The wasteland stretched out before her, the cool night air brushing against her skin and carrying the metallic tang of blood still clinging to her. Vigdis moved with purpose, her strides long and deliberate. Her axe rested against her shoulder, its blade slick with gore, while her crossbow was slung across her back. The fight had been brutal, leaving her with fresh cuts and bruises, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Nothing compared to the injuries she’d suffered before Thornshade after the bird-monsters.
And yet, her adrenaline hadn’t waned. Her blood still hummed with the raw energy of combat, her mind replaying every swing, every dodge, every kill.
It hadn’t been easy. The cannibals were relentless, far more coordinated than the ambush team had been. They’d fought like a pack of wolves, circling, feinting, wearing her down. There were moments when the tide threatened to overwhelm her, when her axe had grown heavier with every swing. But she had pushed through. She always did. The memory brought a faint smirk to her lips.
Still, one moment in the fight kept surfacing in her mind, like a splinter she couldn’t quite shake.
It had happened toward the end, when her axe had become lodged in the ribs of one of the last cannibals. She’d been forced to abandon it for a split second as another enemy emerged from the deeper shadows of the cave, charging at her with a jagged blade in hand. Without hesitation, she’d reached for her crossbow, firing in one fluid motion.
The bolt hit him square in the chest, and he went down with a heavy thud, falling backward out of her sight.
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But there had been a flash of light—a green, pulsing glow that radiated from his body for just a moment before disappearing. It had been the same eerie color as the tips of the bolts, but at the time, she hadn’t given it much thought. She’d been too focused on finishing the fight, retrieving her axe, and making sure none of them got back up.
Now, though, it nagged at her. What had caused that light? The bolts were strange enough on their own, but she’d never seen them do anything like that before. It wasn’t just a glow—it was... something else. Something alive. She couldn’t shake the memory of it, the way it had flickered and pulsed like a heartbeat before fading into darkness.
Her smirk faded as her mind turned over the possibilities. She didn’t understand the crossbow or its magic. That was why she was heading back to the Magician in the first place. Maybe he’d have answers. Maybe he wouldn’t. Either way, she needed to know what she was dealing with. Especially now, after seeing what those bolts could do.
Vigdis adjusted her grip on the axe, the weight of it grounding her. The cave was behind her now, the cannibals dead, their lair silenced. But something about the whole thing felt unfinished. That flash of light... it hadn’t been a death rattle. It had been something else entirely.
Her thoughts darkened as the image of the green glow lingered in her mind. Whatever had happened in that moment, it felt wrong. Like something had shifted, something beyond her understanding. And though she didn’t realize it yet, it had set in motion a chain of events that she would soon have to face.
For now, though, she pressed on, her bruised body aching but alive, her mind still buzzing with the thrill of the fight. She was tired, sure, but she felt sharp, focused. As she approached the Magician’s tower, her stride didn’t falter. Whatever was waiting for her there, she was ready for it.