I returned to the Fort and found the escort knights and maids setting up the carriage for the day’s journey. A few men dressed in the Fort’s uniform were running about with clipboards and paperwork, gathering signatures for the trip. Identifications were checked and the carriage was inspected for contraband.

Two men with darker skin and foreign armor were down by the stables. They were inspecting the horses one by one, and they seemed to be looking for something.

I had never seen armor like theirs before and my first thoughts were that they were from Barbory. I decided to steer clear of them for the moment, wary about my own demi-human nature being found out.

I certainly didn’t want to cause any issues at this point of the trip. The adventure through the pass would be harrowing enough, there was no need to invite raiding parties from religious fanatics.

My Heaven Garb covered me in a loose riding cloak. I wore a hood and hid my body’s inhuman features as best I could. I blended well into the crowd of guards and maids, almost like a shadow. I needed to find Lily.

In the center of all the action, near the carriage, I found Lily in her wheelchair talking to some attendant about trade numbers. I walked over to them, careful not to startle anyone as I moved.

Lily sensed another presence and looked up from the clipboard in her hands. When she saw me she first smiled, but then her eyes widened in a panic.

“Calliope, get on the carriage please and keep yourself hidden. I need to talk to you about some things,” she said, her voice hushed and fast.

I nodded in reply and decided to board first.

I leaned into the seat and kept myself from showing through the windows. I didn’t want to cause a scene here. I wasn’t certain why there were two men from Barbory here, but I wasn’t about to give them an excuse to cause trouble.

After about half an hour of waiting, Lily was lifted up into the carriage by her maids. They sat her down across from me. We both stared at each other for a moment in silence.

“I’m sure you saw them,” said Lily, breaking the quiet moment.

“The two men from Barbory?” I asked.

“Yes. They were waiting here for our group, at the Fort. They supposedly knew about my injury and that our country would send me down south for healing…”

“So there’s a spy in the current administration?” I said.

“I’m not sure,” replied Lily. “That’s my current theory. If they know about me coming they certainly know about you, but they haven’t asked anything about you the entire time. Their official purpose is to guide us through The Pass and inspect our caravan for contraband.”

“Are they here to confirm my presence?”

“Maybe,” she said with a frown. “For now, just try to keep yourself hidden during the remainder of the trip. At least from them. I don’t know why, but my intuition is telling me something bad is going to happen if they see you.”

I smiled at her concern for me. It felt good and genuine, almost familial in nature. I would get her legs healed and, if those two ‘Inspectors’ from Barbory caused problems, I’d remove them.

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I didn’t like the idea of being passive or hiding, so I wouldn’t necessarily do that, but I couldn’t underestimate anyone in this world. It wasn’t that long ago that I fell under that ‘Tartarus’ charm.

Just because I don’t think anyone in this world can kill me, doesn’t mean they can’t try to kill the people I care about. Lily was the best example.

I thought about all the deaths I’d witnessed, all the carnage and the massacres, and then I thought about last night, the night I spent holding that dragon and watching the stars above.

Finally, I thought about Nox’s ‘mission’ for me. He wanted an army to fight against the other Fae, but could I even trust him? Wouldn’t he just turn against me once his enemies were slain? He certainly didn’t seem like a magnanimous God.

In the pit of my stomach I knew the way forward. I needed to gain levels and I needed to level up my friends.

Once I healed Lily’s legs, I’d help her start down the path of Ascendancy. I loved her like a sister, and I didn’t want to have her soul be mixed with terrible things, but I couldn’t let her stay weak like this. I couldn’t let her be my weakness any longer.

I could have her kill monsters with low to no ego, so that her mind wouldn’t be too affected by the mixing. Doing so would slow her down a lot, though. I wasn’t certain if it was possible within the provided timeline...

I peeked out the window and saw RED nearby; his shining golden hair made him stick out like a sore thumb. I knew for a fact that RED could probably manage. He was a bit of a spiteful bastard at times, but he was reliable.

My mind also thought of James and his farmboy style. Last I heard he was still training in the east, in the place called The Forgotten Lands.

I didn’t know if James could handle the mental strain. He seemed tougher than me, at least. Though that wasn’t exactly a high bar.

-

The carriage started moving again after a few hours of preparation. Lily and I passed the time in silence, broken only whenever one of the guards popped in to give a report.

I closed my eyes and could sense the mana around us, using a skill I earned during my climb through the Calico Dungeon. It hadn’t truly been too long since then, but it felt like a lifetime ago to me. Surpassing level 1000 skewed my sense of time, and memories were blurring together.

“We’re nearing The Pass,” said one of the maids through the door of the carriage. I opened my eyes and looked out the window, but the angle wasn’t right. I could only see the mountains on the side.

I wanted to see The Pass. It was supposedly a dangerous place and, even with the inspectors from Barbory around, I wasn’t about to sit back and let the escorting knights die in an emergency.

“I’m going outside for a bit, Lily,” I said.

“That’s fine,” she replied with a smile, “But just try not to be seen. You’re quite good at that. You practiced sneaking up on me all those times, after all.”

I didn't know how to reply to that. I could feel a heat on my cheeks. Lily stifled a laugh.

Slipping out of the carriage, I used my speed to avoid wandering eyes. It only took me a moment to locate the two inspectors. One was riding at the front of the group leading the way; the other rode in the back to make sure no stragglers went off.

I climbed a tree off to the side and, from the top of it, I could see The Pass. Nestled between the two mountains was a dark crack, a bolt of black lightning that split the land and sky, buried in a tide of green. The two mountains met in a twisted amalgamation of rock and tree, and I couldn’t tell where the roots began and the earth ended.

Giant systems of tree roots formed tunnels where dim lighting hid dangerous nooks and dangerous creatures. Markers of stone and sign were scattered about, some painted with white skulls and crossbones.

It wasn’t so much a path between the mountains but a path that cut through the mountains.

Finally, at that moment, I understood why they called it simply ‘The Pass’.

It wasn’t a path carved by man. It was just another environment, much like a dungeon. I could feel tremendous mana signatures ahead, and several of them surpassed the 7th Rank.

I almost wanted to rebuke the situation entirely. How could low-leveled humans, a race that from my understanding rarely ever surpassed the 30th level, deal with traversing this canyon way?

The answer came to me almost the moment I asked it. The fact that this Pass separated two countries implied it was rarely traversed. This was the way of warriors, the path of the daring and brave; this was the path of heroes.