Sylvia woke to the aroma of soup. She stretched and opened her eyes. It was daytime. She sat up and saw a steaming pot above the campfire and Riku was nowhere to be found. Frantic, she threw off her blankets, reached for her staff, her eyes darting left and right looking for any signs of movement.

“There’s no enemies around us, Sylvia,” a voice said from behind her.

Upon hearing his voice, Sylvia turned, ran to Riku, and hugged him.

“Where ‘d you go? I thought you either left me or were abducted by enemies while I slept.”

“I noticed a river nearby and decided to clean myself a little.”

“Why didn’t you wake me and let me know?”

"You were sleeping so peacefully, I didn’t want to wake you—especially after what transpired last night.”

“Thanks.”

“Wash up if you’d like. I’ll be here when you come back.”

Sylvia folded her blankets and walked to the river. Riku watched her go before turning his attention back to making breakfast.

“That elf girl is really cute. You got lucky with this one, boy,” Dragic suddenly spoke.

“She’s a friend.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Where did you go after the fight?”

“I was exhausted from yesterday’s fight so I rested. Normally, I’ll be awake. Don’t worry, nobody will hear us talk to each other.

“Mhm.”

“Back to the main topic, don’t tell others of your abilities. People easily get jealous of others and since your abilities are not the norm, you have a big target on your back.”

"I know.”

“Furthermore, a tracking signal has been placed on your body and you are being watched by multiple shadows.”

"Can you help me avoid them?”

“Maybe. I’m going to try and remove the tracking signal. When the elf girl comes back, after she eats, have her play a tune that can paralyze enemies for some time and escape during then. I will give you the signal.”

“Very well.”

Sylvia came back to the campsite looking refreshed. She grabbed a bowl, scooped soup from the pot, and settled down. Riku busied himself by packing helpful items for their journey.

“Riku, what will do now?” Sylvia asked.

“My end goal is to find Mazark and make him pay for his transgressions. For now, let’s head to the nearest town or city and collect information. Afterwards we can head to your village. I will accompany you there, but I will not stay.”

“I’ll follow you where you go. I want my part of the revenge as well.”

“Ok. When you are done with your meal, Sylvia, take out your flute and play a calming tune that can paralyze any who hear it in the surrounding area.”

“Mm? Sure? But why?”

“I’ll tell you later. When I give the signal, begin playing.”

“Ok.”

Riku went back to packing items into various bags. When Sylvia finished eating, she joined him.

“NOW, BOY!” Dragic said.

“Sylvia, take your flute out and play.”

Sylvia took out her flute and began playing a hauntingly beautiful tune. Entranced, Riku stopped what he was doing to listen and forgot what he had to do. He stood there for some time until he was brought back to his senses by Dragic.

“BOY, GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER AND RUN! OTHERWISE THE CHANCE I MADE FOR YOU WILL BE WASTED!”

Riku reached down, hurriedly filled it with random items, and then reached out and grabbed Sylvia’s hand. Together they sprinted into the forest.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

"How did the boy evade you and your team? You’re some of the better trackers I have trained.”

“Milord, I don’t know. He found out that we had placed a tracking signal on him and somehow erased it. The boy then had his companion play a paralyzing tune with her flute and we fell into her spell.” one of the trackers lay on the ground groveling.

“Useless fucks. Tell me how do you want me to punish you for failing my orders?”

“Milord, grant mercy. Retrain me and my group so that this will never happen again.”

“Heh. You’re right. If I retrain you guys, I will have no more slip ups.”

“Thank you, Milord. Thank you for sparing our lives!”

"Milord?” The tracker looked up, saw multiple red flashes, and fell limply to the floor along with his companions.

“Retrain you guys my ass. I’d rather train zombies before I train you dipshits again.”

Mazark mumbled a few words and the dead bodies before him rose back to life. He conjured a picture of Riku in front of the zombies and left it there.

“Memorize this picture. I want you to go out, find this boy, and bring him to me. I’m done waiting for him. The longer I wait, it seems the stronger he gets. I need unlimited power fast…”