Rico listened with rapt attention until Captain Alton stopped talking and took a long drink from Sergeant Yuri’s flask. The campsite was deathly quiet as the newest strike team listened to his story. As the sergeant was telling it, Rico thought it sounded familiar and the ending of it confirmed it. This was a case study from the academy, a lesson in what not to do and how to fix it. Before he started speaking again, Rico tried to remember his lessons on that mission.
The fiend had been a manawraith, a fiend capable of killing humans and other fiends and controlling the bodies. They formed when something died in a mana rich environment and would take the vague shape of whatever they formed from. Rico found himself glad that fiends had been thoroughly researched and studied in the last few years. Facing an unknown fiend sounded terrifying, and he looked on at his leader in a new light. It was one thing to hear these stories in the academy and unnervingly different to hear about it from someone who was there.
“What happened next?” Letty asked before adding, “sir.”
Alton set down his bowl and took another sip from the flask. “That cavern was where we found the cache of alta stones that I’m sure you’ve all heard about. While I was suffering from the effects of mana exhaustion, the team gathered the injured back in the narrows and wait for us to wake up rather than try to carry everyone back through potentially hostile territory. Davih went off exploring and found the corpse of whom we assume became the manawraith. The scholar the army sent suspected it lingered there for a very, very long time, since before the mountain.” There was a round of gasps after that, Rico didn’t remember hearing that in class.
“On its body was a set of armor covered in runes and mana pathways, similar in ways to what we wear now. That was how our smiths learned to inlay the runes that give us the increased protection. The body also had a sword on its hip.” He stood and drew his famous sword out of its holster. “Fang, here was my reward for leading that mission. It has been at my side ever since. That was the day I pushed into the fourth tier and learned how to infuse a weapon with mana. It was also how we learned simple metals cannot hold much mana and what happens when you push them too far.” He grimaced and traced a scar on his sword hand that ran down his forearm.
“I don’t remember learning that the corpse was suspected to be from before the mountain in the academy…” Rico said to no one in particular.
“You wouldn’t have. The thinking heads all decided it would lead to more trouble than it was worth. Treasure hunters are already enough of a hassle, as it is, without giving them that kind of information at large. Of course, the truth has and will trickle out slowly, but we follow our orders,” Alton replied to his unasked question.
The group was silent after that, still digesting the story. Night had fallen in truth now and the watch rotation was set. Rico would be in the second group with Sergeant Yuri, so when Alton dismissed them, he shuffled off to his tent. He was already cold as he laid down on his bedroll, grateful for the dirt under him. He pulled his blanket up over his shoulders and tried to close his eyes and sleep, waiting for a sharp whistle that never came.
——
Rico jumped as a hand grabbed his shoulder and gave him a soft shake. He turned his head to and found Letty looking at him, about to wake him again. His groggy mind was embarrassed to realize that during the night he had scooted so close to her they were touching from the hip down. He rolled and saw that Miser and Yuri were already standing in the tent and pulling on winter gear over their uniform. His mind finally caught up, and he remembered it would be time for second watch.
A few moments later, the four of them emerged from the tent to find the campsite eerily lit by the clashing hues of orange and blue. The first watch was assembled near the fire and looked as miserable as he did. He nodded to Amelia and the others and waited for orders, standing as close to the fire as he could without catching on fire himself. He shifted his weight back and forth while he circulated mana, enjoying the sensation of a full core after the physically draining day before.
“All clear, you have the watch, Sergeant.” Alton said to Yuri and then waved for his team to move into the tent.
“Private Letty, how is your longsight?” Sergeant Yuri asked as the four of them stood near the fire.
“I’ve been practicing for the last month sir, I believe it is adequate for a deserted area like this,” the smaller woman answered.
“You have first hour then, manasight on and a full scan of the surroundings every fifteen minutes at a minimum. Find a spot that gives you a vantage and keeps your eyes away from the fire. It ruins your ability to see into the shadows. Don’t let your core get below half. If you feel it reaching that point, tag in one of your teammates. Keep your bow strung and circulate to stay limber.” Yuri gave the utility striker her assignment. She turned and started walking to the edge of the camp for a spot.
“Miser, you have the fire. Keep it at this level at a minimum and keep a close eye on the amount of wood left. Never let it run out unless you enjoy being an ice sickle.” He told the large man. “Circulate your mana through each limb at least once every fifteen minutes to stay limber, shield and sword where you can reach it.”
“Rico, you are the relief for Letty when she needs a break. Circulate and stay limber, sit where you can see her at all times. If she sees something, you investigate, no exceptions. This is good practice for a situation you will find yourselves in often. Set your time pieces and stay sharp.” He finished and picked his own spot near the fire.
Rico watched the sergeant take out his sword and start oiling the blade. He mimicked the action and pulled out his own sword and laid it across his lap. It was slightly shorter than the standard issue blade to accommodate his small and slight frame. A leather wrapped hilt adorned it with an empty socket near where the blade and pommel meet. It had been given to him yesterday in his pile of gear for the mission. Rico had never owned his own sword, instead using the practice blades given to the recruits at the academy.
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The pile of gear had also contained the uniform he wore now. It was made of a thick cloth interspersed with leather, both shirt and pants. Runes inlaid with veins of silver throughout increased its durability. He knew that it was much tougher than it looked, but felt underwhelmed at the moment, doubting its ability to protect him. He circulated through his eyes and watched the mana flow through the silver veins and trace the intricate patterns. His belt housed the alta stone that powered the uniform, although he couldn’t sense the mana inside of it yet.
He had been hoping to sense and infuse it himself before finishing the specialty team academy. His instructors all agreed that it just took time and practice, everyone grew at their own pace. Comparison was a roadblock to progress, one of his teachers would say. He spent the next few minutes circulating through his body and trying to feel the stone on his waist unsuccessfully. His timepiece gave a soft shake to remind him to stand and move, so he walked around to stand beside the drill sergeant.
“Sir, any advice for sensing the alta stones?” He asked quietly.
“Unfortunately, I am a poor teacher for mana. My skills lie in the physical traits. I couldn’t sense the stones until well into the third tier. The only advice I can give you is to keep practicing, discharge your mana and cycle it back up. Try to further your understanding of your own body, where the mana goes, how it interacts with your muscles, ligaments and bones.” He answered with a patient smile.
Dismayed but not discouraged, he finished a simple set of exercises to work his muscles and walked out to where Letty was pacing around the camp. He made sure she saw him so as not to startle her before walking up and joining her in her lap. They walked in silence, her eyes glowing with the soft blue that let him know she was using manasight to scout the surroundings.
“Need a break?” He offered when he noticed the blue glow leave her eyes.
“No. I still have plenty of mana. I am trying to practice circulating through my body and keep watch with manasight at the same time. I keep overdoing one or the other and tripping myself up.” She answered, sounding frustrated. “I can’t fight like you, nor am I strong like Miser. I need to get this right.”
He started to speak, but left it alone. They were all trying to adapt to the new demands of their roles and he doubted his words would have the effect he wanted. Rico headed back down to the fire and watched as Miser placed more logs on it, sending a shower of sparks into the air. He flipped on his manasight and noticed that his armor had different engravings and patterns on it compared to his.
“The runes on our armor are different.” Rico said absent mindedly as he studied the large man’s shirt. “I should have paid more attention to the runes in class. I can’t tell what any of these do.”
“Ah yeah, they are different. In my crafting elective, we learned about many of the runes and what they do. My armor is designed to take a lot more abuse and store more mana than yours. The downside is that its much heavier and drains my own mana core much faster when it depletes its own. Our shields are the same way. They have their own reservoirs and rely on ours as backup.” He explained. “We have some of the newest armor coming out of the army forges. The special teams are sort of testers for the rest of the army.”
“I didn’t even realize they had crafting classes. I used all of mine for combat and physical training.” Rico replied. “Actually, I took one class in tracking that was fun. We used both traditional and mana tracking to find things around the fortress grounds.”
“Wow, that sounds useful. Are you going to be the team tracker, then?” Miser asked.
“No, I don’t think so. Prian was in my class and was much better at it,” Rico answered and let the conversation die. The two men stood around the fire and enjoyed the warmth until Letty came in for a break. Rico took up the watch and humored himself by trying to track her path around the camp.
The rest of the night passed peacefully as the team took turns keeping watch and staying alert. It was the longest three hours Rico could remember, and he felt emotional when light crept over the mountainside. The other half of the team woke without prompting and Rico watched them emerge from the tent.
---
Amelia was lying awake convinced her body was frozen and that she was dying when Nelson rolled over and crushed the air out of her lungs. She yelped and pushed him off and scooted away from him. He woke startled and wide eyed before he realized where he was and how close they had gotten during the night. Amelia felt no shame in using the large man as her personal heater and almost regretted not just letting him lie on top of her. She tried to pull the blanket over her head but it only pulled it off of her feet and she grunted in frustration.
She sat up stiffly and sighed. She was not used to the cold, and she didn’t think she would ever be. The tents other four occupants were stirring and Amelia checked her timepiece to see that it was half an hour til sunrise. She stood and pulled on her warm coat, buckled her sword to her belt, and stepped over to the front of the tent and unclasped it. A chill wind swept through as she opened it and elicited a set of groans from three of them and a chuckle from Alton.
She joined the team sitting by the fire and basked in the warmth it was giving off. Yuri gave Miser permission to load it with the rest of the wood, and the resulting blaze was glorious. She slowly spun in a circle to let both sides of her enjoy the precious feeling of being warm. Amelia knew she was soft compared to some, but she never expected to struggle like this on the first night. It was just the cold; she told herself. She could handle anything else.
They ate a simple breakfast of warmed bread while everyone warmed themselves from the night’s chill. Yuri assigned half of them to perform a simple set of exercises to get the muscles loose and expend some mana so that they had room to cycle during the hike. When they finished, they switched with the other half of the team and finished breaking down camp. Balancing the weights was still proving to be tricky, and it didn’t help that Yuri and Alton simply laughed when asked for advice.
“Alright little wolves, you have slept, eaten and stretched. Now it’s time to hunt,” Sergeant Alton announced with a grin, clearly pleased at his wordplay. “We are going all the way up today, fifteen miles and I expect you to be ready to fight at any time. When Yuri feels that you need a break, we will take one and only then will we stop. You will circulate to keep up and cycle to recover. We will spend some of the hike practicing offensive and defensive formations.”
“I am breaking you into two teams today. Rico, Miser and Letty, you will be team Tooth under Sergeant Yuri. Amelia, Nelson, Prian, Lews, you are with me as team Claw. Yes, I came up with the names all by myself and yes, I am enjoying this. Questions?” Alton continued with the same grin.