Two groups - the eastern and the northern - had encountered the creatures now. They escaped both times, but one of them had claws. The size of those claws was a point of contention - Voysh called them large, enough to cut a man in two, while Fita, a girl with long brown hair and a scar running over her left cheek, said they were more like nails someone let grow out too much. Both agreed they were dangerous though.
Anika was the one to propose a course of action, as was usual in these evening meetings.
“I think we should have more people on watch. I don’t like these things crawling around in the night, especially if they have claws like those.”
There was groaning about missing sleep, but no real disagreement. The group split soon after, people going to practice with their weapons, relax or chat. Hitch approached Mayhe, the other boy helping bring some firewood to the fire.
“Hey, hope you don’t mind being put on watch with me.”
“Not at all. You’re the only one who actually fought one of-”
“It wasn’t a fight.” His words came out fast and he blushed, then straightened himself and tried speaking slower. “It wasn’t. We tumbled and they - it - cracked.”
“Not a fight. But you’re the one who’s been closest to them, so I hope to count on your eyes in case they come close. Okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, of course. Your group went far to the south today, right? What’s the feeling?”
“It’s… a bit depressing, I guess. Walking and walking, hoping to find some civilization, but then there’s nothing there but trees. We did find some markings, or at least I think they’re markings, but the others disagreed and when I told Anika about it she said to not talk about it until we knew more. So whoops.”
He smiled at Hitch, the boy smiling back.
“Whoops indeed. Wanna go check them out tomorrow? I could join your group, if you don’t mind, my hands are feeling better.”
“Sure, I don’t see why not. Better to rotate the groups, make sure everyone gets to work together.”
He nodded, relieved at the offer being accepted. They sat by the fire, chatting about their respective cities. Mayhe was from a small family - just him, his parents and an older sister that joined the expeditions and never came back. He’d been working at a tailor’s, but his heart wasn’t into it, drawn to the outside world just like his sister was. Hitch was the third child of four, his parents being tanners. He never liked the smell or the work, far more interested in herbs used by his grandfather, learning of them in his spare time. He kept his eye out for any he knew to be useful here, but didn’t have much success with it yet.
They sat and chatted for a few hours, getting ready to sleep when a brush moved. Hitch went still instantly, Mayhe stepping forward, sword drawn. A large, pure white shape stepped out from the woods, easily over two meters tall. It was just like the creature from before, but scaled up, with large claws on the ends of upper arms. It’s mouth opened, then emitted a screech, waking some of the sleeping kids. Hitch took a step back, then found himself losing balance, falling to the ground as his vision went blurry. He pulled out his dagger and saw Mayhe say something, but didn’t hear a thing as the other boy moved closer to the thing.
The creature darted forward, right into Mayhe’s reach and the boy swung. His sword met the monster’s claw, but did not cut in, getting deflected. The boy managed to hold onto the sword, but his side was hit by one of the lower arms, causing him to stumble. A claw came for him, intercepted by a spear thrust from a girl who’s name escaped Hitch, her hair short now, recently cut and brown, the thrust brave but less than skillful. Pallia came up to the beast next, striking at its back, the sword digging in and cracking some of the porcelain carapace. The creature turned, grabbing the spear and pulling it out of the first girl’s hands, then striking the second in the side with its claw, digging in deep. It let out another screech as more of the camp’s residents approached, then dashed for the woods, deftly disappearing in them and leaving the wounded girl and boy on the ground.
Mayhe was laying on his back, clutching at his chest and coughing, trying to sit up while Pallia simply lay there. Hitch ran over to the girl, putting his hands on her side, the palms bloody once more. He was still disoriented, but he gathered his wits enough to do that much.
“She’s bleeding here! Get something for it!”
The yells were answered with someone bringing in some more clothes, helping him dress the holes in her side, a boy with glasses doing most of the assistance, being one of the people already awake by the time the attack started.
—
The morning was tense. It was barely dawn, most people up through the night. Mayhe was laying on a makeshift bed, asleep by now, Pallia beside him and not awake since getting attacked. Anika was pacing around, trying to come to a plan, muttering to herself as she seemed to grow more and more tense by the moment.
He saw Titor to the side, practicing with his bow and making arrows. The boy was among the more physically imposing, so it was a bit surprising when he picked the bow over other weapons, but he said he far preferred it and often used it when hunting. The large lad was often approached by others while practicing, many coming to him to ask for help moving something or simply to vent. He always helped and listened, but returned to his practice quickly.
Voysh was the one with the clearest plan and loudest voice - to go after the creature and kill it, so this wouldn’t happen again.
“I know it might be hard to track, but a thing that size? Gotta leave tracks. And we find it and cut it down. Make it and all of those four armed fucks afraid of getting near here.”
There were not real voices of disagreement to that idea, a group of seven forming up to go hunting. Voysh was the leader of the party, Fita joining him with equal bloodlust. Ponneltor was the third member, though he’d been the last to volunteer. The other three were Luce, Olivia and Hari. Luce had made a shield for himself from a part of a box and had a sword, wielding them with some difficulty due to his less than impressive stature. He was eager to prove himself, being one of the few from richer families, unused to work. Olivia was one of the people who’d picked up a spear and was one of the better fighters, always first to agree for some practice, as her mother had been a guard who wanted her daughters to know how to fight too. Hari had picked the bow and was okay at it, their aim was good though the draw power was less impressive than the other archers’. Titor was also joining, finishing up his work. The seven set out shortly after dawn, leaving the others to tend to the camp, unwilling to go exploring after what happened.
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Hitch’s hands were feeling better as he sat by the wood, slowly working through the pile to make something usable.
—
Lunch rolled around, the remaining people gathering together. Hitch sat with Tar, the blond boy intently reading his tome even as he ate and Hitch did not interrupt.
Everyone was tense and either working it off or practicing, aside from a small group that went to the river to have fun in the morning and now again. Though maybe that was the correct thing to do, rather than overworking themselves like the others did.
Once he finished his meal, he didn’t go back to working on the wood, going to the hurt two instead. Pallia was still out and feverish and Mayhe was doing a bit better - not moving much and sweating, but conscious.
“Need anything?”
“Not to be hurt. Aside from that, I’m peachy.”
He did not look peachy.
“Though sorry we can’t go look at the markings. Maybe you can slip away on your own, or grab someone to go with you?”
“I don’t think I would know what to look for, to be honest.”
“Oh come on, I can tell you exactly where they were, you need only follow them. It might distract you from looking at our sorry states.”
There was a bit of edge to his voice. It felt like he was trying to sound teasing, but was tired and hurt and that was seeping out.
“Okay, okay. Tell me how to get there, I’ll see what I can find and tell you. Deal?”
“Deal. You go south, then there are a pair of rocks that seem like they have a ditch between them. If you stand on the one on the right, you can find two lines on one of the trees to the right. It’s pretty low, but you should see it over the growth. Then, I think I saw another pair of lines on a tree further, but had to head back before checking it out. So tell me if you find anything.”
Hitch nodded, checked his bag and knife, then set out on the exploration on his own.
—
Passing by the river, a trio was still there, splashing around and laughing. He was a bit interested in just going there and joining, but he felt he had to do right by Mayhe. If he’d been faster before, if he didn’t get disoriented and acted, the other boy might not even have gotten hurt, right? So he quickened his pace, turning away from the happy faces, eyes seeking for the two large landmarks that should signal for further searching.
The boy found the two rocks after a while of walking. There was a path leading besides them and a groove in between, just as promised. He stepped on one of the rocks, looking around until he spotted two gashes in one of the trees, the angle just right.
Hitch followed a trail of these gashes, heading deeper and deeper into the woods, the branches and brushes scraping on him. He felt a bit trapped as he kept walking, his knife out by now and cutting at the growth, the marks still there, getting harder to follow and notice.
He lost the trail a few times, looking around and cutting around, the markings hidden behind more bushes or higher up than he was used to things being. Finally, after what felt like grueling hours, he came to a large tree. It was thicker than any other he’d ever seen, large enough to fit an entire house if not more inside itself. The growth was less dense around it, allowing Hitch to walk around the tree. At the back side, he found the end of the two lines, one last marking above a huge wooden gate set into the tree. Inside it was completely dark, but once he touched the gate letters lit up on the bark.
“Three shall enter. Ready and struggle for the blessing.”
The words were glowing on the tree, and underneath them another line slowly formed itself.
“1. Hitch”
He pulled back, then sat down, staring at the tree, his mind racing in none of the useful ways. Unsure why, or how or what to do.
Who did he tell about it? Everyone? If only three people can make it and he was already in, then he wanted to get Mayhe in it once he’s better. But if he talked about it now, the slots would get taken by others. Though what if it’s something useful? The group needs help right now, not at some other time. If he keeps it a secret, who does he invite as a third? Though maybe he could leave that to Mayhe… Was it incorrect to just let people who wanted to decide decide?
—
While returning to the camp, he was intercepted by Anika, the girl looking frustrated, worried and tired.
“Where were you? Things were really f- messed up last night, and I don’t like people just disappearing on me.”
“Sorry, I just went for a walk to clear my head.”
He apologized out of instinct, not looking directly at her, worried he might not be able to keep the fact he’s hiding his findings secret if the conversation went on.
“It was hard, I agree. I was there, you don’t need to tell me that. And I didn’t mean to worry you, but I also didn’t want to be sent off with someone while just wanting to deal with my things.”
She sighed, then shook her head, still frowning.
“It’s not about me wanting to keep people chained down or anything, I worry, since we got attacked, we’re in a weird place and people being selfish or just unaware could hurt them. Hurt all of us. So please, in the future, just let someone know you’re running off, rather than leave us wondering if someone snatched you up from here.”
“Okay, I will. Again, sorry”
He slipped away, going to work on the wood some more.
—
The axe went through the head easily, the swing going down in a horrific display of force. The porcelain creature crumpled instantly, joining the rest on the forest ground, but was replaced by another, climbing over the body of its brethren and past the cut up branches. It was clawing at Voysh’s hand and trying to drag him down or out into the more open space beyond the trees. The boy kicked it away, then took a step back, eyes over the situation. Ponneltor stood to his left, stabs methodical, serving to deter the things that got too close to anyone. Fita was darting in and out, cutting the things with her sword whenever she thought she could get away with it, though she was overestimating her capabilities, earning cuts and bruises. Luce and Olivia were to his right, the boy getting surrounded.
Idiot.
Voysh kicked one more of the creatures, then swung his awe in a wide arc, the things stopping their assault and stepping back. He moved towards where the fight was happening, Olivia gracefully dealing with the things in front of her but unable to help Luce out, his voice loud as more and more of his blood was spilt. Arrows were impacting the things on the outskirts or those trying to circle, but none of the ones immediately attacking their one person with the shield. Voysh let out a loud scream, some heads swiveling to him, then charged at the mass surrounding the other boy. The four armed freaks cleared, one getting his back destroyed by the swing of the axe. Voysh griped Luce by the shoulder and pulled him back.
“Fucking back! All of you, retreat, fast. Outrun these!”
He yelled at his companions, who turned to leave, giving a push to Luce again. He used the handle of his weapon to push at the mass, stepping back step by step. Hearing them run got him calmer. He’d seen Luce’s legs, he knew how ready they were. So he needed to make the things stay here a while longer.
He yelled again, cutting, kicking and punching the dreadful things for as long as it takes.
