Chương 171: CDM 3, Chapter 47: Pivots

Enforcer Chapman rode with Enforcer McDouglas while the Cold Rollers were in the van, discussing potential hunting strategies. Our challenge, however, was that we actually didn't know the location of the nest. We had to wait for them to return to the rest of their tribe before we moved in, but until we had that information, there wasn't much planning we could do. That changed roughly an hour into the drive. It was early afternoon by that point, and the bugbear hunters were on the move.

De Saint tracked them with the RAID drone as they hiked.

"If they keep going in that direction, they'll run into an old coal mine processing plant," Megan announced, her brow furrowed as she dragged and zoomed the map on her phone. De Saint quickly typed a few words.

"I just asked Enforcer Black to check it out with the other drone." A few minutes later, her phone rang, and she put it on speaker.

"I don't see other bugbears, but there are a few firepits that look relatively fresh," Black reported.

"No mobs whatsoever?"

"Correct, but some structures are warm. Want me to keep eyes on it?"

"Yes, please," de Saint replied.

"You got it."

"If they were part of that other tribe y'all were talking about," Hornby began, "could be there's only two of them." None of us disagreed that it was a possibility. Looking at the satellite view of the location myself, I saw that it was built in a strip alongside railroad tracks, not so different from the goblin nest Megan and I cleared in Brownsville at the old barge-building business.

Two smaller structures were at one end, both big enough to be offices or employee space of some kind, and then a large processing plant stood at the other end, with four conveyor belts coming down from the uppermost floors. From above, they looked kind of like the ropes on a tent. Maybe a dozen shacks were scattered around the property.

There was one for the bottom of each conveyor, and the rest were spread about what used to be a coalfield, a dumping ground for the coal that got carried into the plant, where it was crushed and cleansed of impurities.

"They're on the coal mining campus…" de Saint reported.

"They just entered one of the smaller structures. Thermal says it's pretty warm, ah, but the other two big buildings are too. Not as warm as the first, but still higher than ambient temperature." Megan pulled up the menu on Nathan's GPS and updated the destination.

"Thank you kindly, Osheski," he said.

"Unless we learn something new between now and then, here's the plan," Megan began.

"We're going to post up on State Park Road, roughly southwest of the coal plant. We'll cut through the forest and around the holding ponds to enter from the southeast. Since we can't confirm it's only bugbears in these buildings, Gray can't blind fire on them. That might change once the scouting drone gets a look, but for now, we're going to sweep one building at a time without voidwood tactics.

"The first two buildings should be relatively simple since they're smaller. We'll need to put eyes on the plant itself to decide the best plan there because it's so big. Now, remember that bugbears are smart hunters. They are known for ambushes and sneaky flanking maneuvers. Just because we only saw two doesn't mean that's what we're in for. Assume the worst and keep your eyes moving." A short while later, we pulled off the side of the row and parked. McDouglas and Chapman pulled up behind us.

"Got a plan, Osheski?" McDouglas asked as he stepped down from his SUV.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Get to it then." Megan paused, as if expecting more feedback and guidance than that, but said, "Yes, sir" when no such feedback came. De Saint stayed with her RAID drone while Nathan prepared his scouting drone for deployment, and the rest of us got into our kit. Thus far, no bugbears had entered or left any of the structures after the first two went inside.

Since a low-flying scouting drone was likely to attract attention, Nathan hovered over us as we hiked the 1700 ft or so through the forest to the holding ponds. I knew that distance from the satellite data, and I tried counting my steps as Guy told us to, but I had a hard time tracking that number when I also needed to watch for bugbears lying in wait to ambush us. I wasn't sure any amount of practice would get me to Guy's level, but I was sure now wasn't the time to divide my focus.

At the treeline at the edge of the southernmost holding pond, Megan gestured for us to hold. We knelt low and watched as Nathan flew ahead to investigate the first two buildings.

"Every window is boarded over," he reported.

"The blue building, the first one you'll come to, has two doors. One on the west end and one on the east. The red building has… Three. One on the west, one on the north, and one on the south. No movement, but the campfire here still has warm embers. At a minimum, they've been in this spot for a night."

"Roger, Kimmy," Megan replied.

"We're beginning our advance." On Megan's signal, we came around the pond and followed an old road up a gentle incline to the blue structure. Deep ruts from heavy machinery still scarred the ground, but weeds had mostly succeeded in working around the old gravel to sprout thick and high. The blue building was on the right side of the road, and the red building was a little farther up on the left.

While Hornby and I kept an eye on the exits, Megan and Giago approached the nearest door, pressing their backs against a cinderblock wall. The door jam had been kicked in some time ago, so it didn't resist when Megan pushed it open. She went in first, and Giago followed. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"Clear," Megan announced over the radio. We regrouped and advanced on the second building. We were a few yards away from the east end when Nathan spoke over the radio.

"Two went out the west door. They're staying low like they're trying to be sneaky. No visuals on any others."

"Rainy, stay on the runners," Megan ordered.

"Kimmy, did they leave the door open? Can you get a look inside?"

"Roger that," he answered. A few moments later, he added, "Looks clear in here." Megan and Giago needed less than a minute to confirm that for sure.

"They both went into the processing plant," de Saint reported. On Megan's signal, we resumed moving, following the same road as it wound down to the plant. Christ, it was big. The sheet metal structure was roughly 100 ft by 100 ft, which we knew from the satellite imagery, but I didn't expect it to be close to six stories tall. The conveyor belts were long ramps going all the way to the top floor of the plant and continued on inside the building.

"There's not an open window or door in this place," Nathan reported as he circled the plant.

"Everything is boarded up." The main garage door into the building was similarly boarded over, but it didn't look like the work of the previous owners. Instead of big sheets of plywood like we saw on the first two buildings, the garage door was barricaded off by mismatched scrap wood and sheet metal nailed together. The smaller door next to it, the one meant for people, was intact and closed. We knelt behind the last trees between us and the plant.

"Kimmy, other exits?"

"Same setup as what you see on the east side. One big garage door and another regular door." Megan thought for a moment and whispered, "This is sketchy." The rest of us nodded. We agreed this felt suspicious.

"Okay, I'm going to advance on the door. I want the rest of you to cover me. Hornby and Gray, bows. Giago, spells. Kimmy, once I get that door open, I want you inside to scout."

"Roger." After a deep breath, Megan shuffled across the open yard. I didn't hear or see any movement but Megan's, and neither Nathan nor de Saint reported any differently. Megan searched up and around the whole way, seeming extra suspicious of the conveyor belt that passed high over her head, but she reached the structure without incident. She gently prodded the wooden barrier, found that it was solid, and signaled for Kimmy to come low. Megan counted down from three with her fingers and kicked it down.

Kimmy zipped inside right away.

"This is some kind of office," he radioed right away.

"There's a door to the left, but it's closed. I can't get any farther than this." Instead of lingering in a space where he couldn't help, Nathan reversed back out and gained elevation. Megan waved for us to cross the yard to join her. We were about to pass beneath the conveyor belt, perhaps 10 feet from Megan's position, when the barrier blocking the garage door fell outward with a singular, solid crash.

"Above you!" Nathan called as three bugbears carrying spears emerged from the sixth floor of the plant and ran down the conveyor belt. Hornby and I were about to draw on them when an arrow sailed between us. In the time it took me to glance at the arrow and then back up, three more bugbears had appeared. These ones had bows and immediately fired on us. I felt the ping of one deflecting off my helmet and saw Hornby go down with an arrow in his thigh. Six bugbears wielding spears charged out of the garage.

Giago braced to face them while Megan attempted to cover his back with her shield, deflecting arrows from the bugbears overhead. Six low with spears. Three high with bows. Another three making the long loop to flank us. I reached down and grabbed Hornby's arm. He gripped back, and I dragged him directly beneath the conveyor. Technically, he had no real cover whatsoever, but the monsters above us couldn't fire on us anymore.

"Why the fuck am I the one that keeps getting hit?" Hornby cursed as he ripped the arrow out of his thigh. He pressed down to contain the blood squirting out and cast Mend. Good. In a few seconds, he would get to Heal and would be back in the fight. I aimed straight up and started to loose through the conveyor. A bugbear fell backward and crashed into the ground, his body folding into itself with a sickening crunch.

"6 ft down the belt, Gray," Nathan called. I estimated the angle and started to shoot again. The metal frame of the belt shook, knocking dust and rust loose to shower down on me and Hornby. A bow clattered to the ground not far from us.

"Not dead but down," Nathan reported.

"Last one is… 15 ft up." I loosed a spray of arrows.

"He's wounded, retreating back into the plant." Next to me, Hornby was on his feet loosing arrows into the mob closing on Megan and Giago. Megan had already used her Knockback ability to buy space, and Giago shot off a few rounds of Fire to get the bugbears to hesitate. If Hornby and I had been a second slower, our people would have been in real trouble. Between the numbers advantage and the reach of their spears, six bugbears on two humans was bad news.

With Hornby and I providing cover fire, the bugbears hesitated. I triggered Dual Nocking, Multishot, Vengeful Arrow, Piercing Shot, and Splintering Arrow all on one draw. Six white arrows sped into three bugbears. With the angle, two more got hit when Piercing Shot allowed four arrows to travel through their initial targets. Then Splintering Arrow went off, and it was like the first wounded bugbears suddenly shot needles all around them. In an instant, I had hit all six bugbears.

None of them went down, but two were wounded enough that they staggered backward, looking weak. The other four were disoriented from the sudden barrage. Megan took off the arm of one and ran a sword through a second. Giago followed suit, parrying a spear to the side so he could come in with a thrust. One of Hornby's Power Shot arrows hit a third bugbear in the head, taking it off of its feet.

"Three flanking," Nathan warned.

"40 yards out."

"On it," Hornby said, turning and drawing in one motion. I sent another spray of arrows into the bugbears nearest to Megan and Giago. When it was clear they had victory in hand, I joined Hornby in loosing on the bugbears charging us. Christ, these fuckers were fast. One went down from arrows, and the last two, with a dozen white arrows sticking out of their bodies, were one spear-length away from being able to hit us. They had covered that ground far more quickly than I expected and found myself flat-footed.

Megan crashed into the side of one with her shield, knocking it into the other bugbear. The impact didn't halt their charge, but it took them off course long enough for Giago to help with a Bolt and for Hornby and I to take two more shots. When they were confirmed dead with swords to the skulls, Megan radioed, "Kimmy, head inside and scout."

"Already here," he replied.

"Give me a second to search all of it, but I got eyes on the last archer. He's sitting with his back against the wall to the left of where the conveyor opens." I did my part with voidwood.

"He's down. Scouting the rest…" Three and a half minutes later, he said, "Looks clear." I couldn't help but smile to myself. That Splintering Arrow shot might have been the coolest fucking thing I had ever done in my life.