I hit the ground hard, and the wind was knocked out of me. My cloak's protective cocoon absorbed most of the impact, but the force of the blow had still been enough to send me sprawling.

  As the cloak unwrapped, I gasped for air and looked around frantically, trying to find whoever it was that just attacked us.

  "Ash!" Eryn cried from nearby where she lay on the ground in what could pass for a small ditch.

  "Stay down!" I wheezed, twisting my body about and almost frog-leaping toward her and into the shallow ditch. It was barely deep enough to cover us, but unless the assailant was up on a hill, he wasn’t getting in a straight shot.

  Another arrow whistled through the air where I’d just been lying seconds before. "What's happening?" she asked, her eyes scanning ahead. “What just hit you? I couldn’t see!”"Arrow," I hissed, still feeling the sting in my back. "Archer. Somewhere behind us.”

  "It's the archer from the Domitius group!" Roq growled in my mind. "The lean one who came with Benedict! He's hiding behind those rocks about fifty yards back toward Dawnwatch. I just saw him poking his head out!"

  I pulled my shield from my spatial storage and propped it against the edge of the ditch, between us and the direction of the attack. Eryn pressed close to me and tried to check on my back. "How bad is the hit?" she asked.

  "Just bruised I think," I said, wincing as she pressed her hand against my back.. "My cloak took all of the damage, but if I hadn’t been wearing it, I’d probably be dead. That was one powerful attack.”

  Even an Ironroot Golem's stomp hadn't done that much damage through the cloak.

  An arrow slammed into my shield with enough force to partially pierce through. It pushed me back a bit, and I almost slipped ont he ground. Eryn flinched with a startled cry as the arrowhead stopped inches from her face.

  "I have no idea how to fight a ranged adventurer," I said. "Those arrows hit way too hard. How is he even doing that?"

  "What do we do?" Eryn asked. There was a hint of panic in her voice, but she seemed well-enough to fight.

  "Roq, tell me if he moves," I said, then handed the shield to Eryn. "Hold it steady."

  She nodded and took the shield, bracing it against the lip of the ditch. Another arrow struck with a metallic thud, embedding itself in the shield's center.

  I inched back, swiped out my chest armor, and laid it flat, before crawling inside. I'd forego the armored pants, leaving my legs unprotected for now. There wasn't time for a full suit-up. The next arrow could already be fatal if I didn’t hurry up.

  "He's not moving," Roq reported. "Just popping up to shoot. Coward."

  I poked my head out once, just to see the general direction, and popped back down, donning my helmet. From what I could see, around us, the archer had positioned himself well between us and Dawnwatch, taking the only real piece of cover nearby. We were pinned down in shallow ditch with little room to maneuver, while he had a good chunk of rock that he could fully hide behind.

  "We're trapped here," I said quietly to Eryn, taking the shield from her. "He's got the better cover."

  As if to emphasize my point, an arrow whistled down from above, narrowly missing us as it plunged into the dirt beside my leg.

  "He's trying to force us to leave the ditch," Eryn said, pulling her legs in and making herself small

  "You should have detected him!" Roq accused. "What kind of predator gets ambushed?"

  "He approached from behind while I was focused on the target," Arclight replied with icy disdain. "I watch forwards, always. Hunting for prey, not watching for cowards!"

  "A real warrior expects danger from every direction!" Roq countered. “That is why you will never be superior, you damned cat!

  "I am the danger," Arclight purred. "Not some human with a stick and string."

  "You're a newborn who knows nothing of how this world works," Roq sneered. “If that stupid man had tried to kill your wielder instead? She would be dead now!”

  "Enough!" I snapped. "We need a plan. We can't stay here—sooner or later, he'll either hit us or get backup. I’m sure of it. There’s no way he’s foolish enough to try and take us on by himself.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. Anyone who goes up against me is foolish, Ash.”

  “Not now. Look closer, can you see anyone else?”"Hold me up for a better view," Roq said, and I did.

  An arrow pinged off his hammerhead.

  "Cowardly bastard! Come over here and try that!"

  "See anyone?" I asked, lowering my hammer.

  "No. But I am going to enjoy feasting on his brains!" Roq said.

  "I could try to hit him when he pops out," Eryn said. "But I'd have to expose myself. This ditch is too shallow for proper cover."

  "Too risky. There has to be something else we can do," I said.

  "What about Forge Anchor?" Roq asked. "Would it even work from here?"

  "No, not quite. You would have do expose yourself a bit first," Roq replied. "You need a clear line of sight, no obstacles. And Ironburst has a too short-range. You'd need to get much closer, but then again, you need to go around to get a clear view of the archer. What a conundrum."

  I grimaced.

  "If I charge him, it might give you a clean shot, but what if he decides to hit you instead?"

  "Suicidal either way," Eryn protested. "If he's a level twenty or higher adventurer, one well-placed arrow could kill you."

  "Better than you trying to take him on with nothing but your bow,," I said. "We don’t really have another option."

  Eryn flinched as another arrow fell from the sky, blessedly missing us.

  "Arclight," she said, "What type of arrows can you make with Spatial Fletching? Anything that might help?"

  "What carcasses do you have in your spatial storage, mate of my wielder?" Arclight asked.

  "Those are MY carcasses," Roq hissed. “Get your own! I need them to fuel my skills and heal Ash when he's injured. Which, I might add, I am sure you are jealous of now that your wielder is moments from needing healing herself."

  "Roq, grow up!" I snapped. "We're in combat!"

  "Fine," Roq muttered. "We have a Steel Scuttler, two Claw Sprecks, and two Shardfangs."

  "I require one of the Claw Sprecks," Arclight said. "Its flexible exoskeleton will allow me to craft a curving arrow."

  "Are you serious?" I asked. "Can you do that?"

  "Obviously," Arclight replied as if the mere question was an insult.

  "I don't know how to curve arrows," Eryn said. "Never practiced."

  "Worry not, my wielder. I will help you with the shot. It is unlikely to be a kill shot, unless he exposes his throat. We can't draw too hard or it won't hit. But our prey wears light armor. It will wound and distract him."

  I nodded and transferred the Claw Spreck carcass to Eryn, who quickly stored it along with Arclight.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  An arrow thudded into the ground right beside her leg, making her yelp again.

  "Portal piss!" she cursed, her face flushing with anger. She withdrew Arclight again, along with an arrow that had the same yellow stripes as the Claw Sprecks had on their throats. Its fletching was slightly uneven and it had a wickedly barbed tip.

  "Now," Arclight said, "Lay on your back and crawl backward slightly. We need a better angle to curve around the right side of the rock."

  Eryn did as instructed, positioning herself carefully. I held the shield and looked out for more falling arrows.

  "Nock the arrow high," Arclight continued. "A little higher. Good. Now, draw only partway, my power is too strong otherwise. Tilt the bow... further... further... nearly flat. There!"

  "Ash, get ready," Arclight commanded.

  "Shield! Eryn's stomach! Now!" Roq shouted.

  I reacted instantly, moving my shield to cover Eryn's midsection. An arrow fell down, slamming into the shield. It’s tip partially pierced through again. Pa was going to get pissed…

  "The prey grows impatient," Arclight growled.

  "Thanks," Eryn said, swallowing and holding the arrow.

  I rolled onto my side, preparing to move as Arclight helped Eryn re-adjust the shot.

  "Now... loose!"

  Eryn released the arrow, and it shot upward in a weird curved angle, something I’d never seen before, and headed toward the assassin's position. Simultaneously, I stood and ran diagonally to the right, the fastest way to get a clear line of sight.

  A sharp cry of pain and surprise came from behind the rocks, together with a crackling sound. Not only had the arrow found its mark, but Arclight's stun had triggered, causing the archer to dance in place.

  I finally managed to get close enough to get a visual on our attacker. Roq was correct. It was the same lean man who had accompanied Benedict and Serona, now dressed in brown leathers that worked like camouflage. His face contorted in pain as electricity coursed through his body, but he still clutched onto his bow.

  "Forge Anchor!"

  I slammed Roq into the ground, and steelhusk roots erupted from the ground, snaking around the man's legs, anchoring him in place.

  "Drop your bow!" I shouted as I ran at him as the stun effect wore off. Despite being rooted, the assassin's hands moved swiftly, drawing and nocking another arrow.

  He drew, and I prepared to raise my shield. Then the bow started glowing, just like Wade's crossbow had when we fought the Titanfang.

  He loosed and I cursed under my breath. I dropped to my right and raised my shield, angling it away from me, but the arrow came too fast. It struck the shield and exploded with a deafening boom. The shield shattered, the force of the blast throwing me rolling backward. I felt bones snap in my arm, and hot pain lanced through my legs as splinters tore through my cloth pants and buried into my flesh.

  I hit the ground hard, dazed and gasping for air as I blinked my eyes rapidly, trying to get a look at the archer."Get up!" Roq bellowed. "Get up and kill the bastard! I demand it! Don’t let the cat get the last hit!"

  The Forge Anchor held the man upright, even though several had pierced his body. His head and part of his torso were exposed above the rocks.

  Eryn, now standing on the edge of the ditch and bow in hand, was holding onto an arrow. It glowed just as viciously as the one that just struck me."Draw to full strength," Arclight instructed. "Aim for the top of the rock."

  As Eryn drew Arclight to full extension, the assassin calmly nocked another arrow and pointed it right at me.

  I placed Roq above my heart as I struggled to rise and protect myself with the splintered remains of my shield at the same time.

  Aim for my head, you bastard.

  Out of all my gear, except for Roq, I most trusted in the Bonebound Vigil, forged from the Platemaw's skull, to stop an arrow.

  The assassin likely thought the same, and didn’t risk the arrow bouncing off my armor. His next arrow slammed into my right shoulder, knocking me back down and making my arm go limp. I released Roq, and he fell to the dirt alongside me.

  My eyes landed on Eryn as I settled onto the ground, and her arrow finally reaching the same bright glow as the one that splintered my shield, lightning lightning crackling around the arrowhead.

  The assassin tried to shift his upper body away, but he wasn’t going anywhere. Eryn's arrow struck the top of the rock he was hiding behind and blasted right through it and the man’s head alike.

  He was dead before even one of my steelhusk roots evaporated.

  "NOOOO!" Roq screamed in outrage. "That was OUR kill! You glory-stealing, pompous feline!"

  "I simply finished what you couldn't, warmonger," Arclight replied smugly.

  “Roq, Arclight, you sense anyone else around?” I asked, barely managing to string together a coherent question.

  “Not one,” Roq said. “She took the only kill!”

  I slumped back, the adrenaline ebbing and pain flooding in. Eryn rushed to my side, her face pale as she examined my wounds.

  "Ash! How bad is it?" Eryn asked. “Does it hurt?”

  "Been worse," I mumbled. "Roq can heal me. Help me pick him up?”

  "You're welcome," Arclight purred in our minds. "The prey has been dealt with. I feel my power growing already. The first human kill has strengthened me considerably."

  "How strong?" Roq asked, his voice tight with suspicion.

  "I am now level five," Arclight announced with an unhealthy dose of pride. "A significant advancement for such a short time of existence. I bet the speed of your own progress didn’t even come close to mine."

  "Enough, Arclight. Ash, let me--it’s going to hurt a bit, okay? But everything’s going to be better soon,” Eryn whispered, taking my hand and placing it on Roq, then touched my spatial tattoo with my left hand to activate it.

  I expected Roq to explode on Arclight, but to my shock, he replied in a strained, unnaturally calm voice.

  "Thank you... for helping deal with the threat," Roq said, sounding as if he were chewing glass with every word. "And... congratulations on reaching level five."

  "Your gratitude is noted, though unnecessary," Arclight replied dismissively. "I merely did what you could not."

  Before Roq could respond, I willed him into my storage and I felt the familiar warmth of Blood Forge beginning to work on my damaged body.

  "Arclight," Eryn said sharply once Roq was stored away, "Play nice. We're all on the same side. And before you start, I know, you are much younger than him, so it will take time, and a lot of patience, but I do not wish to do the same thing as Ash does with Roq. If you misbehave, I will store you away."

  “Not acceptable. He is your… pack mate,” Eryn said, likely to Arclight. “I don’t care if he’s crude,” she continued. “Then you do better. Be better. Show him proper behaviour,” Eryn said, standing and turning to stare at the dead archer.

  "Eryn?" I asked softly, getting to my feet without using my arms. "Are you okay?"

  "I killed him," she said, swallowing hard. "A person. Not a monster."

  "He was trying to kill us," I reminded her gently.

  Eryn held up a hand, silencing me. “Arclight. Humans are not prey, alright? Even if he did try to kill us, he’s still a person. He had a life, a family maybe…”

  Eryn's face contorted, and I nearly swiped Roq out to hear.

  "It's not the same," she said. “And no, of course not. We defend ourselves. But that doesn’t make this right. I want to help people, not kill them.”

  My right arm healed just enough so I could move my fingers, and I took Eryn's hand.

  "It's okay to feel this way," I said. "It means you're human. You did what you had to do to protect us both."

  “I did but…Ash, what is wrong with these people!?” Eryn said. “Sending a rift rotten assassin to try and kill us? Right after you helped save Dawnwatch?”

  “Greed and madness for power, love. We will make them pay,” I said. “One way or another. They just told us that we’re fair game, so we will repay them in equal measure.”

  She nodded shakily, squeezing my hand, and took a deep sigh.

  “What do we even do with him?"

  “I’m not sure. Maybe check and see if he has anything on him about why he’d do this?”

  “What, like orders from Serona?” Eryn asked. “Think they are that careless? Or that he’d be dumb enough to carry them outside his spatial storage?”

  “No, but…” I shrugged, then winced from the pain. “Let’s check anyway. If he’s got mind gems we’re taking those, and his gear. If any of it is usable. It wouldn’t hurt to have a backup bow. And you can stay here if you want. I will do it. Just need to…recover a bit more.”

  “No,” Eryn said. “I should be the one to do it, not you. Especially not wounded as you are.”

  She helped me up and we made our way over to the body cautiously. The archer's face was frozen in a grimace, the top of his skull gone. His equipment was definitely of high quality but unmarked. There wasn’t so much as a hint of House Domitius markings.

  "Nothing," Eryn said after we'd searched him thoroughly. "Just his weapons and gear."

  "This is crazy," I said, shaking my head. “House Domitius just straight up tried to kill us in broad daylight. We should report this to Edwin in the very least, see what he can do to help.”

  Eryn frowned.

  "If it was that simple, would they have risked sending an assassin? Serona doesn't strike me as stupid. No, she’s a cunning woman, Ash. There’s more to it, trust me."

  "What do you mean?"

  "What if..." Eryn sighed. "What if she has a backup plan? What if she wants us to accuse her without any proof?"

  I considered her words.

  “If she knows about Ivan and how we banished the others, maybe there is a way to twist it back on us. Make us look like the murderers, even though it was self-defense."

  “If we brought Edwin and Harold out here, could we prove it was self-defence?” Eryn asked. “And how do we explain killing a high-level adventurer without inviting scrutiny, especially with the guild officials here? They'd want to know everything about us, including how we killed someone many levels higher than us."

  “Edwin might help, but we’ve seen how far Harold is willing to stick his neck out, and that ain’t far,” I said, nodding grimly. “If we bring the guild into this, it means questions about Roq, my stats, and Arclight."

  "What if we just... don't tell anyone?” Eryn said. “Bury the body far from here, don't take anything from this bastard, and don't ever mention anything?"

  "Just pretend nothing happened?"

  "Exactly. We don't accuse Serona. Try not to even look angry around her. Wouldn't that mess with her head the most? She'll be waiting for us to make accusations or attack her in return, and when we don't..."

  "She'll wonder if her assassin chickened out or if we're planning something," I finished. "It might protect us better than any accusation. That’s only if we’re on the right track."

  "And it keeps us out of the spotlight, if nothing else," Eryn added.

  "Right, let's do it. We'll bury him far enough that no one will find him," I said, pulling Roq back out. For some odd reason, I missed holding him in moments like these.

  "We should move quickly," Arclight interjected. "If one prey was suicidal enough to attack us, others might be waiting to take their turn."

  The thought chilled me.

  “Don’t worry, kitty, we will protect you if they show up,” Roq said, and I could feel the smugness radiating off him.

  “She’s right, though. What if Benedict and the others are waiting to ambush us on the way back to Dawnwatch in case the archer failed?”

  Eryn scanned the horizon.

  “Let’s take a long walk back, enter another gate. Maybe even wait until dark to sneak back in."

  "Good idea," I agreed, wincing as I bent to grab the archer. Blood Forge had at least dulled the pain, but I was far from healed. “Sorry, buddy, I still need you in there,” I said and stored Roq again, then eyed the corpse.