Hump trailed behind as they raced through the streets. Marcela led the way, guided by the light of the locator crystal. Even after all his physical training, Hump was still far from able to match the pace of Chosen. His heart pounded, his lungs burned with cool winter air, but he kept running at full sprint. It wasn’t long before Marcela came to a stop ahead of him and the others crowded together.

Hump caught up and leant heavily against his staff, breathing deeply. It hadn’t been far. So close even that as far as Hump could tell they were the first to arrive.

“I think this is the place,” Marcela said.

She held the locator crystal up against the wall of a small brewery. Like most of the area, it was all brick walls and cobblestone floors. There was a brass sign on the wall reading Hogshead Brewery. The heavy wood door was slightly ajar, but other than that, nothing looked off, at least from the outside.

“Do we go in?” Bud asked.

“Ricard will be here soon,” Corvin said. “Instructions are to wait for reinforcements before engaging.”

“We are the reinforcements,” Hump said breathlessly. “The other squad could be in trouble.”

“I’ll have a look around,” Celaine said. “Be back in a moment.”

Before anyone could say anything, essence spread through her legs, crackling about her ankles in streaks of green. She launched herself upward using Spring Step, landing on the roof.

“That really is a useful blessing,” Teff said, staring after her.

“She’s good, is she?” Varris asked. It was Marcela’s new party member’s first time seeing Celaine in action.

Teff nodded. “Very. You should have seen her in Stonebark Forest.”

“Focus guys,” Marcela said. “Save the chit-chat for later. Hump, can you tell if there are any enchantments?”

Hump directed one of his Burning Wisps toward the building, running the floating flame along the wall. Nothing felt off.

“I don’t sense anything, though I’m not exactly sure what I’m looking for. If they’ve only warded the cellar, it wouldn’t surprise me if the range doesn’t reach all the way out here.”

“You’re not suggesting we go inside, are you?” Corvin asked glumly.

Hump shrugged. “If we want to know more, we may have to.”

Celaine appeared above, a dark silhouette against the overcast sky. She dropped from the roof, her shadow cat cloak sweeping about her as she descended, landing silently amongst them.

“I can’t see any sign of the other squad,” she said. “No sign of Ricard yet either. He may still be a few minutes out.”

“Then we have no choice,” Emilia said. “If the other squad isn’t out here, they must have gone in alone. They might need help.”

Marcela nodded. “We’re going in. Form up like we practiced. Len, wards up. Hump, be ready to support him if needed. Corvin, Bud, Dylan, I want you up front to breach the door before Patrick moves on ahead. Remember, there could be traps everywhere. Keep your eyes open.”

Nobody argued. They were all on the same page today, and Hump could feel it in the ease at which they formed up. They’d practiced this all week and now it was second nature. Hump took his place at the centre of the formation, Emilia on his right, Len on his left, and Marcela covering the far left flank.

There was the hum of essence as Len’s barrier formed before them, almost invisible. It followed Corvin, Bud, and Dylan as they took positions on either side of the door.

Bud glanced at him, hand moving toward the handle. Hump nodded, spell ready on his lips, staff gripped in both hands as he took aim at the room beyond. Bud pushed and the door swung open, revealing an empty room inside. it was small—a front office with an open door to one side. Through it, Hump saw a dim warehouse beyond, the shapes of barrels illuminated by the faint bit of light that trickled in from a window inside.

Corvin and Dylan were first inside, breaking left and right as Bud followed behind. Corvin, the Knight of Ordana glowed with the faint shine of the sun, pushing back the dark of the room.

“All clear,” Corvin said.

The rest of them followed. Hump kept two of his Burning Wisps floating a few inches above each of his shoulders and another in front of him, ready to direct them forward if they came under sudden attack.

“Patrick, lead the way,” Marcela whispered.

Corvin let the light of Ordana fade, leaving them once more in the dim light of the brewery.

Patrick snuck forward, the shadows seeming to gather around him, becoming thicker, like patches of impossibly black fabric manifesting around him until he was gone from sight and only the faintest blurs of movement remained. He crept through the doorway into the main warehouse, whispering for the rest of them to follow.

The smell of beer was overpowering as Hump stepped inside. He directed a Burning Wisp ahead, searching for enchantments. He could cancel the spell at any moment if Patrick directed him to.

As they reached the far wall, Patrick’s face appeared from the shadows, a finger held to his lips. He pointed toward a closed door. Hump commanded a Burning Wisp toward the door and the flame flickered. He felt his connection to the spell become hazy, like a wall he had to push his essence through. The wisp responded sluggishly to his directions after that.

“My spell’s acting up,” Hump said. “We’re in the right place.”

“Patrick, can you get us through the door?” Marcela asked.

He nodded. “No lock. Shall I open it?”

“Do it.”

The door creaked open, and suddenly the sounds of fighting poured out from within. Hump’s essence functioned normally again, the enchantment broken. There was a staircase through the door, descending into a cellar. At the bottom, a man and woman lay dead, their bodies and armour in tatters. Blood coated them, pooling around the bodies.

“Are they ours?” Kesha, Corvin’s archer asked.

“I recognise them from the meeting,” Celaine said.

“Shit,” Marcela said.

Hump bit his lower lip nervously, deciding whether or not they should keep going. He knew what his party would say, but Marcela was in command here. If he pushed her, she might be swayed.

Someone screamed, and there was a quick shout—a man shouting orders but Hump couldn’t make out the words. Steel rang out. Essence surged from within like a wind of power. Hump knew what they should do already.

“Let’s move,” Bud said, stepping forward.

“Wait,” Marcela said.

“They need our help,” Bud snapped.

Marcela nodded. “We’re going, but we remain in formation. Patrick, proceed cautiously, eyes out for any traps.”

Patrick stared at the bodies down below. “I think they already cleared the path for us.”

“Be careful anyway,” she said. “Scout ahead and find out what’s going on.”

Patrick glanced at Corvin, and Hump could see the fear in his eyes. “If there’s more traps—”

“I’ll go,” Celaine said, barging past the rogue and then Bud. “The rest of you follow.”

Patrick swallowed, looking at Marcela who was frowning, and then down at his feet. They didn’t have time to discuss it further as Celaine had already reached the bottom of the steps, though there was no need. He knew he was a coward.

Celaine knelt, checked the two bodies for any signs of life, then continued on. The rest of them followed.

The stairway opened into a large underground chamber filled with racked barrels. The ground was covered in dust and footprints. The sounds of fighting grew louder as they went further. At the other end of the room, a hole had been bashed through the wall, connecting it to another chamber, with two corridors leading off from the front and left side.

Celaine tilted her head, listening. “Wait here.”

She took the left passage, leaving them in the dark room, the only light coming from Hump’s Burning Wisps and the locator beacon.

It was less than a minute when she returned. “The fighting’s on the other side of that wall. Looks like there’s seven adventurers holding up behind a barrier artifact while the warlocks are breaking through. It won’t be long. There’s ten of them, four melee combatants and a couple of archers. The others could be spellcasters.”

Teff strode to the front of the chamber, tapping the section of wall Celaine had indicated. “This is just wood. We can probably break through and catch them off guard.”

“Hump, reckon you can blast them open?” Marcela asked.

Hump tapped the wall himself, feeling the dry hollowness that came from age old walls. He nodded. “No problem.”

“Aim here,” Celaine said. “This should be right on the melee fighters. There’s a door down the left passage that comes up behind the adventurers. One party should go that way and explain what’s going on. They look in bad shape but they can still fight.”

“We’ll go,” Corvin said quietly. “We’ll wait until we hear the wall come down then attack from the flank.”

Marcela nodded. “Go. Everyone else, get in position. How much space do you need, Hump?”

“Just stay on either side of it,” Hump said. “That’s fine.”

Bud, Emilia, and Dylan took one side, while Marcela and Varris took the left. Celaine, Teff, Nina, and Len stood around Hump, readying their own attacks to provide ranged support.

Hump waited for a few moments for Corvin’s party to get into position down the left corridor, then pulled his spellbook from his belt and flipped it open. He took aim with his staff, drawing on his essence and infusing it through his spellbook. Essence trailed between his focus and book, pure blue essence streaking between the two, like tendrils of lightning. Hump built that power until his focus glowed brightly.

He stepped forward, planting his feet. “Essence Blast,” he uttered.

A near invisible shockwave erupted from his staff. The wall exploded with a boom that shook the cellar. Shards of wood and dust blasted into the room beyond. Screams sounded on the other side. There was no hesitation. Bud’s Heart of Frostfire aura expanded around him. Dylan coated each of them in Nature Spring, imbuing them with strength, endurance, and its rejuvenating powers. Armour of earth formed over Varris and Marcela’s blade shimmered with water over its edge.

They rushed into the chamber beyond, the five of them remaining together, forming a line. Celaine and Teff launched blessing enhanced arrows over their shoulders. Nina threw blades of water at shadows through the dust. Len stepped through the newly opened wall, his barrier magic offering cover for the rest of them as the warlocks unleashed a barrage of spells and ranged weapons against them. To the left, Corvin radiated sunlight, and suddenly the chamber was clear.

The warlocks were grouped together. What had been ten quickly became more as reinforcements streamed in from another room. Over near Corvin, the surviving adventurers stood within a glimmering cloud of red blossoms, storming around them and deflecting attacks. It was the scarred veteran Hump had noted in the meeting, bloodied and wounded, but still hefting his battle axe. He cheered as Marcela and the others pushed their way into the room.

Hump strode forward, Celaine, Teff, and Nina at his side. The three of them pushed into the room, raining attacks at the warlocks, who deflected it with their own powers—a mixture of wizards and martials from the looks of it. So far, none displaying capabilities beyond their own.

As Bud and Dylan pushed forward on the right, Hump directed two of his Burning Wisps at an archer trying to bring them down, holding his last in reserve. The wisps approached from both sides. He managed to slash one aside with a dagger, but the second erupted over his back. He screamed, falling back against the wall and squashing the flame, but Emilia was already on him, spearing him through the leg with her rapier.

Hump was about to step over the rubble and into the chamber, when he sensed something below him. He jumped back as the earth exploded beneath his feet, walling off the chamber beyond and blocking Hump from his friends.

“Shit,” Hump said. It looked like Stonewall—a Tier 3 earth magic spell, and one that had activated fast. That meant they were dealing with at least one Rank 2 wizard.

Hump turned, hurrying down the left corridor to join up with Corvin’s party, when he sensed something behind him. Essence stirred.

Hump whirled around, raising his staff and spellbook. “Shield,” he shouted. Essence streaked between staff and book as his spell formed a wall before him.

“Focused Beam,” a voice came a heartbeat later.

Power erupted from his staff in a blue beam. It broke against Hump’s shield, shattering into three separate beams that reflected off into the walls around him, crumbling stone and barrels. Hump clenched his fist around his staff against the impact, but this was nothing. The wizard’s spell was inefficient.

Beer leaked over the ground, pooling around Hump’s Shield. Once the light faded, Hump saw a man standing in the other corridor, a twisted staff in hand with a yellow crystal in its focus. He appeared to be in his early twenties and wore wizard robes, and not the cheap ones like Hump had once worn. They were full-on battle robes.

“Bad luck, kid,” the man said. “Looks like it’s just the two of us.”