TWENTY-ONE: CROSSING THE WILDS

  As dawn broke that morning, Cassius was already on his feet and ready to move. His pack, shield, spear, and gladius were all strapped on as he and Valeria waited for the three nobles to finish their morning preparations. The rest of the camp came alive slowly, men and women rising to kick the embers of the fires, smothering them before they departed.

  Marcus broke off from his duties, walking toward them as carefully looked over those who were setting out. Another of the wounded had died in the night, a cloak draped over his slack face. Marcus’s eyes never truly left the line of dead legionnaires at the edge of the camp as he walked. Every time he tried to look at something else, they were drawn back like magnets.

  “He’s going to crack,” Valeria muttered darkly, staring at her friend. Cassius grunted, not wanting to believe that Marcus would break under the strain of command. Unless something changed, it didn’t appear as if he’d last long.

  “Three days, then head back to us. We’ll move west, past the battle ground,” Marcus said to them, not bothering to keep his voice down. Valeria and Cassius just nodded to him as the older man grunted and left them, his eyes still locked on the dead bodies.

  “He will grow strong or crack. He was not ready for this. None of us were,” Pius said, sidling up to them as he watched Marcus walk away.

  “Keep an eye on him, Pius. I have no desire to watch another centurion be raised so quickly,” Valeria complained.

  “There are few who are left who are capable of taking over the century. Damn purges,” Valeria spat. She cut herself off before she began to really chew into the topic as Vira and her two companions walked over. Titus and Leto were similar in looks and build, enough so that Cassius wouldn’t be surprised if they were brothers.

  They had dark blonde hair that had been cut short at the sides with the Agricola green eyes and long nose. Both of them were handsome enough if it wasn’t for the deep scowls they wore as they reached them. Vira ignored both of their scowling as she greeted them politely with a head nod.

  “Off we go. I shall lead, but let’s try to stay quiet, yes?” Valeria snorted at Vira’s words which drew even more scowls from the duo, but Vira was moving before it could escalate into something worse. Cassius kept his mouth shut as they set off without any more fanfare.

  For the first hour they walked steadily, bypassing the sight of the battle and acrid scent of the dead imps. Cassius wondered if the second griffon had dropped a skill, but from what he understood it was rare enough when one monster did it. The nobles had been around it and he hadn’t felt like risking their ire by checking the beast.

  As the sun rose higher in the sky the day grew warmer, the heavy armor they all wore stifling as sweat slicked their brows. Cassius tried to ignore it, but he couldn’t ignore how fast his water canteen was being drained. Vira hadn’t slowed as she had found the imps trail and he had no desire to draw her wrath for breaking silence.

  Valeria didn’t have that fear.

  “We’re drinking too much water for what we have. We either need to strip the armor or find a constant source of water,” Valeria said loud enough Vira could hear her. The noblewoman stopped and looked back at them, her own blonde hair plastered to her forehead.

  “Then we shall have to find water then. I will not travel the wilds unarmored,” Titus, or maybe it was Leto, cut in. Cassius had a hard time telling which of them was which, but he had taken a dislike to both of them.

  “I agree. It is too early to stop now, but keep your eyes and ears alert for a stream or pool,” Vira said. She turned and kept marching forward, the rest of them following behind like a line of ducklings.

  The hours moved like sludge as they kept moving through the woods, humidity thick in the air as the sun continued to creep higher and higher. Their canteens grew lighter and lighter as they kept pushing, trying to keep a steady pace as they followed the imps broad trail.

  “Are we catching up to them?” Valeria asked quietly, pitching her voice to try to reach Vira.

  “Hard to tell. The sign is still fresh enough, but I am no expert. They have been moving in a straight line since leaving the site of the battle.”

  “That makes this easier,” Cassius said as he shuffled his pack on his back and took another sip from his canteen.

  “They move faster than we do. Unless they stop to rest we shall never catch them,” one of the Agricola said.

  “The imps move faster than we do. But the summoner does not. Already we can see the stride difference in track has shortened. They are moving slower, not running,” Vira said, pointing at soft impressions on the earth that Cassius couldn’t tell apart from the normal earth.

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  “Cousin, we must look for water soon,” the other of the Agricola said. Cassius agreed with them as his first canteen was nearly empty and his second wouldn’t last through tomorrow.

  “Spread out then. Keep each other in eye sight,” Vira said, waving her hands to either side of herself. Valeria snagged Cassius’ shoulder and pushed him toward Vira’s right while the Agricola warriors went to her right.

  “Take the edge. Do not lose track of me,” Valeria said, shoving him further away as Cassius walked until Valeria was on the far edge of his vision. Now that he was away from their prying eyes he used [Hunter’s Sight] and the world became clear as day, every detail magnified to him.

  Twenty feet away he could see a line of ants moving over the bark of a tree. Impressions on the soft soil stood out to him, his eyes drawn to a depression that he couldn’t make sense of, until he followed it and realized it was an animal’s footprint. It would be the work of moments to follow it, a slight haze formed around the steps now that he’d identified them.

  “That is useful,” Cassius said, turning away from where the small animal had run deeper into the forest, and back to make sure that Valeria was still in sight. With the skill active he could easily see the woman as she started to march forward, her own head moving on occasion to keep Vira in sight.

  Hours passed as they walked in a long stretched out line, the sun reaching its zenith and beginning to sink in its daily retreat. Never did Vira swerve from her position as she led them further west and north. When his first canteen was drained and put in his pack, Cassius started to worry about finding water. They had plenty of food, but the warmth would leave them drained and exhausted fast.

  It was the Agricola who called out first, summoning them just as dusk had begun to set. On the far side of the line they had heard the sound of frogs, the croaks loud enough to draw their attention. A buzz filled the air as Cassius got closer, the ground growing sodden as he cursed and rotated around the edge of the soft, wet, ground and headed toward where the rest of the detail had slowly condensed.

  All around the pond vegetation grew, more plants than Cassius had ever seen before. It was a riot of colors with a veritable swarm of bugs on the edges of it, fish rising and eating any that foolishly flew too close to the surface. The entire lake was rippling with movement as predator and prey danced through the cycle of life.

  “Strain and boil it. It’ll be fine,” one of the Agricola said. They both sat on their heels by the edge of the pond, their packs opened as they searched their gear for what they needed. A pot was procured, lifted up in celebration before they scooped the pond, filling it with a single move.

  Cassius kept his skill active and his eyes caught sight of something on the far side of the pond, where the fronds covered a large section of the shore. He squinted but couldn’t understand what his skill was trying to highlight for him. The swaying vegetation held nothing to his gaze, but the skill insisted there was something of import to be seen.

  “Something is over there,” Cassius said as he shifted his spear into his hand, backing away from the edge of the water. Valeria and Vira followed him instantly, Vira knowing he had the skill and Valeria because she trusted him. Leto and Titus were slower to move, both stopping with their packs half disassembled at their feet. They were within arm’s distance of the water, if they leaned over they could touch the still waters.

  “The water. It’s gone still,” Cassius said as his mind caught the detail. The fish and bugs had raced away, the hot night absolutely silent as one of the nobles abandoned his gear, leaping back.

  It saved his life as the water exploded in a silver shower, tentacles snaking out as something came free of the water. Cassius gagged as the stench of water-ladden bodies assaulted him, rotting meat and brine as the creature opened its wide maw, a thousand teeth wide as the noble who had stayed by the edge was wrapped up in a tentacle.

  “LETO!” the other man screamed as he drew his sword, lunging forward and slicing through the tentacle that held his clan member. Leto fell like a stone, splashing into the water only inches from the beast’s hungry mouth.

  “Forward!” Vira screamed as she whipped her own sword forward, slashing the end of a tentacle free as she tried to reach her kinsmen. Titus was standing above Leto as the man peeled the severed limb off himself, blade slashing back and forth in wild swings as the lake beast screeched in rage.

  Cassius’ feet took him forward without thought, his sight locked on a long slat along the creature’s oily black skin. It flared and blew forth every second, slime shooting back as it screamed in rage and tried to gather up the two nobles. Water lapped at Cassius’ feet, running into his boots as he stabbed at the slit, [Thrust] enhancing the blow.

  The beast’s skin breached with ease, gouts of red blow blowing out in a geyser as Cassius’ spear pierced the flap and buried itself half way up the shaft with the single blow. With a roar he twisted and pulled the spear out, slicing apart more of the creature’s neck as its limbs began to spasm, slapping the surface of the pond hard enough to send geysers of water into the air.

  “Grab Leto!” Vira swore, plunging waist deep into the lake as she stabbed at a wide orange eye. Another scream ripped across the air, ringing in Cassius’ head as he reached down to grab the disorientated nobleman, dragging him back out of the water as Vira plunged her blade over and over into the creature.

  Its screaming finally stopped, body deflated and partially floating as the pond grew red, blood pouring from its wounds. Vira pulled her blade free and staggered back, frothy red water swirling around her as she got back to the shore.

  “I don’t think this water is clean to drink,” she said dryly as she dripped gore around.

  “Look out!” Valeria said, shoving aside the noblewoman and lifting her shield just in time as something flashed across the distance, thudding heavily into the shield and shivering there. Cassius saw the bolt and knew it was from no monster, crafted of carved wood with fletchings on it. His gaze turned to look at the far side of the pond where his skill had been warning him.

  Fronds twisted back and forth, something having just moved, but no other attack came as everyone slowly took stock of what had just happened. Vira swallowed hard as Valeria ripped the bolt out and tossed it to the ground.

  “I did not see it well, but that was not the same creature as the summoner,” Valeria said.