Saul was seated near Ishan. He leaned against the trunk of a massive tree. Where before there had been silence, now there was a symphony of forest sounds. It was as if the whole forest began to blossom with life following their battle with the Ent.

His eyes were closed and his face had a serene expression as he expanded his awareness. He felt the connection between himself and the rest of the forest, a resonance that seemed to exist between all living things. He felt the ties that bound him and Basi together, a golden energy that stretched between the two of them and through those ties he felt an intense feeling of companionship with the beast. It was almost familial. He felt the connection between himself and Ishan. The 'party' line. It appeared silver in his head and seemed to link his mind to the wizard's.

The connection felt tenuous, as if it could be broken at a moment's notice. He pushed further outward with his Qi a cloud of his energy enveloping the entire clearing. He gained awareness of everything that happened within. It was as if his Qi were particles that moved at rapid speed, colliding with everything in the environment. Through those collisions he could see outlines of everything in the area. Everywhere his Qi flowed was solid white and everywhere that it couldn't flow was an absence of that light.

Inhale.

His Qi cloud shrank. Qi flowed into his lungs. He grabbed hold of that Qi and willed it into his dantians. Flooding them. Refilling them as they were continuously drained to project that Qi cloud.

Exhale.

His body relaxed. Tension evaporated. His heart rate slowed. He let his Qi cloud expand further.

Inhale. Deeply.

His Qi drew tight to his body as he breathed in, the cloud of his awareness shrinking down until it clung to his body like a cloak. More Qi, this time so much that it totally refilled his lower dantian. He struggled with that energy and contained it within that dantian. Forcing it to expand. To grow. Suddenly, pain.

Exhale.

He projected his cloud out again to empty the dantian.

He was working on grinding away at the barriers of the core, to expand its walls so he would have a greater energy capacity in the future.

An hour passed. To his right he heard shifting on the undergrowth, then the sound of soft 'pops'. He pulled his aura totally within himself and opened his eyes. Ishan was standing before him. "All done recovering your mana?"

The wizard nodded. "It takes me too long. I need to figure out how some of the other wizards I've seen get their mana back so quickly."

Saul's shoulders raised in response. "I wouldn't know, unfortunately. I just shoot things." He climbed to his feet, his knees popping softly as he stood. Arms raised high over his head, back arched, before that popped too. He wore a satisfied smile as he spoke, "We shouldn't be too far from Sylethanas. Let's go figure out what's going on in this place." Basi stirred beside him at those words and moved to lean against his legs. The beast appeared serene. Happiness flashed through their bond.

They set off down the path. As they walked, Saul made an effort to expand his Qi cloud out in a 10-meter radius. It was taxing on his dantian but it seemed manageable. Important. ‘I’ll know if we’re under attack before it happens. I’m not getting ambushed again.’ After the experiences he’d had so far in the dungeon, his desire to avoid an unexpected projectile was growing. Vivid colors passed by as they continued on. The bright reds and purples of fungi dotted many of the fallen trees. Blue hues filtered down from the canopy as other wavelengths of lights were absorbed. Vivid, deep greens dominated the floor of the forest. One massive red trunk after another passed by. It was the kind of landscape that couldn’t help but put a smile on your face.

The rest of their journey passed peacefully. Saul saw a sign that indicated they were only a kilometer away from Sylethanas and pulled Ishan to the side of the path. “If these elves are as hostile as indicated, we’d better figure out a plan. I’d like to try and sneak into their village and see what’s going on…” He paused when he looked at the wizard. He could see the man was chewing his lip as if in thought. “What’s wrong?” Saul asked.

“I don’t know if I can be quiet enough to sneak into an elven village. I’m good, but I don’t have any sort of skills or very high physical stats," the wizard admitted.

Saul looked at the forest around them as he considered his options. “Why don’t we have a test? I’ll move over there,” he pointed into the distance at a fallen tree. “I’ll tell you when I notice your approach. If you get within… Let’s say three meters before I notice, we’ll call that good.” Ishan nodded.

Saul took a seat on the log and closed his eyes for a few moments. When he opened them again, he began to scan the area for Ishan. He didn’t see any signs of the wizard. ‘Pretty good so far. Let’s see if I can hear him.’ Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of sounds were playing in Saul’s ears. Somewhere high above, a bird was singing. On the ground behind him a soft rustle of the ferns let him know a creature was moving by. He didn’t hear steps. ‘Must be small.’ The breeze blew past and gently kissed his body. Thus far he heard no sign of the man.

He scanned the area intently, his eyes and ears working together to try and locate Ishan. The wizard was good. ‘He must be moving when he hears other sounds. That lets him blend into the background noise. I’m not sure what he’s done to make himself invisible. Must be magic.’ He still didn’t see the man. ‘Alright, let’s see where you are. I doubt elves can do this but…’ Saul flared his Qi, a white dome invisible to all but him surrounding him in a 20 meter radius. He nodded and withdrew his Qi back into his dantians then turned to the space beside him on the log. “Hello, Ishan.”

The man’s features were suddenly visible again. His eyes twinkled merrily, crows feet beside them fully displayed as his lips turned upward to illustrate his mirth. “Okay, maybe I’m pretty good at sneaking. How’d you spot me, anyways? I was going to try and scare you.”

Saul grinned in response. “It’s a trick I’ve picked up recently. I don’t think you’ll have trouble getting into the town. Does that thing you did work on more than one person?”

Ishan shook his head, “I can’t maintain it if I cast it on more than one person. Low mana and all. I’m sure you’ll be fine though. Let’s do this.”

Saul rose. “Let me go ahead of you. Just stay quiet for now. Don’t worry about going stealth mode until we get to the town. Basi and I will keep an eye out for patrols.” Crouching down, he began to creep through the forest. He didn’t worry about picking his steps too carefully thanks to the Boots of Silence he’d purchased from Gundrin back on level II. Quiet steps didn’t equal stealth, though. He stuck to the darker shadows when possible, and he kept a close eye out for anything that would brush against his legs and make noise.

He stopped every few minutes to flare his Qi and check his surroundings. Progress was slow but that was to be expected. ‘I’ve heard stories about snipers in Vietnam who took days to crawl across a mile. I’m not going to go that slow, but… Slow and steady wins the race.’ His pace was slow enough that night fell before he reached the edge of the forest.

The canopy of the forest made it so that the forest was close to pitch black at night. Despite how big and bright the moon was in the Dungeon, none of that light could reach the under story. When Saul laid eyes on Sylethanas, he realized the elf town didn’t have the same issue. It was dark - It was night, after all, but compared to the forest itself the place was practically illuminated by floodlights. It was bright enough for him to see noticeable shadows cast across the ground by the massive trees the elves lived in. Luckily for him, one of those shadows fell close to where he’d arrived.

He stayed still for a while, leaning against one of those massive trees. A patrol approached his area. They were walking along the town’s perimeter. Three elves. He could hear the cloth rubbing together as one moved past. Another’s footsteps fell loud and heavy. The warrior. The final elf was dressed similarly to himself. Lightly armored, with a bow across his back. The hunter. Saul shrunk back when this elf came near. They passed without incident. Saul let out a deep breath he hadn’t even known he was holding.

‘That’s one patrol… Let’s see if there are any others.’ He waited. Then, he waited some more. Finally a patrol walked past again - The same one. When they were far in the distance he called back to Ishan as quietly as he could manage. “Time to go.”

They set out under the cover of nighttime. He moved to stay in that massive shadow. His dark armor helped him to blend in nicely. Basi slunk along next to him as he crept forward. He still paused every hundred or so paces to flare his Qi. ‘So far so good.’ He knew Ishan was beside him thanks to his Qi, but otherwise he had no clues to the man’s presence. When they reached the base of the tree he made sure they were alone and whispered, “I’m going to go up this tree. I want you to scope things out in one of the others. Try and find someone who seems important and eavesdrop for a bit.” A hand pressed down on his shoulder and his heart skipped a beat before he realized it was Ishan signaling his agreement.

Saul moved as quietly as he possibly could. He reached the lowest branch without incident and looked up. ‘How am I going to… Oh.’ On the side of the tree he saw fungi. Large, exceptionally sturdy-looking fungi. Like handholds. They were close enough together that he realized he could climb using them. “Looks like you have to sit this one ou…” He stopped talking when he saw Basi walk up to the tree and begin to climb it, his fearsome claws gripping the bark easily. Satisfaction and amusement flashed across the bond. “Ok, let’s go boy.” Saul began to climb. He tried to be quiet about it. His heart was pounding in his chest so loudly that he was sure the guards would know he was there from that noise alone.

He made it to the first branch without incident. In the moonlight, the slight movement of bridges that extended between branches was just visible. They swayed gently in the breeze. He flared his Qi again and felt a presence on this branch with him. They seemed to be further out on the branch, though. Looking in their direction he could just barely make out an elf guard. The guard seemed distracted somehow, moving his hands in a way that suggested he was talking to himself. ‘Lucky break.’

Saul crept along the branch as carefully as he could manage, Basi kept close behind him. He was sneaking past one of the houses on the branch when a door opened just before him. He pressed himself flush against the wall as light suddenly illuminated the great trunk of the tree. Darkness blocked some of the light causing a shadow to appear on the doorway in the shape of an elf. A deep voice said, “It shouldn’t be a problem! No, nothing to worry about. Yes, yes, I appreciate your concern. Really, Marian, I’ll be fine.” A pause. “No, you keep it! Really.”

Another pause. Saul flared his Qi. Nobody else was around but this man and whoever he was talking to. “I shouldn’t linger, Marian! I really appreciate it though.” His shadow grew smaller. To his left, Saul could see the faintest outline of the man as he looked back into the house. Saul’s muscles stretched tight. He found himself standing on the balls of his feet. Fists clenched tightly.

‘Just go back inside!’ He thought. The elf laughed. “Marian, really, I must be… Oh, alright, if you insist. I’ll share some firewyne.” The shadow grew larger. A thud sounded. The door was closed. Saul let out a deep breath as tension faded from his body.

He moved forward once more. He crossed the bridge without incident. A quick Qi cloud let him know this branch was blessedly unoccupied. He moved along from branch to branch. He had just crossed one bridge when he heard a shout, “Hey! You! What are you doing here?” In the darkness he could just see an elf with a large spear in his hand. He seemed to be looking in Saul’s direction.

Sucking in a deep breath, Saul’s spear dropped into his hands. The tip gleamed softly as it caught the moonlight. He sank into his stance, going onto the balls of his feet. Tense.

The elf began to approach. ‘I don’t want any trouble… Just go away.’ He thought. “Hey, I’m talking to you!” The elf called.

Saul parted his lips and drew in a breath to respond when he heard, “Shove off, Linlan! I’ll go where I please.” The speaker was an elf he hadn’t seen. He was leaning against the wall of a building between him and the guard.

The guard didn’t seem to like that, “I told you, Ico, you can’t be lurking like that! We’re supposed to be on the lookout because of all the trouble with Efnelion. Anyways, shouldn’t you be on patrol?”

The elf against the wall took a swig of something in a flask, “I guess I should be, but… Well, I didn’t feel like it. Much better to drink and take in some beautiful sights, don’t you think?” The two of them began to argue. Saul took that as his opportunity. He dismissed his spear and crept onward. He continued moving up until he was about halfway up the tree. He glanced upwards ‘I don’t see too many more residential branches… I must be near the top. If it’s anything like Earth, the rich and powerful elves live near here.’

A Qi cloud revealed there were more guards here than on other levels. He crept quickly to the closest building. From his Qi scan, he could tell that the buildings were gathered pretty closely together. ‘There aren’t any guards up top…’ He crouched low and jumped for the roof of the building. He just barely missed it. His boots of silence muffled the noise from his failed attempt. He crouched again and this time circulated Qi into his legs, infusing them with additional power. When he jumped again he was able to easily grasp the roof of the building. He pulled himself up quietly. ‘Come on, Basi.’ He sent through their bond.

He set out across the rooftops, quiet as a mouse. Below he could catch snippets of guards conversations as he jumped from one rooftop to another. “Another battle,” “Dangero-” “Killed all of the-” Far out from the trunk, there was one building that stood taller than the others. It was too far for him to jump to, but it seemed as though important people lived there. Saul could feel the presence of several guards around it, patrolling. He flared his Qi and ensured there were no guards near him then dropped back down to the branch.

Staying as low as he possibly could, he crept up to that building. Footsteps alerted him to a coming patrol. He pressed flush against the wall, his dark clothing blending in with the earth tones of the building. The patrol was just visible out of the corner of his eye. ‘Please, please…’ His heart pounded in his ears. “Hey, Taslu!” The guard that was about to see him looked up with a start. “Taslu, come over here! Look what Loeil bought!” The guard turned and walked away.

Saul let out another deep breath. ‘This tension is going to give me a heart attack.’ He crept quietly beneath a balcony. There was light shining from within the building there. He jumped up and climbed onto the balcony. Words drifted past his ears. He leaned against the wall and strained to catch them, “Efnelion…” “Yes, but…. The humans…” “Killing them…” He couldn’t make out enough to be useful. He took a chance and peered around the corner as much as he dared. Two plush armchairs occupied the room, located a comfortable distance away from a roaring fire. In the corner there was a large wooden desk. A Qi cloud confirmed that there was nobody in the room except for those talking in the chairs.

‘Magic boots, don’t fail me now.’ He crept into the room and crouched under the desk. From there, he could hear the conversation clearly.

“The people of Efnelion have gone mad. They’re murdering our patrols.” A few moments of silence, “Yes, I think this all started a few months ago. They’ve been responsible for a great number of disappearances between the gate and their town, too.” Another pause. “Well, it all started when those humans arrived at Efnelion and managed to get in good with Aerac. He’s gone mad. I don’t want to risk a full-on war with them.”

Their conversation continued in this vein for several minutes. Long enough for him to make a call. ‘Sounds like I had things backward.’ Saul moved away from his hiding place. He stood behind the two chairs. One of the elves said to the other, “I’m not sure what we can do at this point to fix things.”

Saul cleared his throat and spoke, “I think I may have a solution for you.”