Follow John.

It had felt weird to travel so far back north so quickly. What had taken weeks to travel by foot took only four days, and that was only because you didn't want to wear out Copper. It also gave you a slight feeling of unease being closer to the Mistress. You doubted she knew where you were at this specific moment, but only knowing her name and a rough estimate of her forces made her an obstacle you didn't know much about. Her ability to use souls with her magic was more than enough to worry you. According to Nadine it would allow her to cast spells she wouldn't be capable of doing herself, and the idea of facing off against a powerful magic user made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. You were powerful yourself, but your knowledge of what you could and couldn't do was minimal.

You were going to have to spend some time practicing magic each day you decided. You may have limited knowledge, but at least you could master the spells you knew, and from now on your reading material would be magic craft and theory. With enough time you'd be quite **** of nature when it came to magic, but time was the one thing you had no idea of how much you had. As you waited for slavers to pass by you can't help but wonder if the Mistress was going to show up with an army at her back suddenly. You let out a sigh knowing this sort of worrying was of no help at all. Eventually slavers would pass by, so you knew you needed to focus on them instead of the Mistress. Even if they weren't here yet.

You were in a good spot though. The road to New Eden was in front of your group as you hid in a patch of bushes. You were able to see merchants of all types using the road. It was something you might have Dawn spend a little time on actually. Learning the resources and wares that New Eden traded was well worth keeping track of. You were not surprised to see a large amount of timber flowing into New Eden, but you were surprised to see a large amount of sand flowing into New Eden, but it made sense. Glass had to come from somewhere after all. You let out another sigh in frustration. There were so many resources needed to build a city, and you had almost no knowledge of what was going to be needed. You would not have thought about sand being a needed resource. Food and lumber were obvious to you of course, but sand wasn't even something you'd thought of.

"You're brooding again" Yvette says walking up to sit next to you. You half heartedly smile at her having been caught brooding...again.

"I have a clear goal in mind. I know what I want. I just...don't have the knowledge needed to get there. I want to help slaves, but I can't just bring them back to the Sanctuary and let them figure it all out themselves. If I'm truly going to help them, then I need to be able to know how to help them. It can't just be setting them free. It has to be more then that. I have to know what they will need to survive besides just lumber and food" you explain to her.

"Yes, there will be a period of time where we will need to figure out what resources they need, but you are forgetting you have Dawn's knowledge, and you have the Amazon's knowledge. They will help you figure things out. A good leader leads, that's all they do. They aren't the ones who know every little detail" Yvette replies wrapping her arm around your waist.

"You are of course right...again. I just want things to go as smoothly as they can, and part of that is prevention. So if we rescue fifty slaves instead of ten or twenty, I'll know food is going to be something we need to get in stock. When I see all the different resources traveling to and from New Eden, it has made me realize there are a lot of things I hadn't even considered. I can't make things go smoothly if there are a lot of things I won't even realize are problems until we find the problem" you explain and you are surprised to hear Yvette chuckle. You look over at her with a raised eyebrow. She looks up at you and smiles at you as if she were a parent listening to a child's problems.

"You care so much for people you have not even met. It is one of your best qualities, but even if you drop them into the middle of no where, with nothing, they will be better off then where they are currently going. You know that right" she asks smirking up at you.

"But then they would possibly die" you argue.

"Yes, possibly, but how long would a **** last in a mine" she asks "how would their life be until they died? Do you think for one second that the **** would chose being a **** in the mine instead of being free in the middle of no where? The vast majority of slaves live miserable lives being worked to ****. So even if you did drop them in the middle of no where with nothing, they would jump at the chance for it" she states.

"You...make a good point" you reply sheepishly.

"And we aren't leaving them in the middle of no where with nothing. Yes, problems will pop up, and it will be stressful, but we will overcome those problems, and lives destined for misery and **** will have hope and their freedom. They will love every moment of it regardless of what problems arise. Do not doubt that for one second" she continues, and you let out a sigh.

"I'm being pretty silly aren't I" you say quietly.

"No. Not at all. I've been thinking the same things too. I would bet all of us are. It's the calm before the storm" she says, and you smirk hearing yet another phrase you recognize "Once the storm starts we won't have time to think of such things, so it is the only time we can think about them" she continues. You wrap your arm around her and squeeze her against you to show you are thankful for her wisdom, but you turn to see her frowning.

"You're turn. What's bugging you" you ask her.

"I am" she replies making you tilt your head in confusion.

"What do you mean? Is everything ok" you ask her.

"Yes, I don't mean me specifically. I mean slaves like me" she says looking up at you sadly.

"I still don't understand" you reply apologetically.

"There are going to be times where we will have to fight...and possibly even...kill...slaves devoted to their masters. Before you say anything, no, I don't consider myself a ****, but that doesn't matter. However it came to be for them, there will be others who don't believe they are slaves, just like me, and they will fight us" she explains sounding sad still. You nod your head understanding now.

"Those will be...tough ones" you reply.

"The day you purchased me is a day I look back on with fondness. More and more, every day, it becomes one of my most treasured memories. I pity them more than anyone else, because they were not as lucky as I. How can I fight someone I pity so deeply? I fear I may hesitate" she says snuggling against you for comfort.

"I get it, and truthfully it isn't something I've considered until right now. It saddens me deeply to think of such a possibility. I don't believe you will hesitate though" you reply and she looks up at you. It is clear she wants more of an explanation.

"You are a warrior. You know what can happen if you hesitate during a fight, and I don't believe you will hesitate if it comes to such a scenario. It will be sad. I know you know there will be regret after, and I want you to know I will be there for you if it happens, but I just know you will always do what must be done to protect those you love. You proved it even though it put you into slavery remember" you ask her.

"Thank you for reminding me of that moment" she states, and you look down to see her smirking up at you teasingly. You bump yourself against her and smirk back.

"You didn't hesitate then, and I am grateful, because now you are at my side, and I couldn't be happier about it" you say squeezing her tighter to you.

"I hesitated with Sean" she mumbles.

"And you promised not to after that, and you didn't. When the raid came I trusted you to have my back, and during that first fight I saw with my own eyes that you did have my back. You have had opportunities to hesitate. Like when we escaped, or with that shithead Cal. I trust you with my life" you tell her, and you can feel her relax in your grip.

"I guess we both needed to vent a little bit didn't we" Yvette states making you chuckle.

"Yah...we really did it seems. Maybe...maybe once every week, or two weeks, or whatever, we can all get together and vent to each other. Just let out our fears and worries" you tell her.

"That would be kinda nice I think. Let's give it a try soon" she replies.

"Dawn" you say aloud.

"Yes" you hear her through the radio.

"You heard our conversation I assume" you ask her.

"Yes...would you like me to ask the others if they would be interested to get together and vent" Dawn asks.

"Please do, and when we get back you and I can figure out when a good time would be. Assuming everyone would be ok with that" you tell her.

"Understood. Would you like me to include Sean" she asks. You pause to think for a moment.

"Yes. He could benefit from it as well, and it is a good excuse to see what he's thinking about" you reply.

"Very well. Also, just so you are aware. I have attempted to physically be where you are right now, but I was not able to do so. Before you worry about why it is because of the distance. I apparently have a spell limiting me still" she states calmly.

"Really? I thought what I removed would allow you to go anywhere. Why would your father put more than one spell like that on you" you ask her concerned.

"I do not have an answer at this time. It does not feel like a spell my father created. This spell feels like someone else created it" she states.

"A second person could make sense. I don't think I'd know how to tell the difference between what your father created, and what someone else created. At least not yet. Thank you for letting me know. I will try to find and remove the spell when I get back if that works for you" you tell her.

"That would be adequate. I look forward to seeing you on your return" she replies.

"Love you too" you tell her as you stare at nothing.

"Well that was unexpected" Yvette states.

"Yah, but from what it seemed like Dawn's creation had a lot of enemies, so maybe one of them did what they could to sabotage. I don't know. I do know that I will be removing that spell" you state angrily. You relax a little feeling Yvette nuzzle against you.

"I know you will. Dawn knows you will. Just a little bump in the path" Yvette states lovingly.

"Again, you are right. Not the first bump, not the last bump. I suppose it is nice to know about it now when we aren't in need of Dawn, and at least she can get outside to the Amazons" you reply.

"John" you hear Dawn say to get your attention.

"Yes" you reply.

"Slavers are coming your way" she states.