Banished Pt. 19

"Drop the weapons," I said.

The timid sounding man immediately complied, but the other two exchanged a quick look, before turning on us at the rear.

The larger man was on us first, that massive axe in his hand ready to attack, and as I darted into him, he made the swing; perhaps a bit clumsy, with his footing slightly off balance, but I could tell there was some power in there.

I braced myself with both hands on the halberd, catching the axe beneath the blade with the length of my halberd between my hands, and Blair did the rest, not missing a beat as she moved in with a swing.

The larger man took a step back, but as I moved to help Blair get another shot at him, I caught the look in her eye and I smirked a bit, deciding to hang back.

The other man was already being pinned back by Jeannie, Molly and Francesca while Nolan and Jordan were on standby to help Blair if she needed it.

But she didn't need it.

Blair charged into the man and as he swung again but she pre-empted the attack, making a quick jab at his fingers with the butt end of her axe, and as he released the weapon, she jabbed the handle of the axe at his face, and the man yelped as a stream of blood went flying from his nose which she had almost certainly broken.

I shot her a disapproving look, and she shrugged.

"What? He won't die from that? Will ya, big guy?"

Her eyes lit up as they came to rest on his discarded axe, however, licking her lips as she picked it up.

"Oh, momma. Please tell me I can keep this baby?" she asked, and I laughed.

I turned to Casey, who massaged her temple a little, before nodding.

"For now, sure; but stick to the smaller axe for now, alright? I can't see you doing anything 'non-lethal' with that thing," Casey said.

"May I?" I asked, gesturing to the weapon, as Blair tested it out, and as she tossed the thing at me, to Casey's annoyance, I was surprised to find that the massive thing was much, much lighter than it looked.

"Jeez. I could swing this with one hand, huh?" I asked, and Blair grinned.

"I want it more for the aesthetics than anything else," she reasoned, and I shook my head at her.

As moved to return the weapon to her, however, something about the weapon seemed off, and as I activated sensory perception, I caught onto what it was.

"What?" Blair asked, as she caught the look on my face, and I chuckled a little.

"It's a tier-three weapon," I replied.

"Fuck, are you serious?" Casey asked, and I nodded.

"Hm~. What does that do?" Blair asked, as I handed the axe back to her.

"Honestly, apart from giving you access to the tier-three fighting style for axes, I'm not sure. I mean, these blades all cut through everything like a hot knife through butter anyways."

As Blair tossed the weapon around, hefting it and testing its weight, she pursed her lips a bit.

"I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about it just feels... more natural in my hands than this one," she said, gesturing to her old axe, and I tilted my head at the suggestion.

I turned to the discarded spear on the ground as I stowed away my halberd, and as I picked it up, I noted with interest that it did give off a much different feel than my halberd did.

I'd have chalked it up to my halberd just being my preferred weapon of choice, having used it so often in my time on this planet, but with Blair's input in mind, I suddenly realized that there was much more to it than that.

We wasted little time, stripping our new captives and getting pledges out of them before returning to our set up, but as Bianca notified me of a new group approaching, I noted that they seemed much more wary of their surroundings.

"Man; two groups do not just end up hiding out in the same place," a voice called out.

"Robbie, I'm with Cory on this one," a girl replied, but the man they were talking two had an annoyed look on his face.

"We kill six, and we're basically halfway over the line to being home-free," he said, but the other man, Cory I think, frowned.

"We can't get free if we die here, man. Come on."

They scoped out the area a bit, before the first man spoke.

"Fine; let's just camp out. We'll keep an eye out for movement, then decide what to do."

The other two quickly agreed to his suggestion, and I turned to Blair.

With just her, Jeannie and Molly, were we enough to take down three fighters, armed to the teeth, without killing them?

At a glance, they didn't give off an aura of being all that dangerous, but I wasn't close enough to know for sure.

Then a message came to me:

Nate! Lucia thinks you need us to help... I know you can't signal, but if you attack, we'll join in, okay?

God bless that child.

I gestured to Blair, and we began to creep carefully across to where the group had settled in, just southwest of the cave entrance, but a few times, I caught glances turning in our direction.

Had they heard us?

Or were they merely on the lookout for an ambush?

I turned to the group, as we were now as close as I dared getting without giving ourselves away.

"Two spears, one sword," I mouthed.

I gestured, and we split into two groups; me with Molly, and Jeannie with Blair.

Spears were, after all, ideal at pinning down an opponent, giving Blair or myself the opportunity to get in and do the takedown.

We readied ourselves and decided our targets, then at my signal, we darted in.

Our target had barely moved, and as I pressed my halberd tip to his neck, he raised his hands, and Molly unclipped the sword from his belt plate.

Blair however, had taken a few swings at her quarry, and Jeannie, seeming uncertain of how to pin him beside her wildly swinging partner, opted instead to engage the third group member, the girl; but that fight was settled a mere moment later, as Bianca slipped up to her from behind, and put a dagger against her back, just beneath her cuirass.

The girl dropped her spear, but as I moved to assist Blair, she held a hand up.

"I wanna try something," she said, as the man cast a panicked look about.

He quickly focused his attention on Blair, however, as she darted in, but as he tried to slice across her neck, she met his slash with her axe, hooking the spear tip under her axe blade and driving it into the ground before stepping in and kicking the handle of the spear out of the man's grasp.

His hands went up, and she turned to me, her hands on her hip as she smirked.

But that momentary lapse almost cost her life, as the man stood up, dagger in hand, and prepared to drive it into the back of her neck.

I moved quickly, activating my paralysis skill even though I knew the threads wouldn't get there fast enough, and as Blair caught the look in my eyes she began to turn, but before she so much as raised a hand, Lucia appeared in a flash, dagger in hand, and as she drove the dagger into the man's leg from the side of his knee, he screamed out in pain, and Blair grabbed the hand with the dagger and twisted hard, disarming him and pinning him to the ground.

"You little fucking bitch!" Bianca yelled. "That was my move. MINE! How the fuck can even you do that?"

I shot a questioning look between the two girls as Lucia eyed me, her expression slightly shaken, as if she herself had no idea how she'd done what she did.

I went down onto on knee, and as I gestured, she ran into my arms and began to sob as I held her.

That calmed Bianca down in a hurry, and she quickly came over to join us.

"Hey, I'm sorry," she began, but Lucia shook her head, clinging onto me tightly.

"What did you mean? That's your move?" I asked, and Bianca frowned.

"I worked on it all day," she explained. "With Aletta. She said I was developing it, and she gave me some hints, and after working on it all day I finally got it..."

I turned to Lucia, and as I peered into her core, I noted the new bump, and I tried to remember if I'd ever seen hints of anything like that in my previous examinations of her skillset.

"Lucia's sorry. Lucia didn't mean to copy Byaka. Lucia just wanted to help."

"Copy?"

I furrowed my brow, as I once again delved into her energy network.

But even as I searched, trying to scrutinize everything that looked like it could even turn into a bump, I saw nothing that looked like my own skill mirroring ability, and I bit my lip as I thought about it.

How did she copy Bianca?

Lucia continued to cling to me as we stripped and piled in the new captures into their cave-prison, but I decided to switch out Francesca with Molly, in case we needed to take down another team that was hesitant to go inside.

Bianca apologized to Lucia properly, and the child didn't seem to be all that upset with her anymore, but her mood still seemed a bit down, so I decided to keep her with me as we settled in to wait for the next group.

"Hey. No-one's mad at you, okay?" I said, but Lucia still seemed pretty upset, rubbing her hands together as she looked down, an uncomfortable look on her face.

"Do you want to take a break from the fighting? I can let you sit back with Casey and the others," I offered, but the girl quickly shook her head.

"Please, Nathan! Don't be mad. Don't send Lucia away!"

Francesca raised an eyebrow at this, and I tilted my head at her comment as well.

"Send you away? I would never do that. Did someone tell you that?" I asked.

Lucia's eyes flashed subtly, and while I didn't immediately follow it, I made note of the direction, as she quickly shook her head.

"Okay. Well let's get you back to Bianca, then."

I lifted her up, and as I turned, indicating to Francesca that I'd be back, I noted that Blair seemed to be fidgeting a bit, and as I traced the direction in which Lucia's eyes had flashed, I quickly figured that that was where she had looked.

I made my way over to where Bianca and two Accalians were camped out, just west of the cave itself, but rather than going straight to her, I ducked behind a nearby tree trunk, making sure I was out of Blair's line of sight, before setting Lucia down.

"Hey, look at me," I began, taking my hands and cupping Lucia's face.

"Nathan..."

I shook my head.

"Just, listen. No matter what anyone says to you; you are a goddess. MY goddess. No one, and I mean no one, not Bianca, Francesca, or especially not Blair has any right to tell you what you can and can't do. I am the only one you ever need to listen to, okay?"

Lucia bit her lip a bit, frowning.

"Nathan... you won't send Lucia away?"

"Never," I said. "You mean every bit as much to me as Cameron or Bianca or anyone else."

Lucia teared up a bit, and as I wiped away the tears, she dove into my arms, wrapping her little hands around my neck.

"Nathan. Lucia loves Nathan," she cried, and as she sobbed, I patted her back.

"I love you too, kid," I said, and just as I did, something pulsed out of me, and Bianca glanced over her shoulder at me just as it did.

Her eyes had a strange look to it, and just as I was about to move to her, Casey came running out of the pathway that led to the cave.

She seemed a little flustered, and as soon as she caught sight of me, she began to approach, a little awkwardly.

"Hey, uh... is everything alright?"

Her eyes were darting between me and Lucia, who was curled up properly now, holding onto me for dear life.

"Lucia just used a special skill, and I think it uh... spooked her a little."

Casey turned, following my gaze to Blair, and as she returned her attention to me, she shot me a somewhat knowing yet curious look.

"Guess we can discuss it later, then?" she asked, and I nodded. "Will she be alright to keep going? Or do you want us to keep her inside?"

"Lucia stays with Nathan!" Lucia declared, her voice slightly muffled against me, and I bit my lip.

Casey studied me for a second more, before nodding.

"Alright... I'll be inside. How many more before you think they'll catch on?" Casey asked.

"Let's see how long the next one takes to get here, then we'll decide."

Casey nodded, then headed back inside, and as I moved over to Bianca, she shot me a worried look.

"Is she mad at me?" she mouthed, and I shook my head.

"No, but... keep an eye on her when I'm not around from now on, okay?"

Bianca's eyes looked past me for a bit, and when I got a chance to steal a look for myself, I noted that Blair was stealing glances in our direction from time to time, and as I studied Lucia, I began to wonder what she'd said.

I guess I'd have to find a way to keep Blair in check.

Or at the very least, prevent her from going after those who'd be most vulnerable to her predatory nature.

After all, the last thing we needed was another Emily-Leanna development.

It took some time before Lucia calmed down enough to let go of me, but when she did, Bianca paid a lot of attention to her, even complimenting her on her newfound combat ability, and Lucia seemed to cheer up significantly at that.

I used the opportunity slip back to the main group outside of the cave where a worried looking Francesca awaited me.

"She alright?" she asked, and I nodded, glancing back at Lucia.

"Yeah. I think she just got a little scared because she stabbed someone again," I said, making sure that I spoke loudly enough to get the message to Blair.

Blair seemed to ease up a bit at that, but as we got settled in, keeping on alert for the next group of attackers, my gaze fell on Francesca.

"Since when have you been a grapple master?" I asked, and she rubbed the back of her head.

"Last night, I think?"

I raised an eyebrow at that.

"What?"

"Uh... Aletta told me that my ability helps me to break down and understand combat abilities not only from observation, but memory. So, I thought back to all of the fight scenes from movies and video games that I remembered, and it kind of started to feel like if I was understanding some of the basics of some combat techniques; things like grappling, and hand to hand fighting styles."

"I was about to say that I can't believe that you could put that into practical use so soon after learning it, but you are my fighter," I said, ruffling her hair, and she smiled happily.

"I'll never understand why you react like that to being pet like a fucking dog," Blair cut in, and Francesca shrugged.

"And I'll never understand how cutting down a living human makes you grin like that either, but to each their own, yeah?"

Blair grinned a little, then nodded.

"Fair enough, but speaking of cutting down humans; how about we cut down the next group and have one of our sensory guys in there see if it actually makes them any stronger? I'd hate to find out we did all this for fucking nothing," she said, but I shook my head.

"Bad idea," I replied. "We don't know that the power gain will be distributed evenly. It could just be random."

Blair let out a tired sigh, but as the day wore on, the faces all around us started drooping, and there was no sign of another group coming in.

Eventually, I decided to do a time check which prompted Blair to eye me like if I were a crazy person.

"I think he's lost it," she said.

"That's how you check the time here," Jeannie explained, and Blair frowned, studying me with interest.

"Huh... well how about that. What time is it, then?"

"Uh, a little after three in the afternoon," I said, biting my lip as I gave our situation some thought.

If I left with a scouting team by, say, the next hour, we would be able to get to this fort just before nightfall, provided we could move quickly while also avoiding any potential encounters.

And given that the situation was quiet right now, this might be the best time to do just that.

The only problem was that this was also perhaps the perfect time to go on the offensive, and hunt groups of otherworlders to bring back as captives, before moving them to our secondary defensive location for the night.

I decided it was time to take the matter up with Casey.

"Hey," she said, as soon as she saw me. "Is something wrong?"

I shook my head.

"I thought we might need to discuss how to proceed," I replied, and she nodded.

"You wanna scout the fort, don't you?"

"Well, that is one option," I replied.

"What's the other?"

"Hunting otherworlders."

"Which one keeps you closer?" Casey asked, but as I sighed, she shook her head. "I'm kidding. I think we should do both," she said, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Come again?"

"Bianca and Lucia are enough for a scouting mission. Francesca, Blair, and maybe Molly or Jeannie with a couple of Accalians will be more than enough to hunt small groups. And if they get into trouble, they can retreat back here for support."

I studied Casey, and she rolled her eyes as she caught the teasing, wary expression on my face.

"What?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"You're being so 'un-Casey-like'. I think I like it though," I said.

"Yeah, well keep it in your pants. We have a job to do; and speaking of that, I have a suggestion."

"Hm? What is it?"

"We left a lot of capable warriors back in Grenze, and I don't think there's any threat there. We're also drowning in armor here."

"You wanna call out the rest of the otherworlders?" I asked, and she nodded.

"We can leave behind Jayden and the girls just to have a presence there. Maybe have Sheila wear armor and walk around from time to time. But having Raul here when we establish our defensive camp will really boost our chances."

"You're right," I replied. "Besides, our old camp is just a short run from Grenze. The only problem is; who the hell do we send?"

Casey bit her lip, nodding.

"It'll have to wait until you get back from your trip. I'm not actually sure that anyone except you or Francesca could reliably make it there," she said, but as I thought about the predicament, an idea occurred to me.

"Actually. Let's settle that now," I said. "I'll lead the first hunting team, while Francesca heads back; and we'll move the captives while we're at it."

"Are you sure?" Casey asked. "Darkness will fall before you can even set off for the fort."

I nodded.

"I'm kind of itching to get a good look at it, but Lucia can manage that even at night. Maybe I'll rest up after we set up our defensive base, then head out on the scouting mission under the cover of darkness."

Casey smirked at me a bit, and I eyed her.

"What?" I asked, and she shrugged, a little playful look in her eyes.

"I dunno... when you make rational, unimpulsive decisions like that, I kind of feel like jumping your bones myself," she teased.

"Hey, uh Nate?" I turned around to see Jordan rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, but I uh, overheard what you were talking about."

"That's fine," I said quickly, offering him a reassuring smile, and he nodded.

"Nymphadora says that she could lead me back to her home pretty easily," he offered, and I smiled again.

"Fucking A. Forgot that my druid is actually half-nymph now," I said, and he rubbed the back of his head.

I turned to Casey.

"What do you think?" I asked, and she bit her lip.

"Are you sure you can handle the trip?"

Jordan nodded.

"I know I've been kind of down about getting my ass kicked by Francesca and Bianca, but in those last few fights I kind of realized I can at least handle a small group of otherworlders on my own if I had to," Jordan said, and I nodded in agreement.

"We're a lot stronger than we realized, thanks to all of the battles we've been in," I said, and he nodded.

"Nymphadora seems to be able to sense when living things enter a certain radius around us, within the forest at least," Jordan said, and Casey nodded.

"I guess this changes our plans, huh?" she said, her tone a little despondent, and I quickly shook my head.

"No. The scouting mission will be better done at night. It just means our hunting party is gonna be much stronger," I said, and Casey smiled at me.