Shadowborn
Chapter Fifty-Four: Planning and Execution

Chapter Fifty-Four: Planning and Execution

It was well into the night before I finally made it back to camp. Just like I’d promised, I’d looked without engaging with any of the gnolls at their den. Even if it had killed me to leave the captives I’d seen behind. Getting myself killed tonight would be of no use to them.

When I finally entered the light of the fire—causing the current sentinels, Rastra and Reese, to both jump to their feet in surprise—the only one of my household still awake was Rhallani. She shot up and practically ran to throw her arms around my waist. “You scared the shit out of us,” she breathed.

I hugged her back, then cupped the side of her head to turn her face up for a kiss. “Sorry, wasn’t my idea.”

“Serena told us. Another goddess? Seriously?”

I nodded. “They got back okay?”

“Yeah. Serena wanted to wait for you, but I convinced her to get some sleep. Nariko barely even made it back to the tent with Noelle and Kili before she was out.” Her grip tightened. “Zaren, Nariko set off my skill. Whoever was holding her captive…”

“I figured as much. Got your journal?”

“Always,” she answered with a frown.

“Good. I need you to write this down while it’s all still fresh in my head.” She nodded, then pulled out her journal and began to write as I recounted every little detail I could remember from my talk with Fortuna. Other than the crackling of the flames in front of me and the beating of a heavy set of wings somewhere nearby, the night was eerily silent. I could see the thousand questions in her eyes when I finished, as well as the awe that I’d had a conversation with yet another god.

“We’ll discuss Fortuna and all her implications another day,” I said softly. "For now, I need you to tell me everything you know about gnolls since you’re the one who’s been reading up on them.”

“You don’t want to wait until you’ve had some rest first?”

“I don’t often sleep the night before big fights,” I admitted. Not since Ria.

I could tell that she wanted to argue, but instead she sat and told me everything I wanted to know. After that, when I told her she should get some sleep of her own, she just climbed into my lap and nestled into me. I absentmindedly stroked her back as she nodded off, snoring lightly in my arms.

We were headed for a fight, which meant I couldn’t put off selecting my newest skills any longer. One for either of my classes. Soul Smith I’d leveled twice somewhere along the way, bringing me to three. It wasn’t a dedicated combat class as far as I could tell, which meant that it was entirely possible I got some experience anytime I did things soul-related, but that was something to monitor with Rhallani’s help on a later date.

I sank the level three points into my primal. One more attribute increase and I’d get another set of armor to dish out. When I looked at the skills available to me, there were more than a few interesting choices. One jumped out at me far more than the others, and I’d barely finished reading it before I’d selected [Danger Sense].

It was a simple skill that would somehow alert me if one of my Links was in danger. The nuances of the skill were something I was certain I’d come to understand quickly with my track record, but the idea that I’d at least know if my loved ones were in danger took a load off my shoulders I didn’t even realize was there.

Shadowborn was a bit more of a toss up. [Shadowbound weapon] was the most obvious choice. It didn’t offer me much right now because of my ever revolving arsenal, but it had the potential to evolve into skills that would. Or, for the first time, I could take an attribute increase for the level. I had one that had been staring me in the face for some time now, and I was running out of excuses to take it.

If I’d had more agility during the fight against the etherwyrms, then maybe I wouldn’t have been so severely injured. [Horde Slayer] was a great equalizer, but if I was going to be locked into any kind of one-on-one combat, then [Giant Killer] would only affect my Primal. I needed to be able to move faster in any situation, not just one where I was outnumbered.

Which led me to the other reason I was considering taking this skill. [Horde Slayer] was another in a long line of skills that grew weaker when I had allies. If I wanted to be someone capable of fighting in a group, then I needed to rely less on those skills. And I really, really wanted to be that man. More than I could ever admit aloud.

I’d been a part of the Seven, sure, but I’d never been one of them. Not truly. Rolar and Bennet and Torren had all kinds of ballads about the inspiring way they fought shoulder to shoulder, standing together against overwhelming odds. There were considerably fewer of the shadow that fought alone because nobody ever really trusted me to have their back, and I’d never really trusted them to have mine.

I just hadn’t cared all that much if they’d failed me.

I selected [Speed of Shadow] and immediately felt good about my choice. Doubling my Agility was something that would only help me, and taking the skill made me feel like I was finally taking steps to become more than what I’d once been. Real, tangible change. It brought a smile to my face.

With all that out of the way, I sat back and started to plan. By the time the sky started to lighten and the camp started coming alive around me, I had a rough idea of what I wanted to do. I didn’t move while breakfast was thrown together, not even when Tiana stumbled out with a yawn and draped herself over my back with her arms around my neck, careful not to disturb Rhallani.

“Tell me you weren’t out here all night,” she mumbled.

“No rest for the wicked, right?” I said back.

She huffed, then stood. “Today, then?”

I nodded. “I’ll explain everything when everyone else is awake.”

She nodded, then wandered off. Nobody asked me any questions, but every fighter in the camp slowly made their way over to sit nearby, shooting me expectant looks. Even Vivian was in attendance, though she was remarkably subdued today. The makeup under her eyes was thicker than normal, but I filed that away along with all the other things I’d deal with once the gnolls were taken care of.

Serena joined me without a word, though she took my hand when she sat down. Breakfast was pushed into my hands by Tiana, who shot me a warning glare that said she wouldn’t let me skip the meal, and I woke Rhallani with a chuckle. She ruefully hopped off my lap to sit next to me and we ate, and eventually Noelle’s tent emptied out. Mostly.

The twins led the way, both of their eyes replaceing me first. Ryoko beamed, waving energetically, but Tsuki just seemed to let out a breath like she was relieved and walked past me without another glance. Noelle followed next with Kili hot on her heels, but Nariko made no appearance.

“She is still sleeping,” Noelle explained, and I nodded. There was no telling when the last time the poor girl had been somewhere as warm and soft as a bedroll, which made my gut twist in anger. I’d right that wrong soon enough, but the gnolls came first. They were today’s focus.

Finally, Pierce asked, “so, Serena mentioned you went hunting.”

I nodded. “I know where their den is.” The caravan took a collective breath, many of them leaning towards me. “I—”

I jumped, spinning on my feet. Nariko, who had been moving silently from her tent to the nearest one, froze in place. She looked at me in fear, but not the kind of fear I’d expected. It was the kind of fear that she was both afraid of having to take me on and willing to do so.

I forced myself to calm. “Sorry, you snuck up on me.” Not an easy thing to do.

She straightened, her ears flat against her head and her tail tucked tightly to her legs. Her hair, as well as the fur on her Neko parts, were rust colored, and her intelligent, calculating eyes were only a few shades darker than that. She would still certainly appreciate a real bath, but she was much cleaner than she had been last night. Without the blood, dirt, and grime, and in clothes that were more than rags even if they fit her poorly, I almost didn’t recognize her. “I—” she started, her voice hoarse from disuse, “—I smelled food.”

There were some soft chuckles behind me, and I nodded. “Of course.”

“Here, I’ll get you some,” Serena said, jumping up. She grabbed some more food and sat, holding it out to the skittish Nekomata.

Nariko looked between all of us hesitantly, then made a beeline for where Serena sat. She snatched the food with a surprising deftness and curled up next to where Serena sat, not quite close enough to be touching my priestess but far closer to her than anyone else. She ate the food quickly, no doubt afraid of it being taken from her the second she let her guard down. It was a fear I knew all too well, and one that Rolar had taken nearly a year to break me of.

I took my seat once more. “Where was I?”

“The den?” Reese prompted.

I nodded. “Right. I counted thirty, but it’s possible a few were out and about.”

There were sharp intakes of breath. “Thirty is quite a few,” Pierce said.

“Better than the fifty they probably had once. Between the seven dead we found, the six Reese, Tiana, and Rhallani took care of, and the six me and Serena killed last night, we’ve at least hurt their numbers.”

“Prisoners?” Reese asked, her tone dark.

“I counted nine,” I said softly. My eyes went to Kili. “One of them was an Erinyes woman who looks a lot like you.”

Tears filled her eyes and she choked back a sob. Noelle threw an arm over her shoulders and Kili buried her face in Noelle’s neck. Noelle nodded for me to continue, an intense look in her eyes.

“Demi-humans?” Rhallani asked.

“All but one.” I ran a hand through my hair. “I saw Sola. They’ve got her, and she’s in rough shape.”

“Sola?” Rastra demanded. Yen put a hand on her arm, and she clamped her own hand over it. “We have to help her.”

“We will,” I promised.

“You’ve got a plan, then?” Pierce prompted.

I didn’t answer immediately. “You’re alright with me taking point on this?”

He chuckled dryly. “You walked into a nest of giant spiders and left with more people than you went in with. I think I’m fine with you at the reins.”

I inclined my head, trying to ignore the wide-eyed looks on Kili and Nariko’s faces. “Then yeah, I’ve got a plan. I need to know who’s coming and who’s going, though. We can’t take everyone and leave the caravan defenseless.”

He nodded, then shot a glance at Yen. She shook her head. “If Rastra is going, then so am I.” Lana sidled closer with a determined look on her face, and he turned back to me. “Al can hang back.”

“Zoey can as well,” Vivian said, her voice void of her usual pep. She turned to Reese, gently touching the archer’s arm. “I already know you’ll be going.”

Reese nodded, but couldn’t manage to speak past her tightly clenched jaw. I inclined my head gratefully. Reese’s skill with a bow would be more than welcome, and I trusted Zoey and Al enough to keep everyone here safe. “Tsuki isn’t exactly harmless either, and Elisa’s inventions can be deadly in a pinch. We’ll have Festus make some rounds just in case to make sure nobody is nearby.”

I directed my next words at Korey. “It’s safest if the caravan stays hunkered down today. You alright with losing a day of travel?” This was his show still, after all.

He scoffed. “A day of travel versus nine souls. Not exactly a hard choice to make.”

“I had to ask.” He waved to show there were no hard feelings. Then, to Elisa, I said, “How many of those spider repellent spitters do you still have?”

“Nine,” she answered without hesitation.

That was good, but there was uncertainty on Yen’s face. “Lose a day. You’re not planning to attack them at night?”

“No. Gnolls have good night sight and powerful noses. We’d be at a severe disadvantage trying to take them on at night.” Well, I wouldn’t be, but that was irrelevant when planning a fight on this scale.

Yen nodded, satisfied with my answer. I mentally ran through who I would and wouldn’t have. Al staying behind was initially an issue, but Reese’s presence made up for that in spades. I trusted her at my back much more than the gruff, surly Al.

“We’ll hit them at noon, when most of them are asleep,” I said to the group. “They’ve got a chieftain—bigger and meaner than the rest, you won’t miss him. If we kill him, the rest should scatter. He’s the only one big enough to dominate a group this size.”

Reese leaned forward. “You’re thinking of taking him out.”

“You and me will take to the woods,” I explained. I knew she could move covertly, and this was literally my specialty. “Gnolls will respond to what they perceive to be the biggest threat. Rhallani, what’s the biggest, meanest thing you’ve got so far?”

She grinned and brought out her grimoire. “Everyone, meet Fang.” With a flourish, she summoned her wolf again, but there were some differences this time. His fur was now a snow-white color with streaks of red running through it, and I thought he looked bigger. Ice blue eyes traveled between the other members of the party, and he licked his chops to show off canines that looked a bit longer than the normal wolf’s.

Kili squeaked, and Nariko turned into a blur. She was behind Serena, peeking over her shoulder with narrowed eyes, faster than I could blink. She was even quicker than she was quiet. The others, though, all made varying sounds of appreciation.

“I learned I could tweak their appearances a little and give them a bit of an edge,” Rhallani explained proudly. “This version of Fang is best in groups. He can take down the gnolls and put them in a position for others to finish them off.”

I tossed a sausage and Fang snapped it out of the air, his eyes locking on mine while he licked his chops again, this time with more eagerness. “That’ll do. We send in Fang with Pierce and Noelle flanking him. She’s small, but her axe should draw more than enough attention. Serena, you’ll support them, Yen, you’re in charge of protecting the mages.”

I received nods all around. “Once you’ve got their attention, start throwing the spider repellents. The vinegar and peppermint concoction—” all of the beastkin in the camp shivered or made gagging noises, “—will keep them from smelling me and Reese while we move in to take out the chieftain.”

Pierce rubbed at his beard. “Fight defensively, then? Draw them to us? Hammer and anvil style?”

I nodded. “Exactly that. If the chieftain comes for you, then we’ll deal with it, but I don’t think he will. For reasons I can’t go into right now, I’m confident he and his guard will move to secure the prisoners first and foremost. Once we’ve taken care of him, then it’ll be hammer and anvil.”

“Any questions?” I asked.

There were none, so everyone started getting ready to leave. I stood, rolling my shoulders, already feeling the anticipation of a fight in my fingertips. Before that, though, there was one thing I needed to do. I walked over to where Nariko was still staring down the giant wolf from over Serena’s shoulder, and it was only when I got close that she shifted her focus to me.

I was both impressed and saddened by the hard light I saw in her eyes. Fortuna hadn’t been kidding when she said this girl had suffered far too much in her relatively short life, but I seemed to be a magnet for that type. “Nariko,” I said, hoping my voice wasn’t too threatening, “I’d like a quick word.”

Serena stood, ushering Nariko out from behind her but never stepping away from the girl. “It’s alright,” she said, her hands on Nariko’s shoulders. “You can trust Ren.”

“Nari,” she said in a quiet, steely voice. “Just call me Nari. Nobody’s called me by my full name in a long time.”

“Nari it is.”

Up close, with Serena at her back, Nari widened her stance, her weight forward on the balls of her feet in case she needed to move quickly. I resisted the urge to smile. She might have been victimized, but she was far from a victim. “I saw the bodies,” I said gently.

“They deserved that and more,” she said, her chin high.

“I don’t doubt that.” I summoned a dagger that would be the length of her forearm, still in its sheath. “I’ve always been of the mind that the best way to protect someone is to make sure they can protect themselves if the need arises.”

Her eyes widened, and I didn’t miss the hunger in them while she stared at the dagger I held out, but she didn’t reach for it. “You don’t know me, but you’d give me a weapon?” she asked, her tail flicking back and forth.

She was angry. Angry at the world. At her life. At herself. I knew, because I’d seen that look in her eyes many a time, usually in the mirror. Her ears were still laid back, and it wasn’t hard to see that she was clearly uncomfortable around so many strangers. I shrugged. “Stick the pointy end in anyone I care about and I’ll hunt you to the ends of the earth, but I trust that you won’t stab anyone who doesn’t deserve it.”

Her arm reached out, pausing in the air between us as if waiting for the trick, but I only held the dagger out further. She snatched it with such a speed and softness that I wouldn’t have realized it was gone had I not seen her do it. She clutched the dagger to her chest, backing into Serena without taking her eyes off me. Once she was out of my reach, now armed, her ears lifted. Not fully, but it was a good sign.

“Not that you need it,” I said, “but you have my full permission to protect yourself if anything happens while we’re gone. Stick with the twins, and we can talk more when I come back, okay?”

She nodded once, her posture relaxing a little with every word. I summoned a pack, then I summoned some clothes and put them inside.

“These won’t be a perfect fit, but they’ll probably fit better than Tsuki’s clothes. They’re yours now.”

I offered the pack, and this time there was no hesitation before she snatched it from me. She clutched it to her much the same as the dagger, with the desperation of someone who had been taken from far too many times. “There are some belts in there that your dagger should fit on.”

“Thank you,” she said, her eyes still not leaving mine. “I don’t trust you, but thank you.”

I inclined my head. “It’s the least I can do.”

She frowned. “You don’t owe me anything.”

“No, maybe not,” I answered with a chuckle, “but the universe surely does, and I very much doubt it’s going to settle its debts anytime soon, so I might as well.”

That only seemed to confuse her, but I backed away to give her the space I knew she needed. She seemed to trust Serena, which wasn’t exactly unsurprising. Even if Serena hadn’t been the one to heal her and carry her to safety, I’d met few people who radiated the same kind of warmth as her.

In no time, we were ready to head out. I could feel the nerves of those around me. After all, running into a nest of gnolls thirty-plus strong was no small endeavor, but I felt more at peace than I had in a while. Perhaps it spoke to my trauma, but there was something oddly comforting knowing we’d either come back with nine more people or not at all.

# # #

The group was silent while I led them through the woods. The only real noise was the clanking of Pierce and Yen’s armor, but it sounded loud as thunder in the quiet of the forest. I risked a glance back at them. My girls had walked with me into a literal spider’s den, but Yen, Lana, and Rastra were clearly untested. I could see their nerves written plainly on their faces, and I knew that this would be the moment where each of them realized whether they were actually cut out for adventuring or not.

After far too long, we reached the point where Reese and I would split off. Any further and I would worry about the gnolls catching wind of us. After summoning a few tendrils on each of them to give them an edge, I gave the repellent spheres over to Pierce and Noelle, since they were the vanguard, and me and Reese stayed behind while they headed towards the den.

I gave them a fifteen minute head start since I knew Reese and I would move through the brush much faster than the rest of them. Right at the fifteen minute mark, I nodded to Reese. Without saying a word, we started heading into the woods on a parallel path that I’d sent the others on. I’d take us to the side of the den where I knew the prisoners were being held.

I felt a chill run down my spine about ten seconds before we heard the snarls and yips from the gnolls. Serena and Noelle were in danger, but I could tell from the intensity just how much that danger was. They were outnumbered, but by foes that were weaker than them. They weren’t in immediate peril, but they were fighting for their life.

I monitored the Links closely, even when the faint smell of peppermint wafted through the trees. I made a hand signal and started forward as quick and as low as I could manage. In seconds, the den came into view.

The gnolls had found a fairly open space nestled into the side of one of the sheer foothills that marked the start of the mountain range in the distance. Most of the gnolls were swarming towards where our allies stood, but I had to trust that they could handle it until me and Reese could take care of our job.

Reese let out a feral growl when she saw the captives. I could make out the black of the Erinyes’s wings and the matted brown hair of Sola, even from a distance, but they were only two of the nine. I counted three elves as well—two that were either forest or high elves, though it was impossible to tell with how dirty they were and from a distance, and one who was definitely a dark elf. There were two Tieflings, one red and one blue, as well as a Lycanine and a dwarf. All seemingly adult, and all female.

And a large, gray gnoll was heading straight for them with three more gnolls in tow.

“I’ll keep their attention and draw them from the prisoners, watch my back.”

I didn’t stop to see if Reese heard before hurling myself towards the threat. There were innocents on the line, and we were outnumbered, so I felt no remorse when I conjured two tendrils using Soul Essence. I felt the painful tug, though it was lesser, and the tendrils erupted from my back. It was a sunny day for once, which meant all twelve points of [Release the Darkness] were firmly in Strength.

The gnolls saw me first, the three smaller surging towards me with rusty swords while the chieftain kept moving towards the prisoners, who were looking around with wild eyes and fearful expressions. I couldn’t focus on them, though. Couldn’t let their states drive me into the rage I knew it would. I had to do better. Be better. I couldn’t just let the rage take me and throw myself into the fight recklessly.

Three arrows slammed into the lead gnoll before we even clashed, one after the other and all slamming into the same spot on its thigh. It went down hard, tripping up the gnoll behind it. I struck out with my sword, the tip catching the shoulder of the third one while my shadows whipped at them, but I only had eyes for the chief.

It whirled on me with a snarl and swung its weapon at me. A long, barbed flail that would hurt like hell and do a lot of damage if he managed to catch me with it. I sidestepped the strike, but the chieftain was quick on its feet. I barely managed a single swing of my sword—catching nothing but air—before the flail was coming around for the return trip.

I danced back, but the other gnolls had regained their bearings. They bore down on me all at once, but that was fine. As long as they were coming at me and not the prisoners, I would figure something out.

At least, that was the plan until the chieftain howled and two more gnolls arrived to un-even the odds. I went on the defensive, trying to get to the chieftain, but it just snarled at me with fury in its beady little eyes from behind its other warriors. It wasn’t fighting like a gnoll should, and I couldn’t figure out why.

Arrows weaved through the chaos for the first few beats, hard pressed to miss with how many gnolls were pushing me away from the chieftain, but then they stopped. When I took a moment to glance in Reese’s direction—earning myself a shallow cut on my ribs as one of the gnolls with a spear managed to get past my defenses—I saw that she was engaged with two gnolls of her own.

That was a problem, but not for long. A guttural roar echoed through the clearing, and suddenly I wasn’t alone. A spear made of black stone with veins of molten flame running its length impaled the gnoll to my left, then a shadow descended from the sky.

Wielding two blades made of the same black stone, the Erinyes fell and jammed both blades into another of the gnolls. It howled, smoke coming from where the blades impaled it, and she kicked it away. In the back of my mind, I remembered Kili mentioning that her sister Anri was the fighter.

She had not been kidding.

“Get the big fucker,” she snarled, “these are mine!”

I nodded, but before I tried to force my way through the recovering gnolls I said, “your sister is alive and safe.”

Her eyes widened, but I was already moving. She surged forward, swinging her flaming weapons with deadly precision, giving me a window to slip through. I paused for a brief step when I realized that Nari was in the middle of the prisoners, already pulling the shackles off another of the captives, before running down the chieftain. I should have guessed she wasn’t just going to stay behind.

The chieftain tried to back away—a very un-chieftain like thing to do for a gnoll—but thanks to my boosted agility I was much faster. I felt my Primal surge a bit and fired a barbed [Umbral Barrage] since it had worked so well last time.

It tried to dodge, but enough struck true that the chieftain howled in rage and pain. It came at me, flail in one hand and a blade in the other, but I was ready for it. I ducked the flail, blocked the blade, and used my shadows to score two deep hits on the gnoll’s chest. Its armor blocked some of the damage, but not all of it.

With no more gnolls to hide behind, it was forced to meet me in open combat. It was big and fast, and since Anri had pulled the other gnolls away from my duel I no longer had [Horde Slayer] boosting me. One of my tendrils focused on defense while the other snuck in hits wherever it could.

Then, once again acting against the instincts Rhallani had assured me gnolls possessed, it tried to ignore me completely and run towards where Nari was now leading the captives into the woods. The two Tieflings were practically carrying Sola, but otherwise they were all alive and leaving the den behind.

The gnoll seemed a slave to the need to chase after them, giving me an opening to cut a deep gash in its side. It whirled on me in a rage and we were once again locked in a deadly dance. Normally a sword was a poor weapon to fight a flail with, but my shadows more than made up for the difference. Especially when I summoned two more standard tendrils purely for defense.

After gifting so many tendrils to my allies I was running low on mana, but as I landed two more cuts on the chieftain’s legs I knew I would win this fight without needing any more. The gnoll fought well, but it still fought like a feral animal. Its speed and strength would have given it the advantage over any normal human, but my shadows acted as the perfect equalizer. Even as one of my empowered tendrils finally faded away I managed to cut deep into the gnoll’s forearm, causing it to drop its sword. It snarled, lunging, but I sidestepped and brought the blade down on the back of its neck for the killing blow.

I saw a flash of metal just before everything went sideways.

My strike landed just where I needed it to, but it wasn’t fur or flesh that met the edge of my blade. The jarring impact of steel against something stronger damn near broke my wrists, and it did break my sword. It bounced off, the top half of the blade spinning off into the distance and throwing me off balance.

The gnoll recovered faster than I did, and pain erupted along my side when the flail finally found purchase. It was a solid hit, slamming into my abdomen and ripping across my body. While not the deadliest, it was by far the most painful hit I’d endured since the war had ended. The raw, fiery agony ripped the air from my lugs as the gnoll ripped the barbs free from my flesh. Just as intended, the first blow made me too slow to respond to the second that left barbs latched to my arm.

Before it could rip them free, an arrow erupted from its wrist. The flail went flying, ripping the barbs from me again but landing far enough away to no longer be a threat, and I summoned another one-handed blade since I didn’t trust my shredded arm any longer. By the time I’d turned around, two more arrows sprouted from the gnoll, but they weren’t able to penetrate very deep through the thick fur.

The gnoll came at me with claws, leaving long, shallow cuts down the side of my face and neck, but my blade cut deeper. I cut so deep into its shoulder that its arm went limp, and I followed immediately by stabbing the blade as deep into its chest as I could. I left it there, stumbling away and summoning a third blade. It clutched at the sword, whimpering in pain, and was too slow to stop me from plunging my final sword into its back.

Crimson erupted from its front and it howled in agony before slumping forward. The two gnolls still engaged with the raging Erinyes took one look at the chieftain and tried to run, but she killed them before they could get too far.

I panted, pain wracking my body. The flail had ripped me open, so I cast [Shadow Stitching] to staunch the bleeding. The pain nearly drove me to my knees, but I remained standing. Reese ran up to me sporting a few injuries of her own, her face pale. “Shit, you got fucked up.”

“I’ll live,” I said, my voice haggard.

The Erinyes marched up to me, pausing when she saw the state I was in. “Kili?” she asked, hope in her voice.

“Safe back at my camp. We’ll take you there as soon as this is all over.” I turned to Reese. “Go after Nari and the captives. The gnolls are going to try and split, and I don’t want one stumbling on them by accident.”

She nodded and took off, and I turned to Anri. “Go with her?”

Anri looked me over worriedly, then nodded and stepped back to take to the skies once more. I turned my attention back to the gnoll, trying to replace the moment where it had all gone so wrong. I’d had a clear kill shot, but I’d fucked it up somehow. I reached out with my blade and ran the tip through the fur of its neck until I hit something hard and unyielding. When I lifted the fur a little to get a better look, my stomach plummeted.

I was dimly aware of my sword hitting the ground after slipping through my fingers, now completely robbed of their strength. Emotions raged through me, but I shoved them down as deep as they’d go and donned the mask that had gotten me through the war.

I summoned the biggest axe I could effectively wield with one arm and slammed it down on the gnoll’s neck, just above the strip of metal I now knew was there. It took a few chops, leaving me spattered in blood, but eventually the chieftain’s head rolled free. I kicked it away, no longer caring about it, and knelt down next to the now-headless corpse.

I dropped the axe and pulled the collar off with trembling, numb fingers. It still glowed with the faintest of gold symbols that were etched across the entirety of the dark metal collar. I held it tightly in both hands, having to resist the urge to reach up and brush against my own neck just to reassure myself that no collar sat there. I could feel its phantom weight choking me, but I knew it was just my past trying to resurface.

I looked the collar over closely, the sounds of the battle drowned out by my own heartbeat hammering in my ears. I ran a thumb over the symbols desperately, hoping to replace a single sign that I was wrong. That my instincts were being deceived.

But they weren’t. I wasn’t. I knew these symbols. I’d worn them for nearly half my life. I’d seen them on the necks of the people I cared about for all that time. Suddenly, the chieftain’s actions all made sense. It hadn’t made any deals with our mysterious adversary, it had been enslaved to them.

The roaring in my ears grew and grew until it was all that remained. All I could focus on were the pinpricks of fear all running away from me. The gnolls fleeing now that their chieftain was dead. I gripped the collar in the hand that wasn’t strong enough to do much else and grabbed the axe again, rising despite my body’s protests against it.

Everything after that was a blur.