"If you think I am going to help that abnormality, you must have banged your head one too many times!" Dave snarked.
'Don't be so dramatic. If Aletheia is able to support us, then why shouldn't we see if there is anything we can do for her?' SJ wasn't really certain herself, but would not back down.
"No, no, no. I can't. She is the reason for the current chaos the system is struggling with."
'I never thought you would support the system,' SJ thought sardonically. 'Hasn't she just allowed you to be given free rein over areas that weren't previously under your control?'
"Well, yes, but..."
'But nothing. Look, think about it logically.'
"I always think logically," Dave butted in.
'Umhmm. Anyway, what I was thinking is, if we can boost Aletheia's ability to heal the mana strands, or whatever it is she actually does, wouldn't that be beneficial to Killic?'
Dave sighed. "Perhaps, but she is an unknown, and it scares me."
'Scares you?'
"Yes, she scares me. I can normally find an answer or consideration for most things, but with her, I can't even see her. It's like looking at a blank canvas. I have no idea of her abilities, what her attributes are, what skills she may have or what she is even capable of."
SJ could understand his uncertainty, as she wasn't sure herself, but if her abilities could improve Killic and help her friends, then why wouldn't they consider it an option? She turned to look at Aletheia as she watched a wilted fern uncurl as she touched it.
'Can you just promise me to think about it, please?'
"Okay," Dave said forlornly.
'Thank you. I knew you were my best friend for a reason,' SJ thought.
"Pfff. Only when you want something from me," Dave griped.
'That's not true. Neither of us would be here if it weren't for each other. You will always be my best friend.'
"Do you mean it?"
SJ sighed, drawing the attention of Lorna. SJ noticed her look and just shrugged, pointing to her head. Lorna frowned before looking away again.
'Of course I mean it. You know how much I care for you; you can see it in my synapses or however you look at my thoughts, can't you?'
"Ewww. Stop being so lovey-dovey," Dave said, pretending to be sick. "It was bad enough listening to Kibble; don't you start as well," his voice in no way hiding his happiness.
SJ chuckled as she followed the others, receiving more than a strange glance from several guards.
They had been working through the forest for a couple of hours when a scout returned to the main group.
"There's something ahead. We heard movement, but saw no signs of anything," she reported.
Lorna called an immediate halt to the group, telling them to rest and take on water.
"I'll go and scout," SJ said as she shrank and took off before Lorna could stop her. The canopy was thick; little light broke through, and where it did, it was diluted as it fought through the foliage. She wove in and out of the branches, continuing along the eastern route they were taking. Her almost silent flight went unheard as she located the other scout that had remained ahead of the party. She flew down to him, where he was crouched. He held a bow in his hand, and an arrow rested ready to be drawn.
Not wishing to startle him, SJ slowly flew to him and whistled in a low tone as she neared. The scout turned and saw her approach.
"There was a report of something out there?" SJ whispered.
"Yes, something moved in the underbrush. A branch snapped, too heavy for deer or hogling," the scout whispered back, pointing ahead. "Probably fifty feet, but there has been nothing since. It seemed large, though."
"Okay, I'll go look," SJ said as she again lifted and headed in the direction the scout had shown.
The area was so thick with brush that moving at ground level was slow and cumbersome. Flying SJ wasn't hindered, and she slowly crept through the trees. That was when she saw them, six pairs of yellow eyes, and relief flooded her.
"Patch?" she called.
A pair of eyes lifted, looking up towards where SJ flew, as the dire wolf realised who it was. His enormous head tilted, and his tongue lolled from the side of his mouth, in what could only be described as a grin. SJ swooped down and, without even growing, hugged the side of the wolf's face.
"I'm so happy to see you," SJ grinned.
Patch let out a low growl as the other wolves with him stood from where they had been crouched.
SJ backed off and called her communication stone to her hand as she called Cristy. She knew Cristy could communicate with Patch directly through their link, and she wanted to make sure that Patch fully understood what they were going to attempt. The scout had slowly edged forward after seeing SJ fly down and approached cautiously. Although the wolf pack was friendly to those of Killic, standing near a giant dire wolf and five of its pack was rather terrifying for the poor being.
"He won't harm you," SJ smiled.
Although the scout was nervous, he lowered his bow. One of the other wolves padded forward and sniffed him.
"He's just saying hello," SJ reassured the scout, whose eyes were as wide as saucers.
Cristy answered, and SJ spent the next few minutes talking to Patch, with Cristy confirming that he fully understood the plan and would scout ahead for the group. The plan was to get within a few hundred feet of the crags before stopping. The forest thinned around the crags' entrance, and they didn't wish to be spotted by the troops that were stationed there. Once the call was ended, SJ headed back to the main party to inform Lorna.
The relief was clear as the group continued, and with Patch providing scouting, even Darren appeared to relax. Even rangers couldn't match the natural ability of wolves. A few more hours drifted by as they continued until they came to rest in a small clearing.
SJ opened her map. They were only five hundred feet from the forest thinning and the enemy. The group were all town guards and understood the need for silence as they settled. Every move was performed with caution and precision; their professionalism as a town guard force was impressive.
Darren had moved forward with the wolves; he was the highest-level ranger they had and would be able to communicate back.
SJ could feel the tension in the clearing. Lorna was moving around the members and informing them of the plan. It had been planned as they approached and was simplistic yet terrifying. The town guard force was going to lead the attack on the gate. As they did, SJ would open the gate, allowing the guards from the valley to attack. The issue that had presented itself was those on the walls that were watching the valley below. The gnolls' levels were still substantially higher than most, and theoretically, they would need to eliminate them prior.
Fas had offered his services, and although SJ was still concerned over his mobility after his injury, he had shrugged it off. Out of all the beings in the group, he was the highest level and most proficient at elimination. SJ had discussed whether he could use his acid attack as he had at the ridge. He had stated that he could, but in doing so, he would again be out of action for a substantial recovery time. SJ didn't want to lose his help in what might unfold, even for a day.
Lythonian was still assigned to Aletheia and would accompany Zej. Zej, with his experience, would lead the group that would harry the lizards, while Lorna and her forces would attack the gnolls.
SJ hadn't seen Jay when she had gone to the valley and briefly met with Alice and Cristy, but he was the only other being they had within their troops who was above level 30 and was likely going to be leading the forces from below. Alice was no fighter; her druidic skills were only related to nature and non-combative.
The only thing they needed to do now was wait; the attack would take place once darkness fell.
SJ had her display open as she zoomed in on the map, making mental notes of the details from her flyby and what she knew of the area. Not having the fog of war was a godsend.
As she marked out various parts, her display flickered.
'Dave, my display glitched,' SJ thought.
"Don't worry. I'm trying something," Dave replied.
'Trying what? You were supposed to discuss things with me before making changes.'
"It's fine," Dave said as SJ's display vanished.
"Dave," she hissed aloud in a quiet tone.
"It's fine, give me a second," Dave said nonchalantly.
SJ fumed as she waited before her display flickered back into existence. "There we go," Dave said as it did.
SJ's eyes opened wide as the map filled with dots.
'What have you done?'
"I have been able to add beings in the area. Green dots are friendlies. You will see a blue dot, which is Fas, and then any grey dots that appear are the positions of unknowns. It only works for beings. I wasn't able to include Patch or his pack members." Dave's voice was filled with self-serving pride as he spoke.
'How?' SJ asked.
"Oh. Simple, really, just a minor coding adjustment and a few trillion calculations, nothing that any amazing, all-knowing AI couldn't do."
SJ rolled her eyes. 'This once, I think you may have outdone yourself.'
"Why, thank you; you're not the only loophole finder, you know," his smarmy voice replied. "It does have a limited range, but any beings within a standard map square should be visible."
'And how far is a standard map square?'
"Erm, sixty-four trillion strands."
'Strands?'
"Sorry, in your terms, about a twenty-foot radius."
'So, if I moved forward, any beings that suddenly came within that range would appear?'
"Yes."
'Irrelevant of whether I can see them?'
"Yes."
'What made you suddenly think of trying it?' SJ frowned. Being able to scout using her display like this would have such immense advantages, especially in built-up areas. It wouldn't give her the same vision as flying above, where she could see the directions beings faced, but the benefits outweighed any negatives.
"Erm... Aletheia," Dave said as he coughed, trying to hide her name.
'Really? How did she give you the idea?'
Dave let out a sigh. "She is always mentioning mana lines and corruption, so rather than looking at larger coding blocks as I usually would, I started to look into the mana channels. I was trying to understand what she might be seeing or doing, and then I thought I'd try to see if it was possible. It does open up a new way of viewing things, admittedly, which is very obscure, considering the make-up of mana rather than the code itself."
'I thought you always said mana is code?'
"It is, but we rarely look at it at the strand level; we look at it in blocks. It's one of those complex areas of computation."
SJ wasn't sure what to say. She couldn't fathom the world as Dave saw it. Her eyes and adapted vision gave her the vision she needed in the world, nothing more. She wondered if Aletheia actually saw things differently, or still saw beings when she viewed the world.
The clock ticked down as tension and nerves grew. Waiting was the worst feeling SJ knew; her stomach twisted and was unsettled. She sat silently, subconsciously clenching and unclenching her fists. Fas noticed her, placing his hand on her arm. She looked at him, and he smiled. A sense of calm settled over her.
As darkness settled in over the plateau, the guards fidgeted, checking their weapons and tightening the straps of their armour. Zej moved around the troops who would accompany him and spoke to them quietly, ensuring they understood his instructions.
Finally, the wait was over, and SJ contacted Cristy to let her know.
SJ shrank and took off as Fas started his path towards the gates. She flew above as he Shadow Stepped, taking his time and care where he would appear, ensuring he remained hidden. SJ's pulse raced as she looked around as she flew. In the near distance, the lights of the enemy by the gate were visible. Torches burned as bright beacons on the gate walls, and fires blazed in the encampment.
Once Fas had reached near the base of the wall, SJ slowed her flight path, angling towards the building that housed the gate mechanism.
"I'm going in," Fas whispered over the earpiece.
SJ watched as he vanished from his current position, his advanced Shadow Step allowing him to appear at the very edge of the wall, where he now crouched. SJ watched as he neared his first target. There were again three gnolls on the wall, interspersed along its length. As SJ watched, she opened her display as gnoll forms appeared as grey dots beneath her. Dave's change was working perfectly.
Laughing reached her ears from a nearby fire where gnolls sat relaxing. The audacity and casualness of their behaviour infuriated her. One of the draconian riders appeared in a tent door and shouted towards them, telling them to keep the noise down, before returning inside.
The gnolls grumbled quietly at their overseer's response. The area was already littered with debris, the gnolls not caring for the mess they were leaving.
SJ noticed the first gnoll fall. Fas moved as a lethal shadow as it slumped forward. Fas lowered it carefully, leaning it against the wall, before proceeding to his second target. The second gnoll stood next to a torch, but SJ doubted that it could be seen from below. The wall was enclosed on both sides by a parapet. It wasn't open, and its height was preventing many of those below from looking directly up and seeing them. Fas vanished and appeared this time at the far end of the wall, where his second target was in virtual darkness. He was leaving the one by the torchlight until last.
It was as Fas was moving towards the last target that SJ spotted three gnolls collecting their belongings together and standing. It looked as though the guard was about to be changed as they headed towards the steps leading to the top of the wall.
"Incoming," SJ whispered.
Fas didn't speak, but she noticed him glance towards the steps.
They had hoped that by taking the three guards out on the wall, they could get the valley forces to approach up the path before SJ opened the gate, but that may not now be impossible. She cursed under her breath.
One of the gnolls barked to his companion that he had forgotten something and turned, heading back down the steps. The others muttered to each other as they proceeded up. Fas had just taken out the third gnoll, and SJ decided.
"I'm coming to help," SJ whispered as she flew towards the gnolls nearing the top.
Her claws were already equipped, and she struck her target as Fas silently ended the gnoll who stepped onto the parapets first. As the gnoll's foot touched the parapet, she grew, her weight and momentum carrying it forward, stumbling. It let out a gasp as Fas reached it as well, clamping its jaws shut again, preventing it from making another sound. It thrashed momentarily as SJ's claws ended its life.
SJ shrank again as Fas dragged the still form out of sight of the lip of the steps, taking off as the third gnoll had begun back up them, having collected whatever it had forgotten.
"That was close," Dave said, letting out a breath of relief.
SJ ignored him, as Fas waited patiently for it to appear. SJ felt nauseous. If Fas hadn't helped with her target, it might have had time to cry out before dying. She had almost ruined the entire operation.
Fas quickly dispatched the third gnoll, again dragging its still form away from the steps, and looked up towards SJ, who hovered above the wall. Immediately, she flew higher, withdrew her comms stone, and let it call Cristy. She didn't need to speak, allowing it to connect twice before stopping it. That had been the agreed message for the valley troops to approach.
Fas moved to the wall's edge and looked down toward the valley. His dragonling sight was more advanced than SJ's, and he turned, lifting his hand to show that they were approaching. SJ couldn't see from her position; the angle was too steep, and not high enough to see over it clearly.
A few gnolls were still awake, but most were retired into their tents. It was obvious the gnolls hadn't even considered a threat from inside the gates' walls, as none were patrolling in the town's direction.
SJ dropped and entered the gatehouse. She would remain small until the last moment, before triggering the gate. She hovered in the room, sweat trickling down her spine as she waited. The nervous tension was almost unbearable; her breathing was rapid, and her whole body tingled with anticipation. Seconds felt like hours as she waited for the signal from Fas.
The clicking sound of her earpiece nearly made her cry out in shock. She had been focusing on waiting for it for what felt like so long that when it came, she almost squealed in surprise.
"Calm down," Dave said. "Everything is going according to plan."
SJ took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The valley troops should now be positioned near the gate, although SJ couldn’t see any dots on her display. As she grew, she reached for the lever, grabbing the cold metal surface. Then, with effort, she pushed the lever forward. The gears turned, and there was a loud clicking sound as a latch was triggered. She looked up to see the counterweight beginning to descend.
It wasn't the click that sent shivers down her spine, but the sound as the gate groaned as it shifted; there may as well have been a trumpet blaring out in the night.
Immediately, she shrank again, flying from the building as the first of the gnolls turned, noticing the large double gates slowly opening.
That was when pandemonium ensued.
