Galactic High

As daylight began to slightly darken with an eerie orange glow across the vast, desolate plains - a sure sign that the orbital plate was fast approaching - the group pressed on with weary determination. They hiked along the mostly flat expanse that seemed to endlessly stretch, with twisted, skeletal trees dotting the landscape, quite unremarkable at this point.

While the girls were cold, Jack was full-on shivering now as a cold wind howled around them, rustling the dry, brittle grass and causing many of the trees to sway strongly.

“We need to find shelter and set up camp before night falls completely!” Alora called out over the noise. “There could be more Zorn skulking about, it won’t be safe to camp in the open!”

I agree. Chiyo nodded. I sense the shadow of a dark presence around us.

“Then let’s hurry then!” Nika shuddered. “I sure as hell don’t want to be out here when the really nasty shit comes out and we can’t see it!”

“Where are we even going?” Jack grumbled, not thinking straight as he rubbed his palms together to try and give himself some warmth, but not really feeling much of anything through the metal of his heavy armour. “We might not have any other choice but to set up camp here!”

“We’ve got a few acres of forest to the North,” Sephy reassured them, keeping her voice low. “Backs off onto a rocky outcrop, should give us plenty of cover.”

Or fewer escape routes. Chiyo cautioned.

“How much time will we have once we get there?” Jack asked. “If we have time we could dig a foxhole, camp in it and camouflage the top.”

“Surely that would take too long?” Alora asked curiously.

“Maybe.” Jack shrugged. “I’ve heard stories about soldiers from my world sometimes digging foxholes to fortify themselves or hide away. I don’t know how long it takes them to dig it, though.”

“With all of us working together, maybe. I guess it depends on how many shovels and spades you can summon for all of us.” Nika shrugged, then grinned with a wink. “It’ll be a tight fit for all six of us though, but at least we can warm each other up!”

“I’ll take it.” Jack chuckled dryly.

“I don’t think it’ll take too long to get there,” Sephy cautioned, monitoring the feed from the drone. “There’s some more hedges and a creek, but the terrain shouldn’t be a problem. I’m cycling through the settings to try and find any possible ambushes, but I’m not getting anything.”

Then we should get within the trees as quickly and quietly as we can, Chiyo added. I fear the weather's going to get even worse, we need shelter.

“I agree.” Alora nodded. “Just this wind alone is freezing cold, and Jack’s definitely feeling the worst of it even if he won’t admit it. Let’s hope the weather doesn’t turn too bad…”

At those words, a sudden rumbling of thunder could be heard in the distance.

“You just had to say it, Alora…” Nika chuckled.

“Fuck.” The Eladrie growled under her breath as she held her palm up and felt the slight drizzle of rain as they got moving. “Let’s just hurry up and get under those trees.”

“Damn…” Jack groaned as he reached back for his hood before realising it was no longer there as the rain quickly intensified, the cold stinging his face like needles.

The rain soon turned the ground beneath them into a muddy quagmire that sucked at their boots with every step. More thunder rumbled in the distance, much more regularly now, a low growl that promised a powerful approaching storm.

I could have sworn we’d checked the weather reports, Chiyo grumbled.

“We did.” Sephy confirmed with a sigh as she struggled with the encumbering mud. “Though it was never going to be as on point this far out.”

They continued in silence for another twenty minutes before Alora stumbled, her foot caught in the mud, though Jack was quick to stop her falling completely.

“Thanks,” the Eladrie gasped out.

“We’re nearly there,” Nika told them all. “But we need to be quick. I think the orbital plate’s going to hit soon and it’s going to be pitch black out here!”

Jack gulped. He’d experienced the night cycle of the Ring plenty of times, but it had always been accompanied by the lights and sounds of the city around them, making it little different from his nighttimes living in his hometown on Earth. But for it to go suddenly dark with no moon, stars or any lights to speak of? That was a frightening thought. He pulled out his Shades of Seeing and put them on, activating his nightvision just in case.

Stay close. We can’t afford to get separated now, Chiyo told them, sounding exhausted.

Suddenly a flash lanced out as a bolt of lightning struck in the distance, illuminating the edge of the forest’s edge just ahead, the trees looming like dark sentinels with the branches almost seeming to beckon them with a faint promise of sanctuary.

“Guys, I have a bad feeling about this…” Sephy warned, tone fully serious.

“I don’t think we have much of a choice,” Jack called back over the cacophony of wind and rain between chattering teeth. “Either way, we can stop and decide what to do when we get under some cover. We can’t stay here!”

“You’re not wrong, but just be careful,” Sephy gasped back as she shook the rain off with a shiver. “I’m going to call the drone back for now.”

Jack stopped and raised his plasma rifle to cover their rear as Sephy quickly recalled the drone, clumsily folding it down into a portable form before stuffing it in her pack. “Good to go?” he asked, and Sephy nodded.

“Nearly there guys!” Alora called to them, pointing ahead. “Let’s go!”

Powering through, Jack and Sephy were the last two to reach the edge of the woods, with the canopy above providing some relief from the relentless rain.

This weather is unnatural! Chiyo finally spoke up as they all took a moment to recover from the sudden turn, huddling together under a huge tree with rough, black bark and conker-like seeds the size of Jack’s fist. To suddenly get this intense this quickly?

“Shitty weather happens.” Nika shrugged, raising her voice over the howling wind. “Let’s just hope we can stay out of it tonight and it gets better by tomorrow morning.”

“No, Chiyo may be right,” Alora told them as she knelt down and placed a palm on the ground, casting a quick orison of divine nature to diagnose what was happening. “Something is unusual about this weather, like it’s being influenced by something.”

“Any chance we can tell this ‘something’ to warm things up again?” Sephy quipped, but her face quickly turned serious when she realised people were too miserable from the rain to answer.

“Well if it doesn’t show any signs of stopping we need to find shelter, at least until it stops,” Jack reminded them as some thick drips of water made it through the canopy and landed on his head.

Good point, Chiyo agreed. If we carry on like this for much longer the elements are more likely to kill us than any hostiles out there.

“Yeah, but we should stay as close to the forest edge as we can,” Nika told them. “Not too close, but just enough to be able to see what’s going on around here.”

“Agreed.” Alora nodded. “We’ll find a place where the canopy is thickest and get a tarp up, then if you want to dig a hole for us then we can lower the tarp to ground level and camouflage it.”

“Well, no use waiting here…” Jack grumbled, bending down to idly stroke Dante’s fur, before pulling his fingers back, noticing that the ‘dog’ was soaked through just as badly as the rest of them. “Don’t worry boy, we’ll get you warm and dry soon…”

Dante whined quietly in answer.

The group huddled close as they set off to find somewhere, anywhere they could camp for the night, getting increasingly desperate as the wind picked up, as Jack positioned himself to shield Chiyo and Alora who were almost getting knocked off their feet.

They pushed their way through the dense undergrowth just out of sight of the forest edge towards a promising cluster of thick, obscuring trees, before Nika spat a curse as her foot splashed in a pool of murky water. Looking around, the low-lying area was completely flooded with rainwater and was a soggy mess.

“There’s no way we can camp here even if we’re elevated off the ground,” the Kizun told Jack, who nodded in agreement while the others stopped to rest. Alora and Chiyo leaned against a tree not saying anything, while Sephy walked about, shaking her limbs, with Dante watching them.

“Yeah, even if we elevate ourselves with the hammocks, we’ve got to have people on guard, right?” Jack asked, to which the Kizun nodded.

“Yeah, and the exposure to the elements is bad enough, even if we huddled up and used magic.” Nika sighed, rubbing her temples in thought.

“We might not have any choice,” Jack warned her. “It sucks, but we might just need to ride out the storm as best we can.

“Maybe.” Nika nodded. “But we shouldn’t give up. I thought the trees here would give us cover, but this fucking wind is battering us no matter where we stand, not to mention the rain.”

“Should we go further into the forest?” Jack questioned. “We wouldn’t get as much vision like you wanted but we'd be better protected from the elements.”

“I think we should,” Nika agreed reluctantly. “I would have liked to keep a lookout to try and find out what we’re up against, but at this rate the storm is a greater threat than any monsters!”

What’s going on? Chiyo asked them, her telepathy being easily ‘heard’ over the roaring winds.

“Not camping here, need to find a better spot,” Nika told the group, waving the others to follow them as she led the way deeper into the forest.

Though as they looked around and the shadows of the orbital plate began to herald the imminent arrival of ‘nighttime’, they got increasingly desperate, with thorny thickets and rocky outcrops making it impossible to find an ideal place to camp to their immense frustration. Everyone’s clothing and gear was drenched, as despite the canopy above, the wind and water conspired to wear them down.

Jack’s teeth were full-on chattering as he felt the cold rainwater trickling down his neck, the constant drip, drip, dripping only adding to his discomfort as he stoically lumbered on. He glanced back at the others and saw their slumped shoulders and slow, laboured movements, and even Sephy had long given up on trying to raise their spirits as she visibly struggled to keep going under her own power.

Alora moved with an uncharacteristic heaviness, the hood of her robes having long failed to keep her dry as water dribbled down from her long, pointed ears as she held on to Jack to stay upright. Chiyo was fairing little better despite levitating over the sodden ground, her eyes betraying her mental drain, her glasses fogged up and smeared with the splashes of mud kicked up by the footsteps of the others.

Dante let out the occasional whine as he dutifully plodded alongside them, his fur so caked in wet mud and dirt that he was almost invisible, and Nika wasn’t that much better, but the Kizun still had a determined look on her face, refusing to give up.

“Hold up!” She called out, her voice hoarse from shouting over the wind. Perking up, she pointed at something ahead. There was still ‘daylight’, barely, but the orbital plate would very soon be above them. Activating his Shades of Seeing, Jack had to take a few moments to work out what Nika was pointing at. Slightly raised off the ground, it was very subtle, almost invisible in the rain, but when contrasted to the soft, damp ground all around them he could just make it out.

“Is that a footpath?” Jack asked in astonishment.

“It looks like it might be,” Nika confirmed as she moved closer to inspect it. The path was old and barely distinguishable from the rest of the forest floor as it was covered with moss and small plants, but the lack of anything larger was what drew the Kizun’s attention in the first place. Brushing away some mud and wet leaves with one of her hands, Nika rubbed something between her fingers, and confirmed her suspicions. “Yeah, this is grit - this must be an old trail! It might lead to something!”

Or at least it’s solid ground we can camp on, Chiyo noted as all of them felt a second wind take hold. With no better options, they all followed Nika’s lead. The path was narrow and slippery from the leaf litter, forcing them all to move in a single file and watch their step while Nika cut them a path through the twisting branches and vines blocking their way.

“Holy shit!” Nika gasped out. “Look!”

Just ahead, almost impossible to spot amid the encroachment of vines and trees despite being at the very edge of the forest, was a wooden cabin.

“Guys….” Sephy was the first to tentatively speak up with a cautious tone, as they approached, and it wasn’t hard to see why.

The cabin sent chills down Jack’s spine that had nothing to do with the biting wind. The windows, though shattered and dark, almost appeared to watch them as they drew close. The wooden door hung slightly ajar on a single hinge which creaked ominously with the wind, before suddenly everything around them was plunged into pitch-black darkness.

“Fuck!” Jack cursed in a panic, quickly switching on his Shades of Seeing, granting him nightvision, while Dante softly barked, as the strange markings along the ‘dog’s’ body glowed a soft blue, giving everyone just enough light to see their immediate surroundings.

It’s okay Jack, Chiyo soothed. It’s just the orbital plate passing overhead.

“Sorry.” The human sighed. “That’s hard to get used to.”

“Stay alert,” Alora warned everyone as she pulled out a wand.

“Jack, let’s clear the cabin together,” Nika whispered to him as she brought her plasma rifle up and aimed it right towards the door.

Jack aimed his own plasma rifle at the windows and patted the Kizun on the shoulder once to confirm he understood as they both quickly made their way towards the door, while the others covered their approach and stayed close.

Flicking a switch on her gun, Nika activated the attached flashlight before cautiously prodding the door open with the barrel, receiving no reaction, before they moved in. The cabin was a single room, which was dim and musty, the air thick with the scent of damp wood and decay.

“Damn, furniture is all torn up,” Jack noted as he carefully checked his ‘half’ of the cabin for any threats, spotting a few rustic chairs toppled over, and a wooden table that looked half-smashed to splinters. “I don’t see a body, do you?”

“Not yet,” Nika confirmed, as she looked at the crumpled bed with scattered blankets. “But looking at all this I’m expecting one. Is there an attic or basement?”

“I don’t spot a basement hatch, but I do have a ladder going up,” Jack answered.

“Coming in behind you,” Alora announced with a whisper “Can you check it?”

“Yep,” he whispered back, not in the mood to argue. Shivering as he climbed the rungs while holding his gun, Jack peeked over the top, spotting a few flat sheets of wood in between the crossbeams framing the cabin. Taking a look at the closest, he realised it was just a basic storage area with empty or rotting boxes, with whatever foodstuffs packed in them consumed by rotting black fungus. “Clear,” he confirmed.

“Clear here,” Nika confirmed too. “No basement or crawl space. Probably not practical in this terrain.”

“Then let’s hurry up and get in,” Sephy huffed from outside. “I’m freezing my tits off out here!”

Quickly hurrying in, Chiyo closed the door firmly behind them, and they all allowed themselves a sigh of cautious relief. The interior was dim, with the only light coming from the soft glow of Dante’s markings, which warped in the dark as the moment the ‘dog’ realised he was somewhere dry, he immediately shook the rainwater off, soaking the others one last time as they responded with a litany of curses.

Shall we get some lights on? Chiyo asked the others. We need to warm up too!

“Wouldn’t that reveal our presence?” Jack asked doubtfully through chattering teeth.

“I can do something about that,” Alora gasped back, pressing her hand against the nearest wall in exhaustion. “A light-based ritual to camouflage us for the night and keep any light localised.”

And I can mask our astral signature, Chiyo added. We’ll be as safe as we can be here, given the circumstances.

“If you do that we might be able to get away with a small fire,” Nika noted, indicating a small woodfire stove with her tail that the others could barely see. “Like it or not we need to warm up, but we should still obscure our presence physically as well. We don’t really know what opposition we’re up against.”

“We’ve got blankets and stuff to cover the windows.” Sephy shrugged. “As long as we’re careful, we can get away with it, and we can lift the covers up to keep a lookout for anything outside.”

“Are you sure?” Jack asked. “Can’t we just sit here in the dark and tough it out until morning or at least until the storm passes?”

“It should be alright.” Nika nodded. “The stove has a cover and nothing’s going to see the chimney smoke in the dark. Good thing there’s chopped firewood here!”

Jack’s expression must have been blatant in the low-light as Alora added, “Jack, we’re all soaked, cold and exhausted. We’ve got to take care of ourselves.”

Jack sighed, trying to resist the urge to push back. As much as he didn’t want to risk attracting any hostiles, he knew he had to trust his friends on this.

“Alright.” He sighed. “I’ll keep a lookout.”

We’ll all feel better once we’re warmer, Chiyo reassured him. Alora sat down and began chanting a prayer of divine magic, drawing on her Light Sphere to create a still image of the area around them within what was about a ten-metre radius, maintaining the projection for anyone outside of the circle looking in.

“It’s a simple ritual but it works quite well in the pitch black!” Alora grinned, finishing the spell as she got up to her feet.

“How long will it last?” Sephy asked.

“About six hours at least.” Alora shrugged. “But I can always extend it if we need to.”

Barely anything in the Astral to hide too! Chiyo added. We’re fine!

“So, what, we’re invisible to anything watching?” Jack asked, trying to understand what they had done.

“Anything outside the radius.” Alora clarified. “Anything crosses the threshold and they’ll see, but if anything approaches that close we should detect it coming.”

“Dammit!” Nika suddenly interrupted, cursing as she tried to use her firelighter to ignite the kindling she’d placed in the stove with shaking hands. “Alora, would you mind?”

“No problem!” The Eladrie smiled as she delicately placed her hand into the stove, whispering “Flickus” as she summoned a small flame in her palm, quickly getting the fire going as she withdrew it. The red ring on her hand glowed dully for a moment before subsiding, the Ring of Fire Absorption likely preventing her from getting burned in the process.

We may be obscured by sight, but sound and smell can betray us, Chiyo warned. So we should be on subvocal comms and not make the fire too big.

“Oh fuck…” Sephy stated as the light in the room suddenly got brighter. “Something definitely went down here…”

Though Jack and Nika had already clocked the signs of something being off about the cabin, the light made that fact all too clear. The half broken furniture around them was far more damaged than they had originally thought, with splinters violently scattered across the floor, and the remnants of a meal, consisting of mouldy bread, a smashed plate and a dented mug lay dispersed and abandoned on the floor, covered in dust and cobwebs.

Against the far wall where Nika had identified the crumpled bed, they could see that it was broken lengthways with a huge crack down the middle, with its mattress torn open with stuffing spilling out like entrails. As Jack moved to take a closer look, his eyes caught a glint of something from under the bed, silently pointing it out to Nika, who nodded as he lifted the bed up for her to take a look.

“Well, well, well…” Nika spoke up, carefully pulling it out, revealing a long, powerful looking gun made of a polished brownish-coloured metal, with engravings along the barrel and the stock, reminding Jack of a blunderbuss.

“Damn! Looks like whoever lived here put up a fight!” Sephy observed, pointing behind them towards a spatter of greenish-black colour against the door. “Pretty sure that’s blood!”

“Chiyo, do you know what kind?” Alora asked the Ilithii, who floated up to take a closer look.

I’m not sure, Chiyo answered unsurely. This texture isn’t like any blood I’ve ever seen, it’s like it’s almost alive like some kind of growth…

“I reckon…” Jack began, as Nika pointed the blunderbuss towards the door, confirming his thoughts. “Whoever lived here managed to injure whatever attacked them to cause that blood spatter, and yeah I think that’s what had to have happened with this mess. The attacker closed the distance and got within melee range, maybe disarming them and sending their gun under the bed, which the defender couldn’t get since the bed ended up broken. Whoever or whatever attacked them must have been powerful.”

“Woah, hey! Look here!” Sephy suddenly called out as her eyes caught something on the door they had missed during their initial sweep. Striding over and taking the coat on the hook, throwing it to the bed, she revealed a rough piece of paper pinned to the back of the door with a dagger. “Looks like whoever was here left a note!”

“Good find, Sephy!” Alora praised as the Skritta yanked the dagger out, looking thoughtful for a moment before handing it to Alora hilt-first, indicating the Eladrie should keep it, along with the parchment.

“What does it say?” Nika asked curiously, as she took a closer look at the gun.

“Let’s take a look,” Alora answered, as she read it aloud:

Final report of Local Ranger Alabeth

They came from the forest.

Don’t know what they are. Several types. They work together.

No contact with Corvin Outpost, must have been hit first, taking out comms. Shrine?

Taking most alive, where? Killing others, why?

Couldn’t escape. I hear them talking.

They are NOT people!

Love you.

Died fighting.

Oh no… Chiyo gasped. Look outside.

Peering through the window, Jack’s blood ran cold.

The ghostly lights were back…