The flight back to the tower was just as unpleasant as Alex had been fearing, but at the very least, they had the chance to rest at the end of it. Their team was going to have at least a bit of a break now; the next alarm would be handled by the other team of C ranks and the second D rank team, and the alarm after that would be handled by Rabbit and the third on-call D rank squad. After that, the next call would have the second C rank team backed up by a fourth D rank squad; Alex and her team would supposedly not have to worry until a fifth alarm was called.

Something that supposedly would never happen, of course.

That assurance was put to the test the very next day, when the alert rang again partway through their lunch. Alex watched as the two teams whose turn it was scrambled to leave their meals behind and rush to the Greyhawk, leaving the rest of the room to mutter and speculate about where they were headed. She hadn't missed the stricken expressions on the D ranks' faces, and the worries she had about what they were facing chased her thoughts as she went to their next lecture.

It wasn't until later that she heard about the Survey, which turned out to be a relatively normal emergency. An unexpected spike in magical energy, but not one that had been accompanied by a horde of Grue. The teams had handled things well, and there hadn't even been any injured among them when they returned.

Alex had almost relaxed at that news, only for yet another alarm to ring the next day, sending Rabbit's team out with another group of D ranks. This time it was a scouting mission for a client that had just signed with Royal Purple's services; they returned with no unusual news, according to the active rumor mill, though apparently Rabbit was mildly irritated by having to deal with two calls in one week.

She was waiting for the next alarm to ring out when her phone pinged in the middle of their morning lecture. Similar beeps echoed from the phones of the rest of the team, putting them all on alert. Alex exchanged a look with the others before she opened the message.

Alexandretta,

Your help has been requested. Please come to conference room Blackwood in ten minutes. Other duties are temporarily suspended.

Mitch Warner, CEO

She blinked at the text and then looked at the others. Georgia, who had paused her lecture, raised an eyebrow. "We just got a request from the CEO. I think we have to go."

Georgia frowned, but she made a shooing gesture. "Go ahead. Wouldn't want to keep him waiting."

Alex nodded, and they filed out of the room, heading for the conference room. She thought she could hear Georgia muttering to herself as they went, but it wasn't anything she could overhear. Wherever they were going, at least it wasn't going to involve a Greyhawk.

Warner was waiting for them, his patented grin once again on display. "Valkyrie! Sneak! Professor and Dryad, of course."

The sound of the nicknames on his lips seemed so insincere and forced that Alex had to fight a scowl. Instead, she just stepped to the side and allowed the rest of her team to walk in and form a rough line in front of the CEO. He was standing on the other side of a long table, with one of his ever-present assistants sitting next to him. She tried to keep her voice even and neutral. "Is there something we can help with?"

"Yes, in fact, there is!" Warner's smile grew a little. "It turns out that Emerald Bay has signed a much more long-term contract with us, in large part thanks to your efforts on their behalf. We owe you our gratitude for helping to handle that situation."

Alex felt her eyes narrow despite her best efforts. "I'm happy to hear that they felt we did a good job."

Warner didn't appear to notice the severe lack of enthusiasm in her voice. "Unfortunately, due to the… casualties… they suffered during that Survey, they are currently having trouble stabilizing their portal. They need some time to recruit new Surveyors and run enough missions to get things back under control. For that reason, they've asked that we deploy one of our D rank teams to help them."

Joanna spoke up before Alex could. "Aren't we on-call, sir? We need to be here in order to respond to—"

He held up a hand. "I understand, but I believe we can at least spare you for the day. If your assignment extends beyond that, I can have a standby team take your place to work with Rabbit and her Surveyors."

Sam exchanged a look with Joanna. "Couldn't the standby team go now?"

"I'm afraid Emerald Bay requested you by name." Warner's smile turned a little sympathetic. "Apparently, you impressed them quite a bit. Just make sure they don't try to hire you out from under us!"

His bark of laughter was just as fake as the rest of him, but Alex forced herself to ignore it and focus on the situation. Clearly, he had fixated on her and her friends as a kind of fix-it tool when things were getting out of control. Did that mean he didn't think there would be another horde-style mission this week? Or was he trying to get them out of the company for a while so they could do something else?

Either way, there wasn't much of a chance for them to escape the mission. She nodded. "All right. We'll head to the Greyhawk now."

Warner shook his head. "Oh no, we'll need to keep those ready in case there is a mission. Your Survey is important, but isn't quite as urgent." The sympathetic smile returned. "We'll be providing transport via train and shuttle bus. It will take a little longer, but you'll still reach the portal with plenty of time. Food will be provided, of course."

Alex heard Clara groan softly, but she suddenly perked up at the thought of avoiding the Greyhawk. "When do we start?"

Two hours later, Alex relaxed in luxury aboard the train, watching the terrain fly by. She drew in a deep, nausea-free breath and sighed. Joanna, sitting across from her, gave her a brief look of hatred. "Could you look a little more unhappy about this?"

Alex just grinned and leaned back, lacing her fingers behind her head. "It was either this or more lectures. At least we can have a simple Survey at the end of it."

"If it is a simple Survey." She looked over at Sam, who was sitting beside Joanna. He held his phone and a tablet in his hand, and seemed to be comparing what he was reading on each one.

Her good mood disappeared a little. She sat forward. "You think it might be something else?"

Sam gave her a shrug. "It's possible. Whatever caused the first event might still be in the area. If they have it set up, they could just turn it back on while we are inside. We got through the first horde, but if they hit us with something stronger…"

Clara shivered in the seat next to Alex. "Well, let's hope they aren't as devious as you are, Sneak." She glanced at the window. "At the very least, we can watch the scenery go by this way. Even if it takes like four times as long."

Much as she was enjoying the lack of turbulence, Alex had to admit the critique was true. If the situation had actually been urgent, there would have been no way that they would have arrived in time to help anyone. As miserable as the Greyhawks were, at least they were fast.

"Maybe that's part of the reason he's sending us this way." Joanna folded her arms and glared out the window. "It gets us out of the complex and away from where we could ask any questions. Maybe one of us was getting closer, and he needs the time to cover up."

Alex nodded slowly, her hands returning to the table set up between them. They had the car to themselves—normal people had a tendency to avoid uniformed Surveyors, sometimes—but she kept her voice low, anyway. "Have any of you heard anything interesting?"

Sam shook his head. "No. Well, almost nothing." Alex raised an eyebrow at him, and he set the tablet down with a frustrated sigh. "I've made a little progress tracking Warner's little minions, but not much. I mean, I thought one of them was headed out for a negotiation this week, but it turned out that the company signed on with us."

Clara made a humming sound. "Yeah, but if they hadn't, maybe they would have suffered another incident, right?"

He nodded. "Nothing I can prove from that, though. Plus, I still haven't been able to find any sign that they were even doing anything. No Greylight properties anywhere, no subsidiary properties, and no sign that they made any preparations at all. Just a travel itinerary."

Joanna gave him a long look. "It would have been helpful to know the guy was on his way, though. Just in case it was an emergency."

Sam grunted. "Tell me about it. My contact was only willing to tell me about it afterward, though. I haven't been able to get any better breaks than that, and he has three of the little goons. I don't even know where the third one is now."

He shook his head, and Alex grunted in sympathy. "Joanna, did you find anything?"

The Adept winced. "Not… exactly." When Alex gestured for her to continue, she turned her glare on the table. "The mechanics have mostly just been grumbling about the extra maintenance on the Greyhawks. Some of them have been complaining loud enough that they are threatening to bring our number of birds down by one."

Alex tilted her head. "That could be another reason why we are traveling by train instead of in the air."

"True." Joanna shook her head. "They are worried about how much more use we're getting on the tiltrotors, but none of them are particularly worried yet. After all, they don't have to go on Surveys, and the more maintenance, the more work they have."

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Sam gave her a sidelong look. "So, no secret Greyhawk flights or mysterious missing parts or something?"

The Adept snorted. "No. Just a lot of grumbling. The pilots stop by occasionally, but most of them just get details and a schedule, nothing about the Surveys themselves." Joanna's eyes went a little distant. "Though they don't seem to mind me hanging around, at least. One of them even said they might show me around the cockpit if he can get permission."

Alex heard Sam mutter something, and Joanna turned bright red. She spun on him, but before he could get himself eviscerated, Alex turned to Clara. "Have the other teams said anything?"

Clara grinned. "A little, actually." She leaned in, her eyes bright. "You know those first three horde Surveys? They weren't on new clients; ours was the first one for a new company."

She'd opened her mouth to dismiss the statement, only for Alex to pause. "They weren't new clients. Which means Warner's people didn't have a reason to be around them. Were they?"

Sam frowned. "What companies were they?"

"White Flower Harvesting, Greenfield Warrior Group, and Redsun Banner Corp." Clara shook her head. "Both of the teams involved were kind of messed up by the experience. A couple of them took really bad injuries, and then there was a surprise Shifter on one of the more normal Surveys. That's why we got called in for Emerald Bay."

He tapped a few things into his tablet and then frowned. "White Flower is a Greylight subsidiary, right? Why would they make something happen there? There's no profit in it."

Alex thought hard, trying to see things from the amoral perspective that Warner and his ilk were probably using. "Probably less risk, too. Maybe they weren't sure it was going to work."

Joanna nodded, her eyes sparking with anger. "They were testing it. Seeing if the plan would work before they started using it on people who weren't clients yet."

"That might be why they tuned it down a little lately." Alex nodded. "They don't want to draw too much attention to it. They're still worried about being caught."

Sam's expression tightened. "All the more reason to keep going after them, then."

She shook her head. "Not if it gets us caught, Sam. Not if we end up like…"

Alex's voice gave out for a second. She looked out the window for a moment until she felt more in control of herself. "Not if they figure us out first. My mom was right. We need to be careful."

Clara laid a hand on Alex's shoulder. Her eyes were serious. "We will be. You don't need to worry."

Alex gave her a small smile. "I know." She couldn't help but think that she'd heard a similar reassurance, not very long ago at all. "At the very least, we can't figure out much more from here. We'll need to wait until we get back."

Sam had set the tablet in front of him, scowling at it. "Unless there's something at Emerald Bay we could use. Maybe they left something behind…"

Joanna gave him an exasperated look and then shook her head. Alex just turned back to the window, watching the trees and fields fly by. They had at least another two hours. They could worry about the conspiracy then.

When they arrived at the station nearest the Emerald Bay portal, a small shuttle bus was there waiting for them. It was decked out in the Emerald Bay colors of green and blue, with the lake-and-beach symbol of the company on its side. The Surveyors scrambled into it while the driver loaded their belongings. Then it was just a short twenty-minute drive to the portal itself.

The town near the portal was apparently nothing special. Alex saw an office building that might have been Emerald Bay's actual address, along with a scattering of restaurants, health clinics, and schools. She even saw a truck stop of some kind, half-full of semi-trucks and vans before the shuttle turned into a side road and the town vanished into the hills and trees.

Once they arrived, they were ushered out of the vehicle and out across the parking lot towards the portal. The entire facility seemed a lot calmer and emptier than it had before. Only a single Surveyor was waiting for them near the portal itself, which wasn't nearly as dramatic as it had been. No purple lightning lashed from its swirling energies, and the scent of magic was nowhere near what it had been.

Alex recognized Jonathan from when she'd rescued him before. It did not look like the past week had treated him kindly. Dark circles had gathered under his eyes, and he glanced back at the portal with a vacant expression.

She tried to keep her voice respectful. "How are things inside?"

"Hard to say." He shook his head. "Things calmed down a lot after you were last here. Your C ranks did a lot of good work, but there are still way more Camps and patrols than normal. We tried to go in after, but…"

Jonathan paused, and then he looked back at Alex with a pained expression. "One of us panicked almost immediately and returned through the portal. By the time the rest of us got back, she'd quit the company. The rest of us have been trying, but we barely have enough people for a single team now. We could use some breathing space, to give the company time to finish getting another batch of us."

Alex nodded. "That's what we can help you with. Anything we should know?"

The Surveyor shook his head. Alex shook hands with him and then stepped forward. The others followed her into the light once again…

[D Rank Surveyor Alex, Gatekeeper, Realmwalker]

[Ascension Level: 8]

[Role: Porter (Role Skills: None]

[Role Level: 3]

[Experience: 1020/4500]

[Attributes: Strength -> 8, Speed -> 10, Life -> 6, Devotion -> 0, Control -> 0]

[Current Skills: Combat Balance(35), Motion Trance(24), Combined Arms–Axe/Shield(35),

Holy–Storm(35)]

[Permanent Skills: Battle Maneuvers(0)]

[Current Titles: Empress of War (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Combined Arms, Weapon Mastery, and Battle Maneuvers by five.),

Aggression (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Weapon Mastery, Combined Arms, and Combat Balance Skills by five.),

Fated Hero (Increases Skill grade of Dodging, Anticipate, Battle Maneuvers, and Inspect by five),

Eternal Motion (Increases Skill grade of Recovery, Running, Marathoning, and Motion Trance by five.),

Tireless (Increases Skill grade of Recovery Skills by three.),

True Sentinel (Increases Skill grade of Deflect, Dodging, Blocking, Resist, Zeal, and Combat Balance by five.),

Still Flow (Increases Skill grade of Meditation, Focus, Recovery, Arcane, Sense, and Motion Trance by five.),

Elite (Increases Skill grade of Combat Balance, Battle Maneuvers, Battle Mastery, and Battle Dance by five.),

Lethality (Increases Skill grade of Melee, Weapon Mastery, and Combined Arms Skills by five.),

Consecrated (Increases Skill grade of Holy by five.),

War Prowess (Increases Skill grade of Battle Maneuvers, Rush Assault, and Heavy Assault by five.),

War Momentum (Increases Skill grade of Combat Balance, Riposte, and Battle Dance by five.),

Blitz Master (Increases Skill grade of Combined Arms, Lunge, and Charge by five),

Coordinated (Increases Skill grade of Battle Maneuvers, Anticipate, and Combined Arms by two.)]

Alex grimaced at the complete lack of any power in her Battle Maneuvers Skill. At the very least, the rest of her abilities were at or near maximum, but it would take a while to get her most powerful one back up to snuff.

[Please select your intent]

[Exploration]

[Vengeance]

[Patrol]

[War]

[Salvage]

Once again, War would have made sense, but Warner had taken great pains to emphasize that a part of their responsibility was to harvest material for the company.

She selected Salvage.

[Your intent is to Salvage]

[Quest Issued! Gain eight Hidden Flowers.]

[Quest Issued! Gain two Shining Slivers.]

[Hidden Quest Issued!]

[Hidden Quest Issued!]

[Hidden Quest Issued!]

Alex frowned as she took in the Quests. Hidden Flowers, she knew; they could be found at most Outposts. Slivers were something she hadn't seen before. Part of her wondered if they were from Anchor Points; if so, it was going to take more than a group of D ranks to get them.

She shook her head. At least she'd be able to get the Hidden Quests. They had an unofficial secondary objective to shatter as many Camps as they could reach. Finding enough Grue to kill would be no problem at all.

Eyes narrow and ready to sprint, she stepped forward through the light…

Alex found herself in the other world, once again in that same plaza where she had faced the horde. This time, the place was empty. Where there had once been an army of Grue, there was now only a struggling fountain, surrounded by the hollow storefronts of an abandoned shopping center.

A tension that she hadn't recognized faded from her shoulders as Alex straightened up. Sam was the next out of the portal, and she recognized the same wariness in his expression as he scanned the place. Their eyes met, and he grinned at her. "So, no exciting start to things?"

"I guess not." Alex turned as Joanna came through next. The Adept's hands were already glowing, something that made Alex step back in surprise. Joanna made her own quick study of the plaza, and then sighed, letting the glow fade. As she did, Clara came through with her crossbow loaded and ready to fire, only to drop it when she saw the others waiting and relaxed.

The Acolyte kicked a loose rock across the plaza. "Any idea what a Shining Sliver is?"

Joanna grimaced. "No, but I'm betting I know how to find out."

Clara gave her a regretful smile. "Sorry, Professor. Next time, we'll have someone else do the mental stuff."

The Adept snorted. "Let's just get moving. The sooner we get this place smashed back to normal, the sooner we can leave."

They left the plaza, heading towards the Movie Theater. Orbit's team had reported the place was empty, but at the very least they'd be able to find a patrol. After that, they'd be able to find whatever else they needed.

Alex ducked below the hammer as it swung past. She could feel the breeze of it ruffle her hair, and grimaced as the Brute roared at her. "Any time now!"

"On it!" Joanna carved through a Knight's shield, the flames of her sword melting through the dark metal like it was hardly even there. A backstroke finished the Knight just as the Brute lunged forward, both hammers raised. Alex grimaced and brought her shield up, hoping to dodge at least one blow.

Then the Brute froze in place, its grey eyes wide and the smoke of its body unmoving. Alex paused, her eyes locked on the suddenly neutralized threat. Then she straightened up and grinned. "About time, Professor."

Joanna didn't bother responding. Instead, her eyes were locked on the frozen Brute, her expression caught partway between determination and disgust. Behind her, a Soldier leaped into the air, its spear ready to stab her in the back. It made it only halfway before Clara's crossbow shot took it in the chest. The impact smashed it from the air, sending its limp corpse hurtling into another group of its friends. They collapsed together as vines exploded from the bolt, wrapping them in grasping thorns and ripping roots.

Alex looked left and saw Clara reloading her weapon. A Knight charged her, shield raised. It made it two strides before it straightened up and died, the weapons falling from its slack claws. Sam dashed past the falling corpse, his dark eyes focused as he ran in Alex's direction. He shouted over the sounds of the dying Grue patrol. "Valkyrie, behind you!"

She spun and smashed an arrow out of the air. The Killer who had fired it was nocking another arrow, at least until she focused her own magic. Wind snatched the bow from its claws, and as it leaned forward to grab at it, she put a lightning bolt through its throat.

Then there was a roar as the Brute suddenly came to life again. It started to bring the hammers down, until Sam slammed into it from the side. He buried his spear between its ribs, and the roar became a wet cough. Both hammers dropped as it tried to grab at him, but Sam just yanked the weapon back and put a second thrust through its throat.

As the Brute fell, the battlefield went quiet. A second later, the bodies burned, and Alex allowed herself a sigh of relief. "Good catch, Sneak."

Sam gave her a quick look, as if inspecting her for wounds. He grinned. "You're getting a little slow, Valkyrie."

She rolled her eyes. "Just giving our resident telepath the chance to do her thing." Alex looked at Joanna, who was massaging at her temple with one hand, like she was trying to ease a migraine. "Anything?"

"Five more Camps. No Outposts, though." Joanna sighed in frustration. "I might need to start grabbing those Killers. They seem to know more than the Brutes do."

"Probably because anyone with any sense stays back while the lesser folk do the melee fighting." Clara bit her lip as if trying not to laugh. Alex stuck her tongue out at the Acolyte, who finally started chuckling. "We keep looking for more, right? Maybe after we pick off a few of those Camps?"

Alex nodded. It was the fifth patrol they had ambushed, and Joanna's ability had given them a clear picture of where to go to find their real targets. They had destroyed three Camps already—completing most of their Hidden Quests in the process—and had already visited a pair of Outposts. Each of them had managed to get four or five Hidden Flowers, which just left a handful more, plus whatever the Slivers were.

She glanced around as the last of the Grue burned away. "Let's hit another couple of Camps at least. Then we'll be done with Hidden Quests, and the portal will be mostly taken care of. Then we'll see what else we can find."

The others nodded, and then they were in motion again. Only a few more battles to go.

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