Booking out weapons was a weird process. For once they were undoubtedly taking too much. To start with, all four took a spear. Sven had the foresight to mention they were traveling on horseback, so they also received a sling that Yaric had never seen before. Yaric added a longsword, metal-faced round shield, and an axe. He already had his bow, so he also added three quivers of arrows, each with fifty arrows.
Lauren added her own sword and even larger, concave round shield, along with an additional bow and three more quivers. She also added something that no one had used since the Competition – a net.
Spear aside, Li Na was obviously bringing her mace along, so she chose her favorite kite shield, an axe, and a war hammer that featured a wicked-looking claw opposite the hammer head. Two additional quivers rounded out her request.
Besides the usual sword and shield, Sven also had several different lengths of rope. He insisted that they may have to resort to traps.
No one blinked an eye at the requests, even when assistants were needed to help them carry all of their things. It wasn’t really all that heavy, but everything together was so bulky and unwieldy that it would have taken two or three trips to the stables without help. They also had their travel bags to carry as well.
Horses were already waiting for them. Not ready to go, but all four had a horse selected for them along with a note from Balinda. These horses would be their permanently assigned horses, and as they had already been tasked with a long journey on horseback, she had assigned them horses that no one else shared, meaning they had to take on the full workload associated with caring for them, or at least the workload that the stables required of them. The Academy would still feed and exercise the horses.
Li Na looked like she wanted to leave immediately, but she settled for half an hour of grooming her horse after everyone had packed away their equipment for the next morning.
Yaric had the idea of going to talk to Mage Fletcher, so they then left for the archery field, hoping to get some good advice. He wasn’t at the field, but he was nearby, surprisingly locked in unarmed combat with the laughing Corporals.
“Ohhh…” Corporal Ilves groaned as another Corporal threw an egg at Fletcher’s head, only to have it blocked by a shimmering shield. Ivan already had his one arm engaged in a wrestling match with a third, while the fourth had Ivan around the leg and was attempting to entangle the other. For his part, Mage Fletcher had his other arm tied to his belt while he wrestled with two of the scouts and dodged eggs thrown by the third.
“Looks like we’re going to lose that bet lads,” Ilves groaned again.
Ivan looked triumphant as the scout desperately clinging to his leg reached up and slapped a hand to his shirt, yolk oozing between the fingers. The triumphant look quickly reversed.
“That’s cheating!”
“Is it? Who says the thrower has to be the one to yolk you?”
“He had an egg the whole time?”
“Of course, he’s no magician. We don’t know what kind of tricks you have – had to wait for the right moment.”
“But he didn’t throw it!”
“Yolked you though.”
Ivan grumbled as he cast a spell over the stain, clearing off the egg and flinging the remnants at the two closer scouts, both of whom laughed.
“Good, you already fed them for me,” Corporal Ilves chuckled, walking over with his hand held out. Everyone paused when they noticed the students waiting patiently off to the side.
“Yaric! Fancy a wager?”
“Uhhh… no thanks!” Yaric quickly asserted.
“Smart kid. You looking for us or your archery instructor?”
“We were looking for Mage Fletcher, but maybe you could help as well?”
The scouts joined Ivan while Yaric gave them a quick rundown of the situation and what was required of them. No one was smiling by the time he finished.
“And they send kids your age to deal with something like that? We’d send at least twenty men, and we’d have more in reserve. Could be a manticore for all you know.”
“Quiet,” Ivan snapped, like he was scolding an unruly child. “Who gave you this appeal? The Council Head?”
“No, it was Arch Wizard Phelps.”
That really seemed to throw Ivan. He looked shocked at the thought of an Arch Wizard assigning an appeal to anyone. “Well… For an Arch Wizard to… it must be a test.”
“Well, if it is a test,” Corporal Ilves added thoughtfully, “what is the first priority for any scouting mission?” he asked.
“Information gathering.”
“That’s correct. ISR. And right now, what are you doing?”
“Gathering intelligence,” Lauren answered, smiling.
Even Ivan seemed pleased.
“We were looking for information on what could be doing this, and how we should approach the problem. Also…” Yaric hesitated for a moment, looking slightly embarrassed, “what would be the best route to get to Kald?”
“Ah, come, sit,” Ivan said, gesturing to the grass beside them. He sat as well, with four students arrayed before him and four military instructors behind him.
They went over several possibilities, based on experience. Ivan was able to quickly eliminate options they were considering, though he also added a few more, including undead. Unlike the books they had studied so far, Ivan had a lot more information on predators that would be willing to take cattle in a pen while also avoiding people. Their class information was still mostly covering natural habitats and feeding habits. Even a hungry bear struggling to feed her cubs could be responsible, though the frequency of attacks was suspicious if a bear was at fault. And the scouts were quick to add humans. Things like blood at the scene were precisely the sort of things thieves might deliberately add to cover their tracks and throw off the scent.
The best route wasn’t difficult to decide on, however. Two large towns lay between them, each two days apart. Smaller towns lined the route as well, both on the road or very nearby though they did get sparser the closer one got to Kald.
Ivan and the others wished the students luck once they were done, and Yaric and the others rushed off to eat and get an early night. Unfortunately, the rest of the class had noticed the preparations and running around as well, so it didn’t take long for them to find out about the journey and the mission.
“Some people get permission to leave campus all the time,” Kayden complained while the others laughed.
“They get all the luck,” Delmar and Cormac complained in unison, to more laughter.
“You’re not lucky?” Chelsea asked, her eyebrows raised.
One of them went very quiet while the other backed away, but everyone was laughing even louder.
“Uhhh…”
Some extra food had been brought through to the dorm building, and Yaric and his friends spent almost an hour explaining what they were doing. The whole class was interested.
“At least we can catch up to Yaric while you’re gone,” Kaitlyn pointed out.
“Take your time,” Tracy added.
The dorm was festive, and everyone was in a good mood, leaving Yaric and the others feeling slightly guilty when they went to bed before things wound down. Li Na was still stuffing her face and explaining the possible creatures they suspected might be the culprit, even though Yaric was sure the manticore was only mentioned sarcastically, which did nothing to diminish Li Na’s enthusiasm in explaining how she would choose to fight one - she would use her mace.
----------------------------------------
The sun already rising when Yaric pulled down the saddle to get his horse ready. He had been very excited when he’d discovered that his horse was named ‘Shadow’, as it seemed that Team Shadow would ride again, literally, but he’d been left confused when he’d seen his horse. Still, it did seem to be a foreshadowing. He’d been quite proud of his horse’s name the night before, and everyone agreed that the horse suited him.
The others were in their own stalls, already dressed and packed. Lloyd had specifically mentioned that they didn’t need to leave at first light, but they still wanted to get going before the temperature started to rise. It was always better to leave early and arrive early, particularly when traveling somewhere new.
Shadow stood patiently while Yaric secured the saddle. He didn’t start packing until his horse was entirely ready, which turned out to be a good idea. Even with his bow on his back, attached to the special fittings, Yaric had his bag, bedroll, longsword, shield, and spare quivers to secure to the saddle. There wasn’t much space when he was done.
Leading Shadow out to meet with the others, he found Lauren and Sven already waiting, along with Belinda. Li Na was leading her horse toward them as well.
“Ah, you’re finished. I hope you’re all happy with the mounts assigned to you.”
“Yes Instructor.”
“Very happy, thank you.”
“I’m glad to hear that… listen, I am aware of your mission. Before you leave, I need all four of you to understand one thing, your first priority is your horses.”
Yaric, Lauren, and Sven looked at each other in confusion, though Li Na nodded solemnly.
“You’re hunting predators. Horses are not easy prey, but with some of the things out there…” Balinda trailed off. “Anyway, you need to secure your mounts in a safe place, where they will be protected. I expect you all to remember that you are responsible for their safety and care.
“Also, keep in mind that you should not be hunting on horseback. Use the horses to get to your destination, find a secure and comfortable location for them to rest, and proceed on foot. The last thing you will want to do is catch up to an ogre while mounted. Your horses will not stand and fight. They will run. It won’t take a wyvern to cause panic amongst your horses, so be prepared.”
“Yes Instructor.”
“Good, as long as you are aware.” Belinda proceeded to inspect their packing and make some small adjustments before deciding they were ready and permitting them to leave. There was a different exit for the horses to leave campus grounds, and it also took them closer to the road they needed to take out of Lekton, which Balinda gave directions to.
“Thank you, Instructor. If I could ask one question though?” Yaric asked awkwardly once they were about to leave.
“Yes, Novice?”
“My horse, Shadow. I appreciate the name, it’s great, and we obviously have history with the name, but Shadow is brown.”
“Chestnut. Shadow is a red chestnut. And yes, Shadow was not named for his color. As a tiny foal, Shadow always drew a lot of attention. He was constantly jumping and running at random moments. It took us a few days to realize that he jumped whenever a shadow crossed him. He was scared of the other horses’ shadows.”
Li Na had tears running down her eyes when she finally stopped laughing.
They walked the horses to the smaller service gate and mounted up, passing their spears back and forth as they did before strapping on the slings and securing their spears for the journey.
Then all four rode side by side out into Lekton, attracting stares and curious onlookers as they went.
It wasn’t often that the Lekton saw four heavily armed riders coming down the middle of the road, wearing armor and each carrying enough weapons for three men. Not to mention heavily armed riders in their late teens. Physical aging was already starting to slow down, leaving everyone in the 7th year looking slightly younger than they were. It wasn’t much, but most could tell the difference between a class of 16–17 year-olds and 18-19 year-olds.
They did feel important though. Despite being mere Novices, they were riding out of Lekton on a difficult mission, fully armored and ready for a fight. It wasn’t common for students to find themselves in a position like this, not until making Apprentice at a minimum.
Pedestrians were thronging the streets before long, forcing Yaric to fall back behind the others. Lauren joined him, putting the four riders into a two-by-two formation.
Mid-morning saw them riding in the outskirts of the city, where they made a stop at a stall selling skewers of meat. They were waved to the side of the queue when they approached, and one of the people running the stall shook her head and waved when they started to dismount.
“I’ll bring your order,” she called out, jogging up to the horses. “What will you have?”
Ordering and paying from horseback was an odd experience, but it was certainly easier than trying to mount a horse with food in your hand. Even better was eating on horseback.
It wasn’t overcast but there were plenty of clouds, keeping them out of the sun for much of the time when they finally left the city and started heading north. The ride was nostalgic, as not only was Yaric riding on a horse named Shadow, but they were riding partway on the same road they had taken to get to the forest where they had competed.
Li Na kept trying to wave her shadow across Yaric, but his horse never seemed to notice. He had long since grown out of his fear.
Most of the conversation still centered around their plans for tackling the problem in Kald, especially when they stopped a few hours later for lunch and to rest the horses, but when they pushed on Li Na brought up a new question.
“So do you think the others will catch up while we’re gone?”
“Catch up?” Lauren asked, confused.
“Yeah. They’re going to be practicing magic while we’re chasing down whatever likes purloined tenderloin.”
Yaric raised his eyebrows. “Purloined… Lina, do you even know what that means?”
“Yeah, I just said it, didn’t I.”
“Who said it last night?”
“No one, came up with it myself. As usual.”
“There’s no…”
“The important part,” Lauren interjected, “is that we are going to be missing a few lessons.”
“We received the work last night though,” Sven pointed out.
“Yes, but we’re missing out on practice.”
“Are we?” Yaric asked. “Nothing is stopping us. We have lots of riding ahead.”
That started off the competitions. Riding wasn’t nearly as distracting as some of their usual rules, but they still managed to make things challenging. Taking turns to call out a spell so the other three wouldn’t know what was coming made things challenging, as they still raced to complete the spell forms as quickly as possible.
Lauren broke a few small branches off trees as they rode past, and using those like swords, they slowly and gently blocked and thrust while creating spell forms as quickly as they could. The slow and gentle thrusts gradually sped up, until all four were twisting and shifting in their saddles in all-out war. They had to stop when their antics disturbed the horses.
“When we get further out we can cast spells as well,” Yaric proposed.
At the rate they were going, they wouldn’t be falling behind but pulling further ahead. The only real loss was the training from the military instructors, but Corporal Ilves promised that they would make up for the missed time, though Yaric felt some trepidation about his future lessons. Corporal Ilves’s promise had sounded foreboding.
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The sun had fully set by the time they arrived at Braedon, their stopover for the night. It wasn’t as large as Yaric had expected, but it was very much centered around the travelers that came through on their way to or from Lekton, easily catering to the needs of the four students and their horses. The inn they chose had facilities for them to wash up in their rooms, the food was good, and their beds were comfortable.
Despite all that, Yaric still woke up feeling stiff. He’d never spend too much time in the saddle, and it showed. He walked awkwardly down to breakfast to wait for the others, who came through shortly after. Everyone was in the same boat, even Sven. He’d spent the last few years riding just as often as the rest of them, but he was still far more used to the feeling. Li Na never complained once though.
The next six days were spent the same way. Leaving as early as possible, riding all the way through till lunch, then continuing on afterward until they came to their next stop. They practiced their spell work while they rode, competing and coming up with new exercises and challenges whenever they could.
Sven insisted on using their lunch breaks for some light sparing, which the others soon found helped with the stiffness from riding. Every evening Lauren made sure they went through the coursework together to keep ahead of their lessons. It was actually a nice break after spending the day in the saddle, and Yaric relished the chance to sit in a tavern without all his armor on.
Then they finally managed to outrun civilization. Or at least, they found themselves traveling between towns that had more than a day’s riding between them and almost no traffic on the narrow road.
Rocks along the route bore scratches and scorch marks as Yaric and his friends made their way toward Kald. They used the opportunity to cast every spell they could, though there was a definite focus on combat spells. This time the competitions were more along the line of who could strike a certain rock first, or whose fire could make it change color.
Their current fireball spell was so basic that it didn’t really do any damage, but Yaric hoped that a faster projectile would add to the shock and fear from anyone on the receiving end. Even though it would still singe anything it hit, the brief burst of flames was never going to be enough to really hurt anything or start a proper fire unless it was highly flammable. That was the first spell Yaric hoped to upgrade.
They even took turns creating torrents of wind to lift branches into the air, which the other three would then try and hit with their own spells. Fireballs were small and quick, requiring good aim. Windblades were wider, but if the target twisted in the wrong direction you could end up trying to hit a horizontal stick with a horizontal blade.
It was a lot of fun.
They made camp in a small grove just to the side of the road, clearly marked and likely even planted for that exact purpose. Horses were taken one by one to water, then unsaddled and brushed down. Sven got the fire going and they pulled out the rations they had bought the evening before. Lauren enjoyed mixing flour and water and making flatbread on the fire, which went very well with the cheeses they’d bought and the salted meat they cooked.
Li Na spent half an hour feeding the horses some grain they’d packed that morning, talking quietly to them in the flickering light of the fire and stroking their necks.
The sky was still lit up in the west, but their grove blocked out much of the light from outside. They weren’t overly concerned, as the grove had excellent sightlines and one of the four was always moving around the edge as a lookout. The horses made an excellent warning system as well.
They drew straws to set the watch schedule, which would only be two hours each, and settled down for the night. Soon there was just the crackle of the fire, the buzzing of insects, the rustle of wind in the leaves above them, and the occasional snort or stamping of a hoof. It was exceptionally peaceful within the grove. Yaric even took a moment to appreciate the slight buildup of woodsmoke that kept the insects out.
Li Na woke him four hours later for his shift. It was entirely uneventful, but it was a beautiful night. The half-moon provided enough light to see all around their grove and highlighted many of the bats swooping and acrobatically tumbling in the air. An owl even dropped silently into the grass, emerging a moment later with its prey clutched tightly. Silhouettes in the distance appeared to be a small family of deer, walking cautiously across the road.
Yaric had nothing else to do besides feeding the fire, so he walked quietly in the darkness until it was time to wake Sven.
The next town was close enough that they would arrive by early afternoon, and it was also the second to last town they would be passing through on the way to Kald. They planned to stop there for the night and get the supplies they needed before the two-day ride to the last town before their destination. Unfortunately, it was not as peaceful as they had expected.
“Mages?” a bearded man asked gruffly as he approached their table. Yaric and his friends were having an early dinner and trying to catch up on their coursework, but Sven put down his fork and turned to face the stranger.
“Hello sir. Sorry, we’re only Novice’s, but we are arcanists currently on a job for the Academy.
The man grunted and commented, “Thought ya looked a bi’ young. Still, can ya fight?”
Sven felt a bit uncomfortable at the line of questioning, but he answered anyway. “We don’t fight for sport if that’s what you’re asking. We are trained in combat though.”
“Good ‘nough. There’s highwaymen botherin’ folks traveling ‘tween ‘ere an’ the othu towns. Four diff’rent roads, bu’ all leadin’ ‘ere. Some say five men, some say eight.” The man paused and looked across each in turn. “Ya look like ya could take ‘em. Will ya look inta it?”
“We’re on our way to answer an appeal from another town, but we will be coming back this way afterward. We’ll see what we can do then,” Sven promised. “It might be that we have to send someone more qualified though.”
The man grunted and nodded in reply, then turned and walked away.
“That was weird,” Li Na whispered.
“Not really. High Mage Sniders mentioned that the more remote the town, the more likely it was that they would have requests for traveling arcanists,” Lauren reminded her.
“Yeah, but he just walked away without pushing.”
“Friendly town?” Lauren suggested weakly, surprised by Li Na’s problem.
Another soon followed, asking for help with repairing a retaining wall that had collapsed in the spring. No one in town could move the heavy stones in the narrow space available.
“When we come back from Kald,” Sven promised.
“Kald?!” This time the man looked alarmed. “Heard they had a big monster up there.”
“We doubt it’s anything like that,” Sven said, trying to reassure the man. “Either way, we’re going up there to get rid of the problem.”
“Hope it’s killed quick. We don’ want nothin’ comin’ back this way.”
“Strange. That man was so scared of some unknown monster four days away, but he never even mentioned those highwaymen,” Lauren observed.
“Makes sense. You can fight other people, or at least hope to reason with them. But fighting some unknown creature in the dark is always scary.”
“Like you’ve ever fought creatures in the dark,” Li Na teased.
“I used to think I was,” Yaric replied.
“You were,” Lauren asserted, pointing her fork at him. “You just thought you were fighting a different monster.”
“Yeah, and you fought those kobolds in the dark. They messed you up.”
“I was carrying more than half my weight in bacon!”
“You lost the bacon too.”
“I did not! I sent you to…”
“You two argue like brother and sister as well,” Lauren laughed, cutting Yaric off. She quickly brought their attention back to their studies, ignoring Li Na’s grin.
There was no sign of anyone on the way to the next town, let alone highwaymen. Nothing of note happened in the town, or during the two nights camping on the last leg of their journey. Riding into the outskirts of Kald was a different story.
“Anyone else feel that?” Lauren asked, looking around carefully.
“Like we’re being watched?” Sven asked.
“No. Like something isn’t right.”
“Something isn’t right,” Li Na insisted, “that’s why we’re here.”
“No, Lauren’s noticed the wildlife,” Yaric said slowly, twisting in his saddle to look around.
“What about it?”
“Well, where is it?”
Lauren looked alarmed. She hadn’t consciously noticed it before, but that was the issue. There was almost no movement or sound from any animals at all. A few birds still flew around, but there was no bird song, no scurrying squirrels or soaring hawks. It’s not like they were expecting to stand still at any point and see deer coming running past them, but there were usually some signs of life. They’d hardly seen anything all day.
Kald soon came into view up ahead. A few dozen houses were scattered around with their own plots of land, arranged mostly around the terrain and not fitting into any pattern. The only thing they had in common was the barns and pens. Livestock was the lifeblood of the town, and they supplemented many of the towns around them as well.
All of the larger buildings were in the center, in the only part of Kald that looked like a proper town. Stores, grain towers, a blacksmith, and even a tavern sat along a small road and surrounded by a high palisade wall. In the event of trouble, everyone would clearly retreat into the town center and defend the walls.
“Come on, let’s get settled and find whoever is in charge.”
The tavern didn’t offer rooms, but they were directed to the general store, where the owner produced a set of keys and led them to the building beside his.
“We don’t get visitors much,” he explained. “This place is kept for any honored guests.”
It was very dusty, but it was a decently sized house. The kitchen was a nice surprise, as was the sitting room. The three bedrooms did cause a slight problem, however.
“Two of you will have to double up,” the shopkeeper explained, handing over the key. “You can find the representatives in the tavern this evening, they’ll be working right now. Anything else, give me a holler.”
“I’ll just sleep in here,” Yaric said once they were alone. He dropped his bag in the living room.
With nothing else to do, they unloaded everything from their horses, dropped their things inside, and took the horses to the stables across the road. Yaric was happy to note that it was securely inside the walls.
No one was there, so they just sorted their horses out themselves and stabled them where they felt like. Plenty of food and fresh water was available at least, and Shadow seemed pleased to be inside.
“Let’s make sure we make a good first impression,” Sven suggested, but even though they washed their faces and tidied up, that hadn’t been what he was talking about. All four strapped on their swords or mace and made sure their armor was still tightened properly before going into the tavern to wait. And have a drink or two.
Three men walked in two hours later, pausing only briefly before making their way directly to the students.
“Name’s Chase,” the first said, “and this is Oliver and Leo,” he added, pointing to each in turn.
Yaric actually took on the responsibility of introducing everyone this time, as he felt he was the only one with much experience in a remote town.
Chase drew up a chair and sat with the others. “We’re the elected representatives in Kald. Anything you need, you let us know.”
“We will,” Yaric promised. “What can you tell us about the missing cattle.”
“Not just cattle. Sheep, goats, everything. Even found some deer remains yesterday. Five deer all in the same place. Whatever got them got the whole herd at the same time.”
“But no attacks on people?”
“Nothing. No one’s even seen anything. There have been some reports of strange sounds, but most are different.”
“And the ones that are the same?”
“Clicking like bouncing armor, or sounds like chains clinking. Strange sounds. But don’t put too much into it, things are getting into everyone’s heads.”
“What about where the livestock were taken from? Is it the same parts of town? Same time of night?”
“Well it’s always near the outskirts. No one near the center has been hit yet. But everyone further out seems to be at risk. There isn’t much help I can give you there. And attacks seem to happen at all times of night, so long as it’s dark.”
“Okay, then can you give us a list of places that had livestock taken or a guide? Tomorrow we will need to see what we can find at the sites, and then we will start to scout out the area.”
“Tomorrow? You aren’t going to hunt it tonight?”
Yaric shook his head firmly. “Not until we have a better idea of what we’re hunting. We need to see the most recent sites first, and any remains you’ve found.”
“Just the deer, and there isn’t much of them left.”
It didn’t take long to make their plans, leaving the four students to discuss things amongst themselves.
“That wasn’t much,” Li Na complained.
“I’m sure we can find out more when we have a look for ourselves.” Sven’s words didn’t seem to reassure Li Na all that much.
“I think we should focus on exploring around Kald as soon as possible,” Lauren suggested. “It can’t be easy to hide entire cows, even if they’re dead. And the terrain will probably limit what could hunt here.”
“Unless it flies,” Li Na pointed out.
“Unless it flies. Though, even then it would have to roost somewhere. We’d just have to search a larger area.”
“Maybe the carcasses can tell us something,” Yaric added, sounding hopeful.
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The sun rose over a very quiet town. Anyone who was up was already out in the fields. There wasn’t anywhere to eat at this time, forcing everyone to open some of their rations and have a cold breakfast.
Yaric had chosen to be more practical with his choice of equipment. They weren’t planning to hunt anything down, and it should be safe during the day, but that said, he also didn’t expect to draw his sword to face down something that carried off cows. With his bow on his back and a quiver on his hip, Yaric picked up his spear and carefully maneuvered it outside. He also didn’t plan to try and block something with his shield, so he took nothing else with him.
The others all had their shields and secondary weapons, but they also carried their own spears. Setting out, they met their guide and spent the morning traveling all around Kald.
There wasn’t much to see.
Cattle tended to trample the ground within their pens, compacting it enough that leaving any sign would be difficult. There were a few examples of gouging in the rough wooden fences, but nothing that concrete.
There wasn’t much left of the deer either, though it did give them more information than they had before. The carcasses were shredded. Not just cut into pieces, but the patches of skin that were left behind were also cut up in multiple places. Every cut was clean, indicating something with very sharp claws or teeth, but the sheer number of cuts seemed pointless. Yaric started to regret leaving his shield behind.
The afternoon was spent exploring some of the terrain nearby. There was very little flat ground, but most of it was open and grassy. Very few large trees grew around the town, except on the steeper slopes where cattle couldn’t be grazed, or in the rough, rocky area to the northeast of the town. That section was very difficult to traverse, as the terrain there was littered with boulders, gulleys, and chasms. It would be difficult for anything large to move around unless it was really large.
Several small streams flowed down into the area around Kald, but none of them had sections more than knee-deep. With the size of the nearby wilderness, everyone agreed that changing strategy might be a better idea.
Sven was the first to suggest making a change. “I’m thinking we should lie in wait. If it’s something we can take as is, we go for it. If not, we’ll know how to prepare for the next time. Right now our biggest problem is not knowing what we’re hunting.”
“What about setting a trap?” Lauren asked.
Yaric wasn’t sure how that would work when they didn’t know what they needed to trap. “What kind of trap?”
Everyone turned to look at him expectantly, as if he was going to answer his own question. “I don’t know! We don’t even know how big this thing is.”
“Then we hide and observe until the next attack. It’s every three to four nights, and tonight would be the third without any cattle taken,” Sven proposed.
“It won’t work.” Yaric looked apologetic, but he continued regardless. “There are just too many locations for us to cover. Even if we separate, which is too dangerous, we’d still be statistically more likely to be in the wrong place. And I bet whatever this is can smell us or hear us, maybe even see us. It will deliberately go somewhere we aren’t.”
“So what do we do? Try to make traps anyway and spread them all over the place?” Lauren asked.
“The only way this could work would be if we put all the livestock in one place, so this thing has to come to us. Like the Corporals said, if you don’t know where your enemy will move next, set up your ambush somewhere you can make them travel through. And this is an ambush, even if we aren’t going to strike.”
Sven sighed. “I’ll talk to the representatives.”
The discussion was surprisingly smooth, despite all expectations. They immediately agreed to move all the livestock they could into the center of town, making no objections at all. Sven was shocked by how agreeable everyone was.
Livestock that was kept furthest out was moved in first, followed by the next furthest out, moving inward in concentric rings, until the town walls couldn’t hold any more. Then the pens closest to the gate were filled as well, moving out until the five nearest pens had cattle packed uncomfortably close. Several bulls and rams had to be kept separate from the rest, but those farmers took them into their own homes.
The noise was immense. All of the livestock were overcrowded and uncomfortable, and many were surrounded by unfamiliar herds.
“It’s only for the night, they’ll survive,” Chase assured the students. “Biggest problem will be sorting the animals in the morning. They’re all marked, but it still takes time to untangle everything. Mess will be an issue too but kill this thing and the farmers will be more than grateful.”
Yaric led the others in planning out their hide. It wasn’t going to be anything like what he and Lauren had been taught, as despite the concentration of prey, they still had to move around to cover everything. Instead, they would be digging a trench around the pens.
It would be deep enough to keep them out of sight while moving around, and the soft dirt would help soften the sound they made when they did. Being below ground would help with the sound as well, not to mention keeping them out of the wind and hopefully making it harder to smell them.
Sven insisted on digging the trench as small zigzags. The overall length would be longer, but they would have corners to duck behind if something did come for the livestock. Being caught in a long, straight trench with open sightlines would not be a good outcome if they didn’t want to fight. Jumping out of the trench and onto open ground wouldn’t help much either.
At least fifty villagers helped to dig the trench along the lines Yaric marked out. By the time they were done, everyone was singing and having a good time, which was a marked difference to the mood in the town up till then.
“They’re able to do something to help fight back,” Lauren mentioned. “I bet they were feeling pretty helpless before now.”
It didn’t change how afraid they felt, however. Yaric noticed that many of the families with farms on the same side as the livestock carried bags around the wall, heading to other farms that had offered to take them in. No one wanted to sleep near such a large target.
Nightfall found Yaric and Lauren covering one half, while Li Na and Sven covered the other. Keeping all four together wasn’t practical, as the trench was too narrow for anything but single file, but they all refused to separate individually.
The narrow trench also made it impossible to carry their spears, as they would need to keep them upright in the narrow, turning trench. Instead, Yaric carried his bow along with his long sword. Lauren’s shield was held by the grip behind the center boss, so she was able to keep hers on her, along with her own sword. Both had left their spear in the trench at different points, hopefully close enough to reach if needed.
Another bright and clear night illuminated the farmland around them. Uneven terrain prevented them from seeing as far as they’d have liked, but constantly moving up and down the trench gave them a decent enough situational awareness.
“I hope this thing comes tonight, otherwise the town has to do this again tomorrow,” Yaric mouthed quietly into Lauren’s ear as they reached the midpoint and turned to head back.
Lauren just nodded in reply, and no one said another word over the next four hours. The trench was deep enough that with the mound in front they didn’t have to stoop to keep out of sight, so the patrol wasn’t too uncomfortable. It was just monotonous, despite the tension. The moon had already started to set when Yaric paused.
“What is it?” Lauren breathed.
Yaric shook his head and looked around. He froze for a second and turned back to face Lauren, cupping his hand behind his ear. Lauren listened intently with a confused look on her face before her eyes grew wide.
Everything had gone silent, even the insects.
Then the cattle started shifting around, to the bleating of distressed sheep. Something had spooked the livestock.
Yaric stood slightly taller, straining to see something in the growing darkness around them. Nothing moved. Most of the ground in front of them lay shrouded in the ink black night.
He was both startled and relieved when he noticed Lauren watching the sky above them, at least she'd had the foresight to watch for flying creatures.
CLICK!
Something loud came from nearby, almost like two dry logs striking each other. The cattle became even more restless.
CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK!
The sound came faster and faster until the clicks started blurring into one. Then everything went silent. Even the cattle seemed to be holding their breath, waiting to see what would happen.
A large, dark shape stood up just twenty meters from Yaric and Lauren. It had been moving on its belly, but standing on two legs it was almost nine feet tall. Humanoid and very dark, it was difficult to make out in the poor light.
The head was round and very smooth, and the limbs were almost comically muscled. Everything was disproportionate though, from the head to the torso to the length of the limbs. It turned, looking around the empty fields and giving Yaric a clearer view.
Large compound eyes on top of the head. The large mandible and two antennae were immediately obvious, as was the reason for the rounded head and exaggerated muscle. It was covered in chitin. A skathári.
An insectoid monster with a humanoid shape, they hadn’t covered it in much detail in class. But it was famous for its incredibly resilient armor, supernaturally sharp jaws, serrated spikes along its arms that sliced through trees, and insane strength that exceeded almost anything of its size. The only disadvantage Lorelle had mentioned was that, unlike actual armor, the gaps in the exoskeleton truly were weaknesses that could be exploited.
There was one other danger to watch out for.
“We have to kill this thing soon,” Yaric mouthed very slowly. “Before it makes a nest.”
Another series of clicks echoed through the darkness, then another, seeming to come from everywhere at once. A second skathári stood up from its cover in the grass. And a third. And then a fourth.
Lauren looked pale even in the darkness.
“Too late,” she mouthed back.