I spent the next couple of days training with my hand and my staff. I still didn’t feel comfortable that I could match my previous ability. I had to face facts, I was afraid. I was afraid that Randy Cotton had followed Ska and Fiona into the tunnel. They were still moving from what I could tell but that meant little.

If he was truly following them and I was forced to fight, I would die. There was no doubt about that. Dying to save my friends was a noble endeavor but also a futile one. I doubted that Randy Cotton would stop at just me.

I needed to utilize the advantages I had. That meant waiting and worrying that Ska and Fiona wouldn’t return safely. The worry was eating me up inside and on more than one occasion I had to extract a deformed piece of dining ware from my metal hand.

Sitting around and waiting was killing me so I got to work. I slaved the mana cannons on the fortress to one control. It wouldn’t allow me to aim them but that was fine. It was just another extra layer to the defenses

I spent two days aligning the weapons to all aim at a small area, roughly thirty degrees down from the fortress. My plan was to vaporize anyone chasing Fiona and Ska after they exited the tunnel.

I realized the plan had a lot of holes in it. But it was the best I could come up with at the time. Gathing the locals to help drive off Randy and his forces was an option but one I had little faith in working. The highest levels I had spotted were fourteen. Enough of those would make a difference but Randy had no qualms about attacking East Exit with his forces. I had to assume he had enough men to counter any force I could gather against him. Plus I was pretty sure the city was still angry with me for absconding while they were questioning me.

Two more days ticked by and I couldn’t tell if the marker for Ska and Fiona was moving anymore. Moving farther south would give me a more accurate reading so I flew the fortress a few hours further south.

I got confirmation that the line wasn’t moving. It had been two days since I repositioned and there was no movement. All I knew is that they were still alive.

I paced around the room, trying to think of something to do to help them. It was obvious that something was holding them up but I had no idea what it could be. They should have made it to Mid Point. The only two things I could think of is that they were hiding in the city or being prevented from leaving.

That shot my entire plan out the window.

***

Ska heaved in exhaustion. The evil men had hounded their path the entire way. If it wasn’t for the infernal creatures of the dark, Ska could have lost them. But he had been forced to fight on more than one occasion as the creatures attacked.

He still sported a bloody gash from when the men caught up with Fiona and him. He had barely escaped that encounter, thanks to the training Paul and Martin had given him. But the men were experts in death and they didn’t relent.

Ska wasn’t concerned about the wound it was healing slowly. He would have used a healing potion but his last one went to Paul. The problem came with the obvious trail and the blood that attracted more monsters.

Ska was an experienced hunter though and it wasn’t his first time being injured by something tracking him. He used the blood to his advantage and led the men on a merry chase through one of the large caverns. Once he was satisfied that he got the attention of the denizens of the dark, he bandaged the wound to prevent any more blood from giving away his position.

Fiona followed him in silence. He was glad she was here. He could feel the animalistic part of his brain scream at him to stake his claim and push out all other challengers. This wasn’t a new sensation for him. It was always lurking in the back of the grimalkin’s minds. It only grew louder when he was alone. The trick was not to remain alone for too long or the primal urges would take over. Fiona’s presence slowed the change but it wasn’t enough to prevent it. He had time though.

He heard yells in the distance and he growled in pleasure. The men had fallen into the trap. He hoped the monsters were enough to kill them but he doubted it. At best it would buy them a few hours. There were only so many paths in the tunnel and even fewer led toward Mid Point.

Ska chose to remain on the main path and pushed himself as fast as possible to gain some time.

He was forced to rest in an alcove for an hour. He was burned out from running and his breath was coming in ragged gasps.

“How are you holding up?” Fiona asked, worry in her eyes.

“I… will… live…,” he forced out through deep gulps of air.

“I can slow them down for you,” Fiona offered.

“No, don’t leave me alone… I won’t make it otherwise. This place is sapping my mind much faster than if I was above ground.”

“…Ok,” she said hesitantly, “I will remain with you.”

“Is Paul-,”

“He still lives,” she replied quietly.

He nodded, a feral grin appearing on his face. Now that he had saved Paul, they were equals. Not that Paul didn’t already treat his as such, but it was an important distinction for a grimalkin.

Ten minutes later they were back on the move. Not because he wanted to but because a falling rock had echoed up the tunnel, alerting him that someone or something had stumbled across the pebbles he had strewn about. He could only move at a slow jog, conserving his energy.

All was not smooth sailing. Ska was forced to bypass the first fortress. It was under attack by creatures. This was a normal occurrence for the forts but he couldn’t afford to wait for the battle to end. Even if he did, resting here was not an option. If the men following them caught up, they could lay a trap ahead.

He kept moving, pushing through to another exterior path. Cold winds buffeted the ridge he came out to. The area was blanketed with snow and ice, even more than when they had come this way less than a week ago. That didn’t stop him. Ska lept down the mountain, avoiding the road altogether. He was uncomfortable in the cold but it wasn’t enough to stop him.

An angry Tundra Goat bellowed in rage as Ska flew by, chasing him down the mountain. Ska was fine with that. He needed food and water as his stock had run out. Blood would have to substitute.

As soon as Ska landed at the base of the ridge, he activated Redirect Motion, Leap, Violent Slash, Debilitating Strike, and Double Strike all at the same time. His motion flipped one-eighty and he caught the goat by surprise. His attack tore off the front leg and left a long row of bleeding gashes as the beast toppled over.

He rushed back and sank his teeth into the monster, savoring the warm blood as it pumped from the terrified creature's heart. The goat was only level seven and Ska ignored its attempts to get up until his thirst was slaked. He swiped across the bleating creature's throat, finally ending its life.

He tore into the creature, not sparing the time to properly dress or clean the kill. He ripped off the legs, storing them in the ring he had. The rest he left to hopefully draw scavengers or other dangerous creatures to the area. It would hopefully slow the men down again.

“Ska, look out!”

Ska twisted to the side as a blade blurred through the space his head had occupied a few seconds ago. Ska raked his claws across the man's arm as he pulled back, eliciting a grunt of pain.

They had caught up with them, but how?

Ska could only see one of the men, a haze of some ability surrounding him. The two circled each other, while Fiona looked for the second man.

Ska sensed something off, there was no scent, not even from the blood the man should be soaking the ground with. He growled in annoyance.

“You are a false projection,” he spat.

The man didn’t answer, instead, going for a thrust with his sword. Ska could easily dodge the strike and rolled to the side of the figure. When it turned to face him, Ska threw a handful of sand at the man, causing it to flinch involuntarily.

That was all the opening Ska needed. Leap and Double Strike carried him past the man as it faded into dust. His sensitive hearing caught a scream of pain from the top of the cliff though. He spotted both men at the exit of the tunnel, looking towards him and Fiona.

He decided to take a page out of Paul’s playbook and gave the men the finger before bounding off across the valley floor to the next entrance.

There were no more false projections as Ska made it to the next tunnel. He figured there had to be some limitation on the skill or the man would have used it earlier. He figured it was a line of sight ability.

With his shortcut down the mountain, Ska would have a good half day on the men. The trail down the mountain was slippery and treacherous, even with his stats. Even if the men somehow found a way town quicker, Ska knew they couldn’t match his speed. If they could, they would have caught up already. Ska had only done so out of desperation.

He knew the men were strong but not their level. He could have gotten an identify skill as it didn’t take up one of his precious skill slots but he decided against it. He reasoned that if he knew his enemy was stronger, that might lead him to hesitate in battle. That was weakness, and he vowed to not let weakness rule him. If he died, then so be it, it meant his adversary was more skilled than he was.

The two made it to Mid Point after another two days. They only encountered minor creatures, this close to the city. Unfortunately, Ska knew they wouldn’t be able to leave the city. He was exhausted from four and a half days of running and fighting. He couldn’t go another week without rest. Resting inside the city would be safe but leaving the city would end badly once the men caught up, and he knew they would.

Ska and Fiona could only hope that Paul was able to recover from his injuries or gather friends to help and come for them. Until that time came, they would wait within the city.

***

“They made it to the city… what do we do about it?”

“Go in after them. They can’t evade us forever.”

The injured man nodded, his wounds mostly healed by now. Using his soul construct was dangerous but he had almost gotten the kill. If it wasn’t for that damn ghost. Still, they knew how to handle her.

The two men walked down the trail towards the town. The gate was open as people came and went. The immediate area around the town and the large cavern it sat in held many farming plots and animals. Patrols of the filthy mole people were everywhere, making sure no monster attacks occurred but they didn’t range past the cavern. They could set a trap ahead for the two but he was sick of chasing them around and waiting to strike. Instead, they would cause chaos within the city and flush them out.