My mind raced as Pa just stood there, frozen with his hands deep inside Arclight’s carcass, his expression unreadable.

  "What's happening? Did the old man finally realize how sub-standard this carcass of an overgrown cat truly is?" Roq asked. "I mean, I could have told him that. Nothing special about a lightning kitty compared to me. Or the old me. Or…wait, you know what I mean. I’m phenomenal in every aspect, mind you."

  I shifted uncomfortably, uncertain how to read Pa's expression. Something was definitely off, but he wasn’t saying. The moment of silence drew on, and everyone was watching him expectantly..

  "I think Pa found something. And if it was a mind gem or even a class gem, he'd just tell us, which means..."

  "WHAT? NO!" Roq's mental shout roared through my skull. "It is IMPOSSIBLE for that glorified alley cat to have a soul gem! IMPOSSIBLE! I would have sensed it! I would have known! There is only one soul gem here, and that's me! I am special. No one can take that away from me! Ash, tell me it’s not true!”

  Lysander moved closer, trying to peer around Pa's broad shoulders.

  “What is the bear hiding? Have you uncovered more treasure? Perhaps something we shouldn’t see?”

  Pa blocked him with a subtle shift of his body, his eyes never leaving mine. I watched his hands move carefully inside the carcass, manipulating something.

  Then, with a move to make a street performer proud, Pa pulled out a glistening, purple-tinged organ the size of his fist.

  “A perfectly intact gallbladder!" he said, his face splitting into a wide, if slightly forced grin. "And look at the size of it. Victor is going to lose his mind when he sees this beauty!"

  “A gall bladder? A gall bladder!?" Roq sputtered. "All that drama for a sack of bile? I nearly had a hammer-attack for nothing!"

  “A hammer attack? And how would that even work?”

  “Don’t ask. You don’t want to know, I’m sure.”

  Everyone laughed at Pa's theatrics, but when our eyes met briefly, I couldn't shake the feeling that something else had happened as his hand was buried inside the carcass. No, I was sure of it, but I didn’t exactly know what.

  By the time Pa finished, Arclight had been dissected more thoroughly than any carcass that had ever graced the smithy's tables. Every part was properly catalogued, every potential use discussed and planned. It bored most of us, including me at the end. I wanted to forge, not talk about it all day.

  “As long as we get to mount the head on the wall above the fireplace, I don’t care,” Roq said, feigning a yawn. “Though I wouldn’t mind keeping one of those lightning globes on hand for when we figure out how to deal with my breakthrough, just in case, of course. And have Pa save me one of its thigh bones. I need to forge something from it, just to prove once and for all that I am superior to Arclight. Even in death, its materials must succumb to my awesomeness!"

  “Umm…how else would it succumb to your awesomeness? You can only work on dead monsters, not living ones.”

  Pa wiped his hands on a rag and turned to Lysander.

  “Let’s get started on that bow."

  Lysander raised an eyebrow.

  "Such haste, Bear? The materials will not spoil."

  "This town is under attack every day," Pa replied, his voice suddenly serious. "There is no time to rest when monsters are at our gates. Last night is proof of that, my friend."

  Understanding dawned on Lysander's face.

  “Sometimes I forget the need of the use behind the artistry of the creation,” he said and went to open his wooden case. Inside lay several bows of different designs, smaller wooden boxes likely containing his bowyer tools, and a handful of arrows.

  "Young archer," he said, turning to Eryn. "Would you join me outside? I must observe your form before beginning this project."

  "Of course," Eryn agreed, squeezing my hand once before heading out.

  Knut, Nabeeh, and Ma followed them out back to watch, leaving Pa and me alone with the dissected carcass.

  "Pa," I said quietly, "Did you find something... else in there?"

  He waved me away without meeting my eyes.

  "Nothing to discuss right now. Focus on your girlfriend, son. Make sure the bowyer makes her the best bow he possibly can.”

  I hesitated, wanting to point out that there was no way Pa would let him do anything, but Pa had already turned back to the carcass, and I decided to give him the space he clearly wanted and needed.

  * * *

  The Timberline was bustling that evening, but our usual table in the corner waited for us with a note on top. On it, all of our names were written in a nice caligraphic style. Our behinds had barely graced the wood when Johan appeared with four tankards.

  "On the house," he said with a wink, before his server arrived and handed him a steaming pie, which Johan took with great revery, and placed directly in front of Roq, who was propped up on the seat beside me.

  "PIE! A glorious, beautiful pie!" Roq practically sang in my head. "Johan, you magnificent bastard! You've earned yourself a place in the hall of hammer heroes! I shall name a massacre in your honor!"

  "Why the pie?" I asked, genuinely confused.

  Johan looked at me like I'd asked why water was wet.

  "It's no secret you saved the gate, Ash. You and your signature hammer are starting to become a point of pride for us here. Keep it up, and I will keep the pies coming. And the drinks."

  “By the thundercat’s balls, they should be proud to be in the same town as me. Tell him I approve!” Roq preened.

  "People say that if the gates had fallen, monsters would have made it through the rift to Noros," Johan continued. "And while First Steel is mostly operational, we don't want to test that before we really have to, now do we?"

  "What does that have to do with pie?" I pressed.

  Johan just stared at me.

  "Everyone knows putting that hammer of yours into pie brings good luck. Don't ask me to explain why, but if it helps keep me alive, I'm happy to bake pies." He scratched his head. "Truth be told, more people are eating pies these days too. Wonder if there's a connection. Either way, I am alive, kicking, and making money hand over fist. So, your hammer gets a pie.”

  With that, Johan shot us a grin and left us to our meal.

  I looked at my three companions and their not at all concealed grins.

  “Just… alright?” I said, sighing as I picked up Roq, holding him before my face.

  "Did you hear that?" Roq gloated. "Put me in pie, and monsters will die! It's practically science! Also, he forgot the milk. The milk!"

  I lowered him into the pie, and let go so he could crush through the crust under his own weight.

  “Oh, yeah!”

  I shuddered.

  “Too close,” Knut said, nodding. “Hammer deserves pie, no doubt. Maybe new taste for next time, too. Berries from north, maybe?”

  “What?” Eryn asked.

  “Look. Ash shuddered. Must think of our fights, no?” Knut said, wiping foam from his mouth. “Hive Mind growing smarter. Looked at siege monster carcass. No accident to create such creature. Was strategy. Almost worked, too."

  "Exactly," Nabeeh agreed. "First the ambush at the caverns, then the coordinated attack on Sentinel Station."

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  “So, you think it’s adapting?” Eryn said.

  “Ambush monsters dug deep,” Knut said. “Planned for base, but died to us instead?”

  Roq hummed to himself in satisfaction.

  “If it really does keep evolving, how do we counter it?” I asked. “It’s not like there’s a guide on how to go about fighting an ever-evolving monster mind.”

  "We evolve faster," Knut said simply. "Get stronger. Better gear. More levels. Take fight to it. Find monster and turn into nice shoes. And maybe shield."

  "And we need to be unpredictable," Nabeeh suggested. "If it's studying us, we need to change our patterns, too. Use different routes, different tactics, and keep working on the station’s defenses. You need to talk to Edwin, Ash.."

  “Isn’t that just the short game?” I asked, rubbing my chin. “What about the long game? If it keeps throwing bigger, smarter monsters at us, how do we stop it and not just keep surviving. I slept better when I didn’t know about all this crap that’s going on."

  “Kill the Hive Mind. Simple,” Nabeeh said and shrugged.

  “But if it's truly a hive, then cutting off the head might not be enough,” Eryn said. “We might need to dismantle the whole dungeon. What if there are multiple nests? Could we destroy the way it operates and communicates in particular? Starve it of resources? How does it even go about making these monstrosities?”

  A heavy silence settled over the table. The scope of it all felt too big, like staring up at a mountain with no peak in sight. And I hadn’t even gotten to tell them about how it had blocked Roq’s skills during the attack on Sentinel Station. What was a party of four supposed to even do on their own? Worst of all, it had a way of finding us when out in the rift, so there’s no way for us to even try and ambush the damned thing.

  But then, Knut broke the quiet with a shrug and said something that didn’t sit quite right with me.

  "Not our problem."

  Eryn blinked.

  "What?"

  “Now? We have simple job," he said, raising his tankard. “Get so strong we can matter. Until then, let guild worry of war. The kings of new rifts and invasions. Us? Focus on next hunt, next level, next breakthrough."

  Nabeeh exhaled, then smirked.

  "Spoken like a true mercenary, but there’s truth in your words, big guy. There really isn’t much just the four of us can do."

  “Good brain mercenary," Knut corrected and winked.

  I grinned and clinked my mug against his.

  "I’m not quite sure if I agree with you there, since you see what just one of us did during the battle, but yeah, we definitely need to get stronger. Here’s to breaking through!”"And to more pie," Roq added, because of course he did.

  "Speaking of threats," Eryn said, lowering her voice, "What about House Domitius? Do you think they'll try burning the forge again? Or maybe even hurt Ma or Pa? I don’t trust them to be fair, not after what they did last time."

  “Doubtful. If so, why send the Earl's fiancée? A level thirty adventurer?" I replied. “No. That tells me they want to appear legitimate. Don’t mean they won’t try something else, though. I trust them as far as I can throw them.”

  “May fight with paper,” Knut said, frowning. "Claim debt. Force sale." He spit on the floor. “Rusted nobles.”

  “Offense taken,” Nabeeh said with a smile. “But, they might try to isolate us," Nabeeh said. "Turn the town against us somehow. Especially with that woman in town and the officials. People quickly forget who has been there all along when the new shiny hero appears."

  Eryn and I exchanged a glance, both having noticed her word choice.

  Us.

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small pouch, emptying the twelve mind gems we got from the carcasses, onto the table.

  “Five as quest reward from the Glowroot Cavern quest," I explained. "We also have two large root samples, but I decided not to hand them in. Instead, I say we give the largest to Pa for crafting, because I think there’s some potential use.”

  Or, rather, Roq had thought so.

  "And the other sample?" Eryn asked.

  “Was thinking we give it to Victor in exchange for a profit share on anything he creates from it," I suggested. “Also, we need to start building rapport with people like Victor. That way no one will be able to cut us off entirely from things we need for hunting. Potions, healing salves, and other things he might provide.

  “Plan is good," Knut nodded.

  “Of course it is. I came up with it literally a second ago. Or something.”

  “Then we have the six mind gems Pa extracted today," I continued, "Plus one extra Harold gave me as thanks for the siege monster. That's twelve total, or three each."

  “A sand dune’s worth of wealth!” Nabeeh said. “We bled for these, but now I’ll be well on my way to level seventeen!"

  Knut ran his fingers back and forth on the table.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “No wrong,” he answered. “Thinking of what next.” He looked to Eryn. "You get class gem from doctor, no? We still pool gems to pay back fast? Or..."

  Eryn and I exchanged smiles.

  "No," Eryn said warmly. "It's time to start working on getting your next class gem, Knut."

  The northerner straightened, and closed his eyes for a moment. Then he sighed in contentment.

  “Thank you. Means much. Long time stuck at breakthrough. But soon I protect even better. And can take even bigger explosion. We need try, desert flower."

  “Oh my, are you asking me to blow you up?” Nabeeh asked with excitement, and the big guy grinned and nodded.

  “But,” I said, "I was thinking of using my three gems to hire security for the smithy until we know more about Serona's plans."

  "Do you think they know what happened to Ivan and the others?" Eryn asked, her brow furrowing.

  "Hard to say," I replied. "But I was thinking of hiring Richard's party to keep watch. I don’t know how much they’ll ask, but we need to be sure Pa and Ma are safe. Then Knut’s family, too, once they arrive."

  "Good choice," Nabeeh said. “I'll contribute a gem, too. From everything I’ve seen, Ma and Pa deserve it.”

  "Same," Knut nodded firmly.

  "Count me in," Eryn added.

  "Thank you," I said, genuinely moved by their contribution. While we were great friends and growing closer, I knew they didn’t owe it to me. "This means a lot."

  "Aww, look at your little family coming together," Roq cooed mockingly. "Almost brings a tear to my non-existent eye. You know, if we did things my way and just SMASHED those Domitius snobs, we could spend those gems to level you up instead, and be that much closer to…whatever!”

  "If it comes to a fight," Nabeeh said, as if reading my thoughts, "We need to be prepared. Benedict's ice magic is formidable, but I should be able to counter him up to a point. But Serona's wind magic? Fire is not good against wind, so unless I get a jump on her, she’d crush me. And no, I’m not ashamed to say so.”

  "Then there's the two warriors and the archer," Eryn added. "It's not a good situation no matter how you look at it."

  "First priority, avoid fight," Knut said firmly. "Second, change situation."

  “No! First priority, Smash! Second, Armor Break! Tell the big guy I’m disappointed in him!”

  “I thought you had gotten more of a hold on your bloodthirstiness. What’s going on?”

  “What if you need to break through to level twenty before I can break through to ten? You ever thought of that?”

  “So? Keeping a good reputation in Dawnwatch, keep hunting, and staying alive would be the best way to get there.”

  “I still say we slay Benedict and leech his power. And the woman, too. Get you to twenty, guaranteed. Probably. Maybe even higher!”

  "Speaking of changing the situation," I said, “Your new bow might help tip the scales. What do you think it'll be like?" I asked Eryn.

  Eryn grinned.

  "I can't even imagine. But Lysander seems like the real deal. Talks funny, smells of wood, and he seemed as intense as Pa. If he’s not an artisan, then I don’t know if I’ve ever met one.”

  "I bet he'll use one of those lightning globules," Nabeeh said excitedly. "Imagine shooting arrows that shock your enemies! That could be the perfect counter against that witch. Just imagine her dancing there in place, her arms flailing like a fish out of water!"

  We laughed at that, as it was a genuinely funny thought.

  “Maybe epic bow," Knut said, stroking his beer.

  "With Arclight materials and Pa working with Lysander?" I shook my head. "I wouldn't be surprised if it's legendary."

  “If it gives me the ability to shoot lightning like Arclight did, then I’ll be the happiest healer in Dawnwatch!”

  “Actually, now that you're getting your class gem," Nabeeh said to Eryn, "What are your thoughts on bow versus staff? Most healers I've known prefer staves for the mana amplification."

  "I still want to be a damage dealer,” Eryn said. “You know what the best way to heal a wound is?"

  “Mud,” Knut said. “But big wound? Magic mud.”

  “Tell us,” I said, ignoring our tank. “Oh, wait, I know.”

  “Exactly,” she said with a wink. “Prevent the wound from happening in the first place," Eryn said with a grin. “And the best way to prevent you from being wounded is for me to kill the monsters first. Or at least stop them.”

  "Tell them about your level up!" Roq urged. "Tell them about Ironburst! It was GLORIOUS!"

  "I can’t. Not with Nabeeh here.”

  “Why not? Do we need to keep it hidden just in case she betrays us?”“Of course not. But how am I supposed to explain reaching level twelve? That's twenty-three gems supposedly consumed, but Nabeeh knows I give all my mind gems to Eryn. The only time she heard me ask for gems was those four during the attack."

  “This sounds like a YOU problem. So, you need to figure it out!" Roq demanded theatrically. “Because I am getting BORED of being left out of the conversation! The great and powerful Roq deserves recognition! And more praise! Definitely praise."

  “Sure.”

  The tavern door swung open, and Harold entered with three people wearing the red and green colors of the Adventurer's Guild. The first was a tall, lean man with a monocle and a precisely trimmed silver goatee, carrying a leather-bound journal. Second came a muscular woman, large enough to rival Madeleine, with half her head shaved, except for a single long braid adorned with small metal rings. The third was a shorter man who waddled in looking as if he inspired to play the part of a rolling ball, with an unnaturally wide smile.

  “That’s got to be the guild officials," Eryn said.

  “I can’t wait to find out what they want,” I said, sarcastically.

  “Look at monster attacks. Count weapons, touch gems, and demand knee bending,” Knut said. "Or Edwin's hive mind theory."

  "Or that,” Nabeeh said darkly. “Which leads to us.”

  “Let’s not give them any reason to look our way then,” Eryn said.

  Nabeeh stood.

  “You get started on that while I go answer nature’s call.”

  As soon as she was out of earshot, I leaned in close to Eryn and Knut.

  "I think we should tell Nabeeh about…you know who," I said quietly.

  “Rhymes with stone and hits twice as hard?” Eryn asked.

  “Breaker of hand,” Knut added. “That is grim knowledge. Sure she can take?”

  “Yes, I’m pretty sure she can take it. She will stay loyal, at least until she’s achieved her goal of becoming strong enough to take on the people home,” I said. “I…trust her.”

  "FINALLY!" Roq exclaimed.

  "I think by now we either decide to trust or kick her from the party," I continued. “It's getting hard to keep the secret, especially…” I paused, raising my beer and nodding to Knut. He didn’t need much push, and took a big gulp. “Especially considering I'm level twelve now,” I said, finishing.

  Knut choked on his beer, spraying it across the table.

  "Level twelve?!" he sputtered, wiping his beard. "When? How? Tell of new ability!"

  I grinned.

  “You know, this is exactly why we need to tell Nabeeh. Too many people on the wall saw me use my new ability. It's an area-of-effect attack called Ironburst. Summons steelhusk spears from the ground to impale enemies in a circle around me. Short range and medium damage, but can hit up to fifteen targets at once.”

  "By northern winds," Knut breathed. "Area attack? Good. Better control of battlefield. Powerful because we both melee."

  Eryn squeezed my hand.

  "That's amazing, Ash. And you're right – we should tell Nabeeh. She's part of our family now."

  "It's almost strange she hasn't figured it out yet," I admitted.

  "She will be back soon," Knut noted. "We tell her tonight?"

  “Tomorrow,” I said. “At Pa’s, once Lysander has left. It’s only fitting, considering that’s where Roq was made.”