Chapter 4: Destiny and Luck

Tiôta, the larger of Gomarche’s two moons, was setting as Nemè, the smaller, was just peeking over the opposite horizon. Rosie had joined Nyla, Gwyndolyn, and Refina sitting and eating a midnight snack around the fire, diced keapo sausage in rice. The remainder was sitting in the pot next to the fire, staying warm for the others as an early breakfast when the watch changes.

Rosie waited until the others had finished before asking a question. “Are you satisfied with the amount of rubbings you obtained today? Although I’m grateful for your fortuitous arrival, I’m sorry that our plight is cutting short your exploration.”

Nyla thought for a moment before responding. “We obviously would have preferred more time, but we have enough to keep us busy for a few years.” Nyla said. “My mother has served as a precinct officer in Sarial for over a hundred years. She was able to help secure the financing for this expedition, as well as being able to get access to one of the few of the Empire’s carriages that the Guillet Heights government has access to.”

“That’s another thing you have in common with my son.” Rosie said, looking back towards the carriage where Russer was sleeping. “Both of your mothers are, or I guess I should say were, government officials.”

“Vangog works in mysterious ways.” Nyla said, not sure if she wanted to share the dreams she had been having about the boy in question.

The wind picked up and the gnorses whinnied, getting to their feet and acting disturbed, pulling against the leads. “I’m going to go settle them down.” Gwyndolyn said, standing and squeezing Nyla’s shoulder before walking off.

Rosie squinted her eyes as she looked off into the distance. “I don’t remember those boulders being there.” She turned her head around, scanning in every direction. “Am I turned around?”

The hair on the back of Nyla’s neck stood up. There were no boulders on the Plain. She stood up and whispered a few words in a lilting tongue while pulling on a thread at the hem of her shirt. As it snapped she flicked her wrist and a whip made of radiant light formed in her hand, a gift of her father’s heritage. “Go, wake your countrymen. Now.” Nyla said with force as she viewed the middle distance, looking for the Tochi she thought they had left behind. Rosie’s eyes had widened at the evocation. She then nodded and wordlessly went to the carriage. “Gwyn, danger. Tochi.” Nyla said with a voice that would carry. “Get your hammer and my repeater. I’m waking the boys.” A grunt of acknowledgement came in response from the far side of the gnorses.

Nyla made her way to Duncan’s tent first, cursing the distance she had to travel, trying to swivel her head around with every step. They had let their guard down once reaching the Plain, never expecting the Tochi to continue stalking them. Everyone had pitched their tent further away, trying to gain a bit more of the privacy they had lost in the last few days. She reached his tent and rapped on the wooden support before opening the flap. “Duncan, danger.” She said, using the brevity they had agreed upon to signal such at the start of the journey. She opened the flap wider, letting some of the light emanating from her spell enter the dark space. Nyla saw Duncan stirring, the ever so slight grinding sound of his stony and crystalline skin moving against itself.

“I’m up.” Duncan said, his voice gravelly with sleep. Throwing off his thin covering and getting up off his pallet, nude except for a pair of loose trousers. The light prismed off a portion of his shoulder, throwing a purple tinged rainbow on the wall of the tent. “Situation?” he asked, motioning for Nyla to move out of the way as he exited the tent, not wasting time to dress or grab anything.

“Probable Tochi attack is imminent. Unknown number. We need to get Jorpix up, then meet by the carriage.” Nyla said, trying to summarize the known facts.

“Let’s move.” Duncan said as he turned towards the last tent several rods away.

“I don’t have my repeater on me.” Nyla said. “I’m counting on you for ranged until we can make it back and I can get it.”

“Understood.” Duncan said, keeping his head high.

Nemè’s light was faint, still being so low on the horizon. The lack of features on the Plain would help with spotting the Tochi, but even the light emanating from Nyla’s whip was not enough to see for more than a rod or two before her vision started fading into shades of grey-gold, indicative that she was relying on her darkvision. Nyla knew that Duncan would have even less visibility, and she was straining all of her senses with every passing foot of distance they travelled to wake the final member of their party.

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A sound stopped Nyla in her tracks, and she could just barely make out a shape in the distance. Duncan lightly touched her shoulder, whispering almost directly into her ear “Where?”.

“Behind his tent.” She said, in the smallest voice her throat could produce. Nyla wondered if the whip was a bad idea, if the Tochi were flanking while avoiding the light. Without her repeater though, she felt she hadn’t had a choice but to call on the racial trait of her father’s people to arm herself. “You go wide, I’ll rush the tent and get Jorpix.” she said. Duncan double tapped her shoulder, then went off to the right, raising both of his arms with closed fists. Nyla said a single word in the same lilting tongue as before and expended a touch of will. “JORPIX, DANGER.” her voice boomed, louder than she could have possibly screamed unassisted, as she raced to the tent flap. Two beams of purple energy leapt from Duncan’s arms, and the resulting whump of impact was followed by a shriek of an animal.

Nyla sprinted the remaining distance and threw open the tent flap, the encroaching light causing Jorpix to blink like an owl as he rose from his sleeping pallet. Nyla grabbed him by the back of his nightgown with her free hand and lifted him. A yelp emanated from the diminutive Gnome as Nyla retreated back. Duncan let fly another blast, then cursed as his shots went wide. “It’s circling north.” He said, his voice carrying to alert the group forming around the campfire.

As they made it back to the group, they saw Refina standing near the gnorses, her spear held ready in both hands. Pieros was in his wild shape beside her. A Tochi came racing in from the darkness, clipping Merph and sending the elderly Halfling crashing to the ground before dashing back out beyond the light. Nyla set Jorpix down. “See to him please.” Nyla said, and he went to check on the groaning man. Gwyndolyn tossed Nyla a belt and holster, then lit a bundle of torches with the campfire. “How many?” Nyla yelled.

“I think four.” Refina said. Gwyndolyn grunted in agreement and she tossed lit torches outward.

“This man has a broken shoulder.” Jorpix said, kneeling in the dirt next to Merph. “Help me get him inside.” Gwyndolyn set her hammer down next to the fire and bent over to gently pick up Merph. The three of them disappeared into the carriage as everyone else turned outward, straining their eyes against the darkness to find the predators that had been stalking them for days.

The thumping started a few minutes later. Four cacophonous rhythms, seemingly coming from just far enough away for the creatures to be hidden in the night. Duncan and Nyla were on opposite sides, dividing the group’s only ranged options. Gwyndolyn stood between the two, hammer held ready. Rosie and Barl were on Nyla’s left and a few steps behind, holding lit torches. And on the far side, defending the gnorses, were the two Sentinels. Without any apparent change in the staccato communication, the thumping stopped, and the creatures charged.

As soon as she had a visible target, Nyla pulled the trigger on her repeater. The slug hit the Tochi’s flank, but had no effect on its speed or trajectory. She readied her conjured whip as the creature charged. It leapt high before coming close enough, trying to get behind her. Nyla felt the slug return and led the barrel to where she thought it would land. Firing another shot and slashing the whip across the Tochi’s face, it let out an ear shattering screech. Gwyndolyn followed up with a massive blow, and the Tochi slumped bonelessly. Grunts and screams, both intelligent and animal, filled the night.

“Mom?” Russer said, standing in the doorway of the carriage.

“Russer, get back insi...” Rosie said, interrupted by a Tochi lunging and knocking her down.

“NO!” Russer said. Wind suddenly whipped through the still air as Russer’s eyes began to glow. He raised a hand and a beam of blue crackling energy lanced from his palm to the Tochi attacking his mother, throwing it off of her as it landed in a charred heap.

Nyla’s eyes widened at the show of power the young hybrid had manifested. She rushed over to Rosie’s fallen form, but with one look at the damage that had been dealt Nyla knew that she wouldn’t make it. She took Rosie’s grasping hand, slick with blood. “Take care of him. Please.” Rosie said, barely a whisper.

“Of course.” Nyla said with a nod. She looked up towards the boy, the same boy she had been dreaming about, and knew that this was the reason why she was truly out here. Vangog had been pushing her whole life, shaping her destiny, in order to save another of their children.

Then she felt Rosie’s grip fade.

Two cairns stood just inside the Plain, landmarks that weren’t there the previous day. Refina kneeled, spear in hand, by the larger of the two, paying respects to her fellow Sentinel. Nyla and Gwyndolyn were sitting on the driving bench of the carriage with Russer between them, speaking softly with their new charge. “We will come back here, one day, the three of us.” Nyla said.

“I want to be strong when we do.” Russer said.

“You will be.” Nyla said. “There is no doubt about your potential. Gwyn and I will help you focus and harness it. Make it a tool that you can use.”

“I don’t know where your life will take you, Russer.” Gwyndolyn said. “But Ny and I will stand beside you, no matter your path.”

“Vangog’s Children should look out for each other.” Nyla said. “And that is what I intend to do.”