Uzca relaxed his body and stopped reacting to the bugs that were bothering him so much. He had found he could turn a patch of skin under them to metal without much trouble, their touch giving him something to focus on, but now he needed to conserve his strength as much as possible. Whatever mutilated that man would still be out here.

As the caravan started moving, he gave Bezben's spear to a man who was familiar with the weapon. Uzca didn't know how to use it at all, and Bezben's hand was in no condition to try and fight with it. His cousin would have better luck simply using his gift. They had been introduced to the caravan as apprentice mages under Thad's direction, but no one seemed to believe that the two huge men were mages. Apparently, there was a stereotype they didn't fit. Even so, with the explanation in place, Uzca wasn't worried about using their gifts in front of the others, especially not if they had to defend themselves.

Bezben gave him a dark look when he passed off his spear to someone else, but he quickly turned the look to his bandaged hand. He looked back up and nodded.

Uzca slowed to have a quiet conversation with Thad as they walked.

"You look nervous. What do you think we're dealing with?"

"A number of creatures could have done it, but with how everything looked? I think it could only be a Swamp Hag. Nothing else in the swamp would tear the man apart like that. Not without eating all the...meat." He shuddered at the thought. "We need to be careful."

"You said they had magic, right? What can they do?"

"They can, but it's usually not the magic you need to worry about. They're very strong and have wicked claws and beaks. Your metal skin might be the only thing that can stand up to them."

Uzca noted that and was extra glad he had only been reacting to the bugs earlier and not been doing his usual road travel training.

"Do you think we'll see it?"

"It's unlikely. If you recall, I said swamp hags were highly intelligent. We're a large, well-armed group, and an intelligent creature wouldn't try to attack us. It would be certain death. But if anyone falls behind or drifts too far away..."

"Hag food."

"Just so. I think the perimeter Cecily has set up, and everyone being on high alert should get us through without incident."

Uzca nodded and lengthened his stride to return forward with Bezben. His cousin looked at him expectantly, and he was about to reply when the sound of an explosion ripped through the air. A wave of force picked him off his feet momentarily, and his reflexive training saved him from being launched into the swamp. He was pulled to the ground by metal feet, struggling for a moment to keep his balance.

He wasn't fast enough to catch Bezben, who crashed into the road in front of them. He spun to see the remnants of a ball of fire rising into the air. Nearly everyone in the caravan screamed or started shouting immediately.

Thad picked himself off the ground, and Uzca saw blood covering the man's face where it had scraped the stony road.

Uzca helped him to his feet and shouted back to Bezben. "Keep your wits about cousin! Pull back, but keep your eyes out!"

Bezben nodded, and Uzca and Thad ran back down the caravan. Most of the "guards" were standing around looking stupified. In their defense, no one probably expected to have to guard against bursts of magic fire.

Thad whispered words to himself, and the air came to life around him. It spun in tight loops surrounding his arms and chest. He immediately began chanting another spell and then stopped abruptly.

"Maybe I spoke too soon," he said.

They passed the second wagon and found the third wagon aflame. Three of Cecily's guards with some spine, including the man with Bezben's spear, stood facing off against a monstrous figure. Nine feet tall with four arms ending in razor claws and a pair of emaciated wings, it looked like a more nightmarish version of the swamp hags Thad had described.

The people who had somehow kept their wits worked to pull people out of the still-burning cart. There were a couple bodies on the ground. Blackened and unmoving. Uzca clenched his gut to stop from being sick.

"By all the dead gods..." Thad said, mouth hanging open.

"That's not a swamp hag?"

"It looks like one, but I've never heard a tale of something quite so monstrous."

A ball of fire manifested over one monster's four hands.

"Get away!" Thad yelled to those in front of them and rushed forward.

The mage shook magic out of his hand, calling upon another spell. Not wanting to leave his friend to fight alone, Uzca charged after. Maybe he could flank the creature and get behind it.

Thad finished his incantation as he ran past the three stupified guards. The swamp hag extended the fireball and pointed directly at Thad. The fireball blasted forward, and Thad held a hand out, palm forward, as though he would will the fire to stop dead in the air before him.

Wind tore away from Thad's palm, joined by a veritable wall of wind — a continuous stream that slowed the fireball. He strained, face pained as the wind flared, but the swamp hag's eyes glowed brighter with a sickly yellow light, and the fireball continued.

Uzca decided to do something dumb and rushed past his friend. He had only attempted this once so far and could only maintain it for a moment, but it might be enough. He passed into the wind and was hurled toward the slowly approaching ball of red destruction. Flying through the air, Uzca cocked a fist, and just before the moment of impact, he punched, transforming the entire front half of his body to metal.

The fireball detonated in another massive blast. With Thad's wind spell still in place, most of the fire was redirected back toward the swamp hag while Uzca's body flashed with intense pain, and he was hurled back. The wind slowed his flight, and he rolled to a stop just behind Thad. The mage dismissed his spell and sagged a little, looking back at Uzca to make sure he was alright.

Uzca was momentarily dazed but largely uninjured. The fire had hurt because he wasn't immune to feeling the burning heat and shockwave, but it hadn't affected his metallic flesh, and the wind had prevented his clothing from burning up. He felt the strain of using so much of his gift at once, but he persisted, climbing to his feet.

The swamp hag, on the other hand, hadn't fared quite as well. The flames had blasted back at it, and it was thrashing about, putting out small fires that burned the rags it wore as clothing. When all the fire was out, it turned back to the group and roared.

The fire had eaten away at its clothing and exposed the monster's chest. The sight almost made Uzca sick all over again. The flesh had rotted away, and the beast's ribs were broken and bent inward. In the spot where the monster's heart must have once been, a lump of uneven black metal was suspended in an artificial housing and linked to the swamp hag by tendrils of black flesh.

"Oh no," Thad said.

Even as the mage reacted, runes on the construct around the black heart began to glow, and another fireball manifested in the creature's outstretched hand. Then, for good measure, a second fireball appeared over another hand. The heart practically radiated a hot orange glow, and the interior of the creature's chest seemed to burn with the heat.

"What is it?" Uzca yelled, not sure what to do.

"It's bad. Everyone run! NOW!"

All the caravan members around them didn't need to be told again, so they took off running. The three guards hesitated.

"I'll hold it back! You three get moving."

The guards gave him a grim look, but they nodded and started moving.

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

Thad's wind armor expanded. The tight rings of flowing air became veritable twisters around his arms. He pointed to a broken piece of cart, and the wind armor extended out to pick up the fallen debris. He launched it at the swamp hag as it launched its own attack.

The twin balls of fire spun around one another, heading straight toward the greatest threat, Thad. The mage tried to use his wind armor to grab and redirect one of the balls of fire, but they were able to practically ignore his wind magic this time around. The swamp hag took the blow from the cart and fell back with a hair-raising howl.

Uzca was helpless to stop them; his effort had drained too much of his reserves to try again. Still, he would push Thad out of the way if he had to. He charged at his friend as the mage tried in vain to push back the fire hurtling toward him.

A glowing spear of white light launched from behind them and hit one of the fireballs, causing it to detonate. Thad braced himself, prepared to take the second fireball when Uzca arrived. Uzca pushed his friend away and did his best to protect himself again. His skin flashed before the fire consumed him.

Uzca shielded his eyes from the blast.

"Uzca!" Bezben yelled, rushing forward. He had his spear in his good hand, retrieved from the guard as they crossed paths.

Bezben caught Uzca, and he fell backward. His clothes were ruined, and his body was covered in burns, but it wasn't as bad as it should have been.

Thad coughed, trying to speak but inhaling some smoke. He pointed toward the swamp hag. It climbed back to its feet after taking a brutal blow from the hunk of cart.

"Can you fight?" Bezben asked, and Uzca let his cousin help him up.

He curled his hands into fists and gave his cousin a grim nod.

Thad got his coughing under control enough to shout at the cousins. "I'll cover you! I think it needs time to recharge. They really only have enough mana for one or two blasts on their own. It's drawing from the orb!"

Indeed, the swamp hag's metal heart was still a bright red, and it didn't conjure any more magic. It began to beat it's massive rotting wings.

"I don't think so!" Bezben raised a hand, and spears of light rained down on the beast. The first was directed at the heart, and as it moved to protect its source of magic, the other spears shredded the beast's wings.

Uzca dashed toward the distracted monster, grimacing against the pain and burns sporadically covering his body.

Thad joined in the distraction, and thin but powerful streams of water blasted into the monster from every angle, enraging it.

The distractions weren't enough to prevent it from noticing Uzca, and soon, they were locked in a deadly melee. The razor claws of the swamp hag were met with metal fists and palms, and the beast struggled to break free to deal with the pestering ranged attackers. Uzca wasn't the most skilled pugilist, but the swamp hag was huge and lumbering. Its blows were telegraphed enough that Uzca had no problem keeping up.

Unfortunately, speed wasn't the danger. Uzca edged on his limits. Every transformation sapped him a little more, and a sharp pain built in his head. If his gift failed even once, he would be maimed at the very least.

The hag raised its two upper arms, interlocking its talons and preparing for a brutal overhead smash. The blow threatened to bury Uzca, and he bit his cheek to distract from the pain of calling upon his power with as much force as he could muster. He punched up as the monster struck.

The hag's bones snapped as its blow collided with Uzca's ascending fist. The magical gain in momentum from his steel limb stopped the strike cold. The beast howled in frustration and pain.

A renewed assault forced the swamp hag back, and it couldn't continue its attack on Uzca while battering aside projectiles with its two remaining good hands. Uzca could see the heart inside the hag continue to cool down. They were running out of time, and he wasn't sure they could withstand another magical barrage.

"Hit the heart!" Uzca yelled.

"What do you think I'm trying to do!?" Bezben fired back.

His companions were doing their best, but he could tell they were also reaching the end of their endurance. He had enough strength for one more push. He rushed the distracted monster once more, focusing squarely on the heart. Bezben and Thad paused their assault when he closed, not wanting to block his shot.

The swamp hag hesitated as the barrage ended and was still long enough for Uzca to launch another strike directly at its heart. He felt something snap inside him as he shifted his fist. The pain made him stiffen, throwing off his punch ever so slightly. He scored a glancing blow on the metal framework that housed the heart. It cracked and splintered but did not break; the housing was too sturdy.

The swamp hag looked down at him, and his eyes widened as the heart started to glow a molten red once more. Instead of a ball of fire in the monster's hand, a deep red swelled up from deep within its open beak.

Uzca barely had time to scramble out of the way before the fire consumed where he had just been standing. Two more fireballs manifested in the creature's hands. Before the stream of fire from its beak ended, it launched the other blasts at Thad and Bezben.

"Thad! Hold!" Bezben yelled.

He struck out with a white spear of light and detonated the ball heading toward Thad, saving the mage and allowing him to start a counter-offensive. Bezben firmed his stance and took his spear in both hands, swinging at the ball of swirling molten fire.

Bezben hit the orb, and it detonated, launching him back up the road.

The opportunity wasn't wasted, and Thad finished a spell. A huge bolder of earth ripped itself out of the ground and launched toward the still-attacking swamp hag. It looked up just in time to see the stone projectile slam into its chest, breaking ever more bones and throwing it backward.

Uzca pursued. The swamp hag fell, landing prone on its back, dazed and clearly badly injured. Not wasting the moment, Uzca reached into the monster's chest and, forcing the last dregs of power from his spirit, grabbed the hot stone hard with a steel hand. He screamed in pain and fury. He hauled on the heart with all his strength and ripped the metal orb free, the containment construct breaking apart as he pulled.

The swamp hag let out another ear-piercing scream and started thrashing about. It screamed and screamed. After minutes of agonizing death, it finally laid still.

Uzca, out of danger, practically fell onto the ground with relief. He sat there for a long minute, staring at the hag's corpse. Thad had said it was just a dead body reanimated with magic. He didn't want it to surprise him by getting back up again.

After another minute, he looked over to where Thad had launched his final spell. The mage was sprawled out on his back, but Uzca could see his chest rising and falling. Still alive, just exhausted. He could commiserate with that.

He looked back at where Bezben had landed. His cousin hadn't yet moved, and a spike of alarm pushed him to stand quickly and jog over.

Bezben was covered in burns and badly bruised on one leg, but he was breathing, and Uzca didn't see any other dangerous-looking wounds. His cousin might have a concussion thanks to the blast, but other than that, he thought the man would be okay.

"Thad? Uzca? Is the beast slain?"

Cecily called back from behind the wreckage of her cart. She peeked over the top of it, and Uzca waved at her, even as he lay on the ground next to Bezben. "We got it."

He spared a final look at the swamp hag and satisfied that it wouldn't get back up, Uzca passed out.

When he awoke some time later, he was in roughly the same spot, though a few cuts had been bandaged up. Bezben was practically covered with bandages, and Thad sat nearby, holding the orb Uzca had pulled from the beast's chest.

"Thad, you alright?" he asked, limping over.

"Yeah, I just overtaxed myself. I poured maybe too much mana into that first wind wall. I could have probably gotten away with a more focused attack. Anyway, I'll be fine. Bezben will be alright, but he needs to be awake so I can check for any sign of brain trauma before trying to heal any of those burns. Well, that, and I think if I use mana right now, my head is going to tear itself in half."

"Yeah," Uzca understood that now more than ever. "I pushed myself hard and can feel my power recovering far more slowly than usual. What the hell was that thing?"

Thad proffered the orb to Uzca, who looked at it with trepidation. He took it and found it was surprisingly heavy. Despite being someone who lifted metal regularly, Uzca couldn't identify the strange heavy metal.

"That's some metal that they used to mine in Old Livia. I think it might actually be the same chunk that was stolen from me back in Orzii. The man who died on the road must have been one of the escaped troupe members, hoping to get this to somewhere he could sell it. I'm guessing we scared him out of the encampment yesterday."

"Why were you carrying around something like this?" Uzca said, handing the orb back.

"I honestly had no idea it could do this. It somehow integrated with the swamp hag's magical matrix. My mentor will be very interested, but...I'm not sure I should tell people about this. It transformed that monster. Swamp hags aren't that tall, don't have wings, and certainly only have two arms. I'm not sure what this means."

"What are you going to do with the stone?"

"I'll keep it to return it to my mentor. It's his, after all."

"Is that safe? Considering what just happened and all."

"It should be. The magical construct I created to house the orb was what allowed the beast to draw upon its power. That I at least understand. When I studied with the priests in Amailesh, we suspected that was what they originally mined the ore for — a source of mana."

"Uhhhrggg." Bezben groaned. "Why did I protect the mage. Don't you have some kind of magic shield?"

"Welcome back, Bezben," Thad said with a smile, pocketing the orb. "I do, but it wasn't active. I'm afraid I don't have the hearty constitution of a...well, one of you."

No one was listening in on their conversation, but it never hurt to be cautious about revealing their heritage. Everyone in the caravan was still pretty shaken up, and Cecily had just finished wrapping the bodies of the three fallen. Uzca had completely forgotten about the initial assault and felt ashamed that he hadn't asked about them. He said a silent prayer to Rethkam, wishing the dead well in the realm beyond.

"Yeah," Bezben said, "I guess that's true. Any idea what that thing was."

"A fluke, transformed by magic better left alone, I think."

"That's music to my ears," Cecily said, walking up. "I'd rather sell the caravan and settle down in Dreggs than see another one of those. Some kind of swamp hag?"

"It was," Thad confirmed. "It really was unique. We'll be returning the magical item that caused its creation to the Mages Academy in Telestria."

Cecily spit to the side. "Good. Well, I have to thank you three. If you weren't here, I don't think anyone would have found out what happened to us. I owe you a debt I can't repay, but we'll see if we can't get you a reward at Brightwater, eh?"

Bezben perked up. "Reward?"

"There's always a price on swamp hags. And one that big? You can expect a fine reward from the constabulary. But to get a reward, we need to arrive. If you've recovered enough, I want to get moving. I still want to get to the edge of this infernal swamp by nightfall."

The three of them were given seats on the remaining wagons so they could recover, and with the battle behind them, they left the swamp.