//------------------------------// // 662 - This Way Comes // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// Solvei’s warning sent a rush of tension through Lex. What do you mean ‘creatures’? he demanded. How many of them are there? What’s their approximate distance from the village? How fast are they moving? Are they carrying any armaments? I’m not sure how many of them there are, answered Solvei after a moment, her mental voice sounding harried as she tried to keep up with the barrage of questions. I can only see so far in the dark, and the blizzard is making it harder, but there’s a few packs’ worth at least. And they’re moving almost as fast as me. I mean, as fast as I was before you made me even quicker. And, um, and they’re big, er, tall, but also heavyset, and, um… Almost none of that is useful information! raged Lex. Be more specific! Across their link, Lex registered Solvei’s agitation growing worse. I’m sorry, Master! Maybe it would be better if you looked at them through my eyes instead of me describing them? Her suggestion was so outside of what he’d expected that it brought Lex up short. …what? “Lex?” At his side, Thermal Draft nudged him lightly. “You’re spacing out. Is everything okay?” She spared a glance at the pit he’d made, the black crystal grate over the top of it still intact. From inside, the voices of the five mares could be heard, talking over each other. “Those bullies didn’t get you with anything serious, right?” “I’m communicating with Solvei,” he muttered dismissively. A concerned look passed over the pegasus’ face. “Is she alright?” Lex didn’t bother answering, instead motioning for her to keep quiet, needing to put all of his attention on what was happening with the winter wolf. What do you mean, look at them through your eyes? Solvei’s disposition became confused at the question. It’s one of the ways in which we’re connected, Master. You’re capable of borrowing my senses whenever you wish. Her statement was delivered in a casual, matter-of-fact tone, but to Lex the implications were myriad. Although he knew there were several more pressing questions that needed to be answered, but with his emotions only just having receded from the boiling point, the one that passed through his mind – and his link to Solvei – first was entirely personal. Does that work in reverse? Are you capable of borrowing mine?! The thought was terrifying, to the point where Lex could feel his heartbeat quickening. Having a mind-to-mind connection like this was already uncomfortable for how invasive it was, something that he’d uneasily reconciled himself to – for now, at least – only because of how trustworthy Solvei had proven herself to be. But if the winter wolf was capable of tapping into his personal perceptions whenever she wanted… Fortunately, his fears were assuaged a moment later. No, Master, answered Solvei, perhaps sensing his sudden distress. Not unless you wish me to. Taking several slow breaths to calm himself, Lex dimly registered Thermal Draft’s anxious look. Nor was that the only thing he knew he needed to remain aware of; that pit that he’d shoved those unruly earth mares into wasn’t capable of maintaining itself for very long. By his calculation, there was barely sixty seconds left before it popped out of existence, depositing them all back into the common room. Which meant that there was no more time for his worrying about what Solvei’s casual admission meant for him personally; he needed more information about the creatures that were headed toward the village. Alright, he eventually replied, still feeling uneasy. Try and get a good look at…whatever’s approaching, without putting yourself in danger. I’ll make use of your vision to see them for myself. Right away, Solvei’s anxiety disappeared, her disposition becoming pleased. Yes, Master! Not sure exactly what to do, Lex closed his eyes. He’d questioned Feathercap about this very thing – the colt having the power to see through the eyes of his spirit animal, Ulespy – but the activation condition hadn’t been a priority. The colt had simply made it sound like he see what his owl saw whenever he wanted to, with no more effort than a modicum of concentration. With nothing more to go on, Lex tried the same thing now… …and couldn’t help but gasp as all of a sudden, he was outside in the snow, trees and rocks rushing past as he – no, he corrected himself firmly, as Solvei – ran through the wilderness. The cognitive dissonance was enough to make Lex sway for a moment before planting his hooves more firmly, momentarily struggling to reconcile the image of quick motion without actually feeling any sense of movement. A moment later he felt a warm body press against his own, steadying him, and knew that it was Thermal Draft. To his mild surprise, that helped, and the sense of disorientation passed quickly, leaving him to concentrate fully on what the winter wolf was seeing. For a moment, there was just more wintry terrain darting past. Then Solvei glanced to the side, and Lex saw the red light shining from the steeple of the inn they were staying at, recognizing that the winter wolf had obeyed his orders to stay away from the edge of the village. At the time, he’d been concerned that one of the ponies living here would catch a glimpse of her and panic; that she’d picked up on what was quite likely a threat that he hadn’t anticipated was a stroke of good fortune. Of course, there was the very real possibility that whatever was headed toward the village wasn’t intent on harming anyone. Despite the fact that the village seemed like nothing more than a minor hamlet tucked away at the edge of the mountains, Lex knew from his prior experiences on Everglow that this world had far greater biodiversity than his native one. Given that, unlike Equestria, the Pony Empire wasn’t isolated by oceans – while there was one to the west, the eastern born was entirely landlocked – that meant that the place was, on the whole, more cosmopolitan than his home was, even if the level of development in everything except magic lagged behind that of Equestria. And Thermal Draft and I came out of the mountains in the middle of the night, Lex reminded himself. So there’s no reason to assume that whatever’s headed this way now has malicious intent. Then Solvei – having settled into a small gully, flattening herself out so that her eyes were just barely peeking above the edge of the ditch – caught sight of what was headed toward the village, and Lex abandoned any such thoughts. Walking through the trees were several large shapes, and even with Solvei’s ability to see in the dark, the driving snow obscured the finer details of their forms. But what Lex could make out wasn’t reassuring. Standing almost ten feet tall and nearly half that in thickness, the things walked on two legs despite their hunched posture. Naked save for thick coats of shaggy fur, they’d braided their bodies with dangling bits of bone, while several wore necklaces composed of various body parts; as one passed close to the winter wolf’s hiding place, Lex could see shriveled ears, broken teeth, and what might have been the desiccated remains of an eyeball strung together in a grisly display. The creatures carried no tools or equipment that he could see, though with the long claws that extended from the end of each finger on their meaty hands, that wasn’t too surprising. More disturbing was the filth that covered the ends of those claws. While Solvei’s darkvision wasn’t able to distinguish color, Lex couldn’t imagine that the dark stains that decorated their talons were anything good. Worst of all were the things’ faces. Flat-nosed with sloping foreheads, the mouths were filled with misshapen teeth. If they had ears, they were hidden beneath the thick fur that covered everything but the front of their lumpy skulls. But while their eyes were bulging – the lids pulled back enough to leave their irises completely bared, giving them a frenzied look – their gazes swept the terrain in a careful manner. In fact, they were doing more than just looking the area over, Lex realized grimly. The creatures – he could see at least a dozen, though between the driving snow and the limited range of Solvei’s darkvision, there could easily have been twice that many or more lurking about – were moving in an organized fashion, with several ranging ahead before looking back at the rest and motioning them forward. As he watched, the one closest to the winter wolf turned and swung an arm as thick as the trunk of the tree it stood next to, lips curling back as its jaw worked. Recognizing that the thing was speaking, Lex needed a moment to remember that he could borrow more of Solvei’s senses than just her sight. A moment later the sounds of the inn fell away, with the crackling fire, the arguing mares, and Thermal Draft’s soft breathing replaced by the driving wind, the crunching of snow as the creatures strode forward, and the tortured grunts of the closest one’s voice, not speaking a language that Lex recognized. But what he wasn’t expecting was to hear someone answer it. “No guards, it says!” hooted a voice that was only slightly more pleasant than a fork scraped across a chalkboard, the pitch only vaguely recognizable as female. “Of course, no guards! Place lacks walls or trenches or fences! What use for guards? Besides, not like they could stop us!” The furred humanoid replied with another series of ape-like grunts, this time gesturing toward the red light shining from the village. It had barely finished when its unseen speaking partner replied. “No!” The owner of the voice strode into view then, but there wasn’t much to see. Half the size of the furred creature, they were completely covered in a heavy cloak, obscuring their features entirely. The only part of them that was visible was a single arm – the skin mottled and riddled with warts – emerging from a baggy sleeve, clutching a staff as tall as it was. But rather than being wood, the staff’s surface was faceted, its edges catching the reflection of the distant red light, and it took Lex a moment to realize that it was composed of ice…though judging from how dark it appeared in Solvei’s vision, that ice seemed as though it was unnaturally black. That staff swung around a moment later to belt the furred creature in the face, causing its head to snap around. “Not taking them all! Nothing to eat later then! Red light, second floor, like always!” The larger creature brayed at that, but the cloaked figure seemed unimpressed. “Little hungry now better than much hungry later. Think. You rather eat small ponies?” The hooded figure stepped closer to the shaggy beast then, planting its staff firmly on the ground. “Or rather we eat you?” Despite the fact that its sheer size made it seem as though it could have effortlessly torn the smaller figure to pieces, the shaggy creature crooned what Lex imagined was an apology, squatting down and hiding its face with one large claw. The display seemed to pacify the cloaked individual, who raised its other arm to pat the creature on the head. “There there, brother,” it cooed, which made its voice only slightly less painful to hear. “Feel better after eating, yes? Good boys get meals right after we’re home.” The figure strode past the oversized creature then, the rest of the group following after her…and Lex noticed that it unlike the rest of its entourage, the hooded individual left no tracks in the snow. “But if there’s one, a strapping young stallion for me first!” it cackled, sounding delighted by the prospect. “With mother away, my turn to play with the food!” It was still laughing as it continued toward the village, the hulking creatures shuffling after it. Having heard more than enough, Lex withdrew his senses from Solvei, opening his eyes to see Thermal Draft looking at him anxiously. “Lex?” Her voice was tentative. “I’m trying not to freak out, but you’re starting to scare me. What’s going on?” Lex didn’t answer immediately, instead taking a moment to collate everything he’d just learned. Most importantly, how much time they had before those creatures arrived. Based on how distant the light from the inn had appeared from Solvei’s vantage point, how fast those creatures had been moving, and how fierce the weather was, they’d arrive in roughly… “Lex?” Knowing that there was no time to waste, Lex turned his attention back to Thermal Draft. “We’re about to come under attack,” he reported bluntly, before moving on to the next piece of salient data. “We have five minutes to get ready.”