It was hard to transition from that breakfast back to work. But I did. I set up a Rune Master’s Workshop in Nova City, and started making Personal Mana Shields as quickly as I could.


    This was, of course, a slight change in my deal with Dawnbreaker. Her troops were still defending my towns. But there were no Region Lords attacking our Regions at the moment, and, as I reminded her, I was hoping to sell her Personal Mana Shields, Mana Shards, and even Mana Crystals, at a low price.


    I had expected to be interrupted by a message from Dawnbreaker—news of a Region Lord, or a District Lord.


    But when I did get a call on my Communication Amulet, it was not at all what I expected.


    It was a message from Ryker. Someone had found a note at the footstep of my Reed City Lord’s Mansion.


    If you want to see Petra again, meet me alone, in Warver Town, in Dauphin City’s Region, at 7 p.m. Come alone.


    Dauphin City was in one of the last Regions that the military controlled.


    It made sense, Petra would be in Dauphin City’s Region.  I’d never heard of Warver Town, though.


    My heart sunk the moment I got the message.  This was what I had been afraid of, this whole time.  If someone tried to blackmail me, or use Petra as a hostage…


    I want your help on this one, I told Samantha, immediately.   You know my priorities. I want Petra back, alive.


    <Alright,> Samantha said. <You’re putting me in a tough situation. I hope you realize that.  First of all, if you’re hoping to actually see Petra when you go to Warver Town, then you can put that hope to rest, now.  Basically the only thing the kidnappers have over you, is that you don’t know where Petra is.  Uman and his team have been basically useless, I think it’s time that they earned their pay.>


    Uman was currently in Boston, so I rose and rushed to the Teleportation Circle.  I decided not to tell Justin and Feng, though.  They might insist on coming with me, but that would be more of a hinderance than a help.


    <hr>


    “The first thing you need to know,” Uman said, once I caught him up on the hostage threat, “Is that this isn’t actually about Petra. This is about the kidnappers using you to get at someone else.


    “There are still a lot of Armed Forces folks, you see, who are very bitter at the Ravens, the Novak Alliance, and Daybreak, for essentially dismantling the US government.  Most likely, they will use Petra to try to get you to assassinate someone—maybe Alex or Cy.  If they can pit Daybreak against the Novak Alliance, then there will be more room for the Armed Forces to survive.”


    “This isn’t helping,” I said.  “I told you all ages ago that I need to find Petra. Why hasn’t she been found yet?”


    “Two reasons,” Uman said. “I think you’re under the wrong impression after the Abelino clone situation.  The military wanted Abelino’s clone to be found.   Because of this, the first clone you attacked was in a publicly listed town. That made it much easier to figure out its location. And of course, blood is the best medium for Fredrick’s abilities.  It’s like the difference between drawing a pencil-thin line on the map, versus taking a 2x4 and laying it on the map to point in your sister’s direction.”


    “Do you at least know what Region she’s in?”


    “We have narrowed down the Region,” Uman said. “Dauphin City’s Region—the Old World Pennsylvania.  Fredrick has been jumping around various towns in the Region, trying to get a sense of which direction the town is in.”


    Uman took out a map and circled a large portion of Pennsylvania.


    “We don’t know the name of the town, because it doesn’t show up on any teleportation lists.  But we do know it is somewhere in this area.  We are paying people scouts to explore the area in search for the hidden town, but not many people are willing to risk their lives.  Hopefully, Petra is in Warver Town, but they’d have to be idiots to actually send you right to her.”


    “What about the Crucible Teleportation Mages?” I asked, suddenly. “Why can’t they take me and Fredrick to the area. We can nail down the location that way.”


    “One of the mages is off the grid,” Uman said. “He disappeared with a fair portion of the Crucible’s wealth.  Daybreak has two on its payroll, but they haven’t been willing to work with us…”


    “Well, let’s fix that. Is your Communication Amulet connected to Dawnbreaker’s?”


    Uman nodded his head. “But she said not to—”


    I held out my hand, and Uman placed the Amulet in my hand.


    “I thought I told you not to contact me again,” Dawnbreaker said, immediately, over the amulet.


    “This is Jarek,” I said. “I need a teleportation mage to find my sister.”


    “I already asked them.  They aren’t exactly keen on traveling with you. Or traveling in hostile territory. And they are currently working on forging a path to Asia.”Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    “I’m about to be blackmailed by the Armed Forces,” I said. “I’ve been told that they are very likely to ask me to assassinate Alex, or Cy, before they give me my sister back.”


    “That would be idiotic,” Dawnbreaker said. “For them and for you.  Do you really think they would give you your sister back? No, they would just give you another target.”


    “What would you do, Dawnbreaker? If you had the slightest chance to get your husband back?”


    It was a low blow, but I remembered seeing wedding photos in her villa.


    Dawnbreaker was silent for a second. “I would let him die.  He wouldn’t want me to kill innocent people to save his life.”


    I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Well. It sounds like you don’t know Petra, then.”


    Dawnbreaker was silent for a while longer.  “I will send someone over to you.  But you will need to pay him well.”


    <hr>


    The two Teleportation Mages that Daybreak employed formed a powerful team.    The mage that I was more familiar—the mage that had helped twice, leaving us near the Shade, and also near the Manticore—used Teleportation Stones.


    The idea was that other people could travel with Teleportation Stones, and the Teleportation Mage could travel directly to those Stones—even if he had never seen the location before.  By using the Teleportation stones, the mage was able to travel great distances, and even bring passengers along with him.


    The other type of teleportation mage was a “line-of-sight” teleportation mage.  The distance that could be traveled was smaller, and fewer people could be teleported alongside the mage.


    It was this type of mage—a “line of sight” mage—that first transported us through Pennsylvania.


    “50,000 coins,” the teleportation mage counted, as we appeared on top of a small hill in what used to be a national park in Pennsylvania.  The mage held a mage’s staff, and wore mage’s robes—robes that were focused solely on increasing her mana supply.


    “Potion,” she said, reaching her hand out to me.


    I dutifully handed her a Mana Potion, which she immediately chugged.


    “I should charge interest, too,” she muttered.  “Interest and hazard pay.”


    The teleportation mage—Kendra—was probably 40 years old or so, with a somewhat disheveled appearance.


    She had agreed to teleport us around Pennsylvania, at the price of 10,000 coins per jump.


    It was an outrageous price, but I was happy to pay it.


    As Kendra drank her Mana Potion, Fredrick focused on using his Seeker ability to determine which general direction Petra was in.


    Meanwhile, I fought off any monsters who approached.


    “Just flash your damn aura, already,” Kendra said. “Why would you want to bother fighting these low-leveled monsters?  You’re risking our own safety in this.”


    “I don’t know how,” I admitted.


    “What do you mean? How do you not know how to use your aura? It’s not even using it. Everybody else struggles to suppress it. That’s the real challenge. Just stop suppressing your aura.”


    Well? I asked Samantha. How do I activate my aura?


    <About that…>


    What.


    <Did you ever notice that you are particularly good at flying under the radar? Not just when you’re under the invisibility cloak. But think about the way General Scott and the Abelinos underestimated you when you first met and fought them.  Or think about when you fought the Shade, when it was feeding off of River, how you managed to sneak up on it.>


    Go on…


    <Well, you see, you are particularly suited to stealth. It’s kind of like a natural talent.>


    No. If it was just a natural talent, you would have mentioned it before. What are you hiding?


    Samantha was silent, so I pressed more.


    You’ve been avoiding talking about aura for a while.  What did you do?


    <Well… you see Jarek… do you remember how I asked you to pick up a Concealment Rune Pattern, a while back?>


    You said it would be useful to learn how to make an Invisibility cloak.


    <It also has another purpose.  Because, you know how you also have Internal Mana Affinity? And you’re a rune master?>


    I felt a sinking suspicion in my gut. Just tell me what you’ve done.


    <You never really asked how I was able to break Lord Ignatius’ thrall, you know,> Samantha said, abruptly changing the subject. <And you never actually asked if it was something I could have done at any time.  Anyway, back when you were still in the Crucible, from the first moment you learned the Concealment Rune Pattern, I had been forming complex Runes Patterns on the inside of your body while you sleep.  Now, there is nothing harmful. You’ve already discovered the only real downside. You see, the rune patterns I’ve been forming serve a number of purposes. Firstly, they will make it very difficult for anyone to read your mind. Essentially, your thoughts are concealed by the Rune Patterns I set up.  You’re welcome, by the way.  I completed the Rune Pattern essentially the moment Dawnbreaker started wreaking havoc in the throne room.  This is why Lord Ignatius was so surprised when you turned on him.>


    <Anyway, my modification of the Concealment Rune Pattern disrupted Lord Ignatius’ mind control, and it also has the effect of drastically reducing your aura. In battle, monsters and people will habitually underestimate you.  This is a huge tactical advantage—just like with that Greater Water Elemental. The downside, of course, is that you are not capable of flashing your aura like everyone else.  It’s a small downside, really, for such a useful skill.>


    Are you done patting yourself on the back? Why didn’t you mention that you can use my mana?


    <You already knew I could,> Samantha responded.  <When I first appeared, I told you that I relied on Mana Regeneration. Once you invested in enough Mana Regeneration, I was able to activate the Combat Shadow—essentially, using your mana at a steady rate per minute.  Then, when we were training how to use floating points, I demonstrated how to control the flow of mana in your body.>


    I felt some of the indignation slowly leaking out of me. Stop acting like this isn’t a big deal.  Why didn’t you tell me about this in the first place?


    <Well, think about how Crucible-Jarek would have reacted.  You would have immediately told me to stop.  I’m sure you would have been concerned that it could jeopardize the mind-control that Lord Ignatius put you under.>


    Stop dodging the question. Why didn’t you tell me after?


    <It’s been a busy few days, Jarek.  When did you want me to tell you? While you were fighting for your life in the mines? When you were fighting the Centiscythe? Or the Greater Water Elemental? Or the Abelinos?>


    You’re doing it again.


    <Doing what?>


    Acting like this isn’t a big deal.  You’ve been using my mana, in my sleep, without my permission.


    <I just went over this,> Samantha said, finally starting to sound exasperated. <I finished the Concealment Rune Pattern while you were still under the Crucible’s control. Of course I did it without permission. And I haven’t done anything since you broke free.>


    “Ahem,” Fredrick spoke up. “I don’t want to interrupt, sir,” he said glancing at me.


    “Interrupt what?”  Kendra shared none of Fredrick’s politeness. “Interrupt his aloof staring into the vacant distance and mouthing things to himself?”


    “Well, I don’t mean to interrupt,” Fredrick said. “But I think that we found the town.”