Patrol

Eric and Welyvyne were standing at the north gate. Eric had his watch in his hand; they were about ten minutes early for patrol, just waiting on Lyren and Kaelen. The nearby guards were talking about rifts opening and the Adventurers Guild getting tied up, unable to spare many groups to run patrols—which was making their jobs harder.

Eric saw Lyren walking toward them. She glanced up, spotted Eric and Welyvyne, and waved. He waved back, then looked down at his watch. He’d been listening and looking over the fields beyond the gate for around five minutes now, his thoughts solidly on why the watch was so accurate. He’d had enough data over the past six bells to know his watch was oddly—perfectly—accurate, and it bothered him.

The fields beyond carried the sweet smell of grain. They looked like some form of wheat, golden and appealing, with no buildings—just open rows with the north road splitting them down the middle. A low stone wall separated the road from the fields. The packed dirt was wide enough for carts to pass each other, with lampposts set along the sides at steady intervals.

This thing was on time every time, but why? The watch shouldn’t have been that precise. He'd copied a mechanical design from memory, improvised the inverse escapement, eyeballed half the tolerances. Somewhere in there, something should have drifted—friction, rune timing, ambient mana, something—but every bell had landed exactly when it should. I'll have to ask Professor Valien about it. I'm not going to figure out why just stewing on it.

Eric turned to look back down the road. Lyren was approaching slowly; she didn’t seem to be in a hurry, but it wasn’t hesitation—more like she was simply at ease. Eric glanced back down at the watch again, then over to Welyvyne, who was also just looking out over the fields, serene.

Eric looked down and watched as it hit six. He glanced up to see Welyvyne’s ear twitch as it did when the bell rang; he knew it meant that the watch was, again, right on time. He pocketed the watch and looked up. Still no Kaelen—then, from behind him—

"Is everyone ready?" Kaelen said.

Eric spun around to see him directly behind him, facing the group. Welyvyne and Lyren had clearly seen him approach, because they were already looking at him.

Eric laughed. "I was expecting you to come from the city—where were you hiding?"

Kaelen crossed his arms. "I was looking at our route. From marker to marker, to the west there is a tree line. It's a place to keep an eye on because it's dense. The walls would stop a monster attack from the woods, but we aren't here to protect the city as much as we are here to protect the civilians who tend the fields."

Eric looked out at the fields again and, as he’d thought, there wasn't a single person out there. Maybe they'll come later, or we’re just here for optics, he thought, mentally shrugging.

One of the guards yawned and shifted his spear to the other hand, half listening to his partner complain about extra shifts and late guild responses. If they’d noticed the empty fields, they didn’t seem bothered by it.

Kaelen started moving west along the wall. There was a well-beaten, wide path there, worn down by regular patrols. Eric looked to his right and ahead, and in the distance he saw what Kaelen had talked about: thick woods that came within fifty yards of the wall—not too close, but close enough that anything coming out of them would be on you fast.

"So," Lyren broke the silence. "Why exactly is the Adventurers Guild asking us to protect this side of the wall? Last I knew the rifts opened to the east."

Kaelen shrugged. "It's the job. I assume they have more seasoned people on that wall."

"I honestly don't care," Eric said. "This seems like a good way to get into good graces with the Adventurers Guild."

Welyvyne snorted. "Yeah, Eric's right, who cares? We are doing our part."

"Eric," Lyren said with a smile, "you don't seem like someone who likes to waste your time. What's your play here?"

Eric chuckled. "I have zero play here. I'm just doing what I'm told—no thought, all vibe."

"What is a vibe?" Welyvyne asked.

Eric snorted. "You know—going with the flow, immersing yourself in the atmosphere."

Kaelen laughed. "You going with the flow?"

Eric, looking shocked, retorted, "What? I absolutely go with the flow. I've been doing that the whole time I've been here—just flowing with the Triple A and going to the Arcanum. Genuinely, why would that surprise anyone?"

Welyvyne let out a sharp laugh. "Ha! Yeah, you do vibe—right into danger, getting yourself academically bonded with me and changing the way we all look at magic!"

Eric furrowed his eyebrows but couldn’t hold the expression. "Being bonded to you has been the best thing that’s happened to me—something I probably didn’t deserve as a lone, scared human freshly summoned to an elven city."

Lyren glanced between them. "Eric's doing it again—saying sweet things about Welyvyne and not meaning it like that."

Eric's eyes widened. "Wait, I… dang it, I meant you were—" He broke off with a growl. "I can't say anything else without absolutely making it worse." He crossed his arms and shut his mouth.

Kaelen stopped walking entirely and looked at Lyren. They both started laughing.

"He's learning," Kaelen said.

Welyvyne sighed. "I know what you meant. I was there when you needed a friend the most—you're welcome. I don't think anyone is more direct than you, though. It definitely comes off as flirting."

Eric stared at the path ahead. "I’m just going to… not talk for a while," he muttered.

Welyvyne’s shoulder brushed his as she passed. "Good luck with that," she said softly, looking back at him through her hair.

Eric's heart skipped a beat. He stared at her and mumbled under his breath, "Did she just…"

Welyvyne chuckled. "Yes. I did."

They all walked past the forest in silence, every head turned toward the tree line, watching for the slightest hint of movement. They’d passed the last marker about fifteen minutes ago.

They strolled along the wall beside the trees—nothing. Not a single sound from the woods.

Kaelen and Eric seemed to share the same thought; both summoned their weapons in nearly the same heartbeat. Still nothing rushed them.

When they reached the next marker, it was quiet. Too quiet.

They turned and headed back the way they’d come, passing the tree line again. It would be just getting dark by the time they returned to the gate and another group took their place—and still nothing. No rustle, no cry, no distant snap of a branch.

Eerily calm.

Eric and Kaelen traded a look, then both dismissed their weapons.

Lyren crossed her arms. "We all expected something to happen back there, right? It wasn't just me."

Eric laughed. "Of course we did."

Welyvyne smiled. "This is likely just a simple patrol. Nothing ominous about it at all."

"Ha," Lyren laughed. "Exactly what someone who thought this was an ominous patrol would say."

Eric snorted. "You guys are reading way too much into this. Why would anyone jump us? It’s probably just a spot they needed to put a new group."

Behind them, they heard shouts and the ring of sylvarium steel. A high-pitched screech cut the air, followed by a low, guttural growl.

The group turned as one and ran back the way they’d come. They slowed only slightly as they passed the tree line, still keeping an eye on it, then rounded the bend and the scene came into view.

Three guards stood at the marker, backs to Eric’s group, facing down two panther-like monsters. The creatures’ faces were grotesquely twisted, jaws packed with teeth that jutted out like the tusks of a boar, all curved forward as if designed to hook and tear flesh as they lunged. Behind them, two whip-like tails moved like tentacles, each ending in a spray of barbed hooks that snapped at the air.

At least three other monsters already lay in the road and the trampled grain nearby, bodies still bleeding and cut to pieces. The guards looked exhausted, their stances sagging, but they held their ground.

Kaelen sped up, and the group fell in behind him, boots pounding the packed dirt. Another monster fell under the guards’ blades, leaving only one still fighting, pressing the tired men back step by step.

Eric began chanting. With the guards so close to the creature, lightning was too risky; he needed precision. The new steam-jet spell would be more accurate, but it was slower to cast.

He forced mana into the pattern, carefully, painfully slow.

One of the guards stumbled a second too late. The monster’s claws raked across his chest, and he dropped to the ground, armor scraping stone.

Eric’s spell snapped into place.

"No!" Eric shouted.

The steam jet leapt from his hand, almost invisible but for the shimmer in the air. He pushed it hard—far too close to the ten-percent mark—threading it between the two standing guards. It struck the monster dead in the forehead; a heartbeat later it punched out the back of its skull in a burst of vapor and dark spray. The beast collapsed mid-lunge and skidded to a halt beside the fallen guard.

The backlash hit him like a fist. His vision tunneled; his legs went weak. He wavered, tripped, and rolled to a halt on the dirt.

Lyren jumped clean over him without breaking stride, sprinting straight for the guard lying on the road.

Eric groaned and forced himself back to his feet, running as fast as his dizziness would let him. He skidded to a halt beside the others.

Lyren was already over the fallen guard, hands glowing faintly. The monster’s claws had raked across his neck—right over where Eric knew the carotid artery would be.

"No," Lyren said, her voice tight. "He's dead already. I can't get the healing to take."

She looked up at Eric for half a heartbeat, then moved. In one practiced motion she pulled a knife, cut the straps of his chestplate, peeled it off, and flung it aside. Then she laced her fingers together and started pressing hard on his chest.

"Come on," Lyren said. Each push sent more blood seeping from the guard’s neck.

Eric stood there, lips set in a hard line, watching with a knot in his chest. I picked the slow spell, he thought. Too careful. If he dies, it's my fault. The other two guards had their heads bowed, already accepting the loss of their companion.

Then, finally, a faint green glow bloomed at the man’s neck as the torn flesh started stitching together. A ragged gasp tore from his throat as he sucked in air.

Eric let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Welyvyne stepped up beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

The guard was pale—sickly pale from blood loss. Lyren was pushing everything she had into him; Eric could feel the strain in the air. He dropped to his knees on the other side and lent his own healing, adding it to hers. Together, the worst of the injuries began to close at a remarkable speed.

The guard on the left stared at Lyren with wide eyes. "You… you resurrected him!"

The man on the ground coughed, eyes fluttering as he tried to focus, one hand drifting weakly toward his neck.

The other guard just stared, shock written plain on his face.

Lyren looked up at the guard. “I didn’t resurrect him,” she said, her voice etched with weariness.

Lyren leaned back—and then the bodies started to dissolve into motes of light as the chime of a system message rang out.

Reward distribution in progress.

Black claws and a silvery disk dropped in front of Lyren. The guard still lying on the ground blinked as a black pelt landed near him. Eric was watching Lyren and the man on the ground; he didn’t catch what the other two guards received, but he assumed it was much the same.

He flicked his attention to his inventory and saw that he, too, had a couple of items: claws and a pelt.

“Huh,” Eric said. “Guess we get loot too.”

Lyren leaned over, nudged the claws aside, and picked up the silvery item. “What is this?”

She handed it to Eric. “I’ve never seen an item like that drop from monsters before.”

Eric looked at it. The runes on it didn’t make sense at first. He turned the disk over in his hand; it resembled the runes he’d been using, but everything here was fused perfectly into the metal, all in circular, nested patterns. Then he spotted the runes for earth and water, interconnected in a way that didn’t match anything he’d read in his artificing book. If he had to guess, he’d say it was some kind of healing item.

“Hey.” Eric looked at Welyvyne and held it out. “You ever seen anything like this?”

Welyvyne walked over to look at it. “Yeah. This is typical for the heavens. Its enchantments are far more complex than we can safely produce—not sure we even can. What you’re seeing is surface level; a lot of it goes deeper into the metal.”

Eric frowned. “Like what—layered enchantments?”

Welyvyne chuckled. “No. More like the runes aren’t surface etchings—they’re structures that continue into the item.”

Eric looked back at it one more time, then handed it to Lyren. “Well, my best guess is it’s some form of healing item… but I honestly have no idea what it actually does.”

Lyren smiled and slipped it into her pocket. “That’s alright—I can have the guild hall identify it for me.”

The guards moved to the man on the ground. He was awake, staring at the loot. They helped him to his feet. The guard on the left looked at Lyren. “Who are you? You saved Jarlysis’ life. He was beyond healing—you said so yourself.”

Kaelen walked up to the guard. “Are you three going to be able to make it back on your own?”

The guards all nodded, still seemingly stunned by what had happened.

“Thank you,” the injured guard said to the group. “I owe it to you all that I get to go home and hug my kids tonight.”

Lyren just smiled at him, then turned to Eric. “I can’t believe your technique worked.”

Eric frowned. “If I’d risked lightning, he might not have died in the first place.”

Welyvyne’s face hardened. “It was a new spell he learned—steam jet, I believe—and you did it again after we warned you. You almost went past ten percent, didn’t you?”

Eric raised his hands. “Yeah, but I wanted to make sure the thing died.”

Welyvyne’s face went tight, anger and something sharper flickering there. She crossed her arms. “Yeah, and you’re proof humans have almost no risk aversion.”

Eric frowned. “I don’t risk myself unless it’s necessary. I wasn’t trying to hurt myself—that monster just needed to die. Those guards were spent; I could see it from here. That last one would’ve killed them.”

Welyvyne huffed out a breath and looked away toward the road, jaw clenched. “You still dropped,” she said quietly. “You scared me.”

Eric exhaled, some of the tension leaving his jaw. “Yeah,” he said softly. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to scare you. But if someone had to push it, it was going to be me.”

Kaelen grasped Eric’s shoulder. “That is how a warrior thinks, Eric. For someone who didn’t see himself as one, you certainly are one.”

Lyren slowly pushed herself to her feet. “No, Kaelen. He thinks like a martyr—but his heart’s in the right place.”

Eric sighed. “Well, I’m no hero. I just couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do what needed to be done when it mattered.”

Kaelen snorted. “I rest my case. Let’s get out of here—we’ve got a long walk back, and who knows what else could happen.”