We tagged them as soon as we came into range.

No Haroshi. But—

Look! said Cuby, a level 9!

I shot a glance her way. You’re level 10.

Yeah, but we’ve killed twelve people. By the way, my iconic was a second use of my dodge.

What? I asked. Seriously?

Just tell me what you got, Alatar, she said back, voice sounding a little impatient.

Okay, I said, pushing my thoughts from my mind—her acrobatic dodge was so damned powerful. Its cooldown was so low that it was already appearing more than once each fight, and it was basically an instant-cast Moment of Mastery that only got used for defense.

I got an area dispel that turns magic buffs and spells into Mana Shield, I told her. And a mind-thing that shows me someone’s buffs and lets me read their thoughts, grants precision and defense rating bonuses. Oh, and a spell for summoning constructs of hardlight.

Those all sound nice.

I could have taken rogue instead of mage, I lamented.

Be quiet, my high-level double-strength buff dispenser, was Cuby’s reply.

I almost, almost laughed aloud. But we were coming up on the people we were about to kill, and I had to wonder what the toll on me would be when I woke up from my state of subdued emotions and heightened focus.

Let’s be aggressive, Cuby said as we swooped in. And not take damage.

I couldn’t have agreed more. I had only one Healing Potion, after all.

The level 9, Veraka, was obviously a shifter, and led their group as a gigantic, gaunt-looking wolf. Behind him came the others: Jorg, a mailed dwarf with a fiery warhammer, and Sallen, a dog-eared beastkin still wearing the starting robes of a mage.

Jorg looks like a pilgrim, I said pointedly, thinking that I didn’t want to deal with any heals.

I agree! said Cuby.

I want to try tanking, I said.

You have been!

But there was no more time to talk; we’d reached our quarry.

Just like the shifter we’d fought before, Veraka began by pouncing at me, leaping through the air to pin me under two paws and bear me awkwardly to the ground. This time, there was no flash of light from a miracle that gave them a sudden surge of damage—instead they struck me once, not even breaking my Mana Shield.

Then Cuby landed beside us, and I saw one of her kukris make a glowing red arc through the air before a flash of light told me that she’d hit Veraka with a blinding strike. I used the opening to get away from the shifter, jumping with Mighty Leap to land next to the mage, Sallen.

Both the mage and Jorg, their maybe-pilgrim, seemed to be looking at me, and all of them had Mana Shields of their own, so I started casting Devour Magic. Jorg charged through the space between us, but then Cuby, who had ran by Veraka instead of engaging her, struck him with what looked like a Blinding Strike as well, though I had no idea how it was possible for her to use two in a row.

A single Magefire Arrow struck my Mana Shield, doing little, before my Devour Magic finished and I watched Jorg’s Mana Shield disappear while mine gained more than 100 Hit Points. A moment later I had eaten the mage’s Mana Shield, and then Veraka’s as well as the shifter joined the fray.

Everyone was focused on me, but I just kept casting Devour Magic, safe in the assumption that with a mage in their group, they had at least one more round of good buff spells, likely supercharged buff spells, that I could steal.

They didn’t break my Mana Shield as its Hit Points oscillated back and forth. Worse, they didn’t notice that Cuby had been attacking Jorg, the dwarf, the whole time: Jorg hit 65% and still hadn’t stopped attacking me, so I threw my Fragmented Supercharged Implosive Missile at him, killing him instantly.

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This was almost taken as a signal by Cuby, who hadn’t used any of her powerful damaging abilities, like her flurry ability, so as to innocuously put Jorg within my kill range—as he fell, however, she used her dodge to quickly cartwheel into range of the mage, her blades moving furiously. Sallen was half-dead within moments, letting out a cry of surprise at how suddenly the tide of battle had seemingly turned.

I left the mage to Cuby, confident that I knew their abilities enough to know they couldn’t do much to hurt her or escape. Instead I cast a Supercharged Fragmented Hex of Chains, my Mana Shield taking several attacks as the spell finished.

I started spamming Magic Arrow, and before my cast was done Veraka seemed to have a change of heart, turn, and begin to bound away. A moment later I saw why—Cuby bolted past me, the mage presumably slain.

I threw the Hex of Chains at the fleeing wolf, then cast a Haste on Cuby and managed to throw a single Magic Arrow before she’d made more than half of Veraka’s life bar disappear. My second cast of Magic Arrow never finished.

We should search them for Health Potions, I said, opening up the body of the dwarf.

I had no luck with him or with the mage, and I started to cast another Supercharged Fragmented Implosive Missile as Cuby came back to my position.

No luck, she reported.

I have one left, I said. We’d done as we wanted—we’d taken no damage in the engagement, mostly thanks to Devour Magic.

I have none.

I materialized my Healing Potion and passed it to her. You’re easier to kill.

Cuby didn’t argue.

If Haroshi’s in that group that went to the mine, we’ll be meeting him soon, I said. Or we can try and get around him, go over on the mountain slopes to take the east gate beacon. We’ve killed more than a dozen so far. If we winnow them down enough, they won’t have the forces to take four beacons regardless.

But if Haroshi rejoins the south gate group and they take that beacon, it’s over, said Cuby. He’ll wipe out the last of the defenders.

I wanted to say that she just wanted the card… but she was probably right. And as much as she might have been motivated by greed, I was sure that even through the focus potion, I was motivated by anxiety. Who knew what Haroshi was capable of, when I could almost 1-shot players with even a bit of preparation?

Let’s get him, I said, secretly hoping that we’d just find three more normal attackers.

Okay, said Cuby, grappling onto a nearby roof. I followed her with Mighty leap, and we glided over to the slope of the mountain that rose to form the entrance to the mine, both hoping to catch him from above by unspoken agreement.

Alatar, Cuby said as we sprinted up the side of the mountain. So you know… I’m still group leader. I’m giving myself loot priority.

Cuby has set your Group Loot Policy to Autocratic. Cuby will now distribute all loot.

I understand, I said. I won’t ask you to trust me where it’s not necessary.

We made it back to the top of the mine entrance and perched on the flat, carved stone of the overhang. It was a pain, waiting: the battle was still going on, and the attackers had only 2 beacons left to take… one of which I happened to know was being guarded by a single NPC warrior.

Don’t forget your Gift of Mercy, Cuby reminded me.

I briefly opened up my abilities to look at the single-charge heal that we’d gotten a second charge of when we hit Virtue Rank 3. Right, I said. Thanks.

I’m pretty sure he was some kind of hybrid class and a priest, said Cuby. Which means they’ll fight defensively, especially against just two of us.

It also means miracles, I said, thinking of the silvery light that had been accompanying the powerful instant effects we’d seen all night—both heals and, in the case of the first shifter we’d killed, damage.

Hopefully he’s used them all, said Cuby. But I doubt it.

Let’s hope we can focus the squishiest of them, I said. Bring one of them down fast with my missile combo, before he gets a chance to miracle them back to full.

I’ve still got my poison, said Cuby. And some bombs. If—wait.

We both stopped and listened: we could hear several pairs of running feet below. Instantly I began to cast a Supercharged Psychic Parasite, anticipating I’d have a target once the cast finished. Moments later, three of them came into view, and any hope I’d had of just picking a few more of them off and then taking the South Gate Beacon faded.

Haroshi was below us, along with two of the players we’d seen with him before, in the caves: Morene, the armored elf, probably a warrior, and Hasunin, a gigantic alligator beastfolk wearing the padded armor that marked him as a psychic.

Haroshi – Level 7 – Chosen

Morene – Level 9

Hasunin – Level 8

Two allies.

Hasunin, Cuby said, her mental voice intense, focused.

Kill the dogs first, I thought to myself wryly.

I threw my spell at Haroshi.