Banished Pt. 07

I stared into the distance; off to my left, trying to spot the main group.

When we first set off, I'd initially thought that we'd need to move at an accelerated pace to keep our one mile radius from the group as we moved into more advanced positions in relation to them, but the main group moved slowly and stopped often, forcing us to move at a crawl.

On a good note, though; we'd detected no threat or tail from Palancar of any kind, and as the early morning coolness gave way to the sweltering heat that came with proper daylight sun, the group had begun to move with a more steady, consistent pace.

I wiped away at the sheen of sweat that had built up on my brow.

It was hot in here, and not a dry kind of heat like a California summer, but the humid kind of heat that made everything feel stuffy and claustrophobic.

Maybe Francesca did have the right idea, I thought, as we stopped for a momentary break.

I used the intermission to strip off my breast plate, and remove the leather shirt that I'd worn underneath, and after thinking about it for a second, I also lost the pants.

Going full commando wasn't really an option, since the belt plate offered very little coverage, but as I recalled that Francesca had cut her own cotton pants to a shorter, more manageable length, I quickly decided to do the same to the piece of clothing that I'd entered this world in.

As I stripped, I caught a few inquisitive glances in my direction, and I snickered a little to myself.

Were they as curious about our bodies as we were of theirs?

Thanks to my rendezvous with Eradne, I now knew full well that their biological make-up was pretty much identical to ours, with only subtle differences apart from the green hue of their skin, but it seemed that that fundamental difference was enough to excite the imagination nonetheless.

I quickly donned the pieces of armor that I'd removed for the wardrobe change, and as we began moving again, I felt much more at ease.

We continued along until my group moved off to the left of the main group, but as we came to a stream, the group came to a halt.

"Did the main group stop?" I asked, and the man shook his head.

"We need to discuss. To keep current separation from main group, crossing stream is necessary," the man said, and as I examined the stream, I found that it wasn't particularly deep, nor too wide to cross.

"That's fine," I said, but the man shook his head.

"Beyond this stream blooms blighted grove, Auslander. Treading upon is with caution."

"Why?" I asked.

"Die Aufhöcker!" one of the other Kobalt exclaimed, and the others seemed to cringe at the very use of the word.

I was about to ask what the word meant, when suddenly, a signal smoke went up, off to the right.

"Is that the main group?" I asked, and as the Kobalt man spoke to one of the others, a response came in German:

"Weiter weg von, Auslander," the man said, and I nodded.

Further off then... so Francesca's team.

"Meet up with the main group," I instructed the others, as I drew my halberd from its resting place over my shoulder, and darted into the trees in the direction of the smoke.

Time to push this armor to its limits! I thought, but as I really kicked up the pace, my chest tightened, as the speed I moved at momentarily overwhelmed me.

It was exhilarating; like riding your bike downhill for the first time after you've just got the hang of riding, but I quickly found that controlling my movements at that speed was more difficult than I thought, and to my embarrassment, my shoulder crashed painfully into a nearby trunk that I was unable to move clear of in time, and as it knocked me off balance, I tumbled onto the ground and rolled about several times before coming painfully to rest at the bottom of a short incline.

I took a quick look around to make sure that my misstep went unnoticed, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I found myself alone in the brush.

The smoke was fading, but I could still make out the general heading, so I climbed to my feet and took off at a more sustainable speed, and soon enough I got to where the group was.

There was a large group of Kobalt surrounding Francesca's group, and while her spear was drawn, her body language was calm, and measured.

Good girl, I thought to myself, as I approached the group.

"Halt there, Auslander," one of the Kobalt called, and I turned my halberd around, and swung the butt end at the man, striking him across the face.

The blow lifted him off of his feet, and he landed painfully by the feet of one of his comrades, and the others moved to his side, and aimed their spears at me.

"Don't assume you possess the authority command me," I barked, as I slung my weapon over my shoulder and strode past the group without a second glance and moved to Francesca's side.

"What happened? Did they attack?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"They ordered us to stay here, and I wasn't sure what to do, so we sent up a signal. Should I have fought back?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"No, you did well," I replied. "Let's move to the main group."

As I led the group toward the spears pointed at them, the Kobalt wielding them momentarily held their ground, but as I shot them a warning glare, they moved out of our way, and we walked away from the blockade and towards the main group.

We got there to the sounds of a commotion of sorts, as the princess, with Gisela and a few of her aides at her side, was standing at the head of the group, yelling at a group of Kobalt who were now standing in their path.

"What's going on?" I asked, as soon as I moved to Gisela's side.

"Palancar seeks to obstruct our migration," Gisela explained, and I nodded.

There were around forty Kobalt in front of us, with a Kobalt man wearing on one of those toga-styled robes that I assumed meant he was a member of the council, standing at the fore, and engaging the princess in a quite heated debate.

As soon as he spotted me, he waved a hand dismissively at her, much to her chagrin, as he moved toward me.

"Auslander. Your people tread on Palancar soil. It is not acceptable," he began, and I turned to Gisela.

"What claim do they have to the land?" I asked, and she bit her lip, indicating ahead.

"A grove seed has been sown; up ahead. By right, it would claim this land for Palancar, as long as the carrier of the seed is of legitimate association."

"When was the seed planted?" I asked, dropping my voice to whisper, as I turned away from the councilor.

"This morning. Most likely, after our departure."

I furrowed my brow.

I knew that Palancar, being the massive city that it was, still lay to the east of where we were, and that we would need to journey for several days before moving completely clear of its vicinity, but to obstruct us at this point seemed an unusual waste of their time.

"What's their play here?" I asked, and Gisela shot me a questioning look.

"Play?"

"Sorry. I mean, what's the purpose of getting in our way like this?" I asked, and she frowned.

"We cannot circumvent their lands by heading east, because therein lies Palancar."

I nodded, having already guessed as much, as she continued.

"And west of here is a blighted grove that would cast us into danger," she continued, and I frowned, as I suddenly recalled my group's hesitation to even cross the stream we'd encountered.

"Across the stream?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Up ahead is an impassable mass of rock. To circumvent this new land, we will need to venture some way through the blighted grove."

"How long would it take to cross?"

She frowned, thinking about it for a bit.

"Perhaps three, maybe four day-cycles? It is difficult to estimate, as the challenges are many."

This was bad...

We'd left Miriam's cluster to escape Palancar's reach, but it seemed they were intent on forcing us into a confrontation.

There was no choice... we would have to brave this 'blighted grove'.

"How far do we need to move to be out of their 'territory'?" I asked, and Gisela frowned.

"Six or seven hundred paces."

I nodded.

"Let's move, then," I ordered, but as Gisela spoke to the princess, the girl stomped her foot on the ground, and refused to budge.

Gisela shot me a pleading look, and I nodded, as I approached them.

To relinquish my resolve to a councilor, much less an imbecile like him, vexes me. It is an insult to my very existence! Miriam's voice spoke into my mind, and I frowned, resting a hand against her cheek comfortingly.

If you ask it of me, I will relent, she continued, and I sighed, looking to Gisela to relay my message.

"Not for me, or for yourself... but for all who look to your leadership," I said, and as Gisela spoke, she cast a glance back at the Kobalt who were now looking to her, and she nodded.

So be it, she said, but as she turned and walked away, a forlorn expression on her face, I turned to the councilman, and shot him a sharp glare as I committed his face to memory.

As we walked over to the stream where my group had been just a little earlier, I stole to Gisela's side.

"That Kobalt; he's on the council, isn't he?" I asked, and as she nodded in response, I continued, "with whom does his loyalty lie?"

She bit her, leaning closer to me to whisper.

"Danebe."

"Do you think this has all been his doing?"

She thought about it for a bit, before responding.

"The actions of Palancar right now align with his ideology. But I find it difficult to believe him the orchestrator."

As we came to the stream, and the group pulled up to a stop, Gisela looked around, before adding:

"Even before we were cast out from Palancar... I suspected that his dissents and protests came at the direction of another," she explained, and I nodded, taking a look around at the group myself.

The otherworlders in the group wore confused expressions, as most had not yet been told what was going on, but the sheer terror plastered on the faces of the Kobalt was quickly unnerving everyone.

As soon as I spotted Casey over by the supply carts, I quickly moved to join her, and as I did, she shot me a surprisingly relieved look.

Please, for the love of God, relieve me of this girl!

I chuckled a little as I approached.

"-but do you think he'll like me more if I'm a fighter, though? It's not very... girlish, is it? I don't want to be useful, but not wanted."

"Bianca, I don't know what he prefers," Casey replied, the exasperation in her voice completely unhidden, but Bianca seemed completely oblivious.

"Oh, Nate!" she said, as soon as she spotted my approach. "Did you come to check on me?"

She swayed girlishly, as she batted her eyes at me cutely, and I rubbed the back of my head.

"Sort of," I answered. "There's been a bit of a problem. Do you think you could gather up the rest of our group? Anywhere around here is fine."

"Me?" she asked, looking around, and I nodded, chuckling a little.

"O-of course! I'll be right back," she said, and as she wandered off, I stared after her a little.

"Is she that bad?" I asked, and Casey groaned.

"Ugh! You have no fucking idea! What's going on?"

"Palancar is getting in our way again. What do you know about a 'blighted grove' somewhere in here, by the way?"

"Inside the forest?"

I nodded.

"Never heard of it," she replied, and I frowned.

As I kept an eye on Bianca, I noticed that she seemed to be talking to Leeanna, and I watched for a bit, since she was one of the otherworlders I'd have preferred to keep her from associating with.

She quickly moved on to Nolan, Jordan and Cameron, but I noted that she was talking to them for quite some time, rather than just telling them to gather up, and I let out a sigh.

"You were a much more efficient assistant," I noted, and she groaned again.

"You know what, just... fucking help me out of here," Casey said, and I shot her a dubious look.

"You really should rest for a bit, you know. Stab wound, and all that?" I countered, but she was determined.

"I can move around; its fine," she said, and as she struggled to get out of the cart, I offered her a hand.

"Here; put your arms around my neck," I instructed, as I got my hands under her; and I lifted her up, and away from the cart.

As I rested her down on her feet, however, I noticed she seemed a little flushed, and I chuckled at the response.

"I'm gonna go get the council together, but... would you stop undressing me with your eyes?" I teased.

"Fuck- I wasn't doing that. Ugh! This stupid hypnosis!" she cursed, and I snickered at her as she screwed up her face and folded her arms angrily.

I spotted Gisela getting the Kobalt organized for our new route, and headed over to her.

"I wanted the council to get together, but is this a good time?" I asked, as I approached, and she nodded.

"It will do," she replied, as she signaled to Myrinne.

She began to head over to the princess, but the girl shot her a dejected wave of the hand, dismissing her, and Gisela and I shared a little look of concern.

"She could use some cheering up," I began, and Gisela quickly nodded in agreement.

We headed over to the supply cart, where Cameron was already waiting.

"Hey, can you tell this idiot that she might wanna rest a little after, I dunno, getting stabbed?"

"Oh, please. Compared to the gang rape, and losing my hand? This is practically a pin prick," Casey answered, waving her good hand dismissively.

"That's a clear exaggeration," I replied, "I mean, I pricked my finger on a pin once, and whoo boy, that thing hurt for weeks."

Casey shot me a wry look, and Cameron giggled at the comment, as Gisela and Myrinne moved to my side.

Gisela then indicated to one of the hunters from my group, and the man came over to join us.

"This is Helge," Gisela began.

Everyone gave their names, and the man bowed in response.

"I am not worthy," he replied.

"Helge is a hunter of this grove. He knows the dangers it poses better than most," Gisela explained, and I nodded.

"So, what can we expect?"

"The danger most common is der geisterung."

"Describe it?" Casey asked.

"Large creature. Half-Kobalt bigger than one full grown; fangs for tearing flesh, and claws which slice through bone like god-weapon."

"Black fur?" I asked, and as the man nodded, I shot Cameron a look.

"You think it's the thing we killed?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"Sounds like it. Actually, Gunter was there back then. Let's just ask him," I suggested, and Gisela hesitated, before requesting that one of the other girls call for him.

"Herr Götze!" Gunter called, and Gisela quickly scolded him.

"Ask him about the creature we killed on the day when he came to fetch us," I requested, and Gisela nodded, before relaying the question.

Gunter quickly nodded, then began to speak excitedly, his actions indicating that he was actually giving them a breakdown of how it happened, and the Kobalt man, Helge, furrowed his brow at him.

They spoke for a bit, before Gisela dismissed Gunter, much to his dismay, and then turned her attention back to the group.

"This is unprecedented," Gisela said. "The geisterung has never been seen that far south of Palancar."

As she and Myrinne began to talk in their tongue, I noted that Casey had a worried look on her face.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"I'm not sure... that creature sounds more like a monster than an animal," she answered, and I frowned.

"What's the difference?" I asked.

"There are animals native to this world. Some are so similar to earth animals that they may well be from the same class or order as modern-day animals."

"And monsters?"

"Monsters are aberrations which fuse humanoid properties with... other things. Sometimes animal... sometimes objects, plants, even viruses or bacteria."

I studied her carefully.

"Is that your company's doing?"

Casey sighed.

"Honestly? I have no proof, but it's a fair assumption. I mean, monsters are resilient to ordinary weapons; many use abilities similar to the ones our armor grant us; and they do seem to inexplicably pop up in areas where the company wants to keep otherworlders around, like the towns beyond Saker."

I frowned.

"Why here then?"

She thought about it for a while.

"Can't say I have an answer for that. This is way out of the way of any normal otherworlder hunting grounds, but who knows? Maybe the company has no part to play in this after all, and it's all just random."

I quickly glanced at Helge, who seemed to be trying to shrink away from the conversation taking place.

"Helge, was it?"

He nodded timidly, as if my uttering his name had physically struck him.

"How frequently do these creatures, what was it called again-?"

"Geisterung," Gisela answered, as the man didn't quite seem to understand where I was going.

"-right, geisterung. Do you have an idea of their numbers?"

"Numbers?" he asked, and Gisela quickly spoke to him in their language, and he shook his head.

"We tracked three, outside of Kleiner Hein-"

"The cluster," Gisela explained, and the man nodded, before continuing:

"-two roam east of Palancar, along the fringe; the other, north of here, past the new grove. But within the blighted grove, their numbers are many more... and greater evils walk among them."

"The Aufhöcker?" I asked, and the man shuddered a little, before nodding.

I glanced at Gisela and she frowned.

She spoke to the man, a bit angrily, and he quickly bowed, before taking his leave.

"What was that about," I asked, and she shook her head.

"The geisterung is real; a thing seen, that our people have faced for generations. But the Aufhöcker is a myth. It is told to straying saplings to keep them to the path of the grove."

I rubbed my chin, as I considered all of the new information.

"Hmm. I think I feel a bit more comfortable going into the grove now," I said, stretching lazily, and Cameron shot me a surprised look.

"I'm sorry? What part about monsters and creatures from folklore makes you feel at ease about going in there?" she asked.

"Well, I'm fairly confident that we can handle this... geisterung, with our weapons. Even larger monsters shouldn't give us much trouble with armor and all that. My concern was that there were enough of those monsters in there to make this a viable hunting ground for otherworlders, because then the possibility would exist that we might encounter some in there."

Casey rubbed her chin, thoughtfully.

"You said they were like bears, right?"

I nodded.

"Yellowstone has like seven hundred bears," she said.

"Over what kind of area?"

"About eighty-thousand square kilometers," she answered, and I frowned.

"Again, with the metrics?" I asked, and she waved a hand dismissively.

"Deal with it."

I shook my head.

"Fine then; from what I've been told, our path through the area is, uh... about a hundred kilometers?"

"In a straight line?"

I shook my head.

"We're going around some impassable rocky terrain," I explained, and Casey nodded.

"So that might be, like... a five thousand square kilometer area. I'd say there's about fifty creatures in that area," Casey said, and I nodded.

"So, about two hundred credits worth of monsters? I doubt that'd be worth anyone's time."

She nodded, as she paused to consider the situation.

"Although... let's say for argument's sake that there are greater monsters in there, and these... geisterung, aren't apex predators in this area. That could easily push their numbers into triple figures within the same space... depending on what they eat, how they breed, et cetera."

"You want me to get you a sample, or do you need to study them in their natural habitat?" I teased, and Casey shrugged.