At the fifth site, it was the same story. Signs of Foast investigating, taking different shapes to do it but ultimately flying off once he’d gotten whatever he’d needed and going off to begin his journey to the next location, leaving the rest of them in a similar boat as Quin opened more portals to go through, taking them on their way to what should have been around the final known destination of his journey and left Ben’s fingers crossed as the trackers began their search.
“Got it,” one said, the rest looking in agreement. “He was here.”
Alright, that’s something.
It meant they wouldn’t need to backtrack at least, no need to search out for where between the two points he might have been brought down in his aerial form or worse, where he might have diverted course, but it did leave a different issue present along the same line that needed to be addressed before anything else.
“And from here, did he fly off again?”
“No, if we’re right, then it looks like he went off on foot.”
Thank god.
“Thank god. Alright, hopefully he decided to keep that up the rest of the way but for now, let’s go. You four take the lead and if anything comes up, the rest of us will cover you.”
It meant a trek through the forest with no way to tell how long it would take, being all the longer for the size of their group, but they had no choice. While Foast could go as fast as his legs could carry him, they had to be conscious of one another as they went, needing to go at a consistent speed and more importantly, take breaks, with the day nearing its end marking a big one.
With consistent cover provided from the treetops, the woods were never bright but it was still plain enough the sun was beginning to set and with their trackers giving no inclination that they’d be stopping anytime soon, Ben filled his role as their leader, judging it was time to stop before it grew to dark.
“Alright everyone, we’re setting up camp here for the night,” he called out once they came across a space just clear enough to set up tents. “Each group, select two of your members to stand watch, with one taking the first half of the night and the other the second. The trackers are excluded from this given the importance of their role, but if things come to it, anyone besides them who doesn’t end up on a watch today will be on tomorrow's. My stamina is high so I’ll be up all night. Should you need anything, just let me know but for now, begin sorting out whatever arrangements you need.”
With the plan laid out, everyone began setting up their tents, Ben making quick work of his and Thera’s own before he pulled two meals from his rings, giving her one while she looked at him.
“You didn’t sleep last night either, did you?”
“No, but I feel fine. Physically a bit tired but nothing mentally, so kicking my feet up will be enough.”
“Mmh, fine, but if that changes, you better wake me up. I’ll be a lot less confident about how this is going to go if you start falling asleep while we search tomorrow.”
“Will do, but for now, what do you think?”
“I think those four didn’t mention anything about whatever he was tracking.”
“Probably a good reason for that,” Ben sighed. “Foast was sent out to do it for a reason, no matter how good they are, he’s going to be a lot better and whatever traces this thing may have left, they’re going to be a lot older than his by this point. Might not be much left for them to look for.”
“Which also means we still don't know what we’re getting into.”
“Yep, same as when we started this. Still, the fact that we found him at all is a good sign and, even if it’s not much, following him should essentially mean following whatever he was tracking too. Hopefully, as we get closer, they’ll be able to see something that might give us some sort of clue about what could be responsible for all of this.”
“Yeah, what? A demon covered in sharp claws and is maybe an archmage on top of everything else?” Thera asked, having seen what signs of magic had been left at the other sites, same as him.
“I’m personally hoping that was more to do with whoever was killed off fighting back. If it is an archmage… ugh, then we’ll worry about that then. For now, it would be nice to assume it’s something a bit more manageable.”
“Something a bit more manageable wouldn’t be able to do anything to Foast,” Thera pointed out.
“Please don’t attack me with your facts and logic, I’m trying to hope here.”
“Ha, if he’s still not dead then that’s plenty of good news already. Besides, I think you’ve been doing a pretty good job so far.”
“Ugh, another thing I’m hating. Now that I’m responsible for them, if anyone gets killed while we try to save Foast then that’s on me.”
“No, if anything, it’s on the gods who arranged it. Ben, everyone who came here has to have known it would be dangerous.”
“And yet, I’m still the sucker in charge.”
“Then we’ll both just have to do our best,” she told him, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “For now though, I’m going to turn in. If it does end up looking like you’re going to die in the middle of the night, do me a favour and scream as loud as you can.”
“Oh, don’t worry, I will.”
She gave him one final smile before slipping into the tent, leaving him to send a part of himself up to bother his god while his physical body moved to the middle of where everyone had set up the rest of their sleeping arrangements to build a small fire, it being the best location to reach out with his skill to survey the environment while the rest of them on watch slowly joined, taking seats with him as he politely nodded.
“Good work out there today,” he said, trying to be encouraging given his present role to the four with him. “Being able to eliminate so much distance at once is a good sign; hopefully wherever he ended up won’t be too much farther from here.”
“If he wants to be found,” Xov sighed, a sentiment the others there seemed to share to a degree.
“Not exactly the most serious third tier, is he?” Wosh added. “At least from the sounds of it. You all think he really has as many kids as the rumours say?”
“Wouldn’t doubt it,” a third added. “I’ve worked with one and met another. World’s not so small for that to be an easy coincidence. Hell, wouldn’t be shocked if I’d run into more at one point and it just never came up.”
“He is a third tier,” the last joined in. “If he were dead, we’d already know but is it even possible to trap the guy? Makes you wonder if he just doesn’t want to be found.”
“No,” Ben said firmly. “I’ve met him and I can say with confidence that you’re all wrong. I won’t deny that the guy likes sex and enjoys having kids, let that say about him what it will but he has a genuine sense of duty to the world, he’s been working as hard as he can and wouldn’t just run off. Now, if you did want to hate on a third tier, I’d recommend the immortal, Rook. The guy's an absolute bastard and he’d kill you if he thought it would give him a chance to get in someone’s pants. Plus, here we are after the second wave and the guy’s been missing in action for months now. Just a completely worthless waste of a person, worthy of zero respect.”
He declined to mention his own part in making that man go missing, viewing it as largely irrelevant given the other’s overall actions, even if the comments got him some eyes, with Wosh speaking up.
“You’ve met a lot of third tiers then?”
“A few.”
“And when you introduced yourself, you said you were the eldritch mind holder. Not even second tiers introduce themselves by their skill. Should we take it-”
“You can,” He said, not wanting it spelled out so clearly, even if he could feel it change their impressions of him, instantly becoming more impressed as they tried to judge his age and finding that, even without knowing his race, he seemed young. “Don’t mind it too much, the only thing that matters is finding Foast and all of us making it home safe after.”
“A third tier though…” Vox started, looking like he was seeing a celebrity, which Ben had to suppose he technically only wasn’t because word about him had yet to really spread across the world, at least for that particular accomplishment. It was surprising enough for people to learn he was an apostle but now he was one of a group of only thirteen, all of their divine destinies carrying an implied level of fame to go with them enough to create awe in even the group around him who’d surpassed their limits to a lesser extent by becoming second tiers. “Would you mind if we ask you some questions?”
“Not at all. There might be some things I can’t say but feel free to ask away.”
It was a decent enough way to pass the time after all and even if they would only be working together for a short while, it wouldn’t hurt to try and show a somewhat approachable attitude, leaving that how the evening passed until, as one, the group around him perked up, their senses honed from their years adventuring telling something Ben himself had found as well. Something was coming, and at high speeds.