By the time the sun rose at dawn, the caravan was less than a league from the camp. They were nearly four longstrides into the pine forest though, and they were on a narrow strip of road roughly six hundred paces long.
Yuriko and Marron's heavy hauler was at the rear, just ahead of the Colossi Carrier. The Chainbreaker Century was deployed at the wings of the five-pace wide road, each man and woman kept a steady eye to the sides, and every now and then, a squad would break off from the group, head between the trees and intercept swarmlings.
Yuriko strode towards the head of the road, leaving Veran and his troops as rearguard. A couple of earthmelders from the Builder Corp, distinguishable from the militia or the legionnaires by their brown overcoats with purple lining, were hard at work dismantling the road behind the hauler.
They crumbled the stone slabs, each an even pace along each side, that made up the path. Aside from the fact that it would have been impossible for the landcraft to go through virgin forest, their weight would have had them stuck in the dirt. The Builders were hard at work compressing the dirt and loose stone into slabs, which took a quarter of a minute to shape. Crumbling them took less time, but that would have just left a trail of shattered rocks behind the caravan. It still was an easy trail to follow but better than leaving a good road for the barbarians to use.
The caravan was stretched out in a line, which wasn't really the safest way they could go. But they were still too close to the camp. After a day, and two leagues later, the caravan would set up a temporary camp, while the Builders continued to build the temporary road toward the next campsite.
The plan was to leapfrog from campsite to campsite until they reached a pass along the Zarek Mountains. After they moved, the previous camp would be demolished and the road destroyed. From what Marron said, it would take all of half an hour for the landcrafters to cross a couple of leagues, but it would take at least eight hours to build the road. Then, roughly four hours to build defences for their campsite.
Marron chose to be in the scouting group, who marked the path that the Builders would follow. Yuriko had the choice to come with him or patrol the path and eliminate threats. She hadn't quite decided what she wanted to do, and none of the Centurions or the commander had told her which one she was to help with.
It felt a bit strange, but then again, 'I'm not in the hierarchy.' She was neither a legionnaire nor was she in the militia. She was a Knight equivalent but was also not registered as such. As far as the Empire was concerned, she was a truant youth. Well, at least until they reach civilisation and the commander submits Yuriko's status to Agminis.
"Yuri!" Gwendith called to her when Yuriko arrived at the halfway point.
"Oh, there you are."
"Trouble?"
"Not really," Yuriko shook her head, "but I'm worried that they'd send a raid against us while we're in transit."
"As long as we're out of reach," Gwendith said. Then, she stared at Yuriko for a long moment, "You should get rest. You've been up all night."
"Right, where would I sleep? The forward camp's not set up yet."
"Troop transport 5," Gwendith answered quickly. "That's where my…our gear's stored. I'll ask for a berth."
"I'm fine." Yuriko shook her head. "I can keep alert, at least until the camp's set up. Er, how long?"
"By midmorning, I think. After another longstride's distance."
"Then I'll keep watch until then."
"I'll go with you." Gwendtih looked back and nodded to Desire. "I mean, we'll go with you."
"If you want to," Yuriko said carelessly.
Yuriko moved away from the road and headed towards the rear. Northeast was the likely direction that the barbarian raiders would come from. The three of them moved deeper into the forest, roughly a couple of hundred paces from the caravan. She took care of any swarmlings that came close with her kinesis and shards of ice. Ah, Gwendith wiped out a couple of swarms.
The other girl flung icicle shards laden with Animus at the swarmlings, which easily cut through their paltry Protective Fields, and then their carapace and flesh. Afterwards, Gwendith enthusiastically took on more of the waves, wiping them out easily.
"It costs half as many lumens to use ice kinesis now," she murmured.
"Ah, the results of your Body Forging?"
Gwendith face flushed red. "Yeah."
"Why are you embarrassed?" Yuriko asked curiously.
Gwendith gave her a lidded stare. "After what you saw, you don't think that's cause for shame?"
Yuriko shrugged, "The same thing happened to me, so, I guess not. Oh, well it wasn't that drastic," she chuckled.
"Great," Gwendith muttered.
"Well, you won't be as soiled in the follow-ups," Yuriko assured her.
"What are you talking about?" Desire asked curiously. "Hmmm." She sniffed at Gwendith's hair, who swatted the other girl's hands.
"Leave me alone!"
"But you smell really nice all of a sudden." Desire murmured, then she glanced at Yuriko and sidled up to her. "But master still tastes the best."
"You took some of Gwendith's Animus?" Yuriko asked in surprise.
"A bit. I was running dry helping Jamira and the others along. Their bodies still haven't recovered to normal and the forced march isn't doing them any favours."
"Huh."
The rest of the patrol was much the same. Mostly swarmlings with the odd Wanderer and Hunter. The stealthy Hunters were taken down by the invisible Saki before they even got close to Yuriko and the other two. The only evidence her attendant left was the gutted bodies that had their shards pried out of their torsos.
This time, they harvested as much of the Chaos dust and Shards they could find. Most of it was fed to the Animus engine to keep it running even at its current configuration. That, in turn, provided the Earthmelders the extra lumens they needed to keep their abilities active. It took them four hours or so to create a longstride of road, and each one of them would use up hundreds of lumens of Animus in the process. Recovering by themselves would have taken quite a while, but with a steady supply of denatured Animus, the recovery process was cut to a fraction of time.
The caravan had settled into a temporary camp by the time they returned from their patrol. The transports were laid out in even rows and the areas were labelled for where each militia unit or legion century was to bunk down. Each transport was a central hub for supply, too. A short earthen berm surrounded the camp. It was only a couple of paces high, and there were no palisades. There was a ditch beyond the berm, however, half a pace deep.
Iron pots hung over braziers and ration bar stew bubbled inside, releasing a hefty aroma that made Yuriko's tummy gurgle. Yuriko looked for Transport 5 and headed there once she saw it. Her brother sat on the roof looking over the camp while Niamh cuddled up next to him. Both of them waved at her as the three of them arrived.
Saki materialised out of the meagre shadows and bowed, holding a tray with bowls of ration bar stew. "Young mistress."
Wondering how she got the bowls but too hungry to really care at the moment, Yuriko grabbed one and Gwendith took another just as quickly. Unfortunately, the stew only smelled nice and was nearly tasteless. Once she was done, she retrieved her bedroll from her backpack, crawled into the tent pitched right next to the transport and settled to sleep.
When she woke up, it was midafternoon. Desire was humming a haunting melody while crocheting…something. Was it a hat? The project was still in its early stages so Yuriko couldn't tell. Where did Desire get the needles and the yarn though?
Yuriko rubbed the gunk off the corner of her eyes and wiggled out of the bedroll. The four of them, Saki included, shared the same tent, though only the Chaos Lord was inside at the moment.
"Did you sleep well, master?" Desire asked when she noticed Yuriko's movement.
"Not bad." Yuriko saw the expectant look on the other's face and sighed. "You need more Animus?"
"Yes, master." Desire murmured as she crawled up to her, bringing her face, her lips close enough that Yuriko could easily feel her breath against her nose.
"Er…"
"Please?" Desire stared at her with pouty lips and pleading eyes.
"Oh, alright," Yuriko sighed, and before she could blink, Desire had locked her lips against hers and wormed her tongue in Yuriko's mouth. She suctioned Yuriko's Animus up, and though she knew she could stop the flow easily if she wanted to, she'd rather get this over with. Eh, why was Desire's tongue wrestling with hers? "Uh!" She protested, but then, the other girl smothered giggles and kept at it. A minute later, they separated with a gasp.
Desire looked suspiciously red, and Yuriko knew her face was aflame too. Not that… Ah, her third incarnation had relations with both men and women, so this wasn't so strange…
No, no! Bad Yuriko! What in the Abyss is she thinking? Her bound Chaos Lord needed to replenish her Chaos Well and this was the most efficient way…
At least the tent was closed and nobody else was inside…unless? A quickly flared Anima showed her that Saki wasn't inside. Although why didn't she want anyone else seeing? A nugget of shyness blossomed in her heart.
"Oh Ancestors," Yuriko muttered. She hadn't even brushed her teeth yet. From the look on Desire's face, it didn't look like the other girl minded anyway.
With her thoughts still whirling, Yuriko shook her head and changed into her traveller's clothing. Her previous set was already sequestered in her backpack, on the laundry cycle. It should be fit to wear in a few hours.
When she got out of the tent, she saw Gwendith practising the Four Phases a dozen paces away. Ice shards flew around her body and followed the movement of her side-blade. Once she completed the first stance of Flowing Water, she stopped and the icicles faded back into the air.
"Yuri! Slept well?" Gwendith called out.
"Alright," she answered, but her cheeks were still slightly flushed. Oh! She shouldn't be dawdling here, she needed to go look for Marron so they could scout. She waved goodbye to the other girl as she headed towards the command transport.
There, Decanus Dumont had set up a table and was neck-deep in paperwork. Every minute or so, a messenger crane either arrived or departed from the aide-de-camp. A couple of other Decani were waiting to talk to Dumont but the Fort Commander wasn't anywhere in sight.
When Yuriko approached, Dumont glanced up and gestured to the others to make way.
"Knight Yuriko Davar. Thank you for your hard work. May I assume that you're here to see where you'd be of help?"
"Well, no, I'm looking for Marron. We're supposed to scout out the way ahead."
"Ah, of course. Knight Davar had already left for his scouting mission a couple of hours ago."
"Hmph!" Yuriko snorted in annoyance. "He didn't wait for me!"
"Ah, he left a message. He said that since you were sleeping so soundly, he decided you needed the rest more than anything else. Er, he suggested that you take the watch until midnight, and the two of you can scout the next leg of the journey tomorrow," Dumont recited.
"I see. Thank you," Yuriko answered. She spun on her heels and went to look for dinner. If she was going on watch tonight, she might as well eat now.
Later, she climbed up a tall pine tree that took her above the general forest canopy. The winds were strong and made her perch sway alarmingly, but she attached her Anima directly to the tree. Even if it bent halfway to the ground, she wouldn't fall off.
Southwest, the Builder Corp was already at work on the road. The one they came from was nothing but rubble now. Throughout the night, she shot down more of the Wyldlings. Swarmlings weren't nocturnal so the ones she saw were mostly Wanderers and Hunters. By keeping her Chaos Sight active, she could actually see the sneaky Hunters from the swirling of their Chaos.
The next morning she found Marron and Niamh eating breakfast at the next transport hub. Yuriko marched over and punched him on the shoulder.
"That's for leaving me behind!" she sniffed.
"Owie!" he groaned. "But you looked so cute when you were asleep!" Then, in an undertone that was nevertheless quite audible, "Not like how you are now."
Yuriko's eyes twitched. "Want me to pinch you?" she asked threateningly.
"Alright, sorry!" Marron chuckled. "But you are coming with me today, aren't you? We've already plotted the next campsite five leagues away. We just need to escort the builders…"
Krakoom!
Thunder and lightning. The skies were overcast a while ago, but those storm clouds were new!
Flashes of lightning lit up the eastern skies, and the air turned grey with falling snow.