The next day, Lukas got ready in a swift manner. He had a long week ahead of him. He was now the designated head of operations until Skyla recovered.
Such a responsibility didn't sit well with Lukas. But, if he was needed, he would try his hardest to live up to his position and expectations. After all, is that not what being a part of the Fortissimo is about? A single piece is weak, but the cohesive whole is powerful.
It may not have been why Lukas joined, but it was true nonetheless. Even if he wanted a selfish goal, that of avenging his family by killing the ghast that killed them. He would still need to become stronger, much stronger, and he would need experience. So he was going to fill his role with all of the knowledge and skill he had gained throughout his journey so far.
After he was ready, he woke Oak up. He wanted to work with him for the next coming days. They were on much more even footing in terms of strength. Oak was also the closest connection he had within the Fortissimo, other than potentially Bene.
As Lukas waited for Oak to get ready, he planned out a route for them to take. They would splinter out and cross paths as they covered a large swath of the forest directly north of Mistfell.
Over the week, they would continue to search the woodlands, circling clockwise around it in the same pattern. If they encountered a ghast, the plan was to quickly blow the whistle twice. Once they regrouped, they would fight it together, turning the fight into a two-against-one in their favour.
This was a simple plan that allowed for slight deviance where needed. But it still covered the wide-angled scope of what they needed to plan for. That being: Where they would go, how they would traverse it, if they found a ghast, and how to do it all without wasting time.
It wasn't a perfect plan by any means. Lukas was no tactician, but he had a good grasp of the area and was able to make, at the very least, simple yet well-thought plans.
He devised similar plans for the rest of Skyla's subdivision. He did not know any of them personally, but he understood their fundamental strengths and weaknesses. From the brief overview listed in the folder given to him by Skyla.
When he was done, he laid out all of the plans he made throughout the station's ground floor. He didn't have the time to tell each member what their plan was.
Finally, Oak was ready. So they departed just as the sun began to rise. But when they left, Lukas suddenly remembered something he had forgotten about.
Kai.
Kai was lying by the river, still staring across at the tree line. He hadn't moved a centimetre since the night prior. He was fixated on something beyond him or Lukas, at least it seemed that way. But looking at Kai caused him to remember he forgot to make a plan for Kai.
He didn't have the time to make one now, so he would make one tomorrow. For now, he simply hoped that Kai wouldn't do anything reckless.
The two of them rushed off into the northern forest east of the river. Splitting off once they could no longer see Mistfell. Lukas went to the east, deeper into the forest. Oak went west, towards the river.
They covered their ground perfectly. Each crossing of their paths gave them a chance to quickly share their findings through short coded phrases. Throughout, nothing of note was found. No ghasts, missing people, or signs of destruction, nothing.
Come the end of the day, they returned to Mistfell empty-handed. The night crew departed and Lukas went inside the station to continue altering his plans. He had already spent a week in Mistfell, and it had been the most hectic, chaotic week of his life.
But that chaos didn't slow him down or hinder his progress. If anything it had launched him forward like a slingshot. Accelerating him further than he had gone before.
Twice he had his limit in combat. But after those two fights, he felt like his limit was much, much higher now. He didn't want to risk a pointless fight to test his guess, nor did he want to waste time sparing with something either.
He would just have to wait until something happened. Not that he wanted anything to happen, if anything he hoped nothing would happen. So that anything that went wrong wouldn't be placed on his shoulders.
Unfortunately for him, something did happen that night. A whistle screeched over Mistfell, the night watch had found something.