Shelby was feeling shaky. Things were going well with Naile, and they were making fast progress walking south to find the road to Copperglade, but she couldn't throw off a feeling of... dread? She looked at her health bar for clues, but all she had was the Whole Enchilada meal effect. Guess I can rule out low virtual blood sugar...

  "Unfortunately, this may be a symptom of your increasing synchronization level," AIDAN whispered to her, "you are approaching 90%. I strongly advise logging out when you reach your destination."

  Shelby glanced over at Naile. The wolf woman strode confidently through the tangled brush and snaking roots around them, and Shelby was jogging to stay by her side. Just need to find a solution to this whole mess, and then I can stop...

  Shelby, unfortunately, was a little lost. She could see the road to the south east on her map, but the area they had walked into was labyrinthine. They were currently walking up the crest of a hill between two steep canyons. Based on the geography and the location of the area on her map, Shelby guessed that these were the rivers that formed the main artery of the stream webbed hills to the west of Copperglade Village where she had explored as a capybara. The images on the map were somewhat detailed, but not enough that Shelby could tell which rivers and hills were physically traversable or not, leading to her current predicament.

  She was really regretting signing up for soccer instead of the girl scouts right now. Soccer just seemed so cool! Shelby was not a good soccer player, in fact she was perhaps the worst goalie in her youth league. Now she was finding out that she was an even worse wilderness guide. She could almost hear a saying in her mind... something about moss... does it... grow on the north side of trees?

  That information was useless to her anyways, she knew which way was north. Instead of recalling any relevant nuggets of wisdom from her limited knowledge of wilderness survival, she just tried to head uphill as much as possible. You can see things from on top of hills! That, and she didn't have much of a choice. Heading south from the Hodekin cave seemed to be a uphill journey in general.

  Fighting together had warmed Naile to Shelby greatly, and she seemed to now preemptively find and slay a variety of monsters before they could sneak up on Shelby while she focused on navigating. Shelby found that a little annoying, because she didn't get any experience from Naile's solo kills, but she didn't want to make a fuss about it. She didn't think they could form a party, like she had with other characters. In fact, Thimble's icon was still in her heads-up display, albeit grayed out ever since he left with the Daizi villagers.

  Besides, Naile had a certain dog-like quality when she protected Shelby, which Shelby found endearing. Naile would often pick up the various rats and elemental spirits she killed, holding them up in both hands and smiling at Shelby as if seeking approval for her kind acts. Shelby started to clap for Naile in response after a few rounds of this display, which the wolf woman seemed to like. Her tail didn't wag, sadly, but she did flatten out her ears in response to praise. It gave her a sheepishly pleased appearance.

  They also started to talk more. Naile continued to ask general questions about the Daizi, and Shelby began to ask about the Hodekin in return. The wolf people had a very particular culture with all kinds of rules, almost all of which had to do with war.

  "Our tribes don't like to stay in one place too long," Naile was saying, "we are nomads at heart."

  "You don't normally live in caves?" Shelby asked.

  "Some do, but we do not. We slept in tent villages until those newbloods burned it all down..."

  Shelby remembered one of Naile's subordinates talking about an attack, "Your homes were destroyed? Is that why you're here?"

  "Yes. They set our homes on fire while we slept and then attacked us in the confusion. We had to flee down to this land," Naile snapped a tree branch in her hand, looking furiously back over her shoulder towards the north.

  "Why did they attack you?" Shelby asked.

  "Pah..." Naile spit, "they're cowards. They attacked us many times, and they captured our kin too. That all is the way of life in Bleak, but when we set out to take it back, they resort to fire at night. They're dogs."

  Is... being a dog a good or a bad thing? Shelby wondered. She guessed it was an insult from the context, but weren't they literally dogs? Naile hopped gracefully over a tall pile of loose stones. They were climbing high on a craggy ridge now.

  "But... didn't you also set fire to our homes and capture our, um, kin?"

  "I told you, bad luck. We didn't set a fire. That would be foolish. That started while we were following your people into the town."

  Oh. An accident...? Shelby squinted hard at Naile. The wolf didn't ever seem to try to hide the truth, but, that village fire didn't seem accidental, "I don't understand, weren't you were trying to capture the people of the town?"

  "Yes, of course. This is our territory now. To capture people is to take them into your family and protect them. That is how the warlords grow their clans."

  "Don't the people you capture resent you?"

  Naile shook her head, "Why would they?"

  "You're... taking them away from their homes," Shelby said incredulously.

  "They have a new home, then," Naile said dismissively, "if you get captured, that just means someone stronger is providing for you now."

  "You can't just take people away from their lives and their communities!" Shelby said, voice raised higher than she intended.

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  "Don't lecture me, rat," Naile shot back, her teeth bared, "the weak don't rule in Kin Bleak."

  "This isn't Kin Bleak!" Shelby shouted. So much for getting along...

  Naile stood up straight, towering over Shelby, and folded her arms, "Didn't I already agree to your trade? I am showing you more respect than any rat has ever gotten from a Hodekin warlord. Be content with your lot."

  The weight of Naile's words battered Shelby. Even though she talked about giving Shelby respect, she was really saying, "Bow down to me."

  Shelby balled up her fists, "I'm helping you!"

  Naile shook her head with closed eyes and knitted brows, then turned and strode forward ahead of Shelby. Shelby stood and fumed at Naile's back for a moment before she followed after.

  The ridge they were following was gradually turning towards the west, and Shelby had a feeling they would collide with the sweeping seawalls of the western bay if they kept going this way. They were winding along thick shelves of stone that hung over a deep canyon, and the ground was rich and wet. There were carpets of moss, dead leaves, and leggy weeds all around, and the few trees that could grow on the cliff's edge were woven into the rock with spiderwebbing roots.

  Naile's height let her climb up the steps without much thought. She simply reached into the tangled tree roots, found a hand hold, and heaved herself up to the next level. Shelby was starting to lose distance. She followed up the walls when she could, but often she had to sprint further up the slanting rock shelves until she found a different way to get up to the next level. Soon, Naile was standing a few layers above her, looking back down the cliff with impatience.

  Shelby eventually popped up onto Naile's perch, but she was feeling increasingly tired and shaky from exerting herself. She had been jogging, fighting, running, or climbing for almost a half hour since they left the cave. Even in her idealized virtual body she was getting worn down.

  Naile didn't acknowledge her weary appearance, but instead kept staring down the cliff. Shelby stretched out on the soft forest floor a couple yard away, taking in lungfuls of cool air. Naile raised a hand and pointed towards something in the distance, asking "Is that it?"

  Shelby rolled her head to the side. Down below, she could see the main road winding through knotted and overgrown wilds. It snaked randomly as it followed the terrain, then went straight for a short stretch. All around that stretch, a glimmering web radiated outwards. Shelby could see the 5 vaulted roofs of the guild halls, and little circular clearings dotted the area beyond that. The homes and shops of the town were well hidden in the scenery, with their dirt roofs and vine-choked pathways, but there were still signs of them everywhere Shelby looked.

  "Yeah, that's the place," Shelby forced out.

  Naile glanced southward and nodded. Shelby guessed they were just north of the place she had fought a colony of resinlings. This must be where the headwaters of the thousand streams started rolling downhill. Not too far of a walk, then.

  Shelby caught her breath, sat upright, and dangled her feet over the stone ledge she had just scrambled up. Naile squatted down as she scanned the area intently, "You really think the leader of this place will agree to trade with us?"

  "I hope so. I think she would want to find a way to make peace. Just show her that you're trying to make things right and she'll listen," Shelby pictured Pico tending to her garden and humming, a serene smile always present on her lips.

  "We have never had peace," Naile said.

  "Do you want to?" Shelby asked.

  Naile looked over at Shelby and stared into her eyes. This woman really likes her eye contact... Shelby raised her eyebrows in response, "This should be an easy yes..."

  "Spoken like someone who has never lost anything before."

  "What does that mean?" Shelby could feel her arms tensing again; This would end in another fight if she didn't stop herself, "truly, what do you need to keep fighting for? Explain it to me."

  "I have to fight for my kin," Naile said, "to give them good lives, to feed them, to protect them. If I don't then that monster will take them all away..."

  "Monster?" Shelby shook out her hands as she heard pain creeping into Naile's words.

  "Etain. Warlord of the Catach Bleak. A little worm," Naile dragged her claws through the wet dirt at her feet, "he is the one who burned down our homes and drove us here."

  "Why did he do it?" Shelby asked.

  "Who can know," Naile closed her eyes, "ever since he showed up everything has been out of balance. He just wants to see us suffer."

  What is actually going on here? Shelby was starting to get a thrumming headache. She raised a shaky hand and patted Naile on her massive forearm, "You won't have to fight anymore, okay?"

  Naile heaved out a huge sigh, and stood, pulling her arm away from Shelby forcefully. She looked down at Shelby with a frown, stating "I like the rat people."

  "Uh, thanks? I'm actually a rabbit and most of them are m-" Shelby said before she was interrupted.

  "That's why I need to protect you, like you are kin. You don't know how weak you are."

  Great, this again, Shelby stood and crossed her arms, "If you want to protect the people you like, then fine, but do it as friends!"

  "I'm sorry little one," Naile shook her head, "you only say that because you haven't had to fight to keep your family safe. You'll never understand it until you do. That's why I need to go and see your leader."

  Naile looked down on the village, something churning away inside of her head as her eyes darted around the half hidden roads and buildings. Shelby froze. There was something dark lurking underneath the surface. She asked, "To work something out with her, right?"

  "There are special areas in the lands, like this, where the Heart is," Naile whispered, ignoring Shelby.

  "Heart?" What?

  "Whoever has the Heart, has the land, the people..."

  "I don't really follow..."

  "In Kin Bleak we fight, endlessly, just to have it, so that we can protect, or grow, or take power..."

  "Is... it like a literal heart?" Shelby looked down at the town, trying to understand.

  "It's the heart of the land itself. Only true leaders can feel it. I felt it once..."

  Shelby looked up at Naile. She was faintly crying, a few hot tears running down her cheek and staining her white fur a dark gray.

  "Whatever it is, it's okay," Shelby said quietly, "we'll figure it out."

  "You are sweet. Do me a kindness, won't you?" Naile ducked down next to Shelby in one fluid movement.

  "Of course! What do you need?"

  "Live through this, so that you can see."

  Shelby raised her eyebrows and opened her mouth to speak as Naile reached forward and gripped her around the throat. She effortlessly lifted Shelby up and started walking farther up the cliffside, "When I go down there and take the Heart, then you'll all be safe. I just have to find your leader and take it."

  Shelby croaked out a few protests, kicking at the air and slamming her fists down on Naile's hand. The wolf stepped closer and closer to the edge as she spoke. The canyon below opened up beneath Shelby as the dozens of mossy ledges narrowed and died out to give way to sheer stone. Naile held Shelby out over the void, staring her in the eye one last time, "I know you would fight to stop us... but my kin are already on their way to claim a new home. Once we have the land, a new Heart, we can rebuild and become stronger. Then, we can go home and take back everything that was stolen from us."

  Shelby's head was getting light as the wolf's fingers dug into her throat. She could feel her life draining away one point of health at a time. Mallow thrashed and gnawed furiously on Naile's hand with her caustic slime, but Naile didn't even flinch. Even when Mallow's toxic dart bit into her skin, she simply shook her head. As she looked back up at the village in the distance, she muttered, "We just have to take it. Thank you, little one, for showing me a way to get close to the one who owns it. I will make it quick."

  With that, Naile swung her arm slowly back, then threw Shelby into the chasm below.

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