He stalked along the hanging Skywood branches, moving from one tree to the next as if over a well-worn pathway. Though the darkness of night remained a debilitating presence, his eyes had grown more accustomed to the lack of illumination. For the moment, he had shoved aside his distracting emotions; he would achieve nothing if he were to perish in the night.

Dharen’s course was painfully slow; he was forced to take numerous detours along his journey. Though he had attempted to avoid activating Softstep and Miasmic Wreath in order to conserve his heavily-diminished spirit, he soon found his pool had run completely dry.

Dharen knew that, though he may have successfully distracted his pursuers for the moment, growing careless could very well spell his untimely demise. Reminded by the thought, he glanced over the edge of the large branch that he traversed. Below him was an endless abyss of darkness, a depth of which his eyes could not hope to penetrate. Between the overwhelming height to which he had climbed and the pervasive shadows of the night, he was unable to properly gauge his location via landmarks from above. He could only trust in his sense of direction to bring him along the correct path.

The tiring combination of fighting, fleeing, and traversing the jungle had left him exhausted despite his greatly increased Endurance - leaving him with little desire to move more quickly than necessary. This only allowed him greater time within which to simmer in his own wrath. Both at himself, and at Duende. Though he knew that he had lost full control of his own mind the moment that Duende had begun to affect him, he still couldn’t help but blame himself for having fallen into the man’s trap.

Despite having seen evidence that, even in the Tower, humans could still be as self-serving as always, he had allowed his old instincts and habits to falter.He had found himself more focused on the threats of monsters and battles, forgetting that some of the greatest dangers always came from the same source: self-serving men with honeyed words and manipulating minds.

Dharen avowed that he would be more vigilant among his fellow climbers of the Tower in the future. He was unsure, however, on the proper way to prevent a recurrence of his previous predicament. He was well aware that his Miasmic Cloak could only protect him from mental influences while it was activated, rendering it useless as a form of protection if he was affected by a strong mental compulsion or influence unprepared.

Still, Dharen’s sense of betrayal and paranoia would not accept a total lack of reliable countermeasures. Though he was unable to find a permanent solution for the moment, he resolved that he would make a habit of briefly flashing his Miasmic Cloak at least once per day. Hopefully, such a precaution would at the very least prevent him from becoming entrapped for an extended period of time in someone’s web of influence once more - though it would not protect him constantly. Even so, it was an acceptable solution for the moment.

At another rustling in the nearby canopy, Dharen once more pressed himself against the wood of the branch below. He flattened his body, seeking to become one with the night around him. The air roared above him, and out of the corner of his eye he spotted a fantastical creature soar from the sheltering embrace of the canopy overhead.

The monster swooped its many powerful wings as it rippled through the air. Dwarfed by the beast, Dharen could only watch as it weaved back and forth among the gargantuan Skywoods, its scales glowing luminously in the night as if to announce its disdain for camouflage or obscurity; this was a proud creature, a predator among predators. As it passed, Dharen felt an immense aura of Hunger that filled the air, flattening him further against his perch. The aura pressed against him, eliciting a fierce hunger of his own.

With a snakelike appearance that was coupled with a multitude of wings abutting its fifty meter length, it eventually wrapped itself around a nearby Skywood tree before slithering its way back into the shrouding leaves of the canopy above.

Dharen felt a brief chill, as he was reminded that creatures far more dangerous than the Nulzan existed and thrived. Such creatures were the reasons that humans remained restricted to their own kingdoms and bastions despite their growing power following the Ascension. It was only little by little, piece by piece, that humanity could take over and settle new lands. Without proper caution, one might encounter a monster that came straight out of legend - a foe that would leave nothing alive in its wake.

He waited for a few minutes, unwilling to move for fear of alerting the strange creature despite the distance between them. Though he inwardly winced at the thought of staying in the jungle any longer with his empty Spirit pool, he knew that an unwise decision could end his life here and now.

Finally, he decided that he should be safe to continue on his journey. Reaching the terminus point of his current Skywood’s bough, Dharen steeled his exhausted limbs and performed a running leap. He soared through the air, his powerful muscles propelling him across the required distance despite his growing enervation. Just as he landed upon his new branch pathway, Dharen pulled himself into a roll. His feet touched down upon the wood carefully, his arrival relatively quiet despite the forceful impact of such a leap.

In this way, Dharen slowly continued his journey. As the light of dawn began to slowly peek its way through the gaps between the leaves, Dharen finally managed to find his own teleporter. With the newly-arrived light allowing him a better view of the environment below, it took him only a few adjustments in his course to correct his trajectory. Looking down from above, he sighed. It was a long way down.

Though he had already found the teleporter, it took a little more searching to navigate a way down. He was forced to travel from branch to branch, constantly on the lookout for slightly lower branches to which he could jump down safely. With his Vitality, he was able to jump down safely from much greater distances than should be possible, giving him the advantage he needed to reach the ground safely once more. From there, it was a simple matter to traverse to the teleporter.

As he reached the clearing housing the teleporter that was keyed to himself, he felt a sigh of relief leave his body. Even so, the tension that he felt did not leave his body. Now freed from the distraction of successfully returning, he felt his mind boil over with rage once more. It thrashed and foamed at the exploitation that it had experienced. Having broken its shackles, it wanted nothing more than to go straight for the throat of its former captor.

He reigned his emotions back in. As much as he might wish to tear out Duende’s throat, to rip out his tongue and rend apart his limbs, he knew that his revenge would not be so easy. Duende had mentioned that murderers within the city would suffer a wiping away of their Contribution Points. However, after asking around, Dharen had found that there was a more punishing aspect involved.

If Contribution Points were merely wiped away in response to a murder, then would-be-killers might simply spend all of their Contribution Points before committing a murder. They could then simply earn enough immediately afterwards to outpace the upcoming tax and avoid meaningful punishment. Yet, this was not the case. Committing a murder would instead cause the next tax to instead be result in an instant eradication. Thus, it was a death sentence with only one day at most of leeway. And of course, making enough points to leave the floor in that small window just didn’t happen.

Therein lay Dharen’s difficulty. He himself was unwilling to sacrifice his life to achieve his revenge upon Duende. However, he was under no illusions that the man wouldn’t have some countermeasures at hand to deal with detractors. At the very least, he would likely be able to convince some poor fool to lay down his life to murder Dharen should his suspicions be aroused. A certain degree of caution would be required, as well as allies.

Calming his nerves, Dharen stepped onto the teleporter and activated the array. A flash of light later, and he found himself inside the Vezian Spire once more.