Siege State

Over the next few days, Rea’s cave became a hive of industry.

Val and some of the more experienced Hunters organised everyone into groups. They had just under seventy people total, and hoped to eventually link up with any other Hunters left in the Deep after the Lord’s betrayal. They were tenacious by nature; there were bound to be some still alive.

For the moment, they organised everyone into eight groups of eight. Each team of eight would include at least two Hunters. Those teams of eight would then split into squads of four and operate semi-independently. Val and the experienced Hunters believed it would give them the greatest amount of tactical flexibility.

Some were not counted among those organised. Scriber, Cub, and his mother would be staying at the central cave base for the foreseeable future, it being the best positioned of the three. From there, they would make enchantments and weapons for them, and his mother would be on hand for any emergency healing.

They conducted an impromptu census of everyone’s Ideals, and found another couple of gems among them. Two others would also base themselves at Rea’s cave: a merchant who had been captured off the trade roads, and a soldier who had been captured from Tom’s unit during the Reaping.

The merchant had the Ideal of Trade, and one of their skills allowed for long distance communication with contacts they’d met. Each team of eight would have a Hunter in charge, and via the merchant, they’d coordinate with the other teams. The next time they met with Watchman Glass, they would take her along with them, and set up communication with her too. If time permitted, hopefully they could even establish contact directly with General Steel.

The soldier had a similar story to Erin, the captured student with Shadow. The soldier had been pursued by the orcs for weeks, and had managed to evade them by virtue of manifesting Hiding. Eventually, they had slipped up, and been taken to the orc camp. After several weeks there, they had manifested a second Ideal: Building. Apparently, they had been so stunned by the orcs building structures it had triggered some kind of epiphany. Cruelly, the orcs had then copied it, and used it to refine their own abilities.

The soldier was ashamed of having manifested Hiding, and was determined to help in any way he could. Scriber and Cub had practically gone into conniptions when they’d found out about his Ideals. They both immediately vetoed the man becoming a part of one of the squads, and requisitioned him to help with their own projects. They planned to use his Ideal to expand Rea’s cave, and use his mana from Hiding for better enchantments to conceal it. Eventually, they hoped to be able to base everyone from the same location.

Tom and Rosa were assigned to Val’s eight, but she assigned them to the other squad of four in it to herself. She would not say why exactly, but Tom soon figured it out.

The two others in their group of four were Errol, the gentle, quiet Hunter, and Cass, another soldier who’d been in Tom’s unit.

Errol had Wood, Regret and the Forest as his fall. Several of his skills were exceedingly useful for strengthening a team, and he even had a skill for a regeneration burst. Tom understood Val was trying to keep him as safe as possible, but he wished she had assigned the man to her own squad. She could output a huge amount of damage, but she had no direct defensive skills of her own.

She would not be talked down from the decision though, unfortunately. Tom consoled himself with the fact that the two squads would be working closely on operations. Errol’s regeneration would be close at hand if needed.

The last member of their four-man squad was Cass. She had manifested Injuries and Killing, and refused to talk about how she had come by them. Tom felt a resonance, a kinship, or sorts, with her. He would bet his life that she had manifested them due to being thrust into tragic circumstances, not because she was a born killer. Perhaps it was something in her eyes, or something in the set of her shoulders, but he knew it. He resolved to try and help her come to terms with her Ideals, if he could.

Cass had stayed with them out in the Deep for the simple fact that she didn’t believe she would have been allowed to stay in Wayrest, given her new Ideals. Depending on how strong the Lord’s grasp on Wayrest was exactly, that might no longer be true any more though. For any of them.

The idea percolated in his mind. Would he want to return to Wayrest? He couldn’t now, not with the Lord ruling, nominally, at least. He had already tried to have him and Val killed once, and he didn’t believe for a moment that he wouldn’t again.

He was more good to the city out here, anyway, using his newfound skills as a Hunter to harry the orcs. But in the future? If the situation were resolved? The answer surprised him.

No. He would not return. One way or the other, when all this was taken care of, he would not simply settle back into civilian life. He couldn’t. The thrill of adventure, of pushing himself, seeing new places, exploring, and striving to improve, was too great. He couldn’t give it up.

It left him in an awkward spot. He didn’t know what he would do. He didn’t want to stay, but he didn’t want to leave Rosa, or Val, for that matter, either. He thought that both of them would probably rather stay close to home.

He put the thoughts aside for the moment. They had plenty of work in front of them before such things would even be a consideration. And they were about to get started.

The wider group split the next day, two teams of eight splitting off and heading to the other bases, and four remaining at the cave. Rea was free with the essences she had gathered over the years, and many of those who had lost familiars were able to resummon them.

Those left at the cave spent their time discussing team tactics, repairing gear, resupplying, and for some, simply trying to recover as much as possible from their captivity before heading out again.

Errol would be taking leadership of their squad, being the most experienced Hunter. As they sat together, discussing their tactics and skills, familiarising and acquainting themselves with each other, it became obvious that he was not a natural leader.

Errol was around sixty. He was not a tall man, but very broad, and even after his captivity, was not as wretched as some. It spoke of the vigorous good health he must have had before it. He was gentle, and quiet, and reserved, and often seemed to drift away with the winds, lost in thought. He gave the impression of being a little simple, although something told Tom that it was not the case. Either way, he was definitely not decisive, or charismatic, by nature, preferring to let them speak, and only chipping in when directly addressed.

The dynamic that began to form was one of almost mutual leadership. Cass was cagey, aggressive and sullen in turns, but she also had a sharp mind. Her and Rosa sniped at each other, and Tom did his best to mediate, though there didn’t seem to be any real teeth in it. In fact, they seemed to be building a budding respect for one another.

Their squad followed one of the classic small unit compositions they’d studied in the Academy. True Healers were a rarity, and it was only lucky teams this small that could rely on having one. Other compositions were more common, and theirs was a classic.

Two frontliners and two backliners, a tried and true team structure. Errol’s skillset was that of a classic tank, stacked towards defensive skills and buffs, but with a focus on teamwide buffs. He also had the regeneration burst for healing in a pinch.

Tom would make up the other half of the frontline. He would fill the role of their off-tank, though focused on utility as opposed to healing or cleansing effects, as was generally considered to be ideal for the role. His resistance to damage was excellent, and he also had good crowd control via his familiars, but his most crucial contribution would be Hush. The ability to shut down orc Idealists for a time would make their excursions drastically less dangerous.

Rosa’s skillset was heavily weighted towards damage and crowd control, but even her damage skills were focused on multiple enemies. It would be a boon to them, to be able to kill large amounts of orcs quickly, but they also needed to be able to kill single enemies fast as well.

It was the role Val usually filled. Tom recognised the value of it intimately. He was certain that many of their fights would have gone completely differently if it weren’t for Love you to Death’s and Spite’s ability to neutralise almost any singular enemy they came across quickly. For that matter, Scorn could also output a staggering amount of damage.

That was where Cass came in. Her skills from Killing and Injuries were perfectly suited to single-target damage. Any high priority targets, like Idealist orcs, or pack leaders, would be hers to deal with. She would also be good for picking off any enemies that worked themselves into a particularly threatening position.

It would be Tom and Errol’s job to draw attention from their enemies, keeping them away from Rosa and Cass and allowing them to blast away at their enemies unimpeded. Rosa and Cass, in turn, would ensure Errol and Tom weren’t overwhelmed.

Tom had high hopes for their squad. They all had plenty of experience fighting, with Errol and Tom being Hunters, Rosa being a Guard, and Cass having been a soldier. There should be no issues with anyone freezing up, and they should all get used to working with each other quickly. Each of them were determined to take the fight to the orcs.

The only potential for ruin was the tier of their respective Ideals. Tom, Rosa and Cass, were all at Complete. Errol was approaching Flawless, his entire fall currently sitting at Supreme. Many of his skills had already ticked over to the top tier.

The lopsidedness was a slight concern, but overall, shouldn’t make too much of a difference. There were not a great deal of high tier Ideals to go around, each squad of four generally only having one person at least at Exemplary.

Once they had discussed tactics amongst themselves for a while, Val brought their eight man team together to talk. Val’s squad, the other half of their eight man team, was a little more eclectic.

She had a merchant’s guard with her, a man with Fighting and Bluntness, not an unusual combination for a man in his trade. He would be in their frontline, operating as a brawler. He was weather worn and rough looking, and had apparently travelled widely before being taken captive. He seemed to go where life took him, and simply thought of this as a continuation of his last contract.

They had a timid looking young woman, a student from Tom’s unit in the Reaping, who’d manifested Inertia when trying to stop an orc hunting pack from capturing her, and later, Defense when she’d desperately tried to stop them forging her. Finally, she had gained Hope during their rescue. She had a variety of useful skills for crowd control, but her true power lay in pure tenaciousness. She was determined to ensure the orcs hurt no one else.

The last member of their squad was a merchant, a Rust Sands trader who’d been coming to sell off a load of enchanting iron. The first of his two Ideals was Exploration. He had two familiars from it, an eagle and a dog, which he would use to help them scout. His second Ideal was Walls. He had apparently manifested it upon seeing Wayrest for the first time, over a decade ago. He had a cycle skill for it, and could conjure several different types of walls from nothing at a decent range. He would act as a defensive backliner for them.

As four man squads, they were each fairly well balanced, and as an eight man team, they had plenty of redundancies.

Val and Errol, and the leaders of every other squad, got together to discuss their first operations. The rest of them continued to prepare.

Tom and Rosa helped Scriber and Cub set up their stations at the back of the cave. As they worked, a fire slowly burned inside him.

They had a team. They were ready.

They would finally take the fight to the orcs.