Julliane’s POV

“Mom, dad, there is something weird out here in the forest. I was wandering West like I promised when I heard this weird yapping sound. Being cautious I started to head South and West at a jog to get away when a weird raspy laugh came from the South. I am currently heading more West at a sprint, but ---” Those were the last words I heard from Jace before Ralph’s thoughts intruded over everything.

“RUN! Jace that is a Gnoll hunting party with a pack of what I would guess is goblins riding on Fenrics. You need to get back to the city as fast as possible.” My heart leapt into my throat at his words. How was there such a hunting party so close to the city. I know my son and he would not disobey me in going so far into the forest.

Not to mention that if he had gone deeper into the forest there is no way that the Elves would allow Gnolls, the disgusting creatures, to hunt in their territory. When a few seconds passed by and no response came, my stomach dropped.

“Jace, can you hear me?” I asked. Ralph was silent as well waiting on bated breath to hear from our son. When almost a minute passed by with no response, I shut out my emotions.

Ever since I was added to this system, as Jace called it, I noticed it had a profound effect on my emotions. It acted almost like a stabilizer, preventing my talent-driven emotions from spiraling out of control. For the first time, I could process my feelings with clarity and focus, rather than being overwhelmed by them, which gave me a newfound sense of control over my abilities. Giving me much greater control of my talent then I had ever had. The moment I became a part of the system I knew I had more control of my talent, and it allowed me to show my family how I felt instead of just being always calm.

However, thinking that my son might have just been killed due to someone having not done their job almost made me lose control. “Can you go, or do I need to go find out what happened?” I asked Ralph.

“I’ll go, I will need to take a patrol with me. The fact that there is a Gnoll hunting party so close does not bode well for someone.” Ralph responded.

While I waited, I spent a lot of time trying to come up with a solution myself. I even tried inviting Jace to my party again to no avail. I did not even get a response from the system, which did nothing to help the worry that was growing inside. Ayla saw me pacing and began to worry as well, so I did my best to calm down.

After the first hour of Ralph and his patrol being unable to find anything about Jace, I noticed Ayla growing increasingly anxious. Her small hands clenched tightly at the hem of her dress, and her wide eyes darting to me with unspoken questions. I tried to reassure her with a gentle smile, but the worry etched on her face only grew with my own.

Finally, I decided to take her to Courtney’s house. When her parents came out to greet me, I asked if they would mind watching her for the night. As I explained that I didn’t want Ayla to worry about things beyond her control, I couldn’t shake the guilt that I was leaving her behind while grappling with my own fears for Jace.

When the second hour came by, and he still did not have anything to show I started to demand answers from him. Asking if he wanted me to come out there and look for myself. Of course, Ralph said no and that even with my new abilities, facing a pack of Gnolls would be more than I could manage.

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After the third hour I stopped carrying what Ralph said and started packing a bag to make sure that I had some food, bandages in case Jace was hurt, and my bow and several arrows. When I finished packing almost four hours had passed since Jace went missing.

“We found his footprints, but it looks like he was just calmly walking at this point. He went much further West than I expected him to.” My heart leapt into my throat at the news, and I stood completely still, as though my movements might somehow distract Ralph and his patrol.

Another hour went by before the found the spot where Jace started jogging. Even though it upset me, Ralph sent one of the scouts out to find the tracks of the Fenric pack. It was not long before the scout came back saying he had found tracks for close to 15 Fenrics. The news was not great, the only reason a group Fenrics that big would be that close to the city was if a Dungeon was nearby.

It took Ralph another agonizing hour to report in. Apparently, when they found where he started sprinting Ralph sent the scout out again. He returned not long later having found the tracks for over 30 Gnolls. At that news Ralph had to send a scout back to the city with the news to get reinforcements.

His patrol only had 10 men two of which were scouts. They were not nearly equipped enough to manage that many Fenrics and Gnolls. While the scout was running back, the patrol had pushed forward with the last scout leading. They travelled for another ten minutes before finding the Gnolls and Fenrics. Close to sixty creatures all told between the Gnolls, Fenrics, and Goblins that used the Fenrics as mounts. Ralph going on to explain that the creatures seemed exceedingly restless as they paced in an open area.

The Fenrics was a weird creature that looked somewhat like a fox but was a little bigger than an average wolf. When they were hunting, they tended to make a yapping noise that helped to corral their prey. They were pacing the clearing yapping as though they had their prey trapped, but there was nothing there.

Ralph gave me the update that he did not see any signs of Jace but that the group was all in a circle around an empty space. He did not know what was going on but as soon as reinforcements arrived, he would let me know. They were going to clear the beasts out and try to find Jace's tracks again.

After seven hours from the time that Jace’s voice cutoff Ralph got back to me. “I want to start by saying I think Jace will be fine. The Gnolls and Goblins were surrounding a Dungeon that had an illusion cast on the portal to hide it. I tried to enter but received an error stating that someone was already inside and that the Dungeon of the Wilds was locked until it was completed due to its state of over saturation. But that the recommended level was 25+. I know that sounds high, but you have to remember that Jace already has the stats of a level 46 common class. We need to believe in him and his ability to deal with this situation.”

I knew he was right but even still I was not happy with it. The only thing we had to think through now, was how we would tell everyone that we knew what was going on when Jace was obviously in the Dungeon when we went searching for him.

It was not long before Ralph came home and told me about how they had setup security around the Dungeon. Apparently, no one had known about this dungeon and the fact that it had an illusion covering it made this a big scandal.

Ralph was told to head home and to take care of Ayla and me. Everyone gave their well wishes to us, probably thinking that there was no way that Jace would survive. Ralph and I on the other hand knew better.

It was the first time since we had the system that I was not happy with the fact that it was not spread widely yet. If more people had access to its abilities, perhaps they could have joined the search for Jace or offered insights that might have led us to him faster. The system’s potential to empower and connect people was undeniable, and in this moment of helplessness, its limited reach felt like a glaring shortcoming.