Knowing that it was a terrible idea, I ran straight toward Kerra who was crouched down behind her shield, weathering a relentless onslaught of furious blows from Grizzly Prime. The creature saw me coming and aimed one of its enormous paws right at my face. I dove below the swipe and rolled to a stop, momentarily protected behind Kerra’s tower shield.

“Cuffs, now!” I yelled, brandishing the manacles at her as though they were a weapon.

“That’s not how this works,” she grunted, sweat rolling down her face, her skin ashen. She was holding it together, but I could tell she was shaken. Clearly, this was not how she’d envisioned this fight going down. “You could escape.”

“Yeah, but I won’t,” I said. “I willing came with you, and I’ll willingly let you cuff me once we turn this fucker into bear jerky. But we’re losing out there. Let me help save all of our collective asses!”

Still, she hesitated.

“Besides,” I said, “if I do escape, you’ll track me down in like five minutes and beat the shit out of me anyway. But if you let me die here, I’m betting the grand poohbah of the Vigils is gonna be pissed that I don’t get my day in court.” I could see something visibly click inside her head. Letting me out was against the rules but letting me die while in their custody was worse.

“Fine,” she said, fishing out an odd signet ring, tethered around her neck on a leather cord. “But be assured if you escape, I will indeed hunt you down in five minutes and beat the shit out of you.” She pressed the ring to the cuffs. The spikes digging mercilessly into my skin retracted and the manacles popped open, dropping to the snow.

Instantly, I felt power flood into my limbs. My Stamina gauge and Arcana Bar were still down, but now they were now steadily rising.

“You won’t regret this,” I yelled, darting into the open as I reached through the veil between worlds and summoned my enchanted combat shottie. The gun appeared in my hand and the sudden boom rocked the clearing as I unloaded a trio of Stoneform Affinity Rounds into Grizzly Prime’s stupid bear face. The Affinity slugs punched a couple of fist sized holes in the monster’s muzzle while another blinded one of its hateful eyes. It reared back, shaking its head in pain. The attack wouldn’t put this ugly SOB down, but it bought Kerra a little breathing room.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only one who needed a helping hand.

Kol, still in crocodilian form, was wrestling with one of the lesser demon bears. He was holding his own, but his attention was entirely occupied. Jori and Amherst were tag-teaming another one of the killer Grizzlies, but Telent was currently on his own against the third demon bear and things were not going well. Telent wore light leather armor, carried a slim rapier, and seemed to be predominately specialized in the Ward of Truth. The Ward of Truth had approximately zero combat skills. Telent would’ve been great in a court, fighting against a snooty nobleman. That or backstabbing someone in a dark alley.

Against a demon bear with a chip on its shoulder? Not so much.

Cal was standing nearby with a crimson marble clutched in his hand while Renholm hovered above his head, holding a leather coin purse twice as big as he was. That was dangerous. The pixie was ravenous for Affinity Scales and would eat every Scale in the bag if he thought he could get away with it. Our formal Sidhe Pact was the only thing preventing him from going to town like a platoon of hungry Marines at a Golden Corral. I closed the distance and snatched the bag from his tiny fists before temptation could get the better of him.

I pulled free a pair of Scales—one Glamor Scale, another Stoneform Scale. I flipped the Glamor Scale to the pixie.

“Eat up, then go make a nuisance of yourself.”

His eyes burned bright with greed as he slammed the scale into his mouth.

I put Renholm from my mind and clenched the second Scale in my palm, drawing its power into my body in a sweet rush. Both my Arcana and Stamina gauges rocketed upward, refilled by the sudden influx of Essence, but that wasn’t the only thing that happened. A thin layer of granite crept across my skin. That was one of the side effects of Stoneform working on my body; it transformed my flesh into natural armor at the expense of agility and speed.

Beside me, there was a squeal as Cal consumed the Transformation Token and manifested as a gangly, potbellied creature with burnt red skin. A Crave Ghoul—the very first monster I’d ever squared off against. Crave Ghouls were fast, agile, and strong, though not nearly as strong as the bears we were dealing with.

“Get Telent to safety and guard his back,” I yelled.

Cal couldn’t talk while transformed, but he chittered excitedly and bobbed his head in understanding, then scampered off on all fours. I lumbered into motion, just a few paces behind him.

“Telent, the Crave Ghoul’s with me,” I thundered half a heartbeat before Cal tackled the Vigil of Truth around the waist and took him to the ground—

Saving him from losing his head to a bear paw.

I dropped my shoulder low and barreled into the grizzly. It felt like running into a solid brick wall. Still, I was a helluva lot stronger than I had been back on Earth, and I was also coated in stone. My hit knocked the murder grizzly back a few paces. The creature staggered and turned its rage on me, Telent completely forgotten. It took a wild swing at me, but I called my mace to hand, smashing the flanged head into the beast’s forearm, shattering the bone on impact. The creature retreated another step, which was a mistake.

I raised my shotgun and peppered its torso, neck, and face with my five remaining Stoneform Rounds.

Stoneform turned my skin into natural armor, but when used to enhance my shotgun, it gave every round a chance to inflict internal petrification, causing the target’s joints to temporarily calcify until they were essentially paralyzed. Joint calcification was an extremely painful process, though probably not as painful as getting blasted five times at point-blank range from a magical Marine Corps-issued combat shotgun. Huge bloody wounds bloomed along the Grizzly’s body and its lower jaw just… vanished.

Both gross and strangely cathartic.

The bear was some kind of tough, though. Even with half its face missing it was still ready to go another three rounds.

The Mortka dropped onto all fours and charged, snarling with its shattered jaws. Cal, in Ghoul form, leaped in from the right, landing on top of the bear like it was a braying donkey. He chattered manically as he grabbed hold of the bear’s mangled ears and yanked them back.

While the bear was distracted by the rodeo ghoul, I dismissed my shottie, wound back with my mace, and brought the blunt head down with every ounce of force I could muster.

I triggered Rend and Crippling Strike just as the mace connected with the bear’s temple. Both were melee skills that came from the Ward of Justice. When activated, Rend allowed any melee weapon to partially plane-shift, causing the strike to ignore non-planar armor, dealing up to 25 percent more damage on contact. Crippling Strike unleashed a burst of raw power, which obstructed the target’s Arcana meridians, slowing them by 20% and simultaneously preventing them from casting spells for a short while.

Combined, the pair were a wicked cocktail of ass-kickery.

The mace connected with a satisfying crunch and the bear’s head crumpled like a soda can. The glowing blue runes swirling across its fur faded and the light in its eyes promptly flickered and died as its body collapsed under its own weight. The son of a bitch was dead before it hit the ground. Exhaustion hit me like a hammer blow. Unlike my magical spells, Rend and Cripple burned Stamina, not Arcana. The power for the attacks came directly from my muscles, and dropped my Stamina Gauge close to empty, leaving me feeling as weak as a day-old kitten.

But now was no time for a breather.

Jori and Amherst had sliced, diced, and charbroiled their bear, and Kol had damned near decapitated his opponent with his crocodilian jaws, but we still had Grizzly Prime to deal with.

“Renholm,” I yelled, “Scale me!” I thrust one hand into the air and the pixie appeared a second later, this time shoving an oily black Plague Affinity Scale into my palm. I clamped my hand closed and drew the power down, feeling a renewed wave of energy roar through me. When directly consumed, Plague Affinity cured all instances of disease or poison afflicting the user. In this case, Stoneform counted as a disease, and the stone layer covering my skin flaked away. The Scale also replenished my wanning Stamina Gauge, leaving me feeling refreshed.

Kerra was back on her feet, somehow managing to keep the great, big grizzly focused entirely on her. She was holding her ground, but it was clear that she wasn’t in a position to hurt this thing, much less kill it. From what I’d gathered, dealing out a shitload of physical damage was the job of a Justice, and I saw an opening.

“Amherst!” I bellowed to be heard over the din of battle. “Cast Warded Shield near the bear! Chest height!”

The Vigil of Wrath looked confused and conflicted, but then nodded his head and thrust one hand out. A glimmering dome of golden light, covered in a flurry of crimson runes, exploded into existence a handful of feet away from the bear. What I was about to do was dumb as shit, but I didn’t wind up as a Vigil by making smart, life-affirming choices. I took off at a dead sprint and leapt straight up, landing on the top edge of Amherst’s shield. The shield was a construct of metaphysical power, but it felt solid enough beneath my foot.

With a grunt, I pushed off, using the magical shield as a springboard, and propelled myself onto the mega bear, just as Cal had done with the smaller bear a moment before. The creature hardly noticed as I landed—at least until I called forth my shotgun, pressed it into the base of its skull and pulled the trigger again and again and again. I was out of Affinity Rounds, so the shotgun siphoned power directly from my core, slow draining my blue Arcana Bar in the process. But I’d jacked up my Arcana Stat to 23 over the past few weeks, so it was uncomfortable instead of crippling.

The rounds blew apart fur and chunks of bear meat. That got its attention. It roared, the sound rattling my bones, and reared back, trying to throw me off like an enraged bull.

I acted on instinct, dismissing my weapons, and unleashing one of my newer magical abilities, Arctic Spike. A three-foot length of pale blue ice blasted from my palm and slammed deep into the bear’s meaty shoulder. As my feet went out, I grabbed onto the spit of ice and hung on for dear life while the monster shook, twirled, and generally rampaged, trying to dislodge me.

“Just hang in a second longer!” I heard Kerra yell. “Its belly is its most vulnerable spot. We’re almost there!”

There was a whomp and a flash of blinding light.

Suddenly the bear teetered drunkenly.

A moment later it let out a deep mewling sound and keeled over onto one side, landing with enough force to send a tremor racing through the ground, shaking the snow from all the nearby pine trees. I collapsed, panting from the exertion, but I didn’t stay that way for long. A swirling cloud of golden light wafted up from immense Mortka’s corpse and washed across the battlefield. A roaring column of the golden mist bored into my mouth, lifting my body into the air in a fist of brilliance as melodic chiming rang out, filling the clearing with the sound of a heavenly orchestra.

[You have assisted in killing an Elder Fell Bear! The world has been cleansed! You have been blessed with 2,321 Essence!]

How about that? I’d just ascended, finally leaving the Disciple Ranks behind.

>>

Bounty Fulfilled

Untimely Ambush: You have helped slay the Elder Fell Bear that ambushed your party and saved your fellow Vigils from death. As a reward for a job well done, you have been granted an additional 500 Essence.

>>

The torrent of golden light faded, gently setting me back on my feet.

In front of me, Kerra, Telent, and Kol were all staring in slack jawed amazement.

“Well now, I suppose that answers the question of whether he is truly a Vigil or not,” Kol said with a shrug, finally back in human form. He stroked his beard and eyed me with renewed interest and respect. “Warlocks consume Essence, there is no doubt, but never have I heard of a magic that can replicate the ascension of the Vigilant.”

“That is not for us to—” Kerra started to say, only to be cut off by a yell from Jori.

“We’ve got one more!”

I turned to find the spear-wielding Vigil closing in on Cal, who was currently in Crave Ghoul form. Transformation Tokens didn’t last all that long—anywhere from five to thirty minutes, depending on the quality of the Token—but that would be more than enough time for a fist full of Vigils to banish him from our realm. Worse, Renholm was on his shoulder, brandishing the little sword I’d crafted for him from a Grass Hound Quill. This could go real bad, real fast, if I didn’t act.

Telent beat me to it.

“Stay your hand!” He said, imbuing the words with enough Arcanum to get everyone’s attention.

It worked. Jori hesitated, right on the verge of trying to harpoon Cal like the White Whale of yesteryear, and stole an uncertain look at Kerra. She was the leader, the shot caller. What she said was law.

“They’re with me,” I hastily explained, darting around the enormous bear corpse, and positioning myself in front of Cal and Renhom.

“And you would have us believe you’re a Vigil,” Kerra hissed, her face suddenly a thunderhead of fury. “Partnering with a monster?”

“That’s super rude,” I said. “I mean, sure, Cal is a butterface with a head shaped like a potato, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call him a monster.”

The Crave Ghoul shimmered beside me and the Mortka form dissipated, leaving my best friend standing awkwardly beside me.

“Butterface? Are you fucking kidding me, dude?” Cal asked as he glowered at me.

“I’m not sure what a Butterface is,” Renholm said, “but I assume it means you have a hideous visage which is reminiscent of melted butter, too which I am in complete agreement. Looking at you physically makes me nauseous, and as a being of the Fae Wylds I don’t even have a stomach to be nauseous with.”

“Wow, wow. Okay, you guys are dicks,” Cal said throwing up his hands. “Besides, even if my face hypothetically were a five, my body is at least an eight. Probably a nine if I didn’t skip leg day so much. And, for the record, I had chicks complimenting me on the reg.”

“Your grandma doesn’t count,” I replied.

“Low blow, Boyd. There’s no need to bring Memaw into this and we both know I’m not talking about Memaw. I mean, I guess from an objective standpoint, my head is sort of potato-shaped—I’ll give you that—but I still pulled way more ass than you when I was alive.”

“Enough,” Kerra barked, driving her shield into the frozen ground with a reverberating clang. “What is the meaning of all this?”

“Cal’s my spirit guide,” I replied, genuinely confused. “Maybe I didn’t get the memo, but I was under the assumption all Vigil’s had Spirit Guides. And the pixie is… well, it’s complicated. I wouldn’t say we’re friends exactly. He would definitely kill me and eat my corpse if he could get away with it—I know because he’s told me so like fifteen times—but we have an arrangement.”

“Impossible,” Kerra spat.

“No,” I said, “me and the pixie made a deal. There’s even a spell for it, called Sidhe Pact.”

“Not the pixie,” she said, sounding exasperated. “Many Vigils have such arrangements, though why you would pick a pixie is beyond my comprehension. What I meant is your Spirit Guide. It’s in the name. They guide. They are beings mired firmly in the Etheric Realm. They cannot participate in battle. It’s simply beyond the scope of their involvement in the affairs of our realm. It’s not possible. Kol”—she rounded on the bearded Viking—“have you ever heard of such a thing? Or of a Spirit Guide capable of consuming a Transformation Token?”

Kol regarded Cal thoughtfully, still stroking his beard. “No, I will admit I have not, but there can be no doubt that Boyd is a Vigil. If he truly is an Inkarnate, as he says”—he shrugged again—“then who knows what is possible?”

“Perhaps the Custodians will be able to tell us more,” Kerra said, picking up the manacles and tucking them back into a pouch at her side. She surveyed the steely gray skyline. “Best we break camp now. Wildespell is just half a day to the north, so let’s mount up and ride. The Exarch awaits…”