The trip to meet Raleigh's Raiders was NOT a fast one, for several reasons. Firstly we were now a few days into the hunt, which meant people would have finished their base prep and started making their way out to start scavenging. Granted, we'd done some scouting of our own already, but assuming that Jessie's ravens were foolproof was a good way to get knocked out of this thing early. We were taking our time with the trip, keeping our eyes peeled for enemies we hadn't spotted or that the ravens couldn't detect.

The second reason that we we moving slowly was the obvious fact that there were still LOTS of useful materials and artifacts scattered around here. In point of fact, I was curious about the artifacts, and decided to check with Celine about them as we walked. "So, we've been seeing lots of interesting items that aren't simple materials. Things that seem like they were made by Enchanters. Like this." I held up my cane, indicating the obvious rune carvings spiraling across the dark wood surface.

Unsurprisingly Celine knew what her business was. "Artifacts are seeded in the area when needed, though in the case of the Necropolis that wasn't necessary. The corpses harvested by the Lich in his attempt to build his army allowed for a great variety of useful items to accumulate in this area I'd imagine. In less impressive or occupied biomes you might see some artifacts donated by alumni of the Academy or flawed products produced by Enchanters that didn't manage to reach the grade they were aiming for. Nothing broken or useless, just subpar products that should be better."

That seemed like a decent way to do things, but her explanation was so thorough I'd finally decided to just come out and ask something I'd been wondering for ages. "Ok, how do you know so much? Like I get you're a noble and you have Skills for making spy networks or finding sources or whatever, but you seem to have the answer to every question. I can understand knowing who everyone is, keeping track of the promising freshman before this thing just makes sense, but how do you know so much about the hunt itself?"

She just gave me a flat look. "While I do indeed possess a gift for acquiring intelligence, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed in this particular answer." She reached backwards into her pack and pulled out a slim book. "I went to the library on campus and asked them for a rulebook. Didn't you bother to check if there was official literature pertaining to the rules and content of the event?" Despite her normal flat expression and calm tone, I could swear I saw a glint of smug mockery in her eyes.

I froze, turning to look at Callie, who looked just as poleaxed as I did. We had not, in fact, checked to see if there was an accessible source of information about the hunt, which in retrospect was...really dumb. This was a school sanctioned event, and it was common sense there would be a rulebook somewhere. "If there are official rules then why did that guy at the beginning bother to give us his whole 'you might die here nerds' speech? Why not just send us off into the forest and assume we knew what was up."

Celine just shrugged. "They don't announce the rulebooks. Most people don't bother to check, so they treat it as a sort of pre-test. There are all sorts of helpful tips and bits of information in these, and they give anyone intelligent enough to bother looking for them a strong advantage." Once again, despite her tone and expression being entirely even, I got the distinct impression she was mocking me. I briefly wondered if that was one of her noble Skills. The ability to make someone feel like an idiot could be pretty powerful in the right circumstances...though I also might just be projecting.

The rest of the trip to where the Raiders were was pretty relaxed. We didn't run into any monsters, though Jessie did send her raven out a few more times to double check. Apparently the goblins were close, but so many G rankers together was too rich for their blood. Given they attacked the Raiders either they were comfortable with one or two higher ranked foes if the odds were stacked enough, or the Raiders had some way of hiding themselves from them even more effectively than Zeke. I doubted it was the latter personally, so we had Jessie keep an eye out for a huge goblin army just in case.

Unfortunately we didn't run into any materials on the way there, but that had been something of a pipe dream either way. Still, by the time we made it to where they were camped (it was night at the moment, the necropolis had really messed up our sleep schedules) we had managed to get some concrete details on how their base was set up so we could plan our approach ahead of time.

Unlike our strategy, the Raiders were apparently using a mobile base system, which made a lot of sense for a group of H rankers with only two G rank members. We'd had the room for supplies to make the hatchery, and could have easily brought along a campsite ourselves, though it would have been less stable. Despite not being ideal for us though, for a weaker group, not staying in one place for too long was a good way to avoid any raids.

Once we got close enough, we sent Cark out to talk to them. We'd decided his immense Might stat, combined with being known to the organization, made him the most sensible decision. He only had the same twelve Impact protecting him granted, but if things went south he was the most able to mount a quick and brutal defense that would probably scare the Raiders out of continuing their attack.

Not to mention Cark had gotten to keep the staff we found in the necropolis, and was carrying it on him. The blue glow of the weapon was oddly different after a few uses from the pyrokinetic. The previously ghostly blue of the staff had begun to slowly leach to something more energetic, closer to the vital blue of Cark's own powerful flames. While the improved connection didn't seem to have increased the yield of his flames, it certainly looked like it helped him control what he was able to conjure better, the focus acting as powerful helper in micromanaging the fire.

In fact, he'd been training with it extensively, even using it to put on a fire manipulation show in the clearing when we were all swimming, much to the delight of his sister. The bounty hunter seemed to delight in creating realistic and intricate shapes and movements in the flames to entertain everyone, and it had been a really nice moment of relaxation that truly encapsulated my desire to try to live my life and enjoy the power I was accruing even as I accrued it in the first place.

Regardless, the fact that he had the staff meant he would be able to not only react immediately to an attack but control that reaction delicately enough not to accidentally turn the rival H rankers to charred meat. We were trying to avoid seriously harming any of the other contestants unless they tried to hurt us first and were strong enough to force the issue. None of us had any stomach for killing, and we all still deeply regretted the loss of the two sleepers who had been killed in the siege. The last thing we wanted was more bodies on our consciences.

Granted, some of the people in this test might not give us that option, but I really hoped we didn't mean anyone who pushed the issue. Cass wasn't the only person who was having nightmares. My dreams hadn't been peaceful lately either. The sight of those eight G rankers having their heads blown up still stuck with me. I'd been through lots of crazy shit since I'd gotten my ability, but most of it was...surreal. Easier to handle because it was almost like a fever dream. That had been shockingly real and horrible, and I'd had to bury it immediately to even keep functioning.

Giving us all a cheerful nod, Cark headed out of the tree cover and towards the camp, hands raised and ready to stop immediately if they called for it. He was doing everything he could to make sure he didn't seem threatening, and though he had the staff out it mostly just looked like a stick, so hopefully they wouldn't be too focused on it. Granted it was still glowing, which kind of drew the eye, but Cark was a big guy, so maybe that would be enough to keep them from caring too much.

I had to say, his relaxed demeanor as he approached probably helped quite a bit. Cark was able to stroll into the clearing with confidence without coming off as aggressive at all. It was a kind of niche vibe that said 'I could kill all of you if I wanted to, luckily I don't so lets be pals'. I tried to memorize how he was doing it for later, because I didn't think I had that kind of swagger in me, and damned if it probably wouldn't be useful at some point. The whole fake it til you make it thing was a big part of my strategy for interacting with other people as an Ascendant.

Raleigh's Raiders, as it turned out, were every bit as careful and attentive as Cark had mentioned. They were already waiting when he walked out of the woods, and despite noting the glowing blue stick in his hand, seemed to sense Cark wasn't someone they wanted to engage with. Though they were clearly concerned about him, they didn't try to make the first move, watching him like a hawk but not drawing or leveling a weapon as he came closer, despite how reasonable that might be.

It occurred to me that if they sensed him, they could easily have some means of detecting US too. We hadn't used stealth on our way in, specifically because we wanted them to know someone was coming, though also because plenty of our number didn't actually have the Skill. If they knew we were here it would make even more sense that they hadn't tried to turn this into a throw down. Not only did we outnumber them outright, we had their number of G rankers beat more than twice over. Still, it showed they were smart enough to listen, which was a good sign for Callie's planned trade.

Cark was smiling amicably as he came within range of the fire in their camp, his features illuminated by the dancing flames. "Hello the camp!" He paused and then snickered. "Sorry, I've always wanted to say that. Hey there, my name is Cark, I'm a bounty hunter from one of the megaplex's that was brought on by one of the Academy teams as a contractor. I actually know your organization, I worked with Flegmann's team a time or two. I come in peace, we all do, we were just hoping to talk to you about a mutually beneficial trade."

Despite the tension, they seemed to calm down at his words. I didn't know if it was because they knew of him or because they assumed a force that was as superior to theirs as ours was wouldn't need to bother with tricks or subterfuge (which was both fair and accurate) but they relaxed marginally. The leader, a tall somber man with a red mohawk, gave a slow nod. "Well, if you're just here to talk then I don't see a reason not to welcome you. Please invite your friends out of the trees to sit by our fire. It sounds like we have quite a bit to discuss."