A little ball of fur darted towards them as they returned, and Nar picked up the little wolf cub, raising him to his face. Wetness lapped at his nose, and Nar groaned.

"Ugh… Wolfie, what did you eat?" he muttered, twisting his nose as he plopped the little beast back on the floor.

The little bundle of joy and energy then proceeded to wag his tail at Jul's feet, demanding attention from her. And the quam was all too happy to provide it, getting down to scratch the little cub.

He's getting darker and darker, Nar thought, as Wolfie exposed his tummy to get some rubs.

"You back?" Mul asked, munching through a cereal bar. "Go check yourself for ticks!"

Nar glanced up, picking on the strained tone in Mul's voice under the roaring of the rain pounding the tarp overheard. Calli, Leon's sister, was seated beside Mul, and she gave Nar and Jul a welcoming wave of her hand with a bright smile shining upon her lips.

Wolfie chose that moment to decide he'd had enough of belly rubs, and darted towards the aethermancer, who picked him up with a squeal of delight.

"Oh, you're back, are you?" Calli asked the little cub. "I was wondering where you were! Can I give him some more snacks?"

"No!" Mul grumbled. "He's had too much already!"

Wolfie whined from Calli's tanned arms, and the aethermancer frowned deeply at the brawler. Almost… Pouting?

"Ugh…" Mul said, looking away from their combined stare. "Don't look at me like that! He's had triple the usual amount already! Do you want to get sick, uh, you little crap?"

"I guess not…" the woman said, speaking for the cub. "Sorry, Wolfie. He's right."

Mul passed a hand over his face and sighed deeply.

Eh… What in the pile is going on here, Nar thought, looking uncertain between Mul, Wolfie and the aethermancer holding him.

"Oh, my manners!" she said, smiling at him and Jul. "My name's Calli! And you must be Nar and Jul, right?"

He nodded, but Jul strode forward to extend her hand to the aethermancer, who shook with energy and burst into a thousand questions, the quam struggling to keep up her "I will be braver!" resolution.

Like Leon, Calli's hair was the same golden brown, and she had it on a neat braid that was coiled at the back of her head. And while her radiant smile spoke of boundless kindness, her eyes spoke of an even greater fierceness and determination.

Well… Nar thought to himself. Even for a guy who was as uninterested in the opposite sex as he currently was, too preoccupied with his path and the need to be strong enough in the cruel reality of the Nexus, he couldn't deny that Calli was, in one word, stunning.

"Nice to meet you too," Nar said, coming to Jul's rescue.

She nodded eagerly. "And thank you both for coming for us last night. Things weren't looking good."

"Ah, yeah, no worries about that," Nar said. "You guys would've done the same."

"We would!" she said, her expression suddenly grave. "And we will, when the time comes. You have our vow, by our patrons and by our paths!"

"Yes, yes," Mul muttered. "Enough of that stuff. We get it."

"Mul!" Jul hissed, and even Nar cast the brawler an incredulous look. But to their surprise, Calli just snorted and laughed it off.

"Ah, don't worry," she said, lowering Wolfie to her lap. "I know he means well. He's just like Eum when we first met him, all doom and gloom, and grumpiness. Don't worry, he'll warm up to us."

Mul grunted something unintelligible and Wolfie wagged his tail from Calli's lap. Belly up and paws in the air, the little cub seemed like he had warmed up plenty to the aethermancer already.

"Whatever. You little traitor!" he muttered at the wolf. "You're not getting any more snacks today!"

Wolfie looked up at Calli in alarm, and whined pitifully.

"Oh no!" Calli said, covering her mouth. "What a mean person!"

The cub barked in agreement, and the brawler just sighed.

Well, I'm not sure of what's exactly going on here, but it's good to see that they're getting along I guess, Nar thought, as Jul excused herself for the toilet.

And even though it was still early, just past the jungle's dawn time at 7:30 AM sharp, a quick scan of the rest of the loud common area told him that most were already awake, and that the aethermancers had already been successfully integrated into their midst, though they had not joined their domain party yet.

Jaz, Tuk, Raf and Teb were laughing loudly with a sapient that he assumed must be Mach, the vanore. Mach looked like a slender human, but he had brilliant dark blue feathers with tips and highlights of silver for hair. The feathers came down his neck in a growing size, and coated the underside of his arms with long, shimmering feathers. And by the way he was holding onto his belly, collapsed on the floor besides Raf and Teb, it was obvious that he was having a great time.

No signs of worry about being surrounded by auramancers from that one, Nar thought, snorting.

"Ah, Nar!" Eum boomed from somewhere. "How was training?"

Startled, Nar searched for him in the hubbub.

Eum was seated with someone that could only be Medis on his left side, while Viy was seated to his right.

Medis was Eum's older sister, which meant she was also Leon and Calli's cousin.

And that means they're a multi-racial family then, Nar suddenly realized, recalling Jasphaer's impromptu lesson about how children were conceived in the Nexus. When two sapients of different races joined together, provided they were compatible, the child would come out as either of the parent's races.

Does that mean that one of Leon's parents is not human then? He wondered. Wait, the guy is human, isn't he?

Anyway, Eum seemed intent on waiting for an answer, so Nar wandered over.

"It was very good," Nar said, smiling. "I think… I could just be losing my mind too."

"Happens more often than you'd expect, doesn't it?" the tygaris asked, his tone serious.

Nar nodded, and considered his sister.

Medis was also covered in fur, though hers was of a very dark blue with streaks of dark gray and silver. They reminded him of Mach's feathers in a way, except her fur was a lot darker than the vanore's feathers. In fact, her coating was almost black. However, to add to the confusion, while her brother had a human face, hers was… Not?

A lion? He wondered, matching her features to that category of beasts, his mind recollecting through all the beast families they had been introduced during Slaying. But she still looks kind of human? Not an alfin though… Too buff for that.

Medis deep amber eyes turned to him, and she smiled.

"Your first beastkin?" she asked, in a deep, warm voice.

"Uh, what?" Nar asked, taken aback.

"It is not nice to stare," Viy said, grinning.

Nar's cheeks went furiously darker. "Uh? But I wasn't! I was just…"

Medis chuckled deeply.

"I can see what you meant," she said, reaching out a furred and clawed, but five-fingered hand for Nar to shake. "Viy was just telling me how easy you are to bully."

Nar shook her hand and shot the halberdier a glare through lidded eyes.

I'll remember this, he thought, as Viy grinned to herself and avoided his accusatory stare.

"Nice to meet you," Nar said. "And, I'm sorry. I guess I was staring."

"Hey, hey!" Eum called, as his sister laughed. "I'm a beastkin too!"

And suddenly, his face warbled and elongated, his dark gray fur growing to cover his entire face as it shifted. Nar watched the transformation with his mouth dropping further and further ajar, until Eum's face was that of another family of feline beasts. Tigers this time.

"Cool, uh?" Eum asked, grinning through very, very sharp teeth.

"H-How?" Nar stammered.

"My path is one of transformation under the line of The Great Hunters," Eum said. "And one day, I will be able to turn into a full, mighty beast!"

And having said that, he raised his hand, which quickly doubled in size, the fur growing longer and thicker, and the black claws extending outwards with deadly promise.

"Damn… No matter how many times I see it, that's still insane!" Viy breathed, her eyes going wide as Eum flexed his suddenly bigger clawed hand.

"Wow," Nar breathed. "Crystal! That looks awesome!"

Eum half-laughed, half-rumbled, pleased with the attention. "Thanks! That [Aura Blade] of yours was something too! I can't wait to see how my [Blood Claws] fare against it!"

[Blood Claws]? Nar thought.

Medis shook her head.

"I apologize for my brother's relentlessness," she said, in her low rumble of a voice. "His patron spirit is one of hunting and combat, and he's very much taken to its values."

"Honorable combat!" Eum corrected. "And what's wrong with that? Nar doesn't mind. Do you?"

He had such a look of sudden pure and utter worry, that Nar could only laugh and shake his head. "I'd be glad to spar with you. Don't worry."

"Yes!" Eum said, pumping his fist, which had in the meantime returned to normal.

Medis rolled her bright, amber eyes, and Nar noticed in passing that they too shimmered like her brother's, and like Eum's and Calli's either.

Uh… Era's don't shine, and from here, it doesn't look like Mach's eyes shine either, he thought. I guess it's not just an aethermancer thing, then?

Eum turned his face back to human under Viy's stunned stare, and Nar noticed Gad emerging from the tent she had shared with Kur, Row and Tun. The tank noticed him staring and beckoned for him to join her as she headed towards where Leon, Row, Kur and the guides were talking.

He sighed inwardly.

"I'll see you guys later," he said.

When he joined the leadership gathering, Gad patted the rickety, foldable chair beside hers and kept his face neutral as he sat down. She knew damned well he didn't want to be part of the leadership, yet she always seemed to find a way to get him to join.

Opposite him, Calli took a seat with Wolfie happily asleep in her lap.

Well, that one was quick to embrace a new friend, Nar thought.

"Right, so," Kur said, addressing Leon and Calli. "This is the leadership. Gad is my second in command, and Tun is Row's. And as for this delve…"

"Kur is leading us," Row quickly said, smiling innocently.

Kur looked like he had to bite down words, but he nodded.

"From our side, I'm the party leader, but I'm a heavy front-line fighter. So Calli takes on the role as our strategist during battle," Leon said, waving at his sister.

"I do. But why is Nar here?" Calli asked, smiling at him.

"Because I have no choice," Nar grumbled, earning him a laugh from Row and Tun.

"Because we've been in enough shitty situations that he's had to step up," Kur said, frowning at the swordsman. "And you should really just embrace it by now."

"Oh, so you're like Medis then, except by force," Calli said, grinning. "Noted."

Nar frowned. "Not Eum?"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Ugh. Definitely not like Eum," Leon said.

"Hey! I heard that!" Eum shouted.

"You were meant to!" Leon retorted.

There was a smattering of laughter across the stifling tent at Eum's offended expression, and Nar found himself relaxing further in the presence of the aethermancers.

"Anyways, we do need to talk about this delve, and how things are going to go," Kur said. "As I said yesterday, you're more than welcome to join us, but in all honesty, none of us know how to fight alongside aethermancers."

"All they told us was to stay away from you all," Tun rumbled.

"Exactly. Plus, we should all know our goals for this delve," Kur said. "I… Well, since there are three parties now, we were wondering if you would be up to giving the rares a shot. Not now of course, but hopefully once we grow stronger. I don't know if it works the same in your academy, but we have been warned that a lot worse is coming our way."

Leon winced. "It's the same as us, then. And if anything, we definitely want to aim for those rare rewards."

"The better we do here, the better it will go for us back home, and we're currently in the negative given what happened to Grethjaw," Calli said, her expression going dark.

That must have been their guide, Nar thought.

"Hmm," Leon said, nodding slowly. "So yes, those rare rewards would definitely be of great use to us, and in more ways than one. Not to mention, we all have certain personal expectations of our paths and gains in the Brightnight, and we want our gains to be as high as possible, so we are open to heavy fighting. Both in quantity and in quality."

Kur rubbed his chin. "Makes sense since you guys are also training to be elites…"

"We are. Our academy's reputation is quite something, though if we tell you its name, we will be further penalized," Calli said, grimacing. "We are meant to handle ourselves out here without the assistance of our institutions' fame and connections after all. It's part of the challenge."

"Fair enough, and we won't pry," Kur said, exchanging a glance with Row, who nodded. "We are all training to be elite delvers, then, so we can push hard. Though I'm not sure our apprenticeship can compare to your academy."

Leon chuckled. "Oh, I wouldn't say that, Kur! Tsurmirel's elite delvers have quite the reputation! You're fresh off the Gates, so you don't know yet just how much it means to be an elite apprentice in Tsurmirel!"

"He's right," Sej said. "Tsurmirel is the sixth ranked guild across the entire Nexus, and there are millions of guilds out there. Your guild's position, and reputation, has been more than earned."

"Fair…" Kur said, scratching at the back of his neck. "So, we agree that we'll aim for the rares then, if Sej declares us fit for it?"

There were nods all around the gathering, including their guide's.

"But other than that, do you have other needs from this delve?" Kur asked. "We've been given strict gathering and harvesting requirements that we can't fail, and we're also keen on grabbing as much as we can besides. In our apprenticeship, we now need to buy our own supplies…"

"Same for us," Calli said, then she smiled brightly. "Tough am I right in that you might have guessed that we're from well off families?"

"Uh… Yes," Kur said.

"Well, the signs were there," Calli said, glancing at Sej, who raised her eyebrows in response. "Regardless, we are not allowed to use any of our families' wealth while attending the academy. Other than our tuition, we need to sustain ourselves throughout our education, and this delve is also our first proper challenge."

"Really?" Row asked. "And I mean for both of those things."

Calli smiled.

"Our families want to raise us properly, not as entitled brats that will bring ruin to the family," she said, her tone leaving no room for doubt. "No, we need real strength, and that can only be built. Not bought like some others do."

Fair enough, Nar thought. I guess?

He still knew close to nothing about the Nexus, but her words ringed with sense.

"And yes, this is our first proper challenge," she continued. "In the academy, there are three stages to our education. We learn, train and delve on easier dungeons, focusing on improving rather than leveling up, and when we judge we are ready, we take an assessment in order to move on to the second, and much longer and harder stage of our training. The fact that this is done by choice means that people of different ages can be in the same stage, though parties tend to form around similar ages."

"Me, Eum and Mach are all nineteen" Leon said, grinning. "Calli's twenty-one, Medis is twenty-two and Era is twenty-three."

"And your levels are similar too?" Kur asked.

"We're all within level 40 to 44," Leon said. "Era's the highest at 44."

Nar glanced at the sleep aspected healer. She was quietly chuckling to the side of their new batch of water-purifiers, chatting quietly with Raf.

It's crazy how we're all just talking like this, Nar thought. After all the warnings they gave us about aethermancers I expected… Well, not this.

Era's chuckle grew into full bellied laughter and Nar found himself smiling at the two of them.

Maybe it's not that bad, he thought. Or maybe this party is just not a good example of what aethermancers are like… Though back then, that navy guy wasn't so bad either. Hmmm…

I'll just have to wait and see, I guess.

"Anyways, going back to your question, while filling up our inventories is important, it's not actually our main concern here," Leon said, leaning forward in his chair.

"It would probably rank third in the list," Calli said. "And a distant third at that."

"It would. We picked the Brightnight because there are three things here that our party needs in order to progress Eum's, Era's and Mach's paths," Leon said. "The talons from the defeated matriarchs that rule the Den area, for Eum's patron's quest. One of the aelix's eggs for Mach, who will bond with it. And for Era, she must spend one full night in the Pond of Tranquility."

"Well, damn… That's some shopping list you've got there," Sej said, her eyebrows rising. "Helenorea… An aelix's egg? Really?"

Calli grimaced. "We know this represents quite the journey through the Brightnight. As well as its challenges."

"You can say that again," Sej said. "But are you skipping the Hungry Jungle?"

Leon grinned and shook his head. "Objective number two, get as many tokens as possible in order to get the highest rewards we can get our hands on. With you guys, it could be quite high. Hopefully."

"Right…" Sej said, frowning. "So that's the Jungle Tops, the Hungry Jungle, the crossing through the Gloom towards the Den, then the Dream, then the Giant's Canopy, and finally the Heart of the Jungle to exit? Do you realize how ambitious that is?"

Both Leon and Calli looked chastised, but they kept their faces up, their eyes on the blue guide.

Sej sighed. "A journey that long, months, and you didn't think to split the spare gear amongst you?"

"We've only just been allowed our inventory rings," Leon said, shame burning in his voice. "And they're quite small. We prioritized food, meds and recovery items, but we put the spare gear in the backpack… Which our guide offered to take so that we could fight."

Sej stared at the two delvers for a moment longer, then she sighed again.

"Well… That was a good decision, I suppose. And bad luck happens in every dungeon…" she said, then eyed Kur. "Their itinerary is a long detour compared to ours, though."

"Yeah," Kur said, pulling out his tablet to look at the map of the Brightnight. "How much longer are we talking about, compared to ours?"

"Very long," Sej said. "It could easily double it."

"Really?" Row asked.

"And while the Den should be fine enough, neither the Giant's Canopy nor the Dream are pleasant to deal with. Especially not the Dream," Sej added. "I hate that place…"

"What are these areas like?" Kur asked. "Our prep material had nothing on these zones."

"Well, the Den is filled to the brim with ravenous beasts, and while it's eat or be eaten there, it's not as bad as the Hungry Jungle," their guide said. "The Dream is… Interesting. You will find no combat there, except for the conflicts you bring in yourself. If your mind is clear and your heart unburdened, then the Dream will be nothing for you. And then, the Giant's Canopy for last…"

Sej rubbed at her eyes. "It is the most beautiful of all the areas in the Brightnight, but it is also potentially one of the deadliest. All the beasts there are enormous and incredibly powerful, so you won't find anything under uncommon rank amongst those giant trees."

"Damn," Row whispered. "That's quite the journey then."

Tun and Gad nodded in silent agreement, but Kur went quiet again, his mind working furiously.

"What are you thinking, Kur?" Nar eventually asked his party leader.

Kur sighed. "Many things. But first and foremost, will we get in trouble for going in there? We don't have the maps for those areas."

"You would have to pay a fine if you got caught," Sej said. "And so would we. And they would confiscate anything we gathered there."

"So there is risk," Gad said.

"There is."

"And if we did go there, is the harvest and gathering worth it? And the gains?" Kur asked.

Nar simply stared at his party leader. He had a feeling for where Kur was going, and he was ready to follow him wherever he so decided.

"The gains alone would make it worth it," Sej said, her tone hushed. Even in the rest of the tent, everyone seemed to have picked up on the important conversation taking place, and had gone quiet to listen in. "And the harvesting and gathering there are the richest you could get from this whole dungeon. Except perhaps the Bloodrot. Plus, you would be able to get your hands on Dream Water… And a dozen bottles of that would earn us a lot of XP. A lot."

"Would we have trouble selling whatever we take?" Kur asked.

Sej snorted. "A guild like Tsurmirel will have no trouble handling it. Abyss! They might just keep the Dream Water for their own uses."

"It's not often that you find materials infused with dream aether," Era said softly from her corner with Raf. "They are always in demand. Always."

Kur nodded, rubbing his chin.

"And if you don't say anything, neither will we," Leon said.

"Is that okay for a paladin?" Kur asked. "I don't know much about your class, but you guys are… Honest, right?"

"When it comes to saving lives and honoring our patrons? Yes," Leon said, smiling. "For things like this? For XP? No. I couldn't care less. It's just some corrupt bastard getting less XP in their already fat pockets."

"Right…," Kur said, and rubbed his eyes.

"What are you thinking?" Gad asked him this time.

"Well, first things first, as a three-party domain party, we are going to need a lot of tokens to even get out. From our original 20,000 tokens, we now need 52,000 tokens just to exit this place. As for the rewards, I think once you go up to three parties and above, it's the dungeon guardian itself decides the price of each tier of rewards, right?" Kur asked, turning to the guide.

"Yup. And it will be a very high number, even just for the uncommon rewards," Sej said. "We're probably looking at 20,000 per head."

There were murmurs and swears in the tent.

"And for the rare rewards?" he asked.

Sej glanced back towards Sarke, who was seated with the casters. The reptilian guide shook her head, and Sej then offered Kur a shrug.

"Right. So, there's that," Kur said. "On top of that we from Tsurmirel need to fulfill our requirements, and hopefully fill up our bags in order to be able to support our future delves. I have no doubt at all that they are going to be worse and harsher than this, and we'll all have to spend a pretty penny on them, plus, there's our weapons, which we'll need to pay to upgrade after this delve, and what I assume will one day be new gear as well. I doubt we'll get very far with aura gear that gets depleted in the rain or when it touches a bush…"

Nar nodded along as Kur spoke. His party leader was right. He was very, very right. Whatever was coming for them, much more important than getting that list fulfilled, was to walk out of that dungeon with enough XP to sustain them for the next delve, as well as whatever nasty surprises the Scimitar still held in stock for them.

And maybe we just start worrying about what happens after our apprenticeship too, Nar thought.

"Then, you guys need to get those three quests sorted out, get rewards, gains and also make some XP on the side," Kur said, eyeing Leon.

"Are you saying it's impossible?" Leon asked, his tone neutral.

Kur shook his head. "Not at all. I think it's doable."

"What?" Row said, blinking at him.

"Yes, I fully believe that it is all doable," Kur said, grinning, and Nar knew that he had guessed right.

"But?" Leon asked.

"But I want to make sure that everyone here understands just how immense this task is before we decide to commit to it," Kur said. "I want to make it very clear and be sure that everyone here is ready to put in the crazy amount of work and effort that getting this done is going to demand from us. Because it won't be easy! And I don't know for you guys, but even for us Climbers, who spent months climbing through the darkness and everything else, this will probably be the hardest thing we've done so far."

So far, Nar thought to himself.

Leon exchanged a glance with Calli, and her eyebrows rose.

"That… That is a very wise way to put it," Calli admitted. "And you are very right. But it seems that it is us that you have… Doubts with."

"Yes. I don't know you," Kur said, with brutal honesty. "I know what we've all been through to get here. Armies of killing machines. Deadly Pressure that almost cooked us from the inside or turned us into a smear on the floor. We've seen machines bigger than aetherships, and horrors that… Well, horrors you can't even begin to imagine."

By the end, his tone had lowered to a hush, and Nar's expression darkened as memories whispered to him from the dark recesses to where he had banished them to, and where they could lie dormant, but never forgotten.

"We have puked and cried blood to be where we are. We faced death on a daily basis for months on end, just for a chance at freedom and forgiveness," Kur said, his eyes distant. "And even after everything we threw at that Climb, we still almost didn't make it…"

Nar clenched his jaw. He could still see that monstrous Raid Boss, its dark blue lightning rising high above him as it prepared to fight once more, while his party lay defeated and about to die at its feet… The moment at the very end, when it had all nearly come to the wrong end.

"So, yes. Not to diminish what you've all been through, but I know that my people will push through whatever is needed. With broken limbs. Bleeding out. Even going blind and keeping on fighting…" Kur said, glancing at Nar, which was something that wasn't missed by neither Leon nor Calli. "So, if we are to do this, I want to know that you can pull it off. That you can sacrifice, and bleed, and suffer, and go sleepless and still keep going on will, stamina and sheer spite alone."

Leon took a deep breath when Kur was done, and folded his arms.

"I confess… While none of us have had cushy lives despite our families, we have not been through anything like what you describe," Leon conceded. "That being said, this is only the beginning for us. Our goals are much, much beyond this, and if we can't even get through this much… No."

He shook his head, and gave Kur a firm stare. "We will get through this much, and continue on our journeys to much higher places. And I swear to you, Kur, and to everyone else here, that we will not let you down. You will not see any weakness or lacking from any of us, and together, I truly believe that we can achieve something phenomenal here!"

The paladin raised his fist and grinned, his eyes almost blazing.

"I know that we've only just met, but my judge of character has never led me astray," he said. "So please, allow us into your party, and we will give the Brightnight the most epic run it has ever seen!"

"Does that mean epic rewards?" Eum suddenly asked.

Nar snorted, and just like that, the tense atmosphere was broken by startled laughter.

"Crystal, why are you getting so fucking serious!" Row said, slapping Kur's shoulder. "All we have to do is either be faster or take less shit with us!"

"Uh… Maybe I got a little bit carried away," Kur said, flushing crimson.

"Never!" Leon said, his fist still raised in front of him. "That was inspiring, Kur! We couldn't have been rescued by a better party!"

He glanced at Calli, who nodded at him.

"Let us join your party, Kur. We will be under your leadership," Leon said.

"You… What? Why?" Kur asked, taken aback.

Nar burst out laughing. "Because they haven't bled and been broken like us, Kur. It has to be you!"

"Exactly!" Leon said. "Also, did you really fight blind?"

Nar winced. "Yes… But that was due to a very dumb mistake."

"Which he fixed by fighting blind, so it was all good!" Tuk said, causing more laughter.

"I need to hear that story!" Eum roared.

"Alright, alright. We're getting side tracked here," Kur said, standing up and raising his hands to ask for calm. "Is everyone here in agreement of trying to go as hard and as crazy as we possibly can. While staying alive, of course. Hopefully…"

"That's not as inspiring, Kur," Jaz said, shaking his head. "Can you give it to us like before? The blood puking, and the facing death and all that?"

Kur shook his head, his skin still beaming.

"This is the score, and we only proceed if everyone's in agreement. Because just one of us not pulling his weight will affect us all," he said.

"I say we do it," Gad said. "We are mighty."

"Agreed," Tun said. "Let's do this."

The tank glanced at Row, who had done a quick run across her entire party.

She nodded. "For the future we want to build… Let's do this."

"For the future we want to build…" Kur repeated, and met the eyes of everyone in his party. Everyone that had left that cubeplant together, and who had started as strangers, only to become the most tightknit family they had ever known.

"Let's just do this shit," Mul said. "Enough talking and let's eat. I'm fucking starving."

"Hear, hear!" Eum shouted.

"In that case… Leon, you have the invite," Kur said, turning to the paladin.

"Which we gladly accept!"

He leapt to his feet and crushed Kur in a surprising embrace.

After a split-moment of shock, Kur returned, and people clapped and cheered in the tent.

"Alright, alright! Quite down! You're gonna bring the whole jungle down on us!" Kur shouted.

"Yes, sir!" Eum saluted.

"Ugh. Not another one. As your party leader, you're all forbidden from saluting or calling me sir!" Kur shouted.

Laughter rippled through the tent once more.

For the future we are building, Nar thought, grinning as he repeated Row's words. That's why we're working so hard, and that's what makes it all worth it. No matter the risk, no matter the pain, as long as it's for a future of our own making, happy, free and together, then it will all be worth it. All of it.

"Oh," he suddenly realized, as the other made merry. "Don't we need to ask our guides first?"

Kur and Leon froze mid back-slapping, and stared at Sej as though they'd just come face to face with a hungry beast.

"Ah," she sighed, shaking her head. "You guys are crazy…"

She glanced back at Sarke, who shrugged.

"But, eh, why not?" she said, grinning. "Let's make some XP!"

And that was met with even louder roars of excitement.

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