The next day Veil, Katya, and Indali met up with their mercenary companions well before dawn and left Medina on a Westbound train. Soon after sunrise, they reached the town of Ironwood, which sat over a hundred kilometers West of Medina. They immediately boarded a steam car for the 40 kilometer trip to the forest’s border.

The car looked vaguely like the engine of a train. It was a four-wheeled, boxy, wooden vehicle with a steel frame that Katya had rented sometime in the previous few days. Veil lifted one of their heavy wooden supply crates and carried it towards the immense iron bound, wooden trunk strapped to the back of the vehicle.

As he passed the train’s driver compartment, Veil was struck by the oppressive heat and pungent odor rolling out of the claustrophobic, grimy room. He didn’t envy the driver and coal loader who would have to cram themselves into the small metal encased compartment.

After they finished loading, he squeezed into the passenger compartment. Veil was jammed between Isvan and Gerta, with the woman’s bony elbow lodged directly against his rib. At least Katya and Indali, seated directly across from him, had some room to spread out.

Why do the old people get to be comfortable, Veil thought with annoyance. Although, he didn’t say that out loud. He wasn’t suicidal.

With a loud chugging sound, the train lurched forward directly into the rugged path. They immediately bounced up and down on the inadequately padded seats. Gerta’s elbow almost knocked the wind out of him.

There has to be a better way to travel. When Veil returned to the academy, he was going to start researching travel spells. Likely they were all mana intensive and limited, and he wouldn’t have time to develop them for years, but he was going to start. He refused to put a price on comfort. Plus, more mobility had to be incredibly useful in its own right.

When their jolting journey finally came to an end, Veil and the others piled out of the car as quickly as possible. Looking at his watch, Veil observed that the vehicle had gotten them and their supplies to the border in less than an hour. This would allow them almost a full day of travel once within the forest’s boundaries.

After stretching for a moment, he walked over to their supplies and strapped on his small leather backpack, which contained a water bottle, and condensed food supplies. Once that was in place, he secured a heavy gauge shotgun over his right shoulder. Reaching down, Veil made sure that his pistol was tightly fastened to his right hip and the blasting rod and large hunting knife fixed to his left side.

Before entering the forest, Katya took out a rectangular device with technomagic circuitry embedded in it. She cast a spell on the apparatus. This created a moderately sized light blue translucent telekinetic that sled that unfolded around the rectangular object, which then hovered around knee height. They piled tents, empty harvesting containers, and extra ammunition on the runner and set off for the forest’s border.

The sled, which followed directly behind Isvan, was designed to be highly mana efficient and was powered by a combination of a mana battery, ambient energy, and a small contribution from Isvan’s energy reserve. He should be able to power the conveyance with only a minimal drop in his energy store throughout the entire day, and the mana battery would automatically recharge overnight. The primary energy input came from activating the telekinetic spell.

Veil hesitated at the forest border, considering the intimidating sight. He stepped from a bright, grassy plain with occasional copses of moderately sized conifers into a shaded realm surrounded by sequoia and redwood trees at least forty stories in height. The soft misty air and loamy smell of the forest welcomed him into the forest’s domain.

The forest filled him with a sense of almost religious awe. The cool, welcoming air flowed around his body, bringing peace and comfort. Veil knew that this was at least partly an illusion. The forest was full of hidden dangers, ready to drag him down. But he could still enjoy its tranquility while remaining focused.

Veil moved easily through the forest, stepping over the sparse, low lying vegetation. Tough leather pants protected him from the thorny vines as he walked. Ferns and shrubs intermixed with fallen moss-covered branches, decaying leaves, and low lying herbal growth lay between the massive trees and extended as far as he could see.

The party wound their way single file with Katya in the lead, followed by Indali, then Veil, with Isvan leading the sled, and finally, Gerta with her shotgun already unlimbered, bringing up the rear.

They advanced in almost complete silence, with only the forest noises to accompany them. Veil was on high alert, with his senses focused outward and stretched to their fullest extent. He could perceive larger forest life moving at the edge of his mind sense, but it seemed benevolent enough at the moment.

When the sun reached its zenith, Katya signaled for a stop, and everyone prepared for lunch. Veil looked thoughtfully around, examining the surrounding forest. They hadn’t come across any danger so far, but this was nothing unusual. He had traveled for weeks at a time through the great Northern Forest without encountering any serious threat.

He picked out a spot to sit on a fallen log. The rest of the group took seats in a rough circle, making use of another fallen tree. After retrieving some high food concentrates, he wrinkled his nose while contemplating them. He could pick out the individual flecks of grain, beans, and alchemically potent additives all held together by honey.

After a moment, he popped one in his mouth. Veil observed the rest of the group and their response to the cold lunch. Gerta looked at the unappetizing fare as if it had personally insulted her.

Well, at least they were nutritious.

“What herbs and minerals are you searching for,” Gerta asked after taking a sip from her canteen, “and where can they be found? For that matter, what types of beasts will we be hunting?”

Isvan perked up at this remark, placing his canteen aside and directing his gaze toward Katya.

“We are looking for many different plants and minerals, and tomorrow, when we are farther in the woods, we will begin the collection process. This is one reason it will take three days to reach Troll’s Haven. The main forage found near the trail is blue star elderberries, venomous spine moss, fire berries, and most fun of all, vampire vine.”

Katya said the last with a smile while everyone else winced. Isvan looked to the side and actually spat on the ground while Veil considered how to find and harvest the plant without being drained of blood. It was fine as long as he knew the plant was there beforehand, but the sneaky creepers liked to take people by surprise.

“Once we reach Troll’s Haven, we will consult the locals about where to find giant darter snails, elder bees, and bloodroot, ” Katya continued, “ I’ll also be trading for a few minerals and other supplies, but that need not concern you.”

“As to what we will hunt, why trolls, among other animals. It depends on what we can find in the area. Our time is limited.”

Gerta and Isvan nodded at this. Katya hadn’t mentioned anything too dangerous. If she had, Veil was certain they would have demanded hazard pay in addition to their base rate.

“The trolls must be harvested before or immediately after their deaths to extract regenerative agents,” Indali spoke up after she finished writing in and putting away a small notebook. “Other animals of particular interest are amoraks, iron scale serpents, and wyverns, but if you see anything else of note, let me know. I’ll pay a bonus if we can harvest anything really unusual or interesting.”

The last comment had Gerta and Isvan sitting up straighter and focusing on Indali.

After finishing lunch, Veil packed away his supplies and continued following Katya. A short time later, they encountered a brook, and Gerta moved to a narrower section downstream a small distance from where the rest of the group was crossing.

Fording the stream proved straightforward, but as she made her way back, she let out a stifled yell and disappeared behind some vegetation. Pulling his shotgun off his shoulder, Veil and the others ran rapidly to her location, only to see her lying on the ground and using the plasma beam on her blasting rod to cut several vampire vines.

The tendrils were wrapped around her legs and attempting to drag her toward the main plant. Fortunately, Veil noted, she was wearing warded leather pants, and this provided some rudimentary protection. Her legs had endured some light gouges and scratches, but she was mostly okay, although it appeared her pride had been injured.

“I guess we’re earning our bonus pay today,” Isvan remarked while smirking at his sister. She glared back at him in return.

While Indali patched her up, Isvan stood watch, and Veil and Katya activated their shields at the lowest setting and moved forward to harvest the vines. It was a lucky find.

The creeper struck out as Veil approached the plant’s central location, even wrapping around his shield, but the vines slid off the translucent barrier. In this way, he was able to walk right up to the large tree that was the creeper’s home.

Once there, Veil copied Katya, drew one of his knives, placed one shielded hand over the squirming plant, and cut. Enraged, wildly flailing, thorny tendrils struck out at Veil, but they simply bounced off his shimmering barrier. Grabbing another vine, he forced it against the trunk of the tree and sliced off another section. Green sap, a little like blood, pumped from the severed end.

Veil also noticed some venomous spine moss growing nearby. The moss covered several rocks and dead wood within an arm’s length of the vampire plant’s home. After putting the cuttings he collected into his pack, Veil crouched near the moss and hovered his hand directly over the plant.

Hundreds of venomous spines shot as much a hands length out of the plant, attempting to impale him, and bounced harmlessly off his shield instead. Reaching down, Veil slipped his knife under a section of moss and carefully pried it off its rocky home before placing it into a collecting jar. Veil knew the plant would remain dangerous for many hours to come.

“Two out of four,” Gerta jabbed back at her brother after seeing Veil’s efforts. “If only you started pulling your weight, we could make some real money.”

Isvan just laughed.

The rest of the first day’s hike passed without incident, and they stopped near a small brook for the night. One of the forest giants had fallen in the last few years, leaving a small clearing. Isvan and Veil gathered firewood while Indali and Gerta set up their tents and dug a shallow fire pit.

Katya took several devices from their deactivated sled and set up a warded perimeter to drive away smaller predators and produce an alarm if anything large or dangerous approached.

Naturally, we’ll rotate a watch during the night — only the foolish and soon to be devoured assumed that warding alone was sufficient.

After arranging kindling into a neat cone shape, Isvan invoked a spell and started a fire. Veil and the others gathered around, absorbing the heat and light to ward off the twilight chill while Indali held a pan over the fire and vigorously stirred its vegetarian contents. No meat was added as the aroma could attract predators. If you needed to cook meat, you should eat, move on, and camp elsewhere.

As they sat around eating, Indali cheerfully struck up a conversation.

“What’s the worst experience you ever had in the North woods?” She asked the siblings curiously while scraping her bowl clean.

Isvan looked thoughtful, but Gerta immediately replied, “maggots. A few years ago, we were acting as guards for a sizable expedition. There were almost 40 of us. The principles were hunting greater razorback bears.”

“Those monsters can grow up to six meters tall, have iron-like fur covering their backs and sides, and have an incredibly nasty disposition,” She continued. “We thought we were tracking a mated pair, but it turned out to be the other way around.”

“One night, when we were camping on the edge of a low ravine, the beasts struck in the middle of the night. Our idiot employers and some of their equally idiotic employees had decided it would be a fine idea to get drunk that night and mount an almost nonexistent watch.”

“The only reason we survived,” Gerta continued while Indali looked on with wide eyes, “was because Isvan and I had decided to split a vigil of our own.” Veil noted his grandmother absently poking the fires with a long stick as if bored. She must have heard the story before. “Isvan was on watch while I was curled up by the fire sleeping when he noticed some odd sounds coming from the nearby forest.”

“He woke me up before walking away from our fire to get a better look. Seconds later, there was a ferocious roar, and two giant shapes came barreling out of the dark, directly through our camp and fire.”

“If Isvan hadn’t woken me, I would have been crushed, like half of our camp. Some of the other survivors and I began to lay down fire and cast spells. A lucky shot hit one of the behemoths in the nose. It took off running out of camp, and the other followed.”

“Over half our encampment was destroyed in minutes,” Gerta continued, rubbing her hands together, her eyes brightly reflecting firelight. “When I looked for Isvan, I couldn’t find him. I searched frantically for the rest of the night, and then most of the next day.”

“I was driven off the ridge by the charging bear,” Isvan remarked, crossing his arms. “The last thing I remember is stepping back into space and falling.”

“When I finally found him, he was unconscious, and blood flies had been at his open wounds for most of a day,” Gerta said. “Some of the survivors helped me drag him back to camp and clean up his wounds.”

“Unfortunately, there was no option except to wait for the blood fly larva to hatch and use my thumbs to press into his flesh and drive the maggots out of him. Our healers had died in the initial attack. For the next three days, that’s exactly what I did. I killed every one of those damn maggots as they emerged from his wounds.”

“Fortunately, I had a concussion and don’t remember most of this,” Isvan remarked with a shudder. “That’s the reason; it’s not my worst memory.”

Later that night, after recounting numerous happy stories, they retired. Isvan and Veil shared one tent while the woman took the other. The next morning and for the next two days, they advanced to Troll’s Haven, gathering alchemical supplies as they went. They spotted a razor fox once, and a particularly aggressive moose tried to trample Indali, but those types of events were regular occurrences if you traveled in the Great Forest.

Late afternoon of the fourth day brought them in sight of Troll Haven’s palisade. The town sat in a small clearing, with walls made from entire iron banded tree trunks. They could see numerous large iron cannons poking out from the top of the ramparts. Silvery-looking mana circuitry traced the cannon’s surface, making it obvious that they were spell wrought.

Once through the gate, Veil saw the town consisted of surprisingly sturdy wood and brick buildings stocked with people who were armed to the teeth. The citizens, and it looked like a town of several thousand, all carried firearms. Some of the weapons were spell wrought, while many were not. They also carried swords, spears, maces, and simple staffs.

Katya led them to a large two story, brick building with a few tiny, iron barred windows. The immense front door was open, and Katya immediately entered. When Veil walked in, he saw the walls were almost an arm span thick.

The ground floor was filled with rough wooden tables around which sat hard-looking men and women served by several tavern maids. Looking across the room, Veil saw a staircase leading to the second floor, which must serve as an inn.

“Hello, Hervid,” Katya greeted a heavy man with shaggy brown hair, a beard, and wearing a large leather apron. “how is business?”

“Katya,” Hervid grinned, “you are looking good as always.” Glancing at the troop that filed in behind her. “It looks like you need a couple of rooms.”

“And a shed to store equipment and supplies,” Katya replied. “Our companion, Isvan, is stationed outside guarding them.”

Hervid nodded and handed Katya two keys, “I’ll show your man where to store the provisions. Make yourselves at home,” Hervid announced while leaving the inn.

At Katya’s gesture, Veil followed to help Isvan unload. Katya also left to contact some friends and arrange for trade and a hunting guide while Indali and Gerta took their packs and other personal gear up to their rooms. That night they relaxed with a few drinks in the tavern before retiring.

Late the next morning, Katya took Veil to meet some contacts and trade for rare earth minerals. Veil purchased small amounts of cobalt, promethium, yttrium, and titanium at a fraction of the cost he would have had to pay in Medina. The remainder of the day was consumed touring Troll’s Haven, which took all of a half an hour, after which they returned to the inn and rested. A local guide would meet them the next morning to lead them on a hunt.

Their guide showed up a little after dawn while the party was preparing to depart.

“Ah, this is our tracker, Kubir,” Katya said, looking up as a rangy, brown skinned man dressed in various shades of green and brown leather walked up. Kubir had short thinning hair, a long knobby nose, and narrow eyes that constantly shifted around as if trying to observe everything at once, hallmarks of a good scout. “Kubir, this is my grandson Veil, our healer Indali, and our guards Isvan and Gerta,” Katya said while nodding to each person in turn. “Are you ready to depart?”

“Yes,” Kubir replied, leading them toward Troll Haven’s gate, “I thought we should start by gathering the elder bee honey and bloodroot. If we’re lucky, there might be a solitary troll or small band in the area. Trolls love honey and will sometimes dig for bloodroot.”

“What about larger monsters?” Katya inquired, walking alongside Kubir. Veil and Indali were directly behind them, with Gerta and Isvan brought up the rear, rifles already in hand. “Are there any wyvern, iron snakes, or other interesting specimens in the region?”

“There’s a large iron snake in the area,” Kubir replied, shifting the rifle to his hands and licking his lips nervously while glancing at Katya. “But it’s a dangerous one.”

“It already destroyed a five man band that tried to hunt it by striking from ambush; we think,” Kubir continued. “Hunting that monster will be dangerous because of its unusual size, intelligence, and nearly impenetrable scales. The best thing to do with a creature like that is to trap it.”

“We’ll go after the honey, bloodroot, and trolls first, then survey the situation,” Katya decided. “We can assess the state of affairs with the snake and set an ambush or trap. There’s no reason to get people killed on a simple hunting trip,” She reassured their guide.

They spent most of the morning hiking, to where their guide assured them there was a large colony of elder bees. As they were approaching the location, Kubir, who had been ranging ahead, came rushing back, motioning for silence and for them to gather close.

“There’s a couple of forest trolls taking turns trying to get at the bee’s honey,” He said in a whisper, once they had formed a tight circle. “They are Lesser Forest Trolls. Does that work?” He asked Indali.

“Yes, the size doesn’t matter,” She replied softly. “I’m after their regenerative properties.”

“I suggest we split the company,” Kubir recommended, motioning with his hands in a circling movement. “One party can keep slowly following the trail I marked while I’ll lead the other group in a flanking motion, and we can hit them from two sides at once. It should be easy.”

Katya, Indali, and Veil crept cautiously up the trail while Kubir led Gerta and Isvan in a flanking maneuver. The trolls were running around in a meadow when Katya’s party set up at the edge of the forest. Veil kneeled silently by a tree, gently moving a small leaf aside and unlimbering his shotgun.

Looking through the screening vegetation, Veil saw fist-sized Elder bees, each packed with deadly venom, chasing the man-sized, fur-covered creatures around. The trolls would dash around on two legs for a moment before running around on all fours. Their oversized front arms and short back legs pumped while they howled in rage out of fang-filled mouths. The troll’s rage-filled cries drowned out all other sounds.

Veil saw a bee land on and sting one of the trolls as it slowed down to turn. The troll promptly threw itself on the ground and rolled onto the insect crushing it into the ground. Two more insects settled on the troll while it was squashing the first bee. The insect that landed on its face was bitten into pieces while the bee drove its stinger into the furry monster’s cheek.

Leaping to its feet and running on two legs, the troll grabbed the third bee and bit it in half. Veil could see murky fluid explode from the unfortunate insect as it met its demise. Ten minutes later, both trolls were still going strong while the bees gradually returned to a cloud above their hive.

Veil watched the thrice stung troll with interest. He knew that trolls had a naturally high resistance to most types of poison and powerful regenerative abilities in addition to a tough hide, but he thought the venom might have some effect. Apparently not. The creature never even slowed down.

After all the bees stopped chasing the trolls and formed a buzzing angry crowd above the lone oak in which they lived, the trolls gradually slowed their frenetic pace to a panting halt. Both sides eyed each other getting ready for the next engagement.

That’s when Katya gave the signal to fire. She was targeting the closer troll while Veil sighted on the other. Almost at the same time, five guns went off, knocking both creatures off their feet. One troll started to rise, only to be shot three more times.

Veil and Indali quickly moved forward to finish off the nearer monster while Katya and Kubir took the other – the creatures weren’t dead, of course. Walking up to the nearest downed monster, Veil stabbed powerfully down with his hunting knife while Indali drove her blade into the creature’s chest.

He knew the trolls weren’t dead until after you thoroughly destroyed their heart and brain. Veil had once met a man with horrible scars on his face after assuming a troll he had ‘killed’ was going to stay dead.

“Are you going to help, or am I going to do this alone,” Indali said, interrupting Veil’s musings.

Her arms were covered up to the elbows in blood as she hacked open the rib cage to extract the creature’s heart.

“You look like your having so much fun I thought I’d let you finish,” Veil said while kneeling beside the creature and preparing to pull out its eyes.

Indali sniffed at him and then invoked a spell to extract the monster’s core.

After they finished with the trolls, the band turned its sights on the bees, who had been menacing their party and mounting the occasional attack the whole time. It did the bees no good, each of the party had a low powered full body shield in place, and the insects weren’t powerful enough to penetrate this defense.

The party approached the tree, after which Indali and Veil both prepared to cast smoke spells. Veil twisted and knotted the energy drawn from his core into ectoplasmic soot. The pollution steadily boiled from Veil’s cupped hands into the sky. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Indali negligently toss her mana construct towards the tree where it anchored itself and streamed steadily upward.

Show off, Veil thought.

Veil felt a breeze, generated by Katya, blow past his shoulder, and drive his smoke toward the bee’s home. The insects buzzed angrily while flying down and bouncing off Veil’s shield. He almost felt sorry for the deadly little monsters. Eventually, the creatures gave up after one more spiteful dive bombing effort and flew away. Isvan then climbed the tree and harvested several large jars of honey.

Before they left, Katya anchored another smoke spell around their tree that would last about an hour. If the bees came back and found their hive plundered, they would repeatedly attack and follow the group for at least a day.

They collected the bloodroot on the way to the iron snake’s territory but, rather than proceeding onward, remained well outside the snake’s area. The last thing any of them wanted was to wake up to a mighty magical predator’s attack during the night. While most reptiles would be dormant during the darkness, the actions of a powerful, magical, highly intelligent creature were unpredictable.

The next day Kubir led them to the snake’s most recent trail, and they began to track it cautiously. The party followed the path for over a dozen kilometers, occasionally finding the remains of the serpent’s meals. The land was increasingly hilly in this region of the forest, and travel became tougher and slower.

“We’re now covering the part of the trail where the snake passed within the last few hours,” Kubir said while pausing. The others grouped up behind him. “What’s the plan?” He said, turning around. “I really don’t think it’s a great idea to tackle this thing head-on.”

Katya thought for the moment while everyone else started to shift into a ready position. Guns that had been slung over their shoulders were now moved directly into their hands. Veil checked the grenades lining his belt, making sure everything was ready for action. Indali pulled out a few potion bottles, verifying their labels and attaching them to her belt.

“Is there somewhere along the trail where we can get a clear sighting of the beast, so we know what we are dealing with?” She inquired.

Kubir glanced at the trail ahead, “This portion of the trail rises before meeting a long valley with a meadow at its end. Most likely, that’s where the snake is heading to sun itself. If we continue along the trail, the forest will gradually start to thin out, and one or more of us can climb a tree. I think we’re safe up until that point.”

“Let’s continue. We can decide how to hunt the snake once we’ve seen it and gotten the lay of the land,” Katya replied, drawing her sun hat down closer over her eyes.

The trees opened up, letting more light shine down upon them as they continued walking at a somewhat slower pace up the hilly slope. Kubir led from the front, followed by Indali and Katya, then Veil and Isvan, with Gerta trailing behind. Each cluster was separated by several man lengths in case they were ambushed.

Ironically, Veil felt increasing nervousness and menace as they made their way forward, but he couldn’t pinpoint any cause. Even focusing on his psychic sense and stretching it as far as he could didn’t help. He must be nervous…

“Ware left,” Veil shouted as a menacing mind bloomed in his awareness ahead and to the left of him. A half second later, a giant snake’s head shot from the underbrush directly toward Indali, just in time to take a grenade to the face. Katya, somehow sensing what was going to happen, was already in motion by the time Veil yelled his warning, having turned, drawn, and thrown a grenade in less than two seconds.

The snake was confused, and its attack was driven to the side by the explosion. Indali, not having bothered to strike back, had dived forward and rolled to her feet, sprinting for distance. Veil and Isvan moved back while firing their shotguns.

With a twisting motion, the snake pulled back, rearing three man heights above the forest floor. Simultaneously, another long section of serpent shook free from the forest detritus, showing the beast had them half surrounded. Light shimmered in a prismatic effect off the creatures glittering metallic scales.

The monstrous serpent reared back further, as if getting ready to attack as the group attempted to gain enough distance to avoid its strikes, but instead, its tail swept violently around. Veil immediately threw himself to the ground, his shield sparking and cracks forming as the snake’s coil slid along its top. Unfortunately, Isvan anchored his shield in place instead of ducking. The snake’s lower section struck the magical barrier, full force, and though the tail slowed, it shattered the shield. Isvan was thrown violently backward.

While this was happening, Katya was still in motion, pulling out multiple grenades and launching them telekinetically at the beast. The snake dropped its head lower and pulled back further while hissing. As soon as the monster’s mouth opened, Katya telekinetically cast a large black grenade into its mouth, causing the beast’s jaws to snap shut.

There was a loud thump, and the serpent pitched almost over onto its sides, smoke rising from its nose. Veil, Gerta, and Kubir, who had finally joined the fight, fired on its drunkenly swaying head and vulnerable eyes, blowing one of them out.

The snake let out a twisting hiss reminiscent of a scream while spitting up blood and lunged for their party’s closest member. This happened to be Veil. He and his grandmother both pitched grenades at the serpent’s head at the same time. The dual explosion knocked it to the side, and it lay on the ground, wounded and stunned for several seconds.

Indali had been casting a spell for some time, which she now directed forward – seeking tendrils of ectoplasmic rope tangled around the wounded beast anchoring its entire length to the ground. If the creature had been at full strength, it likely would have ripped free of the binding, but it was severely injured by the explosive it had ingested and was also stunned by the repeated grenade and shotgun blasts to its head. The serpent twisted about but could not move.

Katya then invoked a spell that condensed into a two meter long white hot plasma blade that she launched with a gesture into the creature’s ruined eye. The blade drove right into the monster’s brain, finally killing it.

“Isvan,” Gerta yelled, sprinting over to her downed brother.

Indali immediately ran over, yelling, “Veil,” as well. While Veil was still making his way to Isvan, before Indali had even stopped running, she was short-casting diagnostic arcana with one hand and using the other to draw a medical device from one of her pockets.

Kneeling next to the semi-conscious Isvan and analyzing her diagnostic spells, Indali placed the medical device on his stomach and cast through it. All of this was happening far too fast for Veil to figure out what she was doing, but he could see that Isvan’s chest was a broken, ruined mess, with several limbs bent at strange angles and blood leaking out everywhere.

Without stopping her work, Indali ordered, “Veil locate and stop the external bleeding.”

Veil immediately invoked his own diagnostic spell. His mana rushed out from his core and flowed into Isvan, forming a net-like structure that created an image of the patient’s internal system. The spell showed him a half dozen lacerations. Using his limited medical knowledge, he cast triage spells, which produced simple ectoplasmic bandages to halt the bleeding, and then waited for further orders.

“Set the bones in his limbs, but do not initiate any other procedures,” Indali ordered without looking away from her patient.

“Is he going to live?” Gerta asked urgently, standing over them.

Katya came up and said, “Gerta, Indali and Veil are doing all they can. You must stand watch for us while we harvest the snake.” Gerta looked mutinous at this, but Katya said quietly, “All you’ll be doing is getting in their way if you stay here.” Gerta reluctantly let Katya lead her away.

Blessedly, Isvan was utterly unconscious by this time. Veil continued to follow Indali’s orders for the next few hours, often not knowing why he was doing something and even at times not understanding what he was doing.

Indali had him direct his mana through her medical device in certain specific ways, but he didn’t have the faintest idea what task it was performing. Night was beginning to fall before Indali finally moved from her duty.

Veil stood immediately after, his bones and muscles stiff and sore from not moving in hours. Looking over at Gerta, he saw how upset the woman was. If it had been his family, well, Veil didn’t know what he would do. He wondered how the siblings managed to work together in such a dangerous profession.

“He is stable for now, but his life hangs by a thread,” Indali said while rising wearily to her feet and wiping blood from her hands.

“Will he live, and will he recover?” Gerta said sharply, having at some point rejoined them and sat nearby.

“If Isvan makes it through the night, most likely he will live, and if he lives, will make a complete recovery,” Indali said and then looked at Veil and Katya. “I need blood, fluid, and mana generating tonics tonight. Tomorrow, I will need regenerative potions.”

Katya immediately handed her the potions while Veil looked through his supplies. Kubir was standing off to the side a small distance away, shotgun in hand, guarding everyone.

“Can he be moved?” Katya asked with a sigh. “It is dangerous to stay where so much blood has been spilled.”

“If we move him a very short distance, very carefully on one of the sleds, it shouldn’t impact his health,” She replied.

They activated the kinetic sled under Isvan in order not to jolt him and then spent an hour moving 300 meters into the valley. Exhausted, they set up camp and settled in for the night. Before drifting off to sleep, Veil wondered why his psychic senses hadn’t worked better on the snake?

If the serpent had high psychic resistance and had been passively waiting before springing its trap, he might not have perceived it until its mind became more active. Not for the first time, Veil wished for a proper teacher in the mental arts.

It took them two days moving at a snail’s pace to make it back to Troll’s Haven, but by the time they did, Isvan, while still critically injured, was entirely out of danger.

“Now that Isvan is no longer in crisis, we still need to explore the ruins to the West of Troll’s Haven,” Katya was saying.

They were meeting in Veil and Isvan’s room since he was still too injured to comfortably move. Their wounded companion lay on his bed, propped up by pillows, with Indali and Gerta sitting next to him. Veil was perched crossways on the other bed, with his back resting against the wall. Katya occupied the lone chair, and sat with a firm upright posture, hands resting upon her legs.

“Indali, why don’t you stay here and care for Isvan?” Katya asked. “I think we have already found all the supplies you need, and we should only be gone for a few days.”

“That would be fine,” Indali replied, glancing down at Isvan. “Isvan will still need to ride the sled much of the time on the way out, but he will be ready to travel.”

“Gerta, I would like you to come with us,” Katya said. “I’m not sure what we’ll be walking into at the ruins. There are rumors of trouble between a government sanctioned research team and some wildcatter’s looking for artifacts. I’ve also enlisted Kubir as an extra gunman.”

“I’m not sure I can leave my brother,” Gerta said in a concerned voice, looking away from Isvan and up at Katya.

Isvan’s eyes bulged out in desperation as he directed a pleading gaze toward Veil. Even though they had been back less than a day, his sister’s constant worrying attention was visibly driving him crazy.

“Indali will look after him,” Veil assured Gerta, struggling to keep a straight face. Katya seemed amused while Indali rolled her eyes. “Of us all, she is best equipped to deal with medical emergencies, and we’ll only be gone a few days.”

“Yes,” Isvan almost burst out, his voice surprisingly high. “I’d hate for us to miss out on our full contractual payment just because I got hurt,” he finished in a sly tone.

“Alright, but we should leave as soon as possible,” Gerta finally said, frowning. “I don’t want to be gone long.”

“What are we likely to run into once we get there?” Veil inquired, looking at Katya, “Are four people going to be enough to deal with the situation if the two sides are at war?”

“We won’t involve ourselves in a full scale battle,” Katya replied. “If necessary, we can retreat and regroup back here to summon more aid, but I doubt that will be required. The independents probably won’t resort to outright attack. They know that would bring the government down on them.”

“The worst that I expect is threats and intimidation, and another party of obviously dangerous, well-armed individuals should discourage them,” Katya continued. “From what I understand, there are only eight members of the research team.”

“The Independents are probably also aware their time is limited,” Katya said. “The survey team sent for more aid several weeks ago.”

Early the next day, they met Kubir and set out for the Forerunner ruins. Their journey, following a well-worn trail, took less than an hour.

As they moved out of the shady jungle into the morning’s dazzling sunlight, Veil shaded his eyes and got his first good look at Forerunner ruins. The site consisted mostly of octagonal or circular shaped towers rising above the earth as if some large city had been sunk below ground and only the highest edifices could still be seen. The spire’s sizes ranged from less than a third the height of the surrounding canopy to a handful of monstrosities that towered above the tallest trees. In the distance, Veil heard what sounded like muted arguing.

As they walked down a smooth stone path close to one of the towers, he could see faint traces of murals and runic writing covering a nearby monolith. He stumbled against his grandmother while trying to read the script.

“Pay attention, Veil,” Katya said, giving him an annoyed look.

Navigating around a tower, they walked through the wide expanse between several spires. Veil stepped carefully over jagged, loose stones while the group meandered their way around fallen logs and small boulders. Someone had cleared all the trees between the buildings, but debris of various sorts from downed trees to large stones littered the entire site.

As they moved out of the shadow and around another spire, Katya suddenly motioned for them to stay back. Veil walked carefully up to her and peaked around the edge. Ranged around the outside of one of the more massive towers was a motley assembly of 25 looters.

Most of them were standing in the open, crowded in front of the spire’s entrance, with guns strung over their shoulders or held loosely in hand, but a few had taken cover behind large boulders and trees. The latter looked ready to siege the place, with weapons at the ready. A large bearded man was stalking back and forth before the monolith’s door and waving his gun in the air, although the barrel was mostly pointed toward the sky.

Voices could be heard issuing from the spire, and Veil saw several heads peeking out the entranceway, but non emerged. It seemed the raiders had succeeded in intimidating the researchers. Maybe some sort of violence had taken place that he was unaware of, or possibly the government staff was easily intimidated. Scientists weren’t usually the bravest sorts.

Several voices, presumably the researchers, issued from cover. Veil couldn’t tell exactly what they were saying because the declarations were all mixed together. It sounded vaguely like the scientists were loudly asserting their legal rights and government sanction while the looters stated they had cleared much of the ruins and therefore deserved their just reward. Veil’s party surveyed the scene for several minutes before Katya came to a decision.

“We’ll set up behind the independents on the high ground and see if we can scare them off,” She said, looking over the scene from behind the edge of a tower and pointing to a grouping of jumbled rocks and low hills behind the raiders.

Katya cast a transformation spell and made each of them look like soldiers. The party then wound their way stealthily to the superior position, setting up in an arc with a body length separating them and lying or crouching in firing positions. While kneeling behind the rotting remains of a small tree, he watched as Katya performed another series of quick spells to amplify her voice and double the gun’s sound if they had to fire a warning shot. In the meantime, Veil listened to the two antagonistic groups continue to yell threats loudly at one another, each asserting their rights.

“By order of the government of Samiihr, I demand that you stand down and disperse, or you will be arrested,” Katya’s voice boomed forth, completely drowning out everyone else. She was the only member of their crew who was standing in plain sight.

The group of looters burst into a variety of actions. Some jumped up and spun around, a few immediately dropped their rifles, and a small number ran away.

Their leader, a large bearded man, yelled, “stand firm, stand firm” and began to raise his rifle, but a single shot immediately rang out, blasting a chunk of earth just in front of his foot. He immediately yelped and almost dropped his gun. What he didn’t do was point it in their direction.

“Any aggressive action on your part will be met with deadly force,” Katya’s voice boomed forth once again.

A further half dozen members of the raider’s mob started walking away, even before Katya finished speaking.

“We have a right to be here,” Their leader declaimed in a lower voice with his weapon pointed firmly at the ground. “We worked hard to free these ruins and deserve just compensation.”

“You are looters, and the only reason we aren’t arresting you right now is that it would be inconvenient to transport you out of the Great Forest,” Katya replied coldly. “You have no legal standing and no corresponding rights, leave now, or face the consequences.”

The bearded man looked around at his followers, but over half were rapidly departing or had left the area. Apparently, they hadn’t bargained for this level of resistance. The leader glowered a moment and then gestured his remaining band to follow as he moved away.

“You’ll regret this,” he growled as a parting shot and kept muttering dire threats too softly for Katya’s party to hear.

Veil’s allies waited until the last of the aggressors was out of sight, and then Katya had Kubir and Gerta follow them to make sure they didn’t double back or try to cause some other kind of trouble.

“Let’s make contact with the researchers,” Katya said as she strode toward their tower.

Veil trailed behind her, shotgun still ready. A couple of people, holding weapons loosely in their hands, had cautiously emerged from the tower and were looking at them curiously. As they approached, a skinny man wearing what must be some sort of arcane glasses spoke up.

“You’re not soldiers,” He remarked, reaching up and adjusting the protruding lenses on his goggles. “Who are you, and why are you here?”

“No, we’re not with the army,” Katya replied with a smile, and, snapping her fingers for effect, she dismissed their ectoplasmic disguises. “We came to consult with a friend of mine, a member of your team, Latif Ghulan.”

“Is the army really on its way?” Goggle’s man asked. “We could use the relief. The looters are growing bolder by the day.”

“I think…,” Katya started to reply when a loud voice interrupted her.

“Thank god you arrived,” a tall, thin man in bright-colored robes stepped into view and declaimed loudly while throwing his arms up and wide. “You saved us all,” The flamboyant, long haired man said as he rushed forward and hugged Veil’s grandmother.

Veil stepped forward to get a better look at the man, at the same time thinking, who wears robes these days? If he wasn’t mistaken, goggle’s man and Latif were the two people who spoke over each other during the argument. After the two stepped apart, the man began to ask a spate of questions but was immediately interrupted by glasses’ man.

“As I was saying!” Glasses man said while adjusting his vest and sending a brief glare toward Latif. “Do you know when our support will arrive? We sent a request several weeks ago.”

“We haven’t heard,” Katya replied with a smile. She looked amused. “But if you sent for help a few weeks ago, your support is probably close. I think the looters are frightened away for the time being anyway. I’m guessing they were composed of several very loosely aligned groups and that their erstwhile leader will have a great deal of trouble getting them to act in concert, especially after his humiliating defeat.”

“You are being rude, Tai,” Latif said, jumping back into the conversation. Goggles man, Tai apparently, scowled back at Latif while Veil smiled inwardly. At least, there was some entertainment. “You haven’t introduced anyone or offered refreshments.”

Turning back to Katya and Veil, he said, “Come inside, and I will introduce you to everyone, and get you some snacks.”

By this time, a half dozen more of the research staff had exited the building and were listening to the conversation. Latif led them through the small crowd to a sitting area where he introduced everyone and served them tea. After that, Katya requested a private word, to which Latif immediately agreed, saying he would give them a tour of the ruins while they talked. Their leader, Tai, made some objections insisting they weren’t authorized, but Latif simply rolled right over him and led Katya and Veil away.

Latif began a circuit of the site describing the buildings and what they knew, very little, and what they guessed, a lot.

“Has any of this technology become active since the recent disturbances?” Veil asked while gazing at a logograph and running his hands along its indented surface.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t observed any awakened technology here,” Latif said, idly stroking his chin. “I have heard that other sites have seen some activity, but that’s a rumor. I haven’t read any confirmed reports.”

“We were hoping you might be able to help us with some translations,” Veil said, after getting a nod of approval from his grandmother. Veil then handed Latif several sketches. “The first set was translated by a Feran Kuin named Charik’tah’ziith.”

“These four sets of symbols were rendered into ‘Engineering maintenance port,’ ‘system initiation: 84%,’ ‘energy stabilization: 32%,’ ‘grid confinement initiated,’ and ‘operational parameters stable.’ At least that’s how he deciphered them at the engineering layer of the logogram.” Veil said, pointing to each set of runes in turn. “They might read as something entirely different to a civilian or ruler Forerunner.”

“You know your ruins,” Latif said, looking up with a smile. “It looks like you have a promising scholar on your hands,” he said while looking at Katya. Veil resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“We haven’t had any luck in translating the following clusters of ruins,” Veil said, pointing to the logographs that Charik hadn’t been able to decipher.

“I’m not surprised your Feran Kuin couldn’t translate these ruins,” Latif replied. “They are written exclusively at the ruler’s level. There are only a handful of experts capable of decoding their meaning. Fortunately, you are looking at one of those experts,” Latif declaimed, thrusting his chest out, raising his chin, and speaking in a grand, booming voice.

“And could you bestow your wisdom on us lowly ones?” Veil replied equally grandly, raising his hand to his forehead, palm outward.

Latif is definitely funny. Katya smiled and looked on patiently.

“They say,” Latif replied, “in the language of the rulers – ‘Maintenance Servicing Port: Activation Key,’ ‘Automation Servicing Port: Servicing Key,’ and ‘Status: Not Initiated’ – or something very close to that. These ruins over here,” Latif shuffled the papers, “are not Forerunner logographs, or at least not of a kind I have ever seen before.”

“Has anyone ever successfully activated any Forerunner technology?” Veil asked casually, consciously working at relaxing every part of his body.

Staring at Latif, Veil willed a positive response. If he could find someone other than the cultists capable of interacting with Forerunner technology, it should make it possible for him to deal with the interface. He could shut it off, break the connection, or simply get rid of it.

Breath.

“The only thing I have ever heard are rumors,” Latif replied in a sober tone. “You’ve probably heard most of them as well – stories about portals to other worlds, ancient war machines that suddenly wake up, arcane technology that grants mysterious powers – the usual nonsense. I have never seen a single example of Forerunner technology that works or even looks like it could still function. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but those sorts of romantic dreams are just that, dreams.”

Disappointment washed through him. When is anything ever easy? Veil thought cynically.

Veil seriously considered asking about the interface, but no, that would be giving too many clues. Latif seemed like a decent person, but that knowledge needed to be sequestered as much as possible. Even having Irini Cosven possess that information was problematic.

After thanking Latif for his help, they continued with the tour.

“Have you noticed any strange events or effects that might be related to the disturbances?” Katya asked as they were examining one of the giant octagonal towers.

“Well, as you know, I’m a bit of a seer,” Latif said in a pseudo humble voice.

Katya sighed and shifted from foot to foot while Veil remained quiet. He knew that certain people could read probability currents that sometimes indicated possible future events, but these visions were notoriously unreliable.

“I’ve seen some sort of shift in ley line energy,” Latif started thoughtfully. “The dragon paths are stirring, and ancient technology is waking up,” Latif finished grandly in a rising voice.”

Katya turned one of her feet out, clearly impatient to walk away, while Veil was less confident. Latif might be onto something.

“What do you think is going on,” Veil asked quietly,” with all the wyrm attacks and bombings?”

“Old powers are stirring,” Latif replied, looking earnestly at Veil. “This is no terrorist attack, or if it is, they are simply the pawns of greater powers. I think someone is trying to produce some fundamental shift in our world, but of course, this is all just speculation. I don’t really know.”

They retreated to the researcher’s main camp to find Gerta and Kubir had returned. Their scouts reported that the looters were openly at odds, and some were leaving the area. Later that night and the next day, Veil made a circuit of the ruins, trying to see if he could get the interface to react to anything. It didn’t work. On the second day of their stay, a squad of 20 soldiers showed up and took over security, driving off the rest of the raiders. Before leaving the site, Katya traded some unspecified favors for Latif’s research notes on logographic translations.

The next day they returned to Troll’s Haven, collected Indali and Isvan, and started their journey back to Medina. Veil was in charge of leading three linked, telekinetic sleds with Isvan riding on one. He still couldn’t walk long distances. Katya led the party while Indali roamed around, periodically checking on Isvan, and Gerta guarded their rear. They made steady progress, almost reaching the forest’s edge before strange events began to occur.

They were hiking along as usual when several large deer bounded between and over them. Veil immediately unlimbered his shotgun, turning in the animal’s origination direction. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other party members copying his action. Stretching out his psychic senses, Veil could perceive a great many somethings headed their way.

“Gather,” Katya said sharply, running up to a large tree and casting a spell.

Veil, along with the others, immediately ran up and assembled around her at the same time Katya short-cast a telekinetic force spell. A shining blue disc quickly formed right under their feet and, with a jolt, started lifting them up the side of the sequoia as a hoard of forest creatures burst forth from the surrounding trees. Bears, rabbits, trolls, beavers all trampled everything in their path, often slamming against each other and the surrounding trees in their mad scramble.

Veil and the others invoked their own force spells, which shimmered into effect and were anchored in place just as they started to rise. Several animals crashed into the translucent overlapping barriers, but the shields held and stopped them from being crushed.

They were safe at several man heights, but the disc kept rising and shifted around the tree’s immense circumference so they could see in the direction from which the animals were running. Katya had anchored her spell to one of the forest monarchs, which soared well above the surrounding trees.

“Do you see any smoke?” Gerta asked, peering off over the top of the woodlands. “Why are they running? It can’t be an earthquake. We didn’t feel anything.”

They all gazed into the distance over the forest’s endless green canopy, but no threat or smoke of any sort was visible. Katya, Indali, and Veil all cast divination spells, but the information they received back didn’t indicate any significant danger or event. An hour later, after much fruitless searching, they still didn’t know why the animals were fleeing, and Katya lowered the force disc down. The group righted their supplies and continued on their journey back to Medina.