Ava might have been treating the situation like a test for her new bow, but she was still tense. The others felt the same, quickly jumping out of the carriage. Only Aure and Ava herself remained in it, one for a better snipping spot and the other because he would be the one to protect the horses and Moran, as he quickly announced.

They took their battle positions, a few feet away from the carriage. All of the preparation could have only lasted a few seconds, but Jack could already spot the men running their way. They had their weapons drawn, just like Ava said. And to the side of them, the man Jack recognized as the thief.

Which was a problem, because he could somehow feel the man’s Skill, for it must have been a Skill, working against his magic and failing. Still, even if it was failing, the fact that his Skill was working must have meant that it affected the others as well.

“Guys. Can you see the thief?” Jack called out.

“…I cannot.” Said Brom.

“Me no see.”

“Kind of.” Said Ava. “But only a little, even if I squint.”

Damn it. I do not have enough magic for everyone.

“I will take care of Moran and Ava, young man.” Said Aure, perhaps sensing his predicament.

Jack nodded and cast his spell on Brom and Mrk, while Aure did a complicated hand gesture and cast his own magic on Ava and Moran.

“Good.” Said Brom. “That is one advantage of their that has been nullified.

“Here’s hoping they don’t have more.”

More banter would have done better for their morale, but unfortunately there wasn’t any time left. With a shout, the five plus one charged into their line of attack and the fighting finally started.

Perhaps sensing that he was the better fighter among them, three of their foes attacked Brom at once, while Mrk and Jack only had to deal with one each. He would have given more thought to his friend, but Jack’s opponent occupied his entire attention.

He was a burly fellow, a little round, but with more muscles than fat. He carried a simple axe, that looked more at place chopping wood than it being used to rob people. He had little in the way of actual armor, only a leather vest and cloth bindings for his knuckles.

And still he came at Jack, roaring, axe falling in a downward chop.

Jack danced out of the way and slashed at him with his rapier. To his surprise, the blade drew blood on the man’s thigh. There was not even an attempt at dodging from the bandit. Surprised, but still focused, Jack circle around the man and aimed his hand right to the back of the man’s head.

“|Bolt|”

The same shimmering pulse of magic flew and hit his foe in the head, sending him to the ground.

Jack stopped, feeling oddly surprised.

This… can’t be this easy. Can it?

His question was answered a moment later, when an arrow ‘magically’ appeared in one of the man’s buttocks. Consequently, his butt, upper legs and lower backside all burst into flames.

“Don’t mention it!” Ava ginned, when she spotted him looking at her.

Jack glanced back at the man, but since he seemed mostly concerned with not burning to death, he moved on to help Brom. The dwarf was outnumbered, true enough, but his fight seemed to be one of quantity versus quality. And quality was winning by far.

One of the men trying to fight him was favoring his left leg, since his right had a really nasty burn mark. Courtesy of Ava, most likely. Still, even though he was slow, his spiked club was still dangerous. One other carried a club as well, while the last of the three carried a similar axe to Jack’s own opponent.

And they were all losing. Badly.

Jack hadn’t heard Brom using a Skill, but even without Skills the dwarf was coming out on top. He was using his shield to bash them in the face, while his axe was inflicting light wounds. Enough to draw blood, not enough to sever.

Jack was beginning to think that Brom was actually showing the men mercy, when something interrupted his thought.

“|Wind Blast|” Aure shouted and Jack saw a body flying from the top of the carriage to his right, over his hand to land in the grass on his left.

It was the thief. Though given the way he had landed, he wouldn’t be doing any thieving any time soon.

An arrow sprouted from his buttock as well, with the same result a before.

“Young lady!” Aure intoned, somewhat peeved. “We must show civility even to our opponents. And that includes not setting them on fire when they are already down.”

“Sorry, sorry!” Ava apologized. “Thought it was a normal arrow.”

Though from the smile gracing Ava’s features, she knew very well what kind of arrow it was.

The scene might have seemed hilarious to some, but in their assailants in provoked a different type of response.

“Damn you!” the axe man fighting Brom shouted, seeing his friend fly and be set on fire. “Pull back, I’m using it!”

Limping, they all pulled back, dragging the ones who weren’t able to stand behind the man who appeared to be the leader of their little pack. The man himself took one hand away from his axe and went to draw something from the satchel at his back.

Going by the vengeful looks on their faces, this would be their trump card.

Jack approached Brom and saw Mrk doing the same. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ava drawing an arrow and Aure standing with his arms outstretched.

The man grinned nastily and pulled out… a stick. Granted, it was a very nice stick, straight as an arrow and polished, but Jack really didn’t know what he intended to do with a stick.

“You think you’re the only one with fancy artifacts, you dumb goat?” he sneered at Ava.

Jack could literally hear Ava’s bow creaking, but to his surprise, the Satyr refrained from torching him. Or, perhaps, she was simply out of flaming arrows.

“See this, right here? This is a magic wand. Ma-gic! It’s a Wand of Acid Spray! So you either give me all you have, including your horses or I melt ya’! Got it?!” he shouted.

They all shared a look. As far as threats went, it really was sort of… pathetic. They got burned by a glowing burning sphere of death. Acid probably hurts, but it was nothing against that. And they had high-grade Healing Potions. Honestly, Jack thought that everyone held back just like he did because they didn’t want to actually maim these robbers.

He was about to open his mouth to convince the man and his thugs and they really didn’t know what they were getting themselves into, when Ava started laughing hysterically.

***

“And you don’t think it was even a little bit cruel?” Jack asked, exasperated.

“He called me a goat!” Ava protested.

They were dining around the campfire, late in the day. They had sent their would-be assailants packing, since they couldn’t waste time getting them to the nearest village for the reward, assuming one even was placed on their capture. They did, however, take what they thought would be useful off of them. Which was only the clubs, axes and a few silver coins. Besides, they got punished enough. Especially their leader.

“But you make goat jokes all the time! Especially about yourself.” Jack tried to make her understand her double-standards.

“I am allowed to. Besides, it wasn’t anything a healing potion couldn’t fix.”

Jack gave up, but Moran valiantly carried on the fight.

“But, Ava you- you set his crotch on fire.”

“I already told you, I didn’t know I still had a fire arrow left.”

“Mrk not buying it.” He said, while Aure hid a smile.

“Regardless of whether Ava intentionally intended to practice castration by fire-“

“Hey!”

“I say this has been a good day.” Brom said. “We have proven we can take out low-level robbers without any apparent difficulties, even without using Skills or our artifacts. Well, most of us.”

Ava just shrugged.

“And you have obtained a Wand of Acid Spray. Not the best artifact, as it only has three charges and without a mage present, it takes a very long time to recharge. But it may prove to be a handy secondary weapon.”

“Which is why Jack needs to learn how to recharge artifacts.” Ava said.

“Still not doing it.” He responded.

“I do have one concern.” Brom started speaking again. “I understand that letting them live was the humane thing to do, but having done that, we exposed ourselves to the risk of others finding out about us. I’m not sure if those men will talk, but they have just witnessed group of travelers that had at least two magic users and one magical artifact.”

“Two artifacts.” Said Mrk.

When Brom looked at him, he continued.

“Used cloak on raider. Spook him. Make him drop guard.”

“Two artifacts.” Brom exhaled. “That solidifies my idea. Normally, we would have two more days of travel until we find the location if the dungeon. I propose we use the horses harder, to half our trip time to one day. It will be hard on the horses, but they will have two days to rest after that.”

“It would be possible…” Aure mussed. “At least, if some of us take turns running besides the carriage. You think the threat of us being discovered to be this real?”

“I do.” Brom nodded. “I agree it is not a high chance, but given the stakes, I believe we cannot accept even a low chance of being discovered.”

“Right. Well, it makes sense. Tomorrow, we make double time. It’s going to suck, but there’s no way around that.” Jack shrugged.

“Yes.” Aure smiled. “Now we will just have to decide who will be running next to the carriage?”

“Not it” chorused Jack and Ava.

Though, given that Aure was old and that Brom and Mrk were short, it was quite clear who, besides Moran, would be it.

***

The next day passed by as fast as the scenery flew past the carriage. It wasn’t exactly a race around the clock, but they still pushed the horses to their absolute limits. Jack, Ava and Moran were the first to take shifts running besides the carriage, trying not to push the horses over their breaking point. But even with what Skills they had, the three still switched places at least a few times with Brom and Mrk. Aure was thankfully sparred.

They managed to get by on water mostly, with only a few sips of Stamina Potions being used between them. Still, it involved a lot of running. Enough that Jack got offered the |Runner| Class, though he had to reject this one as well.

This is getting really annoying.

Still, it did give him an idea. His quest to improve himself was still ongoing, though he hadn’t had much of a chance to increase his Classes lately. It made sense, since most of his Classes were geared towards surviving in a forest and he here he was, chasing after a dungeon, but it still irked him. He had an increasingly certain feeling that his |Forest Cook| Class hasn’t been advancing as steadily because he hadn’t been in a proper forest lately, even though he had been cooking around a campfire.

But there was one Class he thought he could improve. |Pathfinder|.

Brom had said that Classes improve based on the relevant activities one does. But also, by using their Skills. Could he use that to improve? His Class was certainly low-level enough that it could benefit from some new Skills and since he had nothing better to do… why not?

Jack used his |Past Trails| Skill to see the mental path from where he had started for the reminder of the day. He also used |Sense Destination| repeatedly, though this last Skill only offered a fuzzy feeling of where they should be heading. Lucky him that they had a map.

These two Skills paired with trying to unlock the |Barrier| Spell were what took up the reminder of his day. It drained him, both mentally and magically, but he didn’t stop. He was tired and pissed at his own lack of success, but he determinedly pushed on.

It wasn’t until they had almost reached their destination when something happened. It wasn’t the |Barrier| Spell, since Gods forbid he obtained two Spells in a row, but he did hear the much awaited for voice.

|Class Level Raised: Pathfinder|

|Class Level: 4|

|New Skill: Mental Compass|

Damn- No! Think positive. I got a new Skill. It’s still good.

“Guess what?” he said panting. “I levelled up my |Pathfinder| Class. I even got a new Skill!”

“Good.” Brom responded, while Aure looked at him with interest. “Just in time too. According to the map, we’re here.”

‘Here’ wasn’t anything special. They were on a grassy plain, with only a few low hills visible in the distance. The only out of the ordinary geographical feature was a jut of rock, poking up from the ground. It looked more or less like a normal cliff and it must have been just a little taller than the manor they had visited, though somewhat broader. Nothing worth mentioning about it, if it wasn’t the very thing they were looking for.

“What Skill did you receive, Jack?” asked Aure. “And how have you managed to level your Class?”

“Uh, it’s called |Mental Compass|. And from what I can feel, I can tell where ‘north’, ‘south’ and the like are.”

It had the same mental feel |Sense Destination| had. A little less fuzzy, but very similar. And speaking of |Sense Destination|…

“Guys. That’s it! That’s the entrance!” Jack exclaimed, before Aure could pepper him with more questions.

They already knew it was probably it, based on their map, but being so close to the object of his query made Jack’s Skill clarify. It clearly told him that the jut of rock housed the entrance to the dungeon. And the exact location of the entrance itself was…

“Ah, but it seems we have to dig. My Skill tells me that the entrance is buried. I think if we dig on this side of the cliff, we’ll find it.”

“Can you tell how deep it is buried?” asked Brom.

“Uh… nope. I’m getting nothing.”

“Well. At least there are still a couple of hours of sunlight left in the day. Unless it is buried very deeply, I believe we’ll be able to uncover it today.”

That announcement was met with varying levels of distress. They had been running for some time. Intense physical labor was not something they looked forward too. Still, Brom was right. Better to just get on with it. At least their gear included shovels.

Aure too helped them, somewhat. He knew a spell for raising the earth and that made it easier for them to remove it. Still, even with the six of them working at once, they still worked late into the night, defeating Brom’s predictions. It was by the light of torches that they finally saw the door to the dungeon. One more hour and they unveiled it in its entirety.

The door looked to be made out of stone, though its rim and hinges were made of gleaming metal and it had inlays of metal as well, forming a type of script. They had dug for twenty feet straight down to reach the base of the door, though the door itself was only eight feet in height.

They dearly wanted to see what was behind it, but they were too tired. Food was eaten, camp was made and to sleep they went, dreaming of riches and glory. Though some of them dreamt of monsters and others of lighting those monsters on fire. Too each their own.

***

The next morning could be described as vibrant. Everybody was positively brimming with energy. There was wariness in the air too, but mostly they felt excited. Even Aure, though he wouldn’t accompany them.

“I won’t go towards The Barony just yet. I’ll stay and look after the horses. Your quest is… interesting. And I admit I would dearly like to see what you can retrieve from this dungeon.”

“We will have to get in, first.” Brom mused. “I do not recognize the markings on the door. But I do recognize good stonework. It will not be easy to break them.”

“At least they’re not magical.” Ava said. “I think we’ve had enough of magical attacks. Though, who knows? Moran might like to nurse me back to health again” she grinned.

To his credit, Moran didn’t even flinch. Instead, he replied.

“Are we sure it’s not magically warded? That armor was warded as well and nobody saw it until it was too late.”

“Mrk thinks same.”

“Could you tell if it was warded, Mage Aure?” Jack asked.

“I… didn’t feel anything yesterday. And it’s not my subject of expertise. But I will try and do a more thorough check.” He said, striding towards the door.

They had made their camp right next to it, so at all times they had a front-line view of it. It truly was magnificent, or so Jack thought. The rock hadn’t been polished, but it was free of any imperfections. Their shovels hadn’t left a dent in it. And the metal was still gleaming, free of rust or decay after who knew how many years. Hopefully Aure will find a way to magically open it. Jack didn’t like the idea of forcing their way through.

We’d be at it for days, if not more.

“We will need to prepare.” Brom said, snapping Jack out of his thoughts. “The second those doors are open, we’ll need to go in. Waiting around will mean wasting the time we have won yesterday.”

“I hear that.” Ava said. “Really not fun running for that long.”

“I’ve memorized the front passages. I can’t tell exactly how deep we’ll have to go, but it looks like the… trophy room?” Jack asked.

“Treasury.” Brom corrected.

“Right. Well, it looks like the treasury is still pretty far away from the entrance. We have our work cut out for us.”

“I wanted to ask. Are we still using the same formation like we used with the ogre?” Moran asked.

“A similar one. With the shield and my Skills I can weather the most damage. I will fight upfront. Try to goad all enemies towards me. Mrk, you will act as our scout, but once the fighting starts you should be behind me. You as well, Jack.”

“Whereas I will gloriously snipe our foes from behind your manly cover.” Ava declared.

“…yes. And you will also be shielding Moran.”

“Well, of course. I will do my best to protect my number one admirer.” She grinned, while Moran just sighed.

“I really hope we get something good out of this.” Jack said. “Helmrest needs it.”

“We will.” Brom assured him. “Dungeons are notorious for-“

They never learned what dungeons were notorious for, since that was the moment when a deep hum filled the air. It seemed to resonate from the dungeon doors. And given that they were now glowing, that seemed to be a safe bet.

“Something’s happening!” Aure shouted, while running towards them.

“Yeah, no shit!” Said Ava. “What’s happening?”

“I don’t know.” The mage said, too spoked to care about the Satyr’s language. “I directed my mana into the doors, to try and detect a ward of any kind. Instead, I felt… something activate.”

“Is it a trap?” Brom asked sharply.

They had all gotten to their feet, weapons drawn. They were already packed and ready, but the action was starting sooner than they would have guessed.

“I don’t think so. If it was a trap, I’d already be dead. But I… I’ve never seen anything like this. There’s a grand amount of mana coalescing, for seemingly no apparent purpose.”

“Mrk says that is purpose.” The ratling spoke, pointing at something.

Behind them, a glowing sphere was coalescing. Jack had half a thought that they were about to be burned again, when the sphere grew, sprouting arms and legs and taking on a vaguely humanoid shape. In took only a few seconds more until the figure stabilized.

They were all staring at the glowing, half-translucent figure of a knight, complete with armor and a two-handed sword. Its face wasn’t visible, but the posture was battle ready, hands on the hilt of its sword, ready to raise it for an attack. It is also worth mentioning that the ‘knight’ stood at about ten feet in height.

“Guys.” Ava whispered. “Do I shoot it?”

“Not yet.” Brom muttered. “Aure, get in the carriage. Support us if you can.”

The ghostly knight seemed content to watch them until Aure moved. When the mage did, the knight raised its sword high overhead and advanced.

A magical knight the size of an ogre. My past is coming back to haunt me.

“Battle formation!” roared Brom.

“Do I shoot it now?!”

“Shoot!” yelled Brom and Jack at the same time.

An arrow hit the knight in the head, but didn’t manage to lodge itself in. No fire appeared either.

“Ava plays with bow too much!” Mrk grunted.

“What?!” she yelled. “No, it’s not- ugh! Look!”

She released another arrow as the knight advanced towards Brom. It landed at its feet and the ground ignited.

“It’s a spectral warrior.” Aure called out from behind them. “I’ve never seen one, but it has to be. Not all magics work the same on its kind.”

“So how do we kill it?” Jack shouted.

“I- I don’t know. Same as with any other construct.”

Construct?

But they didn’t have any more time for planning. The knight had reached Brom and the fighting finally started for real. It swung its sword down and it met Brom’s shield in a loud clang. Jack felt the tremor, even if he was feet away from the dwarf.

The construct didn’t react like a real-life knight would. Instead of showing at least a second of surprise at not being able to squash the dwarf, it simply raised its sword for another blow. Jack was already running to interpose himself, when the dwarf grunted.

“No!”

Jack stopped and noticed Mrk had as well. So, Brom had a plan. The dwarf stood there as he took another blow. And then a third. It was as the massive sword came down the fourth time that he did what he was intending to and Jack understood Brom’s plan. He wanted to see how long it would take for his shield to charge.

With a roar, Brom pushed his shield forward, even as the knight swung its sword down. A visible shockwave pushed through the air and blew into the knight. Its sword flew from his grip, as the massive figure fell on its back.

“Mrk, grab the sword!” Jack yelled. “Everyone, let’s go.”

They charged the downed construct. It wasn’t very honorable to fight a downed opponent, but they weren’t knights either. The knight was turning to one side, trying to get up, but it was slower than a real being. Jack waste no time in denying it its right to stand.

“|A Fire a Day|!” he roared, aiming at its face.

Instantly, the knight’s head ignited, while it clumsily tried to pat it out.

“Skills work!” he shouted.

“Good.” Brom grunted from nearby. “|Quick Swing|!”

Brom used both its Skill and the magical properties of his axe, since it wasn’t a normal axe head that came down on the spectral knight’s chest, but a huge one. Its armor cracked and Jack saw how the axe went at least half in.

The knight sat up, battering at them and forcing them to back down.

“|Piercing Shot|”

An arrow flew and impaled itself half-way into the knight’s forehead.

“Yup. Skill do work. So why isn’t it dying?” Ava complained.

“Jack.” Mrk shouted, returning. “I got sword. But sword disappear. I have it, then not.”

They were about to address this situation, when the knight sprung to its feet. It might have been Jack’s imagination, but it moved a little faster than it did before. Something that he was sure he wasn’t imagining was the fact that all of its wounds were closing. Even the ghostly burn mark on its face was fading.

“Shit. Brom any ideas on how to fight a regenerating enemy?”

“No.” he grunted. “We’ll just fight him. If he doesn’t stop coming back, we retreat.”

Jack nodded and was about to charge again, when Aure spoke.

“If you will, allow me a moment. Please refrain from advancing. I will take this turn myself.”

The mage raised both his hands and steeled his figure. When he spoke next, it was a torrent of words.

“|Spark|, |Fire Arrow|, |Acid Bolt|, |Wind Blade|, |Acid Bolt|, |Acid B…”

The mage collapsed back, after letting loose a deluge of attack spells. Jack was dearly impressed. That was… that was magic. Moran quickly checked on the mage, but confirmed that he had just fainted. Straining himself too far. Jack thought about using a Healing Potion on him, but remembered what Aure said about magic. Mana depletion cannot so easily be overcome.

Satisfied that the old man wasn’t hurt, they turned their attention to the spectral knight. In the time they had taken to check on Aure, the construct had mostly repaired itself again. But something was… different.

“Is it just me or does the spooky knight seem shorter? As in, a lot shorter?” Ava asked.

She was right. The knight had been over ten feet tall at the start of their fight. Not it was seven feet… maybe eight. Still in pristine condition though.

“It heals itself. But the healing makes it shrink. That’s how we beat it.” Brom said, smiling harshly.

That was nice. Too nice for it to be the entire situation. Fortune never favored them that much.

The knight raised its arm, sword flickering into being in its hand and charged forward. Faster than he had ever been before. Faster than them. Only Brom’s quick thinking and shield Skill saved him. He tried to return the blow, but the knight was already running away. Running towards Ava.

The Satyr tried to shoot it, firing arrow after arrow, though none of them ignited the construct. The ones he dodged did set the ground on fire, but nothing stopped them. Jack aimed and fired a |Bolt|, but thought it hit the knight in the back of its head, it did nothing to slow it down.

The was almost on Ava when it leapt, quite high in the air, sword aimed down for an impaling pierce. They were all running towards her, but they wouldn’t get to them on time. It looked like it was happening in low motion. Ava was trying to dodge, but the sword was coming down right on top of her. There was no dodging or blocking that. It was going to go right through her back.

It really was, if not for a shield crashing into the knight mid-air. A shield with Moran’s entire weight behind it. The young man saw what was going to happen and jumped down from the carriage at the very last moment. He didn’t have Skills or enchanted gear, but being tackled like that did have an effect. And that effect was the knight being propelled back quite a distance, while Moran managed to land on the ground in a heap, right next to Ava.

She startled, but still managed to be the talkative Satyr she was known to be.

“My savior!” she grinned.

“Really not the time.” Moran grimaced, getting up.

He was right too. There wasn’t any time for banter, since the knight was getting to its feet again, a little worse for wear, but slowly regenerating.

“The more we hurt it, the quicker it gets.” Brom said. “We need to hamper its mobility.”

“I can do that. I think. Just break it to pieces after I do. Pretty sure I’ll be fainting in a bit.”

Brom understood what he meant and nodded. Just as the knight was finally straightening up, Jack raised both his hands.

“|Ensnaring Vines|! |Ensnaring Vines|! |Ensnaring Vines|! |Ensnaring Vines|!”

Sure, the spectral knight was strong. And fast. It might have easily ripped the vines Jack called into being, just like the ogre did. But Jack made sure it will take a long time to do so, as the knight’s legs were virtually enshrouded in a knotted bush of vines.

He fell to his knees, but managed not to faint. His vision was blurry, but he still caught what happened next. Roaring, his friends attacked the immobilized construct. It dried to defend itself, swinging its sword, but Brom just blocked it and retaliated. Each swing of his axe chipped away at the knight, while it struggled to get free.

Mrk was slashing at his back and head, knives moving too fast for eyes to follow. Ava was there as well, using the sharpened ends of her bow to impale the knight, dodging what swings of its sword were directed at her and not at Brom.

The knight was being whittled away, piece by piece. They were winning. There was no running now and it might have healed itself given half a chance. But they weren’t giving it any. Just as the construct looked about ready to break into pieces, it displayed a final act of spite. For even if it was a construct and not a living being, it couldn’t be called anything else but spite.

Perhaps peeved that it had been prevented from delivering the killing stroke, the knight threw his sword, like one would throw a knife. It flew, straight at Moran. Jack saw it, adrenaline making it seem to happen in slow motion. There was nobody capable of stopping it. Moran himself looked pinned in place, too shocked to react. Jack had no combat Skills. And hardly any magic left.

Then again, his most recent acquisition was a beginner’s Spell. And his |Craftsman| Class had awarded him with the |Fast Hands| Skill.

His hand blurring forward and acting mostly on instinct Jack yelled, feeling his body protest at drain he was inflicting on it.

“|Bolt|!”

The Spell flew towards the spinning sword, impacting with it at the very last moment. It made it deviate from its intended trajectory and saved Moran from being literally gutted. However, it didn’t save him from all harm. The sword’s swing, even deviated as it was, still cut Moran’s upper thigh, leaving behind a nasty gash, blood already spurting.

With a yelp of pain, the young man collapsed.

We have healing potions. He’ll be alright. He’ll be alright.

Which is more than could be said about the spectral knight. Turning back towards the fight, Jack was surprised to see Brom and Mrk stepping away, even though the construct was still squirming. Cut, broken, but still moving. He didn’t understand it at first. Was something else happening?

That was before he saw where they were looking. They were both warily peering at Ava. Who was now staring at Moran, while literally trembling.

“You… you… YOU SHIT!” she screamed, launching herself back at the construct.

Jack almost felt sorry for the knight, as he saw Ava absolutely tear into it, using her bow as a spear, a sword, a club. She hit it every which way, screaming all the way, though she was too incensed for many words to actually form.

“Fuck you and fuck your magic and fuck ALL of this! |Piercing Shot|!”

She released her arrow, while standing atop the fallen spectral knight. A Skill enhanced arrow, shot point-blank in the knight’s head. Perhaps it was because it had already sustained quite a bit of damage, or perhaps it was because Ava had let loose into it… or perhaps Ava’s rage actually increased the power of her Skill, but her arrow was the final nail in the knight’s coffin. The arrow lodged itself deep into its forehead and the construct subsequentially dimmed, its wounds no longer healing themselves.

It cracked, breaking down into pieces, which themselves disintegrated into glowing dust. In moments, there was no more knight at all and only Ava was left standing, breathing hard.

“Ava!” Moran called out. “I’m fine.”

Jack turned to see that the young man had already used a bit of Healing Potion on his leg. The prior injury was nowhere to be seen, though traces of blood could still be seen on his pants.

“Come here.” He said. “You trashed your knuckles. Let me give them a look.”

Now that her supply of fury got depleted, Ava seemed a little shamefaced at losing her cool. Especially at why she lost it. She stepped towards the highly amused Moran with her head hung low, but true to his nature, he didn’t tease her. Soon enough, she recovered back to her former self, laughing and boasting.

“Well.” Jack said, as Brom at Mrk approached. “Can’t say it was as easy as with the robbers. But we made it through. Didn’t even have to use any scrolls.”

“True. Though you do seem tired.”

“Oh, no doubt. I feel like I could sleep for a week.”

“Mrk not think Jack gets chance to sleep.”

“Why’s that?”

“Look.” The ratling said, pointing a shaking finger.

Juts like before, it was Mrk who was the harbinger of their troubles. Following his finger, Jack looked toward where the ratling was pointing. He saw the same glow as before. For a second, he was about to curse, thinking that the shrinking knight they had just fought was one of many. But no. The glow was not centered or growing in size. It was growing it brightness though. And it was emanating from the entire cliff, not just from the doors that were set in it.

A sheen of magical power could be seen all over it, coalescing into strands that themselves seemed to flow up, meeting and joining together on the cliff’s peak.

“That… that can’t be good, right?” Jack more stated than asked.

“No. I do not believe so” Brom said.

He had his shield raised, though fat chance it was going to help if all that magical energy targeted them.

But it seemed the fate smiled at them this day. Well, a little. Truthfully, it was more of a sneer than a smile, but at least the magic didn’t hit them. Yet as the glow reached its crescendo and the thick strands of magic finally poured all they had into their center, a colossal beam of light shot up into the sky.

It was thicker around then their cart was and Jack couldn’t see the top of it. For all intents and purposes, it reached up into the sky. It was beautiful. Monolithic and radiant, as only magic could be. Beautiful, yes. And very, very noticeable.

“Brom. How far away is The Barony from this location?”

The Brom sighed, already used to their luck.

“Not far enough.”