The Oracle Paths

"We can't stay here." Norton refocused the group's attention. "The other refugees are bound to be somewhere. Jake, you're in charge of finding them."

"Roger that." Jake nodded before shooting off into the sky, kicking up a massive gust of wind behind him.

The grizzled mutant was somewhat embarrassed as he gave this order. He had planned for Elduin to be their scout, but that was before he witnessed Jake's incredible mobility. His eyesight was even more breathtaking, allowing him to make out the smallest details over very long distances in the absence of obstacles.

On top of that, all of the group except Trash and Jeanie had excellent combat skills and versatility, greatly reducing the appeal of their formation. Jake and Ruby in particular could fill any role, but the young woman's impish obedience made it impossible to trust her. The group's cautious attitude toward her reinforced this impression.

Without the other members of the party on his heels, Jake was finally able to fly freely. At over 1000m/s his flight left only a trail of afterimages and it was almost impossible to keep track of him as he blended with the clouds.

In a few minutes, he made a great tour of an area covering about a hundred kilometers in diameter and his face became darker and darker as he continued his scouting mission. When he came back to land in front of the gigantic Norton, still in his gorilla titan appearance, he was gloomy.

The mutant's heart sank as he discerned his grim face, but he had to ask the question.

"So? Did you find them?" He asked in his deep voice, a charred gasp hitting Jake's face as the beast's hot breath reached him.

The man questioned reflexively pinched his nose to keep himself from tearing up from the smell and answered in a nasal voice,

"All dead except for three convoys. Seven convoys were wiped out under circumstances similar to this one, but the old men were all here, so this time they were healthy people in their prime. I don't know if it was a coincidence, but I counted almost no young men and women among them. Those who were, were, forgive me the disrespect, very unsightly...

"Three other convoys seemed to have been abandoned. There was blood everywhere, but I found no bodies on either the human or Wengol side. Based on my overview of these battlefields, the bodies were either moved by someone, or they got up on their own. I haven't completely tracked them, but they're moving fast and heading towards Lodunvals. We just missed them. As for the three convoys still at large, they are 67km northeast of our position, halfway to Kelenden, but they have been caught up by the Khinchod army and are currently engaged in battle, about to be wiped out."

Jake's report was concise and factual, but each revelation only thickened the mystery. Norton was silent throughout and his brow was so knotted that with his gorilla face it was hard to tell if he was worried or fuming.

Unlike those Guilties and adventurers from Lodunvals, as Vice-leader of the Mutants he knew much more than they did and already had a vague idea of the sordid conspiracy that was taking place.

Obviously, someone in Laudarkvik was trying to sabotage their mission and he wasn't acting alone. Dead bodies rising up, sane people killing each other, and the absence of beautiful young men and women among the victims... These were practices that sounded horribly familiar.

Without being a political genius, he knew enough about the interplay of alliances among the nine Laudarkvik factions to know that some of them had decided to fish in troubled waters while the Mutants, Humans and Astral were taking the blame for the coming debacle.

If they failed in such an early and drastic way, Ailsling and all the Mutants under her umbrella would be punished heavily. He absolutely had to prevent such a calamity from happening!

"Listen to me carefully." Norton declared bluntly. "From now on, beware of other humans as well, including the reinforcements claiming to come from Laudarkvik. Going into detail won't help, but know that the Vampires, Demons, and Undeads have probably formed an alliance to sabotage us. Not all of their clans are necessarily involved, but we don't have time to sort it out. Consider them all your enemies. The humans and Astral are not necessarily more trustworthy. Each faction has placed spies in the other competing factions and ours is no exception. As for the Mutants, only the other two Vice Leaders and Aisling are beyond suspicion."

Jake, Carmin and Ruby exchanged suspicious glances, not sure what to make of this charade. The waters of Laudarkvik seemed to be much deeper than they had imagined. As for Elduin and Trash, they already seemed to regret having come with them, although they didn't really have a choice...

"What about the mission?" Ruby blurted out with utmost apathy.

Carmin continued to chew her gum boisterously, Lily smoothed the folds of her dress, while Jake waited with a bored look for the next instruction.

Norton drew a deep breath to gather his wits and gritted his teeth gruffly,

" We keep on with the rescue mission. If we can save at least one of these three refugee convoys, we'll at least have the credit of not coming home empty-handed. If the empire or the other factions in Laudarkvik want to blackmail us, it will be easier to negotiate.

Jake smiled. That was what he wanted to hear.

"They won't hold out for long." He reminded tactfully. "Can I take the liberty of striking out on my own?"

The huge mutant gorilla stared at him intently with his plate-sized eyes, as if probing his sincerity, but eventually he allowed him to take the lead.

"Stall for time."

"Ruby, come with me." Jake said softly to the unstable young woman.

"Do I have a choice?"

"No."

Who did she think she was? Jake refused to leave the traitor too long without supervision. If she strayed too far from him, he would no longer be able to give her orders if she disabled her Oracle Device. But more importantly, their abilities were exceedingly synergistic.

With a pitiful smile, Ruby followed him without enthusiasm. The two took off with a deafening shockwave and Norton galloped after them. Alas, because of the steep terrain to climb, it would take the mutant at least two minutes to reach the battlefield.

In truth, he was deeply surprised that these refugees had managed to flee so far in a few hours. It wouldn't have been surprising from trained riders or hardened adventurers, but from civilians it was a surprise.

What Norton didn't realize was that these three convoys were made up of the most talented and promising citizens of Lodunvals. Even if millions were sacrificed, it would be worth it if these elites arrived at their destination in one piece.

Their escape speed was no miracle once one knew that these were no ordinary citizens. A renowned goldsmith or blacksmith was not necessarily a good warrior, but they were most likely of a high level. Taking into account their Soul Class bonuses, their stamina and running speed were not abnormal.

*****

67 kilometers northeast of Norton's position, a battle of extreme barbarity was raging. The caravans, stagecoaches and wagons that initially made up the long procession had arranged themselves near each other to form a pseudo protective enclosure.

The politicians, nobles and vulnerable children were hidden in the stagecoaches, but the other refugees had long since taken up arms to assist the few hundred soldiers bravely sacrificing their lives for their sake.

At first they were able to tolerate the sight of all those young soldiers with their lives ahead of them sacrificing themselves so that they, the civilians, could reach Kelenden unharmed, but as their convoy and army broke up, standing on the sidelines like this soon became unbearable for most of them.

At this moment, a blacksmith near retirement who had never wielded a single weapon other than his hammer was currently fighting like a fiend, swinging his hammer recklessly and relentlessly about him, battling three Wengols. Surprisingly, he was not at a disadvantage.

A few feet away, a middle-aged woman wearing an apron stained with butter and flour had picked up the spear of a fallen soldier and was wielding it gracelessly, but with unprecedented brutality. Her forearms were thicker than a man's thighs and she was the most famous Pastry Chef in Lodunvals. A Pastry Chef level 68!

A few meters further on, an old bedridden painter, barely able to stand with the help of his cane, uncorked an exquisite pink crystal vial and placed it under his nostrils to sniff its contents. Instantly, his frail body tripled in size, muscles covered with veins the size of earthworms pulsing on the surface of his skin. This man was the dean of the most elite perfumery in Lodunvals. A level 70 Grand Master Perfumer.

There had been hundreds of such twists and turns in the last few minutes. Well-known but deemed harmless personalities had suddenly revealed the extent of their talent, and thanks to their reinforcement, the seemingly lost battle had momentarily come to a standstill.

But the Wengols were too numerous. The detachments of soldiers sacrificed to slow down the Khinchod army had only allowed them to get rid of half a Wengol division, or 12,000 aliens. The main army still had almost 60,000.

The fierce resistance of these human civilians had surprised the enemy army general, but the outcome of the battle was certain.