“I have a book I got as a reward from the Proving Grounds. I think it’s got something to do with teleportation magic. It’s called Tuzrenstil’s Basic Primer for the Efficient Use of Energy to Manipulate Spatial Connections. I’m going to study it as we travel; you never know—maybe I can find a way to teleport us home,” Olivia said between bites of trail mix that Morgan had shared out. They were camping for the second night out on the frosty plains, sitting around the large globe of fire that Olivia had created.

“Um, you think I could read that, too? I already have a short-range teleportation spell,” Morgan said.

“You what?” Bronwyn stared at Morgan.

“Yeah, when I advanced my class at level thirty, I learned a spell that lets me step through space to a spot I can see.”

“This is very promising news, Morgan! You know you can study the spell pattern and learn a lot from it. I wonder if you could draw it?” Olivia leaned forward excitedly.

“Hmm, maybe. My mentor mentioned something like that. I guess people used to make their own spells before the System came along.”

“See! That’s what the Summer Queen told me!” Bronwyn looked between Olivia and Morgan as if daring them to question her trust in the mysterious Fae. “Anyway, why are you guys just mentioning these things now?”

“Well, yesterday I was exhausted and fell asleep right away, and it just occurred to me!” Olivia said, producing a small book with densely packed pages. It reminded Morgan of a bible with its thin, innumerable pages filled with tiny words and runes.

“Damn, that looks dense,” he said, giving voice to his thoughts.

“Yeah, isn’t it great?” Olivia’s voice was soft and full of wonder. Morgan watched her studying the first few pages, and he chuckled.

“Sure, I like a good, dense book, too.”

“Not me,” Bronwyn said. “I’d take my VR gear any day over a book.”

“Olivia,” Morgan said, “before you get too far into that, do you mind talking to me a bit about spell patterns? I have a feeling you learned more about them in your classes than I did talking to my mentor for five minutes. I’d like to help you figure out teleporting, but I’m not sure how to begin drawing the pattern for my spell.” Olivia closed her book and looked at Morgan, an enthusiastic grin spreading on her face.

“Of course! Let’s start with you studying the pattern and trying to describe it to me, at least its overall shape. Just turn your attention to your Core and start concentrating on your spell; watch the pattern start to form in your pathways, but clamp down on your Energy with your will; don’t let the spell pull it, or else the pattern will go away, and you’ll teleport!” She laughed like the idea of Morgan teleporting without intending to was funny to her.

Morgan did as she said; he was already familiar with looking at a pattern and altering a spell by changing the Energy going to it, but he’d never really studied the pattern itself before. As he turned his mind inward and studied the maelstrom of his Core, he took a few calming breaths. Then, he primed his Void Step spell while focusing on keeping his Energy clamped down. It was harder than he thought it would be—the spell pattern was hungry, and his void-attuned Energy was eager to go to it, but he managed, and while the pattern pulsed in his pathways, he tried to describe it.

“The overall shape is like a big S, with hundreds of whorls and twists.”

“Great, Morgan! Is it hard to hold it steady?”

“No, not too hard. I can feel it trying to complete, and I can feel my Energy trying to surge into it, but I have it locked down now.”

“Alright, I’ll give you a notebook and a pencil. It’s hard to draw when you can’t see what you’re drawing but just go by feel. I have a feeling, with your advanced attributes, you’ll be better at it than you might think.”

“Yeah, I was actually pretty good at drafting and diagraming before I came here; I’m a bit rusty, but, like you said, my intelligence and dexterity are much higher now.” He felt Olivia press a notebook into his hand and a pencil into his other, and he started trying to draw what he was staring at in his mind’s eye.

While Morgan worked on drawing the pattern for his Void Step spell and Olivia pored over her thick little book, Bronwyn sat back, enjoying the warmth of the fire, and watched the endless expanse of stars. After a long period of silence only punctuated by the occasional turning of a page, or Morgan’s scratching pencil, she started to feel her eyes growing heavy and glanced at the tent. It was a large, canvas affair that Morgan had set up. While he’d been putting the stakes into the hard frozen soil, he’d grumbled again about missing Issa. Bronwyn felt sorry for him and worried about Issa, too; she hoped they’d find a way back to Fanwath soon.

“The whole thing is crazy,” Bronwyn said suddenly. Olivia looked up at her with a question on her face. “I mean, think about it. This is the third planet we’ve visited since leaving Earth. Now we’re trying to figure out how to get back to the first one, and spaceships aren’t even part of the equation.”

“Yeah, a lot has certainly changed,” Olivia mused.

“Anyway, I’m beat. I’m going to sleep; some of us don’t have a ton of racial enhancements.” Bronwyn stood, brushed off her butt, and then walked to the tent.

“No problem,” Morgan said, “I really don’t sleep much anymore.”

“Yeah, I’m going to study this book a few more hours,” Olivia said, then she glanced at Bronwyn and added, “Everything alright, Bron?”

“Aside from being stranded? Yeah, I’m good; at least I’m with you guys.” She slipped into the tent, and Olivia turned back to her book. Morgan hadn’t yet opened his eyes and was carefully sketching, having already filled a few pages of Olivia’s notebook.

Time passed like that for a while, perhaps a couple of hours, but then a sound split through the silence of the wintery night—a shriek tore through the air and over their campsite with such volume and ferocity that Olivia’s fireball sputtered and nearly went out as she jerked her eyes away from her book in surprise. Morgan slammed his notebook closed and stood up, drawing Bloodfang from the metal ring at his belt and activating Void Vision.

He saw Bronwyn dart out of the tent, her fists ablaze with light, and he scanned past her, panning his vision, trying to spot the source of the shrieking cry. He couldn’t see anything standing out on the frozen plain. Absolutely nothing moved or stood out on the flat expanse as far as the horizon. Then a flicker of movement caught his eye, and he looked up to see a massive shadow gliding away toward the mountains. It had a long tail and enormous wings, and the Energy within its long, serpentine form pulsed in his Void Vision like a miniature sun.

“We need to start keeping a lower profile,” Morgan said.

“What is it?” Bronwyn’s voice came from a short distance away, where she crouched, ready for a fight.

“I’m not sure, but it looks like what I’d imagine a dragon would look like. It’s flying toward the mountains.”

“Oh, God,” Olivia said softly, her mind drifting back to her time in the Proving Grounds.

“What?” Morgan asked.

“I met a dragon in that dungeon I told you guys about. I wasn’t meant to fight it—I’m pretty sure it was there as a lesson in humility. If what you just saw is a dragon, we really need to make sure it doesn’t spot us.” The night became suddenly darker as Bronwyn canceled the spell that made her fists light up like flares. Olivia turned to her and nodded, “Best to put our lights out for now.” She dismissed her orb of fire.

“Yeah. You guys go ahead and try to get some rest,” Morgan said. “I’ll keep watch; it’s like broad daylight for me out here with my vision spell.”

“Alright,” Bronwyn said, “I’m happy to get out of this cold air.” She ducked back into the tent, and Olivia followed after her. Morgan looked out toward the towering mountains, suddenly wishing he’d spent more time talking to Tiladia about her people. Why hadn’t he? Looking back, he felt he’d taken her for granted and wasted a chance to learn a lot about Elder races, Energy, different worlds, and even his tower and the wizard who’d created it.

“That’s not fair,” he muttered, shaking his head. He’d always been on the go, one thing after another taking his attention. In the back of his mind, he’d always meant to talk to her; he’d always meant to do a million things, including working on his Core. “It’d be nice to catch a break once in a while.” He looked at the notebook and pencil he’d dropped and picked them up, putting them into his ring.

Suddenly he sat down and turned his mind inward. He determined to stop making excuses and start working on what he had control over, and at that moment, that meant cultivating and working on his Core.

#

Issa watched over the prow of the merchant vessel she’d managed to flag down as it passed through the Deep Down. She’d spent more than a day sneaking around in the deep tunnels, hoping for some sign of Morgan or a gargoyle that could give her information about where he’d gone. After killing several more of the large, stupid creatures and failing to find any of the more intelligent leader-types, she’d finally decided that the Deep Down was a dead end, and she’d need to seek answers elsewhere.

With no other leads, she had two thoughts that gave her comfort—one, Morgan had a token that he might use to recall to First Landing, and two, he could sense where she was, and she knew he’d find her if at all possible. With those thoughts in mind, she’d flagged a passing vessel and begun the long journey back to First Landing herself.

“Maybe he’ll be waiting for me,” she said softly, and the sailor handling the mooring lines gave her a funny look. “Never mind,” she snapped. She frowned, instantly regretting her short temper. “I’m sorry; I have a lot on my mind.”

“Nothing to worry about, miss. My captain says I stare too much.” Issa chuckled at his words and watched, tapping the rail impatiently while the dockhands pulled the lines the sailor threw and secured the vessel to the pier. Not wanting to get caught up in another conversation, Issa looked at the portly old captain, and when their eyes met, she gave him a wave and jumped off the boat. She’d already paid the man handsomely for her passage and didn’t feel bad not spending more time chatting.

Stormclouds in her eyes, and purpose in her steps, Issa made her way through town to the stables where she and Morgan had left their mounts. She saw several people she knew, including one of the soldiers that had been part of their “rescue” party. She wanted to avoid talking to anyone but felt like she should at least let someone know she was alive, so she called the soldier over, “Hey, Rissa!” The woman’s head jerked around, her bright pink ponytail whipping behind her.

“Issa! We thought you died!”

“No, I’m alive. Morgan is missing; he got pulled through the invaders' portal as it closed. Please spread the word that I’m okay and that I’m going to First Landing to see if Morgan finds a way back.”

“Don’t you want to rest? Shouldn’t you speak to the mayor or the captain?”

“Maybe I should, but I’m not going to. I’m getting our mounts and heading out. Sorry to dump this on you, Rissa, but I appreciate it.” She clasped the woman’s shoulder and squeezed it while looking into her mauve eyes. When the soldier nodded, Issa smiled and hurried on her way. She had a lot of miles to cover before dark.