Frostbound

Chapter 260 - Everyone is Coming

Hendricks

Months ago...

"Come on! You can't die on me!"

"1.2.3.4!" Gonzalez kept time aloud as he pounded on Jackson's chest with both hands. His entire body rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

All of his group held their breaths in worry. Even Grant, the newest to their group watched on with rapt attention as Gonzalez applied CPR. Waiting for Jackson to wake up.

"Guh, guggle." Jackson spat out water and struggled to draw in enough air to replace it.

Hendricks felt like an additional ten years drained out of him after seeing his friend take a breath. Everyone did, as they all let out sighs of relief. Even with all their new stats and skills, fancy Classes, and Magic, drowning was still a very real threat.

"Oh, thank god!" Gonzalez slapped Jackson on the shoulder roughly. "I thought you were a goner!"

Jackson took steadying breaths and looked around wildly, "You can't bury me yet."

Halsey laughed at his words, "Here I thought you could breathe Water."

Jackson coughed and spit up another mouth full of water at that, "I have a Water affinity. A-ffin-ity, I didn't turn into some amphibian." Of the group, Jackson had staunchly refused to become anything other than human.

Gonzalez had gone all in with the change. Other than becoming even hairier from his evolution, the massive muscles were hard to miss. He was already dreaming out his next evolution and what changes he would make next. He was, Hendricks would admit, a bit obsessed with the idea. Gonzalez didn't even hesitate with his choice and quickly chose the Grizzly Bear as his Bloodline and his evolution choices.

"I thought you'd gone walked into the light." Halsey joked, "Glad to have you back. What does this make it? Four times we've saved your life?"

Jackson, still coughing and trying to breathe correctly, "If we're keeping count, I think you top that list, Halsey."

"Alright, alright." Hendricks cut in before they devolved into actually listing them out. They didn't have the time for that. "We've made it across. Now we need to find the damn thing and report back. Jackson, how long until you're good?"

"I still need a few minutes Sarge. Air's still getting to where it needs to go." Jackson said.

Now that everyone wasn't huddled over his body, Hendricks looked around the riverbank. They had an insane time getting to the other side and it had delayed them weeks to do so.

The raft they ended up building got destroyed barely halfway across and then it was a mad dash, or mad swim to shore. Grant worked his healing magic but still, it was close.

Who knew things would be so tough?

"We'll take thirty, then get a move on. Take stock and check our packs." Hendricks ordered.

They'd ended up losing Jackson's pack to the current which left them down some supplies. Thankfully, all of the important ones he carried himself, but still, they were down rations and gear.

As they sat and recovered, Jackson wicked away the water soaking everyone and sent it flying back into the river. It was a boon Hendricks hadn't appreciated enough. Having to travel soaking wet was never fun.

The time set to recover expired quickly and they were soon on the move again. They were close, everyone knew they were close. The river had been their last obstacle and now all they had to do was find the damn thing.

"Sarge!" Larks called from deeper into the trees. "I found something!"

The entire team converged on Larks' position and all of them looked toward the towering obelisk poking out of the tree canopy.

"Well, at least it isn't small." Gonzalez laughed, "We'd be looking for days if it was."

The target of their search stood towering into the air and was impossible to miss. Taller than all of the trees around it and then some, the impossibly dark monolith could be seen from miles around if someone had the Perception, which Larks certainly did.

"I don't see any threats nearby but there are a few civilians camped out around it," Larks said.

It took a moment for Hendricks to tear his eyes away from the obviously magical construction but the words found their way.

"We can't call them civilians anymore." He admonished. Not when everyone was a potential threat. "How many and can you get any levels?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"'bout a hundred but they're too far for [Evaluate]."

His entire team turned to him while plans were drawn up. They weren't here to liberate or fight, so he was trying to come up with non-confrontational plans that didn't end in fighting.

"We need to get in and out without a fight. Larks, you're on scouting duty. Find out the levels of everyone down there and report if they're above 80. Gonzalez, go further West. That might not be the only group camping around it. Jackson, try to get a good look at the obelisk. See if the reports were true and if it has a timer. Grant..." Hendricks hesitated, "Go with Gonzalez and keep him healthy."

Of all their group, Gonzalez was the most likely to run into a fight.

"What are you going to do, Sarge?" Larks asked.

"Find us a spot to camp and set up the array. I have a feeling we'll be here a while."

The experimental device he was sent with had strict instructions on how it could be deployed and it was the task that would take the longest.

Wards had to be set up, mana flows had to be accounted for. It was nearly above his ability to do and would've been if they hadn't sent some tools with him specifically for that task.

Hendricks wasn't even halfway done by the time his team came back from their assigned tasks.

"There's a few hundred more on the other side but that's about it," Gonzalez said.

"Most of the group down there is about level 70. A few are higher and the highest is level 97. He seems to be the leader, but there were three that had [Blockers] I couldn't pierce." Larks said.

"From how it appears, everything our intel says is correct. The timer is displayed on all four sides and it's set for the day we came back." Jackson said.

"Alright." Hendricks said, "Give me a second to think."

This is undoubtedly our 'test'. The trip here took two months but could be shortened if there's a better way to cross the river. If we send word back now, they'll have a month and a half to get everything in order.

That was more than enough time, but it was still cutting it close. They had people fighting all the way up and down the Coast. To pull them back and send them inland would take time.

If he even sends people.

The odds were good that he would, but there was still the option that he wouldn't. They were stretched thin, but this took priority. Or at least, Hendricks thought so.

"Help me get his array set up. It's a bitch and I'm not entirely sure I'm doing it right." Hendricks said.

Now that they had the information they needed, the next course of action was to report it back. The Admiral would do with it what he wished.

It took well into the night to get everything right and with the time difference, it would be even worse on the East Coast, but this was more important than sleep.

The array was something new some brainiac put together after some very limited testing. Hendricks wasn't sure of the specifics of how it worked, but he knew the basics.

Setting it up was the hardest part and now that it was, all he had to do was activate it.

Which had its own intricately detailed section on how to do. It took an asinine amount of mana to work, especially over the distance they were working with, but they were prepared for that.

Mana Crystals were set on the various points the array required. They were rare and extremely hard to find, but they were allocated a batch large enough to use the array a few times.

If they ran out, they'd be stuck up a creek without a paddle.

Even with the rare crystals powering it, it still took all six of them flooding their mana into it to work. Any mana they could spare from their own pools saved a crystal from having to be used.

"Ready?" He called out from inside the array.

"Ready!"

"Begin!"

All of them began shoving as much mana into it as they could. The looped lines and graceful curves lit up so brightly they swelled with power. They burned into the ground but the conduits would hold.

At least they should hold.

It took a few moments for the entire array to light up and even more after that until it was set to function. Supposedly, the array reached out to another back home that was linked.

Which part of massive formation did the linking was a mystery, Hendricks was not an enchanter and didn't know the first step of decoding what he was looking at.

There were supposed to be people watching the linked portion, waiting for a call to come in, but time ticked on and no one picked up the other side.

Everyone was quickly running out of mana but they continued pushing more and more into the array. Gonzalez already ran dry, as he had the least among the team.

Click

The connection crackled and sounded muffled, but Hendricks sighed in appreciation. If it had failed, they'd have to rest up and do the process all over again.

"Come in, this is Foxtrot Tango 1. Do you read me?"

"We read you, Foxtrot Tango 1, this is Command, go ahead." The person on the other side gave the correct sign back.

"We located the obelisk and our intel is true. The timer reads," Hendricks checked his watch to get the time right, "3 months, 14 days, 9 hours, 20 minutes, 21 seconds."

"3 months, 14 days, 9 hours, 20 minutes, 21 seconds, confirm?" The operator repeated.

"Confirm. Awaiting orders." Hendricks replied. They'd account for the seconds afterward, subtracting it from the total.

"Stand by." Being told to wait as he struggled to keep the array activated was torture but he held back from saying anything.

The operator wasn't the one giving the orders and it would take time for them to be delivered to the Admiral.

Luckily, either the man was up this late at night or the messenger found him quickly.

"Hendricks," his voice was unmistakable, "Hold at the obelisk and gather intel on everyone who arrives. Teams 2-8 will be making their way over and the rest of us will be right behind them."

Hendricks didn't want to question the Admiral, in fact, all he wanted to say was 'okay' and shut the array down, but he didn't. "The rest of us, sir?"

Hendricks knew the rest of the teams mentioned. He'd worked together with a few of them before, but this would be the first time that all 8 would be in the same place.

"We cannot fail this test." The Admiral said firmly, "Passing whatever this turns out to be is our number one priority. Everyone will be deployed to your position to ensure that outcome."

"Understood, sir."

"Good." he said, "Clear the surrounding area if you can. Something tells me we'll need it. Over and out."

The line clicked again and Hendricks sagged to the ground. His mana was empty and so was Larks. Only Grant and Jackson were still standing but even they were barely hanging on.

"We have our orders." Hendricks replied, "Clear the area and await reinforcements."

"Who's all coming?" Gonzalez asked, "The 1st Brigade?"

"No," Hendricks said, still trying to wrap his head around it.

"Everyone is coming."

The entire team looked at him twice to make sure they heard correctly.

"Sir, did you say everyone?"

"Yes, yes I did."

"Well fuck." Gonzalez said, "It's going to be a party I guess."