‘Up,’ Arzak said, shaking me awake in my bunk. Her and Corminar had been on sailing and watch duty, after we’d figured out that we could man the ship with just two people if need be. I hadn’t voice this thought, but I suspect the ships were designed that way so that as many soldiers as possible could disembark and be part of the invading force.

Groggily, I looked to my side, to find that Val had already risen for the day. ‘It’s morning already?’

The orc shook her head. ‘No. We being followed.’

At this, I sat bolt upright, and narrowly avoided hitting my head on the bunk above this one. So many bunks had been packed onto these fairly compact ships—enough to carry an invading force as efficiently as possible for the two or three days it would take to reach the Dawnwoods.

I followed Arzak up to the deck, where Lore and Corminar were standing looking at the horizon. I narrowed my eyes, trying to adjust to the low light of the pre-dawn morning. ‘How long has it been following?’

‘Long enough that we know it is following,’ the barbarian replied.

‘Goldmarch?’ I asked. ‘Was there another seaworthy ship at the dockyards? One we missed?’

Lore shrugged. ‘Can’t tell at this distance. Will know once it catches us up, though.’

‘And how long until that happens?’

‘At this rate? Maybe a couple of hours?’

I gulped. ‘You given any thought about what happens when they do catch up? Back on land, I could portal us away. Here, though… we’d be trapped.’

‘We know,’ Arzak said glumly.

I dwelled on this a moment. ‘Anything we can do to go faster? Something with the sails?’

‘I look like sailor to you?’ the orc replied, arms crossed.

‘And I checked, and there weren’t any sailing guide books anywhere,’ Lore added helpfully.

I looked about. ‘Where’s Val? And Corminar? You asked them?’

‘Val’s up in the top bit,’ Lore said, pointing up the main mast. ‘I asked her already.’

‘Crow nest,’ Arzak corrected him.

‘And… Corminar? Dunno. Inside somewhere? Figure elves don’t really sail much though, do they? Like their feet on solid ground.’

I nodded. ‘I’ll go find him. See if he’s got any thoughts. Otherwise… prepare to fight, I guess?’ I couldn’t help but sound defeated already. Resisting the urge to sigh, I turned and walked down into the hold of the ship, walking amongst the rows of bunks. There was an eerie quality to this ship being so empty, there being so many spots where people should have been, but weren’t. In fact, the only figure I found was Corminar, holed up on a bunk at the very front of the ship.

‘You doing OK?’ I asked the elf with glazed-over eyes. ‘Lore says you don’t like boats.’

‘My people do not, as a rule, enjoy being on water. Much preferable is it to feel the roots beneath our feet.’

‘Through shoes, you mean?’ I asked.

Corminar didn’t respond, not at all in the mood for jokes right at this moment.

‘There’s another—’ I started, meaning to explain the situation, but at that second, the elf chose to speak.

‘In the most wild of my dreams, I did not expect to return home in this manner. I never imagined it would be under these circumstances.’

I nodded. ‘Can’t blame you. Not sure I’ve ever read about an invasion of the Dawnwoods. Not something that’s happened in the past few generations, is it?’

‘It has never been invaded, Styk. Never before has anyone had the gall, the malice, the… greed. And yet it is to happen in my lifetime. Chances are, I sail to watch my homeland fall.’

‘Others have underestimated us too, though haven’t they?’ I retorted. ‘And look where they’ve ended up. We’ve got to stay confident, Corminar. We’ve got to remember that we are heroes. And heroes do not give up. Heroes always find a way to triumph. We will sail to the Dawnwoods, we’ll save them, and we’ll make you a legend of the elves. Maybe we’ll even get that birthseed of yours planted, make a proper bow for you. How does that sound?’

‘Impossible,’ Corminar responded.

‘So was killing the pyroknight. So was killing those other Players, before you met me, I imagine. We’ve faced the impossible before, and yeah, we face it again now. But I expect to live to see the other side.’

The ranger remained quiet, then shook his head. ‘No.’

‘No?’

‘No, not this time. This time, the odds are truly stacked against us. We no longer face one single enemy, a situation wherein the enemy out-levels us, but we have a numerical advantage. In this scenario, the Goldmarch outnumbers us a hundred to one. These situations are not even comparable. You would be insane to treat them as such.’

‘I’ve been called insane before.’

‘Yes, I overhear you and Val flirting on occasion.’

‘That’s not—’ I shook my head; this wasn’t a conversation there was any point having. ‘Look, Corminar. You’re the Hero of Iranir. That means something to your people. You can lead them to victory, if you’d do it.’

‘No,’ the elf said again. ‘That battle, in the Honey Wars… that was a one-time stroke of inspiration. Nothing more. I will never be that leader again.’

‘But Corminar, I’ve seen you be that—’

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Before I could finish that sentence, I noticed Lore lurking down the cabin. He’d been peculiarly quiet, considering his large body type, as though he’d been approaching slowly, softly, delaying the moment until he’d have to deliver whatever news he’d come with.

‘Styk,’ he said. When I realised how pale his face was, my stomach churned.

‘Yeah? What is it? What’s wrong?’

‘We were wrong,’ the barbarian explained. ‘About the ship.’

‘It’s not following us? That’s good news, isn’t—’

‘No. We were wrong; it’s not one ship.’

I began to feel sick, and it wasn’t just being at sea. At my side, Corminar didn’t respond to this news, his eyes fixed on the floor, still glazed over. ‘...How many?’

‘Six. At least.’

‘Then it is over,’ Corminar said, finally piping up. ‘It is over before it even began. Our quest is futile. Hopeless. Who did we think we were, that we might sway the outcome of a war?’ He paused for a moment, then looked pointedly at me. ‘Did we truly think we were heroes?’

‘I did,’ I answered honestly. ‘I still do.’

Lore nodded. ‘Me too. But I think…’ He paused, licking his lips. ‘I think it’s just us two, though, Styk.’

After a moment, the ranger rose from his bunk. ‘We should adjourn to the deck,’ he said. ‘Perhaps there is more that can be done to increase our speed.’

Lore and I nodded our agreement, and followed him up to the deck, but I think we all knew in our heart of hearts that there was nothing we could do, that our capture was inevitable.

* * *

Our capture was inevitable.

By this point, it was clear. We’d done all we could—all we’d known to do—with the sails, but the truth was obvious: these ships were faster, and were always going to be faster.

This left us with only one question, then. If they were faster than the ship we were on, then they weren’t other Goldmarch ships. So who in Alterra were they?

Corminar, the member of the Slayers with the best eyesight—this being a natural ability of the elven race—kept his gaze fixed on the nearest of the ships. I watched as he narrowed his eyes, trying to bring the ship into focus.

‘You see it yet?’ Lore asked.

‘Please, Lore, will you stop asking?’ Val answered on the elf’s behalf. ‘He’ll tell you when he sees it.’

‘OK, but it looks closer. I think. Surely he—’

‘Enough, Lore.’

‘I just wanna know how quickly we’re gonna die.’

I moved to nudge Lore to follow me, to draw him away from the rest of the team. We already knew the plan, for when we were caught. Or, at least, we knew enough of it; we’d fine-tune the details once we knew what we were up against. None of us had any faith in the plan—that much was clear—but we’d at least go down fighting.

I’d have felt a lot better about our odds if I could see land on the horizon. But instead, all I could see was a thin layer of fog over the gentle Iron Sea, the brightest of the Architects’ stars shining up above.

‘Come on, Lore. Let’s talk a walk.’

Lore nodded, and we moved away, just as Corminar murmured something.

‘What was that?’ the barbarian asked, eyes wide, suddenly very interested once more.

‘I know who it is,’ the ranger said.

‘And just how screwed are we?’ Val asked.

The elf kept his gaze on the nearest ship. ‘This remains to be seen.’

‘I don’t…’ Val said, shaking her head.

‘You will see before long.’

‘Should we prepare to fight?’

‘No,’ the elf said with a sigh. ‘I think our greatest chance of survival comes from not fighting, just this once. Drop the anchor.’

‘You sure?’

Corminar nodded.

After the ship had come to a halt, I and the other four members of the team stood in silence, watching out across the sea, as the closest ship approached. One by one, we all realised who was chasing us, and once it was my turn, I wasn’t sure how to feel. All I could do was trust that we could handle it.

Though, knowing them, the danger was very real, and very likely.

Finally, the ship approached, slowing down as it came closer, before coming to a stop about as close to our vessel as any ship could come; it was sailed by some expert sailors. Almost to a person, these elven sailors had a bow in hand, and a full quiver over one shoulder. And amongst these elves was a familiar face. A face from weeks long past, from a moment in time that had set us on an adventure once more.

The man to whom Corminar owed his debt.

‘You think you can deceive the Red Thorn?’ Elandor’s voice boomed.

‘We didn’t deceive, we just—’ Val started, but a raised index finger from the elf cause her to snap her mouth shut.

‘I see no depth raider aboard, sorcerer.’

‘Oh, that’s my fault,’ Lore said. ‘I—’

‘The time for explanations is over. No, now it is time that the Red Thorn collect its debt, one way or another. The world will not here that the Thorn relinquish their dues so easily.’ He signalled to the legion of elven rangers on the nearby ship, and in an instant, all four dozen or so raised their bows, aiming them at the members of the Slayers. ‘Your time is up. Payment is overdue.’

"Styk"

Level 16 Bladespinner

Base Stats:

Vitality — 44

Intelligence — 154

Dexterity — 101

Strength — 73

Wisdom — 57

Charisma — 33

Skills:

Worldbending — Level 43

Knifework — Level 36

Stealth — Level 19

Needlework — Level 12

Identification — Level 11

Abilities:

Stab III — Put your weight behind your wielded blade and force the tip through tougher hides and armour. Damage scales on [STR], increased by an additional 50%.

Execution II — Attack a target while undetected for +200% damage.

Closed Reach — Bend reality to narrow the gap between blade and target by up to 8 inches. Uses mana.

Mana-Fuelled — Passive. Optionally, use mana in place of stamina to activate Knifework abilities.

Knifestorm — Lash out at all surrounding enemies in a tornado of blades, using either one or two daggers. All enemies with arm’s reach receive physical damage worth weapon’s base damage and additional damage scaling on [STR].

Local Portal II — Create a portal to another location within current range of sight or within a ten yard radius. Uses mana/second.

Portal Slice — Passive. Portals can now be spawned within non-sentient objects. Doing so slices through all objects that are not reinforced by magic.

Tamed Portals — Passive. Increased efficiency of portal magicks means that your portal glow is reduced by 50%, making them less likely to be detected by enemies.

Ash Husk — Convert your flesh to ash, strengthening it against flame for ten minutes. Gain 50% resistance to fire attacks.

Shrill Perimeter — Create a perimeter wall of 20 foot radius, invisible to all but those adept in magicks. If an enemy crosses this perimeter, this spell releases the shriek of a banshee.

Warped Shield — Passive. If an enemy strikes you with a low-level melee weapon, Warp Shield automatically activates to open a portal that deflects this attack. You must not have any portals currently active. Uses mana on activation.

Pocket Worlds — Open and access pocket dimensions. Storage capacity of summoned pocket worlds scales with [INT] of creator.

Stealth Attack II — Passive. 80% boost to damage when unnoticed by enemy.

In Plain Sight — When activated, you have a heightened abilitiy to hide in plain sight, and are able to spot opportunities to break from combat at a higher rate. Scales on [WIS].

Stitch — Create a basic stitch in common fabrics. Ability scales on [CHA].

Cloth Armour — Craft a cloth armour of higher quality, dependent on materials, time and skill level.

Active Effects:

Legacy of Sisyphus:

XP gain increased by +900%