The Connected System

Loch could feel the energy growing stronger. They were approaching the town dump from the woods, a direction he’d never come from before and wasn’t sure he’d have been able to lead them accurately. He didn’t need to worry. Once they’d gotten close enough, the energy signature guided him.

It was stronger than what he’d felt from the street. They were closer to it coming from this direction. Cerie didn’t know what it was. A Natural Resource she called it, saying it was a source of power that just grew from the ambient Spirit in the area around it. Like a Spawn Field, there was something that drew the Spirit, making it bond with the Resource, making something far stronger.

Loch was kind of worried about what in a dump would cause the Spirit to coalesce. But whatever it was, he knew they had to discover it and possibly Claim it before anyone else. If it could be claimed. The dump was too close to the Clanhold.

Ahead, through the trees, he could see a clearing forming. That had to be the end of the dump. Technically it had been a Transfer Station as nothing was truly dumped there to remain. It all went into containers and then was taken away when those containers were full. Loch still called it a dump, as did most of the middle generation and older. That was the words he’d grown up with, and it was a hard habit to break. Dump was just easier to say.

With a wave, Loch had the scavenger team stop, holding back away from the treeline. He took the lead, only a couple steps ahead of Brian, Harper and Elora. Jenny and Julia were next with Piper. Loch had thought about having Piper hang back with the scavengers, but he knew the argument that would have caused. He could tell from her expression that having her in the backline with Julia was angering her enough.

That was a conversation they’d need to have at some point.

Loch was putting it off as long as he could.

He wanted to be the first out of the trees, just in case.

The energy was strong, everyone able to feel it. Just energy, there was no affinity or feel to it. It didn’t pulse or flare, staying constant. Which made some sense if it was a Natural Resource of some kind, it would just grow and give off the energy. Loch wished there was a way to get an understanding of what they faced from how the energy felt. Different types had a different feel when it mixed with the ambient Spirit. Loch could tell when Harper jumped in and out of the Shadow Realm. There was a coldness to the Spirit used. The pure Spirit from Piper’s wand had a clean feel to it.

He stepped out of the trees, seeing that the dump hadn’t really changed that much. It was a long and relatively straight area. From Route 4 the paved road had led up a small hill past the open front and sided shed that had held the town’s sand for the plows, down the hill and then in between the dumpsters. On the right had been the two that alternated for household dress with a little control room for the attendants. On the left had been the big container for cardboard and plastic. Three other containers ahead on the right had been for metal, furniture and demolition material. Behind all those, down a smaller hill, had been the offices for the town’s Department Of Public Works, the road maintenance crews, and their dumptrucks. The paved road had continued and stopped short of another small hill. Up on top of that hill had been the two large pits for yard waste. Trees, leaves and other wood waste.

Someone had thrown things that didn’t belong and the state had shut down the burn pits for environmental reasons. Cars would loop around the pits, stopping to get rid of glass to the side before stopping at the last two containers. One for aluminum cans, the other for tin.

At least every other week, sometimes weekly, Loch had driven that loop. Past the first collection of containers, around the burn pits and then stopping at the can container before sometimes stopping at the small Swap Shack, where people could bring their old stuff and donate it for others to take and use. Closing his eyes, he could picture it. Just the week before the camping trip, he’d done a dump run.

The containers were all gone, the pavement torn up. The Department of Public Works building was gone, as if it had never been there. The burn pits remained and were the source of the energy emissions.

Each pit was about twenty feet long, ten or so wide and had been ten feet deep when empty. Only one at a time was filled and once it was, the fire department would come and burn up the waste. Which was where the name burn pits came from. Once the contents of that pit were ash, the other pit would be opened up. But because of the contamination, both pits had been closed. It had been a couple of years since they had last burned anything.

But in the drive path between them grew a burning tree.

It didn’t give off any heat and didn’t appear to be taking damage from the blue-white flames that flowed up and down its trunk and over the leafless branches. The trunk showed signs of fire damage, black and ashen, but the tree itself looked alive. The edges of the flames crackled and sparked, more like lightning than flames.

Standing about twenty feet tall, the branches spread out like it used to have a wide canopy. There were no leaves, each branch bare. The trunk was wide, three feet at the base and tapering at the top. The branches started thick but as they spread they grew thinner. The entire thing was wreathed in flickering flames, which didn’t spread across the ground that they appeared to touch. Even the constant heavy winds didn’t seem to affect the tree’s flames. The wind visibly swirled around the branches, seeming to be drawn to the tree.

From the size and obvious power of the flames, Loch should have felt heat, even from the distance he was at, but there was nothing. The flickering and crackling flames didn’t even make noise. It was a tree permanently on fire, and with the odd blue-white coloring. He could understand part of what had led to its creation. The two burn pits had to have decades of ash that had accumulated. How many parts of trees had been burned in the two pits over the years? Trees were alive. Ash was used as fertilizer. There were areas of forests that were periodically burned, leaving the ash to help regrow the forest. It made sense that the burn pits could create something like the tree.

Not that Loch understood what the tree did or why the color was not the expected reds and oranges.

He walked closer, crossing the hundred feet slowly, eyes looking around but being constantly drawn to the flaming tree. The others exited the woods, weapons held ready.

“Cerie, what are we looking at,” he called out.

He could hear the fairy’s wings beating as she quickly flew over to him, hovering above his shoulder. Loch glanced up, seeing her eyes glowing.

“It is a Natural Resource as we thought,” she replied. “Obvious flame affinity but with something else as well. Anything made with the wood might either do fire damage or have fire resistance, that would be up to the crafter and their Abilities. I’m not sure what the odd coloring would signify. At least that is what I think.”

Loch studied the tree. It was large. There would be a lot of wood to harvest. But once it was harvested, was that it? Could it regrow and be a continuous source of affinity wood? He tried to use Evaluate on it, surprised that it worked.

FIRE CHARGED GRAND OAK

“What is a grand oak,” Harper asked, also having used Evaluate.

“The rank of a Natural Resource,” Cerie said. “Most times you can tell the strength of a Resource from the Spirit it gives off but the Connection gives qualifiers like it does for crafting materials. Grand is very strong.”

“What can you make with wood,” Jenny asked as the group spread out. “It’s wood. Wouldn’t a metal blade just cut through it?”

“If you use a material like Stonewood then it would not,” Cerie replied. “I do not know if this world will have such things though. Most likely, the ash would be mixed with the steel being used and pass the properties onto the armor or weapon.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Jenny said with a shrug.

Loch stopped about thirty feet from the tree. It still didn’t give off any heat but he could feel the pressure of the Spiritual energy. He wanted to harvest the wood. Fire resistance or fire damage, either one would be a huge help to his Clan. The Charged part of the name made him think of lightning. But was it a limited Resource? If so, they couldn’t just use it on any old piece of equipment.

“Would this grow back?”

Cerie flew up to hover next to him, her eyes glowing green. The flickering flames reflected in her natural green glow, giving the fairy an odd tint.

“My records show that it varies. I think it would be best to harvest it sparingly. Maybe a branch or two at a time and let those start to regrow before taking more. I fear if the whole tree was harvested, it would not regrow or it might be years before it did.”

Loch turned, searching the treeline for the scavenging team. He wondered if any of them had a specific wood harvesting Skill or something close. With something as valuable as the Fire Charged Grand Oak, he didn’t want to risk damaging it or not getting the most from any branch they could harvest. It wasn’t something he’d let just anyone try. Even if one of them did have such a Skill, Loch still wasn’t sure it would be worth the attempt. Maybe when the Skill ranked up they could try.

The Grand Oak wasn’t going anywhere.

He hoped.

A noise drew Loch’s attention. It was coming from where the town public works offices had been. There was some growth of trees, preventing Loch from having a clear view. It was loud, thudding against the ground like hoofbeats. But deeper and louder. Whatever it was, the thing was big.

It charged the thick growth of trees, turning to rush up the hill. The creature was larger than an elephant, reminding Loch of pictures he’d seen of Mastodons. The trunk wasn’t as long as an elephants, a scaly brown color. Ivory tusks jutted out from a wide mouth filled with sharp teeth. The ears weren’t as big, covered in stiff brown fur, held tight to the body which wasn’t like an elephants. It was more bear shaped, thick and low to the ground, covered in heavy brown fur, the legs rounder like an elephants but still with sharp claws. It was fast but ran somewhat stiff-legged.

Loch used Evaluate as the creature quickly rushed up the hill toward the burn pits. It ran to the side, avoiding the center drive path and the Grand Oak.

KATSHITUASHKU

He didn’t even try to pronounce the name. It sounded indigenous. Was the creature a myth made real? Most likely. It wasn’t any mythical creature he’d heard about, which didn’t help in figuring out what its strengths and weaknesses were. The feel from Evaluate was roughly the same as his own strength. Loch assumed it was an Elite but it had no unique name, or was that mouthful it’s name?

They hadn’t done anything to bother it and hadn’t gone anywhere near it yet. Did it sense them near the Grand Oak and was protecting the tree? As the monster thundered closer, the group spreading out with Loch running over to meet it head on, he could see a red tint to its fur.

Had it started to adopt some properties from the Grand Oak? That would make sense why the creature was trying to defend the Natural Resource. The stiff-legged bear wasn’t giving them time to do anything but defend themselves. For its awkward gait, the monster was fast.

Stopping about twenty feet in front of it, Loch Activated Aura Of Attack. He thought about using Breaker’s Banner but wanted to conserve the Spirit.

He threw Onyx, the axe spinning, the head crackling with energy. The Katshituashku somehow shifted to the side, the axe narrowly missing as the two sped by each other. Loch stared at the monster, not sure how something that large could have sidestepped so quickly. And it did it effortlessly, not even slowing down its charge.

Onyx returned to his hand, growing to its full size. Loch Activated Bulwark, the energy shield forming. He set his feet, watching the monster growing larger, filling his vision. All he could see was the enraged head, the tusks leading the charge. He dove to the side just as the monster reached him, swinging Onyx as he fell. The axe missed the creature thundering to a skidding stop.

Loch coughed at the amount of dust the monster had kicked up. He couldn’t see anything, rapidly blinking watering eyes to get the particles out. He stood, trying to hear the creature. He could hear its roars, the sounds of the others attacking.

The dust cleared showing the monster spinning as it swiped at the others. Brian stood in front of it, giant club demanding attention. Elora and Harper danced around it, leaping and stabbing. Behind it, Jenny slashed with her sword, the blade barely cutting through the thick hide. Brian wasn’t having much luck either. His club was slow, the monster easily able to avoid the attacks or bat them aside. The Level difference between Brian and the monster was evident. That Brian was able to stand and hold his ground against the beast was a surprise.

Windstep brought Loch across the short distance between them. He swung down with Onyx, appearing right next to the monster. The axe bit deep, cutting through the fur. The monster growled, the trunk thrashing as it spun. Three sharp claws swung for Loch. He leaned back, avoiding the swing, feeling the air pressure it left. The monster was strong. If the paw had connected, not only would the claws have done damage but the strength would have shattered bones.

Avoiding the backswing, Loch jumped back. Harper appeared on top of the creature, both tonfas plunging in deep, lightning crackling around the blades and wounds. The monster bucked, shaking its enormous body, twisting to try and get at the irritant on its back. Harper disappeared into the shadows. Elora darted in, leading with her blade. The monster twisted, the elf barely avoiding a paw.

It gave Loch an opening. He took it, Activating Cleave. Onyx bit deep, Loch twisting the axe to make the wound bigger. He hooked the tip, pulling at fur and muscle. The monster growled, twisting, pulling Onyx from Loch’s hands. He leapt back, barely avoiding the attacking swing, axe still hanging from the wound. It disappeared as Loch summoned the soul weapon back into his hand.

He swung, cutting into the paw of the monster. It roared, pulling the leg back. A club slammed into its shoulder, multiple blades piercing the side. The monster was strong, but it was at a disadvantage against multiple attackers. Especially ones that were quick enough to avoid its own attacks. The Katshituashku was fast for its size and bulk, but the speed did it no good when attacked from multiple sides.

They kept up the pressure, Piper adding in shots from her wand. The monster kept spinning, trying to attack but distracted by the next wound. It was bleeding from small wounds all over its body from the attacks of the three women. Loch’s weapon left the bigger wounds, the ones that were doing the most damage. Brian’s club left no visible bleeding wounds, but broke bones with almost every swing.

The monster was panting, one leg barely able to support it. The counter attacks came slower, each swing weaker. It was most likely used to charging a foe, overwhelming it with speed and weight, getting in close where the tusks and paws could do the most damage. The monster was not made to fight multiple smaller enemies.

Its Health pool was huge. Even with the damage they were doing, the monster kept going. Loch thought it had to be close to death, which made him wary. That was when creatures could be the most dangerous.

The Katshituashku’s trunk raised into the air. It gave a great bellow, the sound echoing through the forest. Loch felt it piercing his mind. A deep rumble that pushed against his mind, pounding against him. The sonic attack was a pressure, a weight pushing at him. He stumbled back, hearing someone, maybe a couple of people, falling to the ground. Piper yelled out, but she was further away, Loch wanting to help but unable to.

He fought against the pressure. Thanks to his Mental Resistance Skill, Loch was able to hold off against the unrelenting pressure as the monster let out another bellow. Birds were shaken from their perches in trees, their cries adding to the noise. Harper appeared on the ground near the rampaging monster. The cry had pulled her out of the Shadow Realm.

She stood unsteady, hands on her head, tonfas dropping to the ground. Her mouth was open in a silent cry. It pained Loch to see the anguish on her face. She fell to her knees.

The trumpet of the Katshituashku’s cry ended. Loch felt the pressure release, none of the others reacting, just him. The monster turned to the nearest target, Harper. Her hands were still holding her head, eyes squeezed shut, body trembling. The ground shook as the monster slammed a foot down, the rear legs digging in for a charge. It lowered its tusks, aiming right for Harper.