The next day was more of the same, only much more intense. Sam joined her for a run, filling her in on the minor gossip he’d picked up from the other Surveyors, and then they met Joanna and Clara for breakfast.

  When they arrived in the portal room, they found the other Surveyors once again waiting for them. The only difference was that this time, Abbott was watching as they faced off with each other in the training cages. Alex caught sight of him leaning against the back wall, his brown eyes studying the fights carefully.

  She made sure to give him a good demonstration. Joanna, Sam and Clara managed to just barely put up a fight, but the other Surveyors quickly started to double up on her. Some of them were even beginning to put down bets as her Skills climbed. From what she could overhear, it was mostly about how fast she’d win, instead of whether she would.

  At one point, in the few brief breaks between bouts, Joanna pulled her aside. The Adept’s expression was worried. “Alex, you’re going a little harder than you did before. Is something wrong?”

  Alex shook her head. Sweat was running down her face, but it felt… refreshing to let loose. She didn’t even have to hide her abilities with lightning and wind, now, and it was making all the more of a difference as she fought. The same bolts of electricity that had unbalanced Wells were making it a nightmare for the more physical Surveyors to close with her, and her speed and dodging ability usually got her in close to the magic-focused Surveyors before they could really touch her.

  Joanna was still watching her, so she glanced at where Abbott was standing. “Just trying to prove a point.”

  The Adept followed her gaze and then frowned. “You’re trying to prove something to Abbott?”

  “Kind of.” Alex sucked down some water and then leaned back with a sigh. Her back popped, and sore muscles protested. “They have him frozen out of advancing. I think we can trust him, so I’m trying to get him to reset his Skills so he can spar with me.”

  Joanna’s eyes narrowed. “You’re trying to turn him. So we have an asset on the inside.”

  Alex frowned. She didn’t like the way it sounded. “I wouldn’t complain. What would it be like to have a supervisor not trying to kill us this time?”

  Her friend snorted. “That’s only if you don’t manage to irritate him like usual.”

  She nudged the Adept and glanced at Abbott again. “Whatever, Professor.” Then she paused. “He could always use another nudge, if you think it would help. A friend with concerns, and all of that.”

  Joanna grimaced. “It’d be too obvious from me.” Then she looked over at where Clara was chatting with Trips. The Acolyte had grown fairly popular with her talent for healing up minor injuries. “Maybe I could suggest it to someone else.”

  “Thanks.” Alex picked up her practice weapons; Sam was almost done dismantling one of Trips’ teammates. She was starting to hear mutters about the others facing him two at a time as well. “You holding up all right?”

  “So far.” Joanna gave her a smile. “I just hope our next Survey isn’t quite as rough. We’re going to be heading in without full Skills this time.”

  “We’ll be fine. I trust Abbott.” It felt strange to say the words, but they were true. “Besides, we’ve gotten through worse. Would I ever lead you wrong?”

  Joanna grunted, and Alex chuckled to herself as she went back to the practice cage. The others were waiting.

  [D Rank Surveyor Alex, Gatekeeper, Realmwalker]

  [Ascension Level: 7]

  [Role: Porter (Role Skills: None]

  [Role Level: 2]

  [Experience: 3040/3600]

  [Attributes: Strength -> 7, Speed -> 10, Life -> 4, Devotion -> 0, Control -> 0]

  [Current Skills: Combat Balance(16), Motion Trance(14), Combined Arms – Axe/Shield(17),

  Holy – Storm(18)]

  [Permanent Skills: Battle Maneuvers(12)]

  [Current Titles: Empress of War (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Combined Arms, Weapon Mastery, and Battle Maneuvers by five.),

  Aggression (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Weapon Mastery, Combined Arms, and Combat Balance Skills by five.),

  Fated Hero (Increases Skill grade of Dodging, Anticipate, Battle Maneuvers, and Inspect by five),

  Eternal Motion (Increases Skill grade of Recovery, Running, Marathoning, and Motion Trance by five.),

  Tireless (Increases Skill grade of Recovery Skills by three.),

  True Sentinel (Increases Skill grade of Deflect, Dodging, Blocking, Resist, Zeal, and Combat Balance by five.),

  Tranquil Flow (Increases Skill grade of Meditation, Focus, Recovery, Arcane, Sense, and Motion Trance by four.),

  Elite (Increases Skill grade of Combat Balance, Battle Maneuvers, Battle Mastery, and Battle Dance by five.),

  Lethality (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Weapon Mastery, and Combined Arms Skills by five.),

  Consecrated (Increases Skill grade of Holy by five.),

  Battle Prowess (Increases Skill grade of Battle Maneuvers, Rush Assault, and Heavy Assault by four.),

  Battle Momentum (Increases Skill grade of Combat Balance, Riposte, and Battle Dance by four.),

  Blitz Master (Increases Skill grade of Combined Arms, Lunge, and Charge by five)]

  Alex stared at the collection of Titles and Skills, both happy at their new increases and uncomfortably aware of the fact that she was no longer exactly on top of her abilities. Even with the increases, she was still going to be considerably weaker than she was during the first mission. Hopefully she’d recover quickly once she got into serious combat with the Grue, but if another Shifter caught them before that…

  She shook her head and reminded herself that Abbott was going to be there still. He was just as skilled as he had been the last time, and she was coming to trust him more and more. Unbidden, the image of her mother and father shaking their heads at her appeared in her mind, but she tried to tell herself that they hadn’t met the man.

  Even as she dithered over that problem, the orange text shifted to present her with her new choice.

  [Please select your intent]

  [Exploration]

  [Vengeance]

  [Patrol]

  [War]

  [Salvage]

  Once again, she was expected to choose Explore, in preparation for when they would be doing things in earnest. She’d asked Abbott what he would choose, and he’d simply told her not to worry about it. His easy acceptance of his lack of progress grated on her, but she’d decided to do what she could.

  [Your intent is to Explore]

  [Quest Issued! Explore one of the following Areas: Grain Silos, Harvester, General Store.]

  [Quest Issued! Explore one of the following Areas: Charging Station, Slaughterhouse, Water Tower.]

  [Hidden Quest Issued!]

  [Hidden Quest Issued!]

  Alex nodded to herself. The Quests didn’t seem surprisingly different, which was fine by her. The quicker they could finish the first one, the more of a chance that she could convince Abbott to stay long enough to finish the second one—along with whatever the Screen had assigned him to do. As long as they could figure it out, of course.

  She was still puzzling out how to do just that when the light washed over her again…

  Alex stepped out into the other world and blinked as she exited directly into a rainstorm.

  She looked around at the others and snorted. Sam was looking faintly outraged, while both Clara and Joanna wore longsuffering expressions. Abbott was simply looking around, as if he expected threats to be waiting for them right at the portal.

  When he noticed Alex had arrived, Abbott turned back to look at them. “All right, same as the last time. We’ll start with Sam. List the locations you’ve been given. Everyone else, raise your hands if you have the same one.”

  Sam nodded, his eyes intent. “I have the Grain Silos, the Harvester, and the Lonely Shack.”

  Alex raised her hand for the first two and dropped it for the last. Joanna had her hand up for the Silos and the Shack, while Clara had hers up for both the Harvester and the Shack. Abbott nodded and sighed. “Valkyrie, what are your extra locations?”

  “Same as the last time, the Charging Station, Slaughterhouse, and Water Tower.” She tried to sound confident, but it was hard to pull off with the rain coming down around them. They hadn’t worked in the rain since Golden Swallow, and even then, she’d tried to get them all inside rather than running around in the weather. It didn’t look like they would have the same option here.

  Abbott nodded. “Okay, we’ll do our best to get you to at least one of those. The rain might help keep the Shifters off of us, but it isn’t a guarantee.”

  Sam smirked. “Too bad Valkyrie can’t just wave her hand and command the storm to go away, huh?”

  Alex shrugged, and Abbott grinned. “Not yet, at least.” He looked around and nodded. “All right, let’s get moving. Dryad, you’re going to be a lot more important today, so keep an eye out. Everyone else, move fast, quiet, and careful. Let’s go.”

  He started them on the path west, and Alex tightened her grip on her weapons as she moved. There hadn’t been a howl yet, but she knew they would come soon—and when they did, she’d be ready.

  The last of the Grues in the patrol slumped into the rain-soaked dirt road. Purple flame guttered and hissed as the corpses began to burn, and Alex took a moment to catch her breath. Orange text flared in her peripheral vision.

  [Battle Maneuvers advances to 17!]

  [Combat Balance advances to 21!]

  [Combined Arms—Axe/Shield advances to 22!]

  [Holy—Storm advances to 24!]

  [Hidden Quest Progress 12 of 16 targets destroyed]

  [Hidden Quest Progress 2 of 6 targets destroyed]

  She nodded and started to collect some of the discarded remnants of the Grue. It was only the second patrol that they’d run into, but her Skills were already advancing by leaps and bounds. The only one that wasn’t was Motion Trance, but even that had increased a couple of times as they had jogged through the rain.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  The Shifters were indeed after them, but the creatures seemed to have more trouble tracking them in the storm. Abbott had been optimistic—apparently the things didn’t like to fly in the rain—but he was also trying to make sure that they moved as quickly as possible. Given the prospect of fighting the things in the current conditions, Alex didn’t blame him.

  They all gathered the materials in a small amount of time, and then Abbott had them moving again. It was taking a bit more effort to trudge through the muck at a steady jog, but she had to remind herself that at least Motion Trance was giving her plenty of stamina. Joanna and Clara were both looking a little rougher, and Marathoning was apparently not as much of a help to Sam as he obviously wished it was—even if he was the best off out of the three.

  Alex continued to scan their surroundings as they came around another bend in the road. This particular path appeared to be leading them deeper into the farmland. Unharvested, uncontrolled grain rose tall around them as they made their way further west; weeds clung to the stalks and hid beneath their waving, overburdened heads. Occasional trees stuck out of the mess, while every so often the road climbed a hill large enough to give them a brief vision of even more fields and farmhouses all virtually consumed by the abandoned crops.

  As they reached yet another hill, Clara lifted her head and groaned. When Abbott looked at her, she pointed straight ahead. “I’m seeing a lot of Grue in that direction. At least two more patrols, and a huge cluster of them in the field off to the left there. It looks like they are set up around a Camp of some kind.”

  Abbott nodded with a grin. “That’ll be the Harvester, actually. It’s a piece of a machinery that’s just abandoned in the middle of a field, so we’ll be able to creep up on it through the grain. Two patrols you said? Where?”

  She nodded, and he looked carefully in the direction she pointed. “All right. I think we can take both of them while they are still separated, then move on the location. After that, we can veer north to get to the Silos, hopefully.”

  Joanna straightened up from the half-bent-over posture she’d assumed when they stopped. “What if the Camp hears us? Won’t they send reinforcements?”

  “That’s why we’ll need to be a bit more careful.” He looked at Alex, and his voice grew a bit more circumspect. “For example, maybe no lightning bolts? Or flaming swords?”

  Sam chuckled to himself. “See, that’s why you need a master of subtlety along for the ride. Where would you be without my—”

  “Shove it, Sneak.” Joanna glared at him, and he rolled his eyes in response. She looked back at Abbott and nodded. “All right. We can do this. Just tell us where to go.”

  Abbott grinned and led them off the road. A short while later, they had crunched their way through the stalks to crouch by the side of the path. Alex had been told to wait furthest west along the road; Abbott had told her to take out the Killers and Mages, while the others tried to overwhelm the other parts of the patrol. He’d stand back for the most part, at least unless something happened to throw off the plan.

  As she waited, the Grue patrol came ambling up the road. She watched as they strode through the rain and mud, seemingly oblivious to the raindrops pattering down around them. They didn’t notice any of the Surveyors watching them either, though a couple of the Killers paused to sniff at the air in a way that made Alex tense.

  Then they proceeded further down the road, putting themselves right in the perfect position for the ambush.

  The others started the attack, springing on the Knights and Brutes that made up the front. Plants sprung up around the closest of them, tangling their feet and snaring their arms as Joanna leaped on them. A Brute turned to face Sam, only to freeze and fall over, thrashing and clutching at its head while he slew the Knights that rushed at him. Clara put a crossbow shot into another Brute’s eye, and Abbott fended off the attackers that tried to rush at her.

  Alex waited for just a half-heartbeat as the Grue tried to adjust to the sudden arrival of the Surveyors. The Killers and Mages fell back while the rest of the Grue piled in, howling. Magic gathered in the Mages’ hands, while the Killers nocked arrows on their ethereal bowstrings. None of them caught sight of Alex when she left cover and sprinted towards them.

  She reached for the power of the Storm and wove it in front of her. It was a technique that she’d occasionally used at Red Blade, though she hadn’t done it much here. The friction of the wind fell away as her magic divided the air in front of her, and Motion Trance pushed her to a streak that shot through the rain like a cannonball. The closest of the Killers had only started to flinch when she smashed into and through it, her axe scything through it in two rapid strikes.

  As the Killer fell, she charged past its corpse and slammed, shield first, into the next one. It flew backwards with the sound of snapping bones, and she ducked as an arrow hissed towards her. Her feet nearly slid in the mud as she pivoted, but her foot caught on a hidden stone and allowed her to carry some of the momentum of her charge into the nearest Mage. Purple flame was still gathering in its hands as it turned to face her, taking her axe to the face in exchange.

  The Mage collapsed like a puppet without any strings. Beyond it, she saw at least four Killers drawing arrows back. Their only remaining Mage was raising its hands, ready to unleash its power on her and keep her contained.

  Alex grinned and unleashed her own magic first. Wind howled through the Grue, knocking arrows off course and forcing them to shift as they braced themselves against it. The Mage’s eyes widened as it stumbled. Its feet slipped in the mud, and the flames were extinguished with a hiss as it fell to its hands and knees in the mire.

  For a moment, everything seemed to freeze. Then, with a wild laugh, Alex darted forward, her axe already swinging. The closest Killer blocked her first strike by sacrificing its bow; her shield caught it as it was drawing its hatchet, and then she cut it through the throat with a brutal ripping sound.

  Her momentum spun her around in time to block another arrow, and then another Killer leaped at her, its bow forgotten in the mud as it struck with sword and axe. She blocked one strike, sidestepped another, and then ducked low to hook its ankle out from under it. The Killer went down in the mud, but before she could finish it, another one came at her from the other side.

  Alex grunted, using another burst of wind to shove the Mage back to the ground. She pivoted into the incoming Killer, using her shield to knock it off balance as it charged. It stumbled past her, and she hamstrung it with a strike. It fell on top of its friend, and she was on them before either could recover. A pair of swings finished them, and then she deflected another arrow shot at her head.

  She stood, and the final Killer dropped its bow and drew its other weapons. She sprinted forward, her axe ready to strike. It braced itself to receive her charge and seemed baffled when she just dodged to the side and blocked its attacks. If it was confused, then it realized its mistake as she took the Mage’s head, just as it had finished getting back to its feet.

  The Killer leaped at her, snarling, and Alex swung her axe to deflect the attack, knocking the sword and axe to the left while she pivoted out to the right. Mud splashed as the Killer came down; its feet slipped a little as it spun towards her. She made its problems a little worse by shield-checking it, and then followed it up with a swing that left a huge gash on its arm. It dropped its sword, and then a backswing with the axe’s spike caught it in the throat.

  Alex made sure of the kill with an additional swing after it staggered, and then stood back. She was about as filthy as she could be with mud, but at the very least, none of the back rank Grue had managed to get a shot off. All she had to do now was go help the others—

  She turned to start, only to flinch as the last Killer, the one she had shield-checked in her initial charge, rose from the ground and leaped at her, a sword poised to strike. It had timed its ambush perfectly; the sword point was almost at her throat before she realized what was happening.

  Then it was suddenly gone, its sword hanging cartoonishly in the air for a moment as a burst of wind passed by her. Alex blinked, her brain just beginning to catch up with what she’d seen. She looked in the direction the wind had blown, and saw the Killer, cut nearly in half. What was left of it was pinned to the dirt by Abbott’s massive axe.

  She looked back at the main battle and saw the C rank with his hand still outstretched, a satisfied expression clear even with his helm on. Alex opened her mouth to yell her thanks, only to shout something very different. “Abbott, behind you!”

  He tilted his head and started to turn, only for the Brute that had attacked him to smash into him with enough force to reduce someone to pulp. It roared with victory as Abbott slid to the side through the mud—and then stopped, his feet still solidly planted in the ground.

  Abbott’s hand reached up and wrapped around the metal haft of the war hammer. When the Brute tried to pull its weapon back, the C rank looked up and stared at it. The weapon did not move.

  The Brute tried one more pull, with no real effect. Then it brought up its second hammer, ready to try flattening the C rank with its other weapon. It had raised it high over its head when the ground suddenly trembled beneath it. Alex saw its eyes widen in shock before it suddenly sunk nearly up to its waist in the mud, as if the ground below it had abruptly become quicksand.

  Abbott stepped away, almost casually ripping the hammer out of the Grue’s hand and tossing it into the path of the second strike. It deflected the blow, and he stepped out of the Brute’s reach while it thrashed. He extended his hand in the direction of his axe again, and Alex looked back just in time to see it vanish.

  It was there in his hands when she looked back, and a half-second later, the Brute had been bisected by a single vertical swing. Abbott shook his head as if to clear it and then stepped a bit further back.

  Alex stepped forward, only for her attempt to see if he was badly wounded to be stopped by a charging Knight. She cut it down with a few vicious swipes, and then slew the next two that came at her. By the time she was finished with them, the others had cut down the rest. The bodies began to burn, even as she jogged to Abbott’s side. Orange text flickered as she moved.

  [Battle Maneuvers advances to 19!]

  [Combat Balance advances to 23!]

  [Combined Arms—Axe/Shield advances to 24!]

  [Holy—Storm advances to 26!]

  [Motion Trance advances to 17!]

  [Hidden Quest Progress 13 of 16 targets destroyed]

  [Hidden Quest Completed!]

  “Abbott, are you—” She stopped when he chuckled. Abbott lifted his helmet and spat what looked like bloody phlegm onto the ground. It began to burn with a red and orange flame, guttering in the rain.

  “I’m fine, Valkyrie. See?” He grinned at her, and she saw a bit of blood on his teeth.

  “That Brute hit you dead on. We need to get you back to—”

  Abbott shook his head. He dropped his helmet back down over his face. “Your concern is appreciated, but I really am fine. One of my Skills is Renewal. Ever heard of it?”

  Alex frowned. “No. One of my friends had Regeneration though…”

  He nodded. “Think of that, but combined with even more healing. I’ll be fine.” Then he rolled his shoulders with what seemed like a wince. “Though I might need to visit the infirmary, eventually.”

  She grimaced and looked back to where the Killer that had almost gotten her was burning. “Still, you got hit protecting me.”

  “Just what a dutiful boss is supposed to do, isn’t it?” Abbott chuckled to himself. “See, I told you I don’t deserve to get killed.”

  Alex snorted despite herself, and then Clara joined them. “Abbott? Do you need—”

  “I’m fine, Dryad. For goodness’ sake, it’s like you all think I’m some kind of old man.”

  Sam laughed. “And you aren’t? You just have a really lethal cane.”

  Abbott set the butt of his axe into the mud with a thump. “And don’t you forget it. Not that I don’t have a few tricks on top of that, of course.” He nodded to where the partially submerged Brute had nearly finished burning. “Now, let’s collect what we can and then get into position for the next attack. We aren’t even partway done today, after all.”

  The next ambush went much, much smoother. Joanna and Sam struck the back line, while Clara and Alex hit the Grue at the front. Abbott hung back from the fight that time, letting Alex and the others tear through the creatures on their own. He didn’t seem to be hurt all that badly, though he did move a little slower than he had before. Alex watched him as they gathered the last of the remnants of the patrol, still worried that he was hiding wounds he didn’t want to admit existed.

  With the patrols down, they turned their course inwards, heading towards the cluster of Grue that Clara had been sensing. The stalks of grain brushed against them as they moved, stirred by the wind and beaten on by the rain. Mud squelched under their feet, and the howls of distant Shifters rose above the sound of the storm.

  It took far too long, but they eventually peered through the moving grain and saw their target rising over the trees. The Harvester was a massive, derelict hulk of a machine, barely visible among the grain around it. At some point in the past, it had plowed a path through the grain, leaving a broad trail behind it where the plants had been cut down. An equally impressive trailer was located on the side, half-full of harvested wheat or corn or whatever the people had been growing here.

  Grue were everywhere around it. The glowing crystal sat above the machine itself, along with half a dozen tents that sheltered Mages, Knights, Killers, and Brutes. There were dozens of them, though most were hiding away in whatever shelter they could find. A handful of the Killers sat glumly at the very top of the Harvester itself, keeping watch for the others.

  Alex blinked as she peered in at the place. She’d never really thought much about the people who’d lived in this place before. No one had ever figured out exactly what had happened to them. Had they become the Grue, somehow? Had they all died when magic had flooded their world, or had they simply met some other catastrophe? It had been years since the Fracture—why hadn’t the plants all changed in that time? Why did it all look as if the entire thing had happened only a few months ago?

  She shook off those thoughts as orange text washed across her vision.

  [Main Quest Completed!]

  A moment later, Abbott signaled for them to withdraw. He led them back through the grain, headed for the road. When they were far enough, he gestured for them to close in around him, and he spoke in a low voice. “All right, from here we’ll head for the Silos. After that, we should be close enough that we could head for the Slaughterhouse if we get the chance. Does that sound okay?”

  They all nodded, and a short time later, they were off through the grain once again. Behind them, the silent form of the Harvester faded back into the grain, once again forgotten by anyone but the Grue.

  They ran into three more patrols on their way to the northeast. None of them put up a notable amount of resistance; the more they killed, the more Alex and the other Surveyors could rely on their Skills to wipe out the Grue. Their fatigue was weighing on them as well, though it seemed like Abbott moved more and more easily as time went on.

  Of course, not everything could be quite that smooth. They were just getting close to the Silos when a Shifter’s howl rang out from far too close. Abbott immediately looked in that direction and grimaced. “Dryad?”

  Clara hissed something under her breath. “Maybe ten minutes. Not airborne, at least.”

  “Sometimes that’s more of a problem.” Abbott hefted his axe and shook his head. “I’ll stay here to draw its attention. Valkyrie, take the team in to get a good look at the Silos, then come back here.”

  Alex blinked. She shook her head. “You’re going to try fighting that thing alone? Last time—”

  “You’re not the one who gets to lecture me about being reckless, Valkyrie.” He smiled at her. “I’ve read some of your reports, after all. Now get going. Otherwise, we’re not going to have any chance of making a third location today.”

  She opened her mouth to argue further, only for Joanna to catch her eye and shake her head. Alex glanced at the others and saw similar expressions on their faces. Reluctantly, she nodded. “All right. You better meet us on the way out, or else we are coming right back here.”

  Abbott nodded again and made a gesture as if shooing them away. Alex grimaced and started heading along the same course. When she glanced behind her, Abbott had taken up a position on the road, staring at the nearest grove of trees. She thought she caught a hint of something large moving through them and turned away. It was one thing to know he was fighting alone, but if she saw it…

  She snarled to herself as they made their way towards the Silos. The sounds of battle and fury chased them.