“Yeah. I really don't know how good of a search Mina will be able to give the building without the use of her nose to be honest though.”

    “I doubt that it's going to matter. If they are hiding things there they've realized that your sense of smell might be a major advantage in most situations but it's a major liability in there.”

    A slight giggle escaped Maria as she nodded her head. “Very true.”

    “Maria I hope you don't mind me asking this but would hindering your sense of smell hurt you in combat?”

    “Would constantly slamming you with deafening sound hinder you in combat?”

    “Well yes.”

    “Then you have your answer.”

    To this Joseph gave a slight nod. “Has anyone ever tried to use it against you?”

    “Not that I know of but there could be instances of it happening.”

    “So they're conflicts you don't know about?”

    “Well I like to believe I know the history of my people fairly well but I don't know everything. We've been around a while and there could have been a situation during which someone used our noses or ears against us. As we're still here though I can only assume that it failed horribly.”

    “That is true. Maria I'm sorry that I didn't have a gift for you today but Mina's was easier to make. I actually have something in mind for you but it's going to take a while.”

    “Really?!”

    “Yes.”

    “Oh neat! If it's going to take a while that means it's going to be something nice. Well such things tend to be.”

    “You'll have to wait and see.” As Joseph spoke he reached out and opened the door to the alchemy shop. Instead of just walking in though he opened the door and proceeded to step to the side.

    At first Maria wasn't certain what Joseph meant for her to do. As she noted the open doorway though she was reminded of a human custom and was made to give a slight chuckle. “Just don't think I'm going to let you do this for me very often.”

    “Don't worry.” As Joseph spoke he proceeded into the alchemy shop slightly behind Maria.

    Dan had of course noticed Maria entering the shop and wasn't surprised to see Joseph coming in behind her. He also took note of the crate Maria was packing with her. “Making another delivery Joseph?”

    “Yeah. Though I have to wonder what these healing potions are used for.”

    In response Dan gave a slight shrug. “Food storage really.”

    “What?”

    “Healing potions contain a far greater amount of energy per volume and weight ratio then any natural food stuff we might store here. Though they are some draw backs that prevents humans from using them as a food source that doesn't hold true for their species.” As he spoke Dan indicated Maria. 

    “So they don't suffer from the build up of mystic energy in their systems?”

    “Nope they metabolize all of the energy.”

    For a moment Joseph was silent as he took a moment to consider what Dan had just told him. “Most of this time I've thought I've been making healing potions in case someone was injured. Of course I didn't consider who might be injured and why they'd need such a large supply. It never occurred to me that the potions could be used for an energy source.”

    In response Dan gave a nod. “When I first began working here I thought that perhaps their brothers were extremely weak. Maybe the potions had to be used to sustain their lives. When I learned that wasn't the case I was quite surprised.”

    “Yeah, so what do they plan on doing with the healing potions?”

    “It's just an emergency food supply to them.”

    Now Maria chose to speak up. “Not true!”

    In response Joseph quickly glanced to Maria. “Huh?”

    “Once we get enough potions stored away we'll have a celebratory feast. We'll empty out several store houses that contain preserved vegetables and meat and just gorge ourselves until it's all gone.” As she finished speaking Maria's tongue flicked out of her mouth and ran along her lips for a moment. “It's really a quite wonderful event though I've only been allowed to experience one of them.”

    In response Dan gave a slight nod. “My bad I forgot about the festival of plenty. That's quite rare though.”

    A sigh escaped Maria as she nodded her head. “Yeah.”

    It was impossible for Joseph not to ask as he looked at Dan. “Just how much more healing potions do they need until they can hold the festival?”

    “A lot. They don't take very many risks whenever it comes to their food supplies. We'd have to nearly triple what we have in storage now before the festival could become a possibility.”

    “How long of a food supply would that amount to in healing potions?”

    “Ten years.”

    Before Joseph could ask anything Maria turned to him and spoke up. “We've never had a famine last for ten years really. At least we've never had one last for ten solid years but we have had them last for a few years. So our brothers try to plan for the worse possible scenario.”

    “Were you alive during any of these famines?”

    “Nope. None have happened within my sleeping or awake life time.”

    “What about your mothers?”

    “Yeah she experienced one and she told me and my sister about it. Don't get me wrong though it wasn't a major deal. It just involved dipping into the supply of healing potions for a few months in order to keep everyone healthy.”

    “Was that when Mina chose to undergo what is normally reserved as a punishment?”

    “Yeah.” A sigh escaped Maria as she shook her head. “My mother actually regrets that she didn't follow Mina down that path. I'm sure that many of our sisters wishes they'd made a similar decision.”

    “You were all okay though.”

    “Yeah we were but what does it say about us when she was able to give up so much while we weren't?”

    “I'm sure that most of you had very good reasons for not following the same path Mina did.”

    “Thanks.”

    As Dan listened to this he chose to speak up. “Maria keep in mind that Mina doesn't think much of her decision. You see she really didn't have much to lose at the time. She wasn't a keeper at the time, she didn't have any children of her own or family really to speak of. She didn't feel like she had anything to lose at the time so she chose to make things easier on everyone else.”

    After Dan had finished speaking Joseph spoke up once again. “See Maria there is no reason to be hard on your mother. But Dan what do you mean Mina didn't have any family to speak of?”

    “I'll tell you but you're not to talk about it anywhere that Mina might hear you and especially not around Mina.”

    “Okay then.”

    “Mina's mother was killed during a confrontation with intruders in the forest.”

    “Killed? By what?”

    “It was during a confrontation with humans. The famine that affected their people didn't just affect them it also affected humans. While the forest was in a state of decline it was still far more fruitful then much of the surrounding land so that several groups of humans moved on the forest. Mina's mother lost her life during one of the fights with the invaders.”

    For a moment Joseph was silent only speaking after a minute had passed and a head shake. “That's something else to hear. After seeing Maria handle those soldiers so easily and seeing some of the ladies the idea that humans could kill them sort of slipped away.”

    Now Maria chose to speak up. “We're not immortal and our strength and endurance has its limits as does our speed.”

    In response Joseph gave a nod. “I know, it's just that you tore through armor so easily. Do you have any idea what killed Mina's mother?”

    To this Dan gave a slight shrug. “If you're looking for some remarkable revelation I'm afraid that you won't find it. There was a confrontation in which our and their people fought one another. Mina's mother got ahead of her sisters and was overwhelmed.”

    “You mean she pushed too far into enemy lines?”

    In response Dan gave a nod. “That's what I've been told. They're not sure what happened to her beyond a certain point only that they found a corpse. Mina was pretty hurt by it and with the famine taking hold. Well she didn't believe she had anything to lose at the time.”

    “Dan I get the idea that this punishment last for a very long time. I've talked to others about it before and whatever it is seems to last for at the very least days probably even weeks.”

    “You have no idea.”

    “Longer?”

    Before Dan could speak up Maria spoke up. “Yeah longer then weeks. How many weeks varies. Mine lasted for a very long time.”

    “I see.”

    “No. I don't believe you do Joseph. That's okay though we haven't told you enough about us for you to fully understand. One of these days if you're here long enough though and I'll tell you.” Maria gave a smile as she looked at Joseph.

    “Thanks Maria. Anyway Dan, I need some supplies for my own studies.”

    “Sure thing. Oh shit!” As Dan spoke he quickly reached under the desk and retrieved the bracelets, necklaces and anklets he'd had the ladies wearing before. “Maria put these on quick.”

    Dan didn't actually have to tell her to put on the jewelery. The moment they were on the desk Maria realized her mistake and quickly began to put them on. “Sorry! I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking.”

    “It's okay Maria. Everything should be fine this place is set up for mistakes. Just get them on quick.”

    “Yeah I know but. Sorry I should have been thinking.”

    As Joseph watched Maria putting on the jewelery he was amazed by the urgency with which she put them on. Clearly she'd made a rather big blunder. “Maria this isn't something you can get in trouble for is it?”

    Instead of Maria answering Dan spoke up. “No. It's a pretty big mistake though. If she does get in trouble I'll have a lot of explaining to do as well but don't worry. Worse case scenario we both lose a lot of free time for the next few weeks.”

    “Because you'll be confined?”

    “No. Nothing that harsh.”

    A sigh escaped Maria as she slipped on the jewelery. “Okay let's go make sure there wasn't any damage done.”

***********************************************************************************

    It had been a while since Carter had been away from his lab. Normally his research kept him quite busy though he was glad to do it. He'd received a request for some aid though and now found himself knocking on the door of one of the smaller workshops. As the door opened up he took a moment to appraise the opener. “Good day. I was told you needed help from a mage.”

    It took Joseph a moment to respond as he found himself not looking at a human but rather looking at an elf. He'd actually expected another human or perhaps even one of Maria's brothers so an elf was quite a surprise. Upon realizing he was staring he gave his head a quick shake. “Yeah. I need some help with one of my projects. I have to say though I didn't expect an elf.”

    “Oh don't let the ears full you! I'm only a quarter elf actually.”

    “Ah I see. Still, not quite what I was expecting. Please come inside though. My name is Joseph.”

    “I'm Carter.” As Carter entered the workshop his attention was drawn immediately to a rather large container. He wasn't certain what was inside of it but it was clear an alchemical reaction was going on inside of it. Around the container was a thick sheet of white cloth. He could still sense the magic coming from the area though. “I see you have the glyph prepared already.”

    “Yes at least the best I'm able to do so. I was thinking about requesting some mystic essence to get the reaction going but I thought a mage would be a better choice. Same result with far less work and expense.”

    “Indeed. You seem to have concealed the glyph though.”

    “Yes I'm sorry but I'm trying to keep as much of this a secret as I can.”

    “Not a problem. What exactly do you need me to do?”

    “I just need you to channel some energy into the glyph. Enough to awaken it fully. From that point on the formula and the glyph should take over.”

    “This should only take a moment then.”

    In response Joseph gave a quick nod. “Yeah, I just hope that I drew the glyph correctly.”

    “I take it you've taken measures to insure our safety if you haven't.”

    To this Joseph gave a nod. “The cloth covering the glyph was soaked in a energy absorbing solution for five days before I called you. If they energy goes out of control the cloth should absorb it. I also triple checked all my etchings to insure they're correct.”

    “I see. So have you worked with glyphs before?”

    “Of course! They're the only way to get certain reactions done if you don't have a mage or scrolls handy.”

    “Would it be possible for me to see some of your works?”

    “I thought you'd want to check my knowledge to insure the quality of my work. I went ahead and sketched out a few for you to see.” As he was speaking Joseph retrieved a few strips of paper from a near by desk and flipped them over.

    In response Carter picked up the pages and began to thumb through them. “A one shot healing glyph, a wind barrier, a frost spell and huh a rather weak but long duration flame spell. These all look quite viable.”

    “I'm glad you approve. All they need really is a mage to energize them and to be made of the proper ink.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Carter as he nodded his head and put the papers down. “I noticed that you didn't use the right kind of ink to actually hold magic. I suppose that was intentional.”

    “Of course! That stuff is hard to make and hard to come by.”

    “Indeed. Well it doesn't seem likely that your glyph will fail horribly though I still wish I could see it. Anyway, let's get it energized so your reaction can get underway.”

    “Thanks.”

    As Joseph watched Carter walk over to the table he kept a close eye on him. Joseph wasn't a mage but he could tell when something was going wrong by the alchemical reaction. If things did go wrong he had no intention of staying within the building fortunately Carter's job was quite simple. The mage slipped one of his hands underneath the cloth and began to channel energy into the glyph he'd prepared under it. “So how did you come to be here exactly?”

    “I was born here.”

    “What?!”

    A slight chuckle escaped Carter as he looked at Joseph. “My father was a half elf that ended up in the forest. He ended up encountering some of the ladies and pissing them off. Instead of sticking around and working his way out of the claimed status though he took another path.”

    “Another path?”

    “Yeah hasn't anyone told you? There is one very quick way to remove the title of claimed from yourself. At least in theory it's quick.”

    “I sure haven't heard of it! What is it?”

    “You have to get one of the females pregnant. A life for a life so to speak. If you lay with one of them and they conceive a child you instantly move away from the status of claimed. Of course, you have to be desirable enough to one of the females that they're willing to lay with you to begin with.”

    “Are you serious?”

    “Indeed I am.”

    At first Joseph said nothing as he took a moment to consider what this meant. “When do they normally tell you about this life for a life deal?”

    “Whenever one of the females decides that she would like to lay with you and attempt to conceive a child by you. My father was rather fortunate I suppose as my mother found him desirable fairly quickly.”

    “Hm I guess that means I'm not attractive enough for any of them.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Carter as he gave his head a slight shake. “I wouldn't say that you're just not claimed. Besides they are other conditions.”

    “Could you tell me what those are?”

    “Sorry but I don't feel like being tied into knots for saying to much.” A sigh escaped Carter as he removed his hands from under the paper. “I believe that has it.”

    “Yeah the potion seems to be responding properly.”

    “So is that all you needed help with?”

    In response Joseph gave a quick nod. “Yeah I just didn't have the mystic training to get the glyph fully awakened without mystic essence.”

    “Not a problem. Well I cleared my calendar in case this took longer so I guess I'll head to the market.”

    “Thanks for coming Carter. I'm going to have to stay here for a while.”

***********************************************************************************

    “I can't believe you forgot to bring a supply of food.” A sigh escaped Maria as she rubbed her forehead while watching Joseph. “You're lucky I've grown fond of coming to visit you.”

    Joseph was actually blushing as he took another spoon fool of soup. “I thought I had everything. I mean I brought clothing, a place to sleep I even brought some additional supplies so I could keep myself cleaned up.”

    “Yet while making sure you're sleeping conditions and hygiene were taken care of you didn't think of what you were going to eat.” A slight chuckle escaped Maria as she shook her head. “That's not exactly the priorities list my people would show.”

    “Well it's not like you worry about clothing very much.”

    “True.” As Maria finished speaking she hopped off the chair she'd been setting on and walked over to the container where the reaction was going on. Inside she noted several seeds though she couldn't tell what the solution they were in was. She also took note of the energy that was currently running throughout the container. “So what kind of seeds are those?”

    “At this point? You really couldn't call them any type of seed. If the reaction works properly they'll be the seeds for the life bloom. If things don't occur properly they'll be mush.”

    “Really?!”

    “Yep.”

    “That's wonderful! Oh and don't worry I won't tell anyone.”

    “Thanks.”

    “So what's going on inside of there anyway?”

    “They're being mutated. You see the life bloom is in some respects a natural plant but not entirely. It also has a incorporeal side that reaches into the elemental plains of existence.”

    In response Maria gave a slight nod. “I see. So you've altered the plant so that it taps into the mystic plains then begins to siphon the energy into the fruit. It doesn't stop there though but rather the way the plant has been changed also forces the energy to change taking on a state similar to that of a healing spell. I wonder. Did you pick the fruit that would be altered first or did you develop a baseline formula and work from there?”

    For a moment Joseph found himself staring at Maria as he took in what she'd just said. “That's right and well. I chose the plant first.”

    “Neat! So what's the plant? The seeds don't look like anything I've seen before but I assume that's due to the alternations.”

    “They were plum seeds at a given time. Maria where did all of that come from?”

    “Where did what come from?”

    “For a moment there you sounded like you'd received some alchemical training.”

    “Ah well.” A slight giggle escaped Maria as she turned to face Joseph. “I was keeping an eye on you for a while after all. I have to know enough to make sure you don't blow anything to bits.”

    “So you have received some training in alchemy?”

    “Just a little bit. I could probably tell whenever a reaction was about to explode. Of course those tend to have very obvious warning signs.”

    “I see. That's quite impressive.”

    “Thanks! So when do you think the life bloom will be ready?”

    “You mean when the first seed will start growing I assume. I can't be certain.”

    “Huh? Why not?”

    “I don't know if any of the seeds will survive the transformation. The alternation is pretty extreme and the vast majority of the seeds just won't be able to endure the transformation. They'll come out as mush instead of a seed.”

    “Ah! I see. I guess that is one of the advantages of working with plants. You don't have to worry about how many of them you sacrifice.”

    In response Joseph gave a quick nod. “Exactly. I'm trying to figure out how to make the process more reliable but that's going to take quite a while. Fortunately your people don't seem to have any shortage of plum seeds. That said if this batch doesn't work out it'll be at least three weeks before I'm ready to try again. I'll need to examine the remains and try to figure out how to improve their odds of survival.”

    “Ah you couldn't start another batch while examining the remains and hope to get lucky?”

    “That would be a bit much. As you noticed already I've set myself up so I don't have to be away from the workshop. I have to keep this reaction under careful observation if it's going to have any real chance at success. Plus that would be rather wasteful.”

    “You know the reaction probably isn't going to succeed if it fails this time but there is still a chance. Besides how would it be wasteful?”

    “Maria these materials aren't exactly easy to come by.”

    “Are you sure about that?”

    “I believe I know what I'm talking about when it comes to alchemy.”

    “I don't know. You seemed to think many of the materials we provided you with were rare. Are you sure that what you're thinking of as rare isn't fairly common here? Did you ask Dan about all the materials and find out which ones truly were rare?”

    “I well. Actually, I didn't really think about it. I just listed the materials I needed and volume then he provided them. Well you may have a point. I should probably talk to him and find out what truly was rare.”

    In response Maria gave a quick nod. “I bet you asked for some materials you didn't need and didn't give the exact volumes.” As she spoke Maria was made to grin as she examined the shelves.

    “Ah well.”

    A slight giggle escaped Maria as she stuck her tongue out at Joseph and walked over to one of the shelves. She then proceeded to retrieve a tiny package of dried roots. “Do you need this?”

    “Actually, um no.” A slight chuckle escaped Joseph as he rubbed the back of his neck for a moment. “Hey! What are you doing?”

    “Hum?!” Maria couldn't respond verbally as she'd already filled her mouth up with some of the contents from the package.

    “Those aren't edible!”

    “Joseph, remember when we first met.”

    “Well yeah but, those are, I don't see how you could.” For a moment Joseph grew silent and rubbed his forehead. “Can you really eat those safely?”

    “Yep! They taste pretty good once they've been dried and processed like this.”

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head. “I swear. The amount you just ate would be enough to kill a small village if the toxins were extracted.”

    “You humans don't know what you're missing out on due to weak digestive systems. This stuff actually taste quite good. Kind of sweet but with a nuttiness to it.”

    “I'll have to take your word for it. Hey wait a minute. Isn't that a breach of your diet?”

    “Well a little bit.”

    “Maria you shouldn't be doing that. I still remember how upset you were when you weren't allowed to eat breakfast while I was living with the three of you. You looked so frustrated and well hungry.”

    “Ah don't worry about it! This little snack won't hurt me.”

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he walked towards Maria. He didn't know what was going on but before he realized what was happening he'd reached out and tried to take hold of the bag. Of course he only ended up grasping air. “Maria, you need to stick to your diet.”

    It was easy to see what Joseph was doing though it surprised Maria that he would try such a thing. Still she was grinning from ear to ear as she looked at him. “If you want it you're going to have to take it from me.”

    “Maria don't be stubborn about this. I'm only trying to help you. Now give me back the roots.”

    “Um no.” As she spoke Maria gave a slight giggle and quickly pressed off the ground easily leaping to the far wall of the room. She then proceeded to take another handful of the dried roots and pop them into her mouth. “If you want to stop me you're going to have to catch me.”

    “I can't be chasing you around in here and you know it. Further more you know that I can't catch you.”

    “Mhm.” A slight giggle escaped Maria as she ate another handful of the roots.

    Despite what he had said Joseph found himself walking towards Maria as if trying to get her in a corner. She seemed to have realized this though and was already moving around the room easily out pacing him while still snacking on the roots. “Aren't you worried that one of your sisters will smell the roots on your breath?”

    “Hm well not really. After all this is just a little extra.”

    “I bet you told yourself that before you were punished.” It actually surprised Joseph whenever Maria suddenly stopped moving and looked strait at him.

    “Well you have me there.” A sigh escaped Maria as she held up the bag. “It's just a little extra though and we're allowed to breach our diet once in a while.”

    “Maria I don't believe it's a good ideal for you to be the one deciding when it's okay to breach your diet.”

    “I. I know you're right. Okay here you go.” As she spoke Maria walked towards Joseph and held up the bag for him to take.

    As Joseph took the bag from Maria he didn't mention how much she'd diminished the contents. Rather he found himself wearing a grateful grin. “Maria could you tell me more about how much you're allowed to eat. Perhaps I could help you.”

    “Um sure. How do you intend to help me though?”

    “It's simple. It's probably not a good idea for you to decide when you can breach your diet. That said it is commonly difficult to stick to such a rigid scheduled. So I'll help you out and try to work out a plan that'll let you eat a little extra every once in a while without breaking your diet.”

    At first Maria was silent as she looked at Joseph only speaking after several minutes had passed as she thought this over. “That sounds a little strange. Normally friends are expected to help you stick to the rigid diet.”

    “I don't believe that'll work out very well. It just leads to you sneaking off and snacking like you did with your sister before you encountered me. Like you were doing just now in a sense.”

    “Ah well you maybe right. I don't know about this. It still seems kind of strange but I'm willing to give it a shot.”

    “I believe this will help you in the long run. That said. I don't believe you'll be snacking anymore today after eating this many roots. Just enjoy your regular meal.”

    “Are you going to eat with me?”

    “Yeah just give me a chance to check on the reaction and balance anything out that needs tweaked.”

***********************************************************************************

    As Dan pressed the heavy brush against Mina's back he remembered what she'd told him about being gentle. Namely she'd told him not to be gentle in the least. So he found himself leaning his full weight into the brush as he moved it up and down over her back working up a thick layer of suds. “Mina I swear I can't smell anything on you.”

    “I'm not taking this mask off until you at least finish with my back!”

    A slight chuckle escaped Dan as he noted the look Mina was giving him. She'd taken three very thorough baths since coming back and yet she still wasn't willing to take the mask off. She'd finally asked him to wash the parts of her back she couldn't easily reach to insure the sent was gone. “So what are you going to do?”

    “I'm going to thank Joseph for the mask and then I'm going to have a word with those sneaks.”

    “I suggest you don't tell them where you got the mask though I'm certain they've seen you wearing it. They're going to be quite upset about this.”

    “So what? Do you believe they'll try something?”

    “They might try to make Joseph pay for making you that mask. After all if it hadn't been for that I doubt you'd found their stash.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Mina. “I wonder if they're really that stupid.” A sigh escaped Mina as she shook her head. “I can't believe how badly I messed up.”

    “Huh?”

    “Dan I told you what was in that building. They'd built up quite a bit of supplies and I allowed it because I couldn't stand to go in there and deal with the scent.”

    “Mina you can't help your nose.”

    “I can learn to deal with it at least deal with it better.”

    “Now Mina there is no need for that. I just wish I had thought to provide you with a mask. I feel like I let you down when I think about it.”

    “Dan you don't have any reason to feel that way. You've helped me plenty.” As she spoke Mina finally unstrapped the mask and removed it from her face. As she took off the mask she found herself taking careful sniffs of the air. “Like just now. You helped insure I didn't want to put this mask on as soon as I took it off.”

    “Well I'm glad to help where I can.”

    “And now that you helped me get cleaned off.” A slight giggle escaped Mina as she quickly reached around and took hold of Dan. She didn't bother waiting for him to respond before she tossed him into the water. “It's time for me to help you!”

***********************************************************************************

    As Joseph examined his gloves he was made to sigh slightly. A rather noticeable portion of the material was missing where he'd made a slight mistake. Some of the contents from the reactionary flasks had gotten onto his gloves and actually began to alter the material. If it hadn't been for Maria he would have contaminated the reaction. That wasn't what Maria was worrying about though.

    “Joseph are you alright?” As Maria spoke she placed a hand behind Joseph's head and began to feel for any damage. She'd been forced to pull him back rather quickly whenever she'd noticed a discharge from the container while Joseph had been adding some reagents.

    “Yeah I'm fine. Thanks for saving the reaction Maria.”

    “The reaction?! I was saving you! What happened just now.”

    “I'm sorry. There was a bit more energy in the solution then I realized. Whenever I went to add some more reagents they responded rather strongly and some of it erupted in a sense.”

    “Look at what it did to your gloves. What would have happened if that got on you?”

    “I would be missing a decent portion of my hand.”

    “Yet that's all the safety measures you took to avoid the reaction?!”

    “Ah well my gloves were enough. It's not like the reaction was strong enough to destroy them.”

    “That's not acceptable! How did you make such a big mistake.”

    With the pain in his back fading away from where Maria had jerked him out of the way Joseph began to raise to a seated position. “Well the transformation is rather experimental. I can't predict everything perfectly.”

    A sigh escaped Maria as she shook her head. “I'll tell you what. Next time I'll be the one to add the reagents for you. You just tell me what to add and how much.”

    “Maria you don't need to worry I would have been fine even if you hadn't been here.”

    “This time maybe but who knows about next time? When you first made the life bloom you had others helping to insure your safety didn't you?”

    “Well yes but they were trained alchemist and mages.”

    “I may not be an alchemist or mage but I can help you at least. So long as it doesn't involve.” Immediately Maria bit down on her lower lip. “I can help you with most situations.”

    “Huh? Maria what were you about to say.”

    “I can't tell you. Anyway, I can add things to the reaction for you now that it's going. I don't want to catch you taking such a risks again.”

    “Maria I'm not going to let you take the risks for me.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Maria as she looked at Joseph. “Then it's a good thing that for me there is no real risks in doing such things. I wouldn't have even needed those gloves to deal with that little miss hap.”

    “Maria these gloves are made from specially treated dire spider silk.”

    “That's nothing compared to what I can endure. If you don't believe me you can feel free to test it.”

    As Maria was speaking there was supreme confidence in her voice. Joseph didn't know if this was just arrogance or not but it was clear she believed she could. “Actually, Maria I have been wondering. Would it be possible for me to run some test on you? I have to admit your species biology has interested me from the moment I began to learn about it.”

    “I think that might be a bit much Joseph. I wouldn't mind but I don't think my sisters or brothers would allow it.”

    “I see.” A sigh escaped Joseph as he shook his head. “That's not surprising though. However, if you are serious about helping me I will need to test and see if you can withstand as much as you say.”

    A slight giggle escaped Maria as she gave a nod. “Go right ahead. How would you like to start?”

***********************************************************************************

    What was Maria and her kind made of? Was the dominant though in Joseph's mind as he looked towards the roof. He had used some very powerful solvents on Maria and it didn't even seem to affect her fur. What's more those few that did seem to have affected her only seemed to change the color of her fur. She then easily washed it away as if he'd poured nothing but food coloring on it.

    “It takes a lot to affect my species.” Had been Maria's claim and she'd been right. As Joseph looked towards a desk he could swear he could see her standing there. Her hand held within an open flame and the fire failing to even singe her fur. She'd held it there until it was clear that such heat wasn't sufficient to harm her and then she'd withdrew her hand gave a slight chuckle and asked him if he wanted to see if her hand was hot.

    Of course he'd taken her up on her offer. When he'd touched her fur though he'd found it felt like it always did. Warm but not hot. That wasn't the only thing that had him thinking. Maria's little display had impressed him he only knew of a few creatures that were so resistant to damage. After she'd left though he'd noticed a few strands of her fur where she had set. It was only a few strands but he had decided to do some testing.

    The bits of fur that Maria had left behind had burned and been broken down with ease. It had been as if the fur was just normal hair. He didn't have a large enough sample to do all the test that he'd like but the implications was clear. The fur on Maria's body was extremely resistant to damage however once it fell off it was no where near as durable. So it seemed that her body did more to protect her fur then her fur did to protect her.

    Was that accurate though? It was also possible that as her fur got older it wore out and had to be replaced. So of course the fur she shed wouldn't be as durable as that still upon her body. There was also the possibility that what he thought was Maria's fur was something else though he doubted that. The coloring had been the same as her fur and it wasn't like he had any carpeting or animals in his workshop to cause confusion.

    He wished he had a larger sample to work with. Unfortunately upon searching his workshop in great detail he wasn't able to find anymore fur. This brought up questions as well though. Surely Maria had shed some fur in his lab before she'd spent so much time there it seemed impossible. If she hadn't though did she intentionally leave behind a few strands to confuse him? Why would she do that though? He was able to put these fears to wrest easily though upon looking at his cleaning supplies.

    The reason he couldn't find any of her old fur in the workshop was because he kept it so clean. It was a force of habit and a requirement to do his job safely. It was actually a relief though whenever he noted a knocking on the door though he did feel his heart rate speed up. “Who's there?”

    “It's Mina Joseph I need you to open the door.”

    In response Joseph quickly climbed out of his makeshift bed and made his way over to the door. Upon opening it up he found himself staring directly at Mina's crotch and was made to blush as he had forgotten to look upwards. He quickly corrected this. “Yeah Mina?”

    Before speaking Mina bent at the knees and lowered herself to a squatted position to make herself closer to Joseph's eye level. “Joseph are you currently working on anything that would tie you to your workshop?”

    “Huh? What is going on?”

    “Just answer the question.”

    “Well I am working on.” For a moment Joseph grew silent and looked back at the container. “On a project that requires me to be on hand to insure nothing goes wrong.”

    “Blast!” A sigh escaped Mina as she shook her head. “Okay Joseph I'm going to need to assign someone to keep an eye on you. I hope you don't mind.”

    “Mina what's going on?”

    “Allen was assaulted.”

    “Allen? You mean Stella's little boy?!”

    In response Mina gave a quick nod. “Yeah I went to search the tannery using that mask you gave me. I found a lot of supplies hidden there and removed them. I thought that after I confronted the claimed they would back down and behave but it seems I only made them desperate. Some of them tried to take a hostage and well Allen happened to be at hand.”

    “Is he okay?”

    In response Mina gave a nod. “Yeah. Pera insured that he was safe.” 

    “Pera? Isn't she just a child?”

    Despite the situation this made Mina grinned as she shook her head. “Joseph that child removed the arms of three fully grown human males in less then five seconds for threatening her friend. Unfortunately shortly after that incident we found several other strange happenings. Namely many of the claimed have gone missing and we're having trouble tracking them.”

    “How is that possible?”

    “At this moment we're not sure. Their scents are proving difficult to track though and listening for them is impossible with that blasted ringing.”

    “Ringing?”

    A sigh escaped Mina as she shook her head. “I'll have to explain later. Right now we're gathering up all the males though and moving them to the dining hall in the market while we search for the escapees we don't want to risk them taking anymore hostages.”

    To this Joseph gave a nod. “I don't know if the reaction will be alright but I don't want to cause you undo trouble. The reaction can be restarted.”

    “No. This building has enough supplies in it now that we might as well protect it. Give me a second.”

    In response Joseph gave a slight nod. He couldn't help but be curious whenever Mina turned her head towards the market and opened her mouth. He didn't hear any sound coming from her though it was clear she was yelling quite loudly. It only took him a moment to realize that she must have been adjusting the frequency so it was outside the range humans could hear. “What did you just do?”

    Before speaking Mina lowered herself to a seated position. “I just called for Pera to bring Dan, Allen and a few of her friends to protect the three of you.”

    “What?”

    A slight giggle escaped Mina. “Don't worry they're young girls but they're good girls and more then qualified to protect this structure. I would have called for someone older but everyone guardian level and higher is busy.”

    “I see. With the search I take it.”

    “That and the ringing I mentioned. Somehow they managed to grow several singing crystals and plant them around the market. They keep emitting a sound wave you probably can't hear but we sure can and it's making it nearly impossible to track by hearing. We have to find them and destroy them all quickly. Honestly I bet Pera and her friends will be glad I called them out here. It'll get them away from the crystals.”

    “Are you serious?!”

    “Indeed I am. We have to find and destroy them quickly or they could give away the location of the market.” A sigh escaped Mina as she shook her head. “We haven't failed like this in a very long time.”

    “Mina you do know there is a quick way to destroy those crystals right?”

    “What? How?”

    Joseph actually gave a slight jump backwards as Mina stood up nearly knocking him over with her chest as she did. “A singing crystal can easily be destroyed by another singing crystal tuned to the right frequency as long as it has a high enough energy level. I'd just need to know the frequency they're currently resonating, have the needed materials to make the crystal and be able to provide enough energy to it.”

    Before Mina could respond another voice interrupted. “We have the materials right here.” A sigh escaped Dan as he looked at Mina for a moment. “Mina you shouldn't rush off before I'm done speaking.”

    For a moment Mina was silent. It couldn't be seen due to her fur but she was blushing. “I'm sorry Dan.”

    “It's alright. Anyway, Joseph it seems like you and I hit upon the same ideal. I take it that you're ready to get to work.”

    “Yeah this workshop should have the equipment we need.”

    In response Dan gave a nod and glanced behind him. “Okay Pera we want you and your friends to stay outside of the shop and insure that no one bothers us. If someone shows up explain that we're working on a way to silence all the crystals.”

    In response Pera gave a quick nod. “Sure thing but what about Allen?” As she spoke Pera glanced over to one of her friends who was currently carrying Allen on her back.

    “He'll need to stay out here with you. Joseph and I are both alchemist but this stuff can be somewhat dangerous. If the crystal was to shatter while it's being produced we could be badly injured and I don't want to send Allen back to Stella cut up. She'd cut me up.” Before Mina could protest Dan turned to her. “Mina before you say anything about the danger I know what I'm doing now scoot.”

    A sigh escaped Mina as she shook her head. “I better not learn this was some exceptionally dangerous process. Okay I'm going to go and join the wrest of the search.”

    Joseph waited until Mina had taken off to speak. “Do you have any ideal how they produced singing crystals? Without a blank it takes weeks or even months to produce one.”

    “It just gives you an ideal of how long they've been working on this. Anyway, let's get to work.” As he spoke Dan retrieved one of the three blanks he'd brought along from the satchel. “I want to have everyone of those crystals converted to powder in thirty minutes.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Joseph as he shook his head. “That's not going to be easy. I was thinking it would take an hour but we can try for thirty.”

    It was hard for Maria to believe what was going on as she skipped through the trees well ahead of her other sisters. She had been assigned to the hunting party almost immediately due to her speed. She could easily search two or three times faster then any of her other sisters. However, it was proving a frustrating search as she struggled to ignore the crystals back in the market. It was quite impressive how great their range was.

    What was more annoying then the crystals though was not being able to find scent trials. She wasn't entirely certain how the escapees had masked their scent so effectively but they had and it was doing a wonderful job hiding them. At least it was. A grin formed on Maria's face as she caught a whiff of a humans scent. While she felt confident that she could handle it herself she gave a roar to call her sisters to her location while she quickly headed towards the smell.

    “What is it sister did you find one of them?”

    A sigh escaped Maria as she shook her head. “Yeah but I know why I could smell him now.” As she spoke Maria pointed towards the man's corpse.

    Upon looking towards the corpse the other girl was made to groan slightly. “Damn it. They might have been well prepared to leave but this forest is still dangerous it seems.”

    Before responding Maria gave a slight jump landing closer to the corpse. She then bent down and began to carefully inspect the body. “The escape wasn't that long ago. I wonder how he got killed already. Oh wait. Fuck!”

    “What is it sister?”

    “I know how he died. He was stabbed in the back. Wasn't this a Gale soldier?”

    “I'm not sure.”

    “I bet some of the others killed him so that his corpse would distract us a while.”

    “Wouldn't it have been best if they didn't put us on their trial at all.”

    “Hm dang you're right.”

    “Hey Maria what's going on.” As Nora landed she took a few quick steps towards Maria only to notice the body. “I see you found one.”

    “Yeah too late though.”

    “You mean he was already dead?”

    In response Maria gave a quick nod. “Yeah he was. Hey wait. Nora what brought you here?”

    “I smelt the scent.”

    “You mean you didn't hear my roar?”

    “No I can't say I did. This is bad isn't it?”

    In response Maria gave a nod. “Those crystals are making it hard for us to communicate. Now several of us will be lured to this corpse thinking they've found something just because we can't talk to one another. I take back what I said about them not wanting to put us on their trial. This might put a few of us on the right track in a sense but it sure throws a lot more of us off.”

    As Allen set on the roof he kept his attention focused on the path before him. The path that humans used to get their and back. He kept his eyes focused on it even as he spoke. “Pera?”

    “Yeah Allen?”

    “Thank you for saving me.”

    “No problem! I was glad to do it. I'm sorry that I let him get hold of you though.”

    “It's okay. You didn't hear him due to the crystals.”

    “I should have scene him coming though. It's not like he was being stealthy. If I hadn't been so easily distracted you wouldn't have been put in any danger. I didn't mean to get any blood on you.”

    “It's okay. You don't have anything to apologize for.” As he finished speaking Allen looked away from the path and towards Pera.

    “I wonder why they grabbed you like that.”

    “I don't know.”

    “Where you scared?”

    Before speaking Allen felt his face warming up as he began to blush. “I was really more surprised then scared. I guess I'm more scared now then whenever I was first grabbed.”

    “Why would you be scared now?”

    “I. I don't know. I want my mother but at least you're here with me.”

    Before speaking Pera stood up and walked over to Allen setting down next to him. “Of course I'm here with you. So don't worry I'll keep you safe and I won't let anyone grab you like that again.”

    “Thanks Pera.”

    “You're welcome. Why weren't you scared when he first grabbed you though.”

    “I didn't really have time to be scared. One second I find myself being picked up and I start to scream. The next moment I'm on my bottom on the ground. With an arm next to me.”

    “When I took his arm off and saw some blood on you I was scared I'd accidentally cut you as well.”

    “Hey Pera. Do you know who that man Dan was speaking to was?”

    “That's Joseph he's pretty new here.”

    “So Carter what do you believe happened?”

    “There must have been a mage amongst the claimed that have been brought in. Before the escape attempt he most likely cast a still air spell on the escapees so that they wouldn't leave behind a scent trail. That's the only scenario I can think of.”

    To this William gave a quick nod. “It would seem likely. In that case we should try a track magic spell to locate the escapees. It should be easy for the girls to track them down with a wisp leading the way.”

    Before either of the two could speak up Kenny chose to voice his opinion. “Not with the singing crystals active. Right now the area around the village would be saturated by low level magic. Still wind is a complex spell to cast but it is not a very powerful spell. The wisp would be unable to track the escapees.”

    To this Carter gave a nod. “I see your point. However, Dan and Joseph are currently working on a crystal to shatter the ones that were planted in the village. Once those have been broken it should be an easy tasks. The escapees won't be able to make it very far within such a limited time.”

    “So Carter, William do you believe that we should start conjuring a wind spirit to track the escapees?”

    To this William gave a shrug. “I'll take care of that myself. You two be trying to think of anything we might have missed.”

    Before William could leave Carter once again spoke up. “Do you believe we should bring in any of the others in this matter? Perhaps we should send some of the other alchemists to help Dan and Joseph.”

    In response William shook his head in the negative. “Do you know anything about producing a singing crystal?”

    “I can't say that I do.”

    “While a third might be able to help with the process anymore then that would hinder it. Joseph I believe to be an accomplished alchemist and we know Dan is very skilled. The two of them should be more then capable of producing the crystal. As for waking some of the others I don't believe that we need to do that.”

    As Kenny listened to William and Carter her chose to speak up. “I agree there would be no point waking the others at this point. I am rather puzzled by their choice of methods though. Surely whoever took hold of Allen realized that they would be killed for such an act. If Pera hadn't given him such a grievous injury from the beginning Stella would have.”

    To this Carter gave a slight shrug. “Most likely they hoped to force one of the girls to guide them out of the forest. From the reports we've already gotten though I'm thinking that they chose many different paths of escape.”

    It actually surprised the men whenever a forth voice joined the conversation. “I would have to agree with you.”

    “Flora? What are you doing here?”

    “I just came by to see how things were going. We've managed to find some of the crystals in the market area but they're still causing us frustration.”

    To this William gave a quick nod. “Flora did you take any of the crystals you've found to Dan and Joseph? I imagine they could make use of them.”

    “A few of the girls are bringing them some of them. I also brought some of them to you.” As she spoke Flora reached into a small satchel she'd been packing and brought out three of the tiny crystals. “I would appreciate it if you took them now.”

    “Of course.” As Carter spoke he moved forward and took the crystals from Flora. Given the trouble they were causing them he could only imagine the irritation Flora was feeling. “Is there anything else you needed?”

    “You're going to need to decide what to do with the escapees once we find them and quickly. You may want to get several of the others together to make a united stand. These things are so loud to us that it's affecting every female but the sleepers most likely. Fortunately they haven't awaken.”

    “Yes that would be a disaster. Why would we need to make such a mass move though?” As William spoke he had no ideal what he'd just asked for.

    Instead of responding right away Flora quickly reached out and took hold of William. She then quickly jerked him closer to herself and turned him to the side. Leaning closer she opened her mouth. There was only one thing that came out. “Ah!” As Flora yelled she made certain to keep it as loud as she could while still keeping within a frequency William could hear. She felt William trying to jerk away immediately.

    Painful didn't begin to describe how loud Flora's voice was as she yelled in his ear. William would have normally went for a spell to try and silence her but her grip on him was too secure and she'd caught him off guard. His ears were positively ringing by the time Flora released him and allowed him to fall to the ground. “What the hell was that for Flora?!”

    “That's what we're currently enduring thanks to those crystals. All of us.”

    While Carter and Kenny's ears were ringing as well they felt certain William had just got it far worse. Kenny was the one that spoke up first though. “You make a very good point. You seem to be managing quite well though.”

    “We're used to having to endure some form of suffering due to our hunger. That doesn't mean we enjoy it though. I have to admit I'm a little miffed at them for using those crystals as well.”

    The reason Kenny had been able to speak up before Carter was Carter was actually trying to keep from laughing. His ears were hurting but William's and Flora's reactions had been more then a little amusing to him. Now that he understood the situation though he sobered up quickly. “I imagine several of the ladies already want to rip the escapees apart. It doesn't help that some of them tried to take Allen hostage.”

    In response Flora gave a nod. “We had to force Stella to remain in the market and hunt for crystals. If she finds any of the escapees she's liable to tear them apart. She'll probably hold them responsible for endangering her child as a whole.”

    To this Flora gave a quick nod. “Even the matrons are becoming rather annoyed with the crystals.”

    After a moment Carter gave a nod. “Alright then. We should get busy. I believe we'll leave the crystals to Dan and Joseph still but they are other things we can do.”

    A sigh escaped Mina as she looked at the human corpse and one of her sisters setting next to it. She knew right away what was happening if she was staying still. “This is a decoy isn't it?”

    “Unfortunately yes sister.”

    “Blast it. They really thought the initial escape through. Surely they realize those crystals will only hold us for a few hours at most though and it takes days or weeks to travel through the forest.”

    “The probably had some long term plan going which you disrupted.”

    “You may very well be right. So who all has been here?”

    “More then I care to say. I was elected to stay behind and tell everyone what's going on.”

    “Damn those crystals if it wasn't for them we could inform everyone right away. Please keep watch here so the others keep moving. There is something I have to go check on.”

    “Sure thing Mina.”

    “Is that better?”

    Pera gave a slight chuckle as she looked out the corner of her eye trying to see Allen. She'd mentioned that the sound was really annoying her and the young boy had offered to cover her ears. His hands did muffle the sound waves a bit though she could still hear them. “It's a little better.”

    “Okay. If I think of a better way to cover up your ears I'll let you know.”

    “Thanks, though from the way Joseph and Dan were talking earlier we shouldn't have to wait much longer. I wonder what's taking them so long though. Dan said he wanted the crystal in thirty minutes and it's been over that.”

    “How do you know?”

    “I've been counting the minutes.”

    “Oh. What are they talking about now?”

    “I don't know. A lot of the words they've been using I don't recognize and there is a lot of clanging going on. The last thing I could really understand was whenever our sister brought them those crystals. Dan and Joseph both seemed really angry. They said something about there being a sleeper crystal. What do you think that is?”

    “One that hasn't started making sound yet probably.”

    “That's what I was thinking to but I hope that's not the case. Just one of them is bad enough. Oh wait they're talking again.”

    As Dan worked to attune their singing crystals to the right frequency he couldn't hold it in. “I can't believe they had a second group of crystals laying around. Even if we had destroyed the first group of them the sound waves would have awakened the second group and the problem would have began all over.”

    “At least Flora was nice enough to have some crystals sent to us. So Dan how is your crystal coming along?”

    “Fine what about yours?”

    “I'm nearly done as well.  Though now that I've had time to think I have to ask. What made you decide to come by here Dan?”

    “I was going to work on the crystal regardless of what happened. Whenever Mina mentioned going to check on you though I decided that it would be best if I had someone to work with. You mentioned to me that you've been working on the life bloom as well so it seemed like a good ideal.”

    “I take it Mina came here to insure they weren't taking me hostage as well.”

    “Yeah plus to make sure no suspicion fell on you.”

    “Huh?!”

    “A few of the women saw a claimed approach you a while back. Given everything that's happened Mina was worried one of her sisters may think you'd helped them and act before thinking.”

    “Ah I see. Well that was considerate of her. She seems to have quite a cool head.”

    “Mina's pretty practical whenever the safety of others is involved.”

    “Damn it they left some of the brats to guard him.” As Dav spoke he glanced back at Greg and Horlamin. “What do you think we should do?”

    Greg was the one to respond. “You know what just one of them can do even if it is a kid and that one isn't alone. Look she has three friends setting around with her. We should get out of here we're not going to be able to get those two.”

    A sigh escaped Dav as he shook his head. “Damn it. I was hoping we could at least get into the shop for supplies. Yeah we need to get out of here.”

    “Actually you needed to get out of here I'd say three minutes ago. Hm I don't recognize you three.”

    It was clear they'd been found and while the owner of the voice didn't know them they knew her. Mina was quite well known amongst the claimed. Dav's first instinct was to go for his weapon but he suppressed the urge as he turned to face her. “We're not with the others. We were just taking advantage of an.” Dav didn't get to finish as he felt something slam into his stomach and lift him off the ground. His jaw was made to go slack as he looked down he was quite surprised by what he saw.

    Mina had to hold back to keep from killing the human even when using her tail to hit him. As she held him aloft she kept her tone low but clear. “Now listen very carefully. They are two men in that building one of them happens to be my mate. Now you were just talking about taking him hostage. I am more then willing to kill all three of you at this moment but I'm restraining myself. So shut up and only speak whenever you're asked a question.”

    Both Greg and Horlamin were silent as Mina removed her tail and allowed Dav to fall to the ground. All three of them knew that they weren't going to outrun one of the beast now that they'd been spotted. Unfortunately she'd just told them to be quiet which left them in a very uneasy situation. They couldn't do anything but wait and see what she decided to do with them.

    A sigh escaped Mina as she shook her head. “I should kill all three of you right now but I can't think clearly with that blasted ringing. Pera come over here!”

    Pera gave a slight jump upon hearing Mina's voice having not realized her elder sister was so close. The singing crystals had prevented her from hearing the men approaching or the conversation. “I'll be back Allen.”

    “Okay.”

    As Pera landed next to her Mina reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Pera I need you to watch these three and don't kill them. You can wound them if they try to escape but try to keep from killing them.”

    “Huh? Where did they come from?”

    “They were spying on you all. I'm just glad the four of you were here to make sure they didn't try anything.”

    “Blasted crystals. Mina I didn't hear them.”

    “I know. It's okay. I only noticed them because I saw them upon my arrival. Now I need to speak with Dan and Joseph.”

    “Okay.”

    Neither Dan or Joseph were expecting the door to open fortunately neither of them were startled by it either. It was Dan that spoke up upon seeing Mina enter. “Mina what's going on?”

    “I came to check on how the two of you were doing.”

    “We're almost done here. It's taking longer then I'd like though. Flora had some crystals sent to us and we noticed that one of them wasn't active. They'd hidden sleeper crystals in the market.”

    “Sleeper crystals?”

    In response Dan gave a nod. “They're another form of singing crystal except they're triggered by a frequency. It just so happens the frequency that would have triggered these is the exact same one that would have destroyed the ones currently active.”

    “How long did they plan to delay us with those damn things! They're about to drive me insane.”

    In response Dan gave a quick nod. “This was a pretty well planned out escape. However, I don't think it was as well planned out as it would have been if you hadn't found those supplies in the tannery.”

    A low groan escaped Mina as she shook her head. “I guess they thought we'd be inspecting the tannery more often once I found the first stockpile. We probably would have. Well Joseph I guess we owe you.”

    To this Joseph gave a slight shrug. “It's not a problem. I have to say though I'm quite surprised that the little mask I gave you could have played a part in all this.”

    Before the conversation could continue Dan spoke up. “Mina you're not wearing your bracelets or anything.”

    “Damn it! Okay you two I'm going to head out.” As she spoke Mina was already making her way out the door and quickly shut it behind herself.

    It actually caught Joseph off guard whenever Mina suddenly departed. He also couldn't help but notice the surprise in her voice. “One of these days I'm going to have to find out why they react so strongly to not having those pieces of jewelery on while in here.”

    “Don't think on it too much. For now though let's finish up here.”

    It actually surprised Flora to see her daughter back in the market area so quickly. “Maria what brings you back here?”

    “Mom weren't some of our brothers hunters at one time?”

    “Well yes they were. Oh! I see what you're getting at.”

    “While I was out I noticed a broken twig and it got me to thinking. Humans don't have hearing or a sense of smell like ours yet they can track very well. The escapees most likely aren't expecting us to know human tracking techniques. How about we have some of the humans help in our hunt?”

    “I'm not sure if we have any that are still well practiced in such an art but it is most assuredly worth a shot.” A sigh escaped Flora. “If only a few guest were in the village they would undoubtedly be able to track them.”

    “Yeah.”

    “Okay Maria as it was your ideal I want you to go and inform every keeper within the market and village you can find. You're faster then I am so it makes more sense that you should go anyway.”

    “Sure thing mom.” As she spoke Maria was already dashing further into the market.

    As Dav set a few meters away from Pera he couldn't help but rub his stomach. The spot where Mina had struck him had been hurting before and now the pain was only growing worse. He was afraid to complain though for fear of what the girls watching him would do if he spoke. Mina had made it clear to him that he was to remain silent. Fortunately he didn't have to remain silent for long.

    While Pera was upset by everything that had happened and the crystals weren't helping her patience she wasn't so mad she wasn't curious. “Why did your human friends threaten Allen?”

    It was Markus that spoke up first. “They wanted to take him as a hostage to negotiate a safe escort through the forest.”

    “Why did only a few of you do it though?”

    “We were divided on the method to use. Some of us felt that we could put enough distance between ourselves and the village to escape that you wouldn't be able to track us all. Others thought it was impossible and we'd need something to bargain with.”

    “So why did you wait behind?”

    “We knew that once it became clear some had escaped you would all leave to chase us down. At least that was what we thought. We'd hoped to grab one of the humans you value away from the main areas which may still be guarded. They left you four here though.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Pera as she shook her head. “We're not stupid.” As she finished speaking Pera's lips formed into a smile revealing her razor sharp teeth. “Unlike the three of you. You're fortunate Mina didn't just tear your legs off and leave you to die right now.”

    “Dan, I know it's a bit late to worry about this but where did these singing crystals come from?”

    “They're used enough in alchemical research and other studies that we had a few on hand. If you're worried about the supply of them. Yeah you're correct to be worried about that. This is an unusual situation though.”

    “I see. I just need the mystic essence to awaken mine and it's ready to go.”

    “Good. If you don't mind come over here and give me a hand with mine then. I'm nearly finished but the resonance is being stubborn.”

    Markus had been rather surprised whenever he'd been woken in the middle of the night. He had been living near the market for a while now as a rank three. He had his own little place and was allowed a great deal of freedom. He'd been taking that time to prepare for his departure from the forest. “I have to say that I feel a bit awkward doing this.”

    In response Stella glanced over her shoulder at Markus. “What's the matter?”

    “Well they're just trying to do the same thing I'm doing. They're just using different means.”

    “If you don't want to help track them down we won't force you. You do realize that we're probably going to kill at least a few of them for what they've done.”

    In response Markus gave his head a slight shake. “Yeah. Yeah I realize that which doesn't make this easier.”

    Despite Markus's comments Stella continued moving. She was just glad to be out of the market district and on the hunt. She wanted to fine those responsible for her baby being endangered and make them pay. Even if they hadn't done it directly she felt many of the escapees had at least some degree of responsibility for such actions. “Markus we all know that you plan to leave as soon as you consider yourself capable of doing so.”

    “No doubt about that. That's why I'm doing this though.”

    “So you trust us to keep our deal?”

    “Yeah. You've never backed out of an agreement before.”

    “I must admit that your request caught me off guard. I felt certain that you'd ask for an escort out of the forest. Asking for the right to choose one claimed to be promoted to rank one was quite surprising.”

    “You wouldn't have agreed to escort me out of the forest.”

    “Well no but why not request another rank yourself?”

    “Oh that's easy. I need a partner to help me make my way out of this forest. As none of you are willing to help me it seems best to pick from amongst the claimed. That said waiting for someone else to earn even rank one is proving quite tiresome.”

    A sigh escaped Stella as she shook her head. “Honestly the ideal of letting you leave scares me.”

    “Huh?”

    “You're smart and you've learned a bit about us. That makes the ideal of you leaving the forest worrisome as you could prove to be quite dangerous to us.”

    “I haven't learned anything that could endanger you.”

    “Of course you'd say that. Ah well here we are.” As she came to the spot where the corpse had been found Stella came to a slow stop. “See what you can do.”

    “Will do.” As Markus hops of Stella's back he immediately noted several paths. Fortunately the women tended to stick to the tree tops for whatever reason so the path a human would have taken was fairly clear. The fact that the women moved so quickly through the forest almost meant the type of damage they caused was different from that of a humans. “This shouldn't be too hard their favoring speed over anything else.”

    Singing crystals were wonderful for monitoring certain reactions and tuning. The crystal itself was fairly fluid and its density could be changed by soaking it in different chemical baths. This let one change the frequency at will. The crystal was naturally responsive to magic and would begin to vibrate when enough energy was supplied. The less dense a crystal the more sensitive it was. This let them serve as magic detectors or even timers if set up correctly. Purity was of vital importance though to keep them from shattering.

    As Joseph was carried along by Mina he glanced over at Dan who was also being brought along for the ride. “This is an interesting way to travel I have to say.”

    “It's the only way to get through the forest.”

    Despite the situation Mina found herself joining in on the mens conversation. “I could really move if I didn't have to be careful not to break anything.”

    In response Dan leaned down a bit and gave Mina a kiss on her head. “Sorry sweetness but these crystals are kind of delicate.”

    “I wasn't talking about the crystals being delicate though there is that to.”

    “Ah well pardon me for being human and having breakable bones.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Mina as she looked at Dan out of the corner of her eye for a moment. “That's easily broken bones and you're forgiven. So just how is this going to work?”

    “We've tuned these singing crystals to a frequency that will resonate with the ones that are already active and currently sleeping respectively. This will cause them to vibrate at an abnormal frequency canceling out the sound and hopefully shattering them.”

    “Is that all?”

    “Well there is a chance that the crystals that were hidden will actually cause the ones we're using to shatter first. From what I saw of the hidden ones though ours are more pure so ours should cause the hidden ones to shatter first.”

    It was impossible for Mina to keep her displeasure out of her voice as she spoke. “You got to be joking.”

    In response Dan gave a shrug. “Sorry Mina but if this doesn't work we'll just have to try again. I'm certain that it'll shatter some of the crystals though.”

    “I guess we have no choice but to trust in you and Joseph.”

    It was impossible for Joseph not to ask even as Mina carried him. “Mina what other steps are you all taking to find the escapees?”

    “We convinced one of the hunters we brought in two years ago to help us in our search. Though it cost us a bit.”

    “A hunter?”

    “Markus is one of the people who started out as a claimed but it only took him a year to reach rank one. I know that might seem kind of slow compared to how quickly you progressed but he was really helpful and hard working.”

    “A hunter though?”

    A slight chuckle escaped Mina as she looked at Joseph. “Well yeah.”

    “How did a hunter earn his life back within that time?”

    “He made very effective us of his time, was open with his intents and proved to be useful.”

    In response Joseph gave a shrug. “I don't see how but okay.”

    “Well you'd have to ask his former keeper if you wanted the finer detail. Anyway, he agreed to help track down the escapees but it cost us.”

    “What did it cost you?”

    “After he's done helping us track down the escapees he gets to pick one person from amongst the claimed to promote to rank one. That is as long as they didn't try to escape in this attempt. He's planning on trying to leave the forest but he wants a partner to travel with him to improve his odds.”

    In response Joseph gave a nod. “I see. That actually makes a lot of sense. How could he track something you can't though?”

    “We're used to having our ears and noses lead us while we're tracking. He doesn't rely on such things.” A sigh escaped Mina as she shook her head. “We may have to ask him to teach us to track without relying upon our eyes and noses after this.”

    “Do you think he'll do it?”

    In response Mina gave a slight shrug. “Probably in exchange for something else he wants.”

    As Joseph listened to this he couldn't help but voice his thoughts. “Mina why are you even having this guy help you? Once the crystals are destroyed you'll be able to hear just fine and this forest is vast.

    “They're several reasons Joseph. We don't know what all they had planned. What if this is only the start of something larger? We need to stop it now if that is the case. Also the further out they get the harder they are going to find. We need to capture as many of them alive as we can to improve our odds of finding out who planned all of this.”

    “Ah I see your point. Are they any other reasons?”

    “I'm pissed off and want to hurt them as soon as possible.”

    Joseph was actually made to grin upon hearing this. “Okay I believe that's enough reasons though I'm sure you could give more. It looks like we're here at least.”

    “Where do I need to take you two?”

    In response to Mina's question Dan pointed towards the market. “You need to take us as close to the center of the market area as you can. That way our crystals will have the widest effective range. Once those near the center have been destroyed we'll move ours around and try to insure we get all the others.”

    “Okay you two tell me exactly what's going to happen.”

    As Dan spoke he tightened his grip on Mina. “Mina you're going to have to stay close to me and Joseph just in case one of your sisters responds. Even the crystals we're using are going to effect you all and well some of you seem rather high strung. We can't have anyone destroy the crystals we've made or us until we're finished.”

    “Thanks for the warning.” As she spoke Mina finally came to a stop and set Dan and Joseph down. “Okay now what?”

    As Joseph was speaking he took a few steps away from Mina and placed the crystal he was holding on the ground. “Now we just add some mystic essence and wait for things to happen.”

    “Hold on a moment Joseph. Come here Mina, bind down and I'll cover your ears.”

    A grin formed on Mina's face as she did as she was asked. “Thanks sweet heart.”

    “Are you two ready?”

    In response to Joseph's question Mina gave a nod. “Go for it.”

    A sigh escaped Joseph as he retrieved a few small bits of crystallized energy and placed it upon the singing crystal. Before the crystal could respond he quickly moved away and came to stand beside Mina. He didn't know how the girls were going to respond but if it was poorly he wanted to be near some form of protection. Upon looking back at the crystal he found it was already vibrating.

    Mina had readied herself preparing for the experience to get even worse before it got better. Much to her surprise though that wasn't the case. Rather she found that the sound waves from one crystal cut out all the ones around her. At least it did for a few moments. After a while though the crystal Joseph had placed on the ground seemed to be getting far more noticeable. “Dan the crystal Joseph put down is getting louder. What does that mean?”

    “It means that the crystal is causing the others to shatter. They're not canceling it out as much. Tell me the moment you hear a third sound coming into play or if you hear only one crystal singing and we'll know how well things worked out.”

    As Stella followed behind Markus she couldn't help but notice the difference in the sound coming from the market. It had grown far fainter and it was becoming easier and easier for her to hear. She immediately realized this wasn't just due to them getting further away. It was impossible for her to keep from giving a relieved sigh.

    It was proving easy for Markus to track the others. They'd done a poor job indeed of hiding their tracks at least from someone with his training. “Stella, they've diverged here. We can only track one group at the moment. The group that went right seems to be the larger.”

    In response Stella gave a quick nod. “Alright then we'll track them. Please lead on.”

    “What was that sigh for a moment ago?”

    “That blasted ringing is finally being quited. Maybe my head will quit hurting soon.”

    To this Markus gave a nod. “Well that's a good thing I suppose.”

    “Don't worry our agreement still stands. Without the ability to track by scent hearing alone most likely won't be enough.”

    “I wasn't all that worried about it. However, I believe they expected for whatever was hiding their scent or limiting your hearing to expire.”

    “Why would you say that?”

    “Why else would they be favoring speed so much? Most likely once they feel they've put a few kilometers between themselves and your settlements they'll start favoring stealth.”

    “If you were escaping with them what would you be more worried about scent or hearing?”

    “Most likely they're focusing on their scent. After all those crystals have a limited range and one way or the other they'll eventually be too far out for them to reach. At which point you'll be able to use your hearing again.”

    “That's a good point.”

    “I'm amazed how well organized this was. I think you all should give the tannery another search once you have time.”

    “I would have to agree with you. This was probably months if not a year or more in the planning. Markus why are you so eager to leave here?”

    “This isn't my home and I wish to return to it.”

    “It's been over two years since you were brought here though.”

    A slight chuckle escaped Markus as he shook his head. “There have been longer journeys. I'm not one of your people and I don't plan on becoming one of them. I have a life that I want to return to even if some of it has passed me by.”

    “Don't you believe that'll be difficult to return to your old life?”

    In response Markus gave a slight shrug. “Not really. If I was just concerned with leaving the forest I would be even further along then I am now.”

    “Oh?”

    In response Markus gave a slight nod. “As you've given me permission to roam the forest and make use of various materials I have selected things to help me with the return to my world. Even the being welcomed back in.”

    “Ah you mean some things you humans will find of value.”

    “Indeed.”

    A sigh escaped Stella as she shook her head. “You could live comfortably and safely here if you wanted to become part of our community. You spend nearly all your time in your home.” Stella didn't get to finish as Markus spoke up.

    “That building isn't my home.”

    A sigh escaped Stella as she shook her head. “You're more clever but in many ways you're exactly like those claimed.”

    To this Markus gave a slight chuckle. “Not everyone can be content trusting in the good will of another race. Even if you don't call me one of the claimed that doesn't mean I'm free.”

    “I see where this is going and I believe I had this argument before.”

    “It wouldn't surprise me.”

    “Very well then I'll let it wrest here.”

    Maria had first thought that she might travel with Markus once she'd found one of the keepers. Her plans had changed though whenever she'd encountered Stella. Stella wasn't truly one of the keepers as she had Allen to raise but she had a sufficient rank to be one. She'd also known someone that could perform the desired task though how she knew them Maria wasn't entirely sure.

    It was a good thing she'd encountered her though. It had allowed Maria to resume the hunt for the escapees more quickly. The trip had also given her some breathing room so that she now found herself running along the forest floor instead of through the trees. She'd gone walking with Joseph a few times and she'd noticed something. Humans naturally took the easiest path they could find unless they were distracted by something.