Triple Strength

297. Scouting: Wiremu

I figured the easiest way in was the same way I escaped. The huge granite wall was going to be easy with my Granite Manipulation. I could make a set of stairs if I wanted. Tabitha and I sat at the top of the cliff, watching the sunset. I could see most key places and guards from here with my Telescopic sight. As the sun went down, it combined with my Darksight, and I kept track of the guards. I could get over half of them from here with my Marksman Skill. The wall was too far and curved out of sight.

We are just here to scout. Tabitha does not believe that and has the others within shouting distance of the gate. The gate won’t stand up to Težka. It probably wouldn’t stand up to Dusk’s hooves. She has a power strike-type Skill. Come to think of it, the only one who the gate would stop was Lee. Umreti would have trouble, but not for long.

The night watch took up their positions, and the inmates settled down for the night. The light from a fire reflected off the wall of a side quarry, and my Hearing Aid heard a tortured scream come from there. That is our first stop. I unslung my bow and picked off the two guards at the end of the quarry.

“Just scouting, huh?” Tabitha whispered.

“Aggressive Scouting,” I replied, making the first footholds on the cliff and starting down. It was easy. Tabitha followed me but occasionally ducked off to the side, practising her Shadow Step. This was just practice for us and not even stretching out skills. It was a huge difference from when I left. All I had then was Granite Bones.

I jumped the last couple of body lengths, landing heavily, which was normal. Tāoke dropped from my shoulder and slid off into the night. I had no idea where he was going, but I trusted him. Tabitha landed lightly beside me, and we moved quickly through the dark quarry. Tabitha split off from me to scout the barracks and see how many troopers we were dealing with. I headed to the torture enclosure.

The side quarry they used as a “persuasion chamber” was walled off with stones. There was a guard at the wooden gate and a lock. I could have bypassed the guard without them noticing, but I was going to stop the torture so they would notice my actions. They were leaning against the wall beside the gate, possibly even dozing. I created Granite Spikes that pierced their head and heart. The spikes also held them in that position, so they looked like they were still on guard. I dropped off the wall to the inside of the gate and grabbed the lock, melting it into a lump of metal. I didn’t want anyone escaping this area.

There were nine troopers and a medic. With the one on the gate, it was a full squad plus the camp medic. The area was littered with the instruments of torture. From barrels of water and a blazing fire to tables equipped with straps and other instruments. The medic was there to ensure no permanent damage was done to the future slaves and to provide any necessary, if minimal, healing.

There were two prisoners tied naked to separate posts. The smell of burned flesh hung in the air. The male prisoner had burn and whip marks in various places, and his head lolled to the side as he was currently unconscious. The female prisoner was worse, covered in bruises and whip marks, and the evidence of recent abuse splattered across her body mixed in her blood. She was conscious but had a vacant stare. Neither had accepted the Slave Class yet, but both were close to doing so.

The medic was walking toward the unconscious man, probably making sure he would stay alive. The Squad leaders were watching him. The other eight were relaxing around the fire, snacking and drinking, obviously taking a break. It angers and frustrates me how they can be so casual about abusing another human. My anger was really starting to burn, literally.

The area around the fire suddenly sprouted Granite Spikes and then turned to Molten Rock. The smell of burning flesh became very intense. Three troopers managed to roll out of the area. All of them had burns and gashes from the spikes. While they were escaping and putting out the flames from their burning clothes, I was putting an arrow into the leg of the Squad Leader. The arrow punched through from the back of the knee and broke the knee cap but lodged in the knee. He must have a strengthening skill, as I expected the arrow to go right through. I wanted him alive for questioning, so I hope he has a reasonable Poison Resistance.

The Medic must have had some sort of sensing Skill active because he immediately started running for the gate, making my arrow miss. I couldn’t follow it up as two of the troopers were closing on me. One of them was yelling threats, but I couldn’t be bothered listening. I shouldered my bow, grabbed my mace, and grabbed a knife in my off-hand. My mace sprouted some spikes.

I partially parried a sword strike from the trooper on the left, letting my armour and Snakeskin take the rest as I brought my mace down hard on the right-hand Trooper. He had a spear to keep me at range, but the fact I didn’t pause at lefties' strike put me in range of the hand with his forward grip. He almost pulled back in time, but I got his wrist, and the spike on the mace went through it. He stepped backwards out of reach, and I noticed he was limping.

Leftie was fast, already coming back with a stab. I shifted my body, so it sliced along my leather vest instead and thrust my knife at his eyes to force him back. Spearman was thrusting at me again, but with only one hand, he had lost a lot of power. I brushed it off target with a flick of my mace and stepped in close, thrusting my mace at his chest. He went to step back, but the end of the mace sprouted a Granite spike that went through his burned leather armour. When I felt it break through a rib, I created a T on the end so it could not be removed without major damage. I then yanked the mace back out, removing it in a spray of blood and bone.

This had cost me a cut from the swordsman, which my Granite Bones had deflected from being serious. Then my bow fell off my shoulder. He had sliced the holding clasp and the bowstring. Those are strings hard to get! I was fully concentrating on him now and advanced with knife and mace in full aggressive mode. He was backing up fast, trying to parry the blows, his sword becoming more and more chipped. My mace then caught the sword in a proper hit and snapped it in half. My knife sliced his neck and lower jaw in a shallow cut, and then the mace crashed into his shoulder, driving a spike deep into his chest. I created a small T, ripped it out, and left him to bleed out. I was not feeling like giving quick deaths today.

I searched for the survivors, and the medic was trying to open the gate. The Squad Leader was limping that way as fast as he could, and the third Trooper was trying to hide in the rocks out of sight. She had extensive burns down one side and only one arm. The bones of her upper arm were sticking out of burned and smoking flesh. She must have a high Physical Constitution to be still awake. She would likely only survive with help, but the medic was trying to run. I left her and headed to the gate.

The Squad leader saw me coming and fiddled with his pouch, extracting an alarm whistle. As he raised it to his lips, a Lava Dart appeared in his forearm, causing him to drop it, and he lost his balance. He tried to roll as he landed, but I was there already, and I had created a stone spear, which I used to pin him to the ground through his uninjured leg. I kicked the whistle away on my way to the gate. The Medic was calling for help, so I created another spear and threw it at him.

I stopped. Shit. My aim is off today. I didn’t mean to kill him straight away, but the spear went through his chest and pinned him to the gate. I didn’t need to go there anymore, so I turned to the prisoners, ignoring the swearing and pleading of the Squad Leader, just like he ignored countless others pleading with him.

I cut the unconscious guy down first and carried him over to a bedroll I found. I laid him down and checked his breathing and pulse. I then covered him and fed him one of the potions I had. I didn’t want him to die now. I grabbed another blanket that was there and went back to cut down the girl. I wrapped her up and carried her over to lie near the guy. I fed her a potion. She was awake, but I am not sure she knew what was happening. I kept talking to her in a soft voice, saying she was safe now, but I could not see any effect. She hugged the blanket tight, and I fetched some water for her.

I looked around, and the two I had been fighting had died of their wounds. The girl hiding in the rocks was now unconscious, so I walked closer and put a spike through her brain. Then, it was only the Squad Leader left. He was watching me in fear. As I walked toward him, I created a stone replica of Tabitha’s Blacksteel knife, as it was a very intimidating knife.

“Please let me go, and I will have the commander go easy on you.” I think the guy must be delirious already.

“Just like you were going easy on those two prisoners, right?” I replied, running the knife up his arm, slicing his shirt and leaving a shallow cut that started bleeding. I doubt he felt it over his other wounds, but it was a message of my intentions that I was trying to convey. I squatted near his head, and the knife was close to his eyeball, “Who is the commander, and how many troops are here?”

“C…c…commander Phillips of the 32nd company.”

I can’t remember how many Squads make a company. “How many troops is that?”

“A..a…thousand.”

I didn’t need my Truth Sensing to tell me that was a lie. I poked his eye out and put the blade at the other eye, “Want to try again?”

“Fuck you!” Now, he grows a spine. I guess he finally figured he wasn’t getting out of this alive.

“Don’t kill him!” came a voice behind me. I turned, and the woman limped toward me with the blanket wrapped tightly around her.

I stood up, “Why?”

“I want to do it,” she said. “I have only been here a few weeks, but I will probably know what you need.”

I nodded and flipped the knife, holding the blade and offering it to her. “If that is what you want.”

She nodded and grabbed the blade. It was too big for her, but she gripped it with both hands and basically fell on the Squad Leader, driving the blade through his chest. From my knowledge, she missed his heart but definitely got a lung. She pulled the knife out and drove it back in and then repeated several times. The potion had only been partially effective, and she had run out of energy, but the Squad Leader was dead. She had tears streaming down her face. I am pretty sure they were tears of anger.

I helped her up, and she adjusted the blanket. She offered me the knife back.

“Keep it,” I said. “Let’s find you some clothes and food.”

I led her back to near the other prisoner, and she sat down. I fetched some more water and then went to loot the area. The two soldiers I killed had reasonable trousers, and one shirt would be fine with a wash.

I brought them back and handed them to her, “What’s your name, Ma’am?”

“Lilian, Who are you?” she replied as she picked the smallest of the clothes. They would still be too big for her.

“Quinn. Do you know his name,” I indicated to the unconscious guy. I don’t actually know why I used Quinn. I should be Tama, or Mata Toa was my other ID. Quinn had a reputation from Southern Khigiz, and I guess I just felt it fit better. Maybe the Bard’s Song about the Mighty Quinn had gone to my head.

“They called him Pedro, but I don’t know him except for our time here.”

I turned away to find if any food survived the lava, giving Lilian the opportunity to get dressed. One pack escaped the destruction and had some rations, and Lilian dug into them. I checked Petro was still breathing. This is the sort of thing we needed Astrid for.

“We need to get out of here. How many troops are there here?”

“300, maybe 350. What are you going to do?”

“Technically, we are here to Scout, but we do plan to free everyone and destroy this place.”

“This will stir everyone up when it is discovered,” Lilian observed.

I sighed. Tabitha was going to be right again. This had turned from scouting to rescue in the first hour.