Kairen had come a long way with his abilities. His connection with his rats allowed him to communicate and coordinate with the slaves, and his undetectable presence let him act as the perfect spy, gathering information about Zar’s plans in the hopes of one day using it to bring the mercenary down. He had learned to push the limits of the Oasis system, allowing him to push back against Mr. Mage’s rituals, and was constantly finding new ways to bring the various blessings he had obtained to bear on whatever situation he could.

Despite all that, Kairen still found himself caught in the role of the observer, unable to do anything but watch as a tense showdown occurred between Zar and Ade. Kairen barely recognized the young Pathfinder, who had grown up in multiple ways since he last left the Oasis, but he had the same features and an undeniable connection to the old man that Zar was holding hostage. Unable to be noticed, Kairen simply watched, knowing the success or failure of all their plans rested on the outcome between these two people. He wasn’t idle, however. His body and gaze might be located in this room, but Kairen had learned that his new existence as a spirit possessed more senses than he had had while he was alive. He was directly tied into the Oasis, and through that connection he could gather a rough understanding of what was happening throughout the city. All over slaves were taking advantage of the chaos to strike back at their masters, and Alpha’s children were always nearby, ready to take advantage of any openings they could to safely swing the odds into the slaves’ favor. A dense group of people that Kairen realized were the nomads were slowly making their way to the north gate, pushing back the harassing guards, but unwilling to rush away while their two primary pathfinders were still missing. The slave pens were slowly being emptied as well, months of effort paying off as slave after slave slipped away. And through it all Zar and Ade glared at each other.

“I’m impressed you made it this far.” Zar casually admitted. “You don’t even know how to hold that spear you’ve picked up from one of my guards. It takes guts to try something like this, but that won’t be enough, not against me and mine. Because at the end of the day, it all boils down to power.”

“I don’t believe that.” Ade answered. “Other things besides power matter. Family. Friends. Reputation. I might not be able to beat you in a fight, but how well do you think Zaros will do once the rest of the nomads spread the news of just what you’re doing here.”

Zar let out a dark chuckle. “How foolishly Naive of you. Most of the people in the other cities might not like what I do, but they don’t get a say in things, the ones in charge, the ones with power.” Zar let the word curl around in his mouth. “They know what I can give them, what having power buys them. But I think you’re skipping a few steps in your threats there boy. The old man here can’t leave, and you won’t leave without him. So how exactly is your tribe supposed to escape and reach another city with you still here? They might have a few fighters and the element of surprise, but I have more guards and better training. It’s only a matter of time before everyone you know is either killed or captured.”

“If you’re that confident, why don’t you let your hostage go and fight me man to man? Run me through if I truly don’t have a chance, because that’s the only way that you’re going to get me to stop coming after you.” Ade snarled, raising his spear up into a more threatening pose.

“If I wanted to kill you I would have, but Pathfinders are rare, and I haven’t given up on the idea of controlling you just yet. After all, if you were to simply surrender and agree to work for me I could instantly send the word to have my men stand down, no one needs to die. Unless you want them too.” The charisma and years of experience that had let Zar charm his way through life as a mercenary captain were on full display, and Kairen could see the words having an effect, pitting Ade’s core desires against each other.

“Zar saw it as well, and pressed the verbal attack. “It’s not like most of you nomads would make for very good slaves, so I’m not all that attached to the idea of capturing them. I was simply a spur of the moment plan. Sign a three-year contract to work for me and we can end this right now. Otherwise, I’m afraid your grandfather here is going to be in a world of pain real soon.”

“No.” The answer was sharp, solid, and came from a surprising source. Before Ade had a chance to think it over, let alone respond to Zar, Pathfinder Ahten had already shut down that line of conversation. “Freedom is not something so easily bought or sold, and Ade is not an Elder of the tribe to speak for the rest of us. We refuse your offer, Zar Bloodwake, and every evil intention you have buried within it.” Any further speech was cut short by Zar stabbing the old man in his shoulder, cutting him off short as he grimaced through the pain.

Ade had made up his mind. “He’s right. I can’t speak for the tribe, but I can trust that they’re doing their best to make it through this fight. I’m just here for my grandfather. I might not be able to fight you for him, but there is something I can do.”

Without taking his eyes off of Zar, Ade swung his spear in a large circle, knocking the fancy plates and cups to the ground with dents or cracks. His swing continued around behind him, knocking a vase over and leaving a long scratch through an artistic mural he had noticed on his way into the room. I may be a nuisance, but I can certainly do my best to be an annoying one. You want us alive, but as long as you are busy holding onto my grandfather you won’t be able to actually put me down. So let him go and fight me. I’ll take the long shot of winning.” Ade swung the spear again, reveling in the sound of breaking valuables. “

It shouldn’t have worked. Kairen could see the traces of desperation, the tension on Ade’s face as he desperately searched for a solution. Zar held all the cards in this competition. The nomads couldn’t take over the city, and sooner or later one of Zar’s allies or minions would arrive and change the tenuous balance that existed. Zar knew all this, he just didn’t care. Perhaps it was arrogance. Perhaps it was anger at his possessions being destroyed, perhaps he simply wanted to take care of things himself instead of waiting for help. But with a casual gesture the mercenary stabbed Pathfinder Ahten in the gut and let him drop. It wasn’t a fatal wound, but it would keep the old man incapacitated until a healer could look him over.

Confident in his martial capability, Zar stalked towards Ade. Kairen put all his energy into bringing his blessing and debuffs to bear, but there was only so much that he could do.

Kairen could provide a small boost to a large number of people, not a singular boost capable of bridging the gap between the two combatants, but that didn’t stop the ghost from trying. Combined with the spear’s ease of use, it was just enough to keep Ade alive and in the fight. But every block and stab took more and more energy out of the young man, who was already tired from running around the city collecting his tribe to get them to safety. Soon, he made a small mistake and left his spear extended after a stab for a moment too long.

Clang! Zar’s sword cut the spear in half, dropping the tip to the floor and leaving Ade with barely a club to swing. Before Ade could react to the sudden maneuver Zar was already swinging again, aiming a heavy blow at the boy’s arm that would seal the deal. Kairen could only watch as the blade came down, propelled with frightening speed and power to cripple the young pathfinder.

It missed.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” Ahten spoke up, drawing all attention to him. His robes were stained with blood from his wound, and a thin layer of sweat had started to bead on his forehead from this exertion, but Ade’s grandfather stood tall.

“Ade. Our tribe needs you. I’ll keep Zar occupied, but you need to run.”

Kairen watched as Ade swallowed half a dozen sentences in the span of a second. He sympathized with Ade. He had come all this way to save his grandfather, only to be the one that needed saving. Granted, Ade hadn’t had a plan and had managed to get the other elders out of Zar’s grasp, but having to leave his grandfather behind had to have been difficult. With a jerky nod, Ade stumbled towards the door. Zar made to intercept him with a sudden lunge, only to once again come up short despite first appearances.

“Your fight is with me, not him.” Ahten said, and the walls of the room rippled as the old man gave up on subtlety. “All paths lead to me right now.”

A part of Kairen wanted to leave the room with Ade to witness his and the nomads escape, to do what he could to coordinate the rats around the city. However, Ade couldn’t. Much like Ahten had said, every path led towards him. No matter which direction Kairen chose he always found himself turned around and heading towards the Pathfinder before he could leave the room. It was a display of Pathfinder capability that Kairen had never heard of before, and it seemed to stymie Zar as well. Unable to phase through walls, it didn’t take Zar long to realize that exiting through the door was currently impossible. With the promise of violence in his eyes, he turned his attention towards the one responsible. What followed was probably the strangest fight that Kairen had ever seen or heard of..

Pathfinder Ahten had no weapons. He was slowly bleeding from a stab wound, but was somehow still the person in control of the fight. Even if he couldn’t harm Zar, simply keeping him tied up was all that he needed to do, giving Ade and the rest of the tribe the time they needed to escape. Zar was forced to try again and again to attack Ahten, only for every attack to mis. It wasn’t that Ahten was physically dodging the mercenary’s attacks. Rather, it was as if every single approach that Zar took to get to Pathfinder Ahten was the incorrect one. But every attempt took a little bit more life out of the old man, and so the attacks continued.

Unable to strike back, Ahten took the time to monologue, doing what he could to distract and delay Zar. “You’re wrong, you know. Power might be all that matters at any given moment, but reality is constantly moving and changing. Sooner or later everyone with power will lose it. In that moment, when their power isn’t enough to save them, I wonder what else they might have pursued. Love is not so easily torn away, and has a power the power hungry can never truly grasp. Let me show you.”

BY now Ahten had clearly reached his limits, but after his little speech Zar approached cautiously, while Kairen shifted to the other side of the room. Better safe than sorry when dealing with someone who could trap him, after all. Turning his attention back towards Pathfinder Ahten, Kairen watched as Zar managed to nick his arm, before pulling back for a killing strike.

“The Path that leads Nowhere.” Ahten intoned, and space broke.

Zar’s reactions were top notch and he immediately pulled back, doing his best to create as much distance as possible between him and the Pathfinder’s last attack. It wasn’t enough. The affected area took a second to realign itself before turning pitch black and vanishing, leaving a gaping crater where Ahten had been standing. Zar lay sprawled on the edge, missing the bottom half of one leg and in no condition to fight. There was no sign of Ahten.

Kairen watched as Zar came to. It didn’t take long for him to fashion a tourniquet for his leg to stop the bleeding, but until he could get it healed he wouldn’t be in any condition to fight. Any contribution he might provide would be in leadership only. Wanting to get a better idea of how Ade was progressing, Kairen began to move.

Most of the time Kairen still thought of himself as human. He walked like one, saw the world as one, but he wasn’t human. He walked because it was how his mind was used to getting around, but over the last few months Kairen had been working on that implicit assumption that the rules of reality he followed were actually binding. As he ran through Zaros, Kairen began to pick up speed. Each invisible step took him further and further, faster and faster until Kairen was no longer running but simply blinking from one corner to the next relying on his knowledge of the Oasis to guide him towards the destination he had in mind.

The nomads had made good progress in getting out of the city alive. Their fighters had taken up positions around the perimeter of their group, doing their best to protect the elderly and the children from the battle hungry guards who trailed along behind them, waiting for an opportunity to strike. That opportunity came when the nomads reached the gate out of the city. Perhaps the guards had expected the gate to pose a true obstacle to the tribe, but the crude keys Ade had obtained from the slave were able to unlock the massive structure. It would still take time to open, and with some of the strong men thus occupied the slavers took the chance to attack before it was too late.

Ade might not have been a fighter, but his arrival gave the nomads the knowledge that they needed to focus on their escape. No longer did they have to slowly linger hoping for Ade or Ahten to catch up. Everyone who was leaving was here, and they could focus solely on getting past the gate.

The fighting was fierce, and chaotic, made more so by slaves and rats joining in to attack the occupied guards. The gate had been opened a crack and there were still a few men working the mechanisms to open it further, but it wasn’t truly necessary. Ade might not have reached the power his grandfather had possessed, but expanding the space between the gates was within his capability. With the gate fully opened the nomadic fighters found a surge of energy, attacking the slavers with a sudden ferocity that caught them off guard. Just a few seconds later all the slavers were dead, even if their opponents had exhausted themselves to do so. Without the energy for another fight, they too slipped out through the gate, and once the last of them had made it out into the desert Ade let the gate return to its usual size. Making his way to the front of the group, he began the difficult task of guiding everyone to a safe place that they could rest and recover at. There would be plenty of time then to go over what had happened today, to mourn for the lives lost and the tragedies that had occurred. For now, it was enough that they had simply survived.

Kairen watched the nomads head out into the desert, quickly fading from sight, before turning his attention back towards the slave pens he had been working on. Not a slave was in sight and Kairen let an invisible smile spread across his face at the overwhelming success of his other plans, even as he mourned the end of Pathfinder Ahten.