Sylven perched uneasily on a twisted tree root, eyes fixed distantly on the horizon as he rolled the spent shard from Uiska's harness between his fingers. Their bond helped keep him alert, but even the pika seemed fidgety recently, darting back and forth along the camp's perimeter.

Ilkin was fiddling with his newly crafted snakeleather armor. He kept tightening and loosening the straps, pointlessly aiming for a perfect fit. Every so often, the young Sunbrave would look out toward the Greystone River. Its waters roared in the distance, a constant reminder of the wilderness that lay beyond.

Sela sat on a patch of moss, sharpening her blade with impatient strokes, the sound of stone scraping on metal echoing through the camp. Her eyes drifted to the others. Some lounged by the fire, but a few paced restlessly around it, their energy coiled like springs.

The Shy were split, and the tension was palpable.

There were those who were willing to settle down and take things easy for a while, before starting the next big push back to the caldera. They were mostly those with children or injuries sustained during the escape from Greyhold and chase through the Veilwoods. The other group were the Sunbraves, now forced into sedentary tasks, missing a clear foe to fight. By the third day of rest and quiet, sitting around, gathering berries and fishing for minnows became unbearable for the more high-strung warriors. After weeks of frenetic activity where they were finally able to flex their skills, life in the cave camp felt stiflingly stagnant.

Brynnal, ever a blunt force on the frontlines, broke the silence.

"I can't take any more of all this waiting around!" he griped to Mara. "We're nomads, warriors of the open grasslands! Not cave-nesters like the kobolds, no offense meant to them. Now that we're free, we should be exploring, assessing and eliminating threats, not weaving baskets."

"I thought you'd appreciate the rest," Mara gently argued from where she sat, stitching up a torn cloak. "After everything we've been through, a few quiet days won't dull your edge. We've all earned this break."

"Warriors don't rest," Brynnal grumbled, tapping his spear against the ground.

Jerrik stepped forward. His recent explorations had been brief and cautious, limited by his amputation and needing to stay close to the injured human. But he had still managed to note areas of interest in the general area.

"There are some interesting spots out there we can check out," he suggested. "We can follow the river upstream. I've noticed some promising glints of light along the banks. Maybe we could pick up another shard or two? Or something else that's useful. There'll be good hunting at least."

"So… more of a glorified supply run?" Sela groaned.

"Well, if you're really feeling adventurous. Further along upstream, I think I spotted some ruins…" he trailed off, flexing the fingers of his surviving hand.

Ilkin scoffed. "What use would old human rubble be to us?"

"That's the thing. I'm not totally sure, but they look like structures closer to our size," Jerrik countered, dangling the mystery as a lure. "Could be Shy-made, or some other race like us? Not human or kobold-scale for sure. They looked pretty ancient and razed to the ground though."

Mara crossed her arms, eyeing Jerrik skeptically. "We've barely caught our breaths. Some of us, including you, have barely recovered, and already you want to venture back out into the wilds?" She paused, her expression softening as she took in the restless faces around her. "I understand the need to move, to feel like we're making progress. But we need to be careful. We can't afford to lose anyone."

"I can manage just fine," Jerrik retorted. "Besides, I've been itching to properly scout those spots. It's less risky now, with everyone here. Alone, without proper gear, I admit the odds were against me."

"We need shards, Mara," Sylven said firmly. "More supplies, better cover. Sitting here won't get us any closer to safety or strength."

"And we need to know what's out there, get a better feel for the land before we continue our trek with the kids and injured," Brynnal agreed.

Niva crossed her arms, concern evident in her tone. "What if you run into trouble? Or something attacks us while you're gone? We have a lot more at stake here." She glanced meaningfully towards the younger Shy children, currently being watched over by Eryl and the kobolds. "You're our strongest warriors. If something happens here…"

"Not all of us," Jerrik reassured them. "Just whoever wants to… you know… release some stress?"

Mara sighed but nodded slowly. "You thrill-seeking action addicts never change. Fine, go burn off some aggression. We'll make do."

Niva spoke up for those with families, the majority of whom opted to stay. "I guess we can hold off any threats to the camp. As long as you don't bring Garret along…" she affectionately patted the human on the ankle, "…and my Callan of course," pre-empting her partner's raising his hand to join the expedition.

Garret nodded reassuringly. "I'm not up to a long hike anyway. I can stay and stand guard. If anything comes sniffing around…" he tapped his crossbow, "it gets a shaft."

Jerrik grinned. "That's what I like about you, Garret. You're just our big, slow, six-foot tall scarecrow."

The human snorted. "Well, make sure this six-inch pest doesn't lose any more inches." He poked Jerrik forward into the other Sunbraves.

Tibbin got busy translating the conversation for the kobolds. But the little Shy were also mimicking kobold calls and gestures with surprising ease. They beat him to explaining the Sunbraves' proposal to Rena and Sidhe, both of whom had been helping Eryl with childcare.

"Outdone by children! How can they learn faster than I do!" he wailed dramatically, earning chuckles from the others.

"Don't worry Tibbin, you'll always be our kobold frontman," Eryl smiled. "The kids just want to help. It means you're a good teacher. Maybe they can teach you faster as well."

"We'll continue to forage and help around the camp," Tibbin relayed to Mara, proudly flexing his Shyspeak vocabulary. "Nynka says it's smarter not to waste strength. And wait here for Vikka."

Sela stood resolutely, sheathing her freshly sharpened blade. "That's it then. Enough talk. The riverbank isn't going to explore itself. Let's not waste any more daylight. Time to move."

"Finally, someone making sense," Brynnal cheered with excitement.

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Sylven glanced toward Uiska, who scampered onto a rock beside the big Sunbrave, squeaking out his eagerness to join.

"Always glad to have you along Uiska. You've done a great job picking up on dangers so far, helping keep us all safe." Sylven asserted, meeting the pika's curious eyes. Uiska fanned out his whiskers, ready and alert.

Jerrik punched Garret's good leg affectionately. "We won't be long, big guy. Just a quick scouting run, promise."

Garret bumped the Shy's stump with his little finger. "Take care of your remaining limbs, and your head of course."

Jerrik rolled his eyes. "I'll do my best. You should try to learn new jokes while we're away."

With a final exchange of farewells and warnings, the warriors left the camp behind, moving back through the Veilwoods' shadows, led by Uiska bounding energetically ahead.

The rushing Greystone River was a far cry from the lazy Silverthread of the caldera. Its currents surged past jagged rocks, creating turbulent eddies and deep whirpools. The Sunbraves moved cautiously along the riverbank, their senses on the lookout for any sign of danger. The sound of the rushing water was almost deafening. Uiska scouted ahead, Sylven shadowing him with practiced confidence, ready to relay the pika's warnings.

They had barely been hiking an hour when Uiska squeaked: Danger!

A sudden, guttural croak broke the silence. From the mud sprang a massive frog, skin slick and eyes bulging, its gaping maw wide enough to swallow one of them whole. Thanks to Uiska's alarm, Brynnal was able to dodge its snapping jaws, countering quickly with a jab of his spear.

Sela darted in, slicing at its leg to unbalance it. Ilkin lunged forward, his blade biting deep into the amphibian's hide. The frog stretched out its sticky tongue, whipping it back and forth in vain. It wasn't done quite yet, retaliating with a powerful kick that slammed into Ilkin, sending him skidding backwards into the mud.

Brynnal was already moving. Jerrik coordinated from the side, using his hook to distract and maneuver the beast into the other Shy's path. Brynnal's spear flashed again, striking just beneath the creature's jaw. The frog twitched, then croaked one last time.

Panting, the Shy took a moment to gather themselves. "Good teamwork," Brynnal called out, examining the fallen beast.

"Wait!" Jerrik crouched near the riverbank, his eyes catching something the frog had stirred up from the mud. "Look at this!"

He gestured for the others to come closer, scraping off the dirt with his hook. A small, rough arclith shard lay half-buried, its glow faint but unmistakable.

"It's different from our caldera shards. It's hardly shining," Ilkin noted curiously.

Jerrik nodded, gingerly extracting it from the pool of mud and frog slime. "They look different here. You have to really keep an eye out, or you'll miss them."

Sylven turned to Ilkin. "You should take it. I still have Uiska's harness shard. But you didn't get to use yours for too long before the humans took it."

Ilkin hesitated, eyes wide. "You sure?"

"You do need to practice," Brynnal affirmed gently.

Ilkin accepted the shard, turning it delicately in his palm, a smile crossing his lips. "Thank you, team."

Sela placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Now you've got more tricks to pull out."

They turned their attention back to the defeated frog. Together, they quickly divided the carcass to harvest useful materials. Brynnal portioned out some edible meat for rations. Ilkin stripped off the leathery skin for crafting. Sela sliced out and sorted usable bones and organs.

Jerrik nodded approvingly at their haul, his gaze scanning the surroundings cautiously. "We should keep moving before anything else finds us."

Uiska scampered ahead, chirping eagerly as he resumed his scouting duties. The warriors followed closely, spirits buoyed by their small victory.

The reprieve didn't last long. After another hour hiking further upstream, a cry pierced the sky along with a circling shadow. A kestrel had spotted the party. Hungry for prey, the raptor swiftly dove, stretching out its razor-sharp talons as long as their spears. The warriors scattered instinctively.

"Get down!" Jerrik called out. Uiska kicked off, shoving Sylven aside into the grass, narrowly saving him from the bird's grasp. Sela shot an arrow. It grazed the kestrel's wing, but the bird kept looping around.

Ilkin hesitated, then clutched his new shard. It had been so long since he'd used one. But as the kestrel swooped down towards them again, he pushed all doubts aside. A sharp pulse of light burst from the shard, startling the predator.

Taking advantage of the opening, Brynnal hurled his spear, nicking the bird's tail. It shrieked angrily, banking away into the sky, disappearing beyond the treetops.

"Good instincts using the shard, Ilkin," Sylven cheered.

Ilkin smiled back. "I almost forgot how good that felt."

Sela brushed dirt off her arms. "We're starting to see the same birds as in the caldera. We must be getting close."

The ground began to slope slightly upward, the peaks of the caldera becoming more visible. Jerrik halted at a spot along the riverbank that he'd earlier marked with a quail's wishbone driven into the mud. His eyes zeroed in on a point right in the middle of the rapids.

"Look there," he pointed with his hook. "There's another shard—much deeper in."

Sylven and Ilkin followed his gaze, noticing the intense glow nestled among the rocks mid-stream. "That one looks powerful," Ilkin whistled.

"But it's right in the thick of the current," Brynnal argued. "We'll be swept away if we try to swim for it."

Jerrik knelt to inspect the river's flow. "I've wanted that shard for weeks, but no way was I risking the water alone."

Sela eyed their surroundings, assessing what could be useful, and cracked her knuckles. "Guess we gotta get creative," she quipped.

"Let's rig something up," Ilkin suggested eagerly, already reaching for his supply pack.

Sylven nodded. "We can secure some lines. Anchor them to the trees."

Several warriors began preparing anchor points along sturdy roots. Brynnal stripped vines, weaving them into strong ropes. Sela hefted and tested a fallen branch, measuring its length against the distance to the shard from the shallows.

From their gear, Ilkin fished out a curved metal fragment they'd salvaged from the workshop and lashed it to the end of his spear. "Didn't think any of the stuff and skills we picked up from the workshop would find much use out here," he remarked.

Under Jerrik's guidance, the team cobbled together an extended grabbing tool, strapping on the makeshift grappling claw crafted from carved bits of wood, frog bones, and the salvaged metal on the spear's end. Sylven organized a chain of warriors to hold on to ropes tied together, firmly secured to the thick roots of trees lining the river. This ensured them a stranglehold on the branch that they would then use as a catwalk going into the water. At this point, the bank was a treacherous slope of mud and pebbles, each step a careful negotiation. To the Shy, every inch was a struggle against gravity and the slippery terrain.

From his lookout point on a grassy knoll, Uiska chirped anxiously as Sylven steadied himself atop the branch.

"Watch your footing," Brynnal warned, gripping the rope line anchored to the roots. "Losing you wouldn't be a fair trade for a pretty rock."

Sylven laughed as he balanced on their improvised bridge. "If I slip up, you can go next, Brynn."

Jerrik followed just behind Sylven on the branch, driving his hook into the wood to anchor himself, the rope tied around Sylven's waist looped around his free hand. The end of the branch resting on the bank was wrestled into the dirt by two warriors, bracing their feet against rocks for good measure.

"Hold!" Jerrik instructed, cautiously dipping his free hand into the flowing water. The currents tugged aggressively, fighting to wrench the branch from their grip, but the Sunbraves grit their teeth and held fast.

"Steady!" Sela called from the bank, gripping one rope firmly herself as she followed Jerrik, one hand steadying his leg.

Sylven carefully lowered the end of the spear into the water, fighting against the turbulence. Face taut, he maneuvered the grapple around the shard, his muscles trembling from the strain. "Got it! Pull!" he grunted over the water's roar.

"Slowly, now!" Sela called, hand signals coordinating with the warriors securing their perch.

She directed them to haul backwards in unison, each Sunbrave digging one foot into the mud behind the other, a step at a time. With each pull, the shard gradually emerged from its resting place down in the riverbed.

"Careful," Jerrik warned. "One wrong move and we'll have to start all over, or fish somebody out."

The tip of the grapple breached the water's surface. Sela reached out with her free hand, securing the precious prize. She held it up triumphantly, its wet surface glittering in the sun.

They shimmied cautiously off the branch and back to the bank. Having untangled themselves from the ropes, the warriors gathered around the river shard, marveling at its brilliance.

"Incredible," Brynnal gasped, examining its flawless, polished surface. "Fully charged, perfect condition."

From his pouch, Ilkin retrieved the rough shard they obtained after the frog fight. Inspired by the river's polishing effect, he dipped it into the water, then wiped it down on his vest, revealing a clearer glow beneath the grime.

"Hey, my shard cleans up well too," he mused. "Maybe the mud was dimming its power."

"Looks like we've got more to learn about these shards," Sela noted.

Sylven agreed. "And more to gain from this river."

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