It was inevitable. Anichka raised her voice and called out, "Stop. We can't get away from them, and this straight road gives me the best chance of finishing them off with the other rifles." She looked over her shoulder to make eye contact with Howard. "Do you have a pistol—one of the new ones?"

"Two barrel—uh—muzzle-loading. Nothing like your rifle."

"That's fine. Empty both barrels and let Tammy load them for you. Tam, make sure it's enough." It wasn't that she didn't trust Howard's skill at loading the gun, but she never doubted Tammy's. When the horse was slow enough, Anichka slid off and slung her precious rifle over her shoulder. By the time she was on one knee, Tammy passed her the heavy rifle. The adamantine bore was thicker than it needed to be, but she still liked it for distance and stopping.

With the riders pounding toward them, Anichka did her best to line up a shot when she judged one was behind another.

The rifle sounded louder than anything Howard had heard before. The crack of its report echoed a few times before being lost. He took his offered pistol from Tammy with a, "Thank you," before watching her pass a smaller rifle to Anichka. "Perhaps I'll learn to shoot a rifle when we return?"

"Maybe a good skill for everyone in Northridge to learn? Free training and free guns for all." Done reloading the beast of a rifle, Tammy passed it to Anichka and took the other back from her. "How are they falling?"

"Easily, but there's dust rising in the distance. I don't like this one bit."

Shielding his eyes against the moon, Howard spotted the extra riders first. "There's another group!" He did his best to ignore Anichka and Tammy's cursing, but at the same time commended their creativity. "You both have multiple talismans?"

The first group of riders, after her second shot with the adamantine rifle, were now within range of a pistol. Anichka nodded as she took hold of the next rifle. "Down to fifteen. You might want to go now, Howard."

Glaring at the soldiers coming, Howard raised the pistol, brought his fingers to the double-trigger, and used it.

Squeezing one last shot with her rifle, Anichka dropped it to hang on its sling and drew her first pair of pistols. "You've already lost! The baron is gone already!" She aimed with each shot, taking four of the men down and dropping the pistols. Before she could lift the next, Tammy let loose with two shot-pistols.

Amid the horses screaming, Anichka brought up fresh pistols and fired repeatedly—but there were still two riders left as they got within striking distance. "Love you, Tam."

"You t—" Tammy was raising a pair of her shotgun pistols (aimed at the last two soldiers) while Anichka raised a pair of her own pistols—aimed at herself and Tammy.

The pistols never went off, though, as a huge wolf leapt across Anichka's vision. It grabbed one of the men and tossed him away while a big axe cleaved through the second soldier's neck and sank itself into a tree on the other side of the road.

Howling filled the air as Anichka's mind raced, coming up with the huge wolves and wolf people that Travis had saved. She holstered their rides home and reached for her rifle. "What's going on?"

"I don't— There, ask them!" Tammy pointed as Hreti, in heavy armor, ran across the road and grabbed his axe from the tree.

"Good night for hunting!" Hreti called, loping back over to where the two guards were. "We were chasing down a goblin party, no doubt heading off to infect another dungeon. That's what Kelvin said they do. Smelled more meat—found horses. Found you both."

"A bit too late for Howard. He'll be back in Northridge by now." Anichka looked down the road at the guards still riding their way. "And we have friends."

"That's great!" Hreti followed Anichka's gaze down the road to see the armored figures, their equipment shining in the moonlight.

"G-Great?" Tammy had never had to look up at someone as much as Hreti. The man was huge. In the back of her head she said a little thank you to any god listening that Hreti was on their side. "Sorry. Uh, Annie, want me to keep loading?"

"Don't let us keep you from your own hunt. There might be a lot of them, but I brought friends of my own." Tipping his head back, Hreti howled into the night air. Among the northern folk, the wolves had to maintain a certain decorum. They had to fit in with a society that only barely accepted them. Now, though, Travis was far more open to them exploring their own selves.

The sounds of replies echoed around Anichka and Tammy. Voices howling out in excitement and joy. When Tammy passed Anichka her adamantine rifle back—loaded—Anichka said, "This will be loud."

"The howls of your gun are—" The sound of Anichka firing, up close, made Hreti revise his opinion of it a little, but nonetheless he continued. "… a lovely howl! They called me here."

Much closer now, more howls came before the forest disgorged more wolves. Hreti felt pure joy as Astrid, Njal, and Liv poured out surrounded by large wolves. "We have a hunt for stronger foes!"

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Watching Anichka get a fresh rifle, Astrid let out her own howl anew, letting the song of it wind around the crack of the weapon. "Forward!"

"Are we done firing?" Tammy asked.

Anichka shook her head. "As long as the wolves keep giving me a line of fire, I'm going to keep shooting."

----------------------------------------

Jerking upright as life returned to him, Howard looked around. "Where are Tammy and Anichka? They were going to be right after me. And why do I taste vinegar?"

"I haven't seen them. Is there a chance they surv—" Rupert fought off the yawn to no avail. "You've been here for an hour. I'm sorry, but no one else has appeared."

Grabbing a fresh talisman when Rupert gestured to them and suggested it, Howard made his way out of the temple still putting his boots on and finding somewhere for all his equipment. He set off at a jog, covering the ground as quickly as he could while repeatedly trying to spit the taste of vinegar out of his mouth.

The dungeon area was always a hive of activity. A kobold was loading gold bars into a wagon as if it was the most normal thing to do. They waved to him and, because Howard was polite to a fault, he waved back to them and rushed inside. "Is there anyone here who can talk to Travis for me?"

A head poked out of the tavern, beckoned to Howard, and then disappeared inside. Looking to the guards that were perpetually on duty in the dungeon entrances, he saw them all straighten but their sergeant shrugged.

When Howard walked into the tavern, Millie nodded to a chair. "What do you need?"

Taking a moment to put his words in order, Howard said, "We were leaving Far Reach when we noticed we were being chased. Anichka and Tammy killed most of the first group, but there were more behind them. They looked like guards from Far Reach."

"Travis has been getting experience for the last hour— No, he says a little less than an hour. The only ones it could be from are the wolves that are out hunting goblins. The experience for each kill, he says, is much more than what a goblin would give." Slumping back in her own chair, Millie yawned. "He said it's similar to the amount of experience he got from soldiers in the siege."

Sighing with relief, Howard slumped back in his chair. "Then I must offer my thanks to Travis and his—friends. Now I only need to figure out what we're going to tell Far Reach and the King, officially, to explain our actions."

"Stephan is coming," Millie said, standing up and making her way to the bar. "Would you like a drink?"

"Coffee, if you have it." Hearing that Stephan was on his way caused Howard to sag in relief. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his journal and set it down on the table, then explained aloud what had happened.

Travis filled Stephan in on what he knew as the kobold left his sleeping quarters in the lowest level of the dungeon and used a teleport trap to reach the top. By the time Stephan stepped into the tavern, he knew as much as Travis did.

When Millie brought three mugs of coffee over, and everyone had a moment to drink a little, Stephan began. "The young noblewoman here is being kept safe, and she has written an official letter stating her intent to stay in Northridge of her own free will. I know that doesn't pertain to the issue immediately before us, but it is important. Were you able to see that the troops coming after you were Far Reach?"

"No. They didn't have the city's uniform on from what Anichka said. She has better eyes than me at that distance. Oh! We can work the angle of the last time we'd moved through there we had been attacked by bandits." Making notes, Howard felt the problem was somewhat like an onion with layers he needed to peel back and find ways to neutralize.

Nodding, Stephan liked that pitch. "We'll lean on that. No one in Far Reach would have known you were passing through except for that gate guard, correct?" When Howard nodded, Stephan rubbed his jaw. "Perfect. You were riding out of Far Reach, spotted brigands chasing you, and being so few you dealt with them."

Howard liked the edge Stephan put on it. "Put the onus back on Far Reach to explain why they sent a hundred riders without the city uniform to escort one noble?" At Stephan's nod, Howard wrote that down. "I'll make it sound a little more pompous."

"They will claim the same thing, or try to. Could you arrange for similar dusters to Anichka and Tammy's ones for all our Guard? I'm sure Breath of Spring could help provide the hides, and if not, we can."

"Make those cloaks our uniform? A bold move, and one that can be arranged. After all, we have days before the pair will reach us." More notes went into his journal.

"There's one more aspect to this. Their soldiers likely wouldn't have had talismans. Feel free to show shock and derision if questioned about that. Something along the lines of 'What city wouldn't pay for their populace's safety?' If it comes down to it, Howard, we will pay them the temple's price of a talisman and resurrection."

"They had talismans… I think. That could still be a good angle to play, but a hundred soldiers will make that expensive. If we can shift responsibility for this to Far Reach, without having to pay a single gold, my sense of justice will rest easier." It still left Howard stunned whenever the subject of gold came up in relation to Travis. "But, thank you. All of you—including Travis."

"That sentiment is appreciated, Howard. Travis will be able to tell you that himself, soon. In another two days, he will finally have the research finished which will allow him to communicate with non-dungeon folk," Stephan said.

Howard stopped to think on it, then asked, "Would that allow him to talk with anyone, anywhere in the city?"

"We don't know that yet, but given how the magic boost from the tower worked, it may. Too much of what he has to deal with isn't explained or intuitive. It's a wonder we aren't making more mistakes than we are advances." Shrugging his shoulders, Stephan broke into another yawn. "Travis, I want you to find a boss I can be a cohort of. The way they can shrug off sleepless nights is, now, exceptionally enviable."

"Are you sure about that, Stephan?" Travis asked, trying to hide his chuckle.

Slumping, Stephan shook his head. "I'd never forgive myself if something managed to break in and I was taking up the spot of someone who could defend you. Sorry, Howard. Do we have enough that you can draft a letter?"

"Yes. Go sleep if you can. I'll go start the wheels in motion with an angry letter to Far Reach regarding the brigand attack." Howard stood up, now far more confident that the incident and their response wouldn't harm Northridge.

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