Chương 64: Chapter 63

Cal sat on a furry mass, leaning back with his arms propped up behind him for support. His legs were stretched out, and he was happy to have found such an appropriate corpse to take a load off. That saddle didn't agree with him, and their current locale did not make for great sitting. Aside from one detail, the scenery hadn't changed much. That detail happened to be the addition of water, which turned the area into a sloshy mess. Even with their mounts, it was an absolute slog to get through.

None of that mattered up here, and he suppressed the urge to whistle a tune with his recently acquired skill. Clipped to his belt was an improvised sack made of clothes he didn't expect to need. It had gotten steadily heavier as the night passed, and Cal was feeling pretty good. With the shadow of a wave looming over him, he was hesitant to be too cheery, but it was difficult to restrain himself. He took a breath in, basking in thick ambient magic.

It was nothing compared to what he could take in at the cabin, but it was better than the Academy. The thought of it made Cal wonder how Alice was holding up. He felt bad for stealing what he suspected was her only friend for the weekend. He had seen her interact with other students, but there was always a certain distance between both parties. The girl sitting near him, Lily, was the only person he'd seen cross that invisible threshold.

His brain was eager to prove him wrong, and a recently buried memory made itself known. Right, there was one other person she might genuinely get along with. The smile that had made itself at home on his face withered away, and a shiver went down his spine.

"Hells," Cal uttered, a tenseness invading his relaxed posture as a sense of foreboding descended on him. Lily bolted up, and she scanned the horizon for threats. Her claws gleamed in the morning light, still wet with the blood of his most recent kill.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice devoid of all levity. Her gaze had settled on a certain location, and she seemed poised to pounce.

"Do we need to get in there?" Cal had been very selective with the details he put in the letter sent to Olivia. If Alice were to meet up with her and compare notes...

"Did you tell Alice where we were actually going?" he blurted out, his tone conveying the urgency of the question. Her shoulders stiffened, and she gave him a nervous laugh.

"Ah, I wanted to. I really did. But then I'd have to deal with two of you on this trip." He fell back on the furry remains of the beast, staring at the clear blue sky. That had the potential to be a real crisis. Come to think of it, Alice didn't even know where Olivia actually worked. The possibility of them meeting was slim to none. Even if they did, what was Olivia going to do? Be more mad at him? Cal closed his eyes and hummed, finding some humor in how worked up he'd gotten over nothing.

Now free from his troubles, he continued to enjoy the moment for what it was.

"Wait," Lily said with skepticism.

"That's all you were worried about?" He popped a single eye open, glancing at her before closing it again.

"Yeah," he said lackadaisically.

"What else is there?" Cal felt the beast's fur shift as she walked over to him carefully. A boot nudged his side, and he opened his eyes with a frown.

"What?" A claw was pointed in the distance, and he sat up, seeing the same sight that had caught her attention before.

"And?" In the expansive field before them, a barbed tongue pierced through a fading image of Rolland. Its owner, a pale green frog the size of one of their mounts, swung the fleshy muscle in an arc. There was a slapping sound as it made contact with something, and Rolland phased into existence. His rapier was held vertically in front of him and his boots skidded back across the muddy surface. Rolland angled the blade and let the tongue bury itself into the ground.

He grasped the opening, and his weapon shone with a brilliant light before cleaving down on the beast's exposed organ. The two met and the rapier momentarily pinned down its foe, causing it to thrash wildly but being unable to slice through the thick mucus coating it. The barbed tip quivered, and quills shot out, causing the prince to bid a hasty retreat as he deflected the projectiles. Cal fell back again, shutting his eyes and placing his hands behind his head.

"They're fine," he added after feeling her persistent stare.

"Benny's sneaking up on the thing right now." His statement hung for a few seconds and he opened an eye as the aforementioned boy appeared behind the beast. Two knives flashed out, their shadows taking on a movement of their own. If they hit their marks, the blades would cleave into the back of its head while the shadows went around its front and tore through its irises.

That was a big if, and the wielder was rewarded with a face full of mud as the beast leaped away, landing a safe distance away and pivoting to face the two boys before releasing what might have been a taunting croak.

"Meh," he said with little care.

"They'll get it, eventually. Help them if you want." That beast was evasive, but it didn't pack much of a punch. It should have long since been killed, but the night of battles had shown him how green his compatriots really were.

"Me?" Lily asked with a tilt of her head before plopping down next to him.

"Noooo thanks. I just freaked at seeing you, of all people, being jumpy. Besides," she patted the hide of the defeated beast underneath them.

"I did my part, and it's not my fault they suck at this." His hand reached out, blindly searching until fingers grasped his spear. He took the butt of it and bopped her on the head with it, or tried, as she batted it away with a flick of her claws.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," he clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"I've heard of nobles stealing credit for the work of others, but I never thought you'd be one to try it." Had this been back in the Academy, that would have earned him a poke and attempted shock. Here? He'd noticed her being reserved with them. It was a prudent move.

"I gouged its nose out," she added almost bashfully. He provided her a flat stare, and she swiped a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Okay, you did most of it." Cal hummed at the admission, and her tone turned sharper.

"Don't look so smug. You're barely giving me a chance to do anything. Half the time you're digging out the core by the time I catch up." Did he look smug? He certainly felt it. His time in the Academy had seen him flounder about. There was always something he didn't know, lurking and ready to jump up and bite him. He liked to think he took most of it in stride, but it was nice to just relax out here and kill a beast or two.

"That's because you're slacking. You could match my speed if you wanted to." It wasn't just her. They were all holding back to some extent. He understood why—running dry out here would turn them into a massive liability. He just wondered how long it would take them to figure out that messing around so much greatly increased the odds of another beast joining the fray. Deeper in the Waste, there was no stopping it, but here they could have traveled most of the night unmolested if they had just killed things quicker.

"Excuse me for not running full speed into the maw of every beast I see. Some of us like to figure out what we're fighting before we start stabbing. I know, crazy concept." Cal could reluctantly follow the logic in that. It wasn't always immediately obvious what abilities a beast possessed, and he'd been caught off guard plenty of times before.

"The trick is to kill them before they get to do anything special," he said, drawing from his experience.

"Risky, but our shells aren't for show. If it means you can get a killing blow, take the hit." He fished into his pocket, retrieving a strip of meat and gnawing on it. It wasn't nearly as good as it could be, but he was happy with how it turned out. Taking another piece, he held it out to Lily. A hesitant claw reached out, pinching the piece of meat between two fingers. Lily brought it up to her nose, sniffing it once before taking a bite.

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"Fuck me, this is good." Her speech came out garbled on account of the chewing she was doing.

"Where did you get—" She paused, her eyes narrowing. She tore a piece off and brought it to her nose again.

"This has a really strong smell." If that was a genuine complaint, she wasn't getting any more.

"You didn't bring this with you." That was a statement of fact, and he continued eating in peace.

"I was with you the entire time. When—no, how did you have the chance to make jerky?" Calling it jerky was generous, as he didn't have anything to marinate it with. It was more like dehydrated meat. The only reason it tasted so good was the quality of the base ingredients.

"At that nest with a bunch of lizard-looking beasts. You guys were taking way too long to kill yours, and I got bored." Cal was more surprised she didn't notice. He wasn't exactly subtle about butchering the lizard's tail. She really needed to work on her awareness.

"Okayyy." Lily dragged out the word, holding a palm to her head for a moment.

"I get that neither of us is normal. I mean, I'm sitting on a dead beast and eating jerky while watching a member of the royalty get his face kicked in." Cal peered back at the fight, seeing Rolland had taken a foot to the head and was careening through the air.

"But at least I have the decency to be worried every now and then. You look like you're on vacation." Yep, he was aware of how his actions might be perceived. However, his oddness was the entire reason he was here. He'd make sure to 'struggle' once they encountered something worthy of note, but for now he was on easy street.

"Frontier village, remember? Beasts wandered in more often than you'd think. Panicking and stressing about it doesn't do any good. I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't scared shitless the first time around, but you get over it." Even with the knowledge that he'd come back, mustering the courage to brave the area surrounding the cabin didn't happen overnight. He'd chickened out on more than one occasion, justifying it each time by saying next time he'd be stronger or more skilled.

At a certain point, he realized he had a choice: he could stay behind the line and never leave the cabin, or he could take a single step forward. Cal took the step… and was promptly eviscerated by a beast waiting in ambush. It was an inauspicious start. However, the equation remained the same, and so he kept taking that step. That beast ate very well for about half a year.

"Well then," Lily clapped, causing him to rejoin the present.

"Guess I have work to do." She brought her legs close to her chest and looked to be ready to rise when she abandoned the movement.

"Maybe not this one. Yeah, like you said, they got this." Cal's eyes flicked to the fight, and he couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. The two boys resembled porcupines, covered in mud and quills. How many more times were they going to let it hop away? He knew this would eventually cross from the funny to the depressing phase, but right now he was taking what enjoyment he could out of it. He nudged Lily with his elbow and gestured to the pair with his head.

"When do you think they'll realize they need to hit the backside of its leg?" At her befuddled look, he explained further.

"Check out the skin there. See the white of its bones? That's where the hide is thinnest and, as a bonus, the mucous membrane only covers its main body. I have no idea why they keep trying to go for its face." The heads of both boys snapped in his direction, and for some reason, he could detect a level of hostility from them. He reached into his pocket and retrieved another piece of (not) jerky, tearing a piece off of it with his teeth and chewing exaggeratedly. It seemed the only appropriate response.

"Callum," Rolland stomped ahead of him. They'd passed the swamp and were now in a lightly wooded area. They were on foot, with their mounts traveling behind them. The boy had rinsed off, but the smell of frog persisted.

"I understand you may consider your knowledge precious." He really didn't.

"But on future occasions, might it benefit us all if you shared such information?" Nah, he didn't think it would.

"Lay off," Lily interjected. They were walking in pairs, with the other boys taking the lead for now.

"Benjamin's not complaining. Right, big guy?" Benny was in a better state than Rolland, with the cloak he wore having absorbed most of the stink. Cal wasn't sure what prompted him to pack extras, but the boy was probably thankful he did.

"I see the merits of such an experience," Benny groused, unhappy and yet understanding.

"We'll only encounter a stronger variety of beasts as we venture further." Rolland ran a hand on his side and then flung it out, getting more of the residual gunk off of himself.

"I would have thought the fourteen beasts we killed through the night would have been enough for that." A more sensitive person might have looked at the ragged pair and had some sympathy. Cal was finding it extraordinarily difficult to not burst into laughter. He felt bad for the collateral damage, but Rolland? The prince had brought this entirely on himself.

"If you think last night was a lot, then we might as well turn around," Cal piped up, not attempting to keep the mirth out of his voice. Cal was of mixed opinions on that. The cores he gathered were nice, and the entire point of his journey, but so far they were too few in number. Staying would mean their quantity would increase, but it also meant the temptation of the relic would remain. Despite his attitude, he'd been keeping tabs on its location.

"Was this…" Rolland trailed off. He turned and faced Cal with an inquisitive look in his eyes.

"A test of some sort?" Cal stopped in his tracks, scratching his head in thought. Testing their capabilities had not been his intention, but that was how things worked out. Yes, that version of reality suited him better. He opened his mouth to confirm when Lily talked over him.

"I think you might be absorbing too much of the ambient magic," she said, addressing Rolland with a dry tone.

"Because there is zero chance that was his plan." She flashed him a teasing smile that marginally alleviated the sting of betrayal.

"Tread lightly, Lily," he warned with a wag of his finger.

"I'm already thinking of trading you in for Benny." It was only fair. What had kept him from offering before now was knowing the boy would reject it.

"I'm well aware of the dangers, Lilliane," Rolland said, his tone heavy.

"The palace has areas with greater concentrations of magic, and we've trained under those conditions." That was smart. People often underestimated the danger the ambient magic presented in the Waste. It just wasn't as threatening as the beasts aiming to devour you. Indeed, it even helped you against them. It was truly insidious, tempting people like a siren's call.

"Man, that was one rotten parting gift," Cal commented with a scoff.

"It has to be the biggest sore loser move in history." His harsh words were a tad ironic, as the void ensured he was shielded from the consequences of the god's petulant actions. Still, he wondered about the pettiness needed to poison the world's magic.

"Hey now," Lily cut in.

"We don't know it was them. The gods… weren't perfect, but we can't blame every bad thing that happened on them." Not inaccurate; people tended to create plenty of their own problems. However, the scale of their problems was magnitudes off from what the gods had left them with.

"That," Rolland paused, a conflicted look briefly appearing on his face, "was their doing. They were the only ones who could enact such a change on the world." He continued in an introspective tone.

"However, who are we to pass judgment? None of us lived in that age, and our records are imperfect. I'm certain had just one of them lived, they would have mended what was broken." Cal didn't know enough about them to say if any would. Perhaps he was being too hard on them, but it was difficult to give any of them a pass.

"And the hells?" He said, some heat entering his voice.

"They had a chance to end those, yet they just walled it off." Sure, it had worked while they were around, but the second they fell, intrusions started occurring. Frankly, it pissed him off. Cal had made his fair share of mistakes. The whole reason he was here was related to one. And if he could try to fix his mistakes, why couldn't they?

"Apologies for interrupting this productive conversation," Benjamin said, not sounding at all apologetic. The boy's eyes were squinted, and he lifted a finger, pointing in the distance.

"Does that look natural to you?" Through the tree line, Cal spotted what the boy was referring to. Cal flipped his spear, turning it from a walking stick into a weapon once more. He spared a look with the others, a series of nods being exchanged before they went forward in silence. Rolland moved in the center, and Benny was close behind, positioning himself in the prince's shadow, seemingly melding with it. Cal and Lily spread out, each covering a separate flank.

The formation was crude, and they often had to adjust as one of them fell out of line, but they were getting better at it. Cal didn't think the practice was wholly necessary, but it didn't hurt any, and so he played along. The structure had been partially concealed by a pair of trees, but now they could see it clearly. Weeds twisted up a circular stone wall. There was a gaping hole blown into the side, and jagged wooden beams stuck out of the top.

He couldn't say how tall it was originally, but the remains of the wall only barely passed his height. There was no door to speak of, and Rolland ducked his head, entering the dilapidated structure. Cal didn't follow, opting to land on the exposed wall and crouch overhead. Lily mimicked his action, and they kept an eye on the surroundings while Rolland approached the center of the building.

"One of our old watchtowers," Rolland supplied, running a hand against the ground.

"It was an attempt to increase our notice ahead of waves. The solution proved too costly to maintain, and the towers were abandoned." Costly? Cal scowled. This was one area the Federation was on the ball with. He'd passed by many of their surveillance stations that dotted the border. They were squat bunkers that housed an advanced array of sensor equipment. Operated 24/7, they blew through their equipment at a prodigious pace. It was unavoidable, given the nature of magic.

They were far from the only infrastructure built to defend against the Waste, and the Federation had large swathes of entrenchments maintained by skeleton crews. A full third of the military was on perpetual standby to deploy at any given moment. All these measures were ludicrously expensive, but for a people who suffered wave after wave for generations, it was a cost well spent. Finding out the Empire didn't agree with that assessment was disheartening.

Rolland pawed around the ground, sifting through the ash of what must have been used as a burn pit. His fingers pinched something, and he withdrew the hand. Wiping it off gently, he placed it in his palm and held it out for all to see. It was a pin, the likes of which he'd seen before on William's chest. A golden finger pointed upwards, signifying the status of one of the Empire's Fingers. Hells, Cal hadn't planned on them finding anything.