Tala spat out a weird collection of dirt, leaves, and other detritus as she vaulted back to her feet. “You lied to me!”

Rane grinned as he kept his relatively short training-sword up and on guard between them. “How so?”

“You’re better with a bastard-sword, than with a greatsword. Why the rust is your main weapon a greatsword?”

“Better reach? Even this has better reach, though.” He shrugged. “Skill doesn’t come into play as much when fighting beasts, and the greater range is useful. But this?” He nodded her way. “Fighting one on one, skill factors far more.”

Tala pulled a stick from her hair, then hesitated, thinking back to his words. “Wait…what is your best weapon?”

He shrugged again. “The one I learned first was a simple club, so I am most experienced with that, at least time wise. As to my best weapon, skill wise?”

“Yes.” Tala tried not to grit her teeth.

“I think longsword would fit that role.” He shrugged. “Swords bigger than that,” he tapped the bastard-sword, “like this one and Force, just take a bit of modification to the movements and tactics. Give me a shield and I’m even better.” He grinned.

Tala took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She was used to losing, but she’d been getting better, improving her form and technique. “So, you’re still not using your best weapon.”

She’d thought she was catching up to Rane.

She’d been mistaken.

Rane had taken her apart in less than three exchanges in each bout that they’d had that night. More humiliating, however, was that without Force’s magics, a single hit wouldn’t take her down. Rane had to weave around her defenses scoring multiple blows before he could gain an opening through which he could trip her up and knock her to the ground.

“You are getting better.” His tone was sincere enough that she really didn’t have much choice but to believe he was being honest.

Tala sighed. “That’s kind of you to say, but it feels like a lie.”

He shrugged. “Whether or not you believe me, it’s true. You even used that rod to block a couple of my attacks.” His eyes flicked to the tungsten rod, now orbiting Tala in slow, regular circles. “It is disconcerting to have that thing whipping around you.”

Tala had to grin at that. She’d been able to fend him back quite a few times with the unconventional weapon. Without it, the bouts would likely have ended even more quickly. Though, in truth, her use of that extra tool made his victories all the more impressive.

“I have a suggestion, if I may?”

She nodded.

“I think you should practice two-fold. First, we should work with some of the guardsmen who are interested, to fine-tune the movement of your defensive bloodstars through the weapon forms you’re practicing. Then, that placement can become second-nature to you.”

Tala found herself nodding. “We’ll have to modify them again, when I change to more useful items.”

Rane shrugged. “It’ll be good exercise, either way.”

“What’s the second aspect?”

“I think you should defend against me with just the rod. No attacking, just watching for my attacks and blocking them.”

She thought for a long moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I think that makes sense. It will pair well into the first aspect.”

“That was my thinking.” He smiled. “Shall we?”

Tala grinned back. “That sounds great. Thank you.”

* * *

It was the middle of the night, and Tala was keeping herself awake to be alert on watch for the second half of the night.

She’d used a few different things to accomplish that increasingly difficult task.

The first, and most obvious, was a copious amount of coffee. Irritatingly, now whenever she drank coffee, she saw that horrified healer’s face. I’ll cut back soon… when I don’t need to stay awake.

On top of the coffee, she exercised her soul and her magic, alternating and interspersing that with physical exertion to keep herself from falling asleep just because she wasn’t moving enough.

Of course, she kept her fusing progressing in the background. She couldn’t easily tell how much she had left to fuse, but it was less than when she’d started. Obviously.

At the moment, she had expanded her aura in front of herself, covering an almost ten-foot sphere above the wagon-top. Within that sphere, she moved through her soul exercises and used them to manipulate Flow and her tungsten rod in a mock duel.

Flow was in the form of a knife, with the training sheath secured in place.

As the two items clashed, Tala was imagining little figures wielding the small weapons in a death battle. Flow was about to defeat Rod once and for all when something tickled her mage-sight.

Immediately, Flow was in her hand, and her rod was floating behind her, ready to defend. She stood, spinning to face the source of the horribly familiar feeling.

The empowered lights spaced around the caravan’s camp cast a large bubble of light, and at the edge of that light, beside a large trunk, stood a small form made of vegetation.

Oh…rust.

“Leshkin!” Tala hissed out the word with enough force that the guardsmen stationed on watch atop the chuckwagon could easily hear her, without it being a shout that would carry into the woods.

One of the guards looked to her as Tala pointed, using that to orient towards the threat.

An instant later, the twang of a crossbow announced their response.

Only one? She nodded. Right, the lesser only take one.

As the bolt struck home, the tiny creature threw back its head and let out a skin scraping shriek.

The inscription on the quarrel activated, and the Leshkin puffed into a disconnected cloud of leaves, which tumbled aimlessly before settling to the ground.

Silence fell over the clearing as the creature’s scream seemed to echo in Tala’s ears long after the origin of the horrible sound was gone.

Don’t sigh in relief. In the stories, that’s always when the answering cry comes.

One of the guards, Carl, if Tala was seeing and remembering correctly, let out a long breath, and Tala barely was able to hear his words. “That was a close one.”

As if in answer, another screech sounded, off in the forest, then a second a bit further away, then a third farther still.

Tala glared across the distance to the chuckwagon as one of the other guards glared at the offending man. “Rust you, Carl. You just had to say something.”

Well, at least I remembered his name correctly.

Carl hunched his shoulders and grimaced. “Sorry. I was just happy the danger seemed to be past.”

“Never assume the danger is past, Carl…that kills people.”

“Oh, oh, wow, I, uh, I didn’t know that…” He then turned and glared. “Is what I would say if I was a superstitious moron! They were out there before I said anything.”

The other two guards just shook their heads in mock solemnity. “Take responsibility for your actions, Carl.”

Tala barked a laugh, grateful for the breaking of tension. It let her refocus and consider the situation. They likely had incoming enemies. Prep the caravan for danger. “Carl!”

The guard spun her way. “Yes, Mistress!”

“Go wake the other Mages, and a second unit of the guard.”

“Yes, Mistress!” He called back.

Tala checked the time by looking up at a clear patch of sky overhead, towards the east. After a long moment, she grunted and shook her head. I can’t tell anything from that, not at the moment in the least. “Wake the drivers and cooks, too. We might need to depart quickly.”

Another set of screeches sounded to the south and east. They were still a ways off, but if Tala had to bet, she’d say they were closer than before.

She swallowed. “And be quick, please. There’s a good chance that we might be fighting, until we get clear of the forest.”

Carl waved in affirmation as he sprinted across their campsite and bolted through the door into the cargo-slot in which the caravan personnel were sleeping.

Tala topped off all her items, clipped her sheath to her belt, and called out to her friend. “Terry!”

Terry flickered into being beside her, even as she moved to recharge the cargo-slots. Who knows what the morning will bring.

“Leshkin may be incoming. Do you want to wait in the cargo-slot?”

Terry regarded her for a long moment, then shook himself.

That came as quite the surprise to her, and she frowned. “Really? Are you going to fight?”

He shook himself again, then flickered to her shoulder and head bumped her cheek.

She had to grin at him, as she scratched the back of his head. “You just want to watch out for me, eh?”

He trilled happily.

“Thank you, Terry. I’m glad to have you around.”

* * *

Tala was in her element.

Flow moved flawlessly through the undisciplined bunches of lesser Leshkin, always in the form most useful at each given moment. Behind her the caravan retreated at its best pace, making for the edge of the forest, to the north.

Her tungsten instruments foiled enemy lunges with inelegant, choppy motions, but they were effective. Only the metal’s inherent acid resistance kept the two blunt objects useful as they moved around her while she butchered her opponents.

She even used her inside-out star, spoiling her opponent’s steps whenever possible, though it was much less useful in that regard.

She was not practiced in manipulating four bloodstars at a time, so she was bouncing between them as quickly as she could, even while she forced the ending berry power within herself to remain active and at the surface, lessening the injuries she took from claws, teeth, blunt strikes, and acid all. What damage she did take was rapidly healed by her regenerative inscriptions.

Her elk leathers were holding up acceptably, though she was having to top them off a couple of times a minute.

At the moment, the recharging was little more than an occasional, added distraction for her already straining mind.

Difficult as it was, she was loving it.

At her back, a half-unit of guards stood with large shield’s braced and interlocked against the acid splashes her attacks fostered, sending bolt after bolt in a regular cadence into strategically chosen Leshkin, keeping the pressure off of her as best they could.

They were a stalwart sector of calm that allowed Tala to more efficiently focus on the opponents coming at her from every other direction.

Strangely, the monsters didn’t seem interested in getting past Tala, apparently content to throw themselves against her in irregular waves.

A dozen yards to her right and just ahead, Rane fought, supported by the other half of the unit of guards.

The Leshkin would engage with him, but only when he attacked them first. Otherwise, they seemed only intent on getting past him to better surround her.

So, they are most likely after me. Were they sweeping the forest this whole time? Did we just get lucky until tonight?

The sky was lightening towards dawn, so she corrected. Lucky ‘til last night.

The caravan had packed up, geared up, and began its retreat behind their defensive line.

There had been brief talk of pulling everyone in close and having Mistress Odera put up a shield against the Leshkin, but it was agreed that that would not end well.

They had more than a day’s travel left before they exited the forest, and there were far more Leshkin this time, than the two Juggernauts they’d resisted before.

The strain would pop their defenses far before they were in the clear.

So far, most were lessers, but a few warriors and knights were beginning to appear among the weaker foes.

Tala and the rest of the caravan were, effectively, executing a fighting retreat, one step at a time.

A second unit of guards waited a hundred feet back or so, mounted and with spare mounts for all those currently engaged in the active defense. They were also armed with crossbows and shields, though they would have a hard time utilizing the hooks on their belt to re-cock the weapons while on horseback.

The mounted guards also had the standard spears as well, which they would use if they had to act as a relieving force, but that wasn’t their current role.

One of Rane’s guards took an acid splash to the face and fell back, screaming.

Three mounted guards swept forward, one dismounting to take the injured man’s place, while the other two helped that burned man up on the recently vacated horse and rode with him back to the caravan for immediate healing.

Redundancy, and keeping the injured out of the fight. It was a good task for them and kept Tala and Rane from worrying about the mundanes with them. Mistress Odera could have the man back, ready to fight once more, in a matter of minutes.

As she continued to fight, she again noted that there wasn’t an endless, never-ending tide of Leshkin.

They came in groups and packs with seemingly randomly varied spacing, which gave Tala and Rane time to move backwards to keep pace with the retreating wagons.

And while this was absolutely fantastic practice for virtually every one of her techniques, she had a feeling that it was going to be a very long day.

* * *

Tala was exhausted.

Cut, duck, kick a Leshkin back.

Acid rolled across her skin, cutting caustic lines in her elk leathers, even as it repaired itself. Tala maintained two void-channels to the garments, praying that it would be enough to keep them from being overwhelmed.

The caravan was still retreating behind their backs, as monsters swarmed up from the south in an unending tide.

She needed a break, or she was going to make a mistake and be overwhelmed. Thankfully, they’d set up a short command phrase for her to indicate such a need. “Stepping back!”

She’d heard Rane use it several times already, and it worked just as well for her, as it had for him.

The guards behind her surged forward, moving around her to plant their shields between her and the next batch of Leshkin, short swords drawn to replace their crossbows as they hacked the Leshkin back.

Some of the mounted guards came forward to use their spears to reinforce those on the ground.

Tala took deep breaths, using the moment to guzzle the rest of the ending berry juice from her flask, followed by water from her incorporator and jerky straight from Kit.

Terry was perched on the back of the chuckwagon, eyes watching her intently across the distance. He’d not interfered at all throughout the long morning, but there hadn’t been a need.

Now that noon had come and gone, even Tala’s high endurance was reaching its end.

Rane had cycled out a few times already, though he was back in the fight at the moment.

The guard units were switching out every half-hour or so. That let them rest for the majority of the time. Though, that rest included a stint as the mounted backup and another as the crossbowmen on the wagon roofs.

It’s alright for me to take a breather. I’ve earned it; I think.

Tala had been out of the fight for less than a minute, when the Leshkin swept around the guards, ignoring them almost completely to rush at her. The horses of the mounted guards shied back, despite their combat training.

After all, anything gets a bit skittish when a tree comes for it.

Tala grunted around the jerky. Well, that settles it.

There was no longer any doubt that they were targeting her. Even after more than a month, they remember me…

There had been countless paths to go around her and those fighting with her, but the Leshkin had largely ignored the potential.

Now that she wasn’t on the front line, they were bypassing those who were, making it laughably obvious that only their obsession with her was keeping the creatures from catching the caravan.

Tala cursed, swallowing and pulling Flow back into her hands in the form of a glaive to cut across the necks of those rushing her with animalistic intensity.

The jerky lodged in her throat.

Chaos reigned.

Even as Tala gagged on the improperly chewed jerky, her attack killed four Leshkin, but also sent a spray of acid at the backs of the guards who had relieved her.

Their armor protected them to some extent, but the damage was still done.

Tala had to briefly bend over, hacking to clear her throat.

The creatures still facing the guardsmen’s shields were able to batter through the suddenly agonized defenders, and Tala’s desperately needed break became a desperate situation of an entirely different kind.

No. Now able to breathe again, she didn’t let herself freeze as the men and women who’d been fighting beside her were taken to the ground.

Tala lunged forward, accepting slashing cuts to draw closer, slaying as many as she could, while she tried to cover the mere feet between her and the falling guards.

A Leshkin that she couldn’t counter without slowing down latched its wicked fangs into her left shoulder. Its claws sunk into her side and leg as it whipped its head back and forth like a dog with a bone.

Tala screamed in rage and pain as she stretched over and drove Flow down, through the top of its head. As she struck, Flow changed from a knife to a sword, allowing for a strike that she couldn’t have easily accomplished with any other weapon.

With a twist and forwards sweep, Tala ripped the Leshkin open sufficiently to end this vessel’s life.

The thorns of its being still clung to her, making her inscriptions struggle to push out the invading material and close the wounds.

But her mind was on the five figures just before her.

She swept low with her tungsten rod, aiming to knock the Leshkin from atop the bodies on the ground.

She mainly succeeded, though it put a great strain on her soul to do so.

She was scraping the bottom of her reserves.

Putting most of her weight on her uninjured leg, Tala took up a firm stance before the guards on the ground, her every trick coming to bear. Thankfully, both her legs would soon be effectively undamaged.

As a group of Leshkin knights came into view, rushing her, she dropped all three with Crush. It took two rings each. They were blessedly much weaker than the juggernauts that they could meld into.

The warriors were too numerous for her to use that limited casting on them, but she still tried messing with their effective gravity.

She found that reducing their gravity really didn’t do much, as they could use the vegetation in their feet to grip the ground and move with very little difference. It didn’t even take them that much time to adjust.

Making them heavier, however, caused stumbling and eventual destruction, but that took nearly thirty seconds to achieve. So, she targeted those the farthest away, trying to bring them down before they could reinforce those she was actively engaging with Flow and tungsten.

Blessedly, the steady thwack of quarrels into the swarm of Leshkin let her know that she hadn’t been abandoned. Not that they could let me go that easily.

Mistress Odera’s voice came to her, then. “Retreat, Mistress Tala. We must risk a shielded retreat. I am preparing now. Master Rane and his guards are already moving this way.”

Tala glanced down and back at the guards still on the ground. They weren’t moving much, but she could see evidence of life, still, despite the blood and acid liberally speckled around them. You know, some of that is definitely mine… “No, not without them.”

She felt herself settle in, firm in her resolve. I will not leave them behind.