Morning light bathed the Guild’s mess hall in shades of gold and dark, ominous red. But despite the menacing crimson tint, Davon enjoyed the moment of peace with his teammates.

Only the three of them and a couple other teams were in the room, reminding him of his days on the ship. Even if his appetite was shrinking with each passing day, Davon still appreciated the chance to sit down with the ‘crew’ over a meal.

As usual, Kai was the first to break the silence.

“Did either of you check the quest board yet?”

“No work before breakfast,” Davon retorted, pointing his fork at Kai. “New rule. So no, I haven’t.”

“Well, there’s something very interesting there today,” Kai exclaimed with a grin. “Scouts came across an encampment. Guild wants it cleared.”

Lyla’s head snapped up, her gaze fixed on Kai. “Encampment? How close to the city?”

“Three miles eastward, towards the hills.” Kai leaned forward, dropping his voice to a whisper. “It’s marked ‘Intermediate.’ How do you two feel about stepping out of ‘Novice’ quests?”

Davon shared a look with Lyla. Confidence had been brewing in his heart since they decimated the creatures during their patrol the day before. Seeing his own eagerness reflected in the petite woman’s piercing green eyes, he knew he was not alone.

“I reckon it’s about time,” he said, returning Kai’s grin.

“Alright!” Kai stood up as he clapped his hands together, drawing the attention of every other person in the room. “Then let’s gear up and get going!”

—

An hour later, the trio were deep into the forests east of Walden’s Hold. The farther they got from the city, the denser the foliage and undergrowth became. Thinking back, Davon was amused at how much time he had spent trekking through forests since becoming a Revenant.

All that talk of immortality and slaying monsters, he thought, picking his way around yet another patch of thorn bushes. The job description didn’t say anything about endless nature walks.

“We should be close now,” Lyla muttered from the back of the group. “If I’m reading this map correctly, anyway…”

For a fleeting moment, Davon felt anxious at the prospect of becoming lost in the forest. He’d spent so long on a ship, he wasn’t sure how to find his way on land.

Thankfully, his worries were quickly buried as a familiar scent caught his attention: rot and sulfur. His companions both covered their noses, apparently noticing the smell.

The trio looked at each other. Sharing an unspoken agreement, they slowed their advance, taking extra care to move silently through the forest.

It wasn’t long before Davon spotted a clearing ahead, with a glimpse of patchwork walls beyond the tree line.

“Hey, Lyla,” Davon whispered, looking over his shoulder. “I don’t suppose you’ve got something explosive in that spellbook?”

Lyla shook her head. “That kind of magic was kept under lock and key back home, and I haven’t had the chance to search the Guild’s library yet.”

“We could always approach it head-on,” Kai interjected, unable to hide his excitement. “Or I can be a distraction again. Worked out well enough with the griffin.”

“We don’t know what’s in there. Too risky.” Davon crept closer to the tree line, thinking hard. “What about that wind spell? Any chance you could lift one of us?”

“I could theoretically launch one of us, but I can’t guarantee how far,” Lyla replied, clutching at the book under her cloak.

As they drew closer to the tree line, Davon noticed an entrance into the encampment. Within, he could see two of the larger creatures standing guard, both fully covered by the familiar black armor. Beyond the entrance, he saw a few tents, made from what seemed to be gray leather.

Davon strained his ears, but he was too far away to hear anything other than vague noises from inside the encampment.

“Then I suppose we take it slow.” He gestured towards the guards. “Take them out one by one… or two by two.”

“Or we take the whole camp head-on,” Kai suggested again. “The ones we fought yesterday weren’t exactly tough.”

“Why not a compromise?” Lyla countered. “We take out as many as we can before they notice us, then fight in the open.”

After a moment of consideration, Kai nodded. “Yeah. That works.”

“Alright. Lyla, you take the one on the left,” Davon commanded. “I’ll take the other.”

He raised his bow, dropping his voice to a deadly whisper.

“Three…”

Davon took careful aim, the soft crackle of energy filling his ears.

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

“Two…”

The world seemed to narrow as he pulled the string, leaving only his target in his vision.

“One!”

The word came out a little louder than Davon intended as he let his arrow fly. With his focus fully on his target, he barely noticed Lyla’s spear soar by him. The two projectiles struck the guards almost simultaneously. One body fell to the ground with a thud, while the other went limp, hanging by the tip of Lyla’s spear.

Lyla recalled her weapon with a peculiar twist of her hand, and Davon watched in mild amusement as the floating spear dragged the creature’s body to them. The trio waited, listening for any signs of retaliation.

One minute passed, then two, then five.

Unchallenged, they crept slowly towards the encampment, finally reaching the entrance. Slowly, cautiously, Davon peered around the edge of the patchwork wall.

The first thing he spotted was a massive fire pit at the center of the camp, surrounded by three tents. The tent flaps were open, each revealing a table and crates within. The tables were covered in papers, while the crates were all carefully sealed shut.

Davon noted only three living creatures within the camp itself. They were all gathered around the fire pit and seemed to be trying to start a fire.

Watching them, Davon noticed a brief flicker the corner of his eye, like there was movement at the edge of camp. But when he focused his attention on the spot, he saw nothing.

You’re getting paranoid, he chided himself. Now is not the time for nerves.

Davon shared a look with his teammates, quickly making a series of gestures to relay his plan of attack, then raised his bow. In his periphery, he watched Kai raise three fingers, beginning the silent countdown. When the third finger lowered, Davon let his arrow fly at the same moment Lyla loosed her spear. Two of the creatures fell dead with little fanfare. The third, caught off-guard, spun around just in time to see Kai’s axe coming down on his head.

As the final body fell to the ground with a loud CLANK of armor, Davon didn’t allow himself to relax. Bow raised, he stepped into the encampment, eyes scanning for any possible hiding spots. Once he was certain no more enemies were present, he lowered his guard and turned to his teammates.

Kai had already set about dismembering the bodies and storing them in his enchanted material bag, while Lyla was examining a set of papers in one of the tents.

“Anything useful?” Davon asked, joining her.

“Maps.” Her eyes were glued to the papers. “Covering everything from Walden’s Hold to the capital. All the roads used for supply routes have been marked.”

Anxiety crept back into Davon’s mind. “Supply routes… we need to get this back to the Guild.”

“Agreed. Fully. Come, let’s ch—“

Lyla was uninterrupted by a painfully familiar sound: arrows whizzing through the air.

Davon ducked out of reflex, barely reacting in time. A sharp pain burst against the side of his head as he fell to his knees. He felt a warm liquid flowing down his cheek.

Kai’s cry of agony cut through Davon’s shock. Looking up, Davon saw several arrows sticking out of Kai’s back. Crimson rivulets marred the warrior’s coat.

Seemingly unbothered by this, Kai spun around, drawing Davon’s eyes in the same direction.

An imposing figure loomed at the camp’s entrance. Standing a head taller than Kai, it was adorned in crimson-trimmed black armor. The helmet bore the visage of a screaming face with protruding fangs, and two long horns curled backwards from the forehead. In its hands, the figure held a long, slender blade, glistening in the crimson sunlight.

Cold sweat covered Davon’s forehead as he stood back up, eyes locked on the new enemy. The creature raised its free hand with an ominous chuckle. The air within the camp seemed to shimmer in response to the gesture.

When the shimmer dissipated, Davon came to the realization that they were greatly outnumbered.

Now that whatever magic had been hiding them was dispelled, Davon counted at least twenty more soldiers within the camp. Another dozen stood beside who Davon assumed was the leader.

The anxiety he’d been quieting in the back of his mind roared to life, gripping his heart with icy fear.

Davon wasn’t the first to act. With a thunderous roar, Kai raised his axe and swung at the nearest foe. Before his axe could make contact, however, the enemy leader dashed towards Kai and parried his blow effortlessly.

Anger twisted Kai’s face as he carried the axe into another attack, using the new momentum against the enemy leader. In an attempt to help, Davon raised his bow and quickly shot an arrow towards the same target. Even in his panicked state, Davon’s aim was true.

But his brief spark of hope was quickly extinguished when his arrow bounced harmlessly off the leader’s armor. Kai’s momentum was likewise cut short as the giant figure grabbed the blade of his axe, stopping his attack cold.

“Fool.”

A deep, distorted voice echoed through the camp as the leader finally retaliated. Moving so fast that Davon could barely track it, the armor-clad figure kicked Kai’s weapon out of his hands and simultaneously drove its own blade into the young Revenant’s gut.

Time slowed. Davon’s world narrowed as his mind immediately returned to the docks. Lyla was screaming, but the sound was muffled by the fear rising to flood his senses.

Fear turned into panic as his eyes darted from enemy to enemy. At least a dozen archers were raising their weapons towards him and Lyla.

Something deep within Davon snapped, hardening his panic into a desperate will to survive.

Riding the surge of adrenaline, Davon lifted his bow, and his mind instantly connected with it. A glow emanated from the blank rune as he pulled the string, and a silvery sound cut through the air as he let go.

When the arrow reached its target, it splintered into a thousand sharp slivers, covering a group of archers before they could react.

Scattershot, he thought, his lips twisting into the briefest of smiles. So that’s what that rune does.

A yelp of pain from Kai cut off Davon’s satisfaction in his bow’s new abilities. Turning, Davon saw the creatures’ leader twisting its blade further into Kai’s gut.

Davon felt, more than saw, Lyla fly by him. Carried by a strong current of wind, she’d launched herself at the leader, spear poised to strike. Her cape fluttering around her, Lyla collided with the creatures’ leader. A loud scraping sound followed as her spear failed to pierce the armor.

The creature looked down at the desperate youth. It let out a low chuckle, then struck her with a backhand, sending her to the ground as her weapon flew out of her grasp.

Kai roared in anger, the blade in his gut not enough to stop him as he swung his arms with all of his might. His fists made contact with the creature’s helmet again and again, sliding off helplessly each time.

“Die,” the creature said, disdain clear in its voice.

It pulled the blade out of Kai, letting him fall onto his knees. Then, with one swift movement, it cut across the young man’s neck. Despair gripped Davon’s heart well and truly as he watched Kai’s head roll off of his shoulders.

Anguish shot through Davon’s veins, freezing him in place. He watched, helpless, as Lyla tried to crawl towards her spear, only to be stopped by the terrifying creature planting its foot on her back. With another dry chuckle, the thing then slid its blade down and through Lyla’s head, leaving her lifeless on the ground.

Still, Davon couldn’t move. He stared at the archers as they drew back their bows, aiming straight at him.

How ironic, he thought, as one of the many arrows shot in his direction headed directly for one of his eyes.