Banished Pt. 16

"So, Juliette, huh?"

She nodded, blushing a little, as we were quite close.

"I'm told that I owe you a great debt of gratitude," she said, and I shook my head.

"It's nothing to worry about," I replied, and she smiled.

"You can call me Julie."

I chuckled a little, and she studied me.

"What?" she asked.

"That was my sister's name," I said, and Jayden made a thoughtful sound.

"Lotsa Julies, huh. I think that Ethan guy said it was his mother's name too."

"Really? I didn't know that," I said, and Jayden shrugged, as we continued through the woods.

Thankfully, we got to the stream without any difficulty, and as soon as we were on the road, Jayden made another thoughtful sound.

"Is this an actual caravan trail?" he asked, and I nodded.

"This is basically the main road between the settlements," I said. "Leads right to the town where we're settled in at right now."

"A town? Like, with people?"

"Yeah," I replied, "but let's just say, not exactly the type you'll be expecting."

He shot me a curious look, but we continued on nonetheless.

"How long have you guys been here?" I asked.

"I think this will be the fourth day," Julie said. "Although, we spent almost two days walking through this forest."

"Four days, huh? I've been told most groups get completely wiped before that," I said.

"Did yours?"

"Eleven of us are still here. Two more might still be out there, but they didn't stick with us," I explained, and Julie made another thoughtful sound.

"Are they all as indebted to you as we are?" she asked, and I chuckled a little.

"We're all indebted to someone, I think. This world is unforgiving."

She let out a wistful sigh, glancing despondently at her feet.

"You don't have to tell me that," she said, and I shot her a sympathetic look.

"We have healers at our place," I said. "And there's all sorts of crazy technologies available to us that we didn't have back on earth. So, don't give up hope just yet, okay?"

She smiled a little, tightening her grasp around my neck a little.

"Nathan, was it?"

I nodded.

"You're a nice guy," she said, and I chuckled, but Jayden made a slightly grumbling noise.

The trip home took a little longer than the trip out, but as we got there, I was thankful to find that the hunters were up, and a perimeter was set up facing north, with most of the usual fighters armed, plus a few more, now that we had a bit more armor to work with.

Cameron moved toward me as soon as we got within the grove's limits.

"Are those... rooms, in that tree?" Jayden asked, his jaw agape, and I nodded.

"Two will be prepared for you," I said, and he stared at me in shock as I turned to Cameron for confirmation.

Someone brought out a smaller stretcher to greet us, and as I placed Julie on it, she held on for a moment, and gave me a hug.

"I don't know what we did to deserve your help, but thank you," she said. "For everything."

"Don't thank me just yet," I said, as I gestured to the warriors who were visibly preparing for an attack, and she shook her head.

"I'm grateful nonetheless," she said.

"My girls will take you for a bath, then we'll have a meal brought up to your room, okay?" Cameron said.

"Will I be able to go check on her?" Jayden asked, and Cameron nodded.

"All of your rooms will be on the same floor," she promised, as she directed someone to see to Jayden as well.

"Might as well send someone to help her out, huh?" Cameron noted, and I nodded in response, before turning to our defensive perimeter.

"Who's armored up?" I asked, and she turned to our forward position.

"Well, thanks to your scouting run, there's a ton of armor to go around. Raul, Jordan, and Molly are our swords. Bianca and Leanna are daggers. Nolan, Jeannie and Francesca are spears, and all of them are in full sets of armor."

"Have as much fighters as possible keep daggers or knives as secondary weapons," I said, and Cameron nodded. "How was Francesca's wound?"

"She's fine; she's taking a power nap with her armor on, but Samantha is a godsend! Fuck her, work your magic, or do whatever the hell she wants to make sure she stays," Cameron said, and I shot her a disapproving look as she continued. "Once she got those barbs out, the poison slowly filtered out of Francesca's system, but Jordan took a look at them and his nymph friend said we could synthesize an antidote pretty easily. I had him go out earlier and gather what we'd need for it, in case whatever bit her is gonna come up again tonight."

"How much more armor is there?" I asked.

"Three sets, but all T-one," she replied, and I nodded.

"I'm thinking about arming Blair then; plus, she really likes that axe."

"What axe? Oh, fuck me," she said, massaging her brow, as she looked around. "Hey, Alina! Go fetch Blair for me, will ya?"

The girl bowed, and immediately headed off.

"The guards know not to give any of the newbies any weapons without specific authorization from you, me, or Casey," Cameron said, and I nodded.

"Casey, huh? Where is she?"

"Closer to the front lines," Cameron said.

"Anyone else you wanna arm? I was thinking to wear one myself, and keep a sword on hand."

I nodded.

"For protection. We need you managing the lines, not leading them," I reminded her, and she pouted.

"You already almost missed out on what a spectacular advisor I am; what if I'm fiercer than your little lioness too?" she teased, and I tutted at her.

"As much as it pains me to say it, just be pregnant for once, will ya?" I replied, and she rolled her eyes at me.

"Once I have this baby, you're gonna have to beat me off of the front lines with a stick," she shot, and I as I gave her a playful shove, I noted Lucia coming up to us.

"Before you start, no dagger for you," Cameron said, and the girl stomped her foot exasperatedly.

"Nathan~," she began, and I chuckled.

"Actually, this time I think she deserves one," I said. "Besides, I think we're gonna need those expert eyes of yours up front."

"Really?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Go get yourself a dagger, then come back to me," I said, and Cameron shot me a disapproving look.

"Not sure I like being overruled like that," she said, and I shot her an apologetic glance.

"Sorry, but Bianca said she's getting really good, and I think these monsters are easy enough for her to get some real-life battle experience for once."

Cameron shrugged, and we headed for the front lines.

"I think I want Bianca by my side," I said, and Cameron smirked a little.

"Is she gonna be your little assassin?" she asked, and I smiled.

"That's not a bad role for her. She's sneaky enough."

"Yeah; but if she's not careful about tailing me every time I talk to Casey, I'm gonna smack her upside the head one of these days," she said, and I chuckled a little.

"Sorry- I might be the one who told her to do that," I admitted, and Cameron shrugged.

"Oh, I know that," she teased, and I smiled at her.

"You are scarily efficient," I said, and she gave a noncommittal shrug.

"Either that, or I'm just desperately trying to earn your favor like every other girl out here," she said, and I shook my head, as I pulled her in for a kiss.

"Could you two keep that to a minimum? PDA during a crisis is a bit much," Casey complained, as she came over to join us.

"Oh, I'm sorry; should I have him steal me off to some bushes for a quickie like you do?" Cameron teased, and Casey's eyes went wide.

"That- I mean, you're not supposed to talk about that!"

Cameron shrugged as Casey blushed furiously, and I chuckled at the two.

"You two have really been bonding, huh?"

Casey made an annoyed clicking sound with her tongue, but as I waved Bianca over, Casey quickly moved off to the other side of the line.

"Those two really don't like each other," Cameron whispered, and I nodded.

"How do I look?" Bianca asked, as she struck a cute pose, and showed off her armor.

"Cute," I said, and she put her hands on her hips.

"Just cute? You're supposed to be all swooning and stuff," she complained, and I ruffled her hair playfully, as Cameron shot us a teasing smirk.

"Stick with me, okay?" I said, and Bianca quickly nodded.

"Actually, if nothing's happening, I'd rather you rest up a little," Cameron said, and I nodded reluctantly.

"That's not a bad idea," I said, as my core was now well below half capacity from all of the running around. "Can you set something up for me out here?"

Cameron shot me a smirk.

"Or, you could just sleep in your room," she said, and I frowned.

"I'd rather be closer-by; in case something happens," I said, and she shrugged.

"Our fighters are a bit more capable now, you know. You could probably snooze through this whole night, and not lift a finger," she declared, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Now I'm not sure if I can sleep at all," I replied, and she waved away my concern.

"You'll have your sleeping bag," she said, as Lucia came bounding toward me.

"Hunt!" she declared, and I shook my head at her.

"We wait," I said, and she frowned a little. "Stick close to me, okay?" I added, and the girl nodded, eyeing Bianca a little as she did.

Cameron organized my sleeping bag, and while Bianca sat down beside me, Lucia quickly curled up into my arms, and Bianca studied her with interest.

"Are you kidding me? The runt gets to sleep with you?" Bianca asked incredulously, and Lucia smiled happily, taunting Bianca almost as she snuggled up closer to me, much to my amusement.

"You always were a feisty little one," I complimented her, and she smiled, nuzzling my hand as I gave her a little pat.

"Just you wait. I'm gonna kick your ass as soon as you grow up," Bianca said, folding her hands and turning her nose up at the child.

"How have the newbies been settling in?" I asked Bianca, and she rubbed the back of her head.

"I was out cold when they came in, and I didn't really get a good look at any. Except, Samantha, was it?"

I nodded.

"She's down in the treatment area with Evie; I think they're working on Myrinne right now."

"Where are the rest of them? Their rooms, I mean."

Bianca gestured to our grove tree.

"Fourth floor; one above ours. I think runners are stationed on that floor though; in case they need anything. And well... you know."

I nodded.

As we spoke, Blair eventually came down out of the same grove tree, and as soon as she spotted me, she quickly made her way over, and I noted once again the girlish gait with which she moved.

Bianca eyed her warily.

"Hey Nate! I heard you decided to use me after all," she announced proudly, and I sat up, then studied her.

"I heard you kept your axe," I said, the warning in my tone evident, and she blushed.

"Oh, this old thing? Must have forgotten that I had it," she said, and I shook my head at her.

"Weapons stay in the supply cart, okay? We only arm up for conflicts or training."

"Training, huh? Am I gonna get in on that, or does that have to be 'earned' too?" she asked, her tone playful, and I chuckled a little.

"Training is open to anyone who wants it," I said. "Cameron is gonna put you in some armor, though, but your core is still pretty much spent. I'll organize a sleeping bag for you, so you can rest a bit nearby."

"Or, we could share," she suggested, and Bianca scowled.

"Join the line, lady. Nate's bed isn't something you get to just traipse into," she said, and the she turned and studied Bianca carefully.

"A little friendly competition, huh? I can work with that."

She shot me a wink, but as Cameron came over, she shot the girl a disapproving look.

"Didn't I ask you to disarm before?" she asked, and the girl blushed.

"Sorry; forgot I had it," she replied casually.

"It's fine, just don't let it happen again," Cameron warned. "Come on, I'll get you armored up."

"Get her a sleeping bag too," I called, and Cameron waved over her shoulder as she headed off with the girl.

"She's terrifying," Bianca said, and I nodded.

"She's just like Emily," I said, and Bianca studied me.

"What do you plan on doing with her?" she asked, and I sighed.

"Use her, for now. I need you to keep an eye on her; just... be careful. If she knows she's being watched, she might not take it particularly well."

"Lucia too!" Lucia declared, and I looked down at the child.

"Huh? 'Lucia too', what?"

"Watch," she said, and Bianca scowled as I ruffled the girl's hair playfully.

"If you wanna do that, then you'll have to learn from Bianca, okay?"

Lucia folded her arms, and Bianca gloated a bit.

"Hear that, kid? Stick with me, and if you're lucky, you might learn to be a little useful around here," Bianca declared, prompting Lucia to glare at her.

I settled back in, trying to get to sleep, but a cry from across the grove quickly stirred me back upright.

"What is that?" I asked, and Bianca climbed to her feet.

"I'll check it out," she said, taking off, but as Lucia moved to follow her, I pulled her back.

"Just stick with me for now, okay?" I said, and the girl nodded.

As I climbed to my feet, however, she reached up, and I scooped her up into my arms, as I headed over to the source of the disturbance.

I spotted Casey, then quickly moved to her side.

"What's going on?" I asked, and she frowned.

"There was an attack on the next grove over."

"Rosengarten, was it?"

She nodded, and as I looked over, I spotted Gisela and Cameron talking to a Kobalt man.

He appeared to be a runner, rather than an official, and Gisela shot me a worried look as the two moved over to join me.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Some kind of spider-creature attacked," Cameron said.

"Spider?" asked Gisela.

"Uh, god word for that type of monster," I explained. "How bad was it?"

"They took about fifteen Kobalt, and retreated into the forest," Cameron said, and I frowned.

"Not the kind of attack I was expecting," I said, and Cameron nodded. "Gisela; how many clusters are there along the fringes of the blighted grove?"

"Including this one, five exist. Kleiner Hein, Grenze, Rosengarten, Stadtrand, and Ruheland."

"Kleiner Hein is some way southwest of here, right?"

"Yes, Nathan."

"The monsters seem to come from further northeast, so maybe they'll be out of the way. What of the others?" I asked, and she thought about it.

"The road to Rosengarten travels a short way east, then to the north, where the rest of the clusters lie along the western fringe of Palancar's borders."

I rubbed my chin.

"How long would it take a runner to get to the northernmost cluster?"

"Rosengarten und Stadtrand lie within a segment's striding, if pressed. But Ruheland lies a little more than another segment north of this. The endurance to perform such a feat may lie beyond our runners."

I nodded.

"What're you thinking?" Cameron asked, and I bit my lip.

"I'm thinking we could send support to Rosengarten; how many hunters do we have over here?"

"Close to fifty; the hunters Palancar sent stuck around," she explained, and I nodded.

"And how much would Rosengarten have?" I asked, turning to Gisela, and she rubbed her chin.

"Not many more than ten," she answered, and I frowned.

"Then they'll definitely need some support."

"Are you sure that won't stretch us?" Cameron asked, and I sighed.

"It might; but the more cores they gather from killing Kobalt, the more monsters this thing can presumably produce."

She nodded.

"Well, let's send a runner off to, uh- Stadrand, was it?" Cameron began.

"Stadtrand," Gisela corrected her, and she nodded.

"Yeah; let's get word to them of the danger so they at least won't be caught unawares, and have them send a runner north to the other place," she said, and Gisela nodded, heading off to make the arrangements.

"Do you think we could manage an evacuation?" I asked, and Cameron frowned.

"Along the road? They'd be easy pickings, won't they?"

"Unless we sent a guard team."

Cameron frowned.

"We don't have enough personnel for that right now, do we? That team would need to be capable of beating one of those, uh, what do you call 'em? The talking monsters?"

"Monstrosities, apparently."

"Yeah, and with Francesca resting, and you needing sleep, we'd be in a bind if it struck either place."

As we considered the possibilities, I spotted Casey lounging around where I'd just left her, casting furtive glances in our direction, and I let out a sigh.

"Hey! Come over here and be useful, will ya?" I called out, and she hesitated a little, before timidly making her way over.

I gave her a quick rundown of the situation, and she nodded.

"Maybe we could petition Palancar to take in the refugees? They would be retreating away from danger if they were to head that way," she suggested, and Cameron smiled, and pulled the girl into a rough hug.

"That's perfect!" she said, and I snickered at Casey's clear discomfort with the show of affection, and even Lucia seemed to smile a bit at that.

"I'm gonna go work out a delegation; you two keep working at it, okay?" Cameron called, as she headed off, and I nodded.

"Go get Bianca for me," I said, setting Lucia down, and the girl quickly scurried off.

"Do you think Mark and Ronnie are out there too?" Casey asked, and I sighed.

"It seems probable. I mean, Caleb's mutation didn't really seem spider-like; it was some kind of projectile spear weapon, plus whatever it is that poisoned Francesca. I mean, there are some spiders that don't use poison, right?"

"Almost all spiders use poison. Or, venom, rather; just in varying amounts. But barbs are unlikely for a spider. It's more of a spiny scaly type defensive mechanism. You know, sea urchins, scaly amphibians; that kind of thing," Casey explained, and I chuckled.

"Forgot I had the biologist here. Now that I think about it, we have the geographer over there too. He should be able to help plan the evacuation, shouldn't he?"

Casey nodded.

"I better talk to him, before you piss him off with your mere presence," Casey said, but as she hurried away, I noted that she seemed to duck out just as Bianca came over.

Bianca seemed to really make her uncomfortable, huh?

"Just so you know, I don't like being fetched by the runt," Bianca complained, shooting a dirty look at Lucia, who seemed quite pleased with herself.

"You're pretty sure footed, aren't you?" I asked, and Bianca puffed out her chest.

"I'd like to think so," she said proudly, and I rolled my eyes at her.

"I wanna test something out. With both of you," I said, and Lucia studied me with interest.

"What is it?" Bianca asked, seeming annoyed by the inclusion of Lucia in my suggestion, and I chuckled a little.

"Do you think you could keep your balance while running along those tree branches?" I asked, gesturing to the intricate network of branches above us, and Bianca rubbed her chin.

"Probably," Bianca answered, a little uncertainly, and Lucia quickly perked up.

"Lucia can! Lucia can do better than Byaka!" she said, smirking at Bianca a bit, and I chuckled as Bianca scowled at the child.

"Let's test it out," I said, and Bianca eyed me.

"How do we get up there? I'm not sure I can climb a tree," she said, and I shook my head and gestured to the nearby grove tree.

"For now, we'll take the stairs," I said, smiling as she shot me a cheeky look.

I led the two to the grove tree where our rooms were at, but as we began to climb the stairs, I ended up running right into Sheila on the fourth floor.

"Nate! What's going on out there?" she asked, and I gestured to Bianca to head on up without me.

"I'll meet you on the tenth floor. Stay by the staircase!" I called out, as she and Lucia began to race up the stairs.

"Sorry; we haven't been able to really keep you guys in the loop, huh? It looks like those spider things are moving against the villages on the border of their territory," I explained, and Sheila frowned.