“You alright?” Devin asked as we walked back toward the larger group.

“I think so… I guess I just… expected killing someone to bother me more.” I admitted.

“Hmm…” Devin considered.

My gut said I should personally be conflicted, upset, and maybe even a bit hysterical. Instead, I was just surprised. Partly because I hadn’t actually planned on doing what I did. But also because it didn’t seem to bother me in the slightest. Maybe it was because I’d planned on us killing them from the start. Not that I planned on being the one to do any of the murder, but here we were afterward.

“Not sure what you mean. Honestly.” Devin pointed out.

“I don’t know… I just expected it to be this big thing.” I explained.

“Why would it be? Besides, you helped me kill that guy in the woods. You’ve fought for your life several times. Sure I killed that guy and some others. But you were ready to do it right?” he asked.

I nodded slowly at that. “I think so.” I admitted. I didn’t ever think that I’d hesitate. I guess I’d always just thought that it was a strong survival instinct. I didn’t really know anymore. Then again from the moment I came to this world, I was asked to kill. While this was the first time I’d done it, at least with my two hands, I’d also done it by accident. I guess deep down I thought that made it worse, or like it should be. Instead, I just found I didn’t care that much. We decided they would die, and they are dead. I was glad that we’d pulled it off even with me passing out halfway through the plan.

“You alright though? Not going to pass out again?” Devin insisted.

“I’m alright.” I agreed, deciding to drop my introspection.

We kept moving and rejoined the rest of the soldiers and townspeople. As one we turned north again. Maybe thirty minutes later Naan spoke again, “More following our trail.”

“How far off?” I asked.

“Near the edge of my range. But they are moving at nearly twice our speed.” Naan pointed out.

“Shit… More are coming up from behind us.” I spoke aloud.

“Same plan?” He asked.

“Hold me.” I said, not surprised in the slightest as Devin lifted me up this time.

I joined Naan in observing those trailing us. There were two groups. “There are seven this time…” I said, not liking that at all.

“Fuck.” Devin cursed.

“I wish…” I grumbled.

Devin could only try and contain his mirth, it was leaking regardless.

“We might just need to have the soldiers… soldier.” I offered. It was their job. I’d already completed my end of our arrangement, but I had thought we had a good chance last time. This time, not so much.

So I spoke to the soldiers as we moved, Devin still carrying me as I described our opposition and the situation.

Once we had done that I could tell that the men weren't exactly eager to head off and face them.

“Something wrong?” I asked my attention now fully on them.

“It's just that… Some of us are going to die.” The young man said.

“Ah.” I said, realizing how crass I was being. Soldiers gotta soldier huh? Sure they were paid for this, but they were scared, terrified maybe. I remembered how Devin had described these men. They were most of them like this young man. Scared to die, but trying to do their best. The elves seemed like the superior force as well, besides Dragon Smith at least.

“What about a different form of ambush?” I asked shifting my thought process.

They all perked up at that eager to have an advantage.

“I don’t like the idea of being bait, but I can still see, and relay commands.” I pointed out, “Does anyone have any ideas?” I asked.

“You can dig, right? Can you make a pit trap or something?” One of the soldiers asked.

“Hmm… Can we?” I asked not really sure.

“We can’t dig while there are people unaligned with us.” Naan pointed out.

“But we can dig and pray it breaks?” I asked.

“Yes, actually.” Naan agreed.

“Alright, probably.” I relayed to the soldiers.

So we got started picking a team to fall back. This time it was two soldiers, the two archers again, then Devin and Me. We didn't plan on sticking around to actually fight them.

The group fell back away and we started looking for a good place to set up.

The soldiers broke off to hide behind trees or large boulders. Devin and I stood on the trail. This was because Devin was there as my bodyguard, and of course, I was only there so Naan could dig a hole. I needed to stay there to get the hole started. Naan could claim the ground below us, but we had to be connected to that to make it work. So I just sat there hands on the ground while Naan claimed a pit. Then started digging it out bottom up.

“Keep an eye for them Devin.” I said feeling far too unprotected knowing that Naan’s gaze was inside the ground, and not on the forces chasing us.

“I am.” he agreed.

It took maybe ten minutes, so long even Naan started glancing behind until I reminded it that we needed to be done, and leave. Naan knew its business though, it weakened the stone with enough care that it was thin and ready to break, but not enough that the dirt on top would simply break it. Then again we’d also picked this location because of the thin soil on the surface. Or at least it was the best we found during our five minutes of scouting for a position along our trail. We were still mostly counting on seven elves to stand on it at the same time. Well, it shouldn't need that much, but it would help.

“Oh shit. I think I see one.” Devin said.

“Naan?” I asked.

“Just adding spikes.” The voice in my head replied.

“Spikes!? We are done!” I said, standing up.

“Fine, no spikes!” Naan rumbled.

“Inform the men to fall back.” I told Naan, before nodding at Devin. We broke into a run and I could only hope this plan would work.

We didn’t have enough archers or men to take out the full group. Then again maybe this was our fault for expecting to be gone by the time they showed up.

"Naan... didn't you say we would be gone before they showed up?" I insisted back at the dungeon for its prior advice during the planning phase.

"I... I did say that." The former gemstone admitted.

Well. At least I wasn't misremembering it, not that this helped.

I wish we had more men, especially archers to try and take this group out, but there were only two left to begin with. I could only complain about their lack of archers. But honestly, it's what I expected, I’d fucked all of them, and then helped kill one. Not that that one would be on our side, but they really needed to do something about their numbers.

I heard someone shout behind us, the elves must have spotted us.

“They are in pursuit.” Naan pointed out.

“Shit… Let's go!” I shouted to Devin and we moved from running to sprinting. Still digging out a campground and a pit trap was probably eating into my mana reserves at this point, but I was glad that my debauchery the previous day at least left me still with some sense of urgency in my body. But it could be better. I couldn't help but wonder where I was capacity-wise. The vague sense I had was useless with my limited experience.

I could hear them shout behind us. A few moments later I heard them yell something else, a bit panicked. The trap?

I didn’t want to chance glancing at Naan’s vision and sending myself careening into the ground or something so I glanced by with my own two eyes. It seemed Devin had the same thought, or maybe he just assumed I was going to and so he pulled out his sword in the same movement.

One had somehow made it across and was holding on for dear life on the edge of the pit. On the other side, two of them had stopped themselves before plunging into the pit.

“Damn. So close.” I complained before I realized that the plan had mostly worked, but we were too close. "Naan, change of plans, take them out."

The two elves on the far side looked skeptical about their actions, even as the one in the pit yelled and screamed for help.

“Stay behind me no matter what.” Devin said putting himself between me and them. We were still a ways off, but if they gave chase we both understood our positions in this.

Moments ticked by as I hoped that our archers could at least act on my new orders. Then it happened, two arrows, one from each side struck the two behind the pit. One dropped into the pit, the other staggered in the other direction, the arrow protruding from his shoulder with a cry of pain.

“Nice shot.” I said feeling a bit of relief.

Another arrow flew by as the one on his feet dodged backward, falling onto the ground from the awkward motion.

“I’m going to deal with the one in the pit.” Devin said and he rush back towards the hole.

“Devin! Your mine!” I cried out after him.

“Understood!” He replied, still doing what he said he was going to do.

I should have brought Gerl too. But I hadn’t planned for us to still be here. This plan was dumb and I knew it.

It was then that a strange sensation crept over me. It was familiar and terrible. A sense of utter dread, or hopelessness? The atmosphere of… despair?

I broke into a run after Devin. “Naan is that priestess somewhere nearby?” I asked.

“What!?” Naan asked back with sudden concern.

“Is she!?” I demanded back aloud, yet under my breath.

“How did you know? She is, her attendants and her, are riding this way.

“How the hell did she find us? And riding? Riding what?!” I asked having never seen a horse.

“A Drake.”

“WHAT?!” I panicked.

“A… Drake.” Naan repeated itself.

“As in a dragon thing?” I hissed.

“No, they are very much not dragons. Though like their distant cousins they are scaled beasts.”

“Alright… How scary are they?” I asked, deciding that was the important part.

“Very.” Naan stated.

“Fantastic.” I said coming up short behind Devin as I found that he was glancing down into the pit.

“Wait… where did the guy on the edge of the pit go?” I asked.

Devin was already looking into the pit.

“Throw down a rope!” The man in the pit cried out. Then he must have noticed Devin as he continued, “Wait! Who are you?”

“Devin, we need to go.” I insisted.

“Go? Go where?” he asked stepping back from the pit deciding that he was fine with the fact that the man had slipped down to join his less fortunate friends in a somewhat mangled heap. I decided I didn't want any more details than that.

“That priestess and others are riding a drake towards us.” I explained.

“A drake?” Devin said visibly paling.

The man on the ground on the other side of the pit was staring at us with wide eyes, “No…. No… I don’t want to be sacrificed.” he rebelled.

I wasn’t expecting that. Was that really the reaction to learning your allies were on their way? Our two archers and extra swordsmen fell in on either side of us.

"What now?" One of the archers asked.

One paused to stab the whimpering man. While I explained the situation.

“Drakes have a good sense of smell… In the wild, they have massive territories.” The archer I recalled that had the massive cock said.

He noticed me looking at him and grinned to himself.

I force my eyes off him, bulging pants or not, I needed to focus. “Then they got wind of the townspeople?” I asked.

“Sounds likely.” Devin agreed.

“Naan, any chance you can reach Dragon Smith?” I asked in our shared head space.

“Unfortunately no… He is quite far away” Naan replied.

"Well, I guess the plan was to lure them away..." I grumbled for a moment before saying, “Well if nothing else we need to catch up and warn them what's coming."

“They will be passing us by any moment.” Naan pointed out.

What? That fast? I was so used to Naan keeping an eye on what was happening around us that I had completely overlooked how blind we had been with its vision in the ground instead. We should have known better... But the truth was we weren't experienced at this either.

As if to make the point the sound of fast thumping was upon us far too quickly.

“Shit. Here they come.” I braced myself for what came next.