"You have crystals from the enemy," whispered Allo, sounding shaken. Her eyes were wide, focused on the necklace in my hand.

"They're not from the enemy," I said, trying to not sound angry. I tilted my head in Lenna's direction. "The Forgers stole them from Lenna's people after enslaving them, just like I bet they stole the knowledge of runes from your people."

This time I glanced at Cekta for confirmation.

"They have targeted rune users, and were excited to get their hands on me." His voice was quiet but steady as he spoke. "I will use my skills against them."

"Exactly." I nodded. "It's the same thing here. I use my skills against the Forgers, and it helps me free others from under their control."

People relaxed, but still seemed uncertain. I didn't care. My focus stayed on Cekta.

"Can you open your shirt?" he asked, this time his cheeks darkened slightly.

It wasn't until this point that I realized his people didn't wear as much clothing as I did. Everyone wore pants or clothing like a wrap, but it wasn't divided up by gender. Craftspeople used wraps, while fighters used pants with tight shirts. Except, Cekta also had pants, and I wasn't sure where he fell on the craftsperson versus fighter spectrum.

Strange, but not a problem. I unbuttoned my shirt, giving him access to my breastbone.

"Thank you," he said before pausing. His next words came out in a rush. "This might feel weird. Kabi says it's like someone is drawing on his insides instead of his skin. It doesn't feel bad, just strange."

I almost noped out after that description. Drawing on my insides? But this was important to them, and it would make me stronger. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. Deep breaths, keeping calm and steady. I nodded for him to continue.

He touched my skin with something cool, leaving a tingling feeling behind. Minutes ticked by as he drew. Long enough that I had to peek.

This time, instead of the charcoal he'd used before, he used something blue that felt smooth. Yet, it left behind crisp bright blue lines that practically glowed against my pale skin.

Complex lines crossed an area about the size of my palm. Eventually, he pulled away and let out a deep breath.

His eyes met mine. "The lines are done, now I need to activate it."

"What is that like?"

"Don't fight it," came from Kabi, who'd sat down off to one side without me noticing.

It was then I realized I'd shut off my senses when I focused on my breathing. It was probably a good thing, given how much activity was going on in the cavern. Mostly people kept to their tasks, though now and then someone glanced our way at what was happening.

I ignored them.

"Okay, I'll relax as much as possible."

Cekta nodded and closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths.

I followed his lead, calming myself again and focusing on what Cekta was doing.

"I'm going to get started now."

Then I felt it. A sensation much like when I peered inside a crystal flowed over the rune on my chest, and the feeling of a presence. The rune had a presence as it filled up with energy. Just like the crystals, Cekta was sending impressions to the rune, telling it what he wanted just like I did when forging a crystal tool.

It reminded me of a dance. Cekta made a move, then the rune responded, and the back and forth continued.

Then I felt it touch my aura.

I didn't fight it, but I watched closer as the rune glowed inside the cloud of energy that surrounded me. At least, I assumed that was my aura.

It latched on, touching just the tiniest bit, then I got the notification.

[You have been given the rune, Truth Sayer. Truth Sayer: you can tell if someone believes what they are saying is true or if it is a lie.]

My eyes snapped open at the notification.

Cekta's face paled to an almost white color, and sweat trickled down his forehead.

"Are you okay?" I asked, reaching out with a hand.

"That took more out of me than I thought it would. It almost felt like you were a higher level than me…" He shook his head. "Just strange."

"You need to rest and eat some food," I said. "Also, the truth sayer rune is awesome. Thank you."

He nodded lightly and made a move to get up.

"Nope, you rest there," growled Kabi as he got up and received the bowl of food that Allo brought over. He moved closer to Cekta. "You are going to take your time and eat all of this."

I chuckled, feeling great, and stood. Sometimes I got like that after working with crystals, so I understood. I stretched out my senses, getting a handle on where everyone was. Lenna sat near the archway keeping an eye down the hallway.

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I snagged my necklace and placed it back on. As soon as the crystals made contact with the rune, I paused. The presences touched one another, almost talking. I hadn't expected that.

It wasn't bad, just different, and at the same time the magic behind all of it felt the same. The same energy and flow, just different shapes, or different colors. Yet, with runes, I could truth-tell, but with crystals, I couldn't… but could I? Maybe I could get an air crystal to do that, I just hadn't thought of it.

What if I combined runes and crystals? If the magic behind the two systems was the same, why couldn't I?

My mind raced as I approached Lenna.

Yet, that same presence I'd felt the first time we were in the flooded city, out on the edges of my senses, returned. I didn't do anything different besides slowing down my approach to keep it in range.

Whatever it was, it rested somewhere beyond the wall within the waters. It moved closer, but at a snail's pace, creeping to a crack in the broken wall. The light from the mushrooms made the surface of the water sparkle here and there.

Yet, I couldn't see beneath the surface so far away, so I couldn't trigger Insight.

"We'll need to hunt tonight if possible," said Lenna, her eyes trailing over the people. "Find a bigger food source. The Drakelet was good for now, but if we need to store enough to get to the city to the north, we'll need a lot more."

"We will, and I don't know anything about the beasts here." I leaned against the wall, watching over everyone while keeping the crack in the wall in view.

It stayed right there, watching us as I kept an eye on it. The feeling reminded me of the eyes out in the lake.

That made sense, that the lake connected to the water inside the city. Maybe it was the same thing.

"Moving quickly and quietly with a group this big is going to be hard, even with runes to keep people quiet," I whispered when Lenna didn't respond.

She nodded and frowned. "They'll need to learn like Kabi has, ways to walk in the woods without leaving a trail."

I titled my head to one side with a questioning look.

She continued. "He improved his skill on the way down here."

That was a far cry from the rest of his people, who didn't stay in the shadows at all and thundered through the brush like herd animals.

"That's good, and necessary if we want to make it that far."

Kabi stayed near Cekta until he finally laid down, then brought the bowl back to Allo. He then headed our way.

"Cekta needs to rest, but he will be okay."

I stared at Cekta to check his info.

[Cekta, Rune Apprentice, Azurafolk - Forestdweller, Level 89.]

"Two levels is great progress," I said with a smile. "Lenna said you've been making progress with your skills as well."

He blushed a deep blue. "We must learn if we want to survive."

"You want to thrive," said Lenna, drawing my attention. "Not just survive. Don't be like my people. Learn from their mistakes. You want to thrive."

"We will." Kabi frowned and stared at her a little, but then nodded. "Somehow, we will."

"What can we hunt in the forests?" I asked, going back to the conversation about preparing to head north.

"There are bigger beats north of here, near the lake. They gather during twilight hours and hide during the day from the Harvesters." He turned and counted the people with us. "We will need several to feed all of the people on the journey."

The presence watching from the water suddenly left, fleeing deeper into the city. I stretched my senses as far as they would go in all directions, trying to find what had spooked it.

Nothing felt any different.

"How long until twilight, then?"

"We should leave before then to find good places to hide, plus it's farther than I'd like." He motioned to Cekta. "He'll need to stay here, but we might want to bring another with us to help, and to learn."

"Maybe see who'd be interested in learning to walk softly in the forest. Eventually they all must learn, or we won't make it."

He let out a sigh and ran an upper hand through his braids down his back. "I will speak with them."

Good. That way, I didn't need to deal with it. My gaze landed on Shelli, who worked on my leather armor. Energy surrounded her as she carved runes into the surface of the leather with a deep blue color. As I watched, I noticed some of the lines were a dark green as well. Bit by bit, different areas were completely covered with lines including the chest.

Energy gathered around her, and an actual glow appeared. It flowed from her fingertips, making each line glow a soft bright blue color before sinking into the leather beneath. The entire thing flashed for a second, then went out.

She punched the air with a bright smile and found me watching. Shelli leaped to her feet and rushed our way.

"I did it!"

[Shelli, Runic Armorer, Reinforcement, Level 70, Prey, Unknown.]

"Congrats on the levels," I said as she approached.

"Who cares about levels? I empowered your leather to heal itself over time. You'll need to push energy into it, but holes and scraps will easily repair themselves, while actual cuts will take longer…" She narrowed her eyes. "Cuts should happen less often, since I reinforced it as well."

I took the chest piece and shoulder pauldron from her.

[Reinforced Chest Armor, self-healing, +25 CON.]

[Reinforced Pauldron Armor, self-healing, +25 CON.]

They went from adding 3 and 1 constitution point, to each adding 25. That was nice, very nice.

"Now, all I need to do is make some pants for you." She stared at my lower body, eying my legs. She held up a few fingers muttering to herself.

"Pants would be nice, though the flowy ones that Kabi wears are a little loose compared to what I'm used to."

"They hide where your actual leg is, and break up lines in the forest," muttered Shelli. "But I'll see what I can do. Lenna's armor is much nicer than yours."

"My grandmother had mine made for me as a gift, for getting close to my rank-up," said Lenna with a smile. "It will work for another 30 or so levels. Alex needs it more than I do."

Shelli slowly nodded. "I might have the clothes I need to make something."

Kabi approached with a slightly older man following him. His hair was cut close to its scalp, and he wore loose pants without a shirt. Yet, no runes dotted his chest. He had the same type of footwear as Kabi. As he walked toward me, I saw that something was wrong with his knee. A slight limp stood out the more I stared.

[Gan, Trapper, Level 75, Predator, Unknown.]

"I will learn more about being in the shadows," he bowed his head in my direction before raising it. "They took my family from Needlecrest. I'll need the skills to free them."

"Good…" I said puzzling, over why he was marked as a predator and not prey. While his level was high, it still felt strange.

"I fight with a blade, but also am skilled at trapping and skinning animals."

"Welcome to the team," I said, frowning. "What's wrong with your knee?"

"Alex," whispered Kabi, though Gan held up a hand to him.

"I injured it when I was young, and I couldn't get to a healer for a long time. They made it so I could walk again, but could do no better. That's why I am not a warrior. I am no longer fit for the Path."

"Are healers rare on this world?"

"Healers are rare everywhere," said Kabi.

Lenna nodded with Kabi.

"Can I try something?" I asked Gan, ignoring the two. "I need to touch it."

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