Slipping out of the trees and into the rocks at the edge of the clearing, Escora carefully scouted ahead and found some paper talismans hidden around the clearing’s perimeter. Warin went up to study them as Verus focused on sensing the position of the enemy. They didn’t appear to have noticed Verus and his allies yet.

A quick analysis by Warin revealed the talismans to be a simple perimeter alarm. “It’s based around devotion ki. I can disable it easily enough, but we’ll only have a few moments before the caster realizes that it isn’t working properly anymore.”

“That’s more than enough time if we strike fast,” Escora replied with a grin.

Verus crept up closer to her. “I’m not sure I would feel right attacking some of our fellow disciples without warning.”

“They’d do it to us without a second thought,” Escora told him.

“Perhaps, but I hold myself to a higher standard than that.” This earned him a scornful look from Escora, but he kept talking. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t ambush them. I just think we should let them reveal their malicious intent first. Done right, it would cost us nothing.”

Escora was skeptical, but Verus managed to convince her. Thus, he found himself walking alone toward Katar and the other outer disciples a few moments later. His presence triggered the ward and he was in plain sight, so immediately drew their attention.

“What are you doing here?” Katar asked as he stepped into sight, blocking off Verus’s way forward. Two other outer disciples were right behind the fire cultivator. None of them looked friendly, which suited Verus fine.

“After finding an herb, I got separated from my companion Warin and I sensed this ki font,” Verus said as he leaned against a rock as if he was tired. “I came here hoping that he’d also detect it and we could meet up here, but I’m glad to see some fellow disciples from the Great Wind Sect. The forest is very dangerous and full of nasty spirits!”

“I thought someone like you would have been eliminated within the first hour. What’s this about an herb? Hand it over.”

“I don’t think so. You’re not trying to rob your fellow disciple, are you?”

“What are you going to do if I am?” Katar replied with a condescending sneer as he held out his hand. “Run back into the forest full of spirits? Hand it over.”

“No.”

Anger gleamed in Katar’s eyes as his hand clenched into a fist. “That’s fine. I can just take it. It’ll be more fun this way.”

Eyeing the three hostile disciples in front of him warily, Verus raised his hands and took up a combat stance. He was ready to defend himself if they launched a sudden attack, but they didn’t get a chance.

A head-sized orb of water essence fell from above and landed among them, exploding into a wave of concentrated water ki. The force of the blast knocked the two disciples behind Katar right over and staggered him.

“What’s this?” Katar yelped as he struggled to keep his balance.

Neither him nor his allies got time to recover. Verus was already running at them, and he was quickly joined by Escora. She burst out from some rocks behind Katar and charged straight into the fight.

One of the disciples on the ground saw her coming and yelled a warning. Getting one foot under himself, he summoned a clump of grey essence between his hands. Then he pushed it toward Escora, and the earth essence shattered into dozens of jagged shards that exploded toward her.

Escora slid out of the way of the projectiles using some smooth footwork. Her feet slid across the ground as if it was ice, leaving a smoky trail of water ki behind her. Then she shifted her weight and glided straight back toward the earth ki user with surprising speed, kicking him in the chest before he could react.

Verus had to worry about his own fight though. Katar recovered and lashed out before he could completely close the distance between them. Snarling in fury, the other disciple used a now familiar punching motion to send a fireball straight at his foe. Verus waited until he could feel the heat of the flame on his face, and then he used Vanishing Feather Step to disappear.

Katar growled and lashed out at the air with a sweeping low kick, sending a wave of fire out at everything in the general direction of where Verus had been, but he was too late. Experience had taught Verus that Katar was most dangerous at mid-range where he could launch wave after wave of fire at his opponents, so Verus had charged in close right away. Appearing at Katar’s side, he unleashed an aggressive flurry of punches at his enemy, who desperately tried to back away and defend himself.

Meanwhile, the third enemy disciple jumped away from Escora using a technique that caused his robes to flutter as the winds swirled around him and carried him. He got some impressive height and distance, but then a water whip slammed into him, knocking him out of the air and sending him rolling across the ground.

That was when the fourth enemy stepped into sight, a plain-looking young woman. With a startled look, she took in the fight before drawing a sword and stepping forward to join in. Unfortunately for her, her presence wasn’t a surprise. As per the plan, Warin suddenly appeared right behind her and grabbed her. With one hand on her sword-arm’s wrist and the other around her waist, he picked her off the ground. She squeaked in surprise, but he wasn’t done. A split second later, he slammed her into the ground and quickly disarmed her. With his weight on her back, it was unlikely she’d be able to get back up.

“It’s just you and me now. All your allies are down,” Verus told his foe. “Do you still feel confident enough to take whatever you want from me?”

In response, Katar glanced around fearfully, which gave Verus an opening. He feinted with a jab that drew Katar’s attention, and then kicked him hard in the ribs while he was distracted. The blow landed with a thud that drove the air from the other disciple’s lungs, and he stumbled back.

“I give up!” Katar croaked as he held up his hands in surrender. Verus had been stepping forward to strike again, but he stopped. As much as he disliked him, he had no desire to beat on someone who’d surrendered.

“Good job being the distraction,” Escora said from where she was standing over the fallen forms of her own two opponents. “Now bring him over here. We’ll tie these fools up with their own rope,”

Moving quickly at her orders, Warin and Verus dragged their defeated foes over to Escora and then tied them up. The ropes wouldn’t hold them long, but it would prevent them from causing trouble while they were still around. The two that had fought Escora were unconscious, so they just left them on the ground next to Katar.

“Now, the good part. The looting,” Escora announced as she rubbed her hands together.

“Hey!” Katar said indignantly.

Escora glared at him. “Shut up. You have no right to complain about a little robbery.”

“We’ll leave you what you need to survive,” Verus added in consolation. That was probably more than they would have left him.

It didn’t take long for Escora to start rummaging through bags and clothing while Katar watched with growing fury. Most of what she found was basic survival gear like their own, but she did discover some items of value. She claimed the woman’s sword, a ki-powered lantern, and a brass disc with a red gem in the center. Warin also wandered over and took the pick of their food stores.

“What’s that disc for?” Verus asked.

“It’s a basic scrying tool. I’ve seen them around. It’s supposed to boost your ability to sense your surroundings if you use it as a focus.”

“Oh, that sounds useful,” Verus replied with interest.

“Ya, I’d bet you anything it’s how they found this place, and I’m sure you can get even more use out of it,” Escora said as he handed the disc over to him.

“I wonder how many other groups are using focuses like this,” Verus mused aloud as he studied the disc. He could see several glyphs etched in the metal around the red gem.

Escora huffed. “Probably most of them. They’re expensive, but nothing some spoiled imperials couldn’t beg their parents for. This isn’t really supposed to be a fair competition.”

Warin laughed. “Well, the gap between us and some of the others has closed quite a bit now.”

“Exactly, this is a hunt. There’s no way we’d be able to compete unless we act aggressively.”

An amused grin appeared on Verus’s face. “…and loot everything of value from our fellow disciples.”

If anyone had told him this is what he’d be doing at the main temple of his sect, he wouldn’t have believed them.

There wasn’t really anything of value for them at the stone obelisk since none of them were earth cultivators, so they left their defeated foes behind and headed back into the forest. The plan was still to head toward the tower that lay at the center of the Reaches.

As they walked, Verus experimented with his new scrying disc. It took him a few tries to figure out how it worked, but operating it was simple enough. Focusing his spirit through the gem extended the range and sensitivity of his ki sense. It boosted him by about half of his own abilities. The glyphs on the disc represented elements and pressing them brought that element to the fore, making them easier to detect and study. It was a quite a useful feature, although it was limited to only the most basic types of ki. Verus proudly noticed that none of the glyphs represented negative elements. Human ki was one of the options, but sensing people was still difficult in the thick ki of the Reaches, especially since it wasn’t always the strongest type of ki cultivators emitted.

The scryer device proved its worth later that day when they stopped to scan their surroundings. Verus detected another spiritual herb that Escora recognized as having healing properties. He also detected a source of fire ki, but that turned out to be a soul bird of some kind that quickly flew away. Soon, it began to grow dark. Everyone was tired after hiking, fighting, and chasing birds, so they set up camp and went to bed early.

The next day proved less eventful but still rewarding. Since they’d left the other disciples behind and appeared to be safe, they spent the day resting and cultivating next to a small bubbling spring. It would have more efficient for Verus and Warin if they had elemental attunements, but absorbing the thick ki in the forest still speeded their cultivation progress greatly.

Over the following days, they hiked toward the center, although their progress was greatly slowed because they ended up scouring the forest for treasure. A lot of what Verus detected turned out to be spirits or more small soul beasts. They also stumbled upon the occasional small ki font, several more herbs, and some stones that emitted light ki.

On their sixth day in the Algorian Reaches, they pushed through some thick bushes and found themselves almost face-to-face with a huge stag with wide antlers. It was obviously a soul beast, but none of them had sensed it. Thankfully, the stag simply snorted at them and then bounded away. Still, they took the event as a lesson in humility. They’d grown confident and used to the forest, so they’d let their guard drop. As they moved, they moved more cautiously.

That afternoon, when they stopped to let him scan the forest, he detected something weird. He almost missed it, but he’d gotten in the habit of feeling the nearby ki quite thoroughly in an attempt to use the scryer to develop his own senses and understanding of ki. Thus, when he sensed a oddly muted area behind them, he thought he’d found a source of negative ki, but then he realized it was more like something was purposely camouflaging its ki in with its surroundings. Also, whatever it was, it was moving in their direction along the path they’d left behind them.

Hurrying over to Escora, Verus leaned close to whisper to her. “Something is stalking us, and it’s coming fast!”