A week passed by in a flash of activity, and after his last set of formation rounds and training, he was having dinner with Therus. It had been a while since he had seen his friend, as they were both busy these days. Therus had seen an uptick in the number of jobs he was able to accomplish, and his own status in the sect had risen along with Seth's.

  "I'm glad to see you're still doing well," said Therus, raising his cup in a silent toast. Seth raised his glass in response before taking a long drink of the green liquid this place called wine. It had a sweet citrus flavor, like a cross between an orange and a lime. If wine had tasted like this back home, he may have enjoyed it.

  "You too. Been keeping busy?"

  "Here and there. Finally, managed to secure some decent training in fire magic manipulation, though Johan has still managed to secure the best spots for himself and his men."

  "Figures. Speaking about training, anything you'd recommend for me? I see a lot of training options, but..." Seth looked down as he finished his sentence, trying to hide his embarrassment.

  "I understand. A lot of options, and no actual guidance. For you, I'd suggest getting some ice magic training in, but from what I've seen, Johan has secured that for one of his people. Do you know anything about talismans?"

  "Not really."

  "Then I'd look into some training on those. All formation masters I've met in my family at least had a passing knowledge of them."

  "Good to know, thanks," Seth said, bowing his head and taking another drink.

  "So, what did you want to ask?" Therus asked, getting to the point. Two days ago, Seth had run into Therus and asked him to dinner.

  "I was wondering if you wanted to go on another excursion outside the sect."

  "Is this another—" Therus started to ask, before Seth cut him off.

  "No, no. This is completely above the ground this time. No ruins or anything. I was informed that I was expected to make progress in my newfound ability, and if I don't want to experiment on other initiates..."

  "You need to find test subjects, right? I must say, it's nice to see you coming around. You said that you were concerned about them getting your constitution, but..." Therus let the implication hang in the air.

  "Yeah, I still am not a fan of it. But, as you said, the world isn't that kind." Seth clenched his fist as he forced the words out. He tried to keep the strain out of his voice, but wasn't sure he had succeeded.

  "About that. Last time we spoke at length, I may have said too much. I was worried our recent distance was part of that. If so, I'd like to apologize."

  "No need to apologize. Please keep speaking your mind with me. The past week has been hectic, trying to prepare for the sabbatical my master decreed."

  "Sabbatical?"

  "I have two months where I don't have to report for my duty. It's why I'm able to go on an excursion."

  "That's great! I have a few jobs that will take me outside the sect anyway, so I'll see if I can pick some more up before we head out. When are we heading out, by the way?"

  "I'm ready to go whenever, so let's do whenever is most convenient for you."

  "I need three days to wrap up some jobs, and then we can get started. How long are you thinking we will be away from the sect for?"

  "About a week, give or take."

  "Works for me. Have you gotten any better at flying on that sword?"

  "What do you mean by that? I'd say I'm pretty good at flying on it."

  "If that helps you feel better about yourself..."

  "Three days, then?" Seth asked, shaking his head.

  "See you then."

  Three days passed in a flash, and Seth met Therus at the sect gates. They shared a quick greeting and started checking their equipment.

  "Where's the first job at?" Seth asked, pulling his sword out of storage.

  "Forest to the west of here. Fortunately, most of the jobs are in that area. "

  "Glad to hear it. Should be a relatively quick trip." They had finished their checks, so Therus and Seth mounted the sword and took off. It had been a little while since he had flown the sword, so it took a few minutes to get back into the swing of things. Still, it proved to be much like riding a bicycle, and after a few minutes it was like he had never stopped.

  As he gained altitude, he tested the sword. He started with sharp turns that made Therus yelp in surprise when he first did them. Those progressed into sharp dives and climbs, and flying on the sword sideways. The magic showed no sign of losing grip on them, so he tried flying upside down. He stayed on the sword, but the blood rushing to his head made his vision go red. As Seth tried to right himself, he got mixed up, so instead of pulling up, he sent the sword diving straight at the ground. As the ground rushed closer, he half-spun to re-orient and pulled up, mere feet from slamming into the ground.

  "What are you doing?" asked Therus.

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  "Experimenting."

  "If you want to experiment, leave me out of it."

  "Sorry about that."

  Seth flew the sword normally for the rest of the trip, and within the hour the forest came into sight. Seth almost didn't recognize it as a forest, as instead of an ocean of green, the trees were a vibrant sea of red and purple. The colors rippled along the trees like rays of light reflecting on an ocean.

  "Land outside the forest," said Therus.

  "Sure. Why?"

  "Nasty creature in the forest that thinks it's the only thing that should be allowed to fly in the forest."

  "Strong?"

  "Stronger than we can handle. From what I heard, one of the elders barely escaped with their life."

  "Are you sure we'll be OK?"

  "Of course. Just make sure not to fly in there."

  He landed the sword ten steps from the forest's edge. The thick green grass surrounding the forest was as wide as his hand and came up to their knees. Seth suspected it would come up higher, but the blades of grass ended in bite marks. The air was fresh and carried hints of earthy scents to Seth's nose.

  Where the forest began, the grass changed to dirt with small clumps of vegetation here and there.

  Without a word, both of them entered the forest. It had been pleasantly warm on the trip there, but the temperature in the forest was cooler. It wasn't quite what one could call cold, but if he were back on Earth, it would be jacket weather. The other thing that caught Seth off guard was how dark the forest was, as if the purple and red canopy above swallowed almost all the sunlight. The light that made it through cast the forest in shifting indigo shadows.

  "So, what are we looking for?" Seth asked, keeping his voice low?

  "A variety of things. Some plants, some animals. Most of these missions are on behalf of the Alchemy Hall."

  "Anything I can help keep an eye out for?"

  "Please keep a general watch while I look for the items. I've been here before, and it's easy to get ambushed here."

  Seth debated asking whether they should use a light, but decided against it because it would probably help the beasts than them. Instead, he watched the forest. The shadows made it feel like it was always rocking ever so slightly, making him feel sick. Am I getting seasick? On land? This is new.

  He used his qi sight to anchor himself for a moment. He hoped it would allow him to get his bearings. As he did, he was overwhelmed by the amount of qi in the forest. Massive trees were breathing qi in and out, and small animals scampered around the forest. The spectacle drowned out the shadows and settled his stomach. Letting a breath out, he almost released his qi sight when he noticed a tree branch twitch in the distance.

  He blinked and did a double take, doubting his eyes. The tree was as still as any other tree in the forest, though it had broken branches in a few places. He breathed a sigh of relief when a small, fuzzy creature ran past the tree. Its branch twitched down, skewering the creature before stopping again. His qi sight faded.

  "Therus, if I were to say I saw a tree stab an animal, would you think I was crazy?"

  Therus turned back, looking mildly alarmed, before asking, "No. Where?"

  "About fifty steps ahead."

  "Good," Therus said, sighing. "I've heard about impalers, though haven't actually seen one until now. From what I heard, it's hard to tell them apart from ordinary trees; the broken branches being the only giveaway."

  "So stay away from broken trees. Got it."

  They continued to make their way through the forest, staying clear of any trees with broken limbs. Seth occasionally activated his qi sight to double check, with the added benefit that it gave him a rest from the nauseating shadows. He didn't know what it was, but the way they swayed made him sick to his stomach.

  After about thirty minutes, Therus stopped them to collect some white and pink flowers. Unlike most flowers he'd seen, these were about as large as his head. According to Therus, they were also a common alchemical ingredient. They encountered at least ten more of these within the next few minutes, and soon Therus said that he had enough.

  A howl echoed through the forest, and Seth activated his qi sight. It was at the very edge of his vision, but a pack of creatures was spreading out and moving toward them.

  "They're coming from that way," Seth said, pointing to where he had spotted the creatures.

  "Are they still together?"

  "No, they're spreading out."

  "Let's get back-to-back. If these are folen, they'll surround us before coming in for the attack."

  "And if they're not?"

  "Then I have no idea what we're up against."

  Howls continued to echo through the forest over the next several minutes as the creatures continued to surround them. Seth activated his qi sight from time to time, and from those bursts of clarity, he knew they were surrounded, and the creatures were inching closer. The echoing of the howls made it hard to tell their distance, and he wasn't sure why, but he couldn't see them without his qi sight.

  He fought the urge to keep using his qi sight, as it burned qi he may need in the fight ahead. As the shadows swayed, he felt disoriented, and the forest itself felt flat. He relaxed his eyes and tried to keep his eyes moving. One shadow caught his eye, though at first he wasn't sure why. Then he realized it was staying still, while the rest of the shadows were moving.

  While activating leaf on the wind, Seth fired ice spikes at the stationary shadow. A yelp of pain erupted, followed by howls as the beasts rushed. The folen, as Therus had called them, were eight foot long wolves with fur that matched the coloration of the forest. The blur of motion made him feel lightheaded for a second, and hesitated as two folen leaped at him, exposing two rows of teeth, the outer row razor sharp and the inner row flat.

  Seth leaped upward, and three folen leaped upward with him, closing the distance in a blink. He fired a barrage of ice shards and brought his arms up to protect his body. Two folen tried to tear into him with large, clawed paws, but his technique helped him dance clear. The third, however, bit into his leg, teeth sinking down to hit bone. He circled some healing qi to dull the pain and fired two ice spikes into the golden eyes of the folen that had latched onto him. The folen's grip relaxed as it fell to the ground.

  Seth slammed into the ground a moment later, not realizing he had lost hold of leaf on the wind. He rolled and activated iron arms in time to fend off another attack. This time, he felt teeth shatter against his arms as they tried to chomp down on skin that was harder than steel. A lance of ice put the creature out of its misery.

  He didn't have time to celebrate, as two more were leaping at him, trying to pin him down. Not having time to re-activate his movement technique, he threw himself backward, launching spikes of ice at the attackers. As he landed, a scrambling sound came from behind, and threw himself to the ground. A folen sailed over his head, and he launched ice spikes through its legs.

  Adrenaline racing through his veins, he looked around, only to realize that no more folen were attacking. There were several large animals on the ground, most dead, but some still clinging to life. He activated his qi sight, which showed that the rest were retreating.

  "You ok?" Therus asked, sporting a few large gashes himself.

  "Just a minute, then I'll get you patched up," Seth said, healing his leg. Then, he spent a minute healing Therus' various cuts. He felt Mal try to 'help' but he kept control of the magic.

  "You'll get to help soon," Seth reassured Mal.

  [Really?]

  "Yes, see those things? You'll help me with those."

  [What those?]

  "Folen."

  After that, he returned his attention to making sure Therus had no further injuries. Then, he opened his qi sight. It seemed that there two of these creatures were still alive.

  "So, you know if they're going to come back with more, or do we have some time?"

  "As far as I know, this pack will stay away. Why?"

  Seth looked at two folen. Their breathing came in wheezes and ragged gasps. Still, they were alive, for now.