Hours later, Eli was taking a break beside the trail where a bit of soft grass was growing within a natural clearing. A sizable thicket of pines had all collapsed in the same direction like something massive had knocked them down. If it had been a storm, he definitely didn’t want to be around for it, imagining it would be pretty tough to survive. Then again, with things like the Raskala around, some giant monsters might have shoved them over.

He’d already spent a few minutes carefully checking the area for any large lights, but nothing seemed too dangerous. The trees, bushes, and even little pockets under the ground were awash with innumerable little lights, each one a different animal going about its day. About a hundred meters within the forest were maybe a dozen larger glowing globs the size of dairy cows. If he had to guess, he’d say they were a herd of herbivores based on how they seemed to be grazing as they picked their way through the woods.

Sitting on a couple of blankets thrown over the long grass and chewing on some Ollmora jerky, he studied the uneven stones making up the roadway. On the way here, he’d seen rough patches where some sections were broken and cracked while other parts were overgrown with vegetation. Here, though, the slabs were pushed up and away by something underground while little shoots of green life sprouted between the separating stones.

He might have thought the slow disintegration a natural process except for what he’d seen that morning. On his trek, he’d come across a few other dirt paths heading off the road. One had even headed almost directly west, and he’d briefly considered taking it, hoping it would lead to Herria and eventually the manor. The problem was that it was in nearly the same sorry condition as the other trails, with only a sliver of the path showing under the encroaching vegetation. Ultimately, he’d decided to continue on the stone roadway since it was unlikely to disappear on him as quickly. That being said, with how fast it was apparently reverting into a crumbling ruin, he figured it wasn’t long for this world either.

Even with him stopping to check several intersecting trails, he’d made pretty good time that morning. He’d put on his sandals again, and mainly sticking to the center of the road, his long strides had eaten up the kilometers. If he still had Guide’s Tracking program, he’d know for sure but was guessing he’d traveled maybe twenty kilometers south while also descending a kilometer in elevation. It was definitely an easier trek than the switchbacks and narrow trail he’d traveled with Dara way out west.

Snagging another sheet of jerky, he wondered about some of the other mysterious lights his Manasight had revealed that morning. After leaving the bellowing Raskala behind at Blood Boulders, he only made it a couple of kilometers down the road before more massive chunks of light were revealed off to the east. And a bit later, more to the west. By the time he’d stopped for this lunch break, he’d passed maybe a dozen different groups of giant lifeforms, each at least his size or bigger. Luckily, unlike that six-legged dinosaur, while a few seemed to notice him, none had attacked.

Of course, they might have been a little hesitant to attack someone literally playing around with fire. Eli had been sure to train his Flamethrower every time he saw the larger lights, practicing in case the local monsters got frisky. He’d been careful to keep the flames clear from any plants, so much of the practice had consisted of him tossing fire over his head while trying to improve his fine control. It had been amusing, throwing out little spurts of fire from one hand, the other, and finally both while walking along the road.

When he wasn’t trying to warn away the nearby wildlife, he'd also practiced his other rarely-used vision abilities. Aurasight was still a bit disappointing, the world around him nearly unchanged. There’d been one oddity, though, with a surprising amount of color coming from some patches of ground, especially deep inside the forest. The radiance stood out more sharply when considering how the birds, smaller creatures, trees, and nearby vegetation remained invisible to his ability. At least some of the large animals had faint bits of different lights, but that only raised a disturbing question on why the forest’s floor was glowing.

Lifesight, on the other hand, was much more vibrant and would light up the world around him. The trees were often muted shades of browns and greens, with a few other hues tinging their foliage. The different plants appeared like a multicolored collection of pale pastel colors, though browns were predominant even there. The smaller animals like birds and rodents were revealed, too, at least those close by. Unfortunately, unlike Manasight and Aurasight, the ability was subject to some limitations – he had a hard time picking up the colors if they were hidden behind obstructions.

Finally deciding to get this show on the road again, he toggled Manasight back on and took a last look around while gathering up his stuff. His food and canteen went into storage, along with the notes he’d written on his morning observations. The two blue blankets he’d used as a cushion got a few vigorous shakes tossing off little sparkles of lights that flew off into the undergrowth. He grimaced, thinking of those bugs crawling on him even while the blankets vanished.

“Is there bug repellent here?” he mused, thinking of the possibilities. “Maybe I can find some in Bishal?” He slapped at another bug crawling up the back of his neck.

Setting off, he started humming an old Willie Nelson song, once again pining for his music library that had disappeared at some point between Earth and Lurra. Brokenly humming a song that he only partially remembered just wasn’t the same. Plus, there were some great gems from the last few years with the revitalized rock genre. Then again, he’d probably opt for something more instrumental while on a hike this pretty.

Maybe twenty minutes later, he slowed to a stop at seeing the slight curve in the road, the first time it had deviated from its ramrod-straight course all day. A series of hills rose on the right, where the road turned slightly westward. Trees dotted the grassy slopes, a smattering of game trails slowly circling the way up to a heavy thicket atop the most prominent ridge. There was a hint of color hiding amongst the vegetation’s more muted browns and greens, something which didn’t belong.

To be careful, he engaged Hypermind to buy himself some time, the air firming around him as usual. While the world slowed down around him, he squinted while pushing a little more juice into Manasight. A squarish building was suddenly revealed, its walls and supporting structure glowing faintly. Only a few stories tall, it looked like some sort of watchtower overlooking the nearby road with some people standing watch up top. A few glowing human forms were on the lower floors as well. A little more searching exposed a few dozen other human lights scattered atop the hill. Some smaller buildings were also up there, looking like maybe a barracks with how many people were inside.

Concerned that he’d missed something, he stopped and crouched out of easy sight, stepping into the nearby long grass growing beside the road. Unfortunately, the vegetation was tough to move through, stiff and slow to bend as he tried to find cover. With a little more work, he managed to find a decent spot beside a small group of trees. There were also a few convenient bushes growing among the long grass, blocking any easy sight of him.

He carefully looked around to see if anyone had caught him darting away. To the east was a smattering of cow-sized forms much like the grazers he’d caught picking their way through the woods. Finding nothing to the north or west, he looked up the road, his eyes locking onto a distant collection of human-shaped glowing lines. Someone sat facing south a few hundred meters ahead and maybe ten meters off the road. Beside them were three more people hiding within the vegetation, two standing while another sat looking almost directly north towards Eli. They hadn’t reacted to his presence yet, but they also weren’t looking away.

Shit.

Slowly crouching lower, he sidled further behind the convenient bushes. He eventually found a spot behind a few blue-needled pine trees that would effectively block their line of sight. All the while, he considered what they were doing all the way out here. He didn’t think he was close to a city, at least not based on how depopulated the road had been all morning. In his experience, little settlements should sprout well before he came to a town. He might have wondered if Lurra was different, but he’d seen much the same thing on the trip to Herria. Even there, they’d come across farms and cultivated lands for a few hours before seeing the town. Here, though, there were only woods and a hidden fortified building with a couple dozen unknown folks positioned to control the only road around.

Considering the situation, he was pretty sure he was dealing with some bandits. There’d been a similar foursome hidden when he and Dara had traveled down the narrow trail. The setup had been a little different, with two archers striking from a hunter’s hideout. Still, the number and positions seemed like too much of a coincidence, especially when he added the buildings and people atop the nearby hill. He wasn’t sure what he’d stumbled upon, but he doubted it was any kind of friendly welcoming committee.

In the distance, the foursome had grown excited about something, though they were staring off to the west. He followed their gaze, his Manasight picking up a new group of four hidden within the trees on the opposite side of the road. He must have missed them while focusing on the distant structure, but now that he’d noticed them, he figured he was in a bit of trouble. They were further away, but two of the glowing forms were facing towards Eli, with one pointing right where he’d been on the road only moments ago. Within Hypermind’s sluggish world, the other two slowly turned towards his position as if someone had sounded an alarm. A heartbeat later, the first person stopped pointing and started walking towards him.

Double shit.

With the binary choice between fight or flight, he considered his options. If he were to fight, he didn’t think he’d have much of a challenge with these folks. It was hard to imagine them surviving a few swipes from Bash, let alone his Flamethrower or metal spheres. Even adding the two from the trailing group only made it four. Of course, once he included the other four left behind and the dozens of people with unknown abilities dotting the hills, he suddenly wasn’t in the mood for a confrontation.

Careful to keep low with a couple of pine trees between him and the approaching people, he glanced back but saw only the same lights from tiny creatures behind him. In the distance, the glowing herd was making its way east as they grazed. Still, even without someone creeping up on him, he couldn’t retreat with the lack of cover between him and the thicker forest.

With little alternative until and unless they literally stumbled upon him, he prepared himself for action, slowly easing Hypermind until the two pairs were walking at a normal pace again. He’d already guessed they were armed based on how their hands grasped something invisible to Manasight. He was assuming more spears and bows, but it wasn’t worth peeking to confirm. After all, even with weapons, they’d quickly learn how horrific a flamethrower could be over short distances if they were stupid enough to attack.

The closest group stopped on the road near where Eli had been, a few tiny gaps in the blue needles revealing the two people only a handful of meters away. The woman in the lead, wearing the same light leathers as the previous bandits, crouched down, pointing at something. She looked back at her companion, saying something to the man that had accompanied her, but the noise from the chirping birds, droning insects, and the early afternoon breeze rustling through the foliage drowned out her words.

A sudden notification in his HUD pulled at his attention. “Something was here,” was typed out in his chat window. Somehow, though Eli couldn’t catch the words, Guide still translated whatever it detected. He wasn’t sure if it was some quirk of the technology or magic, and he didn’t really care as the woman continued murmuring to her companion. “Hard to say with the condition of the road, but something moved in that direction,” and she gestured at a spot only a few meters away. “It could have been human, but I’ll have to check their trail to be sure.”

Trying not to move too quickly, Eli carefully eased lower, putting a solid tree trunk between him and the scout. He couldn’t risk her sharp eyes catching him, and he could still see them pretty well with Manasight.

“Shara’s tits. Boss Aengus is gonna be pissed if someone gets away with word about our position,” the man behind her said in a gravelly voice loud enough for Eli to hear.

“Find anything?” another man asked. His glowing form stopped near the talking pair, with the fourth person trailing behind. They might as well have been a bunch of infielders on a pitcher’s mound discussing the weather with how close yet casual they all were.

“Aminadd thinks something large came through here,” the gravelly voice said as he turned to the man. “Do you sense anything?”

The new guy didn’t say anything immediately but slowly scanned the nearby area. He hesitated while looking east into the forest. “There’s a group of larger animals out that way,” he said, pointing to where the herd of grazers continued to slowly move away. “They might be marta or even torcs, but it’s hard to tell from here. Other than those, there are no other auras beyond ours out here.”

Startled, Eli toggled Aurasight, and the glowing mana systems within the four people were replaced by tiny colorful clouds. Each with their own color, the man who’d just spoken didn’t seem different from the rest. Beyond them, the two pairs they’d left behind were also revealed, still in their original positions near the road. Beyond them, the distant people atop the hill and within the building were barely smears of color. Wishing for greater detail, he turned on Manasight again just as the crouching woman stood, turning to the other three.

“How far away? If they were what I saw, we’d still hear their bleating from here.”

“Look, Aminadd,” the new guy said in a condescending voice. “If you want to head into Eld Forest to check for phantoms, feel free. My gift tells me there’s nothing with any intelligence out there, so I’m heading back before Boss Aengus, or one of his Gifted, finds me away from my post.” So saying, he turned and headed back down the road. His companion, still silent, simply shrugged before following.

The remaining pair stared after them for a moment before the man turned to the woman. “Do you think you saw someone? If so, tell me, and we can check it out. I’d take a tongue-lashing from Eonan or Fearg over the Boss ripping us apart for failing to find some trespasser.”

“I definitely saw something big,” the woman replied, focusing again on the spot where she’d been pointing. Looking up, she focused on the small thicket where Eli hid, but the pines’ rough trunk and thick blue needles blocked her sight. She eventually turned to the man waiting beside her. “I suppose it could have been a large torc or small marta,” she admitted.

“And since they’re moving away into Eld Forest, it’s not our fault or our problem,” the man said, clearly satisfied with his logic. He turned, starting to walk back to his original spot where his other two companions waited. With a last lingering look at Eli’s hiding spot, the woman finally nodded before following.

Eli waited as patiently as he could manage while the two pairs departed, trying to ignore the flying bugs that circled his head. He only relaxed when the human lights were again in their places a few hundred meters away. Slowly wiping the sweat off his face, he ran his hands through the short hair sprouting from his scalp, throwing off a few of the tiny insects that had settled there. Easing back and staying low, he kept his augmented vision trained on the distant people as he made his escape.