"What are we going to do?" asked Lenna as we sat around the table with Kabi, Cekta and Sile.

"We try to free them," I said, without thinking about it.

"It has to be a trap," argued Sile, staring at me. "It has to be."

My fingers tapped on the wooden table as I pulled up my recent notifications. Four levels from freeing crystals, and one level from helping kill the traitor, or whatever he was. It wasn't bad progress at all. I needed to allocate some free stats, and tossed some into strength and toughness. Being under-leveled made it more important to make sure my weaknesses weren't lagging too far behind. Plus, I needed to not die from getting hit.

"I still say we do it."

"Alex…"

I glared at Kabi's tone.

"If we know it's a trap, is it still a trap?" I asked Sile, in all seriousness.

His mouth opened, but he snapped it shut. "We need more information first."

"What about the guy I pointed out?"

"He is speaking with our people and giving up everything he can. He said he earned a better collar by listening to orders and trying to keep the others calm. His goal was to free some of his people, even if he had to lie to do it."

"So, he was doing what you did?"

Sile didn't comment, and frowned. "We don't know for sure. Those runes, while working together, prevented him from breaking a non-system enforced oath. If he did, the collar would trigger."

"Interesting," I muttered, thinking of the runes I'd drawn for Cekta. "That's one way to do it, if they're running out of crystal."

All conversation paused at the table.

"Explain," demanded Sile.

"The most recent collars are thinner and use less crystal than before. They are on folks who are under level 100. The connection is weaker as well."

"The Forgers have a limited supply of crystal," said Lenna. "Access to my world is cut off, and it's my world's magic source, like your runes are here. They haven't been on my world for at least a generation, if not longer."

"Magic must be restricted on your world, then," said Sile, with a thoughtful look.

"It is, and much of that is because of the Forgers. Our people stopped learning how to use the crystals, with only a selected few becoming singers. Alex didn't know about any of that when she learned the profession."

"If these crystals are spread out across various worlds to control slaves, then no wonder they are running out," he added.

Kabi said nothing, while Cekta watched Sile.

"Could they be trying to figure out a different way to control people?" I asked. "Maybe using runes, since they are inside these crystals?"

"They must have more than one way to do so, otherwise they wouldn't have enough people for taking over new worlds."

"Maybe they are on the run," said Lenna. "The system has labeled them as offenders. Don't high level bounty hunters and such hunt down offenders for the extra experience?"

"Are we going to do this?" I asked, taking the conversation back to the start.

"Yes, but let me send some people to scope it out," said Sile, standing from the table.

At least I didn't need to argue about doing the right thing. The meeting broke up from there, with Kabi and Cekta moving back to the campfire to talk with others.

I went back to work, focusing on my profession. The blobs of crystal gave me plenty of stuff to work with, and I had some things I wanted to try.

Step one was filtering the crystals back into their original state. With my upgraded skill, this took time, but wasn't hard. An hour later I had three large crystals sitting in front of me, and one tiny crystal. Water was the least used, and was spread out the most between the collars.

I took bits of each and started working on combining them into one again, just like I'd tried when I created my blade. First Fire and Air, then Forest and Water. Then, I bridged the two.

Time passed, and it fought me. Then I tried a different combination, then another. I lost count of the various ways I tried, and then it clicked.

A notification sounded when the information popped up.

[Energy Crystal, a storage crystal for excess energy. Extremely Rare.]

I resisted yelling in joy, and instead pulled up my notifications.

[You have leveled your profession.]

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[You have created an energy sink. You can store excess energy inside this crystal and draw it out when needed.]

[You have leveled your profession.]

[You have leveled your profession.]

[You have leveled your profession.]

[You have hit level 50 in your profession. You are now a Craftsman Crystal Singer. +5 to INT, FORT, WILL per level.]

Finally, I'd hit level 50 in my profession. The extra stat points were nice, especially since Intelligence and Fortitude would grow very quickly between my class and profession. Strength and Charisma would get left in the dust, though, and I wondered about that.

I pulled the crystal 'necklace' out from under my arm and studied the crystals in front of me. The biggest was my inventory crystal, while the tiny Soar crystal shone brightly, and the rest was the soothing healing crystal.

My stomach growled, and I let out a sigh. I wanted to keep working, but I needed food.

A bowl of hot steaming noodles appeared near my arm as Lenna sat next to me.

"I brought you food. You've been at this…" Her voice trailed off as she studied the crystals in front of me. "That's amazing."

"Yeah, I just need to figure out how to make all of these work well together."

"Eat first."

I quickly started in on the noodles, and peeked at Lenna while I ate.

[Lenna de La Dengu, Pathfinder, Arcane Arrow, Level 62, Friend.]

I wanted more information than that, wondering about her class.

"You can ask, you know," she said with a smirk at my staring.

"How do you know when I need food?"

"You always need food, especially since we aren't killing and fighting things. Honestly, I'm surprised you're not going stir crazy."

"My profession has been lagging behind. What about yours?"

"Up to level 39. The discussions with Rees and Sile have helped." She leaned closer to me. "I'm not sure they want to do the rescue mission."

"Sile?"

"No, the water tribe. We might need to slip away if you are serious about it."

I nodded, glancing around for Kabi and Cekta.

"They are training. Kabi will follow."

"How do you know all of this…"

"The stars keep whispering things to me, things for me to be aware of. Plus, I'm watching what people are doing." Lenna stopped talking and turned to face Rees as he approached.

I scooped my necklace back under my arm, and my newest creation into the inventory slot that could hold crystals. The excess crystals I left on the table.

"You are diligent in your training," said Rees as he sat down, eying the crystals like they might bite.

"Of course. Growth is required."

"The council believes we should send others to rescue the camp."

The rune on my chest warmed in a spiky fashion. Lies.

"They will let us know what they find out," he said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "We're hoping that you'll have more people to free soon."

Another lie, but then also a truth.

"Sounds like a plan," I said, before eating another noodle.

"I'll let you get back to work." He stood up and headed out of the room. Not as many people worked around us anymore, which I hadn't noticed.

"You know what, let me finish this then I think I need a good soak."

Lenna cocked her head. "That might be a good idea. I can return the bowl to the stall."

My fingers slipped into my pocket to the marble that rested there, and I sent my plan to her.

Then I took the necklace back out to try to figure out how to fix this as fast as possible. Thankfully, the halter top covered it, but if I added the energy crystal, it might not. With the armor Shelli fixed on top of that, it would be mostly covered.

I didn't want anything along my rib cage, since I needed to be flexible. In the end, I added it to my inventory before heading to the hot springs. This time, I kept an eye out as I walked down the darker hallway.

My senses stretched out in all directions, but only a few people were inside. A second tunnel branched off the main room, heading away. I entered the spring and found a new attendant. It didn't take long for me to rinse off and enter the pool. This time, I didn't give them my clothing to wash, since it was fine.

I headed to one of the far edges, feeling the attendant's attention on me. I rested on a taller bench this time, closing my eyes. Still, they watched me, but eventually they got distracted and stopped paying attention. I waited until they had triple checked where I was before I made my move, when they were talking to a new person who had entered.

I triggered my stealth movement in the shadows, which covered the entire pool area and exits. As soon as I made my way to the tunnel I didn't recognize, I quickly got dressed while staying in the darkness.

The tunnel connected to the marketplace, closer to the dungeon entrance we had used when we arrived. My connection to Kabi made it easy to find him moving away, toward the area we'd entered.

Nodding, I stayed in the darkest parts of the crowd as I made my way in that direction. The marble in Lenna's pocket made it clear she was headed that way as well. It didn't take long to find the exit, which Sile stood near.

He didn't see me as I entered the opening and started rushing down the tunnel.

Kabi waited for me near the arched exit, and we both left together.

[You have exited the dungeon.]

The boat we'd used to get here sat on the shore, with Geto in it. "I heard we have folks to rescue," he said, while he smiled at Kabi.

"We do, and we need to get a move on," answered Kabi.

Lenna already sat in the boat, and I quickly joined her, along with Kabi. Sile appeared at the archway and smiled.

"Good, everyone is here," he said as he boarded. "Geto, let's get out of here. Head south toward Banco island."

"Roger that."

The boat sped out of the opening and into nighttime across the water. The dark purple sky glistened overhead, with so many bright stars it wasn't even really dark. This planet, wherever it was, must be closer to the galactic core than either Earth or Lenna's world.

"I'm surprised to see you," I said to Sile.

Sile's eyes snapped in my direction, but they didn't settle on me. "I couldn't let you have all of the fun. Plus, I don't agree with the council."

"They aren't doing any of the fighting," growled Geto. "Plus, everyone we've rescued from the Forgers have joined our cause. Kabi's people are highly trained."

Kabi chuckled. "The warrior way is strong with my tribe."

"Will Cekta be okay?" I asked.

"A master asked him on as an apprentice," said Kabi as he found a comfortable way to sit on the wooden seats. "He isn't heading north."

"Oh."

"His master is a good woman," said Sile with a knowing look. "One of the best. She'll treat him like the son she wishes she'd had. He's heading deeper into Water tribe territory."

"Did you at least get to say goodbye?" I knew what it felt like to have a brother go off on an adventure without me, though now I was doing it all the time.

"Yes, my duty is complete."

"Now you just have me."

"Exactly."

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