Banished Pt. 16

Blair cleaved through some spiders, and I turned just as a blob arm extended toward Lucia, and I cut through it just as it moved past me, turning the extended bit into liquid which splashed onto the forest floor.

Lucia scrambled toward the webbing, then grabbing onto it, she pulled herself up, and began to leap across the webs, moving through the net, and slicing her way through the smaller streams that would hinder her movement.

Bianca moved to my side as we fought our way through the remainder of the wave, but as Lucia began to slice through the pod-thing itself, blob-Ronnie morphed his way past us through the canopy overhead, and as he let out a spray of acid, Lucia was forced to take evasive action.

The acid, however, seemed to eat its way through the webbing, and as soon as we were done with the spiders, Bianca climbed up onto a thicker thread, then began to make her way over to the pod as well.

Lucia was dancing between the webs while Ronnie tried to pin her down, and as she landed a few counter slashes when he extended his limbs to reach her, he scowled, and pressed her further.

"Cover me," I said, as a few straggling spiders were scurrying toward us from the distance, and as I turned, I called out to Bianca.

"Watch me!" I yelled, gesturing to my halberd, and she nodded, stepping aside as I took aim, then hurled the thing, spearpoint first towards the pod.

Yes! I thought, as the thing seemed to make decent penetration into the pod.

Bianca quickly grasped onto the weapon, then began to wedge it deeper into the opening, until a terrifying screech erupted from the thing, forcing everyone to momentarily cover their ears until it subsided.

Bianca withdrew the halberd with some difficulty, and she and Lucia began to hurry away from the pod as the threads wound around it began to snap and burst, as whatever was inside began to emerge.

"I don't think we killed it," Blair said, and I nodded, as the pod suddenly burst open, and Mark, the third and final member of Caleb's former group, came into view.

"Fuck," I cursed, as the presence emanating from him was overwhelming; much different from the feel that Caleb or even Ronnie had given off.

"Another friend?" Blair asked, and I nodded.

"Mark," I said. "I'll introduce you later."

I gestured, and we began to retreat from our position, Bianca and Lucia moving across the webs and avoiding Ronnie who was now in pursuit, as they moved to join us.

But we had made it no further than a few hundred feet south from the epicenter, when the scurrying sound of hundreds of spidery legs rushing through the woods drew our attention from up ahead, and I swallowed uncomfortably, as I spotted the massive horde bursting across the forest floor, and across the branches overhead.

"Ugh. That gives me the fucking creeps," Bianca cried out, and I quickly scooped up Lucia as I turned the group west.

"Come on," I yelled, and Bianca and Blair quickly moved after me, as I led them in a retreat away from the incoming monsters.

As I looked back, however, I noted that spiders seemed to also be coming in from the east, possibly retuning from that other cluster that we'd not yet seen.

"That's a shitload of spiders," Blair noted.

"They're not fast enough to catch us though," I replied, and she nodded, as we continued along.

It took no more than five minutes before we were out of sight, but I pushed further out, not wanting to give them the chance to cut us off, or surround us at any point.

Then we redirected our path southwest, and began to angle towards where I figured Grenze might be, but as the spiders quickly began to catch up, I pushed the group westward again.

"Fuck; are we gonna have to circle all the way around this fucking forest?" Blair asked, and I frowned.

"Let's just keep going for now, and see if we can break through their line," I offered, and she quickly agreed.

But as we came within sight of the horde, their numbers seemed as ridiculous as ever, and we quickly readjusted our course away from them.

We pushed on this time for a good fifteen minutes, when suddenly, a chilling presence alerted me to something ahead of us.

"Fuck me; something's up there," I said, pulling up to a stop.

"Something like what?" Blair asked.

"Like the blob-guy or the spider-spawner," I said, and she sighed.

"How many fucking monster friends do you have?"

I frowned.

"It was just the three, and we already killed one... but there's at least one other monstrosity that we know of that's out there. It shouldn't be able to attack us, though."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because someone used an ability to drive him away from us, and keep him away," I said.

Another chill, however, told me that he was heading straight for us.

"Fuck; it's coming," I said, and we again changed course, this time, heading a bit further north.

But it took no more than a minute for me to realize that it was gaining on us, and fast.

"We're not gonna outrun this; let's prep to fight," I suggested, setting Lucia down, and getting into a formation similar to the approach we used back in Rosengarten.

"Eyes open," I said, as the thing seemed almost upon us, but when the thing finally came into sight, I shook my head with confusion.

"You're not a monster... are you?" I began uncertainly, and as Blair followed my gaze, she grimaced.

"Or, maybe she is," she added.

"I'm not," the woman answered, as she stepped out of the shadows and into view.

She was a tall woman, with a shapely body, and long, silvery hair that reminded me of Astrid's; but there was a distinguished look to her face that gave an almost regal air to her general appearance.

"Who are you?" I called, and she shook her head.

"Aletta's the name, but you can call me Leti," she said. "That's an interesting smell you have on you there..."

She approached, but as I lifted my halberd, she stopped.

"Whoa there, sweetie; I'm not here for any kind of fight," she began, and I studied her cautiously.

"What are you?" I asked, and she smirked a little.

"What am I? That's no way to greet a lady," she countered, and I shook my head.

"Funny place and circumstances to find a lady in," I replied, and she sighed.

"Just look into my core, hon. Does it look like I could fight you?" she asked.

She approached more warily, with her hands raised; but as I looked into her core, I noted that it did look quite ordinary in capacity at least, which only added to the peculiarity of the situation.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked, and she sighed.

"My pet went missing; I'm just tryna find him."

"Your pet?" I asked.

"Yeah, pretzel. He's never been gone this long, and I'm worried... but that smell is interesting," she said, moving toward me again and sniffing a little, and Bianca stepped in front of me protectively, with her dagger drawn.

"I draw the line at sniffing, lady," Bianca warned, and the woman chuckled at her.

"Protective, huh? That sure brings back memories. Say, why don't you kids help an old woman out, huh?"

"Old?" Blair asked. "You don't look a day over forty."

The woman laughed, a raucous, hearty laugh.

"Forty? Oh Gods; to be that young again! You've made an old woman's day. What's your name, darlin'?"

"Blair," she answered, and the woman smiled.

"Your kind make it far in here. I think I'll root for you," she said, and I raised an eyebrow.

"You're an otherworlder?" I asked, and she sighed.

"Sort of. You're probably wondering about my implant, huh? Guess you could say I kinda lost it," she said, and I eyed her.

"How do you lose it without losing a hand?" I asked, and she laughed again.

"You can't really, huh? Thing is... I kinda lost my whole body," she said, and I studied her.

"You were resurrected?" I asked, recalling Casey's mention that such a thing was indeed possible, and the girl nodded, shooting me an impressed look.

"Well, look at that. You sure know your stuff for someone that looks so... green."

She eyed Lucia, chuckling a little as she said that.

"I think I'm starting to understand why you smell like her," she continued, and I shook my head at her.

"Smell like who?" I asked, and she turned, shooting me a cheeky grin.

"Like Danica," she answered, as if it were obvious, and I froze.

"Danica never mentioned an Aletta," I said, and she smirked a little.

"Hnn~? Maybe she got too used to the other name," the woman suggested, and I instinctively reached for my halberd as I eyed her suspiciously.

"Leti, huh... as in... Irileth?" I asked, and she turned and winked.

"Sharp as a nail, is it? Did I say that right? Forgive me if I didn't, but when you get to this age, everything sounds weird when you say it out loud."

I shook my head, as I studied her.

"I was led to believe that you're a monster," I said, studying the woman with curiosity, and she chuckled.

"Well, technically you weren't misled. I mean, this body sure ain't as human as it used to be. You don't need to look so bothered though; I won't eat you up. Not unless you ask, at least," she teased.

"Hey! Watch it, lady," Bianca said again, and Blair smirked at her a little, but as I kept my eye on Aletta, she turned and gazed off into the distance behind me.

"You sure ruffled his feathers," she said. "He does not look happy."

I turned, but it took almost ten seconds before I sensed the thing that she was referring to, and I quickly noted that the sensation was the lesser presence of Ronnie's.

"Do we fight?" Blair asked.

"Tell ya what. If you kids help me find my pup, I wouldn't mind helping you take care of this," she said.

"I thought you couldn't fight," I said, and she shrugged.

"I can't, really. But these big strong muscles of yours should be more than enough to take care of him; I'm just offering to help give you the shot."

Bianca was openly glaring at the woman, who seemed to pay her no heed at all.

I thought about the proposal, then nodded.

"Okay; I accept," I said, and she smiled.

"Be right back," she said, blowing me a kiss, but as a wind seemed to suddenly blow through us, Aletta seemed to vanish with it, and I blinked a few times, as the very air where she stood seemed to be shimmering.

"What the fuck is that?" Bianca asked, turning around, looking for some sign of Aletta, but I quickly snapped her to attention, as Ronnie came swirling into view from somewhere above.

He let out a spray of acid, and as we all leapt clear, he extended himself toward me, anticipating my move quite well, as he wrapped an appendage around my ankles, then hardened them on the spot, trapping me in place.

He smirked as he took form in front of me, then advanced while the extension from his left arm kept me locked in place.

I slashed at it with my halberd, but the solid bit was directly over my feet, and the weapon merely sloshed through the liquidy extension that connected us.

"End of the line, Natey boy," he teased, but as he caught the smirk on my own face, he paused, but only for a moment, as he quickly shook off the hesitation and continued toward me.

Then I saw her, slowly fading into view just behind him.

"Mwaaah."

She blew a kiss at him, making a smooching sound that echoed seductively from her pursed lips, as she seemed to blow some kind of dust into Ronnie's face, and he began to cough.

"What the fuck-?" he began, as he swiped at something in front of him, then flailed around a little.

He relinquished his hold on me as he spun around to face Aletta, and as she sauntered towards him with a seductive gait, he backed away, tottering to his knees.

"Fucking bitch. What did you do to me?" he asked.

"Nothing; at least, not compared to what they're about to do," she said, as she pointed to the ground.

His form seemed to be fluctuating between a more solid consistency, and that blob-like ooze, but as he rested his hands on the ground, vines seemed to spring up, wrapping around his fingers.

He quickly pulled his hands up, tearing them loose, but the vines attached to his hands kept growing, and as he tore at them, they released that same pollen-type dust.

Panic seemed to grip him, as he tore furiously at the vines which seemed to continue spreading despite his efforts, and as he reached his hand up, making to escape, the limbs made it no more than three or four feet into the air before falling to the ground in a limp bundle, and as I walked up to him, he gritted his teeth.

"Go to fucking hell, man," he said, and I sliced across his neck, sending his head flying, and his body crumpled to the ground, melting into slime as it did.

"Fuckin' gross," Blair said, and Bianca smirked at her.

"Who's being a princess now?" she teased, but Blair merely grinned in response.

"Touché, little doll. Touché."

I bent down, then fished his core out of the pool of slime, and Aletta cast a quick glance over her shoulder.

"I don't mean to rush y'all, but there's a swarm of nasties a-coming," she said, and I nodded, gesturing as I picked Lucia up, and without further delay, we headed off.

We kept our course westerly, but after just about ten minutes, Aletta called out, and I pulled up to a stop as she panted.

"Whoo, boy. These lungs are not happy. I'm not sure I can keep this up," she said, and I eyed her.

"Seriously?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Core's spent too," she added, fanning herself a bit and I frowned, setting Lucia down as I did.

"Here," I said, scooping her up by the waist, and throwing her over my shoulder. "How's that?" I asked, and she let out an appreciative sigh.

"Just right," she said, her tone suggestive as she fingered the muscles along my arm, and Bianca grumbled a bit, as I gestured to her to carry Lucia.

We resumed at a slightly slower pace, but as we ran, I felt a curious feeling, as if Aletta's weight were quickly diminishing, until she felt like nothing more than a feather in my arms.

"Are you doing something?" I asked, and she chuckled a little.

"Can't have you tiring out on me, now can I?" she asked, and I nodded.

As we continued on, however, I felt her hand brush my ass several times, before she let out an appreciative whistle.

"I knew there was something I missed about being human," she said, and as Bianca spotted what she was doing, she quickly moved over and swatted the probing hand away.

"Watch your hand before you lose it, lady," Bianca warned, and Aletta grumbled a little.

"You're awfully possessive for a girl who doesn't even smell of him yet. Have you even tasted it?" she teased, and Bianca seemed to go a little red.

"There's no way in hell you could smell something like that!" Bianca shot, and the woman laughed.

"My mind might be failing me in this old age, but my nose is still as sharp as ever. And there's quite a few scents on this one," she said, patting my ass again as she did, "but yours isn't one of them."

Blair eyed me as Aletta finished speaking, a curious glint in her eye.

"Say, where are we headed, exactly?" Aletta asked, as we pressed on, and I bit my lip a little.

"I was aiming for my base, I think," I replied.

"Is it one of those trees with all the goblins?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "Why?"

She chuckled a little.

"Just hang south for a few clicks, then turn back east," she said. "You should be clear of team spidey by then."

She directed me on how to proceed, and to my surprise, we ended up coming to the exit from the blighted grove just where we'd crossed onto the road before entering Grenze.

As I looked into the distance ahead, I could see Kobalt moving around hurriedly across the town, and I quickly made my way there.

"Holy shit! It's Nate!" Casey called out, and as I scanned the crowd, I spotted Cameron bounding toward me.

I set Aletta down just as she leapt into my arms.

"What the fuck're you doing coming from that direction?" she asked, as she gave me a quick squeeze, then released me.

"Long story. We need to prep for a fucking infestation, though," I said, and she quickly nodded.

"Get them back inside!" she yelled out as soon as she spotted Alva, and the girl glanced at Cameron, then took one look at me before springing into action.

"They'll be coming from that way," I said, indicating to the northeast, and Casey nodded.

"What're we expecting?" she asked.

"Spiders; by the hundreds," I answered. "And maybe the thing that spawned them."

"Definitely the thing that spawned them," Aletta clarified.

"Who's this?" Casey asked, as she shot me a quick look. "Nevermind," she said, as she shook off the moment of indecision.

She quickly headed off to where our defensive line was stationed, and began to reposition our hunters along the northeastern fringe of the cluster.

"Take Lucia, and get up into the branches," I said, turning to Bianca. "Look for the heralds, and take them out when you can, but don't get caught out up there; get back into the tree as soon as you take out your target."

Bianca nodded, and she headed off to the grove tree closest to our defensive line with Lucia in tow.

"Nate! You might wanna keep some of these," Francesca said, as she approached me with several javelins fastened together by a strap which could be slung over my back.

As I examined them, however, I noted that they were made from ordinary wood.

"How well do they work?" I asked, and she smirked.

"Just imagine that you're using a god weapon, and pour some energy into them as you make the throw; they can't get you the same kind of penetration that you'd get from throwing a spear, but it beats losing your weapon in combat."

I nodded, then noted that there were clusters of javelins placed all along the defensive line.

That could be useful, I thought.

"Any chance you can help us kill that portent?" I asked Aletta, and she shook her head.

"Sorry kiddo; this old gal's spent. This core doesn't have enough juice to hold down something like that."

I frowned, as I moved to the eastern side of the defensive line.

"Here they come," Aletta said, and I cast a panicked look around, as I noted that everyone still seemed to be bustling here and there.

"MOVE NOW!" I yelled out, and the crowd quickly began to hurriedly disperse into the nearby trees.

Everyone at the front line prepared themselves, then everything seemed to go quiet, but only for a few moments before the faint pitter patter of scurrying feet began to echo through the woods towards us, and a shrieking sound pierced the tension, as spiders began to leap out of the shrubs and right into our line.

"STRIKE!" Raul bellowed, and a wave of javelins tore through the spiders just as the horde began to clamor out from everywhere at once.

They leapt down from the trees, out of the bushes, and scurried in towards us in thick, hairy legged waves.

Our fighters stepped forward, slashing and hacking through the thick crowd while the hunters with their bone spears tried their best to keep the onrushing beasts at bay, and allowing the others to continue hacking and slashing with abandon.

I joined the onslaught of swords with Blair at my side, and using that almost practiced circular alternating sweeping pattern that we'd apparently perfected in our short time fighting alongside each other, but as a leaping spider threatened to disrupt our rhythm, Cameron stepped in, cutting down the thing with her hunting knife, and as I eyed her, she quickly nodded.

"Go on; I'll cover you," she said, as we quickly resumed our onslaught.

I felt mildly uncomfortable with Cameron in the fray, but she proved to be quite capable with the knife, and in any case, the spiders hardly seemed to be posing any significant threat.

Even our hunters were skewering them with their bone tipped spears on occasion, but with things seemingly under control, a shrieking sound alerted us to the entry of the heralds into the fray, and a Kobalt man screamed out somewhere to my left, as a thread yanked him from the lines and into the canopy above.