Endangered: The Strings of Fate Pt. 04

© 2025 S. Round. All rights reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the author. All sexually active characters in this work are eighteen (18) years of age or older.

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Ch. 32

The first things Evan heard when he woke up were the loud cries of animals all around him. At first, he was confused, but when the fog began to lift from his mind, he realized what he was hearing were birds. Lots and lots of birds. But that didn't make sense. He was in the lab, right? There was no way so many birds could get inside the building. He still felt very tired, and he sensed that he could have easily fallen back to sleep, but his curiosity wouldn't let him. He had to know what was happening. So, he forced his eyes open, and what met his eyes was not a ceiling, but the open sky.

"You're awake."

Evan turned and saw Robin sitting nearby. She tried to smile, but her face looked pale and exhausted.

"What...?" he croaked, pointing up to the clouds above.

"Yeah," she said, eyes following his finger to look at the sky. "We're not at the base anymore. When you get up, we'll go see the others. There's a lot to talk about."

Evan nodded and sat up before grabbing his head and falling back down to the ground. He had gotten dizzy immediately, a sure sign from his body that he shouldn't take things too fast. That's when he remembered the staff and how it was pulling energy out of him. He must have fainted from magic exhaustion. That explained why he felt so shitty and why he had passed out. But what about the lack of a roof and the birds? He needed answers, so he once again got up, but slowly this time, and with Robin's help. It took a while, but soon he was up and moving to join the others. But what he saw along the way shocked him.

Where he had been sleeping was behind a few bookcases from the lab. They had been moved to create a makeshift room for him while he slept. But when he exited that small, confined space, the first things he saw were trees. Instead of the familiar walls of the Far Water research lab, there were only countless tall trees, seemingly full of birds and other wildlife chattering loudly. The floor was the same tile as it had always been, but at the edge of the room it just stopped and was replaced by dirt. Within the space of the tiled floor there was still all the equipment just as it had been during their last experiment. It was a bizarre sight. It was as if someone had picked up the lab floor and carried everything on it to a completely different place.

Robin led him across the lab to a small clearing just short of the trees where he saw the others gathered together. Like Robin, they appeared tired, but otherwise unharmed. They did perk up some when they saw him up and about, and they began to fuss over him asking him how he felt.

"I'm ok, just tired," he said, taking a seat nearby. "But what's going on? Where are we?"

"We've been discussing that while you were asleep," Dr. Franklin said. "I'll fill you in on what you've missed, though it's not much. After the blinding light from the staff consumed us, we all felt a sense of weightlessness before suddenly finding ourselves here in this place. You fell to the floor in a heap at that time, too. It's been maybe two hours since then."

Only two hours? That would explain why he was having such a hard time. It took him much longer than that to recover previously when he had completely exhausted all his magic energy.

"As you've no doubt noticed, we don't seem to be in Far Water any longer," Dr. Franklin said. "Best I can tell, we're deep inside a rainforest somewhere, most likely South America. Sierra flew up to scout, but she couldn't see an end to the trees. Which is unfortunate because we don't have any power or cell reception to call for help. Most of the lab made the journey with us, but without a power grid, most of it is just shiny junk."

"We're without a couple other things too," Kimberly said. "Tiffany and Agent Jackson don't seem to have made the trip with us."

Only then did Evan notice their absence. Franklin, Sierra, Delilah, Chelsey, Kimberly, and Robin were there, but the ill-tempered special agent and the negative redhead were missing.

"Do you think they're ok?"

"No telling," Sierra said. "But they were furthest away from the staff, so it's possible they got out of range in time."

"The staff..." Evan said, trailing off as he turned to look at the artifact.

It was still standing tall on the platform at the center of the room in the exact state it was when he last saw it. The others followed his eyes and also turned to stare at the ominous staff that had put them in this predicament.

"Was it spatial magic?" Chelsey said.

"That seems likely," Dr. Franklin said. "Only something as grand as that would show up as an anomaly on Freya's scans. We're lucky it didn't strand us somewhere less hospitable."

"Speaking of Freya," Kimberly said. "What's happened to her?"

"She's still here," Chelsey said. "Because her model is built on a spirit, her programming is able to run off the grid. I checked on her earlier and she was functioning well. She just won't have access to the external databases, sadly."

"That's good news," Kimberly said. "She'll be useful out here."

Evan didn't catch the conversation about Freya the others were having. From the moment Chelsey mentioned spatial magic, his mind went back to what he felt when he was connected to the staff. There was a will there within it, but it wasn't a human intelligence, and it didn't speak to him with words. It only conveyed a vague sense of watchfulness, as if it were looking into him and waiting for an order or some direction. But when the ball of light above the staff had started flashing different scenes from around the world, he was able to understand on some level what was happening, even if the spell was beyond his ability. He knew because he had experienced that type of magic once before.

"It wasn't space magic," Evan said, interrupting the others.

All eyes turned to him and waited for him to continue.

"Or at least, not just space magic," he said. "I don't think we were just teleported to a new location. I think... we were sent to a different time."

"What!?" Dr. Franklin said, standing up looking alarmed and excited.

"Think about it," Evan said. "Didn't you see what the staff showed us before it sent us here?"

The others thought back before slowly nodding.

"There were modern scenes, but there was also that one that looked like an ancient war with spears and stuff," he said. "And that one with the spaceship? That looked a little fancier than any rocket ship I've seen in our time."

"So... you think it was, what, showing us possible destinations?" Dr. Franklin said.

"Something like that," Evan said. "I know that's not much to go on, but more than that... I just felt it. What I felt from the staff was time magic. I've actually felt it before, so I'm pretty sure."

"So, then... are we in the past!?" Delilah said.

"I think so."

Everyone silently looked out around the lab into the thick trees that surrounded them. The sounds of the birds and animals around them now seemed more threatening somehow as the possibility of these being creatures they had never encountered before crossed their minds. For all they knew, prehistoric predators were stalking them this very moment.

"W-what do we do now?" Chelsey said quietly.

Nobody said anything for a few beats before Kimberly stepped forward.

"For now, we need to secure this area," she said. "Wherever, whenever we are, it doesn't look like we'll be leaving any time soon, and nighttime will be here before long. We need to make this place safe before then."

"Delilah, you and I will walk the surrounding area and make sure nothing dangerous is nearby," she continued. "The rest of you should look through the lab for anything useful. We'll need whatever you can find for daily life. Lights, bowls, utensils, weapons, matches, whatever there is. Gather it all up so we can take stock. When we get back, we'll set up some sleeping quarters and assign watches for the night. Sound good?"

Everyone readily agreed. They were all happy to have someone as capable as Kimberly there to take charge and lead them through this crisis. Evan wanted to help, but he was struggling just to stay awake and talk. As soon as everyone sprang into action, Robin guided him back to his makeshift bed so he could get some more rest.

That's how they spent their first afternoon in that strange, unfamiliar land. Kimberly and Delilah swept through the area and reported back finding nothing of concern. The others raided the lab and managed to find a good deal of important necessities to help in their survival play. And Evan rested under the watchful eyes of his bodyguard. But Robin wasn't the only one watching as all this unfolded. Unbeknownst to the mages below, high up in a nearby treetop, there was a curious being carefully watching their every move.

It had come to investigate when it saw a large flash of light from the sky. When it arrived, it was fascinated by the appearance of the lab full of people and objects it had never seen before. Whatever business it had been on before was quickly forgotten as it watched and listened to these strange folk. If any of the mages had managed to look up into the canopy that evening, they might have been able to spot the being's curious eyes as they followed their every move with a deep purple glow.

Ch. 33

It was a restless night for everyone aside from Evan. While he was in a deep sleep due to his exhausted magic power, the others struggled to stay asleep for more than an hour at a time. Their minds were too anxious to really get any good rest. They were all worried about what had happened and whether they would be able to get home, but they were also frightened by the sounds of prowling beasts in the night. None of them had ever been so close to untamed nature before, and the sounds of beasts all around them pushed their imaginations into overdrive.

Watches were set throughout the night, and fires had been built in several areas around the lab, so no beasts dared approach their camp, but the gleaming eyes in the darkness proved they were there, watching. However, by the time the sun was beginning to peak over the horizon, the curious jungle animals had disappeared, and the songs of birds once again filled the air. It was their shrill symphony that awakened Evan in the early morning, and he found all the others had also risen from their makeshift beds. They all gathered around one of the fires that had been kept through the night and sat in silence, all of them not wanting to acknowledge the situation they were in. But, eventually, Kimberly spoke up since nobody else wanted to.

"Evan, do you think it's possible for us to use the staff to get back home today?"

"I... doubt it," he said. "Even if I recovered all my strength, I don't think I can control the staff."

"Is it beyond your current ability?" Kimberly said.

"Well, yes, but it's not just that," he said. "It's hard to explain, but... something about the magic I felt in the staff felt... incomplete? Like, when it was showing us those different scenes, I didn't feel any way to pick one or change it."

"That would mean we came to this place completely by chance," Dr. Franklin said. "That's troubling..."

Seeing Kimberly looking at him with a questioning quirked eyebrow, Dr. Franklin explained.

"If there is no way to control the destination in time, we could be sent literally anywhere. It would be nearly impossible for us to return home if we used the staff again."

"Is it possible for you to make something in the lab that could assist in getting back?"

"I won't say it's impossible. We have our equipment and Freya is here, but it would be exceedingly difficult," Dr. Franklin said. "But even if we can think of a way to do it, it'll take some time."

He could see everyone's shoulders slump at the bad news. Kimberly nodded her head solemnly before sighing.

"I looked through the supplies we gathered together while on watch last night," she said. "We've got some useful stuff, but we have almost no food or water. We won't last long without those. Today, we have to focus on finding those necessities, and there's no reason to waste any time. Chelsey already used her ability earlier and confirmed there's food for us out there, but there's no telling how much or how easy it'll be to find. We'll just need to separate into teams and search in the directions she indicated as best we can."

They had a brief discussion and quickly settled on three teams. Evan was paired with Robin as she refused to let him go anywhere without her. Dr. Franklin was grouped with Kimberly for similar reasons. Delilah and Chelsey were also put together, which left Sierra on her own. However, it was all agreed upon that was the best situation for her since she could cover more ground on her own than any of the other groups.

"I'll head off first," Sierra said. "I'll be sure to keep an eye on the camp. If you hear me yell, run back ASAP."

Her body then changed before their eyes. Thick, long, white feathers grew all over her arms from her wrists to her shoulders. Her arms grew and stretched and soon became a pair of huge wings. Her legs also stretched and thickened, becoming long and birdlike with sharp talons. As soon as her transformation completed, she hopped off the ground and took to the air with a mighty flap.

Evan had learned over his stay in Far Water that Sierra was actually a Harpy, but this was the first time he had gotten to see her monster form. It was similar, yet different from other flying external augmenters he had seen. For example, she had birdlike wings and talons, but she could not fully transform into a great bird. She also uniquely did not have wings sprout from her back but instead had to transform her arms into wings for flying. Evan thought he would prefer the former method, but he supposed Sierra probably had an easier time shopping for clothing than the other flyers.

With Sierra scouting from above and keeping an eye on the home base, the others soon picked a direction and set out to search on the ground. Robin led the way as she and Evan trekked into the trees north of the lab. The trees were thick, and there was little light that made it through to the ground. Most likely due to that fact, the ground wasn't choked with small plants and bushes. Instead, what covered the floor of the forest were fallen leaves and branches and only a sparse population of ferns. The only thing that made the hike difficult were the gnarled tree roots spreading in every direction and the humidity.

They hadn't been searching for fifteen minutes before Evan's shirt was soaked in sweat. Even the more fit Robin was having to frequently wipe her brow after a while as her hair began to plaster to her face. It was a hot, sticky day, not exactly ideal for a hike, but it made their need for water all the more evident.

Before they left, everyone had agreed they would turn back and head to camp if they didn't find anything after two hours of searching. They didn't want to wander too far and risk getting lost. However, if they returned and nobody had found anything, they would be forced to wade even further into the wild in search of food and water, and nobody wanted that. Perhaps naively, Evan was hopeful they would be able to find plenty to eat amongst the never-ending trees, but as their time limit approached, they had yet to find anything.

"This sucks," he groaned, sitting down on a large root. "There's nothing here."

"Maybe the others have found enough," Robin said as she kept an eye on their surroundings.

"Maybe."

His spirits were in the dumps, and he still felt tired from his ordeal with the staff, so Evan planned to rest there for a while before they started their journey back to the lab. It was disappointing to strike out, but there wasn't anything for it if there just wasn't any food to be found. Kimberly had mentioned something about Chelsey using some sort of ability to confirm where food was, but based on these results, he was skeptical about the accuracy of that power, whatever it was.

Evan was trying his best not to think about how hungry he was when there was a loud rustling in a nearby tree branch. Robin quickly placed herself in front of Evan, but when they saw what caused the noise, they both relaxed.

"An owl?" Evan said, standing up to get a better look. "That's so cool! I never get to see them even if I hear one. That's a big one, too."

It really was. In fact, the more he looked at the owl, the more he noticed how odd it was. There was no mistaking that it was truly an owl of some sort, but it was very large, and its eyes were a strange color. There was an odd purple hue to the bird's large eyes, and Evan even thought there might be a dim glow about them. The owl's behavior was different from all the other birds of the forest as well. It showed no fear of the two explorers and actually appeared to be studying them just as they were it.

"Is it me, or is something off about that bird?"

"It's strange," Robin said with a stern expression.

"Hoo!"

With a sudden hoot, the owl turned around and looked back at them over its shoulder. Then he took to the air and flew a short distance to a nearby tree. There it faced them once more and made another loud call.

"Does it want something?"

"..."

Evan began walking cautiously towards the owl with Robin following closely beside him. As they slowly came to the tree the owl perched on, the owl once again moved. Like before, it flitted to a tree not too far away before facing them again and hooting.

"See! I think it wants us to follow it somewhere."

"We can't afford to chase animals right now," Robin said. "It's time for us to go back."

"Let's just follow for a short while," Evan said. "I'm telling you, there is something going on with this bird."

It was plain to see on Robin's face that she didn't like it, but she relented and agreed to follow the owl, for a few minutes at least. But even she had to admit that the owl did indeed seem to be guiding them towards something as it continued to lead them from tree to tree with the same method. They followed it like that for nearly twenty minutes before it finally landed on a branch and spread its wings wide, giving a few grand hoots like never before. This time, as they got closer, it didn't fly anywhere when they got closer.

"I guess we're here," Evan said. "But why... oh wow! Look!"

All around them were several trees they hadn't seen yet in their excursion. Trees bearing many delicious looking fruits.

"The owl really did want to show us something," Evan said with awe. "It led us to fruit!"

The trees in the area were covered in fruits of all colors. Red, green, yellow, purple. It looked as if a small grove of several varieties had been planted there long ago. As Robin and Evan began picking as much fruit as they could carry, the owl spread its wings and flew off into the canopy where they couldn't see it any longer. Evan was now certain the owl was more than it seemed, but there was nothing he could do right then except silently send it his thanks.

They stored what fruit they could carry in some makeshift packs they brought and began to make their way back to camp. They didn't struggle finding their way, thanks entirely to Robin's experience working security out in the woods surrounding Tourmaline. She had undergone navigation training at some point and had been carefully keeping track of their location ever since they stepped into the tree line. Nearly two hours later, they were the last of the groups to return to camp, but they were received with joy when they showed off the various fruits in their possession.

Kimberly and Franklin had struck out, but Delilah and Chelsey had managed to find a good deal of tree nuts. However, the best news of the day came from Sierra, who informed them all that a small river bent in their direction about an hour's hike away to the southeast. There were cheers of joy as relief washed over them all. They all had legitimate fears of starving or dying of dehydration that morning, but it looked like they were going to be able to scrape together enough to survive after all.

Ch. 34

For a while after finding food and water, the group became busy building up their camp into a safer and more comfortable living space. There was no way to move the lab equipment and the flooring, and they didn't think it would be wise to do so even if they could, considering they wanted it all together for the return journey. So, there was no choice but to build out from where they had initially appeared, even if that meant being a little further away from the water than they would like to have been.

The first task they conquered was to increase the size of their perimeter. The trees were much too close, and they needed more open ground space. So, they set about felling all the trees in a wide circle around the lab. This job was carried out by Kimberly and Evan. Kimberly was able to cut through trees easily with her enchanted sword, and Evan was able to use his magic solidifier to create a long blade capable of cutting multiple trees at once. Faster than any non-magic people could manage, they were able to clear out a wide space.

The unfortunate trees that were cut down did not go to waste. Once Kimberly and Evan had sent them to the ground, Delilah and Robin picked them up and carried them over to Chelsey and Sierra. There the limbs were cut away and the trunks were turned into long logs. After a big pile of these logs were obtained, they were used to create a sturdy fence along the perimeter of their cleared space. It was hard work and took several days, but it was still completed quickly thanks to the abnormal strength and stamina of mages.

While some were busy constructing the barrier that would help keep wild animals away, Evan was sent out with Robin and Sierra to gather a large supply of water. They had quickly realized it would take too much of their time to hike to the river and back every day to keep refilling their water supply, so they dug a deep hole in their camp for a reservoir. Evan's artifact once again came up big as he was able to create a huge bowl to transport a large amount of water all at once. It was a little tricky navigating through the forest while holding so much water, but he went slowly and eventually managed. In the end, they had something like their own personal pond, and they no longer had to worry about water.

As for food, they hauled as many fruits and nuts back to the camp as they could manage and had created a decent stockpile that could last a few days. As luck would have it, they had managed to find some more nuts and fruits on their way to the river. It was enough to survive on, but they had no idea how long they'd be able to get good food from the plant life, so Kimberly and Sierra took to hunting in the evenings. However, there were no deer or other familiar hunting game that they were used to, and they had trouble finding anything that seemed appetizing. But they were able to catch plenty of fish. The river was full of fat, lively fish, and with some patience and superhuman reflexes, they managed to spear enough for a feast nearly every night. After that initial night, nobody ever went to bed with an empty stomach.

Dr. Franklin was busy doing important work of his own while the others secured their camp. He had been tasked with coming up with a plan for them to get back home to their original time. His first goal he set out to accomplish was to get all the machines in the lab working again. This was only possible due to them already being built with magic circuits that could use magic for power instead of electricity. They were primarily built this way for Freya. Since she produced her own magic energy, she was able to move her consciousness between the machines and even power them up on her own when needed. It was one of the ways the lab had become fully automated. However, Freya alone couldn't power the whole lab, so transference cables were being added so that Evan could fill in the gap.

The other scientists helped him when they had the opportunity to do so, but for the most part, he set it all up on his own with only Freya providing what little assistance she could. He was able to manage well enough and soon had all the machines ready to run on magic alone. The next step was the hard part. He now had to solidify the plan to get home, something he wasn't sure he'd be able to do with years of planning. As the work on the outer barrier finished up, and they no longer had to worry about food and water, Dr. Franklin took the opportunity to enlist Evan to his side.

"I'll need you to help me run some tests," Dr. Franklin said. "If I'm going to find a way to guide us back home, I'll need more data."

"That's fine with me. The others don't need me to do the dailies anyway."

"Yes, you've all done fine work transforming this place into a home," Dr. Franklin said. "It almost feels like a tropical resort!"

During the first day of work when they had been busy chopping trees and creating logs, they ended up with a surplus of small branches and leaves. This turned out to be a blessing as they desperately needed something to keep rain off of the vitally important computers. Chelsey and Sierra had cleverly weaved together the leaves with vines and twigs to create a great tarp capable of covering the entire lab. They erected it over the top of the equipment like a great tent and then added some thatching for the roof. It was well made, and Evan was greatly impressed by their ingenuity. It seemed they weren't called geniuses for nothing. Besides providing extra shelter from the elements, it did indeed give the whole place a feel similar to an exotic hotel.

"So, what do you need me to do?" Evan said.

"For now, I just need you to power up a few computers. If I'm to understand anything about the spell that brought us here, I need to take a closer look at the data we managed to collect."

"Is that all?"

"That's all for now," Dr. Franklin said. "I'll need more of your power and your magical knowledge before long, I'm sure."

That's how, after nearly a week of hard labor building up the camp, Evan once again found himself reduced to being a human battery. It wasn't glamorous work, but he understood the need for it and accepted the role without complaint. He spent the rest of that day simply standing and pouring his energy into the machines around him. Luckily, the computers Dr. Franklin needed didn't need too much juice to run, so he wasn't in danger of running dry again.

Sierra, Chelsey, and Delilah would pop over in turns to help Dr. Franklin in his work when they had a spare moment, which was more often now than it had been in the beginning. Usually at least one of them was free at any given time to give Dr. Franklin a second opinion. Evan listened to their talks, but he didn't understand anything related to magic circuits or the transference machine. However, he was able to help out a time or two when they had a question on the behavior of magic that they didn't quite understand, which made him feel quite satisfied.

When the sun set and all the work for the day had ended, everyone banded together and sat around a fire pit that had been constructed near the pond. They snacked on nuts and fruits as they waited for their fish to finish roasting over the fire, and everyone was in good spirits. Sierra teased Delilah about something she messed up earlier in the day, and the big oni woman protested with a red face. Chelsey was quiet, but she laughed at her friends' childish antics. Kimberly and Robin were on high alert as always, but even they had small smiles on their faces. It truly was like they were simply on a vacation. But, despite the lighter atmosphere, they still couldn't fully enjoy themselves. At the end of a vacation, you always got to go back home. And that was something they were beginning to fear they wouldn't be able to do ever again.

Ch. 35

Everyone fell into a steady routine after a while. Some worked at reinforcing the barrier, others handled daily chores such as gathering food, and then some worked in the lab trying to figure out how to use the staff to get back home. Evan fit into the last group, but he did occasionally hike to the river to replenish their water supply with his artifact. It was both good and bad that most of their work had been completed. It was great in that they weren't wanting for much any longer and were relatively comfortable. It was not so great in that they now had more idle time to let their worries fester and grow. But, for the most part, they swallowed down their fears and continued to move forward with hope.

Evan had no doubt he could use the staff again, even if it took all his power to do so. The issue was control. They would most likely be transported in time just like before, and just like before, they would end up at a completely random destination. If there was a trick to guiding the staff to where you wanted to go, Evan hadn't felt any sign of it in that first use. He might be able to figure something out if he used the staff multiple times, but would it really be wise to jump around wildly through time like that? They all agreed that it wouldn't be. They felt quite fortunate to have landed in such a calm place and time, even if it was in the middle of nowhere. What if they jumped somewhere with enemies all around? Or to a toxic environment that killed them almost instantly? There were just too many unknowns, so they would only use that method as a last resort.

One of the issues with choosing not to use the staff again was that they had very little data to use for figuring out a solution to their problems. Freya had gathered a good amount of raw data, but it wasn't nearly enough. Even if they could just turn on the artifact without fully activating the spell, that would be a great help. But when Evan described how the staff pulled power from him unwillingly before and wouldn't let him let go, they realized this was too risky. Still, they had a few ideas on how they might manage it.

"We could build a physical disconnect in the transference cables," Delilah said. "That way, if the artifact tries to run wild, we can completely sever the connection instead of simply closing the circuits."

"That might work, but it might not," Dr. Franklin said, rubbing his chin. "The magical force flowing through the cables might be strong enough to hold the cable together no matter how cleanly we try to detach them."

"It might take Kimberly's sword to completely sever it at that point," Chelsey said.

"I'm not sure we have the materials here to build such connections anyway," Sierra said, looking around. "We might be able to manage it somehow, but if we had to cut cables with swords in the end, we might not be able to fully repair them."

"Then the transference machine might be useless to us now," Delilah said.

They sat and thought for a few minutes, bouncing around ideas, but they couldn't think of anything else to do to make the artifact's activation safer with the materials they had on hand. Then suddenly, Dr. Franklin stood up excitedly.

"Oh my lord! There's something we're forgetting!" he said. "We confirmed back in Far Water that Evan can activate artifacts without the need to touch them or use the transference machine. He can shoot the power to the staff from a safe distance!"

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that," Sierra said. "Will that work, Evan?"

"I don't see why not," Evan said. "I should have greater control of how much power the staff can use that way."

"And if you regulate it well, we can get good readings without too much risk," Dr. Franklin said. "I think we're on to something here. Let's get things set up so we can try it."

The staff had never been moved from the center of the room since they arrived in the rainforest, so they had only to set up their gear around it once more. The shields were once again set around it for protection and all the monitoring equipment was attached in the proper places. The last thing to be sorted was where to put the people during the experiment. The first thought was to get everyone as far away as possible in case something went wrong, but then what if the staff activated and traveled somewhere on its own and left them behind? They'd be truly stuck then. So, reluctantly, everyone gathered around the staff much like they had during the first activation so that something so unfortunate wouldn't happen.

"Ok, Evan," Dr. Franklin said. "We're all set. Give it a small shot, when you're ready."

Evan nodded and began pushing out magic power into a small ball above his palm. It wasn't a lot, just enough to meet the levels where he had previously felt the artifact start to hum, but not enough to stay at that level for long. When the ball was completed, he steadily guided it past the shields and into the staff. The staff absorbed the energy greedily, and that familiar humming thrummed in the air shortly after.

"Good, it's working," Dr. Franklin said as he nervously watched the readings flowing into Freya.

After five seconds or so, the energy sent into the staff ran out and the humming ceased. The staff once again became inert and lifeless.

"Excellent!" Dr. Franklin said, causing the other scientists to cheer as well. "That's just what we needed! Evan! Give it another try, with just a little more power this time."

Evan sighed but nodded. He was sure they had no idea how tiring what they were asking of him was, but he knew it was necessary. So, for a while, he continued to shoot power into the staff from a distance while steadily giving it a little more. The data flowed into Freya's artificial brain and began slowly building a profile on the time magic within the staff. Franklin was sure that with enough data, Freya would be able to find a solution to any magical problem. However, they eventually hit a snag when Evan sent a rather large ball of power into the staff.

This time, the artifact did more than just hum. The ball of light manifested above the head of the staff, and everyone watching held their breath. Despite their fears, the ball of light did not begin showing them various scenes of other places and times, it simply shone bright for a few seconds before it seemed to lose form and waver. The power sent into the staff was wearing out, and the magic became unstable as it was interrupted. Evan expected it to shut down in silence like it had previously, but he underestimated the power in that light. When it finally destabilized enough, the light broke free from the shape of a ball and burst outwards in fantastic bolts of lightning, looking similar to a Tesla coil. For a second, the lightning flashed in an area around the staff, hitting nothing until a bolt finally struck one of the shields. When the bolt of light hit the magic shield, a muffled pop sounded out, and the shield disintegrated into dust before scattering in the wind. Then, everything suddenly stopped, and the staff was quiet once more.

It took a few seconds of silence before everyone watching remembered to breathe. But when they did, a nervous laughter went through them. They knew they had taken the experiment as far as they could and had just barely managed to escape another disaster. Delilah was the first to approach the staff, walking to where the pile of dust sat on the ground. She bent down and ran her hand through it as if fascinated.

"There's nothing left of it," she said. "Totally destroyed."

"I think that was the essence of time magic," Dr. Franklin said seriously. "Time energy, if you will. I doubt anything could be hit by that and survive."

"Well, we won't be doing that again, then," Sierra said bending down next to Delilah to have a look for herself.

Dr. Franklin nodded gloomily while staring at the staff. But, as if remembering what they had been trying to accomplish, he returned his focus to his screen and smiled.

"I think we got enough data, for now anyhow," he said. "I'm eager to see what Freya has learned."

They called it quits for the night after that, and they soon began preparing their nightly feast. They happily talked and joked around the fire as they filled their stomachs, and night fell around them before they knew it. Evan was the first to excuse himself and head over to one of the small huts that had been erected for them all to sleep in. On his way, he stumbled and nearly fell, but he found himself caught by a sturdy arm on his chest.

"Are you ok?" Robin said, helping him get his balance. "You were very quiet all evening, and you look a little pale."

"Yeah, I'm ok," Evan said with a tired smile. "Just worn out. It was a workout using all that magic today. I don't think they realize how much that damn staff uses up."

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, thanks," he said. "I just need to recharge. Some sleep will do me good."

"Just don't overdo it."

"I won't, I promise. If I need to, I'll take a day off between experiments."

"Ok," Robin said and let him go. "Have a good night."

Evan waved at her and lumbered his way into his hut in search of his bed. Unbeknownst to him, someone else had noticed his fatigue and had heard his conversation with his faithful bodyguard. She stood unseen in the shadows between the huts, wearing a mischievous grin as she began thinking up her own plan for restoring Evan's magic power.

Ch. 36

Evan was asleep almost as soon as he got into bed. The bed was more of a cot fashioned from woven branches and leaves, but it was comfortable enough. He used a seat cushion from one of the lab chairs as a pillow and a big soft blanket courtesy of Chelsey. She had complained daily that the lab was freezing cold in Far Water, and she had taken to bundling up with blankets at her desk. Luckily for them now, she had collected several in her work area over the years, and she graciously shared with the group.

Evan fell into a deep sleep and soon had many strange dreams. Not for the first time since arriving in the rainforest, he dreamed of being chased by wild beasts trying to eat him. They never caught him, and he often never even saw them, but he knew they were there, and he ran for his life. However, as dreams often go, the beasts soon faded from his concern, and Evan found himself in an entirely different setting almost out of nowhere.

He discovered that the building he had entered was his old high school, and the bells were ringing telling him that it was time for his next class. He frantically searched for his locker to get his books, but he couldn't seem to find it anywhere. After a few minutes of searching, he realized he didn't even know what number his locker was. By that time, he had seen his friends grab their stuff and disappear, and he began to worry that he wouldn't make it to class on time. Then he suddenly realized he hadn't been to that class all year, and he most likely was going to get a zero.

Evan opted to run away from this problem and left the school entirely, which turned out to be a good decision since all worries about grades left his mind when a new scenario started. He found himself in his room playing video games when his mother knocked on his door.

"Hey, your girlfriend is here to see you," she said smiling.

"My girlfriend?"

"What, did you forget her already?"

His mom laughed and left as a girl his age appeared in his doorway. She smiled and waved shyly. She was very pretty, but Evan could not remember ever having met this person before. Not wanting to embarrass himself by admitting he had forgotten her, he just tried to act like everything was normal and greeted her like he would a friend. He invited her in and she sat next to him on his bed. Evan was thinking of what to say when the girl suddenly leaned over and began kissing him. It felt nice, so he went along with it, and soon they were on top of each other rubbing their bodies together.

Before long, Evan found himself on his back and his girlfriend had slithered her way down his body and pulled down his pants, revealing his hard cock. Without a word, she began to stroke and lick and suck his pulsing erection. He couldn't believe his luck. He had such an amazing girlfriend, and he didn't even know it! She continued to work his member with her mouth, and it felt amazing. Actually, it felt almost too good. Something about it was just different, and it started to rouse his mind a little. As soon as he began to think deeper about what he was doing and feeling, he opened his eyes and found he was back in his hut. He instantly realized he had been dreaming, but when he sat up on his elbows, he discovered not everything had been an illusion.

"What the hell!?"

"Shh," Sierra said, grinning up at him. "You'll wake the others."

Sierra lovingly rubbed his exposed member against her cheek with a heated look before she sucked it back into her warm mouth. Evan drew in a deep breath as he felt the same amazing sucking sensation he had in his dream. It was obvious that she had been at this for some time.

"What are you doing?" he said in a whisper.

Sierra swirled her tongue around the head of his shaft and gave one last suck before popping it out of her mouth. She slowly stroked him as she talked.

"I heard you were low on magic power and I wanted to help," she said. "Delilah told us all about that siphoning spell you use, and I thought this was a good opportunity to make a donation."

She resumed sucking as if the matter was settled, and Evan didn't stop her. It felt too good, and she wasn't wrong. He did need to replenish his magic supply, and with all the work building up the base, he hadn't had much time to train. If she was willing, he had no reason to stop her. As he reclined back in acceptance, he chuckled to himself thinking about her choice of words. He was usually the one giving the donations.

"How does it feel?" Sierra asked, pleased that he didn't stop her.

"It's amazing."

It really was. He had no idea what kind of experience she had, but she was enthusiastic and worked her tongue like an expert. Evan did his part and activated his spell, and he soon felt a trickle of power flowing into him when she sucked his shaft deep. It wasn't much, but he had a feeling things would heat up soon enough and turn that trickle into a flood.

Sierra moaned deep in her throat, clearly enjoying herself as she tasted Evan's cock. She alternated between long slow descents on his shaft and licking and kissing the head like a lollipop. All the while Evan could see her bubble butt swaying in the air behind her. She continued to service him with her talented mouth for a long while before she changed things up.

Her hands grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head, revealing her bare breasts. They were perfect and round, with long hard nipples. Sierra then shimmied out of her pants and underwear and crawled back over Evan. He had also taken the opportunity to shed his shirt and lay naked on his back. Sierra pressed her chest to his and captured his lips with her own.

"This is so hot," she whispered in his ear. "How do you want me? What gives you the most juice?"

"Oh, well... penetration and cumming inside, I think."

"Love it," she said smiling wide. "Then take me however you want, stud."

Having had all the warmup he could handle, Evan rolled them over and held himself over her. Sierra giggled and spread her legs wide beneath him. He took his shaft in his hand and searched briefly for her opening before pushing forward, entering the blonde's soaking wet pussy for the first time.

"Oh, that's goooood," she moaned.

Evan put his finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet, and she mimed locking her mouth shut. However, the lock clearly didn't work, as she started grunting when Evan began bottoming out within her needy hole. He built up to a fast, steady rhythm of strong strokes that felt amazing to them both. Her insides squeezed him tightly and he loved the looks of unrestrained pleasure that filled her face.

His strength was waning as he began hammering her hard, but his magic was getting stronger. Whether because she had plenty of energy to spare or they were enjoying it so much, he had no idea, but the magic he was gaining through his spell was no joke. Thanks to that, and to the fact that Sierra wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly in encouragement, he continued to fuck her hard and fast without relenting.

"Yes, baby," she said. "I'll give you all the power you want. Just... knock me up in return."

"I thought this was a donation?"

"I'm changing it to a trade."

Evan gave the cheeky harpy a few hard thrusts that shook her whole body, and she yelped loudly. He was worried the others would hear and come to investigate, so he clapped his hand over her mouth and continued to fuck her hard. Sierra moaned into his hand and sent a fiery look of desire to him with her eyes. Her heels planted on his ass and spurred him on deeper and harder into her.

With a series of low, soft grunts, Evan shot all his batter deep into the wanton scientist's womb. She moaned and licked his palm as she savored the sensation of being bred. When Evan filled her completely, the siphoning spell hit its climax as well. A huge spike of power flowed into him from his partner, and he knew he would be ready to experiment with the staff more the next day with a bit of sleep.

"Good job, stud," Sierra said with lidded eyes. "You put it right where it needed to be."

She smiled and closed her eyes as Evan settled down beside her. She had barely nestled into his side before she was fast asleep. It was no surprise considering how much power Evan had taken from her. She would be fine after a nice deep sleep. There was no problem with it for now, but he figured he would have to pay attention to how much energy he took in one session going forward. He could sense he had gotten better at using the spell and become more efficient at the whole process. That was great news for his growth as a magician and for escaping their current situation since he suspected he would need as much power as he could get in the near future.

Ch. 37

Thanks to Sierra's help, Evan was able to keep providing magic power for Dr. Franklin's experiments for the next three days with no delays. Each day he would power up the staff repeatedly at different levels, being careful never to allow a bolt of lightning to form, and each night Sierra would find him in his hut and restore his energy. That was the nice way of putting it. Another way would be to say they fucked each other silly.

Sierra was a confident and forward woman. She had no problem asking for what she wanted, and she made sure to let Evan know what that was. Aside from getting pregnant, she wanted to have fun in as many different ways as possible while she had the chance. That first night, Evan had taken her fast and hard in a standard missionary position. The next night, she wanted to be in control. Evan had only to hold on as the sexy blonde harpy drew a huge load from his balls by bouncing furiously on his cock in reverse cowgirl.

The next night she requested that Evan play rough with her. He didn't understand at first until she told him to slap her. He was reluctant, and it took a good deal of encouragement, and some goading, before he finally struck her in the fashion she wanted. That session ended with Evan filling her cunt with his cum while he choked her near to the point of passing out. He was worried the entire time, but she claimed the next morning that she had never cum so hard before.

Maybe because that night had been so intense, the following night was much tamer. They took things slowly and were sweet and gentle like lovers. Evan fell asleep holding her golden head to his chest, her winged arms wrapped around them both like the softest white blankets. However, there was something she said before falling asleep that stuck hard in his mind.

"I hope you get me pregnant," she said sleepily. "It would be so cool to have a baby in the past. Just think about it. Their birthday would be hundreds or thousands of years before their parents were born."

"Yeah... wait," Evan said in confusion. "Would... that be ok?"

"Time child," Sierra whispered, slipping away into a dream, unable to stay up a moment longer after being drained of magic.

He had not put much thought into the matter as he was only following Sierra's lead, but what she said was true. He started to think about the consequences of a child existing before their parents, but no matter what he thought up, his mind just kept going in circles, and he was too tired to try to make sense of it right then. He went to sleep wondering if it was even possible to make sense of such matters at all. Time travel was always full of paradoxes. He didn't think about it again until the next morning when Robin confronted him while they were eating breakfast together.

"It's not my place to speak on such things, but I feel I have to say something this time," Robin said in an official tone. "I know what you've been doing with Sierra."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," he said, assuming she had stood guard and heard him having sex again. "We tried to be quiet, but I guess we weren't."

"It's not that," she said. "It's not for me to decide who you sleep with. But given our current circumstances, I don't know if it's wise for a woman to seek pregnancy."

"Oh..."

"We might be here for a long time," she said. "And the burden of a newborn child would be more than we can handle in the wild. Especially if there were any complications during birth. We have zero medical supplies on hand."

"..."

"It might be best to pause all such activities until we return home."

"Yeah, maybe," he said thoughtfully. "But that wasn't really the reason we started hooking up like that."

Robin cocked her head cutely, silently asking him what he meant.

"So, I've been spending a lot of power each day activating the staff," he said. "And it's been leaving my tank on empty, you know? But I have a spell I can use that helps me recharge my magic. It... well, it only works when I have... umm, sex. Sounds strange, but it's true."

"So, you've been doing it to increase your magic?"

"Yeah, I mean, mostly," he said. "Sierra did admit later that she wanted to get a kid out of it, but she approached me initially because she had heard from Delilah that I can get magic through sex."

"I see. Then, I misspoke," Robin said, bowing. "I'm sorry."

"No, no. You're right. Trying for babies should come later when we're home. It's pretty obvious really. Don't know why we didn't think about that. But we'll be more careful."

Robin smiled and nodded, looking satisfied with the outcome of their discussion. Evan wasn't sure how Sierra would take the news, but hopefully she wouldn't want to stop offering her magic to him. It was nice being able to train actively every night again.

That day they repeated their experiments with the staff. It had become routine, and boring, for Evan, but the scientists working at their monitors were excited with each instance that the staff was slightly activated. He continued to send small bursts of energy into the artifact throughout the morning before finally Freya's voice rang out with welcome news.

"No new data can be obtained from activation at this level," she said. "Sufficient data has been collected to build a rudimentary profile on the spells within."

"Yes!" Dr. Franklin said with glee. "How long will it take to complete the analysis?"

"Estimated time until completion is three hundred hours."

"Damn, girl," Sierra said. "Can't you speed it up?"

"Impossible," Freya said. "The staff is too complex."

"Well, there's nothing to do about it then," Delilah said. "We can use that time to brainstorm. There's no reason to believe Freya will be able to guide us home with just this level of data. We still need to find a way to guide our travel."

"If only there was something we could follow back home," Dr. Franklin said. "An anchor of some kind in our original time."

The brainy scientists huddled around and discussed the issue for a while longer before lunchtime came. They were munching on some fruit and nuts when suddenly Dr. Franklin stood up and shouted.

"I'VE GOT IT!"

Delilah nearly fell out of her seat in shock at the loud noise. The rest turned with wide eyes to look at Franklin as he scurried over to his desk and frantically began jotting something down. When it became apparent that he wasn't about to offer up an explanation, Kimberly stepped forward and asked what was on everyone else's mind.

"What did you figure out?"

"What I was saying earlier, about an anchor?" he said excitedly. "Well, we have one, don't we? Tiffany's watch is still on her wrist in our original time!"

"That's right!" Delilah said. "It's one of Freya's nodes! They're entangled on a molecular level so that information is shared instantaneously no matter the distance. If anything would work across time that would be it."

"What do you think, Freya?" Chelsey said. "Can you feel your node back home?"

"I cannot sense any nodes outside of what is here with us in the lab," Freya said. "However, if the staff's time portal is opened again, I might be able to sense others in the future. I will need to complete my analysis before I can say with any certainty."

"But it sounds feasible, right?" Dr. Franklin said.

"My calculations show the chances as low," Freya said, "but higher than any other idea at this time."

"Good, that's enough," Dr. Franklin said, still writing like crazy. "I think I can design something with the materials on hand that might be able to boost Freya's ability to search and connect with her nodes. I think all work will go towards this for now, ladies."

They got to work on their new ideas right away, and Evan no longer needed to waste magic power repeatedly activating the artifact. He instead spent the afternoon resting and doing some light maintenance around the camp with Kimberly. That night, Sierra did come to his hut to continue their playtime, but as he didn't actually need to recharge his energy, he told her they should put their arrangement on hold. She didn't initially agree, but when he spoke to her about the concerns being raised about having a child in the wild, she reluctantly gave in, but not without making him promise to come to her if he needed to siphon some energy. He said he would, but with the caveat that he wouldn't be cumming inside any longer. That stipulation she suspiciously chose to ignore, giving no response aside from a sly smile.

The next morning was similarly uneventful for Evan. He passed the time talking with Robin and watching the others work. The scientists seemed hopeful their new ideas would eventually take shape and bear fruit, but at lunch time, it was their supply of actual fruit that became the center of the conversation.

"We have a decent amount of nuts still, but we're running low on fruit," Kimberly said. "I think it's time to restock."

"You're right," Delilah said. "But I think we've nearly picked the trees bare."

"We'll need to do some more exploring then," Kimberly said.

"Actually, I know where there's more fruit," Chelsey said, raising her hand like she was in school.

"Yeah?"

"Mmhmm," Chelsey said. "I saw a bunch of fruit trees near the river when I went there last. I had strayed a little further east than I meant to and came to a bank I hadn't seen before and there they were. The only problem was they were on the other side of the river."

"That could prove difficult," Robin said.

"But! I was thinking about it on my way back," Chelsey said. "If Evan had been with me, I'm sure we could have taken the fruit. His artifact could serve as a bridge for us and the fruit."

"That's true," Kimberly said. "And it just so happens Mr. Matthews is free now. What do you say, Evan? Feel like gathering some food?"

"Sure, why not," he said with a grin. "I don't have anything better to do."

Since Chelsey knew the way and it wasn't a terribly long journey, it was decided to head out right then to bring back what they could manage. The party was set as Chelsey, Robin, and Evan. They gathered up their things and said a brief goodbye to the others before marching into the trees in the direction of the river. By that time, they had spent enough days in the forest to no longer be dreadfully afraid of its shadows and noises, especially when traveling in larger groups. However, there was one danger they neglected to be mindful of on this occasion. There were already dangerous clouds building on the horizon as they set out, and if they had seen them, they would have thought better of journeying out on that day. They all knew that in that part of the world, storms could become fierce in the blink of an eye, and being lost in one in the forest could quickly prove deadly.

Ch. 38

The hike to the river proved easy, and Chelsey guided them easily to the spot she had found. It was probably a ten minute journey further east from the part of the river they normally visited to get water, and the landscape was greatly different. Instead of a flat bank allowing easy access to the water, either side of the river held steep cliffs of earth and roots dozens of feet tall.

"See there?" Chelsey said, pointing over the river. "Almost all of those are fruit trees."

"Yeah, looks like it," Evan said before eyeing the steep drop down to the water. "But this looks a little more difficult than you described earlier."

"Sorry," she said, looking down in embarrassment.

"It's alright. I think it should still be doable."

Evan had thought he might need to create some sort of boat with his artifact, but the width of this river looked to be just within the limits of his power. He poured energy into the magic solidifier and began reaching out to the far bank with a long green tendril. Once it successfully reached the other side, he anchored it at both ends on the base of a tree and focused on widening the thin line into a suitable walking path. It took a good deal of concentration since it was so long, and he had to use a good deal of his power, but he managed it in the end.

"There, that should do it," Evan said with a smile. "Looks sturdy enough, right?"

"Yes," Robin said.

"Mmhmm! Good job, Evan," Chelsey said.

Robin hopped on the bridge and walked out a bit first to test it. Seeing that it didn't falter under her weight at all, she flashed them a thumbs up. Chelsey then went second with Evan bringing up the rear. He concentrated on maintaining the bridge as they walked, and they soon made it to the other side without any problems. There, they found themselves surrounded by all kinds of delicious fruits.

"Wow," Chelsey said.

"Great find," Evan said.

"Let's get started," Robin said. "We don't want to stay out too late."

Robin jumped up to grab a low hanging limb and swung herself on top of it. There she grabbed all the fruits she could and sent them to the ground. Evan also started harvesting and used his artifact to reach up and pluck what he could in the trees nearest to him. However, he paused for a moment to appreciate the odd way in which Chelsey began to collect fruit. His mouth fell open as he watched a tree bend over on its own and lower its hanging fruit directly into her hand. She gently took all that was offered with a quiet thank you.

"What the hell!?" Evan said, mildly alarmed. "Are these trees alive!?"

Chelsey giggled and shook her head as she watched the tree before her settle back into its original position.

"All trees are alive," she said. "But I'm able to talk to them and ask them to do things they otherwise wouldn't since I'm a dryad."

"Whoa, that's cool," he said. "What else can you make them do?"

"Nothing much more than that," she said. "They listen well, but they're limited by their deep roots. At most, they can bend for me or grow a little."

"Well, that's still pretty cool."

The three of them fanned out amongst the trees and began picking all they could get their hands on in their own fashion. They had brought along several crate boxes from the lab and began steadily filling them up for the return journey. As they continued to gather more and more, they were amazed to find more fruit trees further into the forest away from the river. In fact, they couldn't see the end of them for a good distance.

"This is incredible," Evan said. "Why are there so many fruit trees here?"

"It's possible this was some sort of orchard planted by a community of people living near here," Chelsey said. "That would explain the concentration of so many different varieties."

"You think there are people living here?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"It's possible," she said. "But it's possible we are already at a time in history where those civilizations have disappeared."

"Huh," Evan said.

He peered into the nearby trees and tried to imagine people living there. It didn't seem like a hospitable place for folk to live, but then again, they were getting by just fine. Maybe if they did find some people, they would be able to figure out exactly what time period they were in. But somehow, he felt like he'd rather avoid meeting the people of this time altogether. People rarely took well to invaders plundering their resources, no matter what age it was.

Despite his misgivings, Evan and the others continued to plunder away, filling up their boxes leisurely. However, as they discovered more and more trees and sought out the best of the fruit available, they were unwittingly drawn further and further into the grove and forgot all about time. They had just about filled up every box they brought when they felt the first drops of rain. They all instinctively looked up at the sky and were surprised to find angry looking dark clouds above them.

"We need to leave," Robin said.

The others nodded and began gathering their boxes together. With the miracles of magic augmentation, they were each able to carry a tall stack of boxes easily, even Chelsey who looked too thin and delicate for such heavy lifting. Still, it did slow them down a bit, and they did not have any time to spare. By the time they had collected their goods and started walking back towards the river, the sprinkle of rain had quickly turned into a downpour.

Not a minute passed after the torrent of rain began before a fierce wind began to sweep through the trees. It was clear this was going to be no simple rain, and an actual storm was moving in quickly. The wind pushed and pulled them as it whipped around the trees. Eventually the slippery ground and the wind were enough to cause Evan to lose his balance. He stumbled slightly and allowed a couple of his fruit boxes to spill onto the ground. Not wanting their trip to be in vain, they stopped and made sure to gather the fruit again, but it further delayed them in their return to the river, which proved costly.

They had delved deeper into the forest than they realized, and their return was much slower than their going had been. When they finally made it back to the river, it had already changed much from when they had crossed it earlier that afternoon. The water level had risen significantly, and the current was strong and choppy. Evan was thankful they didn't need to swim or boat across, but there was still a problem.

"I can't see the other side," he yelled out through the noise of the wind and rain. "I don't think I can secure the bridge like this."

"What do we do?" Chelsey said.

"We'll have to wait out the storm here," Robin said with a disappointed look.

"I'm sorry," Evan said, feeling guilty about dropping his fruit.

Robin shook her head.

"It's not your fault, it's mine," she said. "I should have paid closer attention. Let's go back into the trees for some shelter."

Unfortunately, they hesitated at the edge of the river for a moment too long. Whether it was fate or mere coincidence, it was that exact moment that a piece of the bank gave way. The fierce current, inflated by the rain, had begun eroding the edges of the banks, and the three of them were standing in just the wrong spot. Before they even knew what was happening, they were in a free fall down toward the mighty river along with the earth beneath their feet.

"AHHH!"

Chelsey screamed and Robin was silently shocked. Evan felt like he saw it all happen in slow motion, and he knew there was no stopping it. They had been caught completely off guard by mother nature, and they were paying the price. But as they began to fall, all Evan could think of was that churning sweeping water beneath them. It filled him with dread, and so he instinctively activated his defenses. Just before the three of them reached the water, a great light sprang forth from Evan's wrist and surrounded them. A green ball containing the three mages hit the water with a huge splash. They initially sunk deep under the weight of their fall, but they soon found themselves popped back up to the surface where they were helplessly carried away downstream.

The green ball kept them dry and afloat, but it was not very stable, especially with three people inside it. The current rolled them around, causing their bodies to spin and crash into each other like a washing machine. Evan had thoughts of using his artifact to reach out to a nearby bank, but the chaos caused by the spinning inside the ball prevented him from doing such precise work. He could barely tell which way was up or down before he would be spun around and lose all sense again. He soon gave up trying and concentrated on maintaining the defense that was keeping them alive and together for the time being.

And so, the three of them were swept away down river, far further south than their group had yet explored. They had no way of knowing where or when they would stop. They were completely at the mercy of the angry river and the storm which continued to pound them with thick rain and howling wind. Bumps and bruises accumulated on them all as they were thrown about within their pod, but what grew the most in their minds was panic. What if they were unable to find their way back to their base when their unwilling journey finally ended? What if they were lost in the jungle without the shelter of the lab? What if... the shield failed, and the river swallowed them completely?

Ch. 39

The trio of helpless mages tumbled down the river for an unknown time. To Evan, it felt like a day had come and gone, but he knew it most likely was only a matter of an hour or two. Still, they had no idea how long they bounced and bobbed along the river before their journey finally came to a halt. It was a sudden and jarring stop for them that they could not see was coming. All they knew was they had crashed into something and were no longer moving. They squirmed around within the ball to get right side up and finally were able to take stock of the situation.

Not for the first time, the river had thrown them against the bank, but this time they had gotten caught in the tangle of a great tree's long thick roots. The relief was evident on all their faces as they saw what happened, but they didn't speak for a few minutes as they sat still and recovered from their dizziness and aches. Evan was perhaps most tired of all, having had to maintain concentration throughout all the madness in order to keep up the shield, so he was probably the happiest of the three to just sit and rest for a moment. However, Robin soon spoke some sense into him.

"Evan... we need to get out of the water."

He knew she was right and that it wasn't really the time to rest yet. So, wearily, he began searching for a way to pull them from the water. After scoping out the best path to free them from the roots, he used a strand of his solid green magic to reach up and grab hold of a thick branch. Using that, he was able to haul the bubble out of the river and onto the bank. There, finally, he released his magic, and they were on solid earth again at long last.

"I never thought I'd enjoy lying in mud so much," Evan said, sprawled out on the soaked earth beneath the trees.

"Mmhmm," Chelsey said tiredly.

"I understand," Robin said standing up. "But we can't stay here. It's still raining, and it's almost dark. We have to find some shelter."

Evan and Chelsey groaned, but they stood and began following Robin into the trees.

"Should we really go too far?" Evan said. "We have no idea where we are."

"We won't leave sight of the river, and we'll make our way back upstream," Robin said. "That's our best course of action for now. Hopefully we'll find a place to rest along the way."

They trudged along in the direction Robin indicated and kept their eyes open for anything that might make a decent shelter from the rain in the fast-approaching night. There was no telling how far they were from their starting place, but they hiked for a good hour back upstream before the light began to fail them. It didn't help that the thick clouds were blocking what little light remained in the late evening, so even though the sun had yet to fully set, they could go no further.

The best shelter they managed to find was a rocky outcrop that provided some cover from the driving rain. There was enough space beneath the lowest rocks for them to sit and lay comfortably. The space wasn't large enough to be considered a cave, but it was like the beginnings of one, and they were thankful, nonetheless. The finishing touches on their shelter came courtesy of Chelsey, who asked the nearest trees to bend and stretch their great branches over them to fully enclose the area. It worked well enough, and they felt better almost immediately as they no longer felt the rain and wind.

They did what they could to start a fire, but it proved impossible. All the sticks and kindling they could find were soaked, and they couldn't shield any sparks they made from the wind. But Chelsey wondered if perhaps there was another method they could use.

"Evan? Can you use a spell, maybe?"

"Umm... I've never made fire before," he said glumly. "I don't think I know how."

"Oh..."

Both Chelsey and Evan looked even more depressed after that, but in reality they were just cold and weary and in need of sleep.

"You two get some rest," Robin said. "I'll take the first watch."

Evan would have liked to have valiantly offered to keep a look out instead, but he was in no shape for it. He had used so much magic, and his body was banged up. He accepted Robin's offer with a gentle nod and did his best to get comfy underneath the protective outcrop of stone. He wasn't accustomed to sleeping outside on the ground, so he expected to have trouble finding sleep, but he was so exhausted that it didn't matter. As soon as he closed his eyes, he was out.

He woke up the next morning to find Chelsey and Robin both awake and sitting nearby. As he sat up, he grimaced at the soreness he felt in his body. He knew it was both from overuse and from banging around on the river. When the others noticed him moving, they offered small smiles and waves.

"Morning," Evan said.

"Morning," they said together.

The rain had apparently stopped at some point while he was sleeping, which was a huge blessing. The sky was still gray, but it didn't look so angry, and the wind no longer whipped wildly through the trees.

"So, what's the plan now?" Evan said.

"Well... we still need to follow the river and try to return to the fruit tree grove," Robin said. "But we have no idea how long it will take us to get there, or what kind of terrain we will have to traverse on the way. It might be wise to take a quick look for any food that might be nearby."

"That's true," Evan said. "None of us had any dinner yesterday, and I'm sure you're both as starved as I am."

Robin nodded.

"I might be able to help," Chelsey said. "If I can find a cooperative tree nearby, they might point me towards fruit or nuts."

"They can do that?"

"Mmhmm," she said. "But it doesn't always work. They don't speak in any language, it's more like feelings, and it can be difficult to discern sometimes. Also, sometimes they don't want to help."

"Probably worth a try at least."

Chelsey stood and walked over to a nearby tree. Evan followed her, excited to watch someone converse with a plant. Chelsey began by extending her arm to touch the solid trunk before her. Then Evan's eyes grew wide as he saw Chelsey's arm begin to undergo a transformation. Her arm grew in bulk and length, but the most striking change was the odd texture it took on. It became rough and knotted in some areas, and Evan wondered what was happening, but then it hit him. Her arm was covered in bark! Her arm had become like a human branch, her fingers like twigs with small leaves sprouting all over.

Chelsey closed her eyes as her transformed hand connected with the old tree of the rain forest. She stayed like that for a full minute, showing no signs of speaking or moving, before she finally opened her eyes with a smile.

"This is a kind tree," she reported. "And from what I can gather, there are several nut bearing trees not too far from here."

"Amazing," Evan said.

Chelsey had to be one of the most talented augmenters Evan had encountered. The abilities of dryads seemed to be much more magical than many of the other mages in Tourmaline. Evan would bet that talking to trees and making them act as you please was something that didn't come easily for even experienced magicians that could work magic to achieve nearly anything. He thought perhaps the magician that had helped create dryads was one with an affinity for plant life. It made him wonder what other types of magical people there might be out there. Most of those he had seen so far were only capable of a transformation into an animal, but clearly there were more sophisticated mages still to be discovered.

The information provided by the kindly tree was correct. They found a few nut-bearing trees nearly fifty yards south, not very far away at all. Chelsey used her ability to speak to the trees again, and they offered their nuts freely. With a great shake of their branches, hard nuts fell like rain to the earth below. They all gathered what they could and brought it back to their little hollow. There they ate a simple, but much-needed meal.

When they had eaten as many nuts as they could handle, they returned to the nut trees and restocked their supply before they finally began their hike back upstream. Evan had hoped that the hike back would be easy and perhaps they might make it back to camp before noon, but even though they knew the direction to go, the landscape was not so easily traversed. This side of the river was full of rocky terrain, which they were often forced to walk a long while out of the way just to circumvent. There were also many slow places where they had to climb up or down delicately to avoid tumbling down steep hills. The challenges continued to mount, and the day was fully spent before they knew it. Once again, they were forced to make shelter for the night.

Ch. 40

As it was no longer raining, they did not have to be as picky about where they made their camp that night. They found a nice bare patch of earth not too far from the river and set about making a few beds of leaves, which was at least better than the muddy and rocky forest floor. The last light began to fade on the horizon and darkness began to take hold around them once again. They knew they soon wouldn't be able to see their hands before their faces.

"I'll try to get a fire going," Robin said. "Without the wind and rain, it should be manageable."

They were hopeful that would be the case, but reality proved different. The leaves, twigs, and grasses around them were still wet and dewy from the hard rain and would not catch fire no matter what Robin tried. She did her best to create heat from friction or to create sparks from stones, but nothing took.

"Sorry," Robin said, giving up in defeat.

Chelsey hung her head with a whimper, but Evan wasn't quite ready to give up just yet. Since the previous night when he had lamented his inability to help with his magic, he had been thinking about what he might be able to do in his spare time. While he still wasn't confident in his ability to produce a fire, he felt he owed it to his friends to at least try. If he ended up embarrassing himself, then so be it

"Alright, I'll give it a try," Evan said while picking up a thick stick.

"Are you sure?" Robin said.

"Yeah, it's fine, probably," he said. "But you might want to step back a ways just in case something goes wrong."

Robin and Chelsey backed away from where he stood with curious glances. He then held the stick in front of him and concentrated.

Evan began trying to send his power through his hand and into the stick he held, but there was resistance. It didn't flow easily into the wood like it did with an artifact. This was the difference between a random object, and something made specifically to receive a magician's magic. However, he didn't give up and forced the magic to leave his body, much like he did when he made the balls of power, only he willed it to go into the stick instead of into the open air. Slowly, he finally felt his power filling up the wood in his hand.

With the stick finally charged, he began issuing simple intents into the magic to be infused inside. He tried telling it to heat up, but he couldn't tell that anything happened. Then he tried telling it to ignite, but it was the same result. Hoping that maybe he needed to go even simpler, he thought the word "fire" loudly in his head, but the stick remained cool and unlit.

He would have been lying if he said he truly expected any other result, but he wasn't done yet. He had one other idea he wanted to try out. The idea he had was based on what he remembered reading about heat back in high school. The book had said heat was simply the rapid movement of molecules in matter. The faster they moved or vibrated, the hotter they got. What if instead of using intent to create heat, he simply shook his magic rapidly enough that it was made naturally? He might just be able to make it vibrate fast enough to actually make fire. That was the plan at least.

Evan held the stick charged with his power and began willing the magic within it to shake. Sure enough, the magic moved according to his command, and it began to oscillate steadily. He slowly increased the speed of the shaking magic power, and he began to feel the small branch vibrate like a mobile phone receiving a long string of text messages. Maybe it was his imagination, but he also thought the stick felt like it was getting warmer too! That proved his idea was working, but it wasn't enough yet to accomplish his goal. He sent more power into the stick with the intention to increase the vibrations more and more, and increase they did. Soon, it became harder to keep hold of the stick, and it became warmer and warmer against his palm.

"I think," he said, struggling to hold it steady, "I think it is- "

With a loud popping noise, the stick burst apart. Evan was pushed back by the blast and fell to his back, dazed. Chelsey yelped in surprise, but Robin yelled and rushed over to Evan's side.

"Evan!" she said as she began looking over his body frantically. "Are you ok!?"

"Ouch," he groaned.

"What hurts?"

"Just... my back," he said sitting up. "I think I landed on a rock."

Robin continued to look over him for a few more seconds before she finally let out a big sigh.

"It doesn't look like you're injured," she said. "Miraculously."

Evan could see she wasn't pleased with his stunt. In fact, she looked downright angry. He was just about to apologize when he heard a gasp from Chelsey.

"Look!" she said. "There's fire!"

There at the edge of their camp several fragments of the stick Evan exploded were burning with small orange flames.

"Heh, it worked," Evan said, feeling proud.

Robin scowled at him before getting up and quickly gathering the small fires. She put them in the pile of leaves they had gathered and shortly later the flames spread. Finally, they had a proper fire to light their camp and warm their weary bodies.

"This is so much better," Chelsey said. "Thank you, Evan."

"No problem."

"Just maybe... try to be a little safer next time," she added on.

He laughed but stopped when he saw Robin shaking her head with clear disapproval.

After the excitement of the fire wore off, fatigue from the hard day of hiking settled in and they were ready for sleep. Once again, Robin insisted on taking the first watch and told Evan and Chelsey to sleep first. Chelsey was out and snoring in no time, but Evan's mind was restless. Something was bothering him, but he couldn't quite place it. Finally, it hit him. Robin had been on watch last night, but did anyone relieve her? Did she... stay up all night to protect them? He sat up and looked over at her.

"What's wrong?" Robin said. "Sleep."

He looked at her and became sure that he was right. He got up and went over to sit next to her at the base of a nearby tree.

"Did you sleep last night?"

"..."

She turned her head and refused to meet his eyes, which was all the confirmation he needed.

"You don't have to push yourself so hard," he said. "You should sleep. I'll stay up and keep watch for a while."

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you though?" he said. "Forgive me, but I've never seen you this... emotional."

"What!?" she said, looking shocked.

"Yeah," he said with a chuckle. "You were actually mad at me earlier. I didn't know that was even possible."

"What you did was stupid and you could have killed yourself."

"You're right, I should have been more careful," he said, raising his hands up in surrender. "But see? It really got you worked up. You're normally calm and collected to a frustrating degree."

"..."

"It's ok to show your emotion, of course," he added quickly. "I just know it isn't how you are normally. I think it's because you're stressed, probably a lot more than you're letting on."

She looked down at her feet, remaining silent, but Evan could tell she was thinking hard about something.

"Is there something bothering you?"

There were a few seconds more of silence before Robin finally spoke up.

"I'm supposed to be your protector," she said. "But I keep messing up."

"What? I'm fine, aren't I?"

She scoffed.

"Under my protection, you have been sent to the past and forced to survive in a wild land. Then, you get swept away by a river and isolated from the others and our only hope of returning home. And to make things worse, you then almost explode to pieces right before my eyes. I haven't been able to stop any of it. Some knight I am."

"None of that was your fault," Evan said. "And I don't think there was anything you could have done to stop what brought us here. You're being too hard on yourself."

They sat in silence watching the fire for a few minutes before Robin responded.

"This job," she said. "It's the only thing I've ever been passionate about. Ever since I discovered my talent as an augmenter, I felt like this was what I was meant to do, to use my gifts to help people in this world. And... I believe the best way for me to do that is to protect you, Evan. I know that, if I fail, the world... at least the world of mages... it will be doomed."

"..."

"That's why I take is so seriously, and why I hold myself to such a high standard."

"I understand," Evan said gently. "And that's why I wouldn't want anyone else as my knight."

Finally, she showed Evan her familiar small smile and looked more like her normal self.

"But!" he said. "Even the bravest of knights has to rest sometimes. Go, get some sleep. Chelsey and I will keep watch tonight."

Robin looked like she was going to protest, but she stopped herself and nodded.

"Ok... thank you."

Evan managed to stay awake for a good long while and didn't see anything worth waking the others for. When he could take it no longer, he roused Chelsey from her sleep and asked her to take over. She was a little confused in her sleepiness, but she eventually took up her watch without any fuss. Evan then got his bit of sleep while Robin continued to snooze through the night.

They gathered more food and ate in the morning before they resumed their hike. Hopes weren't as high as the previous morning that they'd be home soon. They now understood the very real possibility of getting lost or being unable to find a clear path up the river. But they swallowed their fears and continued to trudge on as it was the only thing they could do. The sky was clear and the sun was high in the sky when they received a surprise visitor out of the blue.

"Hooo!"

The large owl with purple eyes that had guided Evan and Robin before appeared again sitting in a nearby tree. They were startled by its loud call, as they had not noticed it swooping in. It was as if it had been sitting there waiting for them for a long while.

"Whoa, it's that owl again," Evan said. "Remember, Robin?"

Robin nodded while staring warily at the strange creature.

"You know this fellow?" Chelsey said.

"When we were out looking for food that first day, Robin and I hadn't found anything until we came across this owl," he said. "It acted like it wanted to show us something, so we followed it, and it led us right to a bunch of fruit."

"Wow," Chelsey said. "So, he's a friend."

"Hooo!"

The owl spread its wings and flew a short distance to another tree before turning back to face them. It was the same pattern as last time.

"Looks like he wants to show us something again," Evan said excitedly. "We should follow him."

"I don't think so," Robin said. "We can't afford to lose track of the river."

"We'll turn around before we go too far, I promise."

"..."

"Pleeeeease?"

"Ok, just for a little ways."

So, they followed the owl. It continued to lead them on for short distances without getting out of sight, and even though she wanted to, Robin couldn't deny the creature had some purpose for them in mind. It led them further and further into the forest and away from the river, and Robin was nearly at her limit when they saw the owl land upon a tree near a sheer rocky cliff. This time, when they stepped closer, the owl did not fly off. There on the cliff, they could see a crack in the rock. It opened wide at the base and delved deep into the earth.

"It's... a cave," Chelsey said.

"It looks like this is what it wanted to show us," Evan said. "Let's check it out."

"I'll go first," Robin said.

Robin stepped into the opening warily. It was dark inside with little light making it through the trees and into this hole. But it turned out not to be very deep. After a few steps in, it turned and ended abruptly. However, around that bend, there was a great surprise. Robin pulled up short and Chelsey gasped as they saw something completely unexpected. There at the end of the small cave, sat two terrified humans huddled together and shaking. They looked at their group with wide, shaking black eyes. It was an older woman and a teenage boy. Both had dark tan skin and wore tattered, dirty rags as clothes. It was clear, these were people native to this land. These were the people of the distant past.