Strike first. Strike hard.

- Way of the warrior, by Grumnir Deephelm

A loud smack resounded through the tunnel.

“Ow!” Dagger said, rubbing the back of her head. “What the fuck you do that for?”

“You know damn well why,” I replied. And don’t give me those puppy eyes. “Or would you rather have certain rumors spread about you?”

Dagger averted her eyes. “Told you he was gonna find out,” Dirk said. He was sitting crouched in front of us, ear pressed against a series of wooden plank blocking our way through the tunnel.

Dagger scooted closer to him, trying to get away from me. “Hear anything yet?”

“Maybe if you finally shut up…” I could only sigh at the twins lax behavior. It’s been five days of walking, five days where nothing happened. No wonder they were letting their guard down. As if you’ve been acting so great lately. Do I need to remind you of th- Shut up. I willed the voice away. It sounded like my own, but that didn’t mean it was necessarily my own thoughts. Whatever Gob, or it, was doing, he was being a lot more subtler than before. That, or I’m really going crazy. You already were.

I almost began wishing for another manifestation already, something to swipe at for stress relief.

“Nope, nothing.” Dirk removed his ear from the boards. “Whatever that place is, it seems abandoned.”

“See!” Dagger smiled. “So it didn’t matter that I set off that alarm earlier.” This time it was Dirk that slapped her in the back of the head. “How could you hit your own sister!?”

“Cause you keep doing dumb shit.”

“Shut up you two” I hissed. “Something just moved.” I was peering through one of the cracks between the boards, spotting a shadowy figure dash into one of the clustered buildings.

“What?” Dirk whispered before pressing his ears against the boards. “We’ve been sitting here for at least two hours. I’m sure I’ve heard nothing move.” His eyes were closed in concentration. “Do you think that primitive alarm tipped them off?”

“Maybe. Though that would mean they’ve been hiding for two hours straight. I’m guessing that one of them just woke up.”

“Do those things even sleep?” Dagger asked.

“Could be, or it could be that one of them just arrived a few seconds ago.” I shook my head. “Whatever it is, I’m not taking any chances.” I turned to Dagger. “Send the signal.”

She nodded before whispering into the cusp of her palmed hands. A few seconds later she released the message, pushing it away from us and towards a shining light in the distance. Barely a minute had passed before another breeze swept past us, carrying Hilda’s firm whispers, “Got the message. Sly’s been informed. Help is coming your way.”

There was a faint mumbling coming from further up in the tunnel, followed by a series of flashing red lights. A while later, the rest of the our Wind Warlocks came sneaking down the tunnel. The pair had their demons in tow; two small imps that both sported a set of wings. Wings that were unusually large for an imp their size. Hilda, however, was noticeably absent, for she needed to remain where she was. Pity she’s only one of four that can use message. The first one was me, and the other two were still busy peering through the board cracks.

“Get ready,” I told the twins, tapping their shoulders just to be sure.

“Got it, cap,” Dagger said, before stopping her peeping. She took a few steps back, her skin rippling as she did. It turned ashen gray, though that change was minor compared to the others. Another pair of arms slipped through openings made in the back of her clothing; they were thicker and more muscled compared to her normal limbs, sporting dagger like claws that ended in pointy tips. Her lips parted in a smile, showing serrated teeth as her pupils continually adjusted themselves as she looked around, shielded by a second eyelid whenever she blinked.

“Oh, you’ve improved,” I said, spotting the new singular eye opening between her brows.

“Hehe. Thanks, cap,” Dagger said, ashen gray cheeks growing slightly darker. “I’ve been trying to grow it on the back of my head, but seeing all around me still makes me barf.”

“No worries, you’ve got time to improve.” I turned around. “You ready Dirk?”

“Yup,” the man replied; skin turned several shades darker. Though if one were to take a closer look, they would find it covered in numerous, tiny black hairs. Hairs that even covered the empty space where his eyes should have been. Instead there was a pair of antennas a bit further up; ones that twitched and squirmed at the slightest bits of movement or sound. Dirk had opted to take off his pants, and for good reason. A thick, hairy bulb, the size of cooking pot, was firmly attached to the base of his spine. Protruding from it was a long, black stinger, ready to pierce anything.

The pair of incoming reinforcements looked grossly inadequate in comparison to these two, and they seemed to know it. James was alternating his gaze between Dirk and his small imp, looking visibly dejected at the difference in power. Mary, on the other hand, was looking at Dagger with eyes full of wonder, not noticing the way her imp softly pulled on her clothing before beginning to sulk.

They had told me they weren’t related to each other, just from the same village, though one wouldn’t say that at a glance. Both had brown hair, brown eyes, and a slightly upturned nose. Maybe villagers in Cedia look alike? Or maybe their dad had been very naught- Fuck off. I snapped my fingers, both to grab their attention, and to ward off my insanity. Shame you won’t be seeing your dad ever again.

I quickly smothered the rage that remark brought, trying to control my facial expression as I whispered, “Listen up, people.” I picked up the pickax near my feet, twirling it before pointing at the wooden planks. “I saw something move on the other side of this barricade. Unfortunately for us, that’s the only way out of this tunnel.” I softly tapped the wood. “Whatever it is, its bound to move once I start breaking down these boards.” I pointed at the four before me. “Your job is to kill it in case it decides to interfere. If it turns out to be something dangerous, or another one of those stampeding hordes, we’ll retreat while sending the signal. Afterwards, we'll regroup with Sly and the rest of our defenses further in.” I planted the tool’s shaft into the ground, softly leaning on its head. “Any questions?”

James raised his hand, gazing both at Dirk and Dagger. “I don’t see how we can be of much help with you having those two, and us only having…” He looked at his own demon. “These.”

The imp’s ears drooped as it wings curled around it. “I take it you’ve been paying attention to Sly’s demonology lessons?” The man nodded, and so did Mary when I turned to her. “So you should know that they’ll grow stronger over time as they absorb your mana. These two next to me have a few years of headstart, but don’t let that fool you. Were they to face a Warlock’s demon of equivalent age, they would most likely lose the fight. A fair fight, mind you,” I chuckled. “So don’t let it get to you, you’ll catch up to these Shapers soon enough.”

“But how the hell does that help us now?” the man asked, raising his voice.

“There’s more, so stop whining.” James seemed to wither under my stare. One that I began directing towards his sulking imp. “First things first, you’re dismissing the advantage numbers bring. Secondly,” I crouched down. “These guys are a lot more dangerous than they look.” The imp’s ears seemed to perk up, eyes peeking from between its wings. “And what would your name be, little fellow?”

The imp looked left and right before settling his gaze on James. A small nod from him was all that was needed to get his name. “I’m Gargiks”

“Well Gargiks, I take it you’re quite the fighter?”

The imp eagerly nodded his head. “Yes, yes. Gargiks has killed many things. Small things, big things. With sharp claw, claws.”

“I’m sure you did.” The sarcasm was lost on the imp as he gave me a beaming smile in return. They may morph differently, but I’ve yet to find an imp that didn’t like to brag. I looked at James and Mary. “They’re fast, and they’re deadly. And they’ll gut your sorry ass if you’re stupid enough to underestimate them.” Both imps seemed to be basking in my praise, sporting a pair of goofy grins.

“Besides, you two have forgotten the most important part.” I stood up. “They don’t fear death.” I turned to Gargiks “Do you?”

“Dying hurt, hurts…” Gargiks said while stroking his arms. “But its not the end, end. So Gargiks not afraid.”

I looked back at the Warlock pair. “They’re small, they’re fast. But most importantly, they’re fearless.” Gargiks’s wings were softly flapping as I stroked his bald head. “Humans can scrape by with begging. Imps need to fight tooth and nail if they want to see the next day.” Mary’s imp had scooted closer, pressing its head against my other hand. “You take care of them, and they’ll take care of you.” Unless they just happened to be something pretending to be an imp. Like a certain someone… who is absolutely gorgeou- GET OUT OF MY HEAD.

My hands had stopped rubbing, much to the dismay of the two imps in front of me. “Sorry, guys, but we’ve got work to do.” Their pointy ears began to sag again. “If you do a good job, you might get awarded a rub by your master.” The mere mention of reward made both imps giddy with excitement. It seems their Warlocks' Greed is already beginning to rub off on them.

“But first.” I turned around, closing my eyes as I faced the wooden . “A final peek.” I could feel myself slipping again, entering that dark void of shining lights. Not even a minute had passed before I had reached the sufficient depth. I opened my eyes, letting out a sigh of relief as numerous stars filled my vision. It was now easier to slip into the trance, though that surely wasn’t the case just three days ago. The constant harassment, coupled with mental exhaustion, had barred me from entering this place for quite a while. It made me feel vulnerable, walking the Long Dark without my greatest weapon, for one could never have enough information in this damned place.

Speaking of which. The lights were noticeably sparser than normal. It seemed that whoever had lived here had done a good job at mining out the majority of the crystal veins. The only sources of nearby light were the ones besides me, and the small cluster in front of me; crystal which we had observed earlier through the board cracks—sitting abandoned in a mine cart. Its light had helped us identify the surrounding area. A bunch of stone buildings surrounding a central point where different tracks met. We hadn’t seen anyone, or anything, move during our two hour long stakeout. And even now, I still couldn’t see anything besides the crystal. So whatever moved, it either left, or wasn’t magical to begin with.

I preferred the former, but I’ll take whatever I could get. “No signs of moving magic,” I said, snapping my vision back to the material world. “Though that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything there. Keep your eyes peeled, and your ears open.” I jammed the pointy end of the pickax between one of the boards. “Everybody ready?”

Their chorus of grunts was followed by the sounds of wood being wrenched, torn, and chopped off where it needed to be. Plank by plank, I dismantled the barricade, making sure to take the occasional small break to see if we caught any creature’s attention. None came, and within minutes the way had been cleared , leaving only a pile of broken wood as a reminder of what once was. I bet Sly will be happy to have it. Something else to burn besides stinking Founder hair.

“Dagger, Dirk, you take the lead.” I turned to James and Mary.“I want your imps behind them in case we run into trouble.” A few short commands later, and I was in the rear with the rest of our Wind Warlocks, tightly clutching the pickax in my hands. I’d rather have a demon, but it’s better than nothing.

We were slowly inching our way through the large cavern, and towards the seemingly abandoned buildings, carefully checking our surrounding with every step. The light of the stashed mine cart crystal provided much needed vision on the shadowy surroundings, though we always had Dirk to fall back on in case we got ourselves trapped in total darkness. “Cap, I think I see something,” Dagger whispered. The entire party froze. “They’re letters.” She pointed at one of the buildings entryways. “It says Mogrim’s respite in Foundish.”

I peeled my eyes, unable to even see a single marking at this distance, let alone individual letters. I would have to take her word on it, though the chance of finding some undiscovered Founder ruins seemed almost too good to be true. Maybe we’ll be able to get rid of this Mark after all.

We continued towards the building Dagger pointed at. It seemed to be the largest of the bunch, consisting of three stories chiseled into rock. Its dark walls were unadorned, but it sported the familiar square windows and impressively smooth rock that Founder houses were known for. This is it. I could barely contain the fluttering in my stomach. Once we gather enough artifacts, we’ll just need to find a way back to the city and be done with it.

Once we passed the cart, Dagger bend down, picking up something shining beneath its wheels. It was a metal lantern, one which had a white crystal embedded in its center. “Finders, keepers,” Dagger said with a stupid grin before marching onward with her new light source clutched in hand. Things are looking up. Now all we needed to do was stumble upon a cache of rune weapons, and we’ll be set. If only it were that easy… like your mo- WE ARE NOT GOING THERE.

“Did you hear something?” Mary asked, frantically looking around at every moving shadow.

“No, nothing.” I turned to Dirk. “And you?”

The man’s antenna twitched a couple of times, before staying still. “Can’t hear anything but the wind, captain.”

“No, I-I just thought that,” Mary said. “Since you suddenly stopped moving, you know, you might have heard something.”

“No, I was just inspecting our surroundings for a second time, just to be sure.” Absolutely not talking with the voices in my head. Nope. The woman wiped off some of the sweat on her brow, meekly nodding before continuing to walk. Good safe. “Keep me posted in case you do pick up something, corporal.”

The man twitched his antenna in confirmation. “Will do, capta-” The antenna froze, and so did Dirk. Almost immediately the things started to twitch and squirm in multiple directions; head swiveled towards the building we were currently walking to. “Something exhaled, then inhaled sharply, captain. I think it was trying to hold its breath.” Why would it do that? Unless… Dagger and Dirk had the same idea, bodies tense and ready to strike at anything and everything. An intelligent monster. The worst kind of opponent one could possibly get. I scanned the nearby surroundings, noticing how our position was the worst one could possibly be in. We were in the middle of the settlement, surrounded by flat terrain, and shadowy buildings on all sides. “I hear movement, captain. What are your orders?”

I pointed at one of the houses we had past. “We go back to the tunnel, but we’ll need to keep our backs to the wall till we get there.” As I was giving out my commands, I spotted a faint glint in the window I was pointing at. A glint that rested on a weapon well known to me.

Is that… a crossbow?

There was a hard twang as something whizzed past my face before clattering against the stone behind me. I softly touched my cheek, coating my fingers in fresh blood. My mind still reeled from the near death experience as several more glinting tips appeared in nearby windows. BZZZZZZZZZ Some weird sound went of in my head, followed by Gob’s ever annoying voice

You guessed wrong.

It’s multiple crossbows.