Chapter 39: Marching Through the Forest

Finding the correct balance of efficiency and being effective is harder than I thought. It is either too little Ki used to fuel my explosive Aura to be useful, or it is too much that it would most likely empty my Ki reserve in seconds. For hours I began the cycle of replenishing my Ki from meditating and emptying it again by failing to grasp the technique Kurt just showed me, and I am still not closer to mastering it than when I started hours ago. At least it still did me some good. I feel like I am better at meditating now.

After I failed one more time by putting not drawing enough Ki to perform Amplification, a voice suddenly interrupted me from my meditation. "You need to take a rest Cloud. Both your body and mind are already exhausted from training. Sometimes, the faster way to learn something is to sleep on it. That way you will have a well-rested body and a fresh mind, as well as new perspective in tackling the challenges that you are facing." Kurt stood up and brushed the dust from his robes as he speak. "Also, we are going to start heading towards where the Orb is pointing Mark's location. We will depart at daybreak. We may need your keen energy sense so always be ready and don't lose focus even for a second. This might be the most dangerous mission we have faced yet." He said with a grim determination on his face.

"Ok. Let me just go back to my cage and sleep." I felt dizzy by suddenly standing up and fell on my ass.

Laughing at my expense, Kurt offered his hand and helped me stand up. "Nonsense. You will not sleep in the cage. How about we let you sleep in something more comfortable." He motioned me to follow him towards the tents. "Mark will not be able to use his bedroll. So how about you use it? Much more comfortable than the cold hard wood of the cage. It will let you rest as comfortable as possible given our circumstance."

"A goodnight sleep depends on what yer sleeping on. I always say." Ortho chimed in and lifts Mark's bedroll to give to me.

���That is Mark's property. You shouldn't use it without his consent." Philip grabs the bedroll from Ortho's hand and puts it back in Mark's tent.

"Mark is not here, and I bet he wouldn't mind Cloud using it for a while." Kurt said calmly as he prepares his own bedroll.

"No. Since Mark is not here. I am in charge of keeping his equipment safe and I say none party members are not allowed to use any of his items and equipment. That is final. I will not hear any more of your arguments. Especially you Ortho." He crossed his arms as if to prove his point.

"Ok. Then I will give Cloud my bedroll and I will borrow Mark's." Well that is a clever way of using his words against him. Way to go Kurt!

"W-what. That's… Grrr… Okay you win. Here." Philip threw the bedroll before muttering something beneath his breath as he marches towards his tent.

Kurt then gave me his own bedroll for me to sleep in. "Do you always make fun of Philip like this? What if this makes him hate me more?" I asked the monk.

"No worries lad. The man need to loosen up more. The man has that stick in his butt every time we go to a mission. The more a person try to become perfect, the more likely they are to make mistakes." The dwarf said something profound for a change.

"Ortho is right. We need to relax our minds and bodies tonight. For tomorrow, we can't afford to make any mistakes. Not if we want to save our friend from the hands of our enemy." Kurt seriously stated.

We are about to sleep when we heard noise coming from the bushes. We stand in ready in case it is an enemy. A figure appeared from behind the bushes and I was able to sigh in relief after seeing who it was. Alora was back from her patrol.

"How goes the patrol? Want me to stand guard in your place while you rest?" Offered Philip.

"No need. Everything is clear and I made preparations that will alarm us if an enemy does try to sneak upon us tonight. So don't worry and take your well deserve rest. I got this covered." She replied.

As she enters the camp, I was surprised to see something unusual. Alora just smiled. Here I thought the grumpy elf only knows one facial expression, angry. I do have to admit. She looks a lot more beautiful when she smiles. The light of the campfire revealing her sapphire blue eyes made it more captivating while her long black hair sways with the breeze.

Realizing that I have been staring for too long, I shook my head and tucked myself to my bedroll, pretending that I literally drooled over the elf who was clearly hates his guts. I can hear them talking but I block all the noise out as I try to get some sleep.

As I float in a dreamless sleep, I was jolted to wake up after feeling something hit me hard to my sides.

What?! Are we being attacked? I quickly jumped to action and defend myself from my attacker, only to be smacked once more to the side of my head.

"Calm down idiot. It's me." A voice coming from a man spoke.

I rub my aching head and opened my eyes to look at the person who hit me. No surprise, it was Philip. "Ouch. Can't you wake me up normally and not kick me while I'm asleep? I thought we were being attacked. What if I accidentally hit you?"

"You tried, and you failed. I find this way of waking someone up the most effective. So pack up Kurt's bedroll and eat your breakfast so that we can go our way." He huffed before walking towards the edge of the camp to converse with Alora.

Ortho laughs at my expense as he eat his food.

"Man, you just got to laugh at my misfortune won't you?" I complained.

He laughed louder and food starts to fly out of his mouth. "Well, ye kind of earned it lad. You gawked at his lady friend like a moon-eyed love struck teenager, no wonder he hates your guts." He then grabs a bowl and handed it to me. "Don't let it bother ye so much. Go on and eat. You will need the energy. Philip said we will march all day so that we could get to where they be holding Mark as soon as possible. I agree with the man, I just hope we could bag some deer or boar on the way. I am tired of eating veggies. A man needs meat to be strong."

"Amen to that brother." I said as I grab the bowl from his hands. He seem to be confused of what I said but then just huffed and then slurped his food in one go.

"Oh well. I'm going to ready my gear. You and Kurt will clean up the camp 'kay? Not like you two have a lot of items to ready." He then walks towards his tent and started to pack up his equipment.

After Ortho left, there is only me and Kurt around the campfire. We was quietly eating his food, as if he is pondering about something. I didn't want to disturb him so I just continued to eat my meal in silence. It continued for 5 grueling minutes with only the sound of my spoon scooping up stew and getting seconds, until he goes back to reality and realize that I was there.

Kurt cleared his throat before speaking. "Ahem. So how was your sleep? Got any new insight on Amplification?"

"Not really. I am still at lost on how I could use the technique effectively and efficiently, and that is while meditating. I don't think I will be ready to use it in a fight for prolonged amount of time." I admitted.

"That is indeed unfortunate. To be honest, I was hoping you surpass my expectation once more like when you learned Shell in records time." He gave me a concerned look.

"I am sorry I didn't meet your expectation." I apologized

"No, no. It is fine. It was a ridiculous expectation to begin with. To be able to perform a technique that usually takes months to do and years to perfect." He shook his head.

"Don't worry. I do have an idea on how to use my imperfect control of this technique in a fight. It will no doubt be an indispensable part of my repertoire. You teaching me this technique will not be wasted." I reassured him.

"That is good to hear. Now, how about we finish here so that we can prepare for the mission. I heard Philip said we are going to march until sundown so better prepare water and food supplies so you can eat and drink on the road. I have some hardtack and an extra water skin here." He gave me a couple of hard biscuits and a skin of water and then he proceeded to give me the last of the stew and washed the pot with water and put it in one of their containers. I gathered the bowls and washed it with some water from a container and put the bowls inside the pot.

After an hour, everyone was done packing and I was assigned to pull the cart that carries all of the party's equipment. It was heavy but Kurt helps me in pulling the cart so it was bearable.

We continued to march in the forest with Alora scouting ahead. Ortho just behind her, holding the Tracking Orb, watching the pin which was pointing to where Mark is being held. At the middle was me and Kurt with our supply cart. Right behind us is Philip as the rear guard. As we continue on our journey, I couldn't shake this feeling that someone is watching us. The presence becomes stronger and I turned my head towards the direction I felt the presence is coming from.

Alora noticed that I was staring into nothing and asked. "What are you doing?"

I was surprised by the sudden question and glanced at her sheepishly. "Nothing. I just have this eerie feeling that we are being watched." I answered.

Looking at me with curious eyes, she then replied. "Don't worry about that. It is nothing. Focus on your task and let me worry about watching our surroundings."

"Isn't my job to sense enemies with my enhanced senses?" I asked which only earned me a piercing look from the annoyed elf.

"Stop bothering Alora and focus on pulling that cart. Be thankful Kurt is helping you with that." Philip suddenly chimed in.

As we speak, I can sense the presence quickly moving away until it vanished. What the hell was that?

"Hey! I said focus! Clearly you're not listening." Philip shouted from the back.

"Yeah, I heard you the first time. No need to shout. Jeez." I returned my focus on pulling the cart while formulating a plan of action if ever we do get ambushed here.

The sun is already low in the sky when we decided to make camp. There was no clearing in sight so I just cleaned some leaves in the ground and put stones as firebreak for the campfire.

"Hey. What are you doing?" Philip stopped me from what I am doing.

"Making campfire?" I answered.

"Stupid. We are in enemy territory and you want to light a fire? Might as well put up a sign saying we are here to the enemies." He then added. "This is why I hate working with amateurs. So stupid."

This asshole. "A simple don't light a fire would suffice." I answered.

Hearing our conversation, Ortho chimed in. "What? We are not going to light a fire? Then what would I do to the deer that we caught? All that meat. Wasted."

"I told you not to shoot that deer. But you wouldn't listen. Since you already killed it, it would be a waste to leave it there, so I let you take it. But as I said, we shouldn't light a fire. We may be spotted." He continued to argue with Ortho. "Just ask Alora, she is our scout. We should listen to her advice."

"Huh?" She was about to leave to patrol around the camp when she was suddenly asked by Philip. "You want to light a fire? Go ahead. Everything is clear. I haven't sensed anyone within our immediate vicinity."

"Huh… Okay. Ahem…" Philip coughed to hide his embarassment after Alora gave us a go to light a campfire. "You heard Alora. You are free to light a fire and cook your food. We need to replenish our strength for we don't know when we will arrive to where they are keeping Mark." He then started to put back the stones that I assembled earlier and took some firewood from the cart.

"Yay meat! Finally I can eat you again." Ortho celebrated.

"You just ate meat not even two days ago. Yet you act like you haven't eaten meat for a year." Kurt laughed at the dwarf's antic as he help him cut the haunch of the deer to put over the flame.

"Yes! Two days ago! For people like myself who lives on meat, it might as well be forever. You need to eat meat everyday if you want to keep your body strong!" He argued with the monk while lighting the firewood and preparing the spit where they will roast the meat.

"Whatever you say. You meat addict." Kurt said while laughing.

"Not just meat. Alcohol too!" Philip added.

"Get off me back you two. Let a man enjoy his food and drinks." Ortho stated as he finally put the haunch over the fire and started slicing some more meat from the deer to hang it high above the fire to be smoked.

"I will now go and patrol around the camp. Don't wait for me." Alora declared before getting her bow and quiver.

"Be careful. If you find any enemies, don't engage them if you are outnumbered. I know you are strong, but I need you to be careful. Don't hesitate to ask us for help and we will come running for you." Philip reminded Alora.

"Got it." She smiled at Philip before vanishing within the shadows of the forest.

When she can no longer be seen, silence fall upon the camp.

Kurt was the first to break the silence. "Don't worry. She can handle it." He reassured Philip.

Still looking at the direction where Alora went, as if trying to see the elf within the shadows of the forest, Philip replied. "I know. But I can't help to worry you know." he then turn his attention to Kurt. "Am I wrong to worry about someone who can absolutely take care of herself?"

"Not really. I think it is kinda sweet." I chimed in which earned a sharp look from Philip. "We can't help but to be worried for the people who are important to us."

Apparently he doesn't want to hear what I want to say, but in the end he sighed and spoke. "You think so?" He then shakes his head and changed the topic. "By the way, Ortho, how near are we from where they have taken Mark to?"

"I dunno." Ortho answered quickly as his attention is focused on the meat whose oil is dripping while it is being cooked over the fire.

"You don't know? You said it will point to the direction where Mark is being held. You are the one who created the damn thing. You should know how it works." Philip was clearly annoyed at this revelation.

"Yeah, I did say it points to where the collar is at. I never said it can also measure the distance of the collar from the orb. Don't worry, once we get back, I will find a way to incorporate it to the tracking orb. Just give me some gold for the materials that I need for the research and development and I am good to go." The dwarf replied while looking at Philip with clear greed in his eyes.

"No way. Do you know how much you spend on your projects that doesn't even work?" Philip asked the dwarf.

"A lot?" The dwarf replied.

"Yes! A lot! If only all of them are guaranteed to work then you won't even need to swindle to fund your inventions. Investors will surely line up to invest on your ideas, unfortunately you usually go for inventions that are too grand to achieve, that is why you mostly fail." Philip said with a huff.

Ortho went into a long tirade as a reply to Philip. "That is the beauty of it lad! Making the impossible, possible. We have fire to cook our food because a man fancied fire, even though it is dangerous. We ride horses for transportation for someone thought to tame it and ride it to reach his destination. We are living inside houses for someone made the effort to make one instead of relying on cages. A lot of things that are invented were thought to be outrageous, out of reach at first. But because of curiosity to do new things, ingenuity to think of how to make it work, and hard work to actually make it happen, we have advanced to where we are now." He said his long winded speech before turning over the meat so as to not let it burn.

As they continue to argue, I just closed my eyes and try to block out the noise. I want to use this opportunity to practice my Amplification. But try as I might I can't seem to concentrate. The sound of my stomach growling from the smell of the cooking meat makes it hard.

Man I am hungry.