Banished Pt. 08

There was Thomas Jagger, a murderer turned fugitive who they had apprehended last week.

As she tapped on his profile, a news report came up of the authorities declaring his death, and as she reviewed his case file, she noted with relief that there were no close relatives looking for him.

Maybe this one would work? She thought; but a sigh escaped her lips, as she knew that not even a violent criminal could produce the results that a seasoned psychopath did, and now, not only had she sent an undiagnosed potential asset in with another asset, but that asset, itself full of so much promise, was now an all but assured loss.

Would she be fired for her slip-up?

That was a stupid question; of course she would!

I mean, people lost their jobs for losing an asset even when it was through no fault of their own, and here she was, technically responsible for the loss of two, and with nothing to show for it.

Why couldn't you have lasted at least two weeks, Nathan? Then I could get my promotion, and be done with this stupid fucking job!

The intercom on her desk alerted her, and as she pushed the button to respond, Elena's voice came through.

"Mr. Ricci requests to see you now," the girl said, and Joanna furrowed her brow, and ran her hands through her hair nervously, as she straightened it out.

"Of course. I'll be right in," she replied, and she took a deep breath in and exhaled, as she got ready to face the music.

***

We'd taken down four more groups of 'geisterung', when I stopped to cast a tentative glance in the direction of our camp.

"Should we head back?" Francesca asked, and I frowned.

The geisterung were definitely gathering together, but as they were slow to group up, coming in groups of three, no less, and I felt the urge to press on since we were making good strides in thinning the herd.

Casey had estimated that there would be something like fifty of the beasts in the area that we were covering.

So, counting the two we killed earlier in the day, we'd already taken down seventeen, leaving another thirty or so creatures in our general vicinity.

I pictured that many of the creatures barreling down on our group, with no defenses but the weapons in our hands, and the sight did not inspire confidence.

Especially not with those aufhöcker bastards ready to swoop down on us from above, probably targeting our strongest fighters and picking them off in the confusion.

No, we needed to kill at least another fifteen to make this situation manageable, I thought.

Minimum.

"Let's press on a bit more," I said. "We'll sweep the area east of here, then move down to the camp from the north-east."

Francesca nodded, readying herself as we took off.

As we moved through the night, I noticed that she was keeping up with me, though I did move with much less urgency than I had when we were heading back to the camp from the guildhall.

Her movement, however, was rough and rugged, and as I practiced my own form, I began to wonder if in time I would be able to teach this ability to her.

Danica had mentioned skill training, hadn't she?

And if most abilities really were as intuitive as she had explained, then teaching the skills I'd learned to others shouldn't be impossible, although I guess my own ability to teach depended on how advanced my own understanding of the skills were.

Was there perhaps an ability that could help me to understand my own skills?

It was definitely something to consider, and I made a mental note to ask Casey about it...

If we could ever survive this night, that is!

"Nate, there's something keeping pace with us in those trees," Francesca muttered, and I shot a quick glance in that direction, and spotted some movement amongst the branches.

It had been a while since I'd noticed the creature following us.

Would it make a move?

Probably not alone...

Although, maybe it was waiting for-

"Geisterung. Up ahead."

I pulled to a stop.

"How many?"

"I only see the one, but he's pacing back and forth... almost like if he's expecting us."

I bit my lip.

"That thing in the trees may have hatched up a plan to deal with us," I said.

"What do we do? Kill the bear thingy ahead, then try to shake him?"

I shook my head.

"It's clearly seen us, and it hasn't moved. It's behaving differently from the rest."

I took a quick look at the branch where I'd last spotted some movement, then took a deep breath in.

"Follow my lead, but don't move ahead of me," I said, and Francesca nodded as I took off with speed toward the tree.

A growl sounded from off to my left, and I shot Francesca a quick look, and she shifted over to that side just as a creature burst out from behind a nearby trunk at me.

She cut it down with a single sweeping strike, and I didn't break my stride as I moved to the tree and swung the bladed head of my halberd, and the creature leapt from the tree as it fell, flailing a bit and reaching for a nearby branch, then scrambling up the tree as two more geisterung came barreling at us from straight ahead.

I took a quick glance off to the side and noticed there were three more tearing across the forest floor from the area where we'd spotted them earlier, and I smirked, as I knew they would never get here in time.

I decapitated the first geisterung, while Francesca stabbed through the other, and pulled her spear from its hide as she readied for the coming wave.

I darted at them from the left, and Francesca moved off a little bit to my right, but as the trio broke apart in their pursuit of us, a howling kind of hoot sounded across the forest, and the creatures pulled up to a stop.

The two who had broken off, heading toward Francesca, began to pace back and forth, clearly agitated, while the other stood up on its two hind legs, and let out a beastly roar.

That was when we heard it; the beating of feet against the ground.

Seven...?

No, eight.

Maybe even more?

"With me," I said, as I darted back the way we'd come, and as we moved through the trees, I caught sight of three more geisterung up ahead.

"What do we-?" Francesca began, but I never broke my stride, and to my relief, she followed me with unquestioning tenacity.

I slashed through the first one, and evaded the swipe of the second as I turned and kicked, knocking the creature over and onto his back, while Francesca's blade tore through the third.

I jabbed my spear through the final creature, as it scrambled to its feet, and shot Francesca an admiring smile, as she nodded, and we took off again.

"They set a trap for us," she noted, and I nodded in response.

"We'll head back for now, but their numbers still seem too great to defend against," I said.

We encountered no more groups on the way back, but we had to wind our way around the barrier of aufhöcker that stood at the north side of the camp, and rejoin the group from the western side, where we'd left.

"Miss me?" I asked, and Casey shoved me angrily in the chest.

"That was more than thirty fucking minutes, Nate!" Casey shot, and I smirked a little as she examined me.

Her hands lingered on my chest a bit, and I felt as if she was about to hug me, when Cameron cleared her throat, and she rubbed the back of her head as she stepped back.

"I'm glad you're alright," Cameron said as she hugged me, and I noted with interest that she shot Casey a little look as she did, before releasing me from her embrace.

"How many did you kill?" Casey asked.

"Twenty, was it?"

I turned to Francesca for confirmation, and she quickly nodded.

"Holy shit," Cameron breathed.

"You can thank the little lion over here for that," I said, and Francesca smiled happily as I ruffled her hair, and Cameron shot me a slightly glum look, which made me smile.

"They figured out what we were doing and set a trap for us, though," Francesca added.

"What was the situation like over here?" I asked, turning to Casey.

"One of them left when you did, and after about twenty minutes, another two more left as well. We tried to send a signal up, but Gisela said that unless we lit a large fire, it was unlikely that you could spot it in the night."

I nodded in response, as I moved to the front of the camp, and studied the trees in the distance.

"Has anyone noticed if they came back yet?"

"We've seen nothing," Nolan replied, and I nodded again.

We needed a plan.

Even when that thing had Francesca and me on the back foot, it didn't strike.

Was it then reasonable to assume that it wouldn't unless it was certain of getting a kill?

If that was the case, then that would be problematic, as the only opportunity to kill them might come at the risk of someone's life, and without any experience with the things in combat, that was a risk too far.

We needed a way to force their hand.

If seven of those things were in the trees, and three had left, then there were only four there now.

Maybe we could force them out?

As I shifted on my feet, the sound of a leaf crunching underfoot caught my attention, and I cast a quick look upwards, at the canopy.

The branches were more or less scant, weren't they?

And the thick mass of vines that grew amidst the canopy... didn't it look a little dry?

I quickly enquired about the state of the trees, and Gisela nodded.

"The blight. The forest here is in wither. It is unlike the sacred groves."

"If we lit these trees on fire, how far would it spread?" I asked, and Gisela wrinkled her brow.

"You wish to initiate a sky-fire?"

"Sky-fire? What is that?" I asked.

"When the crimson star burns bright, and the dust clouds descend from the great plains, the sky-fires come even to the best kept groves, deep within the great forest."

Dust clouds, huh?

I signaled to Nolan, and as he moved to my side, I relayed Gisela's words to him.

"She's talking about bush fires. If this forest is tropical, and I have no reason to believe it isn't, then there are basically only two seasons; one dry, and one wet. It's reasonable to assume that the canopy becomes parched during the dry period, and the leaves turn brown and fall off, but if that canopy catches on fire then, hell, I have no clue what would stop it from spreading into a wildfire across the entire forest, short of a rainstorm."

"The water from the depths," Gisela answered. "The great trees draw water up from deep beneath the earth. It is the purest water in existence, and purifies the sky-fire, bringing a new canopy where the old one burned."

"That's wonky," Nolan answered. "Are you thinking about burning this whole place to the ground?"

"Not exactly," I replied. "Gisela, would the great trees here draw up water to end the flames? Or are they too affected by the blight?"

"Our knowledge of this wood is without reference, but I see little reason to believe they would not."

I nodded, then gestured to Casey, and as she moved to my side, I outlined my plan.

"I want to start a fire," I explained, and she frowned.

"I know this forest sucks, but let's not burn it to the ground just yet," she replied, and I snickered a little.

"Not to the ground," I replied, as I began to relay Gisela's observations to her.

"Hm. So they have their own built in sprinklers. I'm beginning to wonder if this forest is even a naturally occurring thing," she mused, and Nolan snickered.

"Its general appearance is consistent with the climate, though," he replied, and Casey nodded.

"That's true."

"Ooh~. Look at the science types all bonding and stuff," Cameron interjected, nudging Nolan suggestively in the side, and he rubbed the back of his head and chuckled nervously as Casey suppressed a little shudder.

"So, what're you thinking?" Casey asked. "You want to cut off the approach of the geisterung by setting fires strategically across the forest?"

I shook my head.

"I want to cut off the retreat of those fucking bastards," I said, nodding subtly to the treetops ahead, and Casey frowned.

"Then we'd have to fight. You think you saw seven in there, but we have no real confirmation of that number."

"Four right now; three left earlier, remember?"

As we spoke, however, Gisela seemed to be casting a look behind me, and I turned just as the little Kobalt girl from earlier began to approach.

She spoke in their language, and Gisela tilted her head at her before replying.

"What is it?" I asked.

"She says there's six of them in the trees," Gisela replied, and I turned to study her.

"Can you see them?" I asked, and she nodded. "Show me."

I stooped down to her level, and as she pointed across the forest, her fingers stopped at the spots of the four trees I'd seen the Aufhöcker climb earlier, before indicating to two others much further off than where I would have looked.

Were those two the ones who had left earlier?

I asked the question, and as the child shot me a blank look, Gisela began to speak to her in their tongue, and she promptly shook her head, then replied.

"She says they have not moved, and that the ones who left earlier have not returned."

"Nate; she's a kid," Casey began, and I bit my lip as I studied her.

Casey's point was an obvious one, but my gut feeling told me that the little girl was right.

That she was seeing these things.

I stared at the girl intently, my mind going back to Danica, and the intense way she'd looked at me when we'd first met, and suddenly, I noticed something... it was faint, barely noticeable at first, but as I concentrated, it became clearer; a faint blue thread that ran through her body in a pattern much resembling a neural map, and in a constant state of motion.

On that thread, there was a bump... small, almost unnoticeable, but most definitely present.

Was that a skill?

It was such a strange thing, but for some reason, I felt sure that it was.

There was another bump somewhere else, even fainter than the first, and I nodded, as I understood.

"She has two abilities," I said, and Casey's eyes narrowed on me.

"What? How do you know that?"

"I think I'm using an ability as well... maybe sensory perception?"

Casey shook her head at me.

"You don't just learn skills like that Nate..."

"I'll explain later," I said, as I turned back to the trees ahead. "For now; just trust me, because we only have a limited time to act."

Casey shook her head again, as she massaged her temples agitatedly.

"Fucking hell," she breathed, letting out a long sigh. "Fine. What's the plan?"

I called Nolan over as well, as I began to explain the plan, but Casey kept letting out long, exasperated sighs, and shooting me looks of outright incredulity.

"Seriously. That's your plan?" she asked, as soon as I was done outlining my intentions, and I snickered at her in response.

"I'm not asking you what you think. I just want to know if it can be done," I clarified.

Nolan picked up a handful of leaves, and pawed at the dirt underneath.

"It's dry enough, that's for sure," he said, and I turned to Casey.

"Yeah, it'll burn alright, but that's not the issue here," she replied.

Nolan, however, shrugged.

"If there's really thirty plus of those things coming at us, with close to ten of those tree jumping monkeys, then I don't think we'll see daylight anyway."

"Thank you!" I said, and Casey shot him a dirty look.

She shook her head, as she begrudgingly began to work out the mechanics of the plan in her head.

"Call everyone over," she said, and I nodded, as we signaled the group to gather up, while she fetched a stick, and began to map out the trees up ahead on the dirt.

As everyone gathered around, she drew a line across the tree line.

"This is us," she said, before circling four trees up ahead. "This is where our targets are. Now, our genius leader wants to create a bushfire to cut them off from behind."

"Will it spread fast enough to cut them off?" Francesca asked, and Casey frowned.

"Depends on how they react. I'm all for leaving it to chance, but Nate wants to create a distraction to stop them from noticing it right off."

"What kind of distraction?" Evie asked, and Casey sighed, as I smirked.

"I'm gonna walk on over there, and try to have a little chat," I replied, and Evie snickered.

"That's sounds like a very Nate thing to do. What's your counter plan?" she asked, turning to Casey, who perked up at that question.

"Glad someone at least is interested in alternatives. We start the fire and drive them off. Fire cuts them off from coming at us from that direction, and we control the spread by culling trees, and keeping them away as we move."

"Move what, the entire Caravan?" Cameron asked, and Casey nodded.

"We can walk for days if we push ourselves, and I say this is a reason to push."

I sighed.

"Or~, we end up facing this same fight later on while standing on exhausted legs."

"I'm with Nate on this," Jordan cut in, and Nolan, Jeannie, and Francesca quickly voiced their agreement, while only Evie and Casey seemed to express inhibitions, so I gestured to her to continue with the plan.

"Well then," Casey continued. "While Nate distracts the aufhöcker."

"Aufhöcker?" Molly asked.

"The tree monsters," I clarified, and Molly nodded, as Casey continued:

"We split up into two small groups. Raul will take a team east, since that's where threats are most likely to come from, and Nolan will take a team west."

"Why not two armored guys?" Molly asked.

"West is the direction we cleared earlier, and we encountered very few geisterung- that's the bear ones- in that sector. Plus, we need the armored fighters at the center, since fighting the creatures is Nate's objective."

"So; kill the brain guys, then handle the rest as they come. Sounds good," Jordan said. "When do we start."

"For the sake of possibly getting the jump on these goons, as soon as we break from this circle," I replied. "Gisela's people are gathering two stacks of kindling while also lighting a fire just over there, to the eastern side of our front line. There are two groups of hunters who will move with Raul and Nolan, grabbing the kindling and running to these two trees, outlined by Casey here. Once there, they'll start lighting up the fires at the base of the tree, then cut down the trees, if it's possible, to form a blockade, cutting off the monster's retreat."

"Should be doable with swords," Raul noted, and I gave him a quick nod.

Jordan frowned, as he swapped his new weapon in exchanged for Nolan's spear.

"Once that's done, the rest of you need to pay attention to how they react. If they attack, then Jordan, Francesca and Jeannie; the rest of our armored fighters; will come to my aid, along with the rest of the hunters, while Evie and Molly will hang back with Cameron, and defend the rest of the Kobalt. If they go after our other groups, however, we'll need to support them, and get them back here safely."

"Sounds good," Jordan said.

"So, does anyone have any questions?" I asked.

I took a quick scan of the group then nodded as everyone seemed to understand their roles.

"Okay then. On three? One, two, three!"

I turned and headed towards the monsters, as Nolan and Raul moved on the periphery of my vision.

I got to within twenty feet of the nearest tree, and I noted the branches rustling there as I came to a stop.

"Hey, Aufhöcker! If you're not a bunch of little pussies, how about you come down here and fight!"

I drew my halberd, and spun it over my head, as I readied myself.

"I know who your master is, by the way. And he's probably already dead! Maybe he died because he was a little pussy ass bitch like you, huh?"

I paid attention to the tree line as I delivered my insults.

Sure, I knew it was highly unlikely that they understood language, but I figured they would at least get from my tone, and mannerisms, that I was attempting to goad them into action.