Shakira never showed up for their meeting. She and Edel never even visited the tavern that night. Cassidy spent a good while sitting on the end of the heavily stained bar table waiting for any sign of the two, but it wasn't until the bartender waved her down that she gave up. Apparently they'd sent a message. Something about their families... She'd been drinking a little by then and didn't remember much other than they couldn't meet--either of them. Instead she slept in and went for a walk in the late morning to try to figure out what happened. It would have helped if she could remember what the bartender said. She'd have to track him down. She had gone uptown, to eye the weaponsmith again, when she saw Raylen. She wanted to flag him down for a good morning and to ask about Shakira and Edel. He noticed her and opened his mouth, as if the noise would find its way over the hubbub of the crowded morning street. She waved again and he started to come over, but there was a shout and he looked up the hill at someone. His head turned back to her and with a look of deep resignation, he turned on his heel to walk up the street. That's all she got a look. Something was wrong and she hadn’t the slightest idea what had happened. She went back to the inn and asked about her traveling partners. It was just the serving girl and all she knew was they’d checked out at dawn. Head hanging in confusion, Cassidy returned to her room and sat on her bed. Koda and Sugarbear lay at her feet joining her in companionship. The three of them nearly filled the room.

She picked up her new dagger and began sharpening it, going through the motions the blacksmith had shown her just for practice. She needed to take her mind off things. To focus. Noon was her first dungeon run. She glanced over her weapons and armor, picking them up one by one. Her composite bow had held up well through all the rough fights and heavy impacts. It was the arrows she lost. She still had plenty composites with steel heads but now there were also wooden ones with true feather fletching to fill up the quiver. She’d yet to shoot these new arrows and was a little excited to see how they’d feel nocked and drawn, ready to fly. Her armor was obviously new but the leather and metal had been dulled to absorb light rather than reflect it. It felt a little stiff when she wore it but figured this was just the type of thing you had to break in. She glanced at the shadows stretching beneath her window. She’d gotten better at using them to tell time and decided she should head out to avoid being late. Double checking all the latches on her armor, she placed the bow and quiver on her back, slid her two new daggers into her belt, and whistled for her dogs. They jumped to their feet, excited at finally having something to do. This little room must have been driving them mad.

She made her way through the winding streets, remembering the path given on the map to a gate leading outside the city. She could see the massive cavern off in the distance and passed by the guard with barely a greeting as her focus went straight to her destination. The path was wide and hardened by all the people that must have travelled on it. A few trees provided shade but by the time she reached the cavern and could hear the wind echoing through it, there was nothing left to block the sun.

She waited outside the entrance, on time, unlike any of the others. Slowly, after 10 minutes, they trickled in. Tremaine showed up last—30 minutes late. Was that acceptable in this world? She thought of how people would react if he’d pulled that stunt back home. He looked them over in approval and just waltzed right by. His more senior members following. It took Cassidy a second to realize that was it. Not so much as a greeting.

Tremaine had her stay to the back of the party. She was a bit confused. That was supposed to be the archer’s spot. She was under the impression rangers moved toward the front to scout or hold one of the flanks with their mobility. Not with Tremaine though. It really did have her baffled for the first few battles. He made her keep her dogs to the side and said she could only pick off runners. Well there were no runners so she was left planning the battle from her own perspective. This is where she’d send the dogs. She’d back up here. Make sure to shoot those two first and so on and so forth. Over and over and over again. By the third battle she caught on. She was the Tier 1. He didn’t want her messing up any of their fights and he certainly wasn’t bothering to train her. Which left her to wonder, why was she here? She was left facing that question most of the day as Tremaine dragged her around like a useless mascot.

Occasionally, she’d take potshots at creatures in the very back. They seemed humanish. She aimed for what she assumed would be the heart, but her own heart wasn’t in it. She’d barely line up the shot before letting loose and was missing as much as she was hitting. It probably wasn’t helping her party’s opinion of her but she didn’t care at this point. Everything seemed to be going wrong. She never even earned any credits.

She was still mulling it over when she sat alone in the tavern waiting on Bertold and their bill of sales. He showed up looking like he’d eaten something rotten. He saw her sitting and just shook his head. By the time he joined her he wouldn’t even let her speak. Just asked, “Do you know what you have done?” Obviously she hadn't. Bertold had to explain to her how this city was far more complicated than she ever thought. She just wished someone explained it to her before she made this mistake.

She hadn’t taken things seriously enough. Relationships were easy come easy go in the past but here--here they meant something else. Before it was just drama and maybe a tiff. Here it was freaking blood-feud! And now she knew. Tremaine and Norcross were on opposite sides. By choosing Tremaine’s party she’d taken a side and flipped the bird to Norcross and all his hospitality. She’d left her friend in the cold and insulted him by partying with his rival. If she’d known any of this to start with… but she hadn’t and the damage was done. In her defense, she done just what he said. Partied with first group to ask. It was just bad luck they had a Cheilam with an ulterior motive—getting at Norcross by stealing someone under his care. And slapping his face that they wanted to leave him for his enemies. The Cheilam were mostly socialites though, it seemed like it never occurred to Raylen that one of them would party up for the Guild.

She was reflecting on this the next day as Tremaine’s party did another dungeon run. She stared at the back of Tremaine’s head as he hacked away at the monsters, his sword began blurring in some kind of Skill usage before slowing down. Of course it was too rude of her to ask about that. Instead she stood, contemplating. Her bow came up and she loosed an arrow that flew past his cheek to split the green humanoid’s skull in two. With her Precision it was an easy thing. Of course, it was only the first part of that action every one noticed.

“Hey!” he bellowed, “keep your arrows to the stragglers. Better yet,” Having just seen what a dangerously poor shot she was, “just pick off what Nissi and Drev miss!”

“Sorry! I’ll be more careful.” She felt sick. This was the wrong lot to side with and she never even realized there was a line in the sand. She had to find a way out. Tremaine wouldn’t just let her leave—for all this was a free city. She’d only just become aware politics ran these streets and the Cheilam family was far too prominent to let her leave. Tremaine holding onto one of Norcross’ finds was too good a trophy to let go, even if he thought she was a bloody useless shot. Jerk.

It’s not like she was hiding any Skill, he just kept making bad assumptions. ‘Tier 1s were useless.’ ‘That arrow nicked him.’ ‘She doesn’t know what she’s doing.’

Well maybe she wanted to see him bleed. Temperamental ass.

He didn’t even let her use Koda and Sugarbear. They stayed seated at her sides the whole time. What did he think they would do? Jump in front of his sword? She looked down at them. And Now! Now they were so cut off from this fight the dogs had relaxed enough to lie down. It was pathetic.

She needed an out. Bertold assured her Norcross wouldn't let this continue. It was just a temporary punch at his face an, once he'd straightened out the politics, everything could go back to normal. Cassidy was having issues with that plan. Something as simple as a dicision by her should not need political manuevering by her friends. She didn't want to rely on Norcross and politics to get out of a bad situation. If she couldn’t find a way back to her friends, she’d just have to give up on this city altogether. She didn't want to live, or even visit, a place run by politics. Not when she could accidentally fall into them. There were other places to learn about Void Mastery. She’d try the South.

Tremaine seemed to be pushing hard. He never even told her what he wanted out of the dungeon but she’d been given orders to meet up again the next day. Even earlier this time 9 o’ clock. Cassidy had other plans. She had a bit of time left before dark and went shopping. With the sale of Bertold and her inventory, she could afford an Adventurer’s bag and a beginner Alchemy set with recipes. By the time dusk was falling she had packed up her room. Koda and Sugarbear followed her with their tails wagging as she went down to pay the innkeeper and head out. She made it right as the guards were closing the gate. Looking at the coming darkness they urged her to wait for the morning but she was adamant and they let her slip through the closing gate. She and her Companions were on their way.

They travelled through the night. They may not have a party size big enough to deter predators but none of those were willing to hunt this close to the city. She made excellent time, even for a Tier 1. By dawn they were miles away and enjoying a refreshing break alongside the road. A nearby stream gave the dogs some water and let her refill her flask. The slices of raw meat she’d bought for this trip were refilling her dogs' stomach. And sitting amongst the roots of nature, leaning against an old ash was refilling her soul. She never realized city life could be so draining. They lingered there a few hours before she remembered it was possible someone would come after her and they hit the road again.

She was worrying over this problem now. How could a Tier 1 outpace a higher Tier if they came looking? It’d be child’s play if anyone wanted to find her. It’d be silly to think anyone would want to, right? A stiffening in her dogs alerted her that it was time to stop her ponderings. She looked up to see 9 men.

They filed out of the woods one by one to get her attention, surround her in a half circle and pressed forward for her submission. They were all Tier 1s she noted, except the leader in the center. A Tier 2. Seeing an archer, she sent a hiss to her dogs and they ran to the woods. No way was she willing to risk them like that.

The leader opened his mouth to speak whatever demands he had, but Cassidy was deaf to them. The bodies on the path to the city came to her mind and fury lashed her. She took a breath in, the world slowed, falling into silence. She looked at them again. Kept breathing. Holding the Stillness. It was like everything stopped. Her bow was in her hands, Quick Draw overcoming the molasses of time, and she had it up and shooting.

The two nearest her fell. The leader was fast. He was already going for his sword. Hand inching downward as he went to grab it. Cassidy stepped toward him, shooting down the next two as they began their charge. His sword was clearing his sheath now and lining up for her. She stepped right into him, inside the range of its sharp edge. Like any boar she faced, her hand had long since dropped from the arrows and grabbed her new and shiny dagger.

The others were rushing closer, the leader stepping back. She lunged, her hand traveling upward, driving metal past jaw into brain. She let go. Letting dagger fall with him. Three were still close. The fourth, was grabbing distance to shoot her down. Her heart beat. She took a breath. Her arrow found the third pushing his way toward her. The second had his sword and she stepped past his swing, inside his range, driving the arrow in her hand deep into his eye to reach the brain.

The archer had shot her arm, but it didn’t affect her grip on the bow and she leapt back to gain range on the final man rushing her. He was close. Almost a sword swing away, but her arrow was already up and drawn. It shattered his sternum to find his heart. A breath out. The archer loosed another. The difference between a normal Tier 1s Precision and her own showing.

She twisted her body from its position much the same she twisted from a charging stag’s antler and used the momentum to move her bow level with the archer. No time to be precise, she loosed and hit him in the chest. He began to fall backward, gripping the arrow and all of time rushed forward.

She was panting from exertion, sweating from fear and rage. The arrow in her arm was a searing pain but nothing like a broken leg. She eyed the surrounding bodies. Remembering they all died, and collected her dagger. All that was left was the archer. She knew anatomy. Her arrow had missed the heart. Her dagger didn’t though as she shoved it in with clear satisfaction. The bodies from the bandit attack still clear in her mind. It was only once she began the grisly business of collecting her arrows, she heard.

~Congratulations! You Attribute Stillness has broken its Bottleneck!~

~Congratulations! You Attribute Speed has broken its Bottleneck!~

~Congratulations! You’ve earned the Skill Archery: Moving Shot—Although you may lose in precision, you no longer need to be stationary to shoot.~

There was no celebration. She went to the woods where she sent her dogs. She felt safer there, and doctored her arm.

It wasn’t a hard decision after looking around. She’d keep off the path and run alongside, through the woods. That should keep her unseen and give her every advantage should she run into anymore enemies. It was also the answer to her earlier question. How could a Tier 1 outpace another Tier? Simple, don’t run; just hide where no one can find you. Her Skills made the forest her domain and no place felt more like home.