The sun is already heading towards the horizon as I run towards the village. It must have taken much longer to imprint the stone than I thought. At the time, it felt like moments had passed, but the day has come to an end far too quickly for that to have been the case. At least I know it’s still the same day from my status screen’s countdown.

  A shadow passes over me and I quickly look up at the sky warily. Fortunately, I recognise the shape immediately – Noir seems to have taken to the idea of daylight patrols which is reassuring on multiple levels.

  How’s it looking? I ask him even as I turn my attention back onto the path at my feet – the downside of encouraging my Plant-Shapers to regrow the plants which are constantly battered by various pairs of feet is that they are then always there to trip the unwary.

  Noir gives an impression of calmness, though sends me the image of two different species of predators sneaking towards the farm, their objectives clear. One was alone – something that looked like a cross between a jungle cat and a T-rex – and the other was a group of velociraptor types.

  I receive the evidence of recent attacks with a troubled heart. The loss of Artemis and her pack must be having more of an impact than I’d thought. We’d got down to an attack every couple of days, sometimes even less than that. Clearly the predators of the forest have decided that our herds are vulnerable now.

  Did the predators get away with any of our herd animals? I ask – if they did then the problem is likely to only increase.

  Noir responds with a sense of indignance – and fullness. Apparently he took advantage of the attacks to sate his hunger at the same time. From the image he sends me of the herds again afterwards, the same as before, I interpret that he was able to ensure there were no losses to our herds.

  Good job, I praise, relief going through me. Keep it up. It seems like my attempt to distract Noir was absolutely necessary. Hopefully if a few risk-taking predators go missing, the rest of the forest animals will get the message that this area is still defended. I’ll need to tell Ptera to be extra-vigilant tonight, though – the night hours tend to be more dangerous. More predators than would dare to emerge in the daylight seek to take advantage of night’s cover to sneak away with dinner.

  Not that I blame them for their attempts, of course, but we’ve promised food and, most importantly, safety to the beasts in exchange for accepting the loss of some of their children. Considering recent events, it’s a miracle that Bares-claws was able to convince so many of the beasts to come back. I still don’t know exactly how he did it considering he definitely doesn’t have a magical ability to communicate with them like I do. But the samuran has a gift nonetheless.

  Although I’m tempted to give him the Flesh-Shaping Skill stone, I’m held back by one main concern – he’s not Evolved. It’s not that I’ve suddenly become prejudiced against Unevolved for no reason; it’s that I know how mana-hungry Flesh-Shaping is. It’s only because I’ve massively expanded both my mana pool and mana regeneration and have Meditation pretty much permanently active at its lowest level that I’m able to do as much as I can with it. And even so, when I have big projects to do, or complex ones, I often have to borrow mana from whoever is nearest and isn’t using it themselves or use a mana potion. Bares-claws has a mana pool of a hundred.

  That is honestly reasonably impressive for a samuran Unevolved – River only had seventy mana before she Evolved, and based on the other samurans I’ve Bound, a hundred mana is definitely at the top end of the scale. If nothing else, it’s a good indication that Bares-claws is likely to become a Pathwalker when he Evolves – and as long as he follows my advice, that should be in the cards sooner rather than later.

  But for Flesh-Shaping, it’s only barely more than ten percent of what I have available and I doubt that he has anything like the mana regeneration I do. And frankly, I know I need to still put some more points into Wisdom because even being able to generate my mana pool three times in two hours isn’t fast enough when I’m doing big magical projects. I can’t always be sure that I’ll be able to draw on my Bound, after all, and going too deeply into Meditation has its own risks.

  So Bares-claws is out of the question. River is my next primary choice. I know her well and trust her with being given additional power. She’s also already trained in healing and knows more about the body than any but the dedicated healers and Tarra. Plus, she’s been with me for long enough that she’s seen me use Flesh-Shaping for more than just healing – she might not think of something like a hot-air balloon, but she now knows that the Skill is capable of creating it.

  The only reason I’m hesitating over River is that I don’t know whether she’s planning on coming with me to the new world or staying here. If she’s coming with me, then there’s little point in giving her Flesh-Shaping – not now, anyway. It won’t help the village at all and she might be able to learn it from me later. I asked her a while ago, but told her to take her time to think about it. At the time, I didn’t need the answer; now I do.

  I decide that I’d better speak to her about it, so as soon as I enter the village, I go straight towards where I feel her presence. She’s deep in discussion with Tarra and the other two healers – they’re all crouched around a potion which is bubbling over a small fire. The healers look wary about the flames, but intrigued despite that.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  I come close enough to make my presence clear, tuning into the discussion.

  …We have discovered that this side effect can be avoided if the potion is brought to a bubbling point for at least the count of three clicks, but no longer than six. As she speaks, River wraps a pair of hides around her claws and then quickly moves the iron pot off the fire. It stops bubbling soon enough. If you leave it to bubble for longer than six clicks, the potion begins losing potency.

  The two healers express their interest with guttural clicks. River looks up at me.

  Markus, what can we do for you?

  “I was hoping to speak to you for a bit. Privately,” I add with a glance at the three other Pathwalkers around her.

  She follows my gaze and then flicks her tail in acknowledgement.

  Herbalist will help you to recreate this potion from the beginning again, River says with a quick glance at Tarra to make sure the herbalist was in agreement with her words. Tarra’s tail indicates that she is so River quickly pushes herself to her feet and steps over to me. Where do you want to go? she asks.

  “Just into the forest line?” I suggest. River agrees and so we head off together. How are the new Pathwalkers settling in? I ask. I’ve been a bit hands-off on that in the last few days – partly choice, but mostly because of circumstances.

  It is going well, River replies cautiously. I look at her questioningly as we pass through the gates.

  That’s good, isn’t it?

  It is, yes, but I was expecting more…resistance. They are Pathwalkers who came to take over our village, only to themselves be taken. They have been more…docile than I was expecting.

  Do you think they’re plotting something? I ask sharply. River seems to consider it.

  Not necessarily, but if they get the opportunity….

  Then we will make sure they don’t have it, I reply decisively. River is silent for a good few steps after that.

  We must be wary when the red tribe leader is near, she says finally. It’s a good point – if ever there is an opportunity, it will be when their tribe leader, other Pathwalkers sympathetic to them, and probably a whole load of Warriors are nearby. You wished to speak to me about something? River prompts. I doubt it was about the Pathwalkers, she tells me shrewdly.

  “It wasn’t,” I agree out loud, then sigh. I switch back to mental speech – so far I’ve been keeping the fact that I’m leaving away from the new Pathwalkers and Warriors and have told my people to do the same. It’s not that I think I can hide it forever, but within the first week after their capture and before things are settled with their leader isn’t the right time to tell them something as sensitive as that.

  Actually, thinking about it, I probably didn’t need to pull River all the way to the edge of the forest – she has enough control over her spikes that onlookers shouldn’t be able to gather much from her, and using mental speech means that they won’t hear anything. But, honestly, I feel more comfortable knowing that any other being is out of line of sight and earshot.

  Have you given any thought about whether or not you’d like to come with me to another world? I ask her.

  I have, she replies immediately, but without giving anything away.

  Then, if you’ve made a decision, please can you tell me. I need the information in order to make a decision of my own. I don’t want to tell her exactly what the decision is in case it sways her one way or the other.

  River looks at me for a long moment, her bronze-coloured eyes surprisingly predatory. Not that I’m worried, but I do wonder why it looks like she’s sizing me up to see if I would make a good carcass for dinner.

  Tell me, Markus. Do you want me to come…or would you prefer me to stay?

  I hesitate, not because I don’t know the answer to that question, but because I do – yet want her to be happy and not just seeking my own happiness. But she’s asked the question and has had a long time to think about her own preferences in regards to the choice.

  I would always prefer to have you with me, River, I tell her honestly. You’re one of my closest friends here. You and Bastet are my right and left hands. You two along with the young raptorcats, Sirocco, Lathani, Fenrir, Catch, and increasingly Noir are the ones I would miss most if any of you choose to stay. But I cannot assume that I will ever return here, so any trip with me would be a one-way journey. I love you all too much to ask you to give up everything you have here just because I want you with me.

  For a moment silence lies between us, neither of us daring to move and break the stillness. Then River steps forwards and lays her hands on my shoulders, leaning up to brush her muzzle against the side of my head. It’s the samuran equivalent of a hug, and one that’s rarely given – too much vulnerability is expressed in it for them to share the gesture with any but those they truly trust. And in the previous way the village worked, those were few and far in between. I take it as a good sign that, prior to the invasion, I had been seeing this gesture exchanged increasingly frequently.

  You are not asking, River answers me solemnly. I am offering. If you will take me with you to your new world, then I wish to come with you. She steps back a little from me, her gaze now anxious as she waits for my response.

  Slowly, deliberately, I lift my chin to bare my throat for a long moment. Lowering it, I answer out loud.

  “Runs-with-the-river, I would be honoured to have you with me.”

  here!

  here!

  here!

  here