Soul Caller 1 - Chapter 43 (Patreon)

Figuring it wasn’t yet time to start the fight, Merrick glanced at the scared looking women and noticeably relaxed his body, nodding his head. The tension in the air eased and, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically, Joseph took a seat at the fire.

"Don't mind if I do. That stew smells delicious. I tell you what, it's been a long day.”

“Tell your friend to put his bag down and come have some food too," the mustached man said, ladling up two bowls of stew and passing them over.

Glancing at the women again, Merrick put his pack down and walked over to the fire, accepting the bowl with a blank face. The camp was quiet as he and Joseph began to eat their food, but Merrick wasn’t confused about the situation they were in. There were five enemies and all well-armed, so Merrick knew that if he was going to start a fight he needed to wait for the right moment. It didn’t take long for Merrick to finish his food and he put the bowl down as Joseph chatted with the others. Everyone seemed to be relaxing, and the man with the broken teeth even lowered his rifle. That changed, however, with the mustached man's next words.

"What are you boys carrying in that pack of yours?" he asked, his eyes hard and mean.

Looking up from his bowl, Joseph started to get to his feet, but one of the prospectors shifted his rifle, pointing it straight at Joseph's chest.

"Nuh-uh, you stay seated there."

Growing still, Joseph stared at the other men, and then carefully placed his bowl on the ground.

"Look, we don't want any trouble," he said.

"Well, that's good," the mustached prospector said, "but you never answered my question. What you got in that pack of yours?”

Without waiting for an answer, he continued to speak, answering his own question.

“I figure a guy like you, carrying so many weapons, affording a porter, must be pretty well off. Well, it seems like your fortune is our luck. Or maybe it’s the opposite. Whichever it is, how about you share some with us? What do you say?"

Next to Joseph, Merrick was sitting completely still, and the prospectors seemed to have lost track of him. It was one of the astounding effects of the Serpent's Stealth skill, as he appeared to become one with the ground he sat on. He could feel the Song of the World around him, and now, anger burning in his chest, he decided he had listened long enough.

When he moved, it was with lightning speed, one of his spears flicking out of its sheath and crossing the campfire to slam into the shoulder of the prospector whose gun was trained on Joseph. He could have killed the man with that strike, planting the blade deep in his throat or one of his eyes, but instead, he had aimed for the shoulder to knock the man to the side, ensuring that his shot would go wide. Even as the bang of the rifle, reflexively triggered, echoed in the camp, he saw Joseph drawing his pistol as he dove to the side. Following up on his throw, Merrick moved in one smooth motion, his legs uncoiling underneath him as he crossed over the fire in a single leap, his other spear stabbing deep into the mustached man's chest, slamming him into the ground.

Merrick felt bones cracking from the force of his strike and saw the deep fear in the man’s eyes before they dimmed. Not wanting to give up his momentum, Merrick tucked his shoulder and rolled over the man’s body, pulling the pistol from his waistband as he completed the motion. Rising up to one knee and spinning, he unleashed a pistol shot at point-blank range, nailing the prospector who had spoken to him earlier. The beam of light ripped through the prospector's arm, tearing a huge chunk of flesh and bone from the man's side, stealing away his life with it.

Spear in one hand, Merrick spun again, dodging out of the way of a shot that tore up the ground at his feet. Joseph had already fired, killing the long-haired prospector with a shot straight through his head, leaving only two remaining, one wounded by Merrick's throw and the other holding an expended rifle. In shock, the prospector, who had tried to shoot Merrick with his rifle, fumbled for the knife at his waist as Merrick lunged towards him.

At the same time, the wounded prospector lifted his rifle toward Merrick but there was a whistle in the air, and a sharp chunk of rock tore through the man's throat. It had been thrown from the side, and looking over, Merrick saw Sellie propped up on one arm, her other extended. She had thrown the rock with deadly accuracy, ripping through the man's throat, even as he trained his rifle on Merrick. A second later he slammed into the last remaining prospector, parrying the man’s stab and planting his dagger in the prospector’s heart. Watching the prospector fall to the ground, his rifle clattering to the side, Merrick scanned the camp, looking for other threats. Barely a few seconds had passed since he had sprung into action, and all five of the prospectors were dead.

[Ding! 18 experience points.]

Waving away the window, he hurried over to Sellie and the other women, cutting them free with a quick slash of his bloody spear. It only took a glance to see that Sellie had a burning fever. Her cheeks were flushed bright red and heat radiated from her forehead, causing Merrick to start panicking. He had faced five armed enemies with utmost calm, but he had no idea what to do with a sick person. Seeing the concerned look on Merrick's face, one of the other women patted his arm.

"She's okay, just a small fever. She just needs rest and food. They’ve been starving us."

Sellie, who had used all of her strength in the throw, muttered something that he didn’t catch and closed her eyes, soon falling into a deep sleep as one of the other women held her gently

"Thank you for saving us," the woman who had first spoken said, standing and bowing to Merrick. "I am Merka, and this is my sister, Essa. We were captured by those men and their strange weapons while we were caring for this girl."

Looking down at Sellie with some concern, Merrick nodded.

“I'm happy to have been able to help you. What happened? What tribe are you from?"

"We are from the Deerhorn tribe, to the south. We were making a trip north to trade when we were trapped by the fire. This brave young spirit warrior saved us, but expended her energy in the process. While she was weak and recovering, the men found us and have been taking us to the east."

Seeing Joseph walk over, she fell silent and stepped back. Noticing her wariness, Joseph stopped and held up his hands.

"Don't worry, I'm friendly," he said, giving her his best smile.

When she took another step back, Merrick shook his head.

"She doesn't speak common," he reminded Joseph.

"Oh, right, I forgot. Hanging out with you seems to have warped my expectations. Those were some slick moves back there," he said, jerking a thumb at the bodies. "But we should do something about them in case the shot attracts others."

Nodding, Merrick turned back to Merka.

"Please wait while we deal with the bodies. We'll move camp shortly."

"I can help," she said, after giving Joseph another wary look. "I'll help gather their things."

Between Joseph, Merka, and Merrick, it didn't take them long to loot the bodies of the prospectors and gather all of their packs. Merrick was especially interested in the weapons and took both pistols, tucking them into his waistband. Joseph didn't seem to have a problem with it and was more interested in an ornate-looking rifle that one of the prospectors had carried. When Merrick asked him about it, he held it up for Merrick to see.

"This is what they call a long gun. The beam is tighter, further range, slightly longer to charge, but more powerful shot, too. Really good for hunting over a distance. If a normal rifle has a two hundred foot range, this one can shoot five hundred feet without a problem. Typically, you only see these in rich hunting parties. And judging from the state of these men, I'd guess they picked it up off of somebody else's corpse. Well, it's mine now," he said, slinging the strap over his shoulder.

The dead prospectors had been carrying a considerable amount of gear, and after picking out the best things, Merrick and Joseph unceremoniously threw the rest into the woods. With the camp looted, Merrick returned to where Sellie lay and had the women put her on his back as they moved their camp further up the road, leading the way into the forest. He walked for a mile and a half before finding a small clearing. There, he carefully placed Sellie down and gestured to the north.

"There's a small river, maybe six hundred feet up. We'll set up camp here."

Essa, who didn't talk much, nodded her head and darted into the woods, taking a pail with her to fetch some water while the others began to set up the camp. The prospectors had had plenty of food, and Merrick started a quick fire, turning it over to Joseph to cook. It wasn't that he didn't know how to cook, but Joseph was more familiar with the prospectors' tools and the kinds of food they carried, so he let him do it. It was quite dark by the time the food was ready, and the smell of the stew roused Sellie, who lifted her head and looked around weakly, her eyes lighting up when she spotted Merrick.

"Merrick!"

Hearing her call out, Merrick stood up and walked over to where she lay.

"You look rough," he said, his lips curling back in a smile.

"But alive," she replied, matching his grin with one of her own.

"That was a good throw."

"I thought you'd appreciate that,” Sellie said, weakly. “Is that food I smell? I’m starving.”

“It is, and there is plenty. Come, let's get you some."

Helping her up, Merrick got her a bowl of stew and a piece of bread, watching as she polished them off in record time. Filling up her bowl each time that she emptied it, he watched as she downed nearly half a pot of stew and ate a whole loaf of bread. He wasn't worried about conserving food, as they could always hunt for more, and it was better that Sellie get her strength back. When she was done, she patted her stomach and set the bowl to the side.

"I'd been hiding that rock for a chance," she said, "but I'm not sure what I would have done about the others, so thanks for that, for taking care of them."

Shrugging, Merrick jerked a thumb at Joseph.

"Wasn't just me, he helped too."

“What did you say?” Joseph asked, squinting, as if that would help him understand Merrick's words.

“I said you helped.”

"Oh, I guess I did. But barely," Joseph replied. "I got one shot off in the time it took you to take down three of them. You move like a greased pig. I've never seen anything so fast in my life."

None of the women could understand a single thing Joseph was saying, but that didn't stop him from chattering away. Finally, Merrick held up his hand.

"Just be quiet for a second," he said, turning back to Sellie, who was looking at Joseph with a bemused expression. "What happened? How did you get stuck in that situation?"

With a sigh, Sellie shook her head, wiping a bit of stew from the corner of her lips.

"You saw the village, I take it?"

Merrick nodded solemnly.

"It was bad. A fierce fire came through. We're not sure where it started, but it seemed to spring up all around us. The village elders evacuated, heading south down through the valley, the fire chasing. I was on my way that direction, acting as one of the outriders when I stumbled across these two. They had been trapped by some of the flames that sprang ahead, and it took some effort to get them out. I swallowed a lot of smoke during the process and used most of my energy. We were just resting when the strangers appeared and overpowered us. They all had those strange sticks that shoot out the light. I’d seen them in action a few months back and didn't want to risk our deaths trying to run. They were dragging us somewhere, forcing us to march, and I never had a chance to regain my energy since they refused to feed us. I'd been working on storing up strength when you showed up, but the bigger question is what happened to you?”

As soon as she asked the question, Merrick knew exactly what she was talking about. When he had left the village nine months before, he had been a brand new spirit warrior. Young, naive, and soft. His time in the wilderness had stripped all of that away, and as he looked down at his hands, Merrick realized just how much he had actually changed. He found it a matter of course that he had been able to smoothly slay three enemies in such a short period of time, but that was something that he would have expected from the veteran spirit warriors of his village, not the novice that he had been when he had left the village. He had a strength and a hardness about him that had not existed the last time Sellie had seen him, and so he understood full well just how confused she must be.

As the fire crackled, slowly dying down into embers, Merrick began to speak of his time in the wilds, starting with the betrayal and Barak's death, and ending with his mad run from the scaled beasts. He spoke slowly and calmly, and it took him most of the night to recount his tale. Sellie had seen the marks of the blood oath on his face, and Barak's spears in his hands, and it was with sorrow in her eyes that she heard him speak of the warrior's death. That sorrow soon turned to anger as Merrick recounted his experiences, and when he was done, she reached over and placed her hand on his knee.

"You use the spear as well," she said, staring straight into his eyes. "Barak would be proud. Thank you."

After a moment, she removed her hand and looked to the south.

"The tribe was heading south the last time I saw them. Will we go meet up with them?"

Even as she asked the question, it was clear that she knew the answer, and Merrick shook his head.

"No, I'm going to Coldwater. I have a man to find. And kill."