Banished Pt. 20

I recognized the voice as Daisy's, but my impulse to reply with a clever retort quickly gave way to my realization of just how dark it was in there.

"Jesus. I know you all tried to kill me, but this is some punishment," I said.

As Casey stepped forward with the torch, the girl came into view past a row of thick, metal bars.

"It's you," Daisy said, shaking her head a little. "Did you really beat him?"

I chewed on my lip a bit, and she shook her head knowingly.

"Guess he wanted something more than your life, then," she said, as I surveyed the group.

There were Daisy's two other companions, who I'd expected to see, but also four others; all guys.

"So... what did you want to talk about?" I asked, and she scoffed.

"Seriously? I fucking helped you beat Leona," she spat, and I shook my head at her.

"And I let you live," I answered.

She was glaring at me, but I held her gaze, not letting my smile falter for even a moment.

"How did Ethan recruit you?" I asked, and Daisy scoffed.

"Recruit? He beat and subjugated us, you fucking moron!"

"Daisy, calm down, okay? You aren't going to get anything from them if you behave like that."

The man who spoke was the one I'd assumed to be the leader of their group.

"It's fine," I said, as I stepped forward. "I'd be pissy too if I spent the night in here."

Daisy studied me for a moment, before letting out a tired sigh.

"Fine. Can you please put us in a more hospitable cell at least? It's really cold and uncomfortable in here," she said, and I shook my head.

"I'll decide when we're done talking. How long have you all been here?"

"Here, as in this fort?" Lester asked.

"No, this planet," I clarified, and Daisy and Lester turned to their leader.

"I dunno. Hard to tell anymore. I think maybe two months," he said.

"How many did you kill in that time?" I asked, and this time, Lester scoffed.

"How many did you kill last night?" he asked, and I laughed.

"Same cell it is," I said, gesturing to Casey as we turned to leave, but-

"No, wait! We killed, okay?" Daisy said. "Maybe a dozen, maybe fifteen? I dunno! But you don't know what the fuck it was like out here! We were starving to death, sleeping in the fucking woods around towns and getting chased out with rocks and pitchforks every time we tried to get near anyone!"

"Calm down, Daisy. I'm pretty sure he doesn't give a fuck," the other man said, and I turned and shot him a quick smile.

"Maybe," I said, as I turned and stepped out of the door, but as soon as I pulled the door shut, I turned to Casey. "Let's move them. There's plenty of room in the fort, especially so after we leave."

"I'm pretty sure they killed more than fifteen," she said, and I shrugged.

"Their pledges will keep them in check, and if we see something to worry about, we'll take action; but there's no use judging them based on what they did to survive."

"You believe that story?" Casey asked, and I chuckled.

"The story? No. But we both know what this world is like."

We gathered up the newbies, giving them the rundown of the situation and offering them the option to join on; and unsurprisingly, about a dozen of them readily agreed.

A few more seemed on the fence, but after finding out that staying at the fort was an option, and not just in a dungeon; they quickly opted to stay behind.

I was about to ask Casey what else was on the agenda for the day, when a thought message came to me from Bianca:

Nate? Can you hear me? I need you to come find me, quick! It's important!

"Ok, but where?" I said, sighing, and Casey eyed me.

"You okay?" she asked, and I chuckled nervously.

"I think someone's calling me," I said, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Anything I'd be needed for? Because I need to sort out supplies and stuff," she said, and I shook my head.

"Carry on," I said.

I moved across the outer grounds of the fort to the courtyard, activating my connection to Bianca as I did.

She was on the third floor of the fort, from what I could tell, close to the wall on the northern side, but as I moved for the entrance, I decided to hang back.

Her position was definitely in a corridor along the outer wall.

Did that mean she was looking out the window?

I crept past the entrance, along the western wall until I could look around it to the other side, and as soon as I did, I spotted them; Leanna and Blair.

Leanna seemed to be shifting uncomfortably, and Blair had that cheeky smile on her face that told me she was enjoying whatever it was that she was doing, perhaps a bit too much.

I quickly ducked away from the scene and headed inside, summoning up Bianca's image again before sending a sharp pain through the big toe of her right foot.

Ouch, fuck! Sorry! Go up to the third floor, take the corridor left, then another left. Follow it all the way down until you pass... three corridors left, I think? Just look for the one that goes to the far wall, then you should see me.

I followed Bianca's directions, and to my surprise, found the girl waiting for me with Lucia by her side.

As I approached the two, however, I noted there was a slightly shell-shocked expression on Lucia's face.

"Naythan... how~?" she whined, and I shook my head as I looked between the child and Bianca.

"Told ya! We're soulmates. If I just whisper his name, he comes to me," Bianca teased, which prompted Lucia to aim a stomp at Bianca's foot.

"Hey, she's just teasing you. She used a thought-message," I explained to Lucia, as I stooped down and scooped her up.

"Thought message? Why can't Lucia?" the girl asked, and I smiled, wiggling her nose as I did.

"Because you didn't misbehave. Bianca did, so I had to make her pledge to me," I said, shooting Bianca a look out of the corner of my eye.

"Pledge, shmedge," Bianca said dismissively. "Nate and I share a special connection that you'll never have!" she continued teasingly, and Lucia began to struggle in my arms.

"Not fair, Nathan! Lucia wants thought message!"

I set the child down, and stayed down on one knee as I studied her.

"Fine, we'll talk about it when we get back to Grenze, okay?" I said, and Lucia nodded.

"Discussion," she said, agreeing.

She took my hand and kissed the back, then placed it against her forehead, before turning and running off.

Bianca seemed a little bit saddened, however, as she watched her go.

"So, what did you call me out for?" I asked, trying to get her attention back to the matter at hand, and she quickly shook her head.

"Right! I caught Blair doing that thing! The Emily thing," Bianca said, and I frowned.

"You heard the conversation?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Well... Lucia did," she said, fidgeting a little, and I smiled.

"Hnn~. Well look at you two, teaming up and whatnot. So, what did you find out?"

"Blair was telling Leanna that since we have more human captives now, we should ditch the Kobalt and use their tech to make our own base without 'em," Bianca explained, and I frowned.

"I see. And how did Leanna respond?"

"She wasn't sure," Bianca said. "Said Blair should take it up with you, but then Blair told Leanna that you wouldn't listen to her. That she only just joined, so you'd be more likely to listen to Leanna if she suggested it."

I frowned at this.

Did Blair really think that I would listen to Leanna if she suggested something like that?

That seemed unlikely.

But why would she try to put that idea into Leanna's head?

Figuring out why she went after Lucia was easy enough to understand, but this was definitely different.

"You want me to keep an eye on Blair?" Bianca asked, and I nodded.

"Just... make real sure that she doesn't see you doing it," I said.

"Does that I mean I get to use my special skill?" she asked, and I nodded.

"I just don't want you to make it obvious that you're using it, okay? That skill is much more useful to us if as few people as possible know about it," I said.

As we headed down from the third floor, I made a personal note to ask Jordan to keep an extra eye out for Leanna in case Blair really intended to work on her.

"Are we leaving here today?" Bianca asked, and I nodded.

"We should be."

"Then, can I pet one of the pups before we leave?" she asked, and I shook my head at her.

"No petting. Maybe we can find you one to pet eventually, but those are warriors," I chided, and she frowned.

"They might as well be babies compared to us," she said, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"You know, less than two weeks ago you were a baby yourself," I chided, and she frowned.

"So? I'm stronger now than most of them will ever be," she boasted, and I shook my head again.

"I'm not sure I like this side of you," I warned, and she shrugged.

"I know. But you'll tolerate me anyway, won't ya?" she declared, and I chuckled a little.

"You're lucky you're cute," I said.

As we headed down the stairs to the second floor, however, I saw Cameron down the corridor, and as soon as she saw me, she marched right over to my side.

"Hey, what happened to Francesca?" Cameron asked.

"She got injured in the fight," I said, but Cameron shook her head.

"No, not that- she gets injured all the time. I just asked her to train me and she said that she doesn't fight anymore. What the fuck is that about?"

"Oh, that... I guess she had a rough time last night, and it kind of spooked her," I explained. "I'm sure she'll come around eventually; she just needs time."

Cameron bit her lip, as she thought about it.

"Fucking hell. Well, do something about it, will ya? Spend some time with her or fuck her brains out or whatever, just get her to train me, okay?" Cameron said, as she turned and made her way, a little angrily, down the corridor towards her room.

"Yikes..." Bianca said, and I nodded.

"She's having a rough time too," I said, and Bianca looked up at me at this.

"Does that make you feel sad? I thought psychopaths weren't supposed to feel things," she said, and I chuckled.

"I'm probably not gonna sit around moping about it, but not having someone around when that person has been a source of comfort sucks either way," I said, shrugging. "It is what it is."

Bianca grinned a little at that.

"I think I like this Nathan. Why didn't you ever tell me about it?" she asked, and I shrugged.

"I figure the less people to know, the better it'd be overall-" I began, but as we rounded the corner, I ran straight into Nolan.

"You know, some people would call that being manipulative," he said, and I sighed.

"Probably," I said. "But I do have the group's best interests at heart."

He scoffed, studying me a bit, but the scowling look quickly gave way to a more serious expression.

"Fine, then. Let's see how much you really value the group; Cameron's going out to track Ethan, isn't she?" Nolan asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah..." I replied, studying him warily.

"And it wouldn't exactly be in the group's best interest for its leader to go traipsing around on a man hunt while we're trying to establish our base, now would it?"

I bit my lip, as I studied him.

"What are you suggesting?" I asked, and he cracked a half-smile.

"I'll help Cameron with the hunting mission," he said. "It'd be in the group's best interests, and in Cameron's as well to have one of us there to watch her back, right? Someone who is an original member of the group? Someone she could rely on-?"

I raised a hand to stop him.

"Yeah, I get it. Except, Cameron's gonna train properly to be combat ready for this mission. Are you up for that as well?" I asked, and he shrugged.

"Fine by me. You aren't gonna deny me a training partner or anything like that, are you?"

I swallowed with some difficulty.

"No, you can train as you please, or Casey and I will arrange something. Perhaps it might be best if both you and Cameron go through the same training," I said, and he studied me.

"Y-Yeah, that'd be for the best," he said.

He seemed a little caught off-guard by the extent to which I was on board with his suggestion, but as he turned and headed away, I gritted my teeth a little.

"We could always murder him in his sleep. Dump the body off of that canyon," Bianca suggested, and I shook my head.

"I-It's fine. And Cameron will need a team anyway," I said.

As we headed for the stairs, however, I noted Bianca's eyes on me.

"You'd really let him go out there with Cameron?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"Alone? Probably not. He's not been proven reliable enough for that kind of mission yet," I said.

Groups of three seemed to be the way most of the hunting parties set themselves up, so perhaps that would be the best way to proceed.

But who could I even assign with them?

Bianca was my best bet, but I also wanted to keep her close by.

And not just for myself, but for Lucia too.

I shook the thought away, however, as it would still be some time before it become a pressing issue.

"Were there any other problems?" I asked, and Bianca nodded.

"Our hunters and the Accalians don't seem to like each other very much," she said, and I nodded.

"Guess it is to be expected," I replied.

Truthfully, that matter was one that I'd need more time to properly understand.

Though it didn't seem as if there was any bad blood between the two peoples, so perhaps a bit of time would sort that out in any case.

"Was there anything else?" I asked, and Bianca shook her head. "Well do me a favor and find Casey for me," I said, as we stepped outside.

I looked across the courtyard, however, and spotted Jordan and Nolan talking, and for a moment, I decided to keep an eye on the two.

Jordan seemed to be a quite reluctant participant to the conversation, and after Nolan headed off, Jordan shot me a slightly pleading look, so I headed over there.

"Hey. Everything alright?" I asked, and Jordan frowned.

"Nolan just told me about the, uh... tracking team," he said. "Are you really sending him out with Cameron?"

I shook my head.

"Nothing is finalized, and everything depends on how the training goes and what information we gather between now and then," I said, and Jordan frowned.

"Please don't think that I'm sounding like a jilted ex when I say this, but I don't like the idea of him being left with Cameron alone anywhere, much less out there," he said, and I frowned.

"I see..."

Obviously, I did have my own reservations about Nolan, but I was fairly confident in Cameron's ability to handle herself.

Nolan, on the other hand, was becoming a problem; and if Cameron objected to his proposal, which I'd only agreed to for the sake of temporarily appeasing him, then we'd need to figure out just how we should deal with him then.

"How would you feel about going on that mission with them if it comes to that?" I asked, and Jordan frowned again.

"I dunno. I'm not sure I can just leave Leanna as things stand. I know everyone thinks she's doing much better, but she freaks out at least a dozen times a day, and sometimes it's really bad," Jordan said, and I rubbed my chin thoughtfully in response.

"I see. I'm sorry; I guess I haven't been paying as much attention to her as I should have been," I said, but Jordan shook his head.

"You can't be expected to be everywhere at once, Nate. I was planning on letting you know when things settled down, but I've been handling it well enough, and I think we're getting closer to figuring out some medication to treat her problems too."

I shot Jordan a thankful look, resting a hand on his shoulder as I did.

"I owe you a debt of gratitude," I said. "You are right, though. We'll need to figure out how to delegate a few more of my responsibilities as things progress with our settlement," I added, and Jordan nodded.

"Yeah. I can imagine you're going to be getting much more involved in the political side of managing things too, after that coronation ceremony," he said, and I nodded.

"That's true."

I'd been fairly over-reliant on Gisela to handle all of that while we sorted out the problems with monsters and threats, but now that things were settling down, maybe I'd need to spend a little time with the girl and get a better understanding of what we'd need to do to establish proper ties with the clusters and groves around us.

As we spoke, I caught sight of Francesca heading our way from the pathway that led to the canyon beyond, and I gestured to Jordan as I headed over to her side.

"Taking a morning stroll?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"Was doing a check to see how many points of entry there are to the fort," she explained, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? What happened to taking a step back?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"I am; but that doesn't mean I want to be completely useless," she said, and I smiled.

"So, what's your assessment?" I asked, and she took a look around.

"We're open to the forest to the east, but only north of the river; then there's the path up ahead. It's fairly secure, but I spotted a few places there where you can break through that brush," she continued. "Can't help but feel as if it'd suit us much better if we had a fort on the opposite side of that bridge."

"Very astute, little apprentice," I said, giving her a little clap, and she put her hands on her hips.

"What? Am I wrong?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"Not really; we would be better off with a defensive structure on that side of the river, considering where we're planning on settling down. But can you guess why they built the fort where it is?" I asked, and Francesca thought about it, a smile creeping across her face as she did.

"Because whoever built it settled down on this side of the river?" she asked, and I clicked my tongue at her, but as I lifted a finger in her direction, I let the hand fall away, and she shot me a sympathetic smile.

"We'll get him. I'm sure we will," she said, and I nodded, a bit reluctantly.

"There's something I want you to reconsider," I said, taking a token out of my pocket, and Francesca frowned as she studied it.

"Nate- I just... I dunno about being your 'fighter'," she began, and I shook my head.

"Look at it carefully," I said, holding the token up, and as she studied the shadowy figure on the token, she glanced at me.

"What is that... the monk?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Maybe I put a burden on you that I shouldn't have," I said, and Francesca shook her head.

"That's not true, Nate. You took on more burdens than anyone else did, and you never asked us to do anything in return. I wanted to serve by your side, I just- I needed to figure out what that meant."

"Well, maybe this will help you," I said. "Monks can make excellent fighters, but maybe the discipline and introspection that they embody can help you find what you're looking for," I suggested, and Francesca bit her lip as she considered it.

"What would I have to do if I accept?" she asked.

"Nothing. Just use it for now, and if it works out, we'll figure out how the role works with all of the others that I handed out," I said, and Francesca nodded.

"Alright. I can do that."

She blushed a little as I handed her the stone, before moving into my arms for a hug and a quick kiss.

"I'm still waiting on my promised nights," she said, but as she moved away from me, I caught Iduma casting furtive glances in our direction.

"I think your new 'canine companion' is concerned about his master's displays of affection," I teased, gesturing in his direction, and Francesca blushed as she caught on.

"I'll admit begrudgingly, he is kind of cute," she said, and I began to grin.

"I can see it already! The pup who wanted to save his people, falling in love with the woman who would rule them," I teased, and Francesca shoved me playfully.

"Oh, stop," she chided. "It's not like if we can rule all the sentient races on this planet," she said, and I shrugged.