Moonlight filtered through the canopy as Nadia made her way upwards, the claws of her Bone Stalker Armour giving her easy purchase on the trunk of a massive tree. She’d cast her hood back, her dark hair streaming in the wind as four green eyes glared into the night.

The Mask of Guile rested on her face, like threads of black metal that wove directly into her skin. She found a perch to brace herself, and drew her Wavecaster in its bow form. Drawing back on the string, indigo light collected, forming itself into an arrow as she waited patiently to spot her prey.

UhnyaAII~!

The cry of a primate rang through the night air, taunting her as she saw a dark blur fly towards her flank. She turned quickly, loosing the arrow, striking the Dark Howler in the shoulder.

“AYAI OOHuh OOHuh OOHuh~!” The ape cried out in pain as the arrow released a pulse of destructive energy through its body, causing it to stumble. Nadia drew another arrow, ready to fire as she stared down her foe.

The ape glared at her, its eyes furious as they locked with hers while it gathered itself for another attack.

Thunk~!

The arrow buried itself in the ape’s chest, ending its struggle without it even realising.

Sorry big guy. You or me. Nadia directed her thoughts towards her fallen opponent. As she was about to approach the body, she received a notice from Felix.

Felix recommends switching forms, Host. Hunter’s Robes optimal.

Huh? Why? Nadia wondered.

Host lacks materials to enhance Mask of Guile. Advancement of Hunter’s Robes is more efficient.

Wait, what? You mean I’ll need to collect materials to advance the Attachments? The Ironclaws too? Nadia switched to the Hunter’s Robes as Felix suggested and approached the corpse, feeling a flood of Essence rush into her, filling her body with warmth and energy.

Also, can’t you just direct the Essence to the Hunter’s Robes without me needing to switch to them?

Affirmative. Must collect materials of complementary natures to enhance Attachments.

Host’s request is… possible? Possible. Felix can channel Essence to alternate forms, at Host’s request.

Alright. Let’s follow your suggestion for now, Felix, and use the Essence for the Hunter’s Robes.

Nadia switched back to her Bone Stalker Armour, drawing her hood up once more as she made her way back to camp. It wasn’t until she was almost in view of the low burning fire that she remembered she was still wearing the Mask of Guile, allowing it to melt back into her armour.

“A lone Dark Howler, nothing too troublesome.” She answered Jake’s and Rodney’s questioning looks. Helps to actually know the names of the wildlife. She thought to herself with a chuckle, her mind drifting back to the books she’d looted from the tower.

With little more to say, she picked herself a tree for the night, setting out her Deployable Habitat high up in the branches. Unlike the mundane survival shelter/pack she’d used previously, the habitat offered furniture with its comfortable interior. The space wasn’t large by any means, but it felt good to be able to sit at a table reading, and to sleep in a bed when her watch finished.

Doesn’t hurt that it packs up with a thought as well.

While down below people were bedding down for the night, Nadia pulled a book from the Internal Storage and began reading about the history of the alien world she’d found herself on, that she had now learnt was called Ariad.

~

Overnight, rain clouds had filled the sky as far as the eye could see, much to the chagrin of those camping at ground level. The camp had become a sodden mess as the rain fell unabated. Up in her tree, Nadia was luxuriating in the comfort of her bed, the soft mattress and blankets wrapping her in a cocoon of relaxing warmth, listening to the patter of rain on the habitat’s exterior while everyone else suffered in damp misery.

Felix, you’ve really outdone yourself with this habitat. Armour and weapons are useful and necessary, but nothing beats a comfortable bed to sleep in! She directed her thoughts towards her companion.

Felix questions Host’s reasoning. Assertion dubious.

You just don’t understand how good this feels, Felix! She retorted. Not everything is a fight for survival or a means to more power. The first ones to break under stress are those unable to relax when they need to, and the first ones to lose their way are those unable to take pleasure in life’s smaller comforts.

Felix will… take Host’s words under advisement.

Nadia chuckled to herself as she rose from the bed, the Bone Stalker Armour covering her in an instant as she made her way outside. The habitat melted away, once again taking the form of her pack as she descended the tree to join the rest of the team.

As she approached, Jake scowled in her direction, a feeling of resentment radiating off the man. “You seem well rested and dry. Must be nice.” He grumbled to her. “Very. Best sleep I’ve had in ages, really.” She replied with a smirk. Jake walked away, still scowling and grumbling, unwilling to look at her smug face.

The group began moving once more, breaths escaping as mist in the morning chill while cold rain continued to fall. Nadia’s survey drone was slowed down by the weather, but otherwise mostly unaffected allowing her to maintain a good awareness of the surrounding areas despite the circumstances.

Over several hours, they grew closer to the site of the Convergence that Frederick wished to investigate, and it seemed that the number of nearby threats also rose as time went on. Their journey led them to a lone mountain, a jagged and shattered peak piercing the sky within the depths of the Wildlands.

They made their way up the steep and broken slopes, with the rain steadily growing stronger as time passed. Eventually, they came up to a rocky cliff, nearly 80m high when they were forced to halt.

“We’ll have to stop here, for now.” Said Jake, facing the cliff. “Unless you want to double back and find another route?” Frederick looked up at the cliff concernedly before shaking his head. “I was told I would have to find a way up the mountain to reach it,” Frederick replied. “Beyond the details of the site itself, I’m unfamiliar with the area.”

The wind had picked up as they’d made their way higher, and now people were shouting to one another to be heard over the gale.

“I can scale the cliff and search for a route while you guys take shelter in a cave or something.” Nadia suggested to Jake. “If it gets too dangerous, I’ll set up camp and make my way back once the storm clears.”

The large man’s expression grew complicated, and he gave her a questioning look without answering straight away.

“It’s better I scout alone anyway. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re not the only things moving around on this mountain.” She added quietly, subtly gesturing overhead. “You definitely need to find a cave. Deeper would be better.”

“Shit.” Said Jake. “Do I want to know?” Nadia shrugged in response. “I’m pretty sure its harpies. Didn’t see any rooks, though, so we might get lucky and not have to worry about pissing off a Banshee’s court.”

“Fuck!” Jake spun on his heel and moved with purpose towards the rest of his crew, sending Jonas and Georgie dashing off in search of a cave that they could bunker down in before returning to Nadia. “Alright. Do what you can to find us a path that keeps us away from their roost, if there is one. I’d like to still be sane by the end of this.” He said grimly.

Nadia made her way towards the cliff, leaving the group behind while Jake began discussing the situation with Frederick, whose face shifted from being pale due to cold, to being pale due to mortal terror.

~

Scaling the cliff was made easy thanks to her armour’s claws, despite the wind and rain, and Nadia soon found herself within a steeply sloped ravine that led towards the craggy peak of the mountain. Doing her best to remain out of sight from overhead, she made her way up the ravine, but was forced to halt when she received an alert from her survey drone overhead.

Winds were picking up overhead, and it had gotten quite difficult for the survey drone to maintain altitude in current conditions, forcing her to recall it if she didn’t want to see it lost. Unfortunately, as the drone descended, it picked up a pursuer. A sharp cry carried on the wind as a large bird with dark plumage shot through the air like a missile.

In the wake of its cry, wind gathered, forming a spiralling jet of air pressure that pushed the large predator to incredible speeds in its pursuit.

Damn. Nadia thought as she spotted her drone’s pursuer. Without wasting time, she drew the Wavecaster in its rifle form, lining up a shot through the telescopic sight. Relaxing her muscles, Nadia let out a breath as she gently squeezed the trigger, sending a bolt of indigo light across the mountain to strike the bird.

KIIYAAH~!

A screech of fury rose from what Nadia was now identifying as a Grey Aquila, a large bird of prey capable of manipulating air currents as means of both attack and defence. Along with the cry, a wave of high pressure air pushed forward, attempting to disrupt the drone’s flight while Nadia readied a second shot.

The Wavecaster surged, another bolt of energy lancing out to strike the Aquila. Nadia’s shot connected with the bird’s shoulder, disrupting its flight and sending it into a steep spin. Her eyes remained sharp, tracking the bird in preparation for another shot as it drew lower.

Suddenly, there was a shift in pressure, altering the Aquila’s trajectory from a fall, with the bird now rocketing towards her like a missile, ignoring the drone. Somehow… I don’t think another shot is going to do it. Nadia thought to herself as it cut the distance between them in half.

Heavy Battle Suit. Ironclaw Brawlers. Nadia triggered the switch without delay, her stance already set as she readied herself to punch forward. Nadia watched as what grass and leaves there were within the ravine were pressed flat to the ground by the oncoming pressure wave brought by the bird’s approach. Now.

Nadia swung her gauntlet forward with all the strength she could muster, stepping into the punch with as much weight as possible.

The wavefront of high pressure air swept past her, and there, approaching like an avenging god was the Aquila. Its 4m wings were tucked as tightly to its body as it was able, though it bore a wound on one shoulder, and its large, vicious talons were raked forward as it prepared to strike. In its eyes, all she could see was pride and rage, the creature clearly furious that she had dared attack it.

Crunch~!

Despite its efforts, the Aquila crumpled when met with the mechanical fist, bones shattering on impact. It struck Nadia with so much force that despite having the additional weight and powered assistance of the Heavy Battle Suit, as well as the additional Physique granted by the Ironclaw Brawlers she was still knocked onto her back in the collision.

Are you even a freaking bird if you can hit that hard? She wondered, rolling her shoulder to try and soothe the ache that followed the impact.

As the essence flooded into her body from the fallen Aquila, Nadia continued to lie on the ground, taking the moment to rest.

Level up: Hunter’s Robes is now Lv2.
+1 Perception

Niraada

Hey guys, it's time for another one! Some bad weather and angry avians are just what you need when you're exploring in the wild, right? We're also starting to see Felix becoming a bit more talkative, now that Nadia's had a chance to collect some more Essence. Heck, he even dropped a bit of a spoiler in there for everyone.

It's late Monday night for me now, and I'm going to aim to have another chapter for you guys by Friday. I hope you're all enjoying the story, and if you are don't forget to leave a comment and rating! Really helps with the motivation.