I stared into the distance; off to my left, trying to spot the main group.
When we first set off, I'd initially thought that we'd need to move at an accelerated pace to keep our one mile radius from the group as we moved into more advanced positions in relation to them, but the main group moved slowly and stopped often, forcing us to move at a crawl.
On a good note, though; we'd detected no threat or tail from Palancar of any kind, and as the early morning coolness gave way to the sweltering heat that came with proper daylight sun, the group had begun to move with a more steady, consistent pace.
I wiped away at the sheen of sweat that had built up on my brow.
It was hot in here, and not a dry kind of heat like a California summer, but the humid kind of heat that made everything feel stuffy and claustrophobic.
Maybe Francesca did have the right idea,
I thought, as we stopped for a momentary break.
I used the intermission to strip off my breast plate, and remove the leather shirt that I'd worn underneath, and after thinking about it for a second, I also lost the pants.
Going full commando wasn't really an option, since the belt plate offered very little coverage, but as I recalled that Francesca had cut her own cotton pants to a shorter, more manageable length, I quickly decided to do the same to the piece of clothing that I'd entered this world in.
As I stripped, I caught a few inquisitive glances in my direction, and I snickered a little to myself.
Were they as curious about our bodies as we were of theirs?
Thanks to my rendezvous with Eradne, I now knew full well that their biological make-up was pretty much identical to ours, with only subtle differences apart from the green hue of their skin, but it seemed that that fundamental difference was enough to excite the imagination nonetheless.
I quickly donned the pieces of armor that I'd removed for the wardrobe change, and as we began moving again, I felt much more at ease.
We continued along until my group moved off to the left of the main group, but as we came to a stream, the group came to a halt.
"Did the main group stop?" I asked, and the man shook his head.
"We need to discuss. To keep current separation from main group, crossing stream is necessary," the man said, and as I examined the stream, I found that it wasn't particularly deep, nor too wide to cross.
"That's fine," I said, but the man shook his head.
"Beyond this stream blooms blighted grove, Auslander. Treading upon is with caution."
"Why?" I asked.
"Die Aufhöcker!" one of the other Kobalt exclaimed, and the others seemed to cringe at the very use of the word.
I was about to ask what the word meant, when suddenly, a signal smoke went up, off to the right.
"Is that the main group?" I asked, and as the Kobalt man spoke to one of the others, a response came in German:
"Weiter weg von, Auslander," the man said, and I nodded.
Further off then... so Francesca's team.
"Meet up with the main group," I instructed the others, as I drew my halberd from its resting place over my shoulder, and darted into the trees in the direction of the smoke.
Time to push this armor to its limits!
I thought, but as I really kicked up the pace, my chest tightened, as the speed I moved at momentarily overwhelmed me.
It was exhilarating; like riding your bike downhill for the first time after you've just got the hang of riding, but I quickly found that controlling my movements at that speed was more difficult than I thought, and to my embarrassment, my shoulder crashed painfully into a nearby trunk that I was unable to move clear of in time, and as it knocked me off balance, I tumbled onto the ground and rolled about several times before coming painfully to rest at the bottom of a short incline.
I took a quick look around to make sure that my misstep went unnoticed, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I found myself alone in the brush.
The smoke was fading, but I could still make out the general heading, so I climbed to my feet and took off at a more sustainable speed, and soon enough I got to where the group was.
There was a large group of Kobalt surrounding Francesca's group, and while her spear was drawn, her body language was calm, and measured.
Good girl,
I thought to myself, as I approached the group.
"Halt there, Auslander," one of the Kobalt called, and I turned my halberd around, and swung the butt end at the man, striking him across the face.
The blow lifted him off of his feet, and he landed painfully by the feet of one of his comrades, and the others moved to his side, and aimed their spears at me.
"Don't assume you possess the authority command me," I barked, as I slung my weapon over my shoulder and strode past the group without a second glance and moved to Francesca's side.
"What happened? Did they attack?" I asked, and she shook her head.
"They ordered us to stay here, and I wasn't sure what to do, so we sent up a signal. Should I have fought back?" she asked, and I shook my head.
"No, you did well," I replied. "Let's move to the main group."
As I led the group toward the spears pointed at them, the Kobalt wielding them momentarily held their ground, but as I shot them a warning glare, they moved out of our way, and we walked away from the blockade and towards the main group.
We got there to the sounds of a commotion of sorts, as the princess, with Gisela and a few of her aides at her side, was standing at the head of the group, yelling at a group of Kobalt who were now standing in their path.
"What's going on?" I asked, as soon as I moved to Gisela's side.
"Palancar seeks to obstruct our migration," Gisela explained, and I nodded.
There were around forty Kobalt in front of us, with a Kobalt man wearing on one of those toga-styled robes that I assumed meant he was a member of the council, standing at the fore, and engaging the princess in a quite heated debate.
As soon as he spotted me, he waved a hand dismissively at her, much to her chagrin, as he moved toward me.
"Auslander. Your people tread on Palancar soil. It is not acceptable," he began, and I turned to Gisela.
"What claim do they have to the land?" I asked, and she bit her lip, indicating ahead.
"A grove seed has been sown; up ahead. By right, it would claim this land for Palancar, as long as the carrier of the seed is of legitimate association."
"When was the seed planted?" I asked, dropping my voice to whisper, as I turned away from the councilor.
"This morning. Most likely, after our departure."
I furrowed my brow.
I knew that Palancar, being the massive city that it was, still lay to the east of where we were, and that we would need to journey for several days before moving completely clear of its vicinity, but to obstruct us at this point seemed an unusual waste of their time.
"What's their play here?" I asked, and Gisela shot me a questioning look.
"Play?"
"Sorry. I mean, what's the purpose of getting in our way like this?" I asked, and she frowned.
"We cannot circumvent their lands by heading east, because therein lies Palancar."
I nodded, having already guessed as much, as she continued.
"And west of here is a blighted grove that would cast us into danger," she continued, and I frowned, as I suddenly recalled my group's hesitation to even cross the stream we'd encountered.
"Across the stream?" I asked, and she nodded.
"Up ahead is an impassable mass of rock. To circumvent this new land, we will need to venture some way through the blighted grove."
"How long would it take to cross?"
She frowned, thinking about it for a bit.
"Perhaps three, maybe four day-cycles? It is difficult to estimate, as the challenges are many."
This was bad...
We'd left Miriam's cluster to escape Palancar's reach, but it seemed they were intent on forcing us into a confrontation.
