The night takes an eternity to tick away. I try climbing the hill a couple more times, but each attempt is quickly thwarted by gravity and a consequential near fall to my death. Trying to creep around the snakes proves equally impossible. The ravine seems too steep for them to climb, but they’re content to wait for me below. As the sky begins to lighten with the faintest shade of purple, I’m still stuck on the hillside, unsure what to do.

It’s starting to look like magic is my only option. It feels like admitting defeat. Like I’m letting the predator win. But Noli and I will both lose if I’m stuck up here for the next week and a half.

Shit. Alright.

I take the smaller of the two Attuned pieces of glass and activate a Sculpt. I warp it around my vial, creating two arcs of glass in the shape of an X that intersect with my leg harness. I Chain them in place, then let the magic fade. Now I’ll be stuck with these legs for good—until I Sculpt them apart, at least.

Void Check, I wearily call to Echo.

[Void: 8%]

Yeesh, that sure creeps up fast. But what’s done is done. Now I’m more secure, and if I can use the last large chunk of glass to help push me up the ravine, without having to worry about keeping me stuck to my legs, then maybe I can finally make it to the top. Here goes nothing.

Just as I’m starting to make a final attempt at the slope, however, a pinprick of light appears at the far end of the road. It’s back in the direction I’d come, growing larger by the second. I feel a flicker of hope. If it’s a cart or group of travelers, maybe they can scatter the snakes for me, and I can sneak through as well. The light bobs as it grows closer, like a fire in a lantern.

As their form resolves in the morning half-light, however, my hope sinks back into dread. It’s a lone individual, and something tells me the bonefangs won’t find that particularly intimidating.

As the figure approaches, I can start to make out more of their features. In fact, the longer I watch, the more I’m certain I’ve seen them before. Back in Peakshadow, I think. To be fair, their appearance is kind of hard to miss.

The light in the man’s palm appears to be a sparking, levitating ball of lightning, which he carries as casually as if it were nothing more than a compass. His skin is a deep crimson, but light reflects off flecks of gold sprinkled like freckles across his face. Two fiery orange horns curl up between his black hair, and a pointed tail swishes back and forth behind him as he walks. I’ve seen this devilish individual before, but I have to ask Echo for an abbreviated reminder.

[Name: Zyneth]

[Species: Cambion]

[Class: Rogue Artificer]

Right. The magic user I’d clocked back in Peakshadow. Looks like I’m getting a second chance to try to ask for his help—assuming the snakes don’t get to him first.

What does a rogue artificer even do, exactly? Is it a defensive class? Offensive? Would that make a difference, given the numbers he’s up against? Either way, he’s heading blindly into their line of fire.

Looking beneath me, I see the dots of green light have all flickered out. Either they’ve retreated, or they’re lying in wait. Zyneth is getting closer. Maybe he knows they’re there. Maybe he can see them, and he’s just very very confident in his abilities, and this is a reverse “Badass walking away from an explosion” sort of situation. Then, the man yawns, rubbing his eyes.

Goddammit.

If I don’t want to stand by and watch someone get eaten alive, I have to warn him. But how? I guess I could chuck my last big piece of glass his way, though it would definitely break. I could summon my spell books; they might be big enough to notice even in the partial dark. Or the charmed bracelet, still halfway lit and glowing. But both of those would increase the Void if I have to add them back to my inventory, and if I keep delaying, I won’t be able to warn him in time.

Below me, something moves. I can barely make out the bone-white smudge of one of the snakes beginning to slither forward. If it hadn’t moved, I might not have been able to pick it out at all. It’s headed toward Zyneth.

I don’t see the rest of the den, and I don’t know if that’s because they’re hiding, or are just keeping very still. Either way, no more time for hesitations. People can get poisoned: glass can’t. And maybe with the snakes focused on the rogue, I can use this chance to escape. I briefly recall an image of Noli hopping up in the midst of the dissipated cat-spell, declaring, “Sneak Attack!” Well, if it worked for her…

The lone snake darts forward, making a beeline toward Zyneth, and I jump into action. Well, fall into action is probably more accurate. Uprooting myself from where I’d parked on the side of the ravine, my descent is less of a run and more an accelerating stumble while trying to keep my legs beneath me.

I manage to get my Attuned glass in front of me right before I plow through the snake, ramming straight into its side. There’s a satisfying crunch as it’s crushed into the ground.

[8 points of Bludgeoning damage dealt.]

My momentum takes me over the twitching bones and several stuttering steps beyond before I’m able to slow to a stop.

Zyneth makes a startled sound as he peers down at me with wide eyes—which, from this vantage point, I can now see are all one uniform yellow color, glowing with some internal light. I sure hope he doesn’t smite me.

“What in gods’ grace is this?”

His voice has a soft timbre. Less Machiavellian than I was expecting. Now if I can just convince him this ambush was meant for the snake and not him…

But it doesn’t look like we’ll be given time to exchange pleasantries. A wave of hissing follows my attack on the bonefang: I guess these guys are the vengeful type.

“It seems you’ve brought friends,” Zyneth says.

Wouldn’t that be nice? If they saw me that way, I wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with. Still, I’d rather not be associated with team Undead Snakes, so when the next bonefang darts forward, I swing my glass like a baseball bat.

[5 points of Bludgeoning damage dealt.]

“Oh?” The rogue hangs back, apparently deciding he’s just going to passively watch me fight for my life. “A turf war, is it?”

God damn this man is dense. One of the snakes slips past me, heading for Zyneth, and I throw my glass in its direction.

[Range limit,] Echo warns, right as it passes out of my reach. It crashes into the bonefang and goes rolling beyond, leaving me empty handed.

This is going well.

“You are one fascinating creature,” Zyneth says, still apparently oblivious to the mortal peril.

Another snake hisses, fangs bared and glowing. With my primary weapon out of reach, I dive in front of the rogue, and the bonefang’s jaws snap around me. This time I jam some of my signing glass into its mouth to keep it from trying to crush me to death, and its teeth scrape harmlessly overhead—though with an ear-splitting bone-on-glass screech. Now what, asshole? You can’t crush me, and you can’t poison me. The snake’s jaw works back and forth, its body coiling in discomfort. Then its mouth opens wider, it tips its head back, and a sudden undulation pushes me toward its throat.

Oh god. It’s trying to eat me! I flail my legs, trying to extract myself, but the multitudes of ribs are scraping over me, pulling me down. It shouldn’t be possible to be swallowed by a skeleton; it doesn’t even have skin or muscles or organs to keep me from falling out. But the moss and decaying leaves that stick to its body seem to be acting as that outer layer, and as I struggle to free myself, slashing at the bonefang with my signing glass, it’s quickly becoming apparent that magic has more than just a little to do with keeping this creature together.

Christ. Is this how I die? Eaten by a pint-sized snake? I don’t know which is more pathetic: this, or death by stage accident.

“Well, I think that’s enough commotion for now.”

The scene lights up in a flash of yellow. Prickling jolts of energy crawl over my glass, and I feel the snake convulse around me.

[0 points of Electric damage sustained. You are immune to Electrical type attacks.]

[Bonefang mob defeated!]

The snake that’s currently in the process of swallowing me slumps to the ground. I hurriedly struggle free, extracting myself from its now limp jaws. I look around just in time to see a net of sparking yellow light, like a spiderweb of lightning, filling the scene. Abruptly, it flickers out. A shadow of the light’s pattern is imprinted on my vision, and as it starts to fade, I can make out the devastation that lies before me.

The bonefangs are all still and smoking. I don’t know if they’re stunned or dead, but the road is littered with their bodies. I stare in shock.

“Much better,” Zyneth says, lowering a hand. “It’s far too early for all this ruckus.”

Did he really just electrocute the entire nest in one go? Holy shit. Even more reason not to get on his bad side. I take a hesitant step back, and the bonefang’s carcass slumps off of me.

Zyneth’s gaze snaps to me. “Ah, what’s this? You can still move despite my spell. Intriguing.”

He crouches down to look at me, which frustratingly means he still towers over me.

Hey Echo, I ask, nervous. What was this guy’s level again?

[Level 31,] she dutifully replies.

Wow, okay. So, yeah, he probably didn’t even need my help in the first place. These guys are small fries to him. I’m small fry to him.

“Now what exactly are you?” he says. “Besides immune to my magic, apparently.”

Apparently is right. Good to know for any run-ins with future thunderstorms. But it’s the lightning user before me I’m slightly more concerned about.

“You were fighting those bonefangs back there, weren’t you?” he asks.

“Yes,” I sign.

He tips his head at the gesture. “Curious. Can you understand me?”

“Yes,” I sign again. Oh my god. Does he know sign language? Is this the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for?

He reaches out, gently tapping my signing glass, though even that light touch feels like a ton of bricks are pressing down on my glass. “Fascinating. You appear to be reacting to what I say, at any rate. Can you speak?”

Well, so much for him understanding signs. But I’d planned for this, and I can’t let the opportunity pass me by now. I summon the cheat sheet I had Noli write for me. The paper appears in the air between us and flutters to the ground.

Zyneth flinches in surprise. “Now how did you manage that little sleight of hand?”

Unfortunately my cheat sheet does not come with a response to that. Zyneth moves to pick up the paper, but I stab a foot into the corner to keep him from pulling it away. Hey, I need that to talk, bucko!

He chuckles. “Possessive, I see. Alright then. What have we here?” Releasing my paper, he leans in for a closer look.

His eyes scan over the paper, gradually pinching in a frown. I can’t blame him: It’s a list of about twenty seemingly random words. It wouldn’t make much sense without context.

But that’s what I’m here for. I order my signing glass over the paper, pausing to circle different words. “I NEED HELP.”

Zyneth freezes. “You can speak? You’re sentient?”

I send my glass to the top left corner of the page and circle the word “YES.”

Zyneth appears too shocked to reply for a moment. Then he rocks back on his heels and falls into a cross-legged sit, hands on his knees. “Well this is the second strangest thing I’ve encountered in as many days.” A genuine smile spreads over his face as he leans down. “Tell me your story, little one.”