Rise of the Living Forge - Chapters 79-81 (Patreon)

Megapost to catch up chapters! Enjoy!!

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Reya waited until they were upon her before making a mad dash to escape. She used [Imprison] on the fastest of the bandits, ducking under his frozen attack and throwing her cloak up behind her to buy another few seconds.

This wasn’t the first time she’d run from an angry crowd, but it definitely was the first time she’d run from one that she’d intentionally made. Reya ducked and dodged to the best of her ability, but even that wasn’t enough to avoid anything.

A blade cut across her cheek and another scraped along her back, cutting through her robes and colliding with the armor that Arwin’ had made her. The armor shimmered and magical energy poured into it.

Reya squeezed her eyes shut a moment before a brilliant flash lit the night. Surprised yells rose up, but it was too late. Reya used the distraction to slip away, sprinting into the alleyway.

It was too late to stop the brawl, though. The fight had started in earnest, and as long as they didn’t know where Reya was, it would continue for at least a little while. It wouldn’t be long before the Iron Hounds came looking to figure out what in the world was going on outside their guild hall.

Reya slipped into the darkness, where Rodrick stepped out of an alley to meet her, a stone in each of his hands.

“Nice work,” Rodrick said. “You didn’t get hurt too badly, did you?”

“Just a cut on the face,” Reya replied, wiping the blood from her cheek. The wound was a little deeper than she’d initially thought, but it wasn’t anything too serious – though it would probably scar if Anna didn’t take care of it.

“Good,” Rodrick said as the clamor of battle intensified behind them. “That’s our role, then. Let’s go meet back up with Anna and see if we need to bail Arwin and Lillia out.”

“I thought the plan was to let them handle things on their own because it was too dangerous?”

“I made the plan, so I get to change it,” Rodrick replied. “Arwin is a better fighter than I am, but he’s terrible at relying on people for anything that’s important. Lillia is the same, even though she’s not as vocal about it. With any luck, we won’t have to do anything at all. But I’d rather be overprepared than underprepared.”

“Me too,” Reya said with a nod. “I’ll be right behind you.”

They headed into the night, and Reya hoped that Arwin and Lillia’s side of the plan had been having just as much success as hers did.

***

“How are we supposed to know what Yul looks like?” Lillia asked as they stood in the darkness of the alleyway, listening to the fight start to break out in the distance. “What if someone else is heading down the path that he chose?”

“We’ll just have trust that Rodrick’s information is correct,” Arwin replied. “But we can always ask. Just stick to the plan the moment we confirm who this is.”

“You’re kidding,” Lillia said, but Arwin didn’t have time to reply. Hurried steps echoed down the street in their direction. Arwin didn’t have to step out to meet them. He’d already positioned himself with his back turned, while Lillia had kept to the shadows to conceal her demonic appearance.

Arwin craned his neck as if in surprise as a middle aged, balding man strode down the alley in the direction of the guild hall, his expression taut.

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Arwin asked, lacing his tone with concern as he studied the man. He really didn’t look like anything special. His robes were those of a mage that preferred to avoid heavy armor, and the only weapon he carried was a dagger. Just another adventurer.

“No, but I’m headed to find out,” the man replied. “Who are you with? Another new recruit?”

“Me? I was actually heading over to apply when I heard the commotion,” Arwin said. “I heard you lot were looking for smiths.”

“Oh, right. We are. Good thing I found you before the shitstorm made it this far,” the bald man said. He snapped his fingers impatiently. “Follow me. I’ll get you to the guild hall and then go deal with the idiots outside.”

“Sure thing,” Arwin said. “I’m Arwin, by the way.”

“Pleasure. I’m Yul.”

Arwin nodded a greeting, and Yul turned to head back toward the guild hall.

Arwin’s hammer slammed into his hands and he swung without an instant of hesitation. By some sheer stroke of luck, Yul managed to notice something was awry. He flung himself to the ground, but it wasn’t enough to completely avoid the blow.

Verdant Blaze shattered his shoulder with a loud crunch, sending him spinning. Yul let out a pained snarl as rolled to his feet, right arm hanging useless at his side. The left arm crackled as flame bloomed between his fingers, swirling together into a hissing and popping ball.

Explosion magic. If I didn’t know for sure before, I do now. I just wish I killed the bastard with the first blow.

“Idiot. Who are you, really? Actually, I don’t care. I’ll let Jessen figure that out himself,” Yul snarled as he poured power into the spell, holding it in front of him. It was a clever strategy for a mage with immense destructive ability. By keeping the spell between himself and Arwin, he basically ensured that Arwin couldn’t close the gap without getting hit.

But, the longer he waited in attempt to find a hole in Yul’s defenses, the stronger the spell would grow. Arwin had seen the strategy used before to devastating success, and the best counter to it was generally someone else with range. But, there was one problem. Yul didn’t have the whole strategy prepared. Mages never fought alone.

The shadows snapped forth – not at Yul, but at Arwin. At the same time, his armor slammed into place. A tendril struck the back of Arwin’s legs with a loud thud, sending him stumbling forward.

Kinetic energy poured into Arwin as the greaves, having already been largely filled with kinetic energy earlier in the alley, were topped up. [Awe] activated and Arwin’s body blurred forward as he activated [Scourge], sending the power into his legs.

He couldn’t even try to control himself at the speed he was moving. His head didn’t run as fast or as strong as his legs did, but Arwin didn’t need to control himself. Mages of nearly any sort were deadly, especially on the battlefield.

Their magic could control fights more than almost any other class, and their destructive power was second to none. But almost every single mage shared a very common weakness – the same weakness that Anna had.

Arwin brought his wrist up, pulling the bracelet off it. The Mesh shimmered for an instant before him, even as he brought the metal ring to his mouth.

Metal Bracelet: Average Quality

[Happy Feet]: This item was forged faster than it should have been, resulting in some imperfection in an otherwise decent band. It can provide increased movement speed at the cost of magical energy.

[Greedy]: This item draws more magical energy than it needs, causing its wielder to lose strength while its ability is active.

Arwin bit down. The bracelet turned to liquid heat and poured down his throat. Yul’s hand raised, but power was already thrumming through Arwin’s body. It poured into his legs, even as he felt his hammer grow considerably heavier in his hands and it dipped, pulled toward the ground.

Fighting normally with it would have been nearly impossible.

He had no plans to fight normally.  Arwin blurred forward, his speed magnified by the powers of the bracelet. He slammed into Yul, throwing the man to the ground. The spell that had been forming in the mage’s hands went wide, hurtling past Arwin and striking a building behind him. A massive explosion ripped through the air as a ball of fire rolled into the air behind him, but Arwin barely even took notice of it.

His hammer fell. There was a sickening crunch, and then there was no more. Arwin’s eyes ignited like molten coal as his helmet activated, releasing a wave of oppressive aura around him. He lifted his hammer, staring down at the body at his feet. Yul wasn’t the first mage he’d killed. They almost always went down in the same way.

“It’s easy to forget just how weak you are when you wield that much power,” Lillia said as she walked up beside Arwin. “That was… sad, honestly. I wanted more. A fight. Something. He did so much fucking damage, and this is it?”

Arwin dismissed his equipment, and the blood that had covered the hammer’s head splattered to the ground beside Yul’s body. He still felt weak from the negative effects from the bracelet, but speed was paramount when fighting a mage. They couldn’t afford to take any risks. The drawbacks would fade soon enough.

“I suppose it’s apt,” Arwin said. “Disappointing, but even a Journeyman mage is still a mage if he doesn’t know what he’s doing. Yul seemed… worse than he should have been. Even for a mage, standing around in the face of a threat is arrogant. The strategy he used only works when you’ve got someone else guarding your flank. That’s the mistake of a novice who has no clue what they’re doing, not a mage that made it to Journeyman.”

“I just wish he begged for his life. Something to give me some damn satisfaction,” Lillia said, clenching her hands. She delivered a powerful kick into Yul’s body. Arwin put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her back.

“What happened to the speeches you were giving me yesterday?”

“They’re easier to give when you were standing outside and didn’t see anything,” Lillia snapped. “The bastard got off light. He–”

“Is dead,” Arwin finished, his grip tightening on Lillia’s shoulder. A huge part of him wanted to join her in raining blows down on the dead man, but she’d been there to keep him stable, and now it was his turn. “And now there are two. This isn’t for us. It’s for Zeke – and for anyone like him in the future.”

Lillia ground her teeth, then gave him a jerky nod. “Right. Lead on. Yul was the tough kill, and he went down like a worthless little worm. Let’s get rid of Erik and go home. Should I deal with the body?”

“As much as I’d love to say no so we could let Jessen realize exactly what’s coming for him, you probably should,” Arwin said. “It’s probably going to be relatively obvious already, but there’s no need to help our enemies figure out who we are.”

Lillia clenched a fist and two Lesser Imps rose up from the darkness, crowding in around the corpse and starting to devour it.

“They’ll handle it,” Lillia said. “Shall we?”

“Lead the way,” Arwin replied. “I take it you remember the direction Anna said Erik would be coming from?”

“Yeah,” Lillia said, setting off into the dark with Arwin at her side. “It should be a little while until Erik makes it since he was farther. We don’t know anything about him, so hopefully he isn’t too difficult to spot. The fight is getting bigger behind us, so the guild might have gotten involved.”

“Good. That’ll buy us all the time we need,” Arwin said, but he couldn’t shake a building unease in his stomach. Yul was dead – of that, there was no doubt. Their plan had gone exactly how he’d wanted it to, but the man had truly been far too shit of a fighter to be a Journeyman. Something was going on, and Arwin didn’t like not knowing what it was.

Chapter 80

Arwin and Lillia strode down the alley at a brisk pace. According to Rodrick’s guess, they should have had around ten or fifteen minutes before Erik showed up. The fighting behind them had grown a little, but it was already starting to fade into the distance behind them.

Reya had done a great job creating a distraction. And, judging by the fact that it was still going, Arwin was pretty sure she’d gotten out of it. That took a large weight off his chest. He knew she wasn’t a child, but the idea of her getting killed while they were avenging someone else made him sick.

I can’t protect everyone. Bah. Doesn’t matter how many times I tell myself that. It doesn’t change shit.

“Don’t you think we should have run into Erik by now?” Lillia asked from the shadows beside Arwin. “It’s been almost all the time that Rodrick said it should take him, and we’re getting a little far from the guild.”

“Maybe he ended up staying at the restaurant for longer?” Arwin guessed. “It’s just across the street, and even though the fight is kind of far, that explosion was fairly loud. Maybe it spooked him.”

“What, you think he’s hiding in there?” Lillia asked doubtfully. “The second in command of a guild, hiding like a complete coward when an explosion goes off in his own hall? Ridiculous.”

Arwin shrugged. “I don’t have any better ideas. Do you see him?”

“No,” Lillia admitted. “I suppose all we can do is wait here for a little. Walking into the restaurant would be way too obvious.”

“Probably. Let’s just sit in the alley and wait for someone who sticks their head out and looks a little more concerned about the explosion than anyone else. There’s always the chance that Erik managed to avoid us through the usage of a movement ability or something. He might have sprinted for the explosion the moment he heard it.”

“Yeah, you could be right. I suppose that, for now, we just wait.”

And that was what they did. Minutes turned to five, and five turned to ten. Arwin wished the windows of the restaurant were larger, but he had no such luck. There was no way to get near it without being completely oblivious or sitting down for dinner. And, given the fact that there had just been an explosion, he doubted that trying to grab a bite to eat would be seen as very logical behavior.

He was just starting to think that they really had missed Erik when the door to the restaurant creaked open and a pudgy man stuck his head out, squinting into the distance. All the sounds of the fight had finally petered off, likely contained by the Iron Hounds.

The man glanced around the street, then scurried off in the opposite direction of the guild. Arwin and Lillia exchanged a glance.

“There’s no way,” Lillia said.

“Who else? It’s the only lead we’ve got,” Arwin muttered, already setting off in pursuit.

Erik – assuming Arwin’s assumption was correct – was painfully easy to follow. He was completely unaware of his surroundings, despite his constant stops to look around and check to see if anyone was on his tail. He looked so obviously guilty of something that Arwin would have suspected him of just about any crime in the vicinity.

Arwin and Lillia caught up to him in less than a minute, using her magically enhanced darkness to walk right up to him along the side of the street. Erik shifted from checking to see if anyone was following him to listening intently.

Is he trying to see if the fight is already over? What a damn coward. I want to just kill him here, but I need to make sure this is actually the right guy. I’m not going to murder some random paranoid guy because he didn’t want to get caught up in a fight.

Arwin glanced at Lillia, then nodded to Erik. She shrugged, indicating that she’d stay back and be ready to support him if a fight started.

“Hey there,” Arwin said, raising a hand in greeting as he stepped into the alley. Erik leapt nearly a foot into the air, spinning toward him.

“Who are you?” Erik demanded. “Where did you come from?”

“Running from the fight over there,” Arwin said, nodding in the direction Erik was heading. “I was heading over to apply to the Iron Hounds, but a bunch of thieves got into a huge scuffle and a mage started blowing shit up so I got out of there before I got my head taken off by accident.”

Arwin was pretty sure he’d done a fairly convincing job in his speech, but Erik didn’t even look slightly assured by it.

“Well, you should be on your way,” Erik said, flicking his hand irritably. “I have business to attend to, and I have no desire to speak to anyone that approaches me in a dark alley.”

Honestly, probably a pretty good life motto.

“I don’t blame you. I’ll be out of your hair, then. I was just wondering if you happened to know where the guild leader was – or anyone in power, really. I got wind that the Iron Hounds were in search of a smith and would pay well.”

“Well, come back to the guild tomorrow. We’re obviously not going to be taking applicants while there’s a blasted fight going on right outside it.”

“Oh you’re part of the guild?” Arwin asked, his eyes lighting up. “Could you point me in the right direction?”

“No. I’ve got no idea. I’m just a scholar. A recommendation from me isn’t going to do anything, so don’t even bother asking for it.”

Arwin resisted the urge to blink. He’d been pretty confident that – no. He studied the man for a second, and the longer he looked at him, the more confident he became that this wasn’t a scholar.

There were no ink stains on his hands, and his clothes were all far too neat and well cared for. Arwin hadn’t known many scholars, but they’d almost always been obsessed with their work – and they definitely didn’t earn enough to dress like the man before him.

He’s lying. Is that enough for me to completely take a bet with someone’s life, though? He could just be a scared member of the guild. The only way I know for sure who this guy is if someone else identifies him or if he tells me himself – and if he lied about his class, he definitely isn’t going to tell me his name.

“I see,” Arwin said. “One last question and then I’ll be out of your hair, I promise.”

“Gods, you’re persistent. What is it?”

“What does the name Ifrit mean to you?” Arwin asked, watching the man’s face closely. He might have been willing to lie, but he was a damn shit liar. And, as soon as the words left Arwin’s lips, he saw the flicker of recognition pass through the man’s features. “Ah. Hello, Erik.”

Erik’s hand blurred, magic glistening along his fingertips as they trailed through the air. A coward hey may have been, but he was fast. A black dagger shot through the air, heading for Arwin’s throat. Lilla shot from the shadows and the blade rang off her armor, spinning harmlessly to the side.

Three other daggers ripped out from the darkness behind Erik at such speed that Arwin’s eyes couldn’t properly trace them. They rang off Lillia’s armor one after the other, all landing at a different spot – and all failing to penetrate its magical defenses. Lillia tensed, likely from the power the armor had just pulled from her to sustain itself. She slipped back into the darkness, not pausing for long enough to let Erik get a good enough look at her.

Arwin didn’t give Erik time to figure out what had happened. He lunged, his armor slamming into place around him. His hammer materialized in his hands and he brought it down for Erik’s head. The man let out a terrified scream and raised his hands as if they would somehow stop a massive hammer from crushing him like an overripe berry – and a resounding clang echoed through the street.

A powerful force slammed into Arwin’s arms, flinging Verdant Blaze from his grip. He stumbled backward, dismissing the hammer with [Arsenal] before it could land on someone by accident.

Standing before Erik was a tall man, a dark beard covering the bottom half of his face that matched the pitch-black armor covering his body. It vaguely resembled the carapace of a beetle – glossy and smooth, curling up to jutting points at his shoulders.

The man lowered his sword, and the Mesh tingled at Arwin’s eyes as he tried and failed to study it. The weapon was definitely magic, but it the man either chose not to or was unable to completely hide its nature.

Did he use an ability to block me there? Because, if not – holy shit. This guy is disgustingly strong. He definitely isn’t an Apprentice Tier. The Guild Leader, then?

“Who are you?” the man asked, tilting his head to the side and narrowing his eyes. “And the woman… her armor blocked an enchanted weapon. Fascinating. No mere thieves, I would say. Why are you trying to kill my second in command?”

Arwin held the man’s gaze, not giving away an inch, but he prepared his legs to activate [Scourge] and sprint in the other direction. He wasn’t stupid enough to think he could handle a Journeyman Tier that actually knew what they were doing.

“You’d be Jessen, then,” Arwin said, making no move to answer his question.

“It seems you have the advantage over me. I still have no idea who you are.”

And that’s exactly how I want it to stay. If you find out who we are, you come after the tavern next. What the hell is Jessen doing all the way out here? It makes no sense. There’s no way he cares this much about some random coward. Unless he’s pretending to be some honorable figure rather than the murderer he is?

“I think I’d like to keep it that way,” Arwin said, fighting to keep his gaze on Jessen. If the man didn’t recognize his mask, then it was very likely that Erik had been acting on orders but had never passed details along. And, if that was the case, the only way everyone had a chance to get out of this alive would be if Erik didn’t.

“Then it seems we have a problem,” Jessen said. His voice shifted, turning to a syrup-laden drawl. “I can’t let anyone go around trying to murder my people in cold blood.”

Arwin’s teeth grit as he fought to keep his anger under control. Claiming that he was the one going around heartlessly murdering people when Jessen had been the one to kill Zeke was like grinding nails on chalkboard in Arwin’s ears.

His mind raced as he tried to find a way that would let him get to Erik and escape before Jessen stopped him, but nothing came to mind. He’d already felt how much more power Jessen had than he did. Even with [Scourge], Arwin would only be able to put up a fight for a few blows before he lost.

Which means I need to play his game if I want a chance of coming out on top of this.

“That’s the angle you’re going to take?” Arwin asked, his features twisting in disgust as he dismissed his helm. “Your men murdered an innocent and destroyed my smithy, and you claim that I’m the one that’s cold blooded?”

“An innocent?” Jessen tilted his head to the side. “I gave no such orders.”

“Your idiots destroyed the smithy while a child was in it,” Arwin spat. “Burned him alive. So go ahead. Give me your cold-hearted speech. Every word that leaves your lips might as well be poison.”

Jessen’s eyes narrowed in anger. Arwin wasn’t sure if it was directed at his words or him, and he didn’t particularly care. Jessen hadn’t denied ordering the destruction of his smithy – and that mean Jessen was responsible. He, like the others, would die.

“Who?” Jessen asked. “Who did it?”

“What, are you going to punish them?” Arwin asked with a bark of laughter. “A slap on the wrist, maybe?”

“Who?” Jessen roared, slamming his sword into the wall beside him. Stone crumbled away, cascading to the ground at his feet.

“Tix.” Arwin held three fingers up, then lowered one of them. “She’s dead.” He lowered a second finger and nodded toward the direction of the guild hall. “Yul. Also dead.” Arwin was left with just his middle finger standing, and he turned his gaze to Erik. “And the coward.”

And you, Jessen. But, if you’re going to be pretending to be some righteous asshole, I’ll play along. Let’s see if you murder your own man for me.

“Dead?” Jessen expression flickered, then turned flat. “I see. A smith has killed two of my men?”

“My only regret is that I couldn’t kill them a second time,” Arwin said honestly. “And the fat one is next.”

Jessen pressed his lips together and let a sigh slide out from between them. “Ah. I can’t let you do that. I’m afraid I have need of Erik.”

Of course you do.

A smug grin passed over Erik’s features.

“Would you settle for his arms and legs?” Jessen asked.

Erik’s smile froze and fell away, and a pit formed in the center of Arwin’s chest. He recognized the type of man that Jessen was.

He’s the kind of guy that honestly thinks that he can trade lives like currency. He genuinely believes that this is a reasonable trade, and he doesn’t care in the slightest about his subordinate at all.

Making a deal with him is the same as putting your hand in a bear trap and waiting for it to go off – and I don’t know if I’ve got any other options.

Chapter 81

“His limbs,” Jessen repeated when Arwin gave no response. “Would that be sufficient?”

“Why are you even offering that?” Arwin asked, taken aback despite himself. “I thought you were going to–”

“Protect him?” Jessen’s smile twisted into the sneer of a snake. “I said I needed him, but I don’t need him moving. You seem like a competent man, and it would be a shame to kill you when we could work together instead. After all, if our grievances are settled, there is no reason for us to fight.”

“Guild Leader, I–”

“Be silent, lest we decide your tongue a more appropriate payment,” Jessen snapped. “The limbs or not, Smith?”

He said he needed this cowardly asshole. Why would Jessen offer me his limbs in payment? There’s a trick to this. I know how people like this work. I’ve seen it before. He’s going to try to use one of his rules to turn this against me without going against his fake moral code. So what is –

Ah.

“No,” Arwin said with a shake of his head. “I don’t believe it would.”

“I will not let you kill him,” Jessen said flatly, but there was a spark of acknowledgement in his eyes. “If you seek Erik’s head, then I will be forced to kill you no matter how beneficial our future partnership could ever hope to be.”

“Not that either,” Arwin said, becoming more confident with every word that he spoke. “I think an equal trade for the life you stole would be the lives that remain.”

At least until I get strong enough to kill Jessen – but he’s not making this offer because he genuinely thinks we could ever be friends. He wants something from me, and he was hoping to force me to bargain for it.

Jessen tilted his head to the side. “Explain.”

“I killed two of your people,” Arwin said. “Except they were worthless, pathetic excuses for life who killed a child. In return for us ceasing our pursuit of Erik, you will not attempt to retaliate against us or our street in any way, shape, or form.”

A smile crawled across Jessen’s lips, and a shiver ran down Arwin’s spine. His guess had been right. Jessen had been planning to do whatever he did to Erik to at least some of his friends.

“I knew you were interesting,” Jessen said. “Very well. I recognize when I have an interesting opponent. I accept your terms until we next meet. I do not believe either of us will be able to help ourselves after that.”

“No,” Arwin agreed, barely able to keep the disgust from his voice. “We won’t.”

I’ll be damned if you think I’m letting either you or Erik live through this. You want to play games? Fine. I’ve played against much worse than you.

“You fancy your guild something powerful, don’t you?” Arwin asked abruptly. “You’re proud of what you’ve made?”

Jessen tilted his head to the side, surprised by the change of topic. He recovered quickly and a cocky smile played across his lips. “Yes. I do. I’ve brought them far. It’s pleasant to meet someone who understands just how difficult it can be. Perhaps your guild will grow as strong as mine one day.”

False sincerity dripped from every word that came out of Jessen’s mouth.

“I doubt it,” Arwin said. “We’re far weaker, and I’m okay with that. We never would have challenged you if one of our own hadn’t been killed.”

“His death will eat at me forever. My sincerest apologies for the terrible tragedy. I am glad that we have come to an agreement on a resolution.”

“I’d like to give an offer of my appreciation for your mercy in this decision,” Arwin said. “An item we procured from a dungeon available only to us. Even though we’re far weaker than even your worst member, I believe it may be of interest to you.”

Jessen’s brow furrowed as he tried to figure out what Arwin’s angle was. Arrogance won out over suspicion and his smile grew wider. There were few things that cocky bastards like him liked more than someone bowing down to their supposed superiority.

“We accept,” Jessen said. The cocky grin on Erik’s face grew even wider and his back straightened as he found his spine in the strength of his master.

Arwin stepped reached to his side and rested his hand on an ivory white dagger in his pouch, not quite pulling it fully out yet. He used [Arsenal], temporarily bonding himself to the blade.

“I hope this is sufficient apology for the trouble I’ve caused,” Arwin said. “Erik, I don’t believe this item is worthy of your master, so I’ll hand it to you instead. I hope you accept my sincerest feelings.”

He procured the dagger, moving with measured movements that weren’t fast enough to be misconstrued as an attack, and flicked the blade without giving Erek or Jessen time to see the Mesh’s description of the weapon. It traced through the air in a tight arc. Jessen’s eyes traced the blade, but he made no move to intercept it.

It was amusing. In general, humans tended to be creatures of habit. Whenever they could, they slept in the same beds, ate at the same tables, and shat in the same rooms. And, when someone threw something to them – even if it was sharp – they tried to catch it.

Erik extended his hands, likely moving before his brain had even registered, and caught the dagger out of the air. Having been thrown blade first, the weapon cut a thin line into his palm and he fumbled to keep hold of it.

“Idiot,” Erik snapped. “Why are you throwing it? Are you trying to kill me?”

“I believe I had already promised to avoid that,” Arwin said. “I’m not stupid enough to break my promise to Jessen. Your own incompetence, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter.”

Erik opened his mouth, but his words were replaced with a surprised hiss. He shook the hand that had gotten cut off. His eyes went wide and he let out a cry of pain, dancing around and shaking the entire arm.

“What the hell is this?” Erik yelled, dropping the dagger and letting it clatter to the ground. His yelps turned to a pained scream. He ripped at his shirt, fingers digging at skin like there was a colony of ants burrowing within it.

Jessen watched on, his face flat, as Erik’s cries grew louder. He thrashed around on the ground and kicked, screaming desperately for help. Neither Arwin nor Jessen said a word.

Erik clutched at his chest one final time, his back arching in agony, and collapsed.

“I believed you when you said that your guild was stronger than mine. It seems that he has brought you shame in failing to prove your words true.” Arwin locked eyes with Jessen. “His death will eat at me forever. My sincerest apologies for the terrible tragedy.”

Jessen knelt, picking up the bone dagger by the handle with two fingers before rising once more. He didn’t let his gaze drift from Arwin’s the entire time.

“I have found that I no longer desire this gift,” Jessen said. The smug cockiness had vanished from his voice and left behind only ice. “You may have it back.”

“I refuse,” Arwin said promptly. “A gift given to one who has accepted it is not one that I would ever be willing to take back. It would bring me too much shame. I am just sorry that your man was not powerful enough to handle it properly. One of its usages has been wasted.”

He could have pulled the dagger back to himself with [Arsenal], but that would have been taking back the gift and could give Jessen an opportunity to try something against him or his people. Arwin didn’t plan to leave any such windows open. There was no reason to. The blade was exactly where he wanted it to be. After what he’d just done to Erik, Arwin was certain that Jessen wouldn’t settle for killing him with any weapon other than the bone dagger – the very one that was still bound to him with [Arsenal].

Jessen nodded slowly. He put the dagger away and his lips pulled back in a predatory smile. “Well played, Smith. You have turned my own words against me. Very well. I look forward to our next meeting. It will not go so well for you.”

Jessen strode into the darkness, and Arwin made no move to follow him. Several seconds passed before Lillia stepped out, a concerned frown on her face.

“Godspit, Arwin,” Lillia murmured. “That was…”

“Incredibly risky,” Arwin said as he drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly in an attempt to calm his adrenaline-shot nerves. “He’s more than just fishy. Bastard is the whole damn ocean. He’s not going to forget this.”

“How strong is he if he managed to knock your hammer out of your hand?” Lillia asked. “That’s… terrifying.”

“I wasn’t using [Scourge] at the time,” Arwin replied, shaking his head. “But it doesn’t change the fact that he’s powerful. That’s the first real Journeyman adventurer we’ve run into, and he feels like he’s at the upper end of it. If anything, that just makes me wonder why the hell the rest of his guild is so shit.”

“Something tells me we’ll find out,” Lillia said. “I’m not done with him.”

“Neither am I,” Arwin said. “But we got Erik. Now the only one left is Jessen. I wish we could have gotten him too, but if we drew weapons on him tonight, we were dead.”

“Almost certainly. Doesn’t make me happy about it,” Lillia said. “But I’ll sleep better knowing that Erik is rotting in the bottom of the Underlands.”

“As will I. Jessen is going to be a dangerous enemy, but his time will come.”

Lillia let out an explosive breath. “You’re right. I just can’t help but wonder what Zeke would think. There’s still one more person left to kill.”

“I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but I suspect he’d be happier that none of us had died than he would be if we avenged him and lost half the group.”

The last of the tension left Lillia’s body and she slumped. “Yeah. I don’t think any of us would want anything else. I suppose we did buy ourselves some time.”

“And most of the people responsible for Zeke’s death are facing judgement. For a group of Apprentice Tiers, I don’t think we can complain. Let’s go find the others. I need to tell them about Jessen.”

***

Guards meandered past Arwin as he headed down the street alongside Lillia, who kept to the shadows alongside him. He wasn’t even so sure she had to. Even though the guards were moving toward the Iron Hounds’ guild house, none of them looked all that concerned. If anything, it seemed like they were dragging their feet to avoid getting there too soon.

Sad. They’re hoping the guild will handle the fighting for them. The guards here really are all talk and no show, but I suppose that worked to our advantage this time around. It’s still pathetic.

Arwin turned a corner, then came to a stop. Rodrick, Reya, and Anna all stood at the exit of an alley.

“How did things go?” Rodrick asked as Arwin approached them. “You weren’t in the area where you were supposed to be. Did Erik deviate from his trip home?”

“Yeah,” Arwin said. He glanced toward where Lillia hid in the darkness, but he couldn’t make any of her features out. “It’s… well, I’ll tell you all when we get back to the tavern.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Reya said. She wiped some dirt from her cheek with the back of a hand. “Where’s Lillia?”

“She’s right over there, in the darkness. She’s just keeping out of sight,” Arwin said, nodding to the patch of shadows at the edge of the alley. “Don’t worry. Neither of us were hurt. I assume you’re all fine as well?”

“Nothing but a minor injury,” Reya replied.

They all set off. The city was strangely silent despite all the chaos that had swallowed it just a few minutes ago. Arwin wasn’t sure if it was because nobody cared or if it was because they just all assumed the problem had been handled.

Either way, he appreciated it. He didn’t quite feel like speaking anymore yet. They arrived at the tavern and headed inside. Lillia emerged from her patch of darkness, still barely visible as she made her way over to the lantern near the counter and lit it.

Everyone other than Lillia lowered themselves into the mismatched stools lined up before the counter.

“It’s done, then?” Reya asked. “All that’s left is Jessen?”

Arwin wasn’t so sure he knew the answer to that question himself. He used [Arsenal], summoning his helmet and lifting it off his head. Arwin set it on the counter, running his thumb along the curling horns jutting out of its top.

“Yes, but we can’t go after Jessen now. He’s much stronger than I thought.”

“What?” Reya exclaimed. “How do you know? I thought–”

“Jessen showed up to save Erik. He was powerful. If we’d fought him, we’d have died,” Lillia said, walking to stand beside Arwin and Reya.

“How’d he know we were going to go after Erik?” Rodrick asked, his brow furrowing. “Nobody should have been able to figure out what we were planning. I wasn’t spotted, was I?”

“I don’t think it was you,” Arwin said with a shake of his head. “Relax. Everyone did their jobs perfectly. We were just up against an opponent who we aren’t prepared to face. I didn’t think Jessen would be as dangerous as he was.”

“So… what now?” Reya asked, her voice quavering as her hands balled at her sides. “If you survived, did Jessen figure out who you are? Do we have to leave the street? And how did you kill Erik if this guy was so strong?”

“Jessen knows, but he’ll stay away from us,” Arwin said. “And technically, I didn’t kill Erik. He killed himself. I just threw him a dagger.”

Reya’s brow creased in confusion. Realization set in and her frown turned to a cold smile. “The bone dagger?”

“Only has two charges left, unfortunately,” Arwin confirmed. “It was gifted to the Iron Hounds. It’s just unfortunate that they lost a man in the process.”

“What about Jessen, then? When can we kill him? I bet we could take him if all of us–”

“No. Relax, Reya. There’s something more important than throwing our lives away in revenge.” Arwin shook his head. “And that’s surviving to see it through. Zeke was murdered, but do you really think he wants us to follow him into the afterlife?”

Reya’s face crumpled. “But…”

“I know it’s painful,” Arwin said, softening his voice. “But you need to remember something. You can’t win every fight in the same way. There are times when your opponent is too powerful to just fling yourself against. A just cause does not win a battle.”

“How do you know Jessen isn’t lying?” Anna asked. “He has no honor.”

“Because he doesn’t just want to kill us,” Arwin replied, a vision of Jessen’s hungry eyes flashing through his mind. “He wants to win, and we can use that against him. Jessen won’t send anyone to bother us. He wants us to get as strong as possible and to challenge him again.”

“Why?” Reya asked. “That doesn’t make sense. He could just come after us now and we’d all die, wouldn’t we?”

“He could. But he won’t because he’s an arrogant bastard,” Arwin replied. “And we’ll use that against him. He doesn’t see us as a real threat, and we’ll kill him one day because of it. Until then, he’s going to suffer knowing that he got outplayed by a mere Apprentice Tier.”

“I understand. It really doesn’t feel fair that he gets to keep living while Zeke doesn’t, but I understand,” Reya muttered, staring down at her hands.

“The only fairness in life is what our strength allows us to create,” Arwin said. “We won this round, Reya. Tix, Yul, and Erik are dead. They’re the ones that orchestrated Zeke’s death. And, more importantly, we’re alive. And, as long as we’re alive, we can grow stronger. Jessen’s guild is larger and more powerful than ours, and yet his men lost to us. His arrogance won’t let that stand. That’s why he didn’t kill us. It would be cementing his defeat in stone.”

Reya was silent for a few seconds. Then she let out a slow breath and raised her eyes to meet Arwin’s. “Then we need to get stronger so we can get around to killing him as soon as we can.”

“You can count on it. We’re just going to do this the right way. I think Jessen will avoid us until we come for him again, but if you ever do see him again, just turn around and leave. Don’t say a word. All he’ll be able to do is fume and wait until the day comes where he meets justice,” Arwin said with a grim smile. “It might not be today. It might not be this week, or even this month – but they’ve got an open tab with us, and they’re going to pay it with interest.”