Vin walked into the elven living room and took in the eyesore of that common area. Maeve's magic light orb lit the place well enough to see all the furniture was still against the walls with plants. The clearing in the middle of the floor was occupied by the skateboarding half-dragon, who had improved a lot on their own.

  The few survivors from the music shop were still there. As well as the Artisans who sat in various areas around the room while the Adventurers gathered around Maeve's desk. The two priestesses and the mute, feather-dressed Ravenour woman were there too. Her pale lavender hair somehow looked even longer, and her smile was bright when she saw and smiled at him. Vin stared back at her, discerning a subtle signal: her brain's frequency. One that, if synced with, could allow a telepathic connection like Gideon and Tristen. He believed he could always do this, but having Astral Ichor in his body made the ability more pronounced.

  Nonetheless, it was best not to terrify anyone unnecessarily. Especially not her, someone so important to their ranks. She was probably brought there on Maeve's orders because having a healer meant they no longer needed to search for medical supplies.

  Vin peered at the ongoing meeting, knowing they were likely discussing how to get a hold of food and weapons. Hopefully, it was a fruitful conversation because they had less than twelve hours before night. A fact that sent a freezing shiver through Vin's body, making him quake.

  'We'll survive,' he thought, pondering his situation. 'Every time those things hit my mind, I was already beaten down or outright feeling like shit. They know where I am now, but if I keep my head on right, they won't be able to track us after leaving the city.'

  Vin was confident in his theory. The issue was keeping his mental defenses up while dealing with the problematic Ravenours and the Elven knights who wanted him dead.

  Tristen wandered over to Vin while he was lost in thought. The pink-haired individual stood there, gawking at his attire while holding the skateboard Vin traded a Ravenour for on their first day in that city. Antsy tugged at his own basic elven garments and raised a brow, questioning, "There wasn't anything like that in the wardrobe, where did you get those clothes?"

  "You also brought back skeleton hands last night," he said, scanning Vin's body. A moment later, his head tilted, shifting gears again, "Did you get to skate a lot while you were out? Will you help me with my practice?"

  Gideon walked to his rambling companion and adjusted their unbuttoned shirt while chastizing him about his image. Tristen was told to watch himself because soon, Maeve would be queen, and their conduct would affect her reputation.

  The slick-haired Ravenour glanced at Vin next, lowered his eyes, and said flatly, "Good Morning."

  "Last night..." Gideon said, turning his back. I admit I overreacted. Nevertheless, don't let what happened at the market happen again."

  The tall guard began walking back to the meeting, but Vin calmly said, "Wait."

  Jazzy stopped, turned around, and met the Human's gaze as they cracked their knuckles and asked, "Where do you want it?"

  "What?" Gideon responded with a grimace.

  Vin walked up to the brute, staring them down, clarifying, "You didn't think i'd let you get away with choking me, did you?"

  "Get away with?" Jazzy sneered. He was a member of a race of warriors with stone-like bodies, so he wasn't afraid of a Human attacking without magic. He beat his fist against his chest and told him, "Don't hurt yourself."

  "Sure," Vin replied lamely, lowering his stance and rewinding his arm. He twisted his body, hurling his fist in a hook precisely where Tristen had hit them the night before. He didn't hold back when he struck Gideon's injury, making them grunt in pain and clench their side.

  Vin watched them drop a peg or two, then extended a hand to the guard, adding, "Call it even."

  Jazzy looked up at him, clenching his jaw, withholding his anger. It appeared like he could lash out at any moment, but they eventually clasped Vin's hand, replying, "Just don't do it again."

  Gideon collected himself and walked off. Vin knew he had to listen to the gathering, too, so he glanced at Tristen and told them, "We'll have to talk later. Right now, we need to figure out what's going on."

  The Antsy fellow's arms slumped to their side, giving up and joining Vin despite detesting tedious meetings. Still, learning how Maeve planned to get all those Ravenours out of the guarded city by night was more important. Large warriors were already gathered around their ruler, so they stood in the back and listened. Vin tried to be low-key, but various eyes latched onto him when he arrived, and there was a visible part of the crowd to highlight his presence. Even though Maeve was given a clear view of Vin, she often didn't look his way unless referring to him directly.

  From what Vin could tell, Gideon had already debriefed her about their mission the night before. He also learned later that the green apple-eyed Ravenour, Casty, used complex pathways to escape the market with the survivors. Unfortunately, not everyone could keep up, and more than half of their group died. Even with those losses, there were about forty Ravenours accounted for in that zone, most of them being Artisan.

  Gideon had already shared the locations of the two Ravenour hideouts they found, and Casty and a man named Alton, one of the survivors of the music shop, delivered the recruitment handouts. The details stated that the few remaining Adventurers would tackle the Sun Market at 3 pm, 7 hours from now. There would be a higher risk of being seen since they were going during the day. However, they had to be ready to escape the city by nightfall, and the plaza had plenty to take.

  Maeve had hoped to arm the troops before plundering supplies, but Vin and Gideon failed to find a weapon cache. This topic caused a furor among the brutes, who weren't used to raiding without their blades. However, Maeve made it clear that even if they had swords, they would be annihilated if spotted by knights. If they wanted to succeed, they had to rely on stealth and Casty's knowledge of the market.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Next, the royal displayed a map of Watervein and pointed to their exit. Since they had to avoid the main gates, they would use a ladder to scale the city's northwest wall, then slip into the surrounding forest.

  Vin expected to be in charge of making the instrument of their escape. However, she had already assigned that task, among others, to the Artisans at the two other hideouts. No one would get off doing nothing.

  The meeting proceeded with little pushback. Minus the concerned whispers when the Ravenours discovered the Eternal would not lead their task force. Vin was the only person capable of quickly finding the missing citizens, so the role of leader was assigned to the gallant Gideon.

  The slick-haired guard stepped in front of Maeve, took a solemn knee, and declared, "I may still be inexperienced, but I promise I will not let you down, your Highness."

  Vin recalled everything that happened under Jazzy's so-called command. He was about to bring the man's poor leadership to light when his mind was pricked, and Gideon pleaded, "Please."

  "I know you're thinking about the previous evening, but that was only my second time operating away from Maeve, and I've learned a lot."

  "That's an excuse," Vin retorted.

  "It's my attempt to convince you," Jazzy responded. "Maeve will begin searching for a general to replace Kaelix soon. I want to prove that I am qualified."

  "Please, let me fight to meet her expectations."

  Vin acknowledged that Gideon was a man capable of learning. While he wouldn't immediately become the reliable general Maeve needed, he had resolved to walk that path. Nevertheless, letting that brute lead would be a surefire death sentence for his team. So, Vin promised not to say anything if Jazzy agreed to let him devise the strategy. The guard agreed, and they ended their mental conversation.

  Everyone had a role except for Tristen, who was deemed a liability to the group. The pink-haired Ravenour wasn't worthless; Maeve merely knew he was prone to losing himself in extreme situations. Antsy didn't fight the decision, but he turned to Vin and said, "I don't have any other duties, so I can assist you with searching for survivors."

  "I can skate without falling now, AND I have the Center Gravity enchantment, So-" he paused, his mouth sinking into a frown. "I can help..."

  Maeve glanced at Vin, hinting that the youthful Ravenour's fate was in his hands. Tristen was progressing fast, but Vin couldn't afford to slow down and match their speed, so he told them, "Not yet. You still need to learn the fundamentals of y-"

  In an unexpected instant, Tristen snapped forward at Vin and shouted, "THEN TEACH ME!"

  The guard drew his claws, displaying his fangs as he breathed heatedly. His entire body was tensed as if primed to strike.

  Vin's eyes opened in shock, then dropped back into a listless glare. He'd never seen them so aggressive. Evidently, Gideon was also surprised, resting a calm hand on his friend's shoulder and telling him, "There will be a place for you. Right now, you just have to be patient."

  Tristen slapped the hand away and shoved the towering Ravenour back a few paces. "Easy for you to say! You've always been given the most responsibility! You've always been the favorite!"

  "And you!" Ansty yelled, pivoting back to Vin. He shoved the skateboard into this chest, shouting, "For the past week, I had to take YOUR place as the teacher and train people on how to use equipment from YOUR world. Do you know how difficult it is to teach something when you're just as clueless!?"

  Casty, one of those trainees, shied away from the altercation.

  "You've been no help at all!" he continued. His eyes lowered dipped in woe as he vented, and his tone crumbled into a melancholy mutter, "I thought you loved skating? Why don't you want me to learn..."

  Like a time-lapsed video, Vin saw every time Tristen had asked him for support. It was a miracle the young Ravenour didn't blow up at him sooner... It'd been over a week since they'd met, and he hadn't taught him a single skill. Vin became just as annoyed with himself and mushed his face while swearing. After a minute of reflecting, he conveyed, "I haven't been ignoring you on purpose."

  "There's been a lot on my plate since we met. Took longer to adapt to this planet than I thought."

  Tristen took an invulantray step back.

  He felt immense guilt when he realized that the person before him had recently been victimized by the assimilation of his word. The Human was in a foreign place, deprived of anyone he knew, forced to fight unknown enemies, all while upkeeping other obligations. The light-haired Ravenour covered his mouth, his wings and tail falling limp as he breathed, "I'm sorry. I forgot that-"

  "It wasn't meant as an excuse or to make you feel bad," Vin clarified, moving away from the increasingly aggravated Ravenours and to the house's center. He stood on the skateboard with his right foot at the tail of the instrument and his left near the middle. "I won't always be able to train you directly, but I should at least give you things to practice on your own."

  "Watch my footing," he directed. The following steps would pass quickly, so Vin planned to demonstrate several times. He pushed down hard on the board's tail, then immediately jumped up and slid his front foot up to the head of the instrument, causing himself and the skateboard to fly up. The eyes of the spectators followed him as he rose high off the ground and landed.

  Casty, stammered, "I-it jumps."

  Vin reset his footing to repeat the technique, "It's called an ollie. You're the one that jumps, the board follows when you snap the tail back and slide your feet forward."

  After executing the skill several times, Vin told them, "Once you master this, we'll move on to the next skill."

  Tristen wordlessly bowed in thanks, took the skateboard, and immediately began. The guard's underwhelming reaction to getting what he desired suggested he felt guilty, but Vin respected his eagerness to learn.

  Casty looked jealously at Antsy, but after learning from his previous mistake, Vin didn't overlook her. He fixed the cracks on his handmade longboard and gave it to the bright Ravenour, cautioning her, "It'll be more challenging, but you're good on your feet, so I'm sure you'll manage."

  Casty accepted, her apple-green eyes so bright and optimistic they looked sour. She held the board tight, declaring resolutely, "I'll do my best, sir."

  "I know," Vin replied, motioning for Gideon to follow him. He took a prompt leave, realizing he'd only known three Ravenours without natural black hair, two of which were interested in skateboarding. It was a mostly purposeless thought, but he wondered if there was a correlation or if it was just a coincidence.

  He also became curious if the other trainees enjoyed skating or if they dreaded each training. 'The only reason I refused to teach them was because I thought it could backfire on humanity, but that's not the case anymore.'

  He walked toward the home's rear exit, remembering that Kane and Maeve only wanted him to teach their citizens to skateboard on the rare chance they ended up in the Archival Dimension. Well, there they were.

  'Whatever. Right now, let's focus on making a plan for Gideon.'

  'After that, I need to tell Maeve I can't use the eternal flames anymore. Then I have to go back into the city to search for her missing brutes.'

  Vin sighed while he opened the home's back door, Gideon close behind, 'Busy...'