Tread Lightly – Among Monsters And Men

Sexton - Speak with recent spirits and enhanced spirituality. Very little control over said spirits. Commonly found in Ghosts, Reavers, and Wraiths.

Nightowl - Can function with very little rest, only a few hours of sleep a day are needed. More energetic at night. Can see in the dark. Commonly found in Rigid Bats or Dark Owls.

-Excerpt from the Prime Sigils Manual.

 

Opening the hatch is an obviously sweating and tired Edmund who rushes in and moves past me in a hurry. Something must have gone wrong during his scouting. I turn to look at him as he hurries over to our packs and he speaks, but without his usual long-winded explanation.

“We need to go. Whoever is chasing us is closing rapidly because of their lost squad. Pack up and follow me.”

Right after he finishes, Edmund swings his pack that's on the ground over his shoulder and starts to walk out.

I’m still standing by the entrance in a daze. Already? Who is even after us? Can I not have a full day to rest? Guess not. Sighing, I bring down the Receiver that I was holding up enthusiastically.

Edmund takes notice of this as he passes by to head up and outside. Stopping for a moment, he holds out his hand towards the Receiver, asking me a question.

“Did you figure it out?”

Despite the oncoming threat that is guaranteed to be coming, I smile and nod. After my jovial attitude, he takes the Receiver to inspect it. A single moment passes as he runs his dirt-covered hand over it.

His eyes widen and he looks at me with impossible-to-miss shock. Then he looks back at the Receiver. And back to me. I reply to his face with an obvious edge.

“Good, right? Maybe I’d do better if you actually guided me.”

Edmund narrows his eyebrows and smirks before replying. 

"Good? No, not quite. You have to fill it to full for me to be impressed.”

What? No, the manual definitely said it would take at least twenty people with normal resonance to fill it to full. Is he messing with me? Or was the manual wrong? I look at him again from the Receiver before seeing his lip curl.

He IS fucking with me. I raise my voice and point at him.

“Damnit Edmund! Why are you lying?” 

Laughing, he responds as he hands the Receiver back to me.

“Hah. Gotta keep yur’ confidence down to a reasonable level. I assume you read the manual about the Receiver?”

I nod in admission.

“Yeah, so you know yur’ Ether limit is extraordinary. Seems to me like it's likely increased by three or four times what it should be. That sounds about right for the main feature of a Sigil with the others being fairly lackluster. But, don’t let that go to yur’ head. Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer. Especially for a Hunter. The positions can always change and…. enough of that, though. Good job, pack up, and let's get moving.”

Even in a hurry, he still lectures me before patting my shoulder. Something I guess I’ve quickly grown used to. And I try to force his advice into me as I remember the encounter with the Loperd in this very cellar. I started out as the Hunter and it switched almost instantly.

I scramble and try to pack all my things that are strewn about as I got myself comfortable. And I realize quite fast how little I actually have. Most of it is just my bedroll and waterproof blanket that Edmund gave me. The rest are just some small trinkets like my pocket watch from Ma and my small knife.

I take a breath to check the time on the pocket watch. As I flip it open, I see a small photograph of Ma when she was young. Apparently, this used to be her father, my grandfather’s pocket watch. She was so beautiful. The ticking of the watch gradually brings me out of my reverie and into a focused state of mine. It’s 7:17. Time to go. I flip the watch closed and put it into my pocket.

Once my small but important collection of belongings are gathered, I follow Edmund outside into the newly descended night. The sun just set recently and it’s easy to notice from the chill autumn air and the small glimmer of sunlight that permeates through the air despite the sun being under the horizon. I take a deep breath once up and out of the cellar.

The cool air flows into my chest and calms my nerves, relaxing my body. Only at this moment do I realize just how nervous I was about leaving the cellar. Besides the initial fight for it, the cellar has been safe and welcoming to me. I quite liked it.

I look to Edmund while taking a breath and see him motion me forward. And so I follow into the cool darkening evening.

When I’m at his side he turns to face me.

“Good at Ether eh? Wherever yur’ core is, mine’s in my heart, channel yur’ Ether from there into the rest of yur’ body. You can access Ether at any part, but your core is where your body both creates stores and transfers Ether from the outside. So, start slow, then ramp it up. Like riding a horse. Once you can do that a little, then we begin moving. Much faster than last time.”

I reply shortly.

“Okay, I’ll try.”

Then, I close my eyes.  In just a moment, I sense the core he mentions, assuming that’s the source of my Ether in the back of my skull. From there I do a similar motion of creating a minute flowing stream of Ether like how I did into the Receiver. But instead of having it end at my hand, I try to have it flow through the rest of my body.

Thinking of Edmund and how he said his core is in his heart, I first send the Ether to my heart. Then I imagine it spreading out to each limb from there simultaneously like water trickling over a rock. And I finish it by having it spread from the limbs to the extremities like my feet and hands.

At first, I don’t feel much. Just the usual cool sensation that I’ve rapidly grown used to when using Ether. Then I try and ramp up the flow as Edmund said. From a small trickle to a larger, faster trickle. That’s when I feel a small pressure in the back of my skull and stop increasing the flow.

It feels like I’ve taken a dozen cups of coffee at once. Energized, powerful, and sturdy are the only words to describe me, like a well-oiled blade. It feels incredible. More than I ever imagined it would when I first heard of Ether.

I open my eyes to Edmund smiling. And so, I smile back.

“I did it.”

He replies in his usual fashion.

“I can see. You’ve learned yur’ first general Ether application or skill. A skill that anyone can learn with access to Ether, Physical Strengthening. It increases all yur’ physical attributes based on what yur’ already good at. Already fast? Faster. Already strong? Stronger. I imagine this is when you’ll actually notice the increased precision yur’ Sigil gave ya. There are other, more complex versions as well as easier versions, but this is simple and easy to learn, even by newbies. Just be careful not to go overboard, don’t want to burn yur insides do we? For the more complicated general skills among Hunters that can be used regardless of Sigil, I’ll have to teach you those once you’ve gained mastery over this one.”

I take a second to digest his explanations, like normal. I learned my first actual Ether skill. And I will have an advantage over others, for I won't have to be as careful as most do not reach my saturation limit due to my enhanced Ether limit. I’m not going to count Chain Eyes, as that seems to come in some form with my Sigil. I wonder what other kinds there are, and so I ask before we begin moving.

“What other types of general skills are there that you can use Ether for?”

Edmund tilts his head in thought.

“A lot. I know nearly a hundred general applications of Ether just due to my age and experience in the field. But there is normally a restriction. If it involves an affinity of some type, it cannot be a general skill, so most are unattuned or elementary in their construction but useful in application. Hence the other name, Ether applications.”

I squint my brows in confusion. Affinities?

“What are affinities?”

Edmund turns his head forwards before replying, looking like he wants to start moving. But he still does reply.

“All Sigils or at least most Sigils come with an affinity, sometimes more. Depends also on the person. Like mine, Bloodtaker gives me an affinity for blood. Which means I can more easily manipulate and control blood with my own Ether, which allows for me to use a wider variety of skills using blood as a focus. Without an affinity for said element or concept, it is very hard, almost impossible actually, for a Base Sigiled to create external phenomenon using their Ether. It’s just a lack in volume, density, and range of the person’s Ether. Now, no more questions. They take too long to answer. We leave. Now.”

As he begins to run, so much faster than the last time he had me run with him, I mumble very quietly to myself. “It’s your fault, not mine. You take so long to explain shit.” And after, my complaint I follow.

The second my foot hits the ground to send me forwards is when I truly feel it. The power, the speed. I’m moving probably close to twice as fast with Physical Strengthening than without it. Edmund was right, fast to even faster.

I can feel the ground speed underneath me as I try to catch up with Edmund. I even have to take fewer breaths as it seems the Ether helps supply me with energy. Looking around it feels like I’m faster than a sprinting horse with just my bare feet.

I’ve always been quick on my feet and this speed just fills me with joy. I laugh and try to move faster to catch up to Edmund. This makes sense how that one guy was able to send me flying like a dozen feet away just from hitting me. If he could do this while enhancing his strength, he could’ve crushed me easily. Which I guess is exactly what he had done.

My straying thoughts cause me to lose focus on running. Which I desperately need as it’s my first time running a mile in under two minutes with the ground disappearing beneath me as I snag my foot on a root.

I begin to tumble forward and immediately regret being so playful with this skill. Trying to save myself, I plant my other foot on another root just barely. This is when I finally feel my increased precision come into play as for the next couple of steps I just barely keep myself from falling. And it takes near-perfect footholds to do so. After I pass this patch of rough terrain, I stabilize and begin to speed up again, but this time, I’m more careful. And I have to refocus on Physical Strengthening again as that fall almost made me lose focus and stop the flow of Ether that is fueling it.

I remind myself while running that Ether is not a toy and neither are the things you can do with it. They can be deadly tools and weapons when used appropriately. A quick flash of the man strangling me with an impossible-to-break grip comes to mind as I cement this thought deep within.

After this thought, I resumed running without any more accidents. And during the run, a question comes to mind while I look at Edmund. Does he have any children? Just based on the few days or so I’ve known him, he seems like he’d be a much better father than my own. Because, no matter how awesome or powerful he is, I’ve grown to realize it’s useless if he’s not here.

I voice this question to Edmund while we move, genuinely curious and also trying not to eat dirt again from a distraction like this so I take my time to say it.

“Hey, Edmund! Do you… have any kids?

He looks to his side at me and I glance at his face for a moment. Extreme sadness shows on his face.

Oh shit…. I shouldn’t have asked that. Just before I try and tell him to ignore the question because it was stupid, he answers.

“I have seven children. One’s a Hunter Captain and has a similar Sigil to mine, I’m sure you’d love to meet him.”

A Captain! That’s incredible. He must be even stronger than Edmund. I ask again without even thinking and immediately hate myself for not considering what he meant by only mentioning one kid.

“What about the others? Do they do anything cool?”

His shoulder slumps the second my words leave my mouth.

“The rest died fighting in the last Great Outbreak almost twenty years ago. All by demons.”

And for the first time ever, I see an unbelievable amount of emotion from Edmund. Not quite tears in his eyes, but for the old man, a waver in his voice and a pause are telltale enough of his sadness.

“I couldn’t save them despite being so close. At least Ezekiel was too young to join his siblings at the time since he was only four and stayed at home with his mother.”

I can feel the sadness in his voice and his unspoken meaning. He wishes he was able to protect his other kids. I stay silent for the moment as we run quietly with only our movement making noise.

Maybe he would…

I begin to voice my question and he cuts me off, but for the first time, he fails in predicting my question.

“No, I have no idea why yur father would leave despite his power. Just keep running.”

I refute his guess and ask my own question.

“That’s not what I was gonna ask, Edmund. I was going to ask if you’d adopt me. Better an existing father than one that never existed.”

Edmund abruptly stops running at these words and looks at me, leaves scattering due to his quick parking. He scans my face with his eyes before sighing. He turns to look away toward the moon and replies.

“I can’t do that Wyatt. And yur’ a crazy kid to even ask that.”

Confused, I ask why.

“Why not? And how does that make me crazy?”

He shakes his head while restarting a walk.

“You barely know me, kid. Less than a week. I ain’t adopting you just cuz’ yur’ daddy is gone. And, I've learned you do things quite quickly Wyatt, but this is far too fast. Not to mention, if yur’ father somehow ever comes back, I’m a deadman. Just keep running kid. No more silly questions tonight.”

His serious ending to his response makes me look down. It wasn’t a silly question.

No one but Ma has ever been as kind to me as Edmund. Whenever we’d go into town together for food or supplies we’d always be ostracized and left alone. I rarely got to talk to people growing up. Let alone spend several days with someone other than Ma.

Edmund speeding back up into his run forces me out of my thoughts. I have to run to catch up and focus on not falling due to my quickness which doesn’t allow for much mental space besides that.

We then continue to run for close to an hour as the world grows even darker. It’s deep into autumn, so few bugs are flying around, but suspiciously, we have seen very few animals in the forest while moving. Maybe it’s because of the breach? It might’ve scared away all the critters. And where we stop the shrubbery is especially thick which makes it even harder to see if there are any signs of animals. We can barely see more than a few feet through with fallen leaves and cramped trees, and the hill in front of us prevents us from seeing any further than that.

When we do come to a stop, though, I am thankful. The small pressure in my skull has grown to a dull ache which I recognize as the start of Ether saturation. Even with my hearty limit, there is only so much I can do before I begin to feel its weight. That, and I can feel a bit physically tired as even Physical Strengthening can’t entirely offset the exhaustion of running close to forty miles in an hour.

Along with that buildup of pressure is Edmund going into a crouch as he motions me to do the same. Then he turns and whispers to me.

“Keep yur’ skill up. The comedown may cause yur death in a few minutes as there are enemies over this hill, along with another group, possibly Hunters on the other side of them. So, just run with it until you go dry or I tell you to do so. And for yur’ last lesson of the night. Flow yur’ Ether down to yur’ feet. Try to create a cloud or cushion of some sort. This is called Sneak, helps muffle yur’ feet and can even slow falls a tad bit.”

Physical Strengthening has a side effect? Actually, that just makes sense. Of course, my body will be tired from having Ether flowing through it. Maybe it’ll lessen over time though as I grow used to it kinda like getting used to running every day. Start out a little at a time and work your way up. Once I finish my thoughts, I focus on the task at hand.

Edmund watches my feet after directing me, and I try to follow his instructions after thinking about his warning. Once again, I delve into my body and the core that’s at the back of my skull. I create another flow to go along with Physical Strengthening and immediately feel a much stronger ache in my mind.

Seems as though two skills at once are much harder than one. I push through the ache, hoping that my Sigil’s gift of increased limits will help here. And it does. I get the second stream to trickle into my feet and I circulate the stream in both feet. I try and make it spread out in wishy-washy patterns like a cloud.

I feel a bit lighter on my feet and I open my eyes while attempting to keep the Ether flowing in both streams. It’s quite a struggle at first without actively focusing on it, but after a few minutes, I get it under control.

Edmund notices this and nods at me.

“Good. Stay low. Follow me closely.”

He begins to crouch and slowly walk up and through the branches. Edmund is careful not to step on any twigs while he does so and I try to mimic him as best as I can. The Ether swirling in my feet nullifies almost all the sound of the leaves under my boots, so that makes me silent, except for my breathing.

When we make it past the branches, we crawl up the small hill on all fours. Without having Edmund tell me, I try to use Sneak on my hands so the leaves don’t crumple and besides a rapidly descending headache and a small lapse in movement, it works.

Skills like Sneak seem to be quite malleable. I guess that’s what makes them Hunter general skills. If I were to cover every part of my body with this swirling cloud of Ether, would it make me impossible to hear? Silent to all but myself? Thought for another day that has to be pushed behind my mind and away to make room for focused thought as we crest the hill.

I see a fairly large group. Over eight tents and a campfire surrounded by a least five rowdy men. And I spot one fairly large man off to the side who appears to be about to piss about fifty yards from the rest of the group.

Edmund gets my attention and points to the man I noticed. Then he cuts a thin line on his thumb with his very teeth and forms a small wire out of his blood. Always amazed by his skills, I just watch. He motions the wire in a way similar to a noose on his neck and points back to the man.

Ah. I see. He’s going to try and choke him out. I nod as if I understand, but then he hands the blood wire to me.

Huh? Does he want me to do it? No way. I’d be seen or heard.

Edmund sees my reluctance and draws some more blood. Then, with his very own blood, he creates floating letters in the air.

Fast. Quiet. Outlaws. Recently killed. The rest. Me.

I digest this insane form of communication before I even try to understand it. Writing out of blood. Crazy, but practical for him, I guess. I shake my head inwardly before focusing once more. He wants me to be fast and quiet right? I can do that. I move with a breakneck speed with Physical Strengthening and damn near completely muted with Sneak. Maybe I can do this.

The other bit that gives me confidence is that he says he will handle the rest.

For a second I feel a bit guilty. But then I remember the man who almost killed me. These are Outlaws. They will do the same as he did for sure and apparently already have. Kill, rape, and plunder. Just like the stories always said.

And so, as I nod to Edmund once more in confirmation, he reabsorbs his used blood and stalks off the side, and quickly fades from even my vigilant sight. He is incredible. Every aspect of a Hunter he can do. From training to fighting to scouting to stealth. I take a moment to just take in his skill.

Enough of my procrastination, though. I stand a bit taller and move quickly, but quietly toward the man away from his group like a panther in the jungle. I try to stalk around him and stay out of sight of the campfire. But I take too long. Before I’m in a comfortable position to ambush the man, he finishes his business.

Damnit! I need to go before he gets close. Right now, I’m only slightly behind him and to his left, not quite fully on his flank. I give myself a second to steady my nerves before on an impulse heightening the flow of Physical Strengthening. Hope the speed boost is enough.

And just as the man turns fully around to face the campfire and head back, I burst into action, moving as fast as greased lightning as the ground disappears beneath my feet.