Gene's heart is racing. She isn't worried. Quite the opposite. She can't remember when she had so much fun. The entire goblin camp is covered in a shadow fog, and she is setting bombs like she is one of those crazy arsonists. Gerek would have gotten a huge kick out of this.

"They are everywhere." A random hunter cries not too far away from the last explosion.

"Stand your ground." The squire-ranked kobold commander shouts. The air lancer tries to get the horde into positions, and the ambush is squashed. "Nikkos, why are we still silenced?"

"I haven't been able to sense any runes or mana other than the fog within our base. My jackals are on it. We'll have power in the minute."

No, you won't. Gene keeps her cackles to herself while she plants more boom sticks. Not the official name for the prepared explosive rituals but Liam, no Li, was persistent. She plants ten more explosions around the base, carefully keeping them out of high-traffic areas. They are not here for the horde. They only want the food.

She is already in the kitchen by the time the last explosion goes off. One more blast toward the north wall lets her know Li is making his way out. That man refuses to stick to a name. Too many syllables, apostrophes, or it reminds him too much of a past version of himself that he is not particularly fond of.

She fills her webbed bags prepped with food storage rituals full of all the kitchen supplies. Nothing is spared. Tools, pots, pans, seasonings, sauces, and food. All the glorious food is placed in her bag. Fortunately, the food ritual creates a temporary space connected to the shadow realm in her bag. Since the food isn't in her bag, she can stuff all she wants without being weighed down.

The ritual works on food-related items. They can fit into the temporary space as long as they aren't alive. Rituals are so much fun! To think she had to wait so many years before she could use them again. Boom sticks and banditry… who knew this night would be so wild!

****

Wolfish laughter howls from the kitchen. I think about turning around and helping Gene, but I have got my hands full, escorting spiders, scorpions, and nagas away to freedom. I was only going to save the spiders but decided to go full liberty angel and save them all. It only took five quick swats to keep the beasts in line. After blowing our way through the wall, all the beasts except the spiders scattered.

The spiders follow me for another mile. I try to talk to them about Annette and our deal, but they only want to see their god. As much as I try to keep them here, they refuse and head off in their own way.

Now I am back at our rendezvous point with no spiders while Gene is having all the fun. Hearing her laughter not at my expense is good for the soul. I want to go back and join her, but we agreed to meet here. That's the problem with plans. They're too restrictive.

That's why I had to ditch the Liam alias. The guy was obsessed with plans. Even his plans had plans. He had no freedom. If he wanted to run with the wind, he'd need to plan for it. Want to howl at the white moon. Create a plan and name it. To be fair, the naming aspect is the best part of planning. Any good plan needs a good name, and Li can get behind a naming session.

Li is a free soul. Likes to shoot without aiming. Cross the bridge while it is burning and other wild unplanned events. That's why I can't go back to the fortification. I might get locked into another plan. Besides, Gene doesn't need any help. She's in her element.

****

Shadow is everywhere, spreading with fidelity to her cause. Within this domain, Gene is absolute power. She can feel every living thing and their whereabouts. The shaman could even strike them down all at once. When she was at the prime of her practice, she could lock down this entire room freezing everything within her shadow with barely a thought.

The power is hers to command. Hers to punish. One command and two hundred would die. Gene can feel the power calling to her, begging to be used. Justice. It demands justice. Quickly she shakes off the battle lust. Her mind clears, and she focuses on the loot. These people aren't responsible for her people's death. They probably weren't even alive at the time.

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Jerkies of all types of animals are thrown in the bag. Fresh apples, carrots, potatoes, corn, and rice are added. Roasted chicken, beef, and pork are tossed in, except for one chicken she begins eating.

Not a single coffee bean gets left behind. Genevieve almost goes so far as to dust the shelves holding the beans into her bag. The gourmet drink is a luxury she got to experience on occasion. Each time was a blissful experience. She might even consider eating the beans raw if she wasn't already working on chicken.

A squad of goblins finally trace her laughter back to her. Gene gives them little thought as they freeze in the doorway.

"Yell, and we kill you. Stay silent, and you will live." She tries to impersonate the rough voice of a bugbear. One goblin defies the threat and tries to call out. Gene constricts the shadow around him, pushing out all his air before he can cry. He faints while he is standing. Letting the display sink in, Genevieve lets his body drop to the ground. No more soldiers try to be brave.

Gene wastes no more time and wraps up her banditry. The back of the kitchen is blown up, and she escapes from the newly created eastern exit. The exit is already guarded by the hoard. She slips into the shadow and sneaks away. Sure, she told Li there was no chance of being detected with high enough perception skills. That didn't mean she needed to take any unnecessary risks.

Once far from the fort, she shifts into her fire hawk form and flies northwest toward the predetermined rendezvous point. Though unlikely to be spotted, she stays low to the ground keeping little visibility.

****

"Where's the spiders? Gene asks as she lurks into my dark and empty camp.

"They're out looking for religion. Don't think they'll be coming back."

"Awe." She acts like this is perfectly normal, or maybe she blames one of my personality flaws. Who knows?

Maybe I was too zealous for them, and they are looking for a more pacifist deity. Kinda seems like they already have someone in mind, and I'm not convinced it's Annette. Maybe a New Nette. Damn, that is a good spider name. Maybe I will go check out his god.

"How's your score?"

"I took everything. It was so good. Li, they had coffee beans." My eyes perk up with her excitement. I don't quite recall this coffee bean, but based on Gene's level of excitement, it sounds delicious.

"Do we need to eat them now?"

"Probably." She takes out a handful of the dark bean and places them in my hand. Living my life fast and free, I toss the entire handful into my mouth.

Gene's mouth is agape as she watches me process the mouth full of bitter solid beans. I hold back tears and unpleasant expressions as I chew the solid beans. The flavor-packed solids put up strong resistance and dealt heavy damage to the inside of my mouth. When I think about spitting them out, I see the threat lingering in Gene's watchful eyes.

The wasteful thought is banished, and I muster the strength and endurance to live my life like I only got one. Somehow, I smile for Gene, displaying my enjoyment of her nice gift. Hopefully, no blood or grit is showing. She smiles back while she pops one bean into her mouth.

"So, I think we should go check out this new religion the spiders are talking about." I finally speak up after another two minutes of awkward chewing and hard swallowing. "For research purposes."

"Trying to find more meaning out of life?"

"I don't think so. You think they're offering that?"

"They had something enticing for the spiders."

"Yeah, but there is no way their spider god looks better than Annette." I shouldn't have said that. "For a spider…." Not much of a cover, either. It's surprising how high Gene can raise her brow. "Come on, Gene. You got to admit that on the spider scale, Annette is at least an eight."

"We need to find you some people."

"Awe, Gene, you are my people."

"And I already had to reject your acceptance of a faux wedding proposal."

"The scenery, the setting, the gem… it was all perfect and sudden. I didn't want to ruin the moment."

"How's living in the moment treating you now?"

"Pretty good. I'm a bit jittery. Feel like we need to get going or something. Maybe we can start a fire or go for a swim. Or both. Let's do both. And find the new spider god. Oh, and the bugbears. Let's not forget about them. I feel like punching bugbears." Hopefully, I have put enough distance between my Nette word blunder that I won't see them again for a while. Gene will blame it on the coffee. She's only a little bit right.