Flying into a thunder cloud wasn’t the brightest idea. But Jack was curious as to how the clouds looked from within.

So as lightning bolts erupted, Jack guided his Griffin into a dark cloud.

Immediately his face felt icy cold. Thanks to the coat he was wearing, his body was protected from the elements.

Around him he saw white sporadic flashes of light. The thunder blasted near his ears.

Lightning Damage Nullified!

Lightning Damage Nullified!

Notifications appeared in front of him.

He was surprised at what he was reading. The amulet he was wearing was a Tier 4 item. It’s not easy to find but it's also not that special. Jack assumed that any lightning damage would be reduced and not necessarily nullified.

He could spend the whole day in this cloud and take no damage. Sweet.

“KRRAAA!” the Griffin screamed.

And with each flash of light that appeared, the giant bird became more restless and frantic.

He couldn’t stay up in a thundercloud forever, the Griffin clearly was too scared.

Jack patted the back of the neck of the Griffin trying to calm it down.

But the flashes of light were making it too paranoid. It was time to descend. Jack steered the giant bird down and away from the clouds.

Below was nothing more than wet green plains.

Jack cast [Survey] across the area of land he was looking at.

His eyes glowed with a golden hue. The field below glimmered.

No Item Found.

A notification informed him that nothing of note was found.

Jack then checked his mana.

1980/2000 MP

He could use [Survey] plenty of times before he ran out.

For the next hour, Jack swept across the area the [Scout] was supposed to have travelled.

He found nothing and was tempted to turn around and return to the warmth of his bed. But he’d always convince himself to search for the [Scout] for another ten minutes.

After another hour, Jack hadn’t found the [Scout]. He was now 90 kilometres away from the palace. This search area was way off.

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The [Scout] should have never gone past the 70 km mark. That is if she followed the instructions that he gave Leofric.

Jack allowed the Griffin to return back to the ground and rest.

The thunderclouds were now long gone. The sun was peeking out of the horizon and the Griffin slept to recover its strength.

Jack knew he had to return. The [Scout] was officially missing in action. And there was nothing more he could do. He had to accept that.

Jack’s mind raced. Maybe the policy around [Scouts] should change from now on, he thought. A [Scout] must work in pairs from now on so that if one of them gets into a disaster, the other one can rescue them or call for help.

The finer details of this policy change will be worked out with Leofric.

As Jack waited on the Griffin, he saw something peculiar from a distance. Something he hadn’t noticed before.

“Are those huts?” he asked himself.

He had to find out. He woke up the Griffin. The poor creature was clearly annoyed and glared at him.

He didn’t pay much attention to it and simply mounted the animal.

They took off in the direction of those huts. If there are huts then probably there are people. And maybe those people knew where the [Scout] was.

Or even more plausibly, the [Scout] sheltered in those huts whilst waiting for the storm to pass.

So Jack quickly rode to those huts.

As he got closer, he realised those huts were actually tents made of leather. And there weren't a couple of huts but actually a lot of them.

Jack estimated around 50 of them. Who knows how many families lived in them as each one was pretty large.

Jack also saw an enclosure for goats and sheep. The horses meanwhile were tied to poles next to each tent.

Jack landed in the centre of this settlement. There was a large black rock at the centre of this settlement with inscriptions written on it. He couldn’t read it as it was written in an unknown script.

So he used [Appraise] to get a better understanding of it.

Item: The Sacred Stone

Description: A religious stone used to speak and connect to ancestors. This stone guides anyone to water and good grazing land for their livestock

It’s a special stone then.

Jack shrugged. It wouldn’t be useful for him.

“Hello, is anyone home?” he shouted loudly to get someone’s attention.

Jack heard grumblings from a tent nearby.

“Whose shouting so early in the morning!?”

Jack didn’t know how to respond.

The Griffin shrieked in anger at the person inside the tent.

“What the hell is going on outside?”

The tent opened. An old man with a white beard stepped outside.

He was clearly pissed as his jaws were clenched and veins on his forehead were pronounced.

When this old man stared at Jack, his annoyed look turned to fear. His eyes widened and mouth gasped in shock.

[Appraise].

Name: Alfith

Rank: Village Elder

Class: [Soothsayer lvl 15], [Fletcher lvl 6]

Age: 64

Race: Human

Jack had to be polite to grown ups. “Morning Sir, I’m looking for…”

He was cut short when the old man gave a blood-curdling scream.

“D-D-DEMON! HIDE THE CHILDREN! THERE’S A DEMON!!!!”