The trip went by in a blur. Not only was I stronger than ever before, but the path was now familiar. Not that I was able to recognize individual trees or anything like that, but the woods, the growth and the bumps of the road were no longer something I hesitated on. As my mind drifted through the last few days, I gave my Status a good look.

Subject: Ronan Terrigan

Health: 100% (Unafflicted)

Mana: 100%

Metier Quotient: 4 (22%)

Dreg Accumulation: 0%

LPS: Wildwood, FL

Communications

Skills - (1) Selections Available

Traits - (98% Banked)

Attributes - Growth Quantified

Skills:

Offensive - / Imbue /

Defensive - Direct / /

Misc -

-

-

Traits:

Limestone Skin

Unformed (0%)

Attributes:

Strength: 1.56

Mobility: 1.43

Perception: 1.63 > 1.70

Refinement: 1.28 > 1.29

Containment: 2.08 > 2.11

I did a double take as I saw how ridiculously large my gains had been in the Attribute department. I'd noted some gains in Strength and Mobility after fighting the spiders and the camp of tendrils, but the jump in my Perception was the single largest increase I'd gotten. The obvious root of that would be my intrusive ganders into Dylan's and Charles' minds. Once again, the source of my gains left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth and more questions than I cared to have for Bec.

My considerations were cut short as we were met by one of Oliver's squadmates, the one whose child was taken. "Thank God it's just you. Please, tell me we are getting ready to head out."

"That's the goal as soon as the other squads get here. They are probably less than thirty minutes behind us," I said, motioning off down the road.

The man nodded, leading us the short distance to the building adjacent to US 301. Already I could see a significant difference between it and the surrounding buildings even as I watched a familiar satyr working to encase the whole structure in organized vines. Dennis waved with one hand as he kept playing his flute staff. All along the perimeter except for in front of the entrance and the back I could see the short-telltale wood stumps of Tim's Skill forming a low wall all around the building. We didn't dawdle, following our guide straight to Oliver.

Much like the watch area north of Wildwood, the building was bare bones, but a few sleeping spots had been laid out for people. In the far corner, Oliver stood with Daniela looking over yet another copy of the map of the area. I need to figure out how to get Alan or Bec to give us a modifiable map. The tactical implications weren't something I even expected when coming to the surface. The drifting conversation pulled me out of my thoughts again. It was slightly concerning how easily I'd been getting distracted since using but there was nothing for me to do about it at the moment.

"--grid is good. If what you say about the communication system works then the search will be much much faster," Oliver said before noticing us. His slight smile turned down as his eyes landed on me, but he greeted me positively enough. Really can't blame him, I've somewhat thrown his whole world into chaos in less than a month.

"Was just getting Oli here caught up," Daniela said, gesturing to the paper Sarah had sketched. "Once the squads are here, we'll be ready to head out."

We made some small talk, more to avoid the awkward silence. Oliver's squad mate told us a bit about his son, waxing on about his ability to fly, albeit slowly and for a short period of time. Anthony and Blobby made sure to poke and prod and... antenna... everything around us while we waited. It wasn't long when the call for arrivals sounded and we gathered in the small area cleared in front of the building.

Sam, Danny and my own training had been fairly rigorous, if based on simulations and physical training. However, as I watched the might of Wildwood assemble for the task at hand I knew that we'd been lacking something all along. Something we didn't really experience until the surface pressed down on all our souls. Hardship. I had an innate desire to help those children, to help get them back to their families no matter the cost. What the people gathered here had was love, grit, and determination.

It didn't matter that their lines weren't formed up all straight, or that their gear was mismatched and not at all Infused. As Clara read out from a note in her hands the groups shifted with a single glance to line up. Four squads, reformed from their original groups to take advantage of the gift we'd been able to offer the surface. Once this is over, I hope Tec can handle all these people.

At the head of each of those squads were a pair of New Hopers. One lone squad had just three people to everyone else's four. Two elves and Dai stood off to the side speaking quietly. After Clara finished off her list, the groups were set and she walked over to me as everyone gathered their gear.

"Good to see you lot are still in one piece," she said, gesturing more to my own head than at my companions.

"Rock-for-brains won't be done in by a little brain slushy. Plus, he doesn't use it most of the time so he'd be alright without it," Danny said, patting me on the shoulder with a sorrowful expression.

"Not quite sure what a slushy is, but I get your meaning. Before I send everyone off, was there anything else you could tell us about the campsite?"

Clara's question forced me to break off my glare at Daniela. "Nothing other than the fact that it’s a much bigger force than what attacked the western wall. I'm not sure how much Kirby was involved--or not-- in that particular event, but what he has assembled right now doesn't compare. It would be best not to engage with just one squad if at all possible."

"I'll make sure to pass that along. Here, this is the placement for the Busters." Clara pointed to the outermost line on the grid. "Since you are the only group that will be running together, I hope you'll be able to handle whatever gets stirred up."

"Don't worry, we'll be ready for--"

"You can't tell me to stay here!" a voice cut through the quiet murmuring around the forward base. Almost everyone turned to look at the source of the commotion. Oliver's squadmate was less than thrilled about something. "I've been patient, and reasonable, and everything else the whole time. But you aren't going to tell me that after all that you want me to stay here. Either put me on a group or I'll make my own way!"

"Eric, please. You are too..." Oliver's words faltered as he looked at Eric. The man in question was frazzled, hair unkempt and large bags under his eyes. However, his eyes, they spoke volumes as to what was going on in his mind.

"Michael is out there! If only--" I hadn't seen him move, but Sam had made it to his side. My Perception highlighted the spell chain around his wrist before it sunk into Eric's upper back.

"Now, do you want your son to see you like this when we rescue him?" The spell chain pulsed, light visible through the simple shirt on the man's back. "Oliver, we'll take him with us. We are down a member anyhow and I imagine holding the fort won't take too much effort. Yes?"

The sharpshooter's eyes narrowed on my friend, but I could see the strain in his expression. With a sigh somewhere between resignation and relief, Oliver gave a simple nod.

"Wonderful." The mana going through my friend pulsed again and I could see him sway slightly. "Blobby, Anthony. If you could give our friend here a ride while he takes a well deserved nap?"

The slime and fire ant were at the blonde's side in moments. I'd never seen either them react so quickly or with quite so much... precision. What I did spot is that Samuel brushed his hands along the two creature's bodies with each command. It was easy to forget his own Trait, and I was sure it was coming into play there somehow. How he got them to do it aside, the Life Attuned turned the stomach high slime and hip tall ant into a makeshift horse and buggy. Except the buggy was a bed of living gelatin and the horse not a horse at all. The two seemed to struggle under Eric's weight, but they didn't so much as complain. I'd also missed just when the man had fallen asleep, but Samuel gave me a wobbly wink in response.

The rest of the preparations were straightforward. Short meal rations for the day in the form of jerky, lots of water, and then everyone was off.

The first part of the trip was tense just as a result of how boring it was. The whole stretch north our large group traveled on US 301 and creatures left us alone. I spotted a few spiders and even some hounds in the trees, but nothing was dumb enough to mess with a group as leveled and large as ours. Slowly, about a mile from the forward base, the first group branched. Another mile, another group. The middle group was Dai's group, the lizardman giving us a curt nod before disappearing into the woods with his two elven companions. When we parted with Clara and Devon's group and were left alone, we finally stirred Eric from his sleep.

"Wha-Who-where?" he mumbled as she shook the last bits of sleep from his head.

"You're alright, Eric. You remember us, yes?" Sam took the lead and gestured to Daniela and myself before pointing to the slime he was laying on. Anthony was already turned around, antenna twitching in the air. That only served to spook the man, but thankfully Danny was quick enough to slap a hand over his mouth before he screamed our location to the entire forest. When he finally made eye contact with the brunette and nodded, she removed her hand.

"How did I get here?" he asked.

"Samuel here intervened on your behalf and put your stubborn ass to sleep," Danny said, pointing a thumb over her shoulder at Sam. Eric turned to look at him, receiving a gentle smile in return. The older man hesitated, still trying to get his bearing, but eventually thanked Samuel.

With the group now more in order, we resumed our northward travel. A mile was a short distance with our increased Attributes. While Eric was only Quotient Level 3, he had what he and a few others called an Aloof Body. Essentially it made him just as strong but much lighter than someone of his build should be. Other than that, he shared minor versions of Oliver's enhanced sight and Devon's enhanced hearing. The man's main combat potential was in the hatchet at his side and the assault rifle slung over his back.

To pass the time, and probably in an attempt to break the ice and ease his anxiety about the search, Eric told us about his abilities and how Oliver's squad had come about. They were the only group of non-Fallen amongst the Wild Guard, but they were regarded as their long range specialists. As such they were the only ones with unrestricted access to the town's firearms and ammunition. Apparently, living in the South provided quite the cushion even after a quarter century of shooting mana mutated creatures.

"Entering the forest now," I reported through our comm-plant.

We received assents from the other teams before everyone focused on moving through the woods. The plan was to cut west from the road, the first team having already encountered spider resistance. Whenever there was strong pushback, they would report through the comm-plants and each group would shift a bit north in their trajectory. The hope was that the drifting grid would catch the new territory border of the spiders and lead them straight to Kirby's camp.

It wasn't long into our trip when we encountered a cluster of banana spiders. Their gossamer threads were spun across the top of the trees, but without hesitation Daniela burned them down. The creatures dropped and our squad descended on them with a fury.

Blobby straight up took two of the spiders out of commission as he swallowed the males. Another found itself pinned to a tree by Daniela's naginata-turned-javelin. Sam used his to encase the rest and slow their movements. The larger female spiders were already using their bladed legs to cut and wiggle out of the plants' grip. Anthony and Eric hacked at any spider that got too close and I drove my pickaxe into any immobile or partially immobile survivors. Within minutes the creatures were dead.

We checked over our gear, dissociated the bodies and stashed the loot. Our mission was the kids, not maximizing the bottom line.

We encountered several single spiders that tried to escape us, but a quick blast from Daniela had them cooking in their thoraces. Those sub-Q2 creatures we left alone and just proceeded deeper. By my estimate we were almost a mile west from the road when the comm-plant came online.

"--peat, this is Team Leader Clara. We've encountered a heavy presence of Tendrils. Please assist. I repeat, this is Team Leader Clara. We've encountered a heavy presence of Tendrils. I repe--"

"Clara! Ron here. What's your status?" I said, calling our group to a halt.

"Ronan! We are about two miles northwest of the road. We haven't been discovered, but Devon says there are at least two groups of Tendrils in the immediate area," the woman said quickly, laying out their information.

"I've got it." Samuel's eyes glazed over as he started to look at the LPS. Out of the corner of my eye I watched him move around in a slow circle until he halted. "That way about three quarters of a mile."

"Dang, Sam, I'm not even gonna lie, that was impressive," Daniela said. She'd been looking at her map too, but the blonde beat her to it.

"Focus guys. Alright, Clara, we are gonna cut straight to you. As soon as Devon picks up on us, start heading towards us slowly. You've got to be close."

The tension climbed as our group adjusted gear and shot into the woods. As soon as our conversation ended, Clara took up a modified call through the comm-plant. " This is Team Leader Clara. Contact with Tendrils. Possible target acquired. I repe--"

I tuned her out and focused on where we ran. Pines, oaks and a few palms that gave me pause flashed around us as we used our enhanced bodies to traverse the forest. The closer we moved to Clara's team the more signs of unnatural habitation we encountered. Wilted plants in straight sun, broken trees with enormous gashes and giant piles of scat that made me want to just turn around. I don't want to meet the creature that dropped that turd.

Nonetheless we forged on.

"Stop! Two hundred feet to the east!" Devon's air-whisper fluttered through to us. Apparently the elf had also targeted our creature companions because Blobby rolled forward, but shrunk as it left two copies behind. The Blob-ites instantly stealthed into the undergrowth. Anthony and Danny scurried up a tree as I took center point. Samuel and Eric covered my sides.

A rumble carried through the earth and into my toes. Without thinking I did a full cast of lifting a four foot wall in front of us in a V. It was smaller than if I'd made just a straight line, but I hoped it would break the charge of whatever was coming.

A dull thud, followed by a flurry of others, marked the arrival of our enemy. A second later a rat crested the wall, bloody ichor leaking from it's face. Its information was highlighted, but I slapped it out of the way with a thought.

A pair more crested the wall before Daniela and Anthony unleashed hellish death on the creatures. Through the acrid smoke, I spotted a pair of humanoid shapes in the back. One looked like a molting fruit while the other was a glowing yellow mess. Their respective information appeared as I cast another behind them to stop them escaping.

"Sam! Snag them. Eric keep the rats off of us," I directed, focusing on the two humanoids as creeping vines ran up their legs.

The death Tendril vomited black goo right on the creeping vines. The tar-like substance sizzled as it putrefied my friend's Skill. The life Tendril summoned a spell chain around some of the rats at their feet. Their blind charge split, some still trying to drown us in death rats while some climbed the vines and chewed through them about as fast as they were growing.

Eric jumped beside me and hacked through a smoldering ankle biter that had survived the inferno. I trusted the man to keep them off me as I focused on a in each hand. A quartz and a malachite chunk formed before I lobbed them at the two Tendrils. The blow was just shy, but thankfully the explosion caused the two to stagger back, bleeding multicolored ichor onto the ground. Most of the rats on the life Tendril died to my mineral fragments, which gave Sam enough time to double down and tighten his grip. Just as I was ready to snap another , the death Tendril's head exploded in a gory mess.

Devon, infused knuckle weapon in hand, was panting behind it. A second later he sent a gust punch at the life Tendril, stealing away the last of its balance as Samuel drowned it in vines. A flickering cloud of black and red washed over the remaining rats, roasting them from the inside while their blood boiled.

We gathered ourselves, looking for any other threats. Devon, Clara and their two companions joined us in scanning our immediate area. When nothing jumped us and our resident elf gave the all clear we relaxed. The fight had been quick and we'd managed with only a few scratches but I'd expended most of my mana as had Samuel.

The conversation between us was clipped, not out of annoyance but urgency. Eric was practically carving a hole in the ground with his pacing while Devon and Daniela kept watch. The others in the group moved about collecting the loot before stashing it and marking one of the trees. I did my best to stay still and recover as much of my mana as possible.

"We think it's just to the west of here. Other than that horde of rats, there was another scout group with some hounds," Clara said.

"Damn things smell to heck," Devon said, shaking his head as if to clear the smell away. "There are more to the west too."

"So, what, these are like guard shifts?" One of Clara's team asked. I felt slightly bad, but the situation hadn't even allowed me to learn their names.

"That would be my guess. It's just a more tight knit patrol like what they used to do for you guys," I suggested.

"We need to go maximum creep mode," Daniela added from the tree she was perched on.

All the Wildwoodians looked confused, it even snapped Eric out of his pacing for a moment. "She means that we need to go slow and be stealthy," Sam clarified.

"Small scale grid. Keep those with the highest mobility, Devon and Danny, at the edges while everyone else tries to stay within eyesight of the other," I said, glancing at my mana and seeing it tick past 60%.

The situation wasn't optimal. However, waiting longer for everyone to regenerate all the way wasn't an option. It was an almost certainty that the dead patrol would be discovered either through absence or the sounds of our battle. And so once everyone was past the 50% mark we spaced out and headed west.

The whole effort to separate was pointless because less than ten minutes later we were gathering back up. A clearing had come into view and flashes of memory threw me for waves of deja Vu. I called everyone back together and we crept just beside a worn game trail to the edge of the treeline. The worn building in Charles' memory was there. The rusted and twisted hunk of a chain link fence marked the property line that had been overtaken by trees and vines, but in the far distance I could see the modified space of the Tendrils' camp. The gathering and energies presented in the space before us was what gave me pause.