Scuttler legs kept pushing through the gaps. I crushed them one after another, but all the monster goo mixed with my own blood as their attacks found me time and time again. A pincer caught my thigh, another my side. None of the attacks were fatal, but they sapped away at my life and my stamina.
“Your blood or theirs - I don't care which! Just keep it flowing! Rivers of blood! Yes!” Roq's bloodlust seemed to grow with each kill, and so did his presence in my mind.
Blood loss and exhaustion pressed down on me, but I wouldn't stop. Couldn't. Not now.
“Almost done!” Eryn called from where she sat with Knut. “Just hold them a little longer!”
I crushed another leg, then another. The shield rattled as Scuttlers threw themselves against it. My shoulder felt as if it had been tenderized from all the blows I'd taken.
“Done!” Eryn yelled out, finished tying off the bandage. “He's weak, but I think he’ll make it.”
I grunted, straining to hold Knut's shield against the endless assault. “Great. Now how do we get out of here?”
Eryn picked up Knut's fallen mace and swung it at a probing pincer. The weapon connected with a satisfying crunch.
“No idea, but if we wait long enough, they might lose interest? Maybe someone makes it to the base and sends help?”
“They won't.” I looked around our stone prison. “These Scuttlers are throwing themselves at us mindlessly.”
“Roq? Any ideas? Some hidden power you'd like to share?”
Silence.
“Roq?”
“...I'm not sure I should help you.”
His voice was uncharacteristically quiet.
“What?”
I barely deflected another attack.
“Of course you should help, you bloodthirsty animal! We're partners now!”
Eryn grabbed my shield and added it to the entrance, blocking some of the holes the monsters had punched through Knut's. The attacks became more focused but less got through.
“Are we partners?” Roq asked. “Or am I just a tool that you wield for your own pleasure?”
“What are you talking about?”
“What if...” Roq's voice grew thoughtful. “What if I'm on the wrong side?”
“The wrong side?”
I held the hammer in front of my face, staring at it in disbelief.
“They're monsters! They're trying to kill us!”
“Are they? Or are they my tribe, and you're the monster? Hmm? How about that?”
This was bad. Or good. Something told me there was more to Roq than just being a heavy-hitting hammer. If not, why would people risk becoming murderers for a soul weapon?
“Eryn, can you hold for a minute? I need to... meditate.”
“Now!?”
“I can't explain it, just... trust me. I have a plan. Magic.”
“Magic? What are you on about?”
I looked imploringly at her.
“Okay, fine, but… hurry. I can’t hold this for long.” She grabbed the strap as I transferred the shield and she pulled it tight.
I climbed past her, leaving my blood running down her leather pants before settling next to Knut and placing Roq in my lap.
“Answer me, Ash. Am I on the wrong side? Have you stolen me from my tribe and used me to splatter those who I belong to?”
I had to give him an answer, and telling him I had no idea was not an option. But I knew one thing. He liked killing and combat, and he came from a gem, so I went for a version of the truth. A potential truth. At least, I didn't know it wasn't the truth.
“I freed you from the monsters.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you remember being free before?”
“...No?”
“And what do you want right now?”
“...”
“More than anything.”
“...”
“Tell me.”
“I want... to fight. To grow stronger. To pit myself against the strongest mons—” Roq grew quiet, and I gave him the time he needed, though sweat ran down my back at Eryn's grunts of effort as she held the Scuttlers out. “Foes?”
“You wanted to say monsters, didn't you?”
“So what if I did?”
“You were held captive. Stuck inside a monster. I set you free. You were a beautiful soul gem, Roq. With tremendous power. And I didn't choose to bind you with a hammer. You did! It was the one weapon you vibrated strongly with. So strong, in fact, I nearly dropped you.”
“You what!?”
“Nearly! I didn't.”
“If you dropped me on my head as a gem, it could explain the lack of memories.”
“Focus, Roq! Think! You said we are bound together. Do you even know what will happen to you if I die?”
“I'm pretty sure I'll be fine.”
“Let's say you are. And you bind with the next thing that picks you up. What use has a crab of a hammer? How ridiculous would you look, clasped in its claw? You would be reduced to a cooking instrument, or for opening shells. Even worse, a shiny bauble hidden in this forest's deepest hole, lying there, bored for thousands of years.”
“Watching roots grow would be better than your sensory-depriving spatial storage!”
I sighed. Trying to reason with him was a pointless exercise. Maybe I could go with the carrot? If not, then I'd definitely use the stick. One way or another he’d do what I needed.
“I'll get you a damn pillow, alright!?”
“Satin.”
“What?”
“The pillow. It should be made from satin.”
“You have got to be—”
“A satin pillow or I let you bleed to death.”
Rift give me strength.
“Take it or leave it.”
“Fine! But this conversation is NOT over. Now tell me, how can we get out of here?”
“You're going to have to store me.”
“Come again?”
“Bring a monster carcass into your storage together with me and I think I can decompose it, using its parts to heal you.”
“Ewww, what?”
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Don't worry. It's just tiny repairs. It won't change you. I think.”
“You—think? Wait, no, how is that even possible?”
“Blood Forge. My passive ability. I gained it when I hit level two.”
“Level... what? I didn't eat any mind gems!”
“I gain experience every time we kill something. Don't you know anything about soul weapons? I'm nearly level three already.”
I stared at the hammer. All this time, it had been growing stronger and smarter...
“That’s…”
“Amazing? Incredible? Obviously superior to your measly human abilities? I know.”
“Terrifying.”
“Just store me already. But first, promise you WILL take me out again, and then we will fight. I want to be fed.”
“Of course I will!”
“Or else I might get creative with which parts I use to heal you.”
I swallowed hard.
“Right. See you soon.”
I swiped Roq into my storage where I had already placed several Scuttler corpses. A warm tingling sensation spread through my body, like tiny rivers of heated metal flowing beneath my skin. The deep gash in my thigh began to itch, and the stabbing pain in my side dulled to a throb.
“Ash?” Eryn grunted as she held the shields. “Are you done meditating? I can’t hold anymore!”
I stood, testing my newly patched wounds. Still sore, still damaged, but much better. Manageable.
“Yes. And I think I know how we're getting out of here.”
Eryn studied my face.
“So, does that include you telling me the truth of what the rift you are doing?”
“Are you sure you want to know?” I accepted the strap to Knut's shield from her and was almost knocked over by a Scuttler slamming into us. “Just knowing is dangerous.”
She chuckled and gestured at the wall of clicking death trying to break through.
“Worse than this?”
Fair point.
I took a deep breath.
“Roq is a soul weapon.”
Eryn scoffed.
“Sure, and I've got a magic dragon in my pouch.”
I just looked at her, face deadpan. “You have a dragon? Why didn’t you tell me sooner!”
“Of course I don’t, I’m being…” She trailed off and her eyes went wide. “Wait, what? You're serious?”
I nodded.
“Yes. But if you tell anyone - anyone at all - people will kill me for it.” I met her gaze. “And once they have it, they'll kill you too, because you know about it. You have to keep this secret.”
“By the rift.” She barely noticed when a pincer stabbed through, but I caught the leg and snapped it with my hand. The sound of breaking chitin mixed with the monster's shriek. “Thanks,” she said and swallowed. “Who else knows?”
“Ma and Pa. And—” I shifted uncomfortably. “The weapon is alive. It talks in my head.”
“It what?”
“And right now it's... healing my wounds.”
“That's what you were doing? Communing with your weapon?”
“Something like that. Soon I should be strong enough to fight again. Then we can hold them off, and even try and make it out alive.”
“A soul weapon...” Eryn whispered. “I thought they were just stories. Legends.”
A particularly aggressive attack rattled the shields and my bones alike. I was almost thrown backwards again, but the monster failed to gain ground.
“They're very real. And very dangerous. In more ways than one.”
A minute passed, Scuttlers still tearing at the shields, and even Pa's steelhusk cladding started coming apart. But with each passing moment, my strength grew. The wounds didn't fully heal, they were too severe for that, but the bleeding had stopped and I could swing again.
I swiped out a mind gem and popped it into my mouth, letting it dissolve, taking with it the bone-deep exhaustion.
“Ready?” I asked Eryn.
“Almost.” She released one hand and leaned over, pressing her hot lips to my cheek. “For luck.”
I gave her a firm nod, unable to trust my voice.
With a swipe, I brought out Roq, and the warm feeling fled my veins. His voice immediately filled my head.
“AHHH!” he screamed. “That was... horrible. It reeked of stale—air? Or something?”
“Thank you for the healing.”
“Yes, well...” He seemed caught off guard by the gratitude.
“Roq?”
“Yes?”
I stared down at my hammer and grinned.
“You ready to feast?”
“Oh, my. Seems the healing did more than fix your wounds. THIS is the kind of partnership talk I've been waiting for. Let's show these Scuttlers what we can really do.”
A sense of excitement radiated through me from Roq.
“He's ready,” I said to Eryn, chuckling.
“It's a he?”
“Yup.”
“You sure?”
“Definitely.”
“I thought it'd be an it.”
“Not my hammer, no. It's definitely a he.”
“Enough chat! Get cracking!”
“I've got an idea. By angling the shields...” I said, studying their curved surfaces. “We can create a funnel, then hold firm.”
“Like a trap? Let one through at a time? That could work.”
I positioned myself on the left side, shield braced against the stone, while Eryn held Knut's shield on the right. The constant pressure of Scuttlers pushing against us made every adjustment a battle of its own. After a few tries, we prepared to funnel them in.
“Ready?” I asked. “Just ease back a tiny bit.”
We parted the shields and the constant shoving of monsters instantly forced one through the gap. Its pincer flashed for my leg, but I was faster, Roq crushing its shell. A quick swipe stored the carcass as we pushed our shields back together, trapping a second Scuttler's leg between them.
“That's one!” Roq's excitement rang clear. “Though this still feels a bit... mechanical.”
“Mechanical works!” I grunted as we carefully made another gap.
“What are you talking about?” Eryn asked.
“Replying to the hammer. Sorry.”
The next Scuttler was faster, its pincer catching my thigh before I could properly strike. But Roq still found its brain, and again we sealed the gap.
Eryn frowned at the wound, but kept quiet.
“Getting sloppy!” Roq chided as I winced at the new wound.
“Not sloppy. Just in over my head. I’m the one fighting and running, while you’re just bitching.”
“Hah! Bitching he says! Well, that is true, but I am the one perfect being in existence! I have every right to bitch!”
I readied myself again, smiling at his admittance.
When our storages filled, we quickly dumped our kills behind us, the carcasses piling up in the confined space. Then we returned to killing them one at a time. Part shields, kill, store, seal gap. The Scuttlers seemed endless, and each time cost me a cut here or a gash there. What it also did was keep Eryn safe, and that's all that mattered to me.
“That's ten,” Roq announced with grim satisfaction.
Another kill. Another wound.
“Three more left,” Eryn yelled in excitement. “I can see the clear forest behind them now! Ash! Just a bit more!”
We opened the gap one final time. All three tried to push through at once, jamming themselves in the makeshift funnel. Perfect.
Roq crushed the first two as they struggled to untangle themselves, their shells cracking like eggs under his strikes. The third managed to catch my shield with both pincers, trying to tear it away.
Perfect.
I let the shield go, and as the monster staggered back under the unexpected weight, I brought Roq down like thunder.
“Brains! Delicious!” Roq sounded immensely satisfied, and suddenly gave a metallic burping sound.
I slumped against the stones, my breathing heavy, and fresh blood running from my various wounds. But we were both alive and well.
“Is it really done?” Eryn said, kneeling and inspecting my wounds with a smile. “And you! Tell me these things sooner so I can prepare, Ash!”
I winced as she prodded my bleeding thigh.
“I don't think there will ever be anything like this,” I said.
I looked at the pile of dead monsters and shook my head.
“I've never seen anything like it,” she whispered, noticing where my eyes were focused. “And that hammer of yours... can I touch it?”
“Tell her I said thanks for the compliment but I do not want to be felt up by people I don't like yet.”
I held Roq to the side, ignoring him, as Eryn gently touched my chin and looked deeply into my eyes.
“And you, you are a hero,” she whispered, pressing her forehead against mine.
“Tell her never mind. She is clearly confused. Maybe you should check her for blood loss, too. Or, you know, feed her to me. I have no idea why she would call someone as weak as you a hero.
“I couldn't have done it without you,” I said, ignoring him still.
“I know. You are very much welcome.”
Eryn smiled and then helped me up.
“Let's go before more turn up.”
We quickly filled our spatials, though I left one slot open for Roq. Then I dragged Knut out of the makeshift cave. His face was pale, but his chest rose and fell steadily. Eryn gathered her gear, Knut's equipment, and my shield, while I hoisted Knut onto my shoulders.
He was heavy, but between my new strength and pure adrenaline, I somehow managed.
“Sentinel Station isn't far,” Eryn said.
“Lead the way.”
We'd barely made it a minute into our slow journey when human voices carried through the trees.
“Hello?” I called out, shifting Knut's weight. “Over here!”
“Ash?” My heart did a little dance as it I recognized the voice. “Hold position!”
Moments later Commander Edwin burst into view, his flaming sword ready to cleave all the Scuttlers apart. Behind him came Alex and Johan, the scavenger's faces red from exertion.
Alex rushed forward, hands already glowing with healing energy.
“Set him down. Carefully now.”
I lowered Knut to the ground as Edwin looked about the area, his eyes widening at the amount of destruction around the stone alcove.
“Thank the rifts… you are safe,” Johan gasped. “I got them... at the station... came as fast... as we could.”
I stared at the man I'd thought a coward and smiled.
“You went for help.”
It wasn't a question.
Johan nodded, sinking to the ground and heaving for breath.
“Knew I couldn't fight, but I had to do something.”
I clapped him on the shoulder.
“Good man.”
“Pioneer's plight,” Edwin said behind us. “What happened out here?”
Eryn and I exchanged glances. She stepped forward, gesturing at Knut's unconscious form.
“It was incredible,” she said. “Knut killed so many of them just by himself. Even after being wounded, he kept fighting. Kept us alive.”
Edwin shook his head in amazement.
“Despite the level advantage, that's remarkable.” His sharp eyes studied us. “And you two? How hurt are you?”
Eryn and I shared another look and smiled.
“We'll be fine,” we said together.
“It's mostly Knut's blood,” Eryn said. “I did what I could to keep him alive and Ash carried him.”
Alex finished his work on Knut, the warrior's color already improving.
“He'll live thanks to you your tourniquet. Though he's going to feel this for quite a while.”
Relief flooded through me and I turned to smile at Eryn. She smiled back, and my tongue darted out, moistening my suddenly dry lips. Her eyes tracked the movement, and she mirrored the gesture unconsciously.
“Oh no. No, no, and NO! I refuse to be present for this! Store me RIGHT NOW!”
“What? Why?”
“Because I'm a WEAPON, not a... just PUT ME AWAY!”
“Since when are you shy?”
“STORE ME OR I WILL SING DRINKING SONGS OF BLOOD AT THE TOP OF MY METALLIC LUNGS!”
I had to bite back a laugh at Roq's panic. With a quick motion, I swiped him into storage and winked at Eryn. She knew something was the matter and chuckled, too.
The moment stretched between us, charged with possibility. Her eyes held mine, green as spring leaves, filled with the same wild joy of survival that coursed through my veins. My heart hammered against my ribs as I stepped closer.
She met me halfway, and I pulled her into my arms. Her hands slid up my chest and to my shoulders. For a heartbeat, we simply breathed together, foreheads touching.
Screw it. It was now or never.
My lips found hers, soft, sweet and alive.
She tasted of salt and copper and life itself. Every brush of her lips sent sparks dancing across my skin. The world narrowed to just this. Her warmth against me, the quick beat of her heart matching mine, the knowledge that this remarkable girl who'd fought beside me, who'd kept my secret and watched my back, felt the same way I did.
When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, finding Alex, Edwin, and Johan staring off into the forest, she smiled beautifully.
“I've wanted to do that for a while now,” I whispered.
“Me too,” she said, and leaned her head against my chest. “Took you long enough.”