Chapter Fifteen

 

Days ticked by as they dug up dark willow shoots and killed scurriflies. The crew was finding what was a good balance for them. The conversation that happened focused mainly on monsters and the best ways to kill them. Cyra had initiated almost all of them, asking so she might be better able to help. Stern was glad that Vulk and Cammie were interested, as well, as it made it easier to discuss with everyone. Trish and Stern were able to expand on monsters, but it was mostly Stern, impressing even Trish with how much he’d memorized.

 

“How do you know all of this?” Cammie eventually asked.

 

“I studied a lot,” Stern said, shrugging. “It was something I could do that didn’t involve others.”

 

“Oh, right. Sorry,” Cammie said with a wince.

 

“It’s fine. I enjoyed learning because I knew what I would be doing. Dad approved when he found out, and he’d told me things that the books didn’t mention. For instance, toros can be distracted by a vigorous cloak flap. It’s enough to get them to veer just to the side and give yourself a chance to hit them in the back of the neck.”

 

“Not for us,” Vulk snorted. “Toros are seven feet tall, at least.”

 

“When they charge, they lower their heads,” Stern said. “You might have to reach for it, but for most, it brings the neck down to a viable level.”

 

Before anyone else could say more, a scream echoed through the woods.

 

Cyra’s ears quivered as she turned her head a little. “That way,” she pointed.

 

They took off at speed, going off the lightly-used trail.

 

“What do you think it is?” Cammie asked as they ran.

 

“A person in distress,” Stern said. He was leading the way, his longer legs eating up the ground, until Pawly passed him in a rush.

 

Another scream came, different in tenor, indicating a second person.

 

“People in distress,” Trish amended as she chased Stern.

 

Cyra’s eyes widened and she called out to them. “Scurriflies ahead! I hear them!”

 

“Shit,” Stern said as he got ready to put the crossbow to use. “Not a wild boss, then.”

 

“A swarm,” Trish grimaced. “This is going to get bad.”

 

They all felt the edges of the fight ahead of them as Cyra’s Life Sense extended to them. Dozens of smaller life forms scurried around a group of four larger forms, which were clustered together.

 

Stern broke into the clearing a few seconds after Pawly. With his crossbow raised, he began to fire at the monsters closest to the four people. He took aim and fired methodically as the rest of his crew arrived. Pawly went barreling past the other side of the group, her claws hitting the scurriflies on the ground while her tentacles lashed a few from the air.

 

Trish went rushing straight for the group. Two people were on the ground, weakly trying to apply salve to themselves. Her shield and hammer were in motion, knocking gliding monsters back while her hammer whipped around, launching others away.

 

Cyra was next, and she paused just inside the clearing, raising her crossbow to aim for the scurriflies gliding down from the trees. Seeing the wounded, she tried to heal them, but nothing happened. Cammie came to a stop beside her, her own smaller crossbow also picking off the easier-to-hit gliders.

 

Vulk had both axes out and rushed heedlessly into the clearing— he was a near whirlwind as he slashed left and right, cleaving small bodies to pieces. He was grinning the entire time as he dealt death.

 

“Who are you?” one of the people asked in surprise.

 

“Allies,” Stern said. “Cyra, help them if you can.”

 

Cyra was about to say she’d already tried, but she tried again. Her eyes widened slightly when her perk worked this time. One of the two people on the ground gasped, suddenly feeling better. Cyra immediately healed the second person before going back to firing.

 

The two wounded Walkers pushed themselves to their feet, grabbing their fallen weapons and starting to help kill the mobs. With nine people pitching in, the swarm was quickly destroyed.

 

When Cyra felt the last scurrifly die, she relaxed. The rest of the crew did the same while the other four were tense, looking around and waiting for more.

 

“It’s over,” Trish said.

 

“Maybe,” one of the men said. “They could be in the trees still.”

 

“No, they’re gone,” Vulk sighed. “We know.”

 

“A perk?” one of the wounded Walkers asked.

 

“Yes,” Trish said. “What happened?”

 

“We were killing scurriflies for the quest out of Springwater,” the one with the shield said. “Easy quest, we thought, for some extra money on the way to Waterrock. We got to the clearing… then it exploded. Scurriflies everywhere.”

 

“Swarm,” Stern said.

 

The man looked at Stern, then jerked back, turning to bring his weapon and shield to bear on him. “Blighted!”

 

“Walker,” Stern said, tapping his badge. “Irregular, if you must.”

 

“They saved us, Danny. Stop it,” one of the wounded said, pushing the hair back from her face and behind her elven ear. “One of them is a healer. Healed me and Lincoln.”

 

Danny glanced at her. “But Liz—!”

 

“No buts,” said the feline lykian male that Liz had called Lincoln. “They saved us from a lot worse, possibly the worst that could have happened.”

 

The fourth member of their crew just nodded, staying silent as his angelic wings flapped lightly. He was eyeing Stern wearily, but also with interest.

 

“Are you four going to be okay?” Cammie asked.

 

“We’ll head for the road,” Danny grunted, taking his eyes off Stern. “We’re done with this quest.”

 

“You came from Springwater?” Trish asked to double-check what she’d heard.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“We might as well head to the road, too, then,” Trish said. “They’ll have killed the easy ones on the way here.”

 

“A good point,” Stern nodded. “Might be best, and it would be good to be in a larger group to get out of the woods. Sometimes, there are multiple swarms.”

 

Liz nodded. “Agreed. Safety in numbers.”

 

“Yeah,” Danny said, clearly unhappy as he glanced back at Stern.

 

Liz walked up to get into Danny’s face. “Who’s the leader of our crew?”

 

Danny grimaced, looking away from her. “You.”

 

“That’s right,” Liz replied firmly. “Me. Beech Wood is my crew. We’re going with them to the road, where they’ll head on to Springwater, and we’ll go to Waterrock.”

 

Stern watched with a blank face, but he was amused internally. Liz had the same forceful personality that Karen did— his mother could back down people in much the same way.

 

“Yeah, sure,” Danny sighed.

 

Lincoln finished salving his wounds. “Liz, you want me to patch you?”

 

“Please?” Liz asked, going up to him, but looking at Trish. “Sorry. We’re Beech Wood.”

 

“Bitch Wood...” Danny muttered under his breath.

 

“Only to those that upset me,” Liz smiled brightly.

 

“Pawsitively Irregular,” Trish said. “Glad we could help. And in case you’re wondering, Stern is our leader.” She nodded at Stern so everyone knew who she was talking about.

 

Liz blinked, then began to laugh. “I thought my name was kind of bad.”

 

A chuff got her to look to the edge of the clearing where Pawly was sitting, cutting her off.

 

“Pawly, wave to her,” Stern chuckled.

 

A large, many-toed paw rose up and waved at the group.

 

Liz blinked, then laughed even harder. Lincoln joined her, followed by the silent member of the crew. Danny just frowned at them, then looked at Pawly again.

 

“I don’t get it,” Danny said.

 

“She’s polydactyl,” Trish grinned. “Hence why she’s named Pawly. Pawly is Stern’s summons.”

 

Danny frowned for a longer moment, then winced. “Oh, Goddess. That’s terrible.”

 

“Blame my father,” Stern sighed. “Nice to meet you all. I’m Stern, and these are Cammie; her brother, Vulk; Trish; and last, but not least, Cyra.”

 

“Thank you,” Lincoln said, directed at Cyra. “You’re the healer, right? He called to you, and then my wounds closed.”

 

“I have a minor perk that lets me help,” Cyra replied.

 

“I wasn’t sure I’d be able to get to them all before I bled out. Pretty sure we would have if they’d kept coming, too. So thank you again.”

 

“Yes. Our deepest thanks,” Liz smiled. “Just give us a minute to get our stuff together again and we’ll be ready to go.”

 

Stern nodded, having been collecting bolts and checking to see if they’d still be useful. Since he’d finished, he knelt and began to reload the magazine for his crossbow.

 

The silent member of the Beech Wood crew sidled over to Stern. “What is that?” The question was quiet, and the man felt timid.

 

“New type of crossbow,” Stern said, not looking up. “I can tell you more about it tonight, if that’s okay?”

 

“Oh, yes. Of course.”

 

“Never caught your name,” Stern said, looking up at the angelic.

 

“Dustyn Sawall.”

 

“Nice to meet you, Dustyn,” Stern said, looking back down at what he was doing.

 

“You, too.”

 

~*~*~

 

Stern exhaled as he set his pack down. The rest of the day traveling with Beech Wood had been trying. Danny stayed quiet, but the anger and resentment poured off him. Lincoln and Liz tried to be friendly, but even they were both wary of him. Dustyn had been the only one who hadn’t made Stern feel bad— the angelic man was calm and felt a bit hopeful.

 

“I’ll be back,” Stern said as he started to head into the woods with Pawly beside him.

 

“Where’s he going?” Danny asked pointedly.

 

“Hunting. He brings in our meat,” Trish said. “Cyra cooks, and Vulk gathers the wood today while Cammie and I set camp.”

 

“Since we’re sharing a camp,” Liz asked, “Stern, are you okay if Dustyn goes with you?”

 

Stern gave Dustyn a look, and the angelic lowered his eyes. “I don’t mind.”

 

“Danny, go help… Vulk?” When Vulk nodded, Liz continued, “With the wood.”

 

Danny grimaced and dropped his shield and pack before stomping off into the woods. “Sure. Whatever.”

 

“Lincoln, help with the tents, please,” Liz sighed.

 

“Of course.”

 

“He’s a problem,” Trish said, watching Danny walk away with Vulk.

 

“He’s been getting worse,” Liz shrugged. “Thinks he should be the leader because he’s the bulwark.”

 

“Bulwarks aren’t hard to replace. I should know,” Trish snorted.

 

“He’ll either start to understand, or…” Liz trailed off with another shrug.

 

“A crew that fights is a crew that’s going to fracture,” Trish said softly. “Take it from me... I’ve been in a couple.”

 

Liz grimaced. “Yeah. I was planning on looking for another one in Waterrock.”

 

“That’s going to be a problem,” Lincoln sighed. “He might be an ass, but his perks make him a great bulwark.”

 

“And yet two of you were down and bleeding,” Trish said softly. “It’s your call, but with his attitude… I’ll be worried for you.”

 

They lapsed into silence as they got the camp set up. Cyra glanced at Trish, who shook her head. Cyra started to get tea ready for a fire, and pulled the cooking equipment out.

 

Vulk was the first one back, his arms loaded with wood. Danny came back a minute after him with a few decent-sized chunks. Vulk knelt next to the fire pit and arranged the kindling to get a fire going.

 

“I can start that,” Lincoln offered, “once you have the wood set.”

 

“Thanks,” Vulk said as he backed away. “It’s ready for the flint.”

 

Lincoln just grinned as he knelt down and put his hand over the wood. “Warmth, light, comfort... let this fire bring these things to us.” A thick ember of fire dropped from his hand into the tinder, which started to burn instantly.

 

“Interesting,” Trish said. “A perk, obviously.”

 

“From birth,” Lincoln said. “Useless for combat, but great for starting fires.”

 

“Is there a limit on it?” Cammie asked.

 

“None, but the ember only starts fires and burns out in seconds.”

 

“Great for camps, though,” Liz grinned. “He’s also our caster. Lincoln will go far with his perks.”

 

Lincoln shrugged awkwardly, but was smiling broadly. “I’ll go as far as our crew goes.”

 

“How long does it take the bli… irregular to bring back game?” Danny asked, changing his sentence when Trish’s eyebrow rose.

 

“Since he’s hunting for a double group? Might be a bit, but he’ll bring it back if it’s out there,” Cyra said. “Does Dustyn hunt for you?”

 

“He’s our trap finder,” Liz said. “Doesn’t say much, but he’s skilled.”

 

~*~*~

 

A half-hour later, Stern and Dustyn came back to camp, grinning, with Pawly walking proudly ahead of them. Stern raised his right hand in greeting, as his left was holding a thick branch over his shoulder. On the branch between Stern and Dustyn, there were six rabbits lashed to it.

 

“We’re back,” Stern said. “Dustyn’s a great hunter. His work with Pawly netted us the majority of these.”

 

“I did little,” Dustyn murmured.

 

“Too modest,” Stern said. “If he’s even half as good in a dungeon, your crew has a damned good member.”

 

“I’ve told him that repeatedly,” Liz grinned at the angelic. “Told you, Dustyn.”

 

Danny snorted softly. “The majority of a dungeon is dealt with by me.”

 

Lincoln frowned at the bulwark. “Dustyn, Liz, and I kill them. If we didn’t, you’d lose eventually. It’s a group effort.”

 

Danny rolled his eyes. “So how long ‘til food?”

 

Stern’s mood soured now that he was back in camp, Danny’s emotions twisting him. “Once I skin and pull the meat off, Cyra can start.”

 

“We can help,” Cammie offered, “since there’s so much to do.”

 

“Yes,” Vulk added.

 

“Me, too,” Dustyn said quietly.

 

“So, not long,” Stern said to Danny. “Besides, it will be worth the wait.”

 

Cyra blushed lightly and smiled at Stern. “I’ll do my best.”