I almost snorted to myself, hearing the conversation in my head about me. Lenna wasn't wrong, per se. I just liked to get things done, and eat hearts… if I was being completely honest with myself.

The trail led to a cluster of people resting under a mushroom not far from where I'd started tracking them. Looking around, it didn't seem like the little girl was with them.

Silently moving through the darkness I found her and her father sleeping under a different mushroom, away from the others.

She wiggled away from him, crawling quickly across the dirt and searching all over. Keeping an eye on her, she crept away toward a small mushroom that she quickly picked up and started eating. She froze as a bird called through the trees and then slowly made her way back to her father curling up next to him.

"They are sleeping," I sent back to the others. "Nothing's moving in the surroundings, so you all should have some time to rest. Though, I'll keep watch here."

"Cekta and Shelli can rest here, and we will join you," said Kabi. "They will probably only rest a few hours before continuing on the journey."

"The summer burrow is much closer to the lake than we are, but it isn't really that far," added Shelli.

I crept through the shadows to a comfortable place under a mushroom that let me keep the little one in sight. Everyone else remained on my radar, and I sat down to let my legs rest. I ate a few bites of the not-chicken and wished I had some noodles. It didn't take long until I'd eaten my fill and slightly above that.

Now, the hard part - keeping watch and not falling asleep.

I opened my character sheet and started reading each of my skills, to make sure I hadn't missed anything during the rank-up. One stood out at me right from the get-go; under Perceptive Awareness, was Aura Awareness. I'd used an aura from the dread worm, but I'd potentially lost that ability.

Then again, did I lose it if it got absorbed into my class? Or did it transcend skills and just become part of me? I didn't dare try to trigger it now, but I made a mental note during the next fight to see what I could potentially do.

Still, Aura Awareness teased me. How could I use that?

Was that what I felt on my radar, so to speak? Each of the people from Needlecrest was there. Faintly, true, but there, sleeping. I pushed at that, looking for other Auras, more than just potential prey.

Life sprang up all around me, pulsing in every direction. I almost couldn't handle it at first, but dared myself to not flinch. After a few moments of focusing on my breathing, I noticed some really cool things. The biggest pulses of energy were the mushrooms and the trees. Each stretched deep underneath me and upward to the stars.

I slowly pulled back and focused on the area right around me.

Everything had an aura, from the tiny bugs keeping away from me to the smallest plants. It all varied in the amount of energy that pulsed inside it.

I turned the ability on myself, trying to get a feel for my own aura.

It was dense. More dense than the people from Needlecrest.

I spent the next couple hours studying auras before I felt one incoming that I recognized.

Lenna. Bright silver, with streaks of green and a connection stretching beyond her, but I couldn't tell where. That connection reminded me of Dengu.

Next to her, slowly hiking through the forest, was Kabi. His felt solid, like a stone that knew its way. Two threads reached out from him. One stretched back the way we'd come, to Cekta, while the other went straight to me.

Strange.

I frowned, but kept an eye on them as Kabi led Lenna my way. Directly to me, without a problem. Not good.

I stood up and out of the darkest part of the shadows, dropping my stealth.

Lenna's head jerked in my direction with a smile. "You need to sleep," she said. Her statement echoed in my head.

"I will, but they should be up soon," I said through the connection.

"Rest, I can watch." Her gaze turned to Kabi, who wouldn't meet my eye. "You too. We need to be strong for any fighting that comes."

I sat back down against the mushroom, and Kabi joined me.

Lenna leaped up, landing on top of the mushroom we rested under.

"We need to speak," said Kabi, using the link.

"Let's wait till morning." I didn't want to get into why his aura connected to mine, or what was going on. Lenna was right. Getting an hour of sleep would help. I didn't need much now, but something was better than nothing, and I couldn't quite give up sleep completely and still be at my best.

#

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I slept longer than I'd wanted to, without any dreams that I could remember, and only woke up because Kabi elbowed me. My eyes opened to pale purple light drifting down from the canopy. It definitely wasn't dawn, or, if it was, their sun had to be weird.

"They are stirring," he said.

"Yes, there's been talk of them waking everyone up…" added Lenna.

"Are the others on their way?" I asked, connecting the dots.

"No. Cekta needs more sleep than we have had time for, and Shelli isn't used to travel at all."

"I heard that," mumbled a sleepy voice in my head.

"Get more sleep," replied Kabi. "I'm going to talk to the elders and warn them about the summer burrow."

So far, this detour hadn't resulted in any fighting at all. It was great that the people from Needlecrest were okay, and I focused on that. Somehow, I didn't think things would stay so quiet.

Kabi got up and moved into a brighter patch of light before going out of sight behind another tall mushroom. I tracked his progress mentally as I stood up, stretching. Napping had helped, more than I thought it would. My fingers tapped on my thigh as I stood near Lenna.

"This is going better than expected…"

She nodded absentmindedly, peering off into the distance.

"You with us?" I asked, drawing her attention to me.

"Yeah, I just thought I felt something strange from Dengu, but h's okay. I think he's ranking up."

I set a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry you're not there."

"I'm alive and not enslaved." This time she smiled, more in the present with me. "You don't need to apologize. If anything, I should be thanking you. You leaped without looking to save a friend, and my people. I won't forget."

I didn't know what to say, so I just nodded. Going through the rift and grabbing the bombs had been a split-second decision, yet one I knew I'd make again. Cutting us off from the fast way home was there in the back of my mind, but I hadn't really thought about it, and if the alternative was letting Lenna be taken, that was no real alternative.

"Can you both join me?" asked Kabi through the link.

I led the way, with Lenna watching my back as we strolled through the underbrush, closer to the elder that was now talking to Kabi.

The older woman was there, along with the man with the little girl, and a different older man.

Kabi's focus was on him. "Alex, Lenna, these are the two Elders left from Needlecrest."

Silently he added to the both of us, "The man is the one Cekta spoke to. He doesn't believe that the summer burrow is overrun, and thinks they should go anyway."

[Jabba, Elder, Watchman, Level 86, Prey, Unknown.]

[Allo, Elder, Cloth Weaver, Level 102, Prey, Unknown.]

I nodded at both people, but noticed a few key things. Allo, the female elder, looked worried, while Jabba looked scared. The smell coming from him was fear. Yet, if he was scared, why would he want to go walk right into a camp of Harvesters?

"If we don't go to the summer village, where else would we go?" Allo asked, looking at Kabi and then the man with the child.

"Stay in one of the rest stop barrows," said Kabi. "Or go north, to Steadfast."

"I still say we should check out the summer village," grumbled Jabba, glancing nervously into the surrounding forest.

I didn't want to deal with this bull. The sooner we got away from here, the better, especially for the little girl I'd freed.

"How about you go and check it out while we head somewhere else?" I asked, causing everyone to stare at me.

Jabba's mouth dropped like he couldn't believe I'd just suggested that. His cheeks darkened to a deep blue, and his eyes went wide.

I heard Lenna chuckling behind me, but softly enough no one else noticed.

"No objections, good. It sounds like a plan." I made a shooing motion, like he should leave the conversation now.

"I've never been so insulted in my life!" His voice raised and Allo glared at him but didn't respond. Instead, she glanced between me and him.

"Good. Now go check out the summer village and get back here to let us know how it looks," I said again.

The vibe coming off Jabba made my skin itch, and, honestly, I wanted him gone. If Cekta thought something strange was going on with him and he might be a turncoat, that was good enough for me.

He turned and stomped off toward the other survivors when no one defended him.

"Alex, that was rude," whispered Kabi in front of Allo.

"Not if he is involved with the Forgers," I whispered back. "Then he isn't a good man."

"He gave me the collar."

Everyone but me froze at those words. I turned toward the little girl I'd taken the collar off of. Her father stared at her in shock.

"You said you found it…" he whispered.

"Jabba gave it to me, but said it was a special elder secret. But if he is bad, then it isn't a secret. Right?"

"Everyone needs to get ready to move," I whispered, feeling a shiver run up my spine. I tracked Jabba on the outskirts of the rest of the survivors, but he didn't leave.

"We have nowhere to go," whispered Allo.

"Lenna, take them to where we were yesterday."

Kabi jerked as if I'd struck him. "That isn't…"

"Where else can they go, that they will be safe?" I glared at him, tracing Jabba's path through the trees. "Somewhere temporary…"

"Is everything alright?" asked Cekta in my head. "We're on our way now."

"Good, you'll need to hide the trail of the survivors," said Lenna inside our heads while she snagged her bow out, already notching an arrow.

I ignored the conversation and faced Allo.

"Can you get everyone moving together, quietly?" I asked.

"Yes. Are you going to deal with Jabba?"

"If needed. Just get your people moving. Our only goal is to keep them safe."

Lisdco's arms went around his daughter. He nodded at me and moved closer to Lenna.

"Little bug, we need to be quiet again…"

Allo spoke quietly to a few of the others and they nodded before getting others to quiet down and gather near Lenna.

I took a couple of steps away and hid in the shadows, watching Jabba. He glared at the others and quietly slipped away. I stalked him from the darkness, and my mouth watered. The sudden feeling of hunger made me pause and close my eyes for a moment.

Once I felt in control, I opened my eyes and continued stalking the traitor.

He hadn't gone far, pulling a staff out of nowhere. He marched up to one of the giant trees, and worry filled me.

"Lenna, get people moving a little faster. I have a bad feeling…"

The survivors started hiking as a group, away from our location but not as quickly as I would've liked. They needed time, as much as they could get.

"Why would you sell out your village?" I asked from the shadows, trying to prevent the turncoat from doing whatever it was he was going to do, and hoping it would be enough.

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