Chapter 366 - A Familiar Foe (Patreon)

The winter moon hung high in the night sky, casting the forest in a silvery light as Zeke led his companions through the wilderness. The ghostly, high-pitched moan hung in the air, clinging to everyone like a cloak. Zeke glanced down and saw that his body was almost entirely transparent – an effect of Jasper’s skill [Mantle of the Banshee].

The skill was contingent on Jasper playing a haunting melody on a set of reed pipes he’d constructed himself, but the effects were unquestionably impressive. After all, neither Zeke nor his companions – except for Pudge, of course – had any skills devoted to stealth, which was a necessity if they were going to traverse the giants’ territory without starting a fight that none of them really thought they could win.

For his part, Zeke had had plenty of experience with giants back in the Radiant Isles, and he had no interest in testing himself against the ascended versions of his old foes. Once, he would have relished such an opportunity. However, that was when he only had himself and a few other capable combatants to worry about. Now, he had an entire city’s worth of kobolds and former slaves depending on him for their survival. He couldn’t be quite so reckless anymore.

Besides, the Jotuns he’d fought before had been extremely powerful, and he suspected that the only reason he and his friends had survived was because of the apathy that had infected the entire race. If they’d had something to live for, things might have turned out very differently back then.

In any case, these new foes were obviously even stronger. Zeke had caught sight of a few of them from afar, and though they looked similar to the Jotuns with whom he’d clashed in the northern mountains of the Radiant Isles, they were equipped with markedly higher levels. Even their scouts were above level fifty, so it wasn’t unreasonable to expect the more conventional warriors to be even higher. On top of that, there were enough of them to make the prospect of a battle extremely unattractive.

Perhaps Zeke and his chosen companions could escape such a situation with their lives, but even if they did, they would not do so unscathed. So, when Jasper had offered to conceal them with a new skill – he’d reached a skill threshold during one of their previous hunting expeditions, earning a new ability – Zeke had immediately agreed. Thus, their current situation, stalking through the wilderness on the very doorstep of enemies that could – and almost certainly would – destroy them if they were detected.

If Zeke was honest, he hated it.

Even though he’d often been forced to sneak around – especially in the troll caves what felt like a lifetime ago – he had never developed an appreciation for stealth. If he’d had his way, he would confront his problems head-on and without subterfuge.

But that just wasn’t possible.  Not with so many people depending on him. If their survival took a little discomfort on his part, then so be it.

For another few minutes, the group carefully stalked through the forest until Pudge, who had been scouting ahead and setting their course, seemed to manifest out of nowhere. He didn’t speak. Instead, he gestured for everyone to follow him. Zeke nodded and did just that; the others followed in his footsteps as Pudge led him across a shallow and half-frozen stream. As they approached a cliff that looked like it had been carved out of the landscape with a giant blade, Zeke kept his senses trained on their surroundings.

After all, the giants’ scouts were surprisingly light-footed for their immense size.

When the group reached the cliff, Pudge led them into a cave whose opening had been concealed behind an overlapping slab of what looked like granite. For the next couple of minutes, the party followed Pudge deeper underground until, at last, he stopped and said, “Camp.”

Zeke felt the tension fall away from his shoulders. They’d been sneaking through the forest for hours, and even with his inflated stats, that constant state of readiness had worn him down. And judging by the relieved sighs coming from his companions, he wasn’t the only one who was mentally, if not physically, exhausted.

He pulled some firewood from his storage space and set it in the center of the cave. Once it was arranged appropriately, Sasha knelt beside it and started casting a spell. Zeke felt the swirl of mana in the air as the porcine beastkin filtered the ambient energies into a usable form.

“It almost feels like you should be able to see it, doesn’t it?” remarked Eveline.

Zeke didn’t answer, but he certainly agreed with the former demoness’s assessment. To him, the feeling reminded him of those old magic eye optical illusions he used to see back in grade school. If he could just alter his perception by a little bit, he could see what Sasha was doing. Try as he might, though, he just couldn’t manage such a shift.

Eventually, Sasha finished her spell and a fire roared into being. In a lot of ways, it looked like any other campfire as the flames flickered merrily, casting the cave in warm light. However, there were a few key differences. The most obvious – and mundane – was that there was no smoke. Even after having it explained to him, Zeke didn’t really know how it worked. So, he’d decided to simply attribute it to…well…magic.

“So scholarly of you,” Eveline said.

The fire also served a similar purpose to Abby’s old [Makeshift Camp] skill, which served to create an aura that kept monsters away. And finally, it put off more warmth than any mundane fire should – a welcome addition given the frigid climate. They’d left the Ianthian Wastes behind in favor of a forest, but the temperatures still hadn’t risen above freezing.

To complete the camp, Zeke summoned a few pieces of furniture from his storage space. It wasn’t enough to make the cave as comfortable as the tower, but it would have to do for the time being.

After everyone settled in, Jasper finally lowered his reed pipes and took a deep breath. In a hoarse voice, he said, “I wish I never took that skill.”

“Without it, we never would have gotten so far,” Zeke said.

Indeed, Jasper’s ability to conceal their presence was the only reason they hadn’t been detected already. But spending the better part of three days playing that haunting melody had clearly taken its toll. They’d stopped for a couple of hours here and there, but the cave was the first time they’d found anything close to a secure camping spot. So, they’d been forced to lean on Jasper’s skill for far longer than they should have.

“I could use a spell,” offered Sasha. “I’ve been working on something I think would work.”

Zeke shook his head. “It’s too loud,” he stated. That was one of the other problems with Sasha’s brand of magic. For better or worse, her abilities were like a beacon to anyone with even moderately attuned senses. So, while she was more than capable of constructing a spell that might conceal them from ordinary senses, it would be far too noticeable to anyone with the ability to detect mana.

He looked at Pudge and asked, “How far do you think we have to go?”

Pudge shrugged his broad shoulders and said, “A few days. Maybe as long as a week until we see the last fortress.”

Zeke sighed. When they’d first decided to traverse the giants’ territory, he’d had no idea it was so large. And in fact, it wasn’t. According to Pudge, who’d scouted the area extensively, it was only about a hundred miles wide. However, the terrain was difficult enough to significantly slow their progress.

After that, everyone went silent. There really wasn’t anything else to discuss, and no one was in the mood for light conversation. They were all too exhausted, and soon enough, everyone but Zeke had fallen asleep.

For his part, he simply sat at the entrance to the tunnel that would lead back to the forest, his eyes closed and his mind focused inward as he dragged earthen mana from the ground. So long as he continued to use [Cambion’s Awakening], he didn’t actually need to sleep – not physically, at least. Eventually, the mental strain would catch up to him, but he could temporarily stave that off with meditation.

As he sat there, he continuously traced the path of the earth-attuned mana as it suffused his body and spirit. Doing so took the entirety of his attention, so he was completely dependent on Eveline to warn him of any impending danger. She had to use his senses to do so, but she’d proven on more than one occasion that she made for a capable guard.

Like that, Zeke passed the rest of the night until, at last, he felt a hand on his shoulder. His eyes flickered open, and he looked up to see Eta standing over him. She silently handed him a bowl of stew, which he accepted gratefully. As he ate, she sat down beside him.

“I half expected you to be vegetarian,” he said.

“Why?” she asked.

He started to answer, then thought better of it. There really was no reason behind, save that plants weren’t known for being carnivorous. Or eating at all, really. “I don’t know if this is how it works here, but in my old world, plants lived off of sunlight.”

In his various science classes, Zeke had only paid enough attention to ensure a passing grade, so he only vaguely remembered how photosynthesis worked. But he knew enough that he was sure that, for plants, sunlight equaled energy.

“I can live off of sunlight,” she said. “But it’s not pleasant. I’m just as much a mammal as I am a plant.”

“Oh. I guess that’s good to know,” he said awkwardly. He sighed. “I’ve only been in this world for a short time. And even before that, it was only three years or so since I was reborn. There’s still so much I don’t know, and I sometimes wonder if I’ll ever have time to learn it all. It feels like I just jump from one crisis to another. There’s always something happening, you know? I know I bring a lot of it on myself, but I wonder if there are people out there just living their lives. Like, if I went to a city or something, would I find people who were just…I don’t know…plumbers or carpenters?”

“Of course,” she said. “When I was young, I was a gardener.”

He smiled. “Really? You don’t seem like the gardening type.”

Eta held out a hand, and a moment later, a small vine grew from her palm. A moment after that, it bloomed into a beautiful, white flower that reminded Zeke of a magnolia. She looked at wistfully and said, “That’s where my skills come from. I only ever wanted to make the world a more beautiful place. And I did. My gardens were the envy of…of…”

She trailed off, and for a few long moments, she was silent. Then, at last, she said, “People came from far and wide just to see my gardens. But then it all ended. The city was razed, and…and my gardens burned. Since then, I have lived a far more violent life.”

“What was it called?”

“Jun’ipara.”

“That sounds elven,” Zeke said.

“It is,” was her response. “High elves, to be precise.”

“What happened?” was his next question.

“We were invaded. Orcs burned the entire city to the ground. Destructive, despicable creatures who only live for war,” she said. “I gave them that and much more.”

Zeke shook his head. “Is that all this world is? Just war?” he asked.

“And suffering,” Eta stated. “Between battles, we might find brief moments of peace. But it always comes back to battle.”

“I disagree,” said Eveline in Zeke’s mind.

“On what basis?” asked Zeke.

“Look around you,” she said. “The giants aren’t in the middle of a war.”

“That’s because you’d have to be an idiot to attack them.”

“That’s the point, Ezekiel,” she said. “If you’re weak, people will try to take advantage. But if you’re powerful enough, no one will dare.”

He didn’t respond to that, but there was some truth to her assertion, even if he didn’t think it was entirely true.

After a few more seconds, Eta said, “I wish Feran could have seen my gardens.”

Zeke hadn’t really spoken to Eta about Feran, her dirble friend she’d been forced to battle – and kill – in the fighting pits of Min Ferilik. Mostly, his reticence stemmed from the fact that he had no idea what to say. How do you comfort someone who was forced to kill their closest companion? It didn’t seem possible.

Surely, Eta knew she wasn’t entirely responsible for what had happened. After all, the dwarves hadn’t given her much of a choice. But still, she likely blamed herself.

Zeke would have, if he’d had to deal with her circumstances.

After a few more minutes, during which Eta remained silent while Zeke finished his bowl of stew, the rest of the party stirred. Not long after that, and they were once again on their way through the giants’ territory.

For three more days, they encountered nothing of note, and Zeke began to believe that they might just make it through the giants’ territory unnoticed and unscathed. However, that hope came crashing down when, on the fourth day since they’d spent the night in the cave, a giant scout stumbled across their trail.

They had taken steps to conceal the evidence of their passing, but there was no way to eliminate it entirely.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” whispered Sasha, looking back the way they’d come as the sound of a hunting horn echoed through the forest.

A moment later, Pudge faded into view and said, “Run! They have found our trail!”

Zeke didn’t ask any questions. Even as Jasper let [Mantle of the Banshee] drop in favor of the drumming beat of [Rhythm of the March], they turned their steady pace into a sprint across the rugged landscape. Soon enough, Zeke heard the heavy sound of thunderous footsteps only a few hundred yards away.

The giants were on their trail.

Battle, it seemed, had become an inevitability. Perhaps it always had been.