Pinks and orange painted the cloudless sky as the sun began to set, causing Drokh and Ver’ah to stop. The ogre gestured to a side road. “We’ll stop for the night in Varleez, then finish the journey tomorrow morning. I trust you’ve no complaints, Courier?”
Kyle kept his opinions of their sluggish pace to himself, and nodded to Drokh. “None at all.”
“Good. Ver’ah, you will take the first watch. Hanastrel, you will take the second. Courier, it goes without saying, but do not try to leave our presence or continue onward in the night. You will be given your own quarters, though I will echo Ra’zel’s sentiment; you are here under suspicion. You would do well to remember.”
“I understand,” Kyle said. Though he hoped their travel pace would have been faster, he didn’t mind having an evening to rest. He didn’t expect that he’d have his own room, and briefly considered making more time to train with Jarberry’s tomes. Kyle dismissed the idea almost immediately when he considered how he would brooch the topic if somebody intruded on him while he was training. The last thing he wanted was to give his escorts an excuse to rummage through his pack or take Jarberry’s books.
Varleez came into sight less than an hour later, looking more to Kyle like a large encampment than a real settlement. Tents surrounded hundreds of open campfires which extended nearly a kilometer from the edge of the village proper. Everywhere he looked, Kyle saw gaunt, hollow faces. Their small group caught quite a bit of attention as they walked, hushed murmurs moving across the camp like a wave.
Drokh stiffened for a moment as people began to crowd closer, and Kyle was worried that there would be trouble until a group of goblin guards came from the village to disperse the encroaching group. One of the guards saluted Drokh, offering respectful glances at Ver’ah and Hanastrel. “Sir, we apologize for our tardiness. We were just informed of your arrival; had we known earlier we would have done more.”
Drokh returned the salute, then waved a dismissive hand. “We didn’t know that we were staying here, either,” Drokh grumbled. “In any event, I know your resources are stretched. Do you have space for us to spend the evening? We’ll be gone at first light.”
The goblin saluted again, so enthusiastically he nearly struck his head. “Absolutely, sir! I will personally give you my lodgings, should others be unavailable. It would be an honor to have the Grand –“
Drokh glared at the enthusiastic guard, who trailed off without finishing his sentence. “If none are currently vacant, we will spend the evening under the starlight.”
As it turned out, there were mysteriously sufficient accommodations for a group exactly their size. Kyle suspected that this was no coincidence, and from the exasperated expression Drokh wore, the ogre knew it too. The group was on the second floor of a ramshackle tavern-turned-inn, with the only 4 rooms in the loft left empty for them. Drokh had a chair brought up to sit in the hall between the sets of doors, and then retired to his chambers. Hanastrel followed suit, leaving Ver’ah to his guard duty.
Hanastrel and Ver’ah both got quite a bit of attention through the course of these interactions, but neither seemed to command the same level of awe as Drokh. Seeing an opportunity, Kyle lingered in the hallway, with the troll who had already started lounging in the chair. “So, what’s it like traveling with a celebrity?” Kyle asked. “Drokh must be something else to get treated the way he is.”
Ver’ah gave him a look. “Drokh also values his privacy. Which he made abundantly clear on the road up.”
Kyle shrugged. “Me being curious about the people escorting me doesn’t mean that I won’t do my job. Some might argue that it could help me do my job better.”
Ver’ah gave Kyle a sad smile. “Look, Mayhew, I don’t have anything against you. In different times, we’d grab a drink and I’d tell you all about our stories. But for now, I understand that you’re not much more than a mercenary with money on his mind. Talking with Drokh, I’d wager that there’s a 50% chance that you’ll do something that’ll force us to kill you, and I’d rather not risk getting attached. So go to your room, get some rest, and tomorrow we’ll help you make your delivery.”
Kyle nodded. “Alright, have it your way. I hope your watch is uneventful.”
A grunt was all he got in response, and Kyle opened the door to the modest room he’d been given. It was plain dark wood, from floor to ceiling. A wash basin stood in one corner. A faded rug was placed in the middle of the room, and an odd, thick mattress was pushed against a wall. It wasn’t until Kyle examined it that he understood the mechanism; it could fold out to accommodate individuals of any size. With a population this diverse, I suppose it makes sense.
Folding it to approximately troll-height, Kyle lay down; finding the mattress surprisingly comfortable. A small orange light projected in front of his eyes for just a moment before winking out. This was a code he’d set up with C.H.A.D.D., indicating the drone having scanned the room and found them under surveillance. Kyle anticipated this would be the case, and he closed his eyes, meditating as he activated Parasitic Resonance.
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Even if he couldn’t use the books, he found that he could still apply the principles of fine mana control. He wove the tendrils around one another, splitting and rejoining them in an ever-shifting pattern that only got more complex as he practiced. Beyond just preparing himself for the eventual move to C Grade, Kyle also wanted to set himself up as well as he could for his Level 70 and Level 105 skill selections in D Grade.
These would be the last skills he would gain as a Survivalist, with C Grade only upgrading from there. He wasn’t entirely sure what types of skills he’d be offered, but with his heavy investment in Intelligence and Willpower, he wanted to make sure they focused on those attributes. I just hope I get some type of offensive skill, Kyle thought.
While everything in his repertoire got plenty of use, having at least one combat-focused skill would round his abilities out nicely. There was always the option of relying on his second class or a skill upgrade at C Grade, though that was a last resort as far as Kyle was concerned. With the notable exception of Parasitic Resonance, trying to weave in concepts tied to attacking with his existing skills felt like it would be the worst of both worlds.
Parasitic Resonance functioned differently than most of his other skills, particularly in its relationship to his Core of the Parasitic Devourer. He couldn’t be certain, but had the strong sense that his skill’s upgrade would end up tied to the core once he’d completed his next set of Adaptive Anatomy. I wonder if there will be a third set in C Grade?
The errant thought cost Kyle as the complex pattern of tendrils fell apart. Kyle swore softly, and debated continuing. He heard the changing of the watch a little while back, and some sleep wouldn’t be a bad idea, even if he could function fine with much less. Sighing, he leaned back against the wall, hands folded behind his head. First things first, he had to get through this job.
As he’d been warned, things were getting complicated. The difference in the quality of life between the Council-run cities and Resistance territory was night and day. Yet somehow, the fierce loyalty displayed by D’Oillelat’s generals moved Kyle. Of course, the other nagging question was why the Council was so certain that he’d be turned away, or even attacked by the Resistance. Was D’Oillelat really that unstable? Was the loyalty of these powerful people really that misplaced?
Either way, he was hoping to find answers to most of those questions tomorrow. Kyle really didn’t know what to expect – he wasn’t even sure if she was a goblin, troll, or ogre. He suspected the former, but nobody had shared the specifics with him. His hope would be that cool heads would prevail, and he’d be back on his way to Er’Mithren before he knew it. With enough time to hunt a few more shrikes and stranglevines, of course.
Those pleasant hopes were dashed a moment later, when the screaming began. It was quiet at first, but soon a chorus of panicked voices asking for help filled the night. Kyle stepped out into the hallway, where Ver’ah, Drokh, and Hanastrel were waiting.
“What’s going on?” Ver’ah asked, strapping his shield to his left arm.
Drokh didn’t answer right away, standing with his eyes closed. Kyle’s hair began to stand on end as he felt the ogre gather mana, before Drokh’s eyes opened sharply. “Shrikes. 3 attacking the southwestern reaches of the camps.”
“How did they get here?” Hanastrel asked. “Her majesty’s wards should –“
She was silenced by a glare from Drokh. “It doesn’t matter why they’re here; they’re slaughtering civilians. We need to go, now.” He looked at Kyle for a moment. “Courier, stay here. If I hear that you tried to slip away, I will do everything in my power to ensure you don’t leave our territory.”
Kyle was about to protest, but before he could, Drokh let out a booming wave of energy, blowing a hole straight through the wall of his room. Electricity crackled around the trio, who flew off into the night, surrounded by thunderclouds of Drokh’s making.
[YOU CAN’T FLY LIKE THAT, DR. MAYHEW.]
“What happened to staying quiet, C.H.A.D.D.?”
[THEY ARE WELL OUT OF EARSHOT. AND IF YOU COULD FLY LIKE DROKH, THINK ABOUT ALL THE STRANGLEVINES WE COULD COLLECT.]
“I’ll take it under advisement, C.H.A.D.D. And we’ll be back in stranglevine territory before you know it.”
[I DO HOPE SO. THE SHRUBS HAVE MADE THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS TERRIBLY BORING.]
Kyle didn’t respond, instead watching as a blinding flash of lightning smashed into the ground, the power behind the strike evident, even from a kilometer away. If there was any doubt before, it was gone now. Drokh was incredibly powerful, and he expected that the fight with the shrikes would be over very quickly. While he would have liked to help, the trio had it well in hand.
Just as he was about to return to his bed, however, another round of screaming started, this time from the opposite direction Drokh and the others had flown. Kyle frowned. “C.H.A.D.D., can you give me a long-range scan? What’s happening?”
A moment later, an orange glowing map was pulled up. [6 MORE SHRIKES CONFIRMED, DR. MAYHEW, WITH GLIMPSES OF WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE A SEVENTH AT THE EDGE OF MY RANGE.]
I thought they only had packs of 3, Kyle thought, reflecting on his previous interactions with the beasts. Another shriek pierced the night, and before he knew it, he was airborne, having vaulted out of the hole Drokh made. Kyle probably should have thought about implications of defying a direct order. Instead, he thought about Earth. He thought about the people who had been slaughtered by the mutated insects. He thought about the people he was too slow or too weak to save. Not again.
Still another, darker part of Kyle considered what he had to gain. He was curious about their behavior, curious about what he’d missed, and curious about what he would get when he fed them to his core.
Both motivations led to only one answer. With Ignition blazing in his chest, Kyle dashed toward the sound of the screams, and the foes unfortunate enough to cross him.