Super Soldier in Another World

Jason was beginning to grow frustrated with this Trinkett hunt. They've been flying across these seemingly endless plains for weeks now, and still they could find no sign of them. Crossing the continent could be done quickly, but that wasn't the goal, they were searching for elves that wouldn't want to be seen. Yet where would they have to hide? The Bone Plains were filled with nothing but grass, red flowers, flowing streams, along with countless farms and small villages, but no groups of wandering elves. While Jason was growing frustrated, Lance was growing more and more worried, her eyes peering out the window as she strained to see anything below. Jason had been flying lower to the ground, the dropship still invisible as they continued their search.

"We need to return to the Fiendwall soon to check on the people there." Jason said, breaking the silence as they flew through the rainy sky.

"Our flyover's haven't shown much difference." Lance said, not taking her eyes from the glass, "The Fiendwallers are still there."

That was true, but Jason could tell that there was something different about it now. The camp that had been erected outside the wall had been dismantled, presumably because the Fiendwallers had all begun reinhabiting the wall, despite the damage done to it. He'd seen the Defenders out patrolling, meaning that they hadn't been pushed out by Terlin yet. Still, he yearned to speak with Gali and at least get an idea of how things have gone for him the past couple weeks.

"Once it gets dark," Jason began, "We're heading back to the Fiendwall to check on Gali and the others. After that, we'll disembark again."

Lance just let out a sigh, her green eyes beginning to glisten with unshed tears, "What if my clan's already dead out here?" She asked him, "They could be in Akan-Dar as slaves already, and we'd be none the wiser. Exiled elves are considered 'free game' to the Block-Lords, viewing them as animals to be hunted, they need not fear repercussion from the Harkhall- from Terlin, I suppose..."

"Then we'll go check there next." He told her, "We've only been checking the Bone-Plains, maybe they're closer to Akan-Dar."

Lance shook her head, "No elf of the Faewood would go so close to Akan-Dar willingly." She rubbed at her eyes, "It isn't much better, but they could have gone to Grayshane, or are making their way to the Greatbridge that leads to Shimano."

"Shimano?" Jason asked.

"It is also known as the Bloodlands, I've heard that it is a land that is permanently soaked crimson from the countless battles fought there. It is where the Tongues of Zodd originated from, and most often where they can be found. It is a harsh, inhospitable land, but the Tongues seem more than happy to call it home."

"Why would the Trinketts want to go there?" Jason asked.

"Don't mistake me." Lance said, "They wouldn't choose to settle there, they would likely just be trying to pass through to reach the Steamlands or even the jungles of Florovis in the east… but could they really have gone so far in such a short time?"

Jason shook his head, "Not possible, especially on foot. Remember, it took us a week to cross the Greatbridge, it takes a month to cross one normally, at least that's what we were told." He said, "If they've reached the Greatbridge leading to Shimano, then it will take them just as long to cross it."

"Can we go check?" Lance asked him, "We've been practically everywhere else, I know not where else they could be."

Jason's eyes widened as his thoughts drifted to Meris, "Lance, the Trinkett's, would their trees have gone with them?"

Lance blinked, "I- I don't know." She answered, "I suppose a few may have done so…" Lance's eyes widened.

"What if they aren't wandering the Bone Plains at all?" Jason asked her, "They could be-"

"They could be hiding on the very edge of the forest, amongst their own trees!" Lance sat up in her chair, "Fly back to the Faewood, I know its edges like the back of my hand!"

Jason did so, changing course before flying back to the Faewood. If he and Lance were right, then they could be hiding just on the edge of the Faewood, not within its bounds but technically just outside of it. If Meris was to be believed, then the trees of the Faewood weren't beholden to any elves, and could do what they wished, including leaving the safety of the Faewood.

Jason was grateful to see the light return to Lance's eyes, the past two weeks had been stressful for her, that stress magnifying the longer they went without sighting the Trinkett's. To see hope in her eyes once again filled him with purpose, pushing the controls forward and speeding toward the forest quickly. The sudden G-force pushed Lance back in her seat, eliciting a gasp from her as he flew the dropship toward the woods.

It didn't take long before the Ilum tree was back in view, towering over the Faewood like a pillar of obsidian. He ascended, before rounding the perimeter of the Faewood, Lance staring with intense concentration at the forest edge below. After half an hour, she gasped.

"Slow down!" Lance shouted, "There aren't supposed to be trees right there!" She said, pointing out the window.

Jason let the craft hover in the air for a moment before he too looked down, spotting an odd copse of trees, bulging out in a circle from the Faewood. The break may not be noticed from anyone on the ground, but up here it was quite abnormal. It bulged out in a semicircle, a dozen trees of all kinds. He descended, Lance growing excited as they grew closer. Jason could see why, for moving amongst the trees were dozens of dark haired elves, men, women, and children, looking disheveled but unharmed.

The Trinkett's were still alive, just a bit closer to home than they had initially thought. Lance began openly weeping as she stared down at them. Jason reached over, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"We need to land away from the forest, we don't want to scare them." He told her, "We'll approach from the plains, you should lead the way."

"You're right." She nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes, "Thank you for finding them. Now, l-let's disembark." She sniffled.

They did exactly that, landing the ship a good distance away. Keeping it cloaked, Jason lowered the ramp at the back of the dropship, exposing the interior for that brief moment before he shut it once again. With him and Lance outside, the latter now armored with Tungsteel plate beneath her dark cloak, they both approached the copse.

"Make sure you're in front." Jason reminded her, "If they see me first I have no clue how they'll react."

"Already planning on it, let's go!" Lance said excitedly, practically running toward the copse.

Jason kept up with her, her long strides keeping pace as they drew closer to the trees. Curiously, Jason could no longer see the elves that had been milling about within, could it be that they are being obfuscated by illusion magic? It was possible, at least on the ground level here. There must have been a sort of 'bald spot' in the illusions when looking down from the sky, but they clearly wouldn't expect anyone to look down on them from above.

Either that or they couldn't muster the Foundation to cover up that spot. From what he understood of Foundation and elves in general, he was leaning toward the latter, rather than the former. He supposed it could be possible that the Trinkett's had gone into hiding at their approach, moving into their trees to conceal themselves. He was proven wrong when he heard a shout from the copse.

"Lancela!?" A woman's voice cried, before a short elf emerged from seemingly nothing.

Jason was nearly taken aback by her appearance. Like Lance, she had long dark hair and brilliant green eyes, but wore a silver-colored silk dress, contrasting with the pitch black cloak that Lance wore. Looking her over again, he saw that her hair was actually twice as long as Lance's, reaching down past her knees. In his mind, her diminutive stature made her look like a miniature Lance, being no taller than Cat.

There was a strong resemblance she and Lance shared, they could have even been siblings. In fact, that could very well be the case, though Lance never mentioned having any sisters before. She did mention cousins, though.

"Lolena!" Lance cried, running to embrace the smaller woman.

Soon, other elves emerged from the illusion, smiles on their exhausted faces. They were in a bad way, likely having not slept since their exile. Knowing elven biology, that could have been over a month without any rest. They needed to sleep two hours every two weeks, a biological marvel that Jason himself envied, but even the elves had limits. Still, they looked more than pleased to see Lance, and surprisingly, even Jason himself.

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More than a few green eyes found him and lit up excitedly. Perhaps they thought he'd be able to dethrone Terlin, which was admittedly his intent. Over a hundred heads of dark hair emerged, several dozen embracing Lance or weeping that she'd made it back from the Fiendwood alive.

"What are you all doing!?" A gruff voice yelled, "Get back inside the illusion!"

The elves all looked startled before they complied with the order, ushering Lance and even Jason forth. Once they passed through the edge of the illusion, the rest of the interior could be seen. Other Trinkett's had gathered around to stare wide-eyed at Lance and Jason as they were brought inside, a tall elven man standing in the center of their group with his arms crossed over a broad chest. Like the other Trinkett's, he was possessed of dark hair and green eyes, but with a more square face then he'd seen on other elves. His forearms were wide, hands scarred and calloused, a blacksmith perhaps. All he would need is a leather apron over that short sleeved white shirt, and he'd look the part.

His eyes widened when he spotted Lance, and he rushed forward across flattened grass with tears filling his eyes. Lance did the same, running right into the man's open arms with a sob. Another elf, a woman slightly shorter than the man, rushed in as well, wearing a simple dress of brown canvas. She also sobbed heavily, clutching Lance's head in her hands.

"You're really here!" The man wept, "Lancela, how did you get through the Faewood?"

"I flew." She told him with a smile, "We've been searching for you for days, we'd thought you were crossing the Bone-Plains, but couldn't find you anywhere."

"The Bone-Plains would be suicide." He shook his head, "We will stay just outside of the forest, we can't live any other way." The elf then looked up to Jason, emerald eyes still twinkling with unshed tears, "Thank you for bringing my daughter back safe, Hoplite." He nodded to Jason respectfully, "When she told me she was going with you to the Fiendwood, my wife and I mourned- so to see her returned-" He choked, "Especially after all that's happened, it's a miracle!"

"Thank you so much Hoplite!" The woman holding onto Lance cried, looking up at him with brilliant blue eyes, "Thank you for protecting our daughter!"

Jason didn't correct them on his name, he felt that it wasn't the appropriate time. The Trinkett's all gathered around Lance, coming to both congratulate her on her survival as her parents continued to cling to her, as if scared she'd disappear once again. Jason took note of a fair few other Watchers, again resembling Lance and wearing pitch black cloaks. The other Trinkett's were more varied, wearing clothes of sturdy canvas or a few wearing silken robes, such as Lolena. It was then that Jason saw a familiar face amongst the crowd, a couple in fact.

Standing far off, right beside Lolena, stood Leone, her other cousin. Jason had met him back during Muro's Death-Day, he was a tall wiry man, holding himself in a laid back manner as he stared at Lance with a small smile on his face. His green eyes then shifted to Jason, before giving him a grin and a nod. Jason just nodded back, this same exact look being given to him by hundreds of other Trinkett's as they continued to gather around.

Lance's family was huge, he realized. Jason had two-hundred and ninety nine siblings, but that number seemed small compared to the veritable horde before him now. Some members of this crowd surprisingly didn't have dark hair or green eyes, there being some blondes mixed in with the raven-haired Trinkett's. Jason supposed that these people had married into the Trinkett clan, but that made sense.

Eventually, Lance separated herself from her father and mother, approaching Jason with a smile before turning back to her parents. "His true name is Jason." Lance told them, "Thanks to him, Kazon was slain, and he will lay Terlin low as well and restore us to the Faewood!"

The gathered Trinkett's all then practically swarmed Jason with cheers, startling him as several dozen began pressing into him with hugs. It was alien and surreal, he almost shoved them away from him on instinct, but Jason didn't have the cold heart he used to. He just grit his teeth and tolerated the physical contact. A small mote of irritation filled his chest as they began crediting him for slaying Kazon on his own, just as the Fiendwallers had done.

Lance hadn't technically lied when she'd said that Jason was responsible for Kazon's death, but everyone else that had been there for that final battle had contributed just as much as he had. Alistair, Elum, Twindil, and Nolvi had all suppressed the worst magics that Kazon could have cast during that fight, had even one of them been missing… the results could have been catastrophic. He bit his tongue and kept from appropriately giving the proper credits, these Trinkett's likely wouldn't have heard him anyway, the din of their praise would have likely drowned out anything he would say.

The children especially were loud, and more than a few tried climbing atop him. Jason remained still as a statue as he was consumed by the dark-haired horde, watching Lance conversing with her parents. After what felt like an hour, the crowd finally dispersed, releasing him from their choking grasps, finally. Did Trinkett's have no sense of personal space? He shook his head as more elves began returning to their duties and minding their children, the only ones remaining being the various other Trinkett Watchers, along with Lance's cousins and parents. He narrowed his eyes at the Watchers…

Why would Terlin allow Trinkett Watchers to leave the Faewood? They could be a source of valuable intel for those looking to invade the Bastion. Perhaps he didn't intend for them to leave, or maybe he had been planning to execute them, but whatever his plans may have been for these stray Watchers, Jason doubted it was for them to leave with the greater Trinkett clan. His eyes narrowed further…

Why exile the Trinkett's at all? With Terlin's level of power, he could have easily killed them all, so why release them into the wild where they could be captured? Terlin hated them and exile was a stupid solution for their removal. It would have been more ideal to keep them isolated and captured, or once again, outright killed. So why? Could Terlin be genuinely dumb? It was possible, he supposed, or perhaps there was some other reason for this exile. Maybe he couldn't bring himself to kill the descendants of the woman he loved, but neither could he tolerate their existence. Meaning exile was an internal compromise. Terlin wasn't just dumb, Jason decided with a nod.

He was a loser.

His hatred for Terlin grew at seeing the state of the Trinkett's, Lance's family. Disheveled, tired, and forced from their homes. He'd tear Terlin's head off in due time, for now though, he'd ensure this clan's safety. He approached Lance slowly, a warm smile spreading across her face as she gestured to her parents.

"This is my father-" Lance began.

"Lancela, I can speak for myself." He grumbled, extending a hand toward Jason, "I am Nelan Trinkett, clan leader and Lancela's father."

Jason gripped the hand in his own, "I'm Jason."

A single dark eyebrow rose, "That is all?"

Jason's brow furrowed, "What else is there?"

For some reason, this drew a laugh from Nelan, "Straight to the point! Good, I don't need mince words with you." He smiled, breaking the shake before gesturing to the blue-eyed woman, "This is my wife-"

"I can introduce myself as well, Nelan." She huffed before turning to beam up at Jason, "I'm Wyla, formerly from clan Be'jal, now happily married into the Trinkett clan."

She offered her own hand as well, Jason awkwardly reaching his free hand over his other arm to shake her hand as well. Nelan and Wyla gave one another amused grins as Lance let out a giggle, shaking her head. A mote of embarrassment warmed his face as he released the handshakes, a small frown forming.

"Again, I'm thrilled that you've brought my daughter back." Nelan nodded, "And forgive me for being so forward, but you do plan on toppling Terlin, yes?"

"I plan on killing him, not just dethroning him." Jason told him with conviction.

"That's just swell!" Leone said, approaching with a smile, "You gonna try to catch him by surprise, right?"

Lolena then approached alongside her brother, "He'll have to, and you'll need to bring me with you, along with a few others. Me and my cousins can help suppress his magic for you, I understand that you cannot utilize Foundation, so you'll need our aid."

"Actually," Lance smiled, "He can, not only that, but recently I learned how to as well."

Lolena goggled at Lance, "Truly?" The short woman asked.

Lance then went on to explain what had happened during their journey past the Fiendwall, being disrupted once it began raining. The Trinkett clan then disappeared inside their trees, all save for the Watchers, who chose to scale the trees instead, keeping an eye on their surroundings.

Lance, her parents and cousins then moved toward what was apparently Nelan's tree, a towering oak that was twice the size of Meris. It was riddled with small round windows, a single iron banded door the only entrance. Jason hesitated at the entrance as everyone moved into Nelan's tree, unsure how to proceed. His bulk and weight in the Phalanx suit could chip and damage the wood.

Jason remained standing outside, Nelan turning to stare at him from the doorway with a raised eyebrow, "Will you not come in?" He asked.

"Negative." Jason told him, "I don't want to damage your property."

"I am not property." He heard a deep, ancient voice harumph, "Vertically fat fool."

"Begee don't be rude, he's an outsider." Nelan scolded, staring up at the tree.

Begee, which had to be the Fae of the tree, merely grumbled again.

"He's a strong oak, you need not fear." Nelan urged, "Come, I insist."

Jason hesitated as he plotted out his path. If he squatted down slightly and turned to the side, he might just be able to squeeze through without issue. Chipping Begee was still a strong possibility, even just stepping in there with the suit could be catastrophic for the Fae. He could just remove his armor, but he wanted to be at the ready in case this position became compromised.

"Bring it on, fat boy." Begee mocked, his immature insult contrasting with the wizened tone of his voice.

"Begee!" Nelan scolded, "Behave yourself!"

"Hmph! He thinks he's tough enough to harm me, we shall see!" Begee harumphed again, "Come now Hoplite, face me!"

"Alright, here we go." Jason said with a sigh, stepping toward the tree.