Rhen notched an arrow of anima and fired at the first yeti. The projectile speared straight through its chest and into the head of the yeti right behind it. They both went down with a thud. Rhen wanted to kill as many of them in the dungeon as he could, making sure they had plenty of time to harvest their cores before they disappeared.

He backed up a few paces and fired three more shots, each striking their targets. Two more yeti down. The yeti were moving with angry purpose now, charging him. Rhen turned and used swift twitch to propel himself down the hall. He looked back and took a few more shots, hitting two yetis through the stomach with one shot. These razor whisker cores were no joke.

The tumbling bodies slowed down the others, and Rhen was able to get off another three before he had to turn tail for the exit.

“Lots!” Rhen yelled.

White light from outside filled his vision, and he carefully dodged the carcasses on the way out. Didn’t want to trip and die from a yeti stampede. He slid out into the snow and turned, firing three more rapid shots into the darkness. The light of the arrows illuminated the targets as they went through legs, stomachs, and arms.

There was a tall rock a few feet down that would serve to give him good line of sight on the cave entrance, while keeping him out of range from groping arms. He shouldered his bow and used a tremor blast jump to clear the distance in a single leap. He dropped to a knee on the snowy rock and notched another arrow.

“Here they come!” Jakira yelled from the side of the cave, her voice projected with defender’s cry. Rhen felt his trembling hands become steady, and his vision sharpened.

He loosed another arrow into the crowd, straight through an eye and into a chest. The anima flowed easily from his core through his arms and into the bow, and he fired arrow after arrow. The bodies piled up at the cave exit, making it harder for the train to escape.

The first one broke through and Jakira smashed its skull with a heavy swing of her mace. She hit the second one at the knees and it tumbled into the snow. “Fighters, pin it down!”

Ulecks and Eli leapt into action, scoring careful hits until the monster dropped dead.

“For those outside the cave, remove cores quickly! Bort, can you do that?” Rhen asked, lining up for another shot at the monsters deeper in the cave. They just kept coming.

“Okay,” the mule said with a little exasperation. “But if I die…”

“Yeah, yeah!” Jakira ground out as she caved in a chest. “You’ll never forgive us!”

Alex and Olliat took up position above the cave entrance. Olliat used her hooked scythe to catch the neck of a taller yeti on their way out. The blade cut through and the monster tumbled into the snow. Alex pounced on the rended yeti, finishing it with a few swift stabs.

Rhen kept the young fighter safe, loosing arrows like mad at anything that got too close. Olliat leaned farther over the edge, catching throats and eyes with ease, delivering half-dead monsters to the waiting group below. The bodies were piling up in the snow, and Rhen’s shoulder was getting a little tired, but the train kept coming.

Gods, when would it end!

The anima was getting harder and harder to pull through the bowstring. Rhen retired the weapon and moved to his crescent moon blades instead, infusing them both with Deep Cuts. He jumped down into the fray, dancing precariously between the twins, Eli, and Jakira. The hillside was getting slippery from the blood, and they all struggled to maintain their footing.

“Could ya stop killin’ em so fast?” Bort exclaimed, wrist deep in one of the dead yetis.

The mountainside trembled, and the yeti froze in their tracks. Another boom shook the hill, and the three outside the cave ran back in for cover. Jakira caught the last one in the kneecap and dragged it back down, finishing it off before it could escape.

The hill boomed again, and something cracked. The sound of rolling thunder filled the air. A cloud of white plumed at the top of the mountain and Rhen watched in horror as a rolling avalanche rushed toward them.

“Into the trees!” Rhen yelled. He ran to Bort, grabbing the older man under the arm and yanking him to his feet. Rhen flipped the bag onto his other shoulder and the team ran for the bottom of the hill where the safety of the thick pines would hopefully stop the avalanche.

The mountain trembled again with a loud crack but he dare not turn to look. The stumbled madly down the hillside, snow crumbling out from under them as they reached the forest.

“Keep going!” Jakira yelled.

The plume of snow smashed into the trees, knocking them over. The air rushed through the trees, bringing a flurry of blinding white with it. Rhen lost track of Jakira, but he could still hear her yelling to, “Go, go, go!”

Trees snapped at the base and smashed into one another as Rhen and Bort dodged their way deeper into the forest. Finally, the onslaught of snow crawled to a halt. The powder lingered in the air, blinding them and dampening sound. Jakira’s voice was quiet, but he could still hear her yelling for the others.

Rhen used his primordial breath to clear the air in a strong gust. They could see about twenty feet in front of them, which was better than the previous three, but still wasn’t helping them find anyone. He heard Jakira, but with the trees, the wind, and the snow hanging in the air, it was almost impossible to tell where she was. He wished with a groan that he’d gotten sense movement instead of deep cuts. While it’d been useful in yeti execution, sense movement could save them a lot of struggles in finding their way back to the party.

“I don’t suppose you got sense movement?” Rhen asked.

Bort shook his head.

“Great.” He sighed and closed his eyes, listening to Jakira’s distant voice. He turned his head left and right, trying to ensure he was hearing her position correctly, then moved toward it. They were going deeper into the forest, away from the avalanche.

Rhen heard a whimper, something much closer, and opened his eyes. He searched around the base of a tree until he found Olliat and Alex huddled together, cloaked in his best attempt at stealth.

“What are you doing?” Rhen asked, reaching for them.

Olliat shook her head furiously with a finger to her lips, then pointed behind him.

“Rhen? Oh-lee-at?” Jakira yelled, her voice strained.

Rhen turned, expecting to see the red-haired Cadrian turning in circles, looking for them. Instead, he saw darkness lurking between the branches, and yellow eyes watching them hungrily.

Rhen pulled Bort close and crouched into stealth beside the young fighters.

“Eee-lie? Rheeen?” the voice that mimicked Jakira so well, but drew out the vowels in a terrifying scream. The hairs on his arm prickled on end and he shuddered. Had it gotten her? Or was it just repeating her?

“What the fluff is that?” Olliat whispered.

Rhen shook his head. He had no idea.

Another distant shout, this one Jakira as well, sounded off to the left. Then another to the right.

Oh gods, what had he gotten them into?

A yeti growled in the back of its throat to their right.

“Rheeen?”

“Eee-lie?”

“Orkork!”

The dark creatures kept their distance, but six sets of yellow eyes formed a half-circle around the reduced party. Black claws dug into the pine bark, scraping away down to the wood. Sap oozed out and the creature turned away, slipping into the forest. Another one moved to the left, getting a little closer, but keeping well behind cover.

“We’ve got this, right?” Alex asked, his face pained.

Rhen pulled the bow from his shoulder and dropped the pack. With speed, he pulled and loosed on the closer left creature. The arrow lodged in the tree-trunk. He’d sworn his shot was on target… how had he missed at such a range?

The bright arrow illuminated the creature for just a flash. It’s deer-like face looked as if it were melting, the skin wrinkled at the eyes. Jowls hung down on either side of sharp fangs, and it sported deadly looking antlers that projected two feet off its head. That was all he caught before the thing retreated.

“Oh-lee-at!”

“Raaahhk!” The sharp screeching inhale set Rhen’s teeth on edge.

Movement to the right caught his eye and he loosed another arrow with lightning speed. This one too lodged in the tree, then shattered.

“What the hell,” Rhen muttered.

The creatures drew closer still. They were running out of options.

“Everyone step back. I have a stupid idea.”

Rhen stood to cover their retreat, firing arrows at any of the creatures that tried to break off and pursue them.

“Come on! Come get me!” He called to the mimic monsters.

One surged forward, revealing itself in the clearing. It was humanoid, with two legs and two arms, but that was where the similarities ended. It’s back legs sported powerful hooves, and at the end of each hand were deadly claws. It was dressed in rotten leathers of dead yeti and razor whiskers, if dressed was the word Rhen could use. It looked as though after a kill, it just covered itself in its prey’s hide.

Rhen waited just a second longer until the creature was five feet out. His heart pounded in his chest and he prayed for luck, and that he wasn’t a complete idiot.

With a flash, he triggered cephaloshifter and exploded into a massive, black and red octopus. The trees bent back, making space for him as he towered over the creature. He activated amphibian lung next, changing from aquatic to atmospheric. He took a breath of freezing air and didn’t choke. It worked.

He lifted one of his massive tentacles and slapped the mimic down into the snow with a splat. He yanked a broken tree free from its stump and smashed it into another monster, then curled another tentacle around a third.

The monster screamed his name, then Olliat’s, and clawed at Rhen’s tentacle. The scratches burned, and putrid yellow oozed into his body. Rhen squeezed tighter and the creature popped. He dropped it to the ground and moved through the trees, parting them as he hunted for the other three mimics.

It was cold, so cold, but he had to go on.

“Rhen?!” Jakira yelled, and this time it really was her. He spied her through the forest, just thirty feet away standing on a mound of avalanche snow. Ulecks and Eli were with her, no worse for wear.

Rhen couldn’t speak of course but lifted a tentacle and reached toward the retreating Olliat, Bort, and Alex. He scooped them up and carried them over to Jakira’s mound. The yellow substance crawled up and down his injured tentacle, sending waves of sickening pain through him. He tried to put it and the freeze snow out of mind and went back on the hunt.

A mimic slashed at his side, injecting him with more of the yellow goo. He plopped two tentacles down on the monster, squishing it into the snow. He picked the dead thing up and tossed it to the party. They’d know what to do with it. Rhen wanted to see these abilities for himself.

The injured tentacle sent a fresh wave of agony as it shriveled, incapable of movement. Fine, Rhen had seven more. He pulled himself forward, smashing aside trees as he hunted down the last two mimics. He had to make it safe for everyone.

His eye caught movement in the distance. Yellow light pouring down the waterfall and little bodies scrambling down the river. Rhen could just barely make out Joseph, pointing up at the towering Octopus, he assumed.

There was a loud, “Caw!” and Rhen didn’t have time to look. Eagle claws dug into the top of his body and sharp jaws clamped down over one eyes.

Rhen rolled over, wrapping his good tentacles around the massive chimeti that had somehow escaped its den. From the corner of his un-bitten eye, Rhen saw rocks had tumbled down the top of the mountain, and a new cave that was at least thirty feet wide had opened.

Chomp!

Pain swelled in Rhen’s mind, it was all consuming. He twisted his tentacles around the beast tighter, then felt a wing joint. He pulled with all his might on the feathery appendage. The chimeti roared and released him with a shove. It pumped its wings, then bit down on Rhen’s grappling tentacle. With three bites, it was severed clean off.

Rhen slopped to the forest floor, watching with his one eye as the chimeti flew back to its lair with free calamari. The bastard thought it could just eat him?

“Hold on my friend,” Aki’s voice was a welcome one, but too late.

Rhen was done for. He didn’t want to find out just how many limbs he’d be missing when he transformed back, and losing an eye? No thank you. He’d rather die and lose some of his anima progress.

“I can save you.”

Rhen rolled to the side to see his teeny tiny cuttlefish friend roll up to his putrefied limb.

It was so cold.

“Just let me die,” Rhen thought weakly. “I’ll respawn in a few days.”

“That is too long. You have a court summons for the day after tomorrow.”

“What? Why?”

“I found the Faust family. Welsh is to be tried for reckless endangerment and property damage.”

Aki triggered cephaloshifter too, and transformed into a massive version of himself. He twirled his forelimbs, pulling water from the river in to surround them. His aurora warmed the liquid and eased the pain. Rhen switched amphibian lung to aquatic and floated thoughtlessly in the pool while Aki’s magic went to work.

Four minutes later, Rhen was back to his human form. His right arm was a mess, but it was healing. Another few minutes passed, and Aki returned to his own size. He kept a much smaller water profile around them while the rest of the party watched. Rhen could hear Joseph yelling about something or another. He was sure he’d hear the yelling again when he got out.

Vision returned to his right eye, and he blinked it a few times.

Aki was looking weak, his tentacles drooping and his eyes half-closed. Rhen pulled him into his arms and cradled him so he wouldn’t have to swim. Aki made the water bauble even smaller, condensing the magic down to just what Rhen needed to heal his arm.

“I… told you so,” Aki said, exhausted.

“Yeah, you did.”

The water pulled back from Rhen’s face and he switched to atmospheric breathing.

Joseph started in as soon as he knew Rhen could hear him. On and on about his kids this, dangers, avalanche, ugh, Rhen was tired. Olliat and Eli both came to his defense, saying there was nothing they could’ve done differently, which wasn’t true, but Rhen didn’t have the energy to say so.

“We need to get them back to the inn,” Jakira said above the rest to be heard. “We all need to. That creepy flying yeti might come back for more of us.”

Rhen felt hands pilling him up, and found himself cradled in Joseph’s arms. He faded in and out of consciousness, looking down whenever he woke to make sure he still had Aki in his grasp. Gods, he would’ve rather died than make him use so much anima like this. It must’ve taken everything out of him.

But he had court in two days to stand trial against Welsh. If Aki had gotten a case expedited like that, he must’ve gotten indisputable evidence.

That fluffer was finally going to get his.