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~~~
“Any reports?”
The question echoed through the Council chambers for what felt like the hundredth ti, the raspy voice grating on Pall’Eth’s nerves. Still, it was his job to remain professional. “No reports yet. All we know is that the package was successfully delivered to the heart of the Resistance, and that it detonated.”
“And we still have nothing from our agents?” the aged troll asked, again.
“That is correct. Given the potential destruction, that is well-within our expectations. We just need to be patient,” Pall’Eth said.
His words were true. The Er’Mithren Council assembled as soon as they had confirmation that their device had activated. It would take ti for the damage to be fully assessed, and even more for their agents in the Resistance to pass along the details of the fallout. To have information at this early juncture would be abnormal, sothing Pall’Eth knew the Council was aware of.
Of course, he also understood the reason they were on edge. What happened to the Courier? Kyle Mayhew was an unknown factor; an existence they couldn’t completely account for. If he played his role as expected, they wouldn’t have any issues.
The way the Council figured it, there were 3 primary outcos. The first, and most attractive, was that the explosion would kill both D’Oillelat and the Courier. The Council would report to their contact at the Verdant Republic that the deposed royal attempted to kill Mayhew, and died in the attempt. The Council would get to control the narrative all the way through.
The second and third outcos were similar: either the blast failing to kill D’Oillelat, or failing to kill both. In either event, they could still move forward with the sa plan, though the goblin queen’s survival would make things a bit murkier. Fortunately, so long-range bombardnt with the assistance of the Verdant Republic would clean that up. If the blast failed to kill the Courier, the Council was convinced that D’Oillelat or her retainers would see him executed. She was known to have quite a temper, and with her suppressive abilities it was widely accepted that she was nigh-unbeatable in single combat.
Still, a fourth possibility nagged at the back of Pall’Eth’s mind. The Council was convinced that if D’Oillelat survived, or most of her generals did, that Mayhew’s death was a foregone conclusion. After all, he was hired as a glorified delivery boy. What if the Council underestimated him? Pall’Eth didn’t have anything firm upon which to base his fear. There was no evidence indicating Mayhew had a high-class backing or secret heritage he could leverage.
Still, Pall’Eth rembered his gut feeling when he first saw the Courier. He rembered the first dossier he read referring to the man as the “Onyx Warrior.” Sothing inside him scread that Kyle Mayhew was more than the Council believed him to be. And if that was the case, he would need to plan for a scenario where the Courier returned to Er’Mithren. With or without the Council’s blessing.
~~~
Kyle took in a breath of fresh air as he exited the underground city of Railen’s Hope. Both the city below and the settlent above were placed in a lockdown after the explosion, but a few elites were with Kyle, including the hulking figure of Drokh.
“Mayhew, stay and think this through.” Drokh’s voice carried a note of concern. “Haste can be dangerous.”
Kyle looked at Drokh, and gave a confident smile. “I can handle it, Drokh. This is an opportunity to put them on the back foot, at least for a bit. As long as you’re able to hold out, I’ll be back with help.”
The ogre looked like he wanted to protest further, but instead took a deep breath before sighing. “Then I wish you safe travels.”
“You’re the ones who will have danger to look out for,” Kyle replied, a smile working its way onto his face. “Good luck with everything. And try not to overdo it until you’re used to the new leg.”
Drokh nodded. “I’ll do my best, doctor.”
Kyle returned the nod, then turned and took off at a brisk run out of the settlent. Even without using Ignition, his travel speed was respectable. Once outside the settlent proper, he activated his boosting skill, feeling power surge through his body as he accelerated to his maximum sustainable pace. The entire journey to the Resistance Headquarters had been taken at a sowhat leisurely pace, one he had no intention of repeating on the road back to Er’Mithren.
[DR. MAYHEW, ARE YOU WELL? YOUR HEART RATE APPEARS TO BE MODESTLY ELEVATED, AND YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE IS HIGHER THAN I WOULD EXPECT.]
“I’m fine, C.H.A.D.D.” Kyle growled, his feet unconsciously avoiding debris in the road, courtesy of Covert Dexterity.
[DO YOU FIND THIS LEVEL OF EXERTION TO BE PARTICULARLY TAXING?]
“Not at all.”
[THEN I CAN ONLY ASSU YOUR REACTION TO BE AN EMOTIONAL RESPONSE.]
Kyle let out a breath, pushing back so of his annoyance. He knew the drone ant well. He knew the drone was right. “They tried to use as a weapon, C.H.A.D.D. I thought they might try to stir up sothing between and D’Oillelat, but I never expected that they would go so far as to put that many civilians at risk. Can you imagine what would have happened if we weren’t in the room? Or if it was opened in an area with more unawakened?”
[WHILE I DO NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF IMAGINATION, I CAN AGREE THE RESULTS WOULD HAVE BEEN CATASTROPHIC.]
“What if I didn’t have Storm Shelter? Hell, what if I hadn’t been working on shaping it the way I have? That blast could have killed everybody else in the room.”
[I BELIEVE D’OILLELAT WOULD HAVE SURVIVED.]
“Right. But that’s not the point, C.H.A.D.D.”
[MY CONCERN, DR. MAYHEW, IS THAT YOU ARE EMOTIONALLY ELEVATED. WHILE I DO NOT QUESTION YOUR REASONING TO FEEL AS YOU DO, I AM ASKING YOU TO REFLECT ON YOUR CURRENT DECISION-MAKING. DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE IT WISE TO JOURNEY STRAIGHT BACK TO ER’MITHREN?]
Kyle considered the C.H.A.D.D.’s words for a mont. He was angry, no doubt about it. The Er’Mithren Council reminded him strongly of the Central Authority back on Earth, which had been a consistent sore spot for him. The whole notion of sacrificing the few for the sake of the many made him bristle. Still, he didn’t think that his anger made the decision any less correct.
The box had given the Council a ans to track his general location, and with it destroyed they would have no way to track his progress. Even if Kyle assud they had intelligence assets at Railen’s Hope, he didn’t expect that they would be able to get word of his survival back to the Council soon. And given he still hadn’t shown his real travel speed, it was unlikely they’d understand how quickly he could return.
“I honestly think that this is the best play we have. If we can get back before they get their bearings, we might be able to teleport back before they’ve really grasped what all transpired. With any luck, they might even be happy to see us go and consider it all done. I for one won’t be telling them that D’Oillelat survived. Once we’ve reported to the Verdant Republic, they’ll know how to better inform the next steps. I’ve already sent Suierrillax a brief recap, though I expect it’ll be a little while before she receives it.”
The drone was silent for a mont, and Kyle took the quiet to look at the horizon, where he could see the rapidly-approaching silhouette of Varleez. He veered slightly to the west, not wanting to cause a stir. The journey that took him 2 days with Drokh, Ver’ah, and Hanastrel was done in a little over half the day, and he expected he could make it all the way out of Resistance territory by nightfall. He’d take a short rest at one of the small camps he made in the plains, then continue toward the forest before dawn. He expected the entirety of the trip to only take him a few days.
[DO YOU MIND IF I DRAW SO MANA TO WORK ON MY FORMATIONS?] C.H.A.D.D. asked.
“That’s fine, just don’t draw too much. What type of formation are you building now?”
[I INTEND TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON A SPEED FORM USING THE STRANGLEVINES AS A BASE.]
Kyle was glad for the distraction, and the duo discussed different applications that C.H.A.D.D. could use. The drone was still most intrigued by the information gathered from the large sundew plant they encountered, but it was too complex relative to the sowhat simple formations C.H.A.D.D. designed so far.
“Explain again; how exactly do you store the information inside the seed?” Kyle asked, still confused about how C.H.A.D.D. used the essences it consud.
[THE BEST WAY I CAN DESCRIBE THE WORLD TREE SEED IS AS A DATABASE OF INFORMATION. AT LEAST, THAT IS THE WAY I INTERFACE WITH IT. EVERY TI WE DRAW INFORMATION FROM COMPATIBLE PLANT LIFE, IT FILLS IN A DATABASE ENTRY. THE ESSENCES I ARCHIVED BEFOREHAND OPERATE SIMILARLY – AN INSTINCTIVE UNDERSTANDING OF THE RELEVANT FLORA. OF COURSE, I HAVE COMBINED MUCH OF THIS INTO THE WORLD TREE SEED ALREADY.]
“And you just draw on this information as-needed?” Kyle asked.
[TO AN EXTENT. MUCH OF THE MOST RELEVANT INFORMATION IS KEPT IN THE FOREFRONT. I AM DESIGNED TO EFFICIENTLY PROCESS INFORMATION, AFTER ALL.]
This was far from their first discussion around the topic, but it was good to revisit for Kyle. Particularly after seeing the prosthetic designed for Drokh, Kyle couldn’t help but wonder if C.H.A.D.D. would one day be able to grow its own perfectly designed hardware, at least at so point. Just sothing else I’ll have to ask Marcus Kulhavey when I visit, Kyle thought.
As the light of day was beginning to fade, they spotted the long wall marking the edge of Resistance territory in the distance.
[HOW DO YOU INTEND TO CONVINCE RA’ZEL TO OPEN THE GATE?] C.H.A.D.D. asked.
“I don’t,” Kyle replied, pouring more power into Ignition as he sprinted toward the wall. He could make out a couple of startled figures atop as he closed the distance; a streaking cot glowing red on his approach.
[DR. MAYHEW, AT THIS RATE YOU ARE GOING TO HIT THE -]
At the last mont, Kyle activated Repel from his legs, leaving deep impressions in the ground as he was launched skyward by the backlash from the skill. Twisting in the air to gain his bearings, he used another blast to gain even more altitude, followed by a series of blasts behind him. The resulting shockwaves pushed him a dozen ters above the wall, and nearly 30 ters beyond it on the other side. He cast Repel one more ti to slow his falling montum, landed in a hard roll, and then continued his run onward.
[THAT WAS RECKLESS, DR. MAYHEW.] the drone admonished.
“That was fun, C.H.A.D.D.” Kyle replied with a bark of laughter. “Now, can you guide back to our closest camp?”
Without a word, an orange map appeared in the corner of Kyle’s vision, projected by the drone.
“Thank you.”
The camp was largely as Kyle rembered it, a rock outcropping between a couple of hills. He rested only a few hours, before they continued onward.
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO SCAN FOR SHRIKES?] C.H.A.D.D. asked.
“No, not right now,” Kyle said. “We’ll have ti to hunt so more when we return with the Verdant Republic, but I want to stay focused for now.”
[DOES THAT AN YOU ARE NOT PLANNING TO STOP ON OUR WAY FOR MORE STRANGLEVINE SAMPLES?]
“Not right now, no. We’ll have a chance to co back with the Verdant Republic, and we’ll do it all.”
[I AM NOT SURE IF I BELIEVE YOU, DR. MAYHEW. AFTER ALL, YOU SAID WE COULD STOP FOR SO ON THE WAY BACK TO ER’MITHREN.]
The duo bickered on and off, until seeing the entrance to the forest on the dawn of the third day. Kyle could feel the anticipation of his return building, and with Ignition blazing, he followed the path they’d traveled when circumventing Jell’Or.
Compared to the relative openness of the plains, the forest felt suffocating. Deep shadows blocked the sunlight above, the stagnant air carrying a hint of decay. Even though his Synaptic Barbs didn’t feel anything specific, Kyle knew sothing was off. “C.H.A.D.D., are you detecting anything?”
[NO, DR. MAYHEW.]
Kyle frowned. Neither Auric Perception nor Synaptic Barbs detected anything either, so he continued on. The sense of unease only grew, until he could see the outer wall of Jell’Or. His eyes widened as he took in the view, at the sa ti C.H.A.D.D. spoke.
[DR. MAYHEW, I BELIEVE THOSE ARE -]
“I see them, C.H.A.D.D.” Kyle whispered, coming to a stop. There, along the walls of Jell’Or, were hundreds, if not thousands of stranglevine pods. A cold realization washed over him, as he thought about their run through the forest so far. There was truly nothing noteworthy that either he or C.H.A.D.D. detected, because there was nothing in the forest. No birds, no insects, no travelers.
They stared at the wall for a mont in the stillness of the forest, not a sound to be heard from the once bustling city. Could this have been the Council? Kyle wondered. Can they control the stranglevines, like they do the shrikes?
[SHOULD WE INVESTIGATE?]
Kyle nodded, moving cautiously toward the wall. Taking care to stay a good distance from the gently swaying vines, he used Identify. The pods seed to be fuller, thicker than the ones he’d seen nearer the canopy.
“If I connect to one, do you think you could determine what brought them so far down?”
[I CAN ATTEMPT IT, DR. MAYHEW.]
There was no flippancy in the drone’s words, and Kyle carefully extended a tendril of Parasitic Resonance to the nearest vine. He watched it begin to wither as he drained its mana and attacked its internal structure, but just before it died, it did sothing strange. The entire pod shuddered for a mont, then exploded. For a mont, there was nothing.
Then, the forest around them ca alive, and darkness descended.
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