Forty six pounds of pissed off coyote slammed into Meg's chest and drove her to the ground. Her head smacked off the ground and a ragged red -3 stained the sand beneath her. The coyote bared her teeth and snapped down at Meg's throat. Forty two sharp teeth scraped across her scales, struggling to slip into the meat and veins that hid below.

Meg grit her teeth and reached for the coyote's head with her claws. The coyote sprang off her chest and landed a few feet away. Meg groaned and rolled onto her side. Her head shifted up and down, rocking like a drunk on a boat. The coyote dug her back legs in and leapt forward. Moonlight glistened off her teeth and spit and Meg stared into her deadly jaws and laughed.

Old instincts kicked in. She jerked her body to the right, rolling out of the coyote's way. She heard more screams and a flash of lightning split the sky. Shaynala's sword whined with ghastly pleasure and in the distance she heard a yelp to accompany it.

The coyote leapt again and Meg lunged to her feet. She drew in a deep breath and called on the fire burning in her belly and blew out a gout of flame. The coyote dove through it and landed on her side in the sand.

COYOTE VANQUISHED:

+20xp

She clawed at the ground, panting and whining. Dark blood poured out of her face and chest. The air was thick with burnt hair and roasted flesh. Meg's stomach rolled and crashed and she bent forward and puked on the ground in front of the coyote.

The coyote twitched and groaned, slowly reverting back to a human woman. Meg took one look at the smoldering red slop sliding off the woman's skull and barfed again. Her hands trembled and her knees buckled. At long last the woman stopped whining and faded from the world.

Meg didn't notice. Her mind was reeling back into the blood soaked nightmares of her past. She smelled fire and rot, the acrid stench of snake venom and emptied bowels. Her ears rang with the screams of guild mates as they were torn in half by trolls and crushed by traps.

She couldn't hear the woman die. She couldn't hear the scream of another coyote or the sound of it's paws slapping against the sand as it ran at her.

"Meg, move!"

Bruce's voice punched through her memories and she snapped back to the world. She heard the coyote and turned sharply. She brought her tail up and around. Her tail spikes whistled through the air. Lightning flashed and somewhere on the other side of the frightened camels she heard another coyote die.

As Meg finished her spin the spikes on her tail collided with the soft flesh of the second coyote and the beast dropped to the ground with two round holes in its side. Dark blood seeped out of his wounds and stained his auburn fur. He stumbled and bared his teeth.

Meg crouched low and assumed the low stance of Zhua Gou. In the back of her mind she saw the melted flesh of the woman's face sliding off the bone and her stomach churned. The coyote moved in a slow circle. His eyes were locked on her. Frothy white saliva pooled around his teeth and dripped down to the sand in slow motion.

"You can walk away from this," Meg said. "I'm sorry about your friend. I don't want to hurt you."

The coyote snarled and gnashed his teeth. "DIE!"

He cut to the right and loped forward, building speed, as he charged her flank, only to cut left at the last minute. Meg reached for him, on the edge of using her throw, and the coyote slid through her hands and sank his teeth into her thigh.

The natural armor of her scales resisted and failed. Forty two teeth sank into her flesh and opened her veins. A quivering sensation of heat throbbed through her leg. She thought she had pissed herself. And then a bloody -5 floated out from between the coyotes teeth and she understood.

A small red blood drop appeared in the right hand corner of her view. The BLEEDING EFFECT. Meg clenched her teeth and willed herself to relax. She had lost a total of 8 hit points since the fight had started. That left her with 6hp and she would lose 2 more for every minute she didn't stop the bleeding.

"I don't want to kill you!" Meg said.

She grabbed the coyote at the base of his neck and dug her claws into his skin. He growled and shook his head. Another -2 spilled out of her and she winced.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Meg pressed her thumbs into his ears and pressed her claws into the inner workings of his ears. The coyote growled and yelped but didn't let go. Tears welled in her eyes. She didn't want to kill anymore but she didn't want to die either.

So what? She thought. It's just xp. I can get it back.

Meg withdrew her claws and took a deep breath. She felt faint. Warm and floating. A ship without an anchor. There was always a way to win. All she had to do was think then act.

Animals were just like humans. They had a built in safety device that for the most part wouldn't allow them to put themselves at too great a risk. Like the little voice telling you don't pull out in front of that truck, your car isn't fast enough.

Meg thought of this and bent over. She stretched as far as she could and grabbed the coyote by the back left ankle. She squeezed tight and pulled back. The leg rose and strained and then she heard a dull click and snap and the coyote's jaws loosened and the beast tripped and fell.

COYOTE VANQUISHED:

+20xp

+5 HAND TO HAND

His rear leg dangled uselessly. His tendons torn. His bones broken. His hip dislocated. Meg stumbled back and brought up her spell log and cast CURING BREATH on her open wound.

She took a deep breath and exhaled the magic onto the puncture marks in her thigh. The wound burned for a second then quivered and stitched itself together until only the dried blood remained on her blue scales. A surge of energy rushed through her leg and she burped out a lovely blue +4hp.

+5xp SORCERY

The broken coyote whimpered and crawled away from her. He cast furtive glances at her as he crawled. She started to follow but hesitated. The others were still fighting for their lives. She could hear snarling and biting, spells going off and screams over the whining of Shaynala's scimitar.

She turned away from the broken coyote and looked around. Surprisingly the camels had not run. They stood clumped together in a small knot and bellowed their distress to each other. One of them farted.

She couldn't see Bruce through them or Shaynala but she could see Master Leroy and the three coyotes circling him. She checked her hp. She couldn't afford to take too many hits. He was probably alright. But if they all inflicted BLEEDING they could bring him down.

Meg saw the bandit leader's turtle shell shield tied down to a camel and ran for it. She cut through the rope in one swipe and caught the shield as it slid off. She slid her hand into the leather straps on the inside of the shield and tightened them. She tried not to think about what had happened to the turtle who had originally worn the shield.

Meg stepped away from the camel and gave the shield a swing. It was surprisingly light and although her class wasn't proficient with shields she knew she could make it work. Meg wiggled her fingers and got a good grip on the strap and chose a large rust colored coyote with a white tipped tail as her target.

The coyote crouched and stalked toward Master Leroy while his companions distracted him. His back was to Meg and she power walked as quietly as possible until she was three feet away from him.

+3xp STEALTH

In mid step Meg broke into a run and slammed into the back of the coyote. He yelped and whirled and she swung again. The edge of the shield caught him on the tip of his snout and he yelped and jumped to the side. Meg shifted her weight as he lunged and brought the shield out. Instead of waiting for his weight to hit her she shoved her own body forward and drove the shield into the coyote's face. A bloody -2 splashed over the edges of the shield and the coyote collapsed to the ground.

He pushed himself up on all fours and shook his head. Meg squeezed the strap, wishing she had taken off her pack, and charged. The coyote circled around her and moved in for the back of her leg. She spun and brought the shield down on its head. She heard another yelp and put some distance between them.

"We're kicking your ass," Meg said. "Get out of here."

The coyote growled in response and began to circle her. She stood in place and rotated to match the coyote's path. The sounds of battle were quieting. She hoped they were winning. The coyote stopped and glared. Meg glared back.

"I can do this all day," she said.

The coyote sneered and hunched down to the ground and gagged. At first she thought it might be some trick or another of Bruce's runes gone wrong. The coyote gagged and heaved and then in the darkness of his mouth a glowing ball of molten orange rolled up his throat and filled his mouth with a beacon of light.

"What the?"

The coyote lurched to his feet and snapped his head up and lobbed the molten ball at her. She raised the shield and braced her legs. The ball hammered into the shield and sent her sprawling. She heard steam and sizzling and realized the spell was eating through her shield. She tore at the straps and tossed the smoldering shield aside.

The coyote leapt through the air and landed with all four legs on her chest. The blow knocked the wind out of her and she wheezed helplessly. The coyote's mouth opened. Spittle dripped down onto her face. It stank of old meat and bad teeth. The coyote's mouth plunged down at her throat.

I'm getting tired of this, she thought.

Fighting to breathe Meg clenched her glutes and swung her tail up between her legs. It was an awkward clumsy blow but her tail spikes punched through the thin fur and hard muscle of his back and lodged deep between the vertebrae of his spine. He coughed and spat. His back legs went out from under him and he twisted to see what had caused his sudden ineptitude.

Meg bucked her hips and rolled. The coyote rolled with her, suddenly flung from her tail, and came to a halt a few feet away. His fur rippled and shimmered and in the blink of an eye he was a man again.

Coyote Vanquished:

+20xp

The man pushed himself up but he couldn't get his legs underneath him. He collapsed with a grunt and rolled on his side. Looked confused at his legs then glared at her.

"Finish me!" He growled.

"No," Meg said.

"I can't live like this," he whimpered. "they'll kill me."

Meg looked at his legs and the blood pooling beneath him. "I'll heal you," she said.

She stepped forward and he threw out his hand. "Stay back," he said.

Meg kept walking. "Don't be stupid," she said. "I'm not going to have your death on my conscience."

"You don't understand!" He said.

"I know it isn't ideal but you can still have a good life. No wait!"

The man contorted his fingers in an arcane pattern, bending and dancing as he made the shapes of invisible runes. She ran forward and called on her magic. She wasn't fast enough.

The man finished his spell and placed his hand over his own face. Torrents of steam wriggled off his hand and his mouth stretched open with a horrid scream. Beneath his hand his skin bubbled and popped and melted. Globs of skin dripped to the ground and hissed as they touched the sand. Meg shut her eyes and turned away before she could see another nightmare.

Why did everything have to be so damn bloody? Why couldn't she have fallen in love with a farming simulator or one of those super dramatic dating sims? She was so sick and tired of seeing the broken mangled bodies when she closed her eyes. And worst of all she couldn't do anything about it.

"Meg are you hurt?"

Without opening her eyes Meg clenched her fists and trembled. "I swear if you're another coyote I am going to shame you so hard you're going to feel like you're in high school."

"Negative mozzarella Meg."

Warm hands settled on her shoulders and she forced her eyes open. Bruce stood in front of her, sweat across his perfect furrowed brow. How could he be so handsome after something so ugly had occurred?

"Are you okay?" He said. "you're shaking."

"I didn't want to kill them," she said. "I couldn't help it. It was a reflex. I burned the first one and her face fell off. Then I paralyzed the other and he burned his own face off. I'm going to be sick."

Bruce turned her around and rubbed her back as she emptied the rest of her stomach in the sand.

"I was going to heal him but he wouldn't let me," she said. "why wouldn't he let me?"

"Meg it wasn't your, watch my shoes, it wasn't your fault. They couldn't allow themselves to be captured. It's part of their code."

Meg dropped to her knees and struggled to get control of herself. She remembered the mozzarella fantasy and the sultry silly image soured as it merged with the sight of melted flesh oozing and dripping down to reveal the white skull beneath.

"I saw her face slide right off," she said. "why can't I remember her eyes?"

Bruce dropped to his knees next to her and pulled her into his chest. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. She took comfort in his musk and focused on the steady pumping of his heart.

She fought the images in her head back. Beat it with a club and buried it in a shallow grave. Out of sight. Out of mind. Until the time when something would wander by and dig them up again.

"I should have seen it sooner," she whispered.

"Trust me when I say you couldn't have known," he said. "the fact that you figured it out when you did is miraculous. It gave us a fighting chance."

"What are you talking about?" Meg said.

Bruce sighed and held her a little tighter as if he was afraid she'd pull away. "It's complicated," he said.

"Well uncomplicate it," Meg replied. "you're talking like you know them."

"I've never met them," he said. "but I've heard rumors. Stories about them from some of the less savory characters my father does business with."

"I don't understand," she said.

"Is she okay?" Shaynala said?

"A little shaken up" Bruce said. "but I think she will recover."

Master Leroy strode up beside Shaynala and looked at the bodies of their attackers. "Were they part of that bandit outfit?" He said.

"If they were why would they wait so long to fight us?" Shaynala said.

"Maybe they were afraid of a frontal assault," Master Leroy said. "I'm still a little confused as to what happened. Nine tails of the fox, where is the woman?"

"I don't know," Meg said. "she was with us when we left camp but somehow they swapped her out while we marched."

"That poor woman," Master Leroy said. "to have survived so much only to die at the hands of these shapeshifters. It makes my blood boil."

Meg pulled up her quest log. The quest was still active. Either she would fail it once she got to the watering hole or the woman was still alive.

"I don't know if she's alive or dead," Meg said. "but I left one alive with a broken leg. We can ask him."

"He has probably killed himself by now," Bruce said.

"One of mine cut their own throat after I pulverized their knee caps," Master Leroy said.

"Odd behavior for bandits," Shaynala said.

"They aren't bandits," Bruce said. "if they are who I think they are then they're assassins."

The meat math replayed through her head. Meg searched her lover's face for some clue but saw nothing. "You're not from here," Meg said. "how do you know about a group of shapeshifting assassins?"

"I told you. I heard stories about them from my father's business partners."

"I've lived here my entire life and have never heard of such a group," Shaynala said.

"Nor have I," Master Leroy said.

Bruce frowned. "They aren't from the desert. They travel around. If you know the right people you can hire them. They'll kill anyone or anything except for the emperor. But that's only because he's a good client."

Meg crossed her arms and stared at him but he wouldn't meet her eyes. She was partially grateful for that.

"Do you know the right people?" Meg said.

"I've never hired them if that's what your asking," he said. "but yes I know people who know people who could get word to them. I might be wrong though. They could be a weird cult."

"My scimitar is bored," Shayanal said, staring wantonly at her sword. "let's question the pup if he still lives."

"I'll do the talking," Meg said.

"And I will do the threatening," Shaynala said.

Meg glanced at Master Leroy and said "keep an eye on her."

The lone survivor of the coyotes was easy to track. He had hobbled away in animal form for several feet and reverted back to a man. His footprints in the sand headed back towards the hill and Meg didn't need Shaynala's keen eye to tell her he was limping and dragging his ruined leg behind him.

When they caught up to him he was face down on the sand. His eyes were shut. His knuckles bone white as he squeezed his hands into fists. He rolled onto his side as they approached and tried to drag himself away.

"I am beaten, show mercy!"

"We will," Meg said. "answer our questions and we'll let you run off into the desert."

"Play games with us and I'll hack off your feet and stuff them up your ass," Shaynala said.

"Easy there murder momma," Meg said.

The injured man gave up crawling and flopped over onto his back. Like the others who had reverted he was completely naked and Meg saw every inch of his smooth stocky body and concluded that he had nothing to worry about in the looks department. Not her type but he had a certain rugged appeal about him. Like a pirate or a lumberjack.

"My eyes are up here," he said.

Meg blushed and pulled her gaze further north. "We need to know what happened to our friend."

"What about my friends?" He replied.

"All dead," Shaynala said. "are you in a hurry to join them?"

The man clenched his jaw and with great force he exhaled. The hint of resistance in his eyes cleared and he looked small and defeated. As broken as his leg.

"No. Truth be told I haven't been with them very long."

"Is that why you didn't kill yourself?" Master Leroy said.

He nodded. "If I tell you about your friend will you promise to let me go?"

"I'll even heal you," Meg said.

"We shouldn't be too hasty," Bruce said. "he did try to kill us."

"You have my word," Meg said. "On our honor we will not harm you."

"Thank you," the man said. "your friend was taken to the watering hole up ahead. She's a hostage in case we failed."

"How many are with her?" Meg said.

"Our leaders," he said. "Chen Daiyu and her husband Chen Hao."

"Are they strong?" Meg said.

The man laughed but stopped abruptly and grabbed at his leg. "A lot stronger than the eight of us."

"Are they fighters or magic users?" Meg said.

"Daiyu uses magic and Hao uses a glave," he said. "you don't stand a chance."

"I severely doubt that," Shaynala said.

"I'm telling you guys they're deadly," he said. "your best bet is to trade him for the woman and hope they're in a good mood.

Meg followed his shaking gaze over to Bruce. He had turned his back on the group and was standing rigid as if he'd been petrified.

"What do you mean?" Meg said. "why do they want Bruce?"

"We're supposed to bring him back to Yueliang City. That's all I know. I'm a new addition to the group. Thought I was hot shit. Look at me now."

"Bruce, what is he talking about?" Meg said.

Without turning around Bruce said. "My father must have sent them. Guess I made a bigger impression than I thought."

"Why would your father send killers to retrieve you?" Master Leroy said.

"The only thing my father cares about is his bottom line," Bruce said. "I hurt it and now he seeks to make an example of me."

"I'm going to need more than that," Meg said.

"That's all you're getting," he said.

"I think you owe me an explanation," she said.

"I don't," Bruce said.

Meg frowned and folded her arms. She had half a mind to spin him around and throw him over her hip. But that wouldn't solve anything. She could pry the information out of him later. Right now she had to get the Zhanglao woman back.

"Do your leaders have any weaknesses?" She said.

"None that I've seen," he said. "they fight dirty but they don't need their tricks to win."

"I get it, they're grade A badasses. Can you think of anything that would give us an advantage?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter if you beat them. The organization will send more people until the contract is up."

"Exactly who are we dealing with here?"

"They're called the Anjing De Dao," he said. "please my leg is killing me."

“The Quiet Knife,” Master Leroy said. "sounds spooky."

Bruce turned around and walked over to the man. "How do we know you won't double back and attack us?" He said.

"On my honor I will run as fast as I can. You will never see me again," he said.

"The honor of an assassin? What good is that?" Bruce said.

"It's enough for me," Meg said.

"It gives me worry," Master Leroy said. "to have an enemy at my back."

"I don't think he's much of a threat anymore."

"We are not fighting in a dojo," Master Leroy said. "on the battlefield mercy can kill you as quick as any sword."

"It isn't up for debate." Meg pushed Bruce aside and cast CURING BREATH on his leg

She cast it twice and sat down in the sand panting. The man groaned and leaned back as bones fused, tendons reattached and his hip slid into place. It wasn't perfect. She could tell just from looking at him that he would walk with a limp for the rest of his life. But at least she wouldn't dream of his bloated corpse every night. She only hoped she wouldn't come to regret it.

"Thank you," he said.

Meg glared at him and slapped the ground with her tail. "Get out of here," she said. "if I ever see you again I'll turn you into an umbrella! Go!"

The man scrambled to his feet and hobbled away from them. She watched him struggle all the way into the hills and then she turned her attention to the task at hand. An hour or two away from their position were two killers waiting for them. Waiting for Bruce. And they had the Zhanglao woman with them. There wasn't much choice. They all needed the water and she couldn't trade Bruce for the woman. She couldn't abandon the woman either.

Meg balled her hands into a fist and glared at it. Inside she was awash with frustration and helplessness. She needed to know more about her enemies but it was impossible. All she could do was confront them and hope she was good enough to out maneuver them in the moment. And somehow she’d have to do it without killing them.