While Zacharias and Meekknuckle were too distracted by being fools, Winifred kept a close eye on Skrakch as the Ratling finally decided to use the Artifact.

She’d never been good at the fancier aspects of using Mana, preferring to focus on enhancing her blows, but even without Mana Sight it was abundantly clear to her the exact moment that Skrakch first activated the Purene Ruby.

Immediately, the Ratling had frozen in place as a myriad of emotions flickered across his furry face, but it only lasted a few seconds before his ugly mug settled on just one; despair.

Even as Skrakch’s body went slack, Winifred was on her feet and moving towards him.

She watched as the Ruby slipped from his grasp and plummeted to the floor and drew on her Crux to hasten her step.

Lunging forward in a quick burst of speed, the brawler snatched up the artifact before it could potentially shatter on the ground.

“Fucking Hells,” Zacharias called out from his cot, the halfwit only now propping himself onto his feet. “Seems a bit dramatic there, Squeakers.”

Winifred shot an angry glare towards the Halfling, only to get distracted by Skrakch as he suddenly staggered to his feet and began heading for the warehouse door.

“Skrakch, are ye hurt?” Winifred called out as she made to follow him out into the rainy street, only to see the Ratling collapse to his knees in the mud and filth.

She was about to follow him out when the idiot began to vomit, all while openly sobbing…

There were many things Winifred was fucking fantastic at, but consoling a weeping colleague? Yeah, that wasn’t exactly her wheelhouse.

Winifred stood in the door frame awkwardly, all while eyeing Skrakch’s heaving back until she saw the Ratling wave her away without turning his head.

A good friend would step in and help… But Winifred was just happy to have an excuse to leave him alone.

‘I’m the muscle, nae the bloody weeping heart.’

Not that the other two in the warehouse would be much more help, Meekknuckle was still giggling to himself as he prodded at Ornn’s bulk and watched as the Golem shifted with every poke.

‘And the idea of sending Zacharias out there tae cheer up the Ratling was even worse…’

“Well, that’s one of you pricks down.” The Halfling smugly remarked, pulling on his eyepatch with a smirk on his face. “Having second thoughts Winnie? Or are you up next for trying out today’s entertainment.”

“Don’t be such a prick, seeing yerself die cannae be easy fer anyone.”

“And yet that’s exactly what Squeakers signed up for, the bloody fool.” Zach spat to the side, before taking a step over to Winifred. “Let’s get this over with. If you don’t have the stones, I’m going next.”

Winifred took a calming breath and tuned out the Halfling’s goading as she lifted the Purene Ruby in front of her, admiring the large gemstone.

For all that Zach might mock him, Winifred knew that Skrakch was usually made of sterner stuff than most, so the fact he’d freaked out so quickly…

‘Ah well, fuck it.’

Stepping across the wet wooden floor with determined steps, Winifred absentmindedly grabbed Meekknuckle by the scruff of his tunic and bodily tossed him towards a further cot.

The cot creaked dangerously under her weight, but Winifred put everything around her out of her mind, focusing her attention fully on the Purene Ruby as it flickered with an unearthly glimmer.

Channeling her Mana towards the Ruby, Winifred wasn’t surprised to see the Artifact greedily latching on to her Core… but she was startled to realize that the Artifact seemed unable to pull her Mana inside of itself.

In fact, everytime the Artifact brushed up against her Mana, she could feel whatever fueled the Purene Ruby as it actively pulled itself away from her, only to begin reaching out immediately afterwards.

Winifred let out a sigh of annoyance, as she leaned back and rested against the warehouse’s wall.

‘Damned thing is skittish. Maybe only one person can use it after all?’

If that was the case, Winifred wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. It wasn’t like Skrakch even seemed particularly pleased with his own visions, but there was an undeniable appeal to seeing your own future.

‘Well, if it’s useless already… Does nae matter if it Breaks?”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Pulling on her Pact, Winifred began channeling her Crux’ wellspring of Mana towards the Purene Ruby, idly noting as the Artifact attempted to pull back from the invading Mana.

It was a surprisingly odd sensation, reminding the brawler of the time she’d once force-fed Zacharias a meat pie to shut him up, and Winifred amused herself by picturing the Artifact making the same choking noises.

She wasn’t sure if this would work, but as more of her Mana flooded into the Artifact, the Chosen could feel the Artifact trying to lull her mind into its grasp.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Winifred let herself get pulled under, her consciousness slipping away even as she continued to force her Mana onwards.

-feel the sand scratching at her face, her hand only blocking out the beating sun and doing nothing to-

-the ground underneath her feet trembling as a massive roar rang out, the waiting Monsters finally deciding to meet their expediation party.

She hated the idea of helping the Tomb-Makers, but she’d be damned if-

-the blast of air threw her through the air, but it was the impact of her back as she crashed into the surprisingly firm sand that blew all the air out of her lungs.

Rolling onto her side, Winifred choked down what air she could, though she was forced to spit out a mouthful of sand soon after.

Still, she couldn’t remain down for long. She couldn’t see her companions, but the bastards would need her-

-Winifred kept one hand securely holding Skrakch up by his foot as both of them dangled above the enormous opening that had swallowed them.

“Let me go, you bumbling bafoon!” Skrakch was screaming at her, but there was something uneasy in the air.

She’d have to-

-Splattered across her face as she ripped the infected Bugbear into two still twitching pieces.

“Gods Below, its fur is stuck tae me.” Winifred groused as she shook her hands in annoyance.

They’d been seeing increasingly less-

-ceiling was crumbling around them, bits of sandstone crashing everywhere as Winifred tried her best to avoid the falling debris.

“What the Hells do we do?” Winifred screamed at Skrakch, all while trying to keep her eye on the passing blue scales as the-

———————————

Gasping wildly, Winifred stood beside Skrakch as they both stared up at the massive hole in the ceiling in bewilderment.

The Ratling was trembling in either fear or excitement, and was about to speak when Winifred felt it.

In the span of a heartbeat, she felt a painful sting at the back of her neck, before a jagged knife tip pierced through her neck.

Throwing a wild punch behind her, her fist only hit air as her lungs futilely struggled with the blood rushing into-

-The last thing she saw before she slipped into the waiting darkness was Skrakch’s unseeing eyes as they both bled out without even seeing their assailant.

As the connection between Winifred and the Purene Ruby cut out, the brawler had to resist her impulse to throw the cursed object away from herself.

Her head was throbbing and, as a wet sensation rolled down her cheek, she was surprised to realize it was blood, not tears.

“Gods be Damned, finally!”

Closing her eyes and tuning out Zacharias’ babbling, Winifred tilted her head back and counted to ten as she tried to adjust to the sporadic visions she’d seen.

Considering that Skrakch had been left heartbroken, but otherwise physically healthy, the Chosen could only assume the headache was from forcing the issue.

Still, a bit of blood was worth the price.

‘The Tomb-Makers will be sending me out to battle in the desert. Because there’s an… underground cavern?’

The memories were already becoming fuzzy in her mind, but she could still remember the awe and fear she’d experienced upon seeing the blue lizards scale.

‘And the feeling of being shanked through the neck.’

Breathing out heavily, Winifred took in the state of the warehouse, noting that the light that was poking through the shabby wooden walls had seemingly gone out.

Waiting for her with a concerned expression was Meekknuckle, the little Goblin already channeling his Divine Mana into her arm, and Zacharias, who’d clearly been in the midst of tossing daggers at the ceiling.

“How long was I out for?” Winifred asked as she pushed herself onto her feet, and rubbed a swiftly bloodied palm against her eyes. “And did Skrakch finally…”

The brawler trailed off as she noticed the Ratling had indeed come in from the rain, but judging from the fact Skrakch had his threadbare blanket pulled over his head, the poor fool wasn’t in a place to speak about their shared experience.

“Nice Lady… Winnie only out for few hours. You feel okay? Me not seeing anything wrong, but blood not meant to come out human eyes… right?”

“Stuff it, Gobbo. Humans bleed out of their eyes plenty, though that’s usually because of a well placed stab.”

“No, what matters now is the Artifact. I couldn’t pry it out of your freakishly strong hands and Reek there wouldn’t let me cut a finger or two loose.” Zach continued.

“Meek not healing fingers after you cut! And Meek not heal you after Winnie smash you too, dumb man.”

Cutting the two idiots off, Winifred tossed the Purene Ruby towards Zacharias and started making her way across the room and grabbed a half-drunken tankard of ale.

“Listen, take this seriously you two. Seeing yer own death… it’s nae something to be taken lightly.” Winifred counseled, absentmindedly rubbing a hand against her throat.

“Please, I know exactly how I’m going to die.” Zach retorted, hefting the Artifact before he suddenly pressed it into Meekknuckle’s chest. “I’d tell you all about it, but considering there’s a lady in the room, I can’t go into very explicit detail….”

“But just to be safe, it’s your turn next, Snotbag!”