Yuriko kept her Animus circulating inside her body as she strolled over the branches. Minute muscle movements prompted by it made sure her balance never wavered and she was always ready to spring into action.

 

Much like Recovery, the next technique in the Strengthen Physique set no longer worked. The feeling of wrongness was so pervasive that it made her physically ill. The previous night, when she activated her Facet before she slept, the golden silhouette had shown her a new pattern that built off the Gold Recovery technique and served to replace the Boost portion of the original technique set.

 

Not that she had practised Boost much; he technique drained her reserves too quickly in exchange for increasing just one aspect of her skills. The new version modestly enhanced her physique, her strength, balance, speed, even her visual acuity as long as she circulated her Animus in the proper pattern. The advantage was that it ate up only a little bit of her reserves , just like Golden Recovery.

 

“Wait up,” Heron said from behind her. A glance showed that he was still making his way slowly on another branch. He gingerly stepped across, growing pale when the branch settled under his weight and the breeze made it sway.

 

Yuriko automatically shifted her weight when the branch moved under her feet, and to Heron, she probably looked like she was part of the tree, swaying with the leaves but ultimately unmoving. 

 

She walked up to him while he struggled to regain his balance and held out a hand. He took it gratefully, and a few moments later, he steadied himself.

 

“I don’t think this will work,” Heron muttered.

 

Yuriko was inclined to agree, but since they were here anyway, they might as well see what the situation was like. 

 

“Maybe you should head back?”

 

“No, you shouldn’t venture alone. What would happen if you get into an accident or get into a fight?”

 

“I suppose you’re right.” 

 

“I know I am,” Heron grinned. Yuriko rolled her eyes.

 

“Well, try to keep up,” she said playfully, “or I really would have to leave you behind. Your clumsiness may cause us more trouble.”

“Right, right, I’ll just be here to be your back up, in case you do run into trouble.”

“Much appreciated.”

 

She strolled to the trunk, Heron holding her hand for balance the entire time. When she tried to let him go, his grip tightened and he trembled, so she just let it be. From the trunk, they moved to another branch a bit lower than the one they were on and moved to the extremities, stepping over to a neighbouring tree’s branch and repeating the process. 

 

Her eyes were aglow with her Animus, focused this time on taking in as much of the moonlight as possible to increase her night vision. Then, she carefully plotted their route. They had to backtrack a couple of times already when they came upon a ‘dead-end’ where the branches were too thin, or if a neighbouring branch was either too far or too weak to support their weight. And, since Heron insisted on holding on to her, she had to account for their combined weight too.

 

About half an hour later, they finally reached the area where the swarmlings were nesting. The leaves and branches under them covered Yuriko’s vision so she left Heron at the higher elevation and climbed down on a particularly thick vine, to the lowest branch that gave her an unimpeded view of the swarmlings. 

 

As she had observed earlier, the swarmlings were settling down for the night. Most of them had dug a small hollow into the ground and when they settled over it, they looked like nothing more than giant molehills. 

 

They covered the forest floor as far as she could see. Yuriko sighed in disappointment. There would be no easy way for them to get past the swarmlings, considering there were so many of them. Even using the arboreal highway would be risky. If they drew the swarmlings’ attention, they would be trapped in the middle of an angry horde.

 

Yuriko headed back to the trunk and prepared herself to climb. They had wasted some time, but she had ascertained that trying to go through the horde was futile. They would have to find a different path. 

 

The vine she grabbed to pull herself up bucked in her grasp. She felt a shiver down her back warning her of danger. The Animus circulating inside her nudged her back just in time to avoid the vine, no, the snake from wrapping her up in its coils. 

 

The serpent was mottled brown and green, the pattern reminiscent of bark and leaves. Its head moved into sight while Yuriko backed up, her hands flying to her sword hilts. 

 

A crimson tongue darted out of a head that was nearly ten inches long. The serpent's girth was actually thick enough that she would need both hands to grab hold of it. 

 

"Easy…" she said soothingly. Yuriko didn't draw her weapons and gestured placatingly instead. The serpent's dark eyes followed her hand movements while tasting the air. 

 

"I'm sorry for disturbing you." 

 

The serpent's head bobbed in time with her hands and it drew back, to strike or to retreat, she couldn’t quite say. It stared at her eyes now, the golden glow reflected on the snake's pupils.

 

"Let us go in peace."

 

 For a moment she thought that they wouldn't have to fight, but that moment was shattered.

 

"Yuri!" came Heron's frightened voice.

 

The serpent jolted, shook its head, and hissed. She could see hostility and anger, and a little bit of fear in its eyes as it reared up.

 

"Ancestors!" Yuriko growled as the snake struck, mouth agape revealing a plethora of little sharp teeth meant to grip its prey.

 

She leapt back, avoiding the strike. Her boots skidded on the bark, nearly throwing off her balance. She drew a blade just in time to deflect the serpent's follow up strike, swatting its cheek with the flat of the blade.

 

That seemed to stun the creature and it drew its head back. She remained standing with her knees bent, right side forward with the side-blade between herself and her assailant. 

 

The snake struck again at the same time Yuriko swatted with her weapon, catching the creature on the other cheek. 

 

It seemed that it had had enough of her as it slithered away after that blow. 

 

Panting in exertion, she sheathed her weapon and glared up at Heron who gave a relieved sigh.

 

Alas, their battle had not gone unnoticed. 

 

Shaaa!

 

A glance to the forest floor showed her that several swarmlings, maybe a couple dozen of them, had awakened. They were milling about around the trees and here she realized why none of the swarmlings climbed the trees. 

 

The way their heads were built made it extremely hard for them to look straight up. There were ridges over their eyes that served to shade them from the sun also impeded their vision. They would have to rear back on their hind legs to so they could see upward. 

 

Which wasn't to say that they didn't notice Yuriko's little fight. Or maybe it was Heron's yelling they noticed. Either way, a couple of them had reared back and we're now staring up at her.

 

"Chaos." 

 

The swarmlings howled and started to crawl up the trunk. Their sharp claws proved more than enough to give them purchase on the slippery bark. 

 

Yuriko didn't wait. She shimmied up the trunk, trying to get out of sight before more of the critters saw her. 

 

She glared fiercely at Heron who was gaping wordlessly at the sight.  She reached his branch by the time the swarmlings reached the lower one. 

 

"Run and for the love of our Ancestors, keep your mouth shut!"

 

Grabbing a hold of Heron's hand, she practically dragged him across the branch and leapt over to the next tree. Her Animus circulated faster within her, giving her a much-needed strength and stability boost.

 

The trouble was that she only vaguely remembered the paths they took. If they were leisurely walking, she would have figured it out, but as things were, she was just taking the nearest and most stable branches they came upon. 

 

Hss!

 

The first swarmling had climbed up to their level just a tree behind them and it ran down the branch, gouging out wooden chips and sending them spraying back. It seemed confused when it reached the gap between the branches, but it didn’t take it long to figure it out. It stepped across the branch and was running straight at them when Yuriko and Heron moved around the trunk.

 

She could see a half dozen of the critters on the branches which dipped with their combined weight. The swarmlings were relentless, but only those that actually caught sight of her and maintained their line of sight continued chasing them. 

 

Her eyes danced as she looked for a suitable place to confront them and, finding one, dragged Heron across a couple of trees until they reached the branch where they could make their stand. Heron’s hand squeezed hers before he let go and drew his short spear. 

 

Rolling her eyes, Yuriko pulled him close and spun them around so that she would be closer to the trunk when the first one the swarmlings attacked. 

 

“But…”

 

“Shh!”

 

Heron's face was red when she glanced back and she shooed him further away from the trunk. Then she set her stance, both blades held akimbo, and her Animus covering the edges. 

 

The first swarmling leapt from the branch it was on to Yuriko and Heron’s branch. At mid-leap, Yuriko leaned forward with a slash, cutting the critter’s lead arm. Its blue blood spurted out, as it struggled to find purchase on the branch. A second slash took its head off.

 

From another angle, a second swarmling lunged, and just as Yuriko turned to strike, a translucent hexagon of hard air materialized in its flight path, knocking it off the air. The branch shuddered with the impact. A glance back showed Heron kneeling with his left hand on the wood.

 

The rest of the fight was resolved just as quickly. The swarmlings just kept rushing at them mindlessly and there were only a dozen of them that made their way up the trees. In short order, Yuriko slashed, stabbed, and kicked them to their demise. Well, except for the one she kicked; it bounced against more branches on its way down which may have broken its fall. Heron claimed an equal number of kills, mostly by stabbing them in the face.

 

Breathing lightly, Yuriko shook the blood off her blades. She was grateful that she remembered to put up a light Field over her head to prevent the blood from splattering on her face and hair, but her hands were pretty stained with blue. 

 

“Where to?” Heron asked wearily. 

 

She looked around, but couldn’t remember the way back. The chase had turned her around.

 

“I’m not sure.”

 

“Chaos,” Heron whispered. It had been a long day for the entire team. Yuriko’s reserves were getting low. While the sword dances allowed her to conserve her Animus during a battle, it would still be used up after a while. The Boost, Recovery, and Sword Dance had left her with about an eighth of her reserves. Heron must have been pushing towards empty. 

 

A flash of blue and red off in the distance caught her eyes. She focused in that direction and saw Krystal staring at them from about five trees away. 

 

“You see them?” she asked Heron, who looked in the direction she was looking and nodded. 

 

Seeing no other swarmlings after them, the two slowly made their way back to that tree, climbing up and down as needed. 

 

“What happened?” Krystal asked when they came within easy earshot. 

 

“That’s honestly what I want to know too,” Heron said. “Suddenly, Yuriko just came climbing back up with swarmlings on her heels.”

 

“I tried to climb up a snake and when it protested, I had to fend it off. It caught the attention of some swarmlings so I hurried back before more woke up.”

 

All four of them blinked in surprise but collectively shrugged. 

 

“What did you see?” Mikel asked. 

 

Krystal had seemingly used up all her courage as she went back to hugging the branch. 

 

“Let’s get down and look for a safer place to camp first,” Yuriko said.

 

“Finally!” Krystal grumbled. 

 

Yuriko tied some rope around Krystal and they spent some time coaxing her down. She squeaked whenever she opened her eyes and saw how far up they were and, when she made landfall, she went on her knees and kissed the grass. 

 

Despite her antics, Krystal led the team to a secluded nook where they made a hasty camp and dined on dry rations and water. 

 

“There are more swarmlings than I expected,” Yuriko said while they ate. “We need to find a way around them if we hope to get back to the outpost.”

 

Krystal nodded. “Let’s get some rest first. We need all our strength to live.” 

 

After they were done, Yuriko volunteered for the first watch, as she sat at her vantage point, she had nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. Try as she might, she couldn’t help but think that the number of swarmlings away from the Watchtower brought with them grim tidings. Her thoughts skirted around the possibilities, but she couldn’t deny it: maybe the outpost was no longer there. Maybe the Watchtower had fallen. Her family was in danger on three fronts and she was stuck here in the woods. 

 

Tears welled up in her eyes and she let them trail down her cheeks. 

 

A warm hand grasped her shoulder. Heron sat beside her, his face troubled. The darkness hid her tears, she hoped, but she wiped at her eyes anyway.

 

“Can’t sleep?” she asked hoarsely.

 

“No,” he answered simply. He sat with her in silence until it was time to change the watch and she let sleep claim her as soon as her head hit her pillows.

---

We're now gearing up to polish Book 2 for release! (Book 2, goodness.)

For those who would like to do advanced chapter reading, early releases are available on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/lesterandrosayong), including a few notes here and there. Between this and our other offline tasks, we're gearing up to put together extras for our patrons.

Cheers!
Lester and Rosa