After returning to our lair, I started to, once again, consider the current state of affairs. What were we really doing here, near the farm? How useful and practical was it to stay, compared to going out and exploring? My biggest concern in that regard was Luna. If we started to travel, she’d lose the friends she had made, few as they were. Making friends was difficult for her, something I could greatly empathise with. Where my problem had always been the realm of emotions and how to relate to other people, something I still struggled with, hers was different. It was one of our own making, it came from the power she had gained due to her connection with me and the changes that power had made to her body.

From mostly average, if somewhat malnourished due to the change, child, she was now looking more like a slightly undersized teenager, her features clearly on the way to adulthood with the rest of her body playing catch-up. Similarly, her mind had matured at an insane rate, one that worried me and if the situation was different, one that I would never have promoted. Gaining the levels she now had cost Luna her childhood, making me worry about what it would mean for her development. Could one become an adult, simply because one gained levels and the system deemed it so? What would that do to one’s personality and mind, let alone their socialisation? We were what our experiences made us to be, but if Luna didn’t have those experiences, only the experience of violence and slaughter, what would she become? It worried me, and worried me greatly, but what were the alternatives?

Could I leave my daughter behind, hoping that the levels she had already gained wouldn’t push her further? Or would doing so merely strip her of the support Lia and I had been giving her, leaving her all alone in a dangerous world? What would happen if her body continued to mature at the current rate, giving her a physically adult body before she even reached double digits in age? Especially if she didn’t have protectors around, to keep her safe?

Shaking my head, I didn’t even want to consider such an event. Idly dispelling the incredibly sharp blade of Ice that had somehow materialised in my hand at the mere idea, I decided that plans had to be made.

Trying to stay near the farm could work in the short term, but I didn’t think it would work long term. I wanted, needed, to travel, partially due to my wanderlust, and partially because I wanted and needed more power. I still remembered what Hecate had told me, ‘Mastery over Life, Dominion over Souls and deep insight into the mysteries of the Mind’, those were the three things I needed to get back my Sigmir. Even accomplishing just one of the three was incredibly difficult, especially as my current path didn’t lend itself to some of them.

The mysteries of the Mind were something I could see myself gaining and dominion over souls might be plausible but I wasn’t sure. The closest link I had to that was Death Magic, but I had major problems with that ability, mostly because I was a living being and without any deep connection to the domain of Death. And Mastery over Life, I doubted I could gain that any time soon. My only hope was for somebody else to accomplish such mastery and work with them, maybe an exchange of favours or something along those lines, or maybe I could have the Grandmother help me. She was a greatly accomplished spellcaster and I knew from her link to Luna that she was linked to the domain of Life, though whether she had achieved mastery I wasn’t sure. I thought so, but I would have to ask her.

For that, I’d need power, so I could contact her. It always came down to power, without power, none of my plans could be achieved. And gaining true power wasn’t something I could achieve by hanging around the Farm. Sure, I gained some scant EXP from teaching people magic but real growth could only happen in the flames of conflict. My skills had been growing nicely these last few weeks, but the growth was slowing down, making me wonder if I had merely needed to catch up to the amount of conflict, or maybe there was some other reason.

Either way, if I wanted to continue to grow my power at a good rate, I’d need to keep moving and find things to challenge me, I would need conflict, worthy enemies and such. Something like the Withered, or maybe the big brother of the algae in the lake, something that forced me to push myself and my companions.

Realising that this wasn’t a decision I should make without anyone’s input, I called out for the others. At first, I thought that just calling Lia and Luna would suffice, but it really wouldn’t. Silva, as amusing as it sounded, was likely the one who should have the biggest voice, simply due to her connection to the Army of Dog. Whether the dogs would join us or not was a fairly important question, though I wasn’t really sure what the pack currently did. I knew they kept the area around our lair clear and defended, but other than that, I had no idea. For all I knew, they were planning world domination under the order of their gloriously barking leader. Or, more likely, they didn’t care for world domination and had better plans, plans involving the few remaining fire hydrants, maybe a few sticks and afternoon naps. Far more important, obviously.

Once the others joined me, I began to explain what question I was considering and the implications of it. Afterwards, I suggested that they take their time to consider and get back to me, only for Lia to shake her head.

“I don’t really need to consider,” she said, her voice bland, almost bored, “I don’t care where we are. I need you, Mother, for your blood gives me strength. I’d like to explore, by now I knew the area around here quite well, making it a little boring, but otherwise, I really don’t care. Maybe if we stay something interesting will happen here, though I doubt it. So, there you have it, I don’t have reasons to stay but I also lack compelling reasons to leave,” she shrugged, her focus completely on me. It was almost a little worrying, but there was little I could do about it. She had bonded with Alex, and by the looks of it the critter was agreeing with Lia’s reasoning, so there was that.

Returning her shrug, I shifted my focus to Luna and Silva. Luna looked a little insecure, shifting around as she sat there, making me think that there was something going on. Maybe something she wanted to keep private or was embarrassed by, so I focused on Silva, leaving my munchkin be.

“You, Silva? And how would we go about asking the other dogs?” I addressed Silva, curious how she would respond. Sure, I needed Luna to translate, at least for more complicated concepts, but given that she was sitting right next to me, that wasn’t really a problem.

The soft, somewhat warbling growl I got in response was about as close to a canine shrug as possible, clearly signifying that she wasn’t sure herself. When she continued to let out a few growls, I had to look at Luna, to get a translation.

“Silva herself is with you, that I can promise. Or maybe Hecate would make the promise, I’m not sure. In regards to the rest of the dogs, she’ll have to ask them. I think most of them will come with us,” Luna explained, a small grin on her face, “They don’t really care, as long as there’s game to hunt, they are happy. And I’m pretty sure the Guides would be interested in seeing more of the world. She’ll get back to you, once a decision is made.”

For a moment, I simply looked at Luna, waiting for her to speak of her own feelings but when she didn’t, I simply told the others to get back to me, gently placing a hand on her shoulder to keep her while they left.

“Now, sweetie, what’s on your mind?” I asked, a bit of concern flowing into my voice, “You’re worried about something and I can only help you if I know what it is,” I reminded her, before sitting back, allowing her space to speak, or to remain quiet if she really needed to.

“I’m not sure,” she admitted, “It’s just that I’ve got a weird, grumbling in my tummy, it’s making me worry. There’s something wrong and I don’t know what,” she admitted, looking at me with trepidation in her eyes. Not sure what to say to that, I simply pulled her into a hug, trying to project comfort to the munchkin.

“I don’t know either, but I’ve learned to listen to my gut, it’s often warning me before I even know what’s going on. We should all keep an eye out and if nothing happens, it’s for the best. But if something bad happens, we are warned and aren’t surprised,” I told her, gently rubbing circles on her back while trying to figure out what might be the trigger, if her instincts were warning her of real danger.