Sharp

It was a giant bird that flew over. It took me a moment to recognise it. It was a huge Pelican, which I recognised from its bill when it banked to circle the ant’s nest. There were two figures riding it, both human from what I could tell here. The Pelican went to land in the clearing where I had my last fight.

I made my way down to see who it was. When I got close, I went into full stealth. I found a place within sight and hearing that I could watch from. The Pelican was a bond, not a summons.

The human male was pulling boxes from the Pelican's bill. There were too many boxes to fit in the bill, so the pelican must have dimensional storage.

“I tell you, Tony, there was a fight here today. The infrared is telling me it is still too hot, and the Tracker Insight is telling me it was not an animal. In fact, it is probably a Leonid.”

“This is not a place people go alone,” Tony said, “Are we in range for your portal?”

“Barely. Nkang is closer than Akok,” Kit replied.

“Your choice, but Akok is larger, and it will take two full teams of adventurers just to contain the number of ants once we stir up the nest,” Tony replied.

“It is very lucky this Leonid didn’t stir up the nest. That would have been a disaster,” Kit said. “If we go to Akok, we have to deal with Ndifor and I really can’t be bothered with his nonsense right now.”

“As I said, it is your choice, but it is getting late. Just send a message. They will need a second portal to get everybody here, so they will need time to organise it. The nest will be fine for another night, and we can have a romantic date under the stars,” Tony said, walking up behind Kit and giving her a hug.

Kit stayed in the hug for a bit and then shook herself free, “Romantic, huh? You, me and the Leonid,” she turned her face to where I was in stealth and said, “You might as well come and introduce yourself.”

I heard Tony whisper, “A threesome, huh? That is not what I expected from you.”

He got hit for his trouble. I am guessing the lady, Kit, had some pretty powerful perception powers. My Blend Skill has to rise a few levels to beat a Silver Rank perception specialist, which is what she must be if she can see into the infrared and has Trackers Insight.

I cancelled Blend and rose to my feet, and Tony saw me. I made my way down to them, as this was my chance at some information. They appear to be Adventure Society scouts. The Adventure Society is known to look after its members, and Kit seems to have a portal ability—all good stuff.

I came out of the bush near them, and Tony said, “Gees, kid, you are only bronze. What in Fertility’s mammaries are you doing out here alone?”

“That is some impressive aura strength and control, kid,” Kit said. “I am Kit, and this is Tony with his bond, Greg.”

I had been considering what to say, “I am Theo, and this is my familiar Kai. What I am doing out here is a long story, but I would like to report back to the Adventure Society about it.” I showed them my badge, which had my name, so faking a name was not going to work.

“You look pretty burned, Theo,” Kit said. “I can portal you to a healer.”

“I would actually like to know where I am first.”

“You don’t know where you are?” Tony asked.

“I have been in the bush a while,” I said.

They weren’t dumb. They knew something was seriously wrong.

“Grab the map, Tony,” Kit said.

Tony walked up to Pelican Greg and tapped him on the beak, “Open up, big boy.” The Pelican opened its beak, and Tony reached in, pulled out a satchel, and fished out a map as he came over.

“Dimensional Pelican?” I asked, “I haven't seen one before.”

“Yeah, I am pretty lucky,” Tony said.

Tony laid out a map on a box he had pulled out of Greg earlier. “We are about here,” he said, pointing, “The nearest town is Nkang here, and the nearest city is Akok here.”

Nkang was the town I saw from the ridge where I got free. It was called a Freetown under self-governance. The water was actually the ocean, and Nkang had a small port. The mountains I saw followed the coastline.

Akok was inland on the northern edge of the Kekie Kingdom. We were right about on the border of that kingdom now. I was pretty sure Nkang would be watched, and Akok was where I didn’t want to go.

“There are only those two options?” I asked.

“In my portal range, yes,” Kit answered.

“Greg can take us anywhere, but what do you have against those two places?” Tony said.

“It is complicated. Do either of them have a Temple of Death?”

That got some raised eyebrows. Tony answered, “Nkang has a shared temple and a shared Priest. There are no temples to Death in the Kekie Kingdom. They don’t worship the weak.”

“The weak?” I asked.

“If you die, you are too weak. Only the strong survive,” Tony explained.

“If it helps, we are from the Adventure Society based in Nkang, and we have contacts there,” Kit said.

“But we need to know what is going on,” Tony added.

“Have there been three Leonids asking questions around Nkang recently?”

Kit narrowed her eyes at me. “You’re the bounty that got away?”

“That is what they are saying about me?”

“What’s this?” asked Tony.

“You spend too much time out with Greg,” Kit accused. “Some Kekie bounty hunters are looking for an escaped prisoner. There is a reward for information. They were all Silver rank. How did you escape, being only bronze?”

“They are more incompetent than that. I was only iron when I escaped, and they kidnapped me from Vitesse. I am not a bounty, and I have never been to this part of the world before. Vitesse can confirm that.”

“Vitesse is a long, long way away,” Tony said.

“The bounty papers implicated you in the death of a prince,” Kit said, “they publicised them through the Adventure Society.”

“Which doesn’t make sense when he is obviously a brand new bronze ranker. Iron rankers killing princes? I don’t believe it,” Tony said.

“They also talked like you slaughtered a village of innocent people, but that wasn’t on the bounty, and everyone assumed they were making it up. We will not get to the bottom of it,” Kit said, “but the three Silver Rankers were a nasty piece of work, and I would never trust Kekie Bounty Hunters. The Bounties are usually put out by the Temple of the Dark Moon.”

“So, if I go to Nkang, I am going to get handed over to them again, and if I go to Akok, it is in the belly of the beast,” I summarised.

“You are Adventure Society, though, so they will not let anyone take you without evidence,” Kit said.

“Evidence can be manufactured,” Tony said, “A gold ranker from Kekie testifying will probably be enough to sway them. The Mayor of Nkang is always trying to avoid conflict with Kekie.”

Where is the neared city with a Temple of Death?” I asked.

“That would be Eryville, here,” Tony said, pointing to somewhere off the top of his map. “Do you have connections in the temple?”

“Yes,” I said, “So I could go on foot, and it would take me a month or so?”

“That is silver rank most of the way. That is the main reason this area has been left as a jungle: Nobody wants to deal with the monsters. This,” Tony pointed to the ants, “is tame and will still require two teams.”

“You won’t make it far,” Kit said. “When the teams have finished with the ants, they will sweep the area. Your stealth is good, and while they won’t have a vision specialist like me, they will all be Silver.”

“I suggest you go to Akok,” Tony said. Kit looked at him like he was mad. “Hear me out. The Bounty hunters are still around Nkang, and Akok is a large city full of Leonids. If we put Theo’s name as the finder of those ants, he will be required to go to the Adventure Society to report and claim the finder fee.”

“Our fee,” Kit said.

“He was here first,” Tony said. “We can get you that far, and the adventure society is famous for being independent of political and religious powers. You could negotiate a portal to Eryville or wherever.”

“You know the Adventure Society’s independence is variable,” Kit said.

“How much will it cost for you and Greg to fly me to Eryville?” I asked.

“Not until this contract is done,” Tony said, “and that includes reporting back.”

My mind seemed like it was doing a series of sprints. It was running through options so fast. If there was a bounty out for me, then I was never going to be safe until it was lifted. The bounty was issued in Kekie and there, for I needed to go there, but I needed to go there in a position of strength. They had a heavy home town advantage.

Silver rankers were going to be the norm in a silver rank zone. The magical density dropped from here, south. Kekie, the capital, was mid-bronze level, and the other sections of the kingdom were low bronze, dropping all the way to low iron rank in a hick place called Greenstone, according to the map Tony had. Not even the Kekie Kingdom bothered with Greenstone, but I knew that there was an astral space that spanned that area with multiple openings in southern Kekie, Greenstone and other areas. I have been through it twice with the astral Professor, the Archipelagoes. The last time I lost my leg.

I mentally marked the astral space as an escape route. All I have to do is remember where the gates were. Being portalled everywhere is not good for my geographical knowledge.

I will need allies that I can rely on. Jabari knew the place as she grew up there, but Nkwe could not show himself. If Tony and Kai got me to the Adventure Society, I could message Nia, and she would organise a rescue party, even if the Adventure Society gets stymied by the Kingdom. The Adventure Society will push back for a member more than a small-town Mayor would for a stranger. Plus, I was likely to just be snatched again, the same as last time.

I was going to go into the belly of the beast. The Temple of the Dark Moon certainly sounds like a place where the sun doesn’t shine.