Chapter 14


Back in the present, at the organisation lodge in Pieta.

Lena, Kammy, Rise and Mai make their way back into the building; they are now dressed in their new uniforms. Upon entering, they find Ermita and Gallatea waiting for them.

"Ah, I was wondering when the management would catch up with us."

"It would appear much has happened since you last updated us Lena."

"That's one way of putting it; I take it you took a look at the remains we brought back Ermita?"

"Yes, quite interesting to say the least. I was initially a little annoyed, since animal control really isn't our job, but after examining the Yoma remains as well; along with Gallatea's Yoki observations; I think we can regard it as falling into our line of work."

"That's a relief; I know it's not strictly speaking a yoma, but since its something rather hostile that's capable of yoki manipulation; I figured it ticked enough boxes."

"Indeed, and while pro bono exterminations aren't something we like to make a habit of; given the situation I see no reasons to raise any objections. The specific target is still very much dead; so the contract has been fulfilled."

"Just out of interest; who actually issued the contract?"

"The Pieta town guard Lena. There'd been a series of disappearances from some of the nearby settlements which they'd originally been assigned to investigate. After they discovered one of the missing persons in the wildness; minus most of their internal organs; they figured there was a good chance it was the work of a yoma, and decided to employ the professionals rather than chance it themselves."

"Good call on their part. If they'd ran into either that yoma, or the creature we had to tangle with; they'd have been scoffed for sure."

"I don't doubt it Kammy; we ran into something on the way here that was a significant cause for concern along a similar line mind you. We found a partially destroyed pub; no survivors inside, and nothing even close to an intact body, but a fair bit of viscera splattered about the place."

"Unpleasant, but doesn't sound like a yoma attack."

"It wasn't Rise; there were some traces of yoma remains in the wreckage though; and I felt the yoki signature of a single yoma disappear a little under an hour before we got there. We found some footprints in the grounds though; and they looked like they came from something really big and heavy. I had a close look at that creature you've got in the cart shed, and it wasn't match though; its feet were the wrong shape; and too small."

"Great; more surprises. Oh, and in case you were wondering Gallatea; I think the beastie we brought down is something called a Barioth."

"Barioth...where have I heard that before?"

"You probably saw it an old natural history text Ermita. They supposedly went extinct well over a century ago; although current evidence suggests rumours of their demise were somewhat exaggerated. Anyway; sounds like we've got something big, dangerous and hungry roaming the nearby wildness, and it's not a picky eater either if it's happy to chow down on a yoma. Were you able to detect anything else in terms of yoki Gallatea?"

"Unfortunately no Rise; I didn't detect anything until I got near Pieta and detected the five of you."

"Five?...oh yeah; I take it Undine's still about then?"

"Yes Kammy; currently getting some rest. Anyway, I did detect the yoki from the battle you ended up having with that Barioth; and I certainly noticed when it started using yoki itself. We would have gotten here sooner, but I picked up a stray yoki trace headed away from the city; and when we followed it we found the wrecked pub. Since the yoki traces had gone cold, I can safely say that whatever destroyed the pub, it wasn't a yoma."

"Sounds like it'll have to be tracked the old fashioned way then. So; where do we stand on this then Ermita?"

"At this point; I'm not completely sure Lena. Whatever's going on, it's not something covered by the operating procedures of the organisation. I'd normally say to leave this sort of thing well alone; but if it's resulting in dead Yoma, it's interfering in our business; so we can't really ignore it either."

"So...what're we gonna do then? I mean, we've got off to a decent start with that Barioth; so if you want us to continue down that road, I don't have any problems."

"Sigh; normally I'd defer judgement on this kind of matter to Rimuto. We'll inform him of events at the next chance we get, but that will take time; and I'm not sure we can afford to be idle with regard to the current predicament. Just how tough was that Barioth to take down by the way?"

"Tough; as in high powered awakened being kind of tough. It definitely took all four of us to handle it."

"Probably best to consider these unknown creatures as being of a similar threat level then, for the time being."

"I can give you some good news though Ermita; that Barioth might've been a real powerhouse, but it wasn't anywhere near as crafty as a yoma or an awakened being; it was a lot closer to a classical predatory beast in terms of behaviour."

"Let's just hope that Barioth proves to be one of the smarter ones then Lena. We'll arrange a collection crew to take the corpses back to head quarters at the next available opportunity. If nothing else this should brighten Dea's mood a bit; give him something interesting to examine."

"Hopefully he'll get a better idea of just what exactly happened to it then. From what we saw, it seemed to have undergone some kind of contamination from feeding on yoma flesh."

"I suspect that'll be the case; although finding out the finer details might prove helpful to us Rise. Still, wild contamination events are normally something very rare; and in the past tended to be a result of the clean up crew being delayed."

"We're dealing with things powerful enough to actively prey on Yoma now though Ermita."

"...The organisation normally heeds little, if any regard to rumours; but what I've seen to today is unquestionably real. Over the last few years a great deal of what I previously though was superstitious claptrap has been circulating amongst the general public, and while we've largely disregarded it; the administrative branch of the organisation are thankfully absolutely exhaustive when it comes to information retention. It'll be a thankless task; but I suspect searching the archives might be able to give us a few more clues as to exactly what's going on."

"Uh; we won't be able to help with that without special clearance. The document archives are strictly off limits to all of us warriors."

"You won't have to Rise; I'll get the administrative staff to assist me."

"Ah well…"

"Yes; sorry to disappoint you, but you're not going to get out of combat duty that easily; although to be frank, if I had to choose between document hunting and yoma hunting, I think I'd prefer to go after the yoma."

"Speaking of which; do you have new orders for us?"

"Actually no Kammy; which in and of itself is another problem. I was expecting some kind of contact from head quarters; but I've heard nothing myself, which leads me to wonder if one of our staff has met with misadventure somewhere along the way."

"That's...unusual; our information couriers know how to stay out of trouble; and for that matter know to stay well away from the areas of yoma activity. Do want us to search for them?"

"While that typically wouldn't fall under the duties of warriors Lena; given our current circumstances I feel it would be appropriate. The possibility that they might've fallen foul of some kind of predatory creature now seems to be a significant one; and given the capabilities of these creatures, I suspect a regular search party would likely end up as a menu option if they encountered one. If nothing else, it's certainly more productive than going on standby."

"Hey, if we find them alive, we'll kill two birds with one stone; since they'll probably have our new orders. Any idea where we should start?"

"That's the tricky part Mai; they were supposed to meet us here at the lodge. I can narrow it down a little bit for you though, since I do know they'd have given the areas of yoma activity a wide berth, and they'd have steered well clear of hotspots of bandit activity as well."

Gallatea gets out a map of the area surrounding Pieta, and marks down the areas that the courier would most likely have avoided. She also marks down a few points of interest; namely the destroyed pub, and they most likely route the courier would have taken on the approach to Pieta.

"Well, hopefully that should give you something to work with. If per chance you can't find anything, we'll see to it that you get fresh orders within the week anyway."

"Thanks Gallatea; that should be enough to get the ball rolling. Hopefully we'll have at least something to tell you before we hear from head quarters again. What're you going to do now?"

"My own business around Pieta has effectively concluded for now. We'll be resting here briefly, but once we're ready, we'll be heading back to HQ."

"I take you'll be keeping Undine company then?"

"Yes; she might as well join us. Originally we'd have been able to have the courier relay the results of her last mission back to HQ, as well as update her orders; but since they're MIA, it makes more sense for her just to join us on the journey back. You all might as well get some rest as well; judging from how much yoki you were all throwing out during that last fight, you'd best make sure you're all fully recharged in case you run into anything like that again."


All of them turn in and get rested. Several hours later they get themselves organised for their respective tasks.

"That's better; you should get something to eat before you head back though Ermita."

"I appreciate your concern Lena, but we had some food just before you got back to lodge, so we'll be fine."

"So; you picked anywhere in particular you're going to start your search?"

"Our couriers do their jobs well Gallatea, and that unfortunately makes them pretty difficult to track. If they have run into trouble though; I suspect whatever has inconvenienced them won't be as concerned about leaving a trail. Looking at the map of yoma activity; and cross referencing with the location of the ruined pub; I suspect whatever creature was roaming about that area could've crossed their path, so we'll start by checking out the area around the pub; if we're lucky it'll left more footprints than just those in the grounds as well."

"Interesting Rise; you're starting by tracking potentials threats to them rather than trying to directly locate them. Do you think the courier might've left some kind of marker?"

"That all depends on what they encountered. If they had a run in with some bandits; definitely not; but they might've left us something it was some kind of creature instead."

"That reminds me; are we gonna need some kind of follow up regarding that weird electric wolf thing I ran into?"

"I don't think so Undine. We've established that there's no yoma presence there now; and since the creature didn't give off any yoki; and was happy to let you retreat; we can assume for the time being that as long as its left alone, it probably won't be a problem."

"One less thing to worry about then Gallatea; that whole area's a big blank section of the map anyway. Actually, why was the guild so keen to send me to check it out? Given that it was miles from civilisation, I would've thought it'd be the last place any yoma would show up."

"The same underlying reason that six warriors; including two single digits; are all together in the same place. We've got some concerns that the yoma are getting organised; nothing solid in terms of info yet, but we've been mapping both confirmed and suspected yoma incidents, and they've been pretty busy as of late; especially in the northern territories."

"You think Isley's planning something Gallatea?"

"Quite possibly Lena. I suspect Riful's probably doing something similar herself, but of the two of them Isley's the more capable, and thus more likely to be able to assemble a large scale threat."

"What about Luciela?"

"As far as we can gather Rise; she's still solitary."

"That's not very surprising; when she was still a warrior she wasn't what you'd call social; other than her sister she didn't seem to care for company."

"That's good news for us though; she'll remain a threat of fairly fixed potential."

"Back to the issue immediately at hand; if you happen to encounter some kind of creature on your search; unless it shows obvious signs of yoma corruption, or you catch it feeding on one, don't engage it if you can avoid it."

"No worriers Ermita; we don't plan on making things any harder for ourselves if at all possible."

"Good to hear it; I trust you have all your preparations in place then Kammy?"

"We've got everything organised that we can here at the lodge; if we think of anything else we might need, we'll probably be able to find it in Pieta."

Lena, Kammy, Rise and Mai head out into Pieta.

"That went...okay, I guess."

"He wasn't arsy with us, which is better than I was expecting Kammy."

"Well, it's more the situation itself that's the problem rather than anything we've done."

"So far at least Lena."

"What they don't know; they can't get pissed about Rise. Finding our missing courier is pretty much the objective here; but it's not like we have to report on anything that falls outside of that; if you get what I mean."

"I get ya. Should we call back to The Flag before we set out? They might be able to give us some clues."

"We probably don't need to; Rise's has still got some left over supplies from the Barioth hunt, plus we don't really have enough information to ask any relevant questions yet. Also, I've brought that monster guide along with me; so we might be able to get some answers just from that if we're lucky."

"Nice one Mai; so, we gonna start with that pub then?"

"Yeah Kammy, that's the only place we've narrowed down so far that might have any real clues. Anywhere else would just be a blind manhunt."

The four of them head out of Pieta by the south entrance. They spot some merchants heading the same way, and Rise approaches them.

"Excuse me mate? Are you heading down the southbound highway?"

"We are indeed."

"Would it be okay if we come with you? There's supposed to have been some kind of incident at a pub on the road; the sort of thing which might be our kind of business."

"Well shit...I happened to like that place as well. Yeah, we'll be glad to have you if there's yoma about."

"Cheers; with any luck they'll be long gone, but better safe than sorry."


They hitch a lift with the merchants. A little later they get to the pub.

"Whoa...hey ladies; I think we might've found the place you're looking for."

Lena climbs out of the cart to take a look.

"Yikes."

"My thoughts exactly. You don't mind if we keep our distance do you?"

"Not at all; in fact I'd recommend high-tailing it out of here as soon we've disembarked.

The four of them leave the merchant convoy; Mai waves them good bye and wishes them good luck as they hurry away. Much to her surprise she gets her good wishes reciprocated.

"Heh; good to see people can still remember how to be nice."

"I think you might've helped our reputation a little there Mai."

"Let's just hope they'll be okay Lena; and that they don't encounter whatever did...that."

The four of them observe the wrecked building a little more closely.

"It's pretty much like Gallatea said; looks like building was smashed in by a huge external impact, and then had the interior trashed even further."

"...Bits of viscera all over the place Lena...see what evidence we can find."

"Anything in particular spring to mind Rise?"

"Yeah, a tough as that Barioth was; it didn't handle being smashed through masonry very well. Whatever did this on the other hand, was robust enough to shrug off the forces involved; but I doubt it was completely unscathed. If we're lucky we might find a chipped tooth, broken claw, or some loose scales dislodged during the carnage. Oh, and it'd be great if you could check the surroundings for footprints Mai."

The four of them search the remains and the nearby area.

"Okay; you find anything?"

"Several footprints Lena, leading off into the woods; and like Gallatea said, they were big and deep. Whatever left them had bigger feet than the Barioth, and I suspect was a lot heavier as well."

"Thanks Mai, that's a start. Anyone find anything else?"

"Yeah...and its a bit on the nasty side."

Kammy makes her way over to Rise; one of her hands is covered in some kind of viscous, white fluid. Rise stares deadpan at her for a moment.

"...It'll be drool; not what you're thinking of."

Lena's professionalism breaks down, and she has a small fit of giggles.

"Well, at least we know someone thought it was thinking exactly that."

"Hahahahaa! Guilty! Anyway...what the hell is that? It looks more like thickened whitewash than either drool or...you know…"

"Maybe there's something in the book?"

Mai quickly looks through the monster guide. The rest of them continue their discussion.

"Anyone find anything else?"

"A couple of what seem to be broken teeth Rise; they're big, and serrated as well. If I'd seen them anywhere else I'd have assume they'd come from a shark."

"Let me take a closer look Lena…I see what you mean, but these are pretty chunky as well. They don't seem to have deep roots though, so whatever they belonged to probably loses and replaces teeth fairly regularly."

"So, we've got big, deep footprints; unknown questionable fluid, and some broken teeth to work with. I had a closer look at the remains, and I think the creature that broke in killed everyone in here by violently shaking them in its jaws before eating anything. That'd explain why there's bits of meat lodged in the ceiling planks."

"Err...that weird gunk that Kammy found; I think it might be something called Pale Extract."

"Okay Mai, does that give us any further indication of what we're dealing with?"

"That's the thing; Pale extract comes mostly from two particular species of monster; the Gigginox and the Khezu. Problem is, neither of them are physical powerhouses; they wouldn't have been able to destroy the pub; and they certainly wouldn't have been able to rapidly chew up everyone inside."

The four of them go over the notes regarding the monsters in question.

"It doesn't add up. I think we might be mistaken about that pale extract."

"...we might be dealing with more than one creature here Lena. Something went to town on the pub, and massacred the guests; but I think a Gigginox or a Khezu might've come here afterwards to scavenge."

"Okay, any idea what wrecked the pub?"

"Well, it was big, heavy and tough; and there's a trail of footprints heading away from the pub, strongly suggesting it's flightless. That suggests some kind of brute wyvern; and judging from the size of the footprints, a large, carnivorous species at that."

"That narrows it down a bit; Duramborous is a herbivore...Barroth's too small...and Uragaan don't show up in cold climates. Okay, that leaves us with the following; Deviljho, Glavenus, and Brachydios."

Rise takes a closer look at the broken teeth.

"Aw shite; I think we might be dealing with a Deviljho. Just for once, I think we might want to stick to the organisation's advice to the letter regarding engagement."

"I get ya Rise; but if we do that, we are technically leaving a hungry, hyper dangerous, apex...actually I think I see where you're coming from."

"Getting scared Kammy?"

"Read the fucking notes Lena."

"….Good point, well made. Still, someone's going to have to do something; we can't exactly let that monster run wild. It'll straight up murder every last thing that crosses its path."

"We'll tell The Flag; they'll know what to do. Let's just hope our missing courier didn't run into it."

"Ah, something else I found along with that white gunk Rise; the back window of the khazi was broken, and there was some bloodstains around the frame."

"Someone got away then. Lets just hope it was our missing courier."

"What'd you reckon their odds are Lena?"

"Tricky to gauge; it sounds like they hurt themselves getting away, but I think they'd have got a solid head start if the Deviljho was busy chowing down on everyone else in the pub."

"...I don't think the Deviljho would've gone after them; there's plenty of patches of thick forest nearby; and that'd be enough to really get in the way of something that big. It'd probably figure out that chasing them down just wouldn't be worth the effort."

"Lets hope so Mai; but that still leaves whatever left the white gunk behind."

"We'd better get a move on then Lena."

"Any idea how we're gonna track them Rise?"

"We'll start by following the Deviljho tracks first. I'll bet it probably followed them a little, but lost interest once it either encountered a thick patch of trees, or found something else to eat."

The four of them follow the tracks into the nearby forest.

"Snows a bit thinner here."

"That'll be down to the altitude difference Lena; Pieta's a bit higher up than we are now, so they get heavy snow all year round. Down here, the temperature difference is enough for things to thaw out a bit in the summer months."

"It's still pretty far from warm though."

"I think we'll still need to be careful if we have to cross any ice mind you. It's cold enough to freeze the surface of a lake, but probably not enough for thick ice to form."

The tracks continue up to an area where the density of the trees increases. The Deviljho tracks end in patches of disturbed earth; but resume at a sharp angle in a different direction. Some of the nearby trees have signs of being subjected to some kind of force, with some of their lower branches having been broken away.

"Okay, I think the Deviljho lost interest about here."

"Something else didn't though Lena; whatever it was, it barged its way through."

"Can you see any more tracks Rise?"

"If you're talking footprints, then no."

"That's odd, it had enough mass to force its way through the branches, but didn't leave any footprints."

"That's supposed to be typical of both the Gigginox and Khezu Kammy. The Gigginox heavily disperses its weight when its on the ground, so it tends to leave a poorly defined trail. The Khezu by contrast tends to move quite slowly on foot, so it doesn't tend to leave tracks in anything other than soft earth or thick snow."

"We've got a mix of leaf litter and thin snow underfoot Mai; less than ideal under the circumstances."

"...I think I've found something."

"What is it Rise?"

"A coin."

"Loose change? Do you think it was left deliberately?"

"Hopefully...and we do have a trail of sorts to follow; those broken branches are pretty fresh."

"Lets not dawdle any further then; running away is about the only realistic survival option for a regular person facing a Gigginox or Khezu, and if whoever we're tracking has been injured, they might not have that option on the table any more."

"Found another coin Mai...and some blood."

"Ah; hang on, why only now? I though they sustained an injury back at the pub?"

"They might've been able to stop the bleeding for a bit Kammy; only to have the rigours of escaping into the forest aggravating the wound."

"One more thing for us to follow Lena."

"And one more thing for whatever was chasing them to follow as well Rise."

"We aren't far behind the creature; the damage to the trees is very recent."

The four of them hurry on. As they progress, they find more coins, and more bloodstains. Before long, they reach a cave. While dark, the inside isn't completely pitch black, thanks to a combination of luminescent plant life, and small holes in the ceiling letting in a little bit of light.

"I think they went in here."

"Entrance isn't too big; it'd be a squeeze for a Khezu, and no problem for a Gigginox; but it'd certainly hinder a Deviljho."

"...Hey Lena, can you smell something?"

"...Strong alcohol Kammy. I think someone might've been disinfecting a wound."

"Or trying to cover their scent. An odour that powerful would probably cause some degree of sensory overload for anything with a keen sense of smell."

"Seems like we're on the right track then Rise."

"Hang on a moment; keep as quiet as you can."

Rise presses her ear to the cavern wall.

"Heh; two extra heart beats besides ours; one within human limits, and the other's real slow and heavy. I think we might be just in time."

"Which way?"

"The quickest route'll be through that crawlspace."

"...Glad I'm not claustrophobic; that does not look inviting."

"I'll go first Kammy."

"Okay Mai, be careful."

Mai quickly makes way through the gap. She then turns back and whispers to rest of them.

"I can see them, but they've signalled to me to keep quiet."

The rest of them quickly and quietly navigate the crawl space. They make their way over to the courier as stealthily as possible, and engage in whispered conversation.

"Hey, the names Lena; we're gonna get you out of here as soon as we can. How bad are you hurt?"

"Deep puncture wound to the abdomen. I don't think it hit anything vital, but I can't make any quick moves without aggravating it; and I've already lost quite a bit of blood. We need to keep as quiet as possible; something followed me into the cave."

"Did you get a good look at it?"

"Yeah, it tried to take a bite out of me when I was dressing my wound. The creature looks like something out of a bad trip; stretchy neck, mouth like a meat grinder, and no eyes. One bit of luck I had was that it missed me and hit the alcohol bottle, and I think that screwed up its sense of smell; so its down to tracking by sound for now."

"Well, first priority is getting you out of here. I don't think that crawlspace is great idea in your state though; so, any other ways out of here?"

"Yeah, I avoided it on the way in. If you follow that passage it'll lead back to the entrance; but there's a good chance that horror's down there as well, so you might want to consider any available alternative."

"What's your name?"

"Kurt; and what about the rest of you?"

"I'm Kammy."

"Rise."

"Mai...nice to meet you Kurt."

"Nice to meet you too; and there's something you need to know. While the thing that followed me into the cave's pretty nasty; there's something even worse roaming around somewhere outside."

"I take you're referring to whatever it was that destroyed the pub."

"Yes Lena; and if that thing shows up; just run like hell."

"What did it look like?"

"Huge...green...muscular...way too many teeth."

"We tracked it a bit from the pub; it did follow you for a while, but it lost interest where the forest got thicker."

"Lets just hope its wandered off somewhere well away from here then. Part of why I took shelter in this cave was that the entrance looked small enough to stop it getting in; I just wasn't betting on something else coming after me."

A sucking noise interrupts the conversation. Kurt signals for everyone to keep quiet and points toward the ceiling; while its largely concealed by the darkness of the cave, they can see the outline of something shifting its position.

"...Right, hanging around here isn't gonna do us any good. We might be able to sneak past it if we're lucky."

"Have you still got those firebombs Rise?"

"Yep, got a plan Mai?"

"Yeah, we start a blaze on the far side of the chamber; it should give us a distraction. If its a Khezu, the noise should get its attention; and if its a Gigginox, the heat ought to interfere with its senses enough to cover us."

Rise fishes out a couple of firebombs. Lena proceeds to pick Kurt up in a bridal carrying position.

"This position ought to keep the stress off your injury."

"Pity there's no threshold to carry me over."

Rise and Mai hurl the firebombs toward the far side of the chamber; they explode on impact and ignite some of the moss covered surfaces. This also lights up the chamber, revealing the creature. It appears to be a pale grey colour, with stubby wings, and a short, bulbous tail. Its anchored itself to the cave ceiling by its feet, and rather than an actual head, it just seems to have a long fleshy tube ending in a circular, tooth filled maw.

"Okay, quietly does it…"

The creature manoeuvrers itself across the ceiling; trying to investigate the sounds of the blaze. As it does, they make their way out of the chamber, and into the caves passages.

"I guess we're leaving it be for now then."

"Probably the best bet Lena; I don't think this cave would be a good place to have to fight it. For one, I think we'd risk bringing the roof down on us if we got too lively."

"That said, I think I might be fully rejuvenated now. I reckoned before that it'd take couple of days to fully recover, but I think that meal we had might've sped things up a bit."

"That's good to hear Mai; and it gives us a good excuse to dine large on a more regular basis."

They make their way down the winding passages. A blood curdling scream cuts through the air.

"What the fuck was that?"

"I think the creature just realised we gave it the slip Kurt. I can feel a breeze now though, so I don't think we're far from the exit."

"What's with that thing? It looked horrifying enough, but it makes a noise like that as well?"

"Lets just hurry; I think we're nearly out, that's the crawlspace gap."

As they make their way past the crawlspace, the creatures neck suddenly shoots out of it. Kammy punts the end of it, sending it into a patch of stalagmites. This seems to stun it, and they make their way past it and out of the cave. As they leave, another scream echoes throughout the cave.

"Hopefully it won't be able to pull itself through the crawlspace; so I think we'll have a decent head start while it navigates the caves."

"Which way now then Lena? Should we head back to main highway, or take a direct route back to Pieta from here?"

Another roar cuts through the air; this time sounding less like a living creature, and more like a mass of raw noise.

"Directly away from whatever made that!"

They make a brisk retreat away from the cave entrance, and away from the noise.

"Is it following us?"

"Hard to say-"

The sound of a tree being splintered by some enormous force cuts through the air; although its still some distance away.

"-yep!"

"Oh shit...what can we do?"

"…lets see Kurt, we've got that horror from the cave, and something really big with more teeth than the entire Osmond family coming after us. I don't think the big ones a picky eater though; so if we can put it off chasing us; it might decide to get a taste for cave dwelling horror instead."

"Nice theory Rise; how do we put it into practice though?"

"...I think we do this Kammy. I've still got a firebomb left over, and I never did get round to using those poisons I packed. If we cluster them all together and set the firebomb off, it should produce a poison gas cloud of sorts. That might be enough to put off whatever's chasing us off, and if nothing else, it'll cover our tracks a bit."

Rise quickly packs the firebomb and poison vials into a satchel. She stamps on the satchel, and it starts to smoke.

"Good, the satchels limiting the air supply, so we're getting a controlled burn rather than an explosion."

Thick purple smoke starts to seep out.

"Right, lets not hang around here. How're you holding up Kurt?"

"So so; I think the blood loss might be getting to me; and given that I've dragged myself though forest and caves with an open wound, I reckon seeing a doctor's gonna be pretty high on my to do list."

"Should we take you to the organisation physicians?"

"Those quacks? No way; they're barely fit to perform an autopsy, I'd have a better chance with a vet. I know of someone in Pieta who's got a solid reputation though; if you take me to them I'll have a good chance of making it."

"That smoke clouds getting bigger; I hope we haven't accidentality started a wildfire."

"No chance of that Mai; there's enough snow, ground and air moisture to stifle the blaze. It'll burn through the nearby leaf litter, and maybe a couple of trees; but after that all the wet should rob it of its energy wherever it tries to spread."

They continue their journey away from the cave, and back to the main highway. They keep checking behind them, but nothing seems to be following them.

"Guess it did the trick. It's still a long way back to Pieta though."

"Well, if we spot a cart heading in the same direction we should hitch a lift."

"Lets' hope we get lucky; it's a long journey by foot; and not everyone's willing to pick up hitch hikers."

"What actually happened at the pub Kurt?"

"An absolute massacre would probably be the best description Lena. We go no warning; the first thing we knew was something came straight through the wall. I got my senses back before anyone else, and that probably saved my life; I was able to head into the back rooms while it was busy making a smorgasbord out of everyone else. I spotted that back window, and figured it was my best chance of getting out; problem was I misjudged my girth a little, and got my belly sliced on the way through. I was able to stem the bleeding at first with my clothes; but it didn't take long before it started to seep through. Luckily I spotted that cave, and managed to patch myself up a bit while I was hiding in there. I laid low for while, but it dawned on me I wasn't in good enough shape to get far after that. I realised the organisation would probably send someone to look for me; so I figured I might as well take a chance, snook out, and left some coins behind. Then hear some sort of horrible sniffing, realise I'm still in deep shit; and get back in the cave. I didn't hear anything for while, so I start to check on my wound; and then the thing nearly chows down on me. You all saved my behind not long after that."

"We had a look through the pub wreckage; all we found left of the people that were in there was shredded meat. There were some bits of yoma flesh dotted about as well mind you."

"Ah, I had a feeling something was off Lena; one of the guys was acting weird the whole time I was there. If that thing ate the yoma as well...then that's a real turn up for the books. I didn't think anything actually preyed on yoma."

"Hang on; that means we've technically messed up our mission. We were supposed to take down any creature that was actively preying on yoma."

"Not the exact words Kammy; we were supposed to leave it alone unless it was showing signs of yoma contamination. Even if it did eat that one yoma, it was huge; I doubt there'd be enough yoma meat to initiate contamination in a creature of that size."

"We didn't get close enough to check Rise."

"Exactly."

"Look; I won't say anything to the management if that helps."

"Thanks Kurt."

"Hey, I think I can see some carts!"

"Well spotted Mai."

They flag down the approaching caravan.

"Hey, we've got an injured man here; we need to get him to a doctor as soon as possible!"

"Pieta's gonna be your best; so hop in the back, that's where we're headed."

"Thanks."

They climb aboard. They notice Kurt is starting to look quite pasty.

"Hang in there; it's gonna be plain sailing from here mate."

"Will do Kammy. I might as well relay your orders to you now, since I'm probably not gonna be in a fit state to later."

"You take your job seriously then."

"Given what we expect from you girls; it'd be pretty low of me not too. Speaking of which; I think I should give you full story. Your basic orders are to stay in Pieta for now, and cover any local contracts while head quarters assess the situation."

"That's surprisingly straightforward."

"Well, that's because the set of orders I was to give you was dependant on certain secondary factors. These particular orders were to be given if all four of you were still alive; which I don't think they were expecting."

"Oh; I take it you weren't supposed to tell us that?"

"No; but I think you're owed the truth for once. Management were predicting that the awakened being Sullivan would cause the deaths of at least one of you; and were that the case, I was to instruct you to return to head quarters for reassignment."

"…Bastards...not again…"

"What's the matter Rise?"

"They're pulling a fucking purge is what's the matter Lena."

"Whoa, hold on; we don't know that for-"

"Rise's probably right Lena. I overheard the management discussing their dissatisfaction with the majority of the current generation of warriors."

"Has this happened before Kurt?"

"Can't say for certain myself, but I've heard rumours."

"I can, and they usually pull this shit when there's a serious disparity in power between the top five, and everyone else."

"Any advice you can give us Rise?"

"Yeah Lena, the management are probably going to try and keep assigning us tasks that they think should be slightly beyond us; the sorts of missions that would likely, but not certainly, kill us. They'll probably persist until at least half of this generation are dead; but there is a way of getting through this. We need to give them the impression we're weaker than we actually are; that way they'll assign us tasks that'll still be realistically possible for us to accomplish with our actual strength."

"Well, that's better than nothing; and is the gap in power really that great?"

"I hate to say it Kammy, but yes. Gallatea and Rafaela would both pass for number ones of previous generations; and Alica and Beth are something else altogether."

"...Is there any way we can help the rest of the warriors Rise?"

"I wish there was Mai; I've been able to save my own skin in the past, but its cost me a great many friends each time its happened. At least this time around the four of us might make it through if my plan works out."


It doesn't take long for the caravan to reach Pieta. They disembark, and head into town.

"...Cheers..."

"Hey, stay with us Kurt."

"...Sorry...kinda tired now…"

"Shit; he's fading. Where can we find this doctor?"

"…."

"He's passed out. Anybody got any ideas?"

"Yeah Lena, we head to The Flag. I think Katrina might be able to help him."

"Are you sure this is a good idea Rise?"

"I think we should be able to sort something out. Katrina probably knows some of the other doctors in town; so as soon as he's stabilised we can probably arrange to have him put up somewhere else. That way, once he comes round, he'll be none the wiser about The Flag."

"What if they can't treat him?"

"They'll probably be able to point us toward someone who can Kammy, if it turns out like that."

"Okay, we head to The Flag then."

They make their to the front door of The Flag. Rise knocks on the door; a moment later the panel slides open.

"Nice to-"

"-molesting furniture isn't a crime, but that doesn't make it social acceptable; especially not in a public library."

"Passcode accepted; you're in hurry Rise, what's the matter?"

"Got a badly injured man here Gillespie; I'd like Katrina to take a look at him, but bear in mind he's an organisation employee, so you might want to double check with the boss regarding what to do."

"I hear you; and thanks. I'll be back in a minute."

The sounds of Gillespie hurrying away can be heard through the door. Before long he returns, and the door slides open.

"Katrina?"

"Follow me."

Katrina leads them to a door on the other side of the courtyard. She unlocks it, and brings them inside. There's what appears to be a modest clinic set up on the ground floor.

"I'll treat him in here. We keep this place set up so we can offer medical services without revealing the nature of The Flag to the patients."

"Thanks. How's he doing?"

"Hmm, he's not looking great Rise, but he's young and relatively fit; I think you got him here in time. What happened to him?"

"Sustained a deep abdominal wound somewhere between eight to twelve hours ago. While he successfully stopped the bleeding, he did lose quite a bit of blood; and the wound was exposed to the elements during some of that time."

"Well, I think he probably missed any vital organs if he's made it this far. It'll mostly be a case of treating him for blood loss; but I'll need to double check the wound, and make sure he doesn't get an infection."

"Okay; anything we can do?"

"I'll be okay handling this on my own, but thanks for offering."

"Cheers Katrina. I'll cover the treatment bill."

The four of them leave Katrina to treat Kurt, and head over to the main entrance of The Flag.

"Might as well get yourselves out of the cold; no need to worry about that guy you brought with you, he's in about the best pair of hands you could wish for."

"Cheers Gillespie."

"I take it something happened out there then?"

"That's putting it lightly. We'll need to have a word with Leona."

"I take it you ran into some kind of creature then."

"Yes, a Khezu to be precise; and we found evidence of what I think might be a Deviljho as well."

"What, a massacre and some broken teeth?"

"Bang on."

"Sounds like we're gonna get real busy; and it was a smart move leaving both of them alone. We've got people here who've got experience with both of those; including myself when it comes to the Khezu."