"I'm going," Yuriko firmly declared to Kato.
Her elder brother stared down at her, nearly a head taller than she was after his latest growth spurt, but she didn't let it intimidate her. Kato, unlike Marron and Rami, had an angular face, sharp, almond-shaped eyes and thin eyebrows. His features an even mix of their Da and Mum which meant that his expressionless face was oh so cold.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "It won't be pretty. Or clean."
"What are Grunders anyway?" Yuriko asked.
Kato grunted, "I've only fought them and Stonetoises a couple of times in the past." He tapped his chin. "Hmm, why is Saluthain's Bestiary so dry and boring? Er, let me see if I can remember the details."
Grunders, he told her, were like fleas on a Stonetoise. The huge creatures barely noticed them as the larval Grunders lived on the shell, eating moss and other plant life that grew on the rock. The jagged, spiky protrusions were enough to provide shelter from the elements and the Stonetoise itself offered protection against other predators.
The Grunder larvae were little worms, about five inches long, that burrowed into the flesh and blood of humanoids, wolves, bears, whatever warm-blooded creature they could find when they were ready to move on to the next stage of their lives. They made their way into the head, specifically the brain, and somehow integrated themselves into it. The resulting combination was an unholy fusion of both the worm and the host.
The host barely remembers its past, only having enough mind power to move normally, while the worm gained control of the body, slowly turning the skin into rock and stone, to mimic the Stonetoise's shells. Their bodies secreted a scent that the giants associated with themselves, thus tolerating them.
The Stonetoises, in turn, ate ores. Iron, copper, jade, jadeite, silver, and gold were delicacies to its palate. All of these were mined in the Zarek which was why there were always Koinos Colossi to guard the camps.
Kato told Yuriko all of this while the miners pleaded with Master Antiga and the Agminis legionnaires. She could barely keep her eyes away from the Koinos, especially the heavily damaged one. One of the Core pilots remained inside, feeding the vessel his Animus to repair the damage. Indeed, Yuriko could see the shattered wooden slats slowly grow and join together, the runescript glowing brighter than a forge.
"I'm not sure we'd be of much help," Braden said slowly. He gestured at his spear, at the tip which had broken off. "We're not armed properly for it."
Orrin nodded mutely. Kale and Rorke were standing nearby, listening to Master Antiga though Kale looked in their direction every now and then. The Agaza instructor had not made any decisions.
"We cannot leave the damaged Koinos here," Centurion Lleufer said firmly. She looked at Antiga and the other passengers, lingering slightly on Yuriko and the twins. She looked at the Tram too. "You are not duty-bound to aid here, but...I would not want to abandon the living. The implantation process will take hours, nearly a day truth be told." She slapped the leg of the heavily damaged Koinos. "Viri'flos here will need at least five hours to regenerate. Less if you have Chaos shards."
"You don't have any?" Kale asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Ran out. Viri and Ensis here eat shards to move properly."
"How will they move if you don't have the shards now?" Yuriko couldn't help but ask.
"It'll just cost us more Animus in that case," Lleufer said, smiling. "Off to the Academy are you?"
Yuriko nodded. "To Agaza, I hope."
"Hmmph, you want to be a foot soldier? Why not aim to be a Core Pilot? Much more glamorous." She laughed while knocking on Ensis' arm.
"Er, I'll think about it."
"I'm afraid we don't have any spare shards," Master Antiga said after a moment. She stared southeast, towards the mountainside. "I can see the Grunders and Stonetoises, they're headed to another valley. They will be out of my sight soon though."
"So what's the plan?" Lleufer asked.
"Hmmph," Antiga snorted then glanced at Yuriko and the twins. "What do you children think? Should we go or not?"
"Why are you asking them?" the camp leader yelped.
"They will be the ones put in the most danger," Antiga said placidly, "if we try to rescue the captives. These three are to take the elite examinations in Rumiga City and this detour may cause them to miss their schedule."
"We must go save them of course!" Yuriko exclaimed. "Lives outweigh our plans."
"Are you sure, Yuri?" Orrin whispered next to her. "You didn't want to follow your Mum's plans right? You missing this means that you won't have any choices."
"I…" Yuriko hesitated. Who were these people to her anyway? Strangers. People who she didn't know, whose deaths would not affect her or her family and friends. On the other hand, what was she risking by having these heroic impulses?
You weigh the lives of your lessers with impunity.
The thought that whispered in her mind sounded amused. She knew that whatever path she chose, it would not matter to that voice. Who was it? Fri'Avgi? She recalled a moment back in the woods when she heard a voice prodding her, manipulating her thoughts and emotions. Who was it? Her Ancestor? The Golden Silhouette? Or were they one and the same?
No, no. As the daughter of the militia commander, of a Knight Captain, and as someone who wishes dearly to enter the imperial legions, she had the duty to aid its citizens.
She looked at Orrin's worried eyes, at Braden's confused ones, and at her brother's. Kato had a weighing look in his eye. Master Antiga had a neutral expression, as though she cared not what Yuriko decided.
'Why would my choice matter to these people? She's just indulging in her curiosity.' She shook her head.
"I wish to try a rescue."
"Oh, why?" Antiga cocked her head.
"I don't want to abandon them."
"What about you two?" she asked Orrin and Braden.
The twins glanced at each other and nodded. "We're with our friend."
Kato sighed. In disappointment, Yuriko thought.
"Very well. Your aid in the rescue attempt may be immaterial or it may be of help," Antiga grunted. "Prepare yourselves. We leave in half an hour."
"Meditate to recover your Animus." Kato barked. "Go!"
Startled, Yuriko walked to the side of the road and assumed a seated meditation pose. She envisioned her Anima to look at her core. The flames were as lively as ever, though she only had about a fifth of her reserves left. She tried to fan the flames, feeding it air to make it grow, but it barely did anything. There wasn't really a method to hasten the recovery of Animus reserves. It was either they drank dust tonics, kaf, or they slept. Or relaxed. So she let her mind wander instead. She steered away from things that weighed down her thoughts, such as her mum, and…no, no, no. Don't think about it.
And of course, trying not to think of something only brought it to the forefront. Think of the mountains, and the clouds, and the wonderful pine trees. And lavan berries. And steak. And lamb chops, mutton, pork chops and bacon. Waffles with syrup. Parfaits. Sweet wonderful parfaits that made the world go round. How much would such confections cost in the city? Oh, what about honey cakes and fruit tarts
Her mouth watered uncontrollably and her tummy started growling loud enough that it derailed her thoughts. Food. She was hungry.
Her eyes popped open. Her Animus had recovered to a fourth of her maximum. It would have to do. She stood up and marched to the Tram.
"Lunch," she demanded of the conductor who was leaning against the Tram's side, smoking a pipe.
"Oh, of course."
He brought out sandwiches covered in waxed paper. Yuriko grabbed a bunch and brought it over to his brother and the twins before settling down to eat. Right after she was done, a group of miners armed with metal truncheons had gathered together. They looked nervous, shifting weight from one foot to another.
Master Antiga had climbed up the wooden watchtower and was staring out at the distance. From the angle of her face, she was staring up at the sky. It wasn't long after that she came towards the group.
"The Grunders have reached their lair. It is nearly a league away, at four longstrides and eight hundred twenty-three paces from here," Master Antiga said as soon as she came within earshot of the gathered miners and passengers. "They have brought their prisoners into a lair and are feeding the Stonetoise hatchlings. They will begin the turning process soon but there are more than our people there."
She designated Kato, Kale, and Rorke as squad leaders, distributing the volunteer miners, about a couple dozen hardy men and women, amongst the four of them. Yuriko, Orrin, and Braden went under Kato's command.
They set off with the Master setting a punishing pace. Centurion Lleufer and her partner brought the Koinos Colossus, Ensis, along. Its ground-eating stride made the ground shudder though oddly enough, they didn't leave as deep a footprint as Yuriko expected, considering the war machine was probably several MiJin heavy.
They jogged for half an hour along terrain that mostly sloped upwards. Braden and Orrin were panting even before the tenth minute, sweat dripping down their faces. She would have expected the miners to be tough but apparently, they weren't that used to running uphill either.
Yuriko fell back so that she ran beside one of the miners, a stocky woman chugging along expressionlessly. Her face was a mask of determination, hope, tinged with worry.
"We'll get them back," Yuriko said, trying to sound confident.
The woman looked at her blankly for a moment, flushed then looked down at her feet.
"Yes, I hope so, too." Her voice was unexpectedly delicate for such a tough-looking body.
"I'm Yuriko, from Faron's Crossing," she said softly.
"Jaina."
They kept up the pace, Yuriko looking worriedly at the twins, especially Braden, but they powered through the ordeal.
"This always happens," Jaina muttered.
"The Grunders?"
Jaina nodded. "Every year, when the Stonetoise hatchlings grow a year old, they either attack convoys of ore or the camps."
"Wait…those are hatchlings?" Yuriko yelped.
"Huh? Of course. The older ones would just burrow into the mountain and eat the common stones and earth. It's when they're in their growth phase that they want for stronger metals and ores."
"How big are the older ones then?" Yuriko gasped.
"Nobody knows. No one's seen Avos Zarek in decades."
"Oh."
"Do you mind me asking why kids like you three are here?"
"We're on our way to Rumiga City for the Academy elite trials."
"I see." She grew taciturn after that, answering any of Yuriko's questions with only a word or two.
The other miners running behind them looked away when she glanced at them, though she could feel their gazes on her when she focused on the front. They took pains to remain behind Yuriko's party, clumping up in the rear. Of course, the Colossus was at the very back.
Most of the trees on the slope were a mix of pine and oak, widely spaced enough that the Colossus could easily make its way between the individual trees. Master Antiga unhesitatingly led them around hills, ravines, and thickets.
'How did Master Antiga know where to go?' Yuriko wondered.
However she did it, less than an hour later, they were just a hundred paces away from the lair which turned out to be a crack on the mountainside. There were a couple of rocky mounds, which Yuriko assumed to be the Stonetoises retracted into their shells. Now that they were still, she could make out patches of green on the tops, and between ridges. She could see something wiggling in there every now and then.
"The cave isn't very deep, just twenty paces or so," Master informed them. "Stand ready."
She held out a palm and a ball of light coalesced above it. Yuriko could feel the ambient Chaos rushing into that light, slowly changing from its original yellow glow into a brilliant white.
Whoosh!
A puff of dust and dirt was all that was left from where she stood. The next moment, a brilliantly blinding flash of light came from the cavern entrance and the next thing they knew, roars and screeches filled the air. Grunders came out of the cave like ants from an anthill.
Antiga reappeared a dozen paces from the entrance. She signalled and Yuriko and the others ran, weapons raised, while the Stonetoises shook themselves out of their stupor.