The crack of dawn was a little under two hours away when Lucy found herself being shaken awake by rough hands. It rattled her, causing her to jolt awake. The grab for her sword was quick, and the wild swing of self-defense was even faster.


    "Woah! That was pretty fast, little Opal. I''m almost impressed," said Maria. Lucy''s blade rested between the mercenary''s fingertips. All the power she put behind her swing stopped in an instant.


    Lucy was too stunned to speak. She had never seen such a stark difference in power before. Then the realization that she swung on her own comrade hit her, and she dropped the sword like a child getting caught with something they shouldn''t have.


    "Oh! Goddess, I''m sorry I didn''t mean to"


    Maria put out a hand to stop her, giving her a carefree smile to calm her down. "Don''t worry about it. It happens more than you think. It''s not going to be the last time I had a sword drawn on me like that, and it won''t be the last time you do that to someone. If they''re a real warrior they''ll understand."


    Maria stood up as Veronica came into focus. Lucy could see Naviiur standing in the distance, slightly obscured by one of the intricately engraved rocky pillars that supported the cave. She looked to her side, Anise was still sound asleep. "So, we''re the last ones to wake up? One must get their beauty rest am I right?" She gave a weak laugh, feeling embarrassed to be one of the last ones awake. She went to wake Anise, but Maria stopped her with a devilish smile.


    The mercenary motioned for the knight to step aside. Lucy was quick to follow, confused but curious she now stood with Veronica as Maria crouched over Anise''s face.


    Maria took a deep breath, holding it for the sake of building tension. "WAKE UP! THEY GOT LUCY!"


    In an instant, Anise shot up from the floor like a rocket. Her head smashed into Maria''s, but only the herald was left reeling in pain. Tears filled her eyes as she tried to stumble up to her feet. "Huh? What did you say? What''s happening?"


    Veronica backed away. She tried her best to hide her snickers and giggles, opting to turn around and face the Agamic, who was paying their shenanigans no mind.


    "Oops, false alarm. Lucy was just taking a piss, there she is!"


    Anise held her head in agony and leaned against the nearest wall for support. "Ugh, just like an indignant peasant! Does your kind know only foolishness?"


    Maria threw her hands up, "relax Blondy, no need to start with the slurs before breakfast. It was just a little prank."


    "A prank? I feel like I was smashed with a rock? What did you hit me with?!"


    "I didn''t hit you with anything. YOU hit MY head on your way up."


    "Goddess above what is your forehead made out of?"


    "Trauma and tenacity."


    "If trauma could harden a head like that I would have blown right through you. No, it''s got to be more primitive than that?"


    "Why does it have to be primitive? Why can''t it be the cause of something more advanced?"


    Anise was silent. She looked at everyone else in the room, then to Maria. She stared at her for a good while before taking her eyes off her to look straight ahead. "Peasants aren''t capable of advancing."


    "Anise!" Lucy cut their conversation short with her shock. The young knight found herself standing between the two opposing ladies with a stern face. "How could you say something like that? Where is your respect for the common woman? What of the great soldiers in our army right now?"


    "Fine soldiers are made by excellent women. Do you think the soldiers underneath you would be half the women are without the training of excellent Opazyr knights?"


    "Excuse me, Ms. high and mighty," Maria was standing now, arms crossed. She was trying to temper herself, and she was failing. "didn''t you claim to be a herald of the Hoary church? That doesn''t scream nobility to me."


    "I''m not a noble. I''m from the Vitreo district. I''ve never claimed to be one," Anise scoffed.


    Maria''s jaw dropped. "You mean to tell me you''re doing all this noble Schlong sucking and you''re not even one of them? You''re just some middle-class wench!"


    "That''s still a world apart from you." Spat Anise. She believed everything she said, everyone could tell by the way she stared off into nothing as if pulling on some deep memory.


    "Is that so?" A hand stretched out, grabbing Anise by the dollar and hoisting her off her feet. "Don''t know what world you''re living in, but It can''t be that much higher than ours if a mere peasant can touch you this easily."


    Anise didn''t say anything. She kept her cold stare locked on Maria, her first glowing with radiant mana as she grew more angry.


    "Oh, I get it. Your world''s gotta be Limbo! That''s it! Too worthless to be a noble, too arrogant and self-centered to be a peasant." Maria''s face turned smug.


    Lucy gripped Maria''s arm, she locked eyes with the mercenary, giving her demands without words. Maria was impressed by her resolve and she knew she had to show some respect to her status within the group. She dropped Anise, who fell to her knees. Lucy pushed Maria back gently, standing over the herald with a discontent mug on her face.


    "I don''t mind you two bickering, as I recognize you come from very different places. But I won''t allow things to get physical on this mission! Whatever issues you two have need to wait because I need both of you if we''re all going to make it home alive, understood?"


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Maria, impressed with the level of backbone, literally bowed out of the confrontation. "Yes, Ma''am," she cooed, a satisfied smile plastered on her face.


    Anise straightened out her clothes, making sure her cuirass was properly adjusted. She was smoldering with a fury so great that it seemed to warp the very structure of her face. "Understood..."


    Naviiur watched the whole scene with his mouth agape. He covered his indignant gawking with a hand, looking rather flamboyant in the process. "I''m sorry, but are these types of arguments common amongst your people?"


    Maria scratched her head and chuckled. "Yeah, we got a lot to argue about."


    "I see. I don''t quite understand the crux of the argument. Nobility, peasant, middle class? Those terms have no meaning in Agamic society."


    Veronica motioned him to stop talking, not wanting to spur either side into trying to explain themselves for fear of restarting their argument. "I''ll explain later. It''s... complicated."


    Anise scoffed, "If you can even-"


    Lucy clamped a hand over the herald''s mouth. "Not another word. Especially not about MY soldier."


    Maria choked back the burning desire to make a snide mark anise. She walked over to Veronica and gave her a tight hug. Veronica yelped and took a deep, strained breath. A lesser woman would have been snapped in half by the amount of strength Maria possessed. But Veronica realized what Maria was trying to do, and simply responded by coddling her, much in the way one would soothe a hound.


    Stuck in an awkward situation, Naviiur stepped into the physical space of the spout, clapping his hands to redirect all the energy and attention onto himself. "In more pressing news: I''ve thought of what our next move should be. We should really focus on securing our position. I don''t think we can afford to lose this sanctuary or our foothold on the surrounding areas. So we''ll need to shut it off from being accessed by outsiders."


    "How?" Asked Veronica, her voice was blunt and impassionate as always.


    "I was scrounging around my predecessor''s belongings and found these," he revealed a small stack of disk-like objects from under his ragged long skirt. "These are mana connectors. They allow for mana to form a trail along anchor points. I can use them to make a large barrier around our location."


    "The distance it would need to cover would take a massive barrier. Do we even have that kind of mana?" Maria asked.


    "Maybe we could use the crystals?" Suggested Lucy, shaking her hips so that the bag she held made an obvious jingle.


    "No, I don''t think that will work," responded Naviiur. "To use the crystals for a spell I''d have to intake the power of the crystals into my own being. There''s no telling if I could keep my wits during the whole process." He stroked his chin, mulling over his choices with careful consideration. "I know I could supply the mana. It would just take time, it could leave us vulnerable for hours."


    "Hours? That''s no good," replied Maria. "I''ve got the feeling that today is where those robed freaks will up their aggression, and this is their turf. We don''t have hours to build a defensive barrier."


    Anise sighed, she was still upset about everything that just happened, but she had a mission to do and she knew that. "I can do it."


    The entire group looked at her in a mix of disbelief and surprise. It irritated the herald, she knew she was being underestimated. "Listen, I make no promises that it will be fast. But I can definitely erect a barrier that''s to our needs in under an hour."


    She took a step into the center of the discussion, standing tall with the pride of the Hoary church behind her. "There is an incantation, a story, of how our goddess Eyra shaped our continent. If I''m given time to invoke the full incantation, I could make a stone wall. You''d just have to teach me to funnel mana through those devices of yours."


    Naviiur crossed his arms, looking thoroughly impressed with her confidence. "Then we''ll be relying on you, Anise. We''ll begin immediately, it will take some time to set it up, we have four mana discs, and they''ll need to be guarded, as well as someone to guard you while you invoke your magic at one of the disks."


    Lucy popped up with her hands on her hips. she had an assertive energy to her that had been missing the day before. "Me and Veronica can guard individual transfer disks. I think Maria should guard Anise."


    "Huh?!" Maria and Anise swarmed Lucy as they both gasped in unison.


    "Let''s face it, Maria. You are the strongest of us right now. And the strongest person should guard the most important asset."


    "Can''t argue there..." Maria grumbled.


    "Well, I can!" Spat Anise, "I think it should be you who guards me, Lady Lucy."


    Lucy chuckled, nervously scratching her cheek. "I feel like I''ve got some things to prove first. And I''d rather not risk your safety to prove my honor."


    Veronica stood by Maria and leaned on her. "She''s a mercenary, protecting people she doesn''t care for is one of her specialties."


    "Fine, but I expect a flawless performance." Anise ran her fingers through her hair with sass, driving in a nail of superiority.


    Maria smiled and waved her petty action away. "I won''t let anyone lay a hand on that weave of yours."


    A deep frown carved itself into Anise''s face, but through gargantuan effort, she was able to refrain from making a rebuttal.


    Another clap came from Naviiur, who felt that anything could pop off at any moment. "Alright, let''s get started."


    After a quick meal and general preparations, they set out to work. They spread out, with each person taking a transfer disk to a corner of their desired territory. Their barrier planned to encompass everything between their home cave and their main water supply. all in all the Barrier would cover a litle over a square mile of land. By the time they had all reached their destinations, the sun was just starting to rise. Veronica, Lucy, and Naviiur took lonely posts to protect individual transfer disks while Maria and Anise stood together, indifferent to each other''s presence.


    Naviiur carefully began to start the process of linking the crystals, setting up his allies to take care of the rest. As he worked he watched the cold sun peak over the gray flat tops with a bubbling glee that threatened to grip his very soul. "I can''t wait to see what these ''women'' are really capable of."


    <hr>


    Stomping feet echoed off the high walls as the Crypt Keepers swiftly maneuvered through winding crags and shallow waters. Glowing crystals illuminated harsh mugs as the sun had yet to pierce the deep groves of the canyon.


    Hiri''s face was a mix between determination and fury, as they were moving one member short. Nulara had taken off long before any of them had woken up.


    Linette looked at her leader, worry was written all over her face. "Do you think she''ll be alright?"


    "We can''t think about her right now," Growled Hiri. "All we can do is focus on keeping ourselves alive."


    <hr>


    Near the entrance, Avery stood by the raging stream, getting her fill of fresh water. She hadn''t been awake for long, but she was already plotting out her search for Lucy. She looked at her distorted reflection in a slightly calmer part of the river. Her ragged appearance made her smile. There was a part of her who loved being in the weeds and wilds despite her noble upbringing. She thought she wore dirt rather well.


    Her attention was taken away from herself by the sound of dragging metal. She turned around, drawing her sword from its scabbard, a curious grin greeting the mysterious entity. "Who the hell are you?"


    Nulara planted her scythe in the ground and lurched over. Her Hyena-like grin, filled with sharp teeth and light snickers, made her seem mad. "Your judge, and executioner. You shouldn''t have come here Opazyr, your kind isn''t welcome. That''s something you''re kin had to learn the hard way."


    "Oh, so you''re saying you''ve done something to my little Lucy?" There was a sudden flare-up of mana. The intensity of her aura shrouded her form in a mask of petty vengeance.


    "You can tell me all about it over your dying breath."