The morning came all too early for James. Outside his door was a small pitcher of water, a ratty towel and a tiny square of soap. Not missing out on the opportunity, he brought everything into his room and spent some time washing. He wished he could shave, but it was not always possible. He was pleased to note that his Alter Self II and Mental Shield - Iron I was maintained while he slept. He was worried that they would drop during the night. Rocko appeared after he finished getting dressed.

"Ready?" Rocko asked.

"I guess. Why?"

"The people who arranged for me to become your guide again expect their payment soon. We need to get to the temple," Rocko explained.

James nodded and picked up his backpack. James stepped into Astra Space, ensuring that he was not leaving anything behind in the room.

&&&&& ASTRAL SPACE &&&&&

Astral Space was best described as a large fog bank with no ground. Moving through the fog was a matter of Intelligence. How far you could see in the fog cloud was a matter of Race. As a Glrick, James could see a little more than the average creature born to Astral Space. Some creatures native to Astral Space and were predators could see further, but James was primarily safe. The one thing that annoyed James the most was that there were no shadows in Astral Space. Therefore, there was no stealth and no use of Shadow Powers. To move faster, James used Augment Attribute I to increase his Intelligence by 5. The Power did not increase his current PSI. It increased his maximum PSI, and it increased his regen by 50/hour. He could maintain the three powers he had going, plus the Augment Attribute I and still regen about 1.5 PSI points per minute. It's almost worth keeping Augment Attribute I up to have a higher PSI pool and then drop it when he needed to regenerate his points faster. James was starting to like this new build.

Focusing on the temple he was at before, James felt a pull in a specific direction. He had moved around a couple of times in Astral Space yesterday, but this would be the first time he spent a lot of time travelling here. Moving as fast as he could in the direction of the pull, James started his journey. Being alert for any ambushes was tiring, but practice and years of experience got him through. It was hard to tell the time in Astral Space, but it had to be a couple of hours before he felt the pull stop. Knowing he was in the right area, James decided to drop an Astral Anchor. It would let him know if anything had followed him and let him return to this spot in the future. Or at least until he created a new Astral Anchor. Stepping forward, James reappeared in real space.

&&&&& REAL SPACE &&&&&

The change was stark—the jungle sounds, smells, heat, humidity and then near press of the jungle itself. Crouching down, James engaged his Shadow Meld ability and waited. It was only a few moments later that Rocko appeared. It was interesting that Rocko could not enter Astral Space with James. While he was there, James was on his own. James panicked a little the first time he did it to avoid a group of Scragglers intent on eating him. Especially since he wasn't sure how to get back or if he should, or when, or anything. But James calmed down, moved a few paces, and then stepped back into real space. He was shocked to learn that a few paces in Astral Space were more than two hundred meters in real space. Also, James could see into the real space for about a second or two before he had to step through. This helped him avoid walking into a tree that time.

Rocko looked around, trying to see if there was any danger.

"I thought you couldn't scout for me," James asked.

"Doesn't mean I am not curious," Rocko said.

James just smiled and used his new ability Shadow Step. He kept his same facing, but he was now in the other space. Stepping from one shadow to another was very disorientating.

"That felt weird. I think I got motion sickness," James complained, holding his stomach.

"Next time, you should do it with your eyes closed," Rocko offered.

"That's what she said," James whispered.

"What?" Rocko asked

"What?" James asked back.

Rocko narrowed his eyes at James, "You may wish to find your stuff now."

James took a moment to look around and make sure they were alone. After a minute, he noticed the black panther was watching him from the deep shadows of the jungle. Not sure if this was a good thing, he waited to see what the panther would do. Strangely, the panther just lay there, watching him as he watched it. Deciding to continue with the mission, James moved over to where he left his gear. He was not surprised his gear was still there.

Continuing his search, he collected the Steel Sword of Flames, the Oak Bow of Piercing, and the backpack. James moved the three days of rations from the new backpack to the Bag of Holding. James decided not to carry two backpacks, so he repacked the new backpack with the contents of the old backpack. Taking an inventory, James had the following:

BACKPACK Coils of rope x2 Torches x2 Tarp Bedroll Small mess kit x2 Potion of Healing x6 Potion of Strength Potion of Magic Armour Potion of Mana x2 Scroll of LIght Scroll of Firebolt Wand of Flame Bolt

James pulled out the Bracers of Shields and the Belt of the Dwarves, which he put on. The last item he found in the old backpack was a pouch with his Ring of Fire Resistance, Ring of Poison Resistance and Necklace of Darkvision. James wasted no time in adorning them. Taking the pouch he started with, he dumped his coins into the Bag of Holding and got his monies' final count.

BAG OF HOLDING Ration sx10 Rations x10 Rations x8 Waterskin x10 Waterskin x10 Waterskin x5 Potion of Healing x10 1986g, 812s, 729c

"Should I leave the flaming sword here?" James asked.

"Why? You can't lose the one you have." Rocko reminded him.

"True. I suppose I can sell it. Any idea how much it is worth?" James asked.

"A few hundred. Maybe as high as five hundred gold," Rocko mused while looking at the blade.

"Do you think your friends would take the blade in trade instead of all in gold?" James hoped, strapping the blade to his backpack.

"No, they are motivated by gold, not enchanted items. But I know of a couple of places you could sell it."

"Well, that's good. Now. Any idea how I will get to the city I am supposed to travel to?" James asked.

"There are a couple of ways. From what I was told, all you have to do is concentrate on the city you want to get to. When you arrive, you think to move off a bit to the side and then step out. That way, you don't appear in the middle of the city."

"That would be a good way to get myself killed," James laughed.

"Quite. If you run into anyone when you reappear, you may want to keep that in mind. If someone sees you, they will let the authorities know. And even though you can change your appearance, your gear may still be enough to get you arrested." Rocko cautioned.

"Worst case, I step away," James said with a smile.

"Some places have blocks that prevent you from stepping in or out," Rocko warned.

"How would someone know to do that? Isn't this Power Ultra Rare?" James asked.

"Yes, but blocks can be put in place to stop teleportation. And that will stop you as well. Also, safe rooms and dungeons will stop you." Rocko explained.

"What about Shadow Step? You said that was like Teleport. Does that mean it can block the same way?" James asked.

"Interestingly, no. You can use Shadow Step in a city with a block on it, in a safe room and a dungeon," Rocko specified.

"Good to know, " James agreed, "So, where am I going?"

"To a city called Ash Rumbo. It is about four-time further away than that village you just came from. So be careful. And do not rest in Astral Space. Step out. I will join you, and you can rest there."

"Why would I need to rest?"

"I don't know how taxing it is to travel in Astral Space. I assume you can't do it forever, so step out if you feel you need to rest." Rocko asked James again.

"Alright. Stay safe, Rocko."

"Stay hard, James."

James chuckled and stepped into Astral Space.

&&&&& ASTRAL SPACE &&&&&

James stepped into Astral Space and felt a chill run down his back. The temperature was much lower than in the jungle, and the noise stopped. James looked around at the swirling banks of fog. It was pretty peaceful here. He wasn't sure how far he could see, but looking around, the white of Astral Space swirled. Deciding it was time to get going, he started to concentrate on the city of Ash Rumbo. Closing his eyes, James tried to sense any pull in any specific direction. It was several minutes between which he felt something. He wasn't sure if it was correct but decided to go with it. Moving through the Astral Space as fast as possible, he moved with purpose in the direction pulling him.

A few minutes later, he sensed something different about the Astral Space he was in. It didn't feel right. There was something about the area that was wrong. It was frustrating not knowing anything about Astral Space or how it was supposed to look, but he knew that this was not right. James considered stepping back into real space, but he would have to move a hundred km in real space to get far enough away from this area.

Deciding to change tactics, James focused on the village he was in that morning. He knew something was wrong when he could feel himself being pulled in two different directions. One was in the direction he had been going, and the other was off to his left. Focusing on the one on his left, James started heading in that direction.

Suddenly, there was a roar as an enormous beast appeared close by. A lot closer than James thought his perception should have allowed. The creature was twice as large as James and looked like a giant spider. James hated spiders. Most sane people do.

James pulled out the bow and fumbled with an arrow before realizing that he didn't have any bow Skill. No time like the present, he thought, releasing the first arrow. Using the Power of the bow of Penetrate, James was displeased to see the arrow not even come close to the creature. Instead, James tried to launch a PSI Bolt at the creature. The now-familiar whistle struck the creature but didn't hurt it too much. It was fast. It was not much quicker than James Intelligence of 18, but it was content to chase him so far. Launching three more PSI Bolts, James was starting to get worried. The creature was not being dissuaded from pursuing him. The creature was gaining slowly but gaining nonetheless. Using just PSI Bolt, James had enough PSI for twelve of them. Launching eight more PSI Bolts in rapid succession, James noticed that the creature was being hurt but was still not slowing down.

Putting away his bow, James drew his Glrick Sword and decided to take a chance with the creature. Using the PSI from the Glrick Sword, James activated Augment Skill I and boosted his Evasion Skill. The creature attacked with its two front legs and its mandibles. James tried to evade the attack, but the creature was too fast. Realizing he had no chance against this creature, James activated his Astral Anchor and disappeared from combat.

James paused to catch his breath and realized how foolish it was to try and fight a creature he had no experience with. Stepping out, he reappeared in the jungle again.

&&&&& REAL SPACE &&&&&