Seth squeezed the trigger of his rifle and it boomed thunderously.

Thirty paces away, his bullet struck a beast’s head; slapped it aside. He smirked behind his shawl at the power of the rifle. Even now the recoil hurt his shoulder. He shifted slightly, minutely, and aimed again.

Off in the distance the reia beast turned its head to him. It was a massive beast taller than a man and wider than a car. It had the head of a bald eagle and the body of some reptilian monstrosity that reminded Seth of a salamander.

When its head turned, William capitalized on the opportunity. He struck its abdomen with a powerful blow. At Silver William’s blow was not strong enough to damage the beast. But with [Bulwark] active, with the orange streaks running all around his skin, there was more force to his strike.

The reia beast doubled over from the blow and William struck its head with a side swing. The blow displaced the air, shifted the beast’s head, and it fell like a tree. There was likely a touch of force reia in the blow.

Seth shifted his attention from William and pulled the trigger again. This time he picked out Drew’s opponent. He shot twice, striking a beast of similar size in the head. The first shot struck the side of its head. The second took out its eye, erupting it in a splash of green blood.

Drew turned momentarily, seeking out Seth. Considering none of them knew where he was, it didn’t surprise him. Tao Mei took advantage of the beast’s distraught and drew two lines along the creatures back with her butcher knives. One crossed the other and the creature howled in pain. Seth wasn’t certain what brought Drew’s attention back to the beast, but he turned his attention to it and swung his sword at its neck.

The weapon was a long sword with a four feet long blade that drew a deep line along its neck. Blood sprayed forth like a geyser and the creature fell. Done with their target, they moved to support William.

In ten minutes they were done with the surrounding monsters and Seth was packing up his rifle. He shifted his weight on the branch of the tree and dropped from it. He fell fifteen feet and hit the ground with a thump.

Pain surged up his feet and into his leg and he grit his teeth against it. The pain had barely traveled up when he felt his reia drain in its direction. This wasn’t the first time his reia had channeled itself towards an injury he had without conscious effort on his part and he wondered if it was normal.

The pain in his leg numbed, then sensation returned to him.

We really should stop doing that, one of his minds thought.

Seth agreed with it. He was beginning to drop himself from outrageous heights. However, he knew he wouldn’t stop. He opened his mouth to tell his minds just as much when another mind drew his attention to something else.

Jaola’s here.

Seth turned and found the mage coming up behind him. He wasn’t sure if the mage was sneaking up on him or merely walking. All he knew was he couldn’t hear the mage in all the grass and foliage of the forest. His senses spread fifteen feet around him but his minds were attentive to much farther than that. Still, the man’s steps remained silent.

Once, he’d asked his minds how far their awareness reached and they claimed as long as it was around him they could see it.

Unsure of how true it was he had asked no more on the subject.

“That’s quite the drop for an Iron,” Jaola said, looking from him to the branches of the tree, his staff in one hand. It was a fine thing molded from Iron.

Seth had been with the team long enough now to know the staff was an artifact looted from a nest inside a burrow in the ground. According to the story, it was just left on the floor. After they’d killed the beast that ruled the nest they’d found it lying on the ground where it slept.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

It had runes running the length of it that no one had been able to figure out. Jim, however, had been able to decipher only one of them. It was apparently the easiest to activate, and it retracted the staff to a ring that wrapped around the wielder’s finger. Whatever else the countless other runes did was still a mystery.

Jaola gave him an amiable smile and held up the staff. “You know how to use one of these?”

Seth shrugged. “I’ve dabbled.”

Jaola’s brows rose in surprise. “Really?” he asked emphasizing the word. “What else do you dabble in?”

Seth shrugged and turned away from the man.

Nice set of runes, though, his mind commented as he sought out the rest of the team. You think John’ll be able to decipher it.

The thought of John brought a frown to his face. It reminded him of the countless kinds of pain that could be inflicted using runes.

“Ooh,” Jaola winced walking beside him. “That’s not a good look.”

“What’s not a good look.”

“That one,” Jaola pointed a finger at his face and moved it in a circle. “You look like you stepped on something nasty.”

Seth frowned behind his shawl.

They caught up to the others in five minutes. They found them resting against trees, silent and waiting.

“What took you so long?” William asked with a frown.

Go check one of their hearts, one of Seth’s minds thought, surprising him and he left the question for Jaola to answer, stepping past the group to look at the reia beast on the ground.

We count twelve, one of his minds informed him.

“That’s a considerable amount,” he whispered to himself. “There’s no way I’m checking all of them.”

The nest they were almost done clearing was classed as a Silver nest, which meant all the beasts inside were going to be silver.

So all the silver rank beasts, and four Silver mages had taken care of them.

It’s very commendable, a mind noted. And the same can be said for their teamwork.

“We’re not here to make friends,” Seth reminded it, pulling one of his twin blades free of its scabbard.

With it, he stabbed the creature where its heart was supposed to be. The shortsword dug in smoothly. The toughness of the silver skin did nothing to hinder it, not even the muscles beneath showed any resistance.

“Just what are those made off?” Tao Mei asked behind him.

Seth held his tongue as he pulled out the second blade and stabbed the same spot. Their annoying weight played to his favor, gravity serving as a pull, adding to his stabbing power. He found leverage quickly, took each handle in both hands and pulled in opposing directions. Behind him Tao Mei cocked a curious brow.

The blades did not budge, so Seth pulled a second time.

I don’t think we’re strong enough, his mind told him.

“I know,” he grunted, still pulling.

When nothing happened, he took conscious control of his breathing and cycled his reia. He felt it fill him. It flooded his channels and he pulled harder. The creature’s chest came apart a fraction of an inch and stopped.

“That’s impressive,” Tao Mei acknowledged.

This time Seth looked over his shoulder at her. When their eyes met, she smiled at him and wiggled her fingers in a wave.

She wants to help, a mind told him, as if he didn’t already know this.

He sighed at her continued attention and said, “You want to help.”

She nodded enthusiastically. “But only if you’re done.”

He took a deep breath and stood up, gave her leave to take over. “I’m done.”

She took over gingerly and rubbed her hands together. “It was surprising enough that you have weapons that can cut through silver rank skin with so much ease. I’d have given up my knives if you’d been successful and pulling it apart too.”

We almost had those knives, one of his minds complained.

“Sure,” Seth mumbled. “Because we know what we want to do with butcher knives.”

“You know it’s not very nice to insult a girl’s babies,” she said absently, reaching for the handles of his sword.

“Ow,” she gasped, retrieving her hands as if burned.

“Is there a problem?” he asked, stepping forward. Behind him the rest of the team had turned their attention to them.

Their collective attention and alertness tingled in his senses.

That’s new, his minds observed.

“Nope,” she answered, popping the word. Then she reached for the handles again and seized of them. “How do you use these things? They’re so cold.”

Seth shrugged, unsure of what she was talking about.

She adjusted, found a comfortable position, and pulled. She put her back into it and the blades parted slowly. The beast’s ribs broke apart with a crunch and a squelch.

“Tell me again why you’re doing this,” she said, her voice strained.

“That’s a logical response,” he said. “Perhaps I’ll have the answer soon enough.”

Well, his mind answered. Something happened in Jim’s office with the fragment that first day, and after much thought we’ve decided to check it out.

“And what exactly was it?”

Tao Mei paused her action and turned to look at him. “What exactly was what?”

Seth met her eyes and said nothing.

“Oh, not me.” She turned back to her task and pulled apart harder. “You’re a weird one, you know that? You’re the only Iron I know working in a team of Silver. Also the only one I know who talks to himself seriously. All that’s left is for you to talk back and I’ll know you’ve lost it.”