Jean stepped out into the jungle, taking a deep breath as he took in the night around him. To his right, Sayed''s back had already disappeared into the brush, heading along the rim of the lake to the west. Erin and Artur were pushing in the opposite direction, going east of the lake. That left Alex and he splitting the difference between the two. Jean opened his gate for the company as Alex faded from sight with a parting wave.


    Creeping energy coursed through Jean''s limbs as he opened his gate. It crawled through his body, filling it with the dark energy of death itself. Jean pulled his hands from his robes as he poured more aether through his gate, going past his first level curse, which was his titular spirit strings, and opening himself to the second level of his curse. The crawling energy of the spirits filled him then, rattling his bones as he spread his arms wide.


    "Spirit Swing," Jean whispered as purple light surrounded his feet and began coiling up his robes.


    Skeletal arms reached up from the light first, grasping and pulling at the air as they raised the rest of the spirit through the portal. A long, bony frame, the top the only part still humanoid, crawled through the air and around Jean, wrapping around him with long white hair in a spiral until the arms came to rest on his shoulders. Eliza, his dearly departed wife, soon rested against him, her empty eyes observing the jungle around them.


    "Keep an eye out for any would-be threats, my love," Jean whispered as he started off into the deeper jungle. "I feel four eyes will be better than two in this endeavor."


    She didn''t reply to him, but that was their normal relationship. Since her death and subsequent resurrection using his curse, she hadn''t been able to utter a word to him. That didn''t matter to Jean, though. Her presence was enough to soothe his nerves as he stepped into the jungle. Darkness wrapped around him as the brush pulled at his robes, and his sight diminished. However, with his curse, Jean didn''t need light to see.


    The world around him was positively glowing with aether. From the tiniest rock hidden beneath a frond to the tallest tree wrapped with long vines, everything in the world glowed with the power of the aether that flowed within it. So, he saw every object around him in bright violet light. It was useful to a degree, but it also came with problems. The lighter concentrations of aether in the air allowed him to see, but they also blocked a little of his vision.


    "A good evening for a stroll," Jean sighed. "Humidity that wettens the bone, bugs buzzing through every inch of air. At least I have great company to share it with."


    Eliza regarded him with her dark gaze and a head tilt before she returned her attention to the trees around them. Jean shook his head and was about to come up with something else to say when he noticed the difference in the trees around them. It was subtle, but there was a change in the aether along the tree line to his far right. Several aetheric blobs there didn''t match the long, straight trunks of the trees or the splayed-out leaves of fronds and ferns. No, Jean was sure they were creatures gathered together in one group and watching him.


    He placed one bony hand over Eliza''s own. Now, he could charge straight at the creatures and reveal himself to them. Perhaps he would catch a glimpse of them before they scurried away. However, that was assuming that they were just creatures of the jungle and not something else. If they were people, they might attack him, which he was sure he could easily handle. However, it might lead to a misunderstanding. He often had enough trouble convincing people he was safe due to his outward appearance.


    "Eliza, we''ll need to hide you for a moment," he said, drawing in his breath and rendering Eliza invisible to the outside world.


    She still rested around his shoulders and could be called back to the world immediately, but it would be enough to put him on a better footing. He couldn''t maintain her invisibility in battle, as it required a certain amount of concentration, but he at least could use it to appear more normal to those who looked upon him. Jean raised his hands as he walked toward the group. If they were merely animals, he thought they would scatter. He hoped to give them pause with his more normal appearance if they were people.


    Unfortunately, he achieved neither.


    Thwip.


    The missile, whatever it was, shot past his face faster than he could catch. Jean ducked to the side on instinct alone before more missiles flew out from the bush. Jean ducked the first few, but there were at least ten in the air, each glowing bright with the imbued aether within them.


    Thwip. Thwip. Thwip.


    "Spirit Step." He disappeared, dodging to the side until he could better understand what he was dealing with.


    The arrow barrage stopped for a moment as Jean jumped behind a tree. He needed a moment to think. If he had charged in now, he would have gotten to the bottom of whatever was shooting. However, he did not come into the forest to fight but to scout. Whether fate would allow him to accomplish that goal was at stake. Taking a breath, he peered around the corner. He estimated the distance to where the arrows had come from and smiled.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "I will show you I can keep up with your moves," he whispered before jumping out from behind the tree again. "Spirit Step."


    Thwip. Thwip.


    Jean dodged through the two missiles that came his way before he drew in a breath. His skeletal legs strained as they blurred into fast motion. He disappeared a second time before reappearing above his assailants. He had a moment to see their forms before confusion clouded his mind.


    "In all my days on the nightsea," he whispered. "I''ve never seen anything like this."


    <div>


    ***


    Sayed cut through leaf, branch, and vine with his khopesh as he made his way through the jungle, forging his path forward with every slice. His gate was closed, and his blessing was put away for the moment. He was no fool braggart, willing to burn down the entire jungle for the sake of his ease. Sayed knew that his power had that inherent destructive nature, and even if the constant buzzing insects around him tried his patience, he would not punish the jungle for them.


    "These bugs try me at every turn, but I will persevere through it all." Sayed forced a smile before swatting his free hand at his neck.


    Slap.


    In the echo of his slap against his skin, the jungle around him turned to silence. Sayed froze, his eyes searching the trees. He knew from his many times hunting that silence in nature meant something was wrong. In any place with trees and such vibrant life, the silence was how prey stopped from being found. While Sayed was a mighty warrior, he knew that he alone would not cause such quiet.


    Someone or something was in those trees, watching.


    "A problem that can easily be remedied."hHe put on a broad grin and drew his second khopesh from his back. "Come with me, Abed, and be ready for this creature."


    He would need to keep his gate closed and his blessing away, for his heat would cause much damage to the world around him, but that did not mean that Sayed was disarmed. His sword skills came to him long before his blessing. Sayed took a wide stance, holding his blades out to his sides, and pointed forward as he closed his eyes to listen.


    While the forest had indeed gone into a sudden silence, subtle sounds still surrounded Sayed. With his eyes closed and his will focused on his hearing, he could pick them out and guess their direction—the sound of footsteps on wet ground, the patter of several feet across the stone, the snap of a branch, and the brushing of a leaf being moved away from its bush. Sayed zoned in on the noises as he took in a breath.


    Snap. Twip.


    Sayed spun on his foot at the sound, identifying it as coming from his left. He swung his sword in a wide arc and caught the object mid-air, knocking it up before slicing it in half with his second blade. There was no need for a technique for such a simple maneuver, and he let out his breath as he opened his eyes. A broken arrow lay at his feet, its two halves sticking up from the tall grass where they landed.


    "I will give you this chance, stranger in the dark," Sayed said, smiling. "If you do not fire again, I will allow you to live. Attack me one more time, and I will not be as kind."


    No additional arrow came for Sayed, and he heard some rustling in the bushes again. Perhaps he had been too harsh in his statement and scared the attacker away. That was exactly the opposite of what he should achieve on a scouting mission. The point would be to find out who was out in the dark, not just scare them away. He sheathed a sword to give himself a free hand. With a grimace, he reached down and picked up the broken arrow.


    It was a simple wooden shaft with a wicked black stone for a tip. The tip looked like it had been cut by chipping away at the edges with a different stone. Sayed ran the arrow across his arm, and it came away with a short line of blood. It was deadly sharp. If the arrow had managed to reach him, it would have pierced through his skin easily.


    He held the arrow in his hand and debated on what to do. He could chase after the person, but that would mean more possible attacks and might even make the person more aggressive. He did not know if he wanted to fight the owner of the arrow yet. They had not attacked him after his minor threat, so they clearly did not want a fight as well.


    "I can push forward against them or continue on my path. One option leads closer to the goal but might cause trouble. The other leads away and would be the easier path," he whispered. "I already know which path is for me; I just pray that my assailant stays their hand. I need answers, not bodies, tonight."


    He nodded and turned toward the direction of the arrow, holding his blade ready while he held the arrow in his other hand.


    "Brother, I come to return your arrow to you." Sayed raised his voice. "I have many questions, and you might have answers. Please do not shoot again so that I do not have to take drastic measures."


    As he walked forward, a solid bulk landed behind him.


    Thump.


    Sayed turned his head in time to see the long black creature coiled on the ground. Its head was pulled back as it watched him with yellow eyes. A snake, as long as the tree it had fallen off of, with a head the size of Sayed''s own. It glared at him in the night before opening its black maw wide to reveal two long fangs. Before he could fully turn to face it, it lashed out. Its fangs lashed at Sayed with the speed of lighting.


    Hiss. Kshaw!


    Sayed spun on his heels, but as he did so, he felt the next arrow coming from behind. He stood between the snake and the arrow for a moment, knowing that if he fought off one, the other would have him. His assailant had played their hand well. They had waited until he was distracted before attacking. Sayed had to choose, and he chose to handle the snake first. The assailant could wait for if he survived the shot.


    Fwip. Thump.


    Before he could even fully turn and swing, the arrow cut past his ear and struck the snake in its open mouth, sending its head flying back and pinning it to the tree. Sayed stopped in the middle of his swing, his anger forgotten. His smile returned to his face, and he sheathed his blade.


    "I see you, brother," he said. "And thank you. Perhaps we can talk instead of fight."