Chapter 29 Escape

He was fast for an old man. The way he moved, it was practiced, intentional, the way a Hunter class moved. I followed him, barely keeping up in fact as I headed through a loose palisade, and across a stream.

I heard an arrow sail through the air, landing several feet from me. I didn’t turn around, but kept my eyes forwards as Kaleo and I crossed the river and headed deeper into the forested area.

‘We can’t outrun them forever,’ I said, wheezing slightly. I had improved stamina regeneration from my Unyielding perks, and yet Kaleo was outrunning me.

‘We don’t need to,’ the old man assured. ‘The Warlord won’t risk his forces, not when he’s at war with the vandals.’

Seemed too good to be true. That this old man could walk calmly into the prison of the Warlord and rescue me, when I had failed so spectacularly to do just that only a few hours before. And yet, he was right. He moved swiftly across the plains, for half a mile, and before long the sounds of the Skybreakers giving chase faded away.

I was free. Kaleo had saved me.

Now the only question was. Why?

I was sure the Warlord or his Skybreaker tribes would give chase. That they wouldn’t have accepted the insult or attack upon them so easily. But we were well hidden. Kaleo had built a campsite with the practiced precision of a veteran. Within half an hour there was a campfire, though it was larger and warmer than any I could craft, as well as two tents, with sleeping mats and furs that were more akin to those I’d seen in Ayla’s village than the ones Miggy and I were used to slumming it in.

We shared food. I warmed myself by the fire, and regained my strength. It had been a long night, but staring at the old man opposite, curiosity burned into me like madness.

‘You’re not really level one are you.’

Kaleo had the decency to look abashed, as he laid back slightly, his features lit by the flames. ‘No. It’s an easy enough technique to master. To hide your level.’

‘Why hide it at all? No one can examine you unless you let them.’

‘You stay here long enough, the system starts having difficulty recognising if you’re an avatar or a mob. Lines get blurred. So just easier this way.’

‘And how long have you been here?’

His eyes were staring at the flames. He wasn’t looking at me at all. Picking up some of our kindling wood, I stoked the fire, flickers of embers rising up, illuminating his face further. ‘Get some rest, Reaver. We’re safe for tonight, but the Warlord will pick up our scent. We’ll need to leave early tomorrow.’

I didn’t sleep well. A few hours at most, but the system thankfully registered this as a long rest. My health and stamina bar were at perhaps 95% of their maximum, but I knew that lying around any longer wouldn’t help. I needed action.

I farmed for materials. There were no bison nearby, and the nearest areas to farm horn were several miles away. Thankfully, there were some nearby areas that were ringed as containing resin. Within an hour or two I’d gathered all I needed to craft my next set of hide armour and weapons. I restocked on health poultices and arrows. I spotted a wolf pack, stronger than the ones I’d fought against in the starter zone, and attacked from stealth, before finishing them off with my spear. From them I managed to craft seven precious bone arrows. There was some kind of RNG involved actually, because one of the arrows was a fine bone arrow, which apparently would always critical strike. I made sure to put that high up on my hotbar. I did not want to waste that.

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By the time I was back, Kaleo had already dismantled the camp. There was not a trace that we had spent the night here. I had never even thought to cover my tracks like that. Guess the rules were different in the Disputed Lands. And I couldn’t forget, we were being hunted.

‘Look,’ I said. I’d already worked on what I was going to say as I’d been farming and crafting that morning. ‘I really appreciate the rescue, but I have to get back to my party. There are people counting on me.’

‘Ah yes. The young Hunter avatar and the sabretooth king.’ He smiled again. ‘I doubt either would have survived this long without you.’

‘It isn’t like that. We rely on each other. Miggy saved my life, and without Larry we’d never have reached the level requirements to enter the disputed lands.’