The gates of Sentinel Station creaked open, revealing the killing fields. Two short rings of the bell announced our departure to everyone within earnshot. We'd secured another simple scouting mission to look for monster signs.

  Eryn adjusted her bow across her back, making sure it lay flat against her leather armor. We both wore our light scouting gear, again, to avoid any unnecessary questions.

  My hand itched to summon Roq and see what he'd be like.

  Would he behave today, or try to pull some portal piss?

  “Remember,” Eryn whispered as we walked, “If you feel anything—”

  “I'll store him immediately and we go back,” I said, interrupting her. I followed it up with a smile and a playful wink, softening my statement. Eryn chuckled and nudged my shoulder with hers, her honey-blonde braid bouncing with the movement.

  “And?”

  “Safety first.”

  “Thank you,” she said, taking my hand and squeezing it. “We can't screw this up, Ash. He has to behave for this to work.”

  As we were about to step between the massive doors, a call brought us up short.

  “Aldrich! Miss Whitcroft!”

  My heart skipped a beat as I recognized Commander Edwin's voice. I turned, keeping my face neutral despite the tension in my gut. Had someone seen us in the Ironclad Ravine? Had he figured out what we were really up to out there? Surely not. We'd been more than careful.

  The commander strode toward us, wearing light leathers and there was no sign of his tower shield. He had to be off duty, yet his scarred face was serious as he approached.

  “Sir?” I said, keeping my voice steady.

  What if he demands Roq?

  Eryn's hand squeezed mine again.

  “A moment of your time?” Edwin said, his voice filled with authority.

  “Of course, sir.” I gestured to indicate we'd follow him.

  He led us out and to a quiet spot along the wall, away from the traffic of guards and workers. My mind raced through all the possibilities. Had someone reported seeing us in our full gear yesterday? Or even spied us killing the Platemaw?

  Edwin turned to face us, his expression unreadable.

  “I heard what you did.”

  My stomach tightened. Beside me, Eryn's breathing stayed deliberately even. She was way better at keeping a straight face, while I, on the other hand, wore my heart on my sleeve and was a very bad liar.

  “Volunteering for scouting runs? Most would fear running into monsters, and the only reason we can get adventurers to do it is the guild rep.” He crossed his arms and smiled. “Your work ethic is commendable.”

  I relaxed slightly but tried to keep from shifting in place. He was a keen-eyed man, and any visible shifts in body could tell him I was hiding something.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Which is why I wanted to speak with you directly.” He glanced between us. “I'm planning a second expedition to the Twisted Titan. About two weeks from now, give or take a few days.”

  My thoughts raced, remembering our first truly dangerous run. How I'd killed the Woodweaver and gained Roq's soul gem. How Garret, Nina, and Finn had barely made it out alive, and the first time I'd tasted the true thrill of battle.

  I must have shown some of my tension outward, because Edwin nodded.

  “I understand the trepidation. But this time we know more about what we are facing, and will be bringing in more parties to ensure we can hold the trunk while clearing the branches. I want both of you there, with Aldrich as a lead scavenger.”

  Lead scavenger? My heart raced at the opportunity. With Roq's ability to spot gems in carcasses? A glance at Eryn showed the same excitement in her eyes.

  A hundred conversations passed between us in a single look. Two weeks. Our new gear. Roq's power. The mind gems we'd already collected...

  “We'd be honored to join, sir,” Eryn said.

  I smiled at Edwin and flashed him a grin.

  “Excellent,” Edwin said. “Then I'll—”

  “Although—” I interrupted him. “What if we become classed by then?”

  “Classed?” Edwin's eyebrows rose.

  “If we work hard enough and make enough money to become classed by then,” I shrugged, trying to look both ambitious and naive. “Could we join as adventurers instead?”

  Edwin's laugh boomed out, and a group of lumberjacks heading out turned to look.

  “Five levels and two class gems in two weeks?” He clapped me on the shoulder, nearly staggering me with the force. “I admire the spirit, boy! Tell you what — you manage that, and I'll not only let you join as adventurers, I'll help set up your first proper party myself.”

  He was still chuckling as he walked away, shaking his head at what he clearly thought was youthful overconfidence. Little did he know we had much bigger plans.

  Eryn waited until he was well out of earshot before speaking.

  “Two weeks,” she said.

  “Two weeks,” I agreed quietly. “Give or take a few days.”

  “Think we can do it?”

  “We'll be legends if we do,” I said.

  “Won't it make people suspicious?”

  “Not if they see us buying up any mind gems we can get our hands on, funded by Pa's creations, made from the mystery party he is working with.”

  “Brilliant.” Eryn grinned. “Then we better get started. These monsters won't hunt themselves.”

  We made our way into the forest, where we would change. Just two scavengers heading out on a routine patrol. Nothing suspicious there.

  But in my mind, I plotted. I'd just gotten to level four, meaning I needed to consume forty-five mind gems before I could take the class gem and break through to level ten, and I already had one. Most importantly, I had the class gem! Eryn was level five and needed forty mind gems. She already had one, but we'd have to find a healer's class gem, and that was going to be tricky.

  Two weeks to transform ourselves from scavengers to proper adventurers?

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  I thought of the commander's amused laughter and allowed myself a smile.

  Laugh while you can, sir. You'll owe me a few party members soon enough.

  * * *

  “Echoing Chasm. Second spot on our list after the Ironclad Ravine,” I said.

  “Well,” Eryn mumbled, adjusting the arrow on her bow string. “At least it's a lot prettier.”

  Not a sound came from the steelhusk forest behind us as we stared at the crystal-filled cave opening set in the hill.

  I rolled my shoulders, double-checking the straps of my armor, before doing a squat, the Crabwalk Leggings' plates shifting smoothly. My Ironclaw Gauntlet was grasped firmly around Roq, and only once I double-checked everything was I ready to do battle.

  “Charge, my steed,” Roq's voice echoed in my mind. “I've been waiting all morning to smash some crystal skulls!”

  “Patience,” I muttered. “We agreed on being more careful, remember?”

  “Yes, yes. Trust. Partnership. Discussion. Planning. But surely we can be bored closer to our prey? Just in case something interesting shows up?”

  I shared a look with Eryn. Since our talk, Roq was trying. In his own way. Which mostly meant he complained a lot more, though I hadn't felt him trying to influence my emotions.

  At least not yet.

  Eryn shaded her eyes to peer into the cave mouth.

  “I'm starting to regret moving on from killing Shardfangs. I know it's important to fight different types of monsters, but having to figure out how these fight?”

  “Yeah. It’ll be hard. But I'm not ready to hunt another Platemaw yet, if one exists,” I said. “That thing had a kick, let me tell you. I still feel the ache in my ribs.”

  “Coward,” Roq muttered, but there was no real heat to his words. On our walk out, he'd admitted, grudgingly, that our victory had been more luck than skill. At least we were on the same page there.

  “And I'm not looking forward to using my bow inside a cave,” Eryn said.

  As we moved closer, two crystalline figures, roughly human-shaped, stood just inside the cave entrance. One was slim and my height, with hands formed of three crystal fingers? Claws? They looked uncomfortable. The other was short and stocky, covered in thick crystalline plates.

  I touched the side of my eye, activating my sigil.

  “They are both yellows,” I said. “Crystal Striker and Crystal Vanguard. Looks like they're a damage dealer and a tank.”

  “See a third? I'm so curious what the healer type looks like.”

  The adventurers who'd told us about this cave mentioned the monsters usually hunted in pairs or trios, and while as aggressive as beasts, they fought with more tactics so we had to approach carefully.

  “Nope. Nothing. And I prefer it that way.”

  “Hopefully my special arrows will do some decent damage,” Eryn said. “I’m not sure how effective normal ones will be. They're made out of crystal after all.”

  “No matter! I will shatter and break them! Suck on their blood and bathe in their matter!” Roq's excitement flooded through my mind.

  “Blood? Do you really think they have any blood, Roq?” I asked.

  “Yes! Well, maybe? No? Bah! Don't rain on my parade, smartass! I’ll be getting experience from them one way or another, so it doesn’t really matter as long as you keep killing them.”

  “Whatever you say, but remember. No rushing in. We plan and fight smart.”

  “Was that to me?” Eryn asked.

  “No, sorry. Roq.”

  “Enough planning!” Roq said. “Let me test myself against their crystalline forms. I'll show them what real power feels like.”

  “Just checking,” Eryn said.

  “Quiet. Let me think.”

  As excited as Roq was, energy filled me too. I yearned to pit myself against these more humanoid opponents. I'd only ever fought beast-like monsters before. What would it be like? How hard was the crystal? How many gems would we find? Would we—

  “Ash! Stop MONSTER BLOCKING me! This is worse than the spatial storage! They are RIGHT THERE, and we OUTNUMBER THEM three to two, and I should really count for five, so it’s EIGHT AGAINST TWO! Let’s go!”

  I sighed.

  “If you’re worth five,” I said, “then it’s seven against two, not eight.”

  “Whatever, smartass!”!

  “What if there are more of them, hidden just inside the cave?” I asked. “Like with the Shardfangs?”

  “There aren’t. I would feel them, you coward.”

  “You'd feel...the other monsters?”

  “No! But I feel the burning need to kill THOSE TWO MONSTERS!”

  “Fine,” I said. “But stop yelling, or I’ll stash you away. You’re giving me a headache.”

  I needed to stop second-guessing myself and listening to the hammer, and instead focus on the fight ahead of us.

  “Thanks for your patience,” I said to Eryn. “Would you pull?”

  She just smiled, patient, and drew the fletching to her ear.

  “Two monsters, coming right up.”

  She released with a twang, and the arrow struck the Striker's left shoulder, shattering crystal, and its arm hung limp.

  “Yes!” Eryn said excitedly. “It pierced the crystal armor!”

  “Finally!” Roq roared in my mind. “Here they come!”

  Both monsters charged from the cave mouth, the Striker outpacing the vanguard despite its wounded shoulder. Not that it mattered when it was its legs that carried it.

  I stepped forward and tapped the restored shield with Roq, signaling to Eryn.

  An arrow whistled past my ear, but this one only chipped the Striker's chest, likely hitting the crystals at a poor angle.

  “Portal piss!” Eryn cursed.

  The Striker reached me first, its good arm swinging for my face. I caught the blow on my shield, crystal scraping against the Scuttler plate, and swung Roq at its hip.

  “WHEEEEE!”

  Roq smashed through the Striker as if it was made from glass, splitting the monster in two.

  “Hah! Won't you look at that!” I said and was about to make a stupid remark, but before I could, the torso of the Striker exploded without warning, crystal shards flying everywhere.

  My shield came up instinctively and took the majority of the blast, protecting both Eryn and me. The Ironclaw Gauntlet did its job, too, keeping my weapon arm safe.

  Roq just laughed.

  “DESTRUCTION!”

  The blast had knocked me backward, and before I could rise, the Vanguard arrived, its stocky form barreling straight at me like a bull.

  “Move!” I shouted to Eryn as I kicked off to the side, letting its charge carry it past me.

  I stood and saw Eryn running straight for the forest, the Vanguard right behind her.

  No!

  Anger and fear exploded through me, and I set off after them, swiping my shield into storage for more speed. Why was she running straight away? All she needed to do was jump to the side!

  “YES! Chase it! Break it! Shatter it! Make it—”

  “Shut up! Focus. Save Eryn!”

  She should have stored her bow and just run in a circle and back toward me, making it chase her until I could catch up, not run away rom me.

  “Ash!?” Eryn called.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  She pulled ahead, but every pioneer knew there was no outrunning a monster. They never tired. And if she ran blindly and noisily through the forest, something else would tag along, too.

  I ran as fast as I could, and for the first time, my armored leggings frustrated me, slowing my steps as my heart thundered in my throat. Sweat formed on my brow and trickled down into my eyes.

  “Faster!” Roq urged.

  For once, I agreed with him completely. The crystalline monster's stocky form followed Eryn's graceful one as she sprinted into the trees and disappeared behind one of the massive grey-purple trunks ahead, wider than four people side by side.

  I gritted my teeth as I ran, the Vanguard reaching the tree.

  Then a flash of honey-blonde hair appeared on the opposite side of the trunk, and Eryn began making her way back. Relief washed over me, and I yanked the shield from storage, sliding it onto my arm.

  The Crystal Vanguard emerged from the trunk behind her, its bulk bearing down on me.

  Not letting you pass this time.

  I met its charge, shield held tight and Roq pointing at the rushing monster, held out like a tiny spear. But despite having angled the shield to push it away, I might as well have tried to block a boulder. The impact knocked me back, my shield slamming into my head. The monster was way too heavy and strong to be deterred with such a cheap trick.

  Roq, however, had found its mark.

  “VIOLENCE!” Roq sang with bloodlust. “MORE CRYSTALS! Grind them all to dust!”

  My entire body hurt from the collision as I stood, but I smiled at seeing a huge section missing from the monster's crystalline side.

  The Vanguard stumbled toward me, its movements jerky, crystal grinding against crystal. One massive arm swung at my head. I deflected with my shield and brought Roq down on its domed head with everything I had. A deep crack ran down the middle of its body, and then shattered. The Vanguard collapsed, crumbling into a heap.

  I hid behind my shield, waiting for the explosion that had taken its companion.

  But nothing happened.

  “GLORIOUS!” Roq crowed. “Did you see how it SHATTERED? How it BROKE before our MIGHT?”

  “Maybe only the Strikers explode?” I muttered, stepping back and lowering my shield.

  “Thanks for the assist,” Eryn said, coming up and kissing my cheek. “Nice smashing. Though I think Roq did most of the work there.”

  “Finally, someone appreciates my talents.”

  “True. Though I have two learnings from the fight,” I said, rolling my shoulders. “The strikers explode when damaged enough, and while I can strike like a charging knight with Roq, I’m far from powerful enough to body block monsters.”

  Eryn nodded. “And I need to not panic when a monster charges me.”

  “Was quick thinking with the tree.”

  “Thanks,” she said. “But I should have just run in a circle out here, let it chase me while you get back up, and then I could lead it past you. This was too close for comfort.”

  “True. Guess every new monster is a fresh battle,” I said.

  “Enough chatting. Go store a carcass so we can test my new ability!”

  “Maybe next fight you can test Roq's new ability?” Eryn said. “Hopefully it’ll make the fights easier.”

  I chuckled.

  “What?” Eryn asked.

  “You were echoing each other. And yes. I'll test it out in the next fight, but first,” I said, holding up Roq and grinning. “Any gems?”