Hump watched helplessly as the pillar of dark essence rose into the sky, shades descending on the town below. He wondered how many of the townsfolk hadn’t reached safety. How many had already been lost?

“Hump,” Bud said, a quiet anger to his voice, “we can’t stay here.”

“No we can’t,” Hump said.

“If we leave our post we might lose our chance to capture a shade,” Dylan said.

“The town is under attack,” Bud snapped. “We’ve got no choice.”

“It’s still a decision we need to make,” Dylan said. “My master gave us a job, and if we fail to do it, another attack will come, and even more people die. There are other people fighting for the town. It’s our job to find the source, otherwise all their effort is for nothing.”

Hump clenched his jaw, heart racing as he tried to make a choice. He tried to ignore his fear. He’d seen what had happened in Lakewood—the slaughter. Not again. They could handle a large group of shades if they were smart, especially with the help of Randall’s party and the others defending the town.

“It won’t be for nothing,” Hump said. “We’re after the source.” He jabbed a finger in the direction of the town. “And the source is right there. This didn’t just happen, someone is behind this, and we need to stop them. Now!”

“Very well,” Dylan said. “I’ll go and inform my master.”

Hump glanced at the lighthouse and the horde of shades encompassing it. “She’s occupied. Dylan, there isn’t time. We need to make do without her. Between us and Randall’s party, we have eight Chosen and myself. We can do this.”

“We don’t have to defeat them all, right?” Celaine said. “As long as we kill the caster or destroy the formation, the gateway should close on its own. After that, the shades should go dormant like the ones we found in the cave.”

“I think so,” Hump said.

Dylan sighed. “Gods help us, I hope you’re right about this. I’m in.”

“Good,” Celaine said. “I’m going to scout ahead. I’ll meet you at the edge of town when you arrive.”

“Try to find Randall,” Hump said. “Our first objective should be to join up with them. We’ll need to coordinate our efforts.”

They raced to the town. As they neared, Celaine hopped down from the rooftop of a tall house that overlooked the main path along the lake shore.

“The gateway seems to be in the guardhouse,” she said. “At least, that’s where the essence is coming from.”

Hump frowned. “It has to be Albry. He must have woken up.”

“Surely not,” Bud said. “He couldn’t have been here during the previous attacks if he was the one opening the gateway.”

“He has nothing on him either,” Dylan said. “I checked in this morning. His cell is basically empty.”

“I couldn’t get close enough to tell,” Celaine said. “Most of the shades seem to be gathered near the inn. I suspect Randall’s party is there but it’s too dangerous for me to cross the rooftops alone.”

As she finished, an explosion of frostfire filled the air beyond the town square, lighting up the town in icy blue. Even from the distance, Hump felt a cold breeze through the streets.

“Seems you’re right,” Hump said.

Shades scattered up over the rooftops, frost trailing up the edges of their black cloaks. A few had suffered a more direct hit. Ice crystallised on their bodies, causing them to crumple under the weight of Kelisia’s power, folding in on themselves until they fell from the sky. Yet where one fell, there were five more to take its place.

Bud led the way through the streets, the four of them entering the town square. It was an odd feeling walking through the empty marketplace, the essence-stained sky above casting a dark shadow across the town despite the time of day. The carts were still stocked, the cook fires of food vendors still smoking. There were a couple of shades gathered where fresh fish was on sale, siphoning off what they could and leaving only dried husks in their wake. Across the square, Hump glimpsed people through the windows of Hestia’s temple.

Celaine made quick work of the idle shades, their unmoving forms posing easy targets for Power Shot. It was as they rounded the corner and stared up the road toward the inn that the four of them paused. Shades filled the street, perhaps as many as fifty. It took Hump only a moment to realise why.

They were drawn to the Chosen at their core. Randall’s party had formed a defensive circle outside the inn, the guards and town militia working with them to hold the attention of the shades away from the rest of the town and those sheltered inside.

They were holding on. He’d been trying to convince himself of their chances before but seeing Randall and the others hold the shades back so effectively despite their disadvantage in numbers helped to reinforce what he already knew. They had enough Chosen here to assault a dungeon. He supposed he should have expected it. While none of them had manifested their soul yet, a party of Chosen were a powerful force no matter the circumstance.

“We’ll break through in the centre,” Hump said. “Once we’re with the others, I’ll create a shield and give us a moment to talk.”

“Keep a few steps back from me,” Bud said. “Hump, when we reach them, blast them and I’ll clear the rest out of the way.”

“Got it.”

“Wait,” Dylan said. “We need more of a plan than running through town blasting things. At this rate, the moment these creatures put up a real fight we’ll be forced into a corner and then this will really be for nothing.”

“What do you suggest?” Hump asked.

“We could try and sneak around the back and reach the gateway that way,” Celaine said. “Leave these shades to the others.”

“Without their help, our plan falls apart,” Dylan said. He looked at Hump. “How long do you think you can hold your shield?”

“Not long enough.” Hump rubbed a hand over his face as he stared at the cluster of shades. Dylan was right that they couldn’t just fight through this.

“The shades are drawn to essence and life,” Dylan said. “With enough power, perhaps we can draw them away from the inn.”

“They’d still be after us,” Celaine said.

“I’ve got it,” Hump said, thinking back to the fish in the market. “They’re not just drawn to life. They’re drawn to food.” He opened his potion pouch and pulled out a red vial, then looked at Celaine smugly. “What did I tell you? You never know when something might come in handy.”

***

The four of them took the most direct route up the street, moving at a jog between shops and houses, the shades still unaware of their presence. They snuck closer, waiting. When the first one turned and swept toward them, they picked up their pace, charging the rest of the distance at a sprint until the creature was almost upon them.

Hump stopped first, taking aim at the core of the horde with his staff. He was vaguely aware of Celaine’s presence at his side, guarding him while Bud and Dylan carried on ahead.

Hump channelled fire to his focus and let loose a Fire Blast that tore the group apart, sending wounded shades scattering into the air above and clearing the path for the others He didn’t wait to watch, picking up his pace again and trusting Bud to hand the rest.

The knight’s aura exploded like Hump had never seen it. Frostfire spread out around him, raging around him like the hottest fire. A wave of icy wind pressed into Hump, stinging against his skin, but it was nothing compared to the shades directly before them. They curled in on themselves, their bodies collapsing under the pressure of the cold. Those beyond its direct reach retreated, the edges of their cloaks crystalising with icy blue where they were nearly caught.

And then they were through.

Hump hurried to where Randall stood at the centre of the ground, the sorcerer wielding his wand like a whip, ribbons of frostfire twirling around them.

“What are you doing here, wizard?” he shouted over the sound of the roaring flame.

“We have a plan,” Hump said. “Stop casting, I’m putting up a shield.”

He didn’t wait for Randall’s approval, slamming the butt of his staff into the ground with both hands, envisioning a domed barrier around them. He shaped it in his mind, then let his essence loose. “Shield.”

A wall rose around them, curving overhead. A couple of shades fell flat against the inner wall, trapped by the emerging boundary. Hump felt their touch siphoning power before the spell was even fully formed, but Celaine and Dylan made short work of them. In seconds, they were sheltered from the attack. Beyond the shield, the shades slammed against Hump’s barrier. It wouldn’t take them long before they attempted to siphon off his essence. Once that happened, there was no maintaining the spell. Not against these numbers.

“What was wrong with the old plan?” Randall said, a sharp edge to his tone.

To the side, Madeleine was organising the rest of the defence. Hump gave a quick head count—six guards and twenty-odd townsfolk, along with the rest of their party. Most had only basic spears, but their tips glowed with a blood-red sheen, and their eyes were fierce with the war god’s blessing.

“There’s a new source in the town,” Hump said. “The gateway opened in the guardhouse. We need to shut it. I’m willing to bet the same thing responsible for the main gateway is also active here.”

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but there’s too many!” Randall snapped. “We can barely hold them back. Those flesh prowler beasts are roaming the streets further back, it won’t be long before they join the attack too.”

Hump added essence to his shield as one of the shades figured out that it could siphon off his power from its surface. Light shimmered across the dome, a handful of ripples spreading out as more joined the attack.

“We need to force our way through,” Hump said. “I have something that will draw their attention for a bit. Once it does, we hit them with all we have and push for the guardhouse.”

“And leave these people to the mercy of these monsters?” Randall scoffed. “No. I don’t think so.”

“We get to the gateway, and we can stop this,” Bud said.

“I already tried to reach the guardhouse,” Skander said. “Hell of a lot of monsters between us and there.”

“Where’s Winfrey?” Bud asked.

“Gods know,” Randall said. “We’ve not seen him since before the second attack came. Skander, you catch sight of him?”

“No,” The rogue said. “He’s not near the temple at least. Bit hard to get a proper perspective on things with a bunch of soul eating spirits flying around. How do you intend to get through?”

With his free hand, Hump pulled the vial from his pocket. “This is troll blood. It stinks like nothing else, but it’s full of vitality and should draw their attention. When I drop the shield, we shatter it somewhere out of the way.” Hump’s staff shone brighter as the attacks picked up further. He gritted his teeth. “Either we do this now or not at all. I can’t hold this.”

Randall glared at him then clenched his jaw. “Skander, take the troll blood and shatter it down the alleyway over by the cobblers. We’ll gather them up in there and kill as many as we can.”

“Got it, boss.”

Hump felt the vial snatched from his hand and then Skander vanished in a poof of smoke, appearing on a rooftop beyond his shield. A few seconds later, there was a change to the shades. Light pierced through the horde, and soon they could see the dark clouds beyond as the shades drifted back. A second later, the flew to the sky like a flock of birds.

Hump let his shield fall.

Bud and Madeleine led the main charge, the guards and townsfolk remaining behind to defend the inn for as long as her blessing would last. The rest of them sped forward, following the black figures through the sky. Dylan and Celaine left them joined Skander above on the rooftops.

“It’s working,” Celaine called down. “They’re swarming it.”

The rancid smell of troll blood filled the street as they neared the alley, and Hump fought the urge to gag. Shades poured in ahead of them, oblivious to anything else. They hissed and grumbled at each other in a chorus of otherworldly sounds, their voices hardly a whisper.

“Wizard, aim high,” Randall shouted, staring down the narrow way and levelling his wand in the direction of the shades.

Frostfire gathered at the tip, and Hump realised what he’d meant. He took aim with his own staff, the focus smouldering as heat gathered. They launched their attacks together, a cone of cold bathing the lower half of the alley while fire scorched the top. A flood of icy blue and flaming red. The shades died in a screeching mass. Those that escaped flew up, their bodies chased by the fire that now blazed across the rooftops.

Hump guessed they’d killed half of them in the attack. They didn’t wait for the shades to regroup, rushing further up the street toward the guardhouse.

When the guardhouse came into view around the corner, Hump caught his breath. Flesh prowlers stood guard, hackles raised, and teeth bared in snarls. Behind them, the building was all but destroyed. The walls had been torn down by the gateway so that the black rift was clearly visible. It sucked in parts of the building like a tornado, essence sweeping from it and stirring up a storm. Through it all, Hump saw Albry at its core. He was on his knees, head bowed in prayer in the direction of the gateway.

And that’s when Hump saw it. A shadowy figure beyond the rift.

“Something’s trying to come through,” Celaine muttered.

“Gods above,” Randall said. “That’s High Priest Albry. He’s doing this!”

Hump furrowed his brow as he took in the scene. “No he’s not.” A faint stream of essence rose from Albry’s chest, drawn out by the formation that surrounded him. Six streams of streaky light, not unlike the light that connected one’s brilliance to their soul.

“Albry isn’t the caster,” Hump said. “He’s the sacrifice. They’re draining his soul.”