Chapter 397: Meeting the Pale Ones
The girl stumbled through the clearing, breathing hard. Behind her, five Hellborne Ravagers crashed through the trees, each one easily twenty times her mass.
Their bodies were thick with muscle and bone armor, claws blackened and dripping with that same tar-like ichor. Their guttural cries cut through the forest as they sprinted after her, leaving broken trunks and churned soil in their wake.
The girl’s eyes widened the moment she spotted Kaiden’s group. "Pale Ones?! Here?!"
But instead of abiding by the rules of her tribe, which said contact with outsiders was forbidden, survival overwhelmed the girl’s decision-making. She shouted, "Please! Help me!"
Instead of veering away from the battle-ready team, she ran straight toward them with desperation outweighing fear of unknown men and women with white-colored skin.
Kaiden caught the trace of an accent in her voice, yet her English was good - too good for someone who looked like she’d never stepped foot in a city. The question of how that came to be flickered through his mind, but he pushed it aside. There were more pressing matters.
When she reached him, he stepped forward and caught her by the shoulder, steadying her before gently shoving her behind him. His eyes were fixed on the line of charging demons.
"Nyx," he said evenly. "Alert the others."
There was no panic in his voice. One might wonder how it happened when they sent higher-level teams ahead to clear the worst of the monsters, while they, the lower-level teams, followed in their tracks.
But despite their experience and higher levels, they were not omniscient monster hunters. It was more than plausible for hordes of monsters to slip through.
"On it," she replied without missing a beat. Her hand reached into her pouch, pulling out a small artifact etched with runes. The artifact hummed when she spoke into it. "This is Team Sinners. Multiple hostiles, five confirmed Hellborne Ravagers, levels below fifty-five. We are asking for reinforcement."
A few seconds passed before Geralt’s voice came through the static. "Noted. Hold your position. Backup’s on the way."