by Atlas Kane
If the Bormans were dwarven gods, the Toth Mountains looked more like an army of oversized mushrooms. Rounded, red-clay protrusions extended as far as the eye could see. As they grew taller, their smooth sides began to crack and shear off. Yet even at their peaks, no snow had fallen.
Thinking of snow made Cade consider seasons. What is winter like here? Or summer? Or is this whole place divided by magically contained terrain types and there is no such thing as a season.
He broached the subject, his words coming out slow as he paced himself, striding up yet another steep incline. Satemi was the one to answer. “No, no seasons to speak of. The ether storms provide as much change as this land can handle. In fact, we are due for another in a week from today. The only good thing about them is how predictable they are. Come every thirty days on the nose.”
“What are they like?” Cade asked, his mind unable to imagine a magically infused storm.
It was Minda who responded next. “Terrifying. Sky can grow brighter than day. Everything an electric blue. Strange lightning erupted from any and all directions. Wind to knock down more structures. And then there is the rain itself. There’s so much energy in the air that the rain can become… transformative.”
“Creatures morph, shift, wither and die or grow to twice their size overnight. It is all very unpredictable,” Ketzal finished, her breathy voice showing how tired she was.
“That sounds awful,” Cade added. “But what do you all think of finding a place to camp for the night? We are maybe ten miles away from the woman’s location and it will be dark long before we get there. I say we hike on for a mile at most and find some shelter if possible.”
The women grunted their assent, and they pressed on. The trail wound through a shallow canyon, red stone on either side. Cade had seen a few of the hillocks they were passing had cracked and fallen away, an overhang forming on one side. It was his hope that they might stumble upon one like this with enough shelter for even Bellows to slumber beneath.
Then Cade noticed a row of bushes to either side of the road that grew in tight patches. They were so dense, he was sure even Bellows would have a hard time pushing through them, though the boar would most likely relish the attempt.
As the group entered between the rows, Cade’s pucker factor kicked in. Something was wrong and he knew it. Minda was in the lead, and he walked behind her. Satemi strode behind, and Bellows and Ketzal brought up the rear.
Minda’s ears flicked nervously, and she turned to him. He saw his same nervousness reflected in her golden eyes.
That was when the first missile struck Cade in the neck.
A white-hot pain flashed across his skin, and he yelped, reaching for his axe instinctively.
Grabbing at his neck, he felt something sharp protruding from it. He tugged it free, blood spilling onto his nape. When he examined it, Cade saw a three-headed throwing star made of carved wood.
“Yeeeeee!” a tiny voice screamed, and he looked up to see a line of diminutive spearmen flanking them. Concealed behind a ridge of stone, several more of the little creatures stood all taking turns throwing more of the projectiles with vicious aim.
Minda was struck twice, and cursed, ducking behind the hedge for protection.
Bellows roared from behind, and Cade could hear the brush being trampled by the boar’s panic. He only hoped Ketzal was wise enough to stay clear of the beast’s hooves.
Another projectile whizzed toward Cade, and he slapped it away with the flat of his axe.
In the brief pause that followed, Cade examined their new foes.
Chinrin Skirmisher
Level 4
Insectoid Human
No crap! The damn locals are human… sort of at least. Then that means they die like humans too. Cade aimed his blast staff and launched his newest Explosive Shot at a group of spear-chuckers. The weapon rocked back in his arms as sweet as a baby, and the golf ball of mana landed square in the chest of one of the Chinrin tribesmen.
The blast was more intense to look upon this close. Only thirty feet away, Cade could see the little bastard’s bony carapace shatter with the force, fragments of its body tearing through its companions as well. Though the other two remained alive enough to scree the pain and rage of their wounds, the first was obliterated.
“Minda, Leaf Storm and that dagger trick. Now!” Cade shouted, and as he glanced to see her position, he was given the satisfaction that the daggers had already formed above her head. She stood up, and sent three flying with quick flicks of her index finger. Two of the daggers sunk into Chinrin chests, the third was deftly dodged.
Another group of skirmishers popped up and Minda launched the remaining six daggers their way. Of the five skirmishers, only one survived, the rest being skewered by her magically propelled blades. One took a taller Chinrin in the eye so hard it tore free of the beast’s skull, sending a spray of fluids to the ground behind it.
Cade looked behind him and saw that Bellows was goring a group of the poor creatures, noting a pair of legs dangling from the boar’s mouth. Ketzal had her whip flashing, holding two spearmen at bay. Satemi had found her way through the brush and fought a squad of spearmen, her two swords whirling. He ran to support her, knowing Minda could fight the few creatures that remained in the front of their column.
Finding a small gap in the brush, Cade plowed through. He emerged in time to see that though Satemi was using wide arcing attacks with her swords, she only did so to keep her foes far enough away that they couldn’t effectively attack. But when she had enough room, she turned to one enemy at a time, dropping them with decisive and economical hacks and stabs. Even as he watched, she plunged the tip of one sword through a Chinrin’s sternum and blocked its feeble spear attack with the other. Shoving the creature off into one of its fellows, she turned to another threat, stepping inside this one’s guard and cracking its face open with a pommel strike, then dropping the blade down to slash across its throat.
Cade slammed another between the shoulder blades. It crumpled to the ground, thorax shattered. Having seen the effectiveness of his hammer against spiders, he was glad it proved as valuable here. Exoskeletons were good protection against slashing and piercing damage, but not blunt.
In a flurry of motion, he hammered two more in their middles and ran another through with his new mana spear.
Spinning to find another target, Cade saw only Satemi glaring at him, her chest heaving. “Why, Cade? I could have finished the lot of them.”
The surge of energy from the battle began to fade, and Cade stood up from his crouch. “Just wanting to annoy you, I guess.”
He turned, getting eyes on Ketzal and Bellows, then found Minda walking back down the path. “Is everyone okay?”
“Good enough!” Minda called back, and when they met between the bushes once more, he saw she had been injured the most. Five of the stars had found her flesh, and she was trying to work the last from the collar of her leather vest. “I am keeping these things. If any more of those bugmen attack, I will kill them with their own weapons.”
Bellows was the most distraught. Having rampaged a dozen little men was no doubt a treat for him, but the surprise of the attack as well as a spear jutting from above his left eye had thrown off his usual calm demeanor.
Ketzal removed the weapon and tugged out three more of the Skirmishers' stars. Then Cade used his Restoration of the Grove to begin the healing process. “Let’s split up once more and loot these bastards then get out of here. They were easy enough to kill, but the whole insectoid thing has me worried. If a hundred attacked us, we would be overwhelmed.”
In no less than five minutes, they’d recovered what resources they could from the battlefield and were marching along, only a few smatterings of dried blood to show for the conflict.
After another twenty minutes of slow progress, the sun burning like a sacred gem behind Tanrial, they found the shelter Cade had hoped for. Minda set up two small tents, and Cade took the first watch. They all ate a quick
meal, and Satemi stood with him, watching the red death of a foreign sun.
“I gained another level from that fight,” she said.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you. And I am pleased to tell you that my newest skill is one that Vormer will absolutely hate. I have seen him fight before. He is fast and powerful, at least Level 12, though by now I am not sure. Yet he is just a warrior.”
Then, placing a hand on Cade’s shoulder, the woman stared at him with a fiery passion. “Together, Caderick, we will kill that bastard. And I will wear his skin as a cloak.”
He gave a nervous chuckle and watched her walk away, ducking into one of the tents. Lucky to have her on my side. I wish I could be sure if she was exaggerating. Though a lion cloak would look rather appealing draped over her shoulders, he thought, then faced the west once more and stood guard while his friends took a much needed and deserved rest.
7
Tucked Between His Bitch-Ass Legs
The night passed uneventfully, but upon waking, Cade was surprised with how cold it was, even this low in the mountains. A complete absence of cloud cover might have had something to do with it, but he had gotten used to the jungle’s climate, and this new, arid hill country was different.
He checked his map once more, and saw that the blip marked Target rested a bit higher in the hills than the day before; it was no more than an additional mile up.
Yet if this woman was slowing down in her retreat, it could mean a few things. One, which he feared the most, was that Vormer had attacked already. They would have been notified if she had died though, so not all hope was lost. The other more likely option was that the terrain simply became harder to traverse. Steep-sloped hills made it challenging enough, but the trail so far had been clear and wide. What the passes higher up would turn into made him wonder if Bellows would be able to accompany them at all.
“Minda. Thank you for taking point all day yesterday, but I can take over for now,” Cade said. He saw she wanted to protest, but he explained himself further. “You are the best of us in many regards. I trust your senses and your intuition, so naturally, you fit the position well. Yet you did so all afternoon yesterday, and you need a break. Besides, I do not think it will be hard to detect Vormer or his guards.”
She scratched behind her ear and nodded, adorable and deadly as always. Then Cade turned to Ketzal. “You and Bellows keep our rear safe. I doubt anyone or anything will be stupid enough to target that oaf, but in case they do, you need to be with him. Satemi,” Cade finished. “I want you to make sure communication is held between all of us. So stay flexible and expect to move. We need to spread out, even further than last time. We were caught off guard yesterday, but kicked ass mostly because we spread their attack out. Thirty feet between each of us as we go. Sound good?”
Satemi nodded, fierce and absolute in her discipline. Ketzal joked with Minda. “Wow, he is becoming quite the commander. I will be honest though. I like this side of him.”
“I’m fine with following the Chimera Lord. As long as he doesn’t start barking orders in bed,” Minda added, but the two women also gave him a meaningful look. They were teasing but knew the situation was serious.
“Sorry. I’m just nervous. We will encounter Vormer, and we have no idea how many guards he has. I’m going to get moving, but Satemi, could you summon the little imp and see if he has any other news?”
She nodded, so Cade jogged to the trail and began to march.
As they wound their way higher into the mountains, Cade occasionally would stop and make sure their positioning remained consistent. Bunching up was never a good thing. If Vormer had ranged support, they could all be wounded or killed in a single volley if they walked in a tight group.
It was one of the most annoying things about movies: everyone ambling along in a war, two feet apart, was enough to make the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
The women were disciplined though, incredible soldiers and each unique. He remembered his first patrol through the woods on Ft. Lewis. The slow and methodical pace set by their seasoned E-4. Baines was a tiny man, scrawny with pocked skin and a thick, West Virginian accent. Yet he knew his business, how to move, how to keep the men from spreading too far out or bottle-necking.
Learning hand signals, walking heel to toe and avoiding branches, Cade learned to walk in a forest like a soldier. Yet after Minda had finished with him, he felt his training was now complete. All of them were barefoot, their high Constitution scores making their bodies tough enough to endure such abuse. And without boots, Cade felt he could move silently for once, something not at all possible to do in full battle rattle.
Funny how that experience stuck in his mind even after so many years, and after dying, but in reality, he had never been called upon to move like that during war.
Walking the streets of Iraq was a careful balance of making sure you didn’t turn an ankle in a crack in the road while also scanning every alley and rooftop. A maddening game that was never fully possible.
As his platoon became more seasoned, they would simply walk. He would look where he could, but glancing in all directions was useless. Instead, he made his face into a mask, his focus spreading out around him. Allowing his other senses to take hold, especially intuition, was key to spotting trouble before it was too late.
How the women adapted so quickly was beyond him. Satemi had as much or more training than he in her previous life, albeit of an entirely different kind. But Minda had been a scientist! Yet even Ketzal, the least likely in frame and personality was always a dozen paces to the side or front of Bellows, ensuring he remained calm on following their course. How did I get here? he thought as he turned to watch the women progress behind him. Each of them is my equal or more. I’ll be damned if I let them down. So he turned back to the trail, making yet another promise to uphold his end of the partnership they had all created together.
The morning brightened, and the heat of the sun returned unhindered by leaf or branch. They rested twice, eating lightly and drinking much to remain energetic.
Each time he checked the map, they were a bit closer, and finally, he saw the woman had ceased moving entirely. They were only a mile out when they rested once more, intent on making contact during their next leg of the journey.
“We are so close. I can feel it in my bones,” Minda said, then bit into a bright-yellow apple they’d discovered a few days past.
“Yes. And though it is foolish to hope, I almost wonder if we have made better time than Vormer. How else have we not seen them?” Satemi asked. “No signs of their passing either, but that is mostly due to the hard ground. Even a casual breeze could sweep away what little tracks would form here.”
Cade nodded. “I was hoping the same. It would be amazing to kill Vormer, but our main goal is to save this new person. She is still probably level one and outnumbered. She has no chance of surviving without us. But imagine how easy it would be if we met up with her first. Then we could simply return to Camp Casmeer with another passenger on board the B-train.”
“B what?” Ketzal asked, confusion marring her features.
“Our boy Bellows. B-train? Never mind. It works though, just trust me.”
The girls exchanged a look that amounted to yeah, Cade is nuts, but at least he’s cute.
He laughed, knowing there was no way their cultures could all coincide.
Then a loud crack split the air and a plume of fire erupted in the pass high above them. A tiny plume of smoke rose in the air a mile away and just out of sight. So much for quick and easy, he thought, and jumped to his feet in moments.
No words were exchanged, no orders given. Cade took the lead again at a fast jog.
They raced up the narrowing pass and over the top of yet another hill. It was then that he spotted the flashing steel of the Silver Guard. A handful of soldiers were charging up the side of a steep embankment. Where the massive blast had come from, Cade couldn’t tell.
Cade stopped and found
a boulder to hide behind, then gestured toward his group to catch up. They gathered around him, Bellows remaining fifty or so feet behind so his bulk wouldn’t be noticed on the summit.
“Okay, so here is my plan. Quick and nasty. If we let them have too long, she will be lost. I am going to charge in with Satemi, but I want Minda to flank the guards. If you can loop around their position and come at them from up the trail, we might get a good surprise. When they counter attack, Satemi and I will take cover. I’ll shoot an Explosive Round up there,” he said, pointing to a flat expanse of a nearby cliff. “When you see that, Ketzal, bring in the mother freaking cavalry. Let Bellows do most of the initial smashing, and then we move in to mop up. I only see five or six of them, but there may be more. Ready?”
Minda spoke up, her eyes focused and intense. “I will move quickly. But still, I think I’ll need five minutes’ head start.”
“No problem. We will be able to watch most of your progress from here, so don’t worry about a signal. And do not attack until after they’ve reacted to Satemi and me, and hopefully Bellows knocks out half of them. That way you’ll only face one, maybe two and not the whole group.”
The beastkin woman nodded curtly, then sprinted up the side of the hill. She was still somehow silent, but Cade had never truly seen how she could move if pressed. He realized, watching her bound across the scree-covered hillside, she’d been holding back each time they traveled together.
Sounds of fighting and a man’s drawn-out death cry filled the air. Cade’s heart smashed in his chest, and he bounced on his feet, anxious to move.
Finally, they saw Minda move into a group of bushes a hundred feet or so behind the guards who were still trying to push up the steep slope. The plants ran up the mountain and came within a dozen feet of the guards. Minda would have the perfect position to attack from.