UnwillingEldritchHorrorofFortune
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Chapter 189: Paranoia and Pearls (Aspirant POV)
🕑 Added 2024-09-12 15:09:35 +0000 UTC[It is still not too late, little Aspirant, to give more of yourself to me. Your followers are losing faith in your abilities, you are losing control of the situation. I can give you all the answers you need; I can give you the authority you desire. Capitulate, and taste real power.]
Eric cursed at the annoyance in his head. The whispers of his Patron god had grown stronger ever since the mission had failed, and he couldn’t afford to be distracted during such a crucial time. He stared at the remains of his group of Aspirants and he couldn’t deny his god’s words. He knew that many among them had dissenting opinions on his leadership before, but they hid those intentions well. That was no longer the case. Barely concealed whispers criticizing his actions were heard everywhere, and Eric knew that his grip on authority was fast reaching its limits.
Maybe he should just give in to the demands of his god, consequences be damned… Eric shook his head. No, he could still salvage this situation. He still had 20-odd fighters remaining, the strongest of the original 50, and he knew the nature of his enemy now. He could still fix things, taking that devil’s bargain would be his last resort.
“The perimeter is secured,” one of his men said, “We can be reasonably safe for the time being, at least in here.”
Eric grunted an approval and sized up his remaining men. “Aspirants! I hear your concerns and I understand your fears, but we cannot afford to lose cohesion now, not when we know the nature of our enemies.”
The gazes of everyone present fell on Eric once more. Some held unrestrained malice and contempt, some with fear, but all here knew the truth behind his words. He might be unpopular, but there was unlikely to be a mutiny while the threat of immediate death was looming. He had control, at least for now.
“A new force has assailed us,” he continued, “But we know its insidious nature now. We proceed in groups of 3 from now on. Squads 1 and 2 will combine, so will 3 with 4 and 5 with 6.”
The Squads naturally bunched together as told. It was always safer in larger numbers.
Eric nodded. “No one is to leave the line of sight from their respected group. I don’t care what needs you have, but no one is leaving the sight of at least three others. Anyone who does so will be treated as that creature and will be dealt with appropriately.”
The leader saw that some people wanted to oppose such a strict rule, but their peers hurriedly shut them up. No one was stupid enough to underestimate their foe, not with the gruesome remains of two of their former comrades still splattered on the ground in front of them.
“Finally,” he said, “Alexis will be handing out individual talismans. It is attuned to your mana, and will turn red should anyone other than yourself use it. Wear it on you at all times; somewhere visible. I don’t need to tell you what would happen should you choose not to do so.” Eric waited for all of the charms to be passed around. “I am not sure if it will be effective against our foe so treat it as an extra safeguard.” He stared into the eyes of everyone present. “The only thing we can truly trust is our own eyes from now on so remaining together is the true guarantee.”
The Aspirants pinned their talismans on their clothes one after another, and a faint blue glow slowly came into view as it sensed its wearer’s mana. Eric wanted to do more to ensure no unwanted guests invaded their numbers, but with so little time to work with, this was the best he could do.
“We still need to get those remaining pearls,” Eric said, “And we will continue to do so. Squad 1 will head to the northern position, Squad 2 will head east, and Squad 3 will take the last. We’ll take 10 minutes to work out the new command structure, but no more. We leave in 15.”
***
Eric and his nine new squadmates made their way toward the designated location in a tight ball. They were the most vulnerable when they traveled, especially in such a dark location, and it had proven difficult to keep track of everyone present at all times. This was especially the case when they had to fight minor ghosts and monsters on their way, and the added stress of keeping overwatch of 9 others had dulled the group’s overall fighting ability. Needless wounds were taken because their focus was never entirely on the foe present, and the mental strain of an ever-looming, invisible threat weighed heavily on the minds of everyone. They needed to finish this cursed Trail fast.
Eric stopped his tired group once they entered the threshold of the mission area. The place was oddly quiet, devoid of any threats, and that made the man tense up more than if they had been ambushed from the get-go. He could feel the eyes on him, so why haven’t those mindless things attacked so far? His Book had told him that the creatures here should have no choice but to do so, and as far as he could tell, the monsters here had no higher form of intelligence. Something felt wrong here.
“Set up a new perimeter,” Eric commanded, “Noncombatants stay in the middle and scan the area for any danger. We’re not searching for the pearl until we know what the hell is out there first.”
“Understood, sir.”
Normally Eric would afford a moment of pride seeing his men and women work so effectively, but something, some sixth sense, told him that nothing he did would be enough to prevent further tragedy. Something wasn’t right here, but he just couldn’t pinpoint what that was.
[You need not be blind, Aspirant Eric. I can gift you Sight. Pledge yourself completely and be freed of doubt.]
He gritted his teeth and banished the voice. “I will not…”
“Pardon, sir?” a woman asked.
“Nothing,” Eric muttered and shook his head. “Are the preparations ready?”
“Yes, sir,” she replied, “We don’t detect any movement or threats within the immediate surroundings either, sir.”
“I see,” he whispered, “Then we move out-”
A rustle of the trees and a whispering of the wind forced Eric to swallow the last of his words. Everyone around him tensed up, dreading the worst, but strangely, a different, human voice filled the gloom of the crimson night.
“Dad…?” a child’s voice, innocent and so alien in these hellish Trials. It echoed from the distant forests, just out of sight. “Help me, Dad?”
“What the fuck is that?” Eric muttered. He was about to order his people to see if they could identify what new nightmare this was when he saw that Orlov had taken a few steps away from his assigned position. The man seemed to be drawn to the voice, his face was a confused mix of worry and fear.
“Charlette?” he muttered, his voice almost inaudible, “But…”
Eric frowned. “Orlov, get back to your spot.”
“Dad, help, please! You promised!”
“I…”
“Orlov!”
The other man didn’t seem to register what was being said to him. Instead, he inched closer to the sound. That’s when Eric noted the almost magical nature of the pleading voice, it felt so soothing, so inviting… Fuck, this wasn’t good.
“Maksim Orlov,” Eric warned, louder this time, “Stand down.”
He didn’t seem to register that command either and continued to mutter to himself.
“Shit,” Eric cursed, “Frank, Alex, Sam, grab him. Everyone else, we need to set up the sound barrier again.”
“R-right, sir.”
The three individuals went to restrain the hypnotized man.
“No!” Orlov screamed, “Stop! It’s my baby, she’s hurt, I-”
“Snap out of it!” Frank said as he struggled to grip the other man’s arms, “It’s clearly a trap, you goddamn idiot. Does anyone have earplugs here?”
“You can’t know that for sure!” he shouted, “It’s her, I know it’s her! I would recognize that voice anywhere.”
“It’s the fucking skinwalker!” Eric cursed, “It knows it can’t infiltrate our ranks right now, so it’s using a new method!”
“Dad, don’t leave me again! Remember what you said on my birthday? You promised!”
Orlov shook his head and battered aside the others. “No! It couldn’t have known my daughter’s voice! It only steals our looks, it can’t know anything about Charlette! She mentioned her birthday, it’s her!”
“You idiot!” someone else shouted, “You told us yourself that you lost her to disease, how can she be here of all places?”
“It hurts, Dad! Please!”
A crazed look haunted the man’s eyes. “No… I won’t fail you again! I’ll save you this time!”
“Hurry!”
“Shit, he’s lost it,” Eric cursed again. “Someone get rope, we need to tie the idiot up for his own good. Anyone have-”
The leader was interrupted again, this time by a huge earthen wall erected between Orlov and the others. He tried to batter the crude structure aside and get to the man, but shouts and curses from the three sent to constrain him, followed by hurried footsteps, told Eric everything he needed to know. Orlov, one of their strongest, had just broken away from the others and had run off into the woods. The wall quickly crumbled as the distance between the caster and it diminished.
“Fuck he’s strong” Frank muttered as he picked himself up from the ground. “Do we go after him, sir?”
Eric thought about it for a moment but ultimately shook his head. “No, we can’t risk it. The second he’s out of our sight, we can’t know for sure if he’s still himself.”
“But we’ll know if he’s dead.”
“That thing must surely know that we’re able to track how many members are still alive. If it knows that, then it’ll know to keep Orlov alive if we choose to chase, then it’ll infiltrate us again.” Eric shook his head. “No, we stay put, we finish that barrier, and we develop some way to counteract this new threat.”
“But without Orlov…”
“I know what it means to lose him!” Eric shouted, his anger lost for a moment. He had to force himself to remain calm. “But we are not taking any more risks!”
The few noncombatants looked at Eric with worry. It made sense, they had just lost their only member who could ensure that those production staff stayed safe during battle, and they’d be exposed going forth. Still, although losing the man would put a severe dent in the overall strength of the fighting forces, it was not worth the risk of losing even more people in the confusion, let alone allowing that thing to infiltrate their ranks again.
Frank took one last look at the location that Orlov had run off to, then back at Eric. “No, this is fucking ridiculous! We’ve listened to you since the beginning, but what have we accomplished so far? Four died in an ambush you assured us was covered right from the start, and then 12 more died because you decided to split us up into tiny groups of five. Wasn’t the safety of numbers the whole reason we decided to come in here with the maximum members allowed?”
Mummers of approval from the others started to surface.
Frank glared at Eric. “And now your fucking plans have led to the death of Orlov! I saw we go after him! We’re still at 30 members, he’s still alive. I am not just waiting for someone else to die!”
Eric wanted to say something, but the whispers of approval had started to turn into shouts. He was losing his grasp on authority, and fast.
[It is still not too late, little Aspirant.]
“Without Orlov, the rest of us are dead!” one of the noncombatants said, raising their voice for the first time.
“Yeah,” another added. “You’re just going to allow us to all perish? No, I agree with Frank!”
“Wait,” Sam interrupted, raising his hands to disperse the tension, “I know that everyone has their own opinions and that Eric’s plans haven’t worked out so far, but I agree with him here. It’s too dangerous to go after one man, especially when we don’t know what will happen. We can’t risk it.”
Frank glared at him. “It’s a risk no matter what we do! This is one I am willing to make. Who else is with me?”
Five others raised their hands in support, including all of the noncombatants.
“You can’t-” Eric started.
“We can,” the other man spat, “And we will. I’m taking the others with me, you three can go find that fucking pearl in the meantime. I am not listening to your worthless instructions anymore, and neither will the rest of them. Unlike you, we do not leave one of our own behind!”
Without waiting any longer, Frank and the others marched off into the distance, disappearing from Eric’s sight within moments. He was left alone with just Sam and another Aspirant whose name he couldn’t quite recall.
[Remember, my Chosen, you can still fix things.]
Comments
Seen Death
Tyfc! Small typo: "We proceed in groups of 3 from now on." > We will proceed with 3 groups from now on (Or some similar wording. The first one means 3 people in each group, instead of 3 groups of like 8 people each)
