MERCS:

  Wynter Blair | Alfie ‘The Guvnah’ Goodfellow | Raimy ‘Rake’ Molleker | Chinara ‘Vixen’ Makinde | The Harvester | Rosalind De Cheney

  De Cheney knelt on the forest floor, placing her maps in front of her.

  Chinara looked around nervously. Her hand hovered at her belt, ready to react. The trees crowded them, restricting their sight lines and obscuring the sunlight. Ever since they entered the place, she’d had the feeling of being watched. The question was by whom.

  The maps glowed, and Rosalind consulted what they said about the location they were heading to.

  Vixen shared a brief look with Wynter and Rake. Like her, they mistrusted all this magic. The Guvnah and The Harvester were different—relaxed around the use of sorcery. Chinara didn’t want to act like an amateur in front of the more seasoned mercs, so she kept her mouth shut. Perhaps magic was something she, too, would get used to in time.

  “According to the map, we’re close,” Rosalind said. “I don’t know how accurate it is.”

  Chinara had her doubts. It didn’t feel like they were anywhere close to the kind of settlement that could support the size of force they had discovered at the Wight’s Hollow; or might contain the treasures De Cheney’s maps promised. It felt like they were in the middle of nowhere, where no human had been reckless enough to go before. On the other hand, she’d heard the Apples had found their magic weapons in hidden barrows. She could well imagine some dark and treacherous hole in the ground nearby, waiting for some fool to discover.

  It turned out she was wrong on both counts. There was a settlement, and it was far from being a hole in the ground.

  As the sun was falling from the sky, De Cheney led them to a cream coloured marble building. From their vantage point they could see it covered a large space. It looked out of place, and yet the forest foliage climbed the long walls and spread along the roof, indicating the building had stood here for years. In its own way, it felt just as strange as the underground cavern they had explored.

  They studied it through the trees, reluctant to get closer. They had come from the side or the rear of the complex, meaning there wasn’t much to see.

  “What now?” Rake asked.

  “We’re careful,” Rosalind said. “That army may be here. We’ve found what we were looking for. If we have to turn back and report to Stiff with no more information than that, then so be it.”

  “What if you stay here, and I get a little closer?” The Guvnah suggested. “Maybe I can confirm the presence of that force, if nothing else.”

  “They’re here,” The Harvester told him.

  Chinara, like the others, waited for more from Vytenius, but that was his only comment.

  Wynter pursed her lips. Chinara could tell she was stressed. Not for the first time, Chinara wished it had been anyone other than Clamor who had gone missing.

  “Alright, Alfie. Just reconnaissance, and come back here when you’ve found something.”

  “Of course.”

  The Guvnah left their position, staying the same distance from the walls, as if intending to do a circuit of the building.

  Chinara watched him go. He was still in sight when he stopped walking. She heard him mutter something, but couldn’t make out the words.

  “Hey! It’s me!” The Guvnah was shouting now.

  Chinara reacted. As she ran towards Alfie, she heard a second voice shout “Intruders!” When she reached The Guvnah, she had already loaded a bullet into her sling.

  She stopped dead.

  A mere forty feet away, standing alone in the trees, was Clamor. His eyes narrowed at her approach, and before she knew what was happening, he’d shot an arrow straight at her.

  ACTION ROUND

  Chinara dived to the side of the arrow’s path. She managed to reach the safety of a tree, using its thick trunk as cover.

  “Felix!” The Guvnah demanded. “What are you doing?”

  Vixen heard the sound of many boots stamping through the undergrowth. She didn’t need to risk a peek around the tree to know the Silent Warriors were coming, called here by Clamor. What she had trouble processing was the fact that Clamor had nearly killed her. She’d been warned he might have been enchanted by the sorcerer whose underground lair they’d discovered. But still, to shoot at her without warning?

  She put her back to the tree. With a shaking hand, she placed another bullet in her sling. Was she going to have to fight him?

  Her crewmates were coming. The Harvester, Wynter, and Rake, had their swords drawn. Behind them, De Cheney followed, carrying her staff.

  “It’s Clamor!” she shouted. “He’s fighting for them!”

  A shout of pain from The Guvnah nearly drowned out her words, but she could tell they’d understood. Wynter and Rake drew up with fearful expressions.

  The Harvester kept going. He passed by Chinara’s position. Coming the other way was The Guvnah. One hand clutched an arrow lodged in his stomach—a bad wound that had taken him down to 13 hit points.

  “Run!” The Harvester shouted, as Chinara heard the Silent Warriors getting closer to her position. “I will hold them off!”

  How will you? Chinara asked herself. She risked a peek around the tree, rhythmic flicks of her wrist spinning her sling. The forest was thick with advancing Silent Warriors, their silence masking their numbers. Clamor was focused on the approaching Vytenius, as he put another arrow to his bowstring.

  One fast preparatory flick, and then she let the bullet fly. It caught Clamor on his arm, interrupting his draw and dealing 12 points of damage.

  Clamor moved quickly, retreating from the advancing Livanian, allowing the Silent Warriors to surround Vytenius. His dark eyes were fixed on Vixen.

  Shit. She slipped back behind the tree.

  De Cheney hadn’t been slow to heed The Harvester’s call to run. She waved her staff in circles as she did so. Within these circles, soft hued colours and lights appeared, as she created a means of escape. Wynter and Rake followed her, while The Guvnah staggered after them, much slower.

  Chinara knew she had to reach that portal quickly.

  She made to lurch from her cover, then hurled herself back to its protection. She was rewarded with the sight of Clamor’s arrow cutting through the space she had left. Now, she told herself, and made herself run. She moved in zigzags, using the trees as cover as best she could.

  She kept an eye on her escape route. De Cheney had stopped running. She ushered Wynter and Rake through the portal, and they disappeared. The witch waited for The Guvnah, holding her magic for him.

  Wait for me, Chinara thought.

  Smack.

  Chinara hit the ground.

  At first, she thought she had run into a tree, not looking where she was going. Then the tree moved, and she looked up to see a warrior scowling at her. The woman reached down and snatched her sling from her grip.

  “This isn’t a magic weapon,” the warrior declared with disgust.

  What the fuck. Chinara kicked her in the shin, and scrambled away. The Guvnah disappeared through the portal. De Cheney looked around, then locked eyes with her.

  Another smack.

  A boot to her arse, and Chinara went sprawling into the forest floor, hands in the dirt. A boot settled on her back, pinning her down. She raised her head to see De Cheney leaving. The lights and colours swirled for a few moments more, then disappeared.

  MISSION COMPLETE

  SUCCESS: The Deepwood was explored

  None of your mercs improved their stats

  No mercs levelled up