Out of the house they went, continuing on into the forest. According to their location, they were delving deeper and deeper into the wild territory. There were no official trails to walk along, the only paths made by animals or the humans who didn't want to be seen. Cassandra had no real questions on just which of those she was following, the footprints showing off the species quite clearly.

But… then the numbers started to increase. Paths started to come together, footprints becoming more varied. Sizes, shapes, and distances started to become so diverse that Cassandra couldn't reasonably estimate the number of people present. It was more than she had expected. More than Grunwald had predicted. This wasn't good.

When the number of steps started to cause a larger widening of the path, the two officers strayed off of it. The cover was becoming less effective, the path straightening out. If they had stayed on the path, they would have been noticed before they would have noticed them.

And when coupled with the traps placed down, Cassandra felt it was the right choice. Hidden in the snow, many things could be found. Wires, more leg-hold traps, and would only be called a light-sensor was found before they were triggered. Many of the detectors were hidden well, and when they began to increase as well, it became clear that they would be found without even realising it.

So off the road the two of them walked, creating a distance to it by around a hundred meters. Together with the trees, there wasn't a chance of them being discovered through visual sight alone. It was perhaps not the most solid of plans, but it was everything they could do with the equipment they had

What Cassandra wouldn't have given for cloaking equipment. Together with the dense forest, she would have been virtually invisible to everybody close to her. And with her training in being silent, she was sure she could have gotten forward so much faster and so much safer.

Sadly, the police force did not have access to such things. While specialised equipment was authorized in some scenarios, it wasn't often. And it was mostly done as an act of good press, so the woman didn't even think of herself being granted that privilege. Not like she wanted to be in the spotlight just yet. Those who rose the fastest fell the hardest. Those higher up in the ladder made sure of that, not wanting their positions to be threatened.

Maybe that was why she was taking such a relaxed position to get promotions. Or… relaxed, when put between others who had the same goals as her. There were several strategies surrounding the act of reaching the top, and many of them were within her budget. Again and again, they had been proven to work, and there was nothing that could virtually stop them.

Cassandra had seen most of them herself. She had talked with the people who had done them and had talked strategies with most of them. Advice had been shared, contacts had been kept, and the woman had had first-class tickets to see them fall into despair, as others feared what they could become.

Having talked with them after the fact, it became obvious how it was done. Forged scandals, blackmail to an extreme degree, or just threats of harm to those around them. It was incredible how much pain a single human could withstand until that very harm was to be shared around the family. Cassandra found those acts disgusting.

Getting attention to oneself by the media, be that through acts of heroism or awards for persistent jobs well done, was not the way to go. When the public loved an officer, the force had to react with shared positivity and promote up to the skies. And, seeing this fast-rising individual, those who feared their careers ended by newcomers would react violently, doing their best to keep the power they had held for so long. Greed became fear and fear made them lash out in their perceived corners.

That they could even do this would make anybody clench their teeth. There was nobody above most of them, nobody to make sure their actions were without selfishness. But… then it just became a cycle, going into infinity and beyond. Could a selfish person oversee another selfish person without there being anything going wrong? The one to hold their power over newcomers would only change. For there to be peace, the one above all needed to be just, without any desire to lord their power for their own gain. But… that ideal was impossible, anybody reaching that position only able to do so through selfishness. That’s what all those who had fallen had said to her.

Not that the woman had listened to them. She would never take much heed of those who had failed in their tasks, after all. What would they know about success, if they had never succeeded in keeping it for more than a month?

If those who rose fast were doomed to fail through any possible method, then there was only one way to succeed. To make sure that Cassandra could rise through the top, she had to be slow. She needed to be the second-favourite in everything. Just enough to stand out but not enough to make those in power wary of her. She needed to be the kind one, given a bit of power by everybody through her persistence alone. Never enough to make her seem dangerous, but more than enough to give her promotions over time. It would all look natural to them, while she would begin having favour owed to her.

Years down the line, when the time finally came and the older ones began to leave, she would reap what had been sowed, and she would do it all in one big push. Her name would be everywhere, too large to fail, known by every citizen in the whole country. She would be called a hero for her exploits throughout her life, kept under the warps previously to protect her from those who supposedly wished her harm, and the stories about her would only become bigger and bigger. Propaganda would be brought forth, and her adventures would be written down in history for the decade.

And she would be above them all. She would make sure there was nobody who could stop others from doing the same. And when another big shot finally arrived to take her place, she would make sure that they did the same. Cassandra wouldn't cling to the position, only being there for as long as she was loved. And she would know that she had reached the top, that she had reached her goal. And she would be happy.

She just had to take it slow, be patient with every step, and be nice to those around her. The numbers would grow. She just had to give it time.

Cassandra was likewise patient here, slowly moving forward, and doing her best to not make any sound. Her breathing was even, the breathing apparatus still on her face. From what Jules had sent, the chemical compound had evened out to having dissipated almost completely. It had been the strongest close to the animal that they had found before, likely equaling that to be the source of it. While that meant she could have technically removed the mask, she decided it would be best to continue wearing it. Knowing that one chemical compound had been used hinted strongly at another being close.

Closer and closer they went, however. They did their best to keep the distance between the road constant, always close enough to barely see the trampled ground. Jules was the one tasked with making sure of that, Cassandra constantly scanning the ground and surroundings for anything even resembling a trap. Luckily, none was found, as the cult seemed to have stayed around only using the paths. Not that this theory stopped her from constantly checking for the traps but still. It was a nice thought to have.

At some point, Cassandra couldn't pinpoint exactly when it was, the woman realised that she was starting to hear voices. Not the kind of voices in one's head that needed to be worried about, but… the kind voices that could be heard in the real world. The word was not loud enough to hear, but the deep base could easily be felt. The number of people doing it had to be massive, the synchronicity being… shockingly well done.

A clearing was ahead of the two officers, one much bigger than the one seen before, and this one with half as many trees inside. Larger tents were strewn across the sides, the middle of the clearing left empty. Or… no, that wasn't the right word. There was no tent, yes, but there was something else.

An altar made of wood, burning at the sides. A large crowd kneeled down around it, being the source of the chanting. There were no robes worn, but their positions made it impossible to see their faces. Jules sent her a head count, but she ignored it in favour of looking at the middle where the altar was.

A younger kid lied on it. Cassandra couldn't be sure of the gender, the hair obscuring the facial features. They had to be under ten but over five years old. She couldn't be sure from the distance. The woman tried to move forward to get a better view, but Jules stopped her physically, holding her hand firmly. She looked at the automation in confusion, but it simply pointed at the worshippers.

‘Look at their gear. They have serious firepower,’ Jules sent to her. Obliging the construct, the woman looked at the cultists, her eyes narrowing as she tried to hone in on the details. Her eyes widened at the sight.