The uninterrupted trip in the mountains has done wonders for our skills. Bones is a much more capable fighter with his battle ax. His forms and stances now resemble that of a seasoned fighter. That includes mixing in flight and an extra set of arms into his combat style. As much as he progressed fighting, it all pales compared to his rope summoning. Bones is now the proud manufacturer of his own custom style. Before, the skeleton relied on thick bone plating and armor for his looks. He now wears a casual, soft robe that reaches the ground.

Most of my time was spent practicing with mind mana. I love it. The extension of my will and the power to enforce my thoughts is everything I never knew I wanted in life. Now, I can lift all sorts of rocks without lifting my finger. I can throw them and catch them before they hit the ground. It started with three specters of myself playing with stones. Now I'm up to six. It doesn't even have to be rocks. Swords, knives, chairs, and even small critters are subject to my specter manipulations.

I tried practicing with large life forms. The problem is the more something is infused with mana, the harder it is to move them with my will. Bones let me practice on him enough to where I know I can break through the limitation. I just need to figure out how.

Heavier objects can also be manipulated. The larger the object, the more specters it takes to move it, which increases my focus and drains my stamina.

We return home after three days of isolated cultivation. In our absence, Wolvsden has flourished. Massive stone gray walls surround the city, with dual gates in each cardinal direction. Watch towers loom over the wall at each gate, corner, and every fifty feet apart. All of which glow from runes. Almost imperceptible is a transparent, silky barrier covering the entire town. I only noticed it because Fury and Gene had to land outside the gate and walk through instead of landing at their destination.

Impulsively, I run towards Gene, hoping to catch her before she wisps into her shadow. Inside the gate, I'm shocked by the bustling activity of our growing town. Our home looks different from the scrap yard it was three days ago. Nor does it look like the sorry excuse of a fortification we initially set up. Wolvsden is on its way to becoming an actual town. A market center for the guild is being built in the northwestern section. It looks like we already have a blacksmith, an armory, some type of bestiary, a potion shop, a runesmith, and a tailor. There are also ten vacant buildings in the market center. There is no hint of what they will be.

A large stone building is nestled between the northeast quadrant where we entered and the market. The building is an open construct supported by arches on each side. The three-story building has a teleport in the middle of the floor. Nearer to the market is a large desk. Already, five spiders patrol the portal grounds, though the portal doesn't seem completely active. I look around for the other three portals but can't see them.

Gene is getting away. I ignore the rest of the town and speedwalk to close the gap. It would've been wise to spend time reviewing what I will say to Gene to repair things between us and Lana. I couldn't even get myself to think about it. I guess I acted a bit cowardly or out of too much frustration. Either way, I'm no closer to knowing how to handle the situation than I was days ago. Maybe I'll invite her to a mountain retreat.

Before I can get to Gene, Lana steps out of the guild hall. Goldi smiles brightly and doesn't realize she is on a crash course with Gene. I don't know if I should try to run faster, brace myself for impact, or run away again. Bones shoves me to the back, pushing me toward the collision. At the same time, he uses the counterforce to backpedal himself to safety. Credit to my companion — he's been at the top of his game lately. I try to stop everything from happening. My mind floods with dread.

Lana looks up at the last second before running into Gene. Her smile is still wild and hopeful. The clerk opens her arms. The warmth of her mana nearly pushes me back. Gene hasn't stepped into shadow, most likely committing to the last second for her faint. "No," I call out, not knowing what else to say. The two embrace and look back at me awkwardly when they hear my objection. Did I see that right?

"Jim…" Gene is the first to acknowledge me. She repositions so she no longer has to crane her neck. "It is Jim still, right?" That's a fair question, but I'm upset she rolled the initiative.

"Yeah, I didn't have a chance to pick a new one. I needed another full day for that."

"Well, we are glad you didn't stay away a day longer." Lana stands next to Gene, closer than enemies should be. "Though it turns out we are much more productive with the two of you gone than when you are here."

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"What's going on?"

"We are building a town. The children are back and in the thick of their training programs. Scotty and his delegation have just returned from their trip back to guild society, and Fury and I have finished our island scouting trip.

"That's not what I meant, though I appreciate the succinct update."

"Glimmer and Bloom are preparing for a wild celebration?" Gene is playing coy. She knows it. She knows I know it. And she loves it. I can see I'm a tasty morsel in her eyes. I'm not falling victim to her schemes. "We are officially a guild city! The Society even gifted us a portal connected to their hubs."

"Gene." I think being direct is the best way to navigate this murky water. Gene has always taken advantage of my reservation.

"Right. I owe you an apology.

"You do? I thought I owe you."

"What in the shallow abyss for?"

"Putting your people at risk, not picking your side, destroying your home, and leaving town?"

"So…?"

"I'm sorry."

"Do you mean it?"

"No." That was an honest slip. "Some of it." I try to recover. "You were in the wrong, though. So was I. We should have talked to you before we went through with our plans. But you can't just attack people based on intuition. No matter how good your gut is, you can't just try to murder people. And I'm still upset you tried to lock me in your realm. What the hell?" I butcher my apology. Turns out I'm still salty. I probably needed one more day to cool off.

"Thank you. You are right. I was in the wrong. I acted irrationally. More than that, I betrayed our friendship. I have been overwhelmed with everything, and the stress has pushed me to act recklessly. I am sorry for how I treated you. No matter my circumstances, I should have never done that to you, and I never will again." Gene looks at me with wide, innocent eyes; water pools at her lids. She blinks and directs her eyes up. "Do you think we can forget about that day?"

I'm relieved to hear her apology. I know Gene was acting out of character, and I understand why. We both misstepped.

"Yes. Please."

"Excellent." The Matron lets out a sigh of relief and dabs an arm across her eyes. When her arm returns to their place, Gene relaxes. I wait for her or Lana to say something more. They give me nothing but innocent smiles.

"Alright, what's going on with you two? Pretty sure you were enemies when I left."

"Enemies?" This time, Lana plays coy.

"Yeah." I don't say another word.

"We had a small conflict of interest, but that has been resolved. We are basically best friends now."

I search her words for sarcasm and find none. No punchline is delivered. Lana even buddy bumps Gene's side. I eye the Lycan, expecting her to break character. Instead, she plays along and even seems to enjoy the interaction.

"We had a misunderstanding. I acted wrong and apologized. Lana apologized as well, though she didn't really do anything wrong. After more talking, we found we have a lot in common, and since you have been gone, I opened up to her."

"No way!"

"She's a witch," says Bones, conveniently returning now that waters are calm.

"Oh, so when Jim makes friends with the enemy, it's totally fine, but when I make friends with a good person whom I mistakenly mistrusted, I am in the wrong?"

"Yeah. Jim's a fool. You're supposed to be the wise one."

"You just wanted to play hero and swoop in for the glory of saving the relationship."

"Didn't want to." Bones corrects Gene. "Thought I was gonna have to."

"So you think we can not handle our own affairs," says Gene, her face cold and empty of emotion and her arms folded. "What is next? Are you going to start directing me when I can eat?"

"This is crazy and uncalled for," says Bones. His arms protesting out.

I catch Genes' cold expression cracking and watch her large, playful smile appear. I'm so relieved this conflict is resolved. Home already feels so much better.

"Alright," says Lana. "We have much to show you and discuss."

"I'm just going to get updates from Nette." Bones backpedals away. "There is way too much I need to do right now." There isn't anything Bones needs to do. Secretly, he's hoping Nette can teach him more about web manipulation. I don't call him out and let him depart in peace.

"Let's begin," I say to the two.