“She ran away?” Grant asked, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

  After reuniting with the other two assault teams, the trio had made their way back to the Vanguard camp to report their success, partial as it was.

  Davon nodded, wincing slightly at the ache still pulsing through his entire body. “She mounted that… beast, and ran. But, really, you aren’t more concerned that Crimson Reavers can speak common?”

  “I agree, that’s concerning, but I don’t see why she would just run when the beast alone had you on the back foot.” Grant rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “A tactical retreat, maybe?”

  “Maybe… you mentioned this one you fought had a plume?” Emma interjected.

  Davon nodded again. “Yeah, same as the first one we saw with the patrol.”

  Emma looked puzzled. “The assault team at the other outpost encountered some of these ‘Duelists’ as well, but they had no plumes on their helmets. Perhaps you fought a Duelist captain.”

  Slightly taken aback, Davon didn’t reply. He couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that he, alone, had severely wounded an elite among elites.

  “So we’re calling them Duelists, then?” Lyla groaned, clutching her side.

  “That seems to be their technique. Those encountered by the other assault team could also abduct their targets into… whatever that arena is,” Emma replied. She exchanged a short glance with Grant, then turned back to the trio briskly. “But for now, you three should get some rest. You’re being sent into the city tomorrow to scout. Dismissed.”

  The news of their next assignment sent Davon’s mind reeling, but he wasn’t going to argue with the opportunity to rest. The trio went straight to their tent. Davon sank into his chair with a heavy groan, finally acknowledging the full weight of the bruises across his body.

  “Hey L, I don’t suppose you can cast that healing spell yet?” he asked between shallow breaths.

  Lyla lowered herself slowly into her seat. “Not for another few hours, at least. Ran myself dry back there.”

  “Hey, let’s not be so down!” Kai exclaimed, stretching as he stood in the middle of the tent. “We fought our strongest opponents yet, and almost won! That’s something to celebrate.”

  “That thing knocked you around thrice as much as Davon and me,” Lyla pointed out with a weary sigh. “How are you still standing, let alone capable of celebrating?”

  Davon managed a smile through the pain. “Kai does have a point. We do have something to celebrate. I’d just rather celebrate by resting.”

  “I suppose that’s fair,” Kai grumbled. Then he threw himself into his own chair, falling silent so his teammates could rest.

  In the relative quiet, Davon’s thoughts turned to their upcoming assignment. Attacking the Crimson Reaver outpost had been nerve-wracking enough. The thought of sneaking behind enemy lines and into the very heart of their war machine terrified him.

  Almost subconsciously, he turned to look at his teammates.

  Lyla, utterly drained by the day’s fighting, had curled herself up in her cloak and promptly passed out. From where he sat, Davon could only see a strand of platinum blonde hair peeking from beneath the cloak. Lyla’s continual advancements in the magical arts surprised Davon time and again. He realized he could trust her to pull out a new trick almost every combat.

  Kai, on the other hand, was busy wrapping bandages around his arms. Ever since the Walden’s Hold siege, Kai had foregone wearing armor, relying instead on his speed and skill with the axe to survive combat. Somehow, since setting aside his armor, Kai had become even more confident with each passing day. While not graceful, he carried himself with a sense of purpose and strength. Davon knew he could count on the warrior to hold the line.

  Once again, the presence of his companions soothed Davon’s mounting anxiety. He wouldn’t be scouting enemy territory alone. Whatever challenges the next day held, he would face them alongside his teammates.

  Reassured, Davon closed his eyes and made himself comfortable. It was only moments later that his exhaustion claimed him.

  —

  Davon was pulled from his sleep by a tapping on his shoulder. Slowly opening his eyes, he saw Kai standing over him.

  “Emma’s calling for us.” The young warrior’s expression was serious. “Guess it’s time to get going.”

  Realizing his pain had faded, Davon briefly inspected himself. All of his scratches and bruises were gone. He looked over at Lyla, assuming she had healed him while he slept.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “Don’t mention it.” Lyla stowed her spellbook in her cloak and gripped her spear. “We all need to be in top shape today.”

  Pushing himself up, Davon slung his bow over his shoulder and led the way out of the tent.

  When the trio reached central command, they found Emma and Grant leaning over a map, caught up in a quiet discussion. As soon as Davon set foot in their tent, though, they both stopped talking and looked at him in unison.

  “I hope you lot had a good rest.” Grant straightened up and crossed his arms. “I have to admit, I don’t envy you for being in the field today.”

  “Not fond of scouting, Grant?” Emma asked, grinning at the old Revenant.

  Grant shrugged. “I am not fond of being behind enemy lines.”

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  Emma shook her head, then turned to face the trio. “Your objective today is to infiltrate the city of Heinburg and discover the full scope of the enemy’s forces. If possible, identify their leader.”

  “You’ll be the only team out there,” Grant added, staring Kai down. “So do try to avoid combat.”

  “Here, this should last until you’re inside the city.” Emma raised her hand to her bow. As soon as she touched it, a rune lit up on its surface, and Davon watched his own body turn transparent.

  The Green Tracker nodded in satisfaction. “Good hunting, you three.”

  Not wanting to waste a second of their invisibility, the trio hurried out of the Vanguard camp and set off towards Heinburg.

  —

  Thanks to Emma, the group successfully avoided the attention of the Crimson Reavers, slipping around outposts and patrols without issue. As they made it close to the walls, Davon found it strange that there wasn’t more of an enemy presence near the city. While the outposts and surrounding areas were crawling with patrols, the city itself appeared to be mostly unguarded.

  The trio was only sixty feet away from the walls when Emma’s invisibility wore off. Ducking behind behind a line of Crimson Reaver barricades left behind after the siege, they looked up at the city. Davon noticed soldiers walking along the walls, but only a few.

  He also noticed that the walls themselves seemed to have been left unrepaired after the siege. Even the gatehouse, which had a piece of its roof missing, had been left untouched.

  “They don’t seem to care much about the city walls,” Davon whispered to his companions.

  “Why would they? The ring of outposts around the city is a daunting enough challenge,” Lyla retorted. “Without clearing the outposts, a direct push on the walls is suicidal.”

  Davon nodded his agreement, then returned his attention to the walls. “I don’t suppose either of you have rope?”

  “Of course I do.” Kai sounded baffled by the question. “One should never leave camp without at least fifty feet of rope in their pack!”

  Davon gave Kai a curious look, but decided this was a conversation for a later date.

  “Well, that’s good. I can Shadow-step up there, then set up the rope for you two,” Davon explained, pointing up at the ramparts. “I can take out one or two guards to cover us. We need to be quick about it, though.”

  Kai rummaged through his pack, pulled out a coil of hempen rope, and handed it to Davon. Looping his arm through the rope, Davon let the coil hang from his shoulder. Then he stared at the walls, waiting for a moment when the few roving guards were furthest apart.

  “Alright… on my mark.” Nervously, Davon split his bow into blades, trying to prepare himself mentally for the gambit. “Three, two, one… now!”

  As Kai and Lyla sprinted towards the wall, Davon invoked his Shadow-step run. His sight turned blurry for a moment, then his feet touched down softly on stone.

  Davon landed directly behind a guard, blades poised to strike. In one swift movement, he placed his blades on either side of the Crimson Reaver’s neck and cut effortlessly into the soldier’s flesh, beheading him before he could realize what was happening. In an instant, Davon reattached the limbs of his bow and took aim at another guard walking back towards the gatehouse. The arrow struck the guard’s neck and sent him tumbling over the edge.

  With no time to spare, Davon slung the rope from his shoulder and fastened it to the rampart behind him, throwing the rest over the side. Time seemed to pass with agonizing slowness as Kai and Lyla climbed the rope. Davon nocked another arrow and kept watch while his companions made their way up.

  Looking into the city, Davon’s heart sank. He saw hundreds upon hundreds of Crimson Reavers moving through the streets. Soldiers, Duelists and their mounts, sergeants, and war beasts all milled about with other creatures Davon didn’t recognize. From his vantage, he could see only a fraction of the army. He shuddered to think about the full size of it.

  Lyla pulled herself over the battlement first, with Kai following only a second after. As soon as he landed, Kai pulled up the rope and coiled it around his arm while Davon nudged the first guard’s body over the edge. With the evidence of their ingress sloppily removed, the group rushed down from the wall and ducked into one of Heinburg’s many small alleys, not even taking time to check their corners.

  Their impatience was punished almost immediately. Dashing into the alley, the trio ran directly into a band of Crimson Reader soldiers, headed by a sergeant.

  With an unspoken understanding, the three leapt into action. Davon invoked his Scattershot rune, firing over Kai’s shoulder as the warrior rushed towards their foes.

  The sergeant raised his hand to conjure a barrier, blocking most of the splintered arrows, while the four soldiers fell into position in front of him. Swords drawn, the soldiers braced for Kai’s charge.

  Kai swung his axe in an upward arc as he ran, using his momentum to put more force into the swing. One of the soldiers stepped forward and raised his sword in an attempt to block the attack. Kai’s axe cleaved straight through both the soldier’s weapon and body, bisecting him as the young warrior lunged away.

  Hidden behind his soldiers, the sergeant again raised his arm to the sky. Before any of the Revenants could react, a bright red flash erupted from his hand.

  Davon’s attention was grabbed by a sudden gust of wind as Lyla flew over him. At the apex of her jump, Lyla threw her spear with all her strength. Davon watched as the spear’s tip lit up with blue energy mid-flight. Landing among the Crimson Reavers, the spear erupted with a wave of cold, freezing all the enemy soldiers and their sergeant almost instantaneously.

  Carried by the momentum of her flight, Lyla landed beside her spear. She pulled it casually from the ground. The sound of shattering ice filled the air as the entire Crimson Reaver band fell to pieces around her.

  Recovering from the terrifying display of power, Davon realized that the flare sent up by the Crimson Reaver sergeant was still burning in the sky.

  “We need to move, now!” Davon commanded. Then he rushed down the alley, counting on his teammates to keep pace.

  Having learned from his mistakes, Davon took the time to make sure their path was clear before turning into the next alleyway. But before they could make any further progress into the city, the trio halted at the sound of lumbering footsteps, up ahead and getting closer.

  Looking around wildly for cover, Kai seemed to decide the simplest solution was best. He rammed his shoulder into a nearby door, inviting himself and his teammates into what was once a family home.

  Davon ducked inside and took up a position beside the window. Moments later, a massive shape appeared in the alley, almost shutting out the faint crimson sunlight.

  A vaguely draconic creature loomed outside the window, covered from head to tail in scarred black armor. The simple helmet hiding its face had been fitted to allow the creature’s gnarled horns to protrude. The thing was huge, almost as wide as the alleyway and half as tall as the surrounding buildings. Its wings, a mass of tattered gray leather and sharp bones, cast the alleyway into shadow.

  Davon’s breath caught in his throat as he watched the beast stalk down the alleyway.

  If anything could be a general for the Crimson Reavers, he thought, THAT is it.

  “What mice infest the streets of my domain?” the general growled in amusement, craning his long neck into the next alley. The voice sent shivers of fear down Davon’s spine, but he couldn’t look away. “Oh? And what’s this?”

  Davon heard the sound of scraping, coming from the direction where they had taken out the Crimson Reaver band.

  “It would seem these mice have bite,” the general chuckled mockingly, turning back into the alley where the trio hid. “How interesting.”

  As the general’s head turned towards the doors in the alley, Davon reflexively ducked below the windowsill, his pulse hammering in his temple.

  “A game of cat and mouse it shall be, then,” the general purred as it stalked down the alley. “I will find you eventually, little mice. Wherever you may hide.”

  With a powerful flap of its tattered wings, the general leapt onto a nearby building and roared. The ferocious sound shook the earth, echoing into the distance as the general bounded away across the rooftops.

  The trio exchanged terrified looks.

  “Well, that was terrifying,” Davon stated, trying to keep his voice from shaking. “I reckon we need to think things through before we continue.”