Duskbound

Velik didn't get a lot of sleep, but then again, he didn't need much anymore. The higher his physical stat got, the less he seemed to even get tired, and the quicker he woke back up. Four to six hours had been his average a few years ago, with that inching closer to three the higher his level grew. In the last six months, he'd seen a huge leap in his stats, and now even three hours felt like overkill.

Torwin must have been in a similar position, or maybe it was some sort of skill, in his case. The old man probably had thirty or more skills rolled up into however many slots he had open. Whatever the reason was, they both got about two hours of sleep and were up shortly after dawn.

What actually woke Velik was the smell of cooking meat, which sent a brief surge of panic through him before he remembered he was sharing a camp with someone else. "You'll draw in monsters cooking out here like that," he said.

"Good morning to you, too," Torwin replied. "And what's wrong with baiting the monsters in? The whole point is to kill them."

"Preferably not while I'm asleep," Velik said.

"Some things are worth it for a good breakfast."

Hard to argue with that logic. That smells delicious. He must have picked up a cooking skill at some point.

As much of a hurry as they were in, Velik gave in to temptation and had a leisurely morning. Half an hour wouldn't change things one way or another, and it wasn't like Torwin's lazy apprentice was hard at work. If that guy could sleep ten hours a day, Velik could take half an hour to enjoy a well-cooked campfire meal.

* * *

"Worst. Morning. Ever," Jensen panted as he sprinted away from the horde of monsters.

He'd explained his plan to Sildra, emphasizing the danger she'd be in going into the building alone. They'd both agreed that it was their best shot at rescuing anyone who might still be alive, and that was that. An hour past dawn, an ungodly hour during which he shouldn't have even been awake, saw him running full speed down the unfamiliar streets of an unimportant town tucked away at the back edge of civilization, two dozen monsters in pursuit.

He'd targeted the monsters he knew were fastest for his ambush. As far as he could tell, the main ability of the seed bearers was to take over a host and blend in, which left them with whatever stats the body they'd moved into had. That meant he could outrun any of them. It was some of the faster monsters that he was concerned about – that and how well they'd coordinate to box him in. He couldn't just make a break for the open gate; he had to keep them chasing him or else they might return to the town hall and find Sildra.

He juked left around a corner and silently cursed when a pair of worgs cut out in front of him. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen! There was nothing for it but to bring his bow up and attempt a shot on the run, a feat made even more difficult by the fact that the worgs didn't just stand there and wait for him to get things lined up. Both of them came at him at a full run, teeth flashing in the morning light as they lunged.

The closest worg ate an arrow, a shot Jensen was more than pleased with, even if he did suspect it was more a combination of luck and the aiming enchantments than through any personal growth in his skill. He darted to the side before the second worg could catch him, then spun on his heel and fired two shots into its flank as it went by.

The worg he'd shot in the mouth died, but its partner was up for another round. Unfortunately, Jensen was out of time. With a bit of luck, its injuries would slow it down enough that it wouldn't catch up again. He ran off, his feet moving so fast that they were almost a blur to his pursuers.

I've probably killed seven or eight of them, I think. No time to check the notifications and count them all up now, but it's a start.

A glance over his shoulder showed him only a dozen corrupted seed bearers chasing him, along with the one remaining worg. That was a problem, as it meant the group had split up and he didn't know if they were trying to pincer him or returning to the town hall. Now he had to find them without running into them and getting caught.

He fired off a few arrows into the mob and rounded another corner, desperately trying to figure out where the rest of the monsters had gone. On a quiet morning, he might have been able to track them by ear alone, but over the sound of shouting and his own labored breathing, he had a little trouble hearing anything else.

Oh, shit!

Three men jumped out in front of him, forcing him to veer to the right and duck under a swinging ax. Jensen dove into a roll and came back up, an arrow materialized and knocked on the string. He only had a split second to make a decision – the closest one was still recovering from a swing, but the monster next to him was already stepping forward. Which one recovers first?

He didn't know the answer, but the man recovering from his missed attack wasn't in a position to defend himself. Jensen released the arrow and saw it appear in the monster's throat as if by magic. He caught the flash of a system notification, but ignored it to focus on the immediate threat. The second monster's ax flashed down and struck the paving stones right where Jensen had been a fraction of a second ago. He rolled, summoned another arrow, and fired point-blank into the man's chest.

The third man wasn't content to sit idly by, but he was the worst positioned of the three, and his advance had been blocked by the middle man. By the time he was close enough to strike, Jensen was already back on his feet and running. He leaped into the air, pirouetted, and fired off another arrow. The shot went wide, barely scratching his target's hip and not doing much to slow it down.

Jensen wasn't a melee fighter. He turned and ran, only to stumble when he saw six more seed bearers spilling out from between the houses. Shit. I guess it's good that they're all still here, but they've got me surrounded. What do I do now?

Much as he detested the idea of wasting it on a fight he shouldn't even have been involved in, it looked like he was going to have to use his most powerful ability: money.

* * *

The smell was so much worse up close, and the squelch of the wet ground underfoot was nauseating. Sildra crossed the human offal as quickly as she could, the stolen woodsman's ax clutched tightly in her hands. With every step, she expected the door to bang open and another of the corrupted seed bearers to rush out.

That didn't happen. She stopped at the door without any sign that a single person—or monster—had noticed her approach. Everything was silent. Even listening with her ear to the door revealed nothing, so Sildra screwed up her courage and eased it open.

The inside of the town hall looked much as she'd remembered it, except for the fact that there were thirty or forty people laid out in rows on the floor of the main assembly hall. Demos was at the far end of the room, covered in blood just like everyone else. Without [Eye of the Moon] to confirm it, she couldn't be sure that they were all monsters, but it seemed likely.

Sildra spied on them from an adjoining hallway, careful to make sure no one was looking in her direction. That caution was probably the only reason she noticed Jak crossing the room in her direction with a small, thumb-sized piece of what looked like fruit held in one hand.

If he'd spotted her, he'd have made more noise, so she slipped back away from the assembly hall and ducked into one of the nearby rooms. With her ear pressed to the door, she listened for the sound of him passing by, but his footsteps stopped right in front of her. Keep walking, she mentally begged him. There's nothing interesting in here.

That thought spurred her to glance around, where she was horrified to see her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Coru, tied to a table. The old woman was wide-eyed and gagged, staring back at Sildra but unable to move or make a sound. Both of their gazes shifted simultaneously to the doorknob as it started to turn.

No choice. I've got to take him out in one hit so he can't raise the alarm.

She took a single long step into the corner behind the door, raised her ax, and held her breath. A second later, the door swung open and Jak stepped through. "See? Your host is ready," he said, holding up the piece of fruit to Mrs. Coru.

Is that what's killing people? They are called corrupted seed bearers, after all.

Jak took two more steps in, clearing the door completely, and Sildra made her move. Maybe it was movement caught out of the corner of his eye, or maybe it was the sound of her foot on the floor, but either way, Jak started to turn toward her.

The ax bit deeply into his neck, spraying the room and Sildra both with blood. With a heave, she jerked it free and swung again. Jak ignored the wound and reached up a hand to grab the ax, but she was too quick. This time, his head flew clean off and his body dropped where he'd stood.

[You have slain a corrupted seed bearer (level 16).]

The little red fruit rolled out of his slack grasp. Sildra watched it wobble, almost like it was alive, then stomped hard on it.

[You have slain a seed of corruption (level 1).]

"Come on," Sildra said, approaching Mrs. Coru with the bloody ax. "Let's get these ropes off you and get you out of here."