Chapter 24 – Tracking
Clayton landed on the soft jungle floor. The area was devoid of any evidence that a struggle had taken place here only hours before, but he had felt it when three of his scouts had suddenly gone missing, all within a few seconds of each other. Normally, to lose so many so fast, he would have thought that one of the Chualtala would’ve been involved. But the Chualtalas would have left more evidence of their fight.
Still, he sent a few of his Wenduag warriors and a couple of his new spiders to check out the area. The timing of the situation bothered him. The Chualtalas have been mostly silent ever since Clayton returned from the Trial. He wasn’t sure why that would be, but their raids on his camp had completely stopped since that time. Even so, the Chualtalas were still a danger when they came across them and were still his first thoughts here.
Clayton may not even have given it a second thought if he hadn’t noticed that spirit watching him a few days ago. He wasn’t able to get a good look at the creature, but he was reminded of that Familiar the Wizard kept around. He hadn’t gotten a good look at that thing back then either, so he couldn’t be sure, but he wasn’t ruling it out. That could mean that those escapees had not only survived the cave in but had somehow managed to make it back out into his jungle. If they were smart, they would have used the chance to leave. Fortunately for Clayton, that didn’t appear to be the case.
If they were alive and spying on him, then they would have to be close. Perhaps they were hoping to exact some payback. He smiled at the thought. He hoped they were that foolish. His empire still needed more bodies and now he could force them to his cause.
No, not all… He still needed to be careful. Clayton’s strength was growing, but there were still limits to his power. Besides, he needed some people with autonomy. He can’t control everyone all the time but breaking one or two of them should be enough to make the others fall in line.
“You’re sure this is the place?” Clayton asked one of the Wenduags.
“Trail. Here. Ends.” The Wenduag said simply. They still weren’t picking up the language fast enough for Clayton’s liking. It almost felt like they were getting worse, like they were actively trying not to learn it.
“Where are the bodies?” Clayton asked. “The signs of struggle. You expect me to believe that three scouts died without so much as a broken tree? Uplifted rock? The underbrush is barely disturbed. What about scent?”
The Wenduag only shrugged at his questions. “Scent. Gone. Trail ends.”
Useless! Powerful but without an ounce of intellect between them. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. It wasn’t important. That was why he took the Blood Mage class, to get more intelligent pawns. Speaking of, perhaps it was time to test out his newest addition.
Clayton reached out, connecting with the elf puppet waiting patiently back at the camp where he had left it. Its will was gone now and, without direct input from Clayton, it barely reacted to anything anymore. It was not what Clayton had hoped for, but it will do for his current purposes. Invoking the bond between them, he sent it a simple command.
Come to me and be quick about it.
Clayton didn’t need any response from the puppet. He doubted it could give one. He could feel it start to move, coming closer, through the bond he had formed on it.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
It took several hours, but eventually his puppet arrived. By that time, it was starting to get dark. It landed nearby, glazed eyes staring at nothing. Now that it was here, Clayton took full advantage of the blood bond between them. Forcing his mind into the puppet, a second sight appeared as their minds joined.
Through the bond, Clayton was able to take over the other’s body. There was a limit to how much he could control at this point, but there was one thing he could do. With a thought he pulled up the elf’s System window. He searched through it until he found the skill he was looking for.
“Tracking at the Apprentice rank,” Clayton muttered aloud. “Exactly what I need right now.”
Look around. Clayton sent another command. Show me what you see.
Light returned to the puppets’ eyes, as though it had been waiting for a purpose. It looked around the area, moving with practiced motion. Clayton watched through his puppet’s eyes as small almost invisible traces appeared in its vision.
The elf picked out the signs of the Wenduags with ease. This was definitely the place, but they were not alone. Clayton saw evidence of another person confronting the Wenduags. Their tracks told a story. One that Clayton could almost watch like a movie through the elf’s eyes.
The Wenduags slowly approached the individual but came suddenly to stop a few feet in front of it. The Wenduags scuffled around a little, but Clayton couldn’t see why. It was beyond the skill of the elf to tell. The individual they were confronting hadn’t moved, but there was no evidence of another joining. Then two of the Wenduag fell to the ground while the third tried to run. It didn’t make it far before also coming to a stop and falling to the ground as well. Then the three vanished shortly afterwards. All the while, the individual barely moved. Only approaching one near the end before it too disappeared from the elf’s senses and skill.
“But how?” Clayton growled. “Who could have done this so easily and disappear so completely? What power could one person have to have taken down three Wenduags so effortlessly?”
One thing was certain. Only one individual did this, and none of the escapees could have managed that. Even that dwarf would have left more evidence of a fight than this thing did. No, it had to be something else, but what? A spell? If so, then it was a dangerous one.
Clayton’s mind was racing. There was no creature in the jungle that could have done that. None besides one of the Lords, but this was the Eastern Lords territory and that was not the Eastern Lord. There would have been much more destruction if that one had been involved. Possibly the Southern or Western Lords, but the Western still slumbered, and the Southern Lord would not be so far outside its territory. Would it?
Clayton felt cold sweat start to form but he calmed himself. He hadn’t crossed the Lords directly. Not that he was aware of. If he had, they wouldn’t have stopped at a couple of scouts. If one of the Lords was involved in this, then it must have been the wrong place, wrong time.
An unfortunate situation, but not one that posed a threat. Not if he didn’t make it one. Clayton still needed more time before he was ready to deal with those monsters. But he needed to be sure. If it wasn’t one of the Lords, then it was an individual with power that could be a threat to him. A threat, or an opportunity.
“Spread out,” Clayton told the Wenduags and spiders gathered around. “Search the jungle. You have all night. Look for anything incredibly powerful, but do not engage. Return to camp and wake me immediately if you find anything. I want a report from everyone here in the morning and I better not hear about anyone dying tonight.”
The Wenduags and spiders left immediately following Clayton’s command. The only standout was the puppet. It hadn’t been given a command directly, so it hadn’t acted.
Make use of your Survival and Tracking skills. Clayton sent the command to the elf. Search the jungle with the beasts tonight. Report anything unusual.
Silently the puppet moved, disappearing into the jungle leaving Clayton alone with his thoughts.
This unexpected threat was a wake-up call. He had become too comfortable in this place. The jungle was dangerous, and the Lords would always be a threat while he was here. Somewhere along the way he had forgotten that, but he no longer needed this place. His Blood Mage class would stagnate as well if he were unable to find people to practice on. He had been lucky so far, but he couldn’t count on people to keep showing up. Perhaps it was time to move to greener pastures.
