My heart thundered in my ears as I crouched behind a massive bone rib that thrust up from the ground like an ancient monument. Two hundred feet away, the Ironroot Golems stood motionless, unaware of our presence. With me in place, Knut slowly walked to position himself halfway between Eryn and the monsters.

  “What are we waiting for?” Roq said. “Look at them! Such power! Such potential! Let us FEAST!”

  “Patience. We do this right or we don't do it at all.”

  “Boring! Always so boring! Violence and blood is RIGHT THERE!”

  “Yes, and we will be very dead unless we're careful. Pipe down, Roq. Don't distract me.”

  The bone column felt solid and comforting against my shoulder as I peered around it. Eryn stood in the middle of the 'cathedral' as Roq had called it.

  Knut raised his shield and prepared. It was the signal we agreed on.

  “Battle!” Knut roared.

  Eryn drew fluidly and loosed one of her extra heavy armor-piercing arrows. The projectile arced slightly and plunged into the leftmost golem's chest. The sound when it struck was like that of an axe striking steelhusk.

  The arrow buried deep and the golem's head snapped up, its bark-like armor creaking. It didn't seem to have hit anything vital, but at least it had penetrated enough to draw its attention.

  “They can be pierced!” Eryn called out. That had been the first part of our plan, to see what damage her arrows could do, but not enough to give us trouble pulling their aggression away from her.

  “Good!” Knut's voice boomed back. “Very good! Time for making firewood!”

  I felt the ground tremble as the two creatures roared, the sound filling my body. Both lumbering monsters burst into motion with shocking speed for their size.

  Three bells, they are big!

  I hefted Roq as excitement and fear warred in my chest in equal measure. Then came the reassuring feeling that steadied my nerves, and I knew it was having Roq in my hand. Without him, we wouldn't even be thinking about doing this.

  “Stop thinking! Start killing!”

  The golems seemed to find Eryn, and then lumbered straight for her, their massive feet leaving deep impressions in the soft earth. Knut stood his ground between them, shield raised.

  “Watch close!” he shouted. “Learn from professional!”

  As the golems reached him, Knut leapt into the air. His armored form seemed to hover for a moment before he slammed back down, feet first, like a diving hawk, just like he'd done with the scuttlers. The impact sent a shockwave through the ground that made both monsters stumble for a moment.

  Their heads whipped toward him, Eryn already forgotten. Knut charged past them on the right, his mace catching the rightmost golem's leg with a resounding crack as he passed.

  The golem's massive arm swept down at him, barely missing Knut's back.

  “That was close!” Roq said excitedly.

  “That was close!” I parroted, making it seem like my observation, but then felt silly for saying it. Of course it had been close. My nerves were showing.

  Knut's laugh boomed across the distance between us.

  “All part of plan, friend! Watch and learn!”

  I readied myself as Knut headed toward my position, the golems in steady pursuit. Suddenly, one golem planted its feet and leaned back, its arm pulling in tight to its body.

  “Spike!” I yelled.

  The northerner stepped left, twisting his shield to cover his back. A wooden spike, as long as my arm, shot past him to embed itself deep in the ground.

  From her position, Eryn held her fire as planned, letting the golems stay focused on Knut and me as we had our shields at least. She would be a one-shot if it caught her.

  Knut reached the bone column, the golems close behind. I stepped out to the side, my shield raised and nerves tight.

  “Here they come!”

  Roq's excitement was infectious, and I couldn't help but grin. Fighting small monsters was good for mind gems, but the big ones? They were good for the ego.

  “Oh, this will be GLORIOUS!”

  “Trust plan!” Knut called as he ran past me.

  The first golem thundered by, focused entirely on Knut. I held my breath, waiting to see if it would notice me. It didn't — its eyes fixed solely on its prey.

  But the second golem was ours. Roq's head glowed red as I channeled power into Armor Break, and as it passed, I struck the monster's knee with every ounce of strength we possessed.

  The joint exploded in a shower of wooden fragments and green goo.

  “Yes!” Roq screamed in joy. “More! Give me MORE! HAMMER ME! TREE BLOOD!”

  The golem crashed to the ground and I leaped forward, bringing my hammer down on the back of its head. But without Armor Break powering the strike, its thick skull held. I drove its face into the dirt, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared in its tough armor.

  One of Eryn's fire arrows, an extra long bodkin arrow with a bag of resin attached, streaked overhead, missing the golem fighting Knut by inches.

  “Rifted ruin!” Eryn cursed.

  I brought Roq down again on the prone golem's head. The cracks deepened but it still didn't break. Suddenly, a spike shot from its good leg, catching me in the thigh. My armor held, but it knocked me off balance and I almost dropped the hammer.

  The golem struggled to rise, using its ruined leg like a crude prop.

  Need to finish this, then help Knut.

  I set my feet, angled my body forward, and charged the golem, remembering how Knut used his shield as a weapon. My shield slammed into the golem's back, knocking it flat again. Before it could move I dropped my shield and gripped Roq with both hands for the extra heft.

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  “KILL IT!” Roq screamed. “KILL IT NOW! SMASH ITS PUMPKIN!”

  I brought the hammer down with everything I had and Roq crashed through the golem's skull with a sound like splitting timber.

  “VICTORY! Did you feel its death? This power! We must have MORE!”

  I looked up to see Knut spin away from a massive fist, using the bone column for cover as the remaining golem pressed its attack.

  “Stage two! Eryn, make it count!” Knut yelled, diving away from the cover of the bone column and heading directly for Eryn. The remaining golem lumbered after him, each stride covering as much ground as three of Knut's.

  “Clear shot!” Eryn said, having finally gotten her second wrapped arrow to catch fire. She led the target and loosed.

  I snatched up my shield and ran after Knut, watching the burning arrow disappear into the golem's front. For a second, nothing happened, then flames erupted up past its shoulders and the golem threw back its head and wailed a low, rumbling growl.

  “Watch how it's done, Ash!” Knut said, spinning to face the burning golem which now moved much faster now that its companion was dead. But the warrior's shield work was incredible. Each devastating blow from the golem was deflected with minimal effort, redirecting the monster's tremendous force to slam into the ground or go past wide. His footwork was almost dance-worthy, keeping him just close enough to the monster for it to attempt striking, but not near enough for it to hit anything but his shield.

  “I must admit that the large one has a lot of skill.”

  Flames had engulfed its entire upper body, turning it into a walking inferno. Knut moved steadily backward, holding his shield up and keeping an eye on the golem for any telltale signs of special abilities. The golem suddenly pulled back, its burning arm drawing tight to its body. A flaming spike shot out toward Eryn, but she was already moving, rolling smoothly to the side as the projectile buried itself in the ground behind her.

  I closed the distance with the golem, and another spike burst from its leg. My shield came up purely on instinct and the projectile splintered against it, but the force drove me back a step.

  “Attack!” Knut shouted.

  I started forward again, but the golem's massive form shifted, its weight settling back on its heels.

  “Stomp!” Knut yelled in warning. “Move!”

  For a horrible moment I froze, caught between Knut's command to attack and the warning of the incoming giant foot. Knut had already turned and was getting out of dodge. The indecision cleared as the monster's foot reached its zenith, and I turned, taking two hurried steps and jumped. A second later, the golem's foot came crashing down.

  The ground bucked magically beneath my feet as the shockwave hit and I was flung airborne, tumbling end over end before slamming back down hard enough to drive the air from my lungs.

  “That looked... unpleasant,” Roq said.

  “Up!” Knut's voice cut through the ringing in my ears. “Get up or die!”

  I tried to roll but my body wouldn't respond. The golem's burning form loomed over me, raising its arm for a killing blow.

  “This is going to hurt,” Roq said with what sounded like anticipation. “I wonder if Eryn or Knut will be the one to pick me up. I'd prefer the big guy. He knows how to fight.”

  My eyes found Eryn's across the battlefield. The fear in her expression matched my own and time seemed to slow as the massive steelhusk-like fist came down on me.

  Then my cloak snapped out and wraped tight around me, hardening into a shell of bark-like armor all over my body, like a cocoon, leaving me in darkness. When the strike landed, the cloak pushed inward, the force rippling across the barrier, driving me into the ground. Despite the cape taking the blow, I felt as if all my bones had been used as drumsticks and my flesh tenderized. Then the cloak softened to cover me like a blanket and retreated to its normal size, leaving me staring up at the burning golem.

  “BY THE RIFT'S TEETH!” Roq said. “Did you see that? Did you DO that? How did WE do that?”

  “I have no idea.”

  I grunted, pushing myself off the ground as the golem raised its hand for another strike.

  Knut appeared behind the monster, his mace glowing yellow with power and he struck its burning hip, drawing its attention. The blow shattered the outer armored layer, revealing the softer wood beneath. It was filled with glowing red veins. When the flames caught the exposed interior they roared as if someone had pumped a bellows. The golem's arm swept at Knut, sending burning fragments cascading off his raised shield.

  I took a deep breath of air and let it out as I regained my balance. Another of Eryn's armor-piercing arrows struck the monster's chest, and fire exploded from the impact point where the armor had cracked. The golem's left arm went limp, hanging uselessly at its side.

  “Armor Break!”

  Roq's head glowed red as I moved to attack.

  Knut struck the opening he'd created in the golem's hip, and the monster crashed to its knees.

  I leaped, bringing Roq down on its head. The enhanced blow didn't just break through, it disintegrated the golem's entire skull in a shower of burning splinters. I landed right next to the carcass as it came crashing down. My legs strained as I caught part of the golem on my shield. I angled it away from me and stumbled back from the intense heat, my exposed skin burning where the flames had touched it.

  “GLORIOUS!” Roq cried in my mind, his voice filled with savage joy. “Did you feel its death? Its power leeching out into the world only for me to slurp it up? Glurp! Glurp! I must have more! Just imagine going back into that crystalline cave and crushing all of their skulls in, too?”

  “Heal me first. Quickly before they notice my wounds.”

  “Fine, fine. But we're not done hunting today!”

  I put Roq into my storage, making sure to keep my back to Knut as the familiar sensation of Blood Forge ran through me, soothing my burns and tender flesh.

  “That was incredible!” Eryn said, jogging up to me, her bow still in hand. I heard her pause, likely noting my stance, and she turned to the Northerner. “Knut, are you alright? Any burns?”

  “Takes more than small fire to hurt tank!” Knut laughed, checking his shield for damage. “Though must admit, got toasty at end. We bring meat next time! Make barbecue!”

  I stood slightly apart, letting them talk as my skin finished mending, and tried to process everything that had just happened.

  The cloak had saved my life. On its own.

  With a swipe on my wrist, I opened my soul chart and looked at the cloak.

  Name: Woodwoven Mantle

  Type: Cloak

  Rarity: Epic

  +1 to all stats

  Abilities:

  1. Cocoon: Encases the wearer in a bark-like shell, greatly reducing incoming physical and magical damage for a single instance. The ability has a 12 Hour cooldown.

  2. UNKNOWN

  3. UNKNOWN

  One of the abilities had been revealed, and my knees buckled at the power. I dropped to the ground, my face set in a mad grin as I read the words again, and swiped Roq into my hand.

  “Ash?” Eryn said. “You alright?”

  “You bastard!”

  “What?”

  “It ate my trophy!”

  “What?”

  “Need heal?” Knut asked. “Hit head hard?”

  “The rift breached cloak ate an entire glowcap! That was MY trophy! I didn't see IT kill anything, did you?”

  I chuckled and shook my head.

  “Oh. Maybe monster hit his coconut,” Knut said, scratching his scraggly beard. “You can fix?”

  Eryn kneeled by my side and put two fingers to my throat.

  “Talk to me, darling. You're scaring me.”

  “I'm fine,” I said, leaning my head against her and taking a slow breath. “Did you see the cloak?”

  “No. What happened?” She took my head and opened my eyes one by one and made me follow her finger with my gaze.

  I waved her hands away and stood.

  “Enough. Thank you, Eryn. But I'm fine, really. My cloak saved me.”

  Knut scoffed.

  “Cloak only save virginity! So ugly.”

  “And greedy!”

  “Didn't you see the monster stomp on me?”

  “Monster missed or you'd be dead and I'd be comforting girlfriend.”

  I stood and walked next to the still-burning corpse.

  “And this?” I pointed to the imprint of my body on the ground.

  “This—” Knut stopped, brow furrowing. “This—”

  “The cloak wrapped itself around me and hardened like a cocoon, taking the hit in my stead. Just look at the indentation. No way I could have made that by lying down. It cost me an entire carcass!”

  “Okay,” Knut said, shrugging.

  “Okay what?”

  “Cloak good. Still ugly, but good.”

  “Good? GOOD? IT'S AN INFURIATINGLY MEDIOCRE ENCHANTED PIECE OF LOOT STEALING FLAPPY CLOTH!”

  Eryn walked over and threw her arms around me, shutting off Roq's rant.

  “You bastard,” she said.

  “What?” I said.

  This was really not how I imagined the moment to go.

  “You nearly died!” She squeezed me tight, nuzzling her face into my neck. “When I saw you lying there, my heart nearly stopped. Then it stomped, but I thought it missed you, 'cause you were still moving.”

  “Oh.” I hugged her back. “Yeah, I guess that was a close one.”

  “Do better next time. I'm too young to become a widow or something.”

  “Agree with girl. Bad fight. You must do better or you'll die early and your woman will look for solace in arms of—”

  His mouth snapped shut as Eryn glared at him, and he slowly backed away, hands raised.

  “Simple joke to lighten mood of nearly dying!”

  “You do better too, Knut,” Eryn said. “If Ash dies under your tutelage, I will skin you and sell it as socks.”

  Goosebumps spread across my skin, and I could have sworn the warrior swallowed.