As I tuned back in, I realized Bass had already returned, and everyone was getting ready to depart. He handed me my armor, which was quite the misnomer. The pieces were a mismatched assortment of different materials, giving it the appearance of a poorly crafted joke.
I wore a leather arm guard on my right arm and an organic carapace on my left, as Bass didn’t have a better option for me. The only part of the armor that seemed remotely normal was my helmet, but the mismatched colors made me stand out as a homeless warrior in disarray.
As we followed our new Dwarf companion, he led us through a series of hallways and rooms, gathering various supplies along the way. Eventually, we reached the entry, carefully navigating around the large pit of the dead before finally stepping out through the entrance.
Stepping out of the cave's darkness into the bright light of day was a jarring shock to my senses. My eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden brightness, and I instinctively raised my hands to shield them from the light.
Although the settlement had been illuminated, it was nowhere near as bright as outside. I hadn’t realized how dim it was inside until I emerged, even though we were now standing in the shadows cast by the towering walls on either side.
We emerged into one of the towering fissures that etched the landscape like natural walls. From a distance, the cracks and crevices in the earth seemed like speckles, but now that we were within the fissure, it was impossible to ignore their true scale.
The walls of the fissure loomed high above us, their surfaces lined with layers of sediment, each layer a different hue. The bands of color ranged from light browns to dark black, marking the passage of countless ages. It was as if the earth itself had recorded its history in these towering walls, layer by layer.
The ground at our feet was littered with footprints, some leading up the steep slope, others descending into the unknown depths below. There were only two directions to go, and I assumed we should head up the path, but uncertainty lingered. The route downward might eventually lead back up, but there was no way to be sure, as the fissure wasn’t perfectly straight.
“Any thoughts?” I asked the group.
“The Union came from this direction,” Bass replied, pointing downward.
“I have the Tracking Skill. Give me some time, and maybe I can figure it out,” Jack said. He leaned down to look at the tracks and put his hand on his chin, thinking.
I walked over to where he was kneeling and looked at what he was seeing. “What are you doing?”
Jack didn’t look away from the tracks but explained, “We can see the footprints clearly. Some are older than others. It seems all tracks show up easily on this terrain.”
His other hand held a handful of sand. As I leaned in closer, I noticed the grains were black, with the larger ones catching the light and reflecting it in tiny glints.
“My skill lets me see prints and paths that are usually hard to spot, like in a dense forest. But these prints are so obvious that anyone can see them. I do have a higher level of the skill that lets me determine the age of tracks, but it takes time.” He removed his hand from his chin and pointed to a track partially covered by another footprint. “See that? I have to focus on the older trail beneath the fresh one. When I do, all the tracks leading to that older one change color, helping me trace it. It’s like solving a puzzle. Sometimes it doesn’t work right either, as people will walk around and step on their own tracks, making it neither easy nor fast. At higher levels, though, the tracks will appear without much effort.”
Jack’s explanation faded into the background as I stared at the tracks and received a prompt:
Congratulations. You have learned Tracking Level 1. “Stalking your ex is now considerably easier.”
Bonus:
5% glow to notice tracks per level.
“Thanks for the prompt,” I replied to Rabbit in my head.
“I don’t know why you always think it’s me,” he answered innocently. I actually wasn’t sure if it was him or not, but the humor felt familiar.
“Hey, with this tracking thing, do you think you can help? Can you do exactly what Jack said he was going to do?”
“What do I get?” Rabbit replied.
“Uggh. Aren’t you supposed to do what I say since I made you?” I answered, knowing that wasn’t the truth.
“Please. You should have used a will-less computer if that is what you wanted,” Rabbit added.
“Fine. I’ll let you use my Skill points on increasing Skilled to level 9 if we make it there today,” I replied. The only thing Rabbit seemed to enjoy more than jokes was his little experiments. I felt like he was planning something with this Skilled talent in my General category tree.
“How about you give me a week of using your Skill points however I want to, and I will help you with the tracks permanently,” Rabbit offered.
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Even with all the Skill points I had accumulated, acquiring Rabbit’s tracking ability was a great deal for me. I knew I needed to raise my skill level significantly to match his expertise in interpreting dirt trails. Tracking in a forest, where signs are less obvious, would be a challenge for both of us. But with enough training, I hoped to enhance my skill and detect information he might miss. Right now, at skill level 1, the footprints only appeared as faint, glowing outlines, barely visible. Since I could already see them more clearly without the skill, it felt like a wasted effort.
“Deal,” I said and immediately regretted it.
The tracks that Rabbit scanned on the ground came to life in a dazzling display of colors. Every footprint was illuminated in a different hue, mapping out a kaleidoscope of pathways in real-time.
The colors shifted and pulsed with a rhythm all their own, starting from a brilliant shade of green and fading toward a deep, burning red as each path was replaced by a new one. The sheer beauty of the scene had knocked me off balance, and I stumbled backward. It was a sensory overload, but to my sometimes troublesome but faithful AI companion, it may have been a slow process of working things out.
Then, it was over in less than a second.
The information Rabbit sent me was just a little too much, illuminating wheel tracks in a bright glow and the footprints of those who traveled over it with a subtler sheen. To me, it revealed a procession of wagons being pulled along, with a marching cohort followed closely behind. The other tracks that crisscrossed the path appeared to be bustling with the comings and goings of various travelers.
“Here is what I see,” Rabbit started. “They went back and forth, loading up several four-wheel vehicles for some time. It is carrying a lot of cargo because they were significantly heavier when it was leaving, and the soldiers had to help push it up to the canyon.”
I butted in because I was already lost on what he was seeing. “Why do you say that?”
Rabbit highlighted a couple of footprints. “You see those tracks right there? These aren’t just deeper than they should be. They pushed sand from the back as if they were standing there, and something was pushing them deeper into the sand. The Dwarves were also chained and went with the party that ascended the hill this way. The other group split off and went down the hill, taking more soldiers with them.”
“Why do you think that is?” I asked.
“I’m not fully sure,” Rabbit began. “I have a guess, but I could be way off because all I see is what happened. I don’t have any data on intentions. Based on our mapping, I believe the main group is retracing the route they took to arrive here. Most flesh bags don’t take the long way if they can avoid it. So, I guess they split into two groups because the larger group wanted to get back faster.”
Rabbit, always quick to deride living people as flesh bags, continued, “The second group, the one that went in the opposite direction, is carrying all the spoils of this conflict. They even took the Dwarves, who I assume the Union also considers spoils.That group’s intentions are harder to figure out. I guess they’re taking that route because it might be easier for the wagon to travel. They’ve brought enough guards to handle the Dwarves and any trouble that might arise, but I’m guessing they’re heading to the same destination, just using a different path. It’ll take them significantly longer. This way, the main force doesn’t have to wait. Or maybe they’re going somewhere else entirely. Honestly, I have no clue, but I think they didn’t want to waste time getting back to base with the loot.”
As always, Rabbit was a brilliant analytical machine. I said that with a hint of irony, but it was true, as he was literally designed for analysis. He was, without a doubt, my most valuable asset, capable of outpacing me whenever he decided to put in the effort. However, his problem usually lay in his lack of motivation.
I received a prompt after I studied and understood what Rabbit had told me.
You have gained levels 2 through 3 in Tracking. 15% glow to noticed tracks.
Nice! I gained two levels just from taking the time to understand what Rabbit figured out.
It would have taken me at least a couple of hours to grasp this on my own, but I might have gained slightly more benefit without his help. But with Rabbit’s assistance, I leveled up in record time.
I shared my findings with the group, leaving them in disbelief. It took some pointing and explanation on my part. Along with input from Jack, to convince them that I was not simply imagining things. After realizing that my analysis was the source of the information, their initial skepticism dissipated as they acknowledged the validity of my insights. Even the Dwarf was moderately impressed.
After considering the situation, the consensus was that the thieves and their stolen goods were likely heading in a different direction for the sake of easier transport of the cargo. No one else could think of anything that would suggest an alternative plan. The accord among the group was to split up and follow the wagon’s tracks, recognizing it as the best course of action. While this would result in facing fewer soldiers, the footprints analyzed by Rabbit indicated that the number was still too large for us to take, unless the caravan were to diverge once again.
Before we left, I stopped Kaylie and asked, “Can you teach me your spells?”
“Sure,” she replied, “but try not to use the Fire Magic until I show you how. You could end up hurting yourself or even us.”
“How could I hurt myself? I saw you covered in flames on the ship.” Just a couple of days ago, during the battle on the ship, she had surrounded herself with flames while fighting. Everyone had piled on me instead of attacking her, not wanting to risk being engulfed in fire. Yet, the flames didn’t seem to harm her at all.
“Oh, that,” Kaylie laughed. “It wasn’t as powerful as it looked. It was more of a defensive tactic to keep anyone from grabbing me during the fight. It didn’t burn me because I willed it not to. Like we told you earlier, learning beginner spells isn’t the hard part. Controlling them is. If you tried to use that spell right now, without proper control, you would burn yourself.”
“I haven’t hurt myself using my other spells,” I pointed out.
“Like I said, you can mess around with the Light Spell all you want, but it’s not as dangerous at low levels,” Kaylie replied. “When you get to higher levels, though, it can be even more dangerous than fire. Just think about what you’re working with and consider if it would require caution if it weren’t magic.”
“How could light be more dangerous than fire?” I asked, skeptically.
“It’s not just the light itself but all the spells that come with it. Imagine making mirror copies of yourself without knowing what you’re doing. If you pour too much mana into the spell, the mana drain will start causing you harm. What do those mirror copies do then? They attack the source of the damage, which is you. You could end up killed by your own reflections.” At my snickers, Kaylie added, “Laugh if you want, but it’s actually happened. Learning spells is easy. Knowing how to use them wisely is the hard part. Don’t let ignorance be the death of you.”
Kaylie placed a hand on my shoulder, turning me to face her directly. She looked into my eyes, her expression serious. The depth of her emerald eyes and her closeness made my heart race.
“Are you sure you want to learn both Fire and Light Spells? Remember, there’s only so much magic you can learn before the ideas start blending,” she asked, making sure I was certain.
