Is it over?

  The thought lingered in Tucker’s mind as his vision faded in and out. He struggled to keep standing but knew he needed to stay upright. Just long enough so that the enemy knights were out of sight. It was all he needed to do. All that was left so that they could safely reach the stronghold of the dwarves.

  Every muscle in his legs burned as if someone had encased it in a smoldering cast of iron, and the bones protruding out from the side scraped against his dark green trousers. A faint ringing noise echoed from his ears, but he could still feel the refreshing breeze with Gale circling above them.

  His eyes shifted to the sky even though he couldn’t see his companion. He felt a sense of relief knowing that they were still okay and stayed with him to the end. If it wasn’t for Gale sharing their essence with him, then they wouldn’t be standing here. They would have been dragged back to the encampment long ago. He didn’t believe it, but Alex was right. The bond with his companion is the most important aspect of being a watchman.

  He felt a single thread connecting him and his companion. One that began from his heart and flew into the sky.

  Once the knights had left the area, Tucker smiled. Finally, collapsing in place as Alex struggled to support him. Each step the watchmen took to the dwarves was filled with pain and agony, but the two endured. Now that they were safe, both of them fell from where they stood. Even though Alex didn’t show it, he had overexerted himself in the past few days with little time to rest. His body was fully recovered from his battle against Hemlock, but his aura and essence were still nearly depleted.

  The last thing the veteran saw was the sight of Ofnir and Fargrim rushing to their aid, and soon everything faded.

  .

  .

  .

  Muffled sounds entered the old man’s ears. Sounds of a conversation that was barely understandable. Alex’s hands ran through the soft fabrics that covered his body. Feeling the silk threads through his fingertips as his eyes slowly opened. He calmly searched his surroundings and felt his body. Their equipment had been stripped off; instead, they wore white clothes that typical patients would wear.

  Soon, a figure loomed over him, and then another. Both of them were above his head, and their grey and brown beards brushed against the sides of his face.

  “Do ya think he’s awake?” Ofnir asked.

  “Perhaps the poor fella doesn’t seem very coherent, though,” Fargrim replied.

  Alex stared at the ceiling and slowly propped himself against the stone headboard of the bed, but before he could move any further, Ofnir stopped him.

  “Easy lad, it’s too soon for any sudden movements like that,” Ofnir said, his voice filled with concern. “Sorry about da cold treatment out there. We still had to keep up our appearances, after all.”

  “That’s fine, what about the knights?” Alex weakly asked.

  “They left long ago, been a few hours since then,” Fargrim replied with a weak smile. “You’re quite lucky the guards stationed at the gate noticed the battle. If we were a moment too late, I fear that would have been the last time we would’ve seen ya.”

  “I can’t thank you enough old friend, for saving us,” Alex groaned as he laid down in the bed.

  “Aye, don’t worry about it.” Ofnir brushed the matter aside with a smile. “Ya watchmen have done a lot for us dwarves in the past. We’re merely returning the favour.”

  “Regardless, it seems we’ve stacked another debt.” Alex’s back ached, and his white robes brushed against the bedsheets. After seeing Ofnir and the other dwarves in the field, Tucker had collapsed from exhaustion and pain. While he only managed to hold out for a few more moments before nearly bleeding out. He turned to the side and stared at Tucker and Blaire. “How are the other two idiots doing?”

  “Your little greenhorn is nearly crippled. Would need a priest or a few high tier potion to fix those legs of his before he’s able to walk again,” Fargrim answered while shaking his head. “As for the coldhearted bastard, his condition isn’t as serious as it seemed. Though it’ll be hard for something to kill a high-tier spirit contractor like him.”

  “Sadly, we’ve done what we can, Salamander. It would be best if ya head back to your Keep for better medical aid.” Ofnir glanced over at the two beds where the other watchmen rested. “What even did this to ya? At first, we thought it was the knights, but after seeing the wound on Owl, it became pretty obvious it wasn’t their doing. I’ve never seen a team of watchmen in such a sorry state before.”

  Alex’s hands clenched onto the blanket’s seams. “A demon came out of a teleportation gate we used,” he replied, rubbing the back of his arms. “If you guys didn’t warn us about the purple glowing light, then we probably wouldn’t be standing here.”

  Ofnir looked over at Fargrim with a raised brow. “A demon? Within the confinements of the Avalon Empire? Such a thing shouldn’t be possible.”

  “It is. We experienced it firsthand.” Alex released a deep exhale. “It took out Owl first, then immediately tried to go for the others.”

  Ofnir wanted to voice his concerns but was soon halted by Fargrim, who shook their head. The aged dwarf stared at Alex and said, “He isn’t one to lie, Ofnir. We both know this.”

  “Aye… but…” The brown-bearded dwarf scratched his head. Moving the long braided strains of hair on his head. “This is far more grim than we expected. Did ya at least manage to kill it?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Alex spoke in a stern tone. “The only reason we got out was because we passed it along to the Empire’s army to deal with. That thing that crawled out from the depths of the sewers wasn’t anything like I’ve seen before. Even after I severed its body in half, it came back alive and adapted to our spirit essence. It felt like… it was learning, growing to be exact.”

  “But such a foe must have some sort of weakness. Is there anything you can remember?” Fargrim asked.

  Alex rubbed the side of his temples with one hand and closed his eyes. Falling deep into thought as he tried to recall what happened. From the bridge falling onto the demon to Tucker creating an opening for him. Everything became a blur, yet his eyes soon widened in realization.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Right… it was brief, but for a moment after, I severed it in half. Something in its chest stood out. Like a crystal that kept the demon together,” Alex replied.

  “Was there one of those from da demon we encountered?” Ofnir asked, staring at Fargrim, who shrugged his shoulders.

  “If there was, I wouldn’t know. The foul fiend lifted nearly fifteen anvils on its shoulders and took over three hundred magic rounds and cannon shots. It’s part of the reason we switched to just bolts, so we could at least recover the munitions,” Fargrim replied with a grim tone. “If it wasn’t for the clan guards and us restraining that foe, then things would’ve been far more sinister. Did our runesmiths discover anything yet?”

  Ofnir shook his head with a troubled look in his eyes. “Nada, they’re stumped.”

  “To make matters worse, I can’t even fathom where that blasted demon came from.” Alex forced himself to sit up with a tired groan. “It used a teleportation platform that was dated. Something that should have been out of service for years before we arrived. Yet emerged the second we activated it.”

  “A dated teleportation platform? Do ya know where it came from?” Fargrim asked.

  “No, all we know is that it was made by a foreign country. Apparently, our custodian vetted it before and found nothing out of the ordinary,” Alex replied.

  “By my beard…” Ofnir raised a brow. “To think that someone would use a teleportation platform to ambush another. It’s unheard of.”

  “Indeed, I didn’t even think it was possible until now.”

  “Ai, but it seems that now you’re fully awake… I have unfortunate news for ya.” Fargrim crossed his arms and stared at Alex once more. After a while, he revealed a grim expression. “Alex, you’ll need to take your comrades and leave this stronghold when they wake up. Once word reaches the Forge Lord, it’ll be difficult for us to help ya. The inner politics of the dwarven realms are in chaos right now, and if the Empire demands us to hand ya over, the Forge Lord may comply.”

  “It’ll be difficult for any dwarven stronghold to help them, ya mean,” Ofnir corrected.

  “Can I ask why?” Alex stared at their stern expressions, waiting for them to respond. But soon nodded at their silence. It was enough to tell him that the matter was far more severe than he could imagine.

  However, after a few more moments. Fargrim broke the silence. “One of our dwarven strongholds has fallen.”

  “What?” The disbelief on Alex’s face caused the silence that followed to be deafening. “But how is that possible? Dwarven strongholds are known to be nearly impenetrable to take because of their network of defenses and logistics.”

  “We don’t know. It happened in less than a day, and we have no clue how,” Ofnir said, crossing one leg over another. “Once Forge Lord Rungrod hears of what we’ve done. We’ll probably receive a stern warning, but he’s known to only give forgiveness once. So, at worst, we’ll get a slap on the wrist, but the next, he may chop off our arms.”

  “I see... it seems I have troubled you two.” Alex bowed his head to his old friends but was soon met with a burst of merry laughter.

  “It’s fine. We might’ve overstepped our boundaries, but it ain’t a big deal.” Ofnir grinned for a moment but soon noticed Fargrim’s stern gaze. “Is there anything else ya can tell us about the demon?”

  Alex scratched the back of his head. He gazed off into the distance before closing his eyes. “Its body was difficult to cut into. Like I was cutting through reinforced stone, but that wasn’t the problem.” Alex stared at his hand. “Besides its immense strength and regeneration… it felt like it was absorbing my aura with each exchange.”

  “Impossible… aura is a manifestation of one’s soul. How could such a thing be possible?” Fargrim asked in disbelief.

  “I don’t know, but you know how I fight. My spirit essence is only so strong because it’s mixed with my aura,” Alex replied.

  “Are ya sure it wasn’t deflecting or dispersing it?” Ofnir asked.

  Alex nodded, recalling his fight. Each strike they exchanged sent sparks flying in every direction, yet as their blades pulled away. He could feel his aura getting ripped from his sword. “If it wasn’t for the fact that I was a spirit contractor. I probably would have died in my battle.”

  “It couldn’t absorb spirit essence?” Fargrim stroked his grey beard while raising a brow. After seeing Alex nod in response, the old dwarf couldn’t hold his surprise. “The demon we fought couldn’t do such a thing, but it nullified our runes and engravings.”

  “What?” Alex sat there in shock. “How? I thought once weapons were engraved, it couldn’t be removed?”

  “We thought so too, but after witnessing it in person, we know that’s no longer true,” Ofnir replied.

  Alex ran through the scenarios in his head, with each one becoming more troubling than the last. A demon that was born to perfectly counter rune magic, and another to neutralize aura. If such specialized foes existed, then it was within the realm of possibility to imagine one born to fight against spiritualists as well. The mere thought left him in shambles, but if there was one thing Alex was certain about. It was that this was critical information—one that the Order had to know.

  “What about its appearance?” Fargrim’s voice broke through Alex’s thoughts, pulling him back to reality. “Any distinct features we can use to differentiate our foes?”

  “It had ash-white skin, two pitch-black horns, and some sort of rusted cleaver,” Alex replied.

  “Just like da other one…” Ofnir brushed his brown beard and fell deep into thought. His long brown hair flowed freely before he grabbed his helmet and wore it. “The Forge Lord will need to hear of this.”

  Fargrim watched as Ofnir rose from his seat. Not uttering a word as the Oathguard made his way to the exit of the infirmary. Even Alex, who was accustomed to their traditions, remained silent. Once Ofnir was at the door, he looked over to his friends and nodded before leaving.

  The veteran stared at Blaire and Tucker. He bitterly exhaled, a trace of sadness flashing through his eyes. Fargrim, noticing this, walked over with light strides and patted him on the shoulder. “Fear not, old friend. I’ve had the finest dwarven healers care for them. I’m sure they’ll wake up soon.”

  “I know you aren’t one to cut corners, but I worry that the empire will retaliate.”

  Fargrim revealed a bright smile and sat down on the wooden chair. “Let them.” He leaned over with his arms resting on his thighs and said, “Besides, even if they did something, it wouldn’t be until after the war with the kingdom is resolved. Those bastards know better than to fight a war on multiple fronts.”

  Alex closed his eyes and nodded. “It seems my old habit of worrying about unnecessary things has come up again.”

  Fargrim chuckled. “It comes with age.” His gaze shifted to Tucker, and soon, he grinned once more. “I didn’t think you would train another recruit at your age instead of retiring.”

  “It’s just how things came to be.”

  “Well, what are your thoughts on him? He seemed pretty reliable in creating that tornado and whatnot.”

  “Honestly, you would never have me praising him outright, but you’re right. He has a few flaws here and there, but with time, he’ll probably be one of the best idiots I’ve had the pleasure to train.” Alex recalled the last mission and smiled. “He’s a gem in the rough as you dwarves say. But once he’s focused, you can tell the difference in performance.”

  Fargrim brushed his grey beard and let out a heartfelt laugh. “It’s rare for you to praise your recruits.”

  The old man raised a brow. “I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. Have I not complimented my previous rookies?”

  “No, are ya crazy? Whenever you talk about them, it’s usually about how slow they are or how they can’t use your twinkle toe shuffle.”

  “Twinkle toe shuff—you mean feather step?”

  “Aye, that’s the one.” Fargrim nodded.

  Alex shook his head and smirked. “Well, I guess I’ll admit it. While he lacks experience, everything he has done so far has exceeded my expectations. It's a pity he joined the Order at such a time; if it had been sooner, things would have been more gradual. Instead, he's thrown straight into the fire.”

  Fargrim couldn’t help but agree after recalling the fiery tornado inching closer and closer to their stronghold. It was an attack that had even the empire’s archer calvary speechless. The old dwarf brushed his beard, but before he could utter another word. A small, subtle laughter entered his ears.

  Alex and Fargrim glanced over at Tucker, who remained perfectly still in bed. They watched as the corner of the rookie’s lips slightly curled upwards and frowned.

  Alex felt his eye slightly twitch as he glared at Tucker. “This fucker…”

  Let me know if there are any mistakes!

  I hope you enjoy it! :)