February 22, 2019, 7:20 pm. A long time until we're gonna smash bugs. I hope.

When we leave Vethel's tiny little office, not only has she granted us future access to The Hidden Depths, but she’s also arranged for the materials for the tracking array. Most will be here tomorrow, and the only missing component will arrive the day after. We also get a hundred Iron-Rank Mana Essence. Each.

Makes me feel like my windfall of shards I mined was almost nothing. Honestly, I hadn't expected the windfall of Essence when I asked Vethel to throw it in. She’d even offered more if it would help get rid of Fallen.

Walking down the tower, Rufka and I remain quiet. The casual exploration we were enjoying before Vethel approached us is no longer appealing, so we make our way to a restaurant near the beach. I watch the frankly miniscule waves as they crash against the shore. With a sigh, I say, "I miss the waves.”

"We could go flying," Rufka says even as a pair of K'tharn bring our meal to the table. "We haven't raced since we got back."

I nod, but my eyes remain fixed on the ocean. I don't really taste our meal as I stare off into space, trying to figure out why the lack of waves bothers me so much. Even as Rufka and I finish dinner, I'm unable to figure it out. She pulls me out of my thoughts with an enthusiastic discussion of how much building the tracking array is going to help her subclass advance. Which reminds me that I need to set my own. Backtracking to the Nexus, I set my subclass to Explorer. I'd been hoping for an Enchanting subclass, but even with all the recent lessons from Rufka, I haven't unlocked one. Despite Wyonna denying any involvement, I'm suspecting something similar to my locked cooking skill.

Shaking my head, I focus on the subclass I do have, and just equipped as Rufka and I return to the inn.

"Subclass Equipped: Explorer."

"Partial Credit for Banked Explorer Experience has advanced the subclass to Level 3."

"Explorer Subclass Abilities Unlocked: Unerring Compass, Traveler's Socks."

I can't help but smile as I read the description of the abilities. Compass points to my current planet's rotational north. Or south. It allows me to set it to my preference. But it's the second ability that has me smiling. It prevents my feet from getting sore after long hikes, or from being too cold or wet. Between Health Edge and flight, it's almost completely useless.

And yet... just seeing it is enough to make me get over the lack of roaring waves. I take Rufka's arm, pulling her close and talking about all the things I want to see.

I wonder if I can get experience for being a tourist on earth?

When we get back to the inn, the others are in the garden area out back, gathered around the table. Everyone is there, except Beth.

Josh, Rose and Tipan are playing a game of Astra's Stride. Even as Rufka moves towards them, I step over to where Roberts is sorting small stones with the innkeeper, Pefe. She's extolling the virtues of certain patterns, and how certain stones have special meanings. I can't help but squint. Then I copy the stone she has in her paws with Stone Manipulation. Yep. It's that easy.

So, why...

"Oh, Alexis, Pefe was just telling me about a game her father played with her when she was a kitten," Roberts says, interrupting my thoughts as he motions to the bench next to them.

I accept his invitation, and Pefe explains the rules of the game. Like a lot of games on Akilo, the use of magic is restricted. For this, the goal is to find the most interesting patterns. Creating a stone is against the spirit of the game.

When I ask why, Pefe laughs, "Creating stone is fine. But it's more of an art, and not one I could play when I was a kitten, now, was it?"

Right, not everyone has the ability to use magic as a kid, even on Akilo.

I end up begging off early and find myself looking over the designs for the tracking array when Rufka joins me for the night.

Snuggling into my side while only slightly disturbing Smoulder, Rufka asks, "Is it Beth?"

"I... what?" I ask, my head lost in the diagram for a second before I turn towards her. "Is what Beth?"

"Whatever's bothering you," Rufka states, pulling away to look into my eyes, her upper eyes closed. "You've been weird since Vethel."

"I... well, Beth's part of it, sure. But also..."

Rufka doesn't push me, laying there, and waiting patiently as I search for the words. Finally, I say, "It's everything. Beth. The sudden wealth. Fallen becoming K'tharn again. It feels like we've been sprinting to catch up for weeks and suddenly we're... ahead and behind at the same time. And now I'm feeling listless. I mean, I know we're going to build the tracking array, and then we'll try to track down Pogell. It's just a feeling."

"Mhm," Rufka says, closing her eyes and laying her head across my side.

"Also... I miss the waves," I add, which earns me an amused snort.

Then Rufka pulls away, looking at me with just her lower eyes again. "Wait, you're serious, aren't you?"

"I... kinda, yeah," I reply with a helpless shrug.

Rufka shakes her head as she returns it to my chest. "You know, when we got together, I thought I was going to be the adventurous one."

"You are?" I say, kissing the top of her head.

"Mhm," Rufka mumbles. It's just a normal tone of agreement. But for some reason, I feel like I just accidentally issued a challenge. Part of me is nervous, but a bigger part is excited.

The next morning is spent putting together the basic structure of the tracking array. Vethel provides us with an unused house that was destroyed during Ivicka's attack. The exterior looks intact, but inside, it's a completely empty building. Not so much as a shoe rack. Rufka and Tipan decide that it’ll be better if we build the control centre of the tracking array in the living room, mostly to keep from being disrupted as we work. We'll need to put the actual antennas outside, but we're still waiting on most of the components for those, so for the moment we concentrate on the control centre.

It turns out we have enough to get its base features working, but it has a range of less than twenty meters without the antenna. We end up spending a few hours experimenting with different materials, and Rufka even ties it to the house's shell. Which gets a whopping range of three-hundred meters. I'm arguing with Josh about the merits of trying to create our own personal radio tower outside town when I feel three tethers suddenly jump much closer. It seems Kellica is back. And she brought Lik'tik and Ael'thani with her. Cutting off the argument with Josh by walking away in the middle of my sentence, I wave to Rufka, who was watching while petting Smoulder.

"Problem?" Rufka asks with a hint of a smile that she fails to keep off her face.

"Kellica's back," I reply, raising my voice loud enough the others can easily hear. Soon everyone is waiting on the front porch with me, watching as Kellica approaches. She stands tall, her shoulders square as she gets close. Lik'tik looks the same as always, their mottled skin even now seeking to adjust to the buildings behind them. On the other hand, Ael’thani seems... jumpy. Her eyes are flicking about, her upper and lower eyes tracking different directions at the same time. And never any one direction for long.

One direction she avoids looking is Kellica's.

"Tel'thoni," Kellica greets, bowing slightly as she reaches the lowest step.

"Hey Kellica, welcome back," I say, waving my hand at three empty folding chairs serving as our patio furniture. Temporary furniture just felt appropriate. Plus, it's a lot comfier than it looks.

"Thank you," Kellica says, taking a seat across from me and Rufka. The others are also here, but they're having their own conversation on the other side of the porch. Kellica acknowledges them with a short wave before turning back to me. "The K'mintar has... given me an unusual task for my Vigil."

"Hah, unusual," Ael'thani huffs, throwing herself into the chair next to Kellica. "Unusual she says."

"She is correct. It is unusual," Lik'tik says, inspecting their own chair as if afraid it will collapse if they attempt to sit in it. They decide not to risk it, taking a position at Kellica's shoulder instead.

"Pogell has gone rogue," Kellica says, drawing my attention back to her. "And she has supporters. The Taken are... compromised."

"Many drift from the tenets," Lik'tik says, nodding as if this implies their agreement with Kellica. Which, maybe it does.

"Compromised, huh?" I ask, mostly as acknowledgement.

Drawing in a deep breath, Kellica nods. "And the K'mintar believes it would be best if we can prove our innocence. We are to complete the Vigil by returning a lost outpost to the fold."

"And you're allowed to get help from us?" Rufka asks, crossing her arms as she leans back.

With a short nod, Kellica taps the table as she continues, "I'm allowed to use any personal resources. But Lik'tik and Ael'thani are the only Taken assets I have been permitted."

Ael'thani stops her frantic searching to stare at Kellica for a second but doesn't say anything before looking outward, resuming her scan.

"Okay. So what can we do to help?" I ask, leaning forward.

"There... is an outpost. A training centre. Pogell was last seen heading there before they implemented isolation measures. We need to infiltrate the compound without hurting anyone."

I nod, looking to Rufka before glancing to the others. "Well, I'll help. But why don't we pull the tables together, and you can ask the others."

At my confirmation, Kellica's shoulders slump, a smile sneaking onto her face for the first time since she sat down. "Thank you, Tel’thoni."

I also get a notification, but I ignore it for the moment, waving the others over. As they're pulling the tables together, I look at the message.

"Quest Received: Upholding the Long Night's Vigil of Eyes. Capture the Taken Agents at Outpost S-232. Rewards: Reduce Citizen Beth's Restoration Timer by thirty-six days (Exclusive to Citizen Pandora). 1 Iron-rank Progression Point. 1 Copper Mana-Essence."

Well, that's... unexpected. Welcome, but unexpected.

I'm not surprised when everyone agrees to help. And they do so before I even get a chance to mention the rewards. We were planning to go after Pogell anyway. When I mention that it'll let us bring Beth back quicker, it doesn't change anything. Except for the massive surge of relief that passes through us. There's a new fire in Josh as we start planning, even though we decide to do most of it on the way. The outpost is a few hours south of the twisted tree Nexus point where we met Demo, and Kellica wants to leave as soon as possible. After distributing doses of Kellica's paralytic venom to everyone, we depart.

Teleporting everyone is more comfortable than ever with my recent insights into my aura. It allows me to understand exactly how close people need to be to safely teleport them. Which makes it even more embarrassing when we arrive, and Tipan loses a few strands off her mohawk. I don't think anyone else even notices, but I stare at the tiny divot while checking the boundaries of my teleport against my aura... and it's not totally steady. The top of my aura bubble wavers a bit. Okay. Still need a bit of a safety margin. And to not let Tipan stand at the outer edge. Welp, better hair than a body part.

Even while I'm reflecting on my slightly imperfect teleport, we're already taking to the air and heading south. My new compass insists we're heading a few degrees west of south. Glad I can turn it off. I don't need to know what direction we're heading at all times. Least, not yet.

We discuss several plans and approaches, as we get closer, though we won't commit to anything until we can see what we’re dealing with. The outpost is in the middle of the Desert of Drowned Souls, which has some pretty unique flora. Instead of cactuses and other such plants deserts on earth might have, the surface of the desert is covered in thin strands of tough fiber. The drowned souls are a reference to the noise the desert makes when wind blows over these strings, which Tipan says sounds like a drowning K'tharn. Which apparently sounds like a lot of high-pitched squealing interspersed with low rasping.

When we're just out of sight, Kellica calls a stop. Tipan brings out her map, and Kellica points to a pair of coordinates high above the flat desert. Our team's insertion point. After everyone confirms we know what we're doing, Lik'tik, Josh, Rose and Roberts continue on their southern trajectory. They're going to be the initial point of contact. And if that fails, they'll serve as a distraction. Looking up, I do my best to approximate where Kellica was pointing.

Once everyone is in formation, I teleport us above the outpost. It's perfectly visible from here, though I was off by a few hundred metres. Zooming in, I inspect our target. It's a squat ugly stone building, thrown together like the earth mage responsible was offended by having to put it here. There isn't a single artistic flourish. I'm almost offended. When I unzoom, I'm reminded just how high we are. We're a couple kilometres up, but with a sphere of wind mana around us, it isn't even uncomfortable. For a second, I forget about our mission and look into the sky... I wonder just how high I could go? Then the others shift around me, Lik’tik approaching the gate.

It's go time.

We drop towards the outpost, most of the guards hidden from sight. The few who are visible are reacting to Lik'tik already. They're talking to him, which makes me wonder if we might not need-

And they just attacked him.

I teleport us a few hundred meters closer, bypassing the shimmer of the shield protecting the outpost. I'm thankful it's not a Stronghold, or that might not have worked.

As soon as we're inside the shield, we shoot out dozens of small shards. They're similar to the shards Pogell used on us, coated in Kellica's paralytic venom. Except they're not attached to the thin thread he used to guide them. We’re making up for poor aim by using a lot more of them. The guards attacking Lik’tik collapse under the assault, as do the ones who were waiting behind them. A second barrier pops up, closing off access to the interior. But it's a barrier of barely reinforced stone. When I get closer, I can see where it’s weak, and it only slows us a little. With Kellica and I combining our efforts, we break through the copper-rank walls in less than a minute.

"Okay, we're inside. Three minutes to take full control," Kellica says, the first words any of us have breathed since we started. We split up, Kellica heading towards the command centre of the hub with Ael'thani to prevent the outpost from destroying itself.

Smoulder and I go towards the trainee quarters while Rufka and Tipan move towards the entrance to ensure all the guards who were hit with the first wave of attacks are down. And that none of them are in danger from the sudden assault.

There are a few Taken coming down the stairs from the shielded quarters, but a flick of my wrist has Kellica's metal shards in their necks before they can blink...

I think I'm going to need more of this paralytic.

It'd be nice to have such a safe and easy way to disable people. It doesn't even care about how much Health they have, just their Focus. It helps that it basically punches up a level, doing enough Focus damage that a Copper-Rank can't take more than a couple hits. Unlike Pogell, I make sure none of the K'tharn are at risk of being injured, setting them back in their beds before moving on.

Smoulder and I complete our sweep with two minutes and twelve seconds left. We're back at the stairs when a loud 'wuff' echoes up from below.

That... wasn't part of the plan.