James waited near the bridge north of the goblin caves the following morning for the others to arrive. Onyx was still in the Astral Plane and would join them when they went through, and Rocko was sitting on the bridge railing talking about the Dungeon that James was heading toward. The previous day's shopping trip was more interesting because of James's success, and he reviewed his progress again.

Charm +1

Analyze +1

Gather Information +2

Inspect +1

Res - Mental +1

Negotiation +2

This resulted in reaching two thresholds. The first was Gather Information.

Congratulation! Gather Information has reached level 10.

Your chance of detecting false information being given to you has improved by 4%.

Your chance of resisting people gathering information from you has improved by 4%.

Your chance of reading body language while gathering information has improved by 4%.

James appreciated how Gather Information had improved as a Skill. But the biggest reward for the day was his increase in Charm.

Congratulation! Charm has reached level 20.

You have gained the Advantage Friendly Face. This Advantage gives you a 5% bonus on all social interactions with those of the same Race as you.

Rocko had explained that the bonus applied even if he used Alter Self. So long as the target believed you to be of the same Race as they were. With his Alter Self Power, this increased the usefulness of the Advantage. Mind you, that didn't solve the issue of language. In Ash Rumbo, all of his merchant interactions had been with humans. Non-humans were walking around, but none were merchants. James did encounter a Dwarven Blacksmith, but he had to gather information on the city's best weapon smiths.

James heard the sisters before he saw them. He could identify Barbara's laugh and wasn't surprised when he saw that Doris was scowling. The women wore backpacks over their armour and moved with the confident energy of a new adventure. Roland followed a few paces behind them, looking much like he did in the stable but cleaner. A walking stick was in his hands, and he seemed to smile slightly as he watched over his younger siblings. When they arrived before James, they fanned out in front of him and smiled. Except for Roland, who was at least not scowling.

"Are we ready?" James asked.

Connie and Barbara nodded when a horn sounded not far away. Several horses came around the bend and charged toward them down the road. They also heard movement in the forest around them.

"Another ambush," Rocko shouted, "I warned you not to trust them."

"Move close to James. They won't shoot if there is a chance of hitting one of us," Roland ordered. "Whatever you will do, James, you best do now."

James didn't like revealing his powers to so many people, "No, clear the caves, and I will meet with you when you are done." Doris was already standing in front of him with her shield, and Connie had caster her Barrier spell to protect James' right flank. Barbara didn't have a shield or any fancy Spells, so she stood close to James, shielding him with her body. This gave James enough time to pick a point far up the river bed, and Shadow Step away.

James used Shadow Meld and then moved his sense back to where his friends were standing with Shadow Sense.

When the watch commander finally arrived, she reigned in her horse. "Where is he?" she demanded.

The sisters had drawn their weapons before James fled and watched the forest for an attack, but Roland spoke, "He is not here."

"Have they deluded you into thinking that this Champion is your friend?" she growled. "Search the area," she shouted to the guardsmen and militia starting to come out of the woods.

"I don't care what your motivations are, Mother. But I won't kill someone for who they are." Roland replied calmly.

"Then you are a fool. These Champions are murders at best: rapists at worse. Their only concern is winning this damned Challenge, and if I have the chance to kill one and help this town, then I will." she growled.

"I am surprised you haven't killed your own children then," Roland remarked calmly.

The expression on the watch commander's face was akin to her being slapped, "What? Why would you even suggest a thing!"

Roland rolled his shoulder in a casual shrug, "It is no secret that there are many among the Elves who would pay well for a confirmed execution of a half-breed. Even some humans ban half-breeds from entering their cities. I know the only reason I was accepted into the military was my Class. But even that doesn't conceal the animosity and bigotry I am forced to endure by my human commanders. Our deaths would reward you well."

The watch commander stared at Roland, her mouth agape. Finally, she closed her mouth and hardened her expression before turning her mount and trotting back towards town.

When she was out of earshot, Doris whispered to Roland, "That was harsh. Even for you."

"Hypocrisy is a bitch." Roland said before turning towards the caves, "Shall we."

The sisters shared looks and had a private conversation before following their brother.

James used Shadow Step a couple more times when they were out of sight to ensure he was far away from those looking for him. Then he opened the Astral Portal and stepped through.

&&&&& ASTRAL SPACE &&&&&

James appeared in the white cloud that was Astral Space and could see that Onyx was not far away. She lifted her head and barked at him in greeting when she noticed him. His Mana was empty, and he had to tap some points from the Mana Crystal to open the Astral Portal. Now that he time, he sat down next to Onyx and scratched her neck. He made sure he could sense the Astral Anchor around him and slipped into Meditation.

When he was done Meditation, he filled up the Mana Crystal again and left for Ash Rumbo. He had several hours to kill and figured he would spend it there enjoying breakfast. When he arrived at the Primary Astral Anchor, he noticed something in the distance. When everything is white, a splotch of a different colour stands out. Deciding to investigate, he moved carefully in that direction. When he was close enough to tell that it appeared to be a body of a humanoid lying horizontal, he changed his approach angle. Now he was staying the distance away from the body and circling it. During that time, the body didn't move.

If this had been anywhere but near one of his Anchor Points, then he would have moved on, but since it was so close, he had to investigate. There were no shadows to use Shadow Sense or Shadow Step, so he relied on his mind to move him. Still approaching as if it were a trap, James and Onyx moved carefully. When they were a few paces away, James used his sword to poke the body. There was no reaction.

James moved around the body again so that he could see its face. The creature had the features of a catfish. Its mouth was wide, and it had long whiskers. James could see gills on its neck, and its eyes were more on the side of the head than in front. That meant that it evolved from a prey species to a predator species. When James touched the skin, it was cold and clammy, but he could not be sure if it were expected. He had no idea how long it had been lying here but knew it wasn't there when he passed through the area last night.

The body was smaller than James' and had no armour or apparent weapons. It looked like it had already been looted, which concerned James even more. James couldn't remember what happened when an item was dropped in Astral Space. He remembered when he threw the dagger when fighting the Astral Worm, it could see where it was, but James lost sight of it when it landed. James searched the body anyway and Analyzed everything. When that was done, he Inspected the body.

Name: ? Race: Piraiba Barbels Level: ? Damage Range: ? Damage Type: ? Armour Rating: ? Special: ?

The information on the item was mundane, nothing special. The information on the Race was sparse but did give James the name of the Race. He never heard of it and passed it on to Rocko.

'Never heard of that Race before, but I will inquire. I suggest you leave that area, though. No sense taking any chances,' Rocko suggested.

James spent a little more time searching the body. He had some experience with body searches and found a couple of items of interest. The first was a letter written in a language he couldn't identify. IF he had to guess, it looked Asian with characters instead of script. He found this at the body's back, under its robes. He also found a small money belt strapped to the inside thigh and under the genital. Most people avoid searching this area, so they use it to hide things there. James also felt weights at the bottom of the robes. This made sense, but he noticed that they appeared to have different shapes from each other and different weights. Using a knife, he opened them and found several pockets containing coins and gems. The pouch tied to the leg held a single item, a red tassel.

Name: Weapon Tassel - Red Quality: Exceptional Rarity: Ultra Rare Durability: ? Special: ?

James blinked as he held the item. He could understand why someone would kill for this item. Even though he didn't know what it did, he was sure that worth a great deal, just based on its Rarity and Quality. James tucked away and completed his search (even checking the soles of the boots). James noticed that the person Piraiba Barbels had indentations on its flanges from wearing rings for a long time. But they were gone, supporting his hypothesis that the body was looted. Satisfied that he had found everything, he decided to complete his task of heading to the warehouse. Before leaving, James thought about checking the area in the real world around where the body was found. Maybe there would be a clue. If the person had taken a single step in Astral Space, it would be impossible to see where he entered. And that was only IF he entered near here. He could have been ambushed here, or he could have been dumped here.

Deciding not to take the risk, James moved into the forested area around the city and stepped back into the real world. Sadly, Onyx was left behind at the Anchor Point.