We set out with only what we needed. We abandoned the other camp.

  As we ran, I checked my classes and skills. Field Medic had gained a level, as had Extract Impurities.

  I hadn’t levelled my Cosmic Aura in a while. It is the basis of my affinity skills, and the jump in sensitivity when it reached Journeyman was huge. I could feel things like gravity and Light passing through my Aura. If I got it to Master level, would there be another jump? I levelled Extract Impurities by stretching the skill in new ways. How do I stretch Cosmic Aura? That needs some thought.

  Kevin was a problem. He was a fast runner, but he was a city boy. He had no concept of moving in a way that he didn’t leave a trail.

  “No, Kevin. Don’t even brush against the leaves. You may not break the branch or drop leaves, but you will leave your scent on them. All top trackers have olfactory, which is one of the reasons we wash at most streams.” I was getting frustrated.

  Yes, this was the advanced class, and he was struggling with the basics, but the Dukes Rangers will be at least Journeyman Trackers, possibly with bonded animals.

  I looked at Kiri. She was behind us, confusing the trail as much as she could. “Pānihi scented Vaso behind us and one other.”

  I growled, “Kevin, I am going to carry you for a while.” Even Kiri looked puzzled, but I picked up Kevin despite his protests, applied my Gravity Filter, and increased the pace, which meant even Kiri was pushing it.

  We changed directions and really started to move. Kevin was not having a nice time, but then neither was I.

  We kept this up for an hour and paused because Kevin threw up. I made sure he threw up in the stream. Then we were off again. Revitalise was being abused, and I could now boost Kiri through my aura. The cost is coming due soon.

  Fortunately, the area was more heavily wooded than others, so it sheltered us from aerial observation. Kiri was good, but she wasn’t as good as Yoboc.

  We ran and ran for hours. I pushed the Gravity Filter into the Apprentice levels, which helped reduce both weight and energy use.

  We ran through the night, stopping at dawn. We found a sheltered hollow, and Kevin was put on watch while Kiri and I dealt with the consequences of overusing Revitalise. I saw Kahz fly in as I fell asleep with Kiri in my arms.

  I woke up early in the afternoon. I detangled myself from Kiri, waking her in the process.

  “Pānihi brought food,” Kevin said, indicating the carcasses of two rabbits. “But there is no way to cook it.”

  I looked at Kiri. “Go for it,” she said.

  I skinned them first and then ate both. There was not a lot of meat on them. I did notice that someone had pecked out the eyes, and I assumed Kahz liked them. He joined me after I skinned them and pecked out the parts he liked. Ravens eat most things.

  Kiri pulled some travel rations from her pack, and she and Kevin shared those. We decided to wait until nightfall before moving on. I settled down to clean the rabbit hides, although I was not sure what I would use them for yet.

  I carried Kevin again. There would be time to teach him to move in the wilderness, but it was not now. Kiri and I ran through the night again, this time through the rain. Kevin shivered through the night in misery. I transformed a layer of fur, but that helped me, not him.

  I used Revitalise, but I didn’t push it like last night. The rain would dampen the scents and muddy the trail. We moved from a southerly course toward Hrothgar to a more easterly course. The storm lasted two days, and I took the lead as my Clearsight was more effective. We ran during the day as well while the storm reduced visibility.

  My Endurance Running and Breath Control made this easy for me, and the Gravity Filter reduced our weight, making it even easier. I was outperforming Kiri. Skills make a big difference and certainly compensate for attributes.

  When the storm cleared, we went back to our night runs and day sleeps. Pānihi and Kahz would come and go. One day, I climbed up on the rock we were sheltering under and used Farsight to see the sky. A hawk was circling. Was it a normal hawk out hunting, or was it a bond? I didn’t know.

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  My Forrest Camouflage levelled.

  We kept running at night and I carried Kevin. Three nights later we were running in clear weather sometime after midnight. I was plotting the stars with Farsight as well as running using my Void Sensing. My Mental Agility had been bumped by Field Medic levelling and it was easier to switch between the two and keep track of things.

  “Get down!” Kiri suddenly yelled.

  I was not fast enough, and one arrow hit my shoulder and another struck Kevin on my back. I felt the poison slowing me down. I tumbled, and Kevin went flying. I extracted the impurities, but that didn’t include the arrow yet.

  Kiri was sheltering behind a tree, firing arrows into the distance. My Void Sensing gave me a few seconds as three warriors used a skill to charge me. All of them had shields.

  I sensed another arrow strike Kevin in the leg.

  I just had time to raise Damage Mitigation and adjust my Cosmic Aura and Gravity Filter. I felt weighted down by gravity, and I shifted it for the first time, so I was heavy, and the three charging me were light. With my current attributes, I got 40% heavier, and they got 40% lighter.

  Only two of them hit me with their shields as the third went down under a large black panther as Pānihi pounced. My extra weight did not cancel their skilled charge as there was spirituality involved, but it was not nearly as impactful as they intended.

  I rolled backwards under their charge, releasing the Gravity Filter. A sword stabbed me, and I moved into the strike with Tooth of the Mountain just as the technique was designed and got my feet claws under the shield and ripped into him, her, whoever.

  The other shield bashed me again, but I rolled in Fang Reversal, only taking part of the strike; my opponent took the rest. I Raked and Roared with fury and a Formidable Roar. I felt a sword cut my back, and rolled, pushing my current opponent away. He/She/it was bleeding from a major artery, but they had some self-healing skill as it was slowing. Or maybe that was the Blood Clot I left in her heart. I didn’t have time to check.

  I launched myself at the other one from all fours in a Lunging Maul. Two arrows slammed into where I was, and the third nicked my calf. My Tough Hide meant it didn’t penetrate. The one I lunged at raised his shield, but still went down as I increased my gravity. I outmassed the Orc anyway.

  He snaked his sword around his shield, and it cut my ribs, as he was largely unaffected by my Lunging Maul. Unaffected by the mauling part, he went down under the Lunge and the extra gravity. I rolled into Fang Reversal and got him into a Crushing Embrace. I tasted his blood as my Crushing Bite ripped into him. I pushed Frigid Void into him, but his Cold Resistance was high. It did slow him down, so I used a clawed Death Strike at the back of his neck, and he went limp.

  I rolled onto all fours, looking for my next target: Closing my Wounds and clotting my blood so that I would lose less.

  All three warriors were down. Kiri was nowhere to be seen. Pānihi had just killed my previous opponent, but was limping. Kevin lay still.

  I rushed to Kevin. He was alive. The poison was moving through his blood and affecting his organs. I pulled the arrows and closed the wounds, extracting as much poison as I could. The arrows had notches to carry more poison.

  I picked him up and moved to a more sheltered spot in case the archer/s were still around. I fumbled his pack open and found a general healing potion. It wasn’t ideal, but it would help.

  I started to extract poison from the organs as I had previously. Kevin's breathing was rapid, and his heart rate was fast. His skin felt clammy. The general Health potion repaired the poison's damage to his organs, but did not remove or counter it.

  The Liver and Kidneys are organs that clean the blood, particularly the kidneys. According to my Anatomy, they act like filters for the blood.

  My Extracting Impurities was like a blunt instrument, grabbing the impurity and ripping it out. It was hard when it was in the blood and easier when it was concentrated like poison in an organ. Now that it was at the Journeyman level, maybe I could change it to be more like the kidneys and filter the blood.

  This needed more finesse, and the increases in my Spiritual Agility and Spiritual Perception were the only things that made it possible. I shaped the skill like a kidney, allowing contaminated blood to flow in and purified blood to flow out. Well, that was the plan, but contaminated blood flowed in and out, and I was not filtering anything. This was where Extract Impurities came in and identified what was not supposed to be there.

  There was slightly less poison in the blood coming out than was going in, and I could extract it. I kept the two going to keep Kevin alive. Every time I applied the filter, it got a little better, more efficient, and easier to use. Eventually, a new Skill called Purify Blood was developed. Field Medic levelled again.

  Once I got Kevin back from the danger point, I looked at Pānihi. She had a nasty cut on her leg, which I closed and clotted. I doubt she would need a health potion as she shared Kiri’s Regeneration Skill.

  There was no sign of Kiri or Kahz. Pānihi did not seem worried, so I trusted she was fine. While I waited, I went through the bodies looking for anything useful. They each had a health Potion, and one of them was carrying a Bone Potion. I looted their coin pouches and picked the best shield to take with me. The shield was an additional weight, but I thought it would be worth it. Plus, it is not that much extra weight with the Gravity Filter.

  I decided I was not going to stay here, so I picked up Kevin, who was unconscious, and started walking away. Pānihi followed.

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