Once again, the council guiding the people living at Apple Gate Farm was faced with a familiar pair of faces. Sure, the pair now had a somewhat weirdly looking racoon with them, in addition to the massive dog that had accompanied them before, but it changed little in the things they said. The racoon wasn’t talking, at least not yet, and neither was the dog.

But what the other two, mainly their diminutive leader, had to say was worrying enough, just by itself. Before, there had been tales of Undead and different inhumane factions vying for control over those Undead, alongside a plan and even some support to deal with the problem but now, the report was focused on one such faction, which they called the Withered.

“So, let me get this straight?” Cassie, the Cleric and advisor in all things spiritual, asked Jade, already feeling a headache forming between her eyes, “You managed to get a better read on those Withered and made some deductions, mainly that they essentially are connected by psychic communion, but not a true hivemind, is that so far correct?”

“That is my current conclusion, yes. They need to actively report to one another in order to convey information, that report is fast but not automatic or instant. It might be limited in range, we have yet to test what happens if you remove one of their number from the rest but I doubt we ever will. They are a big enough hassle to deal with, even without trying to only incapacitate one of their number for further experiments,” Jade, the petite, blue-skinned elf replied, shaking her head at the idea before continuing, “The biggest problem is their growth, I have yet to see anything even remotely comparable. The Withered, for whatever reason, gain power far quicker than the Shattered do, at least in the current state. We’ve been hunting them for a week and in that week, the Withered gained somewhere between five and eight levels, on an individual level. That wouldn’t be so bad if their original level was low, but they are starting to crack level thirty. I don’t know what level your people currently are, but I doubt they are comparable, though I obviously could be wrong. I hope I am wrong, to be honest,” she admitted, looking at the gathered council. The expression on their face was remarkably easy to read, they were scared and likely for good reason.

“Levels between twenty and thirty, generally closer to thirty, with almost perfect communication, incredible numbers of disposable, if weak, bodies and overall superior numbers that they can readily sacrifice if needed? What else do they have that gives them an incredible advantage?” Mrs Wu asked, sounding almost annoyed at the idea that their foe was unbeatable, thanks to a naturally stacked deck.

“Their skulkers have adequate stealth, not quite to our level but they are competent unless you have the means to beat their tricks. The Hunters are fast and vicious, excellent trackers and, well, hunters, working to bring down any foe that trespasses into their territory. The Husks are, from what we can tell, mostly command and control beacons, passing on the orders from other Withered to the basic Undead they control,” the other female, Chantalle if you asked her Mother, Lia if you spoke to Jade, explained, causing the spirit of everyone in the room to drop even further, if that was at all possible. Mrs Wu could only let out a whispered curse, shaking her head at the difficulty of their task.

“Well, there’s got to be something that can be done, right? I mean, you must have had some success, or you wouldn’t know all those details, right?” Mark asked, sounding more desperate than anything else as if he wanted his idea to be true. Or maybe needed his idea to be true.

“We managed to form a set of tactics that work out reasonably well, though I doubt that our tactics will work for others. They are primarily dependent on specialist skills, mostly magic support abilities combined with brutal attacks to cripple. We never try to fight fair, hell, we mostly try to make it so there’s no fight at all. Strike from ambush, attack unpredictably and disappear back into concealment, have a few traps set out to delay any pursuit,” Jade explained, before looking at Mrs Wu, “Teacher, when you told me about jungle and guerilla warfare, I never thought I’d need those lessons, but the book you gave me way back was invaluable.”

“Those tactics are some of the oldest tricks in the book,” Mrs Wu had a wry smile on her face, while almost everyone else in the room stared at her with a mix of awe and curiosity, “Make it so that your enemy cannot use their strength, while you use as much of your power as you can, before ending the engagement. It worked back when our ancestors were running across the plains of Africa with spears in their hands and it has worked in countless conflicts ever since. Avoid what is strong and strike at what is weak, know your enemy and know yourself, and you shall not be defeated in a hundred battles,” Her voice took on a measured cadence as she spoke at the end, Wong Chehai nodding along.

“It is paraphrased but certainly true. I believe I will impart the lessons of our ancestors to those who seek to listen. I already tried to do so, but maybe, if they hear what is out there, they finally shall listen. They need to give up that foolishness of trying to meet their enemies head-on,” he added, looking a lot more confident than he had just minutes before.

“On a positive note, the Withered seem to be rather slow to adjust. So far, their basic tactics have not yet changed, though I’ve been expecting them to try something for days. It’s making me nervous that they seem to be content to have their forces slowly bled out, while we disappear day after day. Unless there is no intelligence behind their actions, they have to react in some way, they have to adjust. I fear that their adjustment will be in some unexpected, and utterly devastating way, so we’ve been changing our approach constantly,” Jade explained, getting nods of understanding. They all knew that their enemies only needed to get it right once, whereas they needed to make things work every time.

“However, there is one thing I need to stress, something that worries me. We don’t truly know what the Withered are. I’ve studied a few of them, of each type, literally taken them apart to see what makes them tick and I’m spooked by what I’ve found. There are two major parts that concern me, one is that the hearts of the Withered, well, they Wither. The organ itself shrinks, almost as if it is desiccated, and a strange gem starts to form, like a tumour only crystalline. I’ve got no idea what that means in this context, but I doubt it’s anything good. The other part is just as worrying, there is a strange lattice-like growth in their brain, I suspect it’s the source of their psychic abilities, but I don’t know,” Jade explained and now, the faces of the council start to turn pale, at the idea of somebody literally rooting through dead bodies, some of which used to be human.

“Now, I believe that those two differences are what makes a Withered what they are, but I’ve got no idea where they come from. As in, what causes the growth in their heart to form, what grows the lattice in their brain. Is it some sort of spell that is cast by an outside source, is it some sort of spore, like a mushroom, that grows within them after exposure or something else entirely? Whatever the cause is, I feel that we need to know, if only to make sure that we aren’t affected by it,” she finished, letting out a soft sigh.

“That sounds like something you should figure out before anything else, though I’ve got no idea how to actually do that,” Mark agreed with a grin, though it was a forced one, “But please, whatever you do, don’t get yourself zombified, or Withered, or whatever you call it. I don’t think we could deal with that.”

“Agreed, better retreat before you get yourself turned into one of them. You are already scary enough, no need to add some sort of zombie army to that, even if you’d likely become their Queen in short order,” Cassie added, sounding both serious and as if she was joking at the same time.

“I have no desire to join their brain-link gang, thank you very much. If I want to be Queen of anything, I’ll damn well make my own servants, wouldn’t be the first time,” Jade replied, her words somehow managing to cause even more worry within the room.

“Anyway, back to the Withered and our continued fight against them. They’re quite lucrative when it comes to EXP, so it might be something your strongest could be interested in. By now, some of the other groups should have started attacking the Undead, right? What’s going on with them anyway?” Jade pushed the topic aside, returning to more strategic questions, even if the image of her, sitting on a throne of Ice somehow managed to hang in the room, long after their discussion had finished.