The first few hours were the worst, as was always the case with essence overuse. The cold consumed Hump’s every thought. It burnt beneath his skin, pierced his muscles, radiated from his bones. Everything itched as if ants were crawling inside him, and it was all he could do not to scratch himself raw. Not even the healing powers of a Chosen of The Maiden helped; the body simply had to run its course. The only thing Hump could do was meditate on the River and Waves. It gave him purpose enough to somewhat ignore the discomfort and focus on discovering what hidden potential might lie within the technique. He was almost grateful for the opportunity.

Almost.

As time pushed on and a little of his strength returned to him, his mind wandered to his worries. In truth, the threat lurking in his own soul was getting to him. At least with the dragon’s imprint he could convince himself that it was not necessarily malicious. That was not the case with the gorger. And for it to be taking on the form of Lucile, he wondered just how deeply it had rooted itself.

There had been too many close calls lately. Too many fights that could go either way. In the last few months, Hump had grown stronger than he’d ever dreamed, but his luck had to run out eventually. While the situation with Tanek was out of his hands, perhaps he could have held his own better if he’d entered the inn at full strength. That might have been enough for him to avoid relying on the dungeon essence.

Yet, it was only because he’d pushed himself that he’d seen the imprints on his soul. And once again, he’d progressed. There was still more potential in the River and Waves to discover. It was only by experiencing situations where the mind, body, and soul were pushed to their limits that one could see growth like his. He’d been in more danger in the last few months than across the rest of his life, and that showed.

There was something on the horizon. His instincts told him that he was changing. His control over essence was better than ever, his spellcasting fast and powerful, and most importantly, his soul was strong. For the first time, Soul Manifestation didn’t seem like some distant power. It felt within reach.

He left his master as a Rank 1 wizard with little talent for anything that didn’t explode. It had taken him eight years to get there, and two years to reach its peak, yet in only six months he was casting the Tier 4 spell White Flame with proficiency against a dryad. That likely qualified him as a Rank 3 wizard already. He wondered what his master would say to that.

He chuckled to himself, happy that he could picture his master clearly once more. He knew what the old man would say. “You’re going to end up dead, lad, if you keep walking into fights like this.”

“You haven’t gone mad again, have you?” came Celaine’s voice. “It’s creepy when you randomly laugh to yourself.”

Hump opened his eyes. Celaine sat on the coach bench at the end. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“That’s even worse! Do you save the creepy laugh for when you’re alone?”

Hump snorted. “What are you doing here?”

“Bud wouldn’t let us leave you alone, and I got tired of watching him worry over you like an old woman so I kicked him out.”

“I’m fine, really. You guys don’t need to worry.”

“You took a spear to the back, Hump, and you’ve been leaking dungeon essence for days. Eve was half convinced you’d turned to dark magic. It was actually Len that convinced her that you didn’t need a permanent guard.”

“Huh. I didn’t think he’d ever come around.”

“Marcela told us all what you did. He won’t doubt you again—none of them will. What you did took a lot of courage.”

Hump smiled genuinely, his heart hammering. “You need to slow down with the compliments, Celaine! You’re being too forward. People might get the wrong idea.”

“What idea’s that then?”

“That you’re infatuated with me.”

Celaine scowled. “You are such an idiot.”

“That’s a mean thing to say to someone that’s injured,” Hump said. “I think we should go back to the compliments.”

“In your dreams.”

Hump took a breath and sighed, trying to disguise the nervous adrenaline pumping through him. “How’s the trip been?”

Celaine shrugged. “About as miserable as you’d expect, but people are plodding along. There’s been a couple of attacks on the road, but only hammertooths and boulder boars. Nobody was hurt. Nothing today though—we’re nearing the edge of the forest and should be with the expedition this evening.”

“And then it’s back to Sheercliff.” Hump sighed. “It feels like we’re running away.”

“Isn’t that the point in all the walls and cities your people build? You’re lucky to have the luxury of having a place to run to.”

“You don’t feel like we failed?”

“I didn’t fail. You didn’t fail—well, you did almost die but that’s beside the point. The expedition may have messed up, but we did our job.”

Hump wrinkled himself, annoyed at his own line of thought. “You’re right. I swear, it’s Bud’s fault. Him and his damn hero complex. It’s like an infection. I keep forgetting what truly matters in life.”

“What’s that?”

Hump grinned. “Coin. Lots and lots of coin.”

Celaine rolled her eyes. “So what was so funny anyway?”

“Hmm? Oh. I was thinking about what my master would say about all the close calls we’ve had recently. He always droned on about a mindset of responsible adventuring. ‘Knowing your limitations is vital if you want a long career as an adventurer’,” Hump impersonated. “That kind of thing.”

“Nobody remembers the hunter that slew his one-thousandth deer,” Celaine said. “They remember the hunter that slayed the Pit Spider, Gorgotroth. Or Drunda, slayer of demons.”

“What good is being remembered once you’re dead?” Hump asked.

“To some, that’s all that matters?”

“Does it matter to you?”

“Not particularly. I don’t really know what I want, but I’ve enjoyed seeing the world.”

“You don’t get homesick?”

Celaine shrugged. “Home hasn’t been the same since Starfall died. I miss my family, but I’m in no hurry to return. If anything, I want to see more of the world. A part of me wants to take the Southsea Road and find a ship to sail to Nilesh. Ever since you and Vamir talked about Sisila, the city of lights, I’ve been thinking about it.”

Hump paused. “I’ve never really considered leaving Alveron, at least, until this dragon egg bound to me.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever do it,” Celaine said. “I have a responsibility to my people, and Owalyn chose me for a reason. I can’t just leave.”

“Are you nervous about going back?”

“Yes. And you should be too. You’ve become strong, Hump, but the trials to be a Dragon Keeper are purposefully challenging. It’s not enough.”

Hump sighed. He wondered if perhaps his good luck simply had a deadline. Maybe finding a ship and sailing off somewhere wasn’t a bad idea after all, though he didn’t much like the idea of a bunch of angry Dragon Keepers hunting him down.

“What do you call a group of dragons?” Hump asked. “A flock? A murder? A pack?”

“A fury,” Celaine said. “And believe me, you don’t want to be caught by one.”

***

Hump realised they’d arrived when shouts rose from the villagers that the encampment was in sight. Hump crawled out from the dark coach box that he’d come to call home over the last few hours and took a seat beside Dylan at the front. The druid was the only one of them who knew how to properly steer a carriage. Evening was setting in, the sun just barely staining the horizon orange.

Ahead of them were more carts, spread out in a slow line as they followed the road east. The forest had thinned to sparse trees, and in the distance the smoke of many campfires rose into the air. Lamplight flickered amongst the trees, hanging from branches or suspended on poles, appearing like wisps in the waning light.

Hump felt bitter as he watched the trees roll past, a cold wind on his face. He still couldn’t help but feel like they were letting the villagers down, but at least they were alive. Land could be reclaimed, but lives were irreplaceable. They had lost enough of those already.

There had to be fifty tents amongst the trees, and more than twice as many carts. The smell of woodsmoke and food crept out from the camp as they approached, and Hump started to see people. There had to be well over a hundred bronze rankers here, but from what Hump understood, that number was significantly lower than it should have been. Either only part of the expedition force had remained to wait for them, or they had suffered catastrophic losses, and judging from the number of people with wounds, Hump had a terrible feeling it was the latter.

“What do you make of it?” Dylan asked. “I’ve never seen an expedition before.”

“They look defeated,” Hump said. “I think things might be worse than we expected.”

Dylan sighed. “What a bloody disaster.”

Hump clasped the man’s shoulder. “Where are the others?”

“All keeping watch,” he said, looking over his shoulder. “Probably back there somewhere. Marcela’s had us keeping watch at the rear ever since we put the forest behind us. I think she trusts Celaine’s eyes more than her own at this point.”

Hump smiled. “And she’s wise to do so.”

It wasn’t long before their own wagon train came to a stop as a group of adventurers approached them. Jacob and Marcela greeted them, and soon instructions came down the wagon line that they were to set up their tents on the far side of the encampment, and away from Stonebark Forest. Eve was left in charge, while Marcela left to meet with Ricard.

Hump and Dylan stationed the coach beside the road and set up a tent beside it. The three of them would share it, while they’d leave the coach box to the ladies. Hump set to work on the fire, preferring to keep busy rather than spend any more time in his own head. Moving didn’t exactly help with essence overuse, but it left a satisfying burn in his joints that at least felt like it was helping. He set the fire the old-fashioned way, and Dylan set a stew over the flame. The others joined them shortly, and they spent the evening quietly, keeping to themselves other than when Harlow came over for a chat.

The moon was high when Marcela joined them at their camp, and she came alone. She looked exhausted.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner,” she said, looking at Hump. “Fila told me you woke up earlier, but with all the villagers…”

Hump waved her off and shook his head. “There was no time. Really, Marcela, there’s no need to say anything. I understand.”

She smiled, her eyes appearing tired. “You saved my life, Hump. I owe you a great debt, so let me just begin by saying thank you. If there’s ever anything I can do for you, all you need do is ask.”

“I’m just glad to see you doing well,” Hump said. “I heard there was no chance for Jasper.”

She shook her head. “Tanek didn’t give him a chance. He seemed to know something was wrong even before me.”

Hump sighed. “He was an adventurer in the past, did you know?”

“I could have guessed. He didn’t hesitate in trying to help.”

Hump clenched his jaw. It was one thing to see good people killed by monsters, but for another person to be the culprit… it made his blood boil. “Did you get any answers out of Tanek?”

“Nothing useful. We’re working on your assumption that he’s a warlock, and I passed that on to Ricard. Which leads me onto something else.”

“Oh?” Hump said.

“I feel like you’re owed a full answer after what you’ve been through, but what I’m about to share must not leave this circle.” She looked around at the rest of Hump’s party too. “I hope you will all agree.”

There was no question, everyone gave their agreement.

“The expedition was destroyed by traitors,” she explained. “Ricard’s party successfully captured one of their number. They possessed a blackstone that seemed identical to the ones found previously, which pretty much confirms Tanek’s relation to them. Neither have said a word, and my mother has conveyed through Natalie that she wants them both brought back alive.”

“What interest would warlocks have in a dungeon?” Bud asked. “I don’t understand.”

“They could be trying to create a disturbance,” Emilia said. “Draw attention and resources away to hide their real plan.”

“In which case, wouldn’t they have acted already?” Dylan asked.

“Gods know,” Marcela said. “All we can be certain of is that this was their intention. They attempted to assassinate Ricard, and while he was down one of them fed something to the dungeon core. It triggered the expansion. All of this was because of them.”