To the east the wide river’s meandering flow was still visible, and in all other directions lay forest. I’d been walking before in a sort of haze, barely aware of my surroundings. Suddenly I felt isolated, lost. I was aware of how silent the forest was - I hadn’t noticed the sound of birds before, but now that they were gone, I noticed their absence like a physical thing.

The only sound was the grunting of Cadoc and Amaia, still sparing, with the occasional *thwack* of wood hitting wood. I listened, focused on where I thought I had heard the sound coming from, but it did not repeat itself.

“Knock him out!” Naomi yelled, raising a fist to the sky as Amaia swung at Cadoc. Her blow was well timed, and her wooden stick slipped in just behind Cadoc’s own weapon, threatening to catch him on the forehead.

“Shh!” I put a finger to my lips and shushed Naomi, and the others turned to me as well, Amaia’s attack evaporating into the air. They looked at me first with confusion - then, presumably seeing the look on my face, with trepidation. Cadoc’s face quickly turned to joy.

“Is it an enemy?” he asked. He tossed his stick aside, and it clattered - too loudly - against the side of a thick, dry pine. I winced at the noise. Then he grabbed his sword-belt from where it lay beside the sparing spot, put it on, and drew his sword. “Let them come! Entire hours have now passed with only the simulation of violence. Besides, truly, I cannot let Miles, my friend, always stand before me on the path. A few battles more and I will join him in the Second Ring.”

Amaia scrunched up her face, looked to either side, then muttered something to herself which I couldn’t hear. Naomi’s eyes were wide.

“Shut up, you idiot,” she said in a harsh whisper. “You think just because you killed a couple Kalamuzi you can handle what’s out here, huh? Shut up before you get us all killed.”

“Actually,” I said. “I think it is Kalamuzi. I heard them.”

“Oh,” Naomi said. “And I suppose the demigod who’s been here for all of a couple months is suddenly like resident expert on monster noises now, huh?”

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. “I suppose I could be wrong.”

“Listen to yourselves!” Cadoc yelled. “Why do we hesitate in the shadow of danger? Did we not slay dragons?”

“No,” Amaia said. “We didn’t.”

Cadoc begun to mouth a reply, but even his bombastic speech was no match for Naomi’s high shriek. She was pointing - I followed the direction.

A bitter chuckle escaped my lips. For all of her complaining, she had screamed before the monsters had even seen us. But there they were, heads turned, ears up like alert dogs, sniffing the air with their long rat noses.

Kalamuzi.

These weren’t Talkers. They were ordinary Kalamuzi - patchy, dirty, a cold desperation in their beady eyes. I could see from yards away that they were hungry. It oozed from them like a miasma.

There were five of them. We were outnumbered, but even so they were not exactly the prime subjects of their race. The were thin and mangy, armed with broken weapons, completely naked.

“Too late to run now, I guess,” I said. In truth, I was even a little excited. Another opportunity to test my powers.

For a second the Kalamuzi only stared. Perhaps they were weighing their hunger versus how powerful we looked.

“Stay back, Naomi,” I said. “We’ll need your magic if things get too hairy. But you’ll be a nuisance if you use it right away.”

But she didn’t answer. I turned back to glance at where she was standing, only to find her gone already.

“I believe your words to be unnecessary, friend,” Cadoc said. “Now, to arms!”

He charged, and the Kalamuzi charged at him in turn, snarling.

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“Wait!” I yelled, “Let them come to us! We could-“ But it was in vain. He was off, and Amaia trailed behind him. I sighed.

I’d have liked to have given my finger-gun idea another try, but I couldn’t just stand back and let my companions fight, outnumbered. Naomi could, though.

You know, maybe she’s the smart one here, really. After all, she’s the only one who survived the dungeon out of her previous group.

The combat had begun before I had reached it. Cadoc swung wildly at the Kalamuzi, and while Amaia had just moments before been able to easily read that same strike and work around it, the Kalamuzi were unable. One quickly found itself without a left paw, while two more were forced back, bringing broken weapons before their faces in pitiful attempts at blocking.

Meanwhile Amaia strode into the midst of the other two, calm and uncaring. It was as if she didn’t even realize there was a battle going on, like she was simply going for a stroll. A confused but angry ratman poked at her with his spear - intact - and the metal point veered wide. Amaia drew her blade in a motion so smooth I suspected she had aided it with magic, and in a moment the Kalamuzi was impaled. The other Kalamuzi swung his metal shaft - the remains of some unidentifiable weapon - at her exposed back, but still it slid away as if off an invisible obstruction.

I flung my arms at this one as I arrived, the motion like that of throwing javelins. Nails flew from my fingers, which turned to drops of wax almost as quickly as they left. Splatterings of nail hit the Kalamuzi like the paint of an abstract artist. It turned to me, annoyed by both the interruption and its inexplicable miss, I was sure. It raised its iron shaft at me in defiance.

And then with a thought, I ignited. Small fires erupted from the spots on its fur, and the monster screamed. It dropped its weapon, grabbing at itself, trying to put out the fires. Before it had the chance, Amaia turned and, in one motion, slit its throat.

And, as it lay dying, gasping, I noticed the wincing face Amaia was making. She was clutching her hand.

“Are you hurt?”

She didn’t answer, but only showed it to me. A little circular burn, no larger than a coin.

“Shit,” I said. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

I didn’t have time for any more apologizing than that. Cadoc was still fighting.

Amaia clearly was just as aware of this, and we both rushed to his side.

One Kalamuzi lay dead already, in between us and Cadoc. Another was trading blows with him, the Kalamuzi’s jagged blade clanging against Cadoc’s own. The other was attempting to circle around and flank. I ran to intercept.

And I felt my feet slip out from under me. Something rolled below, and I saw treetops, then the sky, growing red as the sun set, ponderous clouds over head. Then I landed with a crash.

I moaned, realizing almost immediately what must have happened. I had slipped on Cadoc’s stick - one that he had summoned to trip up the Kalamuzi he’d already killed. I hadn’t seen it.

Bright lights obstructed my vision - caused by the blow to the head - and I tried to blink them away. I could hear that the battle was still being fought around me, and I was near helpless there on the ground.

“Naomi!” I yelled. “Come and help me up!”

But there was no response.

I decided I couldn’t just wait. I thought I still knew vaguely which direction the battle was, even with my sudden disorientation, and so I took my best guess and scrambled backwards towards what I hoped was safety. I needed a respite before I could rejoin the fight.

I let out a burst of air as I inadvertently slammed my back again a tree trunk in my flight. But it was good to had my back against something. I sat there, waiting for my senses to return, for the stars to leave my vision, nerves tight as I listened to the sound of fighting. I closed my eyes, hoping that would help somehow with the pounding headache I suddenly had - I felt I had become suddenly sensitive to light.

It wasn’t long. By the time I regained myself, the sounds had stopped. I opened my eyes, and Amaia was there squatting down next to me.

“Alive?” she asked.

“Wish I wasn’t,” I groaned. “Here, help me up.”

I offered her my hand, and she took him, hoisting me to my feet. I almost fell over again immediately, but Amaia caught me. When she determined I was steady enough, she pushed gently at me so that I leaned against the tree.

“Watch your step next time,” she said.

I almost yelled some insult back, but I caught myself. I wasn’t talking to Naomi. This was Amaia. She probably hadn’t meant it as an insult at all.

“And you watch out for flying fireballs,” I said.

“I will.”

“Sorry again about that.”

The relative silence was broken again, and for a moment I thought battle was reigniting. Perhaps the Kalamuzi had reinforcements. But it was only Cadoc’s guttural yell. It was a strain to focus my vision on where he stood in the middle distance, but finally I could see where he held both hands overhead, sword in one, bellowing out some primal roar.

Then he lowered his hands, sheathed his sword, and jogged over to us.

“Are you injured, friend?” he asked, looking around as he asked it as if hoping for more opponents.

“Just tripped is all,” I said, rubbing my head. “On one of your sticks, I might add.”

“Truly? I apologize. We will have to train more. Learn how to not get in each other’s way.”

“Tell me about it,” I responded. “I burned Amaia, too.”

Cadoc turned, and Amaia showed him the wound. It wasn’t very large, but it looked like it was a nasty burn. I wished we still had health potions.

“No battle is perfect,” Cadoc said as if trying to reassure me. “But a battle won is a battle won. We live to fight another day, and being alive means being able to improve. Let us rejoice!”

“Yay,” Amaia said, in a voice that did not sound very convincing.

“Come on friend, do better than that! Miles, show her a celebration cry.”

“Woo,” I said, half-sarcastically. But I really was happy. Despite the fall, I felt powerful. That would have been a much harder battle even a few weeks ago. Now our biggest danger when fighting Kalamuzi seemed to be friendly fire.

Cadoc laughed. “We’ll have to practice that as well, then.”

“While we’re at,” I said. “We should try figuring out a way for Naomi to actually participate in battle. I don’t care how much the reward is, she needs to pull her weight.”

“You told her to stay back,” Amaia reminded me.

“Oh. Right. Well, still. If the choice is between her being worthless, her being even more worthless but killing an enemy or two, or her being actually useful, but naked, I think we should have a long conversation about shame and positive body image.”

Amaia made a displeased face at this, but didn’t comment.

“On that topic,” Cadoc interjected. “Where did she hide herself? I do not see her.”

I looked this way and that as if somehow my eyesight would be any better then his. Then I yelled.

“Naomi! The coast is clear! You can come out now.”

There was no immediate response, so Cadoc and Amaia began yelling as well.

“Naomi! Naomi!”

We walked all over searching and calling, but we never heard even the faintest reply.

“Could she have become lost?” Cadoc asked as we searched. “Perhaps she fled some great distance in her cowardly efforts.”

“I hope she didn’t fall in the river,” I said. “Somehow I could see her doing that.”

“Miles,” Amaia called. She had walked over to where we had set up camp, to see if Naomi hid herself there. “Cadoc.”

We went over to her, and I expected to see Naomi laying on the ground, asleep, without a care in the world. Instead, there was nothing. Only our supplies, where we had left them. Except…

“Her pack,” Amaia said. “It’s gone.”