Passersby looked on in silence as the three young Revenants carried the remains of their foes through the city. Davon was struck by the difference in the citizens’ expressions from the day before. Most of them had been impressed when the trio brought in the griffin. Now, though, every face he saw showed only shock or deep concern.
It was a different story when the group entered the Revenants’ Guild House. There, everyone was remarkably interested in the monsters’ mangled bodies, reminding Davon that this was the first encounter with the invaders anyone in Walden’s Hold had experienced. A sense of pride welled up in his heart, giving him strength to struggle forward through the maze of hallways.
It had been a grueling journey. Though the creatures were all half Davon’s size, the armor made their bodies heavy. The trio didn’t complain, but Davon knew all three of them were glad to reach the workshop and lower the corpses onto the Boneshapers’ table.
“These creatures are… fascinating.”
The two Boneshapers spoke in eerie unison as they circled the table. Taking up their positions on opposite sides, they raised their hands. Immediately, several of the talismans around each of their necks lit up.
“This is unprecedented,” said one.
“Indeed,” said the other. “For such small creatures, the quality is on par with some of the…”
The Boneshaper trailed off, then turned to the trio. “These materials could be used to improve your weapons by several tiers.”
Davon narrowed his eyes. He didn’t know much about how Revenants advanced, but this seemed too convenient to be true. Sure, the fight had been difficult, but did it really merit a significant advancement?
Kai scratched the back of his head, apparently sharing Davon’s confusion. “Is that… normal?”
“No,” the Boneshapers said, again in unison. Then one continued, “Usually, Revenants are lucky to have their weapon advance half a tier after imbuement. At least this early in their career.”
The other Boneshaper took up the thread. “Your weapons are currently classified as tier zero, like all fresh Reliquaries. With these materials, we could upgrade them to tier three.”
“However… these are new creatures. We have not seen anything like them before,” the first Boneshaper explained, turning their gaze towards the group. “Would it be agreeable to give you equivalent materials, so we may use these bodies for research?”
Davon shared a look with his teammates, getting a shrug from Kai and an exhausted nod from Lyla. Turning back to the Boneshapers, he nodded. “Yeah… that sounds fair.”
“Excellent. Please, wait here a moment.”
With startling strength, the pair of Boneshapers lifted all five bodies. Then they carried their prize into a back room, closing the door behind them.
The workshop was left in silence, only occasionally broken by birdsong coming from outside. Davon looked through the wide open doors, taking in the training grounds bathed in crimson light as his thoughts wandered.
“What do you think they are, really?” he wondered aloud, gaze still fixed on the red-tinted training ground.
“The Boneshapers?” Kai asked.
“No.” Davon pointed to the door through which the bodies had been carried. “Those… things we fought.”
Kai leaned against the wall beside Davon. “Does it matter?”
“Of course it does,” Lyla said firmly. “The more we know about our enemies, the more effectively we can fight them.”
“I guess.” Kai sounded doubtful. “But… why overthink it? We just need to kill them before they can kill us. That’s the main point, right?”
Davon opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the Boneshapers emerged from the back room.
“Apologies for the wait,” one of the robed figures said as they approached. “Please, place your weapons on the table.”
The group carefully laid their weapons on the workshop table, and the Boneshapers immediately began arranging a collection of strange bones around them. Davon focused on their work, trying to discern any meaning in the placement of the bones, but the significance remained shrouded in mystery.
With the bones arranged in a circle around the Reliquaries, the two Boneshapers nodded at each other, then began chanting. It sounded different from the chant that had accompanied the griffin parts, slower and somehow more weighty. Davon watched as the bones gradually disintegrated into a glowing dust. Slowly, the dust rose from the table and drifted onto the weapons, coating them completely. Moments later, the glowing dust seeped into the Reliquaries, and the chanting stopped.
At a nod from the Boneshapers, Davon reached out and grabbed his bow, inspecting it closely. He noticed a new sharpness to the bow’s limbs. Summoning the ethereal bowstring, he tested the draw weight. Whereas before, he could pull the string back effortlessly, now there was a noticeable pull against his hand.
A smile crept onto his face as he thought about the increase in power this would bring. Maybe he could now pierce the armor the monsters were wearing.
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“Take these, as an added bonus.” The Boneshapers interrupted Davon’s musings, placing three bags onto the table. “They’re enchanted to be massive on the inside. Very useful for bringing back materials.”
The trio exchanged a look. Davon knew they were all thinking of how helpful these bags would have been only a few hours before…
But they couldn’t voice that to the Boneshapers, of course. Instead, they each grabbed one of the bags, thanked the mysterious robed figures, and left the workshop.
“Ah, there you are.”
A familiar voice grabbed Davon’s attention as soon as he stepped outside. Looking up, he saw Grant entering the training grounds.
“We have news from neighboring cities,” Grant went on, before Davon could even return the greeting. “Patrols of strange creatures have been creeping closer and closer to their walls. So I want you outside, now. You’ll be patrolling around our city walls until sunset. You spot anything, you kill it and bring it to the gate. The guards will handle the rest.”
“Isn’t that the Stalwarts’ job?” Lyla asked, exhaustion and annoyance plain in her voice.
“They don’t care about anything beyond the city walls,” Grant scoffed. “Your job is to keep the area around the walls clear. Now, get going.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Grant turned to leave, his gruff tone leaving no room for argument.
Davon shared his teammates’ annoyance, but he pushed it down with well-practiced ease. This was one of the most useful skills he had picked up on the ship, one he’d called upon quite often when dealing with the first mate’s requests.
Limiting his protests to a heavy sigh, Davon turned to his companions. “Fine. Let’s get this done.”
—
Kai offered to take the lead during the patrol, and Davon was more than happy to let him. The party walked slowly through the forest outside the city, following the wall while keeping a solid distance from it, their senses alert for movement on either side.
After an hour, Davon estimated they had walked a quarter of the city wall’s total length. He also realized there were still five hours of patrol left until sunset. The boredom he’d been fighting set in fully, and his mind began to wander. To his surprise, the old favorite dreams of warm meals and a comfortable bed kept giving way to thoughts of his Reliquary, and to the one remaining blank rune.
Then a motion in his periphery cut all wonderings short.
Stopping in his tracks, Davon peered through the forest gloom. The ominous red sunlight made the shadows among the trees much darker, and it took Davon’s full focus to pierce through them. His efforts were rewarded when he glimpsed the shape of a humanoid weaving through the trees. After another moment of silent watching, he realized the shape was moving alongside Kai, stalking its way towards the group.
“Heads up,” Davon hissed as quietly as he could, drawing his teammates’ attention. He tipped his head slightly towards the shape. “Something in the woods.”
Tension filled the air as the group readied their weapons. Repositioning themselves into a more tactically sound formation, Davon took a few steps back while Kai stepped forward. Lyla fell back even further, outside of Davon’s vision.
Kai turned towards Davon, his voice a grim whisper. “Are you sure you saw something?”
Davon nodded calmly, and Kai flashed him a grin.
“Alright. Watch my back, then.”
Momentarily confused, Davon watched as Kai raised his axe and then slammed it down into the ground. A flash of golden light enveloped Kai, turning him into a beacon against the forest’s gloom.
It took a few seconds for Davon’s eyes to adjust, but when he recovered, he saw figures in the forest struggling against the sudden burst of light.
Five humanoids, wearing the same black armor as the creatures the group had fought earlier in the day. These creatures, however, were a lot closer to regular humanoids. They were all nearly as tall as Davon. Their limbs were the right proportions. Their armor was complete, covering them from head to toe. Davon spotted spears in their hands and swords hanging from their belts.
Davon’s mind quickly caught up, and he raised his bow. Making the most of the enemies’ disorientation, he aimed at the closest creature and let an arrow fly. The spectral arrow found its mark in the monster’s chest, collapsing the armor inward. Gasping, the creature tilted its armored head down to look at its chest, then crumbled into a heap.
As one of them fell, the other four creatures seemed to shake off the surprise caused by Kai’s gambit. Spears raised, they charged forward in unison, surrounding Kai with surprising speed. Two stood in front of the young Revenant, facing him, while the two behind him turned towards Davon.
Davon found this move foolish. Smirking, he pulled back the ethereal string, summoning another arrow.
Then understanding struck: if he missed, or if his foe dodged, he would instead strike Kai’s barrier, possibly Kai himself if the arrow pierced it.
Davon hesitated, calculating the risks. Then he let the arrow go slack. Training his eyes on his foes, he waited for his moment.
Suddenly, the sound of wind picked up behind Davon. Before he could react, he felt the force of wind pass him by. It hurtled into one of the creatures between him and Kai and sent the monster stumbling to the side.
Without thinking, Davon readjusted his aim and loosed the arrow. He watched the missile fly true, piercing the creature’s skull with a sickening crack. The sound echoed in his head, followed closely by a loud thud.
Almost simultaneously, the two creatures facing off with Kai suddenly stabbed towards him, one low and one high, only to be stopped by his barrier. Davon expected to hear the familiar sound of the barrier cracking, but no such noise reached his ears.
Nonchalantly, Kai raised his axe and swung it horizontally at his opponents. The sound of splintering wood echoed through the surrounding woods. One of the creatures raised its weapon to parry, but he couldn’t stop the vicious assault. Kai buried his axe into the first creature, cutting almost halfway through its torso.
The two remaining enemies watched as their ally went limp, still stuck on Kai’s axe, and decided to make a desperate attempt to break through Kai’s defenses. As one, they stabbed their spears into either side of the barrier. This time, the barrier collapsed with the sound of breaking glass, but it was a useless endeavor. Kai pulled back his axe, blocking one of the attacks by using the body stuck on his weapon as a shield. With his other hand, he grabbed the spear aimed at his back.
A sudden whizzing sound caught Davon’s attention, and he turned just in time to see Lyla’s spear flying through the air with unnatural speed. For an instant, Davon was convinced the spear was going to land in Kai’s back. At the last moment, however, it arced as if carried by wind and circumvented Kai, hitting one of the two remaining enemies squarely in the head.
The final foe, their spear still firmly held by Kai, let go of their weapon and ran for their life.
Davon was almost insulted by the attempt. He savored the crackling of energy as he raised his bow, took aim, and fired. The arrow lit up the trees and foliage it passed in its flight, before burying itself in the back of the creature’s skull.
The thud of their final enemy hitting the ground echoed in triumph through Davon’s ears, and he felt a potent wave of confidence building in his chest.
Maybe all his doubts were unwarranted. Maybe, just maybe, there was no reason to worry.
“All done, and not a scratch on us,” Davon said, making no attempt to conceal the pride in his voice. “Let’s get these bodies to the gate.”