The Rift Hunter repeated the question. “Well, what went wrong?”
They shared glances before Valanor finally spoke. “Let’s get the wagon and mounts, then set up camp. There’s plenty of time to discuss our…performance.”
Sav rolled his eyes, but didn’t argue. Ethan only stayed long enough to loot the monsters he could find, before following the group over the hill and back to where they’d left the wagon. The oxsteeds were still safe, thankfully, enclosed in a relatively spacious square of earthen walls conjured by Savilar. He dismissed them, and the group made their slow way back to the battle site.
They chose the opposite side from where they’d fought, to set up camp. Monster remains would disappear into the Astral over time, but blood and various smells tended to linger. Still, the lake was the closest thing to safe they’d be likely to find, given how many creatures had already crawled out of it to be slaughtered.
They quickly set up a few small tents as Selina placed some basic warding runes. They wouldn’t stop anything Dusk rank, but in this area that should only mean more cancrorum, which their search had proven rare. As Ethan was starting the fire, Savilar posed his question again.
“Come on then, while it’s fresh. What went wrong? We came here specifically to test ourselves, if we don’t learn from it then what was the point?”
Valanor let out a long sigh, then placed a broken log next to the fire, large enough for two or three to sit on. “A lot went wrong,” he began. “Let’s start with the obvious: we didn’t have a specific tactic in mind for taking the beast down, despite knowing what we were facing.”
Ethan shifted uncomfortably. “We kept speaking in generalities back in Corvale. You were so dismissive of the monster that I assumed figuring it out on the fly was part of the exercise.”
Savilar looked at him. “So you were willing to risk all our lives on an assumption, rather than speak up?”
Ethan’s voice dropped as his anger rose. “No, I was willing to trust you. I suppose I’ve learned that lesson.”
Surprisingly, Sav nodded. “Good, that’s one of the hardest lessons to learn, and it’s far better doing so over a victory than a defeat.”
“What?” Selina asked. “We’re not supposed to trust you?”
Savilar smiled, some of his normal humor coming through. “That’s oversimplifying. We’re supposed to think for ourselves. All of us.” He leaned forward, warming his hands of the fire. “Hunters new to teams tend to have one of two problems: they either aren’t prepared for working with others, or they tend to bend far more than they should, expecting others to take charge.”
“But you are in charge,” Selina said, irritation coming through. “You made a point of it!”
“That’s true. But Hunting isn’t just science. We can’t predict every outcome, or eventuality. Everyone needs to be capable of acting–and prepared to act–on their own. And in their own best interest. Yes, a leader leads. But did your instincts really tell you that following blindly was the right path?”
“These head games are a waste of my time,” Cara said, having been silent since the battle. She hadn’t sat down, and was glaring at the Rift Hunter with cold fury. “These pretty speeches could have come before the battle. We’re adults. We’re Hunters. We didn’t need an object lesson in not trusting you, priest.”
Savilar met her stare. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and to be blunt: yes you did. The fact that you would walk into a battle against a Dusk rank monster with nothing more than guts is proof of that. If you disagree, look me in the eyes and tell me you’ll ever do that again?”
Cara’s glare turned to a snarl, but she looked away. Sav continued. “It’s a brutal, pain in the ass lesson to learn, and I wouldn’t have started with it if I thought our lives were truly at risk. Or if we had the luxury of time. But mindset comes first. We all need to know what it means to be on a Hunting team.”
“Preparation, independence…” Selina listed, obviously making an effort to diffuse the situation.
“Teamwork, and coordination,” Savilar finished, ignoring Cara’s eye roll. Ethan was watching Valanor, though.
“You knew,” he said simply.
The knight sighed. “Savilar is correct. He’s an old, miserable ass, but he’s correct. This lesson will save your lives in days to come. Besides, it didn’t invalidate the rest of the exercise. What else did we learn?” He was obviously trying to change the subject, but Ethan didn’t mind. He was angry at the two Dusk rank Hunters, but also at himself. And since the cell…frankly most emotions felt like candles in the wind compared to what he went through.
His mind shifted easily to breaking down the battle, needing to find anything of value that would help push him forward. “Communication was terrible,” he said. “We all had to scream at one another, while hitting that damned crab sounded like banging on an anvil.”
“That was bad,” Selina agreed. “I think I can help–there is a runic solution, but it’s quite expensive.”
“It’ll be worth it,” Ethan said definitively. “I took an arrow in the shoulder because I couldn’t hear what Savilar called.”
“And because you jumped in blindly,” Cara said. “You appeared right in front of my shot with no warning.”
Ethan swallowed an argument. “True. But equally true is that you didn’t speak for the entire engagement. What arrows were you firing? What targets were you calling?”
Cara was obviously upset to be called out, but shared Ethan’s desire for growth, and clearly couldn’t argue the points. Selina jumped in next, but true to form, didn’t call out anyone but herself.
“I had no idea what I was doing,” she said in a flat voice. “I saw Toby in danger and tried to help, and ended up basically doing one single thing for the entire fight. I knew I should do something else, but it was so hard to think! I kept telling myself ‘I’m support’, and I needed to support you all, but I couldn’t figure out how!”
“That wasn’t on you,” Valanor said in his commanding tone. “My damned arm…I should have been able to hold that monster on my own, and instead you nearly killed yourself making up for my weakness.”
No one wanted to speak into the silence that came after that, but as usual, Savilar powered through. “Selina, where’s that staff you got from the thunder drake? The one that fires small blasts of lightning?”
She withdrew it from her inventory in answer, the golden dragons ornamenting each end reflecting the light of the fire. “I had it with me, why?” She squeezed her eyes shut a moment later, then answered her own question. “At the start of the battle everyone had Float…and the crab was vulnerable to lightning. I could have been attacking it the entire time.”
“It would have distracted it at the very least. If you focused on the claw, maybe it would have even freed you to use your shield more effectively. Or at least on more than one target.”
“But she still saved all of our asses,” Cara said, far more angry than when she herself had been called out. “What about you, Rift Hunter? With all the lessons you want to teach, did you learn any? What part of ‘stay above the damned water’ confused you?”
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Savilar shifted uncomfortably. “I admit my attention was too focused on the rest of you–”
“Instead of doing your own bloody job?” Cara pressed. “So caught up in your little teaching moments that you wound up drawing nearly a hundred lolligos onto us?”
Valanor spoke before Savilar could engage. “We all made mistakes,” he said definitively. “And now we learn from them. Selina has already suggested that she can help with communication runes–yes, I’m familiar with them. Sav and I already have them, so we only need the three. Ethan, what was something you did well?”
Ethan was prepared for more criticism, and was surprised by the question. “I–oh. Well, I killed the bastard. When the situation changed, I adapted, and managed to find a way to make my abilities work.”
“I agree, that was well done. And what could you improve on in the future?” Ethan had to hold back a smile, recognizing the leadership technique, and impressed that Valanor knew it. He’s making me build my own compliment sandwich. Sneaky son of a bitch.
“Better preparation. There’s a lot of small things, but what I keep running into is not being prepared for monsters that I’m poorly suited for. Right now, I genuinely don’t know what to do when I’m just a guy with short swords against something as big as a building, and made of armor.”
Savilar nodded. “That’s well spotted, and a clear weakness in your kit. I’m afraid it might not be solved right away though.”
“He’s right,” Valanor said. “Every class has weaknesses. The stronger you are at certain scenarios, the greater the associated weakness tends to be. Right now you slaughter weaker monsters more efficiently than anyone I’ve seen. Stands to reason that larger, stranger monsters will be more difficult.”
“So what do I do?” Ethan asked. “Sometimes I can find ways around it, like with the cannons, but that’s a pretty glaring weakness. I’d rather struggle with less dangerous monsters…”
“Dusk rank,” Cara said. “Or Twilight. It’s when the gaps in our skills tend to be solved. Don’t forget that your abilities will all evolve, gaining new characteristics.”
“Your Familiars will evolve too!” Selina said. “They have a wide variety of powers, and can often compliment your abilities well. Plus there’s the rune magic we’ve been working on.”
“Okay, okay,” Ethan said. “This is starting to feel like an intervention. Do someone else.”
And so they did, going around the circle as Ethan prepared some food over the fire. He’d brought what they needed for a stew, wanting something warm and filling after trudging and fighting through the swamp.
Valanor resolved to find ways to offset the disadvantage that came with his paralyzed arm, and Savilar promised to get less distracted with watching everyone else, admitting it was how he’d ended up in the water. At the group’s urging, both Dusk rank warriors also acknowledged that they had been acting like the leader, and promised to find a compromise in the future.
Selina was overly self-deprecating, and after prompting failed, Cara actually said the positives about the Rune Mage for her. Still, beyond simply needing more abilities, confidence and experience were certainly Selina’s greatest deficits. The Archer begrudgingly took her turn as well, saying she would work on communicating more, and think more about tactics that would benefit the whole group.
At last they all grew quiet as the stew was passed around, and they just ate while listening to the bugs and strange animal calls that surrounded them. The sun had set, though the sky was still blocked by clouds and fog. Finally Selina looked up from her bowl.
“Ethan, did you loot the cancrorum?”
He nodded, putting down his bowl and consulting his system.
You have looted [Dusk Rank Cancrorum]
You have received:
- 47 Twilight Coins
- 257 Dusk Coins
- 2354 Dawn Coins
- 14 Cancrorum shell plates
- Cancrorum Gem (Dusk Rank)
- Crabshell Shield (Dusk Rank)
- Bracers of Piercing (Dawn Rank)
“Couple of things,” he answered, inspecting the items in his inventory. “Valanor, it dropped a massive shield. I don’t know if–”
“No, it won’t work,” the shield knight answered. “My shield is specially made. Sell it.”
“Right,” Ethan said, understanding when to back off Valanor. Finally. He took out a pair of thin leather bracers next, and tossed them to Cara. “Bracers of Piercing,” he announced. “They’ll make your arrows ignore a bit of armor. I’ve seen something similar in the shops at Corvale–not worth a lot of coin, but useful.”
She nodded, inspecting the bracers for herself. Savilar spoke up then. “Alright, I’ll take the first watch. Call it penance for falling in the bloody lake.” He stood up and stretched. “Tomorrow we’ll begin the slow journey East. I have a series of Hunts planned for us, but nothing like we did today. Get some sleep and we’ll talk about it all in the morning.”
Selina moved to follow him. “I saw those Notices, and I was hoping we could make a quick stop,” she said. The others moved gratefully toward their tents, looking forward to sleeping somewhere dry.
***
The group set out early the next morning, moving at a good pace, and with purpose. The plan was to spend a week traveling across the kingdom, taking out monsters as they went. Not only did they need the practice, but they were halfway between Corvale and the border. This meant that the villages they’d pass along the way were far enough from the capital to need help, which made Cara happy. It also meant they were still close enough that Savilar could be directed to any rifts that might appear in his territory.
The Rift Hunter was true to his word, keeping the fights far more reasonable. Mostly in the Dawn rank, and rarely at a team level, allowing the group to take on numerous battles. This meant more debriefs, discussion of tactics, and different opportunities to test strategies. The results were mixed.
Everyone had done admirably in acknowledging their weaknesses, but that was just one step on the long road toward improvement. They encountered a pack of ignarana before leaving the swamp. These were the same fire frogs Ethan had met on his first solo hunt, and it was nostalgic as the group fought through them.
Unfortunately it was Cara’s bad habits that started trouble. Evidently trying to make up for what she saw as poor performance against the giant crab, she was unleashing a torrent of powerful arrows. Her aim was deadly accurate as always, but didn’t account for Ethan using his Flare abilities to ignite the volatile gas the monsters breathed.
Admittedly, Ethan was experimenting, and not communicating clearly enough, but the result was ignarana exploding prematurely–while most of the team was surrounded by them. The explosions weren’t life-threatening, but left clothes scorched and tempers hot.
Later, when they encountered a number of lacerignus that same day, they were all wary about facing the fire lizards. This resulted in Valanor becoming surrounded as the team took too long bringing the monsters down. Cara was timid with her shots, and Ethan feared causing more explosions. Again they made it through, but the battle was a slog, and they had to make camp early that night.
The next day found Cara and Ethan in high form, having spent hours discussing how to better work together as the primary damage dealers. They developed some basic rules for splitting up groups of monsters based on positioning, which immediately cut down on friendly fire. They also started using their Familiars to indicate shifting tactics as encounters changed.
Unfortunately, they weren’t the group’s only weakness. When the team tackled a group of five lutumstriders, Valanor and Sav struggled to juggle the targets between them. The shield knight wanted to take three, but the Rift Hunter didn’t think it wise given Val’s limitation. This led to them each fighting over one of the large mud-dinosaurs, allowing two others to run wild–both of which attacked Selina.
The Rune Mage surprised them all by expertly employing her shield–powered by Tibby–as well as a combination of blasts from her Thunder Staff and prepared runes. One of the charging monsters turned around in search of an easier target, while the other was slowed enough for Ethan and Cara to take it down before it got through Selina’s shield.
Again this led to more arguing, both Dusk warriors showing glimpses of their well-developed pride. Eventually they moved on, each battle seeming to show one more flaw they needed to work on. One more bad habit, one more questionable choice.
When they faced a swarm of regalmantis, Cara went off on her own. When they stumbled on an unexpected thunder drake, Ethan didn’t take the fight seriously enough. Selina would still get lost trying to find the perfect abilities. And even when the Dusk rank warriors resolved their disagreement as to who fights what, it often left Savilar too far from the team to call out orders, leaving him frustrated and irritable.
Still, the group was improving, little by little, every single battle.
It wasn’t until nearly sunset of the fourth night that their morale finally started lifting, however. The group was preparing to set up camp, searching for the right spot in a forest of trees that looked a lot like bamboo when Selina gasped, pointing upward.
“I was right! It was a story, about a story, about a–well never mind, I was right!”
“Right about what?” Valanor asked.
The Rune Mage smiled wider than Ethan had ever seen. “There are pursi in this forest! I just saw one!” With that she raced forward into the trees.
“Why does she care about pursi?” Valanor asked. “They’re little bear creatures that run when you get close.”
Ethan grinned, moving to follow Selina. “It’s her second Familiar, come on!”