I'm so very tempted to ask Núira to identify me again to figure out if my new [Shrouded Soul] skill will improve every time someone uses an identification skill on me. I don't want to give away any more than necessary though. She probably already noticed that something felt off even if she doesn't ask about it.

I'm especially curious about the threshold from where on the skill will partially or maybe even completely block results. I suspect that its level has to be high than the level of the skill it needs to block, but I really can't be sure without some experimentation. I'll do that experimentation some other time though.

For now we let the fire burn down. After making sure it won't rekindle we leave the tower through the rooftop access. It's still a while until morning, but we hurry to get back to camp anyway. Not just because we don't want to be caught in the fireworks Ediva has planned either. I suspect that some of our comrades might get silly ideas if the two of us are off on our own too long.

Oh, who am I kidding. Someone will tease us about something that hasn't happened for sure. With the other adventurers I can at least hope it will only be some good natured teasing. This is all people who will not want to alienate us or each other after all. No one will pester us to the point where we might take offense, since we all might have to work together at some point again. Best not to antagonize each other with that in mind.

We announce our presence well in advance as we approach the camp. Not too loud though. We don't need to wake anyone who is still sleeping. That too wouldn't be appreciated by most.

Curiously enough it's not Maik who welcomes us back, but the not pale at all Agnes. It seems that there has been a change of watch while we were out.

"Welcome back."

She doesn't raise her voice any more than necessary either.

Núira and I both return to our sleeping spots within the camp to curl up in our cloaks and catch at least a little sleep before we have to face another, possibly exciting day.

I fall asleep quickly, but I wake up much too soon too. It's too bad that I can't just sneak off to have another nap while I'm part of an operation like this one. I resolve to have a nice nap once we are back in town. That's a resolution for another day though.

First things first. And the very first thing right now is our morning meal, which is porridge again. This time it isn't sweet though. No, quite the opposite is true. It's sharp and spicy! Enough so in fact to make me cough and gulp down half a cup of tea before I can think better of it. Someone finally hands me a slice of fluffy and aromatic fresh baked bread once everyone has had a good and long enough laugh at my expense.

Barnim is the one to ask the inevitable question in the end.

"So, what were you up to last night? You and Núira?"

The question is not unexpected. But the orc warrior phrases it so bluntly that I still can't help but stare for a moment. This of course prompts another bout of laughter, from all the others nearby, except Núira, who only now seems to realize how the excursion last night might look to others.

The orc warrior doesn't let up.

"Come on, you two didn't actually expect that you could leave camp without being noticed."

I roll my eyes at this point. Of course not. And I at least know very well that I didn't leave unnoticed. I just didn't expect Maik, or possibly Agnes, to be a blabbermouth. Finally I give in. I try to keep my answer about as straightforward as Barnim's question.

"I left to visit a quiet place I knew about to try and unlock a cleric class. And other than you Núira couldn't wait to find out what I was up to, so unlike you, she snuck off to follow me and find out."

The elven ranger blushes at my rather blunt and not exactly charming depiction of the events but nods in confirmation.

Aila on the other hand perks up immediately.

"Oh? Were you successful?"

I eat some more of the spicy porridge, more careful this time around, before I answer her question.

"Yes. Well, in a way. I didn't exactly get the cleric class as initially intended though."

This revelation causes some confused expressions to blossom on faces all around me. Aila too looks confused at first. That changes quickly though, as she thinks about it. Her face brightens up again quickly.

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"Not the class you intended to get? You got something else? Oh! Did you get a rare specialized class? Did you?"

Before I can even begin to answer Aila's barrage of questions, Núira blurts out the answer.

"Masked Mediator."

She slaps her hands across her mouth right after, while her words still puzzle most of the others, Aila especially.

"I don't think I have heard of a specialized cleric variant called that."

I let out a sigh, looking in Núira's direction. As she still has her hands clasped over her mouth, I answer this time instead.

"Turns out it isn't a cleric class at all, but a paladin one instead."

That answer seems to provide some much needed clarification. It even elicits a few appreciative comments from the crowd that has begun to converge on us. On the other hand it seems a source of further confusion, at least as far as Aila is concerned. Her next words reflect that.

"I had no clue that Maryla had paladins of any kind."

Again I'm not the one to provide clarification. Núira pipes up once more instead.

"Fox! Not Maryla, it's Fox."

I let out a sigh and look over at the ranger who has her hands clasped over her mouth again, one eyebrow raised. In the end I don't scold her or anything like that. I just sigh, grin and nod.

"What she said."

Curiously enough it's Agnes who comments first.

"I'm a little envious."

She doesn't elaborate on that comment though. Instead she switches tracks right away before anyone can ask her why or what about exactly.

"Ediva will get ready to blast the area affected by the fungal infestation one one time. It would be for the best if we have broken camp and gotten some distance by then just in case. In all likelihood the fires won't be much bigger this time around, but we better play it safe anyway."

With that said we all finish our morning meal and gather up our belongings. As soon as we have everything we all get going. Ediva and her group return to the vantage point they already used as a staging ground the first time around. The rest of us departs pretty much in the exact opposite direction.

We stop about an hour later atop another hill. Núira is already back up in a tree to get a better look and I join her up there, on the next tree over too. All of us can already see the forming cloud of dancing embers, even from the ground level, but I still want to get a better look. From a distance. The last time I was entirely too close to calmly watch after all.

The climb helps me keep my [Climbing] skill improving ever so slowly. It's not much, but on an otherwise rather calm day every little bit helps. I can't afford being picky in that regard.

I tilt my head slightly, as I watch the cloud of fiery motes build, while the wizard channels ever more power into the spell.

Ediva is not in a hurry this time around and it shows. I can't be entirely sure, but at least from a distance it looks like the cloud of flaming motes is bigger this time. That isn't the only difference either. At least I suspect it isn't. I turn to Núira to ask. Maybe she can confirm my suspicions.

"It's spreading out further this time around. The cloud of dancing embers, I mean. Or isn't it?"

The ranger gives my question a little thought. Finally she nods.

"You are right. The cloud is bigger. There are more embers. She is spreading over a bigger area too though."

That's good enough for me. It's not just my imagination then. I keep watching in quiet anticipation together with everyone else afterwards. Finally the fireworks go off. It's about as spectacular as the showy fireworks that were my initial introduction to this particular elven wizard. Of course this marvelous cascading explosion is much more devastating.

Whatever was still left standing in the area affected by the first blast is not so lucky this time around. And some more of the woods all around gets defoliated and torched too.

Fires spring up as soon as the initial explosions fade. A cold shiver runs down my spine, as I remember that I was essentially at the heart of this devastating spell not too long ago. I'm really glad that the deep cold water under the waterfall at the creek protected me. Even with the considerable health boost due to my second class I'm still not certain if I could survive a direct hit of something like that.

A cheer goes up below us, as the explosions finally peter out and Núira and I join in as well.

It seems the big spectacle is over. I don't climb back down right away though. Instead I keep an eye on the affect area for a little longer. There are more and bigger fires this time around. I'm not sure if it's due to anything Ediva did different though. No, it's more likely that the plant matter that was only charred the first time around actually burns better and hotter now.

On one hand that's good. The fungal infestation will be purged more thoroughly like that. On the other hand the chance of a forest fire that can pose a threat to us increases too, which worries me a little.

I check the direction the wind is blowing and am relieved. At least for now it will not make the flames spread in our direction. My brows furrow as I try to recall the map Agnes showed up before the big battle. Then my gaze shifts in the direction the wind is blowing. I point in the direction too as I speak up.

"Say, Núira, what's in that direction? Is that where the river makes a wide, slow turn?"

The notification I receive after I ask these questions suggests that my suspicion is spot on, even before the ranger can answer.

[*Ding!* Your skill Survival has leveled up to level 5!]

This time the level up of the skill counts towards my scoundrel class. So, level ups of general skills are in fact spread among classes evenly. That's good to know.

Finally Núira nods.

"Yes, yes it is. Oh! If the fire spreads there it will be caught in a dead end against the river bank. The river is pretty wide there too. Not very deep, but that doesn't really matter. It'll stop the spread of the flames. And they can't double back out of the spot either as everything behind it will already have been burnt. I see what you mean."

Good. Very good. We should be golden then. I don't want to relay quite yet though.

"Let's keep an eye on the spread of the flames anyway. Just in case the wind changes."

Núira nods again and we both settle in for a longer watch up here in the trees' canopy. We have to wait for Ediva and her group to catch up with us anyway, so it's no big inconvenience.

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