I swore at Alex again inside my head, for the second time of the day.

That friend of hers up in the north had brought with him two beasts almost level 200. Before they could hide their presence, they scared off everything around us. It meant that those hunting were having a hard time finding things to bring back. While we didn't need to eat as much as before, even the meat from the kills in the inventory crystals was running low.

John and Hammy were busy with the teleportation thing, so I couldn't just ask John to take a bunch of people far off somewhere to get some meat.

Dengu approached from the lake, the replacement arm and talon still attached. I used Insight on him, wondering when he'd left the dungeon.

[Dengu, Bonded Raptor, Level 50, Family.]

A shape rose from the depths beside him, and I smiled.

[Grizzled Spinosaurus, Level 50, Alone.]

I had a soft spot for the dinosaur, who spoke softly and was covered with scars. He moved so carefully around those lower level than him, though our people were catching up with access to the dungeon.

He carried something large in his mouth in his full form, which towered over all of us. Each of his steps was heavy, but he tried to soften them as he approached the fence line.

I waved at him. "Good morning, Grizzle."

He set a massive fish next to the fire. It was the biggest fish I'd ever seen, bigger than three people. Bright yellow scales covered it, along with a row of sharp fins at the top.

"What is this?" I asked.

"Gift from us," said Grizzle. "Food."

I blinked in surprise, then smiled widely. "Thank you for the gift! This is so helpful."

I'd need to recruit some of the others, but we could get this cooked up and some of it dried. It'd last us at least a week.

Both Grizzle and Dengu froze at my words and I stepped closer, concerned.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Hawk walked out of the cavern and hurried over at the sight of the fish. "Woah, that's an amazing catch. Fish for lunch?"

Still, neither dinosaur moved.

"Don't touch them," whispered a soft voice.

That friend of Alex's appeared without a sound. The massive mosquito, the size of a basketball, hovered in the air.

"Are they okay?" asked Hawk.

"They are ranking up and getting their first class," he said as he touched the ground. His body changed suddenly to the form of a humanoid with very sharp teeth and black eyes. "Your people are going to get left behind, with how your friends are leveling."

Hawk blushed. He'd finished the quest I'd put on the quest board, and now needed to reach level 50 to rank up. Hellion was the closest, he only needed one more level to get there. It was hard, since there weren't many beasts, unless they wanted to do the next level of the dungeon.

"We're getting there," muttered Hawk. "We just need a good target to push us over the edge. None of us want to accidentally target a friend, you know?"

The man froze for a second, staring at Hawk like he didn't know what to do with him. Then he responded with a sharp grin.

"There are a few uncivilized creatures to the east, but it's a hike for those who can't fly. They will provide a challenge."

"Why do you help us?" I finally asked, seeing the offer for what it was.

"Alex is my friend. Friends help friends, correct?" He spoke slowly, like he wanted me to understand.

I used Insight on him.

[Noseen, Unknown, Unknown, Alone.]

"Correct. Well, if we can help you with anything, let us know. There will be fish for lunch if you want to join us." I motioned to the giant fish. "Hawk, will you help me cut this up? I'm going to make fried fish with some potatoes, and maybe some of those green beans Benny harvested this morning."

When I glanced back, Noseen was gone.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

***

I hid under a giant mushroom, with Jalco nearby. She appeared on my radar, but I wasn't sure if that was because she let me feel her. I couldn't see her at all in the shadows. My spear stayed in my hand while we waited.

It was always the waiting that did me in. Sitting still, waiting for the right moment. Or, in this case, waiting for any sign of the people we hoped to save. Even stretching out my crystal senses, I felt nothing but my gear.

The path wound through a bunch of different mushrooms, while the stone cliff rose several feet away. One section had runes that hid the entrance to the cove. That was the place to funnel freed people toward, where hopefully they would be safe.

Just when my toes felt like they were going numb in my boots, the first tingle crossed my senses. Then they almost exploded. Crystals, so many crystals, all in once place. A gentle hum increased to a constant waterfall of background noise.

They begged for freedom. Then they suddenly stopped. All the sound cut off at once, as a surge of energy came from a single point.

My fingers tightened on my spear as the first soft light pranced into sight.

[Harvester, Bound, Level 100, Predator, Chicken.]

The harvester wandered down the pathway, marching ahead. A buzzing came from the creature and dark writing covered the back of its armor, standing out from the glowing light underneath it. Its legs stabbed into the dirt with each movement, like some invisible force was holding it back.

Yet, it didn't notice any of us and passed by without a care, heading farther down the trail. The gap between it and the first of the Azura people took longer to pass than I'd anticipated, but I tracked them from their collars. The first group of five were weaponless, while the two behind them were armed with swords.

That wasn't good.

Behind them marched the Forger.

[An OFFENDER has been detected in your area with a bounty. You have been given a temporary boost to stats and abilities.]

[Dipolla, The Finder, Forger, Level 110, Predator, Unknown, OFFENDER.]

The woman stood tall, with sharp teeth and strange tusks jutting up from her mouth. Her nose was just two slits in her orange skin, and her eyes glowed a deep red. Her ears reminded me of a bat, and pitch-black hair flowed down her back.

"March faster!" Her voice swept through the mushrooms like an icy wind. Light blazed from each of the collars around people's necks. Behind her, the light shone even brighter.

A group of 5 Azura people were collared and carrying weapons, surrounding another group of people who weren't. Seven additional Azura people didn't have collars or weapons.

The second harvester marched in the back.

I swallowed, trying to keep track of the collars. Seven with weapons, five without. Twelve total. The five without were of the water tribe. Despite that, I knew where I'd target first. The light from the collars vanished as everyone sped up, though the ones without them lagged at first, trying to hold back.

The back of the pack. Freeing those five would free more people, and create additional chaos.

Then the Forger crossed the invisible line we'd decided on beforehand.

"Go!" Whispered in my head from Jalco. I immediately leaped from my spot, heading toward the closest Azura person with a collar. They didn't react as I moved. My hand wrapped around the collar and yanked before their eyes landed on me, going wide.

I yanked hard, shutting down the screaming and the burning before it could happen. As soon as the crystal was free, it went into my inventory. My next target was the guy next to him, who swung his sword at me, moving much slower than he should be.

The person I freed blocked it, and my hand landed on the warm crystal around the attacker's neck. I shut it down hard and fast.

Two!

Into my inventory it went as I rolled across the ground, dodging a second sword.

Jalco fought with the harvester at the back, while arrows targeted the Forger from above. Dipolla blocked an arrow and took a step back as Bera swung at her.

Kabi targeted the Harvester at the front, who now roamed free of control.

Keto and Sile were fighting the two collared Azura folk at the front.

One of the three remaining collared guards in this group slumped to the ground when one of the un-collared folks slammed something into their head. Eyes met mine as I ripped the collar from their throat.

Three.

The last two were quicker to free as Jalco killed the harvester and disarmed both of them. Freed people vanished into the trees, heading in the correct direction, and I hoped they'd make it. I had to focus on my task.

Notifications dinged, but I muted them.

Five!

I twisted and darted to where Kabi stood still fighting. The five collared people were twisting on the ground, clawing at their necks.

I snagged the first collar and bit my tongue as pain blistered across my fingers.

Six!

I readied myself for the next, using my spear hand, as I tossed my spear into my inventory while I sent healing energy to my left hand.

Seven!

The guy barely moved and his neck bled, but he still lived.

The eighth collar was dark, but I snagged it easily. I feared he was dead, but couldn't do anything about it.

"Kill yourselves!"

The command washed over the area, right before Jalco took the Forger's head.

The light in each of the collars went dim and the two still fighting slumped to the ground.

The next three people on the ground took some effort to remove, but it felt like the crystals had run out of energy after attacking the people. All of them were deeply burned, and Kabi rushed to help them.

I paused just for a second before turning to the two guys on their knees with swords by their sides.

"Praise the Ancestors, you can remove them!" said one of the two.

Yet, the words didn't feel real. The rune on my chest burned instead of feeling warm. I stepped closer, focusing on him and his sword, which lay on the ground.

"I just need a moment," I whispered out loud.

"Something's wrong here," I added inside my head to Kabi and Jalco. I reached out to touch his collar, and they both moved.

Kabi knocked the second one out while Jalco stabbed something into the neck of the first. He slumped to the ground as I jerked back.

I leaned down and touched the collar. No screaming at all. While a forest crystal, it wasn't bound like the others. Instead, it felt right on the edge of being a protective crystal. I added it to my inventory along with the one from the neck of the other.

Un-corrupted forest crystal I could use.

Both Kabi and Jalco glared at them, both out cold.

My stomach grumbled from all the movement, and I realized this was the first fight I didn't actually fight. It felt strange.

"So, what do we do with them?" I asked.

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