Banished Pt. 19

"What now?" he asked, and I bit my lip.

"Hans is here," I replied, and he laughed.

"That's just fucking great. What do we do?"

"We make adjustments, but the overall plan remains the same," Casey cut in, glancing at me, and I nodded.

"Nolan; you and Jordan will move to my team. Bianca, Blair and Lucia will form a third team to go keep Hans in check. Everything else remains the same."

"I'll go with them," Molly suddenly cut in, and I studied her. "Hans is quick; they could use the extra speed," she reasoned, and I nodded.

"Makes sense," I replied.

With that, Casey moved to address the Hans hunting party, while Raul moved to talk to me.

"Level with me; how crazy is this Leona?" he asked, and I sighed.

"She went after Francesca pretty hard. Strength was probably tier-four, and she has a hand-to-hand combat skill around the same level. Blair's shiny new axe is also the only weapon that could hurt her, so you'll need to hang onto that in case she makes an appearance."

Raul shot a nervous look in Alva's direction, and I noted with interest that she was tucking a dagger into her belt-plate, seemingly readying herself for combat.

"She's a fierce woman. I know you're concerned for her safety, but I'm not sure she views your concern in a particularly favorable light."

Raul nodded.

"I've been told my mother was like that too," Raul said, and as I rested a hand on his shoulder, he nodded.

I turned my attention to Lucia, however, who was fidgeting, even as Casey continued to address them.

I moved over to join the group just as Casey was done speaking, and as I crouched down beside Lucia, she looked into my eyes.

"I need you to promise me something," I said.

She glanced away, seemingly guessing what was coming, but I refocused her gaze onto my own.

"Promise me; I need you to come back from this alive, whether you kill Hans or not."

Her eyes flickered a little, but after a few moments, she nodded, a quick nod, and I took her little hand into mine, then brought it to my chest.

"Say that you promise," I said.

Lucia's hand slipped out of mine, and she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tight.

"Lucia pr... I promise," she said, and I hugged her tight.

She gave me a soft kiss on the side of my face, and as she pulled away, she leaned her forehead against mine, keeping her eyes shut.

"I promise," she said again, and I smiled, giving her nose a little pinch and a wiggle, which drew a smile out of her. "Get Cammy back," she said, and I nodded.

"I will. Then we'll go home together."

As I stood up, I noted that both Blair and Bianca were pretty focused on the interaction between us, though wearing very different expressions, and I swallowed uncomfortably, as I turned to Casey.

"Nate; we need to move now. They're on the back foot," she said, and I nodded in agreement.

"As soon as we cross the bridge, head east; let Lucia lead you to where Hans is."

"Remember; don't engage, just keep him in check," Casey stressed, and Bianca cast a worried look at Lucia before nodding.

"Any activity?" I asked, and Casey nodded, glancing at the hunters who were keeping an eye on the fort.

"They're prepping for us," she said.

"Well then. Let's not keep them waiting."

We moved out with Raul at the fore, my group just astride of him to the left, and Bianca's group to the right.

The fort was tucked away nicely at the point where the river's course turned southward, and while there were sandbars along the length of the bend, the fort was perched quite nicely on the far bank, with a stone bridge crossing the river and leading to it, but in a way that made it as much of a drawbridge to the fort itself as it did a crossing.

There were no fortifications hindering our crossing, but as we approached the bridge, I held up a hand, surveying the scene with some caution.

The way seemed clear enough, but we'd be wide open as we crossed.

Would Ethan really leave this position undefended?

Or had we just hurt them much more than he'd anticipated?

I took one more scan of the scene, before dropping my hand, and at that signal we charged across the length of it and into the fort's grounds, but as we piled into the small courtyard, I finally understood the play, as figures appeared at the windows and a wave of javelins were hurled at us.

I swiped one of the projectiles away with my halberd, and Raul, Jordan, and Blair did as well.

"Go!" I yelled at Bianca, and she nodded, the three others running off with her to the east. "Everyone else, with me!"

We broke off, heading west and skirting the outer perimeter of the fort away from the windows where the javelin onslaught had been launched, myself and Raul hanging back to fend off the next wave of projectiles as the group moved.

"There! The entrance," Casey said, and I nodded, moving forward, but we got no further than halfway across the courtyard when Ethan emerged from the shadows of the entryway.

"Bold move, Nathan; but a word of caution, should you survive long enough to use it. When someone gives you extra time, maybe use it?"

His sword was drawn, and as I gestured, everyone moved outward from me, forming a semi-circle behind me.

They seemed to be out of range of the javelin assault, so I had no worries there.

I approached, my halberd in hand.

"You're going to wish you had just killed me," I said, as I moved in.

I made a few tentative slashes, keeping my stance firm and ready for a counter attack, but his eyes were flashing between me and the others around us, until he smirked.

"I guess you're more than just a little prepared," he muttered. "Nizhal!"

The same man from the night before stepped out of the fort entryway, only this time, he was wearing a black leather outfit, and his body seemed much less wispy and ethereal like he had during the night.

The man focused on Ethan for a second, and as Ethan moved into me, I noted that he was suddenly quicker.

Much quicker.

He made a few slashes, before following up with a jab, and as I deflected the thrust, he turned the blade around and slashed across my halberd, almost getting past my defenses, and I gritted my teeth, as the blow might have connected had I not used my newly copied defensive ability to parry.

I wasn't able to use it continuously the way that otherworlder had and I wasn't sure I needed to either, but fuck me, if I didn't feel stupid right now for not realizing that Ethan could power himself up using his own followers.

Casey was directing the others to stay clear of us while we fought, and for the most part, I was trying my best to keep him from being able to just openly attack the others, drawing them into an engagement.

The situation seemed far from ideal, but as I studied Ethan, I suddenly noted that he seemed to be the one who was becoming increasingly more and more agitated by the encounter.

Maybe I could use this?

This is annoying, isn't it? I thought, extending my energy threads to him, and he grimaced.

"Worthless," he commented, and I bit my lip as the threads seem to fall away from him.

The ability did seem to take effect just as I'd used it though, didn't it?

I decided to try another one.

Thrust, thrust, sweep, I thought, extending my threads out again and making two quick jabs between each suggestion, but on 'sweep', I instead aimed a third thrust at his shoulder, and he just barely got his weapon up in time, catching the handle of my weapon by the hilt of his sword, but as I dragged his weapon with mine out of the way, I moved in with a quick elbow thrust, and caught him square in the face.

He grimaced, cursing as he stepped back, and as he placed a finger against his nose on one side and gave it a blow, some bloody snot went flying.

The clanging of boots against cold stone, however, drew my eye, and Ethan's expression momentarily shifted into one of relief, as otherworlders began to pour out of the fort.

"Fight to your last breath, or die!" he yelled, backing up into them as I tried to follow, but as the group let loose a roar in response, they descended on me, and I was forced to back up a bit, as the rest of our group moved in to meet them.

I deflected a sword thrust, then slashed through one man's neck, before sidestepping another swing, and cutting through the warrior's hands.

It was a woman, and she screamed, but only for a moment before I sliced through her neck, leaving her gurgling blood on the ground.

The battle became bloody in an instant, but as the bodies poured out of the fort, I quickly realized their numbers were at least a score.

We were pressed back a little, but Raul quickly began to turn the tide of things, disarming and dancing his way into the crowd with a kind of majestic ease that I had to stop and admire for a moment.

He was sending weapons flying with well-timed wraps on the knuckles of enemy fighters, flooring them and knocking them off their feet with every mistimed, enthusiastically rushing attack, and the hunters were moving in quickly, disarming and grabbing the fallen and quickly securing them, while the rest of the group engaged the warriors around him.

"Why is everyone so fucking useless?" Ethan asked, his voice tinged with frustration. "Summon your shadows," he commanded, and Nizhalgal quickly bowed.

Gasps sounded around the battlefield as the dead around us began to sink into the courtyard ground, and shadowy figures began to pour out of the wall beside the fort entryway.

Ethan grimaced, then darted into the fort, and as the fight in the courtyard intensified, I took a step back, my gaze focused on the windows along the adjacent wall of the fort.

The javelin throwers from there seemed to have vacated their posts, and given Ethan's reaction, it was safe to assume they were the ones who emerged from the fort.

Could I climb my way up to the second floor?

As I considered it, an ability I hadn't used for some time seemed to activate in response.

That was the ability I'd copied from the aufhöcker, wasn't it?

As I glanced at the walls of the fort, however, my eyes seemed to automatically focus on little notches on the surface.

I can climb those! I thought.

Casey was directing our fighters in their battle, and she shot me a quick look as I moved to the wall and began to climb my way up to the second story window, but just as I climbed in, a thunderous roar sounded across the battlefield, and I swallowed uncomfortably as I recognized the sound.

Leona.

This was in their hands now, I thought, as I moved inside and crossed the room.

Cameron was now within range of my connection to her, and as I focused on it, her shadowy form appeared to me somewhere on the far side of the fort from where I was.

Too bad I couldn't map the place out, huh?

I cut through the hinges then kicked the door down, then looked up and down the corridor.

Left, then.

There was another corridor that intersected ahead, and as I got there, I noted that this corridor ran for some way across the fort.

I turned left, then looked down a corridor on the right.

No stairs, I thought, as I turned and headed down an adjacent corridor on the other side, but as I rounded the corner, I spotted another dead end up ahead.

"Fucking fuck," I cursed.

I headed back the way I came, then passing the passageway to the right I went down to the other end of the main corridor, and as I looked right this time, I found myself staring right at Ethan, just as he emerged from a passage way midway down that corridor.

He glanced down the corridor, before turning to face me, and I cursed internally, as the stairs to the third floor most likely lay in that direction.

I drew my hunting knife as I charged in, and Ethan raised his sword, but the close quarters of the corridor made the weapon much more of a hindrance than anything else, and as I made jabs at him, he relied on keeping the sword close to his body to parry, rather than raising it to attack.

We exchanged a few blows, before he sidestepped a particularly desperate thrust, and I cursed as he got close, driving a fist into the unarmored bit on my arm just below the elbow before I could leap back.

I noted once again with some interest that his expression seemed to betray an increasingly growing frustration with the situation.

"I don't get it. You're going so far out of your way to keep me alive," I said, and he growled a little.

"The things I do out of devotion; not a concept I expect you to understand."

I shook my head at him.

"Have I not cared for my own people?" I asked, and he spat.

"Worthless maggots," he said. "Yet you protect them as if they were precious gems. You should have protected Julie like that instead-!"

He stopped himself, the veins in his neck a little strained as he took a breath.

"You should probably go see to your people, Nathan. I don't think they're faring all that well."

"I'll see to them when-"

I got my arm up just as the blade came hurtling at me from behind, and as I deflected the projectile, Nizhalgal darted in with his dagger.

I glanced over my shoulder then cursed, as Ethan was already down the corridor.

Nizhalgal pressed me, and I exchanged a few quick blows with him before kicking him back, and turning to chase Ethan down the corridor.

The path turned to the right, and I finally spotted the stairway going up to the next floor.

I quickly climbed, but halfway up a searing pain shot through my foot, and I grimaced as I realized the stairs were covered in energy spikes.

"Fuck," I cursed, as I spotted Nizhalgal behind me, focusing on the spikes, and I took a deep breath before leaping into them.

I cleared the steps in three painful strides, and as I turned, I spotted the corridor that led to Cameron's silhouette.

I charged down the length of it and bashed through the door, and Cameron turned around, a shell-shocked expression on her face as I barged in.

"Nate!"

"Cameron..."

I moved towards her, but I paused in my approach as I caught sight of her stomach, a despairing feeling creeping upon me as I noted the missing bump.

"Nate! My son. Where is my son?"

I shook my head, studying her.

"Your son? Cam, what do you mean? Wait, did you give-"

"Nate! Ethan took him. He took our son!"

Cameron seemed panicked, and suddenly I understood.

"Fuck!"

I turned, then spotted the shadow of a figure down the corridor heading away.

I darted after it, then followed it down another corridor, until eventually I spotted him at the end of the hallway.

There was a bundle in his hand as he stood upon the windowsill, and he turned and looked at me for a second more before he jumped.

"ETHAN!"

I got to the window just as he stood up, then darted off to a pathway through the woods up ahead, turning west-northwest from the fort.

I took a deep breath then leapt from the window, rolling as I landed, then stumbling after him.

The path was narrow and overgrown, with dense thickets on either side, and as I stumbled blindly forward, something finally struck out from the bushes ahead, catching me square in the head.

My mind was reeling, but even through bleary eyes, I saw him approach me, knife in one hand, a bundle wrapped in cloth in the other, and I got my knife up in time to fend off the blow.

I rolled backward, getting to my feet just as he kicked at me, and I leaned back, kicking out with my own foot as I did, and sending him toppling over.

Where did it go?

He dropped the child, and as I heard the cry, I lunged toward the bundle on the floor, but he caught my leg, and pulled me back.

I turned, slicing as I did, but as the arc of my slice seemed about to connect with his unarmored hand, a blinding flash of light exploded between us, and after being completely blinded for a moment, I found myself in a strange place, standing on a platform of light.

"Jesus, Nate. Are you trying to kill him or what?"

"I'm not letting him take my son!"

The woman laughed, moving into the light, and casting her form in a silhouette over me.

"I haven't seen you this worked up since that kid in second grade called mama a dumb whore. I have to say, it's kind of disgusting," she teased, her words as stinging as ever.

"What do you want from me, Julie?"

"Want from you? Here I am, trying to give you the whole world just as I always have, and this is the thanks I get? Hmph!"

I scoffed.

"Is that why you shut me out completely?" I asked, but despite the obvious sarcasm in my voice, Julie nodded.

"Yeah. You didn't notice?"

I shook my head at her disbelievingly.

She sounded sincere, but it was such an absurd thing to suggest.

"If we just had that son on earth, maybe none of this would have ever happened," I muttered, and Julie laughed.

"Oh, Nathan. That was never on the cards. I mean, we could have gotten pregnant anytime I wanted to, but the timing was never right. Oh, don't look at me like that. You know that cheating is the only way I ever knew how to win at games."

I sighed.

"Is this what winning looks like to you, Julie? Watching your son wreak havoc on my life?"

"Havoc? Natey, all of your little girlfriends are still alive. You know, I really went out of my way to make sure of that. Besides, I played mostly fair on this one," she replied, raising her hands. "Except, you know... just now, when I stopped you from killing him. You would have regretted it, though; trust me. Besides... I needed you to teach him a little lesson anyway."

"Why didn't you just stay alive and teach him yourself?" I asked, feeling somewhat annoyed, and Julie laughed.

"Oh Nate. You know far better than I that there are some lessons a boy needs to learn from his father," she said, and I scoffed.

"Nice try," I replied, and she put her hands on her hips, swaying a little, and my eyes narrowed. "You're serious? How is that possible?"

She shrugged.

"That last time... on the balcony? I guess I just decided it was time for you to finally win," she said, her tone playful and suggestive.

I slumped down onto my back, and let out a long, frustrated groan.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, believe me, I tried," she said, and I looked up at her, taking a long, deep breath in.

That was right, huh?

The day I was packing, she asked me to run away with her.

But she knew... she knew I would have said yes if she told me.

"Why didn't you try harder?" I asked, and she stooped down, looking at me with what I was sure was a smiling expression behind that shadowy veil.

"Because I chose what was best for you, Nate. I always did. Every time I spurned you; every rejection, every cold shoulder, every harsh word."

I shook my head.

"I don't understand," I said, and she shrugged.

"You don't have to, Nate. Just know that despite what I'm doing, it's still in your hands. What you become will be decided by you, I've just narrowed it down a bit... so to speak."

"Narrowed it down?" I asked, and she smiled, nodding.

"Either you stand on top of this world as its immortal ruler; or you give your life in its defense," she said, and I shook my head.

"What's the catch?" I asked, and she laughed.

"No catch, Natey boy. Either the world for yourself, or the world for your children. Now, I've stalled you for long enough. I really should apologize, though, because I am going to hurt you one last time," she said, and my eyes narrowed on her.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see. Oh, and one more thing; say hi to the other one for me, will ya? Tell her that our little game was fun, and my only regret is that we couldn't share a drink together, and toast to our shared vision coming to fruition."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, and she laughed.

"You're a smart boy, Nate. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Take care... and Nate?"