iris asked through a half-chewed bite, "I'm Iris, and I know Whirl, but I don't know what to call you three."

"I'm Galt," the Hammer Guy said simply.

"I'm Lenny," said one of the fighters, then nodded to his partner, "that's Raoul." Raoul nodded upwards at the mention of his name.

"Michael," the mage added.

"Well, Galt, Lenny, Raoul and Michael," Iris recited their names slowly to commit them to memory, "it's nice to meet you."

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Likewise," Michael said, "it seems like we have time, Iris, I really would like to know how a level six found herself in the depths of the Great Forest."

Iris took a big breath before she replied, "well, it kind of started with these scarecrows--"

"I'd rather us talk strategy," Galt interrupted.

Iris paused, then clamped her mouth shut, glad for an excuse not to tell the whole story for once, "yeah, let's do that."

Galt turned away from the opening and sat cross-legged, facing the others, "You all can still see the Matriarch's marker, right? That means the Dreamweaver hasn't called off the mission. There's likely still a large group somewhere. We need to reconnect with other survivors before we travel far, though, the six of us don't stand a chance against a horde."

"The only reason we got away in the first place was because of all the commotion behind us," Lenny said, "if we try moving through webs while it's quiet the spiders will be on us instantly."

Michael shook his head, "not in this storm. The rain is hitting the webs everywhere, all the time, that'll mask small disturbances. If we go tearing our way through or get tangled up in it, though, I imagine they'll find us pretty quickly."

"I've thought about that," Galt said, "I wish I had a solution. Normally I'd send Whirl to scout for others as a first move, but she's in no condition for that."

Whirl nodded in agreement, still slowly eating her elk meat and mushroom.

"The other idea is that we try moving slow and careful," Galt continued, "but if we get into a fight -- even a small one -- we'll end up bringing the whole horde down on us in the commotion."

"I could go," Iris offered, uncertainty plain in her voice.

"Absolutely not," Galt said.

"I'm serious," Iris straightened her posture and did her best to steel her voice, "I've been in the Giantrock Region for weeks, I've fought more monsters than I can remember right now, and my blip ability is perfect for skipping past webs without touching them. Whirl, you saw me back there, tell them how I fight."

"She's not bad," Whirl said, "reckless and clumsy, but she's a good match against the spiders."

Iris frowned at the reckless and clumsy remark, but didn't argue.

"What the hell is a blip?" Galt asked.

"It's like teleporting," Iris said, "well, it is teleporting."

"That's helpful," Galt replied, "but you have, what, one other power? Can you ever see out there? Can you find your way back if you get lost?"

Iris opened her mouth to argue, then stopped, and spoke quietly, "no, probably not."

"I'd be sending you out there to get lost and die," he said, sounding annoyingly like Eli, "it's out of the question."

"What if I go with her?" Whirl offered, continuing before Galt could argue, "I'm too weak to move on my own, but I can still shapeshift and my senses still work. If she can carry me, I can navigate"

Galt thought for a moment, then looked to Iris, "is that possible?"

"If she's something small, I think so," Iris said, "it takes a lot of mana to teleport other beings, but the smaller they are the less it takes."

"I know a small rodent that can smell like a dog and see like an owl," Whirl said, "that should do the trick."

Galt nodded while he deliberated, but confirmed nothing.

"So then what?" Lenny asked, "what's the actual goal here?"

"We need to find and make contact with other survivors and establish a rendezvous," Galt said, "even better if we can find the main group that's presumably out there somewhere. How we manage to meet up without attracting a horde is something we can figure out after we've made contact."

"A zigzag pattern," Raoul spoke for the first time, "moving at a trajectory aimed between the Matriarch marker and our last battle. That'll maximize chances of encountering other adventurers."

"You can take these," Michael said, reaching into his robe and pulling out three small, pearl-like stones, "disposable sending stones. Activate them with a small trickle of mana, and any words spoken into one will be heard from the others. Each one can only transmit five messages, and they crumble after the last message, so use them sparingly."

"We'll keep one here," Galt said, taking one of the stones, "if you find another group, leave a stone with them, but keep one for yourself in case of emergency."

Iris nodded, taking the last two stones and dropping them into her bottomless bag.

"I mean it," Galt said sternly, "hang on to one of those stones," he spoke to Iris, but his eyes lingered on Whirl, "if we can't find you, we can't rescue you."

"We won't need rescuing," Whirl rolled her eyes, then turned to Iris, "he thinks he's everyone's big brother."

Iris laughed, "I know how you feel, my party's got a guy who thinks he's everyone's dad."