Orrin and Madi appeared near the front gate of her house. Almost nobody was around, just one guard he didn’t even recognize.

“Hmm. I guess this is as close as I can get us with your dad’s teleport block up,” Orrin mused as a single guard opened the door for them. “I should probably tell Daniel I’ll be gone for a few days. He’s going to be pissed.”

Madi dropped her short spear off in a circular grate that Orrin had taken for a trashcan but saw was actually for quick storage of weapons. Sort of like an umbrella stand, he thought. Practical.

“Why? Where are you going?” Madi asked as they headed up the stairs. “We should really all stick around until my father returns from dealing with the Fogbinder.”

“I’m using a skill that has really bad backlash,” Orrin explained. “I’m probably going to be out sick. Like incapacitated for a few days. Sorry I won’t be able to help much with reconstruction. But if anyone needs healing before I go, I could probably just push it a bit more.”

Madi frowned a bit. “Is this related to your...” she lowered her voice to a whisper. “blood magic?”

“Uhm. A bit,” Orrin hedged. He really didn’t want to share much with Madi. She had come through for him in the Hospital’s field and from what he’d heard of the conversations between the healers and her, put herself in the line of fire for him. But one good deed was not going to make up for what she and her father had done to him and Daniel. Not by a long shot.

“Okay, I won’t pry,” Madi said with a forced smile. “Daniel said he would be in his room, so let’s find him and tell him how you single-handedly healed half the workforce of Dey.”

“It was only two hundred-ish people. I’m sure Dey has way more people than that.”

Madi shook her head and pushed Orrin ahead of her. “You idiot. You healed about how many people a single good healer can take care of in a year. You took care of the people so hurt, that their families had brought them out during a lockdown. Anyone else who needs help will get it now...because you took care of the worst of it.”

Orrin pushed the door to his room open and stepped inside. “Yeah, well. I’m a cheater.” He yelled into the room, “Daniel?”

No response. Nobody was in the room.

“That stupid piece of shit.” Orrin kicked a bundle of clothes on the floor.

He pulled up his [Map] as Madi walked in.

“Where is he?” She looked around the mess as if expecting to see his dark curls pop up from under a book. “He said he’d be here waiting for us.”

Nothing on the map, Orrin thought. He definitely went after the Fogbinder, but I have no idea where that would be located. Maybe we can find Brandt or even Silas. They’d know.

“Madi, where would your father be located? Or Brandt?”

“They’d be at the Wall, the westernmost one overlooking the Pass. Orrin, what is going on?”

Orrin sighed. “Daniel went out to play hero.”

Their run through the streets was vastly different from Orrin’s last time through the city. Dey was deserted.

Doors to shops and homes were closed tight, windows were shuttered, and even the homeless had found somewhere else to be.

However, the biggest differences were the smell...and the blood.

Small splashes against a wall told the story of a quick attack. The small drops that trailed to a closed door meant the person probably got away. A pool of congealing gore near another door, with bloody fist prints by the knocker, told a gloomier story. Orrin spotted telltale signs of assaults, death, and the occasional escape as they ran.

“Where are all the bodies?”

“Civilians will bring people inside once they can. Bodies piling up would bring more monsters inside the walls,” Madi said between deep breaths. They’d stopped near a leatherworking shop to catch their breath.

They made it to the Wall in short order. I’m getting better at these terrible runs at least, Orrin thought.

The guards at the first Wall were watching toward the Pass and didn’t try to stop two armored people from running into the fray. Orrin suddenly remembered the Guild required members to fight in Horde attacks.

“Did your father take care of the Guild when we ran too?”

“What?”

“Guild members are supposed to help fight in a Horde attack, right? Are we going to be kicked out?” Orrin huffed out the question.

“He’s taken care of it. Also, attacking a dungeon counts as our monthly quest, so we should be good for a few weeks.”

Orrin had completely forgotten about the monthly quest requirement too. Maybe after he saved Daniel’s bacon again, and spent a few days convalescing at Tony’s place, he’d go check out that quest board. He really needed to plan out more spells and skills to buy-

Stop it, Orrin told himself. He noticed that while using [Mind Bastion], he had a tendency to spend a lot of time planning his theoretical future actions. Just get through today alive.

As they got closer to the final Wall, Orrin turned them south.

“The main gate is where my father will likely be.” Madi pointed back north.

“Brandt is down here,” Orrin said as he ran. “He never left the party.”

“Why would he leave the party?”

“I don’t know how fighting a Horde works,” Orrin yelled over his shoulder. “I’m just glad he’ll be easy to find.”

Orrin and Madi stopped near a smaller gate about a half-mile south of the main gate. A door on the inside of the Wall was propped open with a tight stairwell circling up.

“This should lead to the top,” Madi said as she got in front of Orrin. “Let me go first. Someone should recognize me.”

Orrin didn’t argue. Soon his legs were burning from climbing stairs after running so much.

I’m buying [Track Star] as soon as I can find it.

At the top of the stairs, another door opened to a beautiful view of the Pass. Orrin could see the forest spread out in front of him, with the sun beating down against the mountains on either side.

“Stop! You shouldn’t be up here,” a voice demanded from the side.

“I’m Lady Catanzano, looking for Sir Bennett. Bring me to him,” Madi demanded with authority in her voice.

“Glad I brought you along,” Orrin joked.

The young guard brought Brandt back less than a minute later.

“Mad- Lady Catanzano? What are you doing on the Wall? It isn’t safe here.” Brandt pushed them back into the small stairwell.

“We think Daniel went after the Fogbinder. He’s not at the house,” Madi explained quickly. “Have you seen him?”

“I haven’t,” Brandt said with a frown. “Are you sure he went after it? Dragoon team should have reached it by now. They had quite the head start.”

“He’s not showing up on my [Map]. How far out is that team?” Orrin asked.

“I don’t know specifics, the only thing I was told was it was a few miles out.”

Damn it. I really need to upgrade [Map] to see farther out.

Orrin realized he had never checked the blinking blue box icon for his healing quest.

Quest Complete

Heal 200 people of Dey

Reward: [Heal Small Wounds], level three- heal up to 40 HP. 20 MP.

Useless, Orrin discarded the box.

“Would you be able to check who passed the gates?” Orrin asked without hope.

“I can ask, but command structure is pretty shot right now. Give me a few minutes.” Brandt stopped as he turned to leave. “Orrin, if he did go out there...he might not come back. The lowest ranked member of Dragoon team is about thirty-nine or forty in level. They have ten people and the brass are already talking as if they’re all dead.”

Orrin paused as processed that information. “He’ll be fine.”

“I hope you’re right. For all our sakes.”

As Brandt left to investigate, Orrin sat against the wall and closed his eyes. He still felt fine but he’d gone through more mana pools this morning than in the few days before his first crash.

“Are you going to be alright?” Madi asked as she sat down next to him.

“Yeah.”

“You really think Daniel will be okay?”

Orrin let out a dry laugh. “That asshole has more luck than anyone I’ve ever met. He’ll get into trouble and find some way out of it.”

Madi sat quietly next to him as they waited.

“Someone at the main gate matching his description passed through an hour ago,” Brandt said as he rounded the corner at a run. “Madi, your father has demanded you return home with Orrin. He’s sending a team out to find him.”

“Sorry, no. I’m going after him. I can [Teleport] him back.” Orrin stood up and squinted against the sun.

“Lord Catanzano sent a flier out for reconnaissance. We’ll be able to send out a mage with [Teleport] and grab him. Don’t worry. Just go back.”

“Brandt, point me in the right direction. I don’t want to waste time arguing with you. I’m going to go find him and then I’m going to kick his ass all the way back to the Wall. He lied to us and did something stupid again.”

“And so will you be,” Madi cut in. “If you go out there alone, you’ll be killed. You just spent so much mana healing all those people. Let’s go rest and let the guard do its job.”

Orrin felt [Mind Bastion] taking the rational parts of her argument and agreeing. The more time he spent pushing off the effects of his huge mana usage, the worse the backlash would be. But another part of him was remembering one of their first conversations after reaching Dey.

We start with three simple rules. One, survive. Two, we’re a team. Three, find a way home.

You really make it hard to survive when you run off alone. Orrin frowned as he readied himself to [Teleport] away.

“Wait!” Brandt yelled and grabbed his arm. “Don’t jump away. If you are going to leave anyway...”

He turned, still holding Orrin’s arm in a vice grip. He pointed to the southern ridgeline of the Pass. “The Fogbinder is sticking to the bottom of the Pass. There are a few caves and forested areas that way. It still has a few hundred Fetid Canines and Kniferunners with it that it didn't try to send over the Walls. Just get in and out. Don’t try taking that thing on. Dragoon team is out to keep track of the demon. It’ll try to circle back and they’re giving their lives to keep pressure on it until we can regroup and get another strategy in place to deal with it. Promise me, Orrin. Get the [Hero] back safely and don’t engage.”

“I’m not the idiot that went out after it,” Orrin muttered. “I promise. In and out. I’ll keep [Camouflage] up the entire time.”

Brandt nodded as he finally released Orrin’s arm. “I’d go with you but...”

“You have to stay here. Figure out a way to take it down when it comes back. I understand.”

Madi’s hand gripped the same spot Brandt had just released. “I’ll come with you.”

“No,” Brandt said immediately.

“Sorry, no way,” Orrin agreed. “You need to get to safety too. I can’t keep you safe while I’m looking for Daniel.”

Madi opened her mouth to argue but Brandt pushed between them. He mouthed ‘go’ to Orrin and started talking to Madi. She started to say something else but Orrin [Teleported] to the tree line he could see inside the Pass, leaving Brandt to deal with her.

He landed on his feet with...not with grace but at least something approaching it this time. Teleporting was getting easier. Orrin looked out at the open fields next to the spotty forests that dotted the miles around him.

I’m coming, Daniel. Please don’t be dead.