When he left Rettmore around noon the following day, the people of the village were still celebrating their newfound deliverance. Based on what he'd seen, Clay didn't know if Andrew and his team were going to get the chance to head out again before the next day; far too many of the [Commoners] were busy toasting them, or dragging them over to tell the story, or simply standing around and cheering them. The whole ordeal seemed to have put Andrew off balance, but at least they were getting a proper welcome at last.

The Baron had recovered before Clay left, and he had sought Clay out for a quiet word. He'd recovered some of his bluster, and while he had implied that Andrew and his team would desperately need his talents to clear away the last of the monsters, he also expressed deep gratitude for what Clay and his companions had done, once again affirming the promise to provide whatever aid Clay needed in the future.

Clay might have lorded the situation over the man, but the brief peek behind the mask had told him there was more to the [Noble] than sheer pride. He accepted the offer, shook the man's hand, and then packed enough supplies to see them to Dorthmead. An hour later, with their packs resupplied and the road clear, Clay and Olivia had started on their way. A brisk wind, an empty road, a cloudless sky greeted them, even as the sounds of celebration continued behind them. They were off on a new adventure.

Clay looked over as he finished securing the tent. Olivia was hard at work, attempting to work her way through the list of [Chants]. He ambled over and peeked over her shoulder, recognizing the sheet as detailing the next group of combat [Chants]. "Getting your [Memory] up?"

She looked back at him with some irritation. "Yeah." Olivia turned back to the notes. "I think if I had been a bit more diligent about this, you wouldn't have had to be the only one throwing rocks at the shrooms. We'd have gotten through that mess that much faster."

He thought it over before nodding. "I guess that's true." Then he took a seat next to her. "Still, we've been busy the past few weeks. It's not like we've had a whole lot of opportunities to train. You shouldn't be that hard on yourself."

Olivia gave him a nudge, seeming to try to restrain a smile. "Thanks, Clay. I'm sure this definitely isn't an attempt to get out of studying your own [Chants] to get your [Memory] up."

Clay winced. He hadn't exactly been neglecting his own studies, but he definitely hadn't been working especially hard on it lately. "I mean, I was going to get around to it eventually…" She raised her eyebrows and set her chin on the heel of her hand to stare at him. He sighed. "All right. I'll try and spend some time on it tonight."

"Good. We aren't in any rush this time, I think." Olivia shuffled the parchment, shifting to another of the four [Chants]. "Besides, whatever Syr Katherine has waiting for us, I can only imagine she's going to expect us to be ready to face things at our best. She might have even been expecting us to have spent most of the past couple of months training our [Stats] rather than assaulting Lairs."

He grinned. "Well, then she should have gotten to know us better."

Olivia gave him a level look. "That's not the point, Clay. Even if she isn't planning on trying to put us through a meat grinder, she's probably going to expect us to go into the Dungeon, right? You've been in one of those before. Should I be taking it casually?"

Clay thought back over his experiences in the Sarlsboro Dungeon. He remembered the enemies they'd faced, the Malus they'd had to endure, and the seriousness that Syr Katherine had displayed each time they entered. The image of a world of misery, where serfs toiled beneath a black sun, rose in his mind. Then he sighed. "No. You're right."

There was a flicker of satisfaction on her face. "Well, if I were you, I'd get to work myself, then. We don't have that much time before we'll arrive in Dorthmead."

He grimaced. "True, but I think we'll have a bit more time than you're expecting." She blinked, a slight frown twisting her lips. "Starting tomorrow, we'll start running between campsites. That way, we'll have extra time to study or practice."

Olivia couldn't quite restrain a wince. "Running? That's going to leave us exhausted at the end of each day."

Clay nodded easily. "Yeah, but it will help us build up our [Fortitude]. Which is going to be just as important as [Memory], right?"

She flinched this time, and he grinned. Even without having used the Orison on her recently, he knew that [Fortitude] was one of her weaker [Stats]. It wasn't something she usually enjoyed practicing, either.

Yet at the same time, he wasn't going to be the only one suffering, and he'd need the extra time at each camp if he was going to be ready for whatever was waiting for them. She knew it as well as he did, and she eventually nodded with a resigned sigh. "All right, but you'll have to make it up to me."

Clay raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that so?"

She leaned over against him, her eyes still on the [Chants]. "Mhmm." His protests died as she settled in, and he looked up at the stars. Life seemed good.

The journey to Dorthmead lasted another five days. It could have been as short as four, but their training consumed a bit more of each day's travel time than Clay had initially expected.

They fell into a familiar pattern, waking early in each others' arms before eating a quick breakfast and packing up their camp. Then they ran, speeding along the roads and paths at a pace that would have left a normal [Commoner] exhausted within the first hour. They were still gasping by midday, but a couple of hours' study and a hearty meal gave them enough strength to keep the run going for another few hours. Sparring occupied them after dinner, at least until their aching muscles demanded they stop, with another burst of study before they fell asleep and repeated the pattern the next day.

As they continued, the terrain around them grew rougher. The forests grew thinner, even as the hills grew larger and rockier. Clay could feel the air growing thinner, and the roads turned to rough paths that often switch-backed their way up a hillside rather than passing over or around them. They often ran for part of the day along ridgelines, with the terrain spread out on one side of them like a carpet, struggling to continue their journey in the thin air.

It felt like a grueling pattern, but it paid off more than well enough as the days wore on. Olivia's [Fortitude] and [Valor] increased, alongside her usual progress in [Memory]. Clay's own [Stats] were a bit slower to rise, given that they were much further along, but he still managed to gain at least one point in [Memory] and another in both [Valor] and [Fortitude]. It brought him surprisingly close to reaching the next reinforcement for [Paragon], something he was fairly certain that no one from the Guild had achieved in living memory.

Even with that progress, however, it was still a relief to follow a twist in the road around one last craggy ridge and find Dorthmead waiting for them.

The village was a small one, located on one of the far borders of the kingdom, but it seemed like more of a fortress than a simple dwelling place. It was settled right into the foothills of a mountain, and its walls had been carved from stone. Watchtowers dotted the wall, and several sentries were peering out from them over the surrounding cliffs and ridges. There were signs of conflict marking the fortifications, where something had obviously lashed out at the place fairly recently.

Clay shook his head as they approached. The village likely would have been abandoned years ago, if it wasn't settled on top of an actual gold mine. Crownsguard needed access to the ore, and they were more than willing to spend lives to guarantee it. Soldiers, often former bandits or malcontents, were a worthy sacrifice to the local monsters, so long as the gold continued to flow.

Everything in Clay wanted to end the grinding losses, but it wasn't going to be possible this time. Unlike at Glanwood and Rettmore, the plague of monsters wasn't from a simple Lair. The enemy was coming from an actual Dungeon, one that had existed for generations now. Killing it was beyond him; the best he could hope for was to kill a few Guardians inside it to limit the flow of monsters. Even that wouldn't do much; there were still Undead in Sarlsboro, after all.

As they drew near the town gates, he saw some of the sentries pointing down at them. He glanced at Olivia and found that she'd already pulled up her scarf to conceal her lower face. Her eyes were serious, and he sighed. Apparently, she intended to maintain her persona here as well.

When he turned back, however, he saw someone waving to him from the wall. Smiling, he waved back and watched as they rushed down from the top of the gate.

They didn't bother using the stairs, of course. Instead, he watched as they swung down on the near side of the wall and clambered down the sheer stone face. From his perspective, it looked more like a controlled fall, but it didn't seem to worry the person coming to meet them at all. Clay chuckled despite himself as they pushed off the wall and landed with a cartwheel, and then sprinted to meet them, a broad grin on her face.

"Clay! You're here!" Anne barely paused before throwing her arms around him. The [Burglar] gave him a brief, impressive hug and then pulled back, running an eye over him. "You know we've been stuck here waiting for you for a while, right? We've been hearing plenty of rumors, so I know you've been busy, but still!"

He snorted. Time hadn't made her any more formal, apparently. "Sorry, Anne. Between the Council and everything else, this was the soonest I could make it here."

She grinned and slugged him in the shoulder, just enough to make it felt beneath his armor. "I guess I'll have to just accept that as your excuse, then. Gods, it's good to see you." Then she stepped to the side, her smile still wide and welcoming. "And we've been looking forward to… meeting…"

Anne trailed off as she was confronted with Olivia's scarf-concealed expression for the first time. She blinked and glanced at Clay, as if looking for reassurance, and he sighed. "This is Olivia Newfeld. She's my apprentice. Olivia, this is Syr Anne, one of the Ruffians that helped me stay alive at Rodcliff."

Olivia bowed slightly, her eyes studying the [Burglar]. "Sir Clay has told me a lot about you. It is good to finally put a face to the name."

Anne's smile revived a little, but it was a fleeting, fragile thing. She nodded, just a bit too quickly. "Hopefully he's been saying all good things. Right, Clay?"

He gave Olivia a pained look. She raised an eyebrow at him and then unbent with a grumble. The air of menace around her lessened. "He mentioned you were a good ally, Syr Anne, if one that kept stealing his bread."

A hint of relief tinged Anne's expression as she shrugged. "Sorry. A bad habit, I guess."

"Everyone has some." Clay gave Olivia another pointed look and then turned back to Anne. "Are the others here?"

She nodded. "The whole crew, yeah. We've been patrolling against the Dungeon, but aside from that, we've mostly been waiting on you."

Olivia frowned. "It seems like that is a long time to have a group stationed here."

Anne shrugged. "Apparently it's common to have someone stationed constantly near certain Dungeons, ones where there is a critical need." She gave Clay a meaningful look. "The groups that stay here tend to get rotated out regularly, but for some reason, the Council has seen fit to leave us here a while."

Clay winced. "I'm sorry to hear that."

The [Burglar] shrugged. "It's fine. At the very least, we've been able to learn a lot. Get a good amount of training in." She spread her arms wide for a moment. "Maybe someday Syr Katherine will give us permission to actually start going into the Dungeon itself. It would be interesting, at least."

He thought back to the Undead at Sarlsboro and grimaced. "You might change your mind about that." She snorted, and he continued as she led them through the gates. "Speaking of Syr Katherine, is she here? Is there a reason that she sent for us?"

"There is, and no, she's not." Anne's expression turned a little cryptic. "I'll take you to the others. Jack or Natalie might be able to tell you more. They're more or less the leader while she's… gone."

Clay exchanged a look with Olivia. She shook her head. "Can you tell us anything about the monsters, at least?"

"Nope!" Anne grinned at him, and Clay sighed. Clearly, something was going on and Anne had been given instructions to keep quiet. It must have been important enough for her to actually listen to the directions, too. Hopefully, one of the others would give him a bit more information, but there was only one way to find out.

"Sorry, Clay. We've got orders. No clues for you." Jack gave him a broad grin. "Still, it's good to see you again. It's been too long."

Clay gave him a patient look. They were sitting together in Countess Dorthmead's manor. The Countess herself had introduced herself briefly and then excused herself; she seemed fairly uninterested in the newly arrived members of the Guild. Perhaps she'd already seen too many of them come and go over the years, or perhaps it was a sign that she wasn't too amused at being saddled with the Ruffians. Either way, Clay didn't expect much from her in the next few days.

Her manor house was a strange place, compared to the other [Noble] mansions that Clay had seen. It seemed like it was part palace and part inn, with a section of it built out with multiple rooms and a common kitchen separate from the Countess' own quarters. It had clearly been prepared with the need to provide shelter for teams of adventurers on a near permanent basis in mind.

They were sitting in the adventurer's common room now, with a nearby hearthfire blazing merrily and a handful of the Countess' servants poking their heads in from time to time to see if they needed food or other help. Jack, Anne, Clay, and Olivia sat around one of the tables, while Xavien, Lawrence, and Natalie sat at the table to Clay's right. All of them had seemed excited to see Clay, though most of them had looked at Olivia with either surprise or unease, depending on how long she'd returned their stares.

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When his reproachful look failed to provoke anything more than a shrug from Olivia, Clay sighed. He looked around the common room with a weary eye. "So, what are we supposed to do? Sit and wait for Syr Katherine to make an appearance?"

Lawrence spoke up, the [Occultist]'s voice showing an ill-concealed hint of amusement. "No, actually. Syr Katherine requested that you go on patrol tomorrow. She said it would be an opportunity to familiarize yourselves with the situation."

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? I suppose we could take the opportunity to kill a few monsters together."

Jack coughed into his hand. "Actually, she asked that you proceed separately, rather than together. Her words, not mine."

As Olivia not-quite-glared at the [Knave], Clay cleared his throat. "I guess it shouldn't be a problem. She doesn't expect us to enter the Dungeon yet, correct?"

Natalie shook her head. "No. She just wants you to gain as much Soul as you can from killing the monsters." She snorted. "Not that we can tell you anything about them. Sorry."

Clay grunted. "All right, then. Does she intend on meeting us after that?"

The Ruffians all shrugged. Anne answered for all of them, her voice still sounding like she was restraining a laugh. "She hasn't exactly trusted all her plans with us. Apparently, we haven't been as useful for her work here."

Xavien grimaced. "The woman barely talks to us, honestly. It makes me wonder why she's come out of retirement in the first place."

Jack nodded. "It must be something, but she won't tell us. Though she did promise to see if we could get relieved here as long as we go along with things." He gave Clay an unrepentant smile. "Sorry."

As Clay snorted, Natalie raised her hands over her head and stretched. "I had hoped we could leave all of the secrets and mysteries at the Academy, but I suppose I was too optimistic. How… unfortunate."

Lawrence shrugged. "At least we've gotten training and experience out of it. We're all to level ten now, which isn't bad."

Xavien tapped his finger on the tabletop. "True enough—though I worry that will be the highest any of us get, unless something changes soon."

Anne laughed. "Maybe we just need to start causing problems here. Then they'd have to transfer someone else in to fix the mess we've made." She arched an eyebrow at Clay. "What do you think?"

Clay shook his head, trying not to sound alarmed. "No, I don't think that would be a good idea. There's too much that could go wrong."

"I disagree." He twisted around to look at Olivia, who shrugged. "Their talents will be underdeveloped here—and it's possible that the Council is more worried about one of them reaching level thirteen than they are about employing them effectively. A little trouble now could save suffering later."

He snorted. "I don't think Rectory sayings are going to be a good answer to their complaints, Syr Olivia."

"She's not wrong though." Natalie gave him a crooked smile. "You mentioned that there were… things we shouldn't learn until around that level. Is it what you used to kill the Lairs in Rodcliff?"

Clay looked around at the Ruffians, who were watching him expectantly. He rolled his eyes. "You already know that well enough. It doesn't matter, because you aren't ready for it yet."

Xavien scowled. "And they're trying to make sure we never will be." He looked over at Anne, who was starting to look faintly alarmed as her idle speculation gained traction. "If you have any ideas, Syr Anne…"

Jack snorted. He shook his head. "No. We're not so desperate as to try that yet, and we don't want to make life complicated for Syr Katherine. Not after she promised to look out for us."

Lawrence tucked both hands behind his head and leaned back a little in his chair. "Well, that's a shame. I was already planning a few things."

The [Knave] traded looks with the [Occultist] as Olivia's eyes lit with amusement. Her scarf covered her mouth, but Clay would have bet anything that she was grinning underneath it. "Maybe we can report to the Council that they might be a bit less well-behaved if they are kept here much longer."

Clay grinned. "I'm sure that Syr Katherine would be more than happy to deliver that news, once we are done here."

Natalie nodded. "In the meantime, we're grateful to have your help here, Clay. I'm sure you've both learned plenty of interesting things in your journeys." She looked at Olivia. "I hope you don't mind sharing him with us, Olivia. He's already helped us so much."

OIivia returned her look for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was low and calm. "Clay can choose for himself who he spends time with. I trust his decisions." Her fingers tightened slightly around her war scythe, which glimmered in the firelight. "Of course, if someone decides to object to his choices, or manipulate him into changing his mind, I might feel the need to… make my own thoughts known."

The [Alchemist]'s eyes widened slightly, and she nodded carefully. "That makes sense to me, Syr Olivia. We're glad you're both here."

Anne nodded quickly. "We all are. Sooo glad." Lawrence gave her an amused glance, and she returned it with an exasperated glare.

Clay put a hand over his eyes. The only thing he'd have to worry about tomorrow was a bunch of unknown monsters and a mysterious plan put in motion by a missing adventurer. Surely it wouldn't be any worse than whatever this awkwardness was.

Rested and ready, Clay and Olivia set out the following morning, leaving Dorthmead by the gate that faced towards the area where the Dungeon was located. The Ruffians had refused to give any more than the most basic of details, though at the very least Lawrence agreed to act as a guide to the edges of the monster-infested area.

The [Occultist] led them along a mountain pass which curled up and around a smaller ridge. After a good hour of walking, they arrived at a place where someone had planted a stone pillar in the ground. It was carved with symbols which spoke of danger and death, and Lawrence leaned against it for a moment.

"Here is as far as I go." He nodded, looking faintly unhappy. "Again, she'd like for you to proceed independently from here on in. Spend the day hunting monsters and then return back to Dorthmead."

Clay nodded slowly. A thread of suspicion ran through him for a moment, but he discarded it almost immediately. Syr Katherine was a bit stricter than he'd like, but she would never have planned to ambush Olivia or him, especially not in a monster infested area. If anything, she'd insist on turning it into some kind of lesson, though he had no idea what it could be.

With a sigh, he looked over at Olivia. "Want to meet back here before the sun sets, then? Or whenever we both have the [Achievement] fully reinforced?"

Olivia shrugged, her eyes fixed on the boulder-strewn paths ahead. "Sure. Just make sure you don't fall behind out there." Her gaze returned to him for a moment, the emeralds seeming to warm with challenge. "After all, I'd hate to embarrass you in front of your friends by getting back first."

Lawrence coughed, as if he was trying to hide a laugh. Clay just smirked at her. "All right, let's get started. The daylight's wasting."

Before he'd finished, Olivia had already taken off running for the nearest path. He glared at her retreating back and then launched himself into her wake. No matter what Syr Katherine was up to, he wasn't going to be the one who came back last. No matter what.

The path Clay followed cut along the side of the ridge, before turning downhill and disappearing into the trees on the side of the slope. He followed it carefully, keeping his eyes open for the nearest threats. With no information about what the Dungeon produced, he didn't know whether he was looking for beasts or humanoids, or something stranger like the shrooms had been. It was an uncomfortable situation to be in, especially given that he was more or less racing against Olivia, who was facing the same drawbacks.

Clay had one major advantage, however. His ethereal senses would at least give him some notice, even if he didn't know what he was hunting or how they would try to ambush him. He advanced along the trail, listening for the slightest twinge of warning from that ability. The faster he found his prey, the sooner he could either head back or check on Olivia to make sure she hadn't been hurt somehow.

He'd walked for a few minutes when he felt the first alert. Clay paused, looking towards the trees on the right, where the slope headed downwards. His eyes narrowed as he pinpointed the direction, and then he slipped off of the path and into the trees, searching for anything that looked deadly.

It took him another handful of minutes to creep up on the spot, and by then, his senses were clamoring enough to let him know that whatever he was tracking was not alone. Curiously, he'd found no sign of tracks or traps on the slope around him. He'd expected some traces to be left behind by the monsters, but the fact that there were none gave him an unpleasant suspicion that whatever he faced was far from normal.

His senses led him to a small thicket of trees, all of which were still green with pine needles. He grimaced; the increasingly bare branches reduced the cover the monsters could hide behind, but he supposed a little greenery wasn't something that would stop him for long.

Creeping forward, his eyes scanned the foliage and the ground beneath the pines. He couldn't see any burrows or disturbed soil beneath; the carpet of dead pine needles looked completely untouched, which only made him more suspicious. There had to be some sign…

He paused. Three sticks had been laid against one of the trees, all leaning against one another. If he looked at it right, it almost looked like an arrow, pointing upwards.

Clay's eyes narrowed as he looked up along the trunk. He searched the wood for signs of bulges or odd patterns. If something was camouflaged, it typically wouldn't be flawless enough to escape his notice. It might even have a burrow dug into the wood or something, unless…

His thoughts trailed off for a moment as he saw something hanging from one of the branches. It was a small, leathery lump, about the size of a small dog, that swayed only slightly in the breeze. As Clay watched it, he thought it twitched a little as the wind died.

Now that he'd seen it, Clay started looking at the other trees. He found another three similar objects, all hanging from different branches. None of them looked like they were aware of his presence, whatever they were.

Clay began an internal debate. On the one hand, fighting them normally might provide him with better insight into their abilities and the dangers they represented. Using the Orison to observe them might give him even more clues, and it wasn't as if he needed to strike immediately.

On the other hand, they were four rank one enemies, and he had a lot of ground to cover. He watched them for another moment and then began the Canticle of Ice.

Moments later, all four monsters fell from their perches, skewered by two spears apiece. None of them had even so much as twitched before they died.

{Junior Howler Bat slain! Soul increases by 10}

{Junior Howler Bat slain! Soul increases by 10}

{Junior Howler Bat slain! Soul increases by 10}

{Junior Howler Bat slain! Soul increases by 10}

Clay watched the scene for a few more moments, waiting for some alarm to sound or for another creature to yell. There was nothing but the late autumn wind, sighing through the trees.

Nodding to himself, Clay stole forward, his eyes alert for more monsters. He saw none as he closed with the corpses and when he knelt beside one of the creatures, he felt a hint of unease creep through him.

Sure enough, it was an overlarge bat, one that seemed to have a chest far larger than it should have. The eyes seemed almost small and milky white, making him wonder if it could even see naturally at all. A name like 'Howler Bat' didn't make him interested in allowing it the chance to scream at him. Perhaps it was a flying version of a squealer? If so, he'd need to watch the skies almost as much as the ground.

Clay grimaced. None of the monsters he'd faced before had really flown. The spiders in the Tanglewood had glided, but only the strongest of them had managed it, and they'd been… unpleasant to deal with. If the very basic creatures here could launch ambushes the same or better than elder troll spiders, the rest of his day might be worse than he'd expected.

Still shaking his head, Clay crept away from the dead bats and widened his search. There hadn't been any tracks under the trees, but someone had placed the branches that way. There were some signs of the Ruffians around—it was hard for him not to recognize Jack's soft boots, or Xavien's heavy footsteps—but there was another set he was searching for.

He found it, well within the range that Ballad of Air could have been used to manipulate the sticks. Clay frowned as he traced the footprints of Syr Katherine away from the spot where she'd hidden, his mind going over his suspicions about her motivations. She likely wasn't going to ambush or attack them, not if the [Calculator] was leaving them hints. At the same time, if his guess about her actions was correct, she might be playing an even more dangerous game.

For a moment, he debated giving Olivia a message using Distant Whispers. Then he dismissed it. If Syr Katherine was up to what he thought she was doing, telling Olivia would ruin the entire effort, which might make the entire stay in Dorthmead that much more painful. Besides, Olivia could handle herself, no matter what the adventurer was doing.

At least, he hoped that was the case. Shaking his doubts away, Clay continued through the woods down the mountainside, looking for more traces of monsters. He still had that part of his job to do, after all.

Over the next hour, Clay found another five roosts, each one full of a handful of bat monsters. He didn't give any of them the chance to take to the air, preferring to slaughter them while they were still hanging from trees.

He found which trees they were using thanks to more of Syr Katherine's planning. The howler bats were all marked by the triple branches laid at one of the roots. Another monster, called fanged bats, had a triangle of branches, once again pointing up. Clay had been a little unnerved at the massive fangs in the monsters' mouths, and he'd quickly resolved never to give them an opening to try them against his armor.

A pair of branches laid in the pattern of a cross marked the third variety of monster, called a blast bat. Those creatures were a bit more mysterious than the other two. They had four eyes rather than two, and none of them seemed as nonfunctional as the howlers'. Each one also had some kind of crystal nestled between both sets of eyes which didn't seem to do much. He'd half-expected the things to self-destruct when they died, but they simply dropped dead like the other two kinds of bats.

His confusion over them lasted until he was finally attacked by a swarm of all three types, just a little further down the mountain.

The first warning he had of their approach was the sudden clamor of his ethereal senses. One moment, they were at peace, and the next they were screaming about the approach of a threat from higher on the mountain. Clay had braced himself and turned his eyes to the sky; he doubted the things would be crawling towards him at that pace. He'd started the Canticle of Ice as well, knowing that his arrows were limited compared to the uses of the [Chant].

He saw them coming a moment later, their wings whisper quiet in the fall air. There were a dozen of them, a mixture of all three types, and they spotted him almost instantly. His ears picked up a dull chirp of some kind, and the entire flock of them pivoted in midair and swept in at him. Clay tracked the arc of their path, waiting until they had leveled out for a steep dive towards him.

Then he unleashed a spray of ice spears, showering their path with lethal projectiles.

The results were… varied. As the howlers dove, they released a low, thrumming bellow that shattered the incoming projectiles. It didn't quite save them; the splinters of ice still tore through their leathery wings, turning their dives into doomed tumbles through the air.

By contrast, the fanged bats dove straight into the spears, moving so fast that they failed to swerve. They died near-instantly, the spears skewering them before they had the chance to evade. He received the notifications before the last of the projectiles had even struck home.

{Junior Fanged Bat slain! Soul increases by 5}

{Junior Fanged Bat slain! Soul increases by 5}

{Achievement Unlocked! Batsbane: 5% increase to all skills and damage against bats. Bonus increases to 10% versus Junior Fanged Bats.}

{Junior Fanged Bat slain!}

{Junior Fanged Bat slain!}

Yet of all the bats, it was the last group that surprised him the most. As they dove, they had started to glow, their chests and eyes seeming to illuminate from within. Their eyes had seemed to widen with surprise as he hurled ice in their path, but they reacted instantly. Each of them opened their mouths, and a burst of blue-purple light shot out, vaporizing the spears headed for them.

Clay flinched as those spears exploded, and he pivoted as the bats swept past him and back up into the sky. He ignored the falling howler bats, who slammed into the ground behind him as he began the Refrain.

{Junior Howler Bat slain! Soul increases by 5}

{Junior Howler Bat slain! Soul increases by 5}

{Achievement Reinforced! Batsbane: 10% increase to all skills and damage against bats. Bonus increases to 20% versus Junior Fanged Bats and Junior Howler Bats.}

{Junior Howler Bat slain!}

{Junior Howler Bat slain!}

Clay watched as the blast bats came around, obviously intending to strike at him again. He allowed the icicle spears of the [Chant] to form above him again. This time, he pointed three spears at each bat, hoping to skewer all of them before they could find some other way to make mischief.

They dove again, their chests once again glowing with light. He tracked their plummeting forms, waiting until they were fully committed. Then he unleashed the ice again, preparing to dodge if he needed to.

It proved unnecessary. The bat once again unleashed their magical attacks, but they could only destroy a single spear at a time. Each bat was struck by a pair of other projectiles and fell, dead before they even touched the ground.

{Junior Blast Bat slain! Soul increases by 5}

{Junior Blast Bat slain! Soul increases by 5}

{Achievement Reinforced! Batsbane: 15% increase to all skills and damage against bats. Bonus increases to 30% versus Junior Fanged Bats, Junior Howler Bats, and Junior Blast Bats.}

{Junior Blast Bat slain!}

{Junior Blast Bat slain!}

As the bodies finished tumbling into the trees, Clay remained crouched for a moment. If there had been any other bats watching, they might have headed for him. He might need to—

His thoughts cut off a moment later as another set of warbling howls echoed across the mountainside. They seemed to have come from the direction of the path that Olivia had taken. Clay grimaced, realizing that she must have run into the first bat swarms as well. He suppressed his initial instinct to start running towards her, knowing that she was capable of defending herself.

Still, it was an effort to force himself to head further in, and he kept his ears peeled for any further signs of combat.

The bats were waiting.

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