Thirty feet became twenty. Twenty became ten.
The soldier glanced back, saw Marcus gaining, and put on a desperate burst of speed.
Not enough.
Marcus threw Dagon.
The short sword spun through the air and took the soldier in the back of the leg. He went down hard, tumbling across the dirt road with a scream of pain.
Marcus materialized Dagon back into his hand and walked up to the fallen soldier. The man was clutching his leg, blood pouring between his fingers, face twisted in agony.
"Please..." The soldier’s hand reached out.
"Please, I have a family, I—"
Marcus drove Dagon through his chest.
[+20 CURRENCY]
[STATS INCREASED][STR: 26 → 27][SPD: 35 → 36]
Marcus pulled Dagon free and stood, looking down at the body. Six Ashfang soldiers. All dead.
"Woah." The thought came unbidden. "Killing humans gives exp. Who would’ve guessed."
But they were bad people. Duskhollow’s soldiers. The ones who destroyed villages. The ones who’d been transporting prisoners to gods knew what kind of fate.
It was justifiable.
He turned back to the cart where Liz was already cutting the prisoners free.
Four people stumbled out, hands unbound, gags removed. Three men, one woman. All of them looked like they’d been through hell.
The woman recovered first, rubbing her wrists where the ropes had cut into skin. Mid-thirties, sharp eyes despite the exhaustion, dirt-smeared traveling clothes.
She looked at Marcus, then at the bodies scattered across the road, then back at Marcus.
"You must be Marcus." Her voice was hoarse but steady. "Corvin said you’d come."
Marcus dematerialized Dagon, the blood disappearing with it. "And you are?"
"Vera." She gestured to the three men beside her.
"This is Dain, Mikael, and Tobin. Corvin’s men."
The three men nodded, still catching their breath.
"Where’s Corvin?" Liz stepped forward, her blade still glowing faintly with residual magical energy.
Vera’s expression darkened. "That’s... complicated. We need to talk. But not here." She glanced at the forest. "The one who ran he’s still out there. And where there’s one Ashfang patrol, there’s usually another not far behind."
As if summoned by her words, a scream echoed through the forest.
Short. Wet. Cut off abruptly.
Marcus extended his Soul Reading instinctively. A spike of terror flared in his awareness, then nothing. The fleeing rear guard’s emotional signature vanished like a candle snuffed out.
Something had killed him.
Something fast.
"Move." Marcus’s voice was flat. "Now."
They moved quickly, abandoning the road for the forest. Marcus led them north, away from both the corpses and whatever had killed the fleeing soldier.
Liz brought up the rear, her blade still drawn, eyes scanning the trees behind them.
The four freed prisoners struggled to keep pace. They were exhausted, beaten, probably hadn’t eaten properly in days. But fear drove them forward.
After twenty minutes of hard travel, Marcus called a halt in a small clearing surrounded by thick undergrowth. Defensible position. Good sight lines. His Soul Reading detected no nearby threats.
"Rest." He gestured to a fallen log. "Five minutes."
Vera sank onto the log gratefully, the three men collapsing beside her. Liz remained standing, alert.
Marcus studied the freed prisoners properly for the first time.
Dain was the youngest of the three men, maybe mid-twenties. Lean build, quick eyes that never stopped moving. Scout, Marcus guessed. The way he’d instinctively positioned himself with his back to a tree and clear view of the approaches confirmed it.
Mikael was older, early forties, with ink-stained fingers and the careful posture of someone who spent more time with books than weapons. Records keeper, based on what Vera had said. He was favoring his right side probably bruised ribs from rough handling.
Tobin was the muscle. Late thirties, broad shoulders, scarred knuckles. The kind of man who settled arguments with fists when words failed. He’d recovered faster than the others, already scanning the treeline like he expected trouble.
"Water?" Liz pulled a canteen from her pack, offering it to Vera.
"Thank you." Vera drank deeply, then passed it to Dain. "How did you find us?"
"We didn’t." Marcus leaned against a tree, keeping watch. "Spotted the convoy by chance. Soul Reading identified prisoners in the cart. Figured it was worth investigating."
"Soul Reading?" Vera’s sharp eyes focused on him.
"You’re a Summoner with sensory abilities?"
"Something like that." Marcus didn’t elaborate.
Vera studied him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Corvin said you were... unusual."
"Where is he?" Liz’s tone sharpened. "You said it was complicated."
"He’s at Ashveil." Vera’s expression turned grim.
"Or heading there. He left Redmere three days before the wanted posters went up. Sent us to meet you on the road, guide you to a rendezvous point near the border."
"Then why were you in an Ashfang cart?" Marcus asked.
Dain spoke up, his voice rough from the gag. "We got sloppy. Stopped in a border town for supplies. Someone recognized us from guild hall in Redmere. Reported us to the local Ashfang garrison."
"They grabbed us before we could run." Mikael rubbed his bruised ribs. "Would’ve killed us on the spot if the officer hadn’t recognized Vera’s mark."
"Mark?" Liz glanced at Vera.
Vera hesitated, then pulled back her left sleeve. On the inside of her wrist, just above the pulse point, was a tattoo. Complex geometric patterns forming a symbol that seemed to shift slightly when viewed from different angles.
"Keeper’s mark." Vera’s voice was quiet. "I’m part of an... organization. We track and study ley lines across Veldrath."
Marcus’s interest sharpened. "Ley lines."
"Natural channels of magical energy beneath the earth." Vera traced the mark with her finger. "Most people don’t know they exist. But they’re everywhere, flowing like underground rivers. And Ashveil..." She paused. "Ashveil sits on a convergence point. Multiple ley lines meeting in one location."
"Which makes it valuable." Marcus understood immediately.
"Extremely." Vera’s expression darkened. "The Ashfang didn’t destroy Ashveil randomly. They wanted the ley line. And they wanted me because I know how to access it."
Liz’s face went pale. "My mother..."
"You look just like Elara".
"She was a Keeper." Vera met her eyes. "One of our best. Elara was tracking corruption movements in the eastern regions when Ashveil was hit. She knew about the ley line. She knew they were coming."