Crow led the way through the caves since he didn’t need a light source to see where he was going. The other two used a Nightstone, which was why he was in front. It was to ensure their light source didn’t interfere with his night vision. A day later—or what passes for a day in a place without sun—they all heard the water. It took a few passages to find it, and when they did, Crow frowned.

The water channel wasn’t as wide as he’d hoped, but Crow could summon Vanguard, his trusty boat.

“Otto, you’re in the back, Mara the middle, and I’ll take the front. Honestly, none of you need to do much, as I’ll use vines to sense the bottom and paddle. Just monitor the sides of the river for enemies, traps, or an ambush.”

Crow held out his hand, and the tiny boat appeared before reshaping itself into a canoe. Now that he had more control over the Soul-Linked ship, he could adjust its look. After thinking about it, he made the exterior appearance like the skin of an Ebon Stone Crocodile. The pebbled surface of the canoe was dark gray and wasn’t easily spotted in the dark. If beasts in the water spotted it, they might even think it was the crocodile and flee.

Mara watched curiously before they all climbed aboard.

“By the way, if we are about to be ambushed, just duck down. There won’t be anything powerful enough here to damage the Vanguard.”

“Is that what you christened the ship?” Mara laughed.

“Trust me, you’ll understand how apt the name is if we are in danger.”

They launched down the river with little fanfare. The water’s surface seemed calm, but the flow below was rapid. They’d have slid downriver quickly without using his vine methods to propel them.

“Can you change the shape of the boat?” Mara asked.

“I can. I chose the canoe because it’s the easiest to maneuver on narrow waterways.”

“So it can become larger, too?”

“Yes. It even has airship designs, but I’ll need more resources and strength before it can regain that state.”

“Is it Soul-Linked like your arrow?”

“It is, but it almost feels alive, and the arrow never felt like that. I’ve heard of some treasures gaining a spirit, but I don’t know if this is the reason. Either way, it’ll need resources to upgrade it if I want to make it large enough to carry everyone—until then, I have the Soulverse.”

“You need a lot of concentration to move us?”

“You forgot about my bloodline ability. I need focus, but I can divide and dedicate part of my Mind to the task and blind it to everything else. It is impossible to distract me,” Crow chuckled and challenged her, knowing she was up to no good.

“Oh, really?” A husky voice whispered in Crow’s ear, and he shivered when he felt Mara’s hand reach in front of him and slide across the thin fabric covering his abs.

“Devil woman,” Crow panted.

“Heh, too bad your brother is here, or you might have got lucky,” Mara sat back, and he could hear her chuckling over his rough breathing. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he focused on the journey. The only real danger for the first few days was the areas where the ceiling was too low, and stalactites were nearly at the water level. Without Crow’s sight and senses, they might have crashed into them or, worse, impaled themselves.

The cave sounds were both quiet and loud. There wasn’t much noise, but the existing sounds echoed and reverberated, exacerbating the situation enough to drive a person mad. Crow never thought the sound of dripping water would impact him to that level, but he was wrong. He wasn’t the only one affected, either.

“Back in town, they gave this place another name,” Mara said with bloodshot eyes.

“What was the other name?” Crow asked.

“The Demented Grotto,” Mara told him. “It’s called Stonehead Dementia.”

“What is?”

“The disease that erodes the minds of those who pass through here.”

“What the hell? Why didn’t you tell me any of this before? Is that the reason everyone is hiding inside my Soulverse?”

Mara looked away guiltily. That night, while they were eating the dinner provided by Nadia, Mara couldn’t take it anymore.

“Crow?” Mara panted painfully.

“Heh, it’s fine. Go into the SoulScape—Otto and I will take care of it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. You can join us when we set up camp. We can ask Zoe if they carve up some wood blocks to create a sound barrier formation. You’ll be able to sleep just fine.”

“Deal.” Mara nodded, grateful to Crow. Being underground wasn’t for everyone. The lack of sunlight adds a lot of mental strain, even without the constant irritating sounds. It’d be like listening to someone snore non-stop for months—not even the willpower of a saint would survive it.

Now that it was just the two of them, Crow changed the boat to a shorter length, and they continued their journey. Lily came out now and then and flew around them until she got bored and went back into the Soulverse. He wasn’t sure why she was the only one able to come and go as she pleased—aside from Acco. The Astrologer’s reason was related to his ability, which differed from Lily’s. The only reasonable explanation was her bond with him, and he felt maybe she had some control over who could come and go like he had. It was something he’d have to test with Nin when she woke up. If the dragon could exit and enter at will, that would explain it since she was also soul bound to him.

“Brother? You good?” Otto asked.

“I’m good. I’m happy to be back, but like the girls, I eventually need a break. I already told Mara that when we find a good academy, I’ll stop to focus on Scholarly Talents. Because of all this traveling, I’ve been neglecting my learning.”

“Okay.” Otto nodded.

“How was it when I was away?”

“Bad. Good. Women matured. Adapted. Acco wiser. Quieter.”

“And you?”

“Trust brother. Good back. Can relax. Protect family hard. Messy. Lot work.”

Crow chuckled. “But worth it, right? Wait until you hold one of your nieces or nephews in your hands, and you’ll see. Things will change, and you’ll become a fiercely protective uncle.”

“Fine. Little toys. Otto play,” Otto said while chuckling. “Miss brother. Things better now.”

“Missed you, too, big guy.” Crow looked back at Otto, who was still grinning stupidly. “Otto, I learned something that might be about you.”

“Yeah?”

“You really are a giant. A short version of the story is I’m supposedly kin to the giants—but she didn’t realize you were my blood brother by ritual.”

“That it?”

“It’s a start. We obviously suspected already, but if we can figure out what kind of giant you are, we might find your people. Maybe your parents are alive.”

“Good. Not now.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Danger. Sense it. Not strong. Need time.”

“You sure?”

“Sure. Know care. But don’t,” Otto sat up and put his big hand on Crow’s shoulder. “Danger. Great danger. Sense it. Don’t look. Don’t find. Understood?”

“Calm down, big guy. I trust you and won’t betray your trust. You let me know when you are ready to figure out who you are, and I’ll walk the entire journey with you.”

“Otto know. Otto need you. Can’t do alone. Big strength.”

“We’ll all help you, you know that. My family is your family, and those girls would do anything for you,” Crow told him. “Okay, enough of that. I have something you might like.”

“What like?”

Crow brought out some wine. Rare stuff he’d saved and handed the bottle over to Otto. “The woman that sold it to me guaranteed it could knock a mountain on its ass. That’s what the lady said. Drink up, big guy.”

“Otto big mountain. Otto no fall.”

A few hours later, Crow and Otto were belting out bar songs out of tune. It was enough to scare off any monster in the area.

Oh, thar the winds blow

Exposing the fair skin of her body

Oh, thar the winds blow

So naught-naughty!

Crow did most of the singing, with Otto filling in the last words of the verse with him. While they were singing, Mara exited his SoulScape and joined them. Hearing what the two were singing, her face flushed. Shortly after the song ended, Mara was stunned at how shitfaced the two were. They were carrying on a conversation that she couldn’t understand because it didn’t sound like any language she’d ever heard. It was clearly something only the inebriated could comprehend.

Mara only lasted thirty seconds before she laughed so hard she nearly peed herself. Even Lily arrived, sat on Mara’s shoulder, and rubbed her eyes to convince herself she wasn’t hallucinating. It was the first time they’d seen Crow and Otto let loose and become ignorant of their surroundings and danger.

After a time, she helped direct the boat to make camp and set a few arrays to block out sound and camouflage their existence. Seeing the two had continued to drink, Mara shrugged and joined them. Crow pulled her into his lap, and it wasn’t long before all three sang songs. Lily sipped the wine unbeknownst to them and was drunkenly flying around the camp.

“Lady right,” Otto slurringly roared.

“’Bout what?” Crow responded, seeing his brother stand up and sway back and forth like a tree in a tornado.

“Mountain down!” Otto belched and fell over backward with a loud boom. Mara and Crow stared at the big guy for an indeterminate amount of time before laughing so hard they fell over. It was unknown if they got back up because everything went black.