The Guardian System: The strongest Summoner's quest to save his family
Chapter 62: The Unknown settlement
CHAPTER 62: THE UNKNOWN SETTLEMENT
Reidar’s boots crunched over broken asphalt as the road curved. His wolves fanned out ahead, noses twitching.
Up front, the Bone Militia carved a path through the undergrowth, clearing thorny vines and thick bushes so the rest of his summons could move freely.
He pulled a worn, folded paper from his inventory, the old park service map Malcolm had handed him back in Three Lakes. According to its faded lines, he should’ve hit the edge of Greenwater National Park an hour ago.
However, since the world had gone to shit, and the planet itself had had a growth spurt, his calculations might have been wrong. There was no way of knowing it.
"Still nothing."
Reidar suppressed the urge to curse.
"The distances are wrong; the landmarks are gone. The old world is a ghost, and its maps are just scrap paper now."
He sighed.
Reidar squinted his eyes at the empty space where Malcolm’s map promised a ranger station.
Reidar brought his wolf to a halt at the coordinates where a ranger station was supposed to be. Instead, there was nothing but a grove of impossibly large redwood trees, which were even bigger and taller given the mana in the air.
He was ready to write the place off as lost to the world’s changes when one of his Rift-Sprite scouts rushed over.
A glint of white caught Reidar’s eye when he turned to look in the direction the monster was pointing.
What the...?
He nudged the wolf forward, guiding it toward the location the sprite pointed to. He found the mark on one of the giant redwoods. It was a single, deep gash in the bark, with two smaller, diagonal cuts at one of the ends, and some white paint filling everything.
An arrow?
He approached the marks, tracing the grooves with his fingers. The marks were relatively fresh, no more than two weeks old.
"Search the area," he commanded his summons. "Find more marks like this." Further along, another tree bore the same symbol.
This one had additional scratches showing numbers and letters.
"Seven... kilometers?"
Someone wanted him to find them. But it could be a trap, so Reidar would scout the place first.
The Bone Militia spread out. The wolves of his primal pack lowered their heads, sniffing the air and the ground.
A skeleton paused roughly fifty meters north, its skull angled toward a trunk. Reidar rode closer and spotted the identical emblem etched into the wood. Another marker was discovered a hundred meters west. It formed a trail.
Someone else was out here, surviving the monsters long enough to leave a trail. They knew this twisted forest well, maybe too well. A lone hunter? A small group? A hidden camp? The marks were obviously deliberate, like someone who’d been here awhile and knew their way around. Way he or they wanted to share with the others.
Interesting.
Reidar followed the trail for hours, the forest widening to the point it all became a huge clearing.
The crude arrows led them out of the forest eventually. The air grew damper. Reidar heard the sound of rushing water.
His mount picked its way over moss-slick stones as the path widened. The trees gave way to a massive clearing dominated by a breathtaking wall of gray concrete in the far distance.
Why is it still standing?
The Greenwater Dam remained intact despite the hurricanes, earthquakes, and mountains that had collapsed or been replaced by new gigantic ones.
Regardless, at the base of the mountain where the dam was, new construction began. Tall walls of timber and hastily poured concrete and stones plugged the gaps, creating a defensible perimeter.
It was to the point there were even watchtowers, pieced together from scrap metal and wood. They stood at intervals along the fortifications. Smoke curled from a chimney somewhere within.
Ok, so people live here for real... While it was a good place, it was still too close to the dam. If the thing got destroyed, the settlement would be wiped out.
Weird...
Then the sounds of fighting reached him—shouts, screeches, and the thud of impacts.
They are under attack.
He debated whether he should help. Time was short. The defenders had been fighting hard for a while, given the amount of smoke in the area.
Reidar couldn’t be sure about the situation there given how far he was, but it also looked like their wall had been breached, and the attack meant close quarters would be messy.
The details that could be seen from the ridge he was on were also unclear. He could see scales and claws, hear the shrieks, but he could not see what was on the other side of the walls or how many creatures were beyond the splintered wood.
I should just leave...
But a knot of guilt, or maybe just plain duty, twisted in his chest, tighter than fear ever could.
Reidar internally debated what to do.
He ran through scenarios: diversion, ranged summons, picking a weak point, and withdrawing if the tide turned. Working it out calmed him, even if the danger didn’t go away.
The risk was still real. Charging in blind could get him killed, and then his family would be likely doomed. He trusted Martha to keep Marcus safe, but looking after their son meant she couldn’t hunt a lot, if they were even still alive.
He breathed.
I can’t leave them alone... Besides, I came here on purpose. I need to find a vendor, and it’s likely they have one. There was no point in not helping them.
Reidar urged his wolf to the edge of the ridge.
Below, a chaotic scene unfolded. A horde of amphibious creatures swarmed the settlement’s eastern wall.
They were grotesque, man-sized beasts with mottled green-brown skin, bulbous yellow eyes, and wide, toothless mouths that opened to release loud croaks. Webbed claws scraped against the timber walls as they tried to climb.
—Grave-Gill Mauler Level 31—
There were plenty of defenders, all around level 25. Not as weak as he’d thought. They stood on the ramparts, armored men and women throwing spears and loosing arrows into the swarm below.
They fought hard, desperately, but they were losing. A few Maulers had already broken through a section of the wall, tearing down wooden barricades. People screamed as they were pulled from their posts.
They won’t last another ten minutes.