Thunder Mountain Trailhead, Sedona, Arizona - 7:14 PM


    I sat patiently in a camp chair, waiting for the group from the terminal to come. There hadn’t been much left to say and I wasn’t too interested in how they were going to vote. Louise had assured me it wouldn’t take long, and before I had even arrived Sara had told me they voted in favor of waiting another night to come to a decision.


    However, they agreed to send someone with me. What that person saw was going to determine whether they went ahead with the evacuation or not.


    It would cost them time, but I had done my part. All I could do was provide one more warning once they arrived. My goal may have been to save as many people as I could, but I wasn’t about to force an entire community to do what they didn’t want to do. That would take entirely too much time given the situation I was about to walk in to.


    <<<>>>


    [[Patron Message]]


    I’ve finished calculating, Anthony. It looks like the dimensional breaches have gotten worse, but your estimate still isn’t far off. Instead of four days, making it to the Bradshaw Ranch will take seven, which is only three days longer than you thought it would be going after the brain worm boss.


    Lucky for you, I suppose. You just get a normal hike. I’m going to be watching you move in slow motion for a few days thanks to all these ugly tears in time and space.


    Also, they’re almost here. They’ve brought quite a big group, so you’ll have plenty of options.


    <<<>>>


    “Damn. Sorry, Sara,” I said as I gave the sky an apologetic smile.


    I had hoped this journey would only shave four days off of my time as I walked through an area where reality was weaker, but seven was still within my margin of error. It was only for the way there, at least, since killing the scenario boss would close the rifts for now and I had set up a doorway back with Celestial Wormhole. Despite that, there certainly wouldn’t be enough time to begin the evacuation after we got back.


    The sound of a group of people coming down the road reached my ears, but I didn’t get up. This chair was comfy and they were coming my way, anyway.


    Even though I could feel how disgruntled some of them were, I didn’t retract my awareness. We were no longer in a cramped room holding a polite meeting about the future of their city, so they could deal with it.


    Antonio and Louise were the first to come greet me. I had to visually observe her to know she was there. Whatever ability she was using to become psychically invisible was annoying, but considering her role it was one of the ones I was least worried about.


    “Mr. Franklin, it seems like you collect bad news by the minute,” she announced, exasperated, the moment I laid eyes on her.


    Shaking my head, I stood up and put the camp chair back into my inventory. “Louise, how exactly do you see these things? You know how annoying that is, right?”


    “I do,” she said as she stopped in front of me to pat my cheek. That was all she said, and I knew she didn’t have any intention of answering.


    “We all do,” Antonio scoffed, crossing his arms as he stopped behind her. “She’s been a pain in the ass since the first week.”


    “Hush, you,” Louise gently chastised. “If you don’t like what I have to say, then you’ll just have to hear it from Mr. Franklin himself.”


    “Yeah? You sure you don’t want to steal the thunder for this one?” I asked.


    “And be the bearer of that bad news? No,” she said firmly. “You can throw that lightning bolt.”


    “What bad news?” Antonio asked as I scanned the crowd.


    There were about ten people in very basic, piecemeal armor, which was what I expected. On top of my demands, they would have to be picked from people who didn’t have a class yet but still wanted to fight. These were also probably people from Antonio’s or the Red Oracle’s faction, hoping to solidify their power later. Even if they still thought the Warmind was a weak class, getting someone with a fully topped out class was going to be huge for them.


    It was a rather diverse bunch of men and women. That was good. Some places out there would just send their men, not realizing or accepting the fact that everyone was now more or less equal so long as stats lined up. I walked around the two leaders.


    “I’m going to be gone for seven days,” I answered. “Well, won’t be that long for me. But for you guys, it’ll be a whole week.”


    “Where are you going?” Antonio asked, obviously confused.


    “Bradshaw Ranch,” I answered.


    “That’s not a seven-day trip. It’s hours at best, and that’s at a normal person’s speed.”


    “You’ve got that right, Antonio,” I agreed, turning away from the crowd. They were starting to get nervous as I inspected them. I pointed in the direction I needed to go. “All through Coconino, there are rifts in time and space opening up. Breaches between dimensions that allow terrible things to come through. Your brain worm problem was caused by one of these, though that’s just one of the many monsters out there.”


    “The further you go out, the more time will get dilated,” Louise picked up. “You were only planning on spending a few days here, but it’s a week now.”


    “What happened to not stealing my thunder?” I asked, arching an eyebrow at the blind woman.


    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said innocently, folding her hands in front of her.


    “Uh huh,” I replied, shaking my head. “The path we’re taking is going to be through to the center of the whole thing. We’ll be shutting it down, which will make the walk back much less time consuming than the way there.”


    “I have a few questions,” Antonio said. I gestured for him to ask them. “If you’re heading all the way to the forest, why did you tell us to meet you here?”


    “Because Thunder Mountain sounds awesome,” I replied immediately. “Next question.”


    He looked ready to argue with me, but just shook his head after a moment. “You know where the brain worm nest is?”


    “Oh, yeah. That was my original destination before Louise picked me out of a crowd and sent me to tell you all how you’re going to die if you stay here,” I answered.


    “Which is now more dire than ever, because we’ll need to start the evacuation long before Mr. Franklin and his new Warmind return,” Louise said.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    I nodded. “Right. I was going to bring that up, but now you can go and explain to everyone that they have to at least be prepared to get out of Sedona, because otherwise you may be too late.”


    Antonio made a face like he was going to argue, but he glanced between the two of us and seemed to decide not to. That was nice of him. “Can you give us directions to the brain worm nest?” he finally asked. “I’d rather not let people continue to get abducted by them while we’re… waiting for you.”


    “Yeah, that’s no problem. You know Stoneman Lake?”


    He gave me a confused look. “Of course, but that’s southeast of here. The people have been disappearing to the west.”


    I nodded. “They do, and then they swing around south. Oak Creek’s empty now because of them, may their souls rest in peace, and that’s why they’ve been taking people from Sedona,” I explained. “The worms are stronger and smarter than they were at the beginning. Take a lot of area of effect spells with you, preferably fire, as well as defensive mental buffs. They can still take you over if they’re given enough time in your brain no matter how strong you are, but it’ll take a lot of them and most will die from exhaustion before they succeed. Remember: it only takes one success. Your goal is going to be the brood mother hidden under the lake’s surface. Take her out, they all die.”


    Antonio’s confused look was replaced by an intense look as I rattled off the best practices of brain worm pest control. I could tell that it wasn’t something that he was angered by, but that he was actually listening intensely.


    “Okay,” he said as I finished. “That’s all good to know.”


    “For what it’s worth, I’m rooting for you,” I told him. “This whole mess is exactly that, a mess. I want as many people as possible to survive. Though, I do want to ask you one favor since you’re going that way.”


    “What’s that?”


    I held up my hands a few inches apart. “The brood mother will drop an orb about this big. That’s one of two of my big prizes here in Sedona. I’ll pay you for it if you want, but I absolutely need it.”


    Antonio arched an eyebrow. “What is it?”


    “Just a little trinket that will really help me out later,” I answered. “If I get into it now, then I’m going to be explaining a lot more about why, what, how, and who, and none of us want that.”


    “Nope,” Louise agreed before gesturing towards the classless. “Shall we move on to what we’re really here for?”


    “After he agrees,” I said, glancing back at Antonio.


    His jaw was set, but he nodded. “I think we can arrange the price when the time comes.”


    “Excellent, then let’s decide who the next Warmind is,” I said with a clap of my hands.


    Thanks to the properties of Sedona, grabbing Fred’s class with the Medallion of Uuska was as easy as activating the skill. Had the man not been obsessive about practicing with his watch, then I would have gone loot hunting the hard way. I was sure I’d get the Cowl of the Warmongering Mystic eventually, but the less time I spent here the better.


    I turned towards the classless, and they all stood up straighter. “Louise, you know what I’m looking for. Any suggestions?”


    “Either Della or Merrick,” she answered quickly, as if she had been waiting for my question.


    “Step forward, you two,” I said.


    A slim Hispanic woman around my age with features similar to Antonio’s approached me, and I could feel his aura pale. The other was a tall, lanky tanned guy who appeared to have put some points into Strength, but still couldn’t fill out. Unfortunate, but it happened. She stopped to the left of me and he stopped to the right.


    “The rest of you can go home,” I said.


    “Really?” one of the men asked. “We came all this way just for the Red Oracle to give you two names and send the rest of us home?”


    “I warned you that this was a possibility,” Louise responded before shifting slightly towards Antonio. “Didn’t I, Antonio?”


    “You did,” he said quietly, keeping his eyes on Della.


    I had to assume that this was his daughter or some other relative based on his aura, and he wanted to keep her chances of being picked low. It was understandable, but it didn’t matter to me. My pick was going to be the best option, not the one that would make someone else feel good.


    “Right then, off you go,” I repeated.


    The man who spoke up before looked ready to argue some more, but Antonio stepped up. “It’s time to go, Ed.”


    They lingered for a moment before someone turned to walk away, and the rest followed. The two who remained gave each other a quick glance before looking straight ahead as if they couldn’t stand the sight of me.


    “Merrick, what psychic class were you offered?” I asked, putting my hands in my pockets.


    “I was offered the Mind Blade class, Mr. Franklin,” he answered, standing up even straighter. I didn’t even have to see his aura to see that he was nervous.


    “The Mind Blade is a good class. It can conjure anything with a sharp edge, deals psychic damage in addition to its normal damage, and could be considered one of the better melee classes out there in the right hands,” I said as I Constructed a butterfly knife in my hand. That caught his attention, and I started flipping it around to show off some tricks. “I’m sure Sedona has a few of them running about. The question, then, is why didn’t you take it?”


    Merrick watched the knife instead of answering, and I released my mental hold on the Construct. It disappeared and I repeated my question.


    “I didn’t want to be on the front lines,” he admitted sheepishly. “My preference in games and stuff has always been ranged combat, so, that’s what I was hoping for. Did you really crush a podium with your mind? That’s the kind of stuff I’d want to do.”


    “Yes.” Sizing him up again, I nodded before turning to face Della. “How about you? What was the psychic class you declined?”


    “Cognitive Aegis,” she responded immediately. Her aura was one of confidence. “Tank support blend, and I asked the three we had in town what their abilities were like. Seems like it would have been good against the brain worms, but it seemed really niche. Like its utility wasn’t going to be good for a while. Considering we were living in a safe zone, I wanted more. That’s why I passed it up.”


    “I see,” I said. “Merrick, how good are you at visualizing things?”


    “Decent to good, I think,” he answered, but his aura showed me that he clearly wasn’t sure of himself.


    “Della?”


    “Excellent.”


    “I’m going to touch your forehead and open up a mental link between the two of us,” I said, moving to stand in front of her. She was a head shorter, but she looked at me as though we were no different. “Is that okay?”


    “Do it,” she replied.


    I did so, activating my Mental Link ability. With my practiced expertise, I held back everything coming from my side while getting everything from her. Despite her words and aura, I could sense the nervousness there, but it was almost entirely eaten up by the need to become stronger. She seemed to have an obvious desire to prove herself.


    “I’m sure you can feel nothing from me, but I can feel everything from you. I want you to visualize what I tell you to, okay?” I asked as I put my hand back in my pocket. She nodded. “Good. Think of me as an invading army. I’m nigh unstoppable and you’re the only defender. The odds are against you, but you know what you have to do. Nigh unstoppable doesn’t mean completely unstoppable. Build a wall.”


    Della nodded again before closing her eyes.


    “Eyes open,” I ordered. “You have to see to be a Warmind.”


    A tinge of unease could be felt in her aura as she opened her eyes to look into mine. I continued to stare at her, trying to make her as uncomfortable as possible for this part. It started working until she doubled down, glaring at me with the same kind of intense look Antonio put on.


    Slowly, her feelings started becoming less concrete and more like mist. They were still there, but much less substantial. Her eyes had changed to become less focused, as if she was staring through me instead of at me, and I released the Mental Link.


    “Adequate,” I said with a smile.


    “Was it?” she asked. “I couldn’t tell.”


    “You will, eventually. Sorry, Merrick, but I’m going to take Della along.”


    “Now hold on,” Antonio chimed in. “If you’re going to take her, then I’m going to come along, too.”


    “Don’t,” Della protested, stepping away from me to confront him. “You know I’ve been wanting to get out there for a long time, and you’ve been stopping me. Well, you can’t stop me now.”


    I leaned in towards Merrick, who was looking both relieved and disappointed. “Related?”


    “He’s her uncle,” he whispered back.


    “Great. This may take a while, then,” I sighed. Retrieving the Medallion of Uuska with the Warmind class in it, I waited to see if this was something I could cut short.


    “It’s not,” Louise said before clapping her hands. “Luna family, attention over here, please.”


    “Not now, you red hag,” Antonio spat, not looking away from Della. She, however took a step back.


    “Exactly now. Antonio, if you go and destroy the brain worm brood mother like this, you’re going to end up getting yourself killed,” Louise stated. He turned to glare at her, and she lifted her hands. “That’s not something I was told as an Oracle, but something I know about you and how much you worry about your family. It’s not easy, but I believe Mr. Franklin has someone he can invite that will guarantee her safety.”


    When they all looked at me, I made a face. “Noooo,” I responded, drawing the word out.


    “It will put everyone at ease,” she said.


    “Yeah, but, noooooo,” I repeated.


    “Mr. Franklin, I believe this might be one of those times to not be stubborn, all things considered,” she replied gently.


    I stared at her milky eyes through the hood before sighing. “Fine, fine, if it makes everyone feel better,” I said, throwing a hand in the air. With a flourish, a halo appeared in it. “Really didn’t want to invite him to the party so soon, but fine.”


    While I was lamenting, I could feel the smugness of the Red Oracle behind her hood. Without a word, I activated Glaraphel’s halo. The clouds parted, and a beam of light hit the ground in front of me.


    “What a pain,” I muttered.