by Jay Boyce
To be fair, even if it was a dragon, she’d want it for a mount. Dragons just tended to be a bit scarier to try and tame. That was if she put their general intelligence level aside… Shaking her head, she looked south. She needed to stop getting distracted!
She stopped to stare. It couldn’t really be that easy, could it? She reached up to rub her eyes, wanting to be doubly sure she wasn’t seeing something that wasn’t there, but no; when she uncovered her eyes, it was still the same. In the distance, she could see a patch of trees that looked more black than green; sickly and weak. She found the nest! Or, well, she assumed it was the nest, given the miasma of sickly color she could see radiating off of it.
About to whoop in joy, the cry died on her lips as she noticed another patch of similar trees further behind the first. As she slowly turned to survey the forest, she spotted more dark patches, some consisting of only a few trees, some covering large swathes. They continued sporadically to the west. With a sigh, she pulled the mirror from her ring, feeding in mana to call Marcelle.
The woman answered within about two seconds, and Jade figured she’d been waiting for the call. “Jade! Did you find some...why is there sky behind you?” She started to question in excitement, only for her voice to fall to a puzzled tone at the end when she noticed the bright blue surrounding Jade.
Smiling fondly at the mirror, Jade answered, “Because I’m flying at the moment. I wanted to get a better vantage point, and it seems like it’s a good thing I did. Let me show you so you can tell me what you think.” Marcelle nodded, and Jade turned the mirror around, pointing it first at the mountains with the bird-creatures. “I think those are some kind of giant birds, but probably not our target. However…” She turned the mirror, using her free hand to point out the clumps of sick trees in a slow sweep from south to west. “Those trees have the same miasma mark that the claw marks did. Like they’ve been infected.” Pausing, she turned the mirror so it was facing the fields, so she got a clear view of the castle and mountain before finally putting it back on her. There was no special reason for it, she just wanted Marcelle to see something of the beauty too. A tiny reminder of what they were here for, and what they were trying to protect.
Marcelle was frowning thoughtfully on the other side of the mirror. Several of the scouts clumped behind her to see what Jade was revealing, and their expressions were also troubled. Finally, one of them spoke hesitantly, “I counted at least thirty locations. Which one are we supposed to go to?” It took her a second to realize it was Garrik talking.
A grim determination crossed over her face as she responded, “It doesn’t matter, really. We have to find one of them and capture it alive. I’ll make it show us the way.” She was fairly confident at this point that she could overpower their hypnotism and use compulsion on them. She hoped. Okay, it was a terrible idea, but it was the best she had. After all, she’d come a long way from the encounter when her compulsion could only stop one of them in their tracks for a mere second. It would have to be enough, because otherwise…
She shook those thoughts off. She would find them, and she would save them.
“Then we should aim for the closest one.” Marcelle decided firmly. Jade nodded, looking over the dark clumps before choosing her target. It also happened to be one of the smaller clumps, which she wasn’t opposed to in the slightest. While she wanted to eradicate the menace, her primary objective on this hunt was actually rescue. Once their people were safe, she could eliminate them one by one. She would destroy their nests, their very foundation.
“Understood. I’ll set the course and come back down.” Marcelle nodded, and they both cut the connection, Jade stowing the mirror back into her ring again. While she was focusing on the mirror, she noticed the wind made her drift further again when she hadn’t been concentrated on fighting against the pull, but rather staying aloft and making her call.
Pulling out a crystal, she fixed the image in her mind, creating another projection that highlighted the dead trees. She then lowered herself straight down, alighting on the uppermost branch of the tall tree below. Now that she wasn’t fighting the wind, she took a minute to absorb all the light streaming towards the trees. She hadn’t wanted to create a giant dark spot in the middle of the sky any more than she already had, as she was aiming not to attract the attention of the flying creatures to the east. She had no idea how keen their eyesight was, but since she wasn’t as large as they presumably were, she hoped she was no more than the teensiest blip on the radar that they would ignore.
When her reserves were full again, she jumped down the trunk of the tree, making sure to keep her bearings straight so she didn’t mess up the directions. Therefore, instead of jumping branch to branch, she let herself drift in a slow freefall straight down the one side, only dodging a few branches temporarily before resuming her track. It was rather exhilarating, like she was skydiving from a tree. When she was about fifty feet from the ground, she slowed her descent until she could land lightly on her feet.
The two groups watched her dive from the treetops and made their way over with the animals. She was probably five large trees away from where they tracked the mesmer ascent. She was a little confused as to why the previous scouts still hadn’t left. Still, before she could forget, she grabbed a nearby rock and began to mold it into shape with earth magic, turning it into something like a multi-arrowed compass that pointed straight towards one of the nests. She set it down before looking at Marcelle expectantly.
Marcelle smiled at the compass before looking up at her. “The nest we’re targeting only looked like it was a league or two away. We thought it best to leave the animals here so we could sneak more easily. The scouts will be able to bring them to us afterwards.” Oh, that actually made sense.
“Sure, of course.” It was completely logical to make this an outpost. Especially if she was going to have to keep coming back… Deep in thought, she studied the surrounding area. “Are any of them earth mages?” She absently asked her question aloud, figuring Marcelle would know the answer.
“Yes, there are two. Why?” Marcelle’s voice was quizzical in her reply.
Jade nodded again, staring at a large boulder nearby. “Good, good. Then that means they’ll be able to open and close the door…”
“Door?” She heard one of the men ask, but she paid him no mind as she walked over to the boulder. She only glanced back long enough to take mental measure of how large the capall were as she placed her hand on the stone.
Her magic moved through the rock, then the ground beneath it. A few of the men let out startled gasps as the forest floor trembled slightly, and the capall had to be quickly calmed as the trembling continued. “What’s she doing?” She heard one of the men ask, but couldn’t pay any more spare attention to their question.
She started to sweat lightly from the exertion. She’d needed to convince several roots that they were required to move, and the ancient tree complied very begrudgingly. It was a good fifteen minutes later before she finally dropped her hand from the rock and sat down. She immediately pulled food from her bag and began munching on it as Marcelle approached her from behind. “Jade, are you okay? What did you just do?” Thankfully, Marcelle was a patient person and kept her people in check, even when Jade was being cryptic and doing unknown things for long periods without explanation. She should probably work on that.
Jade smiled wearily up at her, then gestured to the earth mage who’d spoken earlier. “Why doesn’t he touch it and see if he can figure it out?” She scooted away from the rock as Marcelle nodded to the man, obviously curious about what Jade did the whole time while they sat there waiting.
He walked forward cautiously, placing a hand on it and investigating with his magic. She watched in quiet satisfaction as his eyes opened wide and he looked back at her. “Can I open it?” When she nodded, he grinned gleefully, and a large section of the rock slowly swung inward like a door, revealing a large, sloping hallway. Though the beginning of the hallway was dark, it w
as easy to see there was light at the end of the tunnel. The man was staring in awe at the opening before him, while the others who didn’t have animals in tow moved forward to take a look.
Jade gestured to the tunnel. “Why don’t you bring everyone inside and start getting settled? I need to absorb some more light to recharge myself.”
“Even the capall, miss?” One of the men asked cautiously.
She nodded. “Even the capall.” Standing up and brushing the dirt from her pants, she smiled and gestured to the tunnel. “Welcome to your new underground outpost.”
Chapter Four – Outpost
Marcelle took the lead into the tunnel, showing her trust in Jade. I guess if she didn’t trust me, she wouldn’t have followed me all the way out here to the woods and waited as I did crazy things. Her inner monologue didn’t distract her from standing to the side as man and beast filed past her into the tunnel. She darkened the area around her as she sucked the light in for energy. The capall didn’t even flinch from her when she did it now, since she’d been doing it the whole time on the road and their senses seemed keener than the humans who rode them.
As soon as the last of the group entered, Jade quickly reached out with her magic, smoothing down the ground their passage had marked and returning it to a more natural state, so that their departure from the camp would be impossible to find, unless they were being hunted by a much better tracker. It was only five trees further into the woods, but that was still around five hundred feet. She stopped, sweating a bit after that exertion as well, though it had only required a strong burst of power at once, which was much easier than the prolonged drain it’d taken her to super pack and light the new underground compound.
Another minute of draining light and she closed the stone door behind her as she entered, sealing it so that it would look like the previously seamless boulder if anyone without earth magic checked from the outside. Walking silently down the dark hallway, she smiled as she stepped into the brightly lit main chamber. She directly bypassed the first room on the left, which held the capall. It was just a large round chamber where they could wander around and stretch their legs.
Honestly, the room she walked into next wasn’t that much different; it was another large room, the main difference being that there were a bunch of smaller rooms around the edges. Everything was bare stone, having been superheated and packed by Jade during her excavation so that it would be sturdy. The room was also emanating light from all sides, something she’d decided to add as a defense against the mesmer. They were less likely to make it further into the compound if they couldn’t handle the light. Her stone compass arrows were embedded into the floor of the entrance for easy use when they left.
Still, she had to admire the efficiency of military groups. Apparently, Marcelle put her donated spatial bag to good use, because a table that looked like it’d been quickly put together and makeshift stools now occupied one corner of the room where Marcelle seemed to be holding a counsel with three subordinates and someone in a mirror. Elsewhere around the room, people were being industrious and checking out the place or setting up bedrolls.
When Marcelle saw Jade strolling into the large room, she beckoned her closer, and one of the guards quickly pulled out a stool for her. She smiled at the man, realizing she should probably start learning more names as she sat gracefully. She quickly realized there was not just one, but two mirrors looking onto familiar faces. In one mirror, the king and queen sat regally observing them, and Count Ammon held the other. Marcelle gestured to Jade, “I was about to explain our findings, as well as where we are. Would you care to do the honor?”
Jade smiled at her and nodded, then turned to the mirrors. “Hello, Your Majesties, Count Ammon. After reaching the woods, we confirmed that the mesmer climb into the branches of the basaigh trees and use their branches as a sort of roadway. Unfortunately, besides the original tree they climb, they leave very few marks of passage through the branches. My fellacai are currently combing the treetops searching for the path they used and looking for any fresh marks.”
She took a deep breath before continuing, “However, when I flew above the treetops, I was able to get a bigger picture. There are more than thirty patches of trees that are decayed and covered in the mesmer taint. It’s likely that these are the areas where the mesmer ascend and descend the trees frequently, and thus are the locations, or very near the locations, of their nests. The nearest grouping seemed to be between one to two leagues away, so we’ve decided to leave the capall here and proceed on foot for greater secrecy.”
She gestured to the space behind her. “Therefore, I decided to take the time to build an underground outpost to increase the safety of those staying behind. I’ve concealed the entrance in a boulder, so it’ll require an earth mage to provide access in order to keep it a secret. There’s a chamber for the capall to roam, as well as the main room we’re in currently, with private rooms along the walls that can be turned into dormitories. Everything is lighted to further deter enemies that may somehow enter. In one of the back chambers, I’ve diverted part of an underground river that I found for the sake of fresh water and washing up. There are also multiple vents that lead to the surface for airflow. I’ve made them as twisted and curved as possible to dampen any smells and sound that could escape, as well as putting several grates so that smaller creatures would have a very difficult time passing through. However, I recommend that those in the outpost try to keep smells and sounds to a minimum.”
She paused to make sure those around her understood her explanation and instructions, then finished. “My group will set out in a few minutes after we’ve had time to eat and rest a bit. Our intention is to hit that closest area and capture one of the mesmer, who I’ll retrieve the location of the captives from. We can then retreat here and send them back while we use it as a home base to continue the hunt.”
“You don’t intend to return after rescuing the captives?” Queen Ashanna seemed concerned as she questioned Jade.
Smiling gently at her, Jade shook her head. “No. The others can return if they wish; I won’t keep them out here. But if we remove their food source, it means they’ll have to replenish their supply and others will become the victims. Aside from that, it’s likely that once they realize they’re being hunted, they’ll go into hiding. I need to eradicate as many as possible before that happens.”
That was merely common sense from crime dramas of her old world. Going after a crime syndicate meant you needed to take out as many minions as possible in the shortest amount of time or they would go underground, and it would take forever to root them out. She figured that would still happen, but she was going to kill as many as possible before it did. That was the plan, anyway.
“I’ll organize another troop to bring supplies and garrison the outpost.” Count Ammon immediately cut in, showing complete support for her plan.
She smiled warmly at him as he nodded back to her. “I believe an illusion mage would be helpful as well. That way they can check the surroundings of the outpost before the door is opened.” It was the closest thing to security cameras that she could think of, and speaking of...she could use that to track her surroundings when she was in the air, and verify that nothing was making major moves in the sky. Now that she’d been up there once, she didn’t have to go up again if she wanted to check from that spot, at least. That would be helpful. She could also… “Actually, that way they’d also be able to keep an eye on the main tree they seem to use…”
“Of course. We’ll make sure there’s at least one.” King Derrick nodded decisively. She noticed that he emphasized the word ‘least.’ That would make her feel a little better, though they’d need to be led around the area so that they could accurately open windows where needed. Wind and water mages to purify the air and water supplies would also be good, but she figured they’d think of that themselves. Heck, even a nature mage to provide emergency food would be beneficial.
Still, she trusted them to be able to think
these things through, since they’d been living in this world a lot longer than her. They probably knew what it took to maintain an independent outpost. Especially since this would serve as the base for future monster hunts and herb gathering, most likely.
“We’ll keep in touch. Please make sure…” The rest of Derrick’s words were lost to Jade as her eyes lost focus and her head snapped towards the entrance.
“Andy!” Her cry startled those around her as she bolted to her feet and started running for the door, almost knocking several people over in her hurry to get outside. She barrelled down the passageway, practically ripping the stone door off the frame and letting it drop carelessly to the forest floor as she started sprinting through the air, using wind steps to boost her jumping power as she sped towards the canopy of the trees. In her mind’s eye, she could see flashes of the battle taking place in the branches of the trees. It looked like a group of savage orangutans were trying to catch her babies. They’d managed to injure Andy’s wing in one of their swipes, and now the others were furiously trying to defend him as the creatures edged closer, gnashing pointed teeth. The air swirled with various colors of pollen, which the ape things were avoiding as best they could, though several had been stunned or paralyzed, much to the anger of their companions.