Chapter 169
Diane walked with Mike toward the end of Murry Street, the field waiting beyond it.
"Are we okay to head out there now?" Diane asked.
[Frank] All clear. Field's safe to enter, watch for anything still twitching near the treeline just in case.
The field opened up in front of them, and it took her a moment to take in the scale of it. She picked her way carefully once she was properly onto it, the ground churned and uneven, growing worse the further out she went. People were scattered everywhere across it. Some sat where they'd dropped, bandages already wound tight around arms and shoulders, while others were flat out entirely, asleep or close enough to it that nobody was bothering to wake them. A few of the healers moved between them, doing what they could with what little training they had, which was more triage than treatment for most of it.
I think asking Stonehall if we can borrow some of their healers would be a good idea. I'll mention that to Mike later.
Further out, the ground told its own story. Bodies were scattered in drifts along the treeline and packed thick around the second trench, some of them still steaming faintly where Leo's trick had caught them.
It was a lot to take in. The sheer amount of burnt and mangled corpses should have turned her stomach, but the UI helped with that, tempering the worst of the psychological horror. Still, she forced herself to stop looking. She had a job to do.
"I need tools brought over," she said. "Knives, saws, whatever we've got that'll cut through hide and flesh. Every one of those creatures has a core in it. I want them all harvested before anything starts to spoil."
Mike blinked at her. "Now? People just fought a battle, Diane."
"I know." She didn't apologise for it. "I also know we're not getting a chance like this again anytime soon, and we don't know how long those cores will last once the bodies start breaking down. I need people who can stand upright and hold a knife. That's all."
Mike looked at her for a long moment, then nodded and reached for his own message tab.
"I'll get you volunteers," he said. "Don't expect enthusiasm."
"I don't need enthusiasm." Diane was already scanning the nearest cluster of bodies, working out where to start. "I need cores."
***
Leo sat with his back against one of the cars, his plate empty beside him, the last of the chips gone along with most of the fish. Shai sat close enough that their shoulders touched, watching the same stretch of field he was.
Around them, the aftermath had settled into something almost ordinary. Parmo and Rika were a little further off, arguing cheerfully over something Leo couldn't hear. Phil sat with Sasha, Sara, and Davan near one of the other cars, their voices carrying without the words being clear from this distance. Sam stood over by Diane and Ronan, the three of them crouched near a pile of cores already pulled free, Sam saying something that made Diane roll her eyes. Luka and Torren had found their own spot, plates in hand, Torren's voice carrying just enough for Leo to catch the word "bath" before it faded into the general noise of the field.
"You okay?" Shai asked, not for the first time since the fighting ended.
Leo thought about it properly before answering. "Yeah, I think so."
"You don't have to just say that."
"I'm fine, honestly. I'm not trying to hide anything." He looked out at the field, at the bodies still being worked through further out, people moving between them with quiet efficiency now rather than urgency. "The UI helps. We noticed it takes the edge off stuff after that first goblin attack. Having to kill something back then should have ruined us mentally, but it faded quickly. I think that same thing is happening now. If anything, I just feel tired." He shrugged. "Mentally drained, you know?"
Shai studied him a moment, then seemed to accept it.
"Your plan worked perfectly," she said. "You know that, right?"
Leo smiled. "I'll have to thank Gary properly. He had more than enough cable when I brought the ideas to him. It was him who came up with using the water mages as well. It wouldn't have been half as effective without them."
"You really don't like accepting praise, do you?"
"I think that's true of most people from my country, to be honest. Well, maybe not Phil. Just feels like the right thing to do to downplay stuff. Wouldn't want to get a big head."
Shai smirked. "We'll have to fix that. You did a lot today. You should be proud of yourself. Kai told me how impressed he was with your amp spell. You're not going to tell me that was someone else, are you?"
Leo shook his head. "No, I know. You're right. Just doesn't come easy to me. I'm used to most things going wrong, so being praised for doing stuff right still feels weird."
"Well, I bet if we ask the people who fought near you, they won't think it's weird of you to own it. Some of them probably owe you their lives. You need to get used to that, Leo. You aren't nobody or someone who doesn't stand out anymore."
"I'll try."
"Good." She leaned over and kissed him on his cheek. "Come on. Let's go see what Parmo and Rika are arguing about."
***
Mike had been on his feet for most of the last few hours, moving between the field and the civic building, checking in on the harvesting crews, the wounded, and anyone who needed a decision made that only he could make. The worst of the panic had worn off town-wide by now. People were starting to talk about what came next—an evening meal, maybe something to mark getting through it—the kind of ordinary planning that only happened once everyone was sure the danger had actually passed.
The notification hit while he was halfway through a conversation about supplies, and he had to ask her to repeat herself after he read it.
[Jeff] Scouts finally got eyes on the thing that's been causing all this, north of the border. It's finally moving.
[Mike] And?
[Jeff] It's heading for Stonehall. Scouts think we've got a few hours before it arrives, but it's moving in this direction, no question. The elders are requesting aid.
[Mike] You'll have it. Whatever we can spare.
[Jeff] Thanks boss. I'll let them know.
[Mike] No worries. So, what is it?
***
By the time Leo and Shai made it to the civic building, most of the others were already there.
Mike stood near the front of the room, Kai off to one side with Ronan and Torren, Rika perched on the edge of a table nearby, wings half-spread with restless energy while Parmo leaned back in one of the chairs. Sam, Phil, and Luka filed in behind Leo, with Nessa arriving last, still wiping something off her hands from the harvesting work.
"Right," Mike said, once everyone was in. "Scouts finally got a proper look at whatever's been pushing that horde south. It's a mountain giant. Heading for Stonehall, and it's not slowing down."
The reaction from the Stonehall side of the room was immediate.
"A mountain giant," Ronan repeated, something sharp in his voice that hadn't been there a second ago. "This far south?"
"They live up north," Torren said, low. "In the Blade Tooth Mountains. I've never heard of one this far south in my lifetime."
"None of us have," Shai said.
Kai hadn't said anything yet. When he did, his voice was even, giving nothing away.
"They're brutes. Not smart, not fast, but big. Stand about as tall as this building, maybe more." He looked round the room. "It'll walk straight over Stonehall's walls without breaking stride if nobody's there to stop it. I'll be heading back to help stop it."
"We're coming," Phil said. "Our magic could make a real difference against something that size."
"Thank you," Kai said.
Leo nodded along with the rest of the lads.
Kai nodded back, then looked to Mike. "Best not to tell the rest of the town more than they need to know. The other guards will want to help, and sending too many risks slowing us down and leaving Monkhaven thin on its best fighters at the same time."
"The village should hold on its own for a while," Ronan said. "But better we're there before it needs to."
Mike was already nodding. "You've got time if you leave now. It's a few hours out, but with how tall that thing is, it might cover ground faster than you'd think, depending how direct a line it walks."
"Doubtful it wanders," Ronan said. "Anything that could've distracted it probably fled south already, probably part of the horde we just killed."
Mike accepted that with a short nod. "Take whatever you need."
"Refills on arrows, mostly," Parmo said. "For me and Rika. Some food for the road. That's about it."
"We can be moving in five minutes," Leo said.
Mike looked round the room once more.
"Sounds good. Take whatever you need. I'll see you all when you get back. Good luck," he said.