“What’s this about?” Bud asked.

The five of them were gathered in Hump’s room, Marcela’s party waiting for them downstairs. While they hadn’t known Emilia long, Hump didn’t think it would be fair to exclude her from something that might put her in danger. It wouldn’t be the whole truth, but it was the most he was willing to part with.

Hump sighed. “To put it simply, I think the dungeon core tried to corrupt me last night.”

Bud and Emilia both stared at him.

“I don’t understand,” Emilia said. “I didn’t know that was something to be on guard about.”

“Hump’s circumstances are…” Celaine paused. “Difficult.”

Emilia gave her a confused look. “Difficult how?”

“You know a little of our quest in Fishers Lake,” Hump said.

Emilia nodded.

“There were some details we left out. Details that I’d prefer didn’t get out, but that may impact you if you remain in our party. We didn’t just fight spirits in Fishers Lake. We fought a creature from another realm known as a gorger. A specialist in soul manipulation, and a creature that held me prisoner for roughly a month, and during that time attempted to break my soul.”

Emilia’s eyes went wide. “Gods above. There was mention of people trapped in another realm, but it was just a rumour of a rumour. I had no idea. How did you survive?”

Hump told her the story. How he’d desperately struggled against the gorger, eventually breaking free. About rescuing Lucile and finally escaping back through the rift.

“Which leads me onto last night,” Hump said. “I believe that the dungeon’s essence somehow infiltrated my soul yesterday. I dreamt of it last night. It tried to seduce me with its power, and I’m concerned what the gorger did to me may have something to do with it.”

“Soul damage,” Emilia stated, coming to a conclusion obvious to any knowledgeable practitioner, and something all feared. “Shit.” She blushed, glancing at Bud. “Excuse me. That was distasteful.”

Hump snorted. “It is pretty shit.” She smiled, and he continued. “The point is, if it got to me beyond the forest, there’s a chance it will try again. I want you all to be ready for it.”

“How are you sure this was more than just a dream?” Bud asked.

“I woke up suffering from essence overuse, and I could still feel dungeon essence in the room. On top of that, I seem to have discovered a new spell when escaping my nightmare.”

“I see.” Bud scratched his chin. “In which case, what should we be on the lookout for?”

Hump shrugged. “If I start using magic without explanation, that’s a start.”

“Hump suddenly attacking us will be a pretty big tell,” Celaine said.

“Or laughing maniacally,” Dylan added.

Hump smiled. “Whatever the case, I just wanted you all to be ready.” He looked at Emilia. “I know this might make our party seem off-putting, but this wasn’t something I wanted to share.”

“I appreciate you including me,” Emilia said. “I also think I understand something about this party a little more now.”

They all looked at her curiously.

“What’s that?” Dylan asked.

“It’s extremely unusual to find a wizard leading a party,” Emilia said. “Especially one as young and as lacking in credentials as Hump—no offence.”

“None taken. Can’t argue with that.”

“Well, it seems a little clearer to me now,” she continued. “To endure all that and come out alive and sane… your resolve must be absolute. As a fellow practitioner, there are few things I respect more. I see why the others follow you.”

Hump blinked in surprise, a part of him forgetting he was speaking to a martial here. While her specialty lay in internal techniques, many of the same lessons applied.

“So you won’t be leaving us then?” Celaine asked.

Emilia smiled and shook her head. “Not unless you ask me to.”

“Thanks,” Hump said finally. “Really. I’m glad to have you on the team, Emilia.”

She grinned. “I’m glad to be here. So… shall we get out there and kill some monsters?”

***

Hump sat on the forest floor and practiced the River and Waves technique as his master had so often taught him. He could sense the dungeon essence in the air and used the quiet moments as an opportunity to become more used to it. Well, not exactly quiet, but Hump had acclimatised to the constant hammering as the villagers worked the hornbeam farm with hammer and chisel.

He opened his eyes when he heard the crunch of stone leaves nearby, like broken glass underfoot. Nearby, Emilia and Bud stopped sparring and Dylan jumped down from the tree branch he’d been keeping watch from.

“A few more hammertooths to the west,” Marcela said, leading her party back through the trees. “We followed the stream a good few miles before they attacked us.”

“Stupid beasts,” Matthius scoffed. His axe was still bloody.

“Stupid and weak,” Len added. “Why the guild thought they needed four parties stationed here is beyond me.”

“Field experience,” Marcela said.

Hump knew the real reason. Len’s family was just about important enough to keep their son out of any real danger, and he was lucky enough to be in the same party as Countess Daston’s daughter. This was a chance to train in relative safety. And at least in Hump’s opinion, it was good training at that.

They’d spent the past few days doing multiple trips into Stonebark Forest, some alone, but often with Marcela and the other parties, taking turns to protect the villagers working the hornbeam farms while the other party patrolled. They’d fought more hammertooths, stonepeckers, the odd boulder boar, and even a juvenile stonetusk. All of them corrupted, their bodies touched by dungeon essence making them inedible. Nothing particularly dangerous, but frequent fights were the perfect opportunity for training.

“It’s been quiet here too,” Hump said, moving on from Len’s comment. He didn’t like the sorcerer—the man was arrogant and looked down on the people they were protecting. “Celaine’s still scouting, but today’s looking quiet, at least.”

Marcela put her hands on her hips and looked over at the villagers at work, a small smile on her face. “Good. We need to take advantage of days like this while we’ve got them.”

One thing had become clear to all of them since arriving at the villages—these people weren’t just at risk of monsters. Famine was a lingering threat. With the winter already growing cold, and food shortages across the entire region, there was little but the starchy heart of the hornbeam for nourishment. If Hump and the others didn’t secure their farms and livelihoods, many would not survive the winter, whether or not a dungeon was on their doorstep. Even in their small section of Stonebark, it was no simple problem to solve. Even with four parties to share the load, protecting the villagers as they harvested had its risks.

The expedition had begun in earnest now. The sounds of distant fighting were a common occurrence during their patrols, and it was only a matter of time before it drove monsters outward in their search for food and safety. They’d already witnessed the strength of a small group of hammertooths, it was hard to imagine the devastation a horde of them might bring.

Hump heard crunching nearby and turned to see Celaine walking out of the trees, a deer carcass on her back that was nearly twice the size of her. She heaved it to the ground with a thump and slumped back against a tree to catch her breath.

Looking up, she frowned at them. “What? I stumbled upon it while out, so I thought I’d bring it back.”

“Good gods, girl,” Harlow said. “What did your mother feed you? That’s a silverback deer. It must weigh nearly a ton!”

Celaine shrugged. “Feel free to help get it back to the village.” She looked at the rest of them. “I found something, by the way. There’s a tall hill with a clearing at the top and a decent view of what I’m guessing is the expedition. You can make out the light of essence through the trees.”

“Can you show us?” Marcela asked.

“It’s quite a way across the stream.”

“We’re almost done for the day here,” Marcela said. “We’ve got time.”

“Then sure. Just give me a minute to catch my breath.”

Celaine led them deeper into the forest than Hump expected. From the high point amongst the trees, they could look down on the forest canopy from above. There was the glimmer of fire in the far distance, smoke rising through the trees as evening set in and the expedition made camp.

“Do you think they’ve made progress?” Emilia asked.

“Of course,” Marcela said.

“How can you tell?” Hump asked, unconvinced. They didn’t look like they’d made much headway, and he could sense the dungeon core somewhere out there in the forest. A chaotic power that seemed to permeate everything around them.

“I can’t,” Marcela said. “But with Ricard in command, they’re making progress. Trust me.”

***

“Hump was right, you know,” Emilia said. “You’re improving incredibly quickly, Celaine. It’s a shame you’re Chosen—you’d have made a fine duellist.”

Celaine smiled. “I’m afraid I would miss my bow. Your approach has been very helpful though, thank you.”

The five of them were eating dinner at the inn, a feast including a few slivers of silverback deer, courtesy of Celaine. Unfortunately, most had gone to be preserved, but it was still a treat.

“How’s the dagger?” Hump asked. “I saw you practicing earlier.”

“I’ve got no problems outside of combat,” she said. “To be honest, I think it’s smart enough to conserve its strength. It only resists occasionally.”

“Is it intelligent enough to comprehend strategy?” Dylan asked.

“Gods know,” Bud said, staring at Bloodshadow on her hip. “That thing is creepy enough already.”

Hump snorted. “You’re just still upset over what happened when I tried to use it.”

“Well wouldn’t you—”

The inn doors slammed open and a girl rushed inside. She couldn’t have been over fourteen. Resting her hands on her knees, she gasped, catching her breath. She was red faced and covered in sweat.

She looked at them, terror in her eyes. “There are ogres in Stonepath. Please, you must help us!”

Dylan managed to calm her down enough to get her name and more explanation of what had happened. Her name was Tina. One of the farms had been attacked in Stonepath, and Corvin and his party had gone to assist. Her mother had sent her to them for help, and help they would.

“It’s impossible,” Harlow said. “Stonebark Forest doesn’t have any ogres.”

Hump pulled himself up onto Prancer’s back, the rest of his party mounting around him.

“Dungeons draw monsters to their domain,” Hump said. “It’s completely plausible that’s why they’re here. Or the worst case is that the dungeon spawned them. In which case, we may be in a whole lot of trouble. Ogres are incredibly powerful.”

“What will you do?” Priestess Joan asked. She stood in their path, arms folded.

“We’re going to reinforce Stonepath,” Hump said.

“What if they attack Tailsend?” she asked. “You just said you have no idea how many there may be.”

Hump clenched his jaw. “You must get word to Marcela. She’ll know what to do.”

“I’ll handle it,” Harlow said. “Go, lad. And good luck to all of you.”

They thanked him, and then they rode. It was only a few miles to Stonepath. Smoke trails were clear in the twilight sky after only a few minutes, thick and black as thunderclouds. Soon, a house came into view with a family standing outside, watching the village nervously. Hump saw their signs of prayer as they passed and couldn’t help but ask the gods to go a little easy on them this time too, for all the good it would do.

He was relieved when they didn’t find the village in ruin, with its people bloody piles on the ground. It was smaller than Tailsend, and everyone had gathered near the road.

“Thank the gods you’re here,” one of them said. “Corvin and his party over down to Hollhill’s farm.”

A woman rushed out of the crowd. “My daughter! Is she safe?”

“Tina?” Bud asked.

She nodded.

“She’s fine. We instructed her to stay at the inn until we return. She will be safe there.”

The woman let out a relieved sigh.

“Can anyone take us to Hollhill’s?” Hump asked.

“I’ll take you,” a young man said. “This way. All we need to do is follow the smoke.”

The farmhouse was about a mile further along the road, bordering the forest. It was in full blaze now, radiating a heat that drove back the winter cold.

“Oh no,” Bud murmured, as a body came into view.

A man, from the look of it, though it was difficult to tell. He’d been torn in two at the waist. Blood and flesh and intestines poured out from the gap; his face frozen in a scream. There was a dog-like creature nearby, though it could have been mistaken for a small pony from the size of it. It had a large hole burnt through its head.

Hump spotted Corvin up near the treeline, his weapon out, summer light shining brilliantly from his body and illuminating the forest nearby.

“Corvin,” Hump shouted.

The man turned, his white eyes staring at him unblinking. He had blood on his face, and a bloody wound down his arm. His armour had lost its glimmer now. As they drew closer, Hump saw the rest of his party gathered around a member on the floor. Kesha was unconscious, her head bloody.

“Is she…” Hump trailed off.

“She’s alive,” Corvin said, a desperate edge to his voice. “Kesha arrived first and one of the ogres clubbed her over the head.”

“Where are they now?” Celaine asked.

“Gone,” he said. He pointed toward streaks of blood on the grass. “They dragged the pigs off with them.”

“What on earth happened here?” Celaine asked, looking around.

“Gods only know,” Corvin said. “They overwhelmed us. The ogres we could take, but there was one amongst them that used some god-forsaken magic.”

“We go after them, of course,” Emilia said. When none of them answered, she looked around at them, shocked. “We can’t let them get away with this. Right?”

“Right,” Hump said. “But we can’t take them alone. We wait for Marcela. Until then, Celaine, go see if you can follow their trail. You two, search for wounded. Bud and I will see about putting this fire out.”