True to Sun’s predictions, our lunar guide was at its zenith as we neared the quest marker. My weak, city dwelling eyes lapped up every scant ray that reflected from the ghostly moon to light our way.

“They don’t seem to worry about their own fires,” I whispered to Sun as the yellow glow appeared through the treeline.

“They know they’re safe. As soon as they sniff danger, they’ll be harder to root out than a Skradbren tick.”

“A what?”

“A Skradbren tick. Nasty little things. They climb into your ear, stick their claws into the meat, then a tiny siphon starts to eat your brain.”

“Holy shit!” I gasped.

“You have to get them quick or you’re done for. Once that syphon is in your head, they release a toxin if threatened.”

My whole body was alive with the feeling of a thousand little legs crawling on my skin. “How do you get them out?”

“You cut them out like our firepit in the mud.”

“Huh?”

“Firstly you dig beneath the ear, like the breather hole. Then you stick a blade up through the gristle inside the ear to block the siphon. That’s the easy bit.”

Even in the white luminescence of the moon I swear I paled further.

“Then you cut the whole area out like our bigger fire hole. Everything goes, the ear, part of the jaw, a section of skull.”

My legs felt like jelly. “And people survive this?”

“Some do. Most don’t. It’s either cut it out and possibly live, or leave it in and die for certain.”

My feeling of being crawled over was joined by the feeling of a thousand insect eyes staring at my pretty ear holes while licking their lips. Or mandibles. Whatever. “Are there any around here?”

“They’re called the Skradbren tick,” she replied as if the answer was so obvious it was punching me in the face.

I held my hands palms up. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”

“Sorry, I forget you’re not a native. The name comes from the area of my homeland where they thrive.”

“How do your people put up with that? I wouldn’t be able to sleep.”

“As long as you wear the special helmets while working in the long grass you’re fine. Some fools get drunk and stagger into danger. They deserve the ear ticks if you ask me.”

“I’ve changed my mind. My offer of help doesn’t extend to Skradbren. I’m telling you this now so there’s no confusion when we hit the town limits and I sit my arse down. Whoever you need to kill can come and fight us away from the ticks.”

Sun chuckled quietly. “For someone who took on two orc raiding parties and a warg pack, you’re awfully squeamish about bugs.”

“Don’t even say the word,” I replied with a shudder. “What’s the next move?”

“We move closer and see what’s happening,” she replied, crouching low.

I followed her well placed footsteps that didn’t bring with them a snap of a twig or the crunch of leaves. It was as if she walked on the very air itself. We found a dense thicket of thorny bushes and stared out between the tightly packed leaves. A pair of fires were blazing in the clearing. One was being used to prepare a meal, the blackened cookpot hanging from a set of tightly bound branches that formed a triangular frame over the fire. The second was for heat and light, not that the evening called for it; the temperature was positively balmy. One man stirred the food, while four more drank and laughed around the dancing flames. They were still clad in their armour from the battle of Whitespear, but it was in a worsening state of repair. Rust had begin to taint the steel plates with flecks of orange. Some of the armour was dented or cleaved from fighting. Apart from superficial wounds, none of the men looked to be in a very bad way physically. I’ll admit I was hoping for a bunch of heavily injured troops that would be overjoyed to see us and beg our aid. These guys looked like they were still ready for a brawl.

I nudged Sun. “What do you think?”

“I’m not sure,” she whispered. “I see no clues as to their nature. They look like… well, soldiers.”

I checked the minimap and their icons were yellow indicating they were currently neutral. My fog of war cut off a short distance inside the cave system at their backs, but I could see at least two more life-signs glowing within.

“I guess we just lay low until we can make a plan,” I whispered. “If they go inside, I could always try to sneak in and see what they’re up to in there.”

“Or you can go and talk to them.”

“I… what? Are you serious?”

“Gods, send me an ear tick,” she muttered. “Of course I wasn’t serious.”

“We need to work on our communication,” I replied. “My sarco-meter is broken at the moment.”

“Your what?”

“Never mind. My point is I’m taking your lead here.”

“We’ll just lay low for a while. We can listen to them brag as they get more drunk. Ale has a way of loosening lips in ways torture doesn’t.”

“I told you torture was useless! You should’ve just given me some strawberry daiquiris and I’d have told you everything.”

“What’s a strawberry daiquiri?”

“I have no idea. I heard it in a film once. It’s a type of alcohol.”

“Ahh,” she replied, returning to her vigil. Her hand shot out and clamped around the back of my neck. “Look!” she hissed.

Any question of their chances at redemption disappeared as a procession of three bound women were dragged from the treeline across the clearing. They were all filthy, their clothes torn by the unforgiving journey. A string of nooses hung from one to the next to make sure they all stayed in line. The soldier guiding them yanked on it and laughed. I noticed they were hardly even women. If any of them were over sixteen I’d have been surprised. Their bloodied, shoeless feet left wet patches in the dirt as they hobbled after the captor in agony. The fireside soldiers whistled appreciatively and one tossed the contents of his ale mug at the cowering victims. The soldier dragged the terrified girls roughly into the cave system where their icons slowly vanished into the fog of war.

I could feel my teeth grinding so hard my jaw ached. “They’re dead men.”

Sun smiled in the shadows at my side. “I was right about you.”

“About me getting you killed? Probably.”

Every inch of me was aching to maim. In my own world I’d done what most people did when they saw abuse and violence; I tried to pretend it wasn’t happening. Who could honestly say they haven’t witnessed an argument between partners where the woman shrunk away from a raised fist. Or the old gent being abused by a gang of youths who pushed and mocked. Or a person in my predicament outside the pub, having the shit kicked out of them by a group of thugs. We all turn away because we don’t want their attention. We pray that their viciousness would be sated and we could go about our own day unhindered. Forget the fact that the woman would likely get beaten far worse at home. That the old guy would one day have his stick kicked out from under his frail arm and he would break a bone on the pavement. Or the unlucky punter being used as a football would suffer a bleed on the brain and be a vegetable or worse.

No more.

My own beating while I worked the doors had been bad.

The agony that I’d endured in the tutorial had been soul cleansing, like a baptism of fire. Only death was worse, and I wouldn’t know about it anyway. My only fear now was the cost I had no control over. I tensed, ready for the fight.

“Wait,” whispered Sun, holding me down. “I’ve got an idea. There’s nothing we can do about the men inside the cave, but the ones outside?”

“I’m listening,” I replied.

“I’m going to provide a distraction. When I show myself, sneak out into the clearing. Wait until they are right on top of me before you act.”

“Ok. Be careful.”

Sun disappeared like a wraith into the darkness. I equipped my flail and waited, checking out our enemies.

Name – Dawnstar Deserter (Lvl 5) (Drunk)

Description – Soldiers who have relinquished their vows to honour. Skulking in the wilderness, hoping to evade the search parties and their just punishments.

Weakness – Poison Elemental

Immunities – None

They hadn’t been doing much skulking if the newly arrived girls and the loot scattered all over the ground was anything to go by. These bastards had taken full advantage of the distraction posed by the Gutrender forces. My suspicion was that they were in league with the greenskins, otherwise they would be far more cautious in making their presence known with the light and noise.

“Ho, travellers!” Sun called from across the clearing. She stepped out from the trees, her hands raised. “Might I share your fire and food? I have coin to pay.”

The soldiers leapt to their feet, swords in hand. They might’ve been wasted, but they were still a threat. Their eyes scanned the undergrowth for more people as they converged on her. I waited impatiently for them to focus their full attention on Sun.

“What are you doing out here, barbarian bitch?” snapped the leader.

“That’s no way to speak to a weary hunter who only seeks company and a full belly.”

“Oh, we’ll fill your belly alright. Don’t you worry about that.”

The soldiers all chuckled as they surrounded her.

“Where are your weapons if you’re a hunter?” demanded the man.

“In the forest a ways back. It’s not polite to approach armed men while carrying my bow. Especially when all I want is to be a friend. I can go and get them now that we’ve been introduced?” Sun dropped her hands and made to walk back into the trees.

“Ah, ah, ah,” warned the leader, holding a blade to her throat. “You’ve got us to keep you safe now. There’s no need for bows and arrows. All we ask is that you pay for our protection.”

Sun was playing it as dumb as a bunch of rocks and withdrew her coin purse. Her attempt to walk away had the effect of turning the men’s backs to the fire and I took my chance. The men were all laughing darkly as she ferreted in the leather pouch for some coppers. Their numbers and weapons had given them an undue sense of superiority. Sun must’ve seen me coming but gave no outward sign as I neared. Making a show of ‘accidentally’ dropping her money, the men were distracted, bending down to retrieve the money. I took the final five paces and wound up my arm.

“Now!” Sun spat, summoning her axes.

I whirled my flail overhead, catching one of the crouching soldiers in the spine. Bones crunched and he crashed face first into the dirt. Sun swung her arms in a wide arc, catching two of the men in the neck. Not quite decapitated, they collapsed to the ground, blood spraying from the horrific wounds. The chef was the least drunk of the five and made a break for the cave. Sun’s eyes blazed to life and Bolt appeared directly in his path. Slamming into my horse’s rear end, the man stopped dead. Bolt whinnied and kicked, sending him flying back towards us with crushed ribs. The leader was running drunkenly for the safety of the forest, gibbering about forgiveness. Whipping her arm back, Sun let fly with one of her axes. The crimson coated blade buried itself in his back with a wet thud. He staggered forward a few steps coughing up blood, then collapsed in a heap.

“Finish them off,” Sun whispered, moving to the cave mouth.

I’d kept a wary eye on the two figures on the minimap. Neither was moving to investigate the noises from outside, so they were probably asleep or unconscious from drink. I surveyed the pitiable figures in the dust. They were murdering rapists, but I still hesitated as I looked down on the men. I imagined their parents. Their siblings. Their wives and children. Then the image of the noosed girls smashed through the façade I was building. What about their parents and siblings?

The lull in battle gave me time to think. Fishing out my coward’s dagger, I coated the blade in spider sac venom. I finished the man I’d crippled with a single strike to the back of his neck and moved on to the soldier who writhed on the ground, clutching his ruined chest.

“How many of you are in there?” I demanded, kneeling at his side.

“An… army…” he choked. Trying to laugh, his breathing was a wet gurgle.

The fact his pained face held no remorse made my job far easier. I slipped the blade between his ribs, piercing the heart before the debuff could activate. My weapon augmentation skill pinged in my mind.

“Help me move the bodies!” Sun urged as she returned. “We still have the element of surprise.”

Our strength was amplified by our stat points and we each dragged two corpses into the trees. I moved the fifth while Sun calmed the unhappy Bolt who was still a little skittish from the impact. Rubbing his neck to sooth him, Sun then slipped him into her pack. Together we scuffed at the dusty soil to cover up the spilled blood. It was unlikely any of the soldiers were still abroad in the night, but it paid to be cautious. I looked at our effort. It wasn’t perfect, simply passable, especially with all the wet patches from spilled ale.

“What now?” I asked.

“We kill the fires and think,” she replied, nodding at the nearby barrels.

Ale sloshed from the tapped holes into our mugs. Drenching the wood and glowing embers, we were rewarded with a crackling hiss. Heady, fragrant smoke plumed in the night as we banished the light completely.

We’d been blessed with an unwary, drunken foe for the first attack. As soon as we set foot in the tunnels we were in their world. The traps alone would mean we had to move with excessive caution.

I joined Sun at the cave mouth as she listened. “Anything?”

She shook her head.

“I vote we move straight in. There’s no telling what those bastards are doing to the girls.”

“It’s probably too late, but I’ll follow your lead this time.”

“Have faith, Sun. The good guys are here!” I exclaimed. The hidden bodies nearby wiped away the stupid grin I was wearing. I was a killer now. A murderer. “Let’s move.”