The next few days on the road were quiet. People in the group only spoke out openly when necessary and then retreated into pairs. Sister Greta only spoke with Alanna. The girl seemed to get over her initial fear of the Sister quite quickly and began warming up to her again. They mostly talked about religion, but Daniel overheard snippets of the Sister pumping Alanna for information about the town and its people. He had to give it to the Sister. If nothing else, she seemed to really believe that the Scourge was in Fordham and that she was going to vanquish it.

Abigail and Dain spoke the least out of everyone. Abigail was lost in thought and frowning a lot when she thought that no one was looking at her. She was likely stuck contemplating what she would do for the future once the library was completed. As the daughter of a Lord, the number of paths available to her was numerous to say the least. Almost a paralyzing number.

Dain was quiet, but it was a calm quiet. He seemed to enjoy the silence and tried to prolong it by speaking as little as possible. Like before, he and Daniel would go their separate ways to train whenever they stopped and set up camp. But unlike the first time, Dain never requested another sparring match, which left Daniel time to focus on the punch box and the cycling bracelet. Progress had been slow on both fronts. Trying to punch a circle into the paper would just turn the whole sheet into confetti and he still hadn’t cracked perfect absorption. No matter how careful or slow he was, some of it still slipped through his grasp. He’d spend an hour on it every night and then crawl back to the camp feeling mentally exhausted.

Apart from Alanna, whose mood brightened the closer they got to her hometown, it was Caspian who remained in high spirits. On the road he would talk about how he couldn’t wait to get to Fordham and slay a Corebeast. At night, he’d sit by himself and read a book that he’d borrowed from Abigail. Any request by Daniel to train was politely refused. On the sixth morning, even when Daniel told him that he’d be leaving today for his seclusion training, Caspian’s enthusiasm never dimmed.

There was talk of a village nearby where they could spend a night indoors for a change and eat real food. None except Caspian were used to the road life and, given everyone’s mood, they’d welcome the break. That seemed as good a time as any to Daniel to split off from the group and take care of a few things back on Earth. When they reached the village, he informed the group that he’d be leaving for his seclusion training and that he’d either catch up to them on the road or meet them in Fordham. Everyone except Alanna seemed to instantly accept this though Daniel was surprised that none of the others wanted to ask questions about his mysterious training.

When they reached the stables behind a tavern, he said goodbye to everyone. Sister Greta said, “good luck,” before leaving. Caspian told him not to overdo it on training while Dain gave him a tight nod that Daniel took as some form of approval that he was dedicated more time for training. Abigail managed a limp wave before heading into the nearest tavern that had rooms available, and Alanna told him to be careful before following her inside. Daniel said goodbye to Nutmeg last, who was too busy eating hay to notice.

He slung his pack over his shoulder and walked out of the village and into the woods. Just to be safe, he used essence to heighten his senses and doubled back a few times in case someone like Sister Greta was following him. Her seeing him teleport was the last thing he needed right now. The woods appeared empty and when he was far enough away, Daniel closed his eyes and thought of the Hollow Shores. The vibrations in his body started to build and, just as he was about to teleport, he felt something big slam into his side.

Daniel teleported and fell onto the beach. The heavy weight had followed him through and knocked him over. Daniel got a face full of sand before the weight rolled off of him. Army of One formed on his hand, ready to fight whoever had tackled him. He rolled away to gain some distance and looked up, only to see Caspian smirking as he dusted himself off.

Daniel felt a combination of anger and confusion that left him stuck.

“Seriously?!” he asked Caspian after a few seconds of silence.

“What? You saw how boring things were getting with the group, and I figured I wouldn’t get a better opportunity to tag along and see what your world was like.” He looked around, taking it all in. “Huh, it’s much more tropical than I imagined it to be.”

“This isn’t Earth. It’s a miniature in-between place I use to store things and recover from problems. Which you are currently interfering with and adding to.”

Adam came out of his tent saying, “I swear I’m almost packed. I just need a few more…” He trailed off when he saw Caspian.

The two of them looked at each other and then back to Daniel and asked in two different languages, “is he an alien?”

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“Just kill me,” Daniel muttered as the two stared at each other.

He ignored both of them and went into his personal tent to get changed into his Earth clothes and when he came out, he said in English, “alright here’s what’s going to happen. Adam, you and I are going back to Earth so that people don’t start declaring you a missing person and arrest me as the suspect.” Daniel turned to Caspian and told him in Lirian, “Caspian, you will stay here for the next four or five days. There’s plenty of food and water inside the big tent to tide you over until I return.”

“I want to see Earth though,” whined Caspian.

Daniel could think of a million reasons for why that would be a bad idea, and most of them had to do with Caspian’s impulsiveness. He mostly held his tongue though and said, “I can’t. It’s too much trouble. What if something happens while you’re there? It’s too risky.”

Caspian seemed to expect that answer. “Take me to Earth and I’ll teach you how to beat the cycling bracelet.”

Daniel didn’t believe him. “You’re bluffing.”

Caspian held up the arm with the bracelet on it and Daniel watched as the symbols glowed white before the bracelet unlinked itself and fell to the ground.

Daniel still didn’t believe him. “Is it some sort of trick? Did you fake the bracelet out somehow?”

“I beat it fairly,” Caspian assured him. “I’ve known how to perfectly cycle essence for a while now.”

“Brant doesn’t seem to think so.”

“Yeah well, the more effort you give, the more that ends up being expected of you. I’d rather just coast. It’s much more comfortable.”

Daniel reluctantly agreed to take him to Earth. If he had a technique that could help him perfectly cycle essence, then it was an opportunity that was too good to pass up. He gave Caspian some Earth clothes to change into and he walked back out of the tent a few minutes in jeans and a t-shirt with his rapier belted to his hip.

“You’re going to have to lose the sword,” said Daniel.

Adam looked disappointed, but Caspian was too excited to go to another world to care and gladly left it behind in the tent. Once he was ready to leave, Adam grabbed two duffel bags worth of his stuff and stood next to the others. Daniel put one hand on his shoulder and another on Caspian’s before taking a couple of slow, deep breaths.

“I’ve never done two people before. Should be interesting,” said Daniel.

Caspian looked up, alarmed. “Wait, isn’t this safe?”

They blinked, and the trio were suddenly standing in the middle of Daniel’s apartment living room.

Caspian laughed. “You almost had me.”

“You deserved it for tackling me in the woods.”

“Can I stay for a bit?” asked Adam. “I have tons of questions.”

Daniel shook his head. “Come back tonight with them. I am not getting arrested just because you decided to take an extended vacation. Go meet and talk to some people to let them know that you’re okay, and then we’ll figure things out from there.”

Adam nodded and reluctantly left.

“You sounded like you were being a little harsh with him,” said Caspian.

“He’s been living rent free on my world for the last five weeks and yes, before you ask, a week is the same here as on Alarstardes.”

“Your world?”

“Might as well be. Anyway, this is my place on Earth. I guess it's my turn to give a tour.”

Daniel started by explaining and demonstrating things. Pointing out the rooms only took a few seconds, but it was the technology that took the longest to explain. Every time Daniel would demonstrate something like electric lightbulbs, Caspian would stop to ask questions like what are the lightbulbs made of. Which would make Daniel stop and pull out his phone to look up the answers, which of course prompted a new string of questions.

Daniel tried to keep things basic, or it would have taken all day. He was halfway through the tour when he got a phone call on the apartment's landline. Daniel answered, and a businesslike woman responded.

“Is this Daniel Porter?”

“Yes?”

“This is Orion Banking Limited. We’ve encountered an issue with your account, and we need you to come to the branch directly with two forms of identification to rectify the situation.”

Daniel’s heart sped up. That was the account that held the majority of his poker winnings. He’d planned to rely on that fund for at least the next year whenever he was on Earth.

“Isn’t there a way to do it online or over the phone?” he asked her.

“Hmm, unfortunately no. Shall we be expecting you today?”

“Is the issue serious?”

“Yes, quite serious. Though I cannot go into details over the phone either. It’s company policy.”

“Alright fine. I’ll be there soon.”

He hung up and sat Caspian down.

“Okay, you remember how to get water and where the fridge is, and its purpose?” Daniel asked.

“The cold white box that holds food? Yeah, it’s over there,” he pointed.

“Okay good. I need you to stay here while I go run an errand in town and before you say it, no. Just no. There’s so much left to go over that I can’t have you freaking out over seeing a car or something. So just stay here for a couple of hours and then I’ll be back.”

Caspian shrugged. “Hey, don’t worry so much. There are still tons for me to explore here. Go run your errand.”

Daniel left and locked the door behind him. Hoping at the very least the lock might give him difficulty if he changed his mind about staying put. Though, knowing Caspian, he’d either find a way to pick it or get frustrated and break the whole thing.

Daniel was about to turn right and go down the hall when he noticed the end of a black bag poking out of the left end of the hall. A very familiar black bag. Daniel didn’t have the energy to argue about this. He sighed and then loudly said, “if you’re going to sneak back in there, don’t let him leave the apartment. I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Call some family members at the very least or you’ll wish I was in jail.”

Adam said nothing, but since he was reliant on Daniel financially now, Daniel assumed that he would follow through and let his family and friends know that he was still alive. Even if it meant telling them an embarrassing lie, like he just forgot to call them or he got distracted. It was a small price to pay if meant he could go back to the beach.