Banished Pt. 02

"He's an English-speaking Americ-"

"Yes, I fucking KNOW."

"What do we do, sir?"

The man slumped back into his chair.

"What's the current survival probability?"

"Less than one percent," Joanna answered.

The man rubbed his forehead, agitatedly.

"If it's a class four action, there's nothing we can do for now. Find out who gave that order, and we'll take it up with them in person."

"But sir. I can't investigate something with that level of clearance."

"I don't care how you do it, Joanna. Just get it done."

The man dismissed the projection, then picked up the phone on his desk.

"Elena?"

"Yes sir."

"Send someone in for cleanup," he ordered. "And more scotch."

"Right away, sir."

***

"Hey, wakey-wakey."

I stirred from sleep to Francesca's effervescent greeting, and I gave a silent vote of thanks to the powers that be for sparing my life.

"Ugh," I groaned, as I stretched out a sore spot on my back, and rose, with some discomfort, to a sitting position.

Cameron, I noted, was fast asleep beside me, and Nolan and Jordan were over by the console, doing some reading.

Casey also appeared to be resting, but as I surveyed the room, I suddenly noted that there was another person, standing in the room.

"He woke up?" I asked, and Francesca nodded.

"His name is Vince," she said, "and he's having a really hard time with all this."

As I studied him, I noticed that he seemed to be muttering something to himself, and I let out a sigh.

He might be the first to crack, but he certainly wouldn't be the last.

As I studied Cameron's sleeping form, I cast a careful glance over to Nolan and Jordan, and sure enough, Nolan was casting subtle, furtive stares in our direction.

Come now, Cameron.

I'm not stupid enough to make the same mistakes you did.

Sure, I would need to talk to Francesca eventually, and get her firmly on my side, but I was in no rush.

"Did Cameron ask you not to wake her?" I asked.

"No. But Nolan said I should wake you first, and wait for your instructions."

"Okay," I responded, as I got up, and headed over to the two.

"Is it light out?" I asked, and Jordan nodded.

"About three hours now," he replied.

I looked over to Cameron.

"Did she say not to wake her?" I asked, indicating to Cameron, and Jordan shook his head.

"I just thought I'd let you decide if to wake her, since you two were up together."

I nodded, then turned to our sleeping captive.

"Did anyone get any more info out of her?" I asked, and again, Jordan shook his head.

"I don't think anyone's particularly eager to talk to her," he replied, and I rubbed my chin, thoughtfully.

Jordan shot me an interesting look, and I made note of it, before heading over to Cameron.

This time, as I gently shook her awake, I held both of my hands up in mock surrender.

"No knife this time," I promised, as she stirred, and Francesca was studying the interaction with interest.

"No knife? What's that about?" she asked, and Cameron rolled her eyes, as she sat up.

"Someone's a practical joker," she answered, indicating towards me, and Francesca regarded me with interest.

"Teasing everyone, are we?" she asked, and I gave a quick shrug in response.

"Did the world come crashing down while I was asleep?" Cameron asked, and I chuckled.

I guess I wasn't the only one who slept uneasy.

"Looks like our unconscious guild-mate woke up," I said, indicating to the boy, Vincent.

Or just, Vince, was it?

"He does not look alright," Cameron noted, and I helped her up as she got her bearings. "That floor is not easy on the back."

I nodded in agreement, but Francesca seemed indifferent.

"Wasn't so bad," she added, shrugging, and Cameron and I both laughed, derisively.

"What a thing it'd be to be young again," Cameron muttered.

Francesca beamed, as if it were a direct compliment, and I smirked at the response.

"So, what's the plan today?" Francesca asked, and I glanced over at Cameron.

"How long will you need to prepare before we can leave?"

"Leave?" Francesca asked, looking between us.

"Apparently, Nate and I have a date," Cameron teased, and Francesca looked between us with genuine concern.

"Quit teasing the child," I chided, and Francesca pouted in response. "Cameron and I are going to do some recon," I explained, but Francesca seemed thoroughly displeased with that explanation.

"Can I come?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"We're not just going to the town this time. It could be dangerous."

Francesca pouted, but as she noted the serious look in my eyes, her childishness seemed to abate.

"So, what do we need to do in the meantime?" she asked, and Cameron studied us with renewed interest.

"You can probably try to fix that broken robot over there," I indicated towards Vince. "Or see what you can get out of our 'lonesome captive'."

"Actually, I'm not sure we should approach her so lightly," Cameron cut in, but I waved away the concern.

"Francesca will be fine. She can handle herself," I added, and Francesca beamed as Cameron shook her head, disapprovingly.

As we walked over to where Jordan and Nolan were, I kept a subtle eye on them as the two gave Cameron a quick greeting.

Nothing weird there, I noted with some relief.

"So, what's the plan?" Jordan asked, and Cameron turned to me, expectantly.

"We're gonna start with the keep."

"Lord Grumpy-pants?" Francesca asked, with some amusement, but the faces around us were anything but.

"Is that a good idea?" Nolan asked. "I mean, the town already gave us a pretty cold reception."

"Yeah, but nobles and peasants don't usually see eye to eye. Maybe, he might give us an ear."

Cameron was studying me, unable to suppress her misgivings.

"He basically told us to fuck off or die," she commented, and I bit my lip.

"I know. But that was yesterday. When we met him, we were like fish, fresh out the water. Now we have an understanding of where our kind stands in this world."

"So, assuming he doesn't have us imprisoned and executed, we do... what?"

"Make him a trade offer. Have any of you checked out that knife?" I asked, and everyone shook their heads. "Nolan? If I may?"

Nolan shot a quick look at Cameron, and she stared daggers at him, before he quickly produced the blade.

So, you have spoken to him, I thought.

I drew the blade from its sheath, then holding it up, for everyone to see, I placed my finger, just barely, towards the tip, and everyone gasped as a little trail of blood began to run down my finger.

"Damn. Is it really that sharp?" Jordan asked, and I shook my head.

"Not just sharp. Take a look at this."

I walked over to one of the metal railings that surrounded the console area at the center of the room, then, taking the knife, I made two quick slices in opposing directions on the bar, and gasps followed, as the bit of metal slid, perfectly cut, onto the floor.

"The fuck?" Jordan exclaimed, and the group quickly came over to inspect the damage.

"If we can do this with a T-one, low grade, knife, then I can only imagine the havoc we've wreaked here."

Everyone seemed amazed by the knife's capabilities, but as they took turns examining it, I noted that Cameron seemed particularly disturbed.

She seemed on the verge of saying something, then decided against it.

"So, we demonstrate the knife to the Lord of the keep?" Cameron asked.

"Given his reactions to us yesterday, I'd assume he knows what our destructive capabilities are."

"Then what?"

"I think we need to show him that we can offer something more than just tools of destruction."

Cameron considered my suggestion, but as she did, I could sense something else in her eyes as she looked at me.

Was it... anger?

I wasn't sure.

"So which group keeps the knife?" Cameron asked, finally.

"I think we should take it," I replied.

She looked to the rest of the group, and everyone seemed in agreement.

"What if they get attacked?" she asked, and I sighed.

"If we get attacked right now, by anything more than local, badly equipped robbers, we're fucked."

"Then let's buy weapons," she replied, and again, I shook my head.

"Weapons can help us defend against two possible threats, total; Caleb's group, and Vanessa's."

"So? Is that security not worth it?" she asked.

"It's not that it's not worth it. It's just that, I doubt either group will attack."

As we spoke, I noticed Francesca's eyes on us, observing intently.

Good girl, I thought. Watch well. Pay very close attention.

Cameron deliberated the problem for another minute, before finally agreeing to the plan.

"I think we should change into the clothes from the survival pack," I suggested, and Cameron nodded in response.

Cameron headed off to the other side of the room, while Jordan, Nolan, and myself, stayed on the other side of the console, to give her some privacy.

Jeez, what I wouldn't give for a bath, I thought, as I quickly stripped off my cotton shirt, but as I was about to replace it with the black, padded leather shirt from the survival pack, I felt a hand brush my shoulder.

"Whoa, nice pecs," Francesca called, and I raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.

"Have you ever heard of privacy?" I chided, but she ignored the complaint, as she continued to examine me.

"Didn't peg you for a fitness buff," she continued, and I sighed.

"Quit teasing me. I've probably never exercised a day in my life," I replied, and at this, Jordan raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

He walked over, and to my surprise, placed a hand at my ribs, poking a bit.

"Bullshit," he said, and I as I examined my own stomach, I noticed, with interest, that the soft bit that I had been accustomed to, was indeed, noticeably firmer.

It wasn't as if I'd gone from complete flab to muscle overnight, but it was... different, for sure.

Where was a mirror when you needed one? I thought, as I tried to get a proper look at myself.

"Hey Nolan, take off your shirt," Jordan called.

Nolan tilted his head in confusion, but as he noted that we were serious, he complied.

"Whoa. Guys, he definitely didn't look like that yesterday."

Francesca and I both turned to Jordan, with questioning stares.

"What? No- he thought there was a spider in his shirt, and took it off. Fuck," he cursed, and Francesca giggled.

"So, you're certain. He wasn't like that yesterday?" I asked, and he nodded.

This was interesting.

Was it this place, transforming us?

Or was it something they'd done.

"What are you thinking," Francesca asked.

"They did say we were experiencing memory loss from the transference... maybe we went through some kind of training program before coming here?" I answered, shrugging.

As we talked, Cameron came over, dressed in her changed outfit.

It was sleek, black, with long sleeves, and a belt pack strapped diagonally across the chest.

"Why aren't you dressed," she asked, and I got changed as the others explained our discovery to Cameron.

She seemed somewhat doubtful of our find, but since we had more pressing matters, we decided to leave that discussion for another time.

As we got ready to leave, Nolan unbuckled the knife belt.

"So, who keeps the knife?" he asked, and Cameron reached out, taking it.

"What? You know it's better for Nate to keep it," Francesca cut in, and I chuckled.

"Lesson one, young padawan. You don't leave your only weapon with the psychopath," I replied.

"Oh, come on. He's always the first to react to everything that happens, and he keeps a cool head."

I chuckled again, waving her complaints away, but as I headed towards the exit, Cameron stopped me.

"Francesca's right," she said, holding the belt out to me, and I studied her carefully as I considered the offering.

Learning to play the game, are we? I thought.

It was a risky move, on her part, but I was glad to play along, so I accepted the belt, and shot her a thankful nod.

We headed through the panel, and the others gave us their final wishes of 'good luck' before we closed the panel shut.

"Okay so, where do we-"

Her words trailed off as I stepped towards the panel, examining something.

"What is that?" she asked, and I held up my find; a little note, written on something that felt like... animal skin?

The words were badly scrawled and barely readable, but it read:

Stay the kill

To coming extermination

Make us God

The death

"What the fuck is this?" Cameron asked, as I handed her the note.

I took a quick look around, but there was no one in sight.

"Where was it?"

"Stuck to the panel," I replied, and as she examined the back, I could see that there was some sort of sticky substance coming off on her fingers from the back of the note. "Wait. What's that?"

I noticed there was something on the back of the note as well...

What was that?

A map?

"A map," she confirmed.

She held the drawing up, then turned it, so that the map faced up, the same direction as the writing, then she took a step forward, and looked at the dirt pathways in front of us.

"These roads... this is it, isn't it?"

There was a road which ran along the exit to our guild hall.

To the left, it went downhill to a fork in the path; the path left from here, was a road which continued uphill, towards the keep, while the road on the right made a V-like turn, running parallel to the road on which we stood, but heading down, eventually, to the village below.

I studied the lines she indicated, and indeed, it did appear to match.

"Then if we follow this path, there should be a bend going that way," she pointed beyond the rocky outcropping, where the keep stood.

We quickly made our way down the hill, towards the fork, and as we cleared the rocky area, we noted that there was indeed a bend going away from the keep, and towards some hills in the distance.

"Those hills," she said, pointing to the hills I'd mentioned. "That's where the map would take us."

I considered the development.

"This might be a better lead than the keep," I offered, and she studied me, with some interest.

"This note, though. 'To coming extermination'? 'The death'? Some of this sounds... ominous."

I rubbed my chin.

"I don't understand it one bit, but... it kinda looks like if someone machine translated a message," I offered. "Maybe none of that is really what we think it might."

"Yeah, but aren't we just grasping at straws here?"

"To be honest, trying the keep was grasping at straws... we have a good deal to offer them, but the chances that they'll hear us out are slim to nothing."

Cameron shot me an annoyed look, and I shrugged.

"What? It was all we had," I replied, and she sighed.

"So, we forget the keep and just... follow this random thing? What if it's a trap. We don't know anything for certain."

"Actually, we do know something. This note was placed on the entrance to the guild hall. That seems pretty intentional. Whoever put it there wanted to make contact with us, and they showed us how to do it."

As Cameron considered the dilemma, I offered a solution.

"If you're worried, I actually don't mind going alone," I offered.

"No. No, it's fine. I'm curious about it as well," Cameron answered.

She held up the map once more, to confirm the location indicated, then we headed off.

The road was flat, and straight, and after walking for something like fifteen minutes, I noted that we were nearing the hills that we'd seen in the distance.

"This looked a lot closer, from back there," I noted, and Cameron nodded in agreement.

As we paused, I took a moment to look back at the keep behind us, and noticed for the first time that the structure stood, quite impressively, casting an imposing shadow over the surrounding landscape.

"That's odd," I noted, and Cameron followed my gaze back to the keep.

"What?"

"There's no mountains around us," I thought, looking around, and Cameron raised an eyebrow at me, questioningly.

"And? Oh, I'm sorry, did Gandalf promise you mountains?" Cameron teased, and I smirked in response.

"No, but... those rocks. I mean, that outcropping that the keep was built over. I don't see them anywhere else except over there. That's odd, isn't it?"

Cameron thought about my observation, her interest piqued.

"You think it wasn't naturally formed?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"I'm no geography major, but I don't think rocks just spring up out of the ground like that, do they?"

Cameron nodded in agreement.

"The keep's position seems perfect. In the middle of these huge plains," she added. "You know, now that you mention it, this area seems... weirdly empty."

"Empty, how?"

"Like, back there, there's the town below the keep, and like, three or four villages spread out beyond?"

"Hmm. You're right," I concurred, as I took a look around.

I mean, the road we were on was dusty and dry, but the plains all around us were green and lush.

Even the hills that we were fast approaching were covered with greenery.

"Maybe something drives people away from here," I suggested, and Cameron gulped nervously.

"Like, whoever left that note?" Cameron asked.

"We should probably be careful," I suggested, and Cameron gave a quick nod.

We continued on for another fifteen or so minutes before we climbed the first hill, and we stopped as Cameron consulted the map.

"This is where we go off-road, I think," she said.

She passed me the map, and I noted that it had indicated a place, on the other side of a hill, that rose up, off to our left.

"Would sure be nice to have a compass," I noted, taking a look around.

I mean, sure. The keep was very much visible from some distance away, so we should be fine. But it was risky, and I cursed myself for not thinking of checking for one on the catalog.

"So, do we proceed?" she asked, "or should we come back when we're better prepared?"

I shook my head.

Honestly, as risky as it was, the others were in as much danger as we were.

After all, this newbie hunter could show up there at any time.

"The clock is ticking. We need to go back with something solid, or our next move will be a death march into the unknown lands beyond these hills," I answered, and Cameron nodded.

We made our way over the hill, but was we came to what appeared to be the spot indicated on the map, we found-

"Nothing! There's nothing here," Cameron said. "Ugh!"

She kicked at a tuff of grass, as I looked around.

"Let's not lose heart just yet," I chided, as I studied the bare hill face.

Was this just an elaborate prank?

The chances of that seemed quite unlikely.

We were just missing the link.

I was still studying the grassy surface around me when I heard it.

"Psst."

I turned to Cameron, who was sitting down, her head in her hands.

"Psst!"

There it was again. I turned this time in the direction of the sound, while trying to signal to Cameron.

"Auslander," the voice spoke. "Don't kill. Just want speak."

The voice seemed to be coming from a tuft of grass, and my eyes went wide, as the little bit of shrubbery, suddenly moved, and a face peeked out at me.

"Uh, Cameron," I called, and she looked up at me, questioningly.

I motioned towards the bush, and she jumped to her feet, ready to react to whatever was happening.

"No kill, Auslander! No kill," the voice pleaded, and I quickly raised my hands, showing they were empty.

I kept watch on Cameron on the periphery of my vision.

I wasn't sure if she had caught sight of our quarry, so I hoped that she wouldn't do anything rash or stupid.