Though once a beacon of hope, Mikey's blinding light had hopelessly begun to dim as he rode atop Bat. As the light faded, so did Mikey’s view of the Plainsreapers.

“It worked on the ship, why the fuck can’t I see them too?” Mikey frustratingly clenched the fur in his hands, twisting Bat’s mane and provoking a snarl in response. Unlike on the ship, Mikey’s vision failed to highlight the Plainsreapers giving chase. He was going in blind.

 

Bat tilted his head slightly, his eyes glancing back into the grass behind them. Suddenly, the warg had begun to leap from side to side, every five seconds, between his sprint.

"You fu- what are you doing?! Run in a straight line!" Mikey pulled Bat’s mane forward, trying to get through to the beast. "Straight, straight, straight!"

In an abrupt halt, Bat's paws dug into the grass - a snarling creature launched out of the shadows exactly where the duo would've been just a second later. Without hesitation, Bat caught the Plainsreaper by its abdomen before crushing its spine with a powerful chomp. The creature let off a squeal as Bat hurled it back into the grass.

 

Countless creatures went sprinting past Mikey and Bat, having not anticipated the sudden stop. However, Mikey’s attention quickly diverted behind him, with the sound of a starved panting rapidly approaching. As his gaze turned, open jaws greeted him with an intent to free his head from his shoulders.

"Oh shit!" Mikey yelped, sliding to the side of Bat's back to evade the Plainsreaper. Holding on with one hand, he managed to quickly draw Liam's short sword and slash weakly at the disfigured canine.

The poor attempt at a slash merely ricocheted off the monster's hollow rib cage, letting the Plainsreaper land in the grass over top of them in stride.

 

Barely keeping hold of his sword, Mikey lacked the finesse to return it to its sheath while on Bat's back, forcing him to hold on with one hand for the rest of the ride.

"You couldn't think to use magic?! Fucking idiot!" Mikey yelled at himself, gripping the short-sword even tighter now out of fear of losing his friend's keepsake.

 

A few snarls to Mikey's left provoked a vicious bark from Bat in response. Mikey caught a glimpse of one of the mutilated beasts leaping into the moonlit air, exposing itself.

"There you are!" Mikey sang out with a grin, flipping his sword upside down and miming a punch towards the group of Plainsreapers at his side. Simultaneously, an onyx hand erupted from the ground below, moving just as he'd motioned. The hand walloped the Plainsreaper that jumped and another nearby. The two hounds let off a whine as they were knocked into the distance.

However, a third hound suddenly burst from the grass. Trying to snap at Mikey, Bat made a jump away from it just soon enough to save Mikey from being bitten, however, the Plainsreaper managed to grab on to the warg’s hind leg.

It latched on, clamping its jaws together, forcing Bat out of his stride. Tripping over his own legs, Mikey flew off Bat and went rolling into the dry grass - his sword slipping from his hands in the tumble.

 

Clink!

 

Mikey spat out a mouthful of dry soil, pushing himself up as he heard the panting of Bat behind him. He looked forward, the grass flattened from their fall, to see his sword stuck into the ground only a short dash away from him.

In the darkness of the plains around them, he heard a slightly sadistic chattering coming from the Plainsreapers. They were circling around the fallen warg and Mikey.

“You want some - you want some?! Come and fucking get it!” Mikey roared out, Bat limping backwards so that he and Mikey were back to back. The warg growled in unison with Mikey’s challenge, lowering his head to lunge at anything that came his way.

 

A moment of silence washed over the standoff, Mikey and Bat staring into the night with anxious patience.

Then it began.

A rustle in the grass prompted Mikey’s first step forward. It was such a strong push from his left foot that it could've been mistaken for a leap. The rustle followed with an emerging pounce from a Plainsreaper, its jaws reaching for Mikey's throat. However, as Mikey tried to take his second step, his leg completely gave up on him.

"Eugh! Fuckin' bastard!" he shrieked. With the adrenaline rush, he'd completely forgotten his injury.

Collapsing into another roll, he managed to slip right under the attacking Plainsreaper.

 

Scrambling up from the roll and into another leap, Mikey's next step came with a sharp buckle under the pain - but this time he'd expected it. Leaning forward, he reached out to push off his right hand and catch his fall.

While his fingers scraped into the dirt, projecting him forward just enough to keep going without falling over, the Plainsreaper had already landed and turned to chase him down again.

Mikey rolled onto his back, but extended his hand towards the blade, lighting it up with a bright blue glow.

 

Tsilk!

 

Mikey had managed to pull the sword with his telekinetic ability, the glowing object zipping through the air and into his hands. Once he gripped it, the tip moved swiftly in the Plainsreaper's direction, greeting the pouncing creature with instant impalement.

The blade slipped straight into the monstrous hound's mouth - sticking it like a spit roast pig.

"Think I need to learn some healing magic," Mikey gritted his teeth, grabbing onto his leg with a grimace. He then glanced back over to Bat.

 

Bat was relentlessly facing an onslaught of the Plainsreapers, attracting them like moths to a flame.

One of the hideous creatures continued to run circles around him, nipping at his heels every time he looked away.

Bat made an attempt to turn and bite down on the armoured hound, but another launched out from the tall grass and bit onto his shoulder. Letting off a whine, the warg turned and grabbed the back of the Plainsreaper's neck, his teeth slipping between the armour plates, before crushing it with a single bite.

He then ripped the creature from his shoulder and threw it straight towards the second Plainsreaper that was circling him, the body limply rolling into it like a bowling ball.

 

Mikey propped himself up, using his sword as a cane, and limped over towards Bat. He held his left hand by his side, initiating a violent vibration that turned his fingers into a mirage.

"I think this is how it went…" he uttered, the buzzing hum drowning out his groans.

Another Plainsreaper erupted from the grass towards Mikey, responding to the hum. However, he shifted his footing and clumsily swung towards the creatures face. The collision let off a thunderous boom and sent the Plainsreaper spiralling back into the grasses.

 

Mikey ceased the vibration once he'd made it to Bat, seemingly too tired to growl. Despite his exhaustion and wounds, Bat was still fairly strong on his feet.

"We ought to get out of here now, yeah?" Mikey said with a tired exhale, leaning on his sword.

Mikey held up his free hand towards the sky. In a sudden streaking of light, balls of fire shot from his fingertips into the air. Spreading out in every direction, the fireballs crashed into the dry grasses around himself and the warg.

 

Hisses, snarls and chattering filled the air as the Plainsreapers tried to manoeuvre the burning tall grass. Smoke filled the air, tinted red by the fires that raged below.

Set ablaze by his flaming volley, a scorched Plainsreaper dove out of the ash-smothered grass straight for Mikey.

Pulling his sword up as a lateral guard, the flaming creature's mouth wrapped around the blade as it plummeted into Mikey. Pushing him to the ground, he'd managed to parry its jaws to the side - the tip of his sword stabbing into the dirt beside him.

"It's just a spoon! It's just a spoon! Fuck it!" Mikey yelled whilst gripping the sword tightly, an image of Lazarus' training on the ship appearing in his mind.

 

Sleek!

 

Unleashing a devastating vibration through his blade, Mikey had turned the sword into somewhat of a hot knife through butter.

Without any resistance, Mikey's blade sliced straight through the length of the Plainsreaper, splitting it perfectly in half.

The lifeless halves of the creature flopped over Mikey, thick purple blood drenching him in a rancid scent followed by a blanket of innards.

Mikey scooped the guts off his legs and got back onto his feet - the grip on the sword now soaked by his bloody hands.

 

“You see that?” Lazarus asked as he stood at the gate of the Ironheadz camp, looking out into the dark fields surrounding it. His eyes were drawn to the red and yellow glow on the horizon - the faint scent of smoke on the air.

“Resourceful. He may yet see the morning,” Adendé replied, as he turned and walked back into camp. “Assuming we’re the only people who see this.”

“You mean there are others out there? As in this close by?” Lazarus asked, following after him.

“There’s more to Jorgansol than tribes and savages. Just pray, to every God imaginable, none of them crosses paths with you.”

 

Bat, after crushing another Plainsreaper in his jaws, approached Mikey before bowing slightly in his direction.

“We’re all nice now are we mutt?” Mikey asked, grabbing onto his mane and pulling himself onto Bat’s back. The moment he was secure, the warg took off again. Bolting into the flaming grass, the pair of them keenly manoeuvred through the flames. The sounds of roasting Plainsreapers continued to echo through the night, however, as Mikey and Bat managed to escape the wildfire, the echoes were reduced to faint cries in the distance. They’d made it out.

 

Clink! Ching! Thump!

 

“Galliard, you know, I think I’m just perfect,” Liza smirked as she tossed her dagger into the air, catching it with a flashy swipe. “You can’t seem to lay a measly finger on my, just perfect, little self.”

“I think you’re full of shit is what you are,” Galliard replied, with a bright purple bruise forming on his forehead. He then changed his tone of voice into a high-pitched mockery of a female’s. “I’m tired, you’re tired. We won’t even be hitting hard.”

“Awwwwh, cupcake. Come on, le-”

 

Boom!

 

The entire ship was rocked, the starboard railing almost kissing the waves as it tipped. Both Liza and Galliard were sent sliding down the deck boards, catching their footing on the rail supports.

“Gosh! Are you trying out your crazy spells again Ms Tornstar?!” Liza yelled out, as she suddenly saw a reptilian tail flick out of the surface of the waves. “Seri- seriously?!”

“We don’t have Adendé here, we supposed to take this thing out ourselves?!” Galliard exclaimed as the ship tilted back over and he regained his footing.

The cursing of Chef Lumpy could be heard from the hold, though he made no effort to take to the deck.

As the pair of them regained stability, the door of the captain’s quarters suddenly flew open - crashing against the adjacent windows. Gisla, flustered but determined, gripped a heavy scroll in her hand.

“Ha ha ha!” she laughed victoriously. “I was waiting for that freaky fucking lizard!”