144. HIDE AND SEEK: RUKU.

I guess I did want to get out of the city. Lying here underwater at the bottom of a muddy swamp is not my idea of fun. Ok, it is sort of fun. The first time I did this, I learned Permeable Skin. After that, Toxic Skin slotted into place. Oxygen Repository took some work, but I now have that as well. They both only work with Permeable Skin, and Permeable Skin won't work with Tough Hide. Oxygen Repository works well with my Master Level Oxygen Efficiency. Once it gets to Apprentice Level, I will be able to stay underwater indefinitely as long as I am not too active. The trouble in this swamp is the muck and mud. Permeable Skin is also permeable to the impurities in the water. I have to constantly cycle Purifying Water to cleanse the gunk, which takes energy.

I have been at this for four days now. I managed a couple of short naps in that time. I am thankful for the blessing of a high Physical Constitution. Last night half my pursuers seemed to turn around and head back to the city. I don't think they gave up. I think Gwaed must have done something. I have seen Esgyn looking for me, but I hid from him as much as the other bonds pursuing me.

This will make things easier for me. There is one particular canny tracker with a mid-sized wild dog as a bond. The dog is lean and fast, and I know from my Animal Lore that they hunt in packs in the wild and are very successful. He has almost caught me twice now. I had to fight my way out the first time. I left three bodies behind that time, and if my Regeneration were not so high, it would have been the end for me. I also lost my pack in that fight. I have had to scavenge since then. All my essential equipment is kept on my body. I learned that lesson early in my career.

I am going to have to kill this tracker if I want to disappear. This is the reason I am currently lying at the bottom of a swamp. I have been here for over an hour. That dog is persistent. Wai is keeping an eye on them for me. He is much better at camouflage now. Wai indicated the dod had moved on. I waited another five minutes and moved carefully closer to the edge of the swamp. I was trying not to disturb the water. The water got too shallow for that, so I rose cautiously to my feet. This tracker had better stealth than I did. That was how he got away last time.

I waded toward the edge, then ducked back into the water. The arrow only clipped my armour. Of course, the tracker set a trap and was skilled in ranged attacks. Without the warning from my Sonar, I would be severely hampered now. However, I now knew where he was, from where the arrow came from, and I was in the water. I activated Water Surge and Water Sprint and literally launched myself at him. I also activated Whirlpool Shield and switched Permeable Skin for Tough Hide. Whirlpool Shield would have disturbed the water too much for me to hide in the swamp.

Even though I surprised him, he still got off another arrow. This one was deflected by Whirlpool and lodged in my soaking-wet armour. I hate swimming in clothes. He dropped his bow and moved deeper into the trees, but I was coming too fast. I body-tackled him, and we rolled through the scrub. The dog clamped its jaws on my arm. The initial bite was blunted by Whirlpool and then my armour. His teeth still went through as far as my Tough Hide. He tried to work his teeth in further, but he was within my Whirlpool Shield, which was now poisoned, and I was flooding his nose and mouth with Poison Water. He let go quickly. What he didn't realise was Wai was now firmly attached to his back in camouflage and poisoning him with his Toxic Skin.

Meanwhile, the tracker and I were exchanging blows. He was desperately trying to disengage. Close combat is not his speciality. He is a Tracker and Hunter. I am a Warrior and Commando. Close combat is my speciality. The dog was trying to help by darting in for bites. This was good, as the longer it took for him to realise Wai was attached to him, the better. My poisoned Whirlpool Shield was also affecting the tracker, but it was taking a while to get past this Resistance. Unarmed Combat was doing a much more effective job on him. Those sparring sessions against Modrica were definitely paying off.

I eventually slammed my elbow against his head, grabbed my knife and stabbed him in the heart. The dog tried to go wild but was too weak with the poison. I put it out of its misery. Wai rejoined me, and I grabbed what I could from the tracker's body, and we left as the army patrol was closing fast. I followed my growing Olfaction sense and found where he stashed his pack and grabbed it, and ran. It would take me a few hours to lose these soldiers, but without their tracker, it shouldn't be a problem.

Running from the soldiers also gives me an idea about how to get in to rescue the enchanters. I am a soldier, and I have been an officer for decades. Impersonating an Imperial officer should be within my capabilities. Once I have more details, I can look at what to do next. I will need a uniform. The tracker was military, but preferably I would like a higher rank.

My plan now was to escape these idiots completely. I will give myself 24 hours to do that. Then I need to circle around to where we hid our gear. I am guessing Pybyr will then show me to the place where Gwaed will send the smuggler if she manages to contract one. I don't know what to do about Gwaed. I am adamant about not letting her back into the kingdom. I want to distance myself, but I don't have a lot of choices right now.

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I lost the troopers and found a place to hide for a few hours. I saw Esgyn in the air again. There is another hawk up there that I am sure is also a bond. That brought back into mind Wiremu killing Alessia and her hawk bond Aurora. I really wish I had stayed with them. Knowing them, it wouldn't have been peaceful, but at least I would have my clan at my back. All I can do is move forward very carefully.

I look through the tracker's pack and sort through what I want to keep. I dumped the spare arrows and the traps. Trapping is something I will get Wiremu to teach me if I get back to them. He had some good potions for both health and energy. The alchemist who made the energy potion had a sense of humour as they had labelled them Monster Energy Drinks. I think they were overhyping them up, and I doubted they had ever met a Monster.

I kept his spare uniform as it did not weigh much. He also had enough food. I will be fine for a long while. I had ranged a long way from the city. It would take me several days to carefully circle around to where we stored the spare gear. Time to get started.

The aerial surveillance continued, both Esgyn and the hawk, which meant moving under cover or at night. I made the most progress at night, although a lot more predators were active at night. I usually tried to find a place to crash for a few hours in the late morning, getting back underway late afternoon. It took me three days to get back to the cache.

I approached very carefully. My Olfaction hit apprentice level and was a very useful skill. I could smell Pybyr's scent markings, which had been renewed recently, so he was still around. I couldn't smell anyone else when I circled the area. Gwaed hadn't been here. I approached carefully, and I could tell when Pybyr caught my scent as he became all excited. I bent down and gave him some attention. It wasn't his fault he was bonded to a mass-murdering psycho. I could smell Esgyn had been at the camp as well. I stayed there for a few hours and had a rest.

I then repacked the gear. I was going to try to take all mine as well as Gwaeds. We weren't coming back. My monster core was still there. When I repacked Gwaed’s gear, I was surprised to find she also had a core. I don't know when she acquired that, and I had no idea what it was from. The tracker's pack was the biggest I had, as I had lost my pack, and Gwaed had left only a shoulder bag. I left the junk that wouldn’t fit in the bags and followed Pybyr out to the coast.

It took us almost two days to get there as I was still moving cautiously. Esgyn joined us at night, so that slowed us down. The night was when I travelled most. Pybyr led us to a small fisher cabin that had a short jetty. The cabin was locked, but that was quickly remedied. There were a couple of bunks but nothing else there. It will be nice to sleep on something other than the ground, with a roof over my head, no less. There was a fireplace, but I was not going to advertise my position by lighting it.

I was still three or more days ahead of when Gwaed was going to organise the smugglers to come. She was aware we were here, so she might send them early. I guess Pybyr will warn me, mean, while I need to make a fishing pole.

It was almost dawn on the third day when a small daysailer rounded the rocks and entered the bay. I was still mostly active at night and hidden during the day. Dawn was a great fishing time. I made my way to the dock keeping out of sight, waiting to see who would get off.

The daysailer had two people in it, both human males. The first person off the boat and tying it up was a wiry seaman. A large unkempt mountain of a man followed him, and they looked around. The mountain man stared at the bushed where I was hiding, so he had spotted something. I stepped out, and Pybyr followed me. We stopped at the land side off the dock.

The mountain man spoke with a deep voice, “We were told to meet a man with a coyote about a possible job. That will be you.”

I nodded, “It is. How should I address you?”

“Captain is fine, Coyoteman.”

“I want to ship some people out of Northport to Obalno in the next couple of weeks,” I said.

“How many people, and do they want to be shipped?” he questioned.

“At least one, but possibly up to twelve and some bonds,” I said, indicating Pybyr. “If they are not slaves, they should be willing enough.”

“I am not taking slaves if their master is not on board. Too much trouble,” he replied.

I nodded to acknowledge that.

He continued, “Leaving sooner rather than later is good too. The Navy is getting harder to avoid, and there is some sort of sickness in Northport. We want to leave before we catch it.”

“If you give me a lift back there, we might be able to cut the time down to a week,” I said.

He nodded, and we got to haggling about the price. The price was steep. In the end, I had to offer him the monster core as part of the deal. I figured it would come down to including that. It was the most valuable thing I owned.

I grabbed my gear and hopped aboard. Pybyr also jumped aboard, so I guess Gwaed wanted him in the city now. The Captian used some sort of Skill to hide and small boat and slip past the patrols, and we got back to Northport without incident.