“Delene, is that you? It’s me, Gem. Captain of the Sea Crystal.”

  The bow wavered for a second as the man's eyes raked over the rest of the group. They stopped longest on the hulking form of Tali and the menacing presence of Marcus.

  Tearing his eyes away from them, the young man bobbed his head slowly as he finally looked back at Gem.

  “Aye, I remember you, Miss Gem.” came the man's voice uncertainly.

  It was hard to tell due to the distance, but Edan could have sworn he saw the young man blush.

  “But Mr. Wachoo told me to keep an eye out for trouble, and mind my rudeness but,” his eyes darted to Tali and Marcus once more. “Some of you look troubling.”

  “Maybe I come up there and give you a closer look?” Marcus growled, but a slap on the back of his head from Tali settled the guild head, leaving him to grumble under his breath.

  Gem nodded her thanks to the Titan before turning back to the nervous guardsman.

  “We don’t mean any trouble, you know that. We got attacked out at sea. The Sea Crystal took damage and is in need of repair. I was hoping Adept Tarik was available.”

  “Uhh, Adept Tarik isn’t here,” Delene answered after a long pause. Edan was glad to see he had lowered the bow, though.

  “Oh? Where did he go?”

  “I… I don’t think I’m meant to say.” Delene glanced over his shoulder before looking back at Gem. He chewed on his lip in indecision before finally saying, “Wait here, I’ll go get Da. I mean, Mr Wachoo!”

  “Marlin Wachoo is the village headman,” Gem said as the young man slipped from sight. “Delene is his son.”

  “And Adept Tarik?” Reema asked.

  “The Botanist I mentioned. I was hoping he may have something that can help fix up the Sea Crystal, unless any of you are secretly a shipwright?”

  “Is this his work?” Tali asked as she rested a palm on the purple vines.

  “The village is small enough they don’t attract a lot of attention during the Season of Storms,” Gem admitted. “Usually just a few waves around the beginning. Nothing into the E grade. Adept Tarik grew these as a natural defense. I don't know how he did it, but they can tell friend from foe and pack a nasty wallop when they need to.”

  The male cub waddled forward and sniffed at the purple vines before turning so he could pee against it. Edan hoped that didn’t count as an attack and gave the rest of the group the side eye. Only Sanik noticed, and he hid a laugh behind his hands.

  A few moments later, Delene and another man appeared above them. The other man was tall, with the same brown hair and slim build as Delene, but he wore plain working clothes made of solid fabric in muted colors. Intelligent brown eyes under thick eyebrows took in the group. A smile blossomed from beneath a bushy mustache when they landed on Gem.

  “Entertainer Gem! You are a sight for sore eyes!” He called out, his voice surprisingly powerful for his thin frame.

  “Marlin, it’s good to see you!” Gem smiled up at the man. “I’m guessing Delene told you we were looking for Adept Tarik?”

  The smile faded from Marlin’s face, and he reached up to stroke his mustache. A troubled look crossed his face.

  “You’d best come in.” Pausing, he gave an awkward chuckle. “I’m afraid I’ll need to ask you to climb up. The Barrier vines no longer responds to our requests, so we can’t lower them.”

  “No problem at all,” Gem assured him cheerily. A bit too cheerily. Edan looked over and thought he saw worry hidden beneath her smile, but he didn't know her well enough to be sure. In fact, he barely knew her at all.

  Sanik was the first to move. Reaching out, he wrapped one arm around Reema and the two appeared at the top of the wall in a shower of light.

  Sanik held out his hand and shook with the village head before giving a respectful nod to Delene. Tali flexed her knees and hopped over.

  “Entertainer Gem?” Marcus asked, one eyebrow cocked in curiosity.

  “Marlin and Delene were the two that saw Lem and me at the river.”

  Marcus barked a laugh as Gem jumped, landing nimbly on one of the thorny spikes that grew from the knotted vines. Using it as a launchpad, she hopped to the next before reaching the top and giving the village head a hug. One he returned tightly.

  Marcus took a step forward and launched himself into the air with a low growl.

  Edan reached down and, scooping up the male cub, he got him settled on his shoulders. The cub's legs wrapped around Edan’s head, with its paws resting on his forehead. It reminded Edan a lot of how he used to ride on his birth father's shoulders.

  Pushing those thoughts aside, he picked up the female cub. He tucked her against his side and looked up at the wall, plotting his ascent.

  Taking a quick running step, Edan jumped. At the apex of his leap, Edan reached out with his free hand and snagged a thorn. If they were strong enough to support Gem, they could support him. Using the thorn as a hand hold, Edan pulled hard and let go. He surged up a few feet before grabbing another thorn. It felt good to use his high strength stat for something.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Grasping the lip of the thorn wall, making sure to avoid impaling himself on any spikes, Edan used one arm to pull himself up and over. Delene and the village head reached out to help him, but the male cub on his head let out a rumbling growl and snapped the air. Edan flicked its nose and offered an apologetic shrug to the two men.

  “Sorry about them. I’m Edan.”

  “Strange pets you got there,” Marlin remarked. “They aren’t going to cause trouble, are they?”

  “Nah, they’re big softies.” Edan was quick to reassure him, partly afraid the man would suggest leaving them outside.

  Delene reached out a hand and clasped wrists with Edan, his eyes darting up to the cub on his shoulders and the other one wrapped around his side.

  “Stay here, son. Let me know if you see anything else.” Marlin patted Delene on the back and hopped off the back of the wall.

  Edan paused, using the height of the barrier to get a better view.

  It was easier to see the extent of the vine wall now. It wrapped around in a lazy circle, its purple top looking like a trail amidst the green canopies of the trees.

  Within the confines of the barrier were neat rows of buildings built in rings, the roads wrapped around the village with spokes coming off, like the wheels of a wagon, all angling towards the center.

  Wood seemed to be the preferred building material, something Edan suspected was sourced locally, given the density of the surrounding jungle. A few of the larger buildings had stone foundations, and the shingled roofs were a mix of dark browns and oranges, their chimneys spewing thin trails of smoke into the sky.

  Edan could see people moving along the paths, mostly in silence, with slumped shoulders and dragged feet. The occasional ring of metal on metal rang out, and it took him a couple of seconds to realize it came from a blacksmith.

  It could have been beautiful, if not for the depressed feeling hanging over the village like a dark cloud.

  Looking out over the village and across the treetops, Edan saw mountains in the distance, their peaks obscured by clouds. Snow bled down those peaks like white ink. Near the base of the mountains was a brown haze, Edan assumed was a dessert. A reminder of how hodgepodge the System had been when it shuffled Earth around.

  The sea of green leaves petered off towards the northeast, where a single mountain stood tall, its jagged cliff face emerging from the canopy like a dagger stabbing the sky.

  To the northwest, Edan could just make out a gap in the trees where the river ran, but that faded the further out it went. A flock of birds swooped through the sky, their feathers bright and colorful in the sunlight. The occasional chirp and trill filled the air, the more recognizable squawks of seagulls mixed in for variety.

  This would be a beautiful spot to watch the sun rise and set.

  Making sure the bears were secure, Edan dropped from the other side to join the rest of his group. Once on solid ground, he went to remove the cubs, but they hung on tightly, so he left them as they were.

  “Like the view up there?” Edan muttered to the male cub as it sniffed the air. The afternoon sunlight lit the white patch on the cub's head, turning it golden and reminding Edan of a crown. Sitting on his shoulders, Edan imagined the cub looked quite majestic.

  A thought came to Edan, and he smiled. It felt right.

  “I’m going to call you Regal.” He said.

  Regal didn’t seem to care, his head swung about as he tried to take in everything around him, his brown eyes wide with wonder.

  Edan laughed at the expression on the bear's face. Briefly, he wondered if he was just assigning emotions to him, or if Regal truly was feeling them.

  Looking down at the female cub wrapped up against his side, Edan wondered what to call her, but nothing came to mind other than Chubby Wubby. For obvious reasons, Edan didn’t think that would work, so shrugging to himself, he lifted her a little higher and followed after the others.

  Villagers, dressed similarly to Marlin, stared as they walked past, but the village head was quick to reassure them with a few words or a calming hand on their shoulder. Edan assumed a majority of the concern came from seeing Tali and Marcus.

  A few people recognized Gem and gave a wave, though they were quick to move on and no one approached her directly.

  Edan trailed at the back of the group. Reema and Sanik were just in front of him.

  “They look afraid,” Sanik whispered to Reema.

  “They do,” she agreed, her eyes roving over the people and buildings around them. “Isolated like this and on the edges of the wilds, it’s not an easy life, but this seems to be more than that. I don’t think this is how Gem remembers it, either. I can tell she’s tense.”

  “What do you think happened?” Edan asked, pushing forward to join them. They stepped aside, letting him settle between them.

  “I have no idea, but it might have something to do with the absence of this Adept Tarik,” Sanik scratched his beard before giving a shrug and placing a hand on Edan’s shoulder.

  The female cub sniffed it and pulled her lips back with a growl. Sanik laughed and withdrew his hand.

  “Adept would be his Profession level, right? Novice, Beginner, Adept.”

  Reema nodded at Edan. “That's right. It’s comparable to an uncommon class. An Adept Profession means more stat points per level and higher modifiers, as well as stronger Professional skills. Like the living barrier.” Reema nodded to the surrounding buildings, a few people watched them from open windows. “I'd imagine most villagers advance their Profession rather than their Class. The words and actions of an Adept would carry a lot of weight here.”

  “They’d carry a lot of weight in Stratta too,” Sanik added. “The highest profession I’ve heard of anyone holding on Terra is an Expert, one up from Adept, and those are all snatched up by the Guilds or the Golden Throne Sect.”

  Edan nodded along. It wasn’t new information, but he appreciated it nonetheless.

  Nothing to add? He asked Kiba.

  Edan knew he wouldn’t get an immediate answer, so he focused on his surroundings. As they moved closer to the center of the village, most of the buildings became larger and older. Using the fluff between his ears, Edan assumed these had belonged, or still belonged, to the first settlers.

  Not at the moment, kid. When I have something to say, you’ll be the first to know.

  I’d be the only one to know Edan shot back. Also, I’m not a kid, I’m eighteen.

  To me, almost everyone is a kid, kid.

  Edan didn’t know what to say to that, so he decided to leave the primordial hanging. Besides, Marlin had stopped up ahead next to a large squat, building made of dark, aged, wood.

  Like the surrounding structures, a stone foundation ringed the bottom of the building, creating a solid base. The large chimney on the side and the entire second floor were made of lighter wood, less worn, and were likely additions made over time.

  A crude sign of a tankard tipped over hung from the open door.

  “It’s not much, but it's ours.” Marlin gestured them through the open door. “Welcome to the Spilt Drop, the finest bar and inn you can find...in the village at least.” he finished lamely.

  So, a quick update. I’m taking a seven-day(ish) break. I’ve got a rather substantial backlog of chapters I still need to edit, and I also need to take a break to focus on IRL stuff.

  The good news is that starting on the 21st of April, releases will switch over to five chapters a week and stick to it for however long I can keep it up, or until I chew through the backlog.

  As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you’re enjoying the story.