A moment of silence followed Jack’s Spell. He saw Louis get hit by the Spell. He saw him be blasted backwards, the Spell having had hit him in the chest. His shirt was ripped open and a number of small cuts instantly appeared on his skin. Nothing major, nothing like what would have happened to Penor had he been hit with the same Spell, yet Jack had an instinctive thought that Louis would probably be nursing a few broken ribs after he woke up.

Nah, the asshole’s probably hoarding Pok’s entire Potions supply.

Only a moment. It only lasted until Louis hit the ground, breaking a chair in the process. And then it happened. The men turned their heads from him, to them. Anton still looked to be in shock, but in small villages like Pok, hometown loyalty took precedent in high stakes situation. And for better or worse, Jack had just blasted their Village Head with a Spell.

The man’s brows crossed and he bellowed.

“Get ‘em!”

Shit.

“|Barrier|! |Ensnaring Vines|!”

Anton went down, but the mob of men moved forward, hammering at his Spell hard enough that he could feel the magic straining. A few even had the wherewithal of trying to go around it.

“Ava, non-lethal shots. Brom, can you calm then down?”

“Really tying my hands here, Jack.”

“Not when they’re this enraged.”

“Then, strike them with your shield. No killing. Let’s get to Nole.”

It was easier said than done. Sure, they had no Skills, but they were around twenty of them and more were streaming in. They were arming themselves too, with axes and knives and pitchforks. And yes, they probably had no combat Classes. But here’ the catch. Jack and his friends had fought a war. They could mow down countless Leveless enemies when they let loose. But here?

These were just normal men. Probably asshole inclined, but far more likely it was that Louis brainwashed them. He certainly had the Skills for it. Just like his dear old shit of a father. And Jack, Ava and Brom had experience with killing soldiers. Not guarding against enraged villagers.

Really hope I don’t have to kill anyone.

…at least I took Louis out. No mindfuckery from him.

They fought a hard retreat out of the yard, taking care not to be encircled by the villagers. Ava was pinning the villagers to the ground with her arrows or, at her worst, leaving some painful, but non-harmful cuts on their thighs or buttocks. Enough to slow them down or pin them in place. Brom, however, chose a more hardline approach. He would use his axe to parry, but otherwise just let the villagers smash on his shield until he gathered a small charge. Which he would then use to blast an unlucky assailant through the air. After about three villagers went flying, Brom won himself a circle of wariness around himself. Which was still better than Jack. Apparently, fighting with your hands made them think he was weak. Or maybe it was the fact that Jack preferred to block or trip them, instead of hurting them. Still, at least he hadn’t needed to kill them.

It was as they left the yard that Jack noticed the crowd outside and instantly tensed. But he calmed down when he saw that it was composed of mostly older villagers and children. There to see what the fuss was about, not participate in the brawl. And among them was the same old man who had warned Jack about Louis.

“I told you he was nasty business.” The old man shouted.

“You did. So I broke his ribs.” Jack shouted back. “|Tripping Vine|, |Blast|! You happy now?”

The man had a wry smile on his face as he shook his head.

“Ava, Brom, I need to talk to him. Buy me a minute?”

“I will.”

“Throw in a barrier and I will to.”

Jack cast his Spell quickly before hurrying to the old man.

“Look, you were right. I saw that. I took him out and now we’re beating up his men. You and the others can take back control of the village.”

“Hah. Do I look stupid to you, lad? We take back control and Amenor’s soldiers will execute us. There’s a reason we haven’t put up much of a fight until now.”

“…can you leave?” Jack asked, a little taken aback. “Helmrest would have you.”

“Helmrest is far away. And what would we do? Abandon our families and children and just move away?”

“Yes. My |Mayor| would give you all houses. She has a kind heart and I will make sure that-“

“No, lad.” The old man smiled. “You have a kind heart too, I can see that. Buy we will stay, come what may.”

That sounded like a saying to Jack. Yet he felt like he should be pushing the issue more. Try to be more convincing. After all, Amenor would gobble up this village. Yet, Amenor’s soldiers were coming right now. He didn’t know how much time he had. And there was a finality in the man’s eyes. Like he had already had this conversation in his head and had already given his answer.

“Lad.” The old man shook him. “You should be running. Adventurers or not, the soldiers who are coming won’t take it easy on you. And if they reach you, you won’t be able to take it easy on those stoneheads again either.”

“Right. But… is there no chance way I could convince you to leave? Any of you? Or just make your life better?”

“Make your village into a kingdom and replace Amenor.” The old man wryly laughed. “No, son. There isn’t. Now, you came into this village with a man. He and his carriage are down the road. There’s an old barn. They took the carriage inside. I don’t know if your man is alright, but he’ll be there.”

“Thank you.” Jack said, as Ava shouted at him to hurry up. “Please… I never learned your name.”

“It’s Grether. And stop looking so sad, you all kicking that boy and his goons all over the street is gift enough for us. Now go!”

He pushed him back and Jack returned to his friends. They had to leave. They had to leave those people behind, for them to be continually bullied by the likes of Louis.

Should I kill him? …I’d just be a hop over the fence.

I’ve killed others. Just for following orders. Why not him?

It was with both a physical and mental pull and thar he managed to tear himself away from those thoughts. He could kill him. It might even be right. But he remembered how he felt when he had almost lost it. He might go down that path anyway, but if he would, he would make sure it was with him holding the reins, not by killing in cold blood.

“I’ve found out where they’re keeping Nole. Old barn, down the street. Ava, use a red mushroom arrow. Don’t light it up, just blast them. We need them to stay back.”

“Understood, oh captain of mine.” The satyr grinned and produced said arrow.

Her shot hit the ground in front of them and Jack instantly put up a |Barrier| before his team and the rapidly growing red cloud. They bolted away, but even as they ran, he heard the coughing and cries of dismay from the men.

Non-lethal doesn’t mean non-painful.

They found the barn quickly enough. There was nobody guarding it, probably because whoever had was now down on their knees, chocking and crying. The carriage was inside, intact. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for its driver.

Nole was tied up to a wooden pillar, sporting one black eye and a bruised jaw. His lip had also been split. The man had been dozing off, but woke up when he heard and saw them.

“Sirs. My lady. You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

“Shit, Nole. What did they do to you?” Jack asked, even as Brom pulled out his Healing Potion.

“Beat me up.” The man laughed at the question, before wincing. “The tried to get me to tell them things. How Helmrest was doing, where was the fourth member of your team. How is Helmrest defended. All kinds of things. But I told them nothing.”

The man grinned, even as they cut him down and healed up part his face. The bruising would still remain, but it would go down in time.

“Told them I was just a driver. Why would I know things? They believed me eventually, but they still roughed me up.”

“Fools.” Brom swore.

“You made your town proud, mister Nole.” Jack said. “And don’t worry, we beat up everyone, so we probably got whoever it is that did this to you.”

“Yeah. And who knows, maybe this will count towards your Class.” Ava tried to cheer him up. “You could get like a |Brawler| Class to go along with your current one.”

“I hate to put you to more work just now, but we need to leave, Nole. Amenor’s soldiers are on their way here.”

“Oh, don’t you worry, sir. I’ve been tied up enough. It’d be a pleasure to do what I’m good at.”

The boarded their carriage then and went back up the street. The exit towards their destination what that way, but Jack also wanted to see the old man one last time. It was as they passed the Village Head’s house, with the man who tried to beat them up fainted or kneeling on both sides of the street, that cheering went up.

From all villagers of Pok who had been sick of Louis and his goons. From everyone who wanted to see him beat up and wished, if not for justice, then at least retribution. Jack saw Grether in the crowd and saluted him, before Ava grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.

“Look!” she simply said.

Jack tried to look at where she was pointing, but only saw a dust cloud in the distance.

“What’s that?”

“Right. |Enhanced Vision| and all that. That, dear captain, are Amenor’ riders. And they’re riding towards Pok at full galop.”

“Perhaps they will be slowed down by the confusion.” Brom said.

“Yeah, and then sped back up again by how close they are to us.” Jack swore. “Nole, we need to get out of here. Fast!”

“Yes, sir. |Quick Gallop|.”

They sped left the village in a cloud of dust. They sped away from it, hoping it would still take a while before they’d get Louis rejuvenated or until thy could heal his guards from the throat burns. As they ran away, they checked on their gear. They had enough to fight. Enough to kill. But if the others had Classes… it all depended on how many of them they were and what were their Levels. It was a quick group they sent after them, if must have been to have arrived here so quickly. One that was n the outskirts of the kingdom, not a central fighting force. They could probably take them.

But while moving?

Jack was about to get his answer either way.

“Incoming.” Ava called out.

She and Jack were sitting on top of their carriage, while Brom was sitting next to Nole.

“I see them. That’s… a lot of them.” Jack said.

“I see them better. And it’s a lot because there are some riders from Pok among them.”

“How?” Jack asked. “There’s no way they all have the Skills to catch up to us.”

“They might not need to.” Brom answered. “Not if they have a military leader type that possesses group level Skills.”

“I kind of see someone like that at the front.” Ava said, squinting. “So, yeah.”

“Great. Think you can take him out?”

“Can I use my special arrows?” Ava smiled sweetly.

“…only if you promise not to toy with them.”

“Deal.”

It was a little while longer until the group caught up to them. Nole’s firs Skill might have needed time to recharge, but |Efficient Trot| was always active. Yet, after a while, the group chasing them got so close that Jack could how many soldiers and how many villagers were riding, just b the difference in apparel.

“That’s… thirty soldiers? And ten villagers?”

“Yup.” Ava said. “And you see that one riding next to the leader? On the brown horse?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s Louis.”

“Wh- Really?”

“Who’s got a sight Skill, me or you?”

“Damn. He must have used a-“

“Hold on.” Nole shouted.

The entire carriage lurched to the left and Jack saw an arrow implant itself in the ground right where they had been a moment before. And detonate, spraying earth around in a wide circle.

“Sight Skills are useless if you don’t watch your enemy.” Brom chastised Ava. “Eyes on them.”

“Right. Got it.” she said, somewhat embarrassed.

It seemed like the group had archers among them, that could fire even from this distance. They had simply held back to lure them in a fake feeling of safety. Not that the cat was out of the bag, their pursuers accelerated.

“They’re closing in.” Ava said and let loose an arrow.

Which broke apart on a shimmering shield, in front of a soldier.

“Shielding Spells or artifact. Most likely the latter. Those soldiers will not go down without either a Skill or massed Spells.” Brom said.

But they had no more time for strategy, as Pok’s villagers gained up on them. They had clubs and simple tools, but they were coming on both sides of the carriage, attempting to climb on. Meanwhile, Amenor’s soldiers and Louis were riding behind them, content to let the villagers be the first into the meat grinder.

“Jack, it’s us or them.” Ava shouted above the rushing wind. “What do we do?”

“Try and not kill them. But if worst comes to worst, we look after our own.”

She nodded and they came.

Six of them jumped off from their horses and tried to cling to the carriage. The couple of them in front had no chance. Brom heard Jack’s answer and though he was the calmer of the three, he was also the one to protect Jack religiously. And axe hit cut of a man’s hand and Jack felt the carriage bump up as it passed over him. The other received a shield blow and was only blown off the carriage.

Jack used a |Shield| Spell to protect himself, while using a vine to trip a man into falling off the carriage. Ava dealt with hers more quickly. A man tried to grab on to her leg, forgetting that satyrs had hooves, not feet. Jack heard more than saw his nose break and him fall down. The other was she simply pushed off, preferring to save the arrow.

Six men had attacked them and six had fallen off. They were most likely dead.

Fuck you, Louis. Fuck you for making them do this.

“Four left.” Ava shouted.

“Ava, use your Skills. Take out Amenor’s leader. It’s his Skills keeping them riding this fast.”

She nodded and brought her bow up.

“|Summon Crescent Bow|. |Horns of the Moon|!”

Twin arrow shot out. One for their leader and one for Louis. It seemed the satyr thought to kill two birds with one stone. Yet the shots were blocked. The same shimmering light effect appeared over the two, as it had appeared over the soldiers before. Jack saw, even from the distance, the enemy leader raise his hand and salute him.

“Artifact protection.” Brom called out. “At least on Amenor’s man and Louis. Maybe the villagers too.”

“Let’s find out.” Jack said.

He brought out an Embercap sphere. Four Pok riders left. He knew Louis would have them attack until either they succeeded or died. From his perspective, even the emotional tear on Jack and his friends was probably enough.

Burn marks are better than being dead.

“Nole, go faster I need them behind me.”

“Yes, sir!”

Jack felt the carriage speed up and saw the four riders get move from the sides to the back. Right where he needed them.

“Ava, I need you to hit the sphere with an arrow. Right as it reaches its highest peak.”

“Will do.”

“Sorry.” Jack murmured, before tossing the red sphered in the air, just in front of them.

And shot it with his |Fire Bolt| wand. His Spell came just a second after Ava’s arrow made impact and after the Embercap dust had formed a cloud in the air, hallway setting itself on the riders and their clothes.

Jack’s spell ignited it. It wasn’t an explosion, not like if the sphere had been in one piece, but a blaze burst into being, setting the riders aflame, them and their mounts both. Jack saw the burning, even after the initial flare went out and noticed something wrong.

They were burning, but… they kept on riding.

“They got shield too?” Ava asked.

“No.” Brom called out. “Else you would have noticed while fighting them. It’s a fire resistance, almost certainly.”

Fire resistance.

Jack raised his eye towards where he knew Louis was riding and, even from that distance, saw Pok’s Village Head raise his hand, a bound scroll grasped tightly in it. Of course, Louis had been the victim of Jack’s ire before. He knew all about Jack’s favorite trick. Even when he had only been a |Gardner|, he had a flaming trick up his sleeve. So, Louis had taken precautions. Used Pok’s admittedly lowly resources to by himself a few magical artifacts. One of which offered protection against fire, both for himself and those under him.

But that only told Jack how to win.

“Ava, I need you to use your special Skill again. Brom said a Skill could break through that magical protection.”

“Perhaps only temporarily.”

“Good enough. Break that barrier, then shoot this at him.” He said, handing her an arrow out of her own quiver.

“You sure?” she asked.

“I am. But do it fast, before these fools climb on again.”

“You got it.” she said, aiming. “|Horns of the Moon|”.

This time, both arrows struck Louis. Enough that the boy startled, Amenor’s leader shouting incomprehensible words. Jack saw his archers raise their bows, prepared for a retaliatory strike, but his gambit wasn’t done yet. Ava’s arrow had just left her bow, so he aimed his wand and fired.

Because, here was the gambit. Louis was the Village Head of a small and poor village. And he had been paranoid enough about ever meeting Jack again that it appeared he had bought a fire-resistance Scroll, one good enough to protect both him and the ones under his command. That made him impervious to Jack setting him on fire.

But what about melting him?

Ava’s green mushroom arrow broke against Louis’ armor just as Jack’s acid Spell impacted with it. The effect wasn’t an explosion, but more like a green ooze splash going off. It coated Louis, vapors immediately starting to come off from him.

But, once again, even from this distance, Jack heard his scream.

He saw him slow down and fall off his horse, clawing at his chest and face. The scene made the others slow down as well, their leader circling around in order to save the boy who was about to offer Pok to Amenor. The mounted archers never fired their arrows. And what made Jack happy, Pok’s villagers stopped following them. Whether it was because they were now free from the gaze of their Village Head or no longer being helped by a Skill or simply afraid, they had stopped and turned back.

A vicious smile spread across Jack’s face. He knew it was there, but he didn’t care as much. Maybe Louis would die, maybe not. This had not been an attack in cold blood. This has been asked for. For so, so long.

“That’s for Lola.” He murmured.

“Yeah.” Ava breathed out.

Brom joined them on the roof of the carriage, as Nole drove them away from the soldiers.

“I really hate Amenor right now.” Jack said. “The Winnows too, but mostly Amenor.”

“It’s the way of the world.” Brom said. “The strong take, the poor accept.”

“Yeah, no, fuck that.”

“I’m with Ava. Though I see your logic, Brom.”

“Jack, we all wish for such acts to stop. But to stop them, we must grow string ourselves.”

“True.” He sighed. “Though I could use-“

“|Shield Block|!” Brom suddenly roared.

His shield instantly swung up and Jack heard the telltale sound of an arrow being deflected. He turned around, but Ava had already beaten him to it.

“Seems like this leader is more experienced the others.” She sad. “He’s riding after us, with only twenty men. But he’s coming far faster than before. And they all carry bows.”

“Wonderful.” Brom sighed.

“Think we should stop and fight them on the ground?” Jack asked.

“…no.” he said, stroking his beard. “We do not know what protective enchantment it is that they are using. And the advantage of numbers is somewhat reduced in transit.”

“I shoot, they shoot.” Ava sad. “Got it.”

And to tell the truth of it, Ava had been mostly right. Amenor’s soldiers approached them, even with Nole’s Skills, but not like Pok’s villagers. Instead, they formed a half circle around them, spearing out, with their leader at the back. Far enough not to get in each other’s way and far enough for them to easily dodge what Jack and Ava threw at them.

After half an hour of riding hard, Jack felt like he was burning out. Only Nole’s Skill kept them alive, as it allowed him to take them our of harm’s way whenever Ava spotted one of their ‘special’ arrows coming their way. The satyr had sacrificed a few red and green arrows, before admitting that the riders were simply Skill aided, being capable of simply dodging out of the way of her shots.

Only her |Lunar Barrage| Sill worked, allowing her to kill four riders. But it had a long reload time. Jack managed to down a rider himself, but it had been mostly luck. They were three against fifteen and everyone felt the end of their candle being burned.

“My shield is full. I can feel it.” Brom said. “But I am running out of strength. A few more uses of my Skill and I believe |Shield Block| will start to fail.”

“Same.” Ava said, deflecting an incoming arrow. “Can’t keep going for much longer.”

Jack, who for a time has simply been used as a |Barrier| spellcaster, hacked out a laugh.

“Nole, I don’t suppose you received another miraculous Skill?”

“No, sir.” The man said, rather frightened. “I could take us off the road, if you wish.”

“Nah. I wouldn’t be surprised if they could ride just as well off-road. It would just mess with our aim.”

“What are you thinking, Jack.” Brom asked. “I must advise that turning ourselves will not turn out well, no matter how honorable their captain.”

“Nah. He wants us to charge.” Ava grinned. “Use the carriage as a battering ram.”

“Neither.” Jack smiled. “Though once again, I like your style, Ava. Here’s what I’m thinking. Their leader, captain or whatever is what keeps them riding this fast. He’s also probably the one with the defensive artifact. So, I propose we take him out.”

“How?” Brom simply asked. “He has proven to be-“

“|Barrier|! Damn it, they’re getting bolder.”

“…yes. He has proven to be immune to most forms of attack. Ava’s Skill might break his magical shield for a moment, but he always dodges. And even if Ava’s Skill can pierce his shield, he can always dodge the second attack. Not to mention he probably has other defensive Skills.”

“Then we make it so he can’t dodge. And we’ll overwhelm whatever Skills he has.”

“How?” Ava asked.

“Me and Brom will throw all our spheres at them. Not in a general direction, we’ll cover the entire zone, make it so he can’t dodge, because there’ll be nowhere to dodge to. We’ll use Brom’s shield. The force inside should be able to launch all our munitions at once.”

“That seems… possible.” Brom said.

“Ava, you’ll then use your barrage Skill. Break them all open or, at least, as many as you can. The red ones and the green ones both. We need the cloud to form and for him to ride through it.”

“And then you want me to use fire arrows?” she asked.

“No, I want you to use your second Skill. Horns of the Moon. Try and break is magical shield. If it works, good, if not… well. I’ll be firing both my wands into the cloud.”

“I see. That… could work. If the leader doesn’t have some extraordinary Skill or artifact, this tactic should make sure he has nowhere to run.” Brom said.

“And we’ll get him with both explosions and acid. With or without a shield, something has to give. Alright, I’m in. she grinned.

“But… Jack. This would almost the entirety of our supply. We would walk into the warren with nothing but Ava’s arrows as ammunition.”

“All the spheres… yeah. I get you. But we- |Barrier|. |Shield|!”

“|Shield Block|!”

“Damn it! Yes. We’d use them all. But it’s either that or not reaching Mrk at all, as we’ve just seen.”

“I am with you, Jack. Until the end.”

“You already know you need me.” Ava grinned. “Always here.”

“If my vote counts, I choose to attack as well.” Nole said. “Get the bastards.”

Good. Jack motioned and him and Brom reached for their pouches, when something odd happened. The soldiers on the sides of the carriage for breaking away, going back. And the soldier’s leader was blowing a horn. Gesturing… at them.

“Is he seriously trying to make us come back?” Ava asked, too shocked to laugh.

“This is a ploy.” Brom decided.

Jack saw the soldiers easing down, the distance between their team and them increasing. Yet the leader was still blowing his horn, frantically waving at them to get back.

“This must be the stupidest decision ever. Why…?” Jack asked. “They had the advantage.”

“Look.” Ava said, watching them with her better sights. “He’s reaching for something.”

Jack didn’t see for what the leader reached, but it must have been an artifact, for when he shouted again, even from a great distance, they had still been able to understand him, albeit barely.

“Did he just shout… danger sense?” Jack asked.

“No.” Brom said, startling Jack when he turned to look at his friends, for the dwarf looked suddenly frightened. “|Dangersense|.”

Jack didn’t get a chance to ask wat that meant. Because one second, he was on top of the carriage and the other, he was flying through the air. Diving. Brom and Ava were flying next to him. The carriage right below him, slowly going down. He felt the wind rushing and saw the earth open up on all sides. They were falling. Down and down again.

Into an abyss.