"I don't like it." Natile, the Director of Military Affairs, says, looking over reports of horde movements.
"They're erratic?" Her aid asks. He is a middle aged man, wearing tan slacks and a buttoned up shirt.
"No, they aren't. That's what concerns me. It's a grid pattern. It's like they are looking for something." She sets the reports down and leans back in her office chair. "We need more information. Call Wyatt, we need reconnaissance." The man nods, stands up, and walks out of the room. Natile squints her eyes, and looks at a map of the city hanging on her wall. But it isn't the city itself she is looking at, it is outside the walls. Her gaze fixes on a specific point in the wastelands; on sector 12407. A small oasis three miles outside the walls. At their current rate, the horde will arrive at it in one month.
"Ma'am. He's on line one." The aid says, sticking his head back into the room.
Later, at Hebron Funeral Home, now Shepard's Court's base, Marcel is training with some of his new recruits. It's a sparring session between himself and a recruit named Abiel. His persona is Deadlift, and his gift was incredible strength. His gift in particular was more potent that normal. While Marcel had encountered others with gifts that allowed one to enhance their body, or whose body was already exceptional, Abiel's was on another level. If Marcel could easily lift a small transport over his head, Abiel could lift a larger combat transport, outfitted with thicker armor, with a single hand. Marcel knew this because Abiel had done so with the wreck of Shepard's Court's old transport while assisting with clean up efforts, which is how the two had met. Abiel's weapon of choice was one that complimented his strength, a massive steel hammer, the size of Marcel's whole body. Yet, Abiel lifted and swung it with ease. However, during training, he used what was effectively a large rubber mallet.
The training hammer swings past Marcel's head, and he feels the wind tickle his neck. His hair stands on end as he pumps more aura into himself to ensure he can keep dodging Abiel's attacks. It may be training, but a hit from Abiel's hammer, rubber or otherwise, would still crack Marcel's massively reinforced and armored ribs like stale bread. Marcel parries Abiel's next attack, throwing him off balance, then moves it with his own training weapon; a small wooden staff. He taps Abiel on the helmet, and the point is called; Marcel wins.
Both men take off their helmets. "Nice work, Abiel." Marcel says. "But I've got some pointers if you'll hear 'em."
"Sure." Abiel says. He's young, and inexperienced, like Marcel was just a few years ago. Marcel going into detail about how Abiel shouldn't commit to a swing fully until the last second. He needs to be ready to change direction or block. Because he's swinging with all his might, he's got openings, blind spots. That can be taken advantage of. Abiel nods his head, "Thanks. Can I ask, who taught you? You aren't much older than me, but your skills are amazing."
"Same guy that's teaching you." Marcel says, and gestures to Abner, who'd been teaching other recruits on the other end of the training hall. The training hall was formerly the chapel, where the visitations were held, so it had some layout issues. Large, mostly decorative, columns sat along the walls that appeared to support the roof, but actually just looked nice. Marcel had already made plans to renovate the area, but some things are just too expensive to do quickly. So, the teams worked around them. "Abner taught me combat training alongside… someone else. And Sara taught me my urban navigation skills."
"Really? But they work for you?"
"Life's funny like that." Ziba walks into the room, and waves for Marcel to come to the office area. "I'll be right back. Do some transition drills while I'm gone." With that, Marcel leaves to meet Ziba.
In the office, Ziba is on the phone. "Yes, he's right here. I'll put him on." Ziba covers the speaker, talking to Marcel. "It's Hero Corp's head office. Miss Natile wants a word. There's someone else on the line too; Mr. Wyatt. He's HC intelligence director."
Marcel takes the phone, "Hello? Marcel David speaking."
"Marcel, tell Ziba if he's going to cover the speaker, he should also whisper." Natile says. Marcel glances at Ziba and raises an eyebrow, amused. "But at least you're caught up. Listen, we need you to take a reconnaissance team into the wastelands and get us some information. Mr. Wyatt, please give him the details."
"Hello Mr. David. My Name is Director Wyatt. We've been receiving reports of unusual movements of a specific horde in the wasteland. Near sector 636. We have our suspicions, but nothing concrete. We want you to lead three of your sidekicks to the area and get us some actionable information."
"Why my group? We're pretty new. I know Natile and I have a history working with Omar in the past, but that hardly seems like enough." Marcel asks.
"It isn't because of you or Omar." Natile says. "It's your sidekicks."
"You have three working for you now named Wander, Smokeout, and Nameless, yes?" Wyatt asks. He is referring to: Abishai, whose hero persona is Wander; Benny, whose persona is Smokeout; and Nameless. Nameless is unique in Shepard's Court in that he chooses to keep his personal identity secret. It is rare, but some heroes do prefer to separate their heroic and personal lives. While he doesn't hide his face while not in the field, Marcel and the rest of SC know not to dig into his private affairs. Abishai is a woman, about thirty years old, whose gift allows her to become invisible. Benny is an older man, about forty-five, whose gift makes others ignore his presence. And Nameless is a young man, only a bit older than Marcel, whose gift is the ability to move so quickly that only the fastest of heroes and monsters can even catch a glimpse of him.
"Yes, they work for me. Why?"
"They're the best recon heroes in the city. All three of them have worked for the biggest hero groups and made names for themselves." Wyatt says.
"Frankly, it's a miracle they all three joined you. It's the first time all of them have worked for the same hero group." Natile says.
"One second." Marcel says, and covers the phone's receiver. He whispers to Ziba. "Did you know we had the three best recon heroes working for us?"
"You mean Abishai, Benny, and Nameless? Yes. Didn't you?" Ziba asks, half whispering.
Marcel shakes his head, then uncovers the receiver. "Okay, sorry. I'll put the team together. But are we looking for anything specific?"
"We want you to confirm that they are doing, what their number is, and how they are organized. As well as any other details you feel are relevant." Wyatt says.
"The experts will know what to do. Just listen to them, and send someone to back them up, assuming you don't go personally." Natile says. "Fair warning, this horde is different than the others. But we aren't quite sure how. Out of the twelve recon teams we've sent, only four have returned. And those were the ones that didn't get close."
"And that's why you want the best? So they can get closer?" Marcel asks.
"Exactly." Wyatt says.
"Put together a team and meet us at the head office tomorrow at noon. We'll give specific instructions once you've arrived."
After they finish speaking, Marcel hangs up, and goes to find the three. "Abishai, Benny, Nameless." Marcel calls out towards the training hall. They all are training with various partners, so they end their bouts and walk over.
"I guess head office finally called." Benny says.
"It was a matter of time." Nameless adds.
"I wish I could have seen the boss's face when he got the news he'd accidentally hired the three best spies in the city." Abishai laughs.
"Yeah, laugh it up." Marcel says. "We're going on a recon mission."
"Inside or outside?" Nameless asks.
"What?"
"The walls. Inside or outside."
"Oh. Outside. Sector 636." Marcel answers.
"That's out in the sticks." Benny says.
"What are we doing?"
"Investigating the horde. But we'll get a more thorough brief tomorrow at noon at HC head office." Marcel says. "I'll go prep the transport. You three get some rest."
"Actually boss, better leave that to us." Abishai says, a sly smirk creeping on her face.
"…I don't trust the way you said that. I have two older brothers, I know that face." Marcel shakes his head, frowning. He can't help but think of the times his brothers pranked him when he was growing up. They always had that same face just before.
"She just means… we know what we'll need better than most. Trust us. We won't miss anything." Benny adds.
Marcel, still wary, agrees, and leaves the prep to them. The next morning, they all get into a transport, loaded with only a few small bags, and drive to the head office. While there, they receive a comprehensive brief of their objectives: to track the hordes movements, document horde numbers, discern if any particularly powerful monsters or gang members are present, and to discover the horde's reason for the abnormal behavior. Once they are finished getting briefed, they walk outside, only to find a small surprise waiting. Their supplies are being unloaded from the transport, and strapped to horses.
"What the?" Marcel asks.
"Surprised, boss?" Benny asks.
"What's going on?" Marcel asks, confused.
"It's a recon mission. Can't take a loud transport. Too easy to track. Horses are nearly as fast, make less noise, and know inherently when it's time to beat a hasty retreat." Nameless explains.
"Need riding lessons? It's easier than it looks." Abishai says.
"Nope." Marcel answers, and hops effortlessly onto the lead horse's back. "Grew up on a ranch. Used to have to herd sheep from horseback all the time." Marcel gives the reins a slight tug and walks the horse around a bit to get a feel for it. "What's its name?"
"Uh… her name's Cherry." Abishai says, slightly dismayed that her prank didn't work out as well as she'd hoped.
"Good girl, Cherry." Marcel says, patting her.
"Dang." Benny says, mounting his own horse. One by one, they all saddled up, and headed for the city's gate.
After arriving, going through security, and exiting the city, they don't ride at a fast pace. It's a long way, and wearing out the horses wouldn't be good if they suddenly need to retreat. Plus, if they ride too fast, they'll kick up dust that can be used to spot them. As they ride, Benny starts up a conversation.
"So, boss, can I ask something about your last hero group, Oasis?"
"Sure, I suppose."
"What actually happened? I mean, we've all heard the rumors, but what really happened between you and Oasis King?"
"Don't be rude, Benny." Abishai says curtly. But it is clear by the look in her eye she was curious as well.
Marcel sighs, "It's fine. But you'll need to be more specific than that. A lot happened."
"Why did he turn on you? He framed you, right? You had to hide in the wastelands for years."
Marcel scoffs, "No, only for a few months. I hid in Keilah for almost two years before he found me again. I had an apartment, a job. Aside from using a fake name and not going out during the day without taking persuasions, life was pretty much normal. As for why he framed me…. He was jealous."
"Jealous? Of what? Weren't you just a newbie then?"
"It's a long story." Marcel takes a breath, and from the beginning, explains the events to the best of his ability. He tells them about Omar, and how he abandoned Saul. About meeting Omar, and receiving his aura. Of the night he could have killed Saul with his own sword, and why he didn't. He tells them of the voice, and the visions.
"It's reassuring to know one of the most important and influential men in the city, and the man we work for, occasionally hears voices and sees things." Nameless says.
Marcel chuckles. "Voice, singular. I've realized over the years that while sometimes it sounds like multiple people talking… it's… I don't know. I just know it's just one voice. I can tell."
"So, assuming it's not a hallucination, what is it?" Abishai asks.
"I'm still working that out. I think Omar knew, and I definitely feel like I'm getting closer. But I don't know yet." Marcel says.
"Sounds like those old myths, from before the walls. You read the epics of Shimshon?" Nameless asks.
"Not since grade five." Benny says.
"He used to commune with something like that. What did he call it? Breath giver? Life owner? Something like that." Nameless adds.
"Those are just myths. None of it really happened." Abishai says.
"Omar used to talk about them. He seemed convinced that a lot of those old myths were real. He was pretty old… who knows, maybe he was there?" Marcel smirks, thinking about his old friend.
"Didn't it have a lot of names?" Benny asks. "I remember that was something my teacher talked about. That thing Shimshon talked with had a different name for every situation. I remember because it was one of the only questions I got right on that test… I failed that class. Had to redo it."
"Yeah. Omar said it was an important part of the story, because no one knew the being's true name, so those who served it gave it names based on what it was doing. Peace Bringer, First Breath, Self-Existent." Marcel says, remembering one of Omar's old lessons.
"Shhh, listen." Abishai interrupts. She holds up her fist, and pulls her reins. Everyone stops, goes quiet, and listens. They hear a slight rumbling. "Down." She says, and hops off the horse. The horses, well-trained, all lay on their sides as flat as possible, hiding behind the stones. The area of the wastes the group is travelling through is rocky, and full of dried clay. It was once a riverbed, dried up centuries ago. Benny takes out a curved tool from his pocket and puts it to his eye. It peaks out slightly above the top of the rocks, and allows him to see without sticking his head up.
"Two monsters, fighting not too far away. One is a is a whipcat, the other an armyboar." Benny watches the two fight for a moment. "This could be a bit. We should stay here for now." Namess decides he'll keep an eye on the fight, and let the others know when it's safe to move again. They all decide that the horses wouldn't be seen, so they get them up. They take the opportunity to let the horses, and themselves, rest. They sit on some rocks, hiding behind a drop off in the riverbed.
"What do you think we'll find?" Marcel asks.
"At the horde? Hopefully something good." Benny says.
"Something to end this war." Abishai adds.
"How do you think the city is handling it?" Marcel asks.
"Not well." Abishai says.
"Yeah." Marcel nods. He's seen it too.
"The food rationing hit everyone hard. But they bounced back, at first. Everyone kept telling themselves it would be over in a few days, then weeks, then months. But when the wall was breached… it got bad. Worse than I've ever seen it." Benny says.
"My mamele stopped going outside. She's convinced monsters will be roaming the streets now. She's half right. How many times have we been invaded since the wall fell?"
"Lost count." Benny says.
"It's weird. Growing up, the wall always seemed so… impenetrable. Seeing it broken like that shook me." Abishai says.
"It scared everyone." Marcel says. "People have lost faith… in the wall, in heroes. They're spiraling. They need something to believe in."
"We need to end this war." Benny says. "Whatever we find in this horde, I just hope it's good."
Nameless climbs down the drop off, and hurries over to the others. "Hey, that horde we're moving to, it's supposed to be another day's travel at least, right?"
"Yeah. Aren't you supposed to be watching the fight? It is over already?" Benny asks.
"It's being led by multiple giant-class monsters, right?"
"Yeah?" Abishai answers.
"A horde just showed up. Approaching from the direction of where we were headed. It's got some big ones in the front too. As soon as the whipcat and the armyboar spotted it, they both started running straight towards it. Like they were being controlled."
"What?" Marcel exclaims. The three stand up, and climb the drop off. They each verify what Nameless said. A massive horde is headed in their direction, led by two giant-class monsters. The exact types that reports indicate Lahmi's personal guard has. "Is it moving towards the city?"
"Not if they keep going in that direction." Abishai says.
"Reports indicated they wouldn't be in this area for a while. What changed?" Nameless wonders.
Marcel looks down at the dried up riverbed, and has a thought. "There's no water in this area."
"Supplies, of course. They ran out of supplies. They're going to get more." Benny says.
"The monsters can eat one another, but the people can't." Abisha says. "Which means, if we can find out how long it's been since they last restocked, we can predict when they will make their next supply run, and maybe set up an ambush."
"Let's circle around and tail them from a distance. Maybe we can find what path they're taking." Marcel orders. Everyone heads to their horses, and make a fast paced half-circle to avoid the horde, and start following it from behind. For the next day, they follow the horde, using their gifts to get close, and collect information. Marcel, the least stealthy member of the squad, stays behind to watch the horses.
Abishai, Benny, and Nameless get close to the horde, then split up and go their separate ways. The plan is to investigate the horde until nightfall, and then return to Marcel's location. If they do not show up one hour after dark, they will assume the missing member is dead or captured, and retreat without them, taking what information they have back to the city. Abishai vanishes, and heads straight to the horde's center. Nameless uses his gift, and moves to the right of the horde. He passes several monsters on the way, but none take notice of him because of his gift. And Benny dashes left, moving too quick for the eye to see.
Abishai catches up with the horde. She moves through groups of monsters and gang members, unseen. She finds a group of fifteen gang members walking in formation, surrounded on all sides by a variety of monsters. Strapped to the monsters backs are bags, like that on her horse. Bags used to carry and store supplies. Carefully, Abishai walks in step with the monster, and undoes it's saddlebag. She feels around inside, but doesn't feel anything like a book or papers. So she moves on to the next. One by one, she searches the saddlebags of every monster. In the end, she finds only three things. A journal, apparently written by one of the gang members, a roughly drawn map with a grid pattern, and dozens of scratched out areas, and a few scribbled notes she can't understand. With that, she notices the sun starting to set, and leaves the horde, heading back to Marcel.
Nameless walks into the horde on the right side, near the outskirts. His gift allowing him to go unnoticed. He walks up to a group of gang members, walking alongside their monster mounts, and listens to their conversation. They talk about how sore they are from digging, and complain that the monsters should be the ones doing the work, not them. And about how they aren't sure what they're looking for, but how worth it being inside the city's walls again will be. None of them really like or trust Lahmi, and are only following him to stay alive, but at least they know if they keep following him, they'll get to go back inside the city. Some plan to take revenge on the judges that kicked them out, others just want to see family again. After listening for a while, Nameless notices the sun setting, and leaves.
Benny zips into the horde, too fast to see. He quickly searches through everything he can find. Every box, pocket, saddlebag, and tent in sight. Unlike the other two, the horde and gang members quickly figure out something is happening as they are knocked over and feel their pockets and bags turned inside out at impossible speeds. Some of the monsters are fast enough to notice him, and take a few swipes. Benny isn't capable of hurting them. He isn't strong, or durable, so when he's caught, he runs on to the next group and repeats everything. He moves through their caps and groups like a tornado of chaos, finds some blueprints in a tent, guarded by multiple powerful monsters, and then runs away before he's noticed again. He doesn't wait until sunset, and is in and out of the horde in less than an hour. Leaving a trail of confusion and chaos in his wake.
Nameless and Abishai return just before the deadline, and find Marcel and Benny eating some of the rations, and the horses asleep. There's no fire, but instead, everyone wears special red glasses that improve their ability to see in the dark. Each of the horses also has a pair. However, the glasses don't work well enough to allow them to read any of the collected papers. Marcel has already heard Benny's reports, and read the blueprints before the sun went down. So instead, Nameless and Abishai explain what they each heard. Once everyone is on the same page, they pack up, and rush back to the city. Benny goes ahead of everyone, taking photographs of everything, until his camera runs out of film. As soon as the camera prints out the pictures, he bolts off to the city to deliver the preliminary reports. The others hop on the horses and run home, finally arriving before daybreak.