At nearly a quarter to six, Faris was shaken awake by a hit on one of his markers nearly 3 miles away from the outpost. He rushed out to check. Just as quickly, he rushed back inside and woke Hugo up.
"A party is approaching from the west," he said.
"What party?" the Zaatsu asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Your guests, maybe?"
"What time is it?"
"Five forty-five."
"Nope." Hugo got up and put on his shoes. "They said six-thirty."
As the duo began to rush out, Faris asked, "Could they not be early?"
The Zaatsu shook his head saying, "No. Not them."
"Ok. And how many were you expecting?"
"Three."
"Three?!"
Faris stopped, so did Hugo.
"What?" the Zaatsu asked.
"I can sense three dozen…!"
They woke up Neil and Gina on their way out.
The noise woke Vincent up as well. He turned around and saw the quartet leaving the dormitory. He shook Marcus awake.
"What, man?" the Sokidu asked without opening his eyes.
Vincent forcibly turned him around to face the empty beds and then said, "That…"
"Where'd they go?" Marcus asked, rubbing his eyes.
"I'm not sure. But something's up."
They had barely sat up straight when Gina came running back in. "Everyone! Get up!" she screamed. "We have hostiles approaching!"
Camille and Ella woke up as well. "What's going on?" the young Mystic asked.
"Hostiles!" Gina exclaimed. "In the vicinity! LET'S GO! LET'S GO! LET'S GO!"
The quintet rushed outside where, just in front of the entrance, Neil, Ben, and Riley were standing, looking up. Hugo and Faris were standing atop the wooden structure.
"Everyone here?" Hugo asked.
"Sir!" the Zeta Squad replied in unison.
The captain looked at Marcus and asked, "What're you wearing?"
He shrugged. "Seemed appropriate."
Where everyone had put on their standard keikogi uppers, he was only wearing his white inner shirt with the cargo pants and boots.
"Let the kid be," Faris said. "I mean, look at me… I don't even have the boots!"
Hugo shook his head and got focused once again on the fast-approaching hostiles. A message had already been sent to the Palace informing them of the situation. And backup had also been requested.
Faris crouched at the edge and said, "Three dozen hostiles approaching. Keep your Ki suppressed." He then looked at Vincent and asked, "Who knows that you're here?"
"What are you suggesting, nomad?" he asked with one eyebrow raised.
Neil moved closer and with a finger in the bounty hunter's face said, "Your hands look pretty dirty, smartass."
Vincent smiled. "You really are a pathetic case, aren't you?"
"What the hell did you say to me?!" Neil grabbed him by his shirt.
The White Bolt laughed. "Did you even try to sense their Ki, stupid? Can you even sense Ki?"
He pushed the young Zaatsu's hands off and looked up at Faris. "And you're supposed to be a Mystic," he said. "If they were with me, they'd be coming straight here. Can't you see what they're doing?"
"They do feel malevolent," Camille said looking out at the forest and sensing the approaching wizards' Ki patterns. "But they're not coming directly toward us per se." Looking back at the others, she added, "Derek did say that the remnants were in this area."
Hugo jumped down. "Good point," he said. "But in any case, we need to be on guard. We have to intercept them before they can do any damage."
Vincent moved a step away from Neil. He straightened his shirt. "How do you intend on doing that?" he asked. "All of them reek of magic. And they're not ordinary wizards. They're powerful. And they have strength in numbers as well. You can't stop them like this."
"You're partially right, bounty hunter," said Faris. "We'll have to be careful alright, but don't underestimate us like that."
"Do you really think they are that strong?" Gina asked.
"I'm afraid so." The senior Mystic too jumped down. "I had an eye on the entire forest ever since I arrived here. I had spread marker spells and special observation hues all around the place. No one passes through here without letting me know. I have felt Cults pass through all day. I felt you guys arrive as well." Pointing out at the forest, he added, "But each and every one of these is a wizard and each is as strong as a Sokidu."
"What?! Cultist wizards are never that strong!"
The entire squad stared at Faris wide-eyed. The Martial Artists had found themselves in a dangerous predicament.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Hugo said calmly. "Let's split up, remain calm, and tackle this situation intelligently."
Upon his directives, the group spread out. Ella and Gina were sent towards the north of the outpost while Faris and Camille went south. Marcus and Neil, along with the twins, jumped a hundred and fifty feet down from the mountain and waited on the ground in the shade of trees. Hugo and Vincent remained at the entrance of the outpost.
The captain of the Zeta Squad stood with his eyes closed following the movement of the wizards. He was worried. Three dozen wizards, all of whom felt fairly strong, against two Zaatsus, two Mystics, and six Sokidus – it was not going to be easy. He could not cut Vincent loose either. No telling what he would do. He prayed in silence for the threat to pass.
The wizards stopped at a mountain near where Camille and Faris were. The duo peeked.
'Black skirt bastards,' the Mystic thought. 'Can't tell which Cult they're from… if they're from one at all.'
They had all donned black cloaks covering them from head to toe, but they were not hiding. They were just standing there. It was almost as if they were announcing their presence.
Faris shook his head saying, "Do you feel that?"
"Shit!" Camille nodded. "They're splitting."
Divided into two groups the wizards began moving once again. Most of them continued on their course nearly exactly in the direction of the outpost though slower than before. A smaller contingent broke out and swiftly began moving in a different direction. It felt as if they were circling around the outpost. Camille and Faris began moving along.
The Sokidu asked, "Do you think they're planning on attacking from behind the outpost?"
"I'm not sure," the Mystic replied. After a pause, he shook his head and whispered, "Blast it!" and picked up his pace.
A kilometre due east of the outpost was the Huéznar Cascades – a series of waterfalls along the Huéznar River with swimming areas, picnic spots & hiking trails. The wizards were heading straight for it.
"There are civilians in the area," Camille said, trying hard to keep up. "You don't think they are going to attack, are they?"
"I hope not," Faris replied. "Cults on Cults is one thing, but it would be the first time in a long while if they do something like that."
"What do you mean?"
"Back when me and your brother started going on missions, back when we were still teenagers, '90, '91, that was when I last remember tailing a few rogue wizards who had decided to create unrest in civilian areas – plebeian areas. Nothing of the kind has happened since. Some were scared off by the Basilisk, and then Renekom got rid of the rest."
Camille looked at him wide-eyed. "The Basilisk scared them off?"
"Hmm." Faris looked ahead, his expression hardening. "He was a Zaatsu, remember?" With a dry chuckle, he added, "For a while, I worked in a squad he used to lead… just like yours."
Camille stared at him. "Woah…"
Faris suddenly stopped on a branch ahead of her.
"Hold that thought," he said. "They're stopping."