"Another, behind!"

Olivia whirled at Adeline's call, sword flashing, and batted a leaping goblin out of the air, Critical Strike cleaving cleanly through what had once been a dog.

"We need to keep moving!" Adeline reminded Olivia, the words completely unnecessary. The knight herself was holding off the largest of their foes as they retreated down the same road they had travelled earlier that day, her swords dancing while Oli covered their backs, but more and more goblins poured out of the fields to either side, supporting the pair of powerful warbeasts Adeline was facing off against.

Although she didn't know it, Olivia's night was going nearly as badly as her friends. She and Adeline hadn't reached Millstone until after dark had fallen, the two making their way by the simple light of a torch–which meant that they were caught completely by surprise when they found not a threatened town, but an abandoned ruin. Millstone hadn't just been destroyed, it had been ruined weeks before, long enough for the remains of the building to have begun crumbling from weather as much as from whatever force had originally shattered them.

"There's no way Garol didn't know about this, right?" Olivia had asked.

Adeline nodded her agreement. "We need to go. Now."

Unfortunately, they had realized the trap a moment too late, and when the monsters broke cover and came for them, they were caught unprepared.

Oli had never faced down monsters created by miasma before, but she had heard plenty about them from Cadence and Adeline, who both had. Knowing how grotesque the corrupted creatures would be and seeing them for herself, however, were two very different things, and even if the minor monsters were of little threat to the skilled swordswoman, Olivia was left queasy as she carved up the warped animals.

Oli cursed as she looked up and down the road. While she had kept the goblins off of them easily enough, it was impossible to retreat while still fighting the two warbeasts that Adeline was holding off. While they may have only been lesser monsters, the two corrupted draft goats, with their shredded-steel fur and bludgeoning metal horns, were well geared for defense, and even Adeline's skill and level weren't enough to put them down quickly.

With who-knew-what-else possibly bearing down on them, Olivia knew she had to help out. "Shield me!" she called to Adeline, darting in towards the goat on the left.

The steel-encrusted warbeast turned its head towards her, but it didn't have the range of motion to keep up with Olivia. Stealing a move from Shaw, Olivia threw a Gust Blast at the ground directly underneath her, throwing herself over the draft goat a moment before its horns would've battered her.

Oli came down sword first, the point of her blade driving straight down into the meat of the goat's shoulder, supported by her new go-to special attack.

[Critical Strike] - Active, Attack, Luck - Make a special attack with potency increased by one tier. Potency has a small chance to instead increase by three tiers. Moderate stamina cost is decreased to lesser if the critical effect triggers.

Without the luck-based critical effect, the attack wasn't enough to kill the goat, but the increased potency was at least enough to punch through its metallic fur, making it rear back with a noise somewhere between a bleat and a forge hammer–and that opened it up for Adeline to lunge forward, swords extended in parallel, slicing through its powerful chest muscles and finally sending the first warbeast to the ground.

Unfortunately, that still left the second, which happily took the chance to swing its spiked horns at Adeline's exposed back. All of Olivia's speed, boosted by another burst of wind, was barely enough to get there in time, her shield raised in defense.

[Reinforced Defense] - Triggered, Defense - When blocking an attack, your equipment is treated as one tier of potency higher. Each time this is triggered, there is a minor focus cost, but the effect lingers for a minor duration.

By itself, the quality steel shield might've crumpled under the attack, even Reinforced, but Adeline had managed to shield Oli earlier, as she joined the fight. The golden barrier of Shining Shield popped up, triggered by the warbeast's attack, and even if the warped goat slammed through it with ease, it lost just enough momentum to make Oli's hasty defense sufficient to blunt the attack.

The corrupted draft goat may have been a difficult foe to wound, but it could only threaten any one of its enemies at a time, and once Adeline and Olivia flanked it, it was over quickly enough, giving them a precious moment to catch their breath and plan their next steps.

"Hag minions in a ruined town," Olivia observed, breathless from the exhilaration of combat. "I'm starting to think Garol led us into a trap."

Adeline stared back in the direction of the ruined town, her beautiful face set in an expression of focused anger. "You need to get back to Keystone."

Olivia blinked. "What?"

"If Garol is trying to get us killed so quickly, he must be ready to make his next move. The Mendicant and the Apothic Order healers are the only ones standing between the plague and the rest of the heartlands–he must be planning to take them out next."

Olivia cursed. "Cadence and the others, he must've had some sort of set up for them too."

Adeline nodded grimly. "You're right. Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do for them right now–we just need to trust them to get out of any trap that was set for them."

Olivia chewed her lip, frustrated and worried for her friends, but she knew Adeline was right. They had gone in nearly the opposite direction–it would take days to reach Cobblestone to check on them, if they even could in the face of the sheriff's betrayal.

"You're right," Olivia decided. "We need to get back to Keystone and confront Garol."

Adeline shook her head. "Not 'we,' Oli. You."

Olivia drew a sharp breath, but before she could protest, an eerie cry emerged from the direction of Millstone. The sound was distinctly unnatural, yet faintly familiar, in a way Olivia couldn't quite place. Undead, perhaps, like the specter she had fought months before?

"I need to go back to see what else can be found in the ruins. It's possible the hag herself might be there–but even if she's not, there's clearly something there strong enough that we can't risk leaving it alone."

Olivia fretted at her lip harder, and she felt a taste of blood drawn from the anxious tic. "Then we should fight together!"

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"No, Oli. One of us needs to go warn the Mendicant and the healers before Garol turns on them. The Mendicant might not be much of a fighter, but they are Master level–I'm sure if they have some warning, they can help you put up a fight."

"But–"

"No, Oli! You need to go, now!"

"Adel–"

Adeline spun around, silver eyes blazing. "Enough! This is an order, Olivia. Adventurer or not, you're my squire, and you will go!"

Olivia's eyes went wide at the outburst. Only then, in the face of Adeline's uncharacteristic loss of composure, did the full depths of the situation hit Oli.

The sheriff of Valley Hearth had turned on them. That meant, most likely, that the militia and any other residents of the valley couldn't be trusted. They had expected to just fight a single rot hag–but the miasma that had evidently destroyed Millstone more than evened the odds,to say nothing of the ominous presence roaring in the distance.

Cadence, Allana, and Tenebres were out of contact–even if they were alive, which wasn't a guarantee, there was no way for them to get back together. Very abruptly, it had become just Adeline and Oli against an unknown number of enemies that had already tried to lure them into one trap. Splitting up was terrifying–but it was also the only way they had a chance.

This was no longer a simple investigation, a safe training mission under the protective eye of a veteran knight, a way to help some people while gaining a favor from the Mendicant. Very suddenly, this had turned into a lopsided and desperate struggle, with Adventurer-only-knew how many lives in the balance.

All of this went through Olivia's mind in a moment, and she felt her face firm up as adrenaline sang through her body.

Adeline nodded confidently, apparently approving of whatever change she saw in Olivia. "You have stamina potions?"

"Three."

"Good. Run far and fast. Stick to the road. I'll buy you some time."

That same cry echoed behind them, and the two women shared a brief nod before they turned, weapons drawn, and ran in opposite directions.

#

As Adeline had promised, she managed to draw enough attention from the hag's minions that Oli saw little interruption for a while, putting a small handful of miles between her and the ruins of Millstone. Already, though, she felt the futility of the endeavor.

She had used one of her stamina potions already, and had only crossed a small piece of the distance back to Keystone. There was no way she'd be able to run all the way back to Keystone, and even if she did, she'd be too exhausted to make much of any difference in the fight to come.

Worse, Olivia was becoming increasingly convinced that she wasn't alone anymore. The road made for a fairly obvious route for her to follow, but she lacked Cadence's, or even Tenebres's, comfort with woodcraft. If she tried to go off-road, getting lost would be the best case scenario–she'd be more likely to trip over a rock or root in the darkness and break her leg. Adeline was no doubt doing everything she could to draw the monsters' ire to her, but she was only one woman. She couldn't occupy all of them.

As such, Oli wasn't surprised when she heard that same cry from Millstone again, this time not far behind her. What did surprise her was that this time, with it so much closer, she finally recognized the uncanny combination of brassy screech and pitched roar.

Knowing what was coming next, Oli spun, shield raised, and manifested a Mantle of Wind.

[Mantle of Wind] - Active, Utility - Conjure a cloak of swirling wind around yourself. Reduces fall speed and provides limited defense against physical attacks. Moderate duration. Lesser quintessence cost.

Immediately, a rhythmic series of sharp clangs rang through her shield as Olivia deflected a stream of half-a-dozen powerful, well-aimed arrows. The attacks had the potential to be lethal–but with the combination of Mantle of Wind deflecting them, Shining Shield robbing them of the worst of their force and Reinforced Defense supporting Olivia's shield, they were deflected harmlessly.

Olivia didn't lower her shield to look at her foe, already expecting his next move, and as she manifested her Gust Blast in a rapidly expanding dome around her, she heard the satisfying whoof of breath as her opponent, caught off-guard, was thrown backwards.

Only then did Olivia lower her shield and finally get a look at Egin, the bandit leader she and Cadence had fought months before.

The man looked much the same, handsome features still warped by animalistic additions. His eyes were still a piercing shade of amber, his lips distended by thick fangs, his hair mottled with the same dun fur and tawny feathers that lined his clawed arms and broad wings respectively.

What had changed was his bearing. The Egin Olivia had previously met had been confident, in his own craven way. He knew the limits of his power as well as his strengths, and had known when to call the pair of adventurers to parley. Even more, when things had soured over their refusal to give up the bandit chief's ill-gotten gains, he had, however reluctantly, backed off, rather than attempt to take the two wary young adventurers in a fight.

The Egin hovering ten feet above Olivia had none of his rough charm or self-centered arrogance. His eyes were wide, his lips lifted in a perpetual snarl to bar his gnashing fangs. His clothes were worn, dirty, and even ripped in places, showing off stretches of even more mingled fur and feathers. Clearly, the months since they had met had gone poorly for the former bandit chief.

Undeterred, Olivia shouted at him, "I thought I told you I'd kill you if I ever saw you again?"

When last they met, Egin's voice had been gravelly, tainted by his paired totems. Now it was even farther gone, so much so that Olivia could only barely make out his words as he roared back. "My… TOTEMS! Where…Where are they!? Give them to me!"

Olivia narrowed her eyes. "Gone," she called back simply. "I don't have them to give–I returned them to the same people you and your masters hurt with your attacks!"

Egin's only answer was another of those feral, unnatural roars. "Give them to me!"

Honestly baffled, Olivia twirled her sword nervously. "I just told you, they're gone!"

Egin's head twisted side to side with an uncomfortable crackling noise Olivia could hear even with the bandit ten feet in the air. "T-toTEMS! Neeeed TOTEMS!"

"Okay, fuck this," Olivia muttered. Without wasting her breath on more shouts, she swung her sword forward, sending it through a quick combination of slices in midair, each cut sending a blade of barely visible air at the bandit.

[Wind Slash] - Wind, Vanguard - Active, Attack - Use a bladed weapon to make a ranged attack delivered through hardened air. Damage and quintessence cost depend on the weapon used to make the attack.

Unfortunately, Egin successfully dodged the attacks by the simple technique of tucking his wings and falling straight to the ground, where he landed on all four with a series of sickening crunches.

Olivia blinked in surprise, but before she could move towards the transformed man, he began to change further. More popping and crackling noises heralded his broken limbs repairing themselves before her eyes, but the changes didn't stop there.

Egin's wings beat at the air as they grew in time with his limbs and body growing larger, ropy muscle oozing under his skin to expand his frame. His clothes ripped off of him completely, but there was no bare skin to be seen, only more feathers and fur.

His face was the last to go, the few remaining vestiges of the man Olivia had once fought consumed by a combination of avian angles and feline fur, until there was no sign that the monstrous blend of bird and cat standing in front of Olivia had ever been a human.

"I've really got to figure out what the authority of the chimera is," Olivia observed to herself.

Then the hybrid beast gave a shrieking roar an order of magnitude louder than those that had come before and leaped at her.

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