When people had started to mention the Sha Forest, I had imagined something along the same lines as the Everwood – cool shade, huge trees and relatively little underbrush. It would not be far from the mark to say that I was mistaken, in fact, it would be something of an understatement. The Sha Forest was, it turned out, a massive rain forest. A seemingly endless jungle of dense brush and trees stretching hundreds of feet into the air. Speaking of air, it was wet and thick, and really made me miss my sleeveless gi; as it was, I was making do with my normal clothes, just without the robe. The forest reminded me a little of the Black, as is it was quite dark at the ground level, but there were enough differences that I could dismiss the small niggling fear of sharp-toothed elves stepping out from behind the huge trees.

It had taken us a week to reach the forest on the back of the Plainsrunner, though the journey had thankfully been free of attack since our encounter with V. Darina had not said much after our near-death, and I had been tempted to offer an olive branch, but I had held tight to my determination to not take credit for other people’s mistakes, and while it did not seem like my dressing down had promoted any friendship between us, it had certainly resulted in a much easier traveling atmosphere.

The four of us were still practicing every night, and whenever we had time in the evening. I was starting to notice a real increase in my precognitive reaction times, though as exciting as that was, it was not the most exciting thing to happen on our trip. Spending another week without having to expend much Praxis had resulted in my being able to fill up a whole fifth of my centre. From what I had been able to gather, the rate it was growing at was a little bit abnormal, though I was attributing a lot of that to things not being quite so novel for most of the people who grew on this plane; most experiences were just more for me. In many ways, it was like being a child, which is when most kids there completed their Foci almost passively, so it made sense. Either that, or I was a prodigy, but who is that big headed?

A wild, eerie shriek pulled my attention back to the hot, sticky present and I tensed for a moment, but Darina and Riffa just seemed to ignore it, so I dismissed the incredibly creepy noise and followed after my friends.

“We’ll be entering the thundering apes’ territory soon; the phoenix Elder’s territory is on the other side of that mountain.” The apprentice spoke for the first time that day, and pointed to a barely visible peak through a small break in the canopy. It was the most she had said in days, usually answering our questions by pointing or gesturing with her head.

“With curiosity, I have heard they are strong. Are they aggressive? Should we perhaps circumvent their territory?” Reff’s words suggested caution, but I could hear a slight undercurrent of excitement in his voice; the risi may have been a bunch of artists on the other world, but my friend definitely enjoyed fighting – when the odds were not hugely stacked against him - and while that had not been apparent when we first met due to his taciturn nature, as I had spent more time with him and grown used to risi body language, it had become more apparent.

“They can be territorial, though they are only really aggressive if another strong beast enters their territory, or if you try to steal from them... or attack them. They will chase off a dragon but will usually leave people alone; my village was within their territory, and there were no issues. We should be fine.” I recalled her story about meeting Sonja and about losing her fight with a young ape; I could easily imagine the headstrong and aggressive apprentice attacking something that could chase a dragon away.

“In expansion, I believe they are born at the equivalent level of a Peak Core stage cultivator and only grow stronger with age.” Riffa, who knew her brother’s nature, was definitely giving a warning to my friend and I had to grin at the two of them once more as he frowned at her and nodded reluctantly in acknowledgment.

Around midday, we encountered a huge river flowing away from the mountain we were heading towards, so we decided to follow it, as it was a little cooler closer to water than it was otherwise, even if it was a touch more humid. As we walked alongside the rapidly moving water, I caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of my eye and turned to see dozens of snakes flying above the river. They were all between four and five feet long and glittered with colours as they moved, iridescent in the light and reflecting colours from all over the spectrum, though they seemed to favour greens and blues more. Their wings were nearly invisible, mere glittering blurs like a hummingbird on speed. I stopped to watch them for a few moments as they darted about, snapping insects out of the air. Every once a while, a snake’s wings would come to a stop and they would glide for a distance before they snapped back into motion; the wings ran for maybe a third the total length of their sinuous bodies and were covered in complex patterns. They were incredibly beautiful and I was glad I had taken the time to stop and take them in; Darina had mostly ignored them, and I guessed she had seen them often enough in her life to consider them normal, which I thought a little sad. The siblings however were stood a short distance away from me, watching the flying snakes just like me. I thought I heard distant thunder and a tremble run through the earth beneath my feet, but I was preoccupied with Experiencing the wondrous creatures before me, intent on taking as much about them in as possible.

“They’re called Alaspins. They can sense and manipulate emotions; they fascinate you, spraying a paralytic into your face when you’re entranced, before eating you alive.” Darina’s voice came from behind us, and I blinked at her words, coming back to myself and finally completely pulling my eyes away from the beautiful – and apparently terrifying – snakes. I shivered as my fascination passed; they were still beautiful, but not so much that I wanted to stand about all day staring at them when we had a job to do.

“Thanks for the heads up. I’ve been eaten enough for a single lifetime, I think.” I nodded at her and she turned without another word to carry on leading the way. With a shrug, I followed after, just behind Reff and Riffa, my eyes turned firmly away from the still flitting serpents.

*

***

*

Hours later, we came upon a clearing in the dense jungle, though this one did not seem to be natural. The trees were smashed aside and the damp brush was smouldering; there was a sharp, sour smell I was all too familiar with and I wondered what exactly had killed the twenty or so black clad figures lying about the floor. Some of them were intact, if bent at odd angles while others seemed to have been ripped in two or limb from limb. About half were burnt and crispy. It reminded me of the aftermath of my loss of control, back in the Black, but with an order of magnitude more destruction.

The four of us stooped at the edge of the broken clearing, searching around us for the cause, but finding nothing.

“This looks like a thundering ape attack, and these look like the people who attacked us.” Darina was right; looking closer, the scattered bodies did seem to be wearing the same uniform black outfits I had always encountered the Risen Throne in. Without any further words, we spread out into the freshly open space and began to search the bodies and finding exactly what I feared – the pendants that seem to signify membership. I always looted a bunch of storage rings – which I slipped onto my left hand to check out later - and another 6000 growth coins, which very nicely topped up my purse. While it was troubling that the shady organization had apparently made it here ahead of us and had laid in wait, it was also mildly gratifying to have them provide the funds to replace my ruined clothing. In fact, it occurred to me that they had purchased all of my clothing to date. Other than the kidnapping, torture and attempted genocide, they were pretty alright, at least as sources of income. Certainly, more efficient than beast hunting.

The bodies looted, we reconvened at the centre of the clearing, looking around us at the carnage.

“So, if this was the apes, I wonder what these dipshits did to piss them off. Were they here for us, and just accidentally annoyed the apes, or... maybe they were looking for another ingredient like the egg? Do the apes produce anything comparable, Darina?”

“As far as I know, beyond the quality of their cores, it is said that a transformed thundering ape’s pelt will continue to produce electricity. But no party so small would be foolish enough to try; thundering apes attack as a group, and their Elder does not take kindly to such pursuits.” Not a single insult or dirty look was contained within the tiny apprentice’s reply to me and it would be no exaggeration to say it was a little shocking. Not that I was going to say anything about it, she might change her mind.

“They transform? Into what, lightning? Wait, they have an Elder too? I thought Apexes were rare?”

Maybe it was due to how many Apexes I had encountered since my arrival, with the Elders thrown on top but they did not seem particularly rare to me at that moment, though realistically I knew it was purely a matter of perception.

“With careful wording, I believe beasts are not subjected to the same... exacting... standards as others. Cultivators that attain the Apex are carefully vetted, and I believe the reason why has been revealed to us both by Walker.” I recalled Walker’s tale of the Multiplicitous Self, and I could see the wisdom in preventing anybody of a less stable, more murdery nature from walking about with that sort of power.

Darina and Riffa were looking at the two of us with raised eyebrows, clearly waiting for an explanation, but Walker had indicated it was something of a secret, and without him – or another Apex – there to give the go-ahead, I did not think either of us was comfortable letting it slip.

“It’s not really for us to say, sorry. You’d need to ask your master, or brother. It’s an Apex thing.”

The two women nodded and I was about to suggest we leave when a peal of eerie laughter that seemed to come from all around us rang out. Turning quickly, I saw a man in a light grey suit leaning casually against a tree, his face concealed by an inconvenient shadow. Next to him stood another figure, this one strangely slender and proportioned in a way that screamed, ‘wrong’; it stood about the same height of my mentor, but its arms reached as low as its knees. It wore a cuirass of interlocking black plates, and a helmet with no visible gaps, which attached to the chest armour via a thick gorget. It stood perfectly, unnaturally still in a way that even Riffa’s clones did not, though something told me that it was ready to spring at a moment's notice. Around the two, darkness gathered, as if the light itself was repelled.

I recognized the man in grey, of course, though I still could not see his face; this was the man that had opened the door to the Black, and who had left me to be Devoured. The flat yet manic laughter came again, echoing off the trees, and though I could not see his eyes, I knew they were locked on us.

“If it isn’t the little World Walking Almost-Snack... And friends, it seems. It’s good to have friends, it means there’s always food on hand.” The dead laughter came again and I felt my friends shifting around me, and I quickly looked around and shook my head at them; I did not know how strong this man was, but I knew he could do things Walker thought impossible.

“And these friends are actual snacks, so thoughtful, Little Meal. I’ll be more than happy to relieve you three of your existence, to send you to the sweet peace of oblivion; but business before pleasure. Did you all do this?” The Shadow Faced Guy gestured around us at the scattered bodies with one hand. “On the one hand, they’re no longer plagued by that damned voice – which I commend - but on the other, we find it really quite inconvenient.” As he spoke the last words, the madness fell away from his tone and for a moment he seemed terribly rational.

“No, of course this wasn’t you... Too much damage, and all from a single source. You know, little snacks, we sometimes wish I had made different choices, but I was so different back then, before the voice... Never mind all that though, our prying friends! Little Meal, we’re going to need that egg back; it was irresponsible to give it to you, but we weren’t ourself at the time, or maybe it was me...”

“Yeah, sorry, I don’t have it. An Apex took it, said it would make a great omelette.” Okay, it was not the best lie but I was a bit on the spot, what was my alternative, ‘...No!’?

“Hmm, we think you’re lying. It’s understandable to lie, I used to lie a lot, to fit in. But I don’t fit anymore, so it seems like a waste. You don’t want to go to waste, do you?”

I was going to answer; even though he seemed to be really fucking insane, answering him seemed somehow better than silence; for some reason, I thought silence would only provoke him. I say I was going to answer, because I did not get chance; as I opened my mouth to respond, black chains ripped out of the shadows around him to wrap around my arms and legs in a movement so fast that even my Instinctive Precognition had no time to warn me. I was lifted into the air spread eagle and even as I felt the heat of Reff’s molten armour adding to the humid warmth of the jungle, the strange still figure of The Shadow Faced Guy’s companion shifted unnaturally, jerking in quick movements like a spider before vanishing with a snap. I heard a commotion below and behind me that suggested a fight, and while I hoped the sound of heavy impacts was my friends winning, nothing about this seemed to be going our way.

“We really much insist you give us the egg. It has proven... troublesome... to send certain people to their rightful oblivion, which is to say, the plague created using the egg is the only way we’ve found, short of joining them at those heady heights! Now, while you’re not worth eating yet, your friend will make fine snacks, though the little one has an interesting ability. Maybe she’ll join my ranks once we’re done? Perhaps if you give me the egg, we will let them go? It’s a possibility, certainly; I know, we've run the numbers. What do you say- Oh, see now this is what I meant. No time for niceties, there’s an Apex coming. You have to hand it to me, I tried, right? Get it? Hand it to me?” The insane, dead laughter was back as the man laughed at this own apparent joke. Having no idea what he was referring to, and curious at the mention of an Apex, I opened my mouth to ask him what he was talking about.

“Wh-ARGH!” The black chain around my left arm tightened and pulled and with a tear, my forearm was ripped away from me with a spurt of blood. I screamed, and my voice tore as the pain hit me. I pulled what was left of my arm to my chest reflexively, before I was dropped to the forest floor all at once, the chains vanishing as if into smoke.

As I hung desperately onto consciousness, I heard an impact a short distance away like a boulder falling out of the air, followed by a voice at least as deep as Reff’s brother.

“Great, more humans. I don’t suppose you have that peacock’s egg?”