Tearha: Titan War

Chapter Thirty: Drums of War

Despite being in an arid and empty plain with just rolling dunes for cover, Luce found Shou's hideout to be very easy to defend. Because of the dry landscape, any heavy movements from vehicles will kick up a cloud of dust that could be seen from the horizon. Standing atop one of the many dunes, her binoculars scanned the area around them for smaller movements and oddities not likely to pick up a storm like that of a moving vehicle.

"Anything?" Adelle asked.

The elf sat next to her, letting out a yawn of boredom. Even Luce could not blame her for feeling that way. They had been put on patrol for the past dozen days ever since Shou and Reggie fought off the first assault. Since then, the public had turned negatively at Corlyle for risking that many soldiers to capture such a small number of dissenters. In turn, the attacks had been smaller attempts to sneak past their radar, leaving them out to manually check on their lines.

Luce asked, "Didn't you use to do reconnaissance of your forest?"

"Not really," Adelle admitted. "I know that place like the string of my bow. Even when I did go out patrolling, it wasn't every single day."

Luce was frustrated as well, but they had to hold on until Josh and Arnold returned. By their estimates, that would be another 8 days away.

"Anyway," Luce said. "This area looks clear. Let's move on."

"Finally!" Adelle jumped to her feet. "Where to next? Or are we done?"

She pulled out a tablet and scrolled through the map. "Just one more area to scan." She pointed south towards a noticeable twin-peaked dune about a kilometre away.

Adelle placed a hand on her shoulder and in the blink of an eye, they closed the distance and stood at the bottom of the mount. They would have to walk the rest of the way up as a precaution to anyone who may have been keeping a lookout of the viewpoint and might want them to be shot. As they climbed, Adelle kept letting out sighs.

Luce berated, "We have to do this."

"I know! I know! It's just so slow! Wish we could just teleport up there."

"You know, when I first met you, you were such a serious, no-nonsense fighter."

"Was I?"

"Yes." She was. A person secure in only her ability to fight while doubting in everything else. But ever since then, she had opened up. Her snark often pierced, but never to hurt. Her childish complaints belied past joys unfulfilled. "You're a much nicer person now."

From the corner of Luce's eye, she could see Adelle's cheeks getting red through her scarf. "Shut up."

When they neared the zenith of the hill, they crouched down and moved slowly up, scanning the surrounding over the peak with each small step. By the time the crossed over the top, they had covered the entire landscape and was confident enough to resume a standing position. Luce took out her binoculars again and swept the area.

For a while, nothing seemed amiss. Sand rolled. Winds howled. The heat baked her exposed skin. Then, something. A small something. A tiny piece of the landscape no larger than her thumb within the lenses of her binoculars stood out.

"I see something," she noted.

Immediately, Adelle notched her bow. "What is it? Where?"

"One-ninety-five southwest. Not sure what though." She adjusted the dial on her binoculars and zoomed in.

It was a flat piece of another dune. It looked not much different from its surroundings aside for the fact that it seemed to be completely still while the sand around it shifted slightly with each breeze. For reasons unknown to her, the hair stood on the back of her neck. And while she watched, she too felt watched.