It took everything in Saiya not to panic. She had warned them. Amedori above she did. But it didn’t matter to them. They only saw that others needed help and thoughtlessly rushed forward. She knew it was children this time, and the thought of that pulled on Saiya’s heartstrings too. But that still didn’t change the fact that they blindly charged into this situation unprepared.

  Why couldn’t they ever think about their own safety? At least with Kaztos, it was always about others with him. Zeltara though, seemed all too willing to be dragged along for the ride. Saiya was the only one who tried, and look where that got them. Stuck in the middle of the forest, surrounded by monsters looking to kidnap and probably eat them.

  So much for avoiding another battle. Saiya struggled to get her racing thoughts under control. Now wasn’t the time to think of what-ifs. They needed to get out of here now. Their lives were at stake. Again, now was not the time to panic.

  Saiya’s thoughts distracted her enough that she almost didn’t see a thin man lunge at her. It came within feet of her, buzzing ferociously. She felt her mind briefly succumb to her growing hysteria. Her staff took a wide swing, shooting fire in an arc in front of her. The fmes caused the thin man to retreat, but weren’t strong enough to kill it.

  “Careful, Saiya!” Zeltara called out. “You’re going to cause a forest fire at this rate.” Although the half-elf didn’t mean it that way, Saiya took the words as harsh criticism. One that she agreed with. What a terrible waste of mana that was. She already had so little of it left. They would never get out of here at this rate.

  Again, Saiya tried to get out of her own head. The edges of her vision blurred. She couldn’t hear anything over her own breathing, and there was a ringing in her ears. She tried, but it felt like something was tightly gripping her chest. There wasn’t enough air getting into her lungs, no matter how fast she breathed.

  The world came back into focus with a harsh stinging on her cheek. She could see, hear, and feel almost normal again.

  “Zeltara! Why did you do that?” Kaztos demanded. Zeltara ignored him, keeping her gaze split between the thin men and Saiya.

  “Pull yourself together! Now isn’t the time to get lost in your head. Focus!” The words brought Saiya back to herself.

  Her face was going to bruise, but that was a small price to pay. “Sorry about that.” At least her brief outburst slowed the enemy’s advance. It appeared that the thin men were cautious of approaching them. Perhaps they knew how dangerous they were? They had killed dozens of them already tonight.

  “Any ideas?” Kaztos asked. Three thin men slowly inched forward.

  Zeltara met them by firing half a dozen bck marbles. The explosions knocked the monsters off their feet. “I’m working on it. Just keep looking for an opening.”

  More thin men tried to attack. Kaztos unched one back with a swing of his hammer. For the rest, Saiya released another fireball. More of her dwindling mana seeped from her body. The feeling was uncomfortable, almost painful. The spell turned out smaller than what she could have managed at the beginning of the night. Fortunately, the attack struck true and killed two thin men.

  After Saiya finished the spell, she found it difficult to keep her staff lifted. Her arms felt as if they had weights attached to them. She had to blink the sweat out of her eyes. It was difficult to catch her breath. A feeling of nausea was slowly building in her gut.

  She watched as Zeltara and Kaztos forced another few thin men back. “We need to leave soon. I’m almost out of mana.” Her voice sounded weak. Even doing one more spell sounded awful, but Saiya would do it if needed.

  “Alright, I've got an idea.” Zeltara aimed her gauntlet up towards the top of the ledge. “Grab onto me once I fire my grapple. Once we’re at the top, use your fire to get us an opening. We’ll run from there.” Saiya nodded, ready to follow the pn.

  They heard the gauntlet fire, but no grapple line appeared. Zeltara stared at it for a moment before realization overtook her features. “Damn it! I forgot to reload my grapple.”

  “Can’t you do that now?” Kaztos asked as he forced another pair of thin men back. They were getting more aggressive in their advance.

  “No! It’ll take several minutes at least.” Zeltara fired several white marbles at the thin men. They seemed momentarily stunned by the sound more than anything else. “Don’t worry. I have another idea.”

  Saiya turned to look at Zeltara. “Well, what is it?” A heavy impact knocked Saiya to the ground. She struggled to see that a thin man was on top of her. The retched thing’s mouth opened inches from her face. Inside, she could hear buzzing as dozens of flying insects flew from it’s mouth. It let out a bellowing groan.

  She tried to get it off, but her tired limbs wouldn’t cooperate. It’s started to restrain her. Saiya couldn’t help but scream. A moment ter, Kaztos smmed his hammer into the side of it’s head. The thin man unched almost a dozen feet back from the force.

  But that didn’t matter to her. She could seem to breathe. All Saiya could hear was that damned buzzing. It needed to stop. Without fully realizing what she was doing, Saiya grabbed as much mana as possible and channeled it into her staff. The gem on the end of it lit up in a brilliant orange as fmes exploded all around them.

  Saiya got kicked several feet back by the force. The area lit up like it were daytime for a few moments, before dimming back to normal. That was the st thing she noticed before bckness overtook her vision. She fell unconscious.

  A minute ter, someone shook her awake. Though her vision was still blurry, Saiya could make out Zeltara’s worried face. “Saiya! Wake up! You need to get up now.” Saiya groaned and took in her friend’s now haggard appearance. The edges of her clothes were burnt. She had several cuts and bruises on her face, and her body was covered in a thin yer of dust.

  “How long was I out?” Saiya could barely get the words out. Every action felt like it took too much energy to do.

  “Just a minute or two. Your spell made them back off and caught most of the area on fire. They’re distracted trying to not have the fmes spread to their burrow.” So that was why everything smelled like smoke.

  “Sorry.”

  Zeltara ughed, sounding almost manic. “Now’s not the time. We need to get out of here.” Saiya looked past her to see part of the forest on fire. The thin men were combating the fmes, trying to stop the spread. A few were still trying to reach them, but Kaztos was holding them off. His clothing was singed, just like Zeltara’s.

  “Could we hurry and get out of here,” Kaztos said as he knocked another thin man backward.

  “Are you able to get up?” Zeltara asked. Saiya tried, but her limbs were leaden. She couldn’t seem to get them to move properly.

  “Help?” Zeltara put Saiya’s arm over her shoulder and helped lift her up. Saiya tried to stand unassisted, but almost fell again. Zeltara cursed.

  “Looks like I’m going to have to help you then.” She looked over at Kaztos. “Cover us! I need to carry Saiya out of here.”

  Kaztos lifted his foot into the air. “Understood.” Then smmed it into the ground. Zeltara and Saiya could barely brace themselves in time. The ground shook, causing most of the thin men in the area to fall over.

  “A little warning next time would be great, Kaztos!” Zeltara yelled. She then turned her head rapidly. Her gaze settled to the north. “There’s an opening right there. Let’s get out of here.”

  Zeltara had to almost drag Saiya along. She could provide almost no help, as every step was a herculean effort. The edges of her vision grayed from the exertion, but Saiya willed herself to stay conscious. She needed to help with the escape somehow. Several thin men were trying to intercept them.

  Through force of will, Saiya lifted her staff. A part of her marveled that she managed to hang onto it. She wished she had her wand out, but didn’t have the time or energy to grab it. Instead, Saiya reached inside to channel another spell. But nothing was there. She dug deeper, looking for the mana to power the spell.

  A sharp pain shot through her body, causing her to cry out. Her staff tumbled out of her limp fingers, hitting the ground with a thud. It let out a small puff of smoke, but otherwise remained inert. Zeltara almost tripped when Saiya’s legs completely gave out.

  “You idiot! Stop overdoing it and let us handle this,” Zeltara turned her head back. “Kaztos, grab her staff on the way by.” The half-elf continued to drag Saiya forward.

  “I could use a bit of help,” Kaztos said. From the corner of her eye, Saiya watched as he struggled to fend off three thin men. All the while trying to grab her staff from the ground.

  Zeltara suddenly stopped. “Okay. Let’s try this.” Saiya felt Zeltara shift as she spun them both around. As they turned to face behind them, she fired several bck marbles. Each hit a thin man, giving Kaztos an opening to grab Saiya’s staff. The momentum of their spin continued until they stopped facing the direction they had started in.

  The maneuver almost had them falling over. Zeltara barely kept them upright before continuing their trek towards freedom. Saiya wouldn’t admit it, but that was an impressive move.

  They were almost out of the clearing. A few thin men were trying to intercept them, but Kaztos smmed each one away. She and Zeltara just got through the crowd. A few close swipes almost got them. It felt like the buzzing was closing in on them. The sound hurt Saiya’s ears. It must be hell for Zeltara.

  Kaztos came up and put Saiya’s other arm over his shoulder. They were now moving faster. Looking behind them, they were keeping pace with the pursuing thin men. Unfortunately, almost no ground was being gained. This wouldn’t be sustainable.

  “So, what’s the pn?” Kaztos asked. “We’re moving in the opposite direction of Riverfront. I doubt we’ll be able to circle around to them.”

  “I know, but Ulyfall is this way. We just have to make it there and regroup.” Zeltara’s voice sounded strained. She must be pushing herself to help carry Saiya.

  Kaztos grimaced. “But we don’t know how far it is. We could colpse long before making it.” Saiya tried to support her weight more the share the burden, but her body wouldn’t cooperate.

  “Just take it easy, Saiya. Give yourself a few minutes to recover.” Zeltara had noticed her feeble attempt at movement. “We just need to outpace them for a while. Best-case scenario, they give up and we’re home free. Otherwise, we can take breaks before continuing. They’re slow, so we can easily out-walk them.”

  “That’d be the case if we didn’t need to drag Saiya.” She didn’t need to hear him rub it in. “At this rate, we’ll colpse long before we get far enough to rest.” Kaztos suddenly growled. “Damn it! We couldn’t even save the children.”

  Zeltara sighed. “We’ll just have to get them ter. All sticking around will do is have us join them. Now keep moving.” The three stumbled forward for several minutes. The buzzing behind them quieted at a painfully slow rate. Zeltara seemed to struggle more from having to support Saiya’s weight.

  A thin man entered the range of their light in front of them. It let out a ghastly wail as it tried to intercept them. Kaztos let go of Saiya and swung his hammer into the monster’s head. It colpsed, writhing on the ground. Zeltara tripped, tumbling them into the dirt.

  “Sorry. I can’t carry you anymore,” Zeltara muttered. She just managed to stand herself up. “Kaztos, can you carry Saiya? I’ll cover us.” Kaztos put her staff into his satchel then secured his hammer onto his back.

  “I should manage it. Just keep an eye out.” Kaztos grabbed Saiya and put her into a fireman's carry. The position had the hammer dig into her side. She winced at the feeling. “My apologies, but this is the only way I’ll be able to carry you far.”

  “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time,” Saiya said. The Kaztos’ resulting ugh made her wince. “Try to take it easy with the ughter.”

  With humor still in his voice, Kaztos said, “Then maybe you shouldn’t be making such remarks.” Zeltara continued walking forward.

  “Come on. We need to leave.” Saiya looked back to see that half of their lead had disappeared. While the thin men’s march was slow, it was also unrelenting. They might not escape this if their pursuers didn’t give up.

  There was only one way she could get them off their backs. “Do you want me to try another spell? I could bst them away and give us some breathing room.”

  “No. Shut up,” Zeltara said. “I don’t want you killing yourself trying to help us. Kaztos and I will handle it.” Saiya hated her current weakness. Why did she have to panic like that? It put them into this situation. “While I’d prefer not to almost get incinerated, that spell gave us the opening to escape. Stop being so hard on yourself.” Oh, she said that out loud. Saiya really was a mess right now.

  Kaztos chuckled again. “I found the spell to be rather helpful. The night was getting rather cold. It helped me warm right back up.” Zeltara almost doubled over with ughter.

  “Yeah, nothing like nice toasty clothes to keep the fall night from nipping at you.” Saiya couldn’t help but join in on the ughter. Which only served to have the hammer head dig further into her ribs. “Anyway, stop being so hard on yourself, Saiya. It all turned out fine in the end.”

  “Thank you.” Though fine was subjective here. Saiya continued to watch as the thin men grew more distant. They were well out of range of the ntern’s light. The only reason she could see them was the lingering fire from Saiya’s literal meltdown.

  They continued their long march north. An hour passed, and they couldn’t see the thin men in the darkness. Saiya knew they were still there, based on how Zeltara was reacting. She kept gncing back behind them, towards sounds too quiet for their ears.

  The sun rose from the horizon. Light filled the forest, restoring their sight. Saiya gnced behind them, but wasn’t able to see any thin men. Would they turn back now, or would the slow pursuit continue? The trees stopped as they entered another clearing. It was almost a hundred feet to the opposing treeline.

  “We’ll stop once we reach the other side,” Zeltara said. “The clearing will give us ample warning of their approach.”

  Kaztos asked, “And if they try to sneak up on us by going around?” His voice now sounded strained.

  “Then we’ll just have to keep an eye out. Now come on. We all need a breather.” It took them a minute, but they crossed the clearing over to a rge tree. Kaztos set Saiya against the trunk, then dropped down next to her. The two leaned back, facing the way they had come.

  Zeltara settled down next to them and pulled out food and water from her satchel. She handed them over to them. “Here. We need to get our strength up.” Saiya accepted the food with a grimace. Great, more field rations.

  Kaztos quickly swallowed his. He then drank heavily from his waterskin before pouring some over his head. “I needed that. Carry you was hard work, Saiya.”

  “Are you calling me heavy?” She smirked as Kaztos sputtered out an unintelligible reply. “Thank you for that.”

  “Of course! You would do the same for me.” While she agreed with the sentiment, Saiya doubted it was physically possible. The three ate in silence for a few minutes. They ended up swallowing a double serving of food, hoping to regain some energy.

  Once finished, Zeltara asked her, “How are you feeling? Think you can stand?” Saiya shifted around. Her limbs didn’t feel like lead anymore. Instead, they were more like jelly.

  “I think I can manage walking, if I could use my staff as a walking stick.” She turned to Kaztos. “Could I have it back?” Kaztos snorted.

  “As long as you don’t use it. I don’t fancy having to carry you further.” Saiya couldn’t exactly bme him. Kaztos pulled out her staff and handed it over to her. She leaned it against her shoulder. Its familiar weight was comforting.

  Zeltara suddenly stood up. “Wait here. I need to take care of something.”

  “What are you doing?” Kaztos asked. The half-elf walked back into the clearing.

  “Buying us some time.” Zeltara slowly walked until she was a third of the way into the clearing. She then went over to one side, pulled out two containers of mp oil, and started pouring them across. A line of oil covered the clearing from side to side. Zeltara then walked back to the middle in front of the line and sat down.

  Less than a minute ter, a dozen thin men entered the clearing from where they’d come from. Saiya hoped that they’d give up at daybreak, but that had been wishful thinking. They seemed to focus on Zeltara and shambled towards her. She and Kaztos sat there, wondering what the pn was.

  Zeltara sat there, undisturbed by the approaching monsters. She seemed completely rexed, enjoying the early morning sun. Saiya wanted to shout out in warning, but held herself back. She had an idea of what Zeltara was pnning.

  Once the thin men were within twenty feet of her, Zeltara stood up. She reached into her satchel and pulled out a matchbox. The monsters drew closer. Zeltara lit the match and held it between two fingers. Ten feet away. Five. They were almost on top of her.

  With the flick of her fingers, the match fell. It nded in the oil, igniting it. A fire spread towards both ends of the clearing. The hand that reached out for her face retracted, as the thin man flinched back from the fmes. Zeltara stood across from the thin men, both parties watching each other.

  “That was brilliant,” Kaztos said. Saiya could only agree. She watched as Zeltara walked back to them. The thin men stood in pce, seemingly confused about what to do next. The half-elf sat down next to them with a sigh.

  “Well, that bought us at least a couple of minutes. Keep an eye out for when the fire dies down. We’ll leave then.”

  “Did you have to wait until the st moment to light the oil?” Saiya asked.

  Zeltara let out a chuckle. “I wanted to catch one in the fmes. Unfortunately, I didn’t wait long enough.” Saiya shook her head. And she cimed to not be crazy. The girl was completely insane.

  “I’m starting to feel better. I could try catching all of them in a single spell.” Saiya felt like she could pull enough mana together for one spell. Even if it’d leave her dead weight again. Then again, that might just be wishful thinking.

  Zeltara shook her head. “We don’t know if there will be more of them. You need to walk under your own power. Kaztos can’t carry you the rest of the way.”

  “I can do it if needed.” He sounded determined enough to do it too.

  “It’s not needed. You’re exhausted right now, and I can’t carry her for long.” She then leveled Saiya with a gre. “So no spells. Understood?” Saiya could only nod. She turned back to watch the thin men waiting behind the fire barrier.

  The oil ended up burning for ten minutes. Precious time that allowed her to get more feeling in her legs. As the fmes died down, the thin men continued their unrelenting march towards them. Saiya didn’t know how smart these monsters were, but they could at least hold a grudge.

  Zeltara stood up, followed by Kaztos. She held out her hand towards Saiya. “Let’s try this again.” She took the offered hand and pulled herself up. Her legs had pins and needles that slowly dissipated. Saiya felt wobbly on her feet, but she could stand unassisted. “Alright. Let’s keep heading to Ulyfall.”

  By now, the thin men had again closed the gap. They were within twenty feet of them, but their efforts were for not. Kaztos stomped, causing the monsters to stumble over. Who knew such a minor spell could be so useful? The three of them walked away. They kept their pace just above the thin men’s speed. It took effort for Saiya to go this fast, but she knew there was little other choice.

  “I’m almost out of mana myself. That might have been my st spell,” Kaztos said. Zeltara nodded, keeping her eyes forward.

  “Then we’ll just have to make do without. Thank you, Kaztos.” The boy beamed at the compliment. Saiya rolled her eyes. What a people-pleaser. Still, it wasn’t like she was much different towards them. Saiya had just offered to drain herself of mana again to help.

  The three briskly walked away from the thin men. It was funny. Usually, you run to escape from something. Here, they were taking an almost leisurely walk. The only difference was the looming threat of death behind them. They continued to travel for the next several minutes.

  “Holy Lords above, what a disaster,” Zeltara said. “I knew it was a risky idea to come out here, but that didn’t stop me. Should have just stayed in Riverfront and avoided all of this.”

  Kaztos said, “You shouldn’t bme yourself. I was the one who pushed hard for us to come out here. I just didn’t want those children to be taken.” Zeltara groaned.

  “Well, we failed there. Weren’t even close to making it. Our coming out here was pointless. I only hope they’re still alive.” Saiya felt bad about her friend’s downtrodden expression. Sure, this mission had gone terribly, but there was a silver lining.

  “At least we found out where their burrow was,” Saiya said. “Now we can go back and kill them at our pleasure.”

  Zeltara perked up. “You’re right. Hopefully, we can convince them to help us. Assuming they’re even friendly.”

  “Of course they’d be. Riverfront mentioned they had a trading retionship,” Kaztos said. “It’s not like they’d abandon common decency.” Saiya scoffed.

  “Well, we got shot at just for approaching Riverfront. I think common decency has been thoroughly discarded.” Though she hoped that wasn’t the case. Based on the burning in her legs, Saiya didn’t think she’d make it much farther than Ulyfall.

  Zeltara shook her head. “Those were extreme circumstances. They were getting attacked by these wonderful fellows following us.” Saiya gnced back and saw they had made a bit more ground. She could just see them wandering towards them through the treeline. “Persistent, aren’t they?”

  “Indeed. I wonder if they ever tire,” Kaztos said. “Though speaking of extreme circumstances, isn’t Ulyfall being attacked by these monsters too? Should we expect a hostile welcome there as well?”

  “I’d sure hope not,” Zeltara replied. “But just in case, be ready to dodge when we find it.” Saiya gnced down at her legs.

  “Uh, I don’t think I can manage that.” Just the act of walking hurt. Her body felt like it was on a half-second dey. Being drained of mana sucked.

  Zeltara put a hand to her forehead. “Then I’ll just tackle you out of the way. Holy Lords above, our lives are so weird. How did we get to this point?”

  “You mean in the past day, or in general?” Kaztos asked with a cheeky smile. Zeltara gred at him.

  “I don’t need your sass right now, Kaztos. What I need is for us to get out of this situation.” She gestured with a hand behind them. “I mean, look at what we’re doing. This might be the slowest pursuit ever. It’s two groups walking because neither has the physical capabilities to walk. This is so stupid.”

  Kaztos shuffled over and put a hand on Zeltara’s shoulder. “Calm down. We’re going to get out of this fine. Sure, this isn’t what any of us wanted, but we have to make the best of it.”

  “I know, but the past twenty-four hours have sucked.” It hit Saiya that it’s been less than a full day since they first stepped foot in Riverfront. How had things fallen apart so quickly? “And who knows how far Ulyfall is? It feels like we’re on a death march.”

  Saiya decided to step in. “Enough.” Zeltara turned to her. Now she looked close to panic. Time to return the favor. “I won’t say I told you so. This was a bad idea, but there’s no point thinking about the past. We need to focus on surviving. So shut up and keep going. We’ll make it if we don’t give up.” The words didn’t feel eloquent or moving, but they worked all the same.

  Zeltara straightened her posture. A look of determination washed away her bleak expression. “You’re right. Now isn’t the time to give up. There’s still a chance.”

  “And if we can’t go any further?” Kaztos asked. “I don’t think we’re in any condition to fight.”

  “Then Saiya will unch one st spell. This time we’ll want to start a forest fire. It’s a slight chance, but hopefully we’ll find some shelter in the resulting destruction. If not, then at least we tried our best.” Saiya would describe that pn as suicidal, but there wasn’t any other choice. She gave Zeltara a nod. If it came to that, Saiya would do what was needed.

  They spent the next two hours walking north. They occasionally took breaks to rest their legs, but the approaching thin men meant they had to quickly continue. Saiya wished they could move faster, but she was holding them up at this point. Her legs wouldn’t move faster no matter how much she willed it otherwise.

  Fatigue slowly weighed further on Kaztos and Zeltara as well. Their shoulders steadily slumped. Breathing became more bored. Their steps more unsteady. They’d been awake for over a day at this point. There have been battles, emotional discussions, sprints, and more. Saiya wanted to find a bed and sleep for a week. Instead, there was more walking.

  The end came rather abruptly. One moment, Saiya’s legs could still carry her. The next, her face had an unexpected meeting with the ground. Her groan stopped Kaztos and Zeltara in their tracks.

  “I think that’s the end of me. Go on and save yourselves.” Maybe she could take a page out of Zeltara’s book and blow herself up. She had to have enough energy for that, right?

  From the corner of her eye, Saiya saw Zeltara roll her eyes. “Stop being such a baby. We’re not leaving you here. Kaztos, give me your hammer and carry Saiya again.” Kaztos sighed.

  “Why did I have to be the strong one?” Still, he listened and handed his weapon to Zeltara. “Come on, Saiya. Let’s keep going.” Saiya flushed red with shame.

  “This is so embarrassing.” Why was she holding them back so badly? She was supposed to be the one protecting them. But her compints and wishes meant nothing as Kaztos picked her up again. He stumbled for a second before steadying himself.

  “That was harder than before. We need to reach Ulyfall fast.” Zeltara picked up her staff, holding it and Kaztos’ hammer. The hold was more comfortable this time now that his hammer wasn’t digging into her ribs.

  “It can’t be too far. They needed to be in range of each other to communicate,” Zeltara said. “Now, come on. They almost caught up with us.” The trio continued on their way. Saiya watched as the thin men drew further away again.

  But then they stopped getting further away. Their pace matched their almost fifty feet away. At first, Saiya thought that they had gotten faster. Then she realized Kaztos had gotten slower. He was struggling to carry her weight. Zeltara was shooting him worried looks, using one of her arms to half-push him along.

  Now, they were slowly getting closer. Inch by inch, they were closing the gap. Saiya knew they were running out of time. She turned her head the other way and saw Kaztos’ exhausted face. His eyes were almost gzed as he stared straight ahead.

  “Drop me, Kaztos.” She wouldn’t drag both of them down.

  “No. I will not. And I never will. So stop asking.” She was about to insist when he gred at her. The burning determination in his eyes suffocated her words. “The day Kaztos Molinar abandons a friend is the day I throw away who I am. We either make it to Ulyfall or die in this forest. Either way, we’re doing it together.”

  “Do you always have to be so dramatic, Kaztos?” Zeltara asked. Despite the joking words, her expression was worried. “Let’s focus on picking up the speed.”

  “Alright.” Despite his agreement, Kaztos didn’t go any faster. The thin men continued to creep closer. Forty feet. The minutes passed in desperate silence. Inch by inch was surrendered. Thirty feet. Kaztos almost stumbled over a tree root, but Zeltara caught them. They all stayed upright, but the mistake had cost them more distance. Twenty feet.

  Zeltara said, “I can hear something. It might be a town.” Kaztos’ posture seemed to straighten. A feeling of hope filled them.

  “Good, but we need to hurry,” Saiya said. She watched as their lead grew even smaller. Fifteen feet.

  They left the treeline. The te morning sun felt refreshing after traveling in the cool shade. “There it is,” Zeltara said. Kaztos chucked.

  “Quite a bit bigger than Riverfront, huh?” Saiya was tempted to look, but couldn’t. Her eyes were stuck on the thin men who exited the treeline behind them. Ten feet. They continued to walk. How far away were they from the town? A minute? Five? They were almost out of time.

  “Hey! We need help!” Zeltara yelled. Her voice carried, almost echoing in the retive silence. “Can you hear me! Help!” Several seconds passed without an answer. The thin men were five feet behind them. They reached out towards Kaztos. “Shit! Archers!”

  They didn’t have a chance to dodge. Kaztos stumbled trying to, but cked the energy to lunge out of the way. Zeltara could only fall to the ground. They were hopelessly out in the open.

  Fortunately, the arrows weren’t aimed at them. Saiya watched as dozens of projectiles pelted the thin men in a couple of seconds. She could only marvel at the accuracy. Despite their close proximity, none of them took a hit.

  “You three! Get in here, now!” A man’s voice called out to them. Zeltara and Kaztos stumbled to their feet and surged forward. Saiya watched as the thin men struggled to get up. Each of them was covered in arrows. She turned her head and took her first look at Ulyfall.

  Where Riverfront had been a backwater vilge, Ulyfall was a proper town. It was at least four times the size and had a proper stone wall. Saiya could just make out tiled roofs from where she was. The outskirts cked the farms Riverfront had. Repcing them were stables and gravel roads.

  They reached one road and walked along it towards the open gate. Several guards were waiting for them there. Saiya had to admit, it was a warmer welcome than Riverfront was.

  “Quickly, get inside before more show up,” one guard said. Kaztos and Zeltara walked through the threshold of the gate. The portcullis quickly dropped shut behind them. Saiya looked back through the bars to see the pin-cushioned thin men turn and walk away.

  Two of the guards confronted them. “Alright, what business do you have in Ulyfall?” One of them asked.

  “We’re adventurers. Our mission was to deal with those thin men, but there were more than we thought,” Zeltara said. “They ambushed us. We ran north because we heard there was a settlement here.” The guards seemed to rex.

  The other said, “Adventurers, huh? Gd to see you made it here in one piece.” He looked them over, his gaze lingering on Saiya. “You three are in rough shape. Please let us take you to the hospital. The doctors there can look you over.”

  Zeltara seemed to defte in relief. “Thank you. We need it.”

  They began a slow trek through the town. Saiya kept her eyes on the graveled ground below them. Now that the danger was over, she felt her previous exhaustion come back in force. The gentle rocking of Kaztos’ steps caused her to slowly nod off. Her vision grew blurry as her eyes shut. Despite Saiya’s best efforts, she fell asleep.

  ThatWeirdAuthorGuy