***Tirnanog, The Mycelium***

***Balthasar***

Balthasar was sitting in his herb garden, which should have been a relaxing experience now that Nisha was gone and the other visitors had left for their hunt. Whether they would return victorious and unscathed was another question, but they had looked capable enough.

One of the youngsters alone would never stand up to a 'white', but if all six ganged up on one of the predators Balthasar gave them a decent enough chance of surviving the encounter. As long as they worked together and didn't allow the predator to pick them off one by one.

He sighed, his eyes flicking sideways ever so slightly in the knowledge that he was being watched and scrutinized. Not as the benevolent benefactor of a community, but as a father who wasn't doing his duty of making his daughter happy.

The day should have been like any other day. He with his plants, the villagers leaving him in peace, the shrooms doing their job of keeping other wildlife away, and Charmaine playing somewhere out of sight and out of mind, preferably not at the wall.

But it was not.

Instead, his daughter sat at the other side of the table and stared at him with judgement and accusation written all over her face. She had the facial expression down pat.

Balthasar couldn't stand it any longer. Her behaviour reminded him too much of her mother and he was slowly but surely developing a bad conscience over it.

“I said no, Charmaine.” Balthasar tried to be strict, but he knew he was a failure of a father. Ever since Petra died, he had retreated into his misery. He had done his best to be a father figure for their daughter, but all he had truly done was to be present and provide a place to live.

Which was more than most kids had in this world. But Balthasar had grown up on Earth and so he had expectations of how a childhood should be. His village just was no place for a kid to grow up. Being shown the boy, Isaac, had been an unwelcome reminder.

He loved Charmaine, but he never had the heart to properly engage with his daughter as a parent. To give her proper guidance and point out her limits. Which was the main reason why she ran off all the time to be on her own.

“Please,” Charmaine begged.

“What about ‘no’ is so hard to understand?” He replied, but knew it sounded weak even to him. Having Charmaine grow up in this village was cruel. Especially when there was a seemingly perfect solution. With the Aerie, she would be safe. She could have playmates and friends. In Aerie, she could visit something akin to a school.

But she would also inevitably become an Aerie. Whether Balthasar wanted it or not, she would be drawn into the politics of the clans.

Balthasar did his best at home-tutoring his daughter, but despite all his efforts, he knew he was no teacher.

“Please,” she begged once more, apparently sensing his weakness. “I just want to go and visit Isaac. They can take me back right afterwards.”

If he allowed it once, it wouldn’t stay limited to just one visit. Would it?

It angered him, especially because he couldn't give her any logical arguments for staying in this dying village other than the wish to remain where Balthasar and his wife, Petra, had tried to make a home for themselves. And to stay away from politics.

Worse, Balthasar knew if Petra had been still alive she would skin him for keeping their daughter here.

And none of his arguments held value to Charmaine. She was too young to understand the pitfalls of politics and had never truly cared for their home. The girl didn't remember her mother and had no obligation to uphold her mother's values. To Charmaine, this place was a trap. Especially since the only other child in the village had died years ago.

“Charmaine…”

“Then we are going to sit here for days.” The girl crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair, her expression returning to one of silent judgment.

It took Balthasar a few moments to realize what she was doing. Normally, the girl was a hyperactive whirlwind of activity. Her staying still for any mentionable amount of time was highly unusual. Plus, there was her lowered heart rate and her breathing was also slowing down.

“Charmaine, are you seriously using 'hibernation' to get under my skin!?”

His daughter didn’t answer. Instead, she stared unblinkingly at him with a silent accusation in her eyes.

***Tirnanog, The Mycelium***

***Mark***

“I still believe this is a tremendously bad idea,” I said while following Astra and Thalia.

We had left the village two hours ago, presumably to allow Balthasar to 'stew' according to a very satisfied Magnus.

The group wasn't quite running, but also not walking because we had to distance ourselves from the village. The 'whites' had developed a slight aversion to the ancient's presence, so our hunt was doomed to fail if we stayed close to Balthasar's home.

“I only won my fight with the night terror because of dumb luck. No, not even luck. I won because the thing was toying with me!” I knew I was repeating myself, but I was convinced this had to be said repeatedly – preferentially at every opportunity presenting itself.

“Don’t you think you picked up a bit of a whiner?” Astra asked her friend teasingly. “Not to forget, you haven’t mentioned at all how your parents reacted when you came home with a guy. When I brought Magnus it was like I had dragged a stray into the house.”

“Mark is a tad bit too vocal about his worries,” Thalia admitted. “But it’s not a bad thing. One can never be too careful in this world.”

She looked back and grinned at me. “It’s better than being a battle-maniac like Magnus. And my parents are not responsible for my love life. Unlike yours, I made it clear early on that there would be no such thing as a political marriage for me. Plus, yours only got all huffy because you didn't introduce Magnus before you sealed the deal. Just imagine how it must have felt for them. Like their daughter marrying outside the country to tell them after the fact. Though, they could have anticipated what would happen if you ever found someone on your recruitment trips.”

I massaged the bridge of my nose, remembering the embarrassing scene of being questioned about my mutations while Thalia’s parents tried to figure out whether I was an acceptable fit for their daughter. Unfortunately, Thalia had seemingly picked up her decisiveness and penchant for logic from them, because as soon as Thalia managed to convince Sienna and Richard of my ‘suitability’ I had not only Thalia pressuring me to do the deed, there were two elders trying to ‘set up’ favourable situations as well.

Unfortunately, I had the feeling I would regret nailing that woman sooner or later. Either because she drove me crazy, or because her character rubbed off on me.

There was also the question of love. The physical attraction was there, except for the wings. I still couldn’t dig the wings! And they also felt so weird! But just like Magnus advised when I confided in him, love could come later and was something which had to be worked upon. At least in this, I agreed with him. His philosophy sounded right.

And Thalia trying to teach me medicine and follow in the family's footsteps was just the icing on the cake. Except for some first aid I was never interested in becoming a doctor!

Just why had I listened to Magnus’s relationship advice? Maybe I would feel better if I had given myself another month. After being Magnus’s survival teacher for about a month, I should have known he wasn’t exactly reliable when it came to the social aspect of life. For god’s sake, he had killed a guy who pissed him off right in front of me as if it was no more than slaughtering cattle.

Since I came to Tirnanog, I had become no stranger to violence. But I could honestly say I had never killed another human with my own hands before I came to this world and killing still didn’t sit right with me. Back on Earth, I was a godforsaken accountant!

Then again, it was my decision to take Thalia's offer. So the only one to blame was me.

Magnus cleared his throat, addressing the two gossiping women who were leading the group. “We can hear you!”

Then he clapped me on the back. “Don’t worry. Balthasar told us everything he knew about the ‘whites’. Our plan is as good as it will ever get if those things are as smart as the ancient says.”

I nodded to myself and nervously double-checked the quiver with my poisoned arrows. It was still hanging at my side, giving me quick and easy access to ammunition. It was probably the wrong weapon of choice with my newly increased strength, but I had used the bow for so long that I couldn't imagine working with any other weapon. “You are right, but it’s still a bad idea. And I would feel a lot better about this whole endeavour if you had listened in on Balthasar’s explanations from the beginning to the end.”

The previous day, Balthasar had told us everything he knew about the ‘whites’ behaviour.

They tended to go only after easy prey and generally avoided direct combat if they weren’t fairly certain they could win. They were very intelligent ambush predators and to catch one we had to find a way to lure it out of hiding. Either by trapping it in an area which forced a confrontation or by presenting it with a fight it thought it could win, provoking it into overextending.

Of the two options, cornering a ‘white’ had the best chance of success. Normally, it would go against common sense to trap an enemy without leaving at least a chance of escape. After all, a cornered animal always fought the hardest and was the most dangerous. Even prey animals tended to fight back if they saw no chance of running away.

Unfortunately, leaving a ‘white’ with an escape route meant it would take it given the chance. And they tended to do so as soon as the fight didn’t go in their favour.

“Would it make you feel better if I had listened to Balthasar’s speech?” Magnus scoffed. “Don’t worry too much. Astra updated me on everything later at night. I had my hands full watching out for Isaac and Charmaine. My little boy needed a wingman.”

“Astra,” Thalia whispered. “Did Magnus seriously just imply that he ‘managed’ Isaac so he would woo the girl? Your boy isn’t even one year old.”

Astra coughed. “I hope he just made sure that Isaac found a friend. Don’t forget, it was his first time meeting another child. And Isaac is a lot more mature than he looks.”

“We can still hear you,” Magnus repeated himself. “And if you knew Isaac a little better, Thalia, you would have known he needed the help. That boy doesn’t have a single insincere bone in his entire body.”

“That’s not a bad thing,” Thalia protested. “I hope you aren’t teaching him to lie.”

“It is when it’s about talking with girls. There is such a thing as being too honest,” Magnus stated. “Men have to ‘manage’ their words very carefully if they want to have girls as friends. Or would you still have taken Mark as your partner if you had known that your extra magnificent milk guns took up seventy per cent of his decision-making ability?”

Astra turned around to look at her partner while she walked, making me wonder whether I should get ready to dodge a ‘spontaneously’ manifested lightning bolt.

“Of course, magnificence alone isn’t everything!” Magnus course corrected quickly when his precognition warned of imminent danger. “The bigger they are, the softer they get. And in my personal opinion, they are just perfect if there is something to hold and squeeze without your fingers sinking in. Isn’t that right, Mark?”

“I don’t want any part in this discussion,” I replied quickly. “You can dig your own grave.”

However, I indeed liked it when there was something bountiful to massage and press against my chest. But I would never admit such a thing so brazenly in front of others.

“Not fair, dude!” Magnus pretended to be deeply wounded by grasping for his heart. “I thought we were friends! Pals for life! You have to take my side and join the banter!”

Thalia also threw us a glance. “Though the discussion is childish, I wondered why Mark was so focused on them in the sheets.”

I groaned. “Please, Thalia, don’t join them.”

Magnus nodded sagely. “Every man has his own ideal of perfection. Whether they are small or big, firm or wobbly. There is a woman for all of us idiots out there. Mark likes it if his fingers can sink into the goods. I like it when there is something to squeeze. Actually, I know a test to confirm my perfect level of squeezability. Do you know that you can bounce a coin off Astra’s b-agh!”

Something in my hindbrain tingled and I dodged to the side before I could get involved in the altercation. Simultaneously, Astra blurred and landed a perfect kick in Magnus’s guts, causing him to stagger. It wasn’t enough to injure or hurt him since he wore his armour, but the impact was plenty to startle him and cut him off mid-sentence.

“Nobody has to know that!” Astra blurted out quickly.

“Your 'bagh'?” Thalia asked with a grin on her face. “Was he talking about your boobs or your butt?”

“But it bounces so well when you hit the right angle,” Magnus gasped back. “Violent woman! It’s something to be proud of!”

“Now you have to tell!” Thalia sounded intrigued. “And how far does it have to bounce to count?”

“I declare this line of discussion as officially over!” Astra formed an ‘X’ with her arms and returned to walking. “Magnus, if you want to sleep in the same bed tonight you have to behave from now on.”

“Aw…” Magnus hung his head. “That’s blackmail.”

“Knowing you, it is,” Astra admitted freely.

“I am sorry, Thalia.” Magnus shook his head. “I cannot solve this mystery. My wife holds all the cards and I am addicted to her attention.”

I rolled my eyes and turned to Ginevra and Thiago who were following us, but both sensors shook their heads, indicating our noise hadn’t attracted a ‘white’ yet.

The best plan we could come up with was to cause as much of a ruckus as we dared to and attract a 'white', then trap it somehow. And judging by our first encounter, voices should be enough to attract one. It wouldn't be easy, but Balthasar informed us of some rock formations at the coast to the north. If we could lure it there, we might have a chance to set up a trap.

“Anyway,” Astra continued. “What do you think of Charmaine and Isaac, Thalia? I thought they were cute together. As friends! Not what your dirty mind is probably cooking up.”

The psychic shrugged. “I didn’t pay extra close attention while we talked with Balthasar, but I guess they were having fun with their card game. Charmaine was certainly more relaxed than when we met her at the wall. Which shouldn't be surprising after what happened there.”

“Hmm.” Astra pursed her lips. “Well, I guess that’s as good as can be expected.”

Magnus wiggled his fingers like an evil mastermind and added a skip to his step. “Isaac was clueless in the beginning, but I think by the end I got him to understand how to treat young girls properly. He will charm many ladies once he is grown!”

Astra returned her attention to Magnus and he quickly added, “Charm respectfully, of course! We don’t want him to turn into a Casanova!”

At that moment, I felt something tingle in the back of my neck and I checked our rear, barely a moment before Thiago let out a scream of warning. Following us, something moved within the fog, a blurred outline giving just a hint of a humanoid figure before it was gone again.

“What was that?” I asked, alarmed once I realized that Ginevra and Thiago had their attention in an entirely different direction. They were looking ahead.

“What was what?” Ginevra asked and pointed ahead. “Where are you looking? The 'white' is that way.”

“That's because I saw something following us!” I urged. “I saw it moving through the fog.”

“Are you sure?” Thiago asked and turned around. “Because I can hear it moving ahead of us right now. There is nothing behind us.”

“Yes! I am sure!” I cursed and readied my bow. “Why do I have to repeat myself so often today?”

“Maybe there are two ‘whites’?” Thalia suggested questioningly.

“Balthasar insisted that they are solitary hunters,” Astra pointed out.

We didn't get any more time, because a white shot out of the fog ahead of us. It charged at Thalia, but Astra intercepted it with her spear and lightning danced between her and the creature.

I readied my bow and let loose an arrow which was effortlessly dodged. The monster had moved out of the way the same moment I let go of the arrow!

Magnus blurred and appeared beside the 'white', grasping one of its clawed arms.

For a moment, it looked like he was able to hold it, but the 'white' twisted its arm out of his grip and took a swipe at him with its claws. The creature's movements didn't look effortless, but I had no hope of Magnus being able to restrain the thing.

Magnus was hit in the chest and sent flying, but his armour held.

Before the monster could follow up with a second attack it was forced to dodge backwards, avoiding Astra's filaments.

I was about to fire a second arrow when the creature flashed off into the mist, my arrow disappearing after it.

“Curses!” Magnus got back to his knees from where he had been laid flat. “I thought maybe I could hold the skinny bugger, but it is way too strong!”

“Where is it?” I asked and looked to our sensors who were following something hidden within the fog.

“It is circling around to our back,” Ginevra said.

“What about the other one?” I asked.

“I still haven't sensed...” Thiago narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue. “Well, that's a problem.”

“Are there really two of them?” Astra asked and readied her spear.

“Oh, damn!” Thalia cursed, glaring at the fog. “I think we might have an entirely different problem.”

“What problem?” I asked.

“Can't you feel that tingle in the back of your brain?” Thalia asked. “The one I told you to train listening to?”

“I can,” I said. “But it is hard. My precognition is also going nuts, telling me we are in danger. I have trouble differentiating between the two.”

Thalia had been trying to teach me how to feel the emotions of others, but it wasn't an easy skill to master. She had years of experience with her psychic ability, while I had gotten it only recently. Worse, the night-terror mutation had granted me a fairly potent version of precognition. So I had two new and fairly esoteric psychic abilities to deal with.

Most times, I was not sure whether my precognition was warning me of imminent danger, or someone was experiencing potent emotions driving my empathy nuts. And influencing the emotions of others was a whole other can of worms. One Thalia had years of training to master while I was barely scratching the surface of my newfound abilities.

My partner sighed. “I am sorry. This is entirely my fault. Does anyone here feel 'anticipation'?”

Everyone answered with a unanimous 'no' and I shook my head. Dread, yes. Anticipation, certainly not.

“Then there must be a seventh person within my range,” Thalia explained solemnly.

“Who-?” I asked but was interrupted by a body flying towards us.

It was about four metres up in the air and came in on a flat trajectory, hitting the ground like a sack of rice before it bounced once and lay still.

I stared at the 'white' who had its neck broken. The head was turned the wrong way by 180 degrees and tilted at an unhealthy 90-degree angle. It looked like someone had tried to twist off the creature's head and decided not to go through with it halfway through succeeding.

Despite this, the 'white' was still twitching as if it could rise at any moment. The claws on its paws were opening and closing as if its prey was just within reach.

It was dead for sure, but if Tirnanog taught me one thing, then to always make certain.

Raising my bow, I fired an arrow into the thing's eye and nocked a second one, placing it in the creature's chest before I turned my attention to the oncoming threat.

Nisha strolled out of the fog and approached us with a smug expression, tilting her hips mockingly as she walked. She looked like a cat who caught a mouse and found more mice to play with.

“Look at who we have here,” the ancient said once she stood just a few metres away. “We meet again earlier than expected.”

“Hey, thanks for the help!” Magnus replied with more cheer than was warranted. “After our first meeting, I got the impression you might be a slightly challenged goon who allowed herself to be used by Zacharias, but it looks like you are trying to find out more about your situation. I didn't expect you to help us with the 'white'.”

“Magnus!” Astra chided.

“What?” Magnus looked at his partner. “She totally didn't camp outside Balthasar's village to catch us leaving, then kill us outside Balthasar's so-called neutral zone.”

Nisha narrowed her eyes. “That big mouth of yours will cost you your head sooner or later.”

Magnus waved his hand. “Just being a realist.”

I considered nocking another arrow, but I had been told how powerful the ancients were. Nisha must be very confident if she approached us so openly. And she had killed the 'white' like it was nothing. Maybe staying on her good side was our best hope?

Thalia stepped next to me and took my hand while sending a chat message. 'Mark, I need your help.'

'What?'

'I need you to concentrate on Nisha and push at her with your mind. Like we trained. Push as hard as you can. Everyone else, please buy me as much time as possible.'

I wasn't certain whether I could help, but I complied to the best of my ability.

Nisha swept her gaze over our group. “So, are you going to answer questions?”

Magnus nodded and stepped forward to draw Nisha’s attention. “If you give us no other choice. The only question I have is this: How do you intend to make us talk?”

The ancient frowned. “Hitting people works well enough in my experience.”

“But not if they have reason to believe you will kill them afterwards anyway,” Magnus pointed out.

Nisha sighed. “You are overestimating yourselves a bit. After seeing you struggle with that thing,” she gestured at the 'white' who had stopped twitching, “I doubt you could have any significant impact on a large battlefield. Hence killing you is something I will only consider if you piss me off further.”

“I see.” Magnus nodded. “So what are your questions?”

“First, what do you believe Zacharias hasn't shared with me?” Nisha asked.

“Oh, boy. That's a loaded question already.” Magnus looked at Astra. “Do you want to do us the honour?”

Astra looked between Magnus and Nisha. “I guess the gist of it is that Zacharias had some of his agents at Hochberg and they had a communication device. We caught them, but they had weeks to relay the information we spoke of to Thich. When we talked with you, you mentioned the possibility of Hochberg joining your side against Aerie.”

Nisha nodded.

“Well, that hasn't been an option for quite some time. From what we learned Greta might have been on your side, but Greta has been dead for months and the new matriarch is firmly on our side. Zacharias should have known that. So either he hasn't told you because he feared Vier would withdraw their assistance in the attack on Jeng, or there is something more sinister going on. I don't know about you, but the only reason for withholding information from an ally I can think of is when I distrust them keeping that information to themselves. Or if I want to come out ahead of my ally and weaken them in preparation for a future conflict.”

Magnus nodded. “Pick your poison.”

Nisha frowned deeply. “Greta is dead?”

Everyone nodded in reply.

“How did she die?” Nisha asked.

“Deathnut oil,” Magnus answered. “We believe it was a hit orchestrated by the Forgotten. Probably because Aerie’s political power dynamic made them twitchy. During the winter, the clan dithered between doing nothing in retaliation against Thich’s attack on Aerie’s recruitment team and mobilizing their forces. Earth tried to prevent further complications with Thich.”

“Why not you?” Nisha shot back. “It sounds like you are the ones who benefited politically from Greta’s death. Killing Greta makes absolutely no sense in this scenario!”

“The assassination happened during winter,” Astra replied. “By that time, we didn't even know you intended to turn this conflict into a full-blown war. Plus, the Forgotten launched an assassination at Mount Aerie at the same time. We believed it to be Earth's reaction to our mobilization. And heck! Why do you think we can make sense of this? From our point of view, Thich’s attack on Jeng is absolutely insane. You are insane for joining in on this war. And Earth is trying to influence things as best they can.”

Astra threw up her hands. “By the goddess, maybe they want as much chaos as possible so we tear ourselves apart! Why are we fighting if the world itself is doing a decent job of killing us? From our point of view Thich, Earth, and you are all just opportunists out to grab their piece of the cake in the hope of getting away with it! And then there are the strange alien tools and Earth’s weaponry Thich suddenly got access to. Why are you asking us when you should be the one who can make sense of this?”

The ancient narrowed her eyes at us, seemingly staring through us while she thought.

“Okay, I will bite,” she said after a few long seconds. “And who exactly is this Isaac you were talking about? From the context, I inferred he is your child, but how did you get him here, and why? Did you hide him in the city while you visited Balthasar?”

“Because I have a mutation which doesn't allow me to leave him alone for more than a few days,” Astra lied like a professional, seemingly not hesitating at all with her answer.

Nisha tilted her head. “And why would Aerie's leadership send someone under such problematic mutational restrictions on such a mission?”

“Look, we are just grunts.” Magnus spread out his hands in a placating gesture. “Ancient Mary told us to go on the mission, so we go on the mission. Do you intend us to reveal every logistical consideration which might have led to choosing us? Like the six of us belonging to the very few people who can withstand the mycelium? We really can't tell you much beyond that, because the elders wouldn't tell such a thing to mere messengers.”

“Probably not,” Nisha admitted. “Still, risking a breeding pair for a message. Just how important is Balthasar's involvement in this conflict?”

The ancient stood there, staring at us while I imagined the gears inside her head turning. All the time, I was trying to ‘push’ my mind at her as hard as I could, not knowing whether I was achieving anything at all. She seemed utterly oblivious to my efforts.

I didn't quite dare to aim my bow at her, but I played nervously with the fletching of my arrow.

Then Nisha abruptly turned around and walked away, disappearing within the fog.

A whole minute passed while we stared, expecting her to return, but she didn't.

“Did she really just… go away?” Magnus asked, then added via UI chat. 'I was preparing to throw myself onto her and teleport us to Balthasar. I don’t believe I could have taken her to a jaunt point further away, but Balthasar might have worked.'

“She did,” Astra nodded. 'And what the fuck!? She almost got us because of your stupid banter, mentioning Isaac!'

'It was banter and you joined in!' Magnus protested through the UI. 'How could I have known that she was waiting for us? And for her to focus on me mentioning Isaac… that woman is way too sharp.'

Someone grasped my shoulder pauldron and I found Thalia looking at me with a pained expression. “Thalia, are you alright!?”

She swayed. “No. My head hurts. A lot.”

I quickly steadied her. 'What did you do?'

'I instilled a strong feeling in her that she just learned something critically important. And the urge to go home right now to share this information with her people. That woman's mind is strong. If you hadn't distracted her for so long, I couldn't have done it without her noticing. We should go. I don’t know whether she will realize what I did within the next minute and turn around, or whether she will run all the way back to Vier.'

I didn’t ask more questions and just took Thalia in a princess carry before I started running back to the village. An action which was wordlessly mirrored by the rest of the group, with Magnus shouldering the dead ‘white’.