The balance of power in the ambush shifted quickly. With visible targets, the defenders’ advantage in numbers was fast becoming overwhelming. A storm of spells and hail of arrows and spears landed on Dahni’s small bunkers, kicking up clouds of debris and elemental magic. Hopefully, Pax’s friends were switching between them to keep the attacks from concentrating on individuals.

Pax’s heart jumped in his throat as he heard numerous yells and screams through the din. He really hoped the protective devices did their job. It was suddenly very clear that fighting other people was not the same as fighting beasts.

Sure, this was just a training exercise. Friends could gather afterward for dinner and roast each other over mistakes and boast about victories. But it was a horrible harbinger of the future. When his team joined the rebels, they’d be fighting and killing people who had been allies, and maybe even friends in the past. Even now, the empire’s army would be close to or already at Quarrybrook, trying to kill everyone who’d dared stand up to corruption. It all made his stomach sour.

Pax swallowed hard and drew on his Strategist to push the disturbing thoughts aside. He focused back on the caravan, wanting to time his movements with the most chaos to avoid drawing attention. Another yugrut bellowed in pain, making Pax wince and hope the animal handlers could heal it later. They’d done their best to attack just the wagons, but the pit traps were so indiscriminate.

Now, though, the caravan crafters had five of the seven wagons back into functioning order. They’d cut the injured yugruts free and swapped them out with healthy ones. The front wagon was already on the move again, with injured defenders piling inside its protective sides.

The fighting continued exclusively toward the rear, just as Pax and his squad had planned. Earlier, they’d tossed out a few ideas to trap the entire caravan, but decided that cornering over forty defenders wasn’t the best idea. Especially when they didn’t know how long it would take to summon their allies to help them.

They’d decided, instead, to do as much damage as they could manage as fast as possible. And judging by the number of bodies on the ground and the two broken wagons, they’d done an excellent job. The problem now was the defenders completely outnumbered Pax’s small squad, and they were furious.

A flaming arrow shot through the mists of battle and landed with a boom that Pax felt through the cool dirt beneath his feet. The debris at the back of the caravan began to shift and swirl under the effect of an air mage spell, while something out of sight made the ground rumble. Pax hoped Dahni could hold off the enemy earth mage’s efforts to destroy his bunkers or, at the very least, keep fixing the damage.

Pax pushed his Strategist skill to keep track of all the moving parts to their plan only to suddenly feel his thoughts speed up with an unexpected clarity. He grinned and couldn’t resist a quick check of his latest notification.

***

Congratulations! You have increased Intelligence from 14 to 15, increasing your augmented total to 17.

Mana: 116/146

***

The extra mana would definitely come in handy, but even more, he needed the mental skills to handle all the variables during battle. Even better, the future protection against Interrogation would be priceless.

Now, however, it was time to finish this skirmish.

Keep driving them off! The front of the caravan is already on the move, Pax sent as he activated his armor set’s Wind Walker ability and burst from cover. He made a mad dash in a wide arc away from the road to join his friends. Talpa followed along underneath him.

Pax’s abrupt appearance garnered enough attention for warriors to send a few boosted spears whistling in his direction. They moved too fast to dodge all of them outright, so he flexed his mana and sent his Windscale Shroud to cover the back of his head, torso and legs as he ran. His adrenaline spiked when a firm blow hit him in the lower left hip, hard enough to throw off his stride. He stumbled, but recovered, feeding more mana into the now weakened area. He felt another, lighter impact to the back of one shoulder. Arrows. With adrenaline pumping he ran faster, finally whooping in excitement when he made it safely out of range. His Shroud was amazing and he needed to dedicate more time to leveling it, maybe even evolving it. Unlike his Bulwarks that stayed put after casting, the Shroud stuck with him as another layer of armor, magical armor.

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Grinning as he ran, Pax angled back toward the fighting in the rear. He caught short glimpses of Rin following his example. She dodged much better than him, her stealthy Mist Veil making it hard to follow her movements. By unspoken agreement, they raced for the same bunker, number 4, and dove inside the small space, sending dirt spraying. A rush of heat splashed behind them, but Dahni’s earthen wall shrugged it off.

They exchanged fierce grins before noticing, with surprise, that Dahni and Neptid were already there. Pax immediately noticed the trickling boost to his mana regeneration and resolved to get some nice snacks for Neptid. Dahni had his eyes closed, body shaking with focused effort, so they didn’t disturb him.

Rin pushed herself to her feet, favoring her left leg as Pax smelled the stench of burning leather and saw flame damage to her lower armor. Seeing her pain, it was obvious the training equipment was doing its job, minimizing the actual damage while letting the pain through unhindered.

“I’m fine.” She shook her head at his concern, pulled out a stool and plopped down before quaffing a health potion. “Eris says at least half of them have already headed out. Let’s finish this before they focus on us and we have to switch bunkers.” A moment later, she had her bow out and sent a steady stream of arrows through the firing slit back at the attacking squad.

Pax forced himself to follow her example, messaging Talpa as he moved up to an observation hole and surveying the situation. He pushed the smallest trickle of mana to his Shroud, testing how well he could see through it if he kept it protecting his vulnerable eye.

There was a brief haziness that cleared a moment later, making him grin as he surveyed the battleground. Eris was right. The repaired wagons had made significant progress, leaving those still attacking the bunkers increasingly on their own.

I’m safe now, Talpa. Go help Whisk with the sneaky fighting.

Talpa sent him a pulse of eagerness and burrowed toward the fighting. When Pax saw a mage stumble with a shout, he grinned. Talpa would have fun helping Whisk disrupt any mage who focused too much power in their direction.

Report in, he sent to the others.

Tasar and I are in Bunker 3. About to move again after I cut two arrows out of my leg and use a health potion. Bryn’s matter-of-fact tone was the first to report. And I’ve got Onyx back. She’s requesting permission to kill everyone in the caravan for hurting me.

Pax chuckled at the idea of the little stonepaw going berserk.

Me and Tyrodon are in Bunker 2. We’ve made them pretty angry. Amil’s gleeful chuckle made Pax imagine him bumping shoulders with Tyrodon as the two kept lobbing destruction at the incoming enemies. Just send Neptid over and tell us when it’s time. I’m saving some mana and a potion for the big finale.

Losing the refreshing boost to regeneration told him Dahni had heard Amil. Pax turned and saw Neptid’s rear paws disappearing through the connecting tunnel on his way to help Amil.

Wait for my signal. Pax focused his Strategist skill, drawing on his new mental boost. The bulk of two squads had hunkered down behind the two wrecked wagons that still smoldered from the fires their water mages had doused.

Warriors held up shields as they popped up to send spears and arrows their way. Mages joined them, tattoos flaring with power as they spent their mana. The desire to both leave and fight was obvious in their lack of coordination.

As Pax’s crew switched bunkers to attack from changing locations, the defenders responded with scattered volleys instead of turning all their attention on a single bunker at a time.

Pax grinned. They’d done more damage than the three ambushing squads before them. He could only imagine how much they could have done if they’d been able to use all their spells, and the younger beasts had grown enough to have abilities. Maybe they’d survive just fine out in the Wilds during the war.

Something about the activity caught his attention. The attacks slowed and figures shifted behind the wagons. His instincts told him they were preparing for a final charge.

Brace yourselves. Last charge coming, he sent as he gathered his mana for the flurry of Bulwarks he’d saved for. Send Horrid out and follow with everything you have left.

A chorus of agreement responded over his Echo. Pax pressed his eye harder against the hole, all of his senses straining. He caught the flicker of motion as Horrid’s lithe body bolted out of her hiding place and raced in from the side. She was very fast, sticking to the shadows before spinning and presenting her backside to the enemy.

The attackers burst from their shelter a moment later, shields and weapons raised as the warriors led the way. The mages following behind, spells already buzzing toward the bunkers.

Horrid’s attack hit them like a flash flood in a narrow canyon. Even from a distance, Pax could see faces twisted in disgust and panic as the sudden frenzy of putrid air slammed into them. Just the small backlash that drifted to his bunker made Pax’s eyes water. His grin widened.

Now, everyone. Now!

Pax threw his row of head-height Bulwarks directly ahead of the attackers. Stumbling forward, their magical shields collided with harsh flashes causing even more flinching. He kept powering more Bulwarks, forcing them to fight their way through a forest of barriers. A flame mage kept her focus, screaming with rage as she shot both hands out at Tasar’s and Bryn’s bunker ahead of her.

Two other mages joined her, their elements visibly swirling as they fought for revenge against their attackers. Just as Pax wanted to flinch back and tell the others they needed to evacuate, he caught the reflection of light off the ground at the flame mage’s feet.

Suddenly feeling better, Pax pressed his eye into the observation port and waited for what he suspected was coming.