Riftside - Chapter 46

The sun was already dipping by the time Eryn and I approached the Timberline. My new clothes still felt strange. Ma had adjusted some of Pa's old ones for me. They were tight around the shoulders and arms but loose around my belly. At least they weren't splitting at the seams like my old ones. And my body…it felt as if my soul had been transplanted into someone else’s. Even walking was taking a bit to get used to.

The regular rowdy noise came once more from the tavern, but we weren't there for food or drink.

Five figures waited in the shadows beside the building. Knut's massive frame, dressed in full plate armor. Garrett stood beside him, leaning on his spear. Nina's slight form was perched on a barrel, while Alex's white healer's sash stood out in the darkness.

My chest tightened. These people were here not for coin or glory, but because we had asked. Because it was the right thing to do. And because we were friends.

“You all came,” I said.

“Of course we did,” Nina replied, hopping down from the barrel. “Though I'd really like to know what in all the hells happened to you. You're huge, Ash! Eryn here must be feeding you good.”

The others nodded in agreement.

“There's only one thing that could cause changes like that, but even then…I’m not sure what the hell is going on either,” Alex said. “You've had your breakthrough, haven't you? You're classed now. But how?”

I nodded and smiled, the memory of the pain already fading into the past.

“Had my breakthrough today. Though technically I'm not an adventurer yet. Edwin's handling the guild enrollment tomorrow.”

Knut let out a booming laugh, thankfully drowning out Alex's suspicion.

“Look at size of you!” he exclaimed. “You're big like me! We make proper tank out of you yet!”

“Actually, I went with damage dealer,” I corrected. “Figured one tank was enough. Especially one as good as you.”

“Even better!” Knut clapped me on the shoulder. His grin turned almost predatory, but there was no way I could take the man seriously anymore after all the shows of affection over the last days. He was just a huge, dangerous teddy bear. “Thugs won't know what hit them.”

Nina shook her head in amazement.

“I can't believe how different you look,” she said. “The transformation really changed you.”

“For the better, I hope,” I replied with a slight smile.

“Definitely, but I think you just might have picked the wrong stud, huh, Nina?” Garrett chuckled.

“Shut up. He’s too young for me.” She smiled at Alex. “And besides, Eryn would probably murder me if I even eyed him wrong.”

Eryn hugged her and whispered something, and the two girls laughed. I could even barely make it out, but not quite. Hell, even my hearing had become better now.

“They should fear you!” Roq said. “Look at them all impressed by my handiwork! Though I notice you're still not giving proper credit where it's due...but maybe one day everyone will get to worship the awesomeness that I am!”

“One day, Roq. I promise.”

“We need to move,” Knut cut in, his voice turning serious. “Finn watching camp. Can't risk bad guys spotting us early. No horses. We walk. Stay quiet in case of lookout.”

I nodded, sobering.

“Before we go, I want to thank you all,” I said, looking each person in the eye. “You didn't have to come. This isn't your fight. But you're here anyway, to help make sure justice is served. I won't forget that and you will all be able to call on me for anything you need. I will repay the favor, even if it is to bury a body.”

“Speech after,” Knut growled, though there was warmth in his voice. “Work now.”

He was right. The time for talking was over.

  *

A night wind whispered across the moonlit prairie as I kept low behind Nina, both of us creeping forward with measured steps. The stars offered enough light to see by, but hopefully not enough to be spotted.

Nina moved with grace, likely from her years of working with horses. I did my best to mirror her motions, keeping my newly enhanced frame as small as possible against the open expanse. The sparse grass rustled around us.

Anticipation gripped my stomach, mixed with dread and an eagerness to see justice done. My hand itched for Roq, but he had to wait in my spatial storage alongside my shield and two monster carcasses. Silence mattered more than comfort right now.

Nina's hand lifted.

I froze mid-step, carefully settling my weight before creeping up beside her. Together we advanced a few more steps, staying low enough for my fingers to touch the ground.

Maybe fifty yards ahead, a faint orange glow leaked up from what had to be the dry riverbed Finn had described. The thugs would be down there, gathered around their shielded fire with their backs turned inwards. He'd snuck close enough to see them consume mind gems. They'd be wide awake and alert all night.

It wouldn’t matter.

Knut's plan was simple, and we'd all agreed, though I'd seen the concern in Eryn’s eyes. She knew very well what this little raid meant. What we were about to do to those thugs.

I drew my shield from my storage, careful not to make any sound as I slipped it onto my arm. Roq would have to wait for a bit. His telltale glow could give us away if anyone even looked our way.

Beside me, Nina adjusted her grip on her lance. It was long, almost unwieldy, but there were no real ways to counter lances aside from getting in close, and I’d be there to stop that.

We waited, barely breathing, for Eryn’s signal.

The urge to lift my head and look down into the camp almost overwhelmed me. One quick peek would tell me exactly where each target was waiting. But no, that would risk catching the firelight on my face or creating a visible silhouette. Better to trust Finn's scouting and stick to the plan.

A sharp hiss cut the night. 

The sound of an arrow in flight. 

A heartbeat later, orange light flared briefly as Eryn’s new fire arrow worked its magic.

“The tent!” a man's voice shouted from below. “How did—”

“Put it out!” another called. “Quick, before it spreads!”

“What happened?”

“I heard something. Like a swoosh.”

In my head, I started counting.

Three...

Two...

Boots scraped on loose soil as the thugs scrambled to deal with the burning tent.

One...

My muscles coiled, ready to explode into action and despite the memory of our burning smithy and the anger that accompanied it, I kept my cool.

Zero.

I stood, Roq materializing in my grip, lighter than ever, his glow casting strange shadows across the grass as I advanced toward the riverbed's edge.

“Make them suffer!” Roq snarled. “Show them the price of threatening what's ours! I DEMAND blood!”

But where he burned hot with anticipation, I felt cold. The time for stealth was over and I looked down onto their small camp.

Two ragged tents huddled near a carefully dug fire pit. Well, one tent now. The other crackled as flames consumed its canvas walls while a thug in leather armor stomped frantically at its edge.

The four men had abandoned their black uniforms for combat gear. Two wore studded leather armor, while a third wore loose robes and held a glowing staff. Their leader, Ivan, wore full plate mail, minus a helmet, arrogantly displaying his scarred throat.

I moved down the gentle slope, Nina shadowing me a pace behind and to my right, her lance held low and ready.

“CHARGE!” Roq said. “Rip their flesh, crush their bones, and let me feast on their corpses!”

“Focus, Roq. They are adventurers.”

The cloth-wearing thug turned suddenly, peering into the darkness.

“Did you hear that?” he asked, gripping his staff tighter. “Sounded like something—” He gestured along the riverbed — exactly where Eryn and Finn waited. The cloth-clad man's eyes widened as an arrow pierced his throat, and he dropped, staff clattering against stone.

“Weapons!” Ivan roared. “Defend me!”

The two leather-armored thugs broke instantly. One bolted along the riverbed, away from Eryn, but directly toward Knut's position. The other scrambled up the far bank, fleeing towards Garrett and Alex.

That makes this easier.

“Cowards!” Ivan screamed after them, his ravaged voice cracking. “Get back here and fight!”

“Ivan.” My voice carried clearly across the firelit space, and he tensed. “You should never have threatened my family. Or set fire to our smithy. This is the frontier. Your threats don’t apply here.”

He spun toward me, shock flashing across his face for just an instant before his features hardened.

I slid down the bank, my shield and hammer at the ready in case he charged.

This was the part where he'd try to talk his way out of it. Blame Earl. Claim he was just following orders.

Instead, Ivan surprised me as his hand snapped to his wrist.

“Watch out!” Roq's warning cut through my thoughts.

A heavy crossbow materialized in his grip, already loaded and aimed.

Pure instinct drove me. My arm moved with impossible speed, placing the shield in front of Nina. The bolt slammed into the shield, but the impact barely registered against my newly enhanced strength.

“Portal piss!” Ivan spat.

“That was your second mistake,” I said quietly.

The crossbow vanished into Ivan's spatial storage. In its place, he equipped a massive two-handed sword, its blade reflecting orange in the firelight.

“Well, well,” he sneered. “I thought the girl was the classed one. You've had your breakthrough.” His lips twisted. “What a waste of a perfectly good class gem on a common blacksmith.”

I continued my steady approach while he talked, taking in the entire camp just in case he’d hidden away a trap or even some kind of explosive device. Thugs were nasty creatures.

“You know,” Ivan continued, “I always did wish we could harvest gems from human corpses. Maybe tonight is the day I get lucky.”

“His blood! Give me his blood!” Roq howled. “Let me taste it! Let me drink deep of his life! Better yet, shove me inside him! Into his guts!”

Nina darted forward, jabbing at Ivan's leg with her spear. He parried the strike almost casually, pivoting toward her.

I joined in on the attack, moving into striking distance.

Ivan stopped instantly, twisting his body and turning the sword to whistle at my face. The attack was clever. If I'd blocked with my shield, I'd cut off my vision for a crucial instant, letting him reposition to strike at Nina or find a gap in my guard.

But I was no normal warrior.

I activated Armor Break, Roq glowed red, and struck his sword. My enhanced speed and control let me catch it at the perfect angle. The impact thundered through my arms as raw force ripped the blade from Ivan's grip, snapping his wrist, and sending it spinning away into the darkness.

His eyes widened in shock.

Nina's spear flashed in, scoring a glancing blow off his leg armor, making him stumble towards me.

I didn't hesitate and activated Smash, my new ability. Mana surged from my chest, through my arm, and into my hammer. Roq blazed with golden light as I brought him up in a perfect arc, aiming center mass.

Ivan's hands came forward in a desperate attempt to block.

My strike crashed through them like sticks before a bull, slamming into his breastplate. The impact sent him flying upward and away, almost comically. He crashed to the ground with a metallic crunch, chest heaving as he struggled for breath. The steel over his ribs had buckled inward and was pressing down into his flesh, probably doing even more damage with each breath he took.

I walked forward until I stood over him. His mouth worked, but no sound emerged past his ruined throat and blood gathered on his lips.

“Hold on.” Finn's voice came from behind me, heavy with meaning. “I can do it.”

In that moment, I knew Finn had killed before. I heard the weight of the knowledge in his voice, and the burden he was offering to spare me. That must be why he’d run to the frontier in the first place.

But no, this was my duty. My responsibility.

“No, Ash! Do NOT deny me my right!”

My fingers tightened around Roq's shaft and I brought him down on Ivan's head.

Blood sprayed across the hammer's surface, disappearing instantly as the man died and Roq absorbed it. I could feel his increased bloodlust, and if I hadn’t been a higher level than him, I was pretty sure the feeling would have taken over. It was so strong and felt…right.

“UNLIMITED POWER!” Roq's mental voice rang with triumph. “I am Level eight, Ash! The blood of our enemies is so much sweeter than mere monsters! I'm halfway to nine from just one kill! This is what we were meant for! This is—”

I swiped Roq into my spatial storage, unable to handle him at the moment as I stared down at Ivan's ruined face, my chest tight with warring emotions. Grief at having taken a human life. Anger at Ivan for forcing this by threatening my family. Fury at Earl Domitius and his entire house for setting these events in motion.

I drew a long, shuddering breath as blood soaked into the dry riverbed beneath my feet. In that moment I knew my first kill wouldn’t be my last. Not if Earl was the kind of person I thought he was. People like that wouldn’t give up, not until they were met with an end like Ivan.

  *

June dug in his heels on the wooden bridge as I marched him towards the rift, his attempts accomplishing nothing against my new strength. The thug's muffled protests barely registered through his gag.

“Keep moving,” I said, my voice low. The words carried no heat. There was no anger in me now. Not after what I'd done to Ivan. I’d had enough time to process smashing his face in and coming to terms with the knowledge that war would follow, in one shape or another. 

And that I’d taken a man’s life.

This was simple in comparison.

Night covered our walk. I wanted this finished before too many witnesses gathered.

June's legs gave out, but I lifted his entire weight as if he were a sack of grain. My new strength still surprised me. What had once required effort now felt almost effortless.

We'd offered the other two thugs to surrender, in exchange for returning to Earl Domitius with a message, telling him Dawnwatch was off limits to his family. No more threats, no more schemes, no more attempts to seize what wasn't his. They'd nodded eagerly, throwing down their arms and letting us bind and gag them.

The massive walls of First Steel loomed around us, torch-lit figures moving along the walkway above. Steel-shod boots echoed as guards shifted position for a better view.

“What's going on down there!” A voice called down. “State your business!”

I glanced up, recognizing Brian's face in his own torchlight. It was the new guard I’d met by the keep once.

“Just taking care of some trash,” I called back. “Nothing to worry about.”

Murmurs rippled along the wall as more guards gathered, and I heard Enar's voice among them.

“That's Ash?” someone asked him. “What happened to him? He's huge!”

I kept walking, June's protests growing more urgent as we approached the rift platform and its strange light. Behind us, boots scuffed on wooden planks as Knut, Garrett, and Finn marched the other two prisoners.

Not wanting to pass through the rift while touching him, I tossed June in first, then stepped in after him, emerging a moment later.

June thrashed against his bonds as I hoisted him over my shoulder like a child.

The watch commander hurried toward us, his free hand resting on his sword hilt.

“What in the rift is going on here?” he asked, before drawing up short. “Ash? Is that you, son?”

“It is,” I said, shifting June's weight slightly. “These are the men who tried to kill Enar and set fire to our smithy. Would have murdered my whole family — Ma, Pa, Eryn, even Knut — if they'd succeeded.”

The watch commander's eyes widened as understanding dawned.

“The arson attempt? These are the ones?”

I nodded.

“They've been banished for their crimes. Frontier justice,” I said, my voice emotionless.

June screamed into his gag, the sound muffled but desperate.

Behind us, another bound figure tumbled through, followed by Knut's massive armored form. Moments later, the third prisoner emerged with Garrett and Finn close behind.

Movement drew my eye to the wall. A guard had nocked an arrow, bow half-raised as he looked to the watch commander for guidance.

“Sir? What should we—”

The watch commander met my gaze for a long moment, before turning his back deliberately.

“What in the rift's arsehole are you talking about, soldier?” he asked loudly. “Your eyes should be focused outward. Unless you're seeing something I'm not?”

The guard hesitated, arrow still nocked. Then realization bloomed across his face. His spine straightened and he spun abruptly to face the darkness beyond the walls.

“No, sir,” he called down. “Nothing to report.”

We marched our prisoners to the gate. The heavy wooden doors swung open, just enough for a man to squeeze through.

I set June down, keeping a hand on his shoulder.

“Time for you to go,” I said quietly. “The next monster attack should be within a bell. If you’re fast enough, you can find a hole to crawl into. Maybe even some monster remains to keep you warm.”

June's eyes blazed with hatred above his gag. I pulled it free.

“You liar!” he spat.

“I promised to let you leave Dawnwatch alive,” I said. “And I am. All you need to do is make it to another rift.”

“I have no idea where one is!”

“Then you'd better hurry.” I stared at him flatly and untied his arms. “And if anyone from Sentinel Station or Dawnwatch spots you, you'll be dealt with like any other monster. You have five minutes to leave the killing field.”

“Portal-sucking bastard!” June snarled, massaging his wrist.

“If you'd stood up for others, maybe others would stand up for you.” I met his glare steadily. “This is justice. Frontier justice.”

“Now go on,” Finn said with a hint of a chuckle. “Run.”

The three men shared quick glances, a spark of rebellion flickering in their eyes. My hand moved to my spatial storage and Roq materialized, his glow casting flickering shadows across their faces.

“Snap his neck and be done with it!” Roq said. “I wonder if these juicy bastards will get me to level up again. Why don’t we test that out?”

Any fight they had left in them evaporated, and they turned and ran.

We watched until darkness swallowed them, their footsteps fading into the night.

Knut's massive hand clapped on my shoulder and his fingers tightened.

“Good decision,” he rumbled. “No news for House Domitius. Our hands clean. Clean-ish.”

I sighed, suddenly feeling all strength leaving my body. This definitely wasn’t how I imagined the day to end, but there was some poetic justice to it. At least to me, and that’s all that mattered.

“I need a drink.”

“Spoilsport. You could have at least thrown me after them. To just hit one. Given me a taste or something.”