Rangers Endgame

Chapter 130: Scouts

Yakeru and his party departed from Haven Village at first light of dawn. The journey to their outpost, which they’d procured after the Clan Skirmirsh, took around an hour by carriage. The four-winged birds still soared through the rocky spires in the near distance as he remembered, their calls mingling with the rushing waters tumbling over jagged cliffs. Approaching the shimmering dome that surrounded the outpost, Yakeru presented the Fiends medallion as he’d done before, and the barrier responded with a ripple that opened a hole large enough for him to pass through.

The others did the same with their medallions and safely entered before the dome sealed itself once everyone was inside. It'd been a few months since they'd last been here. Now they were returning to pick up equipment for their scouting mission.

Itsuki led them into a one-story building that Yakeru hadn’t taken the time to explore yet. Inside, an array of high-grade artifacts lined the numerous aisles. Normally, he wouldn’t be able to afford any of these artifacts, a reminder of how fortunate they were to have a Fiend outpost to themselves.

“The artifacts we're looking for will be of the hunting variety,” Itsuki said as he walked through one of the aisles. “They serve a similar purpose to the talismans you three used at the Skirmish.”

Searching the alphabetized aisles, they inspected the equipment. Truth be told, Yakeru didn’t exactly know what they were looking for, as he’d never actually gone on a scouting mission. From the uncertain looks on Kenji and Fuyumi’s faces, they were in the same boat. Dash, of course, couldn’t care less; his only priority was to explore the building with as much enthusiasm as a child on a sugar high.

Rounding the corner, he found spherical artifacts with azure blue radiating from the runes etched into their surfaces. Taking one from the shelf, he examined it and found a dial on the back with what he assumed were intensity settings ranging from 1 to 10. He turned the dial up one by one, expecting the blue light to grow brighter, but nothing happened. Twisting it back down to one, he rotated the sphere again for any clues on how to use it.

Kenji walked around the corner and presented Yakeru with a pod of six small glass cylinders evenly spaced inside and a tube-shaped artifact with simple engravings on its head. “Check this out. A print finder and vapor siphon!”

Yakeru cocked a brow, but waited for his inevitable elaboration.

Kenji gleamed at the pod. “This uses concentrated combustion to ignite fine chemical compounds resonating in the containment units to reveal infrared waves to the naked eye,” he exclaimed, his fascination palpable. “And the other uses high-powered vacuums to extract vapor and analyze foreign compounds.”

When Yakeru stared at him with a patient look that said, “English, please,” Kenji scratched his head, embarrassed.

“The print finder basically uses small explosions to break the glass cylinders one at a time so we can see heat signatures. Actually, it uses philorium to produce said explosions. And the vapor siphon tests water vapor for anomalies.”

Yakeru’s mind snapped back to their kobold mission. “I see.”

The conjurer finally acknowledged the device in his hand. “What's that?”

“Not sure,” he tossed it to Kenji. “But if you want to take a look, you're more than welcome to see how it works.”

He set down the print finder and vapor siphon, then adjusted his glasses for a better look. “Let's see here…”

His fingers traced the contours of the runes, then fiddled with the dial. Pushing it inward, a piece within a circular rune popped up. Curious, he pushed the button. The moment it clicked back in, Yakeru saw a faint blue flash that snapped at Kenji’s finger, and his hand jerked back involuntarily.

“Ow!”

The artifact clanked against the ground as he whipped away whatever effects were lingering in his hand. Yakeru only looked at him, letting a flicker of amusement cross his features at the sight of watching the genius conjurer flail.

“Looks like it has a bit of a bite. Good thing I gave it to you,” he noted.

When Kenji finished tending to his uninjured hand, he glared at Yakeru accusingly. “Did you know that was going to happen?”

The artifact flashed green for a few seconds before shifting back to blue.

“What are you two idiots doing?” Fuyumi watched them from the other end of the aisle, carrying a few scopes, staring disappointedly.

Itsuki came around the corner, sturdy ropes draped over his shoulder, tapping his chin in contemplation as his eyes roamed the shelves before settling on the artifact still on the floor. “Ah. Just what I was looking for.” He walked over and picked it up to confirm. “A pulse emitter. These are used to detect life in the area by sending out an electric field.”

He pointed at the dial as the kids leaned in attentively. “This controls the field’s intensity and range. Once set, the artifact will flash green to tell you if there’s anything nearby.” He took a pendant with the same runes from the shelf beside it and strapped it on his biological hand. “That said, you must wear these pendants when operating it so you don’t confuse it. They also protect you from the shock.”

Yakeru, Kenji, and Fuyumi equipped themselves with their own pendants, while Itsuki strapped one to Dash. With the dial already set to 1, he pushed it in until the button beneath it appeared, then pressed it. There was another blue spark, but unlike the first time Kenji handled it, Itsuki remained unfazed with his hand protected. The artifact didn’t flash green this time either.

Kenji said, taking a closer look. “So it basically uses electrokinetics to detect—what, cells? Neurons?—and interprets the feedback as life? Interesting.”

Itsuki handed the pulse emitter to Yakeru and grabbed three more for himself and the others. “Now then, let us start our investigation into these missing monsters.”

*****

The group of rangers descended the cliff face into the twisting jungle east of the outpost using the rope Itsuki had gathered. They settled onto a perch within the sprawling trees and equipped their scopes Fuyumi had provided. Looking through the magnifying glass, they scanned the immediate area.

There was no movement for miles, only the gentle sway of vegetation that they would occasionally mistake for wildlife. The birds soared higher than what Yakeru was used to seeing, choosing to fly at the tips of the rocky spires and never dipping any lower. They often landed atop them to rest, since their wings were clearly unsuited for those altitudes.

Thirty minutes of scouting proved fruitless, so the rangers moved further down. The spires flickered through the dense canopy as they descended. Reaching the ground level, the raw scent of damp green filled the air as Yakeru slipped on his pendant along with everyone else and activated his pulse emitter. It sent out a wave with a flash of blue to catch anything in the immediate area.

The artifact remained blue.

“Let's split up from here to cover more ground,” Yakeru said.

“Don't stray too far. We still don't know what's in this jungle.” Itsuki warned.

They split into two groups; Itsuki and Dash went with Yakeru, while Kenji went with Fuyumi. As they’d done during the Clan Skirmish, they used their talismans to keep tabs on one another.

After surveying for about an hour, Yakeru, Itsuki, and Dash came across a trail of lightly parted undergrowth and compacted dirt. Itsuki pulled out his print finder and pressed the top button on the handle. The hammer inside the device struck the fragile primer, cracking the seal and combusting the philorium the moment it touched the air.

The reaction shattered one of the cylindrical glass containers inside the artifact with a flash. Large paw tracks lit up along the ground in an array of warm colors, leading deeper into the jungle. Itsuki snapped a brief vocal command to Dash, and the fox investigated the tracks. After registering the scent, Dash moved through the trail, and the two rangers followed.

They were led through winding streams, dips in the terrain, and unimposing cliffs. Throughout their trek, Yakeru couldn’t help but notice the dead quiet. He’d often find himself hoping to hear the chiming choir of birds or even the threatening roars of distant beasts to fill the void, but the muted air spared him nothing but dry vegetation crunching underfoot. Even Dash would occasionally hesitate to turn some corners.

Eventually, the fox came to a stop in an unremarkable clearing between a cluster of twisting trees and a cliff face. There was visible confusion on his face, and his keen nose poked around the area to pick up the trail again, only to find nothing. Itsuki equipped his print finder again and pressed the button.

The flash revealed the tracks they were following, and the two carefully traced them to where they stopped, which was right at their feet. They scanned the area in hopes of finding other tracks, but there was nothing. They looked up to see if there was anywhere for the beast to climb up to, but again, there was nothing. Thinking there was some kind of underground passageway, they carefully prodded at the ground, but found nothing.

The tracks came from the jungle, then ended abruptly in a clearing as if the beast had just… vanished. Yakeru activated his pulse emitter again, the soft blue dome of electricity rippling outward, but the artifact turned up nothing.

He then drew his vapor siphon and triggered the top. The bottom snapped open, and streams of vapor raced into it. When it closed, the engraving flashed as it analyzed the water, but remained blue to indicate there was nothing out of the ordinary. Pressing the top again, the water ejected with a hiss.

He looked at Itsuki with puzzled eyes, the veteran ranger cupping his chin as the gears churned to find an answer.

The youth didn’t disturb him as the man paced back and forth, muttering dead-end theories under his breath. Yakeru turned to Dash, who was now rubbing against his leg to seek comfort, forgetting about their previous rivalry.

“Tracks… no monsters… no cause… no evidence of struggle…” Itsuki rambled like a man on the verge of madness. “Silence… jungle… no monsters… tracks… are they in other areas? If so, Kenji and Fuyumi can see if… Fuyumi.” He stopped pacing. “An anomalous force disrupting the ecosystem in the Outer Rim. Outer Rim monsters could migrate into the Mid Rim. But there’s nothing here…”

His face scrunched in growing frustration, and Dash pressed against Yakeru more, as he likely hadn’t seen Itsuki this way before.

“Tracks… Outer Rim monsters… silence… no sign of struggle…” he repeated. “Outer Rim monsters… leaving the world in silence… leaving the world…” His maddened eyes grew wide with both realization and horror before whipping around to Yakeru. “We need to go. Now!”

Without wasting a beat, Yakeru drew his talisman to find it glowing, and the three of them darted through the jungle. Cool air whipped against his skin as he led them through dense foliage.

“Care to explain?” Yakeru demanded, vaulting over a fallen log.

“I’ll tell you once we’re all safe,” Itsuki insisted as he opted to leap over it.

The talisman grew brighter with each passing second as they closed in on their allies. Blades of light from above raced past as they rushed through the verdant maze. Dash, hot on their heels, swiftly zipped through and under twisted vines to keep up.

The talisman’s brilliance put Yakeru’s nerves at ease as they neared his friends. Then, without warning, it went dark. Panic immediately threatened to overtake him as he quickly poured radiance into his legs and exploded forward.

“Wait!” He heard Itsuki’s voice fade behind him.

He kept going, bouncing from tree to rock in a relentless race to find the others. He skidded to a stop to look for any signs of them, adrenaline warding off the ache in his lower half. The air boomed for a few seconds of delay, but he barely noticed as he activated his print finder.

His hopeful eyes traced the warm-colored footprints that bloomed into reality. They originated from the rough direction where their group had split up. He followed them to a clearing… where they would cut off. Yakeru used his pulse emitter to confirm, but the artifact’s refusal to turn green afforded him no comfort.

It was in his growing sense of foreboding that he realized Itsuki had caught up.

“Don’t run off like that,” he scolded, settling behind the bush from which Yakeru observed the clearing.

He didn’t respond. Only watched as Dash traced the prints to the clearing. He showed Itsuki his talisman.

“There must be interference,” he deduced, unwilling to believe Kenji and Fuyumi would go missing so easily.

Itsuki gripped his shoulder. “Kid, this is not interference.”

By the time Yakeru’s attention returned to the clearing, Dash was gone. Itsuki followed his gaze and cursed under his breath. To be sure, he snapped his fingers, but Dash didn’t respond. He looked back at Yakeru, his expression grim. “Under different circumstances, we’d get out of here.”

Yakeru’s eyes hardened with altruism, but he stayed silent.

Itsuki returned his gaze. “But our party takes priority.”

“So how do we find them?” The teen inquired.

“We wait until it crosses us,” Itsuki responded ominously.

Yakeru cocked a brow. “It?”

Just then, his stomach lurched as an unseen force twisted his insides. Gnashing his teeth against the whirling sensation, his jittering eyes scanned to find the source, only to be horrified at the jarring sight around him.

The jungle’s colorful palette twisted into a sickening monochrome world devoid of hues. The vibrant air plunged into a revolting staleness that suffocated his lungs, and flora rotted into stark silhouettes against a backdrop of muted shades. Monsters of all shapes and sizes lay shriveled and lifeless across the dull landscape.

Firmly gripping his senses, the knots in his stomach untangled as he waited for his body to adjust. Then a helping hand extended to him.

It was Kenji; his other hand was clutching his stomach as he was still getting used to the sensation. Yakeru took it and pulled himself up.

Fuyumi was leaning against the outline of a tree, focused on her breathing, and Dash was trembling violently in Itsuki’s arms. Fuyumi’s silver hair, the amber runes on Itsuki’s prosthetic, the striped pattern on Dash’s fur—they’d all been stripped of color.

“So…” Kenji hesitated to ask. “What happened to Alyco Cliffs?”

Yakeru looked back at the otherworldly landscape, a ghostly mirror of where they once were. “I don't think we’re in Alyco Cliffs anymore.”