I glared at him, but said nothing as we traveled across the water.

Kabi chuckled and smirked as he gazed over the empty expanse. Somehow, he felt more carefree now that his brother was taken care of.

I let my fingers dangle over the side as we traveled, wishing that my family could see this place. The dark purple sky full of stars felt magical, like we'd gone off into some fantasy land and needed to save it.

Though, that was kind of what we were doing, even though we weren't the fated saviors. Not at all. Instead, both Lenna and I had seen an opportunity to save people, level up, and eventually make our way out of here. And maybe get rid of a few bad guys along the way.

"What's the plan?" asked Geto, watching where we were going. He glanced at the stars frequently and adjusted our position accordingly.

"Banco Island is first, to stash the boat, then we'll travel overland to the festival grounds." Sile rubbed his chin with one hand. "From there, we'll need to see what the situation actually is. My people are scattered all over, and I sent the signal that it's almost time to do what they need to do. We need to get in, get out, and then prepare for the next, larger event."

"You mean the campsite on the lake?" I asked, pulling my hand back from the spray.

"Yes, we want to take out the installation. It's the last primary location the Forgers hold in this area." He nodded in my direction. "We were going to destroy the outpost, but you took care of that. Unfortunately, our teams weren't in the area, or we would have gotten all those captured away at that time."

Lenna stared at the stars, and I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing to relax. We had time to kill, so I pulled out the crystals I had to work with.

"Sile, do you know a rune for explosions?" I asked as I studied the energy crystal I'd created. My mind kept replaying the explosions from Doc's bombs, and while I had a single little boom left, I couldn't help but want something a bit bigger in my back pocket just in case.

"What are you trying to do?" His eyes narrowed as he shifted his weight, before swinging his legs over the bench in the boat and moving closer to me.

"I created this energy crystal, and I wanted to see if I could use it to charge bits of fire crystal I had to make explosives."

He stared at me, then at the crystals. "Don't you work with a spear and knife?"

"Yes, but why should that limit me?" I replied, confused.

Kabi chuckled at Sile's expression. "Alex, people usually focus on one type of damage dealing. Like I do with my swords. I'll always be better in combat with all four, less effective with fewer."

"Again, why does that matter? I can be good with my spear and still create a bomb just in case I need it."

"Most wouldn't even think to try," said Sile with a sigh. "I can draw the rune you need, but put it only on the crystals you want to explode. It can be very dangerous otherwise."

"Can you not work on this in my boat while we are in the middle of the deep water?" asked Geto with some concern.

"I promise not to blow anything up right now," I said with a small smile.

[You have made a binding oath.]

All three of the Azurafolk twisted to look at me as I stared at the notification.

"What's an oath?" I asked.

"They are binding, and System enforced." Lenna shook her head, chuckling at everyone's shocked expressions.

"Oaths aren't thrown about like that," whispered Kabi. "Don't break one, or you will be labeled as an oathbreaker."

I nodded my head slowly, still unsure at how bad that'd be, though at least now I knew they existed.

"Not a problem. I won't blow the boat up." I turned back to the fire crystal and started pulling small marble shapes off of it. Each easily modeled in my hands as I hummed to myself. The golden glow from each of them filled me with warmth.

The necklace under my armor and cloth also glowed in response to my humming.

Thinking quickly, I tried to stick one to the side of the boat, and it worked.

"Yes…" I whispered to myself, before I removed it. I felt someone staring at me and found Geto's eyes wide on me before he twisted back around. "Don't worry," I said again.

"Not worried, not worried at all," he mumbled under his breath.

Lenna slept, and I wondered what the stars were telling her. Kabi's eyes were also closed, but Sile watched me closely.

"What do you think?" I held up the marble.

"I think this might be a waste of crystal that you can't get more of."

He had a point, and I ignored his dark grey eyes.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Just a little bit," I argued.

"Help her," said Lenna, suddenly awake, her face looking troubled. "Help her with the project."

My head tilted in her direction, but she wouldn't meet my eyes. Whatever the stars had told her, it wasn't good. The hair stood up on the back of my neck, but I forced myself to relax.

Sile glanced at Lenna and nodded slowly, his eyebrows drawing together.

"Here is how that rune looks." With a piece of charcoal, he drew it on the back of his palm.

I then tried to draw it inside the crystal bead, which didn't work. Next, I focused on the rune in my mind, pushing that toward the presence in the fire rune. Humming helped a little, as the light inside the small bead glowed. An idea popped into my head, and I used that light to create the rune.

Slowly, it stabilized and took shape. Yet it felt empty.

"Can you try to energize the rune?" I asked hesitantly.

Sile frowned, then touched the marble. Energy flowed into the rune, which took the energy hungrily.

[You have created an Exploding Fire Crystal.]

[You have gained a professional level.]

[You have gained a professional level.]

[You have expanded Crystal Transcendence: By singing, you can now not only locate and manipulate mana crystals but also liberate those bound by external forces and cleanse them of impurities. You can shatter bindings, dispel corrupting energies, and restore crystals to their natural, harmonious state. The voices within the crystals sing clearer, and their elemental power flows more freely. You have discovered other sources of mana and combined them with the crystals.]

"Okay, one down, and four more to go…" The rest didn't take as long, since I now had a process. They thankfully stacked into my inventory slots, though managing the five spaces that could hold crystals was frustrating. Right now, I had too many crystal items and needed to merge the separated crystals back into a blob to fit everything, including the exploding marbles, the fountain crystal, the energy crystal, the blob, and have still slot for my crystal weapons just in case.

By the time I put everything away, I felt tired and hungry. I ate enough meat to feel overfull, and kicked myself for not ordering a bunch of noodles and storing them in my inventory. My slices of meat weren't as satisfying since eating the tasty noodles. Then again, the meat was getting a little old at this point, and I was running out.

I needed to go hunting, like actual hunting, for food.

The energy crystal was currently empty, since I hadn't had time to start to charge it.

"How long do we have, Geto?"

"Plenty of time to get a nap in."

I gave him a thumbs up, which confused him, and I just ignored it. Slowly, I focused on sending energy into the crystal as my stomach processed the food. The full feeling went away, but that was okay. Then, I got some shut-eye.

#

Lenna shook me awake with a start, and the purple sky appeared darker.

"A storm's coming," she whispered.

The boat rocked a little in the waves, and Geto swore. Sile gripped the edge of the boat, just like Kabi.

I scooted closer to Lenna, but didn't mind the rocking motion. In training, we were forced to deal with much worse to make sure we didn't get sick during takeoffs and landings.

Lenna trembled.

"Hey, we'll be okay," I whispered to her.

She nodded, but didn't say anything. Her green skin looked pale.

"Almost there," growled Geto as he pointed to a dark shape on the horizon.

I kept my focus on the large island ahead of us, stacked with boulders, high cliffs, and lots of spiky trees. Slowly we made progress, getting closer and closer to a crack in the high cliff with every minute that passed. A wave almost pushed us off course, but Geto muttered something, and runes flared to life all around the boat. Suddenly, the little craft rushed forward into the space, which didn't seem big enough for it.

The waves cut off as the rocks towered all around us.

"Everyone needs to duck," warned Geto as he lowered himself down to practically Lenna's and my height.

I rolled my eyes as the others quickly complied, as the ceiling lowered drastically.

These walls were lined with shellfish, and the ceiling was covered with some sort of mushroom that glowed, but it wasn't the blue ones I was used to.

Soft green light filled the space, reminding me of glow sticks.

The boat continued on its way, and then the ceiling raised again. Still, the tunnel continued on, though it no longer appeared to be naturally made. Instead, grooves lined the walls on either side.

"Where are we?"

"Close to a haven for many," said Geto. "My tribe lives here during the stormy season. Otherwise, we prefer the open waters."

"Hopefully, on bigger boats…"

He laughed, and his eyes almost sparkled in the green light. "Yes, much bigger boats, and rafts. We have entire floating villages where we fish and hunt the massive sea predators."

A longing echoed in his voice.

"I hope to see one someday," I said truthfully.

"Maybe when this is over with, I can take you." A soft smile covered his face. "For now, you can see our other home."

The tunnel opened up and light reflected from large mirrors all over the space. Walkways were carved into the wall like sidewalks, with the water right next to them. Doorways stood every ten feet, but I couldn't see inside.

"Our homes…"

The water stopped at a massive lagoon with a floating dock in the center. There weren't any boats tied up, as Geto leaped to shore with a rope. He tied it onto a post, and Sile tossed him a second rope I hadn't noticed from the back. Once secured, we all climbed onto the dock.

"We will stay in the visitor's space," he said quietly.

My senses stretched out, and then I grabbed at Lenna's hand. I pointed ahead.

"People are waiting for us," I whispered.

Sile smiled. "Good, my people are here."

He strode off after Geto, both talking at normal levels. Kabi stayed near us as we slowly followed.

A large building jutted out in the large cleared space, with words carved overhead.

[Inn for travelers.]

Laughter and light blared from the open windows. The building was built out of wood, compared to everything else being stone. No sounds of alarm came, and we entered. A fire roared in an enormous fireplace, and bunk beds lined the walls. The entire building was one large space.

More Azurafolk sat around the fire, chatting, and several waved at Sile and Geto.

"Sile, you made it!" said one of them I recognized, Jalco. "You won't believe what we've found."

"Let me guess, forest folk right where I said they would be."

"Yes, and some Forgers. They are planning to move them within a couple of days to the Rustlands, bypassing the camp altogether. Rumors of the ambush are running all over."

"Harvesters are heavily protecting the road," added Sile.

Kabi motioned to some empty seats near the fire. Most didn't pay attention to us, though Lenna and I got a few strange looks.

"Is that the Shadow Walker?" someone whispered, staring at me.

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