Seeing as the dungeon was a bust, Fiona and I returned to the fortress and decided to see what was across the plains.

It was certainly the largest single terrain feature I had ever seen and seemed almost endless as we flew across it day after day. Every few miles would be small clumps of the gorlophants, grazing away on the tall grass, but little else. The only other thing of note were the errant boulders or small ruins we flew over, now that we knew what to look for.

Even the largest terrain feature consisted of only a small hill, maybe five feet tall. It made me wonder what was even worth protecting out in such a desolate area that necessitated that lost legion or the ruins. Other than that one horde dungeon, there hadn’t even been another dungeon in sight, or nothing to show they were around. We checked every notable landmark we came across to be sure.

The landmass also gave me a new sense of scale for how big Earth had grown. I knew a bunch of other worlds and bits of worlds had been smashed together but if just this one plain was as large as half the united states, it was seriously mind-boggling how much space there was now. A person could lose themselves in just the new areas and probably not visit everything during their lifetime.

The fourth day was when I finally saw a change in the landscape. The endless field of grass was finally making way for hot springs that released steam into the late afternoon air. It wasn’t the only change, however. Beyond a dozen or so tiers of hot springs was a town, the walls clearly visible from miles off.

It was such a surprise after so long seeing nothing that I hadn’t even thought to engage the cloak on the fortress, as we had been conserving power across the grassland. That proved to be a mistake as I spotted a group of armed people storming out of the town and down a winding road toward our direction.

“I see we are making more friends,” Fiona quipped.

“Yeah, seems like a trend with me. I say we ignore the locals and be on our way?”

“I could go check the city out?” she offered.

I mulled over the offer for a bit before nodding. “Alright, but hold onto the token, since you can no longer locate me as your bond is gone, you’ll need it to find the fortress. I’ll try to find a secluded place to set down, but I’m not seeing anything close by.”

“Fair enough, see you in a few days.”

Before she vanished through the bomb hole, I shouted a word of warning. “Don’t get into trouble, I don’t want to have to come to find you.”

She gave me a jaunty salute and dropped into the tube, disappearing from view.

I sealed up the hole and engaged the stealth system, changing direction right after to lose my pursuers.

***

Fiona dropped through the hole with nervous excitement. In her old life, she hadn’t been much of a stealthy person, no real need for it as a town guard. But she had grown to like stalking from the shadows and being able to slip away unnoticed.

That feeling had only been tempered by the ever-present compulsion to return to her companion. It slowly ebbed as she leveled and almost completely went away when she first gained the ability to retake mortal form. She was thankful that Paul was generous enough to allow her her freedom during this time. But the feeling always returned, making her antsy until she returned to his side.

It left her conflicted because she loved Martin, but couldn’t be separated from Paul. That was until she hit level twenty. When that happened the feeling went away completely and for the first time in half a year, she felt free.

She didn’t tell Paul this, mainly because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings, or make him relapse into the bottomless pit of despair he had been in when she first returned. So instead she made herself a good friend and continued traveling with him during this latest urge to grow stronger and protect everyone. She knew it was partly brought on by what happened with that Javier person.

She understood the reasoning behind his drive but it was misplaced. If he only stopped and thought about it he would realize that his friends could take care of themselves.

Her musing stopped as she floated near the group of humans that had come to intercept the fortress.

They were milling about on horses, looking around in concern to try and spot the fortress. They would have better luck picking out a single blade of grass in the endless plains she thought ruefully. She did note that they were wary about entering the grassland at all, remaining near the pools instead.

Without an identification ability, she was unable to determine levels or classes in the group clustered below. So she remained high enough out of their range to avoid any possible detection herself. True Invisibility said she was invisible from all forms of detection but she knew there were ways around any supposed skill. Another ghost trap, for example, didn’t need to detect her in her current form, it would simply trap her inside.

She wasn’t as concerned about those anymore. But the thought of being trapped still gave her goosebumps, so she played it safe and followed the group back to the city as they kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

***

Mugat scanned the sky a final time with concern before heading back for the city. He knew the Chief would not be happy that the object had vanished. Mugat found it troubling enough himself that it had appeared from the endless grasses. Ever since the city had appeared in this new world, his people had been hesitant to explore their surroundings very far.

The hot springs were a comfort as they allowed the city a feeling of safety from the massive beasts of the plains. But trying to hunt those creatures turned out to be a death sentence. They had killed the previous Spear. That one ill-fated trip had cost four other men their lives and thrust Mugat into the Spear position well before he was ready.

Now there was the ill omen of the floating and disappearing rock. It was almost too much for him to take and he had to calm his racing heart by taking slow deep breaths and mentally reminding himself that he had strong allies to back him up.

“Spear! Why are you back so soon, what of the object?” someone demanded as he passed through the gate.

Mugat winced, not having expected the Chief to debase himself so far as to meet him at the gate. He had hoped to put off reporting to the man for a few hours but it seems like that was no longer an option.

“Apologies, Chief, by the time we made it down the path toward the endless grass, the object had vanished from sight. We attempted to locate it using a few spells but were unable to find it in the vicinity. Perhaps it was just a strange mirage?” Mugat offered weakly.

“A mirage you say,” the man seemed to chew over Mugat’s words. “Yes, obviously a mirage. Our city is perfectly protected behind our walls and with our stout warriors,” he announced loudly, playing it up for the gathered crowd.

There was a tentative round of applause from the crowd as Mugat bowed awkwardly, not really understanding what was going on. Obviously, the object was not a mirage, so why did the Chief agree with him.

“Now, you men must be tired from your activities. Mugat, we haven’t spoken in person since you took over the Spear position. How about you join me and my wife for dinner tonight. I like to get to know the people defending the city.

Mugat bowed again, “It would be an honor, Chief Harar.”

The chief gave a curt nod and walked off. With his vacancy, the crowd slowly left. Mugat heard some whisperings about how the Chief was a fool and they were all doomed but he kept that information to himself.

***

Fiona had easily followed the group of men back to the town. She found the interactions with the town leader to be a bit bizarre but chalked it up to not wanting to panic the townsfolk. Already she could sense heightened tension in the air. It was little things, people jumping at unknown sounds, furtive looks, and avoiding any dark corner like their life depended on it.

She was curious to find out more but chose to follow this Mugat fellow around, seeing as he might lead to information from the source.

There was very little in the way of chatter between Mugat and the men with him. Once they reached a stable, they tied up their horses and all went their separate ways. Fiona watched Mugat stand there for a bit, eying his horse and the gate with longing. Eventually, the man let out a quiet sigh and walked off.

‘What is up with this town,’ she wondered.

The man didn’t do much, he wandered to a small home, cleaned up, and headed back out. It wasn’t hard to determine his destination. It was the largest house in the village, placed on a small rise to make it seem even grander. The homes in the village had large peaked roofs covered in tiles that sloped steeply and had a large ridge running along the center that dipped down sharply on either side and ended in large overhangs that covered a walkway along the entire second floor.

Fiona had seen similar architecture in some of the books Martin had collected and recalled they were Japanese in design. These buildings weren’t quite the same but were of a similar design.

A well-manicured garden of stones and shrubs surrounded the property, making it feel majestic, if a bit out of place amongst the smaller homes of the lower class in the city. She understood a castle when she saw it though, even if its form was completely different.

The man named Mugat followed a servant as she ushered him around the first-floor walkway and toward the back of the property. Lush walls covered in some sort of vine blocked out the sights and noise of the city. And in the center of the rock garden was a small gazebo that mimicked the architecture of the main house but with four roof sections coming to a central point. Under that gazebo sat the Chief. There was a table, set with two plates but three seats.

***

Mugat wanted to leave as soon as he saw the table setting. This was obviously not a social visit. It was only confirmed a moment later when the silent one pulled out a chair with an empty placing and motioned him to sit. He had no choice but to comply as he took the seat.

“Good, now that you’re here we can discuss matters frankly,” the Chief stated in an unfriendly tone.

Mugat just swallowed a lump in his throat and remained quiet.

“You almost made me look like a fool out there today. You best watch your tone or I will have you replaced.”

Mugat knew the man couldn’t legally take his position from him but there were other ways to handle that.

“Now, what of the flying stone, and don’t get flippant with me.”

Mugat relayed everything he and his men had witnessed, which wasn’t much. As soon as it was spotted his men saddled horses and rode out to challenge it. About halfway there, the thing simply vanished from the sky and they couldn’t find it again so they rode back.

The Chief was about to respond when a small wind chime tinkled. Mugat didn’t think anything of it but the Chief looked over in puzzlement. When it tinkled again he stood up, throwing his chair back.

“Who’s there, show yourself!”

***

Fiona had fled the estate as soon as she realized she was discovered. How the little chime had detected her, she didn’t know but she had a good estimation on how close she could get to it before it went off now, if she chose to go back. She didn’t feel like it was important at this moment and instead flitted about the town listening to different conversations.