Banished Pt. 18

I rolled onto my back and let out a sigh, and Casey scooted over, snuggling up to me.

"You really miss her, huh?"

I nodded.

"Does that piss you off?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"Not as much as I thought it would. As much as I wish I could hate Cameron, she makes it really hard to do that," she explained, and I nodded.

"I know you want me to come back here in one piece above everything else, but I don't think you'll like the person who I'll be then if I come back here without her."

Casey bit her lip as she studied me, before resting her head against my shoulder.

"Guess I should give this battle plan some more thought," she said, and I let out another sigh.

"Yeah? It's still a lot less in our hands than I want this to be," I said.

Casey was quiet after that, and eventually, I drifted off to sleep.

It was a dreamless sleep, though not as restful or peaceful as my nights in Cameron's arms and with Lucia beside me, but when I woke up, it was to a strange commotion outside.

"Ugh; what's going on?" I asked, as Casey quickly slipped her robes on, and went to the window.

"I'll go check it out. Put your armor on," she said as she headed for the door, and I quickly got dressed before heading outside.

"Nate! What's going on?"

It was Francesca, and she was strapping her armguards on as she came out of her room.

"Not sure. Was just heading down."

I helped her get her armguards on, then we headed down together, but as we exited the tree, I caught sight of a Kobalt hunter on a stretcher being rushed to the grove tree where our infirmary had been set up.

"What happened?" I asked, as I rushed to Casey's side.

"They were attacked," she said, and I raised an eyebrow.

"By what? Those wounds looked like regular stabs."

"I'll go grab some weapons," Francesca said, heading off to the supply cart.

"Nathan!"

I turned to spot Astrid coming towards me.

"Astrid. What happened?" I asked, and she furrowed her brow worriedly.

"There was conflict. The children of Accalia have encroached upon our grove," she said, shaking her head disbelievingly.

"The what?" I asked, tilting my head at the unfamiliar reference.

"Your people call them 'gnolls', though like 'goblin', this word carries unpleasant sentiment," she explained, and I nodded.

"I'm guessing this is an unusual thing?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Yet another 'thing that has never occurred'," she confirmed. "The children of Accalia have lived for cycles upon cycles in the mountains beyond the trees. This marks the first I have heard of them within Eltari."

I bit my lip.

"Why did they attack?" I asked, and Astrid frowned.

"There is no reason I can think of."

As we spoke, a howl echoed to us from somewhere in the distance, and as Francesca returned to my side, handing me my halberd, I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

Then I saw Bianca approaching, quickly strapping on her armor as she did and with Lucia by her side, and I nodded, making up my mind.

"Secure the grove," I said to Casey, and she raised an eyebrow at me.

"You're going out there?" she asked, and I nodded.

"We don't need another threat to worry about while we're out there," I said. "Do they speak the common tongue?" I asked Astrid, and she nodded.

"It is my understanding that they do," she replied, and I nodded as I waved Bianca over.

"What're we doing?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"Ask questions later. We're heading out, and in a hurry," I said. "You have your daggers?"

"Yeah," Bianca replied, gesturing to Lucia's as well.

"You need supplies, Nate," Casey said, and I shook my head.

"They're less than a mile away. We need to move quickly," I replied, and Francesca nodded in agreement.

"Ready when you are," she said.

"Handle the meeting," I said to Casey, and she bit her lip nervously as we turned to leave.

"You have three hours. No more," she called, and I nodded.

"Works for me," I called back, as I picked Lucia up, and we turned to leave.

"What's the mission?" Bianca asked, as I did a quick check to make sure that we had everything we'd need.

"Make contact, and find out what they want; but let's not kill anyone if we don't have to," I said, and she nodded.

"Let's do it," she said, a grin on her face, and I nodded as we darted into the grove, and in the direction of the howl.