I sat on a cot next to Eryn when Commander Edwin entered the medical tent. We’d gotten the entire tent to ourselves as Knut’s leg and arm had been set and was being healed. While he could technically move, he was under the doctor’s strict orders not to even get up or he’d face some…repercussions.

  "How are you all doing?” Edwin asked, and Nabeeh stirred, yawning as she sat up, waving at the commander.

  "Alive," I said. “Broken arm and leg for Knut, Eryn’s fingers were reattached, and Nabeeh’s quick thinking in playing dead saved her from more than a stomach wound.”

  “And despite my quick thinking, I’m the only one who will end up with a permanent scar,” Nabeeh said, grumbling, but we all knew it was good natured.

  “And you?” Edwin asked.

  “I'm mostly unharmed,” I said. “Got lucky. Really lucky.”

  Edwin nodded.

  “Good to hear. Now, the doctor only let me inside.” He pulled up a stool and settled next to me. “I need a full debrief. Also, why do you keep doing this? Giving me a headache and drawing attention to yourself when you least should?”

  I shrugged, unable to really give him a real answer, then proceeded to describe the ambush in detail, including how the monsters had erupted from the ground, how they had surrounded us, their threat levels, appearance, and abilities.

  "And you say this Gnash monster was orange-rated?" Edwin asked at the end.

  "Yes," I confirmed. "It was different from any other monster we’ve fought. Well, except Arclight, the lightning kitty. Though, this didn’t feel similar to it. Just, smarter and stronger than normal monsters. It even used a dagger and had some kind of empowered attack that shattered my shield and… stunned my arm in one hit."

  "And it retreated rather than fought to the death," Edwin mused, stroking his chin. "That suggests strategic thinking."

  “Strategic thinking? Bah! Cowardice! It should have fought to the death and let us kill it. I wanted to taste it. I needed to…no, I still need to!. Revenge is a dish well made with rat.”

  "The whole attack felt planned," Nabeeh added, sitting up on her cot. "They weren't just random monsters. I’ve never seen creatures like that waiting for adventurers before. If they knew we were in the cavern, they should have charged inside to attack us. They should have thrown themselves at us. When did monsters start waiting for adventurers to get out of tricky situations to attack them? It’s wrong on so many levels.”

  “This is a count in favor of your Hive Mind theory being correct,” Edwin said, his frown deepening. “It sounds tactical. But why would they go after you?”

  Eryn and Knut both glanced at me. Edwin hadn’t mentioned anything about his mentor being targeted by monsters, only humans.

  “Perhaps it was an ambush of opportunity?” I said, shrugging. “That it had monsters nearby and sent them once we went down into the cave?”

  “We both know that isn’t true.”

  “Could it want revenge?” Edwin asked. “You told me you harmed it in your fight. If it can strategize, then it can long for revenge, too.”

  “Revenge,” Roq said. “Yes. He is right, but only partially. It is WE who needs revenge. On that oversized sewer rat!”

  “There must be more valuable targets than me, I mean, us,” I said to Edwin, trying to focus.

  “Are you listening? We need to train, Ash! Now! There must be mind gems here. Maybe Edwin has some on him? Eat them like they’re Ma’s blueberry pie! Reach level twelve and let’s see what new ability you gain. I bet it’s going to be magnificent. It’s based on me, after all, you leech!”

  “Your party. Better target than us, no?” Knut said to Edwin.

  “True,” the commander said. “Makes me fear the worst for Ilya’s party. If the monsters have started ambushing adventurers, the war between the monsters and us just entered a new phase. A bad one at that.”

  “Roq, calm down. I need to focus.”

  “Ilya has yet to return?” Eryn asked, and Edwin nodded.

  "Could it be a preparation for a larger attack?” I asked. “Try to weaken us by picking us off when we go outside?”

  "A plausible theory, and concerning one." Edwin sighed and looked towards the tent’s exit.

  “Calm down? That… that thing dared to wound my wielder! We need to learn from them. We need to set our own ambush! Do cheese pies exist here? Put one out, lure that bastard rat to the pie, and when it’s close – BOOM! We blow it up! Mix rat brain and cheese pie, sweep it up, bake a new pie, and put me in it. Yes! This is the way! Listen to me, and we will achieve glorious success, Ash!”

  “Roq, we nearly died. You need to calm down, or we risk making even more mistakes. Think of the forge for a moment. We don’t simply work with hot metal, do we?”

  “What?”

  “Tell me, Roq, what does quenching do?”

  “You know perfectly well what it does. What’s your point, you dullard?”

  “Say it.”

  “Why?”

  “Don’t you know?”

  “Of course I know!”

  “Prove it then.”

  “Fine! We cool the metal rapidly to increase its hardness and strength. Happy now?”

  “Good. Being healed and going through this debrief? That is us quenching. Without it, we will become brittle and more likely to crack under the pressure of fighting for our lives. So cool it, alright?”

  “Why do you always have to be so… complicated?”

  “Just be glad I’m not a woman.”

  “What in the abyss does that even mean?”

  “Never mind or I won’t get a word in with Edwin for the next few days.”

  We spent the next hour discussing various scenarios and potential countermeasures. Edwin was particularly interested in what we’d seen of the Gnaw Hulks' burrowing abilities and Gnash's empowered attacks.

  Finally, Edwin leaned back, his expression somber.

  "From what you've described, there doesn’t seem anything you could have done to avoid this ambush, short of avoiding Riftside altogether."

  “Not going to happen,” I said.

  “You have to be careful now,” he continued. “More than ever before.”

  “No. Be stronger,” Knut said. “Get stronger, kill all monsters.”

  “I didn’t mean in combat. Too many promising adventuring parties break after near-death experiences like this," Edwin said. "I'd hate to see that happen to you. You've made rapid progress, and I have high hopes for your future. We all do, here in Dawnwatch."

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  I pulled Eryn close while smiling at Knut and Nabeeh.

  "With all due respect, Commander," I said, "We knew what we were signing up for. Things won’t always go our way, but we learn from it."

  "If it were that easy," Eryn added, leaning on me, "The war would already be over, wouldn’t it?”

  "Good fight make strong warriors,” Knut grunted, flexing his shield arm. “Wounds not kill. Only make stronger.”

  "Besides," Nabeeh said with a dramatic sigh, "Where else would I get such exciting scars to show off at parties?"

  Edwin looked dumbstruck, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

  "Well," he said finally, trying to put up as much of an honest smile as he could "Your resilience is commendable. Thank you for taking the mission, despite the outcome. I look forward to seeing what comes from the roots you brought back, though it doesn’t sound like we should set up any larger production there for now.”

  "What's it like?" I asked suddenly. "Fighting in rifts where the monsters are stronger?”

  Edwin went quiet, his expression distant. And when he spoke, his voice was forcedly calm.

  "In one way, it's much the same." He glanced at Eryn. "Has Ash shared the information I gave him about how monsters seem to match the power of adventurers at a rift?"

  Eryn nodded, and Edwin continued.

  “So in a way it feels much the same. It's never easy. When I’ve fought in rifts where I am the weakest adventurer and not the strongest, it reminds me of when I started out. What you are experiencing now is what I experience when fighting stronger monsters. With the main difference being that the more powerful the monsters are, the more abilities and surprises they bring, like the empowered attack of this Gnash. I’m surprised you faced it here already.”

  “So are we. It looked just as sentient as the hive mind,” I said and let out a sigh.

  Edwin leaned forward, his voice dropping.

  "This is part of why we don't just hand out gems to scavengers. It was tried. They flooded Riftside with adventurers, sending out hundreds of parties." He shook his head. "But the monsters responded, increasing their numbers in kind. Too many of the boosted adventurers couldn't handle the pressure and combat. Many fell. Too many. But even more quit. It caused a lot of trouble—trouble the guild has worked hard to keep quiet."

  “My father told me stories,” Nabeeh said. "In Azbara, they had to kill a lot of the boosted adventurers."

  “Kill them?” Eryn gasped. "Why?"

  Edwin and Nabeeh exchanged a glance, and at the commander’s nod, she continued.

  "They weren't strong enough to fight Riftside, but on Noros, they were suddenly powerful. Really powerful. A party of four classed adventurers setting themselves up as roaming bandits? Several parties banding together to challenge the king?" She shook her head. "Lots of blood was spilled. You might not have realised this yet, but adventurers do not fit into Noros' society.”

  Edwin nodded.

  "That's correct. Adventurers who are focused on the war effort and push themselves to grow and beat back the monsters have an outlet and a purpose. But not those who give up. And few are willing to live quiet lives as farmers, merchants, or craftsmen. Instead, they attempt to seize power on the basis of their classed strength. It never ends well."

  “I guess I never thought about that,” I said, feeling a sudden dread form within me. “Just how many people lost their lives like that? It’s rather unsettling.”.

  “We do our best to make sure you never have to,” Edwin said. “And this is why the guild doesn't actively help scavengers reach classed status. We don't stop them either, of course. The war effort is dependent on getting adventurers. But the period as a scavenger works wonders to filter out those unable to handle the pressure, danger, and rise in power."

  "Like the Domitius thugs," I said, thinking of Ivan. “Power was given to them, and they had no idea what to do with it other than bully those weaker than themselves.”

  Edwin nodded.

  "Classic example of what happens when peoples' mind gems are sponsored and not earned. That is why we let people struggle their way up to become classed. Once people pass that threshold, they already know how to fight."

  "Why were they allowed then?" Eryn asked, her brow furrowed.

  "I can't be sure about them specifically," Edwin replied, "But from my understanding, it's small scale. Domitius doesn't have an army of classed adventurers. They might have a few parties, leveled up under guise of becoming adventurers, but then 'change their mind’ and do their best not to capture attention. But if a house ever attempted to do it on a larger scale, the guild would destroy them. So they make sure to keep it just on the right side of what is tolerated."

  Edwin made a motion as if to spit on the floor in disgust, then seemed to remember where he was and stopped himself, instead muttering a curse about nobles.

  "Such offense has been taken!" Nabeeh exclaimed, placing a hand over her heart in mock outrage.

  Edwin looked taken aback for a moment before Nabeeh winked at him. He sighed and muttered something more under his breath about nobility.

  "Before I forget," Edwin said, straightening, "Helena and Thomas told me to tell you they are relieved you're safe, thank you for your message, chastise you severely for getting injured, and demand and or request, depending on whether you are talking to your mother or father, your presence at the Steel & Scale immediately upon getting back to Noros.” Edwin sucked in a deep breath. “Wow! That was a mouthful.”

  I laughed.

  “Thank you, commander. We'll head there as soon as Knut is released by the doctor."

  Edwin gave a small smile, chuckling as he glanced at Knut.

  "Rest up. You'll be needed again soon."

  As he turned to leave, Nabeeh suddenly asked,

  "Commander? Your scar, how did you get it?” As Edwin's hand twitched toward his face, Nabeeh hastily added, "Just curious because I got my first scar today."

  She opened her robe slightly to show the red mark on her stomach.

  Edwin smiled sadly.

  "Congratulations on surviving and earning it. As for mine… It’s a story for another time. Focus on resting now. I’ve got to go increase the watch and get people to check for diggers. We don’t want monsters popping up inside the station, do we?”

  With that, he departed, leaving us to our recovery.

  * * *

  Late at night, I left Eryn and the others sleeping in the tent and went for a walk. The quiet of the camp did nothing to calm my restless mind, and sleep wouldn’t take. Every time I closed my eyes, my mind started spinning back to the battle. What I could have done different, how close I came to losing Eryn and the others, the power surrounding Gnash's gleaming dagger as he stabbed at my chest...

  I pulled my cloak forward and ran a hand over it. Knut and Pa weren’t wrong. It was ugly, but damn if it hadn’t saved my life twice already. Least it could do after nearly killing Eryn during the forging.

  I chuckled, thinking back to the mess we’d made and the berating afterwards.

  Extra guards patrolled the walls, careful of keeping their eyes outward so as not to affect their night vision. I nodded to the closest as I climbed the wooden ladder to the walkway atop the wall, not wanting to trouble them with resetting a lift.

  "Can't sleep?" Roq asked when I pulled him from my inventory, gazing out over the killing field surrounding the station.

  “Does your mind ever just spin on stuff? Stupid things you’ve said, a wrong decision, an embarrassing…whatever?”

  “Nope. Never experienced any of that.”

  “Ha ha. Funny.”

  “What are you laughing at, wielder? I never say stupid things, I do not make wrong decisions, and just look at me.”

  “What?”

  “Hold me up.”

  I did.

  “Look closer.”

  With a sigh, I did as he said.

  “Is my form not perfect? What could I ever have to be embarrassed about?”

  “You say stupid crap constantly!”

  But I couldn’t help chuckling to myself. Whether he was joking or truly delusional, he pulled me from my negative thoughts.

  “I do not. You might find it stupid, but I do not. That is the key. And I make no wrong decisions, nor am I embarrassed, because I have no regrets.”

  “Not even letting the rat get away, failing to kill the Hive Mind, and not convincing me to let you taste our friendly neighbourhood frost mage’s blood?”

  “Not even a little bit, because those are all your fault as my wielder.”

  “Not the Hive Mind?”

  I grinned at Roq.

  “You changed into your form and you failed to kill it!”

  “Nice hammer,” a guard said, passing me by, and my cheeks heated, realising how I looked, staring intensely at Roq in the middle of the night.

  “Thanks?” I said as Roq laughed in my head.

  “Damn you.”

  “You are welcome.”

  I looked out at the shapes of the defensive fortifications I could see in the moonlight. The cleared area around the station had been expanded, and enough spike stakes had been driven into the ground to make a porcupine feel inadequate. Glowcaps, some living and some dead, were chained to posts spread out. They made their hissing noises, but none of them could get free or blow up before they had to.

  "Everyone’s been busy.”

  “I do think we should take the fight to the enemy, but not just because it’s the right thing to do and I want to feel them break beneath my magnificence. You know these defenses won’t stop a determined attack. Not if the Hive Mind has an army the size of what we saw in the breeding chamber.”

  I nodded.

  “If the Hive Mind fights smart, then you are right. If monsters keep charging straight for the rift? Our fort should hold.”

  "I'm sorry, Ash," Roq said suddenly, his voice a bit subdued.

  "For what?"

  "For not being able to help during the attack. For not transforming when you needed me to."

  I leaned against the palisade, staring out into the darkness.

  “Don’t worry, Roq. It’s not your fault.”

  "But I should have been able to destroy them all. Fast. To protect you. And Eryn, Knut, and the fiery fire mage. I don’t want to leave like Edwin said.”

  The genuine remorse in his voice surprised me.

  "We survived. That's what matters. And we learned some valuable lessons."

  “Oh, really?"

  "We'll bring more glowcaps next time," I began, recounting the plans we'd discussed on the way back and in the tent when he worked on healing me from the spatial storage. "Nabeeh's agreed to help Eryn get her class gem. We'll get Knut the new weapons Pa's making. We won't take missions that involve going somewhere we could be trapped, at least until we know the hive mind isn't actively hunting us."

  I paused, thinking of our other priorities.

  “And?”"

  “And we need to get Knut his breakthrough, too. With Eryn classed and Knut into the twenties, we'll be much stronger. A strong knut means we have a better chance to get out of battles alive. If he can take the abuse, then we don’t have to. It may sound a bit…brutal, but that’s his class’s purpose. Besides, it's not long until I'm level—"

  A sudden explosion of light and sound from the field below cut me off mid-sentence. One of the glowcaps had detonated, its blue-green glow erupting into a blinding flash.

  The warning bells rang.