Chapter 6: City Planning and Creeping Darkness

01 — The Untamed Forest

A day had passed since I’d taken the helm of Yenice’s slum district and its future. That morning, Lionel, the other slaves, and I set out for the thick forest that covered the country’s southern border with the goal of scouting for materials, which we knew it had more than enough of based on reports from the Adventurer’s Guild and Kefin’s firsthand experience.

So why were we going out of our way? Well, there were two reasons. The first was that I wanted to get a head start before I had so many eyes on me that I couldn’t do anything. Renovating the entirety of the slums was a lofty goal that required appropriately grand amounts of resources, and that meant making extensive use of my magic bag. The rub, then, was the undue amount of attention that waltzing around town flaunting such a rare magic item would garner. The pope had warned me not to make a show of it, and I was intent on taking that advice, especially before I knew which representatives in the council I could trust.

Reason number two was simply to, well, make a show of it. I was hoping to earn a bit of goodwill from the Yenitians by taking matters into my own hands, considering the less than welcoming reception the Healer’s Guild had received from them. Shurulian healers were infamous for being racist, greedy, and generally unpleasant, so it was no wonder we weren’t well-liked. Our free demonstration at the Adventurer’s Guild some time prior had definitely helped things, and my becoming a so-called “dragonslayer” certainly didn’t hurt, but now was the time to make a real gesture for the people, to show them results.

I mean, what else was there for me to do? Jord and the other healers were so great at handling the in-house guild work that I sort of had to take this public position or else I wouldn’t have much to my name. Yeah, that was it. I was the bridge between the guild and the people! Or so I told myself.

“Don’t worry,” Jord had said on our way out. “You leave the guild to me and the Order. We’ll handle things here.”

I wasn’t upset or anything. Just conflicted.

One month. So much had happened in barely one month in Yenice. It was enough to make my head spin and, frankly, I just hoped things would keep working out. I didn’t want to stick around to see the backlash if they didn’t.

In the ten days leading up to my inauguration as Yenice’s head of state, Kefin had done some digging for me, and the information he’d uncovered made one thing clear: this wasn’t going to be easy. I’d racked my brain for ways to better the country, new industries that would suit the various beast races, but the other council members weren’t receptive. The people were, according to them, already too preoccupied with their current jobs to bother with populating new ones. When I pressed the issue, I was shot down with statistics. About eighty percent of Yenitians were working, and the remaining twenty percent were children, elderly, or disabled.

Based on my sources, though, only about half of those workers were actually productive. I also had the feeling that employment discrimination between races pervaded their society, but I ended up dropping the issue. There wasn’t much I could do in the short year my term afforded. In any case, the council didn’t want sweeping change. That much was evident. But maybe I could make a difference in the slums, at the very least.

Forêt Noire neighed, interrupting my inner soliloquy.

“Sorry, girl. I know you hate it when I get distracted.”

Lionel trotted up next to me, Ketty in tow. “Is something bothering you? Your brow is awfully furrowed.”

“No, just...” I paused. “A lot’s happened since I came here. Most of it unexpected, so I was getting a little nervous about this whole idea. Not this trip to the forest, that is. The entire plan.”

“Understandable. But you have nothing to worry about with Dhoran and Pola heading construction.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

But it wasn’t building the school and adventurers’ housing that I was worried about. It was what nonsense would get slapped on in addition. Magical applications meant to improve quality of life were one thing, but I didn’t want to look away for one second and then find the schoolhouse was a giant golem.

“Regardless, my chest pounds at the prospect of meeting unknown foes in the savage wilderness,” said Lionel.

“He’s right, y’know!” Ketty added with a feline smile. “Stop trying so hard all the time and beat your worries into some monster instead!”

“Need I remind you both that we’re here to gather materials?”

Ketty replied with a groan. For the record, “beating monsters” had never once been a source of relief for me. On the contrary, my mental health fared far better the fewer we encountered. Then again, maybe a nice nature walk would do me some good.

Seeming to have noticed my discomfort, Lionel changed the subject. “I noticed the letters you sent were addressed to the Merratoni Adventurer’s Guild.”

“Yeah, I know a couple wolf-men there who know Yenice better than me. I told them about the situation.” This place was their hometown, so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping they might come to lend a hand.

“I see.” He went quiet. Thinking about my master, I supposed.

“Hey, so how much stuff are we getting?” Ketty asked.

“I’ve never tested how much a magic bag can actually hold, so I’m not sure. We’ve got two, though, so as much as we can. I’m hoping we can get at least half of everything we need.”

“We could camp out, hm?”

“Today’s just supposed to be for scouting, so I’d like to be back in town before sunset.”

“What I’m hearing is the kitty gets to hunt till evening!”

Ketty resumed her usual humming. She was Lionel’s problem, not mine.

Lionel and the carefree cat-woman acted as my personal guards for the day, but the real stars would be Dhoran, Pola, and three new slave women I’d come upon through no fault of my own. With their help, the plan just might go smoother than expected.

I glanced at the carriage behind us, then back at the trees peering at us from afar.

The road vanished some time later, replaced by dirt and grass, flattened by the boots of adventurers. We came to the forest’s edge and, aside from it seeming to extend into infinity, it looked exceedingly normal. And ripe for gathering.

“Get Dhoran and the ladies from the wagon, please.”

“Got it,” Ketty replied.

Soon after, Dhoran, Pola, and three elves stepped out. The trio of women was our new secret weapon.

Now, where had I found these three, and why were they my slaves? To answer that question, I’ll have to go back in time a bit, to before I took up my seat in the Yenitian council.

After Shahza, the tiger-folk representative, died, the Doctor’s Guild vice guildmaster, Grohala, finally broke. And boy did he have some juicy info. As it turns out, Grohala wasn’t the only Illumasian agent. The slaver who’d sold me Lionel, Ketty, Nalia, Dhoran, and Pola was an assassin of the empire, and his job had been to search for wealthy (or otherwise greedy) beastfolk. Upon learning this, Guildmaster Goldhus immediately rushed to the agent’s place of business, but he’d already fled. And in a hurry too. All they found were fourteen slaves, abandoned and emaciated. Unfortunately, the troubled young man I’d interviewed wasn’t among them.

Because slaves in this world were essentially property, discovering the abandoned merchandise logically gave Goldhus rightful ownership. As the saying goes, finders keepers. But they were ultimately brought to me as an apology for letting the slaver slip through their fingers and probably as an act of goodwill for the remaining two slavers in town. The fact that the slaves were malnourished to the point of near-death likely played a factor in Goldhus’s generosity as well, I felt. Electing to ignore that bit of cruelty, I told them I wasn’t interested in owning slaves for the sake of owning slaves and that I’d more than likely end up freeing them once they were back in good health.

But in their defense, there was another reason they’d been sent to me: the chance that their runaway master had left them with dangerous orders, perhaps even suicidal ones. I could cast Dispel and free them of it easily, and casting Dispel obviously meant ridding them of the mark of a slave—their binding crests—which they were supposedly eager to see. However, I made clear that once they were free, I’d need to bind them again if anyone wanted to work at the Healer’s Guild. We had too many secrets that we couldn’t risk leaking.

Once I’d hushed everyone up about what was about to happen with magical contracts, I freed the slaves, then restored them with Extra Heal. Seeing their apathetic expressions turn to joy reminded me how it felt to help people. It had been so long.

And this was where I ran into problems. I had just finished removing everyone’s crests when, all of a sudden, they begged me to put them back! Under my charge! Needless to say, I was a little baffled. I asked them what in the world was wrong with them, and they’d said they had nowhere else to go anyway, that they’d heard from a certain dragonewt I treated slaves with respect and dignity.

I had slowly turned to the one dragonewt conveniently standing nearby. Goldhus was sweating bullets.

Long story short, the ex-slaves had chosen to return to their lives of submission, which Nalia enthusiastically welcomed, as a matter of fact. She became very adamant about educating and raising them to become the guild’s future staff, a “generation of fine stewards and stewardesses,” as she put it, earning a practiced sigh from Lionel and a round of laughter from Ketty for some reason.

And so Nalia was presently absent from the day’s excursion. Team Verdel, one of the frontrunners in the labyrinth, stayed back for guard duty as well.

As for the slaves, I couldn’t say I had much experience with indentured servitude, either in this life or my past one, so I found the master-slave relationship exhausting. The three women were my equals, as far as I was concerned. Partners, like Lionel and the rest. Only, every time I looked at them, that sleazy man’s face came to mind.

“I’m not really into how it feels like we just kind of usurped that slaver guy,” I griped.

“I bet they’re glad you did, though,” Ketty said. “I know I am.”

Lionel grinned. “As am I. We owe you a debt of gratitude, and for that, you have our swords.”

“Thanks, guys.” I felt all warm and fuzzy inside. “I still don’t know if we’re lucky that the guy’s out of our hair or unlucky that he got away.”

“Is Grohala’s confession weighing on you? If the empire was the slave trader’s supplier, it could be troubling.”

“Right, and now that he’s gone, we’ll never know what his connection with Illumasia was. I really get the feeling those guys don’t like me now.”

Here’s hoping I hadn’t stepped on a national slave trade.

“Be proud,” he chuckled. “You saved fourteen lives.”

“Yeah, you did a good thing for them. No doubt they’re happy, even if you’re all frowny about it,” Ketty smiled.

“And the people won’t soon forget your deeds with the creation of the orphanage.”

“Dhoran and Pola are the ones who made it, and Nalia volunteered to teach. All I’ve done is flip-flop slaves. Seriously, who asks to go back to slavery?”

“Can ya blame them? Some of those kids were missing arms and legs, and more hadn’t had real food in forever. I know I’d rather stick with the guy who feeds me over gettin’ tossed out on the street.”

“Sorry, you’re right. I shouldn’t keep complaining. Let’s focus on the task at hand.”

“Understood,” they replied.

As the dwarves and elves made their way here from the wagon, so too did the bickering.

“Not just metalwork, though. Dwarves are the best at magic artificing too.”

“You’re only considering the physical aspect. Artificing is magical, and as such it’s one’s affinity with mana that’s most crucial. Therefore, I am the better artificer. It’s just logic.”

Pola and Lycian had been hashing it out over magic items ever since they first met, and now they seemed to be neck-deep in a very structured and polite debate.

“Now, listen here, missy. We dwarves have got fire and earth on our side. Practical stuff. The boss needs us more than you.”

“Practical? Please. I see age and wisdom are clearly distinct traits. Wind is the breath of life, water the blood. The elves have much more to offer Mister Luciel.”

“Oh, don’t you talk to me about age! Three of my lifetimes is too damn many, ya crock!”

Dhoran and Milphene, meanwhile, were seething over which of their favored spirits were the best.

“C-Come on, guys. No more fighting.”

Last came the flustered human-elf halfling, Creia. She, like her companions, could see spirits, but communicating with them was still beyond her. There had been nothing but pain and despair in her eyes when I’d first seen her. These days, though, she was hopeful again. I was glad to have helped her.

I sighed. “Lionel, can you shut them up already?”

He only cackled. Ketty nonchalantly turned away.

“Guys, get over here,” I groaned. “Stick to the plan. Lycian, Milphene, work on teaching Creia how to speak with spirits, and keep us updated on which trees they’ll let us cut down.”

“Understood.”

“Team Kefin, you guard them. Take this rope and tie it to yourselves so you don’t get lost.”

Another round of acknowledgment.

“Dhoran and Pola, focus on dropping trees. Lionel, Ketty, help however you can, but stay with me.”

Lionel saluted, Dhoran grunted, and Pola nodded.

“Yulbo, you and your team watch the horses. Keep an eye out for monsters and adventurers outside the forest.”

They stood at attention. These guys could’ve really given the Order of Healing a run for their money. I could only imagine how formidable they’d become after a few lessons with my master or Galba.

Lycian and Milphene started relaying information as we entered the forest.

“Seems like a lot of the trees here are fair game.”

“So it would seem,” Lionel said. “Perhaps I can make use of the flaming greatsword you gave me.”

“Just don’t burn the forest down, please.”

“Never.”

The most skilled swordsmen in this world could fell trees with one stroke, without even embedding their blades in wood. As I witnessed this raw talent in action, Ketty went about severing the branches in short order. And they hadn’t even stolen the show. Pola’s golem knocked them down one by one while Dhoran got to work with his greataxe, substituting it for his usual war hammer. I made my way from trunk to trunk, collecting the lumber in my magic bag. We were a well-oiled machine. In only half an hour, we’d gathered well over a hundred trees.

“Dhoran, how much wood do we need, exactly? Including extra.”

“Well, this is good size timber we’ve got here.” The dwarf laid his hand on one of the fallen logs, about twenty meters long and five to seven meters wide, at a glance. “Considerin’ what we’ll scrounge up from the slums, I’d say we need about six hundred, all told. We won’t be needin’ any for that medical whatsit, aye?”

“No, we’ve discussed the new district in the council already. That’s good to hear. This shouldn’t take too long, in that case.”

The current objective was to build fifty houses for adventurers and a schoolhouse over three times the size of an Adventurer’s Guild. And I intended to do it without relying on the council for funding.

Suddenly, a guttural shriek stirred the otherwise tranquil woods.

“Everyone,” I shouted, “stay alert! Lionel, I’m permitting the use of your sword’s flames!”

“Understood,” he replied.

“Move out!”

At the source of the scream, we found Kefin, his team, and the elves on the ground.

“Does anyone see any sign of the enemy?”

“No luck,” Ketty said.

“My first suspicion was treants, but I don’t sense any mana fluctuations,” Lionel added.

“Okay. Don’t let your guard down. What in the world was that scream, though?”

I cast Area High Heal, then Recover on each of the wounded. Everyone was back on their feet soon enough, albeit clutching their heads and dazed.

“What happened?” I asked Kefin.

“I went to pick up a fruit from one of the fallen trees, but there was some kinda weed in the way. When I pulled it out...”

“It was a mandrake,” Lycian huffed. “I tried to stop you, but you hardly gave me the chance.”

“I’m just glad everyone’s okay,” I said.

The shriek of a mandrake was so dangerous that it had earned some nasty rumors. Most stories and accounts called it fatal.

“Can’t they be used for medicine?”

“You’re well informed, but I’m afraid that was long in the past,” Milphene explained. “There’s a particular method for preparing mandrake that the Doctor’s Guild has kept secret for many years, but it was lost to time when a noble took issue with the guild’s monopoly on such knowledge. It’s said they were used to create panaceas that could heal what magic couldn’t.”

From cure-all elixirs to a common weed. Talk about yikes.

“That’s too bad. Anyway, let’s try and be more... Is it just me or is the ground shaking?”

“Swords at the ready,” Lionel said flatly. “Monsters approach.”

Maybe it’s not the scream itself that gave those things their reputation, I thought.

“Stay alive! As long as you’re breathing, I can heal you!” I summoned the Illusion Staff and a shield from my bag, then cast Area Barrier. “Lycian, Milphene, Creia, use these bows and any spirit magic you can!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Very well.”

“Dhoran, Pola, slow them down with your golem!”

Pola nodded.

“Kefin, you and your group keep the monsters off Pola and the elves!”

“Got it.”

“You two.” I pointed to Lionel and Ketty. “Go nuts.”

Lionel cackled. “Music to my ears.”

“Oh yeah, claws out!”

The beasts quickly started to rear their heads.

“There’re a lot, but don’t get flustered. We’re all getting bonuses if we make it out of this!”

What was supposed to be a simple scouting mission had turned into a whole lot more. But no one was going to die here. Not me, not anyone else. I readied my staff.

The ground-rumbling horde didn’t wait. First came savage, beastly animals, then hobbling green children followed right on their heels.

“Forest wolves, goblins, orcs, trolls,” Lionel muttered. “They have numbers, I’ll give them that.”

Ketty charged in as the elves began to rain down arrows, forcing the wolves to stumble and slowing their assault.

Lionel braced his shield. “I’ll draw away the trolls! The goblins and orcs are yours!”

“I’ll keep them back,” Pola replied, puppeting a towering construct of stone.

“You focus on healin’.” Dhoran stood in front of me and gripped his axe. “Any critters with the stones to get close’ll have to go through me.”

Ketty wove through the throngs of monsters, cutting down any that were unlucky enough to be in her path, while Lionel filleted creatures twice his size in showers of flame and blood. Pola’s golem blew away an orc with a flying knee, then like some sort of loud and obnoxious cowboy, she signaled the golem to run by touching her left elbow and making what looked like bull horns with her left fist. The construct then performed a stunning pirouette that could only be described as beautiful, grabbed the fallen monster’s legs, and twirled it into the horde. The airborne beast not only impeded their march, but even destroyed the trees in its path.

“Now’s our chance to show those dwarves just who’s ‘practical’!” Milphene exclaimed. “Spirits of the wood, dwellers of life, heed my call. Bind these creatures where they stand!”

“The forest is an elf’s domain. That dwarven woman won’t outdo me. Spirits of breeze and gale, hear my plea. Rip our foes asunder with winds of scoring!” Lycian chanted.

“Wow, you two are amazing!” Creia cried. “I’ll shoot some arrows!”

Roots and branches crept towards the monsters’ feet, then tightened around them as razor sharp winds raced through, lacerating the immobilized enemies. Creia’s aim, meanwhile, was true, and arrow after arrow lodged squarely into the beasts. Some escaped the devastation only to meet their ends at Ketty’s hands.

I purified the field in the midst of battle and collected corpses—the source of the sanguine stench—as they dropped. My thoughts wandered to the rumbling in the ground that still persisted. The stampede was rather large, yes, but surely not to the point that the quaking would go on for this long. And then I noticed that the trees were getting denser.

“Dhoran, there are more trees around us than there used to be. They could be more monsters.”

“What?! How in the hell can ya tell?”

The treants had evidently slipped in unbeknownst to anyone, and the chaos only made it harder to sense their magic. But if I shouted this knowledge to everyone, I’d risk breaking their concentration. As of now, our hands were already full with the monsters we could see, so if those became too much to deal with, things could get bad. Fast. I racked my brain, then had an idea.

“Put these on.”

“Aw hell...”

He hesitated for a moment before finally taking the nose plugs. I immediately took out a barrel of Substance X, and the rumbling stopped at once.

“I’m going to give one of the treants a test cut. Keep an eye out in case something happens.”

I fastened the barrel to myself, switched the staff to sword-mode, and prepared to take a swing at the disguised monster. The magic in my blade glowed white, but something was different this time. A strange red hue emanated from it.

“That’s right. The Flame Dragon did something to it,” I muttered.

I swung at the tree and it wailed, white flames flitting from the clean gash left in it. The creature toppled over. It seemed I’d found myself with yet another OP weapon in my arsenal. I wasted no time taking out the other treants, slicing through them like butter and gathering their corpses in the magic bag. Until I mistakenly struck a plain tree, but the bark was practically unharmed.

“Now that’s somethin’,” Dhoran remarked.

Treants were nothing, but regular old plants were too much? I cast Heal on the scuffed tree.

The dwarf closed his eyes and started to murmur, “A weapon that only works on monsters is a shoddy weapon, but the power... But then again...”

I slashed a nearby treant. “Dhoran, I need you to focus. We’re still in the middle of a fight.”

I glanced around. The elves were already on their knees and gasping, their magic having run dry. Lionel and Ketty danced around the battlefield with their usual fearless grins. We’d thinned a significant amount of the swarm.

“Let’s start regrouping,” I said to Dhoran. “It’s time to pull back.”

I purified a path free of monsters and began to clear the corpses.

“Finish up, you two! We’re leaving the forest once the area’s secure!” I shouted at the warrior and his pouncing counterpart.

They grew more savage so as not to allow a single one of their prey to escape. The monsters started to flee in fear.

“Those guys freak me out.”

I continued gathering remains and purifying until I felt magical exhaustion knocking for the first time in ages. Afterwards, we headed for the forest’s outskirts for a breather.

“Mister Luciel, is something the matter?” Milphene asked.

“Just thinking about something,” I muttered. “Kefin, this forest is untouched, right?”

“Far as I know,” he replied.

“And Lionel, did you notice any rare monsters at all?” I had never seen goblins or orcs before, so I had no frame of reference.

He rubbed his slightly overgrown beard and thought for a moment. “I suppose trolls and mandrakes could be considered uncommon. They only appear in places with particularly dense miasma.”

Then my hunch was right. “I don’t know; maybe it’s because we weren’t in very deep, but I’m starting to doubt the council’s claims. What if there aren’t any rare monsters here? We’d be called frauds if we tried to attract adventurers with something like that.”

“I think it would depend on your phrasing, but yes, I don’t see much profit to be made here.”

Not when the alternative was hunting magic stones in labyrinths. It couldn’t compare.

“We need to do some digging at the Adventurer’s Guild when we get back.” Goldhus and Jeiyas couldn’t refuse me.

“That may be wise.”

We kept marching. Kefin’s men had used these woods to train and level up when they were young, but Dolstar, the head honcho of their organization and the slums, had forbidden them from entering it once their fundamentals were down. The remainder of their training had been conducted in the labyrinth’s easier floors. Dolstar maintained that the forest was dangerous, because those who ventured too far never returned. Not even the best adventurers.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the elves fidgeting and looking behind us.

“What’s wrong?”

“Something feels...” Lycian hesitated. “It feels like something’s pulling us back.”

“Is it spirits?”

“Not quite. It’s sad, almost. The farther away we get, the tighter my chest gets,” Milphene said.

“I feel it too,” Creia added. “This has never happened to me before.”

All three of them looked back together. I glanced at Lionel and the others, but none of us sensed what they did. Still, elves were people of nature. If the forest was speaking to them, it wouldn’t be all that smart to ignore it.

“There’s more to this forest than meets the eye, huh? First things first, though. You’re all exhausted, so let’s rest for now.”

The elves nodded, and not long after, we exited the forest.

“Kefin, you and your team swap with Yulbo once you’re rested.” Their faces went pale. “Relax, you’re not in trouble. This is part of the plan.”

Kefin’s team brightened and responded, “Understood.”

“Milphene, whatever’s in those woods, I need you all to stay on top of it, so recuperate while you can.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Pola and Dhoran, I know you want more magic stones. Help me butcher the corpses.”

“Aye!”

Pola silently, yet very enthusiastically, nodded. I felt Lycian’s cold stare but chose to ignore it.

“Oh, Lionel and Ketty, let loose on Kefin and his men.”

“That we will.”

Ketty grinned from ear to ear. “I was hopin’ you’d say that. I’ve got a few pointers to give.”

Later, I was taking inventory while Dhoran and Pola got to taking apart the monster corpses. We’d collected about a hundred and twenty trees before the attack, and thirteen treants during it. Good progress for two hours of work, but we could’ve made even more if not for the ambush. Although, maybe that was asking for too much. At least we’d all gotten out safe.

I looked over and saw Dhoran tossing goblins and trolls, freshly relieved of their magic gems, into a large hole. He noticed me watching.

“Lots o’ wind- and water-type stones. Plenty o’ neutrals too,” he reported.

“Looks like a windfall for you crafters, then. I’m not so sure about just tossing all the rotten corpses into a hole, though.”

Pola smiled at the pile of gems. “Bonus. Nice.”

“Excuse me, those aren’t all for you,” Lycian fumed.

“Says who?”

“Last I checked, you didn’t slay that entire swarm by yourself!”

Pola rolled her eyes and reluctantly handed her a single, miserable stone.

The elf gaped. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What am I supposed to do with this?” She started to march towards the mountain of gems, but Pola stood in her way and spread her arms out, guarding her hoard like a dragon. “What is the matter with you?! I’m clearly the better artificer!”

“You wish.”

Sparks flew, and I was having none of it. I left the splash zone and returned to handling corpses with Dhoran.

“We sure got a lot,” I commented.

“Aye, a happy accident, I’d say it was. And a lot of ’em don’t need much butcherin’.”

“In that case, I’ll leave you to it.”

“Make today’s lunch heavy on the meat, if you don’t mind.”

“Will do. Hey!” I called out to everyone. “We’re gonna have an early lunch! Barbecue!”

Cheers rang out. We’d skipped breakfast, so they must’ve been starving.

I purified some edible monster meat, stewed it in water, and threw in some spices I had on hand. Even an elf wasn’t able to resist this recipe. I chopped up some vegetables into chunks, then skewered everything on some spits I’d had Dhoran make, and roasted them. The rest of the meat sat on a grill, but not for long. The party devoured everything so fast that I had to pull out the extra food before I got to eat.

Time flew, and before we knew it, we were all fed, recovered, and ready. I offered to let the elves rest a while longer in the carriage, given they’d been flat out of magic, but my worries were for nothing. They refused and were raring to go.

“All right, but take it easy.”

“Of course,” they assured me.

“Boss, Pola and I have work we wanna do,” Dhoran said. “Mind if we stay back?”

Being two heavy hitters down would hurt our efficiency, but then again, Lionel and Ketty could easily pick up the slack.

“All right. Just keep the theatrics to a minimum.”

“Aye.”

We stepped into the forest once more.