Chapter 013:

Anton and the others had almost returned back to Atros. All of the villagers had appreciated the swim. Dirt, grime and filth that had accumulated over the weeks and months had been washed away. Now they looked what Anton would describe as normal. The smell had improved as well. No longer was the smell of sweat permeating his nostrils.

Verona, though, looked even worse than the other day. While she now did not have much in the way of dirt on her, the blood had not entirely been removed. Dried patches of wolf's blood gathered in the extremities, such as under her fingernails and on the inside of her ears. She picked at them incessantly, always on the search for more.

Her clothes had been thoroughly stained, so much so that no amount of washing would fix it. They would have to get a new set. Verona did not seem to mind though, her opinion on the subject appeared to be very utilitarian.

“I keep telling you it's fine,” Verona replied after she caught Anton staring at the blood patches on her sleeves.

“It still makes you look like a serial killer.” Anton pointed out.

They both sat next to each other in the cart, on top of the Earth Tower shards. Two of the other villagers sat beside Anton and the other four on the other side.

“I don't have a spare...this was the clean one. I only have two.”

“Since we have some serious money now when we get to another city, we'll get you something decent.”

Verona turned and frowned quizzically.

“Not just some strong stuff that will wash out easily, but some stuff that's more comfortable.”

She rubbed the sleeves of her clothes.

“I've heard there is softer stuff, not just that nightgown thing. It wouldn't be very good for combat, would it?”

Anton was impressed that she was starting to think more deeply.

“Possibly,” Anton replied, “If there's special fabric here...who knows. We might get you some sort of Emperor Flame Dragon hide for you to wear.”

She looked far away into the distance, her eyes appeared to have stars in them.

“That would be pretty awesome,” she said, leaning back into the cart and sliding down like a slob. “How much would that cost?”

“More than you or I could get in our entire lives probably, I'm afraid.”

Verona looked quite disappointed, but it quickly faded.

“We're almost here!” the driver turned around and shouted.

They passed over a particularity rough patch of ground, nearly throwing everyone out of the cart. When they recovered they could see Atros.

He had never seen it properly from a distance, the only other times he had left he had been either carrying dead bodies or returning exhausted.

Now it looked beautiful, in a rustic sort of way. The sun starting to set in the east sprayed the village in a warm golden glow. It looked like the last bastion against the wilderness, whatever that could really amount too.

Anton stretched his arms and leant forward.

“It'll be good to get some food into us,” he said.

Verona turned towards him and was about to speak when her stomach growled loudly. Anton and the others could barely contain their laughter, covering their mouths and looking away. Her face turned scarlet in response.

Anton began to feel the pangs of hunger as if he had forgotten how. He also felt quite thirsty. The other villagers looked equally tired and drained of energy.

He looked towards the village again. There were quite a few villagers on the wall. Even from their current distance, they looked quite happy.

As they approached, he saw the unmistakable outline of Zac and a man trying to control two children, Jonathan.

“You made it back in one piece!” Zac shouted out when they were fifty meters away.

“And with loads of that Obsidian Tower stone.”

Zac looked towards Jonathan. “We need a better name.”

Jonathan nodded in approval.

“Did you have any trouble?” Jonathan asked as the cart pulled up next to them.

Anton and the others disembarked, the driver taking care of the tired Ix beast.

“Quite a few things, actually. Verona here went all serial killer on a pack of thirty grey wolves by herself.”

All four looked on, nothing but shock on their faces. They turned to the other villagers to see if he was telling the truth. One caught their attention. She shrugged dismissively, confirming their suspicions.

“H...How?” Jonathan asked, his children looking at Verona in awe.

“That's a good question,” Anton said, turning to Verona. She tried and failed, to act like she had not heard anything.

“I'm going to look into it later. Anyway, got enough of that stone. I hope you have a plan for it.” Anton said.

“Depending on how thin we can make it, perhaps something with the gates on the walls. They'll end up stronger than the stone wall. A shield would work pretty good too.” Zac turned to Jonathan, who pursed his lips and nodded.

“If nobody minds, I have some tests to figure out. There's a piece of rotting meat in my room that I really need to investigate...or at the least get rid of it before it smells worse than the bone-yards.”

Anton and Verona started to walk towards the centre when Jonathan stopped them.

“Actually, before you do that, Jeff said that he needs to see you. He says that it's very important and you won't want to miss it.”

“This should be good,” Anton muttered to himself.

“I'll catch up with you later!” he yelled back at them as Verona ran beside him.

---[]---

Jeffrey awoke with a blinding headache. He lay in his bed, a warmth to his side. The woman from the other day, not that he bothered to actually remember her name, nuzzled up beside him.

I put too much River-Rush into the drink. My mind feels like it's been stabbed. I'm...I'm having trouble thinking it's so bad.

He sat up, seeing naked bodies sprawled across his house.

Definitely too much.

After getting up, dressed and having a massive drink of water, his mind began to clear.

The light coming in from the window told him that it was the afternoon. While it was not his plan to have slept so long, at least now they would be able to operate in the relative safety of the night. Now he needed to plan the raid on the food stores.

“Charles? Where are you?” he asked, his voice still raspy from thirst.

He scanned the bodies littering the floor. While he figured that everyone from the previous night was still here, he could not find Charles.

That little brat...He didn't drink anything, so he should have been fine since. So where is he?

Despite his mental questioning, nothing was being answered.

“Everyone, wake up!” he yelled, even kicking some people nearby.

The entire house groaned itself awake. Most seemed somewhat shocked that they were naked, but most just seemed to want to find their clothes. They all held their heads, their eyes were glazed and had trouble focusing.

A few moments later, they were all dressed and listening on Jeffrey's every word.

“Everyone get ready. We start as soon as it's dark.”

---[]---

Anton found Jeff in the council meeting room, accompanied by Avery. Two armed villagers stood at the inside and outside of the door with another villager that he had not seen before sat at the table.

“Good to see you, Anton.” Jeff greeting Anton with a rough handshake. “If we had known something like this would come up, we never would have let you go.”

“Sounds serious then,” Anton replied, with a hint of sarcasm.

“Indeed.” Jeff continued. He seemed to miss Anton's tone though Avery, judging by his expression, had not.

Jeff motioned for Anton and Verona to take a seat.

“This is my new best friend, Charles.” Jeff waved towards the other man.

Anton looked towards Charles then Jeff. He had not seen the man before. Charles looked completely unremarkable. A short, scruffy man that looked like everyone else in the village. In fact, he seemed like the type of person that no-one would notice unless they were explicitly pointed out, and even then not really remember them.

“He has been telling me all about some very dangerous thing that will be happening later today.”

Anton and Verona looked quizzically towards Jeff.

“I regret my friendship more by the day.”

Jeffrey then. Let's hear him out.

“Alright,” Anton turned to Charles, “You've made a very brave decision. So, let's hear it.”

Charles was about to speak when Verona raised her hand.

“Can we get something to eat? I'm starving.”

“I'll get something,” Avery said.

He left, taking one of the guards with him. Verona seemed to relax somewhat.

Charles coughed and righted his posture.

“Jeffrey has lost his mind. He's giving everyone drinks laced with River-Rush and whipping up everyone he can into a frenzy. There's some stupid plan to take the food storage, so everyone will turn against you.”

“Hang on, slow down,” Anton raising both hands to stop Charles, “What's River-Rush?”

“A weed,” Jeff explained, “Grows near stagnate waters, those full of dead and rotting creatures. Mainly used as a...well, aphrodisiac and relaxes your mind as well, but it's pretty dangerous. I've heard some of the stuff in the reed's sap makes you go mad.”

“Right.” Anton turned back to Charles.

“It's worse,” Charles explained. “It just doesn't make you mad, but also very strong and open to suggestion. I have no idea how much you would need, but he's been having it for some time. Probably before the invasion started.”

“An addict. So, back to his plan. He wants to destroy the food supply?” Anton asked.

“Just steal, then ransom it back for control.”

“That's-”

“I know it's a stupid plan,” Charles said with some exhaustion. “But it's the one he's going with and he will do it. And he will try to kill everything in his way.”

Anton leant back into his chair.

“We've got the food under watch as well as the rest of Jeffrey's cult. So, what made you change your mind?”

Charles fidgeted with his hands.

“I...I don't know. In the beginning, I thought that he actually had something important to say, and got caught up with his movement. While I agree that we have to do something to fight the Yellow Goblins, I don't believe that we can do that by killing you and...”

He looked towards Verona, who moved closer to Anton.

“Well, changing the authority of the village, for a start. After I asked how he wouldn't confront you himself, he lashed out at me. He doesn't have the stomach for direct confrontation.”

Charles pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing the beginnings of a large bruise around his throat.

Anton and Jeff looked at each other.

“So, what do we do?” Jeff asked.

“Do you have any idea when this attack is meant to be taking place?” Anton asked.

Charles nodded slightly.

“I only know that it's going to happen at night.”

“Well, we've still got some time. We mustn't let them know that we're onto them. I'll try to capture as many as I. If it causes a serious problem, we'll have no choice but to march in there and deal with it permanently.”

Jeff agreed, with some resignation.

“I'll get some soldiers into position near the main barns. I don't know how they think they can move all that food.”

“They only need to move a little,” Anton said, “They'll probably just burn or poison the rest, make what they have left far more valuable.”

The door opened, Avery and the other villager came in carrying a large plate covered in food. Verona grabbed a handful before it was even placed onto the table. Anton motioned for Charles to take some as well, he had no idea if Jeffrey's followers even had access to decent food. Charles took it with no hesitation and ate with enthusiasm.

“Do we have any spare places in the north where we could house Charles?” Anton asked Jeff. Charles stopped eating and looked at both of them.

“You can't go back,” Anton explained, “People like that would kill you for your betrayal.”

Charles sighed.

“I know.”

“We have a few.” Avery pointed out.

“Make sure he gets there and gets some regular food.” Anton looked towards Jeff.

He stood up, the others standing as well, except Verona who was still eating ravenously. Anton turned to Jeff.

“Keep up the great work, Jeff.”

Jeff looked quite surprised. Anton had not heard a word of praise for an act of initiative on his part. It was probably overdue.

“It's my pleasure,” Jeff replied quite happily. “You got plans before tonight?”

“I've got something stewing in my room that I need to deal with.”

---[]---

Anton recovered the piece of Alpha Thumper flesh and placed it on the table in his room. Despite it being almost a day old it looked the exact same, except no longer dripping in blood. To be fair, he had no idea how long unprocessed meat could last.

“Verona, I need to borrow your knife,” Anton asked.

“Sure,” Verona replied. She currently laid on her side of the bed, the dwindling plate of food resting on her lap. After shifting the plate into the middle, she got off and walked over to him.

“Why...what do plan on doing with that?” She asked, handing over the knife and leaning on his shoulder. “Are you going to cook it?”

“Actually, no.” He slowly pried apart the layers of the flesh. “What I'm after is this.”

The edges of the meat had well and truly dried out, but the inside remained wet. He pulled apart the normal layers, exposing the thin purple layer.

“This layer seems to stop magic from harming the rest, at least for a while.”

“So, you want to use this to...test this as some sort of magic armour? Some sort of layer, just like it is here.”

“Exactly,” Anton said pridefully. “The problem is that it's so fragile. Look.”

He lightly dug into the purple layer with the back of the knife. It tore and ripped with the slightest touch, the tears spreading away from the cut with alarming ease.

“I thought if I could get enough of this, I could do some simple tests. But as you can see...”

Verona scrunched her face, trying to think of something. Eventually, she shrugged and walked back to the bed.

“I have no idea. I thought you knew just about all of this stuff?”

“I guess my way through quite a lot of things.”

Verona laughed as she jumped back onto the bed.

“You cover it quite well then. I'm going to have a nap. Are you going to have one?”

Anton stopped dissecting the meat and leant back in thought.

“If I were, would you go crazy like before?”

She pouted and turned away.

“I told you, I'm not crazy. I'll be fine.”

“Does your back hurt?”

She rocked from side to side.

“A little bit, but not too bad. I'll try and sleep it off.”

With that, she moved the empty plate off the bed and curled up underneath the covers.

“How long do we have?” she asked, stifling a yawn.

“Couple of hours at least. I'll be taking a nap as well. We don't even know if this is even going to happen.”

Verona mumbled something in agreement, pulling the covers up tighter around her body. Within moments he could hear slow and rhythmic snoring.

Anton spent the next hour trying to get a decent sample of the purple flesh. Eventually, he ended up with a mash of the purple flesh, hopefully enough to perform some tests.

He grabbed the empty food plate from the ground, careful not to wake Verona, and placed the purple flesh bundle onto it. There was probably only enough to fit comfortably in his hand, but it had to be enough, there was nothing left.

He placed a small chunk of the normal meat underneath, so that half was exposed.

Using his mana, he formed a tiny flame, barely a centimetre tall, that danced around in his right palm. He pushed it to his index finger and brought it to the purple flesh. The exterior appeared to have no effect, before the exterior slowly began to sizzle and char. To push the test he poured more mana into the flame, keeping its size the same and increasing the heat.

The normal flesh burst into flames while the flesh appeared to be only gradually changing despite the increase in heat. He removed the mana and the flame faded from existence.

That explains why magic didn't have much effect on that Alpha Thumper, but why it still worked in the end. It must only have thin layers spread throughout its flesh because it's so fragile. If something was made out of this stuff, it would be broken by a faint breeze or a single strike. I wonder what happens if you dry this stuff out properly, like some sort of meat. Another test then.

As he unfurled the mass, he made them into single lines as best he could. He kept the plate, as he had nothing to hang them down from. Hopefully, they would dry out at a slow rate and not crack like a dry riverbed.

“Nnngh...”

Anton turned and saw Verona slowly waking from her nap. She threw the covers off and hopped out.

“Is that what you've been doing?” she asked as she approached him, still a little wobbly from just waking up.

“Yeah.”

She looked confused at the strips of purple flesh.

“Well, I feel a lot better now. Didn't you mention that you were going to see Zac and Jonathan later?”

Anton had almost forgotten. A quick glance out the wooden slat window told him that it was very late in the afternoon. Soon, he would have to pull an all-nighter, in the hopes that they could capture Jeffrey's goons before they did too much damage.

“It'll be a good excuse. You don't want to stay and rest a bit more?”

She looked him up and down.

“You look really tired,” she spoke with a soft and caring voice, “If you want, I can go.”

“I'll be fine.” Anton said as he spoke and waved dismissively, “I'll get it done as quickly as I can then come back for a nap.”

“Okay.” Her caring voice changed for something far more enthusiastic.

She grabbed her spear and armour, trotted towards the door and opened it.

“Thanks, Ver,” Anton said as he passed through.

Verona grinned wildly at being called her nickname.

---[]---

Jonathan and Zac already had the delivery of special stone delivered to the blacksmith. When Anton arrived, both were in the middle of trying to work with one of the stones. A large slate of the Earth Tower stone was sitting in the centre of the blacksmith, tools and fragments from the stone littering the floor. They stood either side, both wielding a hammer.

Both downed their tools the moment they saw him.

“Hey,” Jonathan spoke first, “I did not think it would take that long to interrogate someone.”

“I told you I had other things to do,” Anton said, trying to feign innocence.

“Like carving up meat,” Verona said cheekily.

Jonathan and Zac looked confusingly at her, while Anton rolled his eyes. She refused to look them in the eyes, turning her head to the side. Anton swore she started whistling.

Zac grunted. “Anyway, you've come at a bad time then lad. We can't get this stuff to fracture properly, it just smashes.”

“I couldn't beak it either. What are you using?” Anton asked as he walked towards the stone on the anvil.

“Anything we can get our hands on,” Jonathan answered, matter-of-factly. “We've had the most success with using fragments of the stone to chip away, but even that takes some time.”

“Those other metals-”

“Like Adamantian. Absolutely. If we were to sell all those jewels, we might get enough for a small axe. Not really a good investment.” Jonathan looked disappointed at not having the rare metals and lightly kicked at the dirt.

Anton rubbed his hand over the stone. It was clear where they had tried to break it apart, instead of the usual smoothness, it was incredibly rough, almost enough to cut his hand.

“No chance on using this for armour then?” Anton asked.

“Not a chance,” Jonathan replied, “Anything small enough to be used on a person shatters before we can use it, those few that we got the right size and thickness to use were no stronger than a bad piece of leather.”

“At the moment, we'll be using it on the gates until we can figure something better out. Shields are just too heavy.” Zac continued.

Anton nodded in agreement. It was just like he thought they could actually use it for. Though it was nice to know they were thinking along the same lines.

“I take it that you've heard what's happening?” Anton asked.

“Yes,” Jonathan replied, “Jeff came earlier and told us. I'm moving for the night into the main hall, to keep my kids safe. I hope that won't be a problem?”

Jonathan glanced between Anton and Verona.

“Is there one?” Verona asked. She seemed quite convinced that there was a problem.

“I don't see one,” Anton replied.

Relief washed over Jonathan's face.

“Dad! We're ready!”

Shawn and Jocelyn emerged from the open doorway to the indoor section of the blacksmith. Each carried a number of bags, heavy enough that they both were struggling to keep it off the ground.

“I told you two to wait,” Jonathan said, racing over to grab both bags. His strong arms could just take the weight, it spoke volumes for the strength and determination of his children.

“They look quite eager,” Anton commented, taking some of the smaller bags off Jonathan's hands.

“It's like a day off for them. And that's how we're going to treat it. Don't want to risk them over this.”

“I understand. I thought all the rooms there were basically full?” Anton wondered aloud.

“Jeff said there's a free room. One that's been cleaned up.”

“What about you Zac?” Anton asked.

He crossed his arms and pushed out his chest.

“I'll be watching one of the barns tonight. Got to earn my keep.”

Anton nodded in agreement.

A loud knock came from outside. They turned and saw Avery with a dozen armed villagers.

“Sorry to interrupt.” Avery began, “There has been quite a lot of movement to the south. Whatever it is, it's going to happen soon.”

“Tell everyone to get into position. Jonathan, make sure you get your kids to safety. Let's sort this thing out. Finally.”

---[]---

Anton, Verona and five other villagers hid in the beams and platforms of the most southern barn that held food. They were near the main door, about two meters from the entrance and four meters above the ground. The other entrances had been heavily barricaded. There was not much room hiding on the rafters, but there was enough to sit down. It was hard for all of them to remain awake, but Anton had told them what the price of failure would be.

Scattered throughout the barn were giant sacks and wooden crates, overflowing with fruits and grains. More than enough to feed the village for some time. There even appeared to be some meat drying as well. Anton realized that one of the villagers must have been a butcher, probably one of those that was cooking the Razor-Pig the other day.

“How much longer?” one of the villagers asked.

“We've been here for ages.” said another. “Jeff said they would try to take all our food tonight. I wish they would get it over with, I really want to sleep.”

“Don't we all,” Anton replied back.

They had been sitting there for some time, waiting in complete silence. Anton guessed that it was probably midnight by now. It was no wonder that untrained civilians would be getting impatient and tired, not that Anton had any experience himself. He forced himself awake knowing what was at stake.

The armed villagers were near the edge, far enough that Verona felt comfortable to whisper to Anton.

“Why did you wait so long? Just let them do what they want,” she asked.

Anton turned towards her.

“They've done terrible things, like Cara for one. Why not tell the others?”

Anton leant forward so that Verona would hear and the others would not.

“They would believe us. But just some random person? I don't know. There were only three witnesses to that attack, and one of those is dead. And they may think that we're just making it up.”

Verona frowned and looked down at the floor.

“Jeff and Bertram don't seem so keen on killing other humans, and I'm willing to bet there are quite a lot more people that think that way too. It's one thing to kill to defend your loved ones from monsters, but not so much from people that you've been friends with all your life until a few days ago. Even if you didn't like them, it's a big step to kill them.”

Verona still did not look happy. She remained quiet for what seemed an age.

“This whole thing seems...devious.”

Verona seemed sad, something he had not expected her to show him. Her shoulders and head slumped low.

“It is. But I like the people here. So I will do what is necessary to keep them safe. Even if it means doing some things that are bad.”

Verona straightened up and looked him straight in the eyes. Her face warmed, though she still seemed a little concerned.

Nearly a minute later something moved outside. The light from the torches outside, coming in through the gaps in the wall, flickered as multiple bodies moved past. Anton nudged Verona, who alerted the others.

“Everyone, get ready. Where is Jeff anyway?” Anton asked. One of the villagers coughed to gain his attention.

“He's waiting in another building, quite a bit away. Should we signal him?” The villager prepared to place both hands into his mouth to whistle.

“Not yet,” Anton using his hand to keep the villagers in position, “We don't know exactly what's what. Let them make the first move.”

They waited and waited, until the barn doors finally opened. One intruder held the door slightly ajar, head twitching furiously as a lookout, while the others slinked in. From his position, he could not see if they were man or woman, not that it would matter in a few minutes.

The door closed, that intruder gathering with the others. There appeared to be a dozen of them, all armed with small weapons. Obviously, they would not have access to the newer weapons, but a shard of steel or pitchfork through the throat or gut was just as effective.

“How are we going to get this out?” One of the intruders asked with a deep male voice. They spoke so softly that Anton had to concentrate extremely hard just to hear anything.

The one that asked looked towards the one that held the door.

“I guess we'll just have to take multiple trips, then.” The one answering was a male as well. “Grab the grain sacks and barrels first. Those are the most valuable and should be easiest to carry.”

Without another word, they spread out and grabbed the largest crates, slowly taking them to the door.

Verona bumped Anton, gesturing to ask whether they could start.

“Wait a bit more,” Anton whispered, “When they've got the crates and are about to leave, that's when we'll go. Get them when they think they've won.”

“Got it,” Verona whispered back.

The other villagers nodded but did not seem to have the same level of enthusiasm. Being outnumbered probably did not help.

He waited until all of the thieves had their hands full before he gave the signal. The villager whistled as everyone descended. Anton, Verona and four of the villagers landed with no problem, silently on their feet. The fifth villager, the one that whistled, snagged his clothes on the way down and tumbled. He landed on his side, creating a terribly loud thud accompanied by a groan.

The thieves stopped, some dropping their captured goods. They glanced at each other, before staring angrily at Anton.

“Good-evening everyone,” Anton said as innocently as he could. “We don't actually need any more food today, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

Some of the thieves tilted their heads in confusion but refused to say anything.

“So,” Anton continued, “How about we all put down our weapons and talk this thing through, yeah.”

They appeared to get even angrier.

“Why did you say that?” Verona asked, barely whispering.

“To get them angry,” Anton replied softly.

He took a deep breath and spoke even louder. “If you give up now, I promise that you will live.”

“He's bluffing,” a thief spoke loudly back, “We've got more than twice the number of people he has.” They brandished their weapons, pitchforks and farming tools, just as Anton had thought they would. “Just get ready for a lightning shock.”

“Are you crazy?” Verona asked the thieves. She turned to Anton. “Did they not see you with the flame things the other day?”

“Apparently not,” Anton replied. “Last chance.”

“Don't let him speak.” the thief that opened the door spoke up again. “He words are like a poison that eats through your mind.”

“Looks like you are the ones that are poisoned,” Anton replied smugly, “A pity. Let's get this over with, nobody here has all night.”

The villagers glanced at Anton and readied their spears. Verona looked like she was going to try to take them all on again, but Anton held her back.

All of the thieves let out a blood-curdling cry and ran straight towards him, waving their weapons like lunatics.

Looks like they're drugged, perhaps with that River-Rush stuff. No talking them down. Guess that's that then.

The mana flowed into his hands. He knew he could only use the lightning here, fire would destroy the very thing they were trying to protect.

Twelve small lightning bombs formed around his hands, not enough to kill all the thieves but enough to thin them down. Each bomb was the same size as he first used at the Quarry, about the size of his fist, but without the tethering.

He flung the bombs towards the closest thieves at tremendous speed. None of the thieves wore any real armour. Their peasant clothes did little to stop the lightning bombs.

Blinding light filled the barn, so much so that Anton glanced away.

When he looked he realized that his aiming required some work. Nine of the thieves had been struck and their broken bodies were lying motionless on the ground. The remaining three stopped as quickly as they could.

The three bombs, that missed their targets, had smashed open several crates. Something that looked like grains spilt out like water.

“Bloody hell.” A villager near Anton murmured.

He turned to look, but the villager was staring at the carnage. Limbs and chunks of flesh had scattered throughout the barn.

One of the bodies started to move, squirming on the ground. A bloody and torn hand moved to cover their spilling guts. Her legs had been blown away, only stumps remaining.

Anton glanced down at the spectacle before staring at the remaining thieves.

“I thought I would be able to aim better. Guess I need more practice.” Anton said aloud.

“You,” A thief yelled, as he pointed his finger, “You're a monster!”

Anton could not help but smile.

“I did ask you to stop.” He formed another, larger lightning bomb. This time, half the size of a head. “Now, put down your weapons and get on the ground.”

The dying thief let out a blood-curdling cry as she gave up trying to hold in her spilling guts. With her remaining arm, she started to crawl towards him. She had no legs but she tried anyway, the bloody stumps pushing into the dirt. Her belt around her waist, and an attached bag bristling with knives, dragged and tumbled loose. Everyone remained silent as they watched the spectacle.

“I'll kill you!” she spoke with laboured breaths, each word bringing up more blood. “For my sister, Cara, that you let die. I will kill you if it's the last thing I do!”

She clutched a small blade in her hand.

“Never heard of her,” Anton spoke with as much sincerity as he could, though he could not entirely hide his thoughts.

The still crawling woman crawled towards him with a renewed intensity.

“And you expect to kill me with that?” Anton asked, squatting down, “You wouldn't make it to me without bleeding out. And let's not forget that I could just out-walk you. So, no you won't. You'll die here for something that you probably barely understand.”

He kicked the knife out of her hand then her head, causing her to roll over. She coughed blood then stopped moving as she brought her hand back to cover her wounds. A whimper came out from her, but he kicked her head again.

“Stupid idiots.” he cursed as he struck the woman’s head over and over.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Verona glaring angrily at him. She had only changed when Anton had started to taunt the crawling woman, now she looked furious. His sadistic side was coming out, and she hated it.

He walked back to the villagers and took a spear from one of the villagers and, using both hands, plunged it straight through the heart of the crawling woman. She gave a final splutter and died.

“This whole night was not as fun as I had expected,” Anton said, bringing the lightning bomb back in front of him.

“I still see you with weapons raised.” he summoned another two large lightning bombs. “You still want to fight?”

“Die!” the three screamed at Anton. He did not know whether they were drugged or their minds had broken. Not that he cared.

He flung the lightning bombs at their chests, instantly turning them into giblets. The sound of the chunks splattering on the ground was sickening.

Nobody moved or spoke for some time.

The barn doors burst open. Twenty armed villagers, with Jeff and Avery at the front, burst through. The tips of their weapons were dripping with blood. Anton turned and walked over to Jeff.

“Turns out this was only one of the places they got.” Jeff spoke with little breath, “They didn't steal much, but they did manage to set fire to one of the barns.”

Jeff moved out of the way and threw her head back. Behind him was the yellow glow of a burning building, well and truly ablaze.

“What happened here?” Avery asked. All of the new villagers looked at the eviscerated bodies and the blood trail leading to the woman with the spear impaled through her chest.

“I think we can all figure that out,” Anton said sarcastically. “Did you get them all?”

“Seven attacked the other barn,” Jeff replied, raising his bloody weapon. “They managed to set fire to it but didn't steal anything. They tried to set fire to another two. They wouldn't stop and tried to kill us. So...we stopped them.”

“Anyone injured?”

Jeff looked even more solemn. “Not ours, at any rate.”

An awkward silence followed. Eventually, Anton broke it.

“Clear the bodies out of here. And double the guard on the south. We'll move in at first light. I, and nobody else wants to be clearing a house only to have one of these crazies to jump out at us.”

Everyone looked at Anton, most had a look of fear towards him.

“I have no qualms about killing those who would kill me, and neither should you. You want to see heartless and cruel? Just wait until your starving after letting these idiots run amok.”

Their faces softened. Anton did not want them to become happy with the concept of killing, but they must at least understand why it is necessary. He hoped that was enough.

Jeff looked either side at the villagers. “You heard him. Avery, wake some guards and get them to join the south. The rest of you, clean up the bodies as best you can, then get some sleep.”

The villagers nodded and set about their tasks. They quickly put the food containers back into position, though they seemed hesitant to deal with the corpses.

Verona walked beside Anton towards Jeff and Avery. Jeff seemed quite depressed.

“I didn't really expect this. Never would have thought I'd be killing other people over food, 'specially when we're not starving.” Jeff said, explaining his melancholic mood.

“Yes. It's not pleasant.” Anton continued. Verona frowned, though no-one commented.

“Next thing?” Avery asked.

“Get some sleep, for one,” Anton replied. “I have no intention of moving to attack an area in the dark with crazy lunatics that could be bursting out of the wall if I can help it. I used up some mana, and I've been awake for almost a day straight. Both of you should get some rest as well. A few hours will do some good for all of us. I did not expect so many to attack.”

Jeff looked back towards the burning barn. “If only you had water magic, it would make this a whole lot easier.”

Villagers were crowding around the burning barn, putting out spot fires as soon as they emerged.

“True. We going to let that thing burn out?”

Jeff nodded. “Maybe let them think they did more damage than they did. They only got a tenth of the supply.”

Jeff pursed his lips. “Do really you want to move in? Get rid of them all, like this?” He raised his bloodied weapon.

Anton nodded. “In the morning, we'll have a face to face with Jeffrey. See how tough he is.”

There was nothing more to say. Jeff and Avery moved to supervise the villagers while Anton and Verona went back to the main hall, the light from the roaring inferno lighting their way as if it was day.

---[]---

Verona was in a foul mood when they got back to his bedroom. She shoved the door open, stormed to her side of the bed before sitting upon it, arms folded and her face angry. She said nothing and watched Anton enter, waiting for him to close the door.

“I'm not happy.”

No shit.

“I can see that,” Anton replied. He laid on the bed and looked straight up, only looking at Verona through his periphery.

“You didn't have to kill them like that, did you?”

“No.”

There was a long pause, he could see Verona's expression change to concern.

“You enjoyed it, didn't you?”

He turned to face Verona. There was nothing like judgement on her face.

“Yes,” Anton said, taking a deep breath afterwards.

Verona laid down on the bed and looked at the ceiling.

“Do you remember, a while ago, that you said that if I was having trouble I could talk to you about it?”

“Yes?”

Anton could guess what she was about to say. A part of him wanted to give a quick and snippy reply, but something told him that he should hear it, even if he did not want to.

“If...You...want to talk. You know that I'll listen, right?”

She reached out and squeezed his shoulder softly. He turned to look at her but she retracted before he could see her face.

“Okay,” she said, brushing her clothes and standing up, “That's enough of the mushy crap.”

“What about in the lake?” Anton asked teasingly.

“That was different,” Verona replied. She kept her back to him and refused to turn around.

“Thank-you Verona. Really, thank-you.”

At the moment, Anton had no intention of talking about he felt when he killed someone. Nevertheless, it felt relaxing and reassuring that someone was interested in his well-being.

Verona remained silent for some time. She eventually let out a long sigh.

“Well, since you're there, could you help get the armour off?”

“Sure.”

Anton walked n his knees over the bed until he could reach the clips at the back of the armour. They were easy and quick to remove, he knew that he had Jonathan to thank for that. He had not seen Jonathan on the way in, he hoped that they were safely asleep.

Verona seemed much happier and free without them. She rotated and stretched her arms. When she twisted her back she yelped in pain. She clasped her back and sat back down on the bed.

“That really does not sound good.”

“Ah, it's really not,” Verona answered back. He thought she would have said something snippy at him for such an obvious remark, but the pain seemed to hold it back.

“What does it feel like? Is it different than before?”

“Before it was just an ache, now it feels like there's a rock in my spine. Every time I move it's like it's grinding at my bones.”

Verona thumped her back just below the spine, emitting a small wince.

“Still there,” she grunted through the pain.

“Let me use my mana again. I may have found something last time. Hopefully it'll be better this time.”

“Alright.”

Verona started to remove her shirt but Anton stopped her.

“I don't think that's necessary this time.”

“Oh. Okay” Verona said with a hint of disappointment.

Anton coughed, realizing his mistake, and placed both hands just below her shoulders. He used the prayer power and focused the feeling just underneath his hands.

Through the mana, which felt like some form of ethereal hands, he found something.

“I got something.”

“What? Is it bad?”

“No idea,” Anton admitted, “It sort of feels like a stone. Do you want me to try and get rid of it?”

“Yeah,” Verona whimpered again, “It's not going to get better by itself.”

Anton grasped the small ethereal object and tried to move it. There was the tiniest amount of movement, but it snapped back the moment he let it go. No matter how many times he tried, it would not move.

“Alright, that's not working.” Verona turned her head backwards, looking concerned. “Let's try...”

He poured all the mana he had left and tightened his grip on the stone. Underneath his grip, he felt it groan and give ever so slightly.

Can't move it, and it's obviously not a real stone lodged in her spine. So, let's just try and break it.

With everything he had, he squeezed the rock. A moment later he felt, and heard, it crack.

Everything went white, his very breath and life leaving him. Both arms grew heavy and numb, dropping uselessly onto the bed.

Vision returned a second later, his breath and strength a second after that. The gem embedded in his right hand burned like a star.

Christ, what was that?

Verona sat perfectly still in front of him, not even breathing. Her body jolted forward as if she just vomited.

“GAHHHH!” She screamed in pain, both hands wildly clawing at her back. As she tried to stand, her legs gave way, crumpling onto the floor. Her body thrashed wildly, smashing into anything and everything around her. With every movement, he could hear her bones creaking and groaning underneath the strain.

“Verona, hang on!” Anton said as he hurriedly shuffled off the bed towards her.

His left arm had regained most of its feeling while his right still felt numb. Using all the strength he could muster, he lifted her with his left hand and onto the bed.

Her mind had seemingly returned. She stopped thrashing, though all her muscles still contracted sporadically. She grasped at the covers, clawing herself onto the bed.

Anton rolled her so she was lying on her back. She seemed a little more comfortable, at least. Her breathing became calmer.

“Thanks. Wh-” She screamed even louder, so loud that Anton wanted to cover his ears. Her hands were ripping at her chest, the clothing giving way.

He used his good left hand to try and hold her arms down, to stop her from tearing herself apart.

Monstrous strength filled her arms. With a single swing of her arm, she lifted Anton off the bed, propelling him across the room and onto the table. The table broke as Anton rolled off. He groaned loudly as he tried to get back up.

Verona's screaming started to die down, becoming groans of anguish as she tried to control her breathing.

The door burst open. Jonathan came in knife in one hand and a hammer in the other. Bertram, Sybil, Jocelyn and Shawn followed nervously behind him.

“Come on out-” Jonathan yelled, stopping when he saw the state of the room.

Verona started screaming again, arching her back upwards. She twisted and convulsed as she screamed, everyone else watching in horror as she clawed at her back.

“What's happening?” Sybil asked.

Anton was glad that she did not think this was some elaborate experiment or attack.

“Don't know,” Anton replied, “Explain later. Can someone help me up?”

Jonathan put down his weapons and picked Anton up.

Verona rolled onto her front, now on all fours. With one arm she ripped her shirt clean off. Verona slumped forward onto her elbows, her screams becoming muffled moans as she planted her face into the pillow. Sybil let out a gasp while she grabbed Jonathan's kids and ushered them out of the room.

“What is this?” Jonathan asked.

“She's been having back pain for the past two days, and my magic can't fix it. I found something in her using mana. When I tried to remove it, this happened.” Anton motioned to his numb right hand and Verona.

Bertram nudged Anton, pointing towards Verona. Her body rocked back and forth as she breathed heavily.

“I'm okay. I'm okay.” Verona said through ragged breaths. “I-”

She groaned in pain, her body starting the convulsions again.

“Hold her down, I don't want her to break her arm or anything worse.” Anton told Bertram and Jonathan, “Just be careful, she's a lot stronger than she looks.”

All three hurried over, Jonathan and Bertram held her flailing arms as best they could while Anton tried to hold her legs. The convulsions and her breathing began to calm down rapidly.

The sound of tearing flesh filled the room. A bloody line grew and carved itself along Verona's back, running from the top of her shoulder blades to the small of her back. She screamed as the mark grew in colour and definition.

“That's..,” Bertram said, “But...why?”

The redness formed a long and slender droplet. Within the droplet lay a long and thin spear. It looked just like the one she currently wielded. The marks continued to spread around the spear, strange red swirling patterns that spread and grew like vines over her back, sides, upwards to her neck and down towards her legs.

Her groans became weaker, but she still seemed to be in immense pain. As the tattoos continued to slow their spread, her breathing became more and calmer. No one said anything, merely stunned into watching the transformation.

Nearly a minute later, the tearing sound stopped. Verona let out a massive sigh of relief and completely collapsed.

Almost a third of her back was now covered in the blood red marks and tattoos. The marks had travelled along her body to her wrists and ankles. She was still wearing her villager pants, so he could not see but he presumed that they covered there as well.

Everyone released their hold now that she seemed to be okay.

Verona rolled onto her front, quickly covering her breasts with the discarded remains of her shirt. The tattoos had not covered them, but had travelled to the edge of her side and stopped, looking like wisps of a flame.

She looked extremely tired.

Anton felt feeling return to his right hand. He reached out tentatively and held her hand.

“Is it over?” Bertram asked.

“How are you feeling?” Anton asked.

Verona looked at him and smiled weakly.

“I feel really tired, and everything aches. My back feels a lot better though.” She chuckled nervously. “It got rid of the rock in my back.”

“Any idea what happened?” Bertram asked.

Verona shook her head. She did not answer for nearly a minute.

“None. I just feel really tired. Can I go to sleep now?”

“I don't know if that's the best idea just after whatever that was,” Anton said.

“I'll be fine.” Verona replied, “I just need to sleep it off.”

Anton placed his hand on Verona's shoulder and use the prayer power, as it was meant to. It flowed and flowed into her. He stopped only when he had used virtually every bit of his mana. Despite that, it still felt like there was still so much healing to be done. Whatever it was had caused Verona unimaginable damage.

Verona relaxed into the bed. Every breath seemed to be easier for her.

Anton turned to the Jonathan and Bertram. “I don't feel good right now, myself. I'll be going to sleep, in the spare room or something if we have one.”

“No,” Verona said. “I don't want to be alone if I have another attack or something.”

“She's right,” Bertram said warmly. He looked at Jonathan who smiled in agreement. “You sleep here. You can heal her if something goes wrong, right?”

Anton was not up for further discussion.

“Yeah. Alright,” he said as he sat on the bed.

“To be honest, I thought someone was under attack when I first heard Verona screaming like that.” Jonathan admitted, “No idea what I could do with these if they could take down both of you.”

“We'll see what happens when something that's immune to magic rolls on up,” Anton said chuckling.

“Nevertheless,” Bertram coughed to get the conversation moving in a serious direction, “We need to get to sleep ourselves. Anyone that asks about tonight, Verona cut herself while training. Anton healed the rather large wound. Anyway, she seems to better and you'll be here. I'll have to tell Jeff and Zac tomorrow, but I'm sure they can keep a secret.”

Everyone agreed. Jonathan and Bertram left, carefully closing the door.

Verona had tucked herself underneath the covers already and looked sheepishly with the covers pulled tight. Everything about her looked exhausted.

He laid down on top of the bed, his eyes feeling heavy.

“You have an idea about this, don't you?” she asked. “You always have some idea, even if turns out to be wrong.”

Anton motioned for her to turn over and showed him her back.

“It looks like a spear over a drop of blood. The colour and shape,” Anton looked at his left hand, to his glyph marks, “Look just like these.”

Verona leaned in closer to check his hand, before looking at a visible section of the tattoo.

“It does a bit. Does this make me a mage like you?” Despite her tiredness, her eyes looked so full of hope and wonder.

“Honestly, I don't know. Did you have any weird dreams?”

“Just that one the other day with everything on fire and everyone dead...That's the one, isn't it?”

“I don't know. Sounds just like a bad nightmare, to be honest. Tomorrow we'll have a lot longer to find out. Now, get some rest. We've got a big day tomorrow.”

Her face turned into a grimace. She knew it would probably involve killing people again.

“'kay, off to sleep then.”

Verona rolled onto her back, quickly letting sleep overtake her. Anton remained awake for some time longer.

Christ, what is happening in this world? It looks like one of my glyphs, only a lot larger and those strange tattoos... Did she make some sort of deal with a god, and if so, which one. Esperit and Stratos did say they were not all friendly. I hope this makes more sense in the morning.

With innumerable thoughts swirling around his head, it took quite some time before he fell in a short and unpleasant sleep.