Limits

It took me a few days to create the water delivery system. Others tried to help as much as they could, which made me happy. 'Even though they are at war, they are not selfish, and try to help each other. I doubt Humans would be like this' I thought. With the water delivery system taken care of, together with Crow, we left to check up on Vanauts. "I hope they didn't make too much progress. We need time' Crow said. I wasn't sure, so I didn't reply. 'We will find out soon' I thought.

When we arrived at the previous area of their digging operations, I pressed my ear to the ground, and heard very little. 'They are not slow at all' I thought. We made our way towards Sedon again, and checked once in a while. Soon, we found their current location. "They are about twenty minutes away from the previous place. If we extrapolate the distance… We have around 67 days before they arrive". Crow replied "That's not too much. So what now?". We would need to be ready for them in around 60 days. I had to make my trips quick and short, and I had to figure something out.

I said "If we have nothing, I will be forced to use Yellow Dust. We can't lose Sedon to them. Try to figure something out by yourself, and keep an eye on them. I will go to Boltier, Apium and perhaps Varent if I have time… I have a feeling a massive headache is coming". Crow replied "I will do what I can. If we find something, we will of course use that before anything else. When are you leaving?". I replied, "When I return to Sedon, and tell Lerry how to properly take care of the fields. Make sure everything goes smoothly with them. Not only medical, but poisonous herbs will grow there".

He nodded, and said "Leave it to me". We returned to Sedon, and I explained whatever I needed to Lerry. I also met up with the Lizards, and passed on some exercises to them. I wasn't sure how well my Modified Diagrams would work, so before handing them the poses, I checked up on their bodies. 'There shouldn't be any problems. They should be able to train up to the 2nd Modified Diagram' I thought. The leading Lizard looked at the weird poses and asked, "Are you sure about that? I mean we are not doubting your skills, but…".

I replied "Would I make you look like idiots without a purpose? This trains your hidden muscles, hence the weird poses. Everyone trains this each and every day. If the first pose is too easy for someone, they can do the second. Otherwise, they should stick to it. There are restrictions of course. You can train this once per day. I mean it, don't push your luck with them. Once per day, for everyone. Understood?". The Lizard nodded in understanding.

I then gave them some other exercises and said, "Use weights when you carry those out. You might get tired, and it may not seem logical to do so at the time of war. But believe me, do them everyday. You guys are soldiers, so you should be disciplined enough to follow those instructions. Harlin left you here, and I intend to make you stronger. All clear?".

The Lizard replied "Yes sir!", then left to convey the exercises to others. I didn't linger anymore, and left Sedon as well. I had to head back to Obsidian Mountains first. I hoped that Alicia was already there, if not I would need to visit them on my way back. The journey back was rather uneventful. I didn't meet any enemies on my way, and managed to arrive back as quickly as I could.

Obsidian Mountains changed a bit. The Royal Army was ever present, and many soldiers were stationed outside. No one made any problems for me, as these people were already familiar with me. I made my way to Olrad, and immediately noticed an increase in population. The people who lost their homes in Arangard, were moved between other places. Olrad was no exception.

Although these Lizards were occupying the Upper Olrad, the poorer Lizards had to squeeze in more tightly, just to live off the streets. I went straight to Alicia's place, and immediately noticed it was no longer abandoned. 'Did someone move in here… This can be potentially bad' I thought. I knocked on the doors, and heard some footsteps approaching. I was surprised to see Fox. She exclaimed "Oh! You are back!". I nodded, and said "I thought they wanted to keep low key. I mean, that basement is there for a reason".

She replied "Oh, that guy Lazar took this place as his home, while giving away his old house. Come in". The place had furniture, and was pretty clean. Fox continued "He did this to obviously cover for Suly and Alicia. Your friend is rarely home, so we live here with Suly". I asked "Is Alicia back?". She shook her head, and replied "No, we haven't seen her. Either way, what's the situation in Sedon? The Royal Army is back. Will they manage by themselves?".

I replied, "We have a bigger problem than that. Anyway, I'm here to check up on Suly's progress, and hand you this". I took out the senses sealing mask, and passed it to her. She asked "Another mask?". I replied, "Just place it on, and activate the Formation. I will go check up on Suly". She nodded, while I descended to the basement.

Suly was sleeping on her bed. 'She must be tired' I thought, and noticed a large circle with loads of Runes connected in peculiar ways. 'Is that the Formation I asked for?' I asked myself. Before I could examine it, I heard Fox's scream. "What the hell is this!". I then heard hurried footsteps, descending the stairs. Fox arrived with her own mask on her face, while holding my mask in the other. She asked "What the hell is this supposed to be? It seals my senses completely! What do you want me to do with it?".

I replied "Quiet down. Isn't it obvious? I want you to train while wearing it. Don't worry, you can seal one sense at a time. The next training you will do, is training your senses. If your senses are very keen, you will be much better at fighting". She stood there for a while, not saying anything. I continued "I'm not joking. You need to learn how to perceive stuff without the use of your eyes, ears or nose. If you are good enough, you might develop something else".

She shook her head, and replied "You are crazy… And you trained like this?". I said "Of course, even Crow trained like this. That is where I got that mask from. Crow lost his eyes, and had to learn how to use other senses. Although I managed to return his sight, he still trained. I told you, this will not be easy". She thought about it, and said "I will train. But tell me, was Crow your first student then?". I laughed, and asked "Are you jealous? No, not at all. Crow is not learning the Art of Stealth. He is a Shade, and he has his own techniques. To tell you the truth? He is on par with me, when it comes to stealth. He developed very well".

Fox no longer commented, and hid the mask. From all the commotion, Suly woke up and said disorientated. "Why is it so loud? I want to sleep a bit more… NEX! You are back!". I replied with a smile, "Yes I'm. I can see you worked really hard. Did you manage to complete the Formation?". Suly stood there proudly, and announced "I finished! It was really hard, but I think I managed to pull it off. The best way to see if it works, is to try it. Wanna give it a go?". I replied, "Sure, I can't wait to see if it works too".