Chapter 35: One Step Forward, Three Steps Back

Lin stuck her fork into the chunk of dried meat. Looked at it for a moment. Then, stuffed it whole into her mouth. It was bland. She didn't mind. It was still food.

"So, last I heard, this bandit gang's been making their way down south," Mud explained, opening a map on her scroll and pointing towards a location north of where they were. A day had passed since the two had left Saguaro, and the two girls were holed up in a small inn a few towns north, making their way closer and closer to where the Blood Stalkers supposedly were. "If I'm guessing right, we should be right around where they're headed."

"So we wait."

"Maybe. If they're like any other bandits I've known, they're gonna wanna plant themselves around the roads to and from town, ambush a merchant or two, and make their getaway before the locals can gather up and go after them."

"I don't want them to get away."

"Don't worry, they won't. Probably won't move tonight. Too dangerous to move in the dark, with Grimm being a thing and all that," Mud explained, closing her scroll and starting on her own dinner. "They're gonna ambush a merchant or caravan or something, camp out somewhere off the road as they celebrate a successful hunt, and then move out early in the morning."

"How will we know where they are?"

"We wait. Anyone coming into town this late is gonna come by the inn. One of them's gotta have run into - "

"Help! Anyone, is there a medic here?!"

Lin turned to see a man barging into the inn, shouting frantically. On his shoulder, he was dragging an unconscious woman, her face and body covered in blood and cuts.

"Like I said," Mud muttered, standing up from her dinner and approaching the duo. Lin continued eating. She still had some chunks of meat left. Didn't want to waste anything. "The heck happened here?"

"Bandits. We were coming from the road up north, and... they ambushed us. We barely got away, but she was injured defending me," the man explained. "Can you help her?"

"Yeah, set her down and lemme see what's wrong," Mud said. As the man set the unconscious woman on a nearby bench, she turned towards Lin. "Gimme a few minutes to sort this out. Then, we're heading up north."

Lin nodded. She turned back to her dinner. A few minutes was fine. Enough to finish eating.

She stabbed her fork into the next chunk of meat.

Night had fallen over the desert. It wasn't completely dark; the stars were bright in the sky, and the shattered moon illuminated the night enough to see the terrain. Despite that, it was still hard for Lin to make out anything beyond vague shapes. A dark blotch in the distance could be a cactus, a person, or a Grimm; it was difficult to tell unless you got much, much closer.

However, anything that gave off light was much easier to make out.

"Is that them?" Lin asked, spotting a campsite set up by the bottom of a cliff in the distance. Three tents and a campfire underneath a rocky outcropping jutting out from the cliff that would probably give ample shade once morning came around.

"Can't imagine who else it'd be. Far enough off the road to not be spotted from it, but close enough to make their way there on a moment's notice. Lemme check to make sure," Mud said as she came up beside Lin. She pulled out a pair of binoculars and took a moment to scan over the area. "Yup. I see people with masks. They look like they're celebrating. Eating good and laughing it up. Probably got a good haul today."

"How many?"

"About a dozen, give or take."

"That doesn't make sense. There were more before."

"I dunno what 'before' means for you, I'm just giving you what I'm seeing," Mud muttered, putting away the binoculars and pulling out her rifle. "You said you wanted the leader, right?"

"Yes. I think the three that I'm looking for were the leaders of the group. Do you see them?"

"Dunno. Can't make out much from this distance," Mud said as she raised her rifle. "Doesn't look like they've got anyone on guard duty, though. Could probably get the jump on them. You up for that?"

"Ready when you are."

A shot rang out through the night. One of the figures by the edge of the camp toppled. By the time he hit the ground, Lin was already sprinting towards the camp. Nobody was coming out to intercept her. Instead, she heard shouts of panic.

"We're under attack!"

"They got Rosen!"

Several masked figures emerged from between the tents. They looked around into the darkness, weapons raised. Lin wasn't making an active effort to conceal herself, but the night was still dark enough that they didn't seem to notice her approach. Well, it didn't really matter too much; judging by how they carried themselves, Lin guessed that they wouldn't be too much of a challenge.

Another shot rang out. Another body toppled.

"Shit! Get to cover!" one of the bandits shouted as they retreated behind the tents. Out of Mud's sights. For now, they were safe from the bullets.

Not safe from Lin, though.

As Lin entered the camp, she leaped over the nearest tent, spotting a trio of masked bandits huddled on the other side as well as more taking cover behind the other tents. She came crashing down on one of the bandits, smashing her foot straight into his face and slamming the back of his head against the ground. His aura shattered, and he lay still as Lin turned to punch the nearest bandit straight in the chest, sending him flying back and tumbling to the ground.

"Who the hell are - " the third bandit shouted as he raised a pistol, only for Lin to grab his wrist before driving her fist up into his chin. There was no aura to dampen the strike; rather, Lin felt the man's jaw shatter against her fist a moment before he went flying, landing in a heap against the dry desert ground. By then, the bandits taking cover by the other tents had drawn their weapons. There were six of them. Four had blades. Two had guns. All of them were focused on Lin.

Two shots rang out from the darkness, beyond the edge of the camp. Two of the bandits fell. One with a gun. One with a sword.

Lin's muscles burned with energy. She hoped Mud would leave enough to give her some proper release.

"Ha!" Lin shouted, dashing forward and driving her fist into the stomach of the nearest bandit before he could react. As she did so, she released the burning energy in her muscles, and the bandit's aura shattered as he flew back, smashing straight into another bandit and carrying both of them into one of the tentst, which crashed down on them. Two bandits left. One with a gun. One with a sword.

Two more shots. Both fell.

"That was fast," Lin heard Mud say. She turned to see Mud stepping over the body of one of the bandits as she entered the camp. She looked around. "Was that everyone? Did you find who you were looking for?"

"No."

A glint of steel. Mud jumped back. Lin didn't. She felt something slash across her aura. Didn't break it. Still hurt. She stumbled back.

"Now, look what you did to all my boys," Lin heard someone say. A female voice. She looked up. There was another masked figure. Her mask was more elaborate. Her stance was more confident than the bandits before. She had a chain in her hands, with a sickle hanging from the end. That's probably what slashed her. "Looks like I'll have to punish - "

Lin dashed up to the woman. Drove her fist towards the woman's chest. She dodged back. No, nearly dodged back; Lin felt her fist make some contact. Not enough. It wasn't enough. She needed more.

"Who do you think you - "

Lin leaped forward. Kicked. The woman dodged to the side. Lin's foot struck the ground. Cracked it. The woman lashed out with her sickle. Fast. Too fast. It cut against Lin's aura. More aura gone. This woman was more of a challenge.

Lin smiled. Maybe she was one of them. One of the three she had been looking for.

Lin ran in. Steel flashed through the air. She anticipated it. Ducked underneath the blade this time. Ran in low. The woman kicked out. Tried to intercept Lin. She saw it coming. Blocked the kick with her forearm. Her own leg struck out. Caught the woman in the side. Sent her tumbling away. Her aura shimmered.

Something felt off.

"You'll pay for that!" the woman shouted. She reeled in her sickle. Lashed out again. The blade closed in on Lin's neck. Fast. It didn't matter. She knew it was coming. Reached out. Grabbed the chain. Stopped the blade. Pulled. Hard. Yanked the woman off her feet. She flew towards Lin, flailing about. Lin's fist slammed into her gut. Her aura shattered. Her weapon dropped to the ground. She crumpled. Lin knew what was off.

This woman was weak. Far too weak.

"This who you were looking for?" Mud asked, coming up alongside Lin. She looked down at the woman lying on the ground. She was still conscious. Still curled up in pain. In no shape to fight.

"No."

"What do you mean? I thought you said you're looking for the leader of the Blood Stalkers," Mud said. She leaned down, prodding the woman on the ground with the butt of her rifle. "Hey. Y'all are the Blood Stalkers, right? You their leader?"

"Y... yes... leader..." the woman coughed out. She took deep breaths. "Leader of the New Blood Stalkers... that's me..."

"New?"

"Eight years ago, the Blood Stalkers disbanded. A raid went south and... we were all but destroyed. Our leaders scattered. Everyone went their separate ways," the woman explained. She tried to push herself up. Mud slammed the butt of her rifle against her head. She went back down.

"So, lemme guess. You wanted to go raiding again, so you tried to build up this little tribe of bandits and do things like old times? Eight years, was it?" Mud asked, turning to Lin. "Hey, when's the last you saw these 'leaders' of yours?"

"I haven't seen them since we disbanded."

"Coulda told me that earlier," Mud muttered. She crouched down close to the woman. "So, where're these leaders now?"

"Why should I - "

Mud knocked her rifle against the woman's head again. This time, it was the barrel.

"Here's the thing. You got a bounty on your head. Dead or alive, same reward either way," Mud said, poking her rifle against the woman's mask. "On one hand, I don't like killing too much. On the other hand, it's gonna be a pain to drag you back to town so that the sheriff can find a proper cell for you. So, how about you convince me not to take the lazy option?"

"Look, look, I... I'll talk," the woman said. She paused for a moment. "I don't know too much. Honest. I was new to the Death Stalkers when they disbanded. All I know is that one of the old leaders of the tribe runs an underground fighting ring in Saltmouth. It's a big operation. Attracts people from all over Remnant."

"Saltmouth?" Lin asked.

"Big coastal city up north. Second largest in the kingdom, just behind the capital. Actually, might be larger," Mud explained as she grabbed the woman by the collar, pulling her up before turning her around and putting her rifle against her back. "March. If any of your boys are still alive, I wanna be out of here before they wake up."

"A - alright, I'm going."

Lin followed behind Mud as they made their way back to town with a bandit leader in tow. Not the one she was hoping for. But she knew where she had to go now. What she had to do. It might take more time than she thought it would, but that was hardly an issue.

Lin had been waiting for eight years. She could wait a little more.

A/N: And that's chapter 35! Lin's tracked down the Blood Stalkers, but it seems that the ones she's truly after are elsewhere. The hunt doesn't end here.

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