“Sasha? You’re here? Knox told us you were killed by some crazy assholes.” one of the regulars said. He was a middle-aged man, carrying a small, short sword. He was skinny, and malnourished. They all were.

“James. It’s good to see you.” Sasha said with genuine warmth. She grabbed the man and pulled him in for a tight hug.

“Wha… What happened? How are you here?” James asked.

“It’s a pretty long story, let’s get everyone calmed down and we’ll tell you about it.”

The group passed food out to everyone while explaining the situation. It turns out, James was from Sasha and Liam’s original group. They had joined Knox willingly in the beginning, seeing his group as a place of hope. It turned out to be a gold-plated turd. These people were miserable, but it was clear that they thought Knox was the best-case scenario for them. They were weak, and they knew that alone, they’d be gobbled up by the jungle in minutes.

“That fucking bastard!” James said after hearing Sasha’s story, “He left you to die!”

“I’m glad he did James. Calvin and his group are not the crazy monsters Knox told you they are. Calvin had every right to kill us. It would have been justice. They’re good people. I need to know about Lexie. Is she ok?”

“She’s alive.” James said. He looked down at the dirt, clearly not sure about saying anything more.

“What is it? Did that asshole hurt her?” Sasha asked.

“Knox hasn’t been kind to any of us. Her most of all. As you can see, we’re all starving. Most of us are barely able to come out on these hunts. Those that can’t… work for Knox.”

Sasha wanted to scream and cry at the same time. Her rage held the tears back.

“Calvin, we need to go… now. We need to get Lexie.” she stammered, “I’ll take Liam and the others; you can catch up.”

Calvin placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her with deep concern and understanding.

“Sasha. We will get your sister. We need to do this right. We need to stick to the plan.”

“How can I do nothing? He’s hurting her in there Calvin! He’s hurting everyone. Look around you!”

Calvin did look around. He looked at each and every person sitting there. They were all scared and desperate. They were weak and hungry. They had been through a far greater hell than Calvin and his group and were just barely hanging on.

Marshall stood up from a group of people he’d been treating and came over.

“Hey, listen.” he said softly, “there’s no way Calvin is going to do nothing. Hell, if there’s anyone here who would cower from this, it’s not him. But he’s right. Your sister’s best chance is for us to play this smart. What happens if you go in there half-cocked, and Knox not only finds out you’re alive but working against him? That could put Lexie and the others in a much worse situation. Our best shot is doing this by the book.”

Sasha took a few steadying breaths to calm herself. She knew they were right. If it were anyone but her sister in there, she wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now.

“Ok, but please. Let’s hurry.”

Calvin gathered everyone up and relayed the plan. He needed volunteers from the group to return to camp and spin a tale of the unholy creature that had torn them apart. They would tell the guards they only managed to escape by dumb luck and that the power of the creature was like something they’d never seen before. They would hint at treasure being guarded by this creature. Treasure they’d almost had their hands on before being ambushed. If everything went according to plan, Knox would send out his most powerful forces, maybe even coming himself. With the promise of loot and power, how could he turn it down?

The volunteers set out while Calvin organized the others. He’d wanted to send them off into the jungle to take shelter and wait this out under the cover of safety, but they enthusiastically refused. Knox was a complete piece of shit and they all had a bone to pick. They would fight for their freedom and get their revenge in the process.

Their plan hinged on a few critical items. The volunteers needed to sell the story, not get caught and draw out more of Knox’s forces. If they failed in that, this entire thing would become infinitely more difficult.

Like most projects Calvin had worked on, there should always be contingencies. Nothing ever went according to plan and the ability to flex was critical to his success back home, and he was sure it would be critical now. Which is why he didn’t leave this plan up to chance. He had built layers of contingencies into this, and right now, those were at work.

The large group waited in ambush as the pieces of the plan came together. Liam and Freya were back near the camp tracking the status and feeding information back to Calvin. Soon, it would be go time.

A large war party of roughly 15 people set out from the encampment not 20 minutes after the ‘survivors’ returned. As they’d hoped, Knox was leading the party. Something was off though, not everyone in the party was a combatant. There were children there too. Freya passed that along to Calvin and began to track their progress from the forest’s edge.

“Alright everyone, they’re on their way. Knox is with them. I want everyone below level 10 to stay far to the rear. Your job is to support us after the fight starts. I know you’re itching to get in there, but please, let us kick it off first. James… a moment?”

“Sure, how can I help?”

“I got a report that he’s brought children with him. Can you think of a reason?”

James looked worried but thoughtful, “No, I can’t. He hasn’t done that before.”

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Calvin scanned the group, deep in thought before it hit him.

“Shit. Can you do me a favor quietly? I need you to find a way to move everyone who has children back at camp to a position far out of the fight.”

James began to question why before his eyes opened wide, “He wouldn’t… that bastard. I’ll get it done.”

Calvin had a strong suspicion the ruse was up. The only reason he could think of for Knox bringing the kids along was that they were the children of people in this hunting party, and he was planning to use them as leverage. It’s possible Knox only suspected something smelled off, and was just covering his bases.

Calvin called over Seth, Ian, and Marshall to relay his thoughts.

“Plan’s changed guys. We can’t risk those kids, and we certainly can’t risk Knox using them as leverage. We’ll have panicked parents making stupid decisions and that’s the last thing we need.”

Marshall and Seth pitched a few ideas as they worked through possible iterations to the battle ahead.

“Alright, take up your new positions. I’ll relay it to Freya. We should expect action in 20 minutes.” Calvin ordered.

It was almost 30 minutes later before the tension was broken.

“Good evening!” Knox’s voice boomed out into the forest. The only response was the distant calls of the forest fauna.

“Come on, don’t treat me like I’m stupid. I don’t know how you guys did it, but congratulations. You overpowered your handlers. I get it, I really do.” Knox paced with his club over his shoulder as he spoke.

“Honestly, I’m proud of you! That shows initiative. That shows strength. Maybe I was wrong to keep you sidelined. You clearly have the grit it takes to survive.”

More silence.

“Don’t tell me you’re scared now! You stand up for yourselves, trick some poor soul into baiting me out here and now you cower!? Come on out and we’ll let it go. Shit, I’ll reward you myself.”

Knox was losing his patience now. How dare these fuckers try this. I will bleed every last one of them.

“Fine! It seems you need some motivation. Maybe a little convincing.” Knox waved over at one of his generals, a strong-looking armored warrior with a war hammer slung across his back. The warrior nodded and promptly dragged someone out of the party toward Knox. It was the volunteer they’d sent.

Shit Calvin thought.

The warrior threw the man face-first onto the ground.

Knox pulled his club off of his shoulder, performing a few experimental swings as he paced.

“I think I understand where I went wrong. I get it now. I thought feeding you, sheltering you, keeping you safe… I thought all of that was enough! I was shortsighted though. Wasn’t I guys?” he looked back at his generals who agreed in unison. “I forgot that you all need entertainment too! Singing, drinking, games. Oh, hey Mauler…”

“Yes boss?” Mauler answered.

“You remember golf? Did you play?”

“I do boss. I wasn’t any good.”

“Yeah, neither was I. I didn’t get enough practice. I think I should change that though, starting today.”

Knox stepped up to the sobbing man on the ground, placing his legs on either side of his shoulders. He hung his club down near the man’s ear. He lifted his club a few times, looked off into the distance as if he were sighting his target, and lifted it high over his shoulders in a golfer’s swing.

“Stop!” Calvin shouted.

Knox stopped his swing, a wide grin forming on his face.

“Oh ho! Wow! I’m not going to lie… I am truly surprised! Guys, that’s my buddy Calvin. He runs a shit hole over yonder” he said, “so this whole farce is your doing? God damn, I should have known those weaklings were too chicken shit to come up with something like this on their own.”

Calvin quickly surveyed the situation. Besides Knox and Mauler, there was Void, another caster of sorts judging by the staff, two archers, and a shield-bearing warrior.

“Come on out, I feel like an idiot screaming off into the forest.” Knox said.

Calvin stepped out of the woods roughly 75 feet from Knox’s position.

“Calvin. You look good. That’s a shame. I’d hoped you’d be eaten by tigers or something by now.”

“Likewise.” Calvin responded, “I hear you’ve been a real piece of shit lately.”

“Oh come on, everyone says that about their boss. So I run a tight ship, can you blame me? There’s all sorts of unsavory types out here.”

“I’ll say it one time Knox, and I hope you’re listening carefully. Leave your weapons on the ground, all of you, and surrender. This is a one-time offer.”

The generals looked around at each other before they all burst into a chorus of laughter.

“HA! Oh, fucking Calvin. My sides! You are god damned hilarious. I was going to make the same offer to you. Well, kinda. I was still going to kill you. But it’s the thought that counts right?” Knox brought his club back up over his shoulder, “Fore!”

Before he had a chance to bring his club down, one of the archers spat a torrent of flames from their eyes before collapsing dead on the ground.

It was fucking on!

Calvin was sprinting toward the other archer, who’d been at the closest edge of their grouping. He was careful not to put himself in a compromising position with the others, but he needed to take out their ranged damage as fast as he could.

Three drones shot out over the treetops, their eerie buzzing created a resonance over the battlefield that just added to the chaotic mix. Seth instructed them to focus all of their efforts on Void.

The caster, now! Calvin commanded before a furious, furry demon exploded from the brush nearby. Like an arrow, she flew straight at the scrambling mage.

Shots from Marshall’s pulse pistol rang out from the tree line, earthen pellets from Ian’s Rock Shot whistled into the fray. Arrows clanged against armor as the archers from the hunting party fired into the generals.

It was absolute chaos. The trap was sprung and it had caught Knox’s party completely off guard. All of this opening salvo had gone completely unanswered for a brief moment as they desperately fought to understand the nature of this ambush.

Knox let out a furious roar as he slammed his club into the ground towards the tree line where Marshall was. A shock wave of rocks erupted in a straight line, jagged earth was driven up out of the ground like a 10-foot-tall, spiked wave, destroying everything as it tore through the terrain. The trees in the path blew apart into splintered shrapnel. Large spears of wood sliced through the air in every direction. Several of the hunting party had taken grisly wounds from that single strike, their cries echoed out into the battlefield. Marshall had already been on the move though. He fired several more rounds before changing direction and moving out deeper into the forest.

Calvin had nearly closed the gap on the archer. The archer fired off a few arrows in Calvin’s direction, panic clearly throwing his aim to the wind. Mauler was moving to intercept.

Mauler’s hammer radiated with a pulsing aura. It vibrated the air around it, releasing a thrum of pressure as he swung it toward Calvin. Calvin quickly jammed the butt of his spear into the ground, erecting a barrier that intercepted the incoming strike as well as an arrow fired right at his head.

The barrier didn’t completely stop the hammer strike, but it did slow it considerably as if the warrior had struck a dense wall of water. Calvin dropped the barrier and slid under the still-moving hammer. He slammed his spear through the warrior’s leg, releasing a full charge and blowing it clean off of his body. The man roared in agony and toppled over.

Calvin didn’t stop moving for even a fraction of a second. His feet pounded the dirt as his mind carefully tracked the archer’s hands, waiting for the next arrow to fire. This time, it was different. The arrow nocked in the archer’s bow lit up in a brilliant golden light before it zipped away from the string. It was too fast. Calvin tried to sidestep the strike, which honestly saved his life, but he still took the shot clean through his shoulder. The arrow pierced through him and continued traveling into the forest. He hurled his spear as hard as he could, impaling the archer through his stomach. The archer doubled over in agony as Calvin arrived and tore his spear from the man.

Calvin was bleeding badly. He summoned a bandage from his pouch and slapped it on the wound. Thanks Marshall.