The Kranjir had taken the horses a short distance downstream to a slow bend in the river, and it didn’t take Gwen long to catch up with them.

She could smell what had happened before she saw it.

Blood. Corruption. Death.

Following the path around a rocky outcrop, Gwen saw a ferocious battle taking place.

She could see four Kranjir scouts, all injured and bleeding, doing their best to calm and lead away a pack of horses, many of whom were also injured.

Thankfully, the horses were trained, so they weren’t lost in panic yet.

A streak of dark green energy came lancing in at one of the Kranjir, but it was extinguished before it could fully cross the river.

Looking past the scouts, Gwen saw Hedda standing at the riverbank as she faced off against a pair of Cyth Baynes on the other side.

The two Cyth were doing their best to overwhelm her, but Gwen could feel how the Aether along the river was tightly under the Hex Witch’s control.

They’d need something more powerful to break through, and Gwen wasn’t going to give them that chance.

The storm she’d borrowed was still present thanks to the amount of Aether she’d funnelled into it, so she took hold of it again, pulling a portion over to them.

Thunder boomed overhead and cold rain began to hammer down onto them as the storm swelled, feeding on Gwen’s growing anger as she saw the horrible wounds on the men and horses.

One of the Cyth saw the storm and backed away, braying uncertainly, but it was too late for that.

The storm spoke, its thunder filling the sky as lightning tore down into the Cyth. Clods of dirt flew through the air and whistling shrapnel went flying, along with the charred body of one of the Baynes.

A scream of pain came from the other Bayne, which had somehow managed to block the lightning with an abyssal shield, only to be riddled with shrapnel.

Gwen was already reaching for more lightning, but there was no more movement on the far bank, and after a moment, she let it subside.

Hedda had turned away from the river and was kneeling down to bend over something.

Hurrying forward, Gwen saw the body that Hedda was tending to and realised that not all the Kranjir had survived the initial attack.

Two scouts and a horse lay dead where they’d been caught unawares by the Cyth.

Hedda looked up as Gwen hurried over and shook her head. “The attack came from nowhere. I didn’t even see them until they were already attacking.”

“We couldn’t have known they were here so soon,” Gwen said, holding out a hand to her friend. “Come on, we need to get moving. If the Cyth Baynes are here, then there must be raiding parties all over the place. That means those bridges need destroying as soon as possible.”

Hedda’s eyes lingered on the dead man next to her before her expression hardened and she took Gwen’s hand. “Right, let’s head back.”

A burst of wind swept over them before Hedda could get to her feet and a slender figure landed next to them, a pair of long daggers in hand.

Gwen was swinging a lightning-covered fist on instinct but managed to pull her strike at the last moment, as she saw the figure was a Sorcerer, not a Cyth.

The Sorcerer blinked in surprise before giving Gwen a nod, ignoring the fist that was inches from his face. “Apologies for surprising you. Elder Vaijon sent me to make sure everything was in hand. The Airta are heading north along the river, intending to scout more quickly.”

“Everything is as under control as it’s going to be,” Gwen said, turning to help the scouts get the horses under control and back to the main group.

-**-

With the bridge destroyed, there was no further sign of the Cyth, so they took the time for Zhalia to heal the injured men and horses before they pushed on, heading north along the river.

The Airta had gone ahead to search for extra bridges, but so far they hadn’t had any word back from them, which was encouraging.

“Any idea of what we’re facing?” Gwen asked, looking over to Macha and Val questioningly. The unlikely pair had been doing what they could to scout the far bank and find out what they were dealing with.

“A few hundred Cyth at least, with several Bayne,” Macha said, one hand coming up to touch the dwindling supply of feathers in her hair. “They pick off my crows if they get too low. I’m keeping them higher, but there’s a lot of woodland around here, and that doesn’t give me much visibility.”

“Yeah, that was about what I expected,” Gwen said, shaking her head before looking at Val. “Anything you can add?”

“That matches with what I’ve been able to hear,” Val said in a serious voice that lacked her usual sass. “I’ve focused on this side of the river, but it looks like we arrived at just the right time. Any that have already crossed have left the area.”

“Well, I suppose that’s something,” Gwen said, pausing as a large wolf come loping out of the woods toward Zhalia and shifted back into a grizzled-looking Airta man.

The two had a brief discussion before the man left and Zhalia turned, her gaze seeking out Gwen and Vaijon as she gestured for them both to come speak with her.

“The scouts have found another bridge,” Zhalia said without preamble as the other two reached her. “It’s made of stone and is larger and older than the one we just saw. The Cyth are already there, but not in any great force at the moment. The scouts will try to hold the position as best they can, but there aren’t many of them.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Understood,” Vaijon said, turning to whistle sharply and get the attention of the whole group. “We have another bridge ahead, perhaps even the last one, as the terrain changes soon. The Cyth are there and crossing to this side, which means we will be riding right into a fight. Prepare yourselves and do your comrades proud.”

The air was thick with tension as everyone double checked their weapons and armour, even as they picked up the pace.

“I will need you to deal with the bridge, Gwen,” Vaijon said, pitching his voice to carry over the rising sound of the horses. “We will deal with the Cyth, but there are likely more than this group can handle. Destroying that bridge will push them further north, and give us time to let the main group know what is happening.”

“Understood, I’ll take care of it.”

“Good, now, I need to get a rider sent back to warn the Commander of our findings.” Vaijon gave her a nod before heading for the Pathfinder.

One of the Kranjir had been more injured than the rest, and though Zhalia had healed him, he was still far from at his peak.

Barely ten minutes after the Airta had arrived, the injured man was heading south with a second mount as a spare. He’d cover ground fast, and hopefully give Silver the warning he needed in time.

-**-

Their first warning that things weren’t going well was when Macha let out a gasp and shouted a warning. “Cyth up ahead! They’re fighting the Airta!”

“Ruthin!” Vaijon shouted, looking over at the dagger-wielding Sorcerer that Gwen had almost punched. “Get in there!”

The Sorcerer nodded tightly, muttering under his breath as he gracefully swung one leg over so he was hanging onto the side of his horse.

Wind whipped past them all, sweeping up the Sorcerer as he dropped from the horse and broke out into a sprint that carried him several feet with each step, letting him swiftly outpace their tired horses.

Gwen watched in abject disbelief as the wind died down and the Sorcerer disappeared around the corner of the path.

Not to be outdone, she began to conjure a storm overhead, ready for what would need to be done. There was no convenient storm this time, but that just meant she’d have to work harder for the result she wanted.

Thunder rolled, and the rain began as her magic got to work. Keeping a tight grip on the burgeoning storm, Gwen rounded the corner in the path and saw the fight ahead.

A dozen or more Cyth lay scattered around the fight with the same amount still standing as they faced down a trio of Airta and Ruthin.

The Sorcerer was moving with a speed that only magic could allow, slicing through the Cyth with his two long daggers and leaving sprays of blood in his wake.

Darting through a small group, Ruthin sliced the throat of one, the femoral artery of the next and put a dagger into the eye of the third, fatally wounding all three before the first had even hit the floor.

Two more of the Airta were down, and the three still standing were fighting to keep the Cyth away from them, but Gwen could see the blood staining their fur.

A golden arrow leapt from Zhalia’s bow as the Cleric took a shot at the Cyth, the arrow piercing the largest of those still standing and ripping through the creature’s chest.

The fight was too chaotic for Gwen to use anything big, so she settled on a concentrated blast of wind to knock two Cyth back.

Arrows caught both those Cyth a moment later, with Ruthin and the Airta finishing off the remaining foes without further aid.

Zhalia leapt from her horse as soon as they drew close to the Airta, rushing to the two injured wolves and examining them.

Wasting no time, Zhalia fed each of them a potion from her pack and assigned one of the three still standing to take the wounded to safety.

“One of you needs to tell us the situation,” Vaijon said, eyeing the remaining two Airta. “Quickly.”

The wolves exchanged looks before one of them shifted back to a human form and winced, clutching at her ribs. “The Cyth are growing in number. We have been keeping them contained, but they have magic users now.”

“Which way? How far?” Vaijon asked, his face like stone as he stared down at the injured woman.

“Two minutes ride down this path. It leads right to the bridge.”

“Can you both fight?”

“Try and stop us.” The Airta woman bared her teeth before shifting back to her wolf form, but Gwen heard the pained sound she made as she shifted.

Gwen caught Zhalia’s eye, but the Cleric shook her head and swung back up onto her horse. “I’ll need all my magic and all my potions to save lives. Minor injuries will have to wait.”

Gwen nodded, understanding the grim reality of what Zhalia would be dealing with.

“There is no time,” Vaijon said, urging his horse into motion. “Onward, don’t stop until we reach the bridge!”

They barely made it a hundred feet down the path before they caught sight of a small group of Cyth feasting on a deer that they’d brought down.

Gwen reached for her storm, but Vaijon was quicker, flicking a hand out to send a pearl of flames down to land among them before exploding with a bright flash.

Releasing her grip on the storm, Gwen instead reached to her bond with Kuzo and tugged on the part that she’d discovered not so long ago in the north.

Much like Hedda could turn her familiar into an athame, Gwen turned Kuzo into a pair of blue rings edged in gold that formed around her fingers.

It used a lot of the Exeon that lay within her familiar to do this, but using the rings would allow her to act quicker and add a touch of that divine energy to some of her magic.

She’d given the rings to Kai when they fought the second Gormagyr, but she was sure he hadn’t realised at the time just how important they were to her.

They’d allowed Kai to take part in the fight and wield her magic, but in her hands, they could do so much more.

Focusing on what she needed to do, Gwen looked ahead to see a clearing at the end of the path, with a dilapidated inn and a large stone bridge.

A mob of Cyth were already present, and more were crossing with each moment, building up the pressure on the Airta she could see harrying at the large group.

The scouts were heavily outnumbered, but by moving quickly and not staying still, they were keeping the Cyth focused on them and not on leaving the area.

Many bodies littered the area already, and not all of them were Cyth.

“Charge!” Vaijon roared, spurring his horse on as he threw a pair of compressed flames into the Cyth.

The explosions confused the Cyth for a few brief moments, and then the Disciples of Adamar struck them like a hammer.

The Airta and the Kranjir were right behind the Sorcerers, while the Witches and Zhalia came to a stop a distance away, knowing their focus had to lie elsewhere.

Gwen felt Hedda seize control of the surrounding Aether as she went to war with the three Cyth Bayne on their side of the river while Zhalia sent golden arrows cutting through the air at them.

At the same time, Macha began to conjure every crow she had and send them slashing in to rip and peck at eyes and soft flesh.

Leaving them to their work, Gwen reached up to the storm, feeding it Aether while using her rings as a focus.

Connecting it to the bridge, Gwen grinned wildly as a golden bolt of lightning struck the centre of the arch, exploding it into stone shrapnel that killed a dozen Cyth.

The Cyth that had been about to cross milled around on the far side for a moment, giving Gwen an easy target that she took full advantage of.

Again and again she struck at the fleeing Cyth, the golden energy sheathing her lightning giving it a savage power that was beyond anything else she’d used.

Once she was satisfied that they were routed, Gwen looked back in time to see the final Cyth Bayne fall to the ground, scratching at its throat as it choked to death.

The Cyth Lai had been blocking Zhalia from getting a good shot, but Val had no such need.

With the last magic user dead, the remaining Cyth were dying quickly, and Gwen moved in to help, conjuring smaller bolts of lightning that would strike down individual Cyth and not risk hitting her allies.

Vaijon finished the final Cyth without ceremony, punching it hard enough to crush its chest.

Covered in blood, the bald Sorcerer threw the dying Cyth aside and barked out orders to the other Disciples to go hunt down any survivors before moving to help with the wounded.

Returning Kuzo to his normal form, Gwen felt a wave of tiredness sweep over her but shrugged it off and went to grab her potions.

The river to their north went through some rocky and uneven terrain, there were no natural fords and no bridges to worry about.

They’d done what they set out to. It had just cost a lot more than they’d hoped.