Path of Dragons

“I remember going to an amusement park a few years before the world changed,” Ron remarked as they trekked through the jungle. “My daughter always loved roller coasters, and with everything going on, I decided to treat her. Anyway, when we got there, I saw this woman who’d attached leashes to her children. The kids kept trying to get away, and they almost ran into a restricted area where they would’ve definitely been injured. I think about that a lot these days. Leashes, I mean.”

He spoke as though he wasn’t directing the statement at anyone in particular, but everyone knew he was really talking to Elijah. After he’d regaled his companions with the story of his most recent adventure, he’d expected them to be awed by his knack for survival – or at least intrigued by what he’d discovered. Yet, they’d all piled on to berate him for taking unnecessary risks. Even Dat had criticized him for going at it alone.

And now Ron was likening him to a child who was so unruly that he needed a leash to keep him out of trouble. It was maddening.

“For the record, I am not an out-of-control child. Just wanted to throw that out there before people got the wrong idea,” he said with a long-suffering sigh.

“I’d never imply that you were,” Ron stated. “But those kids, they probably thought much the same thing. They probably never considered that running into an area with heavy machinery was even dangerous. Not that that has any bearing on our current situation. I’m only telling an amusing anecdote from my past.”

Elijah was about to respond, but instead chose to take the high road. He could acknowledge that his actions probably looked reckless from afar, but he also knew that if he’d taken anyone else along, they’d probably be dead. There was no standing up to those golems. No fighting back. He was the only member of the group capable of escape.

Of course, he could have simply chosen not to poke the proverbial bear, but that just went against his every instinct. For better or worse, he was a curious person, and because he had the tools to extricate himself from a wide variety of dangerous situations, he probably wasn’t nearly as cautious as others expected him to be. Still, he had survived, and he’d picked up an interesting artifact along the way. In addition, he’d discovered the truth about the excised world, which he fully expected to become important sometime in the future. If not in the Trial itself, then as a cautionary tale that could influence how they approached Earth’s future.

In short, though he understood where Ron – and the others – were coming from when it came to their evaluation of his actions, he rejected the premise they espoused. The reality was that he’d survived, and he’d gained valuable insight along the way. That was worth the risk, so far as he was concerned. And if he was entirely honest with himself, he didn’t intend to change his ways.

With that in mind, it was much easier to ignore Ron’s pointed jabs at his lack of instincts for self-preservation – which continued as they traveled through the jungle on the way toward the challenge associated with the Umbra.

Over the next two weeks, the group traveled across the continent with unprecedented speed. Their recent influx of levels brought with it a wave of increased attributes that made traversal of the terrain easier than ever before. The few times they encountered wraiths, they tore through the wretched creatures without slowing for more than a few minutes. On a couple of occasions, they were stalked by ta’alaki hunters, but the creatures were wholly incapable of keeping pace. One instance saw them being ambushed by more hunters, though that ended with a wholesale slaughter that Elijah hoped would dissuade further attempts at a similar tactic.

He didn’t expect that would be the case, though. The hunters, for better or worse, seemed entirely dedicated to their task. Certainly, they would retreat if they thought it necessary, but that just meant that they would come back at a more advantageous time. Or if they were too badly outclassed, they would seek out other prey. Giving up just wasn’t in their nature.

With what Elijah suspected about the Lightning Emperor’s role in keeping the Abyss at bay, he understood their dedication. What remained of their society owed their continued existence to Yloa, so it wasn’t surprising that they would be fanatical about following his orders.

The only question was why they had been instructed to hunt the Trial-takers. By all rights, they could have simply sat it out and let the people from Earth tackle the challenges unmolested. Instead, Elijah and the other participants in the Trial of Primacy had been hunted from the very beginning.

It just didn’t make much sense.

Then again, that wasn’t surprising. There were so many other factors at play that Elijah would have been shocked if he understood even half of the situation. Not only was the system toying with everyone and everything, but there were planetary politics to consider. Class warfare, too. From everything Elijah had seen, the native species didn’t get along, so there was racism in there as well. In short, trying to understand how it all fit together was a fool’s errand, and he suspected that it was meant to distract the participants in the Trial from what truly mattered – at least to them.

Conquering challenges and gaining advantages that they would take with them back to Earth was more important than trying to understand the situation on ka’arath.

Along the way, his companions mostly kept to themselves. Traveling across the continent was a dangerous prospect, and though they were among the strongest people from Earth, they knew that if they let down their guard, they could get injured or killed almost as easily as anyone else.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Because, as Elijah had discovered many times, the world of ka’arath had plenty of dangers that were far stronger than they were.

But even among the mostly silent group, Sadie’s demeanor stood out. She rarely spoke to anyone, and when she did, it was in clipped sentences. She didn’t even confide in Dat anymore, which left Elijah worried for her mental well-being. If they’d been a little closer, he would have taken her aside and inquired as to her psychological state. Or maybe offered a friendly ear so she could unload her problems. Yet, each time he drew close to her, her complexion paled, and she looked as if she was about to vomit.

That was as good a hint as any that his presence wasn’t wanted.

Which was a little disappointing. He’d thought that they’d gotten over the proverbial hump with their relationship. He knew she was still under the influence of her skill, but they had been making progress. Elijah didn’t know what had changed, but he wished things would go back to normal.

Grudging acceptance was better than outright disdain. Or as seemed to be the case of late, disgust.

Regardless, she didn’t do anything overtly hostile, so Elijah kept his thoughts to himself. His previous resolution to ask Dat to intervene seemed like it would just make things worse, so he decided to shelve the idea until they reached a safer and more peaceful environment. Given that their time in the Trial was steadily growing shorter, Elijah expected that wouldn’t come until they returned to Earth. ɌаŊÒＢʧ

And even then, there would be other issues that he knew would take precedence.

It was a depressing realization, but it occurred to Elijah that they may never get the chance to figure things out between them. After all, they lived on different sides of the world, and once their interests no longer aligned – meaning that the Trial was finished and Hong Kong was safe – they would have little reason to endure one another’s company. It was far more likely that they’d simply go their separate ways.

That had happened with many of Elijah’s friends from high school, and he’d rarely even considered the fate of his acquaintances or coworkers from his life in Hawaii. And he’d known some of them for years. It was just the nature of human relationships that as paths diverged, relationships wilted until even the memories faded to almost nothing.

Such morose thoughts accompanied Elijah as they traveled across the continent. At some point, the sweltering jungle gave way to a more temperate climate, and the nature of the vegetation and local wildlife followed suit. Clearly, their evolutionary paths had pushed them to adapt to the much cooler temperatures, with many of the animals having thick coats of fur.

Of course, thanks to his cloak, Elijah felt no difference. The others couldn’t say the same, and both Dat and Ron voiced their appreciation for the improved climate.

Eventually, they reached their destination, and predictably, given the gloomy nature of the challenge, it came with a thunderstorm. Dense sheets of rain fell, and thunder rolled across the landscape as Elijah and his companions stood on a bluff overlooking the challenge associated with the Umbra.

“Say whatever else, but at least it’s consistent,” Elijah pointed out.

“It does fit,” agreed Ron.

“It looks interesting,” Dat said.

“Ain’t nothin’ interestin’ about that,” Kurik stated, nodding toward the shadow strewn valley in the distance. Very little of the forest itself was visible, but from what they could see, the trees were gnarled, with grey leaves and twisted branches. To Elijah, they looked like they were in pain.

“What do we know about it?” Elijah asked.

In a terse voice, Sadie answered, “Nothing. Just that two groups went in a couple of months ago, but no one ever came out.”

That wasn’t surprising. Unless they were well-prepared and extremely powerful, any group that attempted a first clear was bound to have issues. It wasn’t a pretty thought, but the groups that went in were likely dead.

“What’s it called?” asked Ron.

“There’s no information other than the location,” Sadie stated. “Do we want to go in now? Or rest a little before we try it?”

“I vote for rest,” Elijah said. “We want to be at our best.”

Everyone else agreed, and they decided to make camp a few miles from the shadowy valley. Once there, Elijah hunted down a beast that seemed very similar to a feral pig, though with a thick coat that reminded him of a yak. It was also the size of a bull, so there was plenty of meat. After butchering it and setting the hide aside to dry overnight, Elijah presided over a good, old-fashioned barbecue.

He'd obtained some sauce from the Consortium’s Chef, so he used that along with some seasoning he’d gotten back on Earth to help with the cooking. It wasn’t a substitute for someone with a cooking skill, but because those ingredients had been prepared by someone with just such an ability, they helped maintain the taste.

“This isn’t bad,” said Ron, having taken a bite. “Not great, either. Just better than normal.”

“I miss the Stuck Pig. It’s a restaurant back in Ironshore, and it reminds me of so many of the best barbecue places from before the world’s transformation,” Elijah said. “They even made orc ribs taste good.”

“Ain’t nothin’ wrong with orc,” Kurik said. “Tender meat. Lots of flavor. You just got to kill the orcs first, which makes it a bit dicey.”

“We don’t have anything like that back home,” Ron admitted. “We have a few Cooks and such, but no restaurants. It’s more of a community cafeteria setup.”

“I bet it’s good, though.”

“It’s not bad,” Ron said with a grin.

Dat cut in, “I miss pizza so much.”

“There’s a pizza place in Norcastle,” Elijah said. “It’s not bad.”

“I haven’t had pizza in years,” Dat said with no small degree of wistfulness.

“Well, I’ll treat you when all this is over. Norcastle isn’t far from Argos. We can hit that restaurant then head to Hong Kong. I’ll even introduce you to Jess. You two will get along great,” Elijah said.

Dat went red in the face, but he mumbled something that sounded like, “Okay.”

After that, the group enjoyed the meal as well as the affable companionship as they spoke of the things they missed from before the world’s transformation. Pointedly, Sadie remained silent, and as soon as she finished eating, she mumbled her thanks then said she was going to stand lookout. Before Elijah could point out how unnecessary that was – One with Nature’s effective radius was large enough for him to keep watch without leaving the campfire – Sadie was gone.

“Is she okay?” asked Ron, proving that Elijah wasn’t the only one to have noticed the change.

“It’s a long story, bro. But she’s going through some stuff. Just try to be understanding,” Dat said. “She’ll be fine in the long run. I think.”

Elijah wasn’t so sure. No one could tackle every issue alone. However, as he’d previously noted, he was not in a position to offer help. With that in mind, he remained silent until everyone had finished eating. He retreated to his monster-dissuading tent and fell asleep. He knew that the coming challenge would likely prove as difficult – or probably more so, given the pattern of escalation they’d already experienced – as any other.

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