A pair of adventurers came into the tent, their bronze-rank auras visibly impacting the nobleman, who they led away. After a very thorough talking to, he would be placed with the other troublemakers in an isolated group of tents with people watching over them.

* * *

Rufus and Gary were sent back with the other bronze-rankers Danielle deemed unreliable. Gary gave a brief explanation of Farrah’s absence before Jason sent the pair to the healers for further treatment. Afterwards Jason was sleepwalking through his duties in a daze until Vincent had someone take his place. Suddenly free, Jason went looking for Gary and Rufus.

He found them in the dormitory tents, sent there after their healing was completed. Rufus sat on a cot bunk, staring blankly into nowhere. He wasn’t alone. Everyone in that tent had lost friends or family. It was a cluster of misery and shock.

Jason sat next to Rufus, not saying a word as Gary told the story in detail. Afterward, the three sat in silence for a long time, other adventurers bustling around them. Finally, Jason stood up, patted Rufus on the shoulder and went back to work.

* * *

Emir and his people quickly rounded up the scattered adventurers. Even the five who couldn’t be tracked were recovered in short order, found so badly injured that their auras barely registered, to even silver-rank senses. The search teams stumbled across all five while tracking the others.

Emir watched Thalia fussing over Thadwick. He was still unconscious after being healed and she was arranging Cassandra to take him back through the portal. Walking back into the command tent, Danielle was already present. There was a troubled frown on her face.

“Something the matter?” Emir asked. “Beyond the obvious, I mean.”

“It was too easy,” Danielle said. “Our search teams found all five without even looking. That makes the back of my neck itch.”

“You think they were left for us?”

“How often does an adventurer’s aura shift so much their tracker doesn’t work?”

“I don’t know,” Emir said. “I’ve heard of it happening after intense trauma, and you saw the condition they were in.”

“Have you seen it before?”

“No.”

“You haven’t seen it once, and we have five at the same time?”

“It does sound suspicious when you say it out loud. We can have the Magic Society examine them.”

“It won’t be that easy,” Danielle said. “Their families will resist. If something has been done to them, their families will want to quietly handle it. Letting the Magic Society look into it takes control out of their hands.”

“That’s incredibly short-sighted.”

“Welcome to the politics of Greenstone.”

“What about the one from your family?”