Banished Pt. 03

That could be one of Caleb's people...

"Can we move quickly?" I asked.

The Kobalt nodded, as everyone gathered themselves up, and Gunter thumped his chest excitedly.

"We fly, Auslander!"

Gunter took off at a slow jog, and as I matched his pace, he glanced at me, and gave a nod, so I decided to pick up the pace a little, and sure enough, he quickened his pace as well, and the group quickly moved into a formation around us.

I shot Gisela a quick look, to make sure she could keep up, and she seemed to be doing so without much difficulty, so we trotted along at that pace, quickly making it to the tunnel entrance that crossed over to the hilly plains.

Gunter took the lead, and as we made our way through the tunnel, I noted that the carcass of the bear-like creature had been completely moved, and I made a mental note to ask Gunter about it later on.

When we got to the hill exit, however, Gunter again took much care to make sure that we weren't seen.

"Auslander," Gisela began. "Our people cannot be seen near this realm."

She indicated towards the keep in the distance, and I nodded.

"I can go alone," I responded, and she shook her head.

"I will not leave your side. But the rest will wait here, if it pleases you."

I nodded, and Gisela quickly relayed her orders to the rest of the guard.

Gunter seemed to protest, but she spoke to him sharply, and he dejectedly moved back towards the tunnel entrance, to my amusement.

"We go," Gisela offered, as she unclasped the belts that secured her robes, letting the garb fall about her, draping her entirely, and wrapping a headscarf about her face, concealing her green skin, almost entirely.

As I studied her, however, I began to feel quite self-conscious about the shimmering blue armor that I wore, as it shone like a beacon in the daylight sun.

I quickly relayed my concern to Gisela, who agreed.

She spoke to the rest of our group, and after some deliberation, some of them disrobed smaller bits of their own clothing, which Gisela used to create a make-shift covering for the more reflective pieces of armor.

It was rough work, and when she was done, I felt a bit like a vagrant knight; but we took off nonetheless.

"How many are your kin?" Gisela asked, as we moved quickly across the road toward the keep.

"Five," I answered, and she nodded.

As we got to the keep, we took the road down to the guild hall, but just as we got within sight of the entryway, I felt a weird sensation, as the hair along my neck suddenly stood on end, and I grabbed Gisela, and leapt backwards towards a bush that grew just off the path.

She shot me a questioning look, and I signaled to her to be quiet, and sure enough, several seconds later, a man walked past, wearing a full suit of armor that very much resembled my own.

He's not from my group, I thought, and for a moment I reached for my weapon, but the movement seemed to alert the man, who immediately assumed a defensive stance.

Fuck.

Had he heard me?

I was still trying to figure out how to respond, when the man began looking around.

Holy shit, I thought. He sensed danger, but has no idea where it came from.

The man looked around, then suddenly, he took off at full sprint, and after waiting for a bit, I emerged carefully from the bushes in time to spot him sprinting off in the distance.

It was curious, to say the least; but my attention was immediately pulled back to the guild hall, and I ran to the entrance.

I held my wrist up to the scanner, opening the door and expecting the worst, but instead I found-

Nothing.

There was no one in the hall, and I quickly stepped inside to inspect the scene...

No blood... no sign of a fight.

I breathed a sigh of relief, but the feeling was short lived.

If they weren't here, then where were they?

I glanced back at the entryway, where Gisela stood, casting furtive glances inside.

"Can you come in?" I asked, and she gulped, before taking a cautious step inside.

"Amazing," she said, as she studied the room. "But where are your God-kin?"

"I'm not sure."

I quickly scanned the room for signs of Francesca and the others, when I noticed our survival pack, or what was left of it, lying in the same general place in which we'd slept.

I approached the spot, and as I removed the bits of cloth, I found something scrawled on the floor:

Caleb. Forced. Help.

FEB.

Francesca Emilia-Brown?

The message had been roughly cut into the steel floor.

I'd suspected earlier that no-one else was close enough to hear when she'd given her name; so, either this was a message that she knew I'd understand, or this was a trap, set specifically for me.

Either way, I'd need to find them.

As I covered the message, I walked over to the console, where Gisela was studying the large glass tube at the center of the room.

"Is this where it comes from? All of the Auslander relics?"

I nodded, suddenly remembering the energy core that I'd harvested from the bear-like creature.

With Gisela's help, I retrieved it from my satchel, and holding it up to the display tube, a blue light flickered to life.

Exchange for 4 credits? The message read, and I sighed.

Four credits?

Unless there was some way to mass-harvest these cores, it would take a long time to accumulate the fifty-five hundred credits needed to buy our way home.

Even the basic armor and weapons from the catalogue now seemed significantly difficult prospects.

No wonder newbie hunters existed... the fifty credits we started with was probably the easiest, quick payout that our circumstances afforded.

I sighed.

Was there anything I could buy, that would be of help right now?

I did a few searches and found a compass, worth twenty credits, and a mapping module for our implant worth five hundred.

The map would be a worthy long-term goal, but for now, I needed ways for us to navigate, so I quickly purchased the compass.

What else would we need?

If we did make it back to the Kobalt city with everyone, then most likely we could depend on them for food and medicine.

Suddenly, something occurred to me, and I turned to Gisela.

"Gisela. Do Kobalt women... uh, bleed monthly?"

"Month-ley? I don't understand it."

"Uh... women. When fertile? Bleeding in cycles," I explained, and Gisela suddenly blushed.

"Yes, Auslander... we are not pure like the goddesses."

I tilted my head.

"The goddesses don't... uh bleed?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"The goddesses bodies repair ever constant. The bleeding never comes."

For a second, I wasn't sure if perhaps this was something that they assumed, or if it represented a gap in their knowledge, so I decided to push the matter further.

"So, do the humans bleed? The ones who look like me, but live out there?" I asked, gesturing towards the town, and Gisela quickly nodded.

"All tongued-folk do, Auslander. Only the gods are exempt from the natural cycles of life."

She seemed fairly certain, and as I did a quick look-up in the catalog, I noted that searching for feminine hygiene products came up with nothing.

I looked around in a few categories that it might fall under, but after finding nothing, I figured Gisela must have been right... which brought me back to another question.

"Gisela. The princess seemed sure that Cameron was... uh, with godling. How was she certain?"

"Lucilla Mater confirmed that conception had occurred during the night. We were quite joyous at the news," she said, and I studied her with interest.

"How did she know that, though?" I asked, and Gisela pointed to her heart.

"The matron can feel things; even hear things, in here. It is the power that all matrons possess."

It was eerie, but for some reason, I believed her; and it made me feel... strange.

I shook the feeling away, as I returned to the catalog.

I had weapons and armor, and now, also a compass... what else would I need?

Maybe better robes to conceal my armor?

I did a quick check, and found what I'd wanted at a cost of five credits, and I was quite glad to find that the purchase included several robes, some of which bore crests like the ones we'd seen at the keep.

I donned a grey robe, and stowed the rest, before indicating to Gisela that I was ready to leave.

"What do we do now, Auslander?" Gisela asked.

"I need to find my friends."

I studied the road for a sign that could point me in the right direction, but nothing stood out.

Where had Caleb's group headed when they'd first left the hall?

They had taken the road towards the keep, hadn't they?

If that was the case, then our best bet was the little bit of woods that lay beyond the hills where Gunter and the others awaited us.

"Let's head back to the group," I said, and Gisela nodded eagerly.

She'd seemed quite skittish ever since we'd come within range of the keep, and she seemed quite glad to be leaving.

We quickly returned to the others, and I had Gisela relay what happened.

"Do they have any idea where my friends might have been taken?" I asked, and Gisela scratched her chin, as she spoke to the others.

"They have not seen the Gods you describe, but a small team is currently tracking the axe wielding God. They will return here when this hill-face goes into the daylight's shadow."

From what I could tell, then sun had just risen, and its light was on the hill-face. That meant that they would not be back until evening.

That was a long time to wait.

"Do they have any other leads?" I asked, and after clarifying what I meant, Gisela relayed the question, then nodded.

"Gunter says he tracked another group that left your sanctuary two day-cycles ago; a group of eight, all goddesses."

Vanessa's group, I thought.

Wait, wasn't Vanessa initially prepared to join up with Caleb's group?

Maybe she was in contact with him.

Either way, making contact with her group could prove beneficial; and with this armor, they could hardly pose a threat.

"Can Gunter lead me to them?

Gisela spoke to Gunter, and he nodded enthusiastically.

"Are they also friends, Auslander?" Gisela asked, and I shook my head.

"They arrived here with me, but we are not friends. We should move with a smaller group."

Gisela nodded, passing on instructions to the group, and everyone returned to the tunnel except for Gunter, Gisela, and one other Kobalt.

"Lead on," I said, and Gisela nodded.

We moved from the hills, back to the road, and followed it until we came to the sparse bit of wood.

At this point, Gunter led us off of the road, and began to follow a rough trail that wound through the trees.

Eventually, we came to a steep slope, which slanted sharply downwards, and leading to a stream far below.

Gunter pointed towards the stream, and as I looked down, I quickly made out an encampment on the stream's bank.

The encampment was nestled into a pocket formed by tall hills that rose to the north and east of the bank, with the stream flowing to the west.

"How safe is this place?" I asked, and Gisela relayed the question.

"Gunter says travelers stop by this stream frequently to let their pack animals rest as they travel between Saker and Norambe."

"Norambe?"

"It's another false-god keep, that lies to the east," Gisela explained, pointing in the direction that the road followed, back where we left off.

Gunter spoke again, and Gisela nodded.

"Gunter says they are safe here from monsters, but that they are vulnerable to Gods and God-hunters. It is not a place that they should stay for long."

I nodded, processing the information.

"I'm going to talk to them; you and the others should stay here," I said, and Gisela's brow wrinkled with worry.

"The princess said I am not to leave your side," she countered, and I shook my head.

"They won't speak to me as easily with a stranger around; besides, I don't want to expose you or the Kobalt to them. They may one day pose a danger to your people."

Gisela considered the argument, then offered a compromise.

"I am agreed, but with condition... if you do need us, a signal would be useful."

"Alright. If I signal like this," I said, holding my hand up with my forefinger pointing up, and my thumb sticking out to the side; "then you can come to me."

But as I offered my weapon to her, she stepped back, her hands held up and shaking her head emphatically.

"You'll need to keep this for me; they'll see this weapon as a threat."

"You must be able to protect yourself, Auslander. They are gods, too."

"I know, but I'm not looking for a fight. Now, if you won't take the weapon, I might have to give it to Gunter," I joked, and Gisela gulped, then reluctantly accepted the weapon.

She stared worriedly after me as I headed down the hillside towards Vanessa's encampment, and I made it within fifty meters of the first tent, when a voice called out.

"Hey! Don't take another step! What do you want?"

"I just wanna talk," I reasoned.

"Not another step!" the girl called again.

The voice came from a little bit of bush just outside of the camp, and as I listened carefully, I could make out two voices speaking in hushed tones.

"Go away!" she finally called, and I sighed.

"I have information to share. Just let me talk to Vanessa!" I called again.

There was a little pause, before the girl's reply came.

"Wait there!" the girl ordered, and I spotted one of the two rushing off to the tent at the far end of the encampment.

I waited for a while, before Vanessa emerged from her tent, a spear in her hand, and some armor on her arms and chest.

"Talk," she said.

"It's not safe here," I replied, and she smirked.

"And why is that?"

"Someone's hunting us. A veteran. Someone like us from an earlier group."

She pondered the information.

"Even if that was true, why are you telling us?" she asked.

"We need information to survive. Both of us. You're worth a lot more to my group if you're alive."

Vanessa smirked, walking closer to study me.

"Your group, huh? Let me see your hands," she called, and as I raised them, the sleeves of my robes fell back and my arm guards came into view.

"Where'd you get those?" she asked.

"From the catalog," I lied, and she studied me.

"Weapons?" she asked, and I pointed to my hip.

"Just a small knife," I lied, and she studied me, thinking hard.

"Bianca. Keep a spear aimed at him. If he tries anything funny, stick it through him," she called, and a pretty girl with black hair stepped out of the brush, a spear raised firmly in my direction.

Vanessa beckoned, and I followed her, somewhat cautiously, to a few logs near the center of the camp.

She gestured to me to sit, and as I did, she took a seat across from me.

"So... I guess you followed me after all that day, huh," she began, and I shook my head.

"No. We heard about some people camped out here from some traders," I lied, studying her face for a reaction, and she cracked a smile.

"So, they won't talk to us, but they will talk about us. That's nice," she sighed. "Wait, how did you get them to talk?"

"I'm giving a lot of info for nothing; how about you tell your spear-girl to chill a little," I countered, and she smiled.

She gave the girl a little nod, and the girl lowered the spear... but I could see her grip on the weapon was still firm.

"The people of this world are a lot more willing to talk when we don't look like obvious outsiders. This cloak, for example, helps, because our armor spooks them like crazy."

Vanessa snickered.

"Sounds fairly straightforward, except we had no armor when we tried to talk to them."

"You need to lose the uniform, I said," indicating to the clothes that we came in, that most of Vanessa's group still wore.

"Is that all? Or do I have to trade you something for every little itty-bit of info that you know?"

I shook my head.

"I'm willing to share everything we've learned. A show of good faith, if you will."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Like I said. To help you survive."

"To help us?" Vanessa asked, her tone a little teasing. "What makes you think we need help?"

I sighed.

"It's been rough for us, and even though you're putting up a tough act, I know it's probably the same for you," I said, and she laughed.

"We haven't really had the same trouble, Nate. Maybe you all just really suck at this?"

I snickered, taking a look around.

"Let's see; you're next to a stream, so you have access to water; maybe even food, right? But what about medicine? I've looked through the catalog; the stuff on there's pretty expensive, no? Are you sure you can collect cores fast enough to buy them when someone gets sick?"

Vanessa shrugged.

"It's not exactly a pressing issue."

"Oh? Then what about feminine products? Nothing listed on the catalog, huh? Do your girls know what they'll do when that time of the month comes?"

The girl beside Vanessa perked up at this, and quickly moved to speak, but Vanessa cut her off, and shot her a dirty look.

"And what? You're here to rescue us from our poor, little, womanly bodies, like a big, strong man?"

"No, but if we find out something, this is the first place I'd come to share it. I have girls in my group too, you know. They share the same concerns."

"Girls in your group, huh? If you care so much about them, maybe you should focus on taking care of them and not coming here to try and scare us off of our spot."

"I don't care about your spot. I don't even care if you want to stay here. I mean, it is a good spot, but you're badly positioned; those cliff faces are too sheer to climb, and there's a stream to your left. You'd be boxed in if something attacked."

Vanessa shrugged.

"Easier to defend. Only one direction they can attack from," she responded, and I laughed.

"Anyone can literally just throw stones at you from on top of either of those hills. And stones are the least of it. I've seen tar bombs and acid cocktails in the shops in town. What would you do then? Climb the hills to run at them? You'd be full of arrows before you reached close enough to attack."

The girl beside Vanessa looked worried, and her hand began to shake a little.

"If trying to spook my girls is all you've got, then maybe you should leave," Vanessa said, and as she nodded, the girl raised her spear again.

I lifted my hands up in surrender, as they led me to the edge of the camp; but as I left, I headed for a hill to the left of the one where I'd left Gisela and the others.

I walked slowly, and I'd not made it halfway up the hill when a voice called out to me.

"Hey, uh, Nate! Wait up!"

I turned around to see a thin girl with freckles and red hair tied up into a ponytail, her hair bouncing as she ran towards me.

"Please. Take me with you," she said, as soon as she was close.

Her tone was pleading, but there was something visibly off about her facial expression.

"Why?"

"You said you found somewhere safe to settle down, right?

I studied her, trying to figure out her intentions, as she shot me a pleading look.

"Look, Vanessa doesn't know what she's doing, but you do. Please? I don't want to die. I'll do anything."

I rubbed my chin, studying the girl.

"Anything?" I asked, and the girl quickly nodded.

"Anything! I'll have sex with you. Whenever you want. You can use me for anything, just please take me with you."

A little too eager, but maybe I can work with this.

"Fine... follow me, uh... what's your name?"

"Candace."

"Candy, okay. We'll be moving quickly, so keep up."

The girl nodded, moving to my side.

She didn't appear to be armed, but I was wary nonetheless.

"Nate, was it? Is that, like, short for Nathan? Or Nathaniel?"

"Just Nathan," I answered, keeping an eye out for the expected tail.