Chapter 23
"With our arrival at Luguval we were now official a part of the Brythonian Civil War or the Brythonian Schism as some records would call it. As for Luguval it might have been a nice place to live in at one point but after weeks of serious fighting the place was shadow of whatever glory it once had. The building we were staying in was barely livable, cold wind always seemed to find its way inside along with little heat retention or warm water and of course no stable power. The rest of the Arcadians and the more senior Huntsmen didn't seriously complain about the conditions as they had the means to alleviate it to a degree and to be honest I'm no stranger to cold nights. However there's a difference between being a simple street urchin in an Outland town during winter and being in a war zone during winter. As despite not technically being on the frontline we weren't completely spared as errant air raids by the Rebel forces still found their way towards us. Of course there were worse things than ducking into cover from a random strafing run, things I never thought I would have to try telling as I am still trying to understand them even now."
Ren crouched behind a fallen tree that Nora had dragged into place on a small hill, the vox chatter in his ear indicated that their target was closing in. Nearby Nora along with two soldiers from 4th Company's 2nd Platoon Delta squad waited with their weapons drawn.
"Get ready." Ren said looking at the nearest soldier, a private called Ilva Iantosca, who was armed with a Designated Marksman Rifle. She had her helmet off showing her short blonde hair that covered a small scar on her eyebrow as she looked through her rifle's optics while using the tree to mount the bipod of her rifle. The cold winter air made their breath come out in a puffy white cloud even during daytime. A cold gust of wind blew in their face; Ren shivered a little regretting not adjusting his outfit more for the season.
Roughly two hundred meters out in a small clearing he could see movement as their target trotted out, a massive elk. It was easily four or five feet taller than him and if he had to guess probably was at least a thousand pounds but he couldn't be sure. They had been tracking it for nearly forty minutes during their patrol after getting permission from First Lieutenant Malco Parlapiano, the Company second in command, as Captain Salvi had been recalled back to Battalion Headquarters in Luguval.
"You gonna take the shot?" The other private, Eustorgio Pico, asked.
"Hang on now, gotta do this with one shot or we'll never get it."
"I'm not sure how you three talked me into asking permission to hunt an elk but this is ridiculous." Ren sighed.
"Come on, you know you want some as well, besides it looks like it can feed most of the company if we divide it up evenly." Nora said.
"Also, didn't you tell me that a good meal keeps morale up during winter campaigns, so wouldn't fresh meat be like the perfect choice?" Ren nodded silently but in truth he hadn't actually been referring to hunting for food. That conversation had been more in the context of getting Nora to wake up in time to head down to the field kitchens to get dinner before it ended up at best lukewarm. That being said she wasn't really wrong, nor had he been the one to actually say that but that was beside the point.
A rifle shot cracked out drawing his attention back to see that the elk was twitching violently on the ground.
"This is JNPR 4 to all signs be advised, that was 2-Delta's discharge. I say again, friendly discharge, no enemy contact. Over." Ren said as he touched his throat trigger, activating his vox unit to address the company wide vox channel. The four of them got out from behind the tree as they began trekking down towards the fallen animal.
Ren was still a little confused about the change in call signs. Before they would just list out their battalion, company, and platoon in numerical value but now they had to change identification depending on who they're talking to. Something to do with the amount of units they're being fielded with. The lowest level of change was how squads were now listed with alphabetical phonetics going from Alpha to Echo.
Depending on who Ren was talking to the level of detail in vox communication would change as well. Within the platoon it was the easiest as he could just use the Huntsmen team identifications since that had stayed the same as it had before. Amongst the company, saying the platoon number and squad was acceptable though he could say his team name with whatever platoon they happened to be with. At the battalion level he would list the company and platoon number.
Then anyone outside of the Regiment but in the Arcadian Military he would give out the Regiment number or really the Battalion number followed by the Regiment. He'd also have to list his team name before the Battalion and Regiment number as well.
For anyone not only outside the regiment but the Arcadian Army also, he would identify the regiment in an abbreviated form along with his team name. All in all it felt a little confusing that he had to start writing it down to study until he could fully memorize the communication structure.
"Acknowledge that JNPR 4, did you get it?" A voice responded.
"Affirmative, 2-Delta bagged the target."
"Excellent news JNPR 4, return to 4-4's position and drop it off."
"Roger that, team JNPR and 2-Delta will withdraw." Ren said as he glanced up to see eight other soldiers coming into view.
"Nice shot." One of them said with a low whistle as they gathered around the elk. Ilva had struck the animal in the head apparently. To Ren it looked like someone had taken a bite right out of its skull. While Ren was more or less accustomed to blood, there was something wrong about watching the white speckled ground slowly turning red creating a strange backdrop for the antlers. Unpleasant memories floated into his consciousness making him look away, catching Nora's eyes as well.
"Alright, someone grab something we can use to sling this back." The squad sergeant, a woman called Ofelia Cavicchi said.
"This thing is massive though, it's got to be like half a ton at least." Someone pointed out.
"Zosima and Nora can probably carry it." Eustorgio said nudging the corpse with his boot.
"I mean, let's be fair Nora could probably carry the entire thing solo, she's stronger than any of us." The soldier called Zosima said, which wasn't entirely untrue but at the same time a little exaggerated in Ren's opinion. While it is true that Nora is stronger than any pair of non-Aura enhanced soldiers in the squad, the three Aura enhanced soldiers amongst them were not weak either and could not only overpower him but could give her a run for her money. In any case the elk was more than what Nora could lift even if she tried without constant use of her semblance especially over a long distance.
"I'm flattered but I think it's best if Zosima and I carry it." Nora said and the soldier shrugged before slinging his rifle behind his back. After a few moments they got two others soldiers to help them as while they could lift it, the overall size of it meant that it was dragging its limbs along the ground.
With that the twelve of them began their trek back towards the small campsite the company had made. After about thirty minutes they crossed into a clearing after the sentries were notified of their approach.
The clearing wasn't big enough for the entire company since they had to keep vehicles with them due to the fact that they were almost an hour away from Luguval. Their primary goal was to watch the southern sections of the forest they had passed by after their battle at the Hafren River. Mainly to make sure the Rebels don't use the forest to try bypassing the Loyalist forces to head further south striking poorly defended towns.
In addition they also were there to protect work crews cutting down large swathes of the forest. All for the effort of bringing lumber back to Luguval in an effort to patch up or add onto the town's defensives or general infrastructure.
Apparently this already had some level of success as 2nd Battalion, who had been the first ones to start patrolling, had several skirmishes with units running into Rebel incursions at the squad or platoon level. As such it was decided to have stronger patrol groups maneuvering at least company strength.
Right now Ren knew that the 4th and 5th were to watch the eighteen kilometer long stretch of forested hills for the next twenty four hours. To the west 1st and 2nd Companies of the 4th Battalion along with a company from the 3rd Battalion were patrolling the plains. 3rd Company, who was supposed to help them, had been sent off at the last second with another company from the 2nd Battalion to the south east but he didn't know why.
"So should we stay here?" Nora asked Ren after setting the elk down and two soldiers began to set up an area to gut the dead animal.
"In what sense, as in stay here and watch them skin and gut this or stay here in the camp?" Nora seemed to think that over before shrugging.
"Both."
"Yea let's go with the second option, I feel like this is the first time we've got to walk around without having a schedule to follow." Ren said and Nora quirked an eyebrow at him.
"That's funny; normally you're a stickler for sticking to schedules."
"I still am but this is much more stressful than attending a lecture." Ren said with a small grin that Nora mirrored.
"That's true but I would definitely prefer this over a long winded lecture by Oobleck or Port." Nora said to which Ren could only shrug before thinking over her question again.
"Actually I think it would be better to rejoin the patrol, Parlapiano is going to be down a squad and their patrol doesn't end for a while." Nora seemed to consider that for a moment before shrugging.
"I guess you're right, should we talk with Hilda and see if she wants to join us? I reckon she has to be bored by now." Nora said and Ren nodded as well.
"I'll go talk with Sergeant Cavicchi and see what she has to say about it, you go ask Hilda if she wants to come." Ren said and the two of them split. After a soldier pointed her the way, Nora found a group of men and women huddled together. It was comprised of some of the company's Field Chiurgeons along with their immediate assistants, the head Chirurgeon from 1st Platoon and lastly Hilda who volunteered to stay behind to help set up a small field station.
"Hey Hilda." Nora said as the 3rd Year Beacon student looked up at her. She was wearing a greyish blue army greatcoat; her partisan spear was lying unceremoniously on the floor.
"What's up Nora, I didn't know the platoon was back already."
"No, no, we caught an elk and brought it back here but Ren and I are planning to go back out to rejoin Parlapiano but I was wondering if you would like to come with us. You know, stretch your legs and what not." Nora could see the flicker of doubt spread across her face. For a moment she thought that Hilda would turn down her offer but the Company's senior Chiurgeon, a grey bat Faunus called Miotia Gravino, spoke up.
"S'alright Hildy, thank you for helping set up but you should be returning to your team." The older man said and Hilda nodded before standing up to follow Nora after picking up her spear.
"Did…did you not want to come with us?" Nora asked as they walked through the camp and Hilda didn't answer for a moment before finally speaking up.
"It's alright; I guess I'm just feeling this cold more than I thought I would and didn't want to do anything." The older girl said and gave a halfhearted smile. Nora could tell something was bothering her but her own experience told her that it wasn't the right time to press it. When they returned to Luguval she might consider seeing what's going on.
"I feel ya; I wish I had a coat as well and wore another pair of leggings or something because this skirt does fuck all to keep me warm." Nora said as she shivered a little when a particularly strong gust of cold wind blew through the camp and went up places she only wanted Ren to touch.
"Hopefully we get back to town before a snow storm arrives, I once was caught in a blizzard during my second year and we damn near froze to death before a convoy of Outlanders found us after we got lost after completing a Search and Destroy mission." Hilda started to grin as a sudden memory overtook her.
"I remember how my partner, Thomas, said he would make a hole in the ground for us to sleep together in, talking about how we should share body heat to keep warm." Nora watched as the wistful look on Hilda's face melted away to an expression that made her feel sad for the older girl.
"I'm sorry, I got carried away there." Hilda said and Nora put a hand on her arm.
"That's fine, in fact I think that's the first time I've heard you talk about your old team, I would love to hear more stories about them another time and I'm sure Ren would too." Nora said gesturing over to him as he waited off to the side, unwilling to interrupt the moment.
"Sure, another time sounds fine." She said before meeting Ren's eyes.
"So, what's up? Are we going to go now?" Ren nodded at that.
"Yea, Cavicchi voxed it in, Parlapiano is actually pulling back to that creek that we found the elk at."
"Well, let's get going." Hilda said and the three of them headed towards the northern boundary of the camp, clearing their exit with the sentries before heading into the forest.
30 Minutes Later…
As Ren, Nora and Hilda descended a small hill they began to pick up 2nd Platoon's vox chatter.
"Acknowledge Charlie, will relay last. Break. All squads tighten up on my position." Ren recognized Parlapiano's voice, he keyed his vox unit.
"This is JNPR 4 to 2-Alpha, be advised we're approaching your south at this moment." He said as the three of them began to jog and after a brief moment he got a response.
"Acknowledge JPNR 4, interrogative, is 2-Delta with you?"
"Negative Alpha, Delta remained behind."
"Roger that JNPR. Move to my position ASAP for assignment, over." Ren traded looks with Nora and Hilda as they picked up pace.
It didn't take long for them to reach 2nd Platoon's position, the roughly forty strong platoon was facing north behind a cluster of rocks overlooking a small creek. A fireteam beckoned them over and Ren saw another helmed soldier break off to move towards them before crouching down gesturing for them to do the same.
"Good to see you three here but I'll keep it short. 3rd Platoon reported a medium size pack of Beowolves heading this way, if we're lucky then we'll be in the right position to ambush them either wiping them out or keeping them pinned long enough for 3rd Platoon to pincer them."
"What if they don't come this way?" Ren asked.
"That's a good question and one of the reasons why I wanted you here. I need you three to go out there then monitor the Grimm, if the Beowolves start shifting direction then start dragging them towards us." Parlapiano said and Ren nodded at that.
"Makes sense I guess, though I would prefer if we engaged in platoon strength in case they have a lot of older Beowolves. Give us a few minutes to check our gear then point us in the direction they should be moving in from so we can get in front of them." Ren said before looking at Nora and Hilda. The two of them had their weapons in hand; Nora was double checking the musette bag she started carrying with extra grenades for Magnhild. Ren now carried a bandoleer that contained extra magazines for StormFlower. Hilda on the other hand was a pure melee specialist with her spear though she did have a few grenades tucked onto a belt around her waist.
That being said they complimented each other well overall as while all three could fight in melee Nora would be best at covering long range engagements, Ren would be best at medium engagements and Hilda could cover as their defensive melee expert.
A part of Ren wondered if that was the reason why Jaune approved of having her on their otherwise crippled team with him and Pyrrha being switched out. At the same time a part of him felt sad at essentially having their team broken up like that as he had come to regard Jaune and Pyrrha as his siblings. Though he supposed he had to be lucky that he could at least see them unlike Ruby. None of her teammates were with her anymore which must have left her rather lonely all things considered yet she had declined to come join with them to round out their team so he wasn't sure.
"Ready?" Nora asked and Ren looked at her before looking at Hilda who nodded.
"Alright let's get going." Ren said before looking at Parlapiano. Who then pointed in the general direction that the Creatures of Grimm were supposed to come from.
The three former Beacon students moved down towards the creek. They used a few protruding rocks to cross it as the water as it wasn't completely frozen and none of them wanted wet feet in winter.
They moved as quick and silently as they could through the forest. The previous sounds of life that had once been a constant backdrop had gone still, leaving them only with the sound of their breathing, the soft crunch of snow and the wind.
It wasn't long till Ren came to a stop as he heard a fourth set of movement further up from them. Holding up his hand in a fist the three of them stopped. Hilda then proceeded to move a few meters to his left to crouch behind a tree while Nora moved to this right.
Making sure his vox unit was set to team JNPR's own channel he reached up to activate his vox bead.
"Movement, roughly a hundred feet ahead of us, can't determine if it's the Grimm or not." He said.
"Same, but I think for now we should assume it's them, do we approach closer or wait here to see if they're going the right direction or not?" Nora asked.
"It's safer to wait first, if we move towards them and they are in fact heading towards 2nd Platoon we'll be walking into a fight." Hilda replied.
"I don't see how that's a problem, we can easily take a dozen Grimm between the three of us."
"Probably but Parlapiano said it was a medium size pack so it should be more than a dozen, according to the Field Manual medium size packs are supposed to be around twenty to forty strong. Sprinkle one or two Alphas into that then it'll be a problem for even the three of us to fight." Ren explained.
"Only in a straight up fight, if we got the drop on them, focusing on whatever Alpha Beowolf there is then we should be fine after that." Nora pointed out.
"True but I think we should just stick to what we were told to do in this situation, monitor the Grimm then drawn them in if necessary." Ren said before holding up a hand for silence. Ahead of him he could see the black and white forms of Beowolves moving towards them, he did spot one particularly large Beowolf. It was almost as long as a Predator tank when it was on all fours with a large amount of bone plates covering its body.
"Well it looks like they're coming this way." Hilda commented and Ren switched his vox channel to 2nd Platoon.
"JNPR 4 to 2-Alpha. We've sighted the Grimm; they're advancing in the creek's general direction." A few moments later a reply came back.
"Roger that JNPR 4, maintain visual contact until they're close to the creek then prepare to shift to their flank for attack."
"Acknowledge, JNPR 4 out." Ren said before looking at the other two.
"Come on, let's move before they get to close, stay low and avoid getting spotted." The three of them began moving back keeping their distance from the Beowolves. As Ren turned around however he noticed something, watching them from on a low tree branch was a small bird like creature.
Ren could feel his heart thumping as he realized that it was a small Nevermore, as the small Grimm raised its wings to take flight Hilda's spear flashed up skewering the Grimm. Ren felt a small nugget of luck as the kill was relatively silent.
Of course, luck didn't like to associate with him, as the low rumble of growling began to grow louder behind them. Without even needing to check, Ren pulled StormFlower out as he spun around to see some of the smaller Beowolves charging towards them.
With a growl of his own he opened up with StormFlower, peppering the nearest Beowolf with small caliber pistol rounds right into its snarling face. His storm of small arms fired cracked then shattered the bone mask before the rest of the head came apart.
Nora in the meantime launched a trio of grenades into the coming mass; the first grenade ripped the upper body of one Beowolf apart. The other two grenades hit the ground and scattered a handful of them though whether it killed any wasn't discernable. Hilda however had enough time to retrieve her spear and call out to them to start falling back.
"Break! Break! All stations this is JNPR 4, contact has been made we're returning to the creek. Prepare for immediate contact." Ren called out over the platoon net as the three of them started running through the forest. The bark and howls of Grimm weren't that far behind that Ren knew it would be a close race to get into position for 2nd Platoon to engage without them getting caught in the crossfire.
"Ren watch out!" Hilda screamed and Ren looked over his shoulder to see the hulking form of a Beowolf startling close to him with its arm already winding up for a swing at him.
Earlier That Day…
Ruby sat on a snow covered bench with her cloaked wrapped around her watching as soldiers milled around a small well. Roughly four hundred soldiers consisting of 2nd Battalion's 2nd Company and 4th Battalion's 3rd Company had been sent out to a seemingly unimportant hamlet called Fallodon.
Though considering the reports that came in from the squads sent out to survey the area, most of the people actually lived on nearby farms. The only people here were those that the farmers went to for selling their crops, to buy or repair farm equipment, house stuff, or to just get horribly drunk.
"Hey Ruby, the Lieutenant wants to see you." A soldier said from nearby and Ruby nodded.
"Thanks Fairfield." Ruby said as she stood up, making sure to keep her cloak wrapped around her to stay warm. She wasn't looking forward to talking with First Lieutenant Gardner, ever since the roadside ambush she got the clear impression that the man didn't like her.
With a small sigh she headed over towards a small building past the well where she was surprised to see a bunch of Brythonian soldiers moving crates and barrels into unfamiliar transports. However she was surprised to see that at least half of the new transports were actually wagons drawn by dray horses.
She then saw both Captain Pryde of 2nd Company and Captain Auch from 4th Battalion's 3rd Company along with their respective First Lieutenants facing off with another man. None of them looked very happy at the moment which didn't bode well for her most likely.
She could see that the stranger wore some type of officer uniform; Ruby was having a hard time telling who was who as aside from gear that most of the Brythonian forces had they didn't actually seem to have a matching uniforms.
That being said whoever this man was must have been a high ranking officer since he had a cleanly pressed green uniform with gold thread around his cuffs and collar. Yet Ruby could see that his saber looked less for show than what his uniform suggested so maybe he earned his rank. Unlike those that bought their ranks as most of the talk amongst the Arcadians suggested about the Brythonian officer cadre.
The two soldiers behind him looked to be in bad shape at first glance. With uniforms that looked like it would be safer to just throw away than try cleaning. They had weathered looking webbing with scratched and pitted kettle helmets. Their bolt action rifles however, just like the officers, looked well maintained albeit still used.
"So as you can see Captain, it's my duty to deliver these food goods to Major Dunnett."
"I do see that Captain D'Alembord, but my orders are to secure the hamlet and give aid to any of the locals that may be here and from what they've told us they've already sold off the bulk of their harvests and gave an emergency tax when the Rebellion started. If you take anymore you'll put these people in a tough spot, if they eat what little they have left then they'll be well short of planting their next crop and if they don't then they'll starve."
"I understand your position Captain but an army marches on its stomach and Major Dunnett needs more food to feed the force he's gathering. Dunnett had added almost 1,600 men to his command he needs supplies to support the campaign in the western midlands."
"You mean attacking someplace like Arfon?" Captain Auch asked Ruby had no idea what Arfon was but it must have been important.
"Your information is out of date, we were ordered to join Marshal Calvet in support of the push to retake West Brom which fell to the Rebels about three weeks ago in conjunction with his Gaellian combat group along with the Ravenna and Nordika units stationed at Dunholm and East Brom. So most likely they have tapped the nearby villages for supplies hence why we need these supplies from here."
"Fine, it isn't as if I can stop you, but I need to report this to my superiors and let them know about this. We'll have to send these people elsewhere or feed them ourselves and that's going to irritate our Commander at best or strain our own supplies at worst."
"I understand and for what it's worth Captain, I'm sorry about this, I don't wish to step on any toes but I have my own orders to follow. If you can convince the people I can take them with me but there isn't much else I can do. I can delay the departure up to early morning tomorrow if need be." The man, D'Alembord, said before inclining his head in apology. Ruby watched as the Brythonian officer walked away to supervise the loading of the food.
"Huntress Rose!" First Lieutenant Gardner called out and Ruby jogged towards the assembled group of officers.
"You asked for me?" Ruby said as she got closer, she knew that some of the Huntsmen and Huntresses were getting well acquainted in the military lifestyle of the Arcadians. She however found it hard to juggle the formal and informal stuff in this environment.
"Captain Pryde wishes to talk with you." Gardner said before pointing a gloved thumb at the other man so she moved to stand in front of him giving a sloppy but well intentioned salute that he waved off.
"I was told you are a Huntress team leader Ms. Rose." Captain Pryde asked.
"Well, technically I am but my team split up after the Battle for Vale and Beacon. Right now however aside from my duties as Liaison between the Huntsmen contingent and Commander Arc's General Staff I've been going solo."
"Yes, I've heard about your, solo, adventures." Pryde said dryly and Ruby grimaced a little at that.
"So what is it that I can help you with sir?" Ruby asked.
"From what Gardner has told me your semblance is a speed based one right?"
"It's a little more than that but I can go very fast."
"Good, I want you to push out to the furthest farms, inform the people there that we strongly advise them to make preparations to head south. I'll have these Brythonians delay their departure for some time but they'll still need to hurry."
"Because of the food?"
"Yes."
"Sir, what if they refuse? I think if they were willing to move they would have done it as soon as the Rebellion started."
"You make a fair point and I imagine it might be hard but stress the point that with their winter supplies being taken that there's going to be very little for them to eat and if this season gets bad then they'll be starving with no way out later." The captain and looked to be done saying what he needed to but Ruby didn't move.
"Is there something else Huntress Rose?"
"It's just that, well, what are we supposed to do if they still refuse?" The captain sighed.
"Look, I can vox Battalion and get hard orders on what it is we can or should do but for the time being don't worry about what their answers will be just get any answer you can. I'll have squads pulling up behind you to assist shortly." Pryde said and Ruby nodded before turning to leave.
She broke into a quick jog to warm up as she left the Arcadian perimeter where she saw the first farms several miles out to the north. She broke into an easy run that most of her old class at Signal had to work hard at to attempt to keep pace. She wasn't surprised however when she got close to see a few dozen people loading their belongings into old trucks and a couple flatbeds.
A quick word with the lead farm hand confirmed her suspicion that they were already getting ready to move south after having their food stores emptied. They also warned her about how the further she went the more, extreme; the reactions will be to the evacuation orders. Giving her thanks she headed back out to the road before moving further north.
The next farm already looked to be deserted so she skipped it going another twenty before finally spotting the next farm. A large wooden fence with spikes pointing out at the base indicated it was a moderately defended farm, she suspected that they must be capable of taking on at least a small or medium pack of Grimm.
She spotted a set of wooden doors that were open, two men in dirty jeans and jackets with single shot hunting rifles slung over their shoulders. One man held up a hand stopping her as the two of them unslung their rifles. Ruby was a little nervous but since they didn't go further by pointing them at her she figured she was safe.
"What's your business here?" The man with his raised hand asked.
"I'm with the Arcadian group; they sent me out here to talk with the surrounding farms."
"What for?"
"They asked me to pass on the word or suggest that you all should start moving south for safety." She said and the other man laughed but the first man kept a serious face.
"I reckon you're gonna turn back empty handed but it ain't my call. Go on in, you'll find the others at the biggest house." The man said before gesturing her in. With a nod of thanks Ruby continued down the dirt path. In the distance she can make out a cluster of buildings with a trio of silos off to the side. There was also a large three story building that she assumed was the right place to find whoever owned this farm.
It didn't take her long to be amongst the buildings before slowing down; in the corner of her eye she could see brief flashes of people watching her from some windows as she headed towards a large group of men. All of whom were armed with pistols, shotguns and some rifles.
"Are you a Huntress?" An older looking man said as they began to turn to her. Ruby couldn't help but notice that a few held their weapons loosely in her direction as if they weren't concerned but she could see the tension in their bodies.
"Yes, I'm a Huntress attached to the 3rd Regiment of Joint Task Force Sanus; I'm here to talk to whoever is in charge here." Ruby said as she held up her hands to show that she was coming to them in peace.
"You seem a little young." Another man said before the older one glanced at him as he stepped forward.
"I'm in charge here Huntress, now speak your piece or leave, we've got a lot of things to deal with right now."
"That's what I'm here about actually, I was sent to ask that you begin making preparations to leave, preferably south for your own safety." She said and a murmur rose amongst them as one of the farm hands spat in what she assumed was disgust.
"That's just fucking great, another foreigner trying to tell us what to do, it's no wonder this Kingdom's gone to shit."
"Least the Arcadians are shedding blood to fuck those Rebs up; the Four Kingdoms would never lend a hand to people like us."
"Aye but she's from the Kingdoms ain't she? I thought Arcadians didn't train Huntsmen or Huntresses?"
"Well is she's with them then surely she can't be bad."
"A mercenary Huntress is almost as bad as a regular Kingdom Huntress, didn't you hear about that four man team down by Bracknell, supposedly they raped half a dozen girls before getting chased out by the local militia." More people were saying stuff, ranging from anger at the situation or anger at her for being a Huntress or foreigner that in turn made her feel bad. She knew that some Outland people didn't always have a favorable impression of Kingdom people but she didn't think it was this bad.
"All of you shut it." The lead man turned snapping at the group getting them to quiet down before he turned
"So what are you trying to say girl? I've got over thirty farm hands to pay, their families and my own to house and feed; if I leave I'll not only put our livelihoods at risk but their very lives." The lead man said and Ruby sighed.
"But it isn't as if you have a choice either way. Winter's here and your reserve grains are gone. You need to leave to warmer and safer regions down south before it's too late. The Arcadians can't spare the supplies or manpower to keep you safe during this conflict for however long it'll last. You can travel with the Brythonian forces that confiscated your supplies till they reach East Brom where you can stay or go elsewhere but the point is you should to leave here." Ruby said as the man stepped closer.
"Look girl; now I ain't any Reb but I can't just abandon my farm. It's been in my family for over three generations and I plan on watering my crops with the blood of any bastard that'll try to tell me otherwise."
"I understand that it isn't going to be easy choice to make and I can barely imagine how hard it must be. But to be honest all I came here to do was to tell you your options. You can either pack up or die here. One way or another you won't be here for long and you know it would be better to live and retake the land than keeping your land only to die relatively soon." Ruby said and the large man glared at her for a long time before finally breaking down with a sigh through his clenched teeth.
"I know I can be a stubborn bastard and this isn't easy for me to admit that I know you're right despite being so young but I was hoping that I'd be proven right." Ruby sighed a little at that as the man began directing the farm hands to start getting in order to pack their belongings up even then there were some grumbles of complaint. In the corner of her eye, Ruby also spotted several children and women watching her from the largest house.
"Brody Stone." The man said drawing her attention back as he held his hand out to her and she took it.
"Ruby Rose, as you guessed I'm a Huntress from the Kingdom of Vale attached to the Arcadian reinforcements."
"Aye, I got a cousin serving in Kadern's Army group and he told me that he heard there weren't going to be anymore reinforcements from Arcadia till after winter cause they got bogged down at Vale."
"Yea, a Grimm Invasion does complicate things." Ruby explained and the man raised his eyebrows at that before slowly nodding. As he moved to walk away he stopped to turn around. He had an odd look on his face as he beckoned her closer.
"Ms. Rose, there's another farm further north than ours, do you plan on going there as well?"
"Are there people still there?" She asked and he nodded hesitantly.
"Then I have to go."
"I'm not sure if that's a good thing."
"What do you mean?"
"Look, I know that farm and that family. Gregor Taile is an odd man and his people are equally strange even before the Rebellion. They're the kind of folk who blame local problems on the world rather than owning up to the faults of what they consider their own people. But lately it's been even worse, like the firefight we heard a few nights ago."
"Firefight?"
"Yea and one of their houses went up in flames a while back. I joined some of the other surrounding farms to see what happened. The way they explained it, some Grimm came through their gates because of a lax guard shift and a fight broke out in one of the buildings causing the fire. The strange part was how they kept us at arm's length, we couldn't get inside the perimeter, even the soldiers couldn't get inside when they came asking for their leftover stock but they supplied eight wagons worth of grain so I don't think the soldiers cared to go in."
"I'll keep that in mind; do you happen to have a radio?" Ruby asked.
"Yea, all the farms have short range radios to keep in touch with each other."
"Good, do you think you can start passing the word along on how they should start packing up? It would make my job a little easier." Brody nodded at that and Ruby began heading back out towards the main dirt road she had taken.
"Ruby to all signs on this channel, respond." Ruby said into her vox unit the battalion network since she'd also want to keep 4th Battalion's company in the loop.
"This is 2-2-Alpha; we're reading you five by five. Interrogative, what's the situation?" A voice replied.
"I've made contact with some of the farms; they should be spreading the word to leave to anyone that hasn't started already."
"Roger that, word's come down from Battalion command, we're returning to Luguval today. Reports of a blizzard in the north are coming in from the Brythonian Weather Surveyors."
"There's one small issue I'm going to look into actually." Ruby said and there was a noticeable pause.
"Gardner here, Interrogative Huntress Rose, what issue?"
"One of the farmers warned me about an outlying farm acting weird, I'm heading there to investigate."
"Do you require backup?" Gardner asked and Ruby thought about it quickly.
"That would be the smart thing to do; I'll hold position outside their area until backup arrives."
"Acknowledged, two squads are already inbound, I'll inform them of the situation, Gardner Out." With that Ruby continued making her way towards the last farm and after a while she began to realize that there were other oddities afoot as the faint shape of the last farm came into view.
Before she reached the previous farms she had seen well kept, albeit empty fields for crops. Yet after passing a proverbial boundary of trees and rocks over grassy fields the current set of crop fields appeared off even to her agriculturally untrained eyes.
For the past few miles the fields meant for crops looked trampled with random patches of grass or weeds. They also had a weird color about them but not only that they seemed to be curling into weird shapes as they sprouted up from the ground.
A nauseating feeling began to grow in her stomach as an irregular pulse began behind her eyes before she tore her gaze away from the grass.
"Ruby." Yang's voice whispered and the young team leader snapped her head up looking around her but her sister wasn't there.
"Ruby." Blake's voice whispered next, this time the hair on the back of her neck stood up as she spun around pulling out Crescent Rose.
"Who's there?" She asked.
"Ruby?" Weiss asked and as Ruby spun around for the third time she stopped abruptly. Facing away from her was the figure of Weiss, her white hair braided loosely as she wore a bluish white dress with her back facing away from Ruby as she looked at the distant farm.
"Weiss? Is that really you?" Ruby asked as a painful lump found its way into her throat. She had missed her sister and friends. A knowing loneliness which had been growing inside Ruby since the Battle for Vale exploded within her that it almost physically hurt. Jaune and her other friends helped but it wasn't the same as having her team back. She lowered Crescent Rose as she walked closer to Weiss.
"You don't know how much I've missed you." Ruby said as she put a hand on her shoulder before Weiss turned around to look at her. Ruby felt that lump in her throat turn sour as a part of her mind screamed as it was unable to comprehend what she was looking at. An image of Weiss's face that was so terrifying that she could never really describe it again as her mind broke with fear.
Ice cold fingers wrapped around Ruby's neck bringing her back to a semi-stable reality as the thing that wasn't Weiss began to strangle her.
Ruby could already tell from the pain that flared from her neck that if she didn't have Aura she would have already died from a broken neck. Even then she figured she didn't have long, grabbing the shoulders of the thing masquerading as Weiss, Ruby raised her boots and pressed them against its chest before pushing hard.
It became clear that wouldn't work though as the grip around her neck seem to tighten up and her vision began to constrict. So she raised Crescent Rose in its gun form aiming point blank at the thing before firing. The Dust round ripped a hole through its chest shattering ribs then spine but it didn't loosen its grip so she fired four more times, its grip finally started to weaken enough that Ruby was able to break away from the grip.
Ruby fell coughing and grasping on the ground before adrenaline and fear forced her to roll around then get back onto her feet. She was surprised however to see the mutilated form of the Weiss creature still standing.
"What the fuck are you?" Ruby gasped and the creature froze then lunged at her again. Ruby was ready however and jumped back shifting her weapon into its scythe form as she brought it around. The large blade slammed into its right shoulder cutting deep into it before she pulled it free, the right arm slumped down with part of the torso barely being held on with some tissue
"Ruby…why?" The voice of Weiss said clearly distraught. Ruby swung again striking the false Weiss's neck taking her head clean off.
"I thought…we were friends?" She asked despite her head being cut off and having wounds that no living being could survive as her internal organs sloughed out onto the ground.
"Just die!" Ruby screamed as she began hacking at the thing viciously until that was the only thing she could do. It wasn't until someone tackled her to the ground that she slowly started to become aware again.
"Get the Scythe out of her hands!" Someone was shouting.
"Why the fuck is she still screaming?"
"Hold her still, Doc, can we give her a sedative or something!?"
"Can't, her Aura up so nothing will penetrate her skin unless we break it."
"Fine, we'll break it then you stick her with it, also get on the vox and report what's going on!" It took Ruby a moment to realize that they were the soldiers Gardner sent to assist her.
"Wait! Wait, I'm okay, I'm okay!" Ruby called out as she forced her body to go still. She was surprised at the ache in her fingers as she released her beloved weapon. Soon the pressure of bodies holding her down lessened which allowed her to turn around and see several soldiers looking down at her. She couldn't help but notice that most of them had their hands on their weapons while not pointing at her she could see that could change any moment.
"What happened?" Ruby asked as she slowly got to her feet, her head felt thick and there was a surreal quality to the world that was off putting.
"We should be asking you that." A soldier, most likely a sergeant or a corporal, asked.
"I was heading towards the last farm when, something appeared, there was a short fight and I guess I sort of got carried away. Though I guess it must have been all in my head." Ruby said but the helmed soldier shook their head before pointing behind her.
Ruby felt her stomach twisted at the mangled white form of the thing that had been Weiss was on the ground.
"That's…no…I didn't." Ruby said but a hand on her shoulder steadied her.
"It's okay Huntress, there's something else going on here. So take a moment to get yourself together." The soldier said before gesturing one of the others forward. They were carrying a short sword and Ruby watched as they used the blade to probe the mangled corpse. Only to jump a little as a twisted, broken arm rose up grabbing the blade only for its fingers to get severed as the soldier drew the blade back.
"What is that?" Ruby asked finally as another soldier held out a water canteen.
"It's gotta be a Daemon of some kind." The lead soldier said and Ruby felt a small shiver crawl down her as a flash of the twisted creatures from the Hurin Valleys flashed in her mind.
"I've never seen a Daemon spawn like that though, it looks way to human." Another soldier, with a lighter voice said as they stepped up as well.
"It's not a human or Faunus, it tried strangling me and I barely managed to break away before it killed me." Ruby explained as a soldier handed Crescent Rose back to her.
"Alright, let's burn it." The first soldier called out and another soldier came forward holding a red colored cylindrical grenade.
"You're gonna wanna get back." One of the soldiers said as Ruby turned to head back down the road with them to two waiting trucks. She watched as the soldier pulled the grenade pin and a white spark lit up from the pin area as it was tossed to the ground near the mass of shifting flesh while the soldier ran back.
Within moments there was a sharp fizzing crack much different than the normal thumps she'd grown used to from grenades as a reddish white cloud briefly appeared before a white hot fireball erupted washing them with a short intense heat.
"What was that?!" Ruby asked after watching the fireball die down, the creature on the road twitched and squirmed violently as it burned. The smell of cooking flesh wafted over them and the whining sound of something superheated in a cold environment accompanied it.
"Just a grenade we use since flamers are non-standard equipment now for most units, it's a mixture of Burn Dust and a substance called White Phosphorous. Good for cleaning up small piles of corpses to avoid having to handle their corpses for long periods of time. Dig a hole, toss a nade to let it burn for a while then cover it up." A soldier explained after a pause as the two sergeants came up to her to discuss what had happened.
What the soldier didn't say was that it was also rather effective against Aura, due to the difficulty of putting out it. As it either ate through if not severely depleting Aura enough to quickly put them down after.
That said, the sporadic nature of Aura as well as its extremely short range meant that to actually affect someone they would have to be essentially on top of it. This made it an impractical fighting tool, and best used for just setting things on fire like buildings or the already dead. While mass producing it in other forms just doesn't meet any cost-benefit standards.
As Ruby explained what happened she got their names as well. The more senior of the two Sergeants was a balding man called Thomas Gridson while the other one was a Faunus woman named Maggie Anolia who had shockingly white hair reminded her of Weiss before she noticed the rather cute cat ears.
"So do you think we should turn back?" Anolia asked looking at Ruby then Gridson but Ruby shook her head.
"I don't think we should, there's clearly something going on and we should check on the last farm to see if they need any help."
"There's also a high chance that there's a third party that's in play here and approaching this last farm house under the assumption of open hostility means we could be walking into the middle of a fight. That said we need information on what is going on so I'll get on the vox and see how the Captains want to play this out." Gridson said before moving over to his Vox operator. Ruby was looking at distant storm clouds that seemed to be closing in from all side as he informed 2nd Company and 3rd Company of the turn of events.
"What did they say?" Ruby asked as Gridson finally returned.
"It's like I thought, they want us to recon the area but to avoid further combat if possible."
"Should I take point again? You two follow behind about a hundred meters or so?" Ruby asked as the two Sergeants put their helms back on.
"Negative, it's best to stick close for now." Gridson said his voice becoming slightly distorted by the helmet. Nodding Ruby climbed on top of the lead truck's cab though no one seemed to mind that as she shifted Crescent Rose back into its gun mode.
Within minutes the two trucks began to rumble down the road towards the farm, the soldiers keeping their eyes out for any signs of danger. Ruby had a second reason for being on top of the cab. She could no longer hide the quiver in her limbs at the fear and terror she had experienced a cold feeling wrapped around her that had nothing to do with the weather.
Elsewhere…
Ren grunted as the Beowolf paw smashed into him just as he raised a pistol slicing off two fingers in the process. He went rolling a few meters back before coming to his feet.
Nearby Nora yelled behind him as he heard the distinct thump of a grenade as Nora flung herself at the Alpha which was already pouncing at him ready to attack again. Magnhild coming down to slam on the back of one of its legs with a loud crunch as bones shattered. The roar of pain from the Alpha was cut off as the partisan spear from Hilda came in cutting into the large creature's neck.
However a testament to its status as an Alpha Grimm, the Beowolf backhanded Nora out of the way as it tried to grab the spear lodged in its neck. With a pull and a twist of the partisan shaft, the embedded spear head spun with a loud grinding whine obliterating the neck and lower half of the Grimm's head.
"Come on! We need to leave now!" Hilda said as she spun the spinning spear to shake off bits of matted black fur and flesh of the Grimm. Nearby Nora began to fire off grenades again at the encroaching monsters.
"Nora, let's go!" Ren called out to her and she started to run as well.
"This is JNPR 4 to all stations be advised we're coming in hot!" Ren called into his vox before looking behind him to fire a burst from one of his pistols at the Grimm that were closing in.
Howls followed them as they ran through the woods at full speed, twice Ren nearly slipped on the ground while Hilda fell then rolled back to her feet after tripping on a snow covered tree root. They had to stop once to fight off Beowolves that had caught up to them, which inevitable allowed the rest to get closer despite how quick they killed them.
Ren was starting to get a little worried that if they stop again that they'll have to fight the Beowolves off completely. A part of him knew that they could win, but seeing Beowolves in the corners of his vision starting to overtake and encircle them he didn't want to put that notion to the test.
Nearby Nora yelled as she fired another shot at a nearby Grimm that managed to get in front of them before trying to block their retreat, the grenade shredded its torso as it let off a choked bark of pain. Jumping over a bush, Ren prepared to turn around to provide covering fire but he was surprised to find himself by the creek. It took a second for him to realize that it also meant that nearly forty soldiers were aiming their weapons in this direction.
"Get down!" He shouted at Hilda before throwing himself at Nora who was bringing up the rear. Within seconds gunfire rippled out from the far side of the creek as Parlapiano shouted the order to fire over the vox channel.
Grimm howled in pain as they stormed out from the trees only to be met with hundreds of rounds of small arms fire that ripped into them as well as the surrounding foliage. However Ren and the others were close enough that some of the rounds began to pelt the ground near them.
"Come on! We need to get out of here!" Ren called to the other two who nodded as they began crawling towards him.
They crawled away from the section of the forest as the Grimm charged out heedless of the disadvantage they'd have at attacking the Arcadians as they sought to get in close. Nora cried out in alarm as something loud slammed near them. A hot pressure wave washed over them as what they could only assume was a rocket or grenade went off near them. They would find out later that it wasn't an errant round but someone stopping a Beowolf that had spotted them.
As soon as Ren felt he was in a good spot to get up without getting hit by friendly fire he got to his knees as he turned around raising StormFlower to cover Nora and Hilda but it was becoming clear that the soldiers were taking care of the Grimm.
Ren watched as the last dozen of the Beowolves fell to the ground their bodies already leaking the miasma of their death as the soldiers put round after round into them.
"It almost makes you wonder why we went out there in the first place." Nora commented as she checked Magnhild's load.
"Then when we see the reason why and it becomes painfully clear that their method while seemingly efficient in some areas is sorely lacking in others." Hilda replied as she stood up, Nora glanced at Ren who shook his head as they stood up as well.
"Form on me JNPR 4, we're egressing from the area." Parlapiano voxed them, the three of them crossed the creek as the soldiers appeared from their firing positions and began to move backwards the direction of their camp by squads.
"Are you guys good?" Parlapiano asked as the three of them joined up with the Lieutenant.
"We're good." Ren said as he held up a thumb.
"Alright then we're heading back to camp for now, no more patrols for the rest of the day."
"Because of the Beowolves?" Nora asked and he nodded.
"Ya know if you clued us in more than we can probably get a better patrol pattern going." Hilda said as she rested her spear against her shoulder and Ren winced a little at that but Parlapiano looked evenly or as evenly a full covering helmet might suggest.
"I know that there are a few officers in the Regiment that give you Huntsmen a free pass in your general conduct, especially the Commander since he's technically one of you, but do remember that there are limits." Parlapiano said before walking away gesturing for the waiting group of soldiers to come forward towards him as the platoon began to move.
"That was a little rude." Hilda commented as they were walking through the woods but Nora sniffed.
"Maybe but what else can we expect, he's a career soldier and I doubt we can really understand his position."
"I know that but still."
"Still nothing, he's a lot nicer to us than some of the other officers in the Regiment; you heard what Ruby told us about a platoon commander in the Company she's attached to right? This whole combined forces thing is barely hanging on, Dove from team CRDL said that he heard that were a number of complaints from Arcadian soldiers as well as some of the other Huntsmen about being seconded to another Kingdom's force." Nora said and Hilda shrugged at that.
"I don't really get that either, we all volunteered to be in this unit knowing what it would mean yet a lot of them seem to act surprised at how it's so different than what we are used to." Ren said.
"True but to be fair it does feel like the Arcadians would probably have been happier if no one volunteered at all." Hilda added which Nora and Ren couldn't really disagree with.
"Though we would have still have gone with Jaune." Ren said and Nora nodded with that as well but Hilda said nothing. It wasn't long until they reached the camp again, though this time they noted how there were a number of new stumps around the perimeter while tree trunks were begin wedged into place around the perimeter in shallow ditches. Other soldiers were seen digging on the side of vehicles facing the interior of the camp. They headed towards a vehicle where two soldiers from Delta squad were laying out rucksacks.
One of them held a small shovel up for Ren to grab as the three former Beacon students began to dig into the hole. The wind began to pick up into a low howl as the snowfall began to get heavier.
Yet despite the primal force of nature, which cares not for whom it may kill with its cold winds and heavy snow unintentional protected them. As wondering in the snow were those that paid no heed to its biting chill as they hunted.
Meanwhile…
Ruby stood in front of a pair of massive wood gates that were at least eight or nine meters tall, or at least they would be if the doors hadn't been knocked down. A long gust of wind made her cloak flutter as a chill ran down her spine though it wasn't so much the cold that made her shiver as what she saw.
Strung up under the gate were several bodies of children hanging from their ankles that had been tied together. One of the soldiers was climbing up the side to start cutting them down as a fireteam moved past it to secure the other side of the gate. She did her best not to look at their skinned faces but she feared the image would be forever etched into her mind.
"This is fucked." A soldier remarked nearby as they waited for the bodies to be cut down.
"Keep an eye on your sectors; I don't want the fuckers that did this trying to sneak up on us." Anolia called out on the vox. It had been an unfortunate miracle that they saw the bodies, as an oncoming snow storm was shrinking their visibility by the minute.
Ruby figured that they'd be forced to stay in one of the farm houses at this point. As it wouldn't be safe to travel and the chances of getting lost or stuck was a high risk.
Vox traffic was also more or less down; while they could communicate with each other the long range vox casters were having trouble receiving any signals.
Ruby stared out in the white landscape, her cloak fluttering around her a little as she kept her head angled down so her hood didn't fly off. She could hear the faint sound of something hitting the ground behind her but she didn't look until someone tapped her shoulder.
Turning around she could see the soldiers were lifting several small black body bags to the side. She didn't say anything as Gridson waved a second fireteam forward, with a little help from her semblance, Ruby hopped up onto the wooden wall. While they couldn't see the main farm buildings she still had a decent eye for the next hundred or so yards which would allow her to spot anyone hiding in shallow holes or trenches.
But there was nothing to see as the next fireteam moved inward with the two trucks following them with the rest of the soldiers bringing up the rear.
A hard gust of wind blew in from behind Ruby but she turned around as the faint sound of a roar could be heard.
"Huntress, we're moving, what's the hold up?" Gridson's voice sounded in her ear.
"I thought I heard something behind us."
"Any idea what it is?"
"No but it sounded like a roar."
"It must be Grimm."
"Should we hold here and wait to see if they're coming for us?"
"We can't, this storm is going to get worse, and we need to get to the houses besides even this storm should keep them off us long enough that we can gain some distance." Anolia said.
"She's got a point, we should move, besides the houses will probably be easier to defend." Gridson remarked.
"What about the gate?" Ruby asked.
"I already checked, whoever was here before us damaged the hinges, even if we could lift the gates it wouldn't take much force to knock them over again." Gridson explained as Ruby hoped down.
"Well then I guess you're right, there isn't much we can do here, I don't suppose you have anything to use as a trap."
"Not enough time and chances are this is the only way out so if we need to leave in a hurry we'd have to stop to disarm them before exiting." The assembled group began to move further down the road; the already heavy snowfall was beginning to come down harder that visibility was starting to get cut down fast. No one however made any attempt to make small talk as the trucks rumbled along.
"This is fucking eerie." One of the soldiers near her finally remarked over the short range vox channel.
"Yea, thanks for stating the obvious Yensen." Another remarked in what sounded like a dry tone. Ruby shook her head as they continued to walk until someone called out in alarm. Ruby swung Crescent Rose up as she looked around for danger but nothing was coming towards them and there was no gunfire.
"Someone's watching us; I just saw a figure in the snow." A soldier explained over the vox.
"I saw them too." A second voice said as the wind picked up showering them with a heavy dose of snow.
"Alright, everyone form up on the first truck." Anolia said and Ruby moved with the others as they struggled to get to the trucks.
"What did you see exactly?" Anolia asked as everyone got into a group huddle.
"I saw a figure standing in the snow watching us, Corporal Bell can confirm, we both saw it and then it moved off into the storm." The soldier, a woman if Ruby was judging the voice right, said before turning around.
"Isn't that right Bell?" She asked but no one answered.
"Bell?" She asked as the soldiers looked around for the soldier in question. While Ruby wasn't the tallest she saw that they were short by one after doing a quick count.
"Try the vox." Gridson said and Ruby could hear Anolia calling out over the open short range vox but no one responded
"Spread out." Anolia said as the assembled group fanned out calling for the missing soldier but there was no response. It wasn't long before Anolia called them back; there was no point in trying to find someone when keeping each other in sight was getting tough.
"A soldier went missing in a split second without anyone noticing after we get a glimpse of something that may or may not have been there. There's something wrong here." Gridson said as they got back together.
"You got that right." A driver called out pointing past them and they turned to see that they were at the farm houses which were quite visible despite the storm that seemed to be blowing around it. How none of them realized that they had gotten so close without realizing it made Ruby feel nervous.
"Well shit, now there's definitely something very wrong here but we can't turn back or stay out here. We need to get inside after we find a place for the trucks to stay in, like a barn." Gridson said.
As they headed into the middle of the cluster of buildings Ruby could feel a small shiver pass down her spine. Nearby the Aura enhanced soldier with the short sword tucked behind the small of their back looked at Ruby.
"I wasn't the only one to feel that right?" A faint feminine voice asked.
"Yea, I don't like it." Ruby said as she looked up at a nearby building, all of the windows were black or had their curtains drawn.
"Feel what trooper?" Gridson asked from nearby.
"A feeling that we're being watched sir."
"Aye, I get that too, keep your eyes out."
The group moved amongst the buildings before spotting an open barn Ruby and the Aura enhanced soldier quickly cleared it out as the soldiers pulled rucksacks out from the trucks before the drivers eased their way inside. Luckily the barn was big enough for both of them to fit side by side. As the engines were cut and the drivers hopped out there was a long howl in the distance that went on longer than it should have. Everyone raised their weapons as they scanned their surroundings, covering the corners of nearby buildings or their windows and doors.
Looking out Ruby could see the swirling snow of the storm surrounding the cluster of buildings yet none of it drifted inside the perimeter of the furthest wall of the buildings. Even the wind seemed muted, as if she was in an even larger building that surrounded the farmstead.
"Are we being hunted?" Ruby asked and no one said anything as she tucked her red cape in as it fluttered behind her.
"Come on we need to get inside, we can hold up in the big house for now." Gridson said pointing towards what they assumed was the main house due to its more central position.
They moved towards the building, Ruby watched the windows for any movement but there was nothing there. As Gridson stepped onto the porch with a hollow thump of his boots he stopped a few feet from the door then raising his rifle again he moved off to the side of the door. Anolia did the same opposite of him as the two respective squads formed up on their sergeants.
One of the drivers tugged on Ruby's cloak for her to follow him as they moved off to the side. Ruby had no idea what was happening but she caught a glimpse of the front door. It was slightly ajar but the noticeable feature was the claw marks on the door frame and the missing door handle.
It dawned on her instantly that someone or something had either broken in or maybe even broken out of the door. She swallowed as she looked out into the yard for any signs of life.
"Go on my count. 1…2…3!" Gridson called out over the vox and Ruby turned at the thud of a door being kicked open as the two squads pushed their way into the house. A few soldiers along with the drivers stayed out on the front porch as they watched the surroundings.
"Clear right!"
"Clear left!" Soldiers began calling out over the vox, Ruby along with the few soldiers and drivers soon moved inside. She was forced to collapse Crescent Rose into its gun form while the drivers held short barreled rifles of their own.
Moving through the front door Ruby was struck by an odd aroma in the air. On one hand it was an oddly spicy but also smelled sweet which puzzled her. Yet it barely covered up a metallic odor that left her with a queasy feeling, the all too familiar smell of blood.
Scanning the room she found that it was a rather large room that looked closer to a tavern or an inn common room than a house. Tables lay broken or flipped over with wooden chairs strewn about, broken glass and dried or frozen stains of liquid were on the ground or walls.
At a closer inspection a fair number of the stains noted were the dark, rustic red of drying blood. There were also signs of a struggle the more she looked, spent pistol caliber casings, spent shotgun shells and even a few bloody albeit heavily chipped knives.
Ruby watched as Anolia led a fireteam up a set of stairs. Another fireteam moved to stack on a closed door behind what seemed to be a bar. The third person in line moved to stand in front of it before kicking it open allowing the first two to move in unimpeded before following them apparently down a flight of stairs.
"Second floor is clear." Anolia called out after about ten minutes and the other fireteams began responding in kind. Ruby in that time had moved to cover the window next to the front door, even with Crescent Rose in its gun form she felt like it would be better for her to watch the outside.
As the soldiers gathered in the common area, a few were carrying things back with them. One held a journal or notebook while two others were lifting a crate between them. Ruby was about to move away from the window she had been standing at when in the corner of her eye she saw someone watching her.
Without a warning Ruby slammed open the front door and was about to run out when something slammed into her. With an explosive exhale Ruby stumbled back hard as shouting could be heard behind her. The sound of glass shattering as something flew into the building, shouts of alarm and pain rung out before the sergeants shouted orders to return fire.
The retort of small arms fire inside the relatively large room was still deafening as the soldiers opened up. Rolling to the side, Ruby kept her head down as she glanced back at the soldiers just in time to see one falling backwards as something struck them in the faceplate with a sharp crack.
In a matter of moments the gunfire ceased, heavy breathing, groaning, and soldiers checking on each other could be heard as Ruby climbed to her feet surveying what happened. Six soldiers were down, four looked to be dead, and two were being looked over by others. Unfortunately one of the dead was also a squad Field Chiurgeon so the last remaining one was giving orders for the two soldiers on how to assist the other injured.
"What the fuck was that?" Someone asked and Ruby looked down at the floor near her to see that there was an arrow. She could only assume that it was what had hit her but the arrow looked odd, though she wasn't quite sure as she picked it up to inspect it.
The fletching looked relatively normal but the shaft of the arrow looked like a tree branch as it wasn't smooth but rough with visible texture. Even the arrow head was odd, a sort of pale or white color, resembling more like bone than a rock or metal.
Ruby stood to turn towards Gridson or Anolia but a soldier was coming towards her taking his helmet off before grabbing her cloak.
"What the fuck was that!?" He asked pulling her close, anger etched on his face. Her hand flashed out grabbing his wrist twisting it to the side as her other hand smashed into his face. While she wasn't even close to being as strong as someone like Yang, Ruby had learned enough. The man recoiled before wiping at the blood from his split lip before spitting on the ground and Ruby twitched a little as she could have sworn that he spat out a tooth as well.
"Don't touch me again." Ruby warned as another soldier moved to restrain him.
"You didn't call out a warning!" The soldier shouted back but this time Gridson stood in front of him as well.
"None of us expected to get ambushed like that; she barely saw them before they attacked." Gridson said.
"Now lock it down or so help me I'll fucking tie you up and toss you in the barn alone until we get back so I can NJP you." The man's face relaxed as he held his hands up.
"Sorry Sarge, I just, lost it for a second."
"It's okay Poole, but you gotta keep a lid on and apologize to the Huntress after this but we need to figure out who the fuck ambushed us." Gridson said.
"Not the farmers that's for sure." Ruby said as she held up the arrow and Anolia took it before giving it a look over.
"Never seen anything like these." Anolia said before trying to bend it, the arrow bent a little but it didn't break despite the visible effort she seemed to be giving.
"Really strong but doesn't seem all that heavy." She noted.
"Sharp as well, they pierced body armor as if it was nothing." Gridson added.
"Should we board up the windows?" Ruby asked as a gust of cold air blew in and Gridson looked around the room.
"Don't really have anything to board them up with, though we can try using the tables but we'd need to find the tools to do so and my bet is they might be in the barn again but I don't think we should go out there just yet. If anything we might need to just hold up deeper in the house."
"What about the trucks? If there's a hostile out there then they might sabotage them, I wouldn't want to get in them in case they rig them to exploded when we do finally leave." One of the drivers, a man called Lowe asked.
"I rather not split the squads up to protect the trucks and the farmhouse. Our best bet will be to fortify this position and if we're unsure on the status of the trucks once the storm ends we can vox in and inform the Captain of our situation." Anolia said with her arms folded and Gridson nodded.
"Agreed, we'll see what we can find around the house to board up the windows, failing that we go to the second floor and barricade the stair case."
"It's a good thing nothing set this off." Someone said and they turned towards another soldier who pointed towards a box that they had carried into the room.
"What is it?" Gridson asked before the soldier opened up the lid for them to see. Inside of it were at least thirty sticks of mining explosives. The group stepped away from it and even Ruby had felt the tingle of fear as even with her Aura at a hundred percent she probably would have died in an explosion like that.
"Well we might be able to use that." Anolia muttered.
"Ugh, maybe but these sticks look to be rather old so who knows if they'll still work." A soldier called Cooke said as he looked over the explosives.
"Think you can use them?" Ruby asked as she squatted next to him to get a good look. Even she would have said that they looked old by the faded red color. She watched as the soldier gingerly opened one up near the fuse with a knife revealing a black substance inside.
"That's not Dust." Ruby remarked and the man snorted in a manner that made Ruby's face feel warm from pointing out the obvious.
"This is smokeless powder, people have been using this stuff before even the Great War since it was easier to make at the time. Though it got phased out for Burn Dust charges since you can get a lot more uses out of it than this but it's still common enough in Outland towns since refined Dust is a lot harder to come by without regular shipments if the town doesn't have its own factory." Cooke explained before setting the stick back down.
"Uh Sarge, there's something else we need to consider." The same soldier that spoke up said as they took off their helmet to show a short brown woman with a pale scar on her forehead.
"What do you mean Williamson?" Gridson asked.
"There's a door down in the basement that I was going to mention earlier before the attack. I think the farmers were into or knew about some sketchy shit." This got their attention as the group stood up to face Williamson.
They followed the fireteam down the stairs into the basement. A few spaced out light bulb illuminated the rows of shelves that had an assortment of items from jarred or canned preserves, farming tools, to small crates or boxes filled with who knows what.
Their boots clicked on the concrete floor as they moved between the shelves to the far side, the other four soldiers spreading around again as they set about double checking the rather large basement.
The faint buzzing of light bulbs could be heard along with the sound of one of the soldiers bumping into the shelves with a curse behind them though they paid no heed to it. While Ruby's eyesight was a little better than a regular non-Aura enhanced person it wasn't as good as the myriad of helmets the Arcadians seemed to use nor even close to what a Faunus's eyesight would be.
It was a black steel door that at a glance wouldn't have looked all that special. When Williamson turned on a flashlight affixed to a shoulder strap however Ruby understood the concern.
Etched into the black surface were strange white marks that seemed to be moving in complex spirals. As the light panned down they saw what could only have been claw marks in the basement concrete leading either out or under it.
"You think something is locked behind this door?" Anolia asked and Ruby could see that she was nervous as a gloved finger was teasing the trigger guard of her rifle. She stepped aside to let Gridson move for a closer look as her boot nudged something.
"I don't think so, at least, not anymore." Ruby said as they turned to see her pick something up. She held a twisted piece of metal and looked back at the door before stepping close to it then put the metal piece into an odd looking indent.
"This might have been the handle." Ruby explained as she looked at them.
"These track marks don't match up with the idea of something trying to claw its way out." Gridson added as he pointed towards the end of the marks closest to them.
"It's thicker near the door but gets narrower away from the door. I think whatever made these was on the outside, maybe trying to get to something or someone inside."
"Is it a safe room then?" Williamson asked.
Gridson began tapping the butt of his rifle against the door. Oddly enough there wasn't any sound of metal being struck yet they could clearly see that the rifle was hitting it.
"This doesn't seem like a safe room, more like containment." Gridson said.
"What makes you think that?" Ruby asked.
"These markings, I'm no mage or scholar or whatever but I knew someone who was at the Cleansing of Broken Bones Burrows and they told me about a gate similar to this one though on a much larger scale before the Sisterhood took control of the area."
"I mean it would explain what I killed on the road here, it might have killed everyone here then tried finding other people." Ruby surmised before pointing at the floor.
"Though that doesn't explain these claw marks. As you pointed out it suggests it was trying to get to something or someone so it can't be a type of containment."
"True but we can't also rule out the idea that maybe this containment is in fact in use right now and it trying to break in has inevitably damaged it to the point that it can't be opened anymore. It would explain why the handle was torn off; at least that's what I think. We'd need someone from the Legion or Sisterhood to come see this."
"Probably but I think we should take whatever we might use here then barricade the basement door as well, this place is giving me the creeps." Anolia said as the four of them turned around. When Ruby turned around she had expected to see the four soldiers still amongst the shelves.
Instead something skittered over to them before bumping against Ruby's leg. Looking down she could see that it was the helm of a soldier, the face mask cracked open with hints of blood around the edge of the opening.
Her heart started to beat faster and faster as she drew out Crescent Rose. Ahead of them, standing at the base of the stairs was a hunched figure. Surrounding it on the floor was the bodies of the four soldiers from Williamson's fireteam.
For some reason Williamson pointed her light at the figure. The creature had the gaunt look that only the truly emaciated had. Grey skin pulled tightly over bones that were disproportionately longer to its otherwise humanoid look. The creature looked up at the light, blood dripping from its unnaturally long but narrow jaw. Its eye sockets looked pitch black as if there wasn't anything in them but Ruby felt the sensation of a frantic intelligence looking at her.
A low but long painful wail began to come out of its mouth as if in rage or despair. Long clawed fingers rose up to its face before raking down its skin, leaving deep bloody furrows that was more than a little disturbing.
The tension was already at the breaking point with the staring match when screaming and gunfire erupted upstairs.
"MOVE!" Ruby screamed pushing aside Anolia who she knew didn't have her Aura unlocked as the creature leapt for her. However Ruby didn't have time to fire Crescent Rose at the creature as it slammed into her as hard as Yang used to do during their sparring sessions.
Shelves broke behind Ruby as it carried her through them before they finally hit a concrete wall at the far end of the basement. As Ruby maneuvered Crescent Rose between her and the taller Creature it had grabbed either side of her skull as it looked down at her.
Ruby watched as it opened its bloody mouth revealing multiple rows of jagged teeth like a shark and she knew what was about to happen. So she fired Crescent Rose and the creature howled but didn't let go of her as its seemingly empty eye sockets looked into her eyes as she worked the bolt. A small part of her mind noting the odd looking clumps of what could only be flesh between its teeth before her vision was swallowed in black.