Jake followed the path from the tunnel down into the village, through the main strip, and to the three compounds. The Guards standing in front of the Council’s building stopped him and asked for his reason for approaching. Jake didn’t need to enter- he just needed to know where the house he had been given was. Even though he had turned over the keys, he had never seen it first hand so he didn’t quite know where it was located. The assistant to the Council would know, of course. After instructing Jake to wait at the gate, one of the Guards left to fetch her. It seemed she wasn’t quite busy so the pair returned rather quickly.

“Ah, right this way!” She said with a perky smile. “Your friends moved in rather quickly and there have been no issues. They were very thankful but the woman was a bit reluctant compared to the boys.”

Yae seemed to be against living in such a place, especially for the reasons why they were able. It was good at least to know that Tul and Xul didn’t care. As long as those two had a roof over their heads and a bed to lay in Jake doubted they worried over much. Jake considered it a repayment for them allowing him into their home. That, and Jake had always grown up to know the importance of taking care of family. Because to them, that’s what they were. Family. Not by blood but by bond. They had saved him, helped him get back on his feet, and supported him as he found his way through this dark place. They were the perfect rocks for a boy who was drowning. If only Yae could see that.

The home wasn’t very far from the compounds. It was set in the middle residential zone between the upper members of the village and the commoners. It had its own plot, squared off by a low stone wall, and it was a square structure that sat all on its own. There was a small space where a tiny garden could be fostered by a skilled gardener and several mana crystals were placed around to provide Life Essence to the plot. The presence of the stones would allow grass and vegetables to be grown. However, the grass was untamed and untouched. It was growing fairly long, actually. Jake would need to tend to the yard at some point.

Inside, there were dim green lights on- mana crystals tuned to provide warm and comfortable interior lighting. The front door was closed and curtains were drawn. It looked as though no one was home. But, as Jake and crew approached the front gate, the faint sounds of stone spears smacking echoed into the air. From the front entrance the exact source of the noise could not be seen. Whomever it was, they were in the back of the home. Jake excused himself, asking the Council’s Aid to guide Helena and Lydia inside while he walked around the outside of the home to the back.

Tul and Xul were sparring, their spears clashing violently and quickly with one another. Jake kept himself just a bit out of sight so as to not induce a sudden stoppage and he watched. The boys were much quicker with their feet now. Their bodies had developed further to reflect their training and their eyes were more focused. They were far more skilled than when Jake last saw them and it showed. Xul was naturally better but it seemed Tul had put in enough time that he was catching up to his younger brother’s talent. They were almost a good match. However, Xul’s combat experience was an easy tell. He had the upper hand throughout their session and he was slowly wearing Tul’s endurance down.

Tul was always taking the lower-ranking jobs, fearful that the Maedra would attack the unarmed civilians. He cared deeply for others and served to protect everyone he could. Xul was more aggressive and was of a similar mind to Jake- protect the village by killing the Maedra, the source of the problem. Thus, Xul’s choice of mission was skewed towards the higher-ranking expeditions and he participated frequently in Hunt-to-Kill ones. While he still didn’t encounter Maedra a whole lot, as his ranking was only Blue and his team wasn’t quite high in that structure, he had still survived a number of fights with the creatures. Enough that sparring with Tul was akin to regular practice.

After a few minutes of the two squaring off, Xul finally overpowered the tiring Tul. He swept Tul’s spear up and away, exposing his brother’s forward leg. Xul delivered a swift kick to the back of the knee. Tul’s knee buckled and Xul brought his spear down across Tul’s chest, pushing his brother backward. Tul flopped over, sprawled out as he hit the dirt, and dropped his spear. It skittered across the ground and rolled over in Jake’s direction.

“Damn,” Tul cursed while he lay there, breathing heavily as sweat dripped down his face. Xul grinned over top of him.

“You’re getting better,” Xul admitted before switching his staff for an extended hand. Tul reached up and grabbed firmly to accept the help. Xul gave a firm tug and Tul hopped back onto his feet. At the same time, Jake rounded the building and kicked Tul’s spear up into his hand.

“But not good enough it seems,” Jake announced himself as he looked over the spear. It was in good condition- sharp and clean. Ready for battle. Jake smirked and looked toward the brothers to see them both looking at him. They exchanged glances but remained in place. Jake felt the tense air between them as he tossed Tul his spear. “Been a few days, hasn’t it?”

“It has,” Tul responded flatly.

“Heard you’ve been busy,” Xul said with a faint smirk. Tul elbowed his brother but Xul brushed it off. It seemed Tul was still a bit bothered by their last conversation- the one when Jake left. Xul was likely playing along with his brother’s wishes but he didn’t seem to mind it as much.

“I have. The tunnels aren’t exactly quiet,” Jake sighed and looked toward the house. There was a small porch and a set of stairs jutting off the back of it. Jake decided to walk over and sit down on them, perching himself on the top stair as he got comfortable. “How’s the house? Comfortable?” Jake asked. Tul’s jaw tensed up and his eye seemed to twitch a bit. Xul shrugged.

“Better than where we were but it’s just one block to another. You know?” Xul chuckled before looking to his brother. He gave Tul a nudge and smiled softly. “Tul and Yae aren’t too happy about it but I’m fine with it.”

“Why should I be happy?” Tul grumbled, rolling his eye and crossing his arms. “You make my sister cry and then expect me to get over it by giving us a new house?”

Xul blinked a few times.

“Is… Is that not a good trade?” Xul said bluntly. Tul looked at him, his mouth falling open a bit. Jake raised his eyebrows and held back a laugh.

“What?” Xul looked between them and finally, the chuckle came out. Tul shook his head and sighed.

“You sellout,” Tul groaned as he walked over towards Jake, away from his brother.

“How am I a sellout? It’s a whole house! For free!” He whined, following a few steps behind Tul. Tul shook his head again as he stopped in front of Jake. Arms still crossed, he looked down at the boy.

“Xul might be satisfied but I’m not. I’ll take my sister’s happiness over a place to sleep. The only reason we took the keys is because Xul here practically ran off with them before we could have an actual conversation about it.” Tul shot his brother a glare, who once again shrugged it off. It seemed Xul didn’t mind the tension. Or, he was trying his best to mediate. Either way, Jake was appreciative. Xul was a kind person and while he was always goofing off, that eye of his didn’t miss much.

“Sorry,” Jake muttered, lowering his head a bit. “I didn’t mean to make anyone unhappy. But, there were things I needed to do. Things I still need to do,” he said hoping at least they would understand. Tul frowned a bit and Xul smiled.

“I don't know about Tul but I understand, Jake,” Xul said as he turned and sat down on the stairs beside Jake. “I’ve seen the Beasts quite a bit. More in recent months, actually. If you can kill them- then please do. I know it’s rough, but know that I and the other scouts appreciate it.” He said, his voice getting a bit soft as he stared off towards a distant tall set of buildings- homes that were in the slums. The tightly packed buildings dotted the sightline of the village. “Every Beast that we kill is one less that might potentially kill a villager.”

“That still doesn’t mean you can be an idiot,” Tul added. Jake smirked and nodded.

“Yea, I know. And that’s why I’m here,” Jake sat up and placed his hands on his knees. “I’ve found a way to not just kill the Beasts but a way to stop them from coming back, too.”

Tul and Xul both looked at Jake, bewildered at first. Then they looked at each other.

“What?” They said in unison. Jake only grinned.

“I met a group of Adventurers who know a spell that can purify the mana in the air. Raw Mana is how the Beasts are able to grow. They live off it. The spell purifies the mana. This makes it impossible for the Beasts to reproduce or grow. It actually kills them since it's like poison. If we use it on their Nests, it’ll kill them off really quick and the village can expand without having to worry about the Beasts,” Jake explained. The knowledge might have been old to others but to Jake- now that he had a way to finish off the Maedra, he had a chance. A chance that was slim but a chance nonetheless.

“I’ve heard of that before,” Xul said. “But purify mana? What does that mean?”

Jake looked at Xul first, then over to Tul. Both were looking at him, curiosity in their eyes. He didn’t want to give them a long-winded explanation if they weren’t actually interested but it seemed that they were. Ever curious.

“Mana is sort of like water, a life force that flows through the planet and provides life to the world. Life Essence is sort of like the ingredient to it, but for Life to actually use essence and mana- it has to be filtered.” Jake held up a hand and called forth a bit of water to form a ball. Then, he applied some dirt and stone to clog up the ball. “Unfiltered, or Raw Mana, is poisonous to Life. Life cannot use it. So, as it leaks up from the heart of the planet and to the surface, the mana goes through a slow process of filtering or purifying until it’s clean.”

Slowly, Jake pushed the water ball from his left hand to his right. He pushed out the mud and the rocks, separating the water from the mess until the ball returned to its natural and clear state. The filtered ball of liquid in his right hand was practically see-through.

“The clean essence can then be regulated by Life. It is absorbed by Mana Sources within the body and then your natural Mana is produced. The exact process to all of this is… not known. We don’t know how Mana Sources filter Essence into mana and we don’t know the actual filtration process of Raw to Pure Life Essence. But think of it just as I showed- taking the mud and dirt out of the water so that you can drink it.”

Jake pushed the water ball to his lips and then poured it into his mouth, drinking it down to show that it was safe for consumption. He was actually feeling thirsty so a drink was nice. When he looked at Tul and Xul, Xul’s eyebrows were clenched together as he scratched his head. Tul didn’t seem all that confused and nodded. Seeing them like that was always funny. Xul, the natural fighter but also quite slow on the uptake. Tul, smart and understanding, but always a step or two behind in a fight because of how reliant he was on his brain.

“Anyways, the spell I’ve found speeds up that filtering process. The Beasts can only survive on Raw Mana and the Purified Form kills them. They are lifeless creatures, like parasites. I haven’t seen how they will react first hand but I know it won’t be good for them.” Jake let out a bit of a laugh as he imagined just how it would look to cast such a spell directly onto a live nest. Would the Maedra panic? Or would they just slump over and die in their own pain? It was tough to know. He honestly didn’t even know if the spell would work at all. After all, they cast the spell and left right away. He didn’t get to see the effect on the Maedra afterward.

But, sadly, there would be plenty of opportunities later. The Maedra were an abundant resource to experiment on so he would get his chance. A chance he was hoping for sooner rather than later. If Jake had it his way, he would have marched off straight to the next Nest. Yet while it was certainly a strategy to just wander from nest to nest- the goal of killing the Maedra was to protect the village. If he killed off random nests and just walked through the Ravine without any direction, the direct results of his actions wouldn’t show for a long time. Jake needed to start from the village and work outwards. That way he could create a sort of barrier or bubble around the village. Then, at some point, he hoped that the Oryks would be able to handle the fighting on their own.

Jake was thinking of explaining it all to his friends but just as he was putting the thoughts together in his head, he heard a door slide open behind him. He felt eyes on his back. A cold chill ran down his spine as he stiffened. Tul’s eye snapped up towards the individual and Xul grimaced.

“Ah-” Xul spit out. Jake’s lips squeezed together as he turned slowly, looking over his shoulder to see a lovely young lady standing there. Staring at him.

“H-Hi Yae,” he said awkwardly. He tried to smile but it didn’t quite feel right. She glared down at him, her eye sharp as her hand squeezed down on the doorframe. He could only imagine just why she was mad, but he had a few guesses.

“I heard you went on a vacation,” she sneered. Jake sighed and got to his feet.

“It wasn’t anything close,” he rumbled as he stepped up onto the flat platform of the porch. As he took that step, she held up a hand to stop him. While his body did stop, his voice didn’t. “I’ve found a way to beat the Maedra, Yae.”

“And?” She scoffed at him with a roll of her eye. “Does it involve you running into the tunnels all on your own?” She folded her arms, her eye staring him down even though she was a few inches shorter. He met that gaze, unperturbed by her attempt to belittle him. She was still upset. He knew that. However, he wasn’t going to stutter now. Not when he could actually make a change happen. If she wanted to play the game of emotions…

…then he would step away from the table.

“Yae.” His tone was stern, his mind set. He would only give her one chance. “I’m going to kill the Beasts. Actually kill them, and the village is going to be safer because of it. I’ve met people who can help with that, and I’m going to put together a team that can make it happen.”

Jake didn’t see a shift in her expression. She just stared at him and Jake could feel as if she was waiting for something specific. He didn’t know what that was and even if he did, he wouldn’t be so easy as to give it to her. He had a job to do. His feelings and personal desires came after that job was done. If he put himself first, especially when he had an opportunity to change the tides within the Ravine- Jake felt it would be a dishonor to Chul’s sacrifice. The Arachkin gave his life in exchange for Jake’s. If Jake let the Maedra off just because he found himself infatuated with a few new friends, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself. Add in the new burden of Darius’s blades and Jake was even more resolute now than before.

“I don’t need your permission. And I’m not asking for it. But, I do want you to know that I’ve thought about what we talked about. That is why I am putting a team together rather than going on my own.” He placed his right hand gently on top of the elven blade on his hip, his fingers wrapping around the silvery pommel.

“If we succeed, life down here will be much different.” He looked past Yae towards Helena, who was standing in the young girl’s shadow. Helena gave him a brief smile. One that faded as Yae let out a sigh.

“Your head is as hard as these walls, Jake,” she said with a faint exhale. Jake clenched his teeth and gripped onto his blade a bit tighter. “When I saw your two friends come into the house instead of you, I thought the worst. I thought you were dead.” Yae’s hands squeezed onto her arms as she stared through him. She took in a slow breath.

“When Mur told me you went off into the tunnels again, I knew then that no matter what I say to you, you won’t change and you won’t stop. You’re so committed to this idea that you can kill the Beasts that it’s pretty much who you are.” Yae stepped forward and her hands fell away from her arms. She reached up and placed them gently onto his face. Her soft, tiny fingers warmed his chilled cheeks as she gazed up at him.

“All I ask is that you come back. Is that fair?” She stared into his eyes, her single eye twitching slightly as she looked back and forth at both of his. The boy reached up to his face, his fingers gently wrapping around her hands as he smiled.

“I can’t quite protect this village when I’m dead now can I?” He joked. Yae didn’t laugh. She glared at him and squeezed his face. “Okay! I get it!” Jake spat as she pushed hard onto his cheeks and jaw. He wanted to peel off her hands, and could have done so easily, but he didn’t want to hurt her. He had already done that plenty.

“Good.” Yae let go of his face and slowly pulled her hands back. Though, she didn’t pull far enough that Jake had to drop his own hands. They hovered there, his fingers cradling her smaller hands for a few seconds. In that short span of time, Jake could feel just how rough his hands had become- calloused, cracked, gritty. Her hands were silky smooth and well-kept. But they were by no means fragile. The Ravine was no place for those made of glass.

Jake pulled his hands back first and then looked over Yae towards Helena. The woman was looking at him suspiciously with a strange smirk on her face, one that made Jake quite uncomfortable. He didn’t acknowledge it. He knew damn well she was likely holding back something snarky or sarcastic. Helena was kind and nice, like a nun, but her tongue was sharper than steel.

“I think it’s time we pay Mur a visit, too,” Jake said to her. Helena nodded lightly. “Did you and Lydia want to relax for a bit first?”

“Lydia will remain here. You and I will be enough.” Helena turned and walked back into the house, leaving the door open behind her. Yae looked between the two for a moment, a bit confused. Though Jake didn’t feel like saying anything. Both because he wasn’t confident in himself yet with how he should speak of what happened, and it would be quite a long story. One he didn’t wish to say twice.

“What happened?” Yae asked, as Jake expected her to. He just shook his head and stepped past her, after Helena. “Jake?” She called to him.

“It’s a long story, I’ll tell you guys later.” Jake finally stepped into the house and found himself quite amazed by how it looked inside. The place was clean, organized, and rather empty of personal effects. Yae and her brothers certainly traveled light but Jake had hoped they would have at least added some greenery or something.

From the rear entrance, he stepped into a large kitchen that took up almost half of the bottom floor. It was connected to a dining area off to his right and then a large gathering area straight ahead. In the dining area, a large table was set with six chairs to it; two on each side, one on each end. It seemed Yae had just finished making dinner as food was placed out with dishes organized around the seats. There were also plenty of pots and pans on the counters in the kitchen. In the gathering area, a low table with cushions surrounding it was placed in its center. There was a longer chair with two cushions within it and some pillows, but it looked untouched. That or it was kept rather clean. A stairway with a railing jutted out from the wall beside the far front entrance of the house, leading up to the second floor.

“Jake, I think-” Yae started but her voice was cut off. Tul had grabbed her shoulder.

“Yae. Let them be.” Tul muttered. Jake gave them both a soft smile before he continued after Helena, who was already stepping out the front door. Yae and her brothers didn’t follow them through the threshold, leaving Jake and Helena alone to make the trip. Before he stepped out, Jake dropped the packs he still carried beside the door. From inside of his, he withdrew Darius’s blades. The sight of the broken weapons caused Yae to freeze in place. He gave her a forced smile but it was hard to keep it on his face. Rather than stand there awkwardly, he cradled the weapons in his arms and hurried after Helena.

One encounter was finished. Now, it was time for the difficult one.

“Shall I speak?” Helena asked, her slender legs carrying her along with graceful ease. Jake walked with more lead in his boots, almost unwilling to make the trip. If it weren’t for Helena beside him, he probably would have procrastinated until it was impossible to ignore. Talking to Mur was always a scary moment. This would be even worse.

“I think we both should. I know you’ve known them both longer but I can’t just curl up and cower. Darius would call me weak if I did,” he sighed as he looked down at the two elven swords. While they were broken, Jake had done his best to clean them up and return their beautiful sheen. Helena looked down at him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

“You think far too little of yourself, Jake.” She gave his shoulder a little squeeze before letting go. “You are moving forward, accepting what has happened and you are still willing to carry on what he wished for you. That is not weak at all and takes quite a bit of strength to do.”

Jake found himself staring at his own reflection in the blades, his gaze hard and his expression stiff. He couldn’t help but grimace at the face he saw in the reflection. Helena must have noticed as her own lips curled upwards slightly.

“He might call you foolish, though. Mur won’t be happy.”

Jake sighed and felt his head droop slightly. No, Mur would not.