The tide was rising.

Reef Paradise glanced behind him, judging his distance from the pursuing dire bears. He ran on empowered legs. The path to the biggest wolf lair was rough — a blindfolded horse could easily break a leg.

Blindfolding the horses was a given. They would panic at the thought of what was chasing them — and some were being chased by creatures worse than bears. The plan was to lure the forest beasts, taking them to seven different paths that converge at the Corner Shop™. Sacher provided him with men and he provided the paths to take and the timing.

The beasts had to arrive at the same time and not meet up before they got to the shop. Different beasts were unlikely to get along — and he chose the most aggressive and destructive beasts he could lure from the forest.

The hydra was drawn first. It was a fierce thing but it was slow. If he had gotten the second one in the swamp, there would have been no need for the others. Sacher’s men were drawing wolves, giant spiders, crimson ants, and wyverns. There was an accident with the apes. One of the men paused too long to wait for them, not knowing a few were swinging on the trees above him.

The apes would not be joining them, as would the unfortunate mercenary. Getting torn limb from limb and eaten was not a good way to go. He had experienced it twice before and he would rather not go through it again.

Reef heard a series of whistles — three shrill notes that told him the wolves would soon be drawn. He shook his head. Whoever was in charge of the wolves was too eager. There was a schedule to follow and drawing the wolves too soon would complicate their plan.

He hoped the wolves would not catch up to the crimson ants. They were not natural enemies — but there was no predicting what would happen in their current state.

The golden liquid was quite potent. A few drops would drive beasts mad with rage, lust, and hunger. He was carrying a torch — but instead of oil, it was drenched with the liquid. Sacher’s men were doing the same from the safety of their horses. He imagined the chaos that would ensue once they threw the torches into the Corner Shop and the structures around it. Wanton destruction was not his thing — but he would go to great lengths to settle his score with the Scourge.

He spotted a waiting rider and a spare horse up ahead. He motioned for him to go since there was no time to pause with the bears at his heels.

Reef waited until the horse matched his speed. Maintaining proper distance was key to their operation. Riding too close to the beast would put them in danger, yet riding too far would dissipate the effects of the strange potion.

He grabbed the saddle and vaulted on top of the horse. It was not a maneuver he practiced, but he had done so many times on a dozen battlefields.

He used to think there was honor in battle. Men put up their lives for coin or country — their fates unknown. After a dozen resurrections, he knew it was not so — at least not for him.

Soldiers or beasts posed no risk to him. There was the excruciating pain of death — but he had learned to get over it. Waking up in a mass grave was another thing. The darkness was unsettling and it would start to smell if he dig himself out in a day or two.

Mages were the problem. Being held against his will would be a nightmare that would not end.

A roar brought him back from his reverie. The dire bears were drawing mana to chase them — and one of them seemed to be on the verge of transforming.

Reef sighed. It was not a good thing. A mana-corrupted dire bear would be a great asset to their attack — but it would wreak havoc on their schedule and the other four bears running with it. He had no idea how a warped bear would react to the potion — nor its abilities upon changing.

There was no other choice. Either they lose the bear or kill it — and there was no losing the bear.

He turned to the rider beside him. “Follow the plan. I’ll catch a ride with the others.”

Catching up to the group would be easy. They were taking circuitous paths so that their arrival would be coordinated. Isolating and dealing with the bear was the problem.

Reef passed the drenched baton to the other rider. The man was a bit green, but he was holding his composure. He searched the previously prepared saddlebag, dropping items until he got to what he was searching for — a weighted net.

He gave the rein of his horse to the rider. The bears would maul the steed if it ran unguided, or it could slam into a tree because of its blindfold.

“Must you do this?” the rider asked.

Reef nodded grimly. The net would hold the bear for mere seconds and its warped form would grant it enough speed to catch up to the rest of its brethren or waylay the others behind them.

The net expertly flew from his hands. The charging bear had no time to dodge nor did its befuddled mind see the threat. The bear was entangled and driven to the ground by its momentum.

A bestial roar rang through the woods as the bear entered the final throes of its transformation. Bony ridges erupted from its skin and its claws melded into its lengthening paws.

There was no time.

Reef gave his fellow rider a final nod before getting up on his saddle and leaping backward. He closed his eyes as he flipped in the air, hoping that his knack would affect the bears.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Aside from resurrection, people seemed to disregard him or completely forget about him — unless he did something memorable. The lords he served barely remembered his name and the soldiers he fought with seemed to forget that he died in front of their faces. He hoped the same was true for the enraged dire bears.

He didn’t fear death. The fear of death had long been wrung out from him — but dying at this moment would be very inconvenient.

He landed awkwardly, barely opening his eyes as his feet hit the ground. Instead of trying to stay upright, he directed the momentum of his body into a side roll.

There was no time to worry whether the four bears would turn back to attack him. If they did, then he would have to meet the Scourge without the beasts and his payment would likely be forfeit. The men would go forward with their mission. Even without the apes and bears, they still had a suitable horde to assault the Corner Shop™. There was a hydra, after all.

Reef drew his sword and flung himself towards the tangled bear. It had grown in power, but it was also at its most vulnerable. A newly-warped creature needed weeks of eating and mana absorption to solidify its transformation. This one was driven solely by the mana it was absorbing.

The dire bear stood up, bursting from the net before he could strike. It swiped an elongated claw towards him to meet his charge.

Reef dodged, crouching as he held his sword with two hands and running it across the bear’s extended arm. His blade barely cut the creature — its bone exoskeleton blocking and deflecting his strike.

Unperturbed, he continued forward — rotating his sword and plunging it into the beast’s chest.

Metal met bone as his sword pierced into the bear’s fused rib cage. It sunk an arm’s length into the beast before it was yanked away from him by the bear’s thrashing.

The sword had done its job. It wasn’t enchanted, but it was coated in a substance that would dull the sensation of pain.

Reef pulled two daggers from his waist. He preferred fighting up close — but his daggers were hardly an advantage against the beast. Running away was not an option. The transformed dire bear could easily outpace him — and it would take too long to tire it out.

The bear hunched on all fours and charged. It led with a claw, but Reef could feel a hidden danger in its attack. He dodged before it came close to striking him.

To his horror, his movements seemed sluggish as if he was moving in water. He managed to avoid getting mauled but wisps of tread-like mana from the bear’s strike ripped open his leather armor.

A burst of mana countered the bear’s strange enchantment. He expected it to wield earth or even fire magic — not temporal.

His own magic was limited to himself. He could strengthen or fortify his body, but he could not extend his magic beyond a few inches. The bear had an advantage in magic — but all he needed to do was counter its effects.

Reef attacked with the dagger in his left hand, spinning to avoid a claw and stabbing the bear on the back of its knee before distancing himself.

The bear chased after him. With a burst of speed, it managed to hit him with a swipe of its claws, sending him flying.

A tree broke his short flight. If he hadn’t fortified his body, he would have broken more than a few bones. Still, his back was bleeding profusely and his healing abilities were unreliable. Sometimes, he could regrow a limb in minutes — sometimes, he ended up dying.

This was no time to die.

Reef rose from the ground filled with rage and indignation. He had gone through so much in his search for the Scourge — how could he allow a mere beast to stand in his way.

Mana engorged his body, concentrating on his eyes and limbs. He charged toward the bear, drawing another dagger as he ran.

The bear’s roar of challenge was met by a bestial roar of his own. The beast empowered its body similar to his, becoming faster and deadlier — evening the odds, or so it thought.

It swiped at him, meeting his charge. The empowered claw whistled as it cut the air, but he was nowhere near its path. Instead of accelerating, he stopped his movement inches away from where the claw would land.

Reef’s affinity with time was stronger than other temporal manipulators he had met. Unlike the others, he could empower himself in short surges — accelerating or stopping his movements.

He angled towards the bear’s crossed arm — his dagger aiming for its neck. The bear turned to swipe him with its other arm, moving impossibly fast for its size.

A sharp crack rang through the forest, as the bear’s frozen leg broke from its body. It briefly tottered before crashing to the ground — only to catch a dagger in its neck.

Reef smiled, putting away his remaining dagger. The numbing poison and the dagger of frost were enough to bring down the bear — there was no need for his other enchanted dagger.

He stared at the dire bear’s body. It would have fetched a good price if he sold it — but there was no time for such thoughts. He heard shrill piping as he retrieved his weapons.

He dragged the bear’s carcass away from the road. The wolves were right on schedule, but the riders leading had no spare horses.

He took a moment to compose himself and ascertain the damage to his body. He was healing fast — fast enough to threaten the Scourge when they met.

Piping to the distant west alerted him that the men had started drawing the wyverns. They had horses to spare, and it would be a while before they passed nearby.

***

The snails were running wild!

Siege stared in confusion as the three snails ran about the field, tackling the boys whenever they could.

“Here!” Rikki called them.

He found it odd that the boy could understand Shelby — but she was a familiar, after all. The smaller snails were different. Even Shelby treated them more like pets than kin — it was a wonder the boy could decipher their words.

The snails started wiggling their eyestalks. Siege tried following them, but he couldn’t find a recognizable pattern.

Rikki’s face grew concerned as he listened to the snail or whatever it was he was doing.

“What’s going on?” Siege asked. There was something looming in the air — a foreboding feeling of a coming cataclysm.

“It’s the snails,” Rikki explained. “They communicate through scent.”

Siege sniffed the air. It was strange that the strange scent of grass and lightning gave him a sense of doom.

“What are they saying?”

“The forest—“ the boy struggled to find the right words. “The forest is coming.”