Banished Pt. 08

"Ah, I see. So, what is this mysterious ability?"

"Have you ever found yourself observing someone, and doing something just as they did?"

My mind flashed back to when I was running in the woods with Eradne, and I imitated her movement.

Did that mean her navigation of the woods, and smooth movement there, was itself an ability?

I recounted the experience to Danica, and she nodded.

"That's called ability mirroring. It's a rare ability, and one that can be pretty powerful when it gets stronger. Keep doing what you have been though, and you'll get there; but since it is a unique ability, there's no way to develop it faster through armor or skill training... unless, of course, you find someone who has a higher level of the ability than you do."

"I'm not sure I really get this whole thing with unique abilities," I said, as I put on my pants, and began to don my armor.

"Think of it like this. There are some abilities that mostly everyone is capable of learning; running, movement, even fighting styles. These are common abilities, and most can be trained though armor, and trainers can usually be found somewhere in the world.

"Unique abilities represent a skill that only a small number of people are capable of learning. Most people have a unique ability or two of their own, but very few ever get them to high levels because of the difficulty involved in advancing them, or because they simply don't know how to develop them."

"So, it's kind of a reflection of your uniqueness as an individual?" I asked, and she nodded.

"That's one way to look at it."

"By the way, you mentioned that there were skills embedded into this armor. How do I access them?" I asked.

"Energy manipulation. It's a necessary skill that everyone develops eventually, but the sooner you develop it, the more control you're going to have over your ability to learn and control your skill training."

As soon as I was dressed, Danica shot me a pouty look, and she turned around as I moved to her, and wrapped my arms around her, holding her tight.

"Man, you sure know how to hold a girl," she said.

"I've been told it's my 'special talent'," I replied, my tone a little teasing, and she smiled.

"Well; let's get you safely back to your group," she said, and I nodded as she retrieved her sword and slung it over her back, before we headed out of the cave entrance, and down the little path that led away from her temporary home.

We began the journey back to the guildhall, but as we ran, Danica slowed down, and I noted a worried look on her face.

"What is it?" I asked, and she frowned.

"Something's off," she said. "It's too quiet."

"Didn't you say you cleared this area, more or less?"

She nodded slowly.

"Yeah... of monsters; but the forest critters aren't usually this quiet."

We ran for another minute or so, when the guildhall came into view, but as I approached the entrance, Danica stopped me.

"Someone's here," she said, and I nodded as she readied herself.

She gestured to the sensor, and as I stood off to the side, I held my wrist up, and as the panel slid open, a blade sliced across the entryway, and Danica evaded it with that usual, calm demeanor.

Her expression, however, was one of worry.

"Now, how'd you bastards learn to get into these places? I don't suppose someone let you in," she began, and a cackling laugh echoed from inside the hall in response.

Danica shot me a look, and I quickly moved away from the entryway.

"It's easy, when you still have your implant," he replied, holding up his wrist as he stepped outside.

"She turned you? While you were still human?"

The man had long, silvery hair, that fell quite carelessly about his face, and he wore a black leather outfit, complete with black leather boots, and black gloves to match.

"'Turned' is such an ugly word. I prefer to think of it as, 'seeing the light' really," he answered.

As he stepped out of the hall, however, his eyes flashed to me, and I gasped, as they seemed to penetrate into the depths of my very soul.

Just like the monsters, I thought, as I readied my weapon to defend myself.

"Well, this is interesting," he said, as his eyes flicked to my halberd, then roamed over my body, searchingly. "I haven't seen that set in almost five hundred years."

"You're Hans Gruber?" I asked, my mouth slightly agape, and he smiled.

"They still use that name after all this time? I'm blessed! Tell me, is Jacinda still queen-"

Hans turned his face to the side as a wicked flash interrupted his question, and I felt a little trickle of blood run down my face, as he looked over his shoulder.

"Oh~; you took a half-step back just to not cut his head off. You know, I would never have dodged it if you didn't do that," he teased, and Danica snickered.

"I hardly need to go that far to end a Harbinger like you," she said.

"What if I tore him to shreds right in front of your eyes? Tell me, what kind of face would you show me then?"

Danica gritted her teeth, and he began to laugh.

"Oh, calm down. I won't eat this one just yet... his core isn't even a proper snack. I'll need to let it grow first, before I hunt him down... and believe you me; I will, because his scent is just... intoxicating," he said, as he inhaled deeply through his nose, before letting out another laugh.

"You won't live long enough to track him," Danica said, as she lunged, and as her sword swung in an arc at the man, his arm transformed into a wicked scythe, deflecting the blow, and they exchanged a quick series of strikes before Danica shot me a suggestive glance, nodding toward the guildhall.

I nodded, and slipped inside as quietly as I could where I found Raul on the floor, unconscious.

His knife had been drawn, and was lying on the floor beside him, but as I checked him, I noted with some relief, that he was alive.

I tried to shake him, but he didn't stir, and as I tried to figure out what to do next, I noticed something sticking out of his neck.

What was that? I thought, as I examined the thing.

It seemed to be something like a needle, and as I held the thing, and began to pull it slowly from his neck, I gasped, as it seemed to be at least a foot long.

I quickly checked to see if there was anything else like that on Raul's body, but he began to stir, to my relief, and on a whim, I retrieved the spine like thing, and stowed it in my satchel, as I helped Raul to his feet.

"Can you run?" I asked, and he shook his head, trying to shake away his stupor.

"Fuck; what the hell was that thing?" he asked.

"I'm not sure, but Danica's out there fighting it."

"Then let's get the fuck outta here," he replied.

We moved cautiously for the exit, when I spotted them up ahead.

Danica seemed to be fighting with ease, while Hans was clearly agitated.

He made a flurry of strikes with his two hand-scythes which Danica parried, before evading his final strike, and she punished the misstep by cutting the scythe off at his elbow.

Hans let out a howl, as he leapt backwards several times, and out of her reach.

I silently wondered why she didn't follow him, when I caught her eyes flash in my direction.

She was looking out for us, I thought.

Maybe she didn't think she could end him right then, and she didn't want to risk him resorting to desperate retaliation.

"What do we do?" Raul asked, and I considered the situation.

Moving when they were out in the open seemed like a bad idea, so maybe we should wait until they started back fighting?

I was still ruminating over the possibilities when Hans let out a wicked laugh.

"You boys better run home, while there's still a home to run to! Or else I'm not sure there's gonna be anything left~," he called, and my stomach lurched.

The monsters.

They were his monsters, weren't they?

The claws, that wicked stare.

Could he really direct them to attack our group?

The panicked look on Danica's face told me all that I needed to know, and without a second thought, I took off at a sprint.

Raul quickly moved to my side.

"What are the odds that she kills that thing, and comes swooping to our rescue?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"The thing she's after is much worse than him; and I get the feeling, before this night is over, either her, or it, will be dead."

As we darted through the woods, I decided to give something a try, as I recalled the manner with which Eradne had moved on the night of our rendezvous.

I altered my movements to suit what I remembered, and after a short time, I turned, and noticed that Raul was panting heavily, as he struggled to keep pace with me.

"Jesus Christ, what are you on, speed three already?"

I shook my head.

"I'm still using the boost from this armor, so speed two," I replied, and he shot me a dubious look.

"Then how the hell are you outpacing me like that?"

"I think it might have to do with an ability that helps you traverse forests more easily... or maybe just this forest," I replied, and he shook his head.

"Fucking hell."

We set off as soon as he caught his breath, and I quickly adjusted my pace so that I could use Eradne's technique, while also reserving some of my stamina, to match the maximum sustained speed that Raul could move through the woods at.

The journey back to camp took just under twenty minutes, and as soon as I got there, Casey darted over to meet me.

"You're back..."

She moved almost instinctively towards me, before suddenly pausing, a little awkwardly, as she glanced at the sack in Raul's hand.

"You found it? The guildhall?"

"Yeah, that and then some," I replied, and she shot me a questioning look as I moved past her to the camp's far perimeter.

"Who's on watch?" I asked.

"Francesca's group," she replied, and I quickly scanned the area for her.

"Wake everyone up; and tell Gisela to prepare for an attack" I said, as I quickly moved to Francesca's side.

"Nate! You're back!" she began, but I quickly cut her off, as I grabbed her hand and led her somewhere closer to our sleeping area.

"Change into this. Quick," I ordered, and Francesca took one look at me, then nodded, as I began to unpack the medium grade T-two set.

"Wow. This is fancy stuff," she said, as she donned the pieces one by one.

Casey came over to join us, rousing Nolan, Jordan, Cameron, and Jeannie as she did, and they shot me a questioning look.

"Jordan. This one is yours," I offered, and he nodded, as he shot Francesca a quick look.

Nolan moved to help him change armors, as I turned to Casey.

"Let me put Raul in a suit," I said.

"Is it that bad?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Jeannie. I want you in one as well," I called, and as Cameron shot me a slightly glum look, I responded with a slightly apologetic glance.

We ended up putting Jeannie in Jordan's old armor, while Raul wore his own armor, much to his delight.

"Who's more comfortable with spears?" I asked, and Francesca quickly raised a hand.

"What's the other option?" Nolan asked, and Raul rested down the two swords we'd purchased in front of them.

"Fuck, I'll try one," Jordan said, and I snickered a little, as he did seem less than comfortable with a spear in his hand when he'd sparred with Francesca.

Raul ended up opting for the other, which left the three spears with Francesca, Nolan, and Jeannie.

Evie and Molly had remained on watch, and they had between them a dagger and a hunting knife, so Cameron opted for the second knife, and I clasped one of the other daggers to my boot, as I'd done earlier.

I caught Raul eyeing the other dagger, but I figured it would serve us best as a standby weapon, in case of an emergency.

"So... where's the fire?" Francesca asked, as we were all finally geared up, and I rubbed the back of my head, as there was no denying the absolute silence of the forest around us.

I quickly shook off the momentary lapse, as the last thing we needed right now was to drop our guard.

"We'll set up a perimeter; hunters with us on the northern side of the camp. Let's get everyone together in one sleeping area; all who can't fight will rest there with the princess and her companions at the core, while the runners will form a perimeter on the southern and eastern fringes."

The group nodded, and as Casey made arrangements with Gisela, the Kobalt set about quickly moving things about so that we could compress our campground into a smaller, more defensible state.

As we began our watch at the fore of the camp, however, I noted a little Kobalt girl staring daggers at me.

It seemed nothing more than slightly unnerving at first, but as the rest of the younglings went off to bed, and even the majority of the non-combatant adults, the child persisted in staring, so eventually, I signaled to Gisela.

I relayed my observation to her, and as she cast a tentative glance back at the child in question, her brow wrinkled with concern.

"Please forgive the sapling, Herr Nathan. She is not of peaceful mind."

"What do you mean?" I asked, and she dropped her voice to a whisper, as she leaned in closer to me.

"Her life-bringer was the Kobalt lain beneath the earth this night," she replied, and I frowned.

"Her father? What about her mother? I mean, the one who carried her seed," I clarified, and Gisela nodded.

"She is with the earth; her second life, perhaps already begun."

So, an orphan, I thought.

As I studied her and the determined expression on her face, I caught as her eyes flashed to something behind me, and as I turned, I caught the slightest hint of movement in the bush far ahead.

Did she see that?

I signaled to Francesca to let her know that I was moving ahead, and she nodded, as I slipped from Gisela's side, and began to dart, keeping low and as quiet as I could, across the jungle floor.

I made it halfway to the source of the disturbance, when my foot landed on a dry leaf, and as it crunched beneath me, a low growl sounded, and I caught sight of a shadow leaping from the bush, and quickly ascending the nearby canopy tree.

As it moved out of sight, I caught several more shadows following it, moving up into the trees above.

One, two... four, five? Was it?

Two more followed soon after, and I swallowed uncomfortably.

So, seven.

Seven of those things.

I crouched low, and waited, but rather than move amongst the branches above, they seemed to just halt there, remaining in place, and I kept my position for a bit, waiting for some hint of movement, before turning, and heading back to the line we'd established at the fore of the camp.

"I counted seven of those things," I muttered, as soon as I returned to Gisela's side.

"Geisterung?" she asked, and as I shook my head, she placed a hand over her mouth, as she suppressed a little whimper.

"Where's Casey?" I asked, and she nodded to the sleeping area, and I spotted her, casting worried glances in my direction from the midst of the sleeping Kobalt bodies.

Do you need me? She asked, directly into my mind, and as I nodded, she began to weave her way through the area as she made her way over to me.

"What's up?"

"There's seven of those monsters in the trees. The... aufhöcker, was it?" I asked, and Gisela nodded, as I continued. "They're just sitting there, watching us."

"Fuck. What do you think? Are they waiting for us to get tired to strike, or something?"

I shook my head.

"Unless this is completely unrelated to the threat that that harbinger made, which I doubt; they were sent here by him, and what they're waiting on is a coordinated assault of geisterung."

"Fuck. We can't get to them in the trees, though... and we can't move either."

"Could we just chop some trees down?" I asked, and Gisela frowned.

"It would be a saddening method, but acceptable if necessary," she replied, and I nodded, turning to Casey.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"Taking away their aerial advantage would certainly help our odds, from a defensive perspective," she said, before shaking her head.

"I just realized the trees are really close together. Even if we cut them down, unless we clear the area, they would still provide cover for them to attack from."

I cursed under my breath.

"We need to do something," I replied. "If we just wait until their force comes down on us, then we'll just get slaughtered."

As we spoke, Francesca moved to our position.

"I think I have an idea," she said. "What if Nate and I headed out? Thinned the herd before they gather up?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Casey said, as I gave the suggestion some thought.

"That might be worth a shot. She and I have killed these things before, and I have a fair idea of where they're coming from, thanks to our scouting run."

Casey bit her lip, and I studied her, as she gave the suggestion some thought.

"Are you sure you can outrun them if they come after you?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Thanks to the map module, we can always lead them on a chase, and we'll know where the camp is, if we need to circle back on a safer route."

Casey still seemed uncertain.

"What if they attack while you're gone?"

"By themselves? I'm sure you can handle it. Raul will lead the lines, and you can direct them on how to react. Besides, we won't be gone for long. We'll just make some quick cuts through the woods before coming back. No more than thirty minutes or so each time."

Casey bit her lip, then nodded.

"Alright. Let's do it," she said.

At Casey's insistence, we carried a little parcel of roasted meat, but not much else as our attacks needed to be quick.

I nodded at Francesca, then took off, heading west of the camp.

"Tell me if you're getting trouble to keep up. The speed from your armor is the same as mine, but there's some kind of ability related to moving in forests that I seem to have picked up."

"This is fine," Francesca said.

We moved in that direction for a couple of minutes, before stopping to take stock of the situation.

"Does it look like they attacked?" she asked, and I shook my head, but as I kept my eyes on the tree line, I suddenly noticed a shift in the branches up ahead.

One at least had followed us.

That was good. If we could take him out, then less to deal with when the real attack came.

"Let's move," I said, and we took off, this time northwards with a slight angling to the east, and it took no more than two minutes journey in that direction before a low growl sounded, somewhere off to my left.

I pulled to a stop, and Francesca shot me a quick look.

I motioned for her to circle around towards the source of the sound, while I readied my halberd and began to approach.

Visibility was poor, as the night was as dark as ever, but my eyes had adjusted to the conditions, and as I saw a bit of movement, I prepared myself to pounce.

I took another step, when the creature charged, but as I sliced it down, another pair of claws came at me, swiping wickedly as another creature had apparently been charging in the shadow of the first.

I reacted quickly, deflecting the blow with my bracer, before jabbing upwards, and impaling the monster through the face just as he had turned to snap at me.

Blood and drool leaked out of the creature's skewered mouth, and I shoved it aside, and off of my halberd's tip, just as Francesca emerged out of the brush ahead of me.

"Two more? There was another one back there," she said, pouting a little, and I snickered as I caught the blood trail that her spear had left behind.

"Three down," I said, as I stowed my halberd, and rubbed my palms together in anticipation. "Let the hunt begin!"

***

Joanna furrowed her brow, as she looked at the five profiles up on her display.

There would be no more psychopaths for them for some time, but she had some choices to work with.