Banished Pt. 08

"Fine. Stay there and hide, cowards! See if I won't wipe you and your little fucking minions off the face of this fucking planet!"

As I continued my tirade, a plume of smoke went up, somewhere off to my right, and I held my breath, as I unleashed another torrent of insults, but as I kept up the show for another minute or two, my chest began to tighten, as no smoke ever rose from the left, where Nolan's group had gone.

I choked back my uncertainty, and continued the rant, until some movement in the branches overhead caught my attention.

The branches shifted, as two aufhöcker seemed to be moving in the trees, and heading in the direction of Nolan's group.

Fuck... so much for that, I thought, but as I lifted a hand to signal to the group to rush to Nolan's defense, I spotted something darting past me, and my eyes went wide as I realized what it was.

The little Kobalt girl.

She was carrying a lighted branch and tearing across the forest floor, and the movement of the branches up ahead, immediately paused, then headed towards her.

I darted after her, getting there just as one of the creatures swooped, and I snatched her out of his grasp just as his claws extended within reach of her head.

We rolled, and as I got up and shot her a scolding look, she looked about, then rushed to the burning brand, and after blowing on it, and reviving the flame it carried, she turned, a look of determination on her face.

You want to light the fire? I thought.

Would the creatures attack her if I was at her side?

It didn't seem as if they were willing to risk themselves to danger; but the thought had barely registered in my mind, when the thudding sound of footsteps landing on the ground sounded around me, and I turned to spot the four aufhöcker, staring at me with those sharp, penetrative glares.

Were they going to finally act?

As I studied them, I noted something off about their gazes... something that seemed, desperate, almost.

I froze, and the girl moved instinctively closer to me as I readied myself for their attack, until a growl sounded from somewhere off to the east, and my stomach tightened a bit, as I recognized the sound.

Geisterung!

The wicked growl was quickly followed up by the padding of feet beating the ground, and the creatures around me crouched low, ready to pounce, just as the first of the bear-like things came bearing down at me out of the shadowy night.

I sliced the first one across the torso, then deflected a swipe with my bracer and stabbed another one through the maw, as I kicked at the third, then my world seemed to come crashing down as a shadow loomed over me, and I placed a hand protectively over my neck just as a wicked set of fangs clamped down on the armored appendage.

The creature's strength was incredible, and as it wrestled with my hand, another aufhöcker leapt, it's fangs aimed directly at the unarmored place on the other side of my neck, and as my mind reeled, struggling to come up with a response, a spear tip sliced through the creature from the side, and Francesca shot me a quick glance, and I crouched as she hurled her spear, which ripped through the creature on my back, before impaling itself on a tree trunk just behind it.

I shot her a thankful nod, as Jeannie and Jordan burst into the fray behind her, stabbing two more of the geisterung.

I unclasped my dagger and tossed it at her, and just as another aufhöcker leapt toward Jordan, I dashed in and caught the creature on the tip of my spear.

Another wave of geisterung had already descended upon us, but the hunters from the group charged in to meet them, and they began to pin back some of the creatures with their bone tipped spears.

I cast a quick look around, trying to spot the remaining aufhöcker, who had retreated into the shadows after their comrades had fallen, when I suddenly became aware of a rock hurtling towards me, and I raised both hands just as the thing exploded into my arm guards, the impact knocking me back, as a cloud of dust momentarily shrouded me.

I heard a roar and stabbed in that direction, but as the dust cleared, I saw a geisterung impaled on the tip of the weapon, and my chest tightened as another shadow descended on me from behind.

I began to crouch down in an effort to shield myself protectively, but my response was late.

Much too late!

But as the creature's blow seemed about to land, I heard a whinnying sound, and I gasped as the creature's shadow appeared to hover in mid-air, until I noticed something sticking through it.

A spear?

Had Francesca or one of the others saved me?

I glanced ahead, and sure enough, they were all engaged in their own fights with a massive wave of geisterung, but as I glanced over my shoulder, I spotted her again; the little Kobalt girl.

Her hands were steady, the spear in their grasp, and I watched with awe, as she had braced the weapon on the ground, and aimed it in the path of the creature's leap, allowing the beast to impale itself on the tip of the blade, and I shot her a grateful nod, before turning to assess the situation.

Nolan's fire had never been lit, had it?

Hell, neither group had ever returned either.

I took a quick look at the fight unfolding in front of me, and noted that we were winning quite easily, so I shouted at Francesca, and she turned as I tossed her spear to her.

"With me," I said as she caught it, and she nodded, as we took off in the direction of Nolan's tree.

We got there in under a minute, and I was greeted by the awful sight of dead Kobalt hunters, strewn about, but Nolan was nowhere in sight.

Francesca shot me a worried look, and we quickly headed over toward the burning bit of brush where Raul and his team should be.

We got there to the sight of Raul engaged in combat with some geisterung, most of his hunters standing and fighting by his side, until a howling cry drew my eye, and Francesca let out a whimper as she saw it.

An aufhöcker; standing atop the bark of a felled tree, and in his maw; Nolan, blood leaking down from the creature's teeth where they sank into his neck.

He was alive, but my relief was tempered by the realization that he was at the mercy of the beast.

I darted forward, even though there seemed to be no discernable way for me to get up the side of the bark without climbing the face of the trunk; a seemingly impossible ask.

Was there a way?

Think! I told myself.

I spotted a stray branch as I closed in on the tree, and suddenly I remembered the way the aufhöcker had swung from it when I'd first caught sight of him, back at the camp.

Monsters used skills as well, didn't they?

Was that a skill?

I concentrated on the way he swung from the branch, and as I did, I leapt toward the branch, and grabbed on, then propelled myself as hard as I could in the direction of the beast, and I turned and swung the bladed tip of my halberd in an arc, slicing through the top of the creature's head before landing, and rolling painfully down the other side of the trunk.

Did I get him?

I clambered to my feet with some difficulty, before darting to the top of the fallen tree, and as I circled around, I caught sight of Raul fighting off a new wave of geisterung.

The hunters at his side had dwindled down to three, and I quickly moved to his aid.

I cut through several of the beasts, hacking and stabbing my way through their numbers, until only a few wounded creatures remained, and Raul shot me a thankful nod as I returned to where I'd spotted Nolan before, on the tree.

Francesca had him in her arms, and was climbing down the side of the trunk with some difficulty when I caught sight of her.

I moved to her side, and relieved her of the load, as she climbed down, and retrieved her spear from the ground.

"Is he breathing?"

"Y-yeah," she said, tears already filling her eyes.

"Support Raul. Retreat if you need to, okay?"

She nodded, grabbing her spear and running off, as I slung my halberd over my back, and scooped Nolan up, dashing back towards the camp.

"Ngh," he groaned, as my strides were probably not a pleasant thing for him in his current state.

"Hey. Stay with me, bud. Alright? We'll get you patched right up."

"Nate? Take... care of Cameron... please."

His words were warbly, and I could feel his life fading.

"Come on, man. The heals will close those things right up. Just hang in there, for fuck's sake!"

"Try," he mumbled, and I nodded, as I saw the camp just ahead.

"Healing potion!" I yelled, as soon as I was close enough that my bellowing call could be heard, and Casey darted to me, one of the things already in hand.

"Oh my God," Cameron moaned, as she moved to his side. "No, no, no, please!"

"How many you have?"

"Just two," Casey replied.

"Get more!" I said, as I poured the first over the largest visible wound, and as it closed up, I unstrapped his armor, and tore the cotton shirt beneath, searching for more signs of damage.

The external wound was healed, but what if the internal ones weren't?

I took the second healing vial, and unclasped the cork, pouring the liquid down his throat, and he coughed a bit as it went down, writhing a little as Cameron held his hand, and I steadied him a bit.

He groaned, and struggled in my grasp a bit, before going still, but shooting me a wry look.

"You're fine, right?" I asked, and he smirked a little.

"Just a flesh wound," he joked, and Cameron pouted, as she wiped away a tear.

Casey came bounding back to our side with Ryker in tow, and as I left Nolan to the three, I headed out to take a look at the battlefield.

Jordan and Jeannie, surrounded by the Kobalt hunters, were standing amidst a graveyard full of fallen geisterung, though I noted with relief that very few Kobalt had fallen here.

I let Jordan know that Nolan had been wounded but seemed okay, and he took off, a worried look on his face, as Jeannie moved to my side, and surveyed the dead bodies all around us.

"If this had happened while we were with Vanessa, we'd all be dead, huh..."

"We got lucky. If this had happened two hours earlier tonight, we'd all have probably been dead," I said, and she shook her head.

"We'd have been dead without you to lead us," she said, and I sighed, as she rested a hand on my shoulder.

She followed along with me as we moved to Raul's group, and as we got there, we caught sight of him and Francesca, sitting on one of the branches of the fallen tree which was now smoldering, but not burning.

"Some fire," he said, gesturing at the tree.

"Did you put it out?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"Water was gushing out of the trunk," he answered, and I frowned, as the tree was clearly not one of the massive canopy trees, but one of the much smaller ones.

"Is Nolan alright?" Francesca asked, and I quickly nodded.

"I think he is, at least. We got him back to the camp, and used some heals," I explained, and she sighed, nodding, a hollow expression on her face, as she turned to look around. "Guess it's over, huh?"

I nodded as I moved to her side, and she rested her head against my shoulder as I placed an arm around her, patting her comfortingly.

As I looked up, I realized that light was beginning to trickle into the canopy from above, and I let out a little laugh, as it occurred to me that we'd officially made it through the night.

"Looks like we made it," I said, and Francesca smiled at me, as the four of us turned, and began to make our way back to the camp.