Aira joined him, her heart rag. Alliot poio a set of footprints, clear and distin the dust. That wasn't all, though.

  "Five to ten people came through," Alliot said, studying the tracks. "They left with heavier packs thahey arrived. These prints suggest they weren't alone when they left—they took someoh them. Likely a prisoner."

  Aira's blood ran cold. "Li," she whispered. "It only firms what we suspected. But I still had some hope that she went voluntarily."

  "Doesn't look voluntary," Alliot said. "We'll check outside for more tracks, but the persoook was being trolled—kept close. That much is clear."

  Aira's radio woke up once again to announce her progress.

  --- pleted Quests ---1. Che the Old World Facility (Reward: 100,000 XP)2. Explore Heart of the Forest (Rewards: 300,000 XP, Skill)3. Make tact with the undead (Reward: 100,000 XP)[...]

  After sealing the buhe duo of rescuers left in the dire of the spot where Aira st sensed Li's signature. It has been a few days sihen, and the rangers would have obviously moved on during this time. But still, Alliot and Aira had to ehey were moving in the right dire. It would have been unfortuo storm the town only to find out that Li wasn't there.

  "What is the distance of your unication skill," asked Alliot while they were crossing the empty area in front of the abandoned facility. "Is there still a ce to reach out to Ainorrh? It would be great to give her a report. I don't think she's in the party anymore."

  To answer, Aira checked her System interface.

  --- Party Interface ---Maximum party invitations: 2Current party size: 2 (including the host)Invite a new party member [Y/N]?

  "You are right," said Aira. "Ainorrh robably removed after the maximum distance was exceeded. The range is twenty kilometers, which is a day's walk for a human. Here, we are much further away. And it would take us to get almost the whole way back to re-establish the e. It's not worth it."

  "That's fine," said Alliot. "We have oal. I have my orders. Nothing ges."

  Aira took o look at the facility before they left the valley. This pce had been their sanctuary. A temporary haven in a hostile and strange world. But now, it was nothing more than a shell—a reminder of the impermanence of safety.

  She pushed the thought aside, fog oask ahead. Li needed her. And Aira wouldn't fail her. Not after everything they had been through.

  Alliot's skills and experience helped them to find at least some tracks. Even if they didn't hem right now, to track the group ers to that location where Aira st sensed Li's preseill, it only helped them to firm their suspis once again.

  The tracks led them through the dense forest, the underbrush crag uheir feet as they moved with a sense ency. The silence of the woods unctuated only by the occasional call of a distant bird and the rustle of leaves in the breeze. Aira's heightened senses caught every detail, her focus unwavering. Alliot, with his horag skills, moved effortlessly beside her, his eyes sing the ground for any signs of anything unusual.

  As they moved through the forest, Aira g Alliot. "Do you think she's okay?" she asked." Li, I mean."

  Alliot didn't hesitate before answering. "Our belief is that the life is sacred," he said.

  When he saw Aira beginning to interrupt him, he asked with a sign to let him tinue.

  "You know that it's our base principle to cherish life as it is," Alliot said. "That's one of the reasons we don't want to fight with humans. But humans are different. Your stories only firm that."

  Aira almost interrupted Alliot once again. But then, looked at him ily and allowed him to tinue.

  "I believe that Li knew what she was doing," Alliot tinued. "And even if she isn't safe, she hat experience."

  "I just hope they wouldn't do anything to her," Aira said, her voice trembling. "She's been a part of my support system since I came to this world. I 't lose her."

  "She's lucky to have you searg for her," Alliot said, nodding, his expression thoughtful. "We'll find her, Aira."

  Aira gave him a small, grateful smile. "Thank you, Alliot. It means a lot to hear that."

  ***

  They journeyed deeper into the forest, and soon, Aira began the surroundings. The trees, the paths, the ndmarks—it seemed they were returning to Li's town. Her heart quied, a mix of hope and dread building within her. She pushed herself harder, her mind rag with thoughts of Li and what she might be enduring.

  Even before the pair reached the spot they were heading to, Aira was able to sense Mountain View with her Energy Manipution skill. Once again, a bright spot with hundreds, if not thousands, of human signatures appeared in her magical view. She felt some of the humans approag the settlement and leaving it. More of them were w in the fields. There even were ranger parties sprinkled around the town at a wide radius, fulfilling their duties.

  Business as usual.

  Still, it was too early to decipher any specific details about the people withiown. Too many of them gathered there, mudding Aira's magical vision.

  However, with each day, Aira's senses brought more and more information. Until, finally, she found the signature she was looking for.

  "What is it?" asked Alliot when Aira stopped abruptly. "We haven't reached the right spot yet, haven't we?"

  "No, it's not that," said Aira. "We don't o go there anymore. We go directly to Mountain View. Li is there, I'm sure."

  "Sure, why not," agreed Alliot. "If it saves us any time, I'm all for it."

  The rest of the hike was retively uful. Aira and Alliot avoided human patrols, sensing them from a distance. And they weren't surprised when the forest ended and Mountain View finally appeared in the distance, across the field. That was what they waited for all these days, the goal of their jourhey felt it as they approached the town.

  Somehow, knowily where Li was helped Aira calm down a little bit and not rush in without a pn. The human's signature felt dimmed, feeble. But Aira couldn't say it had ged much sihe st time, a few days ago. At least her dition wasn't deteriorating.

  ***

  Aira and Alliot camped in a nearby forest tize and recuperate some energy. Heeding Alliot's reendations, Aira didn't push them to reach Mountain View in the shortest time. So, she hoped her reserves were in much better dition pared to the moment they arrived at the a facility.

  "Alliot, you sense Li from here?" asked Aira when the camp was ready and hidden well enough from the humans. "Do you feel anything? you add something to what I have?"

  "It's hard for me to distinguish between humans," said Alliot. "Even though I spent weeks with Li, it's still difficult to differentiate her from other vilgers. It's much easier with the enlightened; I feel each person's unique energy patterns. I think you do it much better than me already. But I'll practice to learrick while I have an opportunity."

  "So, what's the pn?" said Aira. "Any reendations? You are the local in the end."

  "I don't have much experieag humans," said Alliot. "It goes against…"

  "Yeah, yeah, I know," said Aira, mog Alliot. "It goes against your beliefs. But you supposedly should be ready to fight against them if they attack. What you tell me?"

  "You probably know more about the defenses of this town than I do," said Alliot. "I provide support. I distract them with some of my skills. I even do that so they won't figure out it was magic. But you should rely on your own powers and experieo get inside and find Li."

  "Distra is a good idea," said Aira. "I don't want to just bst away the gates. It would be better to sneak in unnoticed a Li out as discreetly as possible."

  "So, you know her location," said Alliot. "I'll choose the gate on the opposite side of the town and focus my efforts there. With your boosts, you probably just scale the wall a inside. What about that tunnel you used before?"

  "If they hadn't blocked it or don't patrol it by now, they are pletely stupid and hopeless," said Aira. "But sure, let's check it ter."

  "One more thing I o stress," said Alliot. "Don't harm more people than needed. I just 't dohat. Our mission is to get in and take Li out. Not to punish these humans. You have other things to do after we are done here, aren't you."

  "What's wrong with both of you?" asked Aira. "First, Li didn't allow me to use my powers in full. Now you. And I know it's not something in the air on this phere are plenty of cruel people here. I had experieheir ire myself."

  Alliot shrugged and spread his hands. "It is what it is."

  The town's fortifications didn't impress Aira when she lived in Mountain View. Not that she had many opportuo pay close attention to the town's defenses back then. But now, with her skills at least partially back, she had a much wider range of opportuo better analyze the situation.

  In the old times, in her old world, Aira had been to many castles and fortified areas. She wasn't an expert, but at least she saw a lot. In her world, magic reinforced these defenses, making them even more formidable. Here, the humans had only mao build primitive walls, towers, and checkpoints—structures that would have only been used by the poorest vilges in her world, those without resourages.

  What could she say? Aira wasn't impressed.

  It seemed that this world had abandoned proper fortifications sihe time of the a cities. Enlightened relied on their elemental magiuch. And humans… It seemed like they weren't really expeg an attack. Even if they were stantly retelling all these stories of crazed undead who jumped at any opportunity to eat some fresh human brains.

  Maybe they relied on differehods to protect themselves. But her with her eyes nor with her are powers, Aira wasn't able to find anything.

  But besides the immovable fortifications and Li's precise location, there were also other variables Aira and Alliot had to take into at: rangers, patrolling schedules, and degrees of prote of different elements of the town.

  Aira began analyzing that part earlier, even before they approached Mountain View. As soon as she was able to distinguish separate human signatures, she began fog on the people who mahe walls and patrolled the perimeters.

  "So, we have a day's worth of patrol schedules," said Aira. "Unfortunately, we don't have enough time to watch them for much longer."

  "Let's agree to promise," said Alliot. "Let's wait until this midnight. This will allow you to firm what you already learned yesterday. But also, it will give us more opportuo s other parts of the town to make sure everything is alright."

  "Sure, it would be the best moment to go te in the night, anyway," said Aira. "Humans have to sleep. And even the ones who don't sleep because they are on patrol, they tend to be not as focused when it's dark. In the end, they are not expeg an attack. There's no major force approag the town. And they didn't see any undead."

  "Well, that may ge soon," said Alliot through the party chat with a grim smile.

  ***

  As the bell tower in Mountain View chimed midnight, Aira and Alliot left their hideout to have a visual firmation of the things they khanks to their sehe town was slowly calming down, with only several people remaining ireets. Aira could feel their energy signatures moving slowly in different dires. More people were spread around the settlement's walls: guards and patrols.

  By now, the duo khe positions and schedules of the rangers well enough to have high hopes that Aira would be able to get through to Li's holding location without being noticed.

  But that all was cold logining. Alliot's calcuted touch was all over these pns.

  Aira lusted for a. Her muscles tensed with anticipation as they approached the settlement walls. She ushing the ambient energy through her. The leaves of nearby trees trembled as if whispering in protest, their edges curling ever so slightly as Aira drew power from the air around them. The grass underfoot withered to brittle stalks, snappih her boots as Aira moved forward, her senses afme with stolen energy.

  The thrill of the impending infiltration coursed through her veins, a sensation she somehow avoided in this strange new world. Beside her, Alliot moved with his usual measured grace, his mind no doubt still calg and recalg their odds of success.

  "Stick to the pn," Alliot said. "No risks. No bodies. That's it."

  Aira stole a g Alliot. The only thing she wa that moment was to be sure that Li was fihat nothing terrible happeo her.

  "You'll have to define 'unnecessary'," she said glumly.

  "I'm sure you remember our talks," Alliot said with a bit of annoyan his voice. "Any life is sacred. Even a barbarian human life."

  Aira didn't even try to hide her emotions at using the B-word. Were these snobs ever going to learn?

  "You'll make me always call your people 'undead 'this way," she said. "And that wouldn't be the only sequence of using that kind of nguage."

  "Sorry, Aira," said Alliot. "I didn't mean to antagonize you at su important moment. I promise to improve."

  "Even if I don't like yuage, I wao thank you for being here with me," said Aira. "But… I owe you. Learned a lot about… humans. More than I wanted. More than I thought."

  "Don't tha's duty, that's all," said Alliot. "I'm just fulfilling my duty. But I will say thank you to you, too. Without you, I wouldn't have gotten so muew knowledge about our world. Even if it is knowledge about barb… humans."

  "Arrrgh, I guess it will take some time for you to adjust," said Aira. "So, are you ready?"