Courtney doesn’t have anything for them to do either, so the two of them just stand there awkwardly for about ten minutes before they set out. As they travel things seem normal at first. Then things get weird.

Courtney had been passively paying attention, looking for signs of when Peter and Rosha had come through here. Seeing as they both were rangers she spotted nothing directly, but what she did see was astounding. Peter must have been setting up examples because packed right up against one another are tracks of various animals. More than she can even begin to identify.

Then after the tracks, there are a series of evenly spaced trees, each one a different type, though the more magical ones are already showing signs of dying. Jason shakes his head at this, “Well, Peter is apparently more than just a ranger.”

These odd scenes continue for a little longer. Each new section displays some feature of the kingdom’s wildlife. After that, new scenes appear. Instead of just single things it appears Peter has gone as far as to create full sized dioramas that depict various natural scenes. The two have a hard time deciphering anything from them though because of how decayed they all are. If the magical trees had just started to die, these scenes look as if they had been dead for days if not weeks for the ones farther from the local areas norm.

Courtney rolls her eyes, “You would think that someone from an illusion focused kingdom would use illusions for this sort of thing.”

Jason laughs, “You just want to see the magic in action. We both know that you won’t get anything out of just seeing the magic. If all it took was to see someone cast the illusions, it would have gotten out no matter what the System wants.”

Courtney sighs, “Still, I would like a chance to examine it. The entire group has come out here for me to learn this magic, and I’ve only heard of it online at this point. It feels like we’ve come too far to ‘give up’, but that is just the lost cost fallacy rearing its ugly head. Everything about this special illusion magic has been hyped, and honestly? It is making me feel a bit leery at this point.”

Jason shrugs, “It’s just a variant. If it doesn’t work out for you, go back to the normal stuff. Me and Rachel have been enjoying ourselves on the trip. Hell, Rachel is even getting personal instructions from what from all indications is an amazing ranger. For that alone, the trip was worth it! He isn’t absurd as some of the people I’ve met, but he must have learned something in the half a millennium he has probably been alive.”

This gives Courtney something to think about so the rest of the time it takes for them to catch up to the other two is passed in silence.

When they do meet up at first they can only see Peter who is just standing in the middle of the road. He waves them over. “Take a moment and try to find Rosha. I’ve given her a few tips on hiding and she wanted to test what she has learned.”

Courtney glances around. There are a few trees near the road and a bush or two. Since Peter didn’t say she had to stand still, she looks behind the trees and in the bushes but can’t find her.

All the while Jason stands next to Peter with his arms crossed. When Courtney turns to him he pushes Peter to the side and reveals Rosha standing behind him. He shakes his head, “The first rule of hiding is that the best place is where people assume you wouldn’t hide.”

Peter laughs, “I told you he wouldn’t fall for it. He has old eyes. Next time you’ll have to try and actually hide instead of trying to win through simple tricks. Not that I am saying you shouldn’t use those tricks. Just don’t depend on them. First hide properly and then you can throw some tricks on top of that.”

Rosha harrumphs, “I still hid from Courtney.”

Peter rolls his eyes, “Half of that was because of my work. If I hadn’t misdirected her, chances are she would have seen you. It isn’t like you can make your feet invisible. People just have a tendency to look at a person’s face when they are talking and so didn’t see them.”

Rosha shrugs, “Fine, you made your point. Now where would you have hidden?”

Peter smiles, “Not here! I only told you to not be found by them. Not that you had to hide here. While what Jason said was a good rule for when you have to hide, the best way to not be found is to not be there in the first place.”

Jason laughs and claps his hands, “That’s a classic! Should have let her go on for a bit longer so she has a chance to catch on.”

Peter shrugs, “I’m more on the side of letting them know early so you can trick them later after they forget. I’ve found it makes them remember the lesson better. Plus there is nothing funnier than when you remind them of it.”

Rosha gives them both the stink eye. “I’m sure this is all fun for you both but maybe we should get a move on. The swarm cats aren’t going to kill themselves. Plus our goal was to head to the bamboo city in the first place. Let’s get a move on!”

The other three laugh at this but none of them disagree. With the little game of hide and seek out of the way the group gets a move on and continues down the road. Soon after, though, they find their first swarm to fight. It was almost as if someone had been clearing the road ahead of them until it was time to get some fighting in with how fast they came upon them.