Tormacc and Athra spent three days moving away from their previous location before they went back to killing Stone Giants. Most of the skills Tormacc unlocked weren’t that helpful for killing the giants, but every little bit helped, and between the two of them they were usually able to kill at least seven or eight monsters in a day. Compared to his time killing rats the Essence gain much smaller, but he didn’t feel like complaining. Not only was his current pace safe, but he also had a companion to talk to. Athra wasn’t the best conversation partner, but even when she didn’t talk her presence filled a void that Tormacc didn’t know existed.

It was small things, like how her face would freeze when she was confused by something he said. It was difficult to read her facial expressions, but he was getting better, as the weeks went by the two of them established a comradery built on mutual respect. Though neither of them would have admitted it, it was lonely to fight monsters by yourself. Having another person there to talk to helped pass the time, even with the cultural barriers that sometimes cropped up.

A month passed by like that, during which three pieces of loot dropped, with the first one going to Athra. The second one, which was Tormacc’s, was only a White Crystal, which was disappointing, but he was hoping the fourth loot drop would be more useful. Athra didn’t speak up about what she got, but judging by her facial expressions, or the lack thereof, he thought she only got White Crystals too. It was disappointing, but not unexpected. It was rare to come across swarms of weaker monsters like the stone rats he had fought before. Most monsters were individually strong, meaning it was hard to kill them en masse.

From talking to Athra, he found out that his weakness was what had saved him when fighting the stone rats. Athra had run into them herself in the past, but immediately the big boss rat had shown up, forcing her to retreat for fear of her life. The boss rat had likely not considered him a threat when he was first fighting the rats, meaning he was able to kill a greater number of them. The rats only had the intelligence of a small child, and because Tormacc started out so weak, the rats hadn’t truly considered him a threat until he had killed thousands of them.

It was similar to how you could boil a frog alive. The frog wouldn’t realize the temperature was slowly being raised, and before it realized, it was too late. It was likely a similar story with the rats. The boss rat didn’t perceive Tormacc as a threat, and because of that, he was given time to power up, eventually killing more rats than someone like Athra, who was immediately perceived as a threat and met with a substantial amount of force.

It was also his ignorance that had even given him the confidence to fight the rats. When he first told Athra about it she had looked at his askance, as if he was a crazy person with a death wish. It turned out that, from what Athra said, the more monsters there were in a group, the scarier they were. If a bunch of weak monsters were running around waiting to be killed it would break the balance of The Tower, as whoever killed them would gain thousands of Essence and, more importantly, numerous loot drops.

Thankfully he had survived the experience, but once again it hammered home the importance of proper information and taking things slow and steady. He had a feeling that his previous experiences fighting for his life wouldn’t be his last, but that was no reason to seek out life-threatening battles.

With Athra, he didn’t have to worry about that. She was a steadying presence, and he couldn’t picture her taking risks the same way he had been forced to. Even after spending a month with her he still felt that she hadn’t laid all her cards on the table. It felt like if he chipped layers off her there would always be that new type of rock hidden underneath. Perhaps literally, as he had never seen her get injured.

But their peaceful journey couldn’t continue forever, and it was soon after they finished felling a Stone Giant that they two of them heard someone calling out to them.

“Hello! Excuse me, would you mind if I joined the two of you for a moment? I have a proposition that you might be interested in.”

Immediately on guard, Tormacc zeroed in on the voice, peering through the dust to see who it was that called out to them. As the dust cleared from the Stone Giant falling settled down the speaker was revealed.

She was a woman, her small frame seemingly out of place in the harsh environment of the Shard. She was short, and Tormacc thought she would barely reach his upper chest were they to stand next to each other. She had cropped, dark hair and fair skin, and were they anywhere else he wouldn’t have classified her as a threat. But considering their present location, anyone who managed to look that non-threatening most certainly had something up her sleeves.

After her opening line, the woman stood there, not coming any closer, acting like she was actually waiting for a response and was unwilling to spook them before that. Tormacc sidled over to Athra to discuss the strange woman, keeping her in his sight the whole way.

“Well,” he hissed to Athra, “what do you think?”

“She is trouble,” Athra said, her voice taking on a timbre he had learned to associate with seriousness.

“So we should run away then?”

Athra paused, turning into a statue for a solid minute before finally answering “No, is useless. We cannot outrun trouble. Trouble always catch up. We should talk. See what she wants. Maybe, trouble for others.”

After the last time they discussed that if anyone else were to approach them Tormacc would do the talking, so after it was decided that they would hear the woman out Tormacc stepped forwards to mediate.

“If you truly have something you think we’d like to hear we’d welcome you to join us,” Tormacc said, slightly raising his voice to make sure he was heard.

Taking that as an invitation to come closer the mystery woman walked over, her each step seeming to glide over the craggy ground, her gait not at all impeded by the rough terrain. As she moved closer, Tormacc got a better look at her. Unlike the previous trio they met, this woman looked as if she had merely stepped out for a stroll, her clothes and hair all in place with nothing to show she was living in an inhospitable land without basic amenities. She was wearing practical looking leather armor over well-cared for clothes, the only thing that hinted at her surroundings the dust on her knee-high black leather boots.

When she finally arrived, Tormacc found himself staring into a pair of riveting yellow eyes. After an uncomfortably long time staring, he managed to tear his eyes away, taking in the rest of her face. From far away, she looked young, mostly because of her size and stature. But upon closer inspection, he thought she must have been nearing middle age, or at the very least be out of her twenties. There were small signs, like how her face hinted at wrinkles, but the biggest factor was her demeanor. Right now it was his job to meet her at the negotiating table, and from her presence, Tormacc already knew he was outmatched. This woman was used to being obeyed, and it showed in her whole body.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both, my name’s Zedna.”

“I’m Tormacc, and this is Athra.” Athra merely nodded for the self-introduction, choosing to silently evaluate the woman standing across from her.

“I’ll not mince words,” Zedna said, getting straight to business. “I’m looking for a party to join, as I need help with something I’m not sure I can do on my own, and I’m hoping that you two will be able to help me.”

“Forgive me for being blunt,” Tormacc said, “but why should we trust you? You came out of nowhere, seemingly seeking us out. How do we know you aren’t trying to lead us into an ambush?”

“Do either of you have a skill that can determine truth from lies?” Zedna asked.

After a quick glance at Athra Tormacc shook his head. He certainly didn’t have one, and while he didn’t think Athra did either, if she did, she hadn’t told him about it.

“That’s a shame, that would have made things much easier,” Zedna said. “How about you both hear me out first? For what I have in mind I need your willing cooperation. Getting that would have been easier with a lie detection skill, but perhaps we can still come to an understanding without one.”

Athra stomped her foot on the ground, and a table and three chair popped up right next to them.

“You can say what you want,” Athra said. “We will listen.”

Tormacc was kind of annoyed that after they had decided on him doing the talking Athra took over like that, but he sat down anyway, waiting for Zedna to start speaking.

“I’ve been on this Shard for over ten years,” Zedna said, starting her story. “It’s hell. The first few years were manageable, but the first time you run out of food you realize that your life is no longer in your own hands. I did what I had to to survive, and as of recently I was the leader of my own group. Some would call us bandits, but really, what choice did we have? It was either resort to robbery or starve. I believe you’ve met some of the members of my gang a few weeks back.”

Tormacc bristled, adrenaline surging through him as he readied himself for combat. But both Zedna and Athra stayed calm, and he had to force himself to unclench his hand from his hammer as Zedna continued speaking.

“I was forced to start the gang to survive,” Zedna continued. “We relied on numbers to hunt down others and steal their rations. But over time our group grew, and recently, because of a few different events, I no longer found myself in full control of the group. I was not a benevolent leader, and I knew that as soon as the other factions gathered enough people they would come for my head. To preempt that, I decided to leave early, which is why I’m here, talking to you two.”

Zedna paused for a moment, sweeping over both of them with her eyes before continuing.

“I won’t lie; I’m not a good person, but right now I’m in need of some trustworthy teammates. And while I’m vicious to my enemies, I’m loyal to those on my side. Part of the reason I’m here is that most of my trustworthy subordinates were killed when they attacked someone they shouldn’t have, which is partly why I need to find a new party. But that’s not the main reason I looked for you two. Do either of you know where the exit portal is?”

“We don’t,” Tormacc said. He and Athra had actually discussed that very thing a few days ago.

“I do,” Zedna said. “More than that, I have a way to guide us directly to it. The problem lies in its location, which is where the two of you come in.”

“Why do you need us?” Tormacc said. “You mentioned you had trustworthy teammates before, so why didn’t you look for the exit portal with them?”

“I don’t need both of you, only her,” Zedna said, pointing at Athra.

“Why me?” Athra asked in her stony voice.

“If I’m not mistaken, you have an inborn Stonebending ability,” Zedna probed.

“I am of Great Rock,” Athra said proudly, as if that statement carried some great weight. Tormacc knew Athra was very proud of her Great Rock, but he never seemed to be able to get out of her what it was exactly.

“That’s why I need your help. You see those mountains?” Zedna said, pointing at the mountains that rose far in the distance on the other side of the rising plateaus.

“You mean the portal is on the other side of the mountains?” Tormacc asked.

“That’s right.”

“You need me to get over the mountains,” Athra said, sounding sure of her statement.

“I do,” Zedna admitted. “I don’t think I can do it by myself. I need someone to help navigate them with me.”

“Are the mountains really that dangerous?” Tormacc asked.

Athra shot him a look he had learned to associate with a bigger rock looking at a smaller rock.

“They are death,” she said simply.

Tormacc had spent a lot of time with Athra and, listening to how her voice resonated within his bones, he couldn’t help but shiver in fear as he glanced at the seemingly innocuous looking mountains in the distance.