Oath of the Survivor

The remaining time flew past like a blink of an eye, and Kyle was once again standing in the assembly hall of the Institute.  Unsure of exactly what he wanted to bring, Kyle settled once again for his all-terrain outfit to go with his armor, as well as another set of rations for his pack.  Compared to Phase One, the energy in the room was considerably more muted, with everybody in attendance seeming to be more on edge.  He nodded a greeting to Tillienne as she arrived, which she matched with a warm smile before walking over to her position.

“C.H.A.D.D., are you sensing anything off with the people here?  It feels like everybody is stressed out.”

[I AM DETECTING ELEVATED STRESS HORMONES, DR. MAYHEW.  APPARENTLY, THE NEXT PHASE CARRIES WITH IT SOME ADDITIONAL RISKS.]

That made sense, though Kyle felt as though he was clearly out of the loop.  The exercise was fairly simple at face value, and while Kyle hadn’t done anything quite like it before, he didn’t believe that it warranted this level of response.  Most likely, there was context the other applicants had that he was missing.  While it didn’t help him understand precisely what the danger was, their responses confirmed to Kyle he would need to take this test seriously.  Soon, a voice rang out through the room.

“Welcome, applicants!  Soon, you will be stepping onto the teleporter and beginning Phase Two of your Practicum.  As we mentioned before, you will be working alongside a team of E Grades for this mission.  Further specifics will be provided as you arrive, but we want to make one thing clear.  Extraction is available for you and you only upon either success or failure of the mission.  The only way to leave early is to fail the mission, with which your squad mates will likely take issue.”

There was a serious pause in the room as the message took hold.  Hazarding a quick glance around the room, Kyle didn’t see many surprised looks.   Probably part of the stress, he thought.  Knowing there was no real safety net would undoubtedly be a challenge for people who only trained in carefully curated environments.  For Kyle, having any option to escape at all was a luxury he’d never enjoyed.

“Now, step up to the platform, and let Phase Two commence!”

As before, the velgian was the first to step onto the platform, his bored expression a mirror of his departure to Phase One.  He disappeared in a flash, and this time Tillienne was the next to follow.  The black-robed man was third, and Kyle followed after. 

The next thing Kyle knew, he was standing in an idyllic meadow, tall grasses and flowers blown by a gentle yet persistent wind.  He could smell the fresh scent of the plant life, and looked out at the rolling hills beyond.  There was a wide, stone road that carved a path through the meadow, without a tree in sight.

Kyle was snapped out of his observation by the sound of footfalls coming from behind him.  Cresting one of the hills was a caravan, with a heavily armored vehicle surrounded by nearly a dozen armored figures riding what looked like oversized velociraptors.  The giant lizards were grey with brightly-colored streaks, and each footfall resounded with a thump on the stone road. 

The knights all wore similar armor, and Kyle saw that most carried lances, with three carrying heavy crossbows and one with a staff.  Their armor was emblazoned with an insignia Kyle recognized from his studies – that of the Archdrake Supremacy.  Inwardly, he groaned.  This is going to be such a pain.

Like many of the major factions, the bulk of their military was composed of mid-tier E Grades, though in this case there were a few notable differences.  Because their governmental structure was essentially a theocracy with the dragons on top, the other races who signed up to serve in the military were typically among the more zealous members of the religion as well.  Beyond that, there was a hierarchy in the religion that was entirely separate from grade and power.  That meant that Kyle, despite being a D Grade, would be at the very bottom along with all other non-believers. 

The caravan slowed to a halt as the figure with the staff approached.  From what Kyle could see, the man was human.  Wrinkles were just visible through the eye slit in his silver helm, and Auric Perception made his skin tingle as he felt the power flowing through the staff.  The man before him wasn’t weak by any stretch of the imagination, likely near the apex of E Grade. 

“So, you’re the help.”  Kyle couldn’t see the other man’s face, though the sneer was evident in his voice.

“You’ll be bringing up the rear.  You’ll be taking middle watch.  You’ll be allowed to eat after we have, and you’ll take care of the dro’khar when we set up camp.”

As if that was sufficient explanation, the man turned his dinosaur – dro’khar – and continued down the road.  The others followed suit, not even pausing to greet Kyle.  As the armored vehicle rumbled past, a powerful presence brushed against his senses.  Whatever was being transported by the caravan had at least the same quality of mana as the pseudo-world tree seeds, which set Kyle on edge. 

He allowed the caravan to completely pass him, falling into the rear as he whispered to C.H.A.D.D.  “Did you get a good look at the treasure?”

[IT APPEARS TO BE AN EGG, DR. MAYHEW.]

“Any idea what could be in it?”

[NONE AT ALL.  FROM WHAT I CAN SEE, INSCRIPTIONS HAVE BEEN CARVED INTO THE SURFACE OF THE SHELL, AND IT IS RAPIDLY ABSORBING AMBIENT ENERGY.  IT IS ALSO SHIFTING THE ATMOSPHERIC MANA IT DRAWS IN, THOUGH AT THIS TIME I CANNOT DISCERN THE SPECIFIC CHANGES.]

“Keep me posted if you can learn anything else.  This whole thing is giving me a bad feeling.”

Kyle’s experience with Corthian Mining taught him just how valuable treasures of this quality were.  The mining company took great pains to secure their resources, and there was absolutely no way they would entrust an item like this to the care of exclusively E Grades if they could help it.  Even equipped with an armored caravan, they wouldn’t be able to do much against real D Grade opposition.  Hell, Kyle was confident he could take the whole group without much effort if he really wanted to. 

He looked down at his nav bracelet, where instructions and a destination appeared.  Ensure successful delivery of the package to its destination.  From what Kyle could tell from the map, the egg left a city earlier in the morning, and was in transit to its new home roughly two day’s travel from their current location.  All the cities were under the control of the Archdrake Supremacy, though Kyle didn’t see anything noteworthy in the open plains between.  There were no forests, no mountains, just endless expanses of plains.

At face value, that made for a simple delivery.  There was no dangerous terrain, no freak weather.  With how open everything was, there was little chance of being ambushed.  That led Kyle to one conclusion: they were going to be attacked, head on, by an overwhelming force.  Otherwise, what was the point of having a D Grade come along?  While he still didn’t understand the Archdrake Supremacy’s reason to go along with the Practicum, it was likely they had some other interest at play. 

Kyle and C.H.A.D.D. followed the caravan closely as the hours ticked by, with nothing more eventful than one of the dro’khar nearly bucking off its rider when it lunged for a small furry mammal that ran across its path.  They set camp for the first night, and Kyle was forced to eat his own rations as he wasn’t allowed to sit with the others around the fire.  He did so without complaining, as well as taking his watch without a word. 

The whole time, C.H.A.D.D. was running scan after scan, checking for any signs of an attack.  D Grades could move quickly, but Kyle felt confident that the drone would be able to identify most anything that could be lying in wait before it was upon them.  So, two days into the journey, it wasn’t a surprise to Kyle when the drone notified him of quickly approaching presences, including a D Grade.  Increasing his speed, Kyle made his way to the man carrying the staff.

“Sir, we have incoming.  Six beasts, including one at D Grade will be here in less than two minutes.”  Kyle figured the short, direct report would be an appropriate way to spur him to action. 

Instead, the caravan leader snorted.  “Our sensors haven’t picked up anything.  Now get back to your station before I have you removed from the detail.”

“I’m telling you, you need to get into formation now.  You’ll be overrun if you don’t.”

“And delay our arrival even further?  The Grand Dragon was explicit in his commands when we were sent to this corner of the Supremacy.”

“Wait, you’re not from here?”

He scoffed.  “Of course not.  This is an opportunity to once again cement myself among the Grand Dragon’s emissaries, and I will not see it squandered by the notions of a non-believer.  Now return to the rear guard.  I’m done with you.” 

Kyle just sighed.  A few pieces clicked into place.  This insufferable man, and likely his entire team, were on the outs.  In their eyes, they were sent here for this delivery as proof that they were still valuable to the Grand Dragon, whoever that was.  Much more likely, in Kyle’s opinion, was that they were sent here because if they failed, the Archdrake Supremacy wasn’t going to lose good people. 

Just as he returned to his position, an alarm was raised.  Kyle was already getting a headache thinking about the mental gymnastics the convoy captain would put together to justify the source of the attack.  He drew the baton Themestra made him, and walked over to the side of the armored transport.  He could see six dark, feathered shapes exploding through the long grass.  It was time.