Callie's Heroes

PART II - HOW DO YOU FIND NOTHING?

“Go. GO. GO!” Callie screamed in growing excitement as Jesca and Xin shuttled the ball back and forth to each other, running hard for the far bunker. “You’ve got this!”

The opponent’s Sentinel wasn’t sure who would end up with the ball and took a chance at blocking Xin since her aim from distance was so damn accurate. That was the opening needed. The Lizardkin tossed the ball to Jesca with a lazy underhand, allowing the Catkin to shove it through for three points. The crowd went wild yet again.

Callie looked up at the scoreboard and grinned as the numbers changed to 20-4, with the first battle beginning to wind down. They had the lead and they had momentum. Spirits were high, the crowd, well the part of the crowd that mattered to Callie, was excited. Everything was clicking just right.

The team of trainers and officers had moved to the other side of the field to assure they were out of earshot this time, and apparently Reynard was now playing the role of Field Marshal for them. Callie was sure it was just a way for him to try and screw with her head, but it honestly just raised the excitement a little bit. She was now absolutely determined to show him up. As she watched, the other team gathered around the Foxkin with tempers already starting to flare slightly, as they had been almost completely shut down. Just to add a little insult, Callie caught Reynard’s eyes and waved, grinning stupidly.

Whenever she had some time to sit and think over the previous week, often while practicing lute, Callie had spent it coming up with interesting new plays and other sneaky tricks they could unleash. In fact, later in the game, she had something planned that included a giant, dancing spider on the sidelines, once Tazrok finished his overhead Healer patrol. It was going to be great! Maybe next week she could add cheerleaders? Some of the smaller races that couldn’t play would be perfect in that role. Maybe the Brownies could make some pom-poms, too.

A bright, moving light caught Callie’s eye as it raced towards the trainer team. It came to a stop in front of and just above Reynard. It was a Sprite, and the telltale streak of fading mist behind it showed it had been flying hard, kicking in the magical afterburners, as it were. Reynard stood from the huddle, seemed to get a confused and then concerned look on his face. He looked at Callie, nodded to the Sprite and then raised his hands. Reynard used the same ‘T’ hand signal that Callie had started using and shouted for a timeout, the referee blowing a long whistle. The game strangely didn’t have a hand signal for the call, but it was quickly adopted not only by Reynard, but also both team Sergeants, after Callie instinctively used it a couple times herself to call a huddle.

Reynard left his group, jogging across the field. He zeroed in on Callie and started running even harder.

“We have to go. We’ve been ordered to the Commandant’s office,” Reynard said after he arrived.

“What? Why?” Callie asked, the others on the recruit team gathering.

“I don’t know.”

“This isn’t because we’re winning, is it?”

Reynard scowled. “No, it’s not. It’s an order. We go. Now!”

“You’re serious?” Callie said, concern suddenly heard in her voice. “This is real?”

“It is. Something to do with Juniper. The Sprite had no details beyond that.”

Callie glanced up into the stands, seeing Vanis standing next to Ambria and Pixyl, along with the Tigerkin twins, but no sign of Juniper. She was supposed to be back from her night in her tree by now.

“Uh, okay, I guess,” Callie said slowly. She looked up at Jesca, who had stepped in as a receiver, filling the role that Kaisess had played the previous week. “Jesca, you guys have got this, but if you want, ask Pixyl to help as Marshall. She was working with me on strategy and plays all week. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Jesca glanced up at Pixyl and then nodded. “We’ll do what we can. Hurry back, we need your sneaky Gnome brain.”

Reynard turned and quickly started to walk away, and Callie raced to catch up. The Foxkin was walking fast and determined, nearly at a jog, forcing Callie to almost sprint to keep pace with her short legs. “Slow down just a bit,” Callie finally snapped. “I’m tiny, remember?” Grunting a half-hearted apology, Reynard did, but there was still a sense of urgency to his stride.

“No idea what this is about?” Callie asked again.

“If it’s Juniper, it could be anything. I’m sure it’s trouble, though,” Reynard said. “It wouldn’t be this urgent if it wasn’t something important. I don’t know why Xera wanted you along, but when we get there, just keep your mouth shut and listen. This is serious, understood.”

Callie looked up, seeing her Trainer’s look. Swallowing, Callie responded with a firm, “Absolutely, sir. I’ll behave.” Reynard seemed to relax slightly, and she wasn’t sure if it was because she confirmed she understood that it was important, or that she wouldn’t embarrass him as one of his students. Callie decided to assume it was the first. She could easily find a way to embarrass him if she needed to.

Just as they were about to arrive at the Commandant’s office building, a golden hawk flew in at high speed before warbling into the shape of Trainer Rowani. “What’s going on?” she asked.

Reynard shrugged. “Something to do with Juniper is all I know.”

“I got the same message, then.”

Reynard held the door for Rowani and Callie, following them into the waiting area.

“Good morning,” Kyra said, looking up. “Oh good, you’re all here. I’ll show you right in.” She stood, walking to the door and opening it. “The three you requested, Commandant.”

“Thank you, Kyra,” Xera said as the three walked into the room. Callie immediately noticed the look of almost stark panic on Juniper’s face. Something was obviously the matter. “Thank you for coming,” Xera continued, “Apologies for pulling you away from the game. How was it going?”

“We were losing. Badly at that,” Reynard almost snarled. Then he glanced down at Callie. “That Lizardkin is deadly accurate, made worse by the ridiculously fast reflexes they have. Plus, Callie’s tricky. She had a charge where the Bearkin hid the ball inside his tunic.”

Callie smirked. “That was a pretty good play, wasn’t it.” They were close and Koda was able to sneak the ball into the bunker to push it through. They never saw it as they focused on Xin while she appeared to go wide to make a pass. She wasn’t sure if Reynard’s words were praise or anger, but she decided to assume they were praise. It was only a game, after all.

“So what is going on?” Rowani asked. “The Sprite said it was urgent.”

“Right,” the Commandant said. “There is a situation somewhere in Juniper’s lands, so I felt the two of you might have the best knowledge when it comes to wilderness phenomena.”

“Of course, we were both longtime Adventurers, so we’ve seen a lot,” Rowani.

“Just to make things interesting,” Thorn started to say, “we’ve decided to put Recruit Callie in charge of addressing it.”

“What?!” Callie gasped, confused, and Reynard and Rowani both were likewise.

“She’s only two weeks in,” the Foxkin warned quietly once the initial shock had worn off slightly.

“I know, but she has proven resourceful. Plus, she beat my training course, so that deserves a reward in itself,” Thorn said with a nod. “I’m also fairly sure this needs to be a Ranger-led mission. You’ll go along as well, and take command if needed. We don’t get many of these kinds of live opportunities, my friend, so let’s see what happens.”

“This was my idea, Reynard,” Xera added.

“Understood,” Reynard said slowly, with a look of both worry, perhaps tinged with just a tiny bit of pride, forming on his face.

“What?” Callie asked again, her mind still not yet comprehending. “You want me to … wait … what?” Callie’s first thought was that these people must be drunk, or high. She was being put in charge of whatever is going on here? And it was Xera’s idea? Nothing was making sense.

“Your orders are simple, Recruit,” Legate Galin said, straightening and sounding commanding. “Listen to Juniper’s report, ask questions to get what clarity you need, devise the steps needed to take further actions. Trainer Reynard will be with you. Ask him questions. Ask anyone questions. Issue the orders you need to. Tell your team what to do to work together and address the situation.”

“What?” Callie asked once again, her brain deciding to continue being utterly locked up at this moment.

“Juniper has a problem!” Reynard snapped loudly. “Your orders are to find a way to fix it. You’re in charge, at least until you screw up. So get it together and focus, Calliope!”

“Uh …” Callie stammered, Reynard using her full name starting to force her brain into action. She looked at her trainer but saw he was actually smiling. His words were sharp, but they weren’t said in anger or cruelty, but as a way to get her thinking again and to focus, just like he said. He was actually supporting her! “Okay? What … what do I do?”

“You don’t know anything. What do you need first, Callie?” Xera said calmly, dangling out the next step for Callie to grab on to.

“Um, I’d need information. Right?”

“Very good,” Xera nodded. “Take the report.”

Callie looked up at the frightened eyes of Juniper standing next to Loki. Was it whatever the problem was that was making her afraid? Or was it the fact that it was now apparently Callie’s responsibility to fix it? “Juniper, what’s going on?”

“There’s a Nothing out there!” Juniper cried out, her panicked arms flailing as she gestured wildly towards everything.

It took a minute, but Juniper finally calmed enough to speak cohesively again. Callie, Reynard and Rowani carefully listened as she again described the ‘Nothing’ that was apparently somewhere in the area. Her thoughts were scattered and her words were making little sense. Tasi would occasionally add information, based on her knowledge of Dryads, to help to fill in a few missing gaps in the details. Finally Callie started to understand and get a sense of what Juniper was babbling about.

“Okay, so there’s a circular area you aren’t able to see into when you are in your tree. Do you know where it is? How far away?” Callie asked.

“I don’t know how far. I’d need to be in my tree to see better.”

“Can you return to your tree and figure out where the problem is,” Rowani asked, “and then come back to tell us?”

“Rowani,” Thorn said quietly, politely reminding her this was Callie’s show.

“Oops, sorry,” the Pantherkin said. “Go ahead, Little One.”

“Well, what she said,” Callie shrugged, gesturing towards the Druid. “Juniper, we need to know where to go.”

“I could go to my tree, but I wouldn’t be able to come back. My tree doesn’t have the power to send me somewhere twice in such a short time. It will be later today before I can return. I believe it is in that direction.” The Dryad generally pointed off to the side.

Callie frowned, still trying to force her thoughts into some kind of order. “Let’s not send you back then, unless we need to. You said her domain is a fifteen kilometer radius from her tree?” Callie asked Tasi.

“About. Maybe a little more.”

“Damn, that’s over seven hundred square kilometers then - that’s a lot of area, even from the air. Less since she gave us a general direction, I guess, but we don’t even know what we’re looking for,” Callie mumbled, her brain finally starting to think logically again. “We need to narrow it down.” She started to pace. Instinctively, Juniper, Loki and Xera moved aside to give her a path to walk. Callie snapped her fingers. “Maps! Commandant, did I see maps in your office? Do you have a map of the area, the more detailed, the better.”

“I do. We had a Shaman mapmaker come in when we first arrived. He was able to survey from the air.”

“Could you get it please? And something to write on it with, too.”

“Kyra,” Xera called out.

“Yes, Commandant,” the Elf said, opening the door.

“I need you to replicate something, if you would,” Xera ordered as they walked towards their office door. “One of my maps.”

“Of course.”

Xera disappeared for a moment, returning with a cloth map she was unrolling. Setting it on the table, they gestured to Kyra. “Just one for now, at least for a few hours if you are able.”

“Happy to, Commandant.” Kyra extended her hand and concentrated. A pale, blueish light formed around her hand, and then around the map. It took nearly a minute, and Xera needed to shush the worried Juniper twice, before a perfect copy of the original map was sitting next to the first. Without knowing it had been magically replicated, there was simply no way to tell it was artificial.

“That should last about four hours or so,” Kyra confirmed with a smile. “Let me know if you need another.”

“Thank you, Kyra,” Callie and Xera both said at the same time. Xera set the original aside as Reynard and Thorn positioned the new map, about one meter on each side, for all to see. Kyra quietly stepped out of the room, giving Galin a quick wink before closing the door behind her.

“Where are we?” Callie mumbled, climbing up on a chair and standing over the map with the others.

“Here,” Reynard said, pointing to a black dot in the center.

“That makes sense, I suppose,” Callie said, rolling her eyes at the obviousness. There wasn’t a lot of detail on the map. Just some general colors seeming to indicate terrain and vegetation type; what Callie assumed was forest, field, wetlands, rocky, and such, as well as several small rivers or creeks. A few high hills and ridges were also illustrated. Southwest of camp was a green dot with a green circle around it. “What’s this? Is this her tree?”

“Yes,” Xera confirmed.

“Why is my tree on your map, Xera? You know where it is?” Juniper gasped. “And why is there a big circle around it?”

“It’s so we know where not to go. That circle is to set an off-limits zone. We did not wish to disturb you.”

“But … I likely would have welcomed visitors.”

“Well, we didn’t know that at the time, and we didn’t know if you’d beguile anyone that came close,” Tasi interjected. “This map was made over two years ago.”

“Oh, I see,” Juniper said. “You … could have asked me.”

Callie shook her head slightly and chose to ignore Juniper. “Which way is north?” Callie asked, looking around the room.

“That way,” all the officers said at once, pointing.

Callie quickly rotated the map so its top was facing proper north. “Juniper?”

“Yes, Little One?”

“You pointed before, so do it again. Focus, and from where you are now, tell us which direction this ‘Nothing’ thing is. Try to be more exact.”

“Just the direction? You asked how far, I do not know that.”

“I know. Just the direction, for now,” Callie said, catching Reynard’s glance. He nodded, and Callie could see he knew where she was going with this.

Juniper closed her eyes and concentrated. Finally, she raised her arm and pointed. “That way.”

“Good! Thanks.”

While Juniper had been pointing, Xera handed over a charcoal pencil and a small piece of straight wood, also realizing what the Gnome was up to. Using the edge of the wood, Callie drew a line in the direction that Juniper was pointing. The line on the map ran roughly south-east from the camp.

"Okay, Juniper, this next one is complicated, so listen closely,” Callie said slowly as she rotated the map again. This time, the Heartwood tree was on the bottom, and the camp indicator was positioned straight up from it. Callie motioned the Dryad to stand at the table facing the map. “Imagine if you are standing in front of your tree, do you know the direction to the camp from there? Just direction, don’t worry about distance.”

“Of course.”

“Good. Now, imagine you are standing at your tree and facing the direction of the camp. Point to the direction where the ‘Nothing’ would be in relation to how you are facing. Can you do that? Focus, and be as sure as you can.”

Juniper frowned for a moment with her eyes closed, like she was trying to picture the scene in her head. She scrunched up her face a little more, and then squinted her eyes, thinking hard. “That way. I’m sure it would be that way if I was facing the camp from my tree.” The Dryad extended her hand forward and about sixty or seventy degrees to her right as she was facing.

“Got it!” Callie nodded. She drew on the map another line in the direction Juniper had pointed, outward from her tree. She rotated the map around again so that north was facing up, the two lines now intersecting a spot south and east of the camp. “What’s the scale on this?”

“The scale isn’t entirely accurate,” Xera said, “but about twenty-five kilometers across.”

Callie looked at the map and judged the distance, tilting her head slightly and running the numbers. “It’s a little rough, but I’d say six to eight kilometers from here, maybe? ” She glanced at Reynard for his opinion.

“About that,” the Foxkin confirmed, leaning closer. He looked up at Legate Galin to get another opinion.

“That would be my estimate, too,” Galin also confirmed as he likewise leaned closer. “I didn’t know you knew anything about maps, Recruit.”

Callie shrugged. “What? That? That’s basic triangulation. I learned that at math camp when I was ten.” Callie then realized what she had just said and added, “Wait … why do I remember that?” It was her go-to cover if she accidentally ‘remembered’ something, and she winced at using it here with so many people that knew her secret. She then gestured to the map to quickly change the subject. “I assume the colors are terrain right? What color is that orange?”

“Swamp,” Reynard said.

“Of course it is,” Callie groaned heavily, her heart sinking and body deflating upon hearing the word. “I hate swamps.”

“Even worse, I’m now fairly sure I know what this ‘Nothing’ could be,” Reynard said ominously.

“A Bogwump,” Rowani said, growling and almost spitting out the word.

“Yup. A suddenly appearing dead area in a swamp? That has to be a breeding Bogwump.”

Legate Galin groaned, slapping his hand to his face and falling back into his chair. “Damn.”

“What’s a Bogwump?” Tasi and Callie asked simultaneously.