There were times that I hated being right, and this was one of those times. Not long after we started our move forward, we got hit from the rear by another pair of undead squads. They were the same makeup of fighters, flankers, and distance. In this case, neither had a mage, so they fell quickly, but it let us know what was happening.

I looked over at Renfry. “Let’s have you stop this mess for us. Head north and find the hellhound that is breaking down the line. They have to have a return delay or something in their commands, or the whole border will come to any attack. So, find the one going to the next group and take it out. We’ll keep moving forward, and I will take them as they come.”

Renfry slammed his right fist on his chest and spun his horse. “By your command.”

I turned back to Irwin. “Let’s get this wagon moving faster. I want to see about putting some more room between us and the next batch. I don’t know how they are following yet, but we will figure it out.”

Irwin nodded and snapped the reins. Kasidy sighed as she looked behind us to the south. She got her horse moving to a slow trot looking around. I took up the other side, worried we might get overrun. Renfry was our best fighter by far. However, I wasn’t as bad off as before now that I had the boost from the tower.

If we hadn’t started to move, I was sure we would get worn down. The battles had been easy so far, and Renfry and I were able to take them out. The problem, of course, was that at some point, we would tire. Then we would make mistakes.

If we were a larger force, then it wouldn’t matter because we could just take shifts and have an ongoing battle. However, because we were just a small group, we wouldn’t make it. So we had to cut off the relay they were using to call others back. We also needed to shift where we were. There was a chance that if we moved in fast enough, the edge groups would stop following us.

About ten minutes after I dispatched Renfry, the next batch of undead came into view. It was odd how being in hilly plains hid people or, in this case, undead so well. The ones to the north we spotted first. They approached us from the northeast, just ever so slightly behind us.

I called out to my group. “Irwin, we keep going until they catch up. Then let’s stop for the fight. I’m going to need you to help finish them off fast. Kasidy, handle the standard for us. If we start to get overwhelmed, send them away.”

Kasidy nodded grimly. “Got it.”

It was another two minutes before I signaled Irwin to stop. As he slowed the wagon, I dismounted and headed to the rear. The undead coming at us had a skeletal mage and two skeletal fighters. The hell dogs both had the appearance of the one I first found, sunken skin and an overall sickly appearance, which meant that they were still closer to zombies than skeletons.

I saw the dome snap up, and I yelled over my shoulder. “Irwin, the dogs, please.”

I pulled my sword out and stepped through the dome. Without fearing for Renfry, all of my abilities were now unlocked. As I started to pick up to a run, a plume of Irwin’s flame scorched past me, setting the dogs on fire.

The two skeleton fighters approaching were both arms with swords and boards. I knew I wanted to slip through them and drop the caster first. They were always at the top of my priorities. The fighters were adjusting themselves, trying to keep their shields between me and the mage.

Since both of them had the shield on the left I went to my right to cut around the pair. They tried to turn with me but weren’t near fast enough as I was at a full run. Then I smiled as I saw the mage.

I charged forward and slipped into my racial skill of Skeleton Death Dance. The mage fired off what looked like a dart of fire at me. It wasn’t nearly the most impressive attack I had seen from an undead. I turned my head, and the dart went sliding by. Then he fired another and another as I closed. The fire darts were coming at me about three per second, and my view of them changed significantly.

I hadn’t been hit by one, but the speed at which they flew at me was impressive. I slowed my advance as I had to dodge. Which because of the Death Dance caused me to reassess how I was attacking. The skill guided my attack and my steps to both dodge and build up power.

In just a few moments, I was casting out an area Lay-To-Rest. As it fell onto the skeletons, the fire darts faltered, which was all it took for me to slam into the mage. My sword dropped down on its rib cage, shattering out the bones front and back needed for support. As the mage fell, I spun.

The two fighters were coming up behind me at a run. They had taken too long to get to me to stop me from taking out their mage. So they were now both attacking. One moved to my right while the other to my left. Behind them, Irwin had shifted his fire to the second hell dog. The first was a burning pile of flesh.

I danced to the left, reaching out and yanking the skeleton’s shield down. As I pulled it forward, I struck forward and down with my sword. The fire strike burned bright as the blade tip entered the skeleton's open eye socket. With a quick whip of my wrist, I leveraged the skull forward. Then I shoved its shield back up as I wrenched my blade back down. His skull went flying up and over my head.

I knew the monster wasn’t dead only slowed down. So I spun low as I drew my sword across the legs of the other one. It tried to slam its shield down in time to block my strike. However, all it did was open its head for my shield to slam into its face as I finished whipping my body around.

As the second skeleton rocked back, Headless charged me. Or rather, it tried to, likely guided by its head on the ground, it passed me by several feet. The second one was recovered enough to swing its rusty sword at me again, this time coming overhead.

I grinned as I stepped into the arc of his swing. The fighter had telegraphed his blow so much that I was able to turn his strike into a hip throw. As he went up and over, I triggered Lay-to-Rest on his shield. He landed in a pile of bones that, this time, didn’t get up.

I quickly walked over to the head of Headless and placed it on the shield as well. By having the area effect spell still pulsing, the head lost its slight luster. As I turned, I watched Headless fall as well. My eyes darted around only to see the last of the hell dogs smoldering.

I smiled slowly and moved to the downed mage. I picked up his staff and took a look at it as I moved back over to the wagon.

Fire dart staff

Level 12 Fire Dart

Uses 20/92

Cast time .33 seconds

I couldn’t help but wonder how I would be able to figure out the damage done by the spells from the items. Perhaps there was a codex someplace that outlined it all. Sadly that was a question that I would likely have to ask Sam. I might could talk Dave into answering it during a sale, but I wasn’t sure.

I tossed the staff into the back of the wagon and mounted up. “Okay, y’all, let’s get a move on.”

Both Irwin and Kasidy gave me odd looks. Then Irwin shrugged and got the wagon moving again. Kasidy gave me another side glance with an odd smile, got up on her horse, and we were off.

About twenty minutes later, Renfry came riding up. “Arn, I took out the hell dog and the last batch that they were sending from that direction. I agree with you that the dogs were how they were bringing in more troops. Do you want me to head south now?”

I looked behind us and didn’t see any more of the undead moving our way. On the one hand, it would be nice if they stopped because we weren’t where they thought we were. On the other hand, if they hadn’t, then the longer we waited, the more would be following us.

I sighed and nodded. “Make a big loop; if they haven’t given up on us, you might have to bypass several groups to stop the runner. On the other hand, if they have given up, I don’t want this mess to start up again when they see you.”

Renfry saluted and then was off again. They always said not to split the party; the problem was sometimes you needed to split your forces, like in this case. If we hadn’t, we would still be fighting the same number over and over again. As of now, we were only facing half, if even that, number.

After another twenty minutes, we slowed from a trot to a walk—less for Kasidy and me and more for the wagon. I didn’t want Irwin to push his horse too much. If we needed a burst of speed, I wanted us to be ready.

I scanned our back path and said. “So I think we have slipped them, at least for now. We’ll know more when Renfry gets back to us.”

I saw Kasidy’s shoulders slump a bit as we kept moving. I could tell she wasn’t enjoying the battle, knowing we were on our way to an even bigger fight. Irwin also was throwing off nervous glances. Maybe I had gotten too used to fighting, but things seemed well under control so far.

I was just worried about Renfry right now. He had been gone far too long.

* * *