We followed Sara to a nearby stable, where the sharp tang of hay and horse sweat hung in the cool morning air. A few young men were already waiting, their hands steady on the reins as the horses stamped with nervous energy, saddled and ready. I almost suggested we go on foot: our stats would let us outpace the mounts easily but Sara’s presence complicated things. With her along, appearances mattered.
As she adjusted her saddle straps, I cast Identify on her. Level eighteen. Higher than me on paper, but that meant little with my Outlier designation. In raw stats, she’d be far behind.
I swung into the saddle, the leather creaking beneath me. Truth be told, I enjoyed riding. The rhythm of hooves, the sway of the animal beneath, it conserved stamina and, more importantly, placed the noble lady on equal footing with us.
Dawn was just breaking as we set out, the first pale light spilling across the rooftops. My horse’s hooves rang against the cobblestones, each strike echoing in the quiet streets. A nagging thought tugged at me: how were we supposed to leave the town now that I’d destroyed the main drawbridge?
The answer came sooner than expected. Skirting the outer walls, I spotted smaller gates tucked into the stonework, each with its own narrow bridge. Before long, we crossed one at the rear of the settlement. The village had built redundancies into its defenses. “Why so many drawbridges?” I asked, guiding my mount alongside Sara’s.
Her expression tightened as she glanced back. “The town gets frequent monster attacks, especially at night. Over the years we added walls, bridges, and moats to hold them off. The village is quite full, and workers need multiple ways to enter and exit the town for convenience. “The surrounding land is open, so we can see attacks coming from a long way off. When the kobolds advanced, we raised every bridge in time but the main one.” Her voice dropped. “Someone had weakened the chains. Right before the monsters appeared.”
“Sabotage?” I pressed.
“It would appear so,” she admitted, her tone clipped.
Balt urged his horse forward, the beast’s breath steaming in the chill air. He rode up beside us, his voice low and edged. “Then someone knew the monsters were coming. Someone planned the village’s destruction. No offense, young miss, but if these attacks aren’t random… what makes a village in the middle of nowhere worth so much damn effort to destroy?”
We had been galloping, the wind biting at our faces, but Sara slowed as we crested the hill overlooking the kobold killing ground from the night before. She drew a steadying breath. “It’s no secret, so I’ll tell you. The village of Blackfern takes its name from the ferns that grow here. They’re processed into medicine, remarkably effective for pain. Soak bandages in it, and wounds heal faster. The pain fades. Much cheaper than potions to make.”
The wind carried the faint, bitter-green scent of crushed fern from the fields below. I frowned, afraid of the answer to the question I had to ask. “Is the medicine addicting?”
Sara reined in her horse at my question, and Balt and I followed suit. The animals snorted, stamping at the dirt ready to continue the journey.
“It has been known to happen,” she admitted, “but it takes a great deal of it to become addictive. The workers who process the fern wear masks and gloves, and they work in shifts, so no one is exposed for too long. How did you guess that?”
I let out a sigh. “Too many TV shows.” Her brow furrowed. “TV shows?”
I only smiled, nudging my horse forward until it fell back into an easy walk. “Never mind. What matters is this, I believe we have discovered the reason for your village was targeted. Now we need to find who would benefit the most from the control of the fern.”
My curiosity sated for now, we set off again. Sara’s hand drifted to her collar periodically as we rode, fingers brushing against a thin chain that held the crest locator. It became repetitive; we would have to stop, and she would draw out the polished jade pendant.
Sara had to remain still and hold it flat on her palm, and the stone would quiver almost imperceptibly at first before tugging in a steady direction like a compass needle.
Every so often, as the road forked or the terrain shifted, she would draw the necklace out again. Each time the jade shimmered, pulling toward some unseen destination.
We rode all day until the sun drifted below the horizon, and we had to make camp. I selected a suitable spot against a small hill for cover, and I set up my tent. Sara had her own small tent; she set it up next to mine.
After caring for our mounts. We all turned in. Balt took the first shift for me. I wanted to check my progression and assign the stat point I’d earned during the kobold fight. I settled down in a cross-legged position, centering myself and dove into my anchor.
Not bad, not bad at all. I had raised my battle power to E rank finally. I added the free point to spirit, bringing it up to 34 and called it good for the night. I woke before it was time for my shift and switched with Balt; the chill of the night clinging to the air as I stretched, waking myself up for the day to come.
The camp was quiet, only the faint crackle of embers to keep me company until the sun broke the horizon. After everyone woke up and ate, I took down the tent.
By the time the first light touched the horizon, the three of us had mounted our horses and were riding again. The world was hushed in that early hour, the only sounds being the creak of saddles and the muffled thud of hooves on damp earth. Mist clung low to the ground, curling around the horses’ legs as if reluctant to let us pass. We had been steadily going down in elevation.
Sara rode at the front, her grey cloak drawn tight against the chill air. Every so often, she reached beneath it and drew out the jade pendant. The stone pulsed faintly, a green shimmer that seemed to breathe with a life of its own. Each time she held it flat on her palm, it tugged in a direction, subtle but insistent, and she would adjust her course without a word.
Hours passed like that again, ride, check the pendant, adjust. Balt was talking about the things that went into a decent inn, but even he fell silent as the land changed. The rolling fields gave way to jagged stone outcroppings.
The air was cooler, sharper, carrying the faint scent of damp earth and moss.
At last, the necklace flared brighter than before, its glow spilling between Sara’s fingers. She slowed her mount, eyes narrowing at the dark shape ahead. A yawning cave mouth gaped at the base of a ridge, its edges rimmed with lichen and shadow.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Sara slipped the pendant back beneath her cloak and turned to us, her voice steady but low. “It’s in there.”
We dismounted, boots crunching on gravel as the horses tossed their heads uneasily. We backtracked, tying the horses next to a rock formation we had passed a little way back, and as Sara was about to walk into the open towards the entrance, I grabbed her hand.
“Hold off for a minute. Let’s see if anything or anyone comes out of there for a little while.”
Sara hesitated before nodding and taking a position next to the rocks with me and Balt. We didn’t have to wait long.
We were still a hundred yards out when movement caught my eye.
A wagon creaked into view, its iron?bound wheels grinding over the rock as it lumbered out of the cave mouth. A skinny man at the reins. The horses pulling it looked half?starved, ribs showing beneath sweat?slick hides, their breath steaming in the cool air. The wagon bed was piled high with bundles of something; the sharp, bitter scent of whatever it was carrying over to him.
Then I saw them. Twenty kobolds slithered out of the shadows at the cave entrance, their eyes gleaming like coals in the dim light. They carried crude spears and short blades, their scaled bodies twitching with anticipation as they fanned out behind the wagon.
Behind the wagon stumbled a line of five humans, shackled together at the wrists and neck with heavy iron chains. Their clothes were torn, their faces hollow. Some limped; others were half?dragged. A kobold cracked a whip. The sharp crack echoed into the area, and the prisoners flinched as one, stumbling forward under the lash.
The sound of it cut through me like a blade. Sara had tried to stand up, but Balt had held her down. I held a finger to my lips and motioned for her to stay still.
She whispered, her voice trembling, “That’s them, the contingent we sent for aid weeks ago. I’ve known those people for most of my life. We have to help them.”
I placed a steady hand on her shoulder and met her eyes. “We will. But hold fast, they’re already coming this way. Patience is key. If we rush in now, no matter how fast we are, the kobolds will cut the prisoners down before we reach them.”
The guttural barking of kobold orders carried across the rocks, harsh and grating. The wagon rattled over the uneven ground, its wheels grinding against stone as it rolled closer. Behind it, the prisoners stumbled forward in chains, their cries of pain sharp against the crack of whips driving them on.
My fists clenched, heat rising in my chest. I forced my voice low and steady. “Sara, stay here and be the backstop. When they fully pass this outcropping. Ill draw their attention. Balt, you Blink to the prisoners. Sever their chains and use your shields to cover them. Sara, any kobolds that try to flee it’s your job to stop them. I’ll be quick, but we can’t afford to let them alert whoever is in that cave.”
"You guys good to go? I received nods from all around. “Okay, let’s do this.”
The wagon creaked closer, the kobolds’ guttural barks becoming louder. I pressed myself against the outcropping, every muscle coiled tight. The prisoners shuffled past, chains dragging, their faces pale and hollow in the half?light.
I caught Balt’s eye and gave the signal. I Flash Stepped in the middle of the Kobolds. Summoning Ember as I moved through the ether.
I cut down two quickly and flared my aura. Drawing the other monster’s attention. I watched Balt’s shield come up with a metallic clang where the prisoners were, intercepting a whip strike. Sparks flew as a kobold’s blade glanced off Balts barrier, and Balt shoved forward, his force wall positioned firmly between the captives and their captors.
One kobold smarter than his brethren shrieked in alarm, realizing they were being ambushed. I went to work. My strike severed its neck cutting off the annoying shriek. The next attempted a lunging spear strike but I twisted past the thrust and drove my sword through its chest. Stabbing it through the heart.
The battlefield erupted into chaos. Balt’s shield rang again and again as he absorbed blows, holding the line while Sara jumped into the fray instead of doing what I told her and helped Balt free the prisoners. The kobolds tried to circle, but I was already among them, cutting down their numbers before they could regroup.
“Move them back Balt!” I shouted over the din. “Get them behind the outcropping!”
Balt yelled out an "On it!" Shoving forward with his shield to clear space. Sara helped herd the prisoners, urging them toward cover.
I planted my feet and faced the few remaining kobolds. Their snarls filled the air, but I welcomed them. This was where I thrived, enemy in front and Ember in my hands.
I didn’t want to use Limit Slash or any of my Limit Breaker techniques for fear the explosions and blue fire the Talents tended to create would be a beacon to the enemies in the cave.
The kobolds rushed me in a snarling wave, crude blades flashing in the half?light. I met them head?on. Ember cut through the first with a clean arc, the heat of the blade searing scale and flesh alike. Another kobold lunged low. I pivoted, drove my boot into its head, crushing its skull, killing it instantly.
They came fast, but not fast enough. Every strike they threw, I turned aside. Every gap they left, I punished. Ember’s edge bit repeatedly, until the snarls turned to screams, and the screams to silence. When the last kobold fell twitching at my feet, I stood alone, chest heaving, the copper tang of blood now thick in the air.
I dismissed Ember and turned toward the outcropping. Sara was with the freed prisoners, her hands steadying one of the older men as he stumbled as she tried to get his collar off. Balt loomed nearby, shield still raised, scanning the horizon for threats.
I strode over. “You didn’t stick to the plan,” I said, my voice low but edged. “You were supposed to be the backstop in case one slipped past me.”
Sara met my gaze without flinching. Her eyes were fierce, her jaw set, and for the first time since we’d left, real emotion edged her voice. “After seeing you fight at the gate, I knew there was no chance of one getting away. And my people needed me more than you did.”
For a moment, the only sound was the ragged breathing of the freed captives. I calmed myself with a long-tired breath before speaking. “I understand your need to help them. But if even one creature had slipped past me, we might have doomed every captive still inside, and who knows how many more we’d have had to fight just to escape.”
To her credit, she paused and considered before answering. “Fair point.”
Seeing the shackles around the prisoners. I re-summoned Ember. The old man I had picked to free first eyes went wide as I lifted it to his collar, but his fear turned to relief when the shackles fell away with a clean cut. “Just don’t make me split my focus again,” I said evenly. “There’s a reason I do things the way I do.”
Sara lowered her head in a slight bow. “I understand.”
The wagon had rolled to a stop just a few feet past the ambush site, its wheels sunk slightly into the gravel. The driver—a young man, barely more than a boy—still sat rigid on the bench, his hands locked around the reins though the horses had long since stilled. His eyes were glassy, unfocused, as if he hadn’t truly seen anything in days.
I climbed up and reached for him. “Easy,” I said, prying his fingers free of the reins. He didn’t resist, just sagged into my arms as I carried him down. He weighed nothing in my arms. The moment I set his bare feet on the ground, the dam broke. His shoulders shook, and he buried his face in my chest, sobs tearing out of him in raw, broken gasps.
I held the young man for a little while until he calmed, and then I took out my flask and some food and settled him with the other captives. I set up my tent quickly and gave him and the others some space. I went with Sara down to the wagon to inspect it. Balt kept watch, scanning the area, while Sara pulled back the canvas covering the load.
Bundles of dark bandages were stacked high, neatly wrapped and bound. The sharp, bitter?green scent hit me immediately, stronger than anything I’d smelled in the village. Sara lifted one carefully, unwrapping just enough to expose the weave. A faint shimmer clung to the fibers, like dew catching moonlight.
Her brow furrowed. “These are Blackfern bandages, yes, but they’ve been altered. Concentrated. Far more potent than anything we produce in our village. This isn’t just medicine anymore… it’s something else.”
The old man I had freed earlier came out of the tent and shuffled closer, his wrists still raw where the shackles had bitten deep. His voice was hoarse but steady. “Part of our contingent… they’re still inside. Locked in cages. The kobolds kept them separate from us. We were the gatherers; they were the processors.” His eyes glistened as he looked at Sara. “Thank you for coming for us, my lady. Is sir William around here as well?"
She placed a shaky hand on the old man’s shoulder. “Will's gone Ken. Tell me everything.”
Story Level?
