Chapter Sixty-Six: Burning

Chapter Sixty-Six: Burning

The next morning, Val split everyone into two groups: those who wanted to return to Wayrest, and those who wanted to stay and fight.

Of around one hundred captives, just over forty opted to return to the city. That left some sixty odd wanting to stay.

Tom would have thought many more people would have leapt at the chance to return when offered it. Some of the captives had been Hunters, roughly twenty of them, and wouldnt be able to return even if they wanted to.

Of the rest who decided to stay: around ten folks had been in the same unit as Tom, and had been captured after the unit broke during the Reaping. Another fifteen had been captured from various villages during the recent raids. The remaining fifteen were assorted travellers who had been taken as they journeyed either to or from Wayrest down the trade roads.

The non-Hunters that had decided to stay all surprised Tom for one reason or another. There were a handful of Guards, including Rosa, who had decided not to return. Tom would have thought they would have much rather been defending a fortified wall than traipsing through a forest.

A handful of Idealist villagers had chosen to stay too. A few of them didnt even have combat Ideals, and yet they wanted to help.

Those captured during the Reaping, like Tom, he would have thought would have been sick of the Deep by now. One and all, it seemed that those from this group who chose to stay, were those whose captivity hadnt broken them. Instead, it had forged them anew, just as Toms time in the Deep had forged him. They were filled with an almost animal need for revenge, and realised that staying would be the most direct pathway to getting it.

The last group were the most eclectic, those travellers caught on the trade roads. Most were either merchants or their hired guards. The Deep was not safe to travel through at the best of times, after all. The unusual thing about them was that many merchants had decided to stay, and help as best they could.

There were many that had chosen to go, mostly those with families abroad, who wanted to see them again one day. The life of a merchant was rough, though, and many had no family anywhere. Spending your life travelling through monster infested wilderness of one variety or another tended to attract a certain type of person, be they merchant, or merchants guard.

They all liked novelty. They loved a challenge. They loved chasing once in a lifetime opportunities. Tom wasnt quite sure what kind of opportunities they envisaged coming from them helping, but he was glad for it all the same.

The groups were sorted relatively quickly, and from there, plans were made. Tom and Val would lead the returnees to Wayrest. Once they arrived, they would try and signal the Watch, and arrange for a portal specialist to collect them. Officer Dale, and the rest of the Guards from Corins, except Rosa, were amongst them.

Several of the Hunters who had been captured would accompany them too. After they had dropped off the returnees, they would scout the siege preparations before returning to the others.

The other group would be led by Scriber and Cub. Three of the rescued Hunters had ranged from the south eastern villages, and knew the surrounding area well. Scriber, having spent so much time all over the Deep, probably knew it better in general than any individual Hunter.

They figured if the orcs had approached Wayrest from the northeast, they would likely set up their main siege preparations there. They needed to set up somewhere where they could maintain operations against the orcs, whilst not being so close as to put themselves in danger of discovery.

The southeast of the Deep outside the village rings seemed as good a spot as any. Those three hunters who ranged there each had bases similar to Vals oak. They could split their forces between them, expanding and fortifying them, and from there begin anti-siege operations.

Toms mother decided to stay. It was the source of a great deal of anxiety for him. He would have much preferred that she return, had tried to argue her into doing so, but she would not budge. One of the merchants had Tenacity, and one of the folks from Toms Reaping had manifested Soothing, but his mother was still the only one of them with a full Healing Ideal.

He knew it was insanely selfish to ask her to return, but he had to try anyway. It was his own mother, after all. He didnt want her in danger. He sensed the collective sigh of relief when he finally gave up and accepted her choice. Every one of them knew how indispensable she would be.

Well! Glass said brightly. It looks like youve got a bit more than information for us!

That we do, said Tom. We rescued these captives from the orcs. The ones they were using to make Idealists for themselves.

Glass gasped softly, looking around at the former captives. Many still had a long road of recovery ahead of them, and looked like it, too.

Right, no time to waste then! Well need a portal, Id say! You folks just post up here, and Ill be back shortly! And with that, she began to fracture again, and in moments, all that remained of her were shards that broke into ever smaller pieces, until nothing remained.

Val raised an eyebrow at Tom, and he shrugged. I guess we wait, then. Ill send Sere to scout some more while were at it.

Tom moved to the ridgeline, watching their surroundings through both his own eyes, and Seres. Sesame stood beside him, his nose trained into the wind.

The outlook was not good. Great gouts of smoke all over the horizon. He could hear a faint buzzing on the wind, and imagined huge pyres burning, countless thousands of orcs screaming and braying at each other. Sesames nose was overwhelmed with the scent of things burning, and under it all, just a hint of things dead and dying.

Toms heart grew cold as he watched. Rosa stepped up beside him, slid an arm around his waist, worked the fingers of her others behind Sesames ears. Some of the weight of what he was seeing slid away.

Goddess, Rosa breathed. I can feel it. So much fire, so much smoke. The sheer destruction

Something about the sentence tickled at Toms mind. After a moment, it clicked.

How can you feel it? You dont have a sensory or control skill.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, then tossed her chin slightly.

If you must know, I have my fall. I manifested Speed, during our escape. My pinnacle is a control skill.

Wait, what?! Your pinnacle?! he said, shocked. That would mean you manifested your last Ideal, and then three skills under it in what, less than a week? How?

She looked at him with a flat expression, then a small hint of a grin played on her lips. Some of us are not stupid, she explained, and poked him right in the forehead. And some of us are not braggarts either. She poked him again.

But just so you know, my fall is better than yours, Tom Fucking Cutter.

He snorted, but gave her the congratulations she deserved, even if the ease with which she picked up skills made him feel an idiot. They would need every advantage they could get in days to come.

Together, they watched the villages burn, and waited.