An Owl's Rise

Thanks to Silas' meddling, it had become far too difficult to get him into the Roost ahead of schedule and it seemed best to wait and allow him to enter through the Roost's scheduled recruitment that would be occurring in a few months.

It was certainly not ideal since it would alter Evelyn's plans, but it was something she could work around.

Several new ideas began forming in her head as she tried to figure out what their next step should be.

"Thank you for your help, Melisandre. I know it did not work out like we wanted, but I really appreciate what you do for me." Evelyn said.

"Think nothing of it. I took you in as my disciple because I wanted to and it is my duty as a master to assist you. When the time comes, I expect you to pay me back." Melisandre said with a light laugh.

Evelyn then asked Melisandre for the details about exactly when and where the next trials to enter the roost were going to be held.

"I know the date when the next trails will be held, but not the location. It is typically up to the Hall Master in charge to pick where and what the trails will consist of. Though it will not be hard for me to find out. It is not like the details are hidden. All I need to do is ask." Melisandre said, assuring Evelyn that she could get her the information tomorrow.

Once that was settled Evelyn told her siblings and friends to head back to the respective homes for the day and that she would come up with a new plan for them by tomorrow.

'We also need to go and inform Otis of the bad news. I told him we would be back in three days at the latest. It feels kind of bad to have him wait all this time for nothing.' Evelyn thought on her way back to her room.

When she finally returned, she breathed in the air that had a sweet scent and relaxed slightly. There was nothing like returning to one's own room after a long day.

Nevertheless, Evelyn did not have much time to relax and moved to her desk where she began writing down ideas for her group's next step.

'I suppose that will have to do. I will need to know where the next trails are begin held before I can decide on which of these plans is right, but I believe that things should work out fine.' Evelyn thought.

She had spent several hours at her desk simply brainstorming ideas, and was now satisfied with what she had come up with.

It was now quite late and she could feel fatigue starting to set in now that she was no longer focused on a task.

After stretching out her wings and letting out a long yawn, Evelyn flew up to her bed and nestled in to get some rest.

The next day, she received the information she wanted about the trails from Melisandre and after a quick consultation with a map found where it was.

"This is quite far from the Velinis Desert." Evelyn said, a pensive expression on her face.

The trials this time were going to be held in a dense swamp on the edge of the eastern part of the continent. While the Velinis desert was located on the southwestern end.

And it was not as if Otis could just fly in a straight line to his destination. That would have him passing through human territories which would simply be too dangerous.

If he could use the Roost's warp portal network it would be easy to get there, but unfortunately Otis was going to have to travel the old fashion way and fly there himself.

'If he flew with only the minimum necessary breaks and took the safest route, it would probably only take him two weeks to get there with how fast he can go. Still, arriving so earlier would not do him much good. The swamp itself is an area that is mostly populated by fiend beasts, and the surrounding areas that are not close to human domains are not much better. Otis would be completely unable to advance during this time.' Evelyn thought, intently looking at the map Melisandre had loaned her.

For the next couple hours she poured over the map and the information on it until she had made her decision on what to do with Otis.

"Melisandre, would it be possible for me to keep this map for a while? Otis is going to need it if he wants to make it without getting lost."

"No, that is my own personal map, and I do not want anyone else seeing it. At the Records Hall you can buy a similarly detailed map, it just won't have my notes on it." Melisandre said.

Naturally the map Evelyn was using had information on it that Melisandre had found out herself and certain things were secrets she did not want getting out.

It would be the equivalent of if Evelyn had a map marked with the magic spring and magic crystal deposit within the Velinis Desert. She would not want anyone she did not trust to see that information.

Nodding her head, Evelyn handed the map back to Melisandre and flew to the Records Hall to procure a detailed map for herself.

'Damn that was expensive.' Evelyn thought looking down at her now only four digit number displayed on her identification cuff.

She had spent all but around eight thousand of her remaining credits to buy one of the best maps the Records Hall offered, and was back to being comparatively poor.

Still, she had put her credits to good use and could always get more in the future.

'Now I need to gather everyone up and go over the new plan with them.' Evelyn thought, feeling exhilarated for what was to come.

Her idea was certainly a bit dangerous, but she felt that it would be good for all of their growth.

Within the next hour Evelyn's siblings and her friends had met back up at Melisandre's estate and Evelyn laid out the plan she had ultimately descried on for them.

"You have been really busy. Did you even have time to sleep?" Rehni asked.

From the moment everyone had arrived Evelyn had spread out her new map along with a bunch of handwritten documents and began detailing her new plan for them.

It had only been yesterday that they had to change their plans since Otis could not get into the Roost, and yet Evelyn had already done an incredible amount of work formulating what they would do next.

"Yeah, I was able to sleep for a few hours, but not much else." Evelyn responded.

She had been skipping meals and only slept about seventy percent as much as she usually would in order to get the rough details for this plan together, since they would need to go and see Otis later today.

"Are you sure that we want to leave the Roost for so long? I feel like we will be missing out on a lot by not having access to the facilities here?" Verrader said, a slight scowl on his face.

He and Aralee had not been members of the Roost for very long, but Evelyn's plan was for all of them to travel across the continent together with Otis.

She had marked out areas where they would stop and be able to gather valuable resources along the way, but it was going to be a several month journey during which they would be cut off from the Roost.

"No that should not be a problem. We can return to the Roost ever month, and actually I have that factored into my plan. All we have to do is stop by areas where the roost has warp portal points set up and we can return even if it is from a different location than we came from. We will have to leave Otis during these times, but it is going to be necessary. We will need to return to the Roost so that we can make it back to the magic spring each month. We can also unload items we have picked up during our journey and buy things we might need. You are right that we will not have access to the Roost's facilities for long stretches of time, but I think that this journey will do us all some good. The Roost is just a bit too comfortable some time, and a little risk can help us to grow. We may not be able to increase our magical energy as fast without access to things like advancement chambers, but getting stronger is not just all about having more magical energy. We need more experience as well." Evelyn said, listing out the benefit of her plan.

In the end everyone agreed, trust Evelyn who was their leader. All of them could see the merit in pushing themselves by traversing the outside world for a few months and only stopping by the Roost once every month. This plan was also the only way that they could continue to build up their relationship with Otis and use his newfound strength as a tyrant rank beast to their advantage.

"Okay, with that settled, you all have four hours to prepare to leave and then we are going to head back to Otis. Now get a move on, we do not have much time." Evelyn said excitedly.