This was not a time for mercy, and I wasn’t inclined to extend it. My heart was cold and even in my chest as I and nearly a dozen former spies and assassins approached the back line of our ambushers. Considering I knew for a fact this wasn’t all of our stealth specialists in the expedition, the rest of them must be working on the other side of it. These strange Dwarves had appeared out of nowhere to pepper our expedition with crossbow bolts, no word or demand made of us, attacking from both flanks to try and murder us. They’d approached under the cover of the darkness these forest boughs offered and executed a coordinated effort to neutralize both our scouts and our monster-slaying teams quietly. Even now, far behind me at the edge of the Ashen Bride’s wards, I could hear the baying and snarling of Skyfall mutated monsters as they gathered at the fringes.

  I had no idea what had happened to my men, and for the sake of these Dwarves…

  They had better hope they hadn’t killed them all. Walter had been on the monster-slaying rotation today. If they had murdered my squire in cold blood, when all he’d been doing was essentially a public service…

  Well.

  The answer would determine the level of mercy I would give the lot of them. But for now, it was time to break this siege.

  I gestured with one finger off to my right, and Maria, who had come to stalk at my right, nodded silently. Without a word, she broke off and slunk silently across the forest floor. With my left arm, I made a motion to stop everyone in the long line of assassins, who had formed to deal with these Dwarves. Some were in the trees, and some were on the ground, but all of them were ready.

  With a swift glance at the back line of our foes, I nodded slightly and then gestured forward with my right arm, giving the go-ahead.

  Time to get this show on the road.

  Of course, this wasn’t a military charge. None of us sprang up out of our hiding spots to run screaming at the shadowed backs of our foes. This was an action best undertaken under the cover of stealth, silently and slowly. The goal was to hem them in and take them out before they even knew anything was wrong.

  I didn’t want a single one of these Dwarves to escape.

  And as I loosed my first shot, directly at neck height on the first Dwarf I could see, I swore I wouldn’t let them.

  ………………………………

  This was…a larger force than I was anticipating, I found. There must have been well over a hundred of these ambushing Dwarfs on this side of the caravan alone. They had attacked from both sides of it, as well. And considering the other flank of the expedition had been under just as much crossbow fire as this one…

  Well.

  This wasn’t a small, undertrained, and ill-provisioned force trying to kill us. These were professionals. Unfortunately for them…

  So were we.

  I must have personally killed four of them with well-placed shots before a reaction started along their lines. The darkness they had cloaked their ambush in worked just as well to conceal not only my kills, but the kills of my companions as well. A full fourth of them, I believe, had died in the first few minutes of us hunting them. Some, like myself and Maria, had chosen to silence them at range with bows of our own. Others still preferred to get far more personal with their prey. Darkened blades and razor garrotes opened throats in total secrecy, but there was only so much we could do before we were noticed.

  If nothing else, they were eventually going to notice that the sound of twanging crossbow strings was slowing in their cadence.

  But it was a shout from somewhere off to my left that ended in a gurgling scream, which alerted the Dwarves to our presence behind them and ended our unseen hunt. A new shout echoed up and down the line of attackers, then, and many of them swiveled on the spot, ending their barrage upon the caravan. From my place a few dozen feet behind one of them, I finally caught a good glimpse of their forms, something beyond the blackened leather blending them into the darkness. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

  Under a leather hood, each and every one of them was wearing what seemed to be a blackened iron, full-face concealing mask. The surface of it looked to have been fashioned in the image of a stern Dwarven face, its mouth drawn down into a frown. The mask may have been different from those that both the Nocturne Division and SED had worn, but the presence of it at all was significant.

  And then I didn’t get to examine my prey any longer, as he had spotted me, crouching in the dark behind him. As expected, a skirmisher like this had decent Perception. In an instant, he had raised his crossbow, pointed it at me, and fired.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Too bad for him, I had been expecting that. At the first hint of movement, I sprang to the side nimbly and at the same time, and underhand tossed the broadhead arrow I'd prepared at him with speed. His bolt struck the forest floor where I had been only moments ago, and my own sank into the underside of the Dwarf’s crossbow, which he had raised to block it. He cursed at the destruction of his weapon, and cast it aside at the same time. I did the same with my own bow.

  I wouldn’t need it for what came next.

  Rolling back to my feet from my dodge, I drew one of my daggers at the same time the Dwarven ambusher did, and upped Might of the Wyrdwood to as high as I could manage these days.

  Sixty percent.

  Ghostly crimson thorns exploded into being all across my body, crawling sinuously over my limbs like the questing forms of dozens of serpents. In the same moment, I sprang at the Dwarf with my dagger poised in a downward striking position. Even in the low light of the forest, I could see the eyes of my opponent widen in sudden alarm at my burst of speed, visible through the holes in his mask.

  But he still reacted in time to catch my blade upon his own, as a dim, steel-grey glow began to shine from under his leathers.

  I was unfazed at the sight of it. I was far from the only person on Vereden who had a physical enhancement Skill. Instead, I continued striking out at the Dwarven ambusher as quickly as I could. Unfortunately…

  I quickly realized this Dwarf had to be one of those weapon specialists I had been thinking of, only minutes before. He was visibly more skilled than I was with a dagger in hand. He caught every blow that I lashed out at him with in an almost effortless manner, as we veritably danced around each other in a silent storm of striking steel. I think it was only because of my greater physical ability that I was able to keep up and block his own blade, and only just. He might have had a Skill to enhance his physicality, but mine was better, and that was the only reason I was keeping up. This single Dwarf had more skill with a fighting knife than…nearly anyone I’d ever encountered, I believe. I think the only person I’d ever fought better than him in this field had been Hook.

  He could tell that he was better than me, too. The ambusher’s knifework grew more complex, if that was possible, as his confidence grew. His stance took on an almost arrogant demeanor, and his blows took on an almost mocking lilt. It almost felt like he was playing with me, the lion toying with his prey before he slaughtered it.

  Would you look at that, I noted coldly. I was actually being tested in a stand-up fight. It had been a while since that had happened.

  Luckily, I had long since learned there was more to a fight than just physical ability or martial skill.

  I deliberately left an opening in my stance that I was sure this Dwarf would notice, something that would have allowed him to open up my throat in an instant. In his arrogance, he immediately went for it, lunging for me on a single foot in the fastest maneuver he’d pulled during our exchange.

  In response, I triggered the activation rune on the hilt of my dagger, and the collapsible spear snapped to its full extension, aimed right for the gap between his legs. I fully intended to trip the Dwarf with the half of my spear.

  Only, he suddenly kicked his free foot down onto the length of Oninite spear reaching for his legs, bending the metal and stamping it into the dirt below. The force of his stomp only propelled him faster towards me, and for a moment, I could see a glint of vicious triumph in his beady little eyes, as his dagger reached for my throat.

  Only for my left hand, suddenly holding my other dagger, to slam it point-first in a hammer blow onto the top of his head. The impossibly sharp point of my Aetherially forged Oninite dagger punched straight through his skull and into his brainpan. I didn’t even need my weapon enhancement Skills for this.

  Flesh and leather alike were weak.

  The Dwarf only had a single instant for confusion to cross his gaze before it went blank in death. I leaned out of the way of the lunging corpse and allowed his own momentum to pull my dagger free from his cranium. The blade exited with a mildly disgusting…schlorping sound, and my opponent flopped motionlessly onto the forest floor a few feet behind me.

  Trickery and adaptability were just as important as power and skill.

  Unfortunately for you, this prey had horns.

  Particularly sharp ones, at that.

  I didn’t get the chance to revel in my victory for long. Across from me, a sudden vicious roar exploded from the soldiers aboard the Ashen Bride, and they began to swarm over the sides of the ship like a tide of murderous ants. At the sight of them, a small smile crossed my lips.

  Charging at the front of them was a glowing ghostly green Fade, whose indignation I could feel across our bond. I…think he was a bit offended that I had gone into battle without him by my side.

  Honestly, buddy. We couldn’t fight together all the time.

  However, I could see we had succeeded in our gambit. By distracting the Dwarven ambushers from their barrage, that gave our forces enough time to launch a counterattack. And judging by the very real fury I could see etched on the face of my soldiers as they crashed into the ambushers, they were out for blood and disinclined to mercy.

  I should probably do something about that. I wanted at least one prisoner I could extract answers from for this whole mess.

  I still needed to find out what had happened to our scouts and monster culling teams.

  But for now, the cleanup.

  I spared one mournful glance at the bent and ruined form of my collapsible spear, stamped into the dirt by a mildly challenging opponent.

  Fare thee well, comrade. I’d have to forge an entirely new dagger after this. That kind of damage just wasn’t repairable, considering the many delicate internals that comprised my old, and most favorite weapons.

  Oh well.

  It was time for a new design, anyway.

  With that mildly cheerful thought in mind, I left my shattered weapon in the dirt where it lay, fully intending to come back for it later.

  And joined in on the battle happening all around me.

  It…didn’t last much longer, considering the force disparity between the expedition and the ambushers. Still, I got my prisoner in the end. And he had some very…interesting things to say.

  Interesting, if a bit alarming. Apparently, I knew their commander. A Dwarf I hadn’t even thought about in nearly an entire year. A name that frankly baffled me to hear for many reasons.

  One Olag of House Florens.

  Azarus’s cousin.