He seemed amused as he spoke, “I suppose you want to know my motives for coming as well, then?” When she eagerly nodded, he shook his head wryly. “I seem to be the odd man out. I don’t have an ulterior reason. Where the others volunteered, Marcelle asked me if I’d be willing to come. I frequently venture out to the woods on hunting missions, so I’m familiar with how we normally survive out here, as well as the areas we’ve explored in our hunts. I just enjoy being outside the city walls. I know it’s dangerous, but I feel more at peace amongst the trees. Maybe it’s because I’m a nature mage.”
Shrugging nonchalantly, he turned back to make sure none of the meat was getting overly crispy as he sliced off the cooked outer sections, putting them on a tray she hadn’t noticed before.
“Where are you going to put the meat?” She asked curiously, and he turned back to her in surprise.
Taking a moment to think about it, he shrugged and answered, “Actually, I don’t know. We normally bring most of the creatures back to the city, and only cook whatever we need at that moment.”
She nodded before taking out two large cubes of metal from her ring. He shifted slightly so he could watch both her and the fire. Having been recharged a decent bit by the meat she’d been eating, she had enough energy to do what she wanted. Glancing around, she realized they were about ten feet from the wall, so she carried the blocks to it and started shaping the metal.
It took her several minutes, but by the time she was done, there were two industrial sized ‘coolboxes’ standing upright against the wall. She’d made them more like refrigerators, in that they were upright, had doors that opened and closed instead of a trunk lid, and shelves inside to put things on. The inside was, of course, lined with freezing water magic to achieve that effect. Using her mana sight, she could see the tiny tendrils of mana being pulled from the surroundings to power them.
Satisfied, she stepped back and brushed her hands off, turning to find most of the cavern staring at her. Smiling innocently, she walked over to Garrik’s tray, where she swiped half of the meat on it into her ring and then grabbed her blanket as well. “I think I’ll take a nap now.” She announced before walking into one of the unoccupied rooms and out of sight.
With relief, she pulled out the bedroll she’d been given, laying it out before sitting. She took the time to munch on the meat she’d snagged, recovering more of her energy before she lay down completely. She could hear people opening and closing the doors of her coolbox repeatedly, and had to suppress her giggles.
Feeling at peace, she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Eight – Truth
Day Eleven
When Jade woke, it took her a few seconds to remember where she was. She felt oddly refreshed and alert, which made little sense until she realized she’d forgotten to siphon anyone before she went to sleep. Checking her pocket watch, it was almost one in the morning. She’d fallen asleep shortly after eating, but that had only been around seven. That meant she’d gotten almost six hours of uninterrupted sleep for the first time in over a week.
Stretching, she used water magic to quickly clean herself as she stood up, glancing around the room. Her babies were sleeping in the tree she’d barely managed to remember to grow before she drifted off earlier. Lilith stirred, and she watched her tiny baby look up at her and ask in a tired voice, “Leaving now?”
Smiling, she reached over and stroked Lilith with a feather-light touch. “Just me. You stay here and sleep. You’ve earned it.” Lilith murmured a sleepy assent as Jade whispered, “Be good while I’m gone. Love you.” Lilith rubbed her tiny head against Jade’s finger, then settled back to sleep. Standing up, she walked out into the main room silently.
Everything was still, the others having gone to sleep hours ago as well. She could occasionally hear the shifting of animals in the corral she’d created for them, but that was it. Still, there were signs that they’d been cooking for quite some time, considering the utensils that were laying around. She quietly opened the doors of the fridges she’d made, seeing stacks of meat inside. Happily waving her hands, everything save one shelf disappeared into her ring, with her grabbing a piece and beginning to munch on it as she closed the doors once more.
Making her way to the tunnel, she noticed the whites of two pairs of eyes turning to her as she momentarily blocked the light when she entered the darkness. Walking towards them, she found Samuel and another man whom she hadn’t spoken to standing guard, though at the moment they were paying more attention to her than to the stone door they were guarding.
“Lady Jade?” Samuel’s young voice questioned quietly.
Smiling, her pearly whites flashed in the darkness as she whispered, “It’s me. I’m going to go out and do some scouting. I’ll be back in a few hours, or make contact if it’s going to take me longer.”
There was obvious hesitation on their faces as Samuel continued to question her, “Are you sure you shouldn’t be taking someone with you, at least?”
She shook her head. “No; for what I’m doing, it’s better to go alone. No one else can travel through the trees like I can, so I’ll be much faster solo. Besides, if I run into any problems, I can fly above the treeline to escape. Not to mention, I’m the only one who can see in the dark.” They didn’t have any argument for that.
“Be safe,” the other man whispered in acquiescence.
She nodded to him, “I will.” She quickly opened up several viewing windows in front of them, each window peeking out to the world above from different angles. She shifted them several times, moving them to locations she’d been and making sure there were no enemies or ambushes nearby. When she saw no movement, monsters, or felt any danger from her senses, she nodded. “All right, I’m off. See you in a few hours.” She flashed them one last grin before opening the rock door, lowering her gravity, and bounding out to hover midair. She closed the door behind her with a little salute to the two guards, making sure it was concealed before she started floating up towards the tree tops.
She made sure to move her trajectory several trees to the west before she landed, just in case. She then began opening tiny illusory windows up along the path they’d taken today, until she finally reached the site of the fight. There, she saw movement. There were three mesmer gathering up the bodies of their fallen brethren. Quickly closing the window before they could realize they were being watched, she smiled and began to run.
Her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness that pervaded the forest. There was still some light filtering down through the leaves thanks to the moon, but she could see as clearly as if it was almost day. She mostly attributed this to her keen senses, given that she’d partially acquired the skill by absorbing darkvision. She hadn’t been lying when she’d told the men she could see in the dark. She still didn’t like the dark, but she couldn’t really shy away from it at the moment.
Night was the time of the mesmer. While it would be smarter to only face them in the daytime when they were at their weakest or resting, she found she was unable to make herself wait until the sun rose. She couldn’t take the chance that the mesmer would adapt or get nervous and move their prisoners. All of this ran through her head as she bounded through the woods from branch to branch, her foot barely skimming the wood before she bounced off again due to her low gravity and monstrous strength.