Kiera laid on the cot listening to the soothing wind and brushing leaves of the surrounding forest. It's been years since she spent this long out in the wild. Most of the Rangers were out scouting or ranging, or whatever it is they do, leaving the camp in serenity. Not even the emptiest parts of the Mud District were this calming. There was always a creak here and there from the wood churning in the mud. Even when all other disturbances fell silent there was still that unnatural feeling she got whenever she stood still in the Mud District. As if she were sinking. Deeper and deeper. But not out here. In the wild things were as they were. Here, things were-
Noise from outside. Rangers were returning and whatever news they brought with them caused a commotion. Kiera moved her legs over the side of the cot and stood. A percussion of drums pounded in her head. She stumbled, but caught herself. Her wounds were healed for the most part, but the forced healing was worse than the still remaining bruises. Every patch of her body ached. The initial cadence dimmed to a low thud behind her forehead. It'd be that way for another day or two she knew. There'd be no helping it. Fighting through the pain, she parted the tent flaps and walked outside.
The Rangers were bustling about collecting gear and preparing horses. In the middle of camp Captain Ashur was busy talking things over with a few winded scouts. Kiera headed towards him.
"What's going on?" she asked. When he didn't seem to hear her, she shoved him. "Ashur, what's going on?!"
The Ranger Captain dismissed his scouts and turned to face her. "A few hours ago, more than half of the Ophidians at the Quarry packed up and left."
"What?" the drums started getting louder again.
"They're heading for Refuge judging by the route their taking. Now is our chance to liberate the Quarry once and for all. The Ophidians left the Quarry to a skeleton crew. We can overcome them."
"No." said Kiera, disbelieving her own words.
"What?"
"We can't."
"What do you mean we can't'?!"
"They're heading for Refuge. There's only one reason for that. If Ira Glass is sending in those bastards and not the City Guard…" she shook herself, "They won't be arresting anyone. They'll kill every last person in the Mud District."
"I know." Said Ashur. His face solid, a thing carved out of marble.
"You know?" she repeated, dazed and confused. "We have to help them."
"I've decided Kiera. The order has been given. We're going to the Quarry."
"But-"
"They're rolling out in trucks." He whispered so no one else around could hear. "All we got are horses and few of them. Even if we do get there in time to help your friends we'll be in her territory. She'll turn the city against us. Trap us in and grind us into dust."
"We can beat them." Insisted Kiera, "Save my friends and together we can take the Quarry."
"Maybe, but that will take time. Time, we don't have. You don't understand. Ira has built an empire that stretches across the better half of Mistral. We don't see it because we're in that empire's heart. If she were to call in every asset at her disposal she'd have a force powerful enough to challenge the council of Mistral itself. By the time we reach the Quarry we'll find her army there waiting for us. But if we strike now while she's distracted we can take it. Without the Quarry, her whole network crumbles."
Her knees threatened to buckle. "But the Mud District…"
"A few hundred people at most. There are over a thousand slaves toiling away in those tunnels. Freeing them is what you set out to do and it's what I aim to do now. Join us or rush to your friends. Or stay and rest. You shouldn't be moving around too begin with. I've made my choice, now it's up to you to make your own. Whatever you decide, I wish you luck."
Kiera rubbed at her neck where a metal collar once leashed her to a pole with several other faunus slaves. She felt as if it were still there, constricting her. One step in any direction and the chain would snap taut. One of the scouts returned leading two horses. Her hand lashed out and took the reins.
The storm had finally passed them by, leaving Refuge in a small state of deluge. The Mud District glimmered as if a new coat of oil had been rubbed into any place the rain could reach. Runt leaned against the stacked wall, peering just over its top. Across no man's land there wasn't a single guard in sight. They had been missing for almost three hours. It was as if the storm had swept them away. Their unexplained absence left people on edge. For more than a week their stare down lasted. To just vanish as soon as the rain dissipated marked the first real move in this stalemate. Something was happening. Runt just didn't know what.
The man at his side hiccupped, "Could be they're hiding behind their defenses. Same as us."
Runt shook his head, "No, I would've heard them if they were."
"They on their coffee break then? Speaking of which." The man stood and pulled out a bottle from the box he was sitting on. He popped the cork out with his teeth before spitting it away and taking a swig.
Runt eyed the bottle, recognizing it with some familiarity. "That's not coffee."
The man's lips parted into a lethargic smile, "No its not."
"Coll the drunk innkeeper." Runt snickered.
"Runt, the former drunk carpenter. Seems we got all kinds manning the defenses."
"What do you make of this?" Runt flicked his head in the direction of the empty guard barricades.
"The lack of guard or this situation as a whole?"
"Yes."
Coll took another gulp of the foul-smelling drink, swishing the liquid in his mouth as he pondered. "It's all fucked. The whole thing. I don't know why it's even happening to us and I can tell you we don't care anymore. As far as them being missing? Well, the Buffer won't stay empty. Out with the old and in with the new sort of deal."
"You think they're coming back?"
"Something is. And I'll be waiting for them. Got nothing better to do. The inn is empty now. Every room…" Coll drank again, chugging it this time.
From behind them came the rush of footsteps. Runt turned to see Alfie sprinting his way towards them. He stopped before Runt, sweat smeared and gasping. The boy looked to have been running around all day.
"Runt-" He wheezed.
"Catch your breath first." Ordered Runt.
Alfie collapsed against the wooden barricade next to Coll, who offered him the bottle. "Here, lad. Drink." Alfie took a sip before coughing it back up much to Coll's amusement.
"Clementine wants to see you." Said Alfie, wiping the liquid from his lips. "He says its real urgent."
"Did he say where?"
Alfie thought a moment, "The map room."
"Dammit all." Grumbled Runt, "Leff!"
The senior Mudslinger poked his head out from the lookout hovel on the roof, "Yeah?"
"If you see anything, anything at all, you blow that whistle as loud as you can. Coll, you take care of Alfie."
Coll raised his bottle in agreement before Runt turned and ran. His flight from the defenses caught the attention of all within sight. Now was not a good time to pull him away. Things were tense with the guard's mysterious disappearance. He would need to return soon. With Kiera missing he was the only real fighter in the district. There were no more Buckets hiding among their ranks. When the fighting started he needed to be there on the front line.
Runt ran with haste, but was careful not to overexert himself. His wounds though mended were still tender. Aura forced healing always left its users drained. Runt moved as if those needle swords were still inside him, poking out. Still, even slowed at a full sprint the district passed by. He slid to a stop in front of Clementine's hideout. The Spine's shadow blanketed the sunken building. The surrounding streets were different from what he remembered. Since just about everyone was at the border no one noticed the sinkholes that ravaged this part of the district. Whole buildings were swallowed up. Clementine's hideout was lucky to still be above ground.
There were voices inside. Silent whispers. Runt climbed in through the window. Almost two dozen little faces turned to notice him. Children. Barely out of their diapers. Greenberg's students as well as those the Mudslingers had taken in. A small army of waifs and urchins.
"Do you understand?" asked Clementine to no one in particular.
The children all nodded before scampering off. They passed by his feet like a little stampede. When the last child leapt from the windowsill into the mud below Runt turned to Clementine, "What was that about?"
Clementine dismissed the matter with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it."
"They shouldn't be this close to the Spine. It's not safe."
Using a bent and twisted wooden stick as a cane, Clementine got to his feet. "Nowhere in the Mud District is safe right now. They're coming."
"What are you talking about?" asked Runt, glancing at Clementine's map. An addition of scribbles had been added to its surface since last he saw it. The shaded colors masking out entire districts. Runt thought to examine it further, but then Clementine's words drove his attention back on him.
"A large number of men were seen passing through the hamlets out in the glades. Dressed as guard, but not really. The Ophidians have left their pit and they're heading this way. They will arrive at Refuge's gates any second now."
"How do you know this?"
"Adriane informed me." Runt was about to ask more questions but Clementine grabbed him by his shirt. "They're coming, Runt. And Oren is leading them. They'll be here within the hour to finish the job. Now I know you have questions and I promise to answer them, but now is not the time. We need you focused. Everything that's happened has been leading to this. Ira is throwing all she has at us. If we beat them here, today, then we will be one step closer to Ira herself. Then all of this will be over. Our fight for survival. This struggle. All of it."
Runt's straightened. Protecting the people was the first and only thing on his mind. "If they break through, guide the children and the old to the tunnel. See them safely out of here."
Clementine clapped him on the shoulder, his expression hardening. "I'll see to it that no harm comes to any of them. Now go. The Mud District needs you."