I reeled back, stone splintering where my head had been only a moment before as a snout the size of my chest smashed into it, fangs bared. The tip of Resolution darted out even as I fell backwards, and a screech echoed around the field as my winter-infused blade bit deep into the orbital bone of the creature after passing through its eye as if it were nothing.

  It tried to rear backwards but I held fast, and then shunted mana into Shatter Point and my spear both. Its skull ruptured at the point where my spear was stuck fast in its bone, and even as bone shards detonated beneath its skin, the Heart of Winter that made up my spear blade released a frozen crack! as its supernatural cold spread throughout the wound.

  The creature shook its head like a dog, and my spear was sent clattering out of sight, but it soon returned to my hand as I fed mana to my artifact link. I ducked around the edge of the large boulder, diving the last meter as a snap of great jaws made a meal of the air I’d just inhabited.

  I twisted as I fell and brought my shield around to lodge within the already descending jaws of another beast. I knew it to be a different one because both its eyes were whole and fresh, no blood marring its face. One great fang punched into the earth by my side, missing me by inches, and the other slammed down into my shield. I let out a grunt as my shield arm was forced into my side and the air whooshed from my lungs, but the creature this shield was formed from was more than a match for these peak 2nd tier beasts.

  I dropped my spear - the quarters too close for it to be of much use - and using the connection I’d created with A Frozen Pyrre, summoned my hatchet into my hand. I slammed it into the ridges of the serpent’s snout even as it sought to crush me beneath it, but the weapon could find no purchase. I cursed as I realised my obvious oversight, and dropped the weapon again, summing my spear into my hand once more and flooding mana down the artifact link so that it shrunk until it was half the size of the original weapon.

  Resolution darted out once more, Shatter Point enhancing each strike to rupture the hard scales and let it dig into the softer flesh below. The serpent shook its great head and reared up above me, and I saw my death reflected in its eyes.

  No matter how many new tools I had to help, this creature was at the peak of the 2nd tier in power, and if nothing else, the difference in attributes between us was nigh-insurmountable. The fact that I’d been able to survive this long, and inflict damage of my own was simply a testament to the power of my armaments. Still, I wouldn’t face death with weary resignation, and I readied myself for a likely fatal clash.

  And then Vera was there.

  A flash of red hair, wild and unbound, before the massive serpent was sent crashing over the nearby boulder. She spared me a quick glance and I raised my hand to let her know I was relatively unhurt, and then she sprinted off. I stood shakily, and summoned Resolution back to my hand once more. It really was an impossibly useful effect.

  I took a breath and leapt atop the boulder by my side to get a view of the battlefield. Vera was a dozen meters off to my right, finishing the creature she’d sent flying a moment before, and I scanned the area for Nathlan.

  My domain skill was still shining around the boulder that he sheltered under, but I saw no sign of the man himself. The second of the three winged serpents was launching itself into the sky in a wing-propelled leap at Vera, and I dismissed it from my mind. One, two, even a half dozen of the creatures wouldn’t make me worry for Vera, especially in an open battlefield like this, where unintended casualties weren’t much of a concern.

  I looked for the third creature and saw a flash of green scale behind the boulder, previously hidden by the shining starlight of The Mountain’s Gate. I then heard a masculine grunt and shout of rage, recognisable as Nathlan even from here, and launched myself over to it. A few heartbeats passed as I flew from rock to rock until I dropped to the ground by the side of the stone plinth above Nathlan’s bolthole.

  I activated Break-Step as I rounded the boulder in preparation for a desperate fight but found an altogether more confusing scene. The serpent – the same one that I had partially blinded – was struggling on the ground, one feathered wing pinned beneath a hefty rock, head craned upwards and screeching with rage.

  Before it stood Nathlan, blade shining with golden light and feet set in defiance, but the serpent wasn’t attacking him. Instead, it seemed to be grasping for something on its back, between its wings, and it took me a few moments to notice the shape of the figure standing there.

  A great axe swung down once more, and the creature screamed again before finally plucking the figure from its back and throwing it into the air. By the time it turned back to Nathlan, he had closed the distance, and his golden sword sheared through its throat, decapitating it in a single blow. It was almost poetic, how this one had died just like the previous, smaller Winged Uraeus; injured by me and finished by him with a single well-placed strike.

  I checked him over as I approached, and he nodded sombrely at me. “I am unhurt,” he said, but his tone was off. I wanted to ask, but it was then that I noticed the axe. It was on the ground, poking out beneath the body of the feathered serpent, and I recognised it instantly. Long haft, bearded twin-bladed head, silver inlay worked down one side.

  I’d seen it before, in the hands of a well-built warrior, scars criss-crossing their powerful shoulders and arms. I frowned, then put two and two together.

  “Come,” I called to Nathlan, as I turned on my heel and sprinted around the boulder, leaping up atop another to gain a good view once more. Vera had killed both beasts and was turning our way. Seeing me, she cocked her head in question and I shot her a thumbs up, though there was little need with Nathlan appearing at my side a moment later.

  I scanned the broken ground around us though, looking for the figure I’d seen thrown by the serpent moments before. I found her splayed out beneath a rock splattered with blue blood, heavy furs covering her form and preventing me from getting a sense for her state. I did see one pale arm emerging from beneath the body though, and it was dull and lifeless where I had expected shining green light.

  I jumped down and made my way over, Nathlan at my heels, and we arrived to find the crumpled form of Jacyntha of clan Grey Rock, still and unmoving. I took a tentative step forwards before flinching and leaping backwards as a small ball of fur and teeth came streaking towards me, yowling and hissing as it swiped at the air where I’d been.

  It came no closer though, and I nearly laughed as I saw the small thing puff itself up and bare its small fangs at me. It had leapt over the rock behind Jacyntha, and now backed up to her, keeping itself between her and us and doing its best to look menacing.

  “Is that a cat?” I asked Nathlan, but he just shrugged.

  “I…I do not know,” he said simply.

  “How the fuck did she get here? She’s the one who’s been following us, right? Why?” I asked, but Nathlan didn’t seem to know either.

  “I have no idea, Lamb. She just fell out of the sky and landed on the Winged Uraeus – I thought for a moment that she was riding it into battle, and she was the one behind this whole ambush. But no. She just started hacking away the moment she landed.”

  Vera arrived at the end of Nathlan’s explanation, and Jorge a moment later. I turned to them, asking, “Did you both know it was her?”

  They shared a look and then Jorge stepped forwards. “Well, lad…yes, we did. I wanted to see what she’d do, though Vera was very much in favour of killing her the moment we caught a glimpse a few days back-ahh!”

  He leapt into the air as the cat darted towards him and took a swipe, though he was far too fast to actually get hit. I don’t think he had noticed the creature at first, and when he landed a few feet back next to Vera, he seemed to watch it with caution.

  “What the fuck is that?” he asked, in a tone I wasn’t used to hearing from him. Confusion.

  “It’s a cat, right?” I asked, looking from him to the others, then to the little hissing ball of vengeance and fur huddled around Jacyntha’s form.

  “That’s no cat,” Jorge said as if it was a dire pronouncement. “Look at its ears.”

  I frowned as I examined the creature more closely. Two stubby, semi-circular and distinctively cute little ears emerged from its domed skull, and its snout did look a little too large for a cat now that I thought about it. It had two oversized fangs emerging from its mouth, and despite the mottled white, black and orange pattern of its fur that looked so distinctly like that of a common mouser, its legs were too thick and body too stocky for that to be true. I’d just thought it a little chubby, but what were the chances of a chubby cat in the high mountains of the Dragon-Spines?

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Well, no matter. I’m assuming nobody’s checked her over yet? Can’t have her bleeding out in front of us, now can we?” Jorge said, mostly to himself, as he began to walk forward, reaching out a tentative hand to the cat-thing. It hissed and swiped at him again, and he flinched out of range before shaking his head.

  “Aye, sensitive little bastard, isn’t he? Lamb, you want to grab him while I tend to Jacyntha?” the older man asked but Vera interrupted.

  “No!”

  We all looked over at her, confused, before she explained. “That’s a Cat-Bear. It’s just a baby right now, but that thing will grow to be well over two tonnes within a year. You can’t restrain them – they’ve got long memories.”

  Jorge frowned. “I take your point, lass, but it’s not like it’s a multi-ton killing machine right now. I can just pick the little fella up, easy as pie,” he said as he mimed holding the creature up by the scruff of its neck, shaking his prize a few times to demonstrate.

  “No, you fool,” Vera replied, uncharacteristically serious. “They have long memories and learn quickly, even from an early age – you don’t want them building an association between humans and fear. It’s fine right now because it seems harmless, but 12 months from now when it can eat anything below the peak of the 2nd tier? They are wandering predators too, so there’s no telling this one won’t just trundle down to a nearby settlement, get spooked by the humans and slaughter them all!”

  I blew a breath out between my cheeks. “Bloody hells, alright. So, do we just try to lure it away? We can’t let Jacyntha just bleed out, as the old git said. Jorge, you got any cheese on hand?” I asked.

  Sadrianna arrived then, panting hard from the quick sprint, and Nathlan took the opportunity to jump in. “Can we not?”

  We all turned to look at him. “I’m not saying we kill her but…” he trailed off. “She did try to kill me not so long ago. Do we have a responsibility to save her right now? What if she just tries to kill us later while we sleep? What if she was following us to report our movements to some nefarious group? She could be working with the Lions!”

  He sighed to himself as we traded glances and then looked at his feet as he said his final piece. “Sorry, I know half of that made no sense. It is just…what are we going to do with her after?”

  I shrugged. “I’m with Nathlan on the plan going forwards – we need a serious conversation, and I’m not against just leaving her out here, maybe with some food if she’s struggling, but I think we’re all in agreement that we have to save her first, right? She did just try and save Nathlan’s life, after all.”

  The scholar did nod reluctantly at that, conceding the point. “And hey!” I said, clapping my hands to perk everyone up and scaring the Cat-Bear in the process. “Maybe she will want a rematch once we’ve patched her up. I’d love the chance to see Nathlan demolish her now that they’re on even footing,” I said with a wink Nathlan’s way.

  “Right you are, lad,” Jorge said as he walked over, handing me a thick wedge of hard cheese slathered in honey that he’d conjured from his storage necklace. “Use that title of yours for something useful for once, aye?”

  I grinned and took it from him, shooing everyone away before I approached the hissing creature crouching over Jacyntha’s prone form. “Easy now, love. I’m not here to hurt you.”

  I approached slowly, talking the whole while. Every step forward would make it flinch and hiss, and I would only move forwards once again after it had settled back into a more neutral posture.

  I explained that we meant the creature and its companion no harm, that Jacyntha was once an enemy, but now had come to us requesting aid, and we were in a position to give it to her. I explained that we had food, and warm clothes, and healing available to help it and the person it guarded.

  The Cat-Bear would hiss every time I took a step forward and arch its back, its funny semicircular ears pinning back against its head, and then flaring outwards again to either side in an adorable threat display that made me want to just pick it up and scrunch its little face.

  It went on like this for long, long moments, uncounted breaths passing as I crept forwards, step by step, muttering random soothing words. I held the cheese out before me as I approached like a weapon and shield both.

  I noticed its front legs trembling and was hit with a surge of sympathy for the creature. It was tiny, no bigger than a common housecat and couldn’t have been more than a couple weeks old as far as I could tell. And yet here it stood, five powerful strangers surrounding it while the only person it knew was insensate beneath it. And still it stood, hackles raised, fangs bared, willing to die to protect its companion that it couldn't have known for more than a handful of days.

  I eventually got close enough that it was within swiping range, and I took my time there, keen not to earn new scars. Eventually, it reached out. Claws retracted, and it took two padding steps forward, across Jacyntha's chest and stomach, to stand upright and alert before me, every inch of its body quivering with fear and anticipation.

  It took a few careful, cautious sniffs with its little snout and then, quick as a flash, swiped the cheese from my hand and turned around, darting back to Jacyntha's neck where it curled around protectively and then munched on the slab of hard cheese. I smiled as I watched it licking honey from its paws, and the mild look of confusion it had, as the sticky liquid seemed to cling to its fur, was adorable. I looked round, and I saw Nathlan smiling in appreciation as he watched the little kitten.

  I sighed internally in relief to see it. This creature may not have meant it, but in many ways, it acted like a peace offering between our group and Jacyntha. She might have done us wrong, but if she could earn the trust of a creature like this, perhaps she wasn't entirely bad. We would have to see.

  I stepped back, retrieving more food and coming back, and spent another quarter bell slowly feeding the animal. Cheese went down well, as did a small piece of bread. I offered a tomato at one point, but it wasn't interested. Then there was jerky, which was a complete success. When I brought out a sardine, courtesy of Jorge, it near took my hand off in its haste to claim the food. A handful of nuts was sniffled at, one bitten into, and then spat back out. It regarded me reproachfully, its ears flat against its head and I laughed, holding my hands up in apology.

  It mewled at me on occasion, but whether it was asking for more food or simply begging for scratches, I wasn't quite sure. While I could understand that there was an intention behind those noises, I couldn't fathom what it actually was. This creature possessed a sliver of intelligence, but must still be so young that it hadn’t taken root properly yet.

  From what Vera had said, these creatures could grow into multi-tonne behemoths. This one right here must have been, what, rescued by Jacyntha? Couldn't be more than a couple of weeks old. How did she come across this? What was their story?

  In the end, it didn't matter. There was one way to find out, and that required Jacyntha to wake up, which seemed to be something Jorge was dead set against as I soon found out.

  Eventually, I'd managed to coax the Cat-Bear off of Jacyntha and onto my lap. It didn't spend long there before leaping across to the rock that Nathlan sat on, purring and rubbing its face against his arm before curling up on his lap instead. He looked perplexed, arms held around the body of this small creature, as if unsure what to do with them, looking at me with confusion.

  I didn’t understand either though, so we both just sat there quietly watching the small creature doze in his arms while Jorge and Vera checked over the barbarian woman, and Sadrianna ate her lunch quietly in the background.

  He levered her up by one arm easily, her body nearly limp. He brought her over to a rock, lay her out and started muttering to himself, cataloguing her wounds, lifting one eyelid to check something, and then taking her pulse.

  “What the fuck happened to her?” I asked aloud, and Vera snorted.

  “Looks like we know where she escaped to. Got lost in the fucking mountains, now comes crawling to us for help when she realises you can’t do everything alone.” The derision in her tone caught me by surprise, and I looked over in concern. She seemed to be almost looking through the scene though, eyes not tracking the forms of Jorge and the unconscious Jacyntha but focused on something else not visible to the eye.

  I patted her on the shoulder and left her to it, heading over to Nathlan to make sure he was doing okay. He was still sat on his rock, arms wrapped protectively around the little kitten-cub in his lap, jaw bunching rhythmically. He looked like he was fighting to keep some ugly emotion contained so that it wouldn’t startle to creature on his lap.

  “You alright, mate?” I asked, and he looked at me ruefully.

  “I am not exactly comfortable, no. What is she doing here?” he replied.

  “Vera thinks she got lost in the mountains, makes sense to me. She ran away a day or two before we left, right? Just after the investigation into that whole mess with The Blending? Can’t say I blame her…” I trailed off in thought.

  Nathlan’s eyebrows climbed his forehead so fast I thought they might shoot off his head entirely, and I explained further. “Not for running away or cheating in The Blending or anything! But just…I wouldn’t want to be alone in these mountains without preparation, and I’ve got a class named after them. It’s rough out here, and she seems to have born the worst of it. If I were in her shoes, I’d probably jump at the first group of people I saw and ask them for safety too.”

  He hummed to himself, seemingly mollified by my words. “I still would not expect mercy from those I had treated as poorly as she has treated us,” he said, sniffing with disdain.

  “Aye, but that’s why I don’t go around breaking your legs every time you annoy me,” I replied with a grin.

  “A common occurrence, is it? And future promises of mercy are the only reason you restrain yourself?” he replied archly, and I gave him a gentle punch in the shoulder, miming a few body shots first, much to his amusement.

  “That’s right, mate. Not that I find the promise of help from a measly 1st tier much appealing,” I smirked. “Best break through to 2nd tier soon if you want a hope of catching up. I’m telling you; the attribute gains are crazy! I’ve got the timing down for Break-Step now and I can pretty reliably jump from 50 meters without much danger,” I garbled excitedly as we waited for Jorge and Vera to complete their checks of the insensate barbarian woman.

  We bantered back and forth for a while, and I hoped it helped to distract Nathlan from the likely confusing mix of emotions that Jacyntha’s sudden arrival had engendered within him.

  After a while, Jorge and Vera approached once more, beckoning Sadrianna over too. We stood around Nathlan’s rock for a moment in silence before Jorge started.

  “Well…broken arm, mild hypothermia, severe malnutrition and a whole host of heavy bruises and cuts. She’s not had a good time of it out here. I suggest we rig together a sled and carry her on it – keep her sedated for the rest of the day – and find somewhere to hole up for the night. We can re-set the arm then and have a proper chat about what we do with her round a fire over some dinner. How’s that sound?”

  A chorus of agreement and nods and we were off about our various tasks. The day went quickly from there.