The Village East of the Capital. Afternoon.
The village was destroyed.
Houses burned, their roofs collapsed, their walls blackened. Bodies lay in the streets—men, women, children. The smell of smoke and blood hung in the air.
Grog stood at the edge of the village, his sword in his hand, his face stone. Lira moved through the ruins, her bow in her hand, her eyes scanning for survivors. Ken followed behind her, silent, watchful.
Ren and Olive stood at the edge of the village, their faces pale, their hands shaking.
Ren was the young man who had watched his village burn. He had come to the guild to fight, to avenge, to make a difference. Now he stood in the ashes of another village, and he was frozen.
Olive was the girl who couldn't have been more than sixteen. She had lied about her age to join the guild. She had wanted to be a hero. Now she stood in the ruins, her sword trembling in her hand.
Grog walked to them.
"This is what we're fighting," he said. "This is what the creatures do."
Ren's jaw tightened. "I know."
"Then move."
Ren stared at him. "What?"
"Move. Help us search for survivors." Grog met his eyes. "Standing here won't bring anyone back."
Ren nodded slowly. Drew his sword. Walked into the ruins.
Olive followed.
---
Lira found the tracks at the edge of the village.
Dozens of them—creatures, moving in a pack, heading east toward the hills.
"They're not scattered," she said. "They're organized."
Grog knelt beside the tracks. "How many?"
Lira studied them. "Too many. A dozen. Maybe more."
Ken moved to stand beside her. "The lair?"
Lira pointed. "In the hills. A day's march."
Grog stood. "Then we follow."
---
The cave was hidden in the side of a hill.
The entrance was narrow, dark, barely visible. The smell was strong—rotting flesh, old blood, something else. Something that made Grog's skin prickle.
Lira moved to the entrance. Listened.
"They're inside," she whispered.
Grog drew his sword. "Stay together. Watch each other's backs."
They moved inside.
---
The cave was larger than it looked.
The walls were rough, the ceiling low, the passage winding. The smell grew stronger. The darkness grew deeper.
Lira lit a torch. The flames cast flickering shadows on the walls.
They found the creatures in a large chamber at the back of the cave.
There were at least a dozen of them—gray-skinned, red-eyed, their limbs too long, their teeth too sharp. They were sleeping, curled up on the stone, their bodies rising and falling in slow rhythm.
Grog raised his hand. Stopped.
"We kill them quickly," he whispered. "Before they wake."
Lira notched an arrow. Ken drew his blade. Ren and Olive raised their weapons.
Grog nodded.
They attacked.
---
The battle was chaos.
The creatures woke screaming, their claws raking the air, their teeth snapping. Grog moved through them like a storm, his sword carving deep wounds, dark blood spraying. Lira's arrows flew past him, finding eyes and throats. Ken danced through the chaos, his blade flashing, his body moving like water.
Ren fought beside them, his sword steady, his face pale. Olive stayed close to Lira, her bow in her hand, her arrows finding marks.
One of the creatures lunged at Ren. He dodged—barely—and drove his sword into its chest. It fell.
Another lunged at Olive. Lira's arrow took it in the eye. It dropped.
The last creature fell.
The chamber was silent.
---
Grog stood over the bodies, his chest heaving, his sword dripping with dark blood. The red was fading. The berserker was settling.
Lira moved to stand beside him. "Everyone alive?"
Ren nodded. "I'm fine."
Olive's voice was shaky. "I'm fine."
Ken was already searching the chamber, his eyes on the walls.
"Grog," he said.
Grog walked to him.
Cult symbols carved into the stone. Fresh. Recent.
"The cult is back," Lira said.
Grog's jaw tightened. "We need to tell Mirena."
---
They gathered what they could from the cave.
Mana stones from the creatures' bodies. Samples of the cult symbols carved into the walls. Anything that might help the mages understand what was happening.
Ren wrapped the stones in cloth. Olive helped him carry them. Ken stood watch at the entrance, his eyes on the hills.
Grog stood at the mouth of the cave, looking out at the forest below.
Lira walked to stand beside him.
"You're thinking," she said.
"Always."
"What?"
He was quiet for a moment. "The cult is back. The creatures are spreading. The King is dying." He turned to her. "We're running out of time."
Lira met his eyes. "Then we move faster."
---
They walked back to the capital as the sun began to set.
The road was long, the shadows deep, the silence heavy. Ren carried the mana stones. Olive carried the samples. Ken scouted ahead. Lira walked beside Grog.
"We need more people," Lira said.
Grog nodded. "We do."
"The recruits aren't ready."
"Then we train them faster."
Lira was quiet for a moment. "That's not how training works."
Grog looked at her. "It's how it has to work."
---
They reached the capital as the gates were closing.
The guards recognized them. Let them through. The streets were empty, the windows dark, the city sleeping.
Mirena was waiting at the guild hall.
Her face was pale, her eyes were tired, her hands were steady. She looked at the bundles Ren and Olive were carrying.
"You found something."
Grog nodded. "The cult. They're back."
Mirena's face tightened. "Show me."