A week after Liam’s and Marten’s dispute something strange happened.

They were in a medium-sized town built along the range of a small mountain. Since the mountain range didn’t just offer the village protection, but also a good amount of resources, trade was going well. So well in fact, that Blue had extended their stay to three days instead of the typical one or two.

On the third day of their stay, another caravan rolled into town. So far that had never happened before, at least not that Liam had noticed it. He and Jerem had watched Blue greet the other caravan leader as the new wagons rolled into town.

“Doesn’t happen often,” Jerem had said when Liam asked him about it. “But when it does, it can go one of two ways. Either the other caravan captain is an old friend of Blue and we have a big get-together. Or they’re not friends.”

“What happens if they’re not friends?”

Jerem shrugged. “Don’t know. Has never happened before. But from what I heard, things can get quite nasty sometimes during territory conflicts.”

It had turned out at the end, that the new caravan was a friend of Blue’s. Liam hadn’t gotten their name, but Blue had welcomed them quite extensively.

Who was more ecstatic to have them there though, was the town. Having one caravan visiting was a reason for a good mood, but having two was a reason for a lengthy celebration. So of course they had a festival this evening.

It was loud and turbulent and there was music and dancing. Liam spent the evening drinking a little too much with Jerem and listening to the performers.

The performers of both caravans were really putting up a show that day. Their performers and the ones of the other caravan were hell-bent on one-upping each other. That led to them giving their all and making it a night to be remembered by them all.

There was music so soft that the whole audience fell silent, followed by jingles that made his legs start moving on their own. There were jokes that made Liam weep tears and stories that made him hold his breath.

Just one giant performance after the other, with alcohol flowing freely and an almost electric crowd.

At a certain point, Liam decided he should go for a little walk. He needed to clear his head and simply wanted to get away from the crowds for a while. Something about being in crowds still reminded him of his time in Charville, so it made him uneasy at times.

The village was beautiful with their houses built partly directly into the mountain that lay next to it. Their streets were paved, something not given with towns of that size, and made for pleasant walking. There was also something neat about their architectural style.

The houses were big, often spanning over three stories with multiple individual parts built into one single structure. That way one house could hold lots of people, or different generations of a family comfortably.

During those times Liam thought back to the first town when he met Ernst and Lepo. He had met quite a few other people since then and made quite a few new friendships, but there was something about them that still stuck with him.

This evening it had only been him and Jerem, but he smiled fondly remembering how much Lepo would’ve liked the music and how Ernst would’ve marveled at the acrobat shows. He wondered if he would ever see them again.

Suddenly soft steps rang out in the alley, ripping Liam out of his thoughts. He silently thanked the instincts that he had developed over his years on the streets. Without them, he would’ve missed the approaching sound.

Now though, he was ready as a woman stepped out into the alley.

“Do you have any idea how much I hate divinely-interfered animals?”

It took Liam a moment to connect the dots in his head. “You’re the woman from the resistance.”

Katarina raised an eyebrow. “So you do have a memory. Is it daftness then?”

“What?”

“I thought you ran and joined this stupid caravan because you forgot that we had told you to hide and wait for us. It’s why I thought memory was your problem. But maybe it was just stupidity instead, wasn’t it?”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me, is that some little shithead decided he would run away and compromise our mission.”

“Listen, I’m sorry that I left you two and that that destroyed your mission or whatever,” Liam said, slightly pissed. “But I didn’t know you belonged to the resistance then! I thought you were just some people after me for becoming a cultivator. You’re not really that good at first impressions, you know.”

There was a moment of silence between them. For a second Liam thought he had gone too far. This was a cultivator in front of him, one whom he had seen in action even. He shouldn’t provoke her carelessly.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

At the same time, he didn’t care. He was fed up with stepping on eggshells around cultivators, and the argument with Marten still rumbled in his stomach.

After a few long seconds, Katarina sighed. “I understand that. And I’m sorry for the harsh welcome. It’s just that I really hate being on the road. It just always makes me somewhat itchy. But I know these last few weeks must’ve been confusing to you.”

“Confusing?” Liam snorted. “That’s putting it mildly. “

“Let’s start better,” she said and held out her hand and put on a smile. A genuine one. “I’m Katarina.”

“Liam.”

“Again, I’m sorry for the welcome. If you want we can start by getting you some clarity. Ask me any questions that you want.”

That sounded almost too good to be true. After his harsh time with Marten and his continued refusal to tell him anything truly related to cultivation Liam had become frustrated. Now after their argument, he felt more lost than ever.

Was luck maybe finally shining down on him? He smiled but hesitated, unsure how to start.

He looked at Katarina. Her bright red hair glowed like an ember even in the dim light of the night. It was a little disheveled, less arranged than when he had seen her in Charville.

There was sharp intelligence in her eyes. Technically he was almost a whole head taller than her, but he didn’t feel like that right now.

Suddenly he knew what to ask her. That question hit him like a bucket of ice, as realization dawned on him.

“How the hell did you find me?”

After the first one, a dozen more questions followed. Most were about cultivation, some about resistance, and some about logistical things. Like how she had managed to track him down halfway across the continent.

The last one was somehow reassuring, but at the same time scary for Liam. He had feared that, if she was able to track him down, then so might be others. But his fears were somewhat lessened when she explained the concept of a Signature Compass to him. And while the knowledge of such a method of tracking deeply unsettled him, the fact that it would only be done with an aftermath of his mana signature calmed him somewhat.

After all, he would be leaving distinctly less of these now.

As had happened before, Liam unfortunately hit a roadblock when it came to the topic of cultivation, despite her insistence to help him. She explained the basics to him and shone some more light on skill rarities, quests, and mana in general, but she couldn’t help Liam with everything.

“I’m sorry, but there are some things I’m simply not allowed to tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because we have to be careful. There is a reason the nobility hoards their secrets, there’s power to them. It’s similar for us, sadly. We have developed some techniques that we don’t want to fall into the hands of the nobility.”

“But what about the basic things? Like the technique for a mana projectile? Surely you don’t have a secret special technique for that.”

From what Liam had heard before, forming a mana projectile was one of the most basic things for cultivators. An exercise to practice their mana shaping and develop a fundamental attack.

“Well not special techniques per se, but I’m still not allowed to teach an outsider,” Katarina said. “Things will be different when you join us.”

That was the last of the three big topics that gave Liam a somewhat uneasy feeling in his stomach. At first, the thought of a resistance had excited him. It was like the fire burning inside of him had suddenly found a pile of straw to set ablaze. Just the knowledge of other like-minded individuals out there had motivated him to keep pushing during his days with Marten.

But now his feelings were a little more mixed, especially knowing that they kept their secrets exactly the same way the nobility did. He had hoped for a little more from them.

“When I will join you?” Liam asked.

“Based on all the questions you asked me, I’m guessing you want to know more about cultivation, right?”

“Definitely.”

“I don’t see how you have other options then. For people like you, the resistance is the best chance at proper cultivation. Either that or staying here.” The way she intonated here made it pretty clear what she thought about the idea.

It sounded too much to what he knew of the nobility to Liam. Like some secret hoarding cult that he would rather be wary of. But at the same time, what were his options?

He couldn’t continue to travel along with the caravan, and Eldezimar was far off. Very far.

“How long do I have to decide?”

“Well, there is an outpost we will pass in three weeks. You will have until then.”

“But, how will I contact you?”

She looked at Liam for a long moment before she burst out laughing. “I will join your caravan of course.”

“What? Why?”

“I only took this shitty way of transportation to find you. Why should I stay in a different one now? Besides, mine sucks. Whereas Blue seems quite amiable.”

“Well we’re pretty full at the moment, I don’t know if we can take you.”

Liam knew that it was a lie. Even before they had set out and lost people the caravan hadn’t been close to their full capacity. Jerem had told him so.

But somehow he felt like pushing back a little.

"Oh, really?" Katarina said. “From what I’ve heard, you just lost a cultivator not too long ago. Sounds to me like Blue might be looking for a replacement.”

“That would put you at the frontlines against the monster attacks though.”

Katarina snorted. “Are you kidding? That’s the only thing keeping me sane on the road.”

Once again his perception of her shifted a little.

That evening Liam lay in bed with one big question still burning in his mind.

It was surrounded by a dozen smaller questions, and a worry almost as pressing as the question. His worry about the resistance. He wasn’t sure what to think about it now that he had his first glimpses of it.

But that was something he could put off for later. He had time to decide how he felt about that issue. The question burning in him wasn’t so easily put away though. It was like a thorn buried into his side.

Why had it been Katarina’s mission to find him?