Neska wanted to remain calm, but it felt wrong to witness this spectacle. What caught her eye was two prone figures shrouded in the heavy canvas: one tall, one short. Child-sized...like Belle.
It was not hard to imagine the possibility that it was a parent...and their child, laid to rest next to one another.
“Hey, you okay?” Juni called out softly. Neska glanced her way; the mouse's snout was scrunched, almost looking worried. “Not a great start to being brought back into the world, huh?”
No. It’s not. The easy times are over, aren’t they? She shook her head slowly. Meanwhile, the guards closed the distance, but their demeanor had shifted to be less hostile, and they were no longer aggressively brandishing their weapons.
"At ease, we're friendlies," Jurik called out. The closest guard was a young man wearing a bloodied brigandine with a blue fabric hem, also bloodied and dirtied. But after seeing the veteran, he slowly stowed his weapon, and his face warmed to palpable relief.
“Is that a special services patch?" he asked observantly--Jurik followed his gaze to the small emblem and nodded. "Boy, I'm glad you're not more wolves,” the guard declared gratefully. He glanced down at Juni and Neska, and he startled slightly. “Are you coming from the mill, or elsewhere?”
“Passing through, and reporting out monsters. We dealt with some dire wolves last night,” Jurik explained. Two more guards joined the first, both of whom appeared young. “Name’s Lieutenant Jurik, Special Operations. I’m a veteran of the last two campaigns against the monster incursion. Where’s your commanding officer?”
“Dead. Last night,” the man said with remarkable composure. “Took out a bunch of wolves before he went down. They were fast. Some jumped the wall before we were ready. I’m the next in charge, Corporal Wellik.” He secured his weapon fully before greeting Jurik with a firm handshake. “Glad to see a friendly face.”
“Likewise. Have you notified the capital?” Jurik asked. “I would stay longer if I could, but I have a priority mission: getting these two Awakened to the Academy.”
Wellik shook his head. “No, we don't have those transmitters that go that far out. Not worth the coin to the higher-ups, much to my everlasting frustration," he scoffed. "I’m getting every able-bodied hunter and boy old enough to swing a sword or draw a bow. The pack was huge. I think it was low hundreds, easily."
"Anything else? Unusual behavior, level of organization, abnormal evolution traits?" Jurik pressed. Neska liked the questions he asked; he was sharp and to the point on arming himself with knowledge.
Wellik frowned, tapping his chin as if recalling some information. "Something was leading them. I didn’t get a good look, though. I only know that something huge tore the Sergeant down the middle like he was nothing more than a sheet of parchment. Then it bounded off as soon as a mage threw a fireball at him, along with the leftovers of the pack."
His breath shuddered, his courage faltering but for a second, and he kept his hands steady. “I could use some help, to be honest. How did they break past the army lines? They must be cut off from the rest of the horde.”
“Lots of the hills and forests are thinly patrolled. The army can’t be everywhere at once,” Jurik reasoned. "I know there were scattered reports of them massing on the western side of the frontline, but mostly low-tier monsters. We should talk inside the gates, yes?” He pointed to the gate, still mostly intact, though there were signs of battle inside the village as well.
Neska kept getting wary glances from the villagers as they advanced; many who were bandaged or wearing makeshift compresses, or kneeling over the fallen. The water trickled from their eyes, and their voices were little more than wails.
It did not feel like a good thing to witness. More than a few of them cast cold looks in their direction. Her and Juni specifically. We're not the monsters that did this to you. She already knew from Juni that this reaction might be a possibility—an unwelcome one.
Neska was glad to enter the stone-and-brick garrison, yet the interior was brighter than the outside suggested. Neska noted several women in white robes treating injured soldiers and citizens. Many were marked by the carnage of the previous night. All of the healers were occupied with stitching, administering vials of fluid to their patients, and nursing them back to fighting shape.
All this, from wolves? And they are just Tier One? The bites and claw marks on them looked severe, even with the aid they received. What I wouldn't do to remember all of Risha's alchemical formulas right about now. I remember a few, at least.
The corporal opened a door leading to an empty room with a large table and several chairs positioned around it, and beckoned them inside. He then called out to one of the other guards who had been outside, then closed the door.
The young man took off his helmet, revealing matted hair and several bruises. He looked at the blood still on his gauntlets with disdain before setting the armor pieces on the table, then cleared his throat. “Jurik. Tell me there’s good news.”
“There isn’t, apart from the near dozen and a half we killed total,” the man said in a controlled, emotionless tone. “The sawmill was attacked. Juni is my ward. We were headed to the Academy, where all the Awakened are being rallied. Neska, we picked up along the way.”
"I know about the sawmill. Survivors got out of there and said it was a bloodbath. We haven't...been able to attend to the fallen." His fingers curled into fists, then loosened them. Wellik peered at Neska, eyes squinting. “A snake? And a Terramouse? Not exactly a high-priority set.”
Rude. Neska let out a soft hiss and pointed her tail at a stack of papers on the table. Wellik glanced at her skeptically, and then Juni took the cue.
“She just Awakened. No speech, yet,” Juni explained. “But, she can use her tail to write.”
Wellik looked surprised. “Is that a fact? Here.” He pulled out a stick of wood with a dark center. sharpened to a point. “Who are you?”
She was tempted to reveal it through her interface, but she remembered Risha's cautious words, and now Jurik's. Juni had done so in a pinch, and it was a risk that paid off. Here, she had more options before resorting to that.
{Neska.} She wrote with a touch more speed than before. {Awakened fully a few days ago. Seekers killed my witch. One was a monster, hiding in a human form. I ran. Found Juni. I followed them.}
The longer she wrote, the more the man’s eyes widened, and his mouth hung agape. But, he did not interrupt as Jurik and Juni let her speak for herself. She did not want to reveal everything--not Marikand's name, not yet. She didn't know how high up Marikand was, only that he had some position of authority in the ranks, and there was a risk that he could take another face if he knew he was exposed. Jurik had stayed quiet, and she suspected he was bottling his worry.
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She hoped not all the Seekers were like this. She continued to write as fast as she could.
{Wolves are many. Dozens. You should not stay.}
Juni and Jurik soon spoke about their role, how they had come from the town of Selkin. It was the first time they’d talked at length about their past, and Jurik had witnessed the monsters growing in strength, in between rounds of reconnaissance behind enemy lines; he was no stranger to risks.
Worse, the monsters were getting smarter. They no longer engaged the army head-on, preferring to slip by defenses and target softer settlements. Neska knew, though, based on the looks Jurik kept giving Juni, and her previous words…
…She’d likely been in one of those villages when it was attacked.
Wellik called in more guards when they were able to brief them and tell them to shore up the defenses. He only paused briefly to give instructions calmly. Even at his young age, with the hesitation in his voice…he was trying to lead the best he could.
“So, the pack must have been split. The ones that attacked you were probably only a task squad to keep the road clear from any reinforcements,” Wellik concluded. “You’re lucky.”
“In my experience, it was more than luck. It was training and discipline.” Jurik continued to stand, despite being offered a seat. He only sat when a healer demanded she examine his wounds. She also scolded him for not treating them sooner.
Even so, he continued. “Wellik, we have our own priorities. Neska’s Awakening is…unusual, to put it politely.” A line they'd deliberately prepared. Jurik did, indeed, know how to keep secrets.
The young soldier shook his head. “I couldn’t advise that. We beat back the wolves, but I think there’s a larger one leading them. A possible Tier Two. They couldn’t operate this deep behind lines this competently otherwise,” he said the words calmly, but the weariness in his eyes told another story. “I could use another fighting arm. Two Awakened would be immense, too.”
“I think my mission might take priority, much as I hate saying that,” Jurik said, though with a reluctant biting of his lip. “You lost a few, yes?"
“And numerous injuries,” Wellik responded, a dark scowl on his face. His gaze softened when he looked at her and Juni again. “But, I understand. Awakened are our best hope to combat the incursion. We’ll survive. Hopefully.”
“Keep guards posted and fires going. Burn King’s yew lumber nearby if you can; the noxious scent deters them,” Jurik advised. “The Tier Two, though…that’s problematic.”
Neska took the writing implement back in hand. A spark ignited in her, a realization that if they left...it would be as if she made a terrible choice. She tapped her tail to the paper to indicate she finished her thought.
{We stay. We fight. No wish to see death here. Leader wolf threat. Must be dealt with. Or repeat elsewhere.}
Juni’s nose twitched at that. “Neska, this isn’t our worry.”
She wrote more. {What is the point of running? Monsters kill. Destroy. Sawmill people, no threat, yet dead. We go, the town becomes like the sawmill.}
She saw the mood shift as Jurik put his scarred hand to his chin, rubbing the stubble. “Neska, you don’t know what you are up against. You can’t fight this alone. Not even the three of us could change the tide of that. We can carry word to the junction town south of here, on the river, to send reinforcements.”
His words were logical. Cold. It would protect them, maybe. She glanced at him and wrote once more.
{Then lure. Like a dead snake catching a mouse.}
{Trap.}
Jurik and Juni both looked on in surprise. Wellik leaned in, intrigued, before tapping a map on the wall. “They are displaying intelligence. Planning. We must change tactics, too. We can hunker down behind the walls, but at some point, we need supplies or reinforcements. They can subsist on the forest, and we don’t know their numbers.” He then turned to Neska. “I have heard of snakes playing dead, so to speak, to catch prey. But to what end?”
{Spent a year Awake but not all there. Remember things from Risha’s books. Witch potions, some basic alchemy.}
{One that might be useful. Three parts. Slime gel. Charcoal. Pyrovine extract. Mix.}
{Boom.}
She remembered it from her witch's work at the bench, clearer and more in focus than before. It was one of her most recent works. Vivi. You mentioned alchemy was a power set of the Witch Path. Why are there no alchemy abilities yet?
Secondary powers unlock at Tier Two. However, this does not preclude you from mixing and preparing alchemical ingredients from the wild. The powers serve to enhance or transmute alchemical formulas even further, or alter your body.
She continued to write. {Find ingredients. Boil slime gel. Gather residue. Grind charcoal finely. Dry firevine, but do not burn. Use low heat, grind, and mix it with others. Use fire. Set off.}
Jurik snapped to attention. “Wellik, you have slime gel on hand, yes?”
“Plenty, usually for the healer's potions. Charcoal is simply burning wood at high temperature and limiting airflow to it, and pyrovine is used to ward off noxious pest insects for crops. The blacksmith keeps a stock of charcoal, and the pyrovine is also nearby.” He looked far more enthusiastic, now. “Will that work? A trap?”
“The mixture she’s talking about could have high potency. An alchemist or a tier two witch class would be able to enhance it…but for our purposes? Yes. We could use this. However, it’s possible the wolves could sniff it out,” Jurik said, tapping the page gently.
“And we want to bait them out. On purpose.” Wellik ran his fingers through his messy hair. “We could hold out until reinforcements…but the pack might return with more, and their leader. We don’t have any Tier twos out here for classes, either, other than me, and you, I presume?"
Jurik gave a slow nod, and Wellik looked as if this news was much needed for him, as he continued. "Against this many, it would be a tough fight. Anyone who is somebody was already recruited for the war effort.” He then looked at Neska. “You’re certain this can work?”
{My witch fought and died to defend humanity. I trust her work.} Risha had also slightly scorched her hat, testing a small amount of this mixture. That had been a rather noisy morning.
“Why are we trusting them?” one guard interrupted. Neska saw a burly, unkempt man with grey streaks in their hair, peering at her with baleful eyes. “They’re one step removed from monsters themselves! Look at them! Or don’t you remember what happened to Felix?”
Wellik turned, eyes narrowed, and slowly approached him. “You are out of line, Briggs. I assumed command after the sergeant was killed, per succession guidelines.”
“You may be in command due to some fancy words on paper, but I've got more hair on my balls than you, boy.” The man loomed over the young corporal, who did not waver. “The only reason you’re leading this sad sack garrison is that you went to school. You learned a few fancy things. It won't mean a thing when the monsters are tearing out your entrails.”
“The defense of this town is my priority, Briggs. Hadley, go with him and see to it he’s on corpse detail,” Wellik said with all the emotion of a slab of stone. “And while you’re at it, get me someone with any alchemical or chemistry training when you come back, plus the smith. I don’t see anyone else with a better plan than the sn–pardon me, Neska,” he corrected.
“They always turn,” Briggs sneered as he turned to leave. He was escorted by the taller guard Wellik had instructed, a woman with long blonde hair tied back, and a bow slung over her shoulder. Briggs stayed to continue to voice his unwanted opinion. “They can’t help it. The monster in them is too strong. You’ll know that when they sink their teeth into your throat, boy.”
He gave one last, baleful glare at Neska. “You're a snake, the lowest of the low. Just because you're smart doesn't change what you are. Or what you'll become. I've got a sharpened axe waiting for you when that day comes.”
The door slammed shut with a wood-creaking force. Neska gazed at the exit blankly. But…I just want to help. Why can't he see that?
“Neska…I hate saying this, but that won’t be the only time you hear that.” Juni’s voice came out in a quiet tone, ears drooping. “All they see is the monster that killed a son, a daughter, a friend, or a husband or wife. They don’t see what the Awakened have done to stem the tide, and even push back the monsters in some places.”
Wellik shook his head next to her, fingers clenched tightly. “I would put him in a cell for insubordination, but I’m already short-handed on men. Jurik, you’re seasoned. How do we approach this?”
“Depends on how much material we have. Neska, do you recall the exact steps? Ratios are important, from my limited knowledge,” the veteran cautioned.
She remembered it from Risha’s books. The memories from before she started Awakening were fuzzier, but still visible to her, and she drew up the mixture. The mathematics was not as clear, but she recalled this ‘ratio’ as the amount of one substance to another, based on weight. She wrote it down.
{Will need Juni. We need to dig a tunnel. Several, actually.}
Juni opened her snout in surprise and gripped her tail. “M-me? But, why?”
{They can’t smell underground.}
That was all she needed to say. Juni's face brightened, looking more confident. “Okay. What’s the plan?”
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Predict what happens next chapter!