Rod Geller is using up Crystal Wash at a rate implying an impending disaster for his future personal hygiene. He even breaks open a second bottle to wash his clothing, weapons and boots. It is a necessity. All his stealth will be useless if the enemy can smell him.
He has reached the campsite and found the nicely secured wreck of the skimmer with a message „We are considering you lost and will report to the Adventure Society in Greenstone.“ nicely sealed in an envelope with Rupert’s seal. That is of course what you’d do if no better alternative presents itself. Obviously it is vastly preferrable to a smashed campsite and skeletons left for the monsters. It is also frustratingly vague.
Worse, he does not understand at all why they made a second camp site. The traces between the sites are faint but unmistakeable. They would fit a destroyed camp site. But there is none. He even found the emergency stash of spirit coins at the agreed upon nook in a rock.
He is waiting for the second moon to set, before he is going to sneak into the camp. His perception power is [Midnight Eyes]. He’d rather have his opponents in the dark than the power of shadowwalking at his disposal. The wind shifts slightly, still blowing away from him. His nose catches something a good camp, let alone a camp of essence users should never emit. He smells feces baked for days in the sun.
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The jailer lady also pours Crystal Wash over Misandra. There is no clothing to wash, for she is wearing none. They left the remains of the ointment and dried body fluids on her over night, as if she needed a reminder.
This morning the hooded man has joined the jailer. The shadow of his hood is impenetrable. She tells him something that implies that his parent are unable to produce a valid vertificate of mariage. „I have come to make you an offer“ he replies. A spike of hope escapes into her aura. At this distance a good bronze ranker might be able to detect it even in the suppressed state. She remains silent. „My children live only in memories. Hence I offer you oblivion. Drink this potion and you will become unable to form memories. No need to remember their faces. But slowly all your memories will dissolve. Day by day going backwards. Oblivion by your own choice.“
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She repeats her first allegation. He puts the small metal bottle on a desk at the side of the room and gestures to the jailer. Her trip to the recreation rooms commences.
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Russell is letting the skimmer advance at the rate Gabrielle has specified.
RC: Why is the rate so important?
GP: Courtesy. They need to recover from injuries.
RC: So we delayed to outwait the danger causing the injuries?
GP: No, the danger made an explicit decision moot. So we know what to do.
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Rod is finding holes for poles, presumably tent poles, and a place where a large amount of water was released onto the ground, which is still slightly damp. Did they have a malfunction of their dimensional tank? That would explain draining it and taking it with you to have it repaired. Those things are not cheap.
He goes on to find a battlefield full of magic traces. Too many for his ability to make sense of the traces. The scratches, gouges, scorches and depressions in the ground stem from essence power being used. Did the rest of his team surprise somebody, who then fled with them in hot pursuit?
Then why leave the message? And where are the traces leading away from this site? He decides to return to the abandoned camp. What is this metal cylinder about as long as his hand, painted in red on its round exterior? It is covered with unusual symbols.
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Misandra is breathing as shallowly as possible. Her face is sticky. They are not bothering to properly open the door to her cell. The hooded man is waiting for her. They keep silent for minutes, the men drafted for pushing her back not daring to move or speak under the pressure of a bronze rank aura.
„Give it to me“ Misandra capitulates.