Rebecca slipped through the shadows of the Archons garrison camp. Located near the village of Drak’Mor, the garrison camp housed the soldiers who were rotated into the nearby quarantine zone that had been setup where the rift dropped people and debris.

  A few months ago it had dropped her. Alone she learned to survive. Alone she figured out how to escape the area. Alone she figured out how to sneak and steal. Alone she learned how to fight. Alone she learned the local language, mostly. She wasn’t alone anymore.

  Nira’Valen had seen her for who she really was and she had brought her into the resistance movement. The two had grown close in their time together. She enjoyed the woman’s company, their effortless friendship had helped her find meaning in this new and dangerous world.

  Hopefully she is staying back like I told her to. She thought to herself.

  Rebecca slipped through a crack between two stone buildings, likely used to store food or other provisions. The permanent structures in the camp were typically some type of storage. That or a meeting building for the camp leaders, but those tended to be a lot fancier than these plain stone structures.

  She would help the resistance get what they needed and in return they would help her break into the Archons prison. Her dad was out there somewhere. It took her a while to figure it out but she now knew there was some sort of time delay on the rift. Well knee was maybe an exaggeration, it was her top theory at least. That would explain why her dad hadn’t followed her as quickly as she had expected him. It would explain why the appearance of people had taken months rather than a couple of days. He didn’t abandon her.

  The guards had been increased after her arrival though, he wouldn’t be able to escape the quarantine as easily as she had. She had to save him. Hopefully her mom would be with him too, or safe at home. She had to be okay. Rebecca hadn’t seen what happened to her when the explosion struck.

  Rebecca tightened her resolve. This was her chance to get the resistance some much needed information. She slipped through another shadow behind a row of large canvas tents. Around her guards stumbled around drunk, laughing with their friends. Very few watched. The kingdom wasn’t at war after all. The resistance weren’t in open rebellion yet, working more as a covert insurgency. They had no reason to fear. Nearby she spotted a basket of clothes and scooped it up, carrying it like she was a wash woman.

  She strolled through the main thoroughfare of the camp, people streaming by on either side. People tended to ignore women who looked like they had a job to do. At least, until someone grabbed her wrist.

  She turned to find a large man looming above her. He had a cocky smile, his eyebrows raised. Gross. “Let go of me please. I have to get these clothes to the lieutenant's tent.” She told him, trying to act as submissive as possible. Even the act made her want to gag. She did her best to hide her accent and relative unfamiliarity with the language. She was passable but far from fully fluent. Still she had learned the language far faster than she thought possible. Maybe it was some trick of essence.

  “Why don’t you come back to my tent and we can have some fun? The lieutenant would understand.” His breath reeked of what passed for beer in this world.

  “No. My husband wouldn’t like that.” She replied. Take the rejection, take the lie. She willed him.

  “Oh he wouldn’t have to know.” The man said. Damn.

  Rebecca was growing tired of this. She deftly twisted her arm out of the man’s grip and continued on her way. He yelled some obscenities after her but she ignored him and kept her head down.

  She approached a large building adorned with exotic wood stained a deep brown. It followed the typical architecture of the region with a tiered roof ending in a point with sharp hard edges. The architecture reflected the people of the region in that. There were no lights lit within the building, the commanders had probably retired for the night. She moved to the door but found it to be locked. Of course.

  She sighed and checked the windows, but none of them were designed to open. Guess she would have to pick the lock. This was actually a skill she had learned before coming to this new world. As a kid she thought it fun to experiment with different lock types. Her dad encouraged her in it, thinking it was an interesting mechanical puzzle for her.

  She pulled out her pick set that the resistance had acquired for her. She inserted the pick and the tension wrench and carefully pushed on the first of the pins upward until a faint click could be heard. She moved onto the next one, repeating the process. She looked around to make sure nobody could see her as she did the last one. With a click the final pin locked into place and she was able to turn the tension wrench. The door slowly creaked open and she slipped inside.

  The room looked like a rustic meeting room. There was a large table in the center with an arrangement of chairs. The table was finely crafted with carvings on the legs and the chairs each had soft cushions on the back and bottom. She panned the room and saw a large desk in the corner with some bookshelves behind it, the commanders office it seemed.

  She moved over to the desk, keeping sure to keep low and move slowly. The last thing she needed now was to draw attention. The dark oak desk had several drawers adorned with silver fixtures. She opened one and removed a dagger whose handle and sheath was inlaid with gold and silver. It looked expensive but it also looked sharp. She attached it to her leg, covered by her skirts. Never hurt to have a weapon, though the thought of using it on a person made her profoundly uncomfortable. One thing she hadn’t done in this new world was kill another human. Those coyotes sure, other animals and monsters yes, but never people. Some of her dads morals still held a strong grip in her soul.

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  The next drawer contained a stack of documents. She brought them closer to the light. The first was a document containing troop movements and patrol paths for the region.

  The resistance is going to love this! She thought to herself.

  There were additional instructions that anyone found must be brought to the Archon in the capital immediately. That one was well known in the resistance so probably not the most useful. The next was about supply routes for feeding the army, still useful. A full catalog of their weapons and armor along with storage locations throughout the kingdom. That was interesting!

  Another document spoke about the resistance and to be on the lookout for it. It gave orders to exterminate any resistance cells found. That sent a shiver down Rebecca’s spine. Hopefully her friends were safe.

  The next document made ice creep up her spine. An order for the collection of four more people gifted with essence manipulation to be brought to the Archon’s dungeon. They were to be taken from the surrounding villages or towns. More Necrecent were needed by the kingdom.

  What did that mean? Were those monsters people? The resistance had to know about that. If that information were released to the public there would be an outcry and maybe even revolts. She thought.

  Another document was instructions that the ruins of the ancient Tekessara people. Apparently they were scattered throughout the kingdom. The Archon ordered the complete avoidance of these ruins under penalty of death should one survive entering. Why would he be so afraid of these ruins? Either way maybe they could provide something to the resistance.

  The final document was a memo that simply stated that the soldiers are to avoid the forested region to the west. There had been disappearances in the area for those who entered the woods. The locals claimed the spirit of the forest guarded those lands. The Archon didn’t wish to spend the lives to investigate these rumors at this time. What does that even mean? Spirit of the forest?

  Rebecca pocketed all the documents into a hidden bag under her skirts. She moved to leave but heard the door open. A man spoke. “Must have forgotten to lock the door.” He muttered.

  Rebecca hid behind the desk, hoping he wasn’t looking for anything over there. The man spoke to another with him.

  “Kaelan Vor’Shak reports to have found not only a traveler but also an arcanescent. A man this time. Apparently he already speaks the language. He is reportedly rounding them up for capture and then will bring them to the capital immediately.” The larger man who had “forgotten” to lock the door said.

  Could that be dad? Rebecca thought, feeling her heart beat faster.

  “Well knowing him he’s already captured them and is halfway there.” The other replied with a grin. “He’s always been an overachiever.”

  “Yeah I’d be damned if they evade him. One of our strongest verescent.” The larger man said as he approached the bookshelf. Rebecca hid under the desk and held her breath.

  The man rummaged through the bookshelf before removing a large bottle that had been carefully hidden there. “Here it is. I told you I had some of the good stuff in here!” He said as he walked to rejoin his friend. The two of them exited the building and Rebecca heard the click of the lock being engaged from outside. Damn it, now she would have to pick it again. These kinds of locks required keys on both sides of the door.

  A short time later Rebecca exited the building and started making her way toward the exit of the camp. Her trip was uneventful, people again assuming she had a reason to be walking about. Once she got out and started into the forest she heard a voice.

  “You embarrassed me, woman.” It was low and dangerous, quite slurred, and she knew exactly who it belonged to. He must’ve followed her.

  “Well I doubt that’s the first time a woman’s embarrassed you. Your ego is in direct contrast to your manhood with how large it is.” She replied. The man’s face grew even redder than the drink had made it.

  “I’m going to teach you some respect.” He said. She could hear his drunken shuffling behind her.

  She sighed and turned to face him. He was much larger than her. Too bad for him she was more than she appeared. She burned some essence and in an instant shot forward, planting a fist into his gut. He went flying back five or so feet and then rolled, groaning. She was a verecent, low tier sure, but that still meant she was STRONG. Stronger than any ordinary human, man or woman.

  The man coughed for a moment, vomited, then looked up toward her with deep fear in his eyes. “Please don’t kill me.” He begged. Rebecca wouldn’t do that. He didn’t need to know that.

  “I think I may need to teach you some respect. ” She spat, throwing his words back at him. She stepped towards him menacingly.

  He turned and started to crawl away. Rebecca decided she had had enough fun and burned a little bit more essence to sprint away into the woods. To his drunken eyes she probably disappeared faster than he could register.

  A short time later she entered a basement of the tavern in the nearby village of Drak’Mor. Her friend Nira’Valen waited there for her. The woman was the same age as her, at twenty years old. She too had a small build that hid her virescent gifts. Her long dark hair was pulled up into a bun on the top of her head. The two hugged when they saw each other.

  “That took a long time. What did you find?” Her friend asked with a smile.

  “Well I had some trouble but nothing I couldn’t handle.” Rebecca said, retrieving the documents and the knife.

  “There’s a lot of good information there. You need to gather the resistance right away. And take this knife, it’s well made and looks expensive.” She said handing over the documents.

  “Why can’t you deliver it to them yourself?” Nira replied with a frown.

  “I have to head for the capital right away. They’ve captured someone new, or are about to, and are bringing him there. I think it might be my dad.” She said.

  I hope it is. It needs to be him. She added to herself.

  “Well I can’t have you going alone, I’ll come with you.” Nira said with a grin. “I’ve always wanted to visit the capital.”

  “No, the resistance here needs you. And they need this information.” She told her. Rebecca then hesitated. “If you really want, then meet me in the capital after they have gotten the documents and decided what to do with them.”

  “Fine but don’t have too much fun without me. I’ll be there soon.” Nira said with a wink, giving Rebecca a quick hug and heading out the door.

  “I’m coming dad.” Rebecca said to herself as she prepared to travel the long road to the capitol. Nothing was going to stop her from protecting her family.