But for a Slime

* * *

Joe landed on the other side of the wall in a rather ungraceful tumble, but when he neared the ground, mana swelled outwards in a rush, flooding his body once again even as it swelled into his mind and time slowed to a crawl. Mana flooded through his body and strengthened him again. His mind grew aware of all around him and tensed. He took in his body, his position, then turned to where he was going to land. His current situation took a sour turn when he saw that he would come down upon just the edge of a roof. He panicked for a bit then calmed as he noticed the time dilation and the amount of time he had to consider. Well… this is… not good! Not good… gonna die… falling fifty meters… but… less I can get my feet under me… gonna hit there… yeah… not good… kinda prone now… need to flip to my feet… but not gonna land well that way… don't trust trying to roll from my head… head first seems dumb! But then… twist? Feet first though… flip… twist… then… His mind raced through his options and considered his current position and quickly realized that he didn't have many options to landing this gracefully. The more he thought and considered, the grimmer he became.

Finally, he ended up narrowing down his options until he went with what he hoped would cause the least damage and allow him to get away at the end of it all. He was currently tumbling down face first and would end up landing on all four limbs; hands and feet. Joe didn't like that and it would be a great way to leave with broken limbs and probably more. Fifty meter drop is more like a good way to die!

He'd originally panicked when he'd first found himself flailing over the top of the wall but calmed when he realized that if his body had the strength to leap fifty meters up, it had the strength to handle landing. That, of course, was with the understanding that he was able to land on his feet. To that end, he prepped his next set of actions.

Gonna need to flip… but then stop my spin… this… Joe tucked in tight into a fetal position while swinging his arms straight out then down into his gut while simultaneously going as fully fetal as he could. The rotation began, and Joe breathed with some relief as he began a forward flip. Evaluating his drop speed in comparison to his rotational speed, he realized it wasn't going to be enough, and he pushed remained in a fetal position while lifting his hands above his head while keeping them fully tight next to his torso until he could push them straight above and as far back behind his head as he could before throwing them at the same time. Is this gonna work… not sure this is gonna work… equal and opposite reactions here… shouldn't add anything… what am I gonna do! This isn't… Ooh! Joe swapped out his mage job for wind mage then immediately manifested a wind point on one of his hands. His glee quickly turned to panicked frustration when he could create another wind point on his second hand, the old one vanishing with the new one he made.

OH! This is NOT cool! Who made this stupid… Joe allowed his rant even as he pushed his to hands together and then settled on a single point in the center of his two overlaid palms. Think I got the lined up…. Pretty close… really don't want to add a twist in! Joe began expelling wind from the point as wildly and fast as he could, pushing his spin to greater speeds until he was rather certain that he would be able to complete the spin and have his feet under him before he hit the ground.

Then, he found himself rather lazily watching the whole affair, the slow spin and rapid fall a frozen moment in time were nothing changed and everything spun through his thoughts. Only a moment passed by his mind experienced an eternity until he was certain he'd spun enough and quickly began to come out of his fetal curl. He cursed when he found himself straightening way to fast and slowing his spin. Too much! Too much… not gonna make it! He quickly curled right back up and his spin accelerated again. It took him a few false starts to get to the point he felt comfortable that he'd timed it correctly and extended himself back to his full height, even stretching his hands high above his head to slow his forward spin. Happy with that, Joe then tackled the next issue.

Forward roll… gonna suck. Not sure I can crumple and control the thing… don't wanna go over my head… shoulder roll? Maybe… but this height… I'm coming down so, so fast! Don't trust my control… rear roll… much more natural… just fall into a squat and I'll automatically fall backwards… just protect the back of my head with one of my hands… arms… and offset… aim for a back shoulder roll… that would …

Feeling much more comfortable with that option, he pulled his arms down from over his head then spread them wide as well as spreading his legs wide before twisting his torso and then pulling his arms and legs in as tightly together as possible, although he did make sure to pull his arms in together above his head to keep the forward spin as deadened as possible. His body began his twirl, and it was agonizingly slow. Just need one eighty… gonna make it? Gonna… maybe my legs… not my torso… ooh… good way to rip something… can you get a sprain in your torso… definitely back… yeah… not good!

He kept almost the entirety of his body stretched out long, one arm still over his head, but he took another and spread it straight out from his body to the side. His arms now made his best impression of a right angle, his head nestled inside that angle. On his arm outstretched to the side, he dropped another wind point, and just like he'd done with speeding up his forward flip, he erupted as much wind out of the point as possible, having the point locked to his hand and allowed it to increase his spin. More… just a bit more… he was now able to twist his upper torso around to line up with his legs, feeling much more comfortable about his landing now. Still not lined up… gonna hit hard on my right… and have to fall over my right… just a bit more… The wind point blew out wind furiously and then Joe stopped. About right, yes?

He pulled the arm in then cursed when he realized that by pulling the arm in and preparing for his fall, it increased his vertical spin and would have him turned too far to the left now, requiring him to fold down and over his left leg. He flung both arms out wide to the sides, immediately slowly his vertical spin and breathed a sigh of relief. Almost perfectly lined up now… will land just a bit off to the right, but… He pulled his hands in and out slightly, gauging his vertical spin and attempting to line up his landing such that he would hit with his back to the eaves of the roof, perfectly lined up.

After a few moments, however, his arms began pin wheeling and panic returned as his forward spin, now a back spin, had increased now that he did not have his arms outstretched above him, and now he was going to land a bit too far back. No! No! Too far… just… just a bit… but… His panic receded and he calmed some. A bit easier to collapse back though… but getting to the edge of what's wise… Gonna need… Another wind point manifested right on the back of his head, locked to his skull. He then erupted wind out of it as hard as he could, and his backwards spin slowed. Enough? Maybe… yeah… Enough! Relief swelled through him and he turned his thoughts to his landing, his feet now only a meter or two above hitting the roof.

Now that he was turned and lined up, the slow time became a burden, and he fell so slowly through the air, his mind grew incredibly bored until a tap on his toes brought him back to awareness and he glanced down, startled, his head looking down to see his toes were now touching the rough. Time suddenly slowed even further as his heart beat harder and he focused, bringing his feet in line, fully extended as possible even as he began pressing back against the rough with the strength of his calves as his ankles began bending under the strain of his landing. As he felt his calves working hard and even slowing him, his panic receded and he felt a greater and greater sense of calm.

His heels came into contact with the roof and his entire legs now began to flex, straining against the force of his drop even as his knees and waist began to bend. Time sped up. His arms fell from where they were outstretched down towards his sides and he strained to keep them up so that he could use them to maintain his balance. Time sped up. His waist and core tightened against the bend and he froze his them to fall straight down, taking the full force of the landing in his thighs while his outstretched arms shifted to in front of him, attempting to give his thighs as much time to strain against gravity and the fall. And time sped up.

When his knees had bent to a ninety degree angle, he pulled his hands in and allowed his body to begin tilting backwards, collapsing his rear down into his ankles even as he fell backwards into a roll. And suddenly everything happened in a moment as he turned his head to the side and brought up an arm to cradle his head between bicep and forearm, turning the roll to the side so that he would end up going over the top of his shoulder instead of his head.

A loud crunch echoed through the inner city, bouncing off the fifty meter wall as he blasted off the roof in a speedy roll, his head not even touching anything as the edge of the roof ended up pushing against his upper shoulders. His roll had him now spinning off the roof and across the street to the opposite building, head down and feet up but spinning such that he would run into the building on the other side feet first.

He panicked again, and time froze, his body drifting across the street, the force of his vertical fall translated into a massive leap that would have him crossing the entire street of some dozen paces and slam into the wall on the other side. He looked at where he would land and sighed in relief when he realized that he was going to slap into the side of a stone building between two windows. Do the same? Joe considered to himself as he came in. Evaluating his spin and the time till he hit the wall, he felt some relief when he realized he had little to do. As luck would have it, he would hit the wall feet first and face down. Just collapse back on my butt like before… then slide down the wall! Jackie Chan style! Ha!

Time sped up slightly and he zoomed at a comfortable pace towards the wall before his feet hit and he slowed his speed as much as possible, cushioning with pointed toes and straining calves before turning to bending knees and burning thighs. He wasn't able to bleed off much, suddenly relaxing his thighs when he felt something not exactly right with the wall. Not too much!

Not wanting to simply bash his way through the walls, he allowed a bit more force to be transferred into the roll than he expected, and fell back onto his rear once again before tumbling up the wall in a backwards roll, cushioning his head once again with an arm and rolling backwards over a shoulder.

The roll worked, and he rolled up, over his back, and back onto his front. Instinct took over and he tried to land on his hands and feet instead of continuing the roll, which turned out to be a very bad idea, his legs putting more force into the ending his tumble which bounced him off the wall in a rather uncontrolled forward flip down towards the street.

Crap! No. No…. No! No! No! Arms pin wheeled in wild effort as he found himself falling faced down and tumbling forward, then back down. This is gonna suck! This is… His mind scattered in panic, everything happening too fast and fear driving instinctual reactions instead of careful planning.

His forward flip had him twist around enough that he was able to land more on his butt in a seated position than flat on his back, but that did little to comfort him as his tailbone shattered under the landing. He bit his lips hard, grinding teeth to hold in his cry of pain, turning it into a low moan that cut off with some shock before realization set in. He flipped open his status and found almost three quarters of his over ten thousand health gone and huffed in shock that he'd made it out relatively unscathed. He looked up at the massive wall above him and gulped in shock, then jerked in fear, turning to his left.

A cry had rang out and more soon came after and Joe leapt to his feet! Right… time to get out of here! But… He glanced up at where he'd hit the wall of the building above him and found no damage to the wall. Something happened though… so… uh… He fished into his inventory and pulled out one of his broken cores before turning to look up at the window he'd landed beside almost three meters above him. Can I even get that… He blinked, glancing up at the fifty meter tall wall and then back at the window, huffing softly to himself. Then… what… not even ten percent of my power… more like… five? Less? A small hop?

Joe hopped a small bit and barely lifted off the ground, then grimaced with frustration. Time wasn't with him and he immediately did as strong a leap as he could, and found himself at his regular vertical of about half a meter, or half a yard. What? Why… Realization hit him and he immediately grunted, putting effort into sending mana to his legs, and nothing really happened. Joe grimaced. Why! So easy just ten seconds ago! Now… His frustration welled and his thoughts turned to other things even as he continued to wish for a leap and suddenly the mana kicked in, swirling down and rushing to his legs. The mass of mana split, half staying with his thighs and calves and the other continuing down to spike down past his feet into a ground below him in a Lichtenberg scorch mark, spreading mana into ever small fingers and spikes into the earth.

He grinned, bending his knees to leap then paused. Right… five percent… just kind of a small… hop! Concentration painted his face and he gave a light hop, and flew up a good five meters and raised a hand upwards in worry as the eaves of the roof almost smacked him in the head. He grimaced and reached out wildly for the window sill and caught it with a grunt, pulling himself into the wall and holding there. OK. This… sucks! He carefully placed a broken core there then leapt off, landing on the ground with much more grace this time, the mana swelling to his legs and then punching down into the earth much like when he jumped, but in reverse.

He glanced around quickly, evaluating his time before running across the street. Got a bit of time… I can do this! He pulled out another core, this time holding it between his lips before coming to the window he was targeting right under where he'd landed on the roof. He had felt anything give in the roof, rather certain it was fine, but figured better safe than sorry. Legs bent, ready for a leap, and he almost worried when nothing happened but then mana surged again, a bit hesitant and in fits and starts, but it did, and Joe put just as much force in his leap as he'd done across the street. This time, it proved perfect, and he was able to lean forward at the apex of his leap and lightly place the core on the sill before falling back to the earth. Mana swelled again perfectly and he stuck the landing almost like he'd come off some Olympian floor exercise.

That… how!? He looked down to see his knees barely bent, took a moment to explore the impossibility, then heard another shout and took off as fast as he could. That turned out to be very fast, and mana surged through him once again with ease, swelling to his thighs and calves even as a massive surge welled up in his feet. Some went up into his skull and a small portion went to his arms, but the vast majority of it was to his feet and legs.

He zipped down the street and turned the corner into some alleys, but found his traction and movement simple, even as the buildings blurred by him. When he had streets leading towards the clan walls, he was able to easily get his bearings and continue to sprint to the other side of the city, towards the clan. About half way there, he quickly slowed and began to walk more naturally, not because he was mana exhausted, but simply due to shock catching up to him. He took another couple corners and alleyways until he met one that was facing both walls, the outer city walls and the clan walls, and stared at both. He simply stared at them in awe. I… jumped that!

* * *

In the capital city of the capital plane of Aelthron's capital, the prison guard captains for the cradle met and prepared. One of their number had completed his service and was now released to return home. The nominal warden of the prison and the other three captains prepared for the day and to stand for the release of the old captain and the arrival of the new one. The nominal warden, just one of the four captains of the guards assigned leadership here, groaned at the duty, his dark shadows forming wings behind him and enshrouding him in darkness as his Dao was wont to do when he wasn't feeling to sociable or in a pleasant mood.

He wasn't sure which one it was, but he still had one more period of service and seeing another being freed to return to the greater Cycle where cultivation was possible left him in a bitter mood. It was also a pain as nominal warden but essentially of equal status to attempt to wrangle the other three captains to do what they were supposed to do. Where is she? Should be back by now! Gotta kick one out and get the other here… The captain of the winds was gone on a wild goose chase seeking perfect cores and while he knew she would find nothing, she was new and still naïve to the situation of Alethron's cradle.

Need to setup the goodbye and the welcome celebration for the new guy. And, of course, I gotta do it alone! Grumpily, he prepared everything and then found himself marching out of the prison guard's headquarters alone, teeth gritting in annoyance. Kinda expected it from the other guy, but why would she? He sighed, seeing that the only other captain of the four that had showed up was the one actually leaving. He sighed, understanding, but was still frustrated that he was left essentially high and dry, the other two not coming.

This dereliction of duty would be unacceptable in almost any other location, but with the crippled nature of the inhabitants and the fact that no serious cultivator would find themselves caught dead on this plane, those who found themselves as leaders of the guards were often simply first among equals. All the responsibility, none of the power. He sighed and stepped up beside the other captain leaving today.

"Hey!"

The man turned to look at him, shocked, then chuckled and shook his head, "You know, none of the others ever came. Think you're the first who ever took it so seriously."

"Yeah. Trust me. I know," he replied grumpily.

The conversation didn't continue because the gate swelled and opened. No more good byes or comments were given, nor even a moment to remember their service together. The man simply fled, escaping through the gate with a whoop of joy that cut off well before he made it to the gate, not wishing to show such poor behavior on the other side of the gate.

The shadows welled up around him even tighter, feeling his agitation as the burned upon him like flames, twisting and licking up his body in a tight weave to hide him, sucking even more of the light in and leaving him in dark blackness difficult to see through. His mood soured, he grunted then sighed, wishing he was the one who'd completed his service and was able to leave before he looked up at the sun and cradle, glancing between the two before frowning. Just another bell or so… the new guy should show up! He glanced back at their headquarters then over to a small bench at the side. He sighed and sat on the bench, wrapping the whole area and bench in dark shadows to drive away any of the imprisoned mortals. He didn't want to be bothered today.

* * *

The last prison guard from the Prison Cradle, or what was known in ancient times as Aelthron's cradle, slipped through gate and to a smaller transfer hub before quickly finding his next transfer and driving onwards to a second much greater transfer hub at a different cradle. He transferred four times before making it home and rushing to his family grounds; a massive estate that was more a small city that covered the entirety of a massive rolling mountain.

A shift change for the Prison Cradle, while not exactly a momentous event, was rather unusual simply due to its rarity. It did nothing nor caught the attention of any of the political powers that be, military or otherwise.

It did, however, cause a massive change in the Great Cycle and brought about upheaval in every cradle across the Great Cycle, for when the guard traveled through the first plane and cradle, the cradle took notice, a pondering that had it somewhat interested. Something tickled its interest, but as was the nature of most cradles, the young cultivator was already through his next gate and onto its next location in a short time of not even a day.

Its interest, however, rolled through the community of cradles, and the other cradles that saw his passage roused from long slumber and peered as he passed, which quickly roused their interest further. But, as before, he spent so little time on each cradle before he reached his home cradle and plane.

His home cradle dug into the juicy morsel with excited interest and after months of careful study, passed on his findings to the other cradles. Excitement roiled through them all, but none could take advantage of the new findings until the home cradle bit the bullet and shifted everything on a fundamental level. Like Aelthron's Cradle, things changed overnight, some for the better, some for the worse. But the cradle sighed in relief when its burden was lightened because every single plane and the life on all of them shifted slightly, requiring less effort and work from the cradle.

An eye blink of time later, several of the locals of the cradle traveled to other locations, and the cradles there took just as avid attention, studying and enacting the change themselves. The change, from that moment, was exponential, and a wave spread across the entire galaxy over the next few years, encompassing every life on every plane of every living cradle with a new gift: mana enabled cellular life.

This change, unseen and unknown to the cultivators living on the planes did not pass without ramifications as reports came in with ever increasing shock and rapidity. Their cradles were accelerating their matrix production wildly, surging outwards. Many cradles even formed entire new planes and populated them. Other cradles, content to wait, left the newly formed planes empty and waited for the cultivators to make a home there with new gates to facilitate travel. And the Great Cycle grew into a period of incredible growth and prosperity, a golden age for all with surging population, wealth, mana, and growth. And many more cultivators leaping into the heights of heaven higher than ever before.

* * *

Joe found himself at the base of the clan wall, staring up at it and gritting his teeth. It was the same height as the other city wall, but now that he knew he had the capability of scaling it, he found himself much less willing to make the effort. He stared at it for a time before running back from the wall a decent distance before putting his eyes to the test and trying to see if anyone was up top. Wonder if it's the same as the other wall I stood on in the monster tied… two tiered. Would they walk the top or bottom. Are there even guards on the inner wall? Not sure that…

His worries were proven right even as he grimaced, seeing a small dark mass against the lighter darkness of the sky. It was very hard to see them, but having picked out one, it was easy enough to recognize the patterns of the guards. He sighed, evaluating his chances and then started studying them. As he watched, he became both more assured and a bit more concerned.

The guards moved with regular metronomic speed around the wall and while the movement seemed rather mechanical, he also saw their heads on a swivel, always looking around, if he was able to interpret what he was seeing that well. He could only hope they weren't, but didn't feel comfortable attributing what he was seeing to just poor visual conditions and so assumed they were diligent in their search. They also seemed to be patrolling the upper outer section of the wall, which had him a bit annoyed.

The good think, however, was that there were no lights of any kind on the wall, and it was dark on the wall. He then turned to counting, measuring the movement of the guards and found himself finding some measure of certainty, seeing a good three or four minute interval between each of the guards. Maybe… if I'm counting the seconds right! He found himself wondering what he could do before feeling like he might have a chance at this.

He picked his moment, counting as the guard passed directly in front of him and just before he hit the middle of his count, Joe paused and grimaced. Wait… how high will I jump! I don't want a full jump… that'll put me at way over top and outlined against the sky for the guards coming up on me… so…

He then paused at that, then decided to turn to a possibility that had been percolating in the back of his mind. He slipped into an alleyway and leapt as high as he could, not using mana of any kind. The leap was pretty decent, but proved nothing as he couldn't evaluate his own height so tried once again. He pulled out his pencil and marked the highest he could reach, then prepared himself before leaping and marking a second time.

It took him a couple times to get a mark dark enough to see as well as a couple times sharpening his pencil with a dagger before he was finally able to measure his vertical. Then he struggled to get his actual leap but then defaulted to using his limbs and his known height to guesstimate it. By the time he was done, he was a bit annoyed as his vertical was basically unchanged, if you tossed in the variables, to what he'd measured back on Earth. Didn't even need to check… sheesh. Just a bit over half a meter. He sighed.

Well… then that's kinda… telling. Fifty meter high wall. Half a meter vertical. Just a little over ten thousand strength. If the average is a hundred… like all my mana stats are at… then a hundred times the strength… I would just clear fifty meters… His considered everything then decided to run the actual numbers compared to his stats and came to a standing vertical of just shy of fifty five meters. And I took a run up for that last jump! And a good run up can add… maybe five… ten centimeters? That would be another… five ten meters? Yeah… that would put me well over the wall.

He stepped back out and looked at the wall and considered. So… don't want a running jump up. And a full powered jump would put me a story or almost two above the wall. So… gonna want a ninety percent jump? Ninety five? Sheesh… not sure I have the control for that fine of a change. He spent a good five minutes considering his options before finally making a choice and stepping out into the middle of the alleyway that gave him line of sight to wall as well as straight run there. So… maybe try just short… assume I'll miss get a second jump… so gonna wanna run up maybe… just a couple seconds before… try one jump… then aim to get it on the second. The oncoming guard would still be far away and if I time it right… right in the middle of both.

Joe looked at the guards and timed their circuit once again, hopping in place a few times before he made his pick and began counting, a subtle anxiety agitating his body as he bounced and wiggled his limbs, the count continuing quietly in his mind. Right about a third of the way through the count, he verified one last time that he was on track and started jogging towards the wall, moving quickly but silently and carefully maintaining his count. He made it to the large empty fairway before the wall and paused, looking out while still counting and finding it relatively empty. He took a couple steps out and glanced behind him, up and down the row of houses, making sure they were also devoid of anyone before darting across the street as stealthily as possible. He made it to the base of the wall and hid in its shadow, the gas giant on the far side leaving this side of the wall deeply shadow. He continued his count.

Just about ten seconds before the halfway mark, he settled himself and look up. Ninety percent… maybe a bit more… not much… Just shy of full… just shy… Mana flooded through him with ease as his thoughts remained entirely on the lip of the wall or on his efforts to control the power of his leap. Swooping down into his legs, calves, and further, spiking into the ground in a massive disordered web of mana. Five seconds before, he leapt, straight up and quite parallel to the wall. He grinned, joy ripping his lips upward in a wild surge of joy as the wall slid past below him in rapid spurts of various color and texture. He slowed as he reached the top of his leap and the failure to match the height of the lip of the wall could not keep the brilliant joy from his face, even if a small twinge of disappointment nagged at his heart.

His fall had his head turned back down and he spread outwards, prepared to strike the ground. Don't need to roll now… no need to worry about breaking someone's house or crushing people in their beds. He came down rapidly and slammed into the ground, mana ripping outwards and down through his legs as well as into his torso and up into his head and arms before spiking down into the ground as soon as he slapped down.

He hit the ground hard, unable to quite arrest his fall, ending up on his hands and knees. But that did nothing, and he struggled to keep the laughter quiet even as he glanced back up at the wall. He cursed through his laughter as he realized he'd forgotten to keep track of his count and immediately prepared for his next leap. Close to center enough! Let's do this!

He pictured the lip of the wall at the height of his previous jump, just a couple body lengths out of his reach and aimed for just a bit higher, then added a bit more for safety before repeating his leap. Joe really didn't notice anything different, but to me honest, he was too busy feeling exhilarated as the wall whipped past below him before slowing as he reached the height of his jump. He struggled to keep his laughter internal which quickly became easy as he just as easily slipped up and past the height of the wall about half a body length. Crap! No! Just…

He glanced to his right, taking in the incoming guard and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the guard glancing out over the city from where was walking across the wall. Joe quickly slipped back down and he grabbed the edge of the wall with his fingers, clenching with a death like grip to hold on. And he stayed there, breathing heavy with worry. Right… maybe this was pretty dumb!

He stayed there and restarted his counting, deciding to start exactly where he left off. Better safe than sorry! He calmed his breathing, slowing it as well as his wildly beating heart. When he made it to about three quarters of the time, he began to hear the quiet steps of the next guard and quickly stilled himself even more, not wanting any noise to reveal him. He did clench his fingers tighter even as he pulled his knees up and to either side of his chest before resting his shoes on the wall. As soon as he did, however, he cursed with some worry. No… that… those shoes will make too much noise! He considered his options but really didn't think that taking one of his hands of the wall was going to be a good idea. His mind whirled with possibilities, dismissing all of them and came close to despair before an option popped into his thoughts. My inventory!

He wondered, then gave up and just tried it, and the shoes stayed firmly on his feet and he side with annoyance. Woulda had to take off my socks too, that's not... His socks disappeared from his feet and he narrowed his eyes, shock playing across his face before a small grin grew on his lips. OK. Now shoes! The shoes vanished as well and Joe grinned, but withheld the chuckle as he put his bare feet on the wall. Better… much better.

The person coming walked along the wall and passed in front of him a few moments later, and he wished fervently under his breath that the guard wouldn't notice his fingers slipped over the ledge of the wall. It's dark… right? Should be ok. Maybe…

The footsteps did not stop and continued past and Joe stifled his sigh of relief before quickly pushing up with his feet while pulling with his hands. He almost pushed too hard with his feet, causing his fingers to slip and he froze, gritting his teeth before making sure to push up and not out with his feet. Seconds later, his head was poked up over the edge and he saw the guard a couple meters to the side staring up into the night sky while twirling his staff like weapon. Joe grinned and turned to look the other direction and saw the guard quite the distance away. He grimaced with some worry. I see him… he probably can see me easily, right?

Joe considered for a moment, looked back at the other guard, then committed, pulling himself all the way up and onto the wall silently while remaining almost flat on the ground. He didn't even glance back and forth, quickly scuttling across the ground like a demented human lizard. He kept himself as low to the ground as possible while not allowing any part of his body to touch the ground, not wanting the sound of dragging clothing to be heard. Rushing across on hands and feet, not using his knees to crawl, he had to open his legs in an odd wide split so he could keep his back and rear low to the ground.

A couple meters and he was past the line the guards walked. Another couple meters and he made it to the edge where the lower wall began and he slipped over it then scuttled quickly the wall towards the oncoming guard till he got to the stairs leading from the lower to upper level. He huddled against them then turned to look at the previous guard walking away from him. Don't turn around… please don't turn around…

He remained there for another circuit until the next guard came by, his footsteps methodical and plodding until he reached him then passed by and Joe breathed a sigh of relief and only waited a few more moments before peaking over the edge of the stairs. Next guard… far away, but… He scuttled again, keeping down and slipping over the wall down the five meter drop and finally rested, feeling some relief. Glancing both ways, he found no guards and waited once more, stepping out slowly to see where the oncoming guard was every once in a while. When the guard was almost directly overhead, he began leaping quietly down the five meter drops until he made it to the ground, easily able to do so because the large five meter drops kept him hidden from the view of the closest guard and the furthest one was still too far away.

Reaching the bottom of the wall, he settled against it, breathing as nervous tension and worry evaporated and he finally calmed. Right… now to belong… and to find where it's at… If I remember… my old guest villa first, I think. But… not much shadow here… got the whole gas giant shining down here…

Joe stood and glanced around before taking in a small offset building that had no light and empty. On the other side, a small garden and a copse of trees stood and deep shadows covered the distance between the small building, the gardens, and the wall of the building. He glanced around quickly, looking up at the walls and saw the guard oncoming and waited for him to pass before marching purposely to the small building. He slipped to the right side then settled against the wall, the heavy shadow there covering him, even if he was still in the sight of the wall. He looked to the copse of trees but found it very small and utterly tangled with vines and bushes. I'll be even louder in there... Joe grit his teeth and considered his position. Well… better now than never!

He swapped his job to shinobi, the highest shadow hunter job he'd been able to level up decently and then used its shadow meld, shadow stealth, and generic stealth capabilities. His eyes widened and his grin grew. Wow! This… Shadows melted down and covered him, all color bleaching from his appearance and even taking on some of the coloration of what was around him, although the main effect seemed to more turn him basically monochrome. The shadows then blended so that what counted as his edge faded and blended into his surroundings, removing the sharp outline of his being and making him appear much more of a smear against the ground and wall than any meaningful shape. If anything, he looked kinda bush-like, now, and Joe struggled to keep his grin soft. OK… kinda nice.

He then paused for a time and simply explored the skills before finally turning back to what he was there for. So… then, hmm. Nicer clothing first, maybe… and my shoes! He grinned then tried to return his socks and shoes to his feet, but as soon as he willed his socks out with his feet as the target, his joy evaporated as he found his sock laying limply over his feet. He cursed, grumpily sitting on the ground to put his socks and shoes on, then stopped and pulled out his bag first to retrieve something a bit nicer. And a cloak… maybe… how about…

Joe took a moment to come out of the shadow to look at the guards and checked out their clothing then frowned. Lone guard walking around… might cause problems? Or are there guards… Joe look out over the empty wide greenery of the clan lands and saw a couple wandering individuals that Joe could take for guards before looking back up at the wall as well. He couldn't find anything that made them really stand out as uniquely guards as they all went about their duties without any real uniform or identifiable mark that Joe could guess at. Maybe… this was a bit dumb… Just… maybe go back. Shouldn't do this… Joe sighed, his smile curdling as the rage he'd felt earlier faded. He sighed and glanced at the glowing softly strobing blue at the corner of his vision.

Uncertainty washed through him and he retreated into looking at the two messages that he saw, seeking the familiarity of peace in retreat. Don't wanna think about anything right now… and no internet, so… He had both messages pop up.