Reflections on the Warpath - [An Isekai Progression Fantasy]

The oncoming dawn rose behind Hisoka, washing its waving rubber trees in a golden light that bounced off their shimmering leaves. Entire forests swayed to the rhythm of Whispertide's erratic coastal currents. Trees whipped in swirling eddies, shoved around by the wind like they were little more than tall grass. The radiant sight awed Kestrel as their longtail sliced through the gentle waves surrounding Hisoka. Jay gazed at the Titan bone, skimming his hand over the waves beside him and jerking it back whenever a trailing sea serpent got too close.

They weaved through the swarm of fishing boats fleeing Hisoka for the day's work and navigated towards the island's largest dockyard. Hopefully they wouldn't have to stay so under the radar on this mission. Hisoka's unique lumber certainly helped the Directorate, but it was far from lucrative; Jay couldn't imagine the organisation investing too much to defend this small island.

Jay hopped off the boat and waved their driver goodbye just as a squat, stocky dock worker trudged over to Kestrel. Instead of speaking, he passed each member a rubbery grey moko before handing Jack a fingernail-sized crystal.

"Information," grunted the man. He checked both his flanks before speaking again. "Ask for Ricky in the Crossed Oars if you need more."

The worker, presumably another Howling Wind spy, nodded before lumbering away.

Jay slipped the moko over his armour. The stretchy cloak stuck to his fingers as he pulled his head through its fabric.

Ping flew beneath it, bumping into Jay's back and knocking him forward half a step. She still hadn't fully forgiven Jay for going on a mission without her last time. He'd promised to bring her to Hisoka, even after Samira suggested against it.

"Let's get out of the city and go through this," said Jack, holding up the crystal. "I'd rather get the ambush planning sorted first in case anything goes wrong with the assassination."

Jay agreed with his captain. The rest of Kestrel did too.

They left the docks without another word.

Jay pressed his knuckles into the bark of one of Hisoka's famous rubber trees. It pushed back, but only after a centimetre or so. After a few more he reached the tree's limit. His hand sprung back as soon as he eased the pressure.

He'd tested several trees on the journey out of Navaras. Although each species compressed by different amounts, they all bounced back eventually.

Ping zipped over Jay's shoulder, shooting full speed into a swaying tree trunk. She pushed it forward half a metre before physics caught up to her. The tree jerked back upright, launching her deeper into the forest.

She bounced several more times, darting between the trees like a floating pinball before regaining control and returning to Jay's side.

A fluttering leaf, presumably caused by one of Ping's impacts, wafted into Jay's palm. He tried to rip it apart but the unyielding leaf resisted, stretching just enough to stay in one piece until Jay gave up and let it drift to the ground.

"Hey, what's that?" Marko called, pointing ahead.

While Corinne, Jay and Jack scoured the lush forests for anything of use in an ambush, Marko had been strolling along the gravel road that linked Navaras to Gomara Yards. Much like on Miranda, all trees had been cleared from either side of the main road. Jay turned to his teammate. Walking straight along the road probably wouldn't help Marko find an ambush spot, but it certainly gave him a wider view than his three teammates surrounded by trees on all sides.

Jay stepped onto the road and followed Marko's hand.

A few hundred metres in front of them, a single treetop poked out above the rest. Jay squinted at it, activating Eye of the storm to enhance his eyesight.

It wasn't a particularly large treetop, like Jay expected from one so high up, but actually a small copse of trees suspended in the air. Aside from swaying more than their brothers at ground level, Jay didn't notice anything strange about them.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Beside Jay and Marko, a hawk sprang from the forest and flew towards the elevated grove. Jay watched who he assumed to be Corinne circle around it before landing on one of the branches, scaring away a flutter of songbirds.

"We should probably check it out, whatever it is," Jay said.

Jack emerged from the treeline and nodded, joining in step with Jay and Marko as they marched forward.

Hisoka's residents had kept the forest surrounding the road from Navaras well maintained. The island's trees were seemingly blessed by the Titan himself, yet there was consistently several metres of clear air either side of the gravelly path through the forest. While the sight-line was intended to spot ambushes, it also gave Jay a great view of his target in the distance.

A pillar of stone soared over a hundred metres above the treetops, ever rising as Jay drew closer. Vines and plant life grew along its side like a hanging garden snaking up to the top. A crown of trees sat atop the precipice, swaying in the increased currents that came with standing above the crowd.

The trees grew sparser as Jay, Marko and Jack walked closer to the pillar until they stopped abruptly a dozen metres from its base. The ground stayed undisturbed, yet not a single tree managed to grow in its vicinity and only a few hardy patches of grass remained atop the dirt. As Jay studied the pillar once more, it now seemed to him more like a stone javelin piercing the ground than a tower sprouting up from it, the absence of plant life around it almost like an impact crater born from the earth itself.

Corinne waited for the rest of Kestrel, her back resting against the gigantic sentinel of stone that overlooked this section of the forest.

"Anything interesting at the top?" asked Jay, craning his neck to catch another glimpse of the lofty treetops. If the storm sage was twisted enough to put one of his crystals inside the Directorate vault, Jay wouldn't put it past him to hide one on top of a gigantic stone monolith in the middle of a random island.

"Nothing," Corinne replied, standing up and shaking her head. "I was so sure there'd be something. A lookout, a hidden stash, some kind of device… I got nothing."

"Shame," said Marko, surveying the giant stone pillar. "Surely this has to be a good ambush spot though? The Directorate will be so busy looking up at the pillar that they'll never spot us hidden in the trees!"

Although Marko's reasoning brought a chuckle out of Jay, he couldn't help but agree. The stone pillar compelled him, although he couldn't pinpoint exactly how. Surely there was something helpful here.

"I think it's a bad idea," said Jack. He frowned while scoping their surroundings, as if he was searching for something to upset him. "This is the most recognisable place for miles. They'll surely be on guard while travelling past here."

Jay saw where his captain was coming from, but had to disagree. Since there was so much empty space surrounding the pillar, anyone passing though would have far more knowledge of their surroundings than at any other point in their journey. Jay reckoned their targets wouldn't expect an attack here.

That being said, increased vision for their opponents wasn't exactly beneficial to their ambush.

Marko shook his head and walked over to the monolith.

"Stop being so boring!" he said, echoing Jay's eager thoughts. "This place is perfect. We're teaming up with another squad, right? Imagine if we're with Yagao, he'd be unstoppable if we fought here. Or what about Chatri? If she's perched up here raining down javelins she could probably take the entire squad on her own!"

Jack looked up the pillar, begrudgingly accepting Marko's point.

"It's good for other stuff too," said Jay, pointing back at the treeline. "If we start our attack from the trees, the pillar's a logical place to try and defend. They can back up next to it to guard their flank and even climb it if they want a vantage point."

Corinne and Jack nodded along to Jay's words while Marko looked at him with confusion.

"How does that make it a good spot?" he asked. "Surely that makes it better for them?"

"Yes it's better, but it's also more predictable. If we attack them here they have two options for defence: Using the pillar or ignoring it. Using the pillar is obviously the better choice, they'll probably do that, meaning we can plan around it."

"And if they don't?"

Jay shrugged. "If they don't then they're refusing an advantage we can use the pillar to our favour instead."

"If Yagao's available then that strategy works even better," said Corinne. She walked beside Marko and pressed her back to the Pillar. "If they all rush to defend their position then he can pick them off easily."

As Jay nodded along to Corinne's reasoning, he noticed a flock of birds spiralling upwards as they coiled around the pillar. The flock flew together, although each individual bird's position shifted constantly as they ascended. Jay followed one as it rested in the centre of the pack before beginning to lag behind its peers.

It pushed upwards, weaving through its allies before piercing through above them and cutting a trail through the air for them to follow.

"Good idea," said Jack, disturbing Jay's thoughts and waving him away from the monolith. "Let's keep looking though. There might be something better closer to the lumber yards. We didn't come all this way to find one good option and ignore the rest."

Jay considered telling his captain to stop, but as soon as he looked back the birds were gone.