Three men in black and yellow robes stood just within the chamber. They seemed as surprised to see Isa and friends as Isa was to see them. The first to react was the Arna, the white dire wolf. She barreled past Mery, and launched herself at the tallest man, the one with the claw necklace. Arna hit the man squarely in the chest, and they both went down.

As the man scrambled to his feet, his two companions brought their maces down on Arna, hitting the dire wolf on the head and back. As the maces landed, a swoosh of light left the weapons, and Arna yelped as if burned.

Isa grabbed the hilt of her radiant blade and felt some reassurance when the line of yellow flame appeared. Why hadn’t she had it out before? And where had these new foes come from?

She tried to put the thoughts from her mind as she stepped toward the tall man. He fixed his eyes on Isa and began to chant. The words he spoke were meaningless to Isa, but they filled her mind with shadows and pulled at her stomach, making her feel weak and nauseated. Moving through the discomfort, Isa swung her sword at the man and sliced across his chest.

The dire wolf had gotten up and once more jumped at the tall man, grabbing his arm in her mouth and shaking it. Blood and saliva flew as the dire wolf moved back and forth, as if to pull his arm out of the socket.

One of the other men kicked Arna to make her release her hold on the tall man’s arm. He fell away, clutching his arm and blood flowed freely. Both men laid hands on the tall man and murmured in their language, and even though she didn’t understand the words, Isa recognized the intent: they were healing him.

Even as his wolf bite closed over, a bloom of frost spread across his neck. Alice had unleashed her frostbite spell. Mery shifted to the side and sliced at the legs of one of the clerics. He buckled and almost fell.

Isa moved to the other side, trying to flank the men and prevent them from healing their leader again. She tried to spy any other doors in the room. Would more enemies arrive to join the fight? Or had these three been hiding here the whole time?

A shadowy spot on the wall caught Isa’s eye. Was that a half-hidden door? And as her attention left the battle, the leader reached out and almost caressed Isa’s cheek. She felt lightheaded as if she’d spun herself around several times, and the place where the tall man had touched her felt cold.

He smiled now and said something to Isa. His voice was low and intimate, as if they shared a secret.

“Isa! Alice!” Mery’s voice cut through the foggy feeling that had begun to creep into Isa’s mind. “Chin up, you two! Help is on the way!”

Help? Isa blinked, stepped back, and tried to clear her head. I have to help myself; I have to survive this fight. “Second. Wind,” she said softly and immediately felt better.

Before Isa could raise her sword again the tall man was speaking again. He swept his arm out, and in Common he said, “All weapons away and sit.”

Isa tucked her hilt into her belt and dropped to the ground.

One of the clerics laughed and brought his mace around like a baseball bat, catching Isa in her stomach.

The blow knocked Isa to the side. Gasping for breath, she tried to push herself upright and collapsed back; the effort proved too much. Feet scuffled in front of Isa’s face, and she heard more chanting. As before, the tall man touched Isa. This time he held her arm, and she felt dizzy and weak. His touch was cool and gentle, and for a moment Isa thought it must be Lund, but then her skin was on fire, and his grip was a vice squeezing her arm until she thought her bones would crumble.

Isa heard Alice’s voice saying, “Hold on.” And then she slipped into darkness.

What seemed like a moment later, Isa woke to Alice kneeling beside her. Alice stroked Isa’s arm where the man had burned her, and where Alice touched felt better. Where there had been a crawling, burning sensation, there was now coolness.

“I smell lavender,” Isa muttered.

Alice kissed her cheek, and Isa caught Alice and pulled her down for a long kiss. “I thought—”

“I know,” said Alice.

“That man, he—”

“He’s gone.” Alice put a hand on Isa’s shoulder to keep her prone. “Stay still. Everything is under control.”

From behind her Isa heard Dulrak say, “It’s not here. It must be back where Lund and I were heading. If it’s here at all.”

“The urn is here,” said Alice. “It has to be.”

“Then we need to get it.” Isa propped herself up on her elbows.

“Tell you what,” Mery said. “You and Dulrak stay here and guard this little secret tunnel, and the rest of us will go back and look for the urn.”

“Agreed,” Dulrak tucked his thumbs into his belt. “Me and Batraz,” he patted the black dire wolf beside him, “and Isa.”

“As for you,” Mery pointed a finger at Alice. “Maybe you could actually summon that damned crow now?”

“Peck!” Alice touched her copper bracelet. “There wasn’t time before. Those men, they—”

“Yeah, I was surprised, too," Mery admitted.

A black crow appeared on Alice’s shoulder and let out a harsh cry. “You’ve missed some fun,” Alice told him.

“Right then.” Mery rubbed her hands. “Dulrak, wolf, Isa. You three stay here and keep watch. That fucking wizard might find his courage and a dozen friends and return, so—”

“Wait. What?” Isa looked from Mery to Alice. “You said he was gone.” She started to get up and got as far as a sitting position.

“Gone, not dead. But he’s hurt. The blood trail shows that.”

Dulrak pulled his warhammer from his belt. “We’ll send Batraz if we get visitors.”

“We’ll send Peck,” said Alice.

“And message,” added Mery.

“But we’ll be back well before that.” Lund spoke for the first time since Isa had woken. He leaned over and held out his hand. “They knock you down, Isa Chamberlin, but you keep getting up, don’t you?”

Isa took his hand and got to her feet. “I’m pretty sure the point is to not get knocked down, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

Spoiler: Current Hit Points

Alice HP 30

Isa HP 11

Mery HP 56

Dulrak HP 63

Lund HP 36