Come on, work you stupid—

Oh, hi there everyone! Sorry about the broadcast getting cut off. Apparently that Laubat guy didn’t take too kindly to me appearing in his temple like that!

“I doubt any deity would take kindly to spying.”

The God of Spies would! Come on Lauby, don’t be like this!

“You understand you are upsetting the balance of this world?”

Balance shmalance! You’re just upset you don’t have someone as awesome as Tess following you. Instead, you have people like Zuzen. I bet he’d be a Nazi on Earth.

“And what will you do if this Tess ends up breaking something important? For example, my people’s afterlife?”

What? There’s no way she could do that! Look, I made sure that my blessing can’t affect anything metaphysical. Tess won’t be able to upset any apple carts.

“Not even with skills like Animism or Necromancy?”

Nahhhhhh. None of the skills use souls to work. I’m not making that mistake again. Getting gods mad at you is interesting once. I don’t need that happening again. No, skills that would use a soul use a complex computer program instead! I’m pretty proud of it actually. Combined three different machine learning algorithms with some Astrology and Zodiac signs to make sure everything’s nice and cryptic.

No siree, nothing dangerous about Tess’s system at all! However! She does need some more skills? You want to add a few more to give her some more variety? I’ll even lend you a screen so you can watch her badassitude!

“Novus, are you trying to bribe me to look the other way?”

Maybe? Would it be working if I said yes?

“…I accept.”

Haha! I knew you couldn’t resist. Now, let me just fiddle with the reception a biiiiiiit—

---

 “For the last time, stop wandering off!” Tess growled.

Alai, at least, looked sheepish. “I was only trying to get you that flower.”

The Young Gimu pointed to a rippled vine with blue flowers wrapped around a tree in the distance.

“This is the third time you’ve left our vision,” Tess chided. “What did I say about that?”

“To not do it,” Alai mumbled.

Tess nodded. “Right. Because we haven’t hunted together before, which means that we don’t know how to work together yet. That’s why we stay within sight of each other. Because if Mirari shoots an arrow at an animal and you come waltzing out from behind a tree, I’m not explaining to your father why you suddenly have a new ear piercing.”

“To be fair,” Mirari said. “I would notice his presence.”

“Don’t you defend him,” Tess said. “You might be able to see him with your magic wind powers but can he see you?”

“If he uses his ‘magic earth powers,’ then yes,” Mirari answered.

Tess turned on Mirari. “What did I say about defending him?”

“There’s no danger in him having some fun before we reach the deeper part of the wood,” Mirari said.

“…I can’t get anywhere with you two,” Tess complained. “Fine, ignore my hunting advice. See if I care.”

Alai grabbed Tess’s wrist. “Wait. I’m sorry. But I wanted to get you something nice.”

Tess fought the urge to yell at the reckless teenager. Like Mirari had said, Alai didn’t know any better. However, her patience was almost dry.

The moment the trio had entered the woods, Tess had laid some ground rules for hunting. None of them had worked together yet, so they needed to be extra cautious. There was no reason to increase their risks.

Mirari had listened easily enough, but Alai had immediately ignored Tess’s words in favor of climbing a tree for a fresh fruit. A fruit he then presented to Tess.

“Why do you keep gifting me things?” Tess finally asked.

Alai blushed. Tess stifled a groan.

Lord, the fool had a crush on her. And if she hadn’t been so wrapped up in her own head, she could have seen it.

Tess pointed to a stump. “Okay. Sit.”

Alai sat.

“Do you know why I keep stressing these rules?” she asked.

Alai shrugged. “Because you want to stay safe? But Father says you can’t learn without taking risks.”

“A good way to get killed,” Tess spat.

“Father is a great man,” Alai argued.

Tess kneeled in front of Alai. “I don’t care how great he is. He could be god for all I care and I’d still say his advice is a good way to get killed.”

Tess held up a hand before Alai could protest. “Listen. The wilderness isn’t like a city, or a battlefield, or anywhere else for that matter. The things out here don’t care about you. I told you the rules because I didn’t want to bring a dead child back to his parents.”

“I’m not a child,” Alai protested.

Tess groaned. “Are you listening to me? This isn’t some sparring match, this isn’t a place where someone will instantly swoop in and save you. If you leave our sight and get into danger, there’s no guarantee Mirari or I can reach you in time.”

“But you’re great adventurers,” Alai argued. “You save people all the time.”

Tess turned to Mirari. “Little help?”

Mirari shrugged. “If the Young Gimu wants to ignore warnings, I say let him. If something comes along that puts him in danger. Well, you did warn him.”

Tess raised an eyebrow. “Pretty callous of you.”

“I’ve tried explaining to others before,” Mirari said. “Most never listened until danger reared its ugly head.”

Tess turned back to Alai. “So are you going to be one of the ones who doesn’t listen?”

Alai frowned. “No. Can I at least get you the flower?”

“Listening to me will do more than any gift could,” Tess answered. “Now, how far until we reach a hunting ground?”

“Not much longer,” Mirari answered. “Though, our Young Gimu wants to hunt more dangerous prey. That will take about another twelfth-days walk.”

“We could speed it up,” Alai offered. “I could use a travel spell.”

“Will it tire you out?” Mirari asked.

Alai shook his head. “Mother taught me and made sure I could use it at least three times before I needed rest.”

“Then, by all means,” Mirari answered.

Alai gave a small cheer. Tess moved over to Mirari. “So, what’s he doing?”

“Reaching for a connection with nature,” Mirari answered. “Each caste has an affinity with an element. In Alai’s case, it’s earth. A travel spell asks the earth to shift under our feet, marching us faster than we would normally.”

“Sounds handy,” Tess answered.

“It is one of the many boons of the Lur caste,” Mirari answered, “and is one of the reasons they are held in high regard.”

Tess watched as Alai waved his hands in a small pattern.

Ooh! He’s calling the mana to him! That’s so cool!

 

Tess made a face. She hadn’t seen a box in hours, which had given her the impression that Novus was finally moving on to other things. No such luck it seemed.

Alai’s hair started to glow, the mana channeling through him and into the ground below. Tess felt something shift under her feet. She looked down to find two mounds of earth under her feet.

“Done!” Alai said.

Mirari nodded. “Then, let us be off.”

Tess took a step. The mound on her back foot pushed forward while the other moved to catch her step. She wobbled a bit as the motion threw her off balance. She swung her back foot forward to catch herself, but that only made the mounds move again.

Tess spent the next minute walking like a toddler until she realized the mounds were similar to skates. After that, movement came easy. Tess even allowed herself to smile as the wind rushed past her.

They arrived at the edge of the managed woods in an hour, the sun high overhead.

“Are you sure about this?” Tess asked as she looked into the dark forest.

“It is what the Young Gimu requested in the contract,” Mirari said.

Tess turned to Alai. “Are you sure about this? These woods don’t look safe.”

Alai puffed his chest. He still wanted to find a way to impress Tess. “I’ll be fine. Nothing in this forest is a match for my skill with the bow.”

Tess rolled her eyes, catching the obvious bravado. “Then, grand hunter, lead the way.”

Alai stepped forward, pushing past the row of bushes that marked the unmanaged portion of the forest. Mirari followed with the pack animal while Tess brought up the rear.

As they walked, Mirari pointed out various ‘tracks’ for Alai to follow. The teenager, eager to show off, rushed forward to follow, oblivious to the fact that Mirari’s pointers led Alai in circles.

“You sneak,” Tess said to Mirari when Alai seemed out of earshot. “You were never going to let him travel deep into the wood.”

“His father requested it,” Mirari said with a soft smile.

“You had me fooled,” Tess said. “I should have known you weren’t such a hands-off teacher.”

“No, that part is true,” Mirari said. “The stories of adventurers put ideas into people’s heads. Ideas that words can’t displace. I had to make the lessons stronger than the idea, and if that meant being a harsh teacher so be it. Better for me to leave them with fear than for them to lose their life.”

“You know,” Tess said after a moment. “I think you worry about others too much.”

Mirari chuckled. “Something you and Esti share.”

As the two continued their conversation, Alai kept stalking the ‘tracks’ that Mirari pointed out. The teenager kept his bow at the ready, scanning between the trees and wishing for a great beast to appear. He imagined saving Tess with a perfect bow shot, holding her in his arms as she looked at him in awe. In fact, Alai was so engrossed in the daydream that he stopped looking where he stepped. His foot came down on a mossy root.

Suddenly, Alai found himself hitting the ground. Tess and Mirari stopped their conversation and dashed over.

“I’m fine,” Alai said, embarrassed.

And then the ground under him gave way.