Wilson saw the girl collapse, but couldn’t tell if the arrow had killed her or not.

All he could do for now was focus on his enemy. His first attack scored a hit and a miss. Second, just the same, but fifteen damage sent the brigand to his maker.

He launched himself at the two men stood over Ashlyn. He took the spearman from behind with a vicious, well-timed strike. With one action left, he moved on to the last brigand standing. A miss. And another miss.

Oh no. I’m sorry, girl.

But before the brigand was able to strike at the defenceless Ashlyn, Femke appeared. Relief, and hope, flooded Wilson.

Her first cudgel strike was on target, but a pathetic one point of damage wasn’t going to cut it. Her second, and final strike, missed completely.

Femke had failed to stop the brigand from taking his one action. But she had succeeded in putting herself in between him and Ashlyn.

When the brigand hit out, he fluffed his lines anyway. Femke saw it coming and ducked underneath.

Then Manslayer arrived and delivered the final strike of what had been an up and down kind of encounter.

Femke knelt next to Ashlyn and began unbuckling her leather vest. ‘Help me!’ she demanded. ‘Jaelin, bring my kit down here!’

‘I’m sorry!’ The Bowman cried from the top of the escarpment, staring down. ‘Is she dead? I’m sorry, Ashlyn. I’m sorry!’

***

Ashlyn blinked. As her eyes gradually focused, the fog retreated to reveal ten heads sat on spikes. They had been scalped. ‘What the—’

‘You’re alright,’ said a voice full of relief. Femke put a hand to her neck, then examined the bandaged wounds on her chest and thigh. ‘I think you’ll make it.’

The events of the battle returned to Ashlyn’s mind, ending with the arrow stuck in her chest. ‘Thank you, Femke. Yes, I think I’ll make it.’ Her hit points had recovered to five. Not great. Far from great. But surely better than she had been when Christoph’s arrow struck her.

‘You’re welcome, dear. That’s what I get paid for.’

There was a blur, and The Bowman was by her side. ‘I’m so sorry, Ashlyn. I should have thought. I don’t have the skill to shoot into a crowd like that. I was trying to help.’

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‘Christoph. Give me your hand.’ He gave it to her without question, still so like a child. ‘I want you to promise me something.’

‘Of course. Anything.’

‘Don’t use this as a reason to give up and go home. Shit happens. We’ve all made stupid mistakes. But I’m fine, so I don’t want you to dwell on it. Learn from it, sure. Please do. But don’t use it to give up.’

The Bowman shared a look with Femke as if they had been discussing that exact thing.

‘Remember, you promised me.’

He sighed. ‘Alright. I’ll learn from it, and I’ll give the job another chance.’

‘One more thing. Why are there ten heads looking at me?’

‘Oh, that. Manslayer’s plan to make this look like a goblin attack. Apparently, that’s what they do.’ He didn’t turn to look.

Her other companions approached. Manslayer, Jaelin, and Wilson looked down on her.

‘You’re feeling better?’ Edmund asked.

‘Yes. Thank you all for coming to my rescue. It’s appreciated.’

‘You’re welcome,’ Jaelin said.

‘If you’re able,’ Wilson said, ‘we should get going. It’s not a good idea to wait out here any longer. Also, the mission isn’t over.’

‘Thanks for waiting for me. But how come it’s not over?’

‘We assume that we need to return the items the brigands took back to Eisenberg. That’s a long way to drag that cart. Protect From Brigands was the mission, and well—we didn’t really.’

‘Makes sense. Give me a few moments and I’ll get to my feet.’

Everyone turned to go.

‘Jaelin. A word?’

Jaelin squatted next to her while the others readied themselves for leaving.

‘I want you to come back with us to Avolo and meet with Stiff,’ Ashlyn told him.

‘I’m not a big city guy.’

‘I figured that. But listen. We may have kept Redblade away from Eisenberg for a while, if they buy this ruse. But not forever. Help me talk to Stiff. You would be a more than useful addition to his squad if we are going to operate in this area. It might persuade him to take on Redblade.’

‘Alright. Since you nearly died, I can hardly say no. I’ll speak with him. But I’m not promising anything.’

He offered a hand and pulled Ashlyn to her feet.

The Bowman insisted on taking one handle of the cart all the way back to Eisenberg. It was obviously a method of atoning for his near fatal error, and no one argued. Edmund and Jaelin took turns taking the other handle. Wilson didn’t offer—whether it was beneath him, or too high for him, Ashlyn wasn’t quite sure.

She walked with Femke, who made her take regular rests. She would check her wounds, reapply a salve, and make her drink some foul tasting concoction. Ashlyn was desperate to lie down and sleep, but Auntie’s attention was working, and she was strong enough to walk back to the village.

When the settlement came into view, there was a faint pink haze across the entrance. The end of the mission was in sight, and they shared a collective sense of relief. They’d done it, and in the end, no one had died.

MISSION COMPLETE

SUCCESS: Eisenberg was protected from brigands

Some of your mercs improved their stats:

Wilson Turk:

Agility +1

Manslayer:

Grit +1

Hit Points +1

Ashlyn Sawrey:

Intellect +1

No mercs levelled up