Seeds of Discordia

Liam had slept through majority of the night and woke before the break of dawn the next day. He had felt refreshed and not as sore like he did when he passed out. No one else was awake and were all asleep within their tents. Even Uncle Naro was still there, which surprised Liam since he had always disappeared before he awoke.

He decided to take this small bit of time to get some light reading in from the book Vesely, Lady Arachne, had given him. The book was called Ways to Better Control the Shadows. He didn’t get far into it, maybe only a couple of chapters and a lot of thinking about the information it was giving him, he received a Knowledge Theory called Controlling the Shadows with Ease.

After reading the first chapter he had come to the conclusion that this wasn’t something that would be easy to understand. There were terms and wording he didn’t quite understand at first. He had to reread the first chapter twice and after getting to the second chapter he had to go back to make sure what he was reading was right.

The first chapter had talked about how the Shadows were more than what they seemed. That you needed to have a strong will and a strong mind to be able to wield them. Without that you could easily be consumed or even controlled by them without realizing it. Even the races that started with the Field of the Shadows weren’t allowed to practice using the magic without having proper training and understanding.

He grimaced after he read a section that stated when starting out with the Field of the Shadows one should only unlock the Shadow Control Focus Point and get it to level twenty before unlocking the other Focus Points. If one did not learn to properly Control the Shadows then there was a higher chance that the Debuff Whispers of the Beyond were to be inflicted upon the caster as well as spells backfiring and causing harm on him.

Liam was thankful that he hadn’t had any of his Shadow spells back fire on him yet. The book mentioned that Shadow Orb and Shadow Swarm were basic Shadow spells that were good to practice with, but there was one he needed to have in order to get a better understanding. He received that ability after reading it over and over several times. What it was about and how to effectively use it. That ability was called Shadow Manipulation.

Shadow Manipulation wasn’t a spell he could use like the others. It was a spell that was meant for him to use on random shadows and try to either manipulate their shape or make move. Apparently, the spell helped in receiving other abilities that were similar to it but could be used for other purposes.

He wanted to try it out but had to stop both his ready and desire to practice when he heard someone getting out of their tent. Liam put the book away and stepped out to see Uncle Naro setting up his Mobile Crafter setup into an outdoor kitchen. The giant of a man noticed he was getting out and asked if he wanted to help prepare breakfast. Liam didn’t decline and washed his hands and face before joining in. Artem woke up not too long after them and helped out as well.

After the others had woken up and eaten breakfast, Uncle Naro announced to the other what he and Liam were talking about the day before. They were excited about getting some help learning how the world works and the prospects of getting stronger. However, they understood that it wouldn’t start today. Since they had to wait for the Teleportation Tree to open back up for public use, they decided they would either practice and exercise on their own as well as help out where help was needed in the city.

Liam had opted to go help where he could. During his time in the city he had come across some Construction Crafters and asked for some tips to help that part of his Field grow. Thanks to their help and instructions he was able to get his Destruction Points ability to level ten which helped him receive the ability in the Craft called Construct Wooden Creation.

The ability Construct Wooden Creation was one that allowed him to make wooden creations with better efficiency. However, since it was at a low level he was only able to make small things. At first he thought it wouldn’t be useful at the moment, but he was proven wrong when merchants that specialized in food sales stated they needed boxes or crates to place their wares in since their stores or stalls were destroyed. He set to work on making them for them and was able to get the new ability to level five.

Leveling this new ability also had some surprising affects for another ability he had in the Craft. Small Creation Knowledge had leveled and reached level five as well. When he asked about that, one of the Construction Crafters stated that since he was making small wooden creations it was helping his understanding of how to make them faster and sturdier, and the more he made the more it poured into both abilities.

Those weren’t the only abilities he was able to raise during this time. He was also able to level Lumber jack Efficiency to level six due to the wood he needed to use to make the boxes. He joined others who were highly proficient in the Lumber Jack Craft. He learned there was a carpenter craft that handled the wood he chopped but decided against learning it for now. As much as he would love to learn something new he really needed to not overwhelm himself…for now.

Thanks to his small contribution and the major ones the other crafters made by making better containers and storage creations, the market was able to open up again. All the rubble had been shifted through and cleared out thanks to the citizens and majority of the adventurers, those that helped out, by mid-day that day making it easier for the merchants to set up. Instead of staying within the area they were always confined to, they had spread out throughout the city, strategically being where they would best need to be at. The guards didn’t stop them because even they knew this would be the best thing until they were able to get the construction of the destroyed buildings back up.

That night after the long day, Liam decided to make some potions. He was happy to hear that Artem still had some stock of the key materials needed to make his favored potions from the Tutorial Area. Apparently he had either bought or gathered them himself without telling anyone. Thanks to that he was able to make a lot of small vials of each potion. He asked the others if it was alright if he gave some of the stock he made to a friend to help them make some money. They didn’t have any issues with it.

Also thanks to that he was able to show off his Brand by putting it on the mark on the vials. Artem was especially impressed with it and asked questions about it. As Liam explained what it was and why it was important to have one as a crafter he looked even more intrigued.

On the morning of the promised day of their departure, Liam had received word from Lady Arachne that he should make a stop by the branch and get what they had discussed the other day. Apparently it had taken a lot of talking to, to Silent Saboteur to allow what she had promised. Liam figured he remembered the debt from the other day and was probably going to use it. He was right on that, but he was also wrong because he had his eyes on something he was going to use it on.

Before he left the area he tore down his tent and packed up his stuff. Artem and Gimmel were up when he mentioned to Uncle Naro that he needed to do some shopping before they left. The two said they would go with since they needed to grab some stuff as well. As much as he didn’t want to have them follow him, he knew he could come up with a lie that could get him away and allow him to make a stop at the Fiddler’s Spider Web.

With Gimmel the only one who knew he was a member he could convince Artem that he needed to step away. Which was what he did halfway through their shopping. He asked them to meet him at the Cats Paw-ldron around ten o’clock-ish. Artem didn’t question it and agreed since he was distracted by some of the new food ingredients he had spotted.

Liam slinked his way over to the Fiddler’s Spider Web as fast as he could. After activating the entrance and his Spirit Weaver form, Liam entered the place. Lady Arachne and Silent Saboteur were standing at the counter talking to each other when he arrived. Lady Arachne smiled as she spotted him. While Liam couldn’t see the portly man’s face his body language spoke that he wasn’t too thrilled.

“You don’t look too happy to see me,” Liam stated as he stared at Silent Saboteur.

For his part, the man quickly replied, “You can’t see my face, so you don’t know if it’s you that I am not happy to see or the calculating gleam in your eyes. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you look like an owlet you is planning to snag their siblings food for their own.”

Liam couldn’t help but laugh at that. Never in his wildest dreams did he think there would come a day where he would hear a phrase using owl terms. This was the day it seemed. He didn’t want the man to be too upset with him, so he explained what he it was he wanted as well as what other items he wanted to use the favor on.

While Silent Saboteur wasn’t exactly thrilled, he did seem more relieved that he wasn’t planning on using the favor to buy a lot of items. There were five items he really needed at the moments. At the moment the Dark Nest only had four of them. The items he asked for were two cauldrons, one was an Average Quality Cauldron for Potion Making and the other a Poor Quality Cauldron for Poison Crafting, a Crude Rune Crafting kit, and a Crude Chemicalized Creation Alchemy specialized set. He wanted to get his hands on a Crude Enchanting set, but they didn’t have any in stock.

Due to the price on the items he was offered to either have both cauldrons as his reward or one of the other sets or kits since the price of those items would be more than a handful of materials they had thought he was going to go for.

He chose the most expensive item, the Crude Chemicalized Creation Alchemy specialized set since there were a lot of separate items that went with it. With the favor he acquired from Silent Saboteur when his giant owl tried to attack, he received the other items at a decent price. Silent Saboteur wasn’t too devastated after that because he gave the man ten small vials of Weak Shadow Liquified Mana for free. The man was happy with that, but he grew intrigued when he noticed the brand on the vial.

“Is this your Branding symbol?” Silent Saboteur asked as he inspected it.

Lady Arachne inspected one of the other ones and was impressed with the design. “What are you calling your Branding?” she asked, curiously.

“I’ve been debating it for a while. I am horrible with names so maybe…Pawdimonium?”

Silent Saboteur and Lady Arachne swiftly stared at him. Their silence and Lady Arachne’s disapproving look spoke volumes.

“Please tell me you’re joking?” Lady Arachne asked.

“Yeah I am,” Liam said with a dry laugh. “I was thinking either Phantom Paw or Bedlam’s Paw.”

“I’d go with the latter,” Silent Saboteur advised. “I take it you have a separate Branding for items you don’t sell at any of the Fiddler’s Spider Web branches?”

Liam nodded.

“Good,” the portly man said, approving of his wise decision. “For items you sell at any of our branches you don’t want a name that will be linked to you entirely. Those who know that you are the creator of the branded items will be the ones who give the missions being requested for you. Anyone outside of that shouldn’t know in case there are animosity or conflict regarding you as a crafter. You don’t want people to trail you or try to kidnap you right?”

Liam shook his head. He did not want that to happen at all. He thought about the name he threw out there on a whim. While it wasn’t one he was serious about it still had the theme of chaos or discord in it. He was alright with that.

After Liam finished his purchases he peeked at the time and saw it was getting close to the time he was supposed to meet up with Artem and Gimmel. He thanked the two for their guidance and help during his time on the island. Silent Saboteur asked if he could send out crafting requests whenever he needed things like Liquified Mana or potions and the like. Liam didn’t see any harm in it. They also negotiated that at times he could ask for materials in exchange of money if the amount he made equaled it.

Lady Arachne requested that each time he made it to a place that had a Fiddler’s Spider Web branch that he would send word so in case he had questions about his Field of Shadows or if she needed anything from him they would be able to reach each other. After that he asked the two to tell the others thanks and that maybe one day in the future he would visit again.

With that out of the way, Liam left the Fiddler’s Spider Web and headed towards the area where the Cat’s Paw-ldron was. When he arrived there he saw Blair and Roman were with Artem and Gimmel. They had decided to find them and when they were done there they would go as a group to the Teleportation Tree. Uncle Naro had explained that they had to be there by a specific time since they had a reservation ahead of the other people. This was because the place they were going to be teleported to was farther than majority of those who were trying to leave the island.

After hearing their reasoning, Liam and the others walked inside the slightly destroyed building. Liam got a good look at the place. Even though the place was slightly destroyed, Farry, Abby, and Cindy still had tables and shelves stocked. They weren’t as stocked as they were last time he was there, but he believed they were working on that.

The three looked up as Liam entered the place and were surprised to see him.

“Liam!” Abby shouted with a grin. “What are you doing here?”

“If you’re looking for healing potions or Medicinal Creation items, I’m afraid what you see is what we currently have,” Farry stated as he gave Liam a sad look.

Liam waved a hand at the man. “I’m not here to buy anything. I actually have a question. When you had my stock of flavored potions, how were the sales?”

Farry’s eyes widened at the question. He started to stammer as he responded, “I completely forgot we still need to pay you for those sales.”

“That’s not…,” Liam stopped at that. He had completely forgotten that they said they would pay him for the sales of his product. “I forgot about that to be honest.”

Cindy raised a brow at that. “If you’re not here to buy and you’re not here for the money we owe you…then what are you here for?”

“I wanted to come by for two reasons. One, I wanted to say goodbye to you three before I left,” Liam started.

He was stopped from saying the next part as Abby cried out, “You’re leaving?! No! You can’t leave!”

“Abby!” Farry and Cindy half-scolded.

Liam gave the little Tabby Cat-folk a sad smile as he knelt down and said, “Yes. I am leaving. I have somethings I need to face and things I need to do.”

“Is it because of us?” Abby asked as she fought the tears that were starting to form. “Is it because of how we treated you when we were threatened and Cindy got hurt?”

Liam remained silent as he listened. He saw the looks of defeat on Farry’s and Cindy’s faces as they looked at the ground. He knew he needed to respond to this cautiously. If he replied badly or set anything up for misunderstandings then there was a chance this could end differently than how he wanted it to.

“Hey,” he started with a soft tone. “Me leaving has nothing to do with you or your family.”

“But,” Abby started sobbing.

“What happened back then…I have no ill will towards you or your family about that,” Liam continued. “I understood where Farry’s decision came from. It was to protect you and your sister. I have no issues with that.”

“But it still wasn’t right or fair,” Abby stated.

“You’re right,” Liam nodded. “However, that’s life. It’s also life with how I decide to act after that. Do I hate you guys when you guys were put in a tight spot? Do I forgive you and pretend it never happened?”

Abby stared at him. She was sure if she was supposed to answer so she waited.

“I choose neither of them,” Liam replied. This made the three confused. Even Gimmel was confused by this answer. Artem, Blair, and Roman on the other hand shook their heads.

“Do you have to go about this in such a roundabout way?” Roman asked.

Liam glared at him. He then stood back up and looked at each of the three. “I can’t just blame you for the situation you were put in due to an idiot’s greed. I can forgive you, but I can’t pretend it never happened. So instead…” Liam looked inside his inventory and pulled out a crate full of the potions and set it down on the closest table. “I can ask that we start over. This is a crate of flavored potions that I wish to donate to getting you the funds you’ll need for either a better repair of the place or to move into a better store. As for the money from the sales from the earlier potions. I don’t know how many was made so for now just use that as well.”

Farry and Cindy opened their mouths to protest, but stopped as Liam raised a hand and stated, “If you wish to pay me back on the money then next time we meet you can pay me then.”

“Can you at least take half of it?” Cindy swiftly said. “There is a pretty decent amount of money you made, and traveling isn’t going to be cheap.”

Liam was about to protest, but Blair interrupted by saying, “He would be more than happy to take half.”

Liam raised a brow as he looked at her. Blair just gave him a smile as she retorted his unasked question, “You’ll be here for hours arguing if I didn’t step in. we don’t have all that much time left before we’re supposed to be at the Teleportation Tree.”

Liam got a good look at the time. She was right. They still had a couple of hours till their reservation, but he still needed to find his cousin and say goodbye to her.

“What this symbol?” Abby suddenly asked as she looked at it on one of the vials.

Everyone looked at it. no one said anything until Liam answered, “That is my Branding symbol.”

“That’s your Branding?” Abby asked, her tears had finally stopped flowing and she now had an excited look as she looked back at him. “What’s the name of your Brand?”

“I was thinking maybe the Crafty Paw?” Liam suggested, not sure about the name himself.

Abby giggled. “That’s funny.” Liam was about to argue that he wasn’t the best at naming things, but was interrupted as she added, “But I like it. it fits with the Crafting Symbols placed in the toe beans.” She then looked like she had a light bulb moment before setting the vial down and running into the back room yelling, “Wait one moment.”

Everyone looked at each other before they started talking about somethings. Farry and Liam talked about him possibly sending more potions to them if they wanted to keep selling his Potions and Medicinal Creations. Farry stated he would need to find a reliable merchant, but Liam said it would take some time before he could do it. Farry agreed to that and told him to just send either word or shipments to the Crafter’s Association with his name and business name on it.

After they agreed to the terms Abby came back almost out of breath. In her hands was a worn down Herbology Knowledge Theory book. She wanted to give it to Liam so he could learn how to grow the materials for the potions he makes on the go. Apparently there were magical techniques to do this, but they weren’t allowed to be taught until he reached a higher level in the craft.

He thanked her and the others before they finally made their way out of the building. They had spent another hour looking for Mila and her group but couldn’t find her at all. After finally deciding to head for the Teleportation Tree, he had found out why he couldn’t find her. She and her team were waiting in a long line that led to the Teleportation Tree. If she hadn’t spot him first and waved her arms like an embarrassingly excited child, he probably wouldn’t have seen her.

“Liam!” Mila shouted as they approached.

“So this is why I couldn’t find you?” Liam said as he gave her a hug.

“Aw, we’re you looking for us?” Vera teasingly asked.

“And if I was?” Liam teased back with a wink.

Vera dramatically placed a hand over her heart and the other over her forehead as she continued, “Oh, what sweet, sweet deity is doing this curtesy of a man searching high and low for us cute girls and their plus two guys?”

“Probably the Deity of Dreams,” Alv commented with a straight face. He then gave a mischievous grin as he added, “Because that’s all it’ll ever be when you’re involved.”

Vera shoved Alv’s shoulder as she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Damn, that was a good one,” Roman chuckled.

Blair, Mila, and Molly shook their heads before ignoring the two as they started to bicker.

“Anyways, We’re leaving the island soon. I did try to find you but couldn’t,” Mila explained.

“I was a bit preoccupied,” Liam said. “Had to take care of somethings.”

“We’re heading to the Human ruled territory to take care of somethings out there and get some training in. Then in a few months we’re thinking about heading to the Blood Thirst Plains to participate in the Crimson Combat Tournament.”

Artem suddenly tensed at the mention of the Blood Thirst Plains. Liam noticed it but didn’t comment on it. instead he asked, “Crimson Combat Tournament? What’s that?”

“It’s a tournament the Orc’s hold every year to test their might. It’s the only tournament they hold where they allow the other races to participate in,” Alv answered, a bit excited about it. “I wanted to enter last year, but we weren’t anywhere near ready for it nor close.”

Mila gave him a smile as she watched his excitement. She then looked at Liam and asked, “What about you? Where are you heading?”

Liam felt hesitant but wasn’t exactly sure why. He swallowed once and then replied, “I am going to go find the last three team members I had from the Tutorial Area. I’m going to see if they wanted to group up again.”

Mila didn’t say anything. She looked at the people behind Liam before leaning forward and saying, “I don’t know any of them like you do, but please be safe. You never know who might actually be out to kill you.”

Liam gave her a kind and warm smile. He could understand her reservations. After all that had happened, even Liam wanted to go back to being wary of any and every one. However, he told himself he would do that with reservation from now on. And speaking of reservations…He looked at the long line and commented, “Is this for everyone with a reservation to get off the island? If that is so we’re going to be late because of this.”

Mila gave him a confused look. However, before she could say anything an annoying voice laughed irritably as the man said, “You have a reservation? Don’t lie.”

Everyone turned to see Chad, Knox, and Waylon slowly approaching them.

They glared at the elf and then looked at the two others. Artem, Blair, and Roman stared down at the elf as Gimmel hesitantly took a step to the side. Liam eyed the man once before looking back at Mila. He really wasn’t in the mood to deal with him.

Chad, who noticed the blatant ignoring Liam was giving him scoffed. He was going to say something else until he noticed Gimmel. With a scowl he shouted, “There you are you incompetent fool. When you disappeared and didn’t return I thought you had gotten yourself killed somewhere.”

Gimmel tensed as Lian, Mila and their groups stared Chad down.

“Now that I know you’re still alive and well, I forgive you. Now get over here and get to your duties,” Chad stated with an annoyed haughty tone.

“And what duties would that be?” Liam asked, warning in his voice.

Chad looked back at Liam. “What? Now you’re not ignoring me? Doesn’t matter. This doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

“It actually does,” Liam stated. “You see, Gimmel has joined our group. So if you’re trying to strong arm our member into doing pack mule stuff for you then you have another thing coming.”

Artem, Blair and Roman took a step forward, showing their solidarity in Liam’s proclamation. Chad was taken aback at the showing the group was giving. He then scowled as he said, “Don’t bother lying. Why would he wanted to join a shitty group like yours?”

Before Liam could answer, Waylon asked as he stepped in front of Chad, “Are you sure you want to make a group with them?”

Chad tried to say something, but was stopped once more as Knox added, “I know what we offered might have sounded like a bad thing, but we are serious about giving you a safe place to grow your crafting abilities.”

Liam stared at each of them in the eyes. He could see they were trying to be genuine and concern. However, their ideas of growth and safety was different from his own. He didn’t need that kind of offer. Plus just thinking about doing work for Chad just rubbed him the wrong way.

“You and I have different views on how to grow my abilities. While you think I would be safe, I would just be suffocated,” Liam replied.

The two men winced at that. Liam wasn’t sure if they knew his words were true or not. He wouldn’t know since before either could say anything, Chad stated, “Look, the guards are coming. Even they know that what you were spouting wasn’t true.”

Liam turned to see a familiar guard making his way towards them. It was Fred the Bear-folk.

“You better just head to the back of the line since he is just going to send you there anyways,” Chad smugly stated. Then as Fred approached them he shouted, “These guys were trying to cut to the front of the line. They were claiming they had a reservation when clearly no one has one.”

After Fred reached them he gave Chad a confused look. “Who are you to tell me what to do Elf?”

Chad’s mouth dropped at Fred’s tone of voice.

Fred turned his gaze from Chad and then back at Liam and his group. With a smile he said to Artem, “So this was the guy you three were looking for. If you had said so from the beginning I would have helped you look for him.”

  Artem gave Fred a grin. Roman joined him as he added, “But where would the fun be in that? Searching and getting to see the city was fun in and of itself.”

Mila and her group stared at them with some confusion. That confusion then spread to Waylon, Knox, and Chad as Fred stated, “I wasn’t sure if you guys had gotten lost or were held up, so I decided to search the line in case there were any problems,” Fred said the word with slight irritation as he glared at Chad, “keeping you from getting to the front. Your reservation is almost up, and we need you to get through so we can start moving the line. Follow me and I’ll get you in.”

Liam gave the man a smile. “Thank you Fred.” He then turned to Mila and gave her one last hug before saying, “If you see your mom or sister tell them I say hi.”

Mila snapped out of her confusion and nodded. She then had a thought and asked, “What about your brothers and father?”

“Don’t tell them anything. I want to see the looks on their faces when I see them personally,” Liam replied as he went to catch up with the others.

After Liam and his group disappeared down the line, Vera broke the silence by saying in a sly tone, “Huh, looks like they weren’t lying about that reservation.”

Chad’s mouth snapped shut as his cheeks grew a deep shade of red. He huffed before turning around and stomped his way down to the back of the line.

Mila shook her head before saying, “You guys are fools to have him in your group.”

Knox shrugged. “He’s a good healer. You know how hard it is to find one of those.”

Mila shook her again. “It has nothing to do with the fact that he’s dating that woman is it.”

Waylon sighed. “You know as well as we do she had already planned on dumping him before all this happened.”

“Not really,” Mila stated. “If she was planning on doing it she never made it clear with how she acted towards him. But then again she was always good at mind games.”

Knox and Waylon were about to protest, but were cut off as Mila raised a hand as she added, “Don’t. it doesn’t matter anymore. She made her choice and now she gets to deal with it. Or at least she will after confronting Liam. Also fuck you guys for trying to treat him as a personal crafter.”

“You know that would be the best for him…,” Waylon started.

“For him…or you? I’ll be honest you know as well as I do that he wouldn’t sit still unless it was something he wanted to do himself,” Mila said. “You watch. He’s going to surprise you sooner or later and when he does you’ll understand how much you fucked up.”

She then turned to face away from them. Understanding that she wasn’t going to say anything else, Know and Waylon turned away and headed to find their healer.

Liam and his group followed Fred inside the Teleportation Tree. He led them towards an elevator, and they went up a few stories. After they reached the floor he led them down the hall and into a room where Uncle Naro and a couple of Tiger-folks were talking animatedly.

As the three turned to see who had entered the room Liam noticed one of the Tiger-folks scowl at him. Liam was confused at first, but then remembered who this guy was. It was Larry from his first day here. This Tiger-folk was here when he first came through the Portal from the Tutorial Area. As for why he was scowling…he didn’t like the fact that Liam was a half-breed.

“Is there something the matter?” Uncle Naro asked as he noticed the man glaring at Liam.

“Just that there is some scum that has dared to show their face here when a V.I.P. such as your…,” Larry started to say but stopped as Uncle Naro’s cold voice said, “Are you referring to my apprentice?”

Larry’s attention snapped back at the large Bear-folk male. A shover ran down his spine as he felt a powerful wave of pressure cover him. “Wha…What?”

“I asked,” Uncle Naro started to repeat himself. “Are you referring to my apprentice?”

Larry looked back at Liam who was almost within distance and then back at Naro and asked, “Surely you jest.”

“What do you mean by that?” Uncle Naro asked. “Do I look like I am jesting?”

“But there are those more skillful who are full…,” Larry started to say but snapped his mouth shut as he saw the fire starting to brew in Naro’s eyes.

“I didn’t peg you to be a fool Larry,” Naro stated before looking at Fred and adding, “Do you really allow idiots like this one to work here?”

Fred, who had been listening to the exchange as the approached, replied, “I’ll be honest. We do not…However, I have no power over the hiring process.” He then looked at Larry and added, “But this one…I found out that he was given his position due to family ties to the hiring manager. Maybe I should have a talk with her and see what we can do about filth that can’t see past their idiotic olden day pride.”

Larry gulped at that. As for Liam, he kept his mouth shut. He really didn’t have anything to say. While the man showed hostility towards him, he never really did anything to him. After seeing him squirm though, he believed karma was working overtime here and he was enjoying it.

Uncle Naro turned away from the man and looked at the group Fred had brought. He smiled and asked, “You all got done with everything you needed to do?”

Liam nodded along with the others. “We’re ready when you are.”

Uncle Naro smiled once more before saying, “Then let’s get out of here.”

A portal suddenly appeared in the middle of the room after the other Tiger-folk, who was smart enough to not say anything or ask questions moved to start the machine.

Liam stared at it. As he stared at it he was reminded about his time here on the island. From the moment he arrived, the struggle in the dungeons, the training he did to learn more about his abilities, seeing his cousin again for the first time in a long time, seeing and arguing with his old friends, running into three of his teammates and even making new friends. All of it was hectic, but they were able to help him grow.

Now he was getting ready to step through another portal just start a new adventure. However, this one would hopefully lead him to the other three. And after talking with them he would start a new adventure with those that wanted to go on it. He was both excited and nervous. However, the excitement got the better of him as he was the first to make his way towards the spinning force of magic and stepped through first.