“The Ancient Ones. That’s what they call them. But who exactly are they? I can’t seem to get a straight answer out of anybody. Or perhaps they don’t know themselves? Either way, the legend of great Gods living in the sky is strong in this land. I will have to investigate further.”

* from the private journals of J.P. Cornish.

“Get down!” I repeated, snatching Fujiko’s shoulder and tugging her to the ground with me. Altarus hit hard beside us as Jacob’s new spell cackled through the thick cemetery air. I watched as the flames rolled and twisted and enveloped the row of Doom’s men that had been pursuing us. The fire hit them and stuck to everything—limbs, vests, pants, weapons. Cries of agony rang out as the line of attackers slowed, some swatting at their burns, others dropping and rolling in an attempt to extinguish them.

“Jacob!?” I shouted, looking up as he stood triumphantly above us.

“Hey, Rand,” he replied with a nod of his chin. I grinned, and gulped syrup before springing to my feet.

“What the Hell was that!?”

“Wyvern’s Flame,” he smiled. “Picked up the tome from Grecia.”

“Sick!” Something rose behind me and I spun around as a Mortician’s Scalpel sliced quickly toward me. I landed my riposte perfectly, dropping my attacker to one knee, but there was no time for a follow up. A Butcher’s Blade, held in the fiery hands of a man clad in a crimson robe, struck my side.

-23

But whoever my attacker was, he wasn’t high enough level to be taking me on his own. Doom and Callahan obviously had thought they were badass enough to take down my group themselves, and had rushed in ahead of the rest of their troops.

“Nah, nah, nah,” I scolded the Seeker as I slapped him with a Blunted Strike, freezing him in place. I ducked a wild slice from some kind of sword and attacked back as someone’s Winchester cracked like thunder. My Boucher’s axe carved off a quarter of his health with my first strike.

85

My Rally bar wasn’t even full, as it had faded during our brief retreat. But it began to rise again as I tore into the bastard.

87—78

Blunted Strike wore off, but someone slammed into me and knocked me away before I could finish him off. Luckily, Fujiko was on the job, and brought her hammer down like a blacksmith forging a slab of metal for a giant. The rest of the Seeker’s health vanished.

A Mortal Arrow pierced the air and slammed into another one of Doom’s men. I slashed at someone and ducked beneath their attack, felt a blade slice into my back, but I wasn’t worried about them. The damage barely registered. I had other plans.

I spotted Doom, flanked by two Seekers, one wielding some kind of short axe and the other with a massive two-handed sword. My party descended on their forces like the hand of god, tearing the lower level men to pieces without hesitation. Fujiko’s AoE tore the ground up and spattered shards against two of them that fell back lifelessly. Only Doom and the other two remained.

“What happened to your boys!?” I shouted in defiance. I gave him one chance to respond. My Shadowstep stopped me just in front of him. Blunted Strike was off cooldown, and I drove my axe handle into his chin, belting the sense out of him. Using the opening, I darted sideways and slashed the sharp edge of the thing that had once been a shovel used to dig graves, across the exposed, soft belly of the man next to him—his short axe looked even shorter at this range, and I couldn’t help but smile as blood poured from his guts

MASSIVE!

125

A Mortal Arrow struck him, followed up by a blast from Altarus’ Winchester, dropping his health to below half. I swung back just as he did. My axe met his wrist with such force that his shoulder sank and he dropped to his knees.

65

My Rally bar burst and my next swing finished him off.

“See ya!” I shouted as the stun on Doom wore off. Rage plastered his face as he saw the bodies of his fallen comrades, and he fell into a frenzy, whirling and whipping his Bloodletter through the air with no rhyme or reason or precision, making it unbelievably easy to dodge. In fact, I almost felt bad, just for a second, as I realized I was just toying with him as he fought to bring his blade to my flesh.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

A gong-like clank sounded as Fujiko pummeled his comrade.

“Watch it, Fujiko!” Jacob shouted. I felt the heat from the Wyvern Fire as it roasted the thick, humid air beside me before igniting on the body of Doom’s last group member. Altarus fired, Fujiko brought her hammer down and another Mortal Arrow from Jacob finished him off—in fact, it was complete overkill.

“You’re done!” I taunted Doom as he lashed out, again and again, his blade missing or being deflected by my axe. The dickhead had gone from obvious victor to obvious loser in the course of just a couple of minutes, and I could see he was unable to accept it. My guess was these guys had been jumping newbies, using their superior numbers to overwhelm them, but this time Doom and Callahan had grown overconfident and let their guard down. And we had made them pay for it.

I dashed forward and slammed my axe handle into his nose, spilling blood across his shirt. Of course he replied with a wild slash, so I ducked and let it swish harmlessly over my head, then sank my blade into the backs of his legs.

75

Fujiko’s hammer hit him in the guts, doubling him over and dealing a little less damage than my attack had done but still enough.

“Sons of bitches!” Doom growled as he realized he was done for. Fujiko’s hammer found a spot beneath his chin and snapped his head back with such force that he was thrown back onto the ground, about a third of his health remaining. I stepped over him, placing one leg on either side of his body and stared down at him feeling like an executioner. I could have ended him right then and there, but I was pissed, so I waited.

“So, this is your thing, huh?” I asked him. “Ganking people with your group? Can’t take them on your own?

He didn’t answer—just scowled up at me with a hand tight around the hilt of his sword. I could see his mind working; he was thinking about driving the tip of that thing straight up into my groin, dealing a last bit of damage before we ended him and sent him back to whatever lamppost he’d bound to. But in the end, he decided against it.

“Says the guy who needed his friends to save him,” he growled. I chuckled and looked back at my party, all of whom had smiles on their faces. After all, it was quite a victory. I smirked down at him, then looked back at my crew, who were watching as they downed some syrup to restore what health they’d lost during the fight.

“Oh, yeah?” I asked him, shouldering my axe and stepping back. “You wanna put that to the test?”

“Rand, what are you doing?” Fujiko hissed.

“Don’t worry, Ryu,” I replied, motioning for Doom to get to his feet. “He doesn’t have it in him.”

Hesitantly, Doom got to his feet, a look on his face like he was being led into a trap. But all the same, he stood up and made a move for a Soothing Syrup.

“Go ahead,” I urged him. “Heal right up to full.”

“Rand!?” Jacob whispered. “There’s no need to do this! We won!”

“Nah, he’s right, Jacob,” I replied, taking a step back and presenting myself to Doom as if to say—I am your only opponent now. “I wouldn’t want to be accused by anybody of being saved by a little wand waving—or bone waving in your case.”

Jacob smiled as he took a battle stance and tightened his hand on the hilt of his sword. Despite his monumental defeat and being surrounded by his fallen men, he was somehow still arrogant.

You really think you can beat me.

I could hear Jacob’s confusion as he looked to Fujiko and Altarus to intervene, but neither of them said anything. As I stared at him, I envisioned my plan of attack.

Feint your first attack…he’ll dodge and try to counter…

Shadowstep and attack him from behind…

Be ready to riposte.

Quick strikes…probably won’t have enough health to get a fully rally bar…

Dodge left when he thrusts and counter with a blow to his chest…finish him off with a backhand stroke to the neck…

I smiled—made sure Doom saw me smile. “Come on then,” I told him. “Let’s get this over with. I’ve got other business besides you.”

Doom was the classic case of a big fish who’d splashed out of his pond without realizing it and was now flapping around in a tiny puddle, still carrying with him the mentality of a king. So far, no one had knocked him down to size and shown him the kind of man (or boy—I was betting on the latter) he really was.

I stepped forward and raised my axe, feinting a strike at his shoulder and chest. As I suspected, he dodged back and thrust his Bloodletter forward, anticipating my movement. I Shadowstepped, thinking of the time Rathborne handed over his cloak to me.

That’s it! I heard his voice in my head as I materialized behind Doom and sank Boucher’s shovel-axe into his exposed back.

77

“Bullshit!” Doom cried out, obviously not happy with my cloak’s ability. He whirled around and slashed straight down, but my Blunderbuss greeted him happily with a face full of slugs. His knees buckled like old rotten wood and he collapsed to the ground. Raising my axe with every bit of force I had, I met his chin as it came down, combining our momentums into a devastating blow.

MASSIVE!

165

He groaned as the pain hit him, and I stepped to the side, anticipating his thrust—but it didn’t happen how I’d pictured it. Instead of driving the tip of his sword at my stomach, he slashed out, almost lazily, at my ankles. I tried to jump, but the blade found its mark and hit both of them one after the other.

-34, -42

Doesn’t matter, I thought as I kicked his arm away, stopping his next attack. Aiming my shovel-axe at the back of his neck and head, I swung.

Finish him! Rathborne’s voice again urging me on.

“You lose,” I told him as the blade came down.

MASSIVE!

152

“Yea-hah!” Jacob cheered as Doom’s health bar vanished and his body fell limp against the headstone pavers.

Atta boy! That’s what Rathborne would say if he were here. Shouldering my axe, I turned to face my companions. Altarus looked at me proudly, and despite the look of disapproval on Fujiko’s face, I could see she was impressed.

“See?” I smirked. “Nothing to it.”