Chapter LXXVI

Pink Camp

A brief silence enveloped the group until Remian broke it, his voice laced with levity. "So, who's up for a game of cards while we wait?" he proposed, a relaxed smile on his face.

Miveria intervened, her annoyance apparent. "Remain, be vigilant, no games" she admonished. "We have to be cautious. We're here to support the others if they need us. Stay alert and keep quiet."

Remian nodded, chastened by Miveria's reprimand. He looked down, his expression displaying remorse.

"We don't know what awaits us. A battle may or may not be necessary. Let's stay focused and maintain our readiness," She conceded, her voice filled with sincerity.

"Sorry, you’re right. I got caught up in the excitement of arriving earlier than expected.”

Zunkit interjected, offering a theory. "Perhaps it was always Elchome's plan," he pondered aloud. "Maybe he orchestrated this early arrival to prevent any potential ambushes. He's been extra cautious since the carriage fiasco."

The mere mention of the incident sent a shiver down Adriaas' spine. Respecting Miveria's request, the group fell into silence as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting the wilderness of Imperia into darkness. Adriaas could feel her anxiety heighten, and Miveria, standing beside her and Remian, noticed.

"Relax, we'd know if something went sideways. We have the 'Contact' crystaphere, don't forget," Miveria reassured her after noticing her hands in constant movement.

Miveria's words resonated with Adriaas. She had to avoid dwelling on the uncontrollable. They were a team of exceptional individuals from the Silver camp, and after waiting for an hour, a column of smoke signaled their success as proof of it.

"Woo, furk yeah!" Remian jumped with elation. "Let's go!"

Miveria allowed his excitement and nodded in agreement. It was time to press forward. Embracing the encompassing darkness with only the moon and smoke as their guide, they adjusted to the limited visibility. Strange noises whispered from the depths of the night, stirring unease within the group.

"Zaraz, activate the repelling crystaphere, please," Miveria asked.

Adriaas, filled with a sense of responsibility, hastily retrieved the brown sphere from her bag and pressed it with her thumb and index finger. A subtle gas-like substance emanated from it and expanded at great velocity. It swiftly silenced the eerie sounds, warding off potential threats from wild animals. Adriaas marveled at the power of the crystapheres, appreciating their capabilities.

The column of smoke beckoned from a few kilometers away, and the group steadily made their way towards it, tense. As they drew nearer, the scent of burnt wood permeated the air, and the silhouettes of their comrades came into focus. Elchome, as optimists expected, stood at the forefront, awaiting their arrival.

"The camp is deserted, as if everyone has vanished. We scouted the area thoroughly, but there are no signs of struggle," he reported.

Miveria stood next to him, her curiosity piqued. "What do you think happened?" her voice tinged with intrigue.

"They ran away? It's a plausible theory, but what surprises me is the lack of communication from the pink faction. They could have reached out to us for help," Elchome pondered, pacing back and forth, organizing his thoughts.

"That's one possibility, but what if they were kidnapped?" Remian proposed, searching for an alternative explanation. "Were there any suspicious or conflicting signs?"

"Nothing. It's as if they left intending to return," Elchome remarked, gesturing towards the abandoned rose gold tents belonging to the pink faction of Capahuento. It was smaller than their own, sparking Adriaas' interest.

"Can we go in?" Her eagerness was considerable.

"Sure, I don't see a problem," Gidit joined them, winking at Adriaas. "Let's stay there instead of pitching our tents."

Miveria and Elchome followed, engrossed in the conversation, while the rest of Adriaas' group reunited with the first wave.

"We won't go back to Kagerlu Town until we find out what’s happening," their leader had decided. "We won't return empty-handed to Silver Camp."

"It makes little sense," Miveria stressed. "Why would they disappear without leaving a message or explaining their reasons? They know we’d come if any camp missed the monthly meeting; it’s protocol."

"Exactly," Elchome agreed with the scarlet-haired woman. "There’s something peculiar about this situation. Gidit, I disagree with you. I think we should leave and find a secluded area instead of staying here. We can return in the morning and search for clues in the daylight."

As they approached the entrance to the small circuit of pink tents, Adriaas noticed the camp’s serene atmosphere. It appeared more organized than their own, emitting a pleasant scent of roses.

"This is so strange," Miveria murmured beside her. "Where are they?"

"Hundreds of people vanishing has to be planned somehow," Remian mused, glancing around. "Maybe the Elkrachets are responsible?"

"Not their pattern, at all. Everything is untouched. And even if they were, the camp protocol dictates they must establish emergency contact with the crystapheres!" Elchome interjected as they explored the tents with no signs of struggle or destruction.

Something was undeniably amiss about the whole situation. After half an hour of fruitless searching through the ghost camp, they regrouped with the rest of their party outside the tents. There, they planned to return in daylight to unravel the mystery of the pink camp.

As they exited the camp, both Elchome and Miveria became alert, their voices a whisper. "Something isn’t right. The silence feels... unreal."

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"Hide, now!" Elchome suddenly commanded, sensing danger.

Gidit reacted quickly, but Adriaas froze in a state of shock, overwhelmed by fear and dark memories. Her roommate noticed her distress and, instead of trying to reason with her, grabbed her hand and pulled her away, running.

Adriaas followed, trembling with fear. Her mind flooded with reminiscences of the Elkrachet ambush when they attacked the carriage, of Sabina, the murder of Indictur and Vulnic, and her imprisonment with Pemula and her cellmate’s death, they all resurfaced resurfaced, making it hard for her to breathe.

They reached the tree line, and Gidit found a hiding spot. "Breathe, you’re having a panic attack," Gidit said, maintaining eye contact, soothing her. "We’re safe. We’ve prepared for situations like this. You’re not alone."

Adriaas focused intently on her voice, determined to push her past trauma aside.

"I thought..." she struggled to articulate each word. "I thought they scouted."

Elchome had assured them it was safe, that's why they had been signaled with smoke.

"They did, but it's possible that the Elkrachets planned this from the beginning," Gidit theorized. "Maybe it was a trap all along, or they stumbled upon us by chance."

Adriaas took deep breaths, attempting to calm her racing heart as they strained to listen to the sounds emanating from the nearby abandoned camp. The clash of weapons and the sounds of people fighting made her stomach churn.

She turned to Gidit in panic. "I don't want to be caught. We have to leave."

"Too late," an unfamiliar voice spoke from behind them, and a sudden, searing pain overwhelmed them, plunging them into darkness.

When Adriaas regained consciousness, she found herself bound and gagged.

As she opened her eyes, she noticed more people tied up in front of her, but it was difficult to see their faces. Remian was in front of her. Their eyes met, but their fear only seemed to intensify.

Footsteps approached from behind, surrounding the group of captured individuals.

"There should be twelve. We’re missing three," a voice stated.

"We’ll find them, General. They’ve made it easy for us. It’s as if they wanted to be captured, walking right into our trap. Sabina will be pleased to know that the pink faction has been effectively destroyed," another voice replied.

"Don’t be so confident until you capture all of them," the woman responded, annoyed.

As these perplexing words were spoken, Adriaas turned her gaze to the sky, filled with a myriad of stars. That infinity of lights brought her a sense of calm, and she allowed herself to become lost in their brilliance. However, something abruptly interrupted her reverie.

At first, she mistook it for a meteorite, but then she realized it was a projectile that narrowly missed her. Adriaas was jolted back to reality. She registered the chaos around her as the Elkrachets fell one by one, struck down by more projectiles. They were caught in the middle of a battle.

A couple of figures clad in camouflaged clothing appeared without warning. Adriaas feared they were there to finish them off, but instead, they knelt beside them.

“You’re safe now. Turn around, and we’ll cut your ropes.”

Adriaas hesitated, unsure of their intentions, but Remian followed the instructions. Moments later, he stood free, ready to help her with a blade offered to him. Adriaas felt the restraints on her arms and legs loosen before the gag was removed from her mouth.

She took in as much air as her lungs could hold. “Thank you.”

Confused but relieved, Adriaas rose from the ground and looked around. Other prisoners were also being liberated. She spotted Zunkit, Dravek, Suley, Xendur, and Raveena regaining their mobility, while Gidit and Raxae waited their turn. Adriaas hurried toward them, gripping the combat knife Remian had handed her, and began cutting their ropes.

Once free, her roommate rushed toward Adriaas, embracing her with overwhelming relief while Zunkit released Raxae.

With the entire group liberated, it was time for answers.

“What is happening?” Gidit demanded an explanation.

The members of their group looked just as confused as they were, so it fell upon their four rescuers to provide an explanation. They removed their capes, revealing identities familiar to most members of Silver Camp. The group reacted with a mix of relief and surprise, except for Adriaas.

The eldest among them, a woman in her forties, spoke first.

“I can’t give you every detail; that will come from our leader,” she said, making eye contact with everyone. “You were never in real danger. Playing it this way was necessary to maintain the upper hand against the Elkrachets. We avoided contact to lure you here and, in doing so, draw out the forces of Sabina that had been threatening our lives.”

The news sparked a range of reactions among the group.

“So, you used us as bait while we were trying to figure out what happened to your faction?” Dravek spoke up, clearly offended. “We came here to help!”

Before more heated reactions could erupt, a new group of people arrived. Elchome and Miveria led the them, accompanied by six members of the pink faction wearing the same camo, as they reached the glade where they had been held captive.

“Is everyone okay?” the woman asked, relief washing over her as she surveyed their troubled faces.

“Did you know about this?” Raveena directed her question toward the Silver Camp leader. “Because if you did, that’s messed up, using us as bait.”

Elchome was about to respond when another voice interjected.

“That’s on me, and no, the plan was for your group to remain unaware of our true intentions,” an older man said. “We had to keep it that way to ensure our success. The Elkrachets closed in on our hills for weeks. This was the ultimate plan to defeat them. Thanks to all of you, we’ve turned the tables in our favor. Even if they were a small crew, most of them were competent warriors, but not enough to figure out what we planned, an ambush to their ambush”

As he spoke, Adriaas felt a pang in her gut. His voice triggered something deep within her memory, something she had only heard about in stories before being exiled—tales that seemed like fables but perhaps were real. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her, yet the resemblance was uncanny.

“The pink leader is right. Thank you, General Bit,” Elchome agreed with the man. “If we had known this was the true plan, we might have inadvertently ruined it. I know being imprisoned by the Elkrachets wasn’t the best outcome. But sometimes, we have to do things we hate to succeed.”

As soon as she heard the man’s nickname, her suspicions were confirmed.

Driven by her intuition, she walked toward him, silently studying his face, ignoring the reactions from the other Imperials present. When their eyes met, Bit’s face displayed the expected surprise, barely contained within his factions.

Before anyone could utter a word, he addressed both factions.

“We’ll share more information, but for now, we must gather every Elkrachet and secure them in cages,” he stated, not seeking permission. “Once that is done, we will dismantle the camp.”

His group sprang into action, following his orders, while the Silver Camp waited for Elchome to confirm the command with a nod of his head. It was clear who held seniority. Moments later, as the other groups began their tasks, Bit approached Adriaas.

“I know those grey eyes,” His voice was nostalgic, accompanied by a warm smile. “They come from the mother of your father.” His words erased any lingering doubts she had.

“Bitlan?” Adriaas’s voice trembled with disbelief.

“The one and only Ancaris in Sectum, or so I thought,” her grandfather said. “I’m afraid my time here has limited my knowledge of how far our family has reached. Please forgive my question: What is your name, dear?”

“Adriaas,” her emotions were evident. “Annevan is my father.”

“I figured as much. The resemblance to my firstborn is uncanny,” he said with a smile that triggered memories of her father. “But your eyes, they come straight from the love of my life.”

Bitlan’s presence gave her genuine hope, she had family in Sectum and it seemed he had built quite a reputation as a leader of Capahuento. Waves of emotions and hundreds of questions came to mind as a result of having her grandfather, a man she had never met until then, right before her.

****

Thank you for reading! See you in "Chapter LXXVII - A Healing Heart"

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Indigo Sapiens.

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