28 days into the nightmare that was the tutorial, the group set out for their biggest challenge yet. It was well before dawn, the moonlight still filtered through the treetops as the group set out quietly from their base. One way or another, this business with Knox would be over.
There was no banter in the early morning trek. Even Marshall was unusually silent as the weight of their task hung over their heads. They felt as confident as ever though. The last few days had brought them immense gains. All of Calvin’s party had reached level 15 and that came with some incredible upgrades.
Amy’s new ability Flash Bomb allowed her to throw a small flash explosive and control its detonation. While it wasn’t an incredibly powerful damaging skill, she was already flush with those and this would give her and the group many more opportunities for openings. She’d spent the evening practicing with Calvin, timing her skill with his Riftwalk.
Seth hadn’t picked up a combat skill. When he saw his choices, he consulted with the group on what he should do. His skills already weren’t very combat-oriented and he did feel a little guilty about that, however, he was becoming extremely useful in the gadget and equipment category. With his drones, he remained very combat-effective. His big shortcoming at the moment was the lack of a solid ranged weapon. He chose Apprentice Gadgeteer which came with quite a few benefits. First, it was an evolving skill, and Seth was just guessing here, but it sounded like it would evolve in mastery, maybe even one day making him a Master Gadgeteer. When he chose the skill, he’d received a system download of information directly to his brain… that was a trip. He gained detailed knowledge on various engineering topics like the application of mechanical forces, mathematics, and all sorts of other boring stuff. The team had started to nod off when he tried explaining the skill to them… their loss.
On top of that, the real kicker was that he’d gained additional interface options with the system. He was now able to access a database of all recipes he’d learned or created on his own as well as an informational database on materials he’d discovered. He could sort this information and filter by specific functions.
Even his ability to operate the drone smithing kit was improved. He was able to directly infuse energy into the kit and reduce the time it took to craft, as well as add additional materials with his Fabricate skill to influence and modify the outcome. As a result, he’d been able to bring several new sentry drones with them, each infused with a different element. He had one drone each of earth, lightning, and fire, as well as two standard, unmodified drones. For some reason, he was currently limited to controlling three at a time and he suspected, after a little prodding of Andy, that this could improve as he grew his levels or skills. Overall, this was the single biggest number of upgrades in a single skill the team had seen yet.
Freya, being the best possible pup that such a good pup could be, knew that her pack counted on her, and when she selected her next skill, her pack was all she thought about. There were a few things Freya was already good at; eating treats, getting belly rubs, being super cute, being ferocious, and barking. She tried really hard to find a skill that capitalized on eating treats, but unfortunately, none were available. She did however find a skill that empowered her barking.
Guardian’s Challenge: The lupine guardian unleashes a ferocious bark, forcing all nearby opponents to focus on them. Opponents who are strong-willed or otherwise resistant to mental attacks may mitigate or completely negate this effect. This has a low MP cost and moderate recharge.
About an hour before noon, the group arrived on the other side of the pond from the now desolate Water Beartopia. From here, they would need to play it extremely safe. Liam and Freya took point, using their heightened senses to scout the path ahead and ensure they wouldn’t run into any scouting parties, or even worse, an ambush.
Calvin had no doubts that Knox would know they were coming, at least eventually. He wanted to prolong that eventuality as long as he could though. Giving them time to prepare would be an utter disaster. The group still needed information. A lot could have happened in the last week and the last thing they wanted was to stumble into a trap laid especially for them.
They posted up about a mile outside of the camp and sent Amy, Liam, and Freya to gather information. The plan was simple, the three of them would hide out and inspect the comings and goings of the camp for a few hours. Liam would point out known individuals loyal to Knox and Freya would feed that information back to Calvin through their link. Calvin and the group that stayed behind would start formulating their strategy.
Freya served a secret additional purpose on this expedition. If Liam tried to warn Knox, she would eat him. Those weren’t exactly the instructions she’d received, but it certainly was how she interpreted them. Calvin wasn’t truly worried about that though. Liam and Sasha had seemed genuine and he gave them the benefit of the doubt. The next day or so would really solidify the truth of it all.
They remained outside of the main path, inspecting the comings and goings for nearly eight hours. It was dark now and the camp seemed to be hunkering down for the night. Liam had identified six of the generals as they’d led groups out into the jungle and back again. It was time for them to get back to the group and make camp for the night.
“A lot has changed since we were here last.” Liam whispered to the group, “There were more people I didn’t recognize in some of those hunting parties.”
“How about the layout?” Calvin asked.
“There are more fortifications than before. The walls were incomplete when we came to your camp. We noticed guards on patrol as well.”
“You didn’t see Knox?”
“No, and that’s strange. He would always go out with one of the groups. I can’t see him sitting around in base missing out on experience.”
“That’s a complication. It would be nice to get eyes on him.” Calvin thought for a moment, “We discussed a few scenarios. We could either wait until several groups have left, and move in while they’re out, or we can move in at night. Each of those options comes with downsides and not a small amount of risk.”
The plans were fairly straightforward. They could wait for the hunting parties to head out for the day and move into the camp while their manpower was reduced. There would be guards posted, and they would be on alert which carried some level of risk. If any parties returned while the assault was in full swing, they could find themselves trapped in a pincer. Additionally, it sounded like those hunting parties were composed mainly of the very same people they were trying to free. If those parties return and find their camp occupied by Calvin’s group, who knows what the generals would do to protect their own asses. It could put those people at risk.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
They could also go in under cover of night, possibly sneaking past any guards who might not be as vigilant as they should be. Then they could try to locate friends of Liam and Sasha who might be able to spread the word and get people to assist or take cover. They could also try to eliminate the powerful members of Knox’s loyal core before they knew what was coming.
A third option that happened to evolve while they were discussing that plan was to follow one of the hunting parties out, ambush them, take out the general, and recruit someone to head back into the camp to tell a well-crafted story about how their group had been overrun by some super strong beast. Ideally, this would force them to send more squads out to assist and they could rinse and repeat this tactic. Knox might even come himself with the temptation of slaying a potentially experience-rich monster. This also had the advantage of the messenger being able to quietly spread the news about the reality of the situation and get people on the same page back at the camp. One MAJOR flaw in this whole plan was that the messenger could be discovered. In that case, the gambit would be up and the mission would become infinitely more dangerous as they lost the element of surprise entirely. They still had a big question hanging in the air. Where is Knox?
They ultimately settled on the third option. It allowed them the largest potential to reduce collateral damage and they could achieve their goals without a full frontal assault. If the plan failed and the messenger was discovered, they would change gears and seek out the other hunting parties, trying to eliminate as many generals as they could before confronting the camp. With the plans settled, they moved on to the next order of business. Rest.
They wouldn’t have a fire tonight since that would just be a stupid move, but the night was warm and the water bear hides were even warmer. The group drifted off to sleep one by one. Keeping a rotating watch at all times.
The next morning, the plan was in motion. Liam and Freya were back at their post keeping an eye out for the juiciest target to hit. Calvin and team were well out into the woods where the hunting parties were likely to head, waiting for the signal from Freya.
It wasn’t long before Liam identified the group to hit. They had nine regulars led by two generals. Liam saw that two of the regulars were part of their original group and would be easy to convince. The generals were a strong group though. The first one was an archer who had been right around level twelve when Liam left, he was too far to identify currently. The other was a brutish warrior who wore simple leather armor and carried a massive greatsword in a scabbard on his back. It would ultimately be a tougher group to take down but would immediately reduce the overall power level of the camp in a single blow.
Amy and Marshall did an excellent job at disturbing the undergrowth, leaving an obvious trail for the hunting party to follow. They’d killed a small creature and left blood on the trail, marking signs of a battle leading off into the forest. Hopefully, this would look like easy prey to them. At the ambush point, Seth placed down a runic snare, covered it with leaves, and neatly stacked a pile of logs crowned with a trio of bioluminescent mushrooms at the center. He figured this would draw some attention and maybe even hint at potential treasure while also drawing attention away from any residual glow of the rune underneath. Amy stayed relatively close under the cover of Static Cloak while the rest positioned themselves further down the trail. It was quite possible the archer had a means of detecting them and didn’t want their ambush to be discovered prematurely. Freya and Liam trailed the hunting party as they made their way through the woods and picked up on the trail.
The trap was set.
The archer bent down to inspect the blood and disturbed undergrowth and directed the group to follow. He was alert, keeping a watchful eye on the forest around them. Everyone had their weapons drawn as a nervous energy descended on their expedition.
“Hold.” the archer called out as they approached the bait. “That’s odd. What do you think?”
“I think it smells funny.” the warrior said. He pointed at one of the regulars “You! Shitbird, go check it out.”
The regular stepped forward and flipped the warrior off as he hesitantly approached the mushrooms. “Eat shit.” he said. There was clearly no love lost between those two.
Amy winced as she saw the regular approach the trap. They’d known this was a possibility, which is why they didn’t leave a lethal trap, but it sure would have been nice to snare that warrior.
As soon as Shitbird triggered the snare, the scene devolved into chaos. The generals were in their battle stances now, scanning the surroundings for danger. Two daggers whistled out of the brush straight toward the archer. He’d sensed their approach and with the agility of a practiced hunter, dodged out of the way, releasing two arrows back to back in the direction they’d come from. Amy had already repositioned and was readying another strike.
The regulars huddled together in a loose clump, their shoddy weapons held towards the forest in a futile gesture to ward off any danger.
Buzzing through the branches overhead, two sentry drones began circling overhead, each one scanning one of the generals. Arrows whizzed up at the drones as they weaved in an evasive pattern while acquiring their target. Within moments a pulse of energy erupted from each drone at their target. A red, fire-attuned pulse ripped through the air like a missile toward the warrior who was too slow and clumsy to dodge. The pulse slammed into him with such force it ripped the buckles away from his chest piece and threw him to the ground. The archer, again was light on their feet, deftly avoiding the lightning bolt arcing their way. They released an arrow as they dodged and struck the offending drone. PING!
The strike destabilized the drone for a moment but only caused superficial damage. Just then three arrows sailed out of the brush followed by a furious hellhound. Two of the arrows struck the archer, one in the shoulder and the other in the side. He fell to his knees and attempted to draw a bead on Freya. Unfortunately, he was far too slow. Freya slashed into him before biting down hard on his leg.
The warrior scrambled up to charge Freya only to be intercepted two steps into the charge by a furious slam from Sasha. She’d rocketed from the brush like a wrecking ball, her new shield carrying her full momentum after activating Tackle. The spikes on the shield drove their full depth into the warrior before the electric charge blasted him away from her shield. The warrior fell dead onto the ground, a gory smoking mess.
The archer kicked out hard with his legs, tossing Freya back into a tumble. He quickly got his feet under him and leaped. This leap was unquestionably empowered by a movement skill and carried them nearly 30 feet away. The archer was seriously wounded and attempted to make a break for it. Calvin could not let them escape.
He withdrew a javelin from his pouch and hurled it with great force towards the archer. It missed but that was expected. The archer briefly turned back to sneer at Calvin, who evidently sucked at throwing javelins. Unfortunately for the archer, Calvin was not there. His confusion only had a fraction of a second to materialize before Calvin appeared behind him and drove his spear through the archer’s body. The archer slumped off of Calvin’s spear like some macabre puppet that had lost its strings. Riftwalk was really going to come in handy.
Calvin returned to the group and looked over at the fearful regulars who had all dropped their weapons.
“We’re not here to hurt you. In fact, we’re here to save you.”