“Enough patting yourselves on the back,” Zaal said, walking up to the group, towing Basillo, “this mission is not yet over.”

“You mean Azreon hasn’t conquered the Ur by himself yet?” Shaya said, tapping a lip, “How strange, he reported possible contact with it a good two minutes ago.”

A thin smile touched Zaal’s lips, but Basillo looked displeased at her joke.

“That’s your ally you’re making light of,” the armoured man snapped, “show some respect.”

“Respect is earned,” Shaya snapped back and pointed east to the dozens of zombies and spawn they had just destroyed, “his actions thus far call for derision – at best.”

Zaal raised a thin hand to forestall Basillo’s rancor, “Enough. It is not for you to pass judgment, leave that to us.”

That hasn’t worked out for me thus far, she thought.

His eyes narrowed at her, reading her thoughts in her expression.

“Shaya,” he continued, “is your lance capable of moving on to support Azreon’s unit against the Ur?”

“Yes,” she said, then hesitated, “except Bri should be left with the other wounded.”

“What!?” Her friend shouted from nearby, incredulous and blind-sided by Shaya’s decision, “I can still fight!”

“I’m sorry,” Shaya sighed, “but going up against an Ur is dangerous at the best of times. If I take you with us, it might be putting your life at risk, and I won’t do that.”

Bri glared at her, tears in her eyes, jaw flexing with anger, “I want to be there when you finish this.”

“I know,” Shaya said, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. She watched as small nicks on her knuckles knitted shut, realizing that Bari was sustaining her minor regenerative aura for all of them, “I know, I really do, I wish you could be there, but I’m not going to endanger your life.”

“Then...” Bri deflated, casting her eyes to the ground, “then who is going to guard your flank and make sure you don’t endanger your life?”

“I...” Apricot whispered, “I can go with them.”

She stepped forward, almost two feet shorter than Bri and half her weight – an almost ridiculous substitute if not for the magical power Shaya had just witnessed. “I’m a trichromat – Ruby, Amethyst and Sapphire. I... I’m not great as a Ruby mage, but I can do my best to fill her big shoes.”

“As long as its metaphorical, I think you stand a chance,” Shaya smiled at Apricot, earning a half-hearted chuckle from her and Bri.

Bri’s resentment and anger were far from gone, but Shaya would have to worry about making it up to her later. For now, she was the lance’s leader and had to make the hard call. Down an arm and burnt out, it would be irresponsible to ask more of Bri even if she would give it willingly.

“And who will lead your lance in your absence?” Zaal asked of Apricot.

“No one,” Apricot shook her head, looking at her comrades with a sad expression, “they’re exhausted and burnt out – committing them to further action today would be reckless.”

“It looks like they’ve seen more action than most of us,” Shaya agreed.

Zaal nodded, looking thoughtful. “Very well, as commanding officer I accept this recommendation and substitution.”

Bri stiffened and Shaya gave her another reassuring squeeze, “You did amazing today – fought an uphill battle through a lot of pain and saved a lot of lives. Be proud of yourself.”

“Good luck,” Bri stated, voice flat, then shrugged off Shaya’s hand and trudged away from them to where Bari was still treating Una’s troops.

“I’m coming with you too,” Una stated, crossing her arms to make her point.

“No,” Zaal and Shaya said at the same time.

The smaller woman sputtered as she tried glaring at both of them at once, eyes bouncing between them. “Why!?”

“You’re about to fall over,” Cyren said, pointing at his own eye, “You’ve been sustaining an enhance strength spell for so long you probably don’t realize how exhausted you are, or how much you’ve burnt out.”

Zaal nodded, “But mostly, you’re not coming because I said so. Now gather up, we don’t have time to dally. I’ll get your lance into position while Bari and Basillo stay here with the wounded.”

“What if another lance needs immediate assistance?” Samorn asked.

“Then they don’t get any,” Zaal said, looking serious, “which is why we should hurry. I’m teleporting us to Azreon’s totem, be prepared for immediate violence.”

Shaya sighed. She had hoped for a few minutes of rest at least. Whenever they practiced against summoned creatures, they lasted hours – but only with breaks every hour to rest their physical and magical muscles. They had all grown stronger in the past month, but they were still pushing past their limits even with magical aid.

Instead, she cast another death ward as Zaal cast his teleportation spell, just in case their arrival was less than safe. Phaedra’s wings flared outward as Shaya finished the spell, a large shield of light forming over her arm in the shape of the esper’s own kite shield. Her crow landed on her shoulder, giving a pleased caw after gobbling down the last of its treat.

Zaal finished his spell.

She passed through Astoria’s realm in a blink, this time arriving on the other side with minimal disorientation.

Chaos greeted her.

Hot air blasted her group as they appeared, Galo roaring from a few feet away as he and his bull-helmeted brute of an esper unleashed a heavy stream of fire from his maul. The flames washed over enemies in a wide cone as he swept it back and forth, the creatures bracing against the incoming spell and raising their heavy shields before them. Shaya staggered from the sheer heat emanating from the spell, expecting them to turn to dust or burst apart.

Despite the onslaught, the creatures took another step towards the hulking, bronze-skinned brute, then another. The fire swirled and stuttered around their forms, something deflecting or absorbing the magic. Shaya moved towards Galo to get ready to jump in should any of the creatures make it through, but stumbled and almost lost her footing.

She looked down as something moaned at her feet, axe ready to cleave open another skull, but stiffened when she saw one of Azreon’s comrades lying in the muck, bleeding. The open area of the swamp they were in was still covered in water, threatening to drown the wounded as they sunk into the mud.

“Zaal! They have wounded at our feet!” Shaya shouted, regaining her balance, “You have to get them out of here before they drown!”

Shaya’s crow took off into the air, eying the wounded comrades hungrily. It cackled when she scowled at it, climbing higher into the air and circling once again.

Galo sustained his spell, still roaring with rage. His esper roared noiselessly behind him, fire spewing from the brute’s mouth as it poured out of Galo’s hand. Then something shot out of the fire, up and over the maul spewing the flames, and sunk into Galo’s armpit where his bronze platemail was vulnerable. There was a sound of tearing sheet metal as blood spurted out over the weapon, and Shaya remembered that the brute’s bronze skin had some natural resistance to it.

The bull-helmeted esper recoiled more than Galo, seeming to collapse on itself and disappear.

As it disappeared, so too did the stream of fire holding the creatures at bay.

“Oh spit,” Shaya said, moving to Galo’s side as the fleshless creature withdrew its bloody spear.

Three human skeletons stood before her, bones bleached white and points of amethyst light floating where their eyes should be. They bore the typical equipment of an infantryman in the Empire, a long chainmail surcoat, greaves, pavise and spear – all made of iron.

The iron had resisted enough of the magical energy to prevent the skeletons bones from cracking, allowing them to advance through the blaze and still strike at Galo. Shaya analyzed the situation. When the iron pierced Galo, it must have severed his connection to his esper.

Before she could think any further, a spear shot towards her, the thrust made with textbook skill. She deflected it up with her shield then lunged into the creature’s reach to bring her axe down on its less armoured neck. It brought up its own shield to block the blow, preventing her axe from landing with enough force to crush through its chainmail.

“Skeletons!” Ralus called from her other flank, “Elite undead, fast, durable! Destroy the head!”

"I’ll leave this to you then,” Zaal said, voice calm, as he tapped four moaning bodies around them and cast another spell, teleporting him and the four wounded students out of the battle zone.

I’m going to have someone’s head for how poor the intel on this mission was.

“Go!” Shaya ordered her crow, “Distract them!”

It cawed as it circled back towards her, gaining height as it prepared to swoop in.

Galo growled at her, eyes bloodshot as he turned towards her, obsidian beard covered in dried blood and mud. “How dare you interfere with our work!”

“Just let me help you,” Shaya said, parrying another spear while blocking a separate spear thrust, “you dumbass!”

Shaya’s blood boiled at his idiocy, but three skeletons were assaulting the two of them and she couldn’t afford to take her attention off them.