"Get your stuff together. We set off right now." Tobias's voice cut through the calm night air, his knuckles were white as he gripped his own pack, hoisting it onto his shoulders.
Everyone was startled by the sudden shift, even the two clerics who were rich with experience. It only lasted for a moment though, and soon the rest of the party was geared up and ready to go. Sally conjured a horse and began strapping it into their cart.
Other than her, all eyes were on Tobias. He stood like a sentinel eyes scanning the horizon behind them and to the north. A frown was on his lips, the orange firelight deepening the wrinkles on his aged and tired face. Noone stood nearby, he had no pack and his hands were on his weapons. His senses were now constantly extended from his body - fluctuating in between two and three meters, reinforced by his increased energy.
Grey eyes scanned every silhouette in their surroundings. Whatever occurred, Noone did not want to be caught off guard.
"Sally?" Tobias glanced her way, and she gave him a curt nod. The horse was secured in place. "Okay. Go. Sally and Rae take the front. Cart, acolytes and Noone in the middle, I will take up the rear."
Feet hit the floor in rhythm, setting off in the moonlight. A light cloud of dirt and dust was kicked up from the trail. Tobias kicked a clump of soil into the fire, smothering all residual light.
No one asked any questions, Sarah gripped her weapon so tight her knuckles hurt. She was ready to summon her chains at any moment. Feylin stood to her right, his shield was drawn but his sword was still in its sheath.
Tobias did not draw his axe, so no one else drew their weapons either. If the situation was that dire, he would have no doubt cued them to prepare for battle.
Noone discretely placed himself between the horse and the two acolytes. His sight now covered Sarah and Feylin. His mind solidified the space surrounding him within his senses, giving him time to react if there was another sneak attack.
Everyone was quiet except for the subtle sounds of padded feet against the earth and the clopping of hooves.
A few hours passed before the silence was broken, Tobias spoke first. His eyes focused on the horizon, specifically to the north, but his voice carried into their ears. "I received word from the Grand-Priest."
Everyone's ears perked up, especially Noone's. This grand-priest was the one which issued the assignment to retrieve him, as a favor to a mysterious woman that no one in the group knew much about.
What could he have told Tobias to make him worry this much?
"Six months ago… an individual launched a full-scale attack against the golden epoch tribesmen's city." Tobias's voice was cold.
Noone watched as the mouths of his companions fell open in disbelief. Genuine shock painted their faces, he could see a shiver run through Sarah and Feylin as their eyes widened. They were not able to help from looking back at Tobias, their faces incredulous.
Not just the acolytes, even the two clerics felt this was ridiculous.
Waging an attack against an epoch tribe was something not done! They were remnants of an era passed. They wielded strange and foreign magics, and were home to demi-gods – beings that failed to ascend into full god-hood and instead remained in the material world waiting for their next chance.
In the past, there were only a few records of nations or organizations attempting to overthrow one of these tribes. Every record ended in failure… or worse. Mutual destruction.
Every person's heart clenched, their heads throbbed as they tried to process the implications.
"Six months ago… around the same time we...?" Feylin's eyes flicked from Tobias to Noone. There's no relation… right?
"Mm. There is no reason to believe it is related though." Tobias said, considering his words carefully. However, he had his doubts. Attacking an epoch tribe was something impossibly grand in scale. He wanted to believe there was no correlation.
"That was six months ago, a battle was raged within their city for three days. A barrier was erected around their island sealing it off from the world, the entire city was engaged in a war against only a few hundred assailants. Apparently spires of lava were erected as large as the border towers of Chet." The paladin painted a picture with his words as it was described to him.
Feylin, Sarah and Noone were not experienced enough to understand the implications behind his words... but Rae and Sally both broke into a cold sweat. That level of power… unsurprisingly there were some extremely heavy hitters involved. Was it wizards? Or the warlocks? Perhaps one of the nearby nations?
"On the third day, the demi-god within the tribe broke through the barrier, submerging the entire nearby ocean within his domain." Rae nodded at his words, there was no way that the god of their tribe would let things continue like that. Whatever their casualties were, they must have been heavy.
"But as soon as he appeared, the entire siege-force disappeared." Tobias's voice was gruff, and his emotions leaked through. "Despite being trapped within a demi-god's domain…" A sigh like the wind of the arid land. "And now, six months later, an army of tribesmen numbering thirty thousand strong has set off from their island."
Sally's mouth was set tight and she grit her teeth with enough strength to hurt her jaw. That was unbelievable. What force was responsible for provoking such a thing… if that army made landfall how many lives would be lost… Why would this happen now?
Many thoughts flooded her mind.
She shot a discrete glance back at Noone. However, right when she looked back - Noone's gray unblinking eyes met her own. Unwilling, she held eye contact with him for a moment before finally looking away. The moment seemed to have lasted forever but in reality, they had only made eye contact for a second.
"We ran into a group of tribesmen only a little bit ago." Noone said, his voice was calm and steady, he was slightly shocked by the sheer numbers, but apart from that he just figured this was part of the landscape of this new world. "They certainly didn't act like their city was under siege."
"Chances are they had been scouting the regions outside their island since before six months ago." Tobias's eyes squinted at a silhouette in the distance which he determined was only a tree. "They most likely had no idea."
Noone took a deep breath, clearing his thoughts. He was not unfamiliar with such a tragedy.
"Did the grand-priest give any hint as to who did this" Raelith, ever to the point, was incredibly curious. Whatever group did such a thing, if they disappeared without taking any responsibility for their actions… any oncoming war would be blamed on them. They would have to live the rest of their lives maligned by this action. The common realm would want their heads.
"He claimed he didn't know. I got the feeling he had a few suspicions, but ultimately I am not in a position to be made privy to such information. We are too weak and unimportant in the grand schemes." Tobias shook his head.
Seeing the immense hulking figure of Tobias claiming himself to be weak struck Noone as incongruous. However, from everything he heard, it was indeed the truth. In the vast world, even Tobias was on the low end of most power scales. Just strong enough to be trusted with certain level of power and assignments - like this one.
Noone had always been curious about this, if this assignment came from the highest of powers and was that important… why didn't the grand-priest just do it himself? Or have someone of immense power complete it? The chances of failure would reduce exponentially if they were to do so.
He had asked Tobias about this a few times, but the only answer he received was unsatisfying at best. He got the feeling that Tobias, and the rest of the party, have had similar questions throughout their journey.
Noone began to get the feeling that… there was much more at play here than any of them realized. A small doubt wriggled up within his mind, planting itself in his thoughts. If this was true… he would have to be extremely careful to not get swallowed up by the currents of this new world.
He kept these thoughts to himself, but his steps became firmer.