Everyone in the party was more competent than Kern. At least, in terms of putting up a fight. Gintz was sturdier, Erik hit harder, and in better spots, Helea reacted faster, Murik evaded attention better.
Even Kaerie, she at least could heal herself.
As such, he wasn’t worried. Wasn’t worried for them. Just worried for himself, and getting what he knew into the skull of the outpost commander.
Worried only for himself… even though he knew he probably got the farthest away from that worm, and had his scent washed away the mist, since nobody else fell into the water as quickly as him, and he didn’t see anyone drifting past-
No. Everyone else was better off than him. And all he could do was keep pressing forward, out of danger and back into friendly territory.
Oh, what he wouldn’t have given to be able to find his teammates now. But there was no use thinking about that, and he plodded his way back.
Listening, listening, the only talent he could readily apply now. He couldn’t hear anything, beyond the steps of his feet, and the slow, heavy pulse of his heart. Ringing? Breathing?
Piercing the veil, a direwolf howled, and then two more followed. Then a few more. The sun was starting to set now, and night would only be more dangerous, and cold.
At least, he, if none of the others, was close to the outpost. If his direction was correct, he’d only be half a day away, even through this brush.
The shadows grew long. Kern had gone alone in this darkness before, and sometimes, so had the others. Erik was particularly capable of luring girls who took a fancy to him into accompanying him on midnight walks… though he rarely went any further.
Helea went out to train at night, an bottomless well of energy… though, the source of that energy wasn’t something to laugh at either. Ha.
Gintz… when the situation really deteriorated, along with his patience, he’d step out.
Murik used to be a normal hunter, so he was almost more comfortable in the woods than in the city. Well, before he started having run-ins with bears. Lots of bears.
Ah… but, Kaerie… she almost never went out at night… always fretted too much in the day, and tanked out at night, fast asleep.
No. He was worried, so very, very worried. Afraid, his arms were shaking, his heartbeat louder with every step, his breathing ragged. But he forced himself to breathe, and then to continue forward, stiff step by stiff step.
The sun set, and with it, he cast, or rather, shoved aside his worry. Instead, he gathered himself, finding a small ledge to set up a lean-to. Tucking himself away, after setting up a few piles of branches and leaves as both camouflage and warning, he first scrawled down everything he could about the day’s events, writing without looking, his practiced hand running over page after page, before falling asleep.
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Morning came in some four, five bells, and with it, grim confirmation of reality. Before the sun rose, he disassembled the lean-to, before resuming his trek, eating the last of the food that remained dry.
Only a few bells, and he’d be back. Maybe there were direwolves looking for him… but that was fine too. He was far enough ahead regardless, and then at least they’d not be tracking his squadmates.
They just… had to make it back regardless. That was all.
That was all…
A howl rang out, but it wasn’t quite deep enough. A regular wolf, in these forests? Kern wasn’t sure.
The trails were getting wider, the brush sparser. A bell and a half passed, and Kern finally spotted someone else.
An outpost-sentry patrol. “Hey! You there! State your name and purpose!”
“Kern Scile, Advance Recon, Expeditionary Unit! Requesting to report to Command directly!” Kern replied readily, taking advantage of what limited authority he had. Hastiness crept into his voice, shaking it a tad.
“How does the swallow fly?” A verification for the army, since mimics and traitors yet breathed.
“Buffeted by the winds, but proud.” Thankfully, it was just a routine practice; the normalcy calmed his nerves a moment. This code was specifically meant for the recon branch, in which either completion of the mission or the team itself were at high risk.
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“Authorization granted. Do you need to go fast?” The patrol head had walked up by now.
“Yes, I do.” Going fast meant a horse, which would cut down the remaining one and a half bells of travel time to under half a bell.
“Pelern! The spare horse!” The base patrols all brought an extra horse along for this exact situation, though it meant heavy load on logistics.
Kern hopped on, and bolted his way towards the outpost base. By now, nearly two bells had passed since sunrise; another half bell, and it’d almost be midday. He rode on, in silence, making absolutely sure he had all his logbooks firmly on his back.
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“Kern, what’s the rush? Why use the emergency code?” The outpost commander, Jeks, eyed Kern with concern.
“Sir, Kern Scile reporting in. First, confirmed contact and removal of five packs of direwolves.” Kern held his voice steady. Just barely. The commander was nonplussed. Direwolves here were standard fare.
“Confirmed contact and removal of three Greatwolves, sir.” This was the first kicker.
Jeks’s eyes twitched, before his face setting into a grim expression. “Greatwolves… In their own pack. An attack, here.” He muttered.
“Encountered a new creature, highly likely to be related to the Beastmaster.” The second, bigger surprise. Oh so pleasant.
The commander’s expression somehow turned even more stony. “Explain.”
“The appearance of a giant wyrm, capable of burrowing underground, with dark red-black skin. After surfacing, it cannot quickly burrow again… but creatures may be able to pass through the tunnel it has burrowed and emerge from its maw. Diameter… was about thirty paces across.” Kern held eye contact. “The wyrm emerged from under us, taking us by surprise, and I was separated after falling into a nearby river.” His mind started emptying itself, and then the memories threatened to shove their way in. Kern held tight.
Jeks leaned forward on his seat, head now above his desk. “The evidence of it being able to transport enemies?”
“We did not detect any direwolves or Greatwolves in our vicinity prior to the wyrm emerging. About an eighth of a bell after it emerged, I heard Greatwolves ftom that direction. It isn’t impossible that the wolves came from nearby areas, but I deem it unlikely.” Kern had several of his logbooks out now, but he didn't remember opening his pack. Or putting it down there. Or taking the logbooks out.
Jeks took a big, deep breath. “An attack is coming, and likely from below, including potentially other creatures breaching our lines directly as well. They may even be preparing an encirclement as we speak…” He rubbed his forehead in frustration, and turned around to look over the map on the wall again. “Thanks for the report. I’ll have to go over this with the adjutants, so go, the full writeup as usual.”
“Yes sir.” Kern straightened out for etiquette before packing his logbooks snd exiting the command post.
He immediately went to his corner of the 'racks, eyes stuck firmly to the ground. Small desks, small bunks, some clothing strewn about. None of the packs or weapons that would normally be there. Nor any of the noises from the regular occupants.
Turned the last corner, around the bed, plopped his pack down, stuck his hand in, pulled out the book sack with haste, and slammed the current notes book on the desk.
Took out another book, from in the desk, a blank. His hands wobbled. He slammed it on top as well, before fumbling for a graphite stick.
His hands were shaking, his mind still unfocused. It wasn’t like he has never been threatened like this before… it was war. People died. People had to be left behind sometimes, to preserve the strategic conditions.
No, he had to finish his edited log first. Had to finish it… had to finish it…
The dates, the route, the combat reports… then the notes on new species. This last bit was only two pages, and very basic information, since it was only a hasty first encounter. He finished logging everything before half a bell passed, and flopped into bed, exhausted.
The thoughts he forced back a short while ago came flooding back now.
None of the others were with him. Out here in the wilds, he didn’t have anyone free enough to request help from, either.
Not only was he alone, but the others were likely scattered, not together. And an attack was coming… three Greatwolves wasn’t anything so very extreme, but they were all so close together, and not leading packs, but almost forming their own… Kern reached out, bent his body, pulled out the large map.
Looking over the region in full, they had pierced quite deep… the issue, though, was that they had gone far, but not wide. There could still lay dozens more greatwolves just a moment further, or to the sides, from where they stepped.
Dozens more greatwolves, hundreds of direwolves, all just tucked away here, aimed at this hundred-man outpost. If a very large pack had arrived, perhaps a few thousand direwolves and a few shamans.
There was no “holding fast” in this outpost, with its mud-wood palisade wall hardly three paces high. The greatwolves could easily climb over, or bash the weak gate open, and fire was a deterrent with limited effect on those thick coats. Not that they had so much oil here anyways.
Magic… humans were bad at magic. Their lives not particularly long, mana not particularly plentiful, and only few had the resources and base talent to truly use and develop with magic.
A third of those few were working on magic equipment, another half on the magical machinery to run the country’s production. Only a meager tenth or so joined the army, last he heard…
They’d be a great help, but they were also too important to send away to this backwater station, in large numbers or in small.
No, what was happening was retreat. The troop was retreating from here, back to regional headquarters. Messengers would be sent out before the end of today. Another group tomorrow. The day after, the entire outpost would be evacuated.
Kaerie, Gintz, Helea, Murik, Erik. Abandoned out here. By themselves, as the pack looked to clean up stragglers in the aftermath of their attack.
He couldn’t take it. But he couldn’t do anything either… going out alone would just kill him. Going in a small group would get them killed. He couldn't go out. But he couldn't stay.
With this conflict raging in his mind, he fell asleep.