Talwarg and Nerek, joined by most of the warriors from the monastery, looked at the former site of the tree that had marked Lanek’s resting place. They had rushed here as quickly as possible once one of the morning patrols had reported the tree missing and the absence of the myrmidons. For the last few weeks, the Talon had made sure to have the first stop for one of their patrols be to check on the myrmidons as they did not want to be surprised by the powerful creatures if they chose to become hostile.
The monastery was buzzing with the news, with many speculating that the disappearance of the tree was proof that Lanek had indeed returned and that Liv and Ograch had driven him away. However, none of them really faulted the two warriors since resurrections were not exactly common and most of them would have been suspicious as well. On the other hand, Liv and Ograch were raking themselves over the coals as they started to consider that they hadn’t actually encountered an impostor.
“Where do you think he went?” Talwarg asked Nerek and the others.
“If he wanted to go somewhere secure and outside of the city, I would say his cave, but I’m not sure if there is much left of it after the little surprise Ivan left behind for the gaunts. That’s assuming he wants to be found. If not, he could be anywhere.” Ograch said thoughtfully.
“Shit, he might have left the area completely. If he is angry enough, he might have abandoned Caelis completely.” Liv said, shaking her head. “Who knows what he’ll do, we only knew him for a few months before he died after all.”
“That wouldn’t be very logical of him. As far as we all know, this is the only settlement aside from Liv’s people that we know actually exists. If he left Caelis, he could very well risk becoming a hermit.” Ivan said.
“Not necessarily. His bond with Eldros and the wild would keep him from being entirely alone.” Nerek responded. “Unfortunately, I’ve not been able to contact the Hordefather, so I can’t offer any answers.”
“Dammit. Khurzag, take one of your patrols and head to our former village. One of the Night Arrows can show you the way.” Talwarg ordered, holding up a hand to stop Liv and Ograch’s objections. “I know that you two could get there faster, but you two might not be high up on his list of people to see right now.”
Grumbling, the two riders returned to the monastery while Khurzag gathered a squad and departed. A few hours later, they reached Lanek’s cave and found traces of a fire, but it had long since been extinguished. After searching the surrounding area for another few hours, Khurzag reluctantly ordered his people to return home.
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Unbeknownst to the Talon, Lanek had long since ridden around the city and was heading toward Laethon. He still wasn’t sure if he would return to the monastery, but he didn’t want to sit around moping either. As a result, he was heading toward the next Void target to buy time. Once this next target was gone, he would be able to take months, possibly years, to address the rest of them. He didn’t plan on taking that long, but it would be nice to have the option.
As for Caelis, he had no intention of abandoning the city itself no matter what he chose to do about the Talon. The dungeon was a potential gold mine for reward stones and loot, not to mention the fact that he was pretty sure he could find a nice spot to live in near the dungeon where he could at least enjoy some comfort similar to what he had enjoyed in the monastery.
While he rode toward his next target, his surroundings became more familiar and he was reasonably certain that he knew where the next target was located. He was being guided toward the abandoned village that the Void Shifters had made their den. Pulling up his quest, his suspicions were confirmed when he saw the name of his next target. Void Nest, huh? That sounds about right. Works for me, I’ve been meaning to pay the bastards a visit after they nearly killed me.
Normally, Lanek would wait until morning to assault the nest, especially since the shifters dominated the area at night, but he was much stronger after dark now. Hell, with Sanguineus’ new passive, all of us are stronger after dark. Let’s see how they like being hunted.
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As darkness covered the forest, Lanek took to the trees, figuring that it would be better for Maximilian to fight independently. The trees were far too dense for Lanek and Maximilian to be able to fight effectively as cavalry, there simply wasn’t enough room to perform an actual charge. Kazuma, sensing that they were about to engage in his favorite form of combat, started covering himself and his companions in fog. The fog wouldn’t interfere with his vision or that of his companions, but it should cause numerous problems for the shifters.
Not for the first time since being revived, Lanek lamented the loss of his [Ethereal Salvo], but he knew that his new empowerment ability would make him far stronger in the long run. Also, destroying the forest and any woodland critters living here was probably not in the spirit of being a Herald or Chosen of the Wild.
A growl from Sanguineus put Lanek on alert. Moments later, the otherworldly shrieks of the shifters reached his ears. Rather than feeling fear or unease, he felt a sense of anticipation and blood thirst. Whoa, I’m going to need to reign that in. I need to focus.
While Lanek and his companions spread out to begin the hunt, he wondered if there might be a taunt at play here. Yes, he was looking forward to some payback, but the blood thirst almost seemed unnatural. However, Lanek put those thoughts aside for the moment as the first shifter floated into view, its tentacles filling him with revulsion.
A rustling to the right of the creature caused it to spin and lash out, its tentacles stretching to lengths that shouldn’t have been possible. Its tentacles struck nothing as Kazuma having evaded the strike with ease. Before the monster could realize its mistake, Lanek’s yari pierced its chest. Wanting to attract more of its kind, Lanek twisted the spear cruelly, causing the shifter to shriek in agony for several seconds before he withdrew the spear and pierced its skull.
The pained shrieks had the intended purpose as screeches and howls echoed through the night, all moving toward Lanek’s position. With a thought, he unleashed his companions, telling them to hunt until every last shifter was gone. With a bit of grim satisfaction, he watched his companions take to the task with enthusiasm. Unlike their previous battle, the three furballs did not toy with their prey. They didn’t need to, the monsters were already converging on the area. Instead, the trio fought with a terrifying efficiency, only striking when they could be sure of an instant kill.
For his part, Lanek decided to play the part of bait. He approached the overgrown road that ran toward the ruined village where the shifters made their home and shouted a challenge. Each shifter that glided toward his position, he fought openly, killing them swiftly. They seemed almost slow to him now, his stats having increased dramatically since their last encounter. The shifters definitely weren’t the most intelligent of creatures as their fixation on the target standing out in the open blinded them to the animals that were systematically picking them off.
Finally, Lanek was forced to dismiss his spear and draw his sword. The shifters had decided to come at him in force, attempting to drown him underneath their bodies. Due to their numbers, Lanek could no longer keep them at bay with the yari.
With his arming sword in hand, he severed any tentacle that came within range. Despite his strikes, the shifters pushed closer, their toothed maws snapping at him. With each swing of his sword, another shifter fell before him, head severed or torso pierced, but it was not enough to allow him to remain unscathed. Multiple bludgeoning strikes from the shifters’ tentacles hit with bone-shattering force and it was only due to the quality of his armor that he didn’t lose chunks of his flesh or entire limbs to their bites.
Even as the damage accrued, he didn’t despair. While the shifters were engrossed in their mistaken thought that they were winning this fight, they didn’t notice that their reinforcements were no longer crowding into them from behind in an attempt to reach the human. Receiving confirmation from his companions that no shifters remained in the forest around them, Lanek finally let loose. He hewed one shifter across the midsection, disemboweling the creature even as his left hand struck out in a rather clumsy punch that still managed to crash through the face of another.
While he slew the remaining shifters in melee range, the shifters seemed to finally understand the situation and broke away. Their attempt to flee was doomed from the start, however, as Kazuma, Sanguineus, and Maximilian dispatched the retreating creatures without mercy.
When the party reconvened, they proceeded to collect the reward stones that had dropped. Not bothering to tally them up yet, Lanek and company started to walk toward the village ruins. The quest hadn’t updated yet, which meant that there were more of these things waiting for them or a more powerful creature, possibly both.