The Connected System

Loch looked down at the only thing left in the storage container. Sunlight didn’t make it deep past the now open doors, leaving the rest in shadows, but Loch could see the small pedestal easy enough. Runes were carved into the sides, faintly glowing.

The whole thing only stood three feet high. The crystal globe on top was only a foot in diameter, no longer pulsing but still filled with a smokey substance. It sat on a pedestal, wider at the base and tapering to the globe. The sides were smooth with a line of small runes up the middle on all four sides.

Inside the container, Loch couldn’t tell what it was all made of.

He crouched down holding his hand inches away from the globe. He could feel heat coming off it. Or was it energy he felt?

“Is it safe to pick up,” he asked, not turning around.

“It should be,” Cerie answered from where she floated just outside the container.

Loch grunted, not liking the answer.

He looked down at the Golem Battery, surprised the Connected System had called it that. A battery was a technological item, it didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the Connection. The object, from what Cerie had described, was a battery. Loch had just expected something else for a name.

Loch was hopeful the Battery would be useful along with the two Golem Cores they’d managed to salvage from the destroyed creatures. Golems were classified as constructs. They weren’t alive or undead, just animated and powered by their Cores which received energy from the Battery. He’d hoped to take more of their metal but it turned out to be one solid piece and the Golems were too heavy to put into Piper’s Spatial Bag.

All that metal would go to waste, just rusting away in the forest.

They’d managed to get more metal from the Redcaps and their iron boots. He would have grabbed the red caps each of the monsters wore but had been hesitant. He’d heard of Redcaps from myths and just what gave their caps the deep red color. Cerie had confirmed it.

Blood. Their caps were soaked in blood.

No one wanted to touch them.

His fingers hovered an inch over the crystal. He could feel the energy. Moving down, he didn’t feel anything coming from the pedestal itself, just the crystal. As a battery the crystal was probably the powersource with the runes on the pedestal directing that energy into the Golem cores. Cerie wasn’t completely sure as Golems were not common in the Silver Bark Clan. The Elders felt constructs like the Golems were unnatural. They preferred tamed beasts or summoned creatures, not something built. She had some theories in her data, as the Silver Bark had encountered columns, but that was all they were. Just theories, not hard facts.

Loch found it odd that the Silver Bark hadn’t investigated more. Or maybe they’d encountered them so rarely, and knew how to defeat the constructs, that learning more just wasn’t something they wanted to waste time and resources on.

He hoped that one of the crafters back in the Clanhold could make use of the battery and cores. But first he had to bring them back.

Touching the pedestal, he felt the cold coming from it. Not quite stone and not quite metal. It was an odd combination of both. It felt strong, not something that he thought he could damage. Grabbing it in both hands, Loch lifted with his knees. It wasn’t heavy, far lighter than he would have expected. The pedestal was solid, whatever the material it was made from was just light. The thing was awkward, most of the weight in the crystal it held. He adjusted his grip, careful not to touch the crystal itself.

Walking out of the container, Loch headed toward where Piper had the Spatial Bag open and waiting. He moved past one of the downed Golems, the core laying on the ground. The crystal pulsed, surprising him. Shifting his grip, he almost dropped the Battery as a bolt of energy snapped out. It crackled and snapped as it struck the Core, which started to light up.

Loch rushed over to the bag, the bolt of energy crackling and extending. He shifted his body to avoid being struck by the line connecting the Battery to the Core. Not watching the Battery shift and warp, he stuffed it into the bag. The crackling bolt of energy snapped, the end disappearing as Piper quickly closed the bag.

The Core’s inner light faded.

“Will it be safe to put the Cores in the bag with the Battery,” Piper asked, looking at the Core nervously.

They both looked over at Cerie who hovered above the Core, watching the light fading away, the Core becoming inert again. The fairy’s eyes glowed a brighter green as she accessed her knowledge.

“I do not know,” she finally answered. “It should be safe but there is no information on it being done that I know of.”

Loch sighed. They were discovering a lot that Cerie didn’t know about. Her knowledge was limited to just one Clan, even though it was a large Clan. There was still a lot out in the worlds of the Connected System that she wouldn’t know about. If the Silver Bark Clan hadn’t encountered it or heard about it, Cerie wouldn’t know. And she’d already discovered that the Connection of Earth was different from any other she had knowledge of.

Brian’s shadow fell over Loch, he held one of the backpacks. Thanking him, Loch took the large camping backpack. It had a metal frame, lots of pouches and straps. Moving stuff around, Loch stuffed the core into the pack. He shifted it a couple of times, holding the pack and adjusting the weight distribution.

The core was small, only eight or nine inches or so long and four or so wide. Oval shaped, it was smooth, made of a crystal similar to that of the Battery. For being so small, it was heavy. Loch couldn’t feel any energy from it. He didn’t fully trust it, but it seemed safe enough to travel with. Brian was already stuffing the other core into his backpack.

Loch stood up, slinging the straps over his shoulders. He hated walking through the woods and exploring with backpacks on but until they all got Spatial Bags, they’d need to do it. It was the only way they could carry any loot they found from monsters, along with anything else they scavenged. Piper was with them, with the Spatial Bag, but it was getting full and Loch wanted to keep room in the bag for anything special or important they came across, as well as the bigger items they could salvage.

It meant each of them had backpacks that were full or near full, constantly having to rearrange as stuff was looted and found. It also meant that they’d have to take the bags off and set them aside before going somewhere they’d expect a fight. And worse, when they got ambushed, they were all encumbered.

They had to find more Spatial Bags.

Also needed to find someone that could make use of the Golem Cores and Battery. It could be months or years before they had anyone but Loch thought the items worth keeping. Having Golems that could be used to protect the Clanhold would be huge. The monsters were tough and could probably be constructed to be even tougher.

Books had been useful in helping get the future blacksmith and other crafters their breakthroughs that got them their Classes, but he doubted that would be useful in crafting Golems. There were no books about that. He’d read some fantasy series with Golems, but that wasn’t the same as reading a non-fiction book about the craft.

It was something they’d have to discover through study and hope for a breakthrough.

Loch stretched. It was more habit than a need. Since his body had been Adapted, he hadn’t the usual aches and pains he’d grown accustomed to that came with age. His body still hurt after fighting but natural regeneration healed that up fairly quickly.

“What’s the plan?,” Jenny asked.

He looked at the large group. None had full backpacks, not even the scavengers. Loch had thought about giving them the Cores, but ended up keeping them. The items were valuable, even if they couldn’t be used yet, and Loch wanted those with him.

“We keep going,” Loch said. “There’s lots to explore.”

***

Loch kicked the dying Redcap out of the way. He swung Onyx, the axe cutting deep into the shoulder of another one. Pulling the axe out, he twisted and slammed the crackling spikes of Bulwark into a third creature. They just kept coming.

He kicked a charging Redcap, knocking it to the side. For as short and thin as the creatures were, they weighed a lot. It felt like kicking stone. First the gaunts and now the Redcaps. Loch wondered if kicking him felt like hitting stone. Was it an effect of being Adapted or was he just unlucky?

The Redcap rolled, coming to a stop against a tree. Loch wasn’t sure if it was dead or not, and he didn’t care at that moment. There were enough of the troublesome creatures scattered around him and his people.

They were spread out through the trees, barely enough space between the trunks for a single person. It was easy to lose sight of the others and the many Redcaps that rushed through the forest. The creatures didn’t always charge right at Loch or one of the others, they darted around them, through and past them, creating distractions and causing chaos.

It was hard to get a count of the rushing Redcaps. They were fast but not silent. Each roared or made other sounds as they ran, laughing and yipping. Their metal shod feet slammed onto the ground.

Loch shifted to look around a trunk, the size of the tree making it seem like it had been there for decades and not days. He could see Piper with her back to another tree, Harper on one side and Elora on the other. Piper looked angry. Most likely she was upset at being protected, but Loch didn’t care. He trusted her to be able to take care of herself, to an extent, but this was not a fight made for her and her Abilities. A black form darted around the three. Large in the rough shape of a cat. It had been one of her quick sketches, not as detailed so it wasn’t as strong, but it also didn’t take that long to summon.

He couldn’t see the rest of the group but he could hear them.

Another Redcap charged at him, another coming from the side. Loch swung Onyx in front of him, Activating Thunderclap. The wave of pressure spread out behind the swing, slamming into the two Redcaps. Both were knocked to the ground. Loch Activated Windstep, appearing in front of one as it struggled to get up. He swung Bulwark, spikes jutting out from the energy shield. Each pierced the body of the Redcap, the weight dragging at Loch’s arm. He drew the spikes back into the shield, the energy growing brighter. Twisting he threw Onyx. The axe spun end over end, the bladed head slamming into the head of the other Redcap. Its cap was knocked off, hitting the ground as the creature fell. Its eyes followed the path of its cap, watching in horror as it struck. Life left its eyes as it too hit the ground.

Loch spun, looking for more Redcaps. He saw a couple running around the group, getting ready to dart in at someone. He threw Onyx, clipping one of the Redcaps, sending it spinning. He ran in the same path as the axe, reaching out a hand as it reappeared. The Redcap glared at him, hate filling its eyes as it got up, one arm hanging useless. The creature didn’t try to run, even wounded. It stomped its feet, waiting for Loch’s charge.

The Redcap looked the same as all the others. There was some variation in length of beard, brightness of the cap, but overall Loch couldn’t tell one from the other. All looked male, but there was no way to be truly sure. Cerie had said that the Redcaps were like the Hobs, somewhere between monster and Adapted.

Loch didn’t charge the Redcap, he stalked closer, Onyx raised. The Redcap glared, shifting its feet. Loch Activated Elemental Surge, the rush of Spirit channeled through his armor and out into the world. It struck the startled Redcap like a physical force, knocking the creature down. Before it could get up, Loch had rushed over. Onyx descended, ending the creature’s life.

He turned around looking for more Redcaps. He couldn’t see any, not fighting or running around them. The tired group gathered together, Julia rushing over to one of the scavengers, her hands already glowing with healing energy.

“Everyone good?,” he asked.

He got some thumbs up and a couple of grunts.

Loch glanced up through the tree canopy, trying to find the sun. He could just barely make out a brighter spot through some leaves. The trees were pretty spaced out, but the branches were long and thick, the canopy blocking out most of the light. It was chilly beneath the leaves, with heavy shadows and barely any light.

It was hard to tell the sun’s location relative to the horizon with the trees blocking most of the view. Loch couldn’t tell what time it was. He estimated it was mid-afternoon. They’d headed out in the morning and had been walking through the woods, and fighting, for a couple of hours. The last fight had not been the first time they’d been ambushed by Redcaps. The forest was swarming with them.

They probably had a couple more hours of good light before night fell. How much more area would they be able to explore? Loch knew they weren’t being that efficient about it. They weren’t following any paths or grid system, there was a lot of forest they weren’t even looking at. It was a mostly straight line, heading toward Saddleback Mountain.

Once he’d seen the mountain from Route 4, even before entering the new forest where the recycling center had been, Loch had decided to make for the mountain. It was the highest point in town and would have a decent view of all of Northwood. They could head there from their current location, hit the mountain top and then follow the trails through the old Northwood Meadows State Park. That would put them back on Route 4 not that far from the Clanhold.

And when they had first passed the Park, Loch had felt something in the old town dump next to it. There had been a large pond in the Meadows as well.

All places Loch had planned on stopping at on the way back to the Clanhold. He still planned on it, but would now be coming from a different direction.

If they kept going, they’d get that much closer to the mountain. The original hike from the parking lot in the Meadows up to the peak of the mountain had only been something like nine miles, maybe only seven. Loch couldn’t remember. But what would it be now? From the road, the mountain hadn’t looked that much further away. Had it looked taller?

He knew the distance had grown. The Connection was expanding Earth and a forest like the one around the mountain was the perfect place to do it. But the Connection was also messing with their perceptions of the increased distance. Walking it, they knew it had increased, but they couldn’t always physically see that expansion.

How many miles was it now? Could they still do it in a day?

He knew they couldn’t make it to the peak before nightfall, especially with the random fighting. They’d have to camp out somewhere. But where? They were in a forest. It was pretty flat, there didn’t seem to be any hills that would have caves. Aside from the one shipping container, they hadn’t found anything else but trees and Redcaps.

The Redcaps had to have a home somewhere, but there would most likely be a lot more of them there. It wouldn’t be an option.

“Let’s get going,” Loch said, hearing some quiet protests from the scavengers but choosing to not say anything. “First defensible place to camp for the night, we stop.”

He remembered overnight canoe trips down the Saco River in Maine with friends. It would either be finding a camping spot too early and having that many more miles to canoe the next day, when they were tired and probably a little hung over. Or it would be finding a camping spot too late in the day and having a less than perfect one.

Loch wondered which option they’d find themselves in.