Niall did as he was told and, after a good meal, he took his patrol over to the Quartermaster to pick up supplies. As they waited for Argon and the rest of Squad 15 to arrive, he looked through the overnight packs he had been issued. He was satisfied with what he found. The packs were small and lightweight with a hammock, waterproof tarpaulin and blanket inside with space left for rations. On the outside there was a short shovel strapped to one side and a neatly tied coil of rope on the other.

Combined with the flint and steel, first aid kit, pocket knife, sharpening stone and other small bits and pieces in his belt packs, the only things that would limit how long Niall could stay out in the field was access to food and fresh water. Even on that front, Niall felt confident that with his Hunter Skills he could keep all of them alive for as long as they needed to. The key thing was to stay away from trouble.

Argon and his squad arrived as Niall and the rest of his Patrol were looking over a map of the area around Forward Base Glaive in order to familiarise themselves with the route. The area appeared to be primarily undulating hills of scrub and rock interspersed with large areas of woodland.

“Ready?” asked Argon. He looked down at the map as he spoke, then circled one area with a thick finger. “To be clear we are not going to the main front lines. We’re going to patrol through territory we have already retaken. Our circuit overlaps with one of the points through which the Bulvine may send troops to harass our supply lines or take out isolated farms. They want to stretch us as thin as they can. There shouldn’t be anything there but we’ll need to be thorough and check out, or eliminate, anything suspicious.”

Niall folded the map and tucked it away in his pack. “Well, let’s get to it then.”

The first part of the patrol took them through countryside they were already familiar with, but soon they were into new territory. The woods around Forward Base Glaive started to be interspersed with stretches of open grassland and at one point Niall spotted the burnt out remains of a village a couple of miles away was. It was both reassuring and disconcerting. While the grassland allowed Niall to see threats from further away, he was also very aware that anything that meant them harm could see them more easily as well.

The shadows were growing longer when Niall spotted something that gave him pause. He gave the sign to signal a halt and gestured to Argon to join him. When he arrived, Niall pointed at an edge of boot print in the dirt, its shape already eroding. The boot was far larger than anything a human would wear.

“Good spot,” said Argon his voice low but not a whisper. “I didn’t notice that and I walked straight past it.”

“This has to be from the last few hours.” Niall said in an equally low voice. “Anything older would have lost more shape by now.”

Argon frowned “This is probably a Bulvine patrol heading start a guerrilla campaign. We need to take it out if we can. We only have one Tracker in our Squad, but I have been briefed you have a decent level. Are you able to follow them?”

Niall nodded. “I have a few levels of Hunter and a couple of my Patrol have some Tracker levels. I can’t guarantee anything but we’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I ask. It’ll be better than the rest of us so let’s brief the others and then head out.”

Now he had something specific to look for the Niall did not find it very challenging to follow the Bulvine’s trail. Thea, the Tracker in Squad 15 or either Huff or Tierra stayed alongside him as he worked. Their Tracking Skills were not as good as his, but a second pair of trained eyes was always useful.

Although they were not obviously being careless, the Bulvine did not appear to be hiding their tracks. He soon worked out that there were eight of them, one notably lighter than the others. From the signs the Bulvine had left behind, Niall felt they were catching up.

A couple of hours later Niall called another halt. Dusk had started to fall. However, as it was summer the surroundings were still visible. He signalled to the others to stop, then spoke to Argon.

“I think we’re getting close. I should go on ahead to see if I can scout out where they are and report back.”

Argon chewed his bottom lip. “I don’t like the idea of you going by yourself.”

“Neither do I. But I’m the only one of us that has a chance of pulling it off without being seen.”

Argon looked at him for a moment then gave him a curt nod. “Alright, but whatever happens come back in thirty minutes or we’re coming after you.”

“Understood.”

Niall put his pack, spear and shield on the ground then moved ahead armed only with his short sword. Although he had already been taking precautions up until now, from here he used Soft Step to move. He had no idea what skills the Bulvine patrol had, but he knew he had no desire to be attacked by a troop of hostile fighters.

Ten minutes further on, Niall froze as the rumble of a quiet conversation reached his ears. Taking even greater caution, he crept forward and within a few moments he found himself looking at the Bulvine campsite. Gwen’s training to the forefront of his mind, Niall carefully circled round the camp to a spot downwind with better cover.

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A few minutes later he lay flat on his stomach while hidden in a particularly dense patch of shadows. This was the first time Niall had laid eyes on the Bulvine since the attack on the first day he had arrived, and he took the opportunity to observe them closely.

The group in front of him appeared to consist of three horned males and two hornless females. All of them were in leather armour and armed with a mixture of great swords, axes, and war hammers. Unlike the Gwillish troops, it appeared the Bulvine were not allocated standard weapons.

Niall was chagrined to note his tracking skills were not as good as he thought, as he only counted seven, not eight, Bulvine in the camp. They had lit a small fire with a pot steaming over it. They were not careless, however. The fire did not give off any smoke and Niall could not see any flames from where he was hidden. These were not inexperienced rookies.

Niall was thrown by how ordinary the scene was. Those not on watch exchanged a few words with each other as they ate. Occasionally one let out a quiet, lowing laugh. If it were not for bull heads, this could be a scene from any of the patrols Niall had led during training.

As he watched, another figure silently appeared on the edge of the Bulvine campsite. They were dressed differently from the others with a long mottled green cloak that hid their face and blurred their outline. Even with his high Perception Niall only noticed them when they were already walking into the campsite. As they entered, they threw back their hood to reveal the face of a female Bulvine.

Once she was close to the others, she spoke to them quietly and urgently. As she did so she slung a quiver of arrows onto her back and strung a longbow, both of which were leaning against a pack on the ground when she arrived. Niall saw a pair of hand axes strapped to her waist but otherwise she appeared unarmed.

Even as she talked, the others moved around their camp quickly and efficiently. Niall watched as the fire was put out and they picked up their weapons and tightened the straps on their armour. A few moments later they all left their campsite following the female with the bow, their backpacks left behind them.

Niall realised the Bulvine were heading towards Argon, Huff and the others. He jumped to his feet and started to race through the woods. His Soft Step Skill was not high enough for him to be able to maintain it while running. Nonetheless, he tried to remain as quiet as possible while also keeping his ears open for the Bulvine.

Halfway back he heard a bellow and the crash of branches behind him. His attempt to stay undetected had failed. Abandoning all pretence at stealth, Niall crashed through the undergrowth and branches. Depsite the urgency, he could not help but compare his near flat out sprint and ability to avoid branches to his abysmal performance the last time he had been chased through the woods by the Bulvine.

He burst into the clearing where the others were waiting and fell onto his back to avoid the spear Argon thrust towards him.

“Bulvine,” he gasped out from the ground. “Six. Armed. Right behind me.”

As Argon snapped out orders, Niall scrambled on the ground to get to where he had left his spear and shield. Then the Bulvine were on them. As Niall leapt back to his feet, he heard the sound clashing metal behind him. He immediately dove to one side as an arrow zipped by his side.

He turned to see that the arrow was not, in fact, aimed at him and had gashed one of Squad 15 through the leg. The soldier winced but otherwise ignored it and carried on fighting. Niall looked around to see where he could help the most. Everywhere he looked there were one or two of the humans taking on each of the Bulvine. Watching them fight, Niall realised quite how much Argon and the other elite light infantry had been holding back during training. Their spears moved in dazzling patterns seeking out gaps in the Bulvine armour while they moved to draw the attacks to them when their less experienced Militia colleagues looked to be overwhelmed.

Every few moments one of Squad 15 would unleash some kind of Skill Niall had not seen before. There would be what appeared to be a flare of Spirit that would burst out from their shields and push the Bulvine back. Niall could sense the power behind it but, while it would have felled him immediately, it did no more than cause the Bulvine to stagger.

But no matter how good Squad 15 and the Militia Patrol were, the Bulvine were their match. Despite being outnumbered they did not appear to be pressured. It was clear they knew what they were doing as they created a defensive circle in the middle to protect each other’s backs. Their weapons moved smoothly to block the blows coming toward them before launching into a counter attack. The Bulvine’s strength and size meant that when a blow landed on any of the Gwillish fighters it often sent them flying out of the fight even if they were hit on their armour. By contrast, the majority of the Gwillish strikes that were either not accompanied by a Skill, or did not penetrate their armour were shrugged off by the bull-headed fighters.

As Niall continued to procrastinate over how to get involved, he saw Tierra flung to one side by a blow from the Bulvine he was fighting. As if she had been waiting for an opportunity like this, the Bulvine archer fired another arrow from the shadows aimed directly at her.

A strangled warning died in Niall’s throat as Tierra sensed the danger for herself. She jerked her shield sideways, and its rim just caught the arrow before it could plunge into her midriff. She was not quite fast enough, though. The arrow was deflected upwards and it opened a wide cut above her left eye.

Tierra blinked to clear her vision even as she fought a Bulvine wielding a two-handed great sword that was as tall as Niall. The Bulvine saw her discomfort and pressed his advantage. It was only a fierce assault by Huff that gave Tierra the time to recover at all.

Niall made a snap decision and crawled away into the trees. A few more well-targeted arrows and the balance of the fight would be lost. Someone had to stop the archer before she became the decisive factor in this battle.

Crouching behind his shield he started to make his way through the trees towards where he had seen the last arrow being fired from. Experienced as she seemed, he thought it likely she would have moved already, but he had nowhere better to start from. Even as he moved, another arrow flashed out, this time just a few metres in front of him. Niall watched, unable to help, as it plunged into the neck of one of Squad 15.

Pushing his feeling of failure to one side, Niall dashed towards the spot where the arrow had come from. On instinct, he jinked as he ran and was rewarded by seeing an arrow flying to one side. A few more steps and he saw the Bulvine archer. As Niall approached, she snapped off one more arrow. Since she had not had time to aim properly Niall did not even have to bother to dodge it. The archer let out a snort of frustration then turned and disappeared back into the trees.

Niall only had a moment to make a decision. If he let the archer get away, she could attack them from a distance. But if he chased after her, he would have to fight her by himself. The thought of taking her on alone filled him with a mixture of dread and excitement.

She was getting away. There was no more time to think. He made his decision.