Marcus’s expression remained neutral, but his eyes held a glint of confidence. "Maybe we’ll find out."
Marcus studied the fortress location on the map. Perfectly positioned to control access to Ashveil and the eastern regions beyond. Strategic. Intentional.
"So we go through the fortress." His tone was matter-of-fact.
Vera looked at him like he’d suggested flying to the moon. "Through a fortress? With two hundred soldiers?"
"You have a better idea?" Marcus raised an eyebrow.
"Actually..." Vera’s lips curved into a slight smile. "I might. But you’re not going to like it."
She spread the map wider, revealing more detail around the fortress. Additional annotations covered the parchment patrol routes, guard rotations, supply schedules, all marked in meticulous handwriting.
"I’ve been watching this fortress for two months." Vera tapped various points on the map. "Mapping their movements, studying their patterns. The Ashfang built it fast too fast. Which means structural weaknesses."
Mikael leaned forward, his records-keeper mind clearly engaged. "What kind of weaknesses?"
"The eastern wall." Vera circled a section of the fortress. "They used local stone. Good for speed, terrible for stability. There’s a section here that’s already showing stress fractures. A few well-placed explosives and the whole section would collapse."
"Creating a breach." Marcus nodded slowly. "Big enough to get through."
"Exactly." Vera moved her finger to another section. "The supply depot is here, in the western quarter. They stockpile everything weapons, food, and most importantly, alchemical compounds. The kind that burn very hot and very fast."
Liz’s eyes narrowed. "You want to blow up their own supplies to create a distraction."
"More than a distraction." Vera’s smile turned sharp. "A catastrophe. If that depot goes up, half the fortress burns with it. Soldiers scramble to contain the fire, command structure breaks down trying to coordinate response, and we slip through the chaos on the eastern side."
Dain whistled low. "That’s... actually brilliant."
"It’s suicide." Tobin crossed his arms, skepticism clear on his face. "Even with a distraction, we’re talking about two hundred trained soldiers. They’d hunt us down before we made it a mile."
"Not if we move fast and stay ahead of the chaos." Vera pulled out yet another document a detailed schedule. "Supply caravans arrive every three days. Next one comes tomorrow at dawn. We intercept it, steal their uniforms, use their credentials to get inside. Plant the explosives."
Marcus processed the plan. Risky. Complicated.
"Too much stress just for some mere human soldiers." His tone was dismissive.
Vera’s eyes sharpened. "We need to destroy the garrison. It’s our entrance to Ashveil. Or more importantly if we somehow rendezvous with Corvin on our route there, he’s the mastermind. He could sketch out some intelligent plans that don’t involve getting us all killed."
"You think I can’t handle a fortress?" Marcus raised an eyebrow.
"I think you’re confident." Vera met his gaze evenly. "But confidence without strategy is how good fighters end up dead. Two hundred soldiers, Marcus. Even if you could kill them all which I doubt it would take time. Time we don’t have. Time that lets them call for reinforcements from the main garrison."
Liz nodded slowly. "She has a point. We need to be smart about this, not just strong."
Marcus was quiet for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine. We do it your way. How long to reach the fortress?"
"If we leave now?" Vera checked the sun’s position through the canopy. "We’d arrive just before nightfall. Camp in the woods nearby. Hit the supply caravan at first light."
"Timing’s tight." Marcus looked at the freed prisoners. Vera and her companions were exhausted, bruised, barely recovered from days in captivity. "And we’ve got four people who just spent days in captivity."
"We can manage." Vera’s jaw set with determination. "We have to."
Arghhhh!!!
A scream echoed through the forest.
Everyone froze.
It came from the south. Back toward where they’d left the convoy. Distant but clear. A man’s voice, raw with terror, cut off abruptly mid-shriek.
Marcus extended his Soul Reading instinctively. For a moment, he caught an emotional signature absolute primal fear, desperation, the final moments of life—
then it winked out like a candle in the wind.
"The one who ran." Liz’s hand moved to her weapon. "Something got him."
"Something?" Tobin’s expression darkened. "Or someone?"
Another scream. Closer this time. Different voice. Then silence that felt heavier than it should.
Marcus scanned with Soul Reading, pushing the ability outward. There multiple signatures moving through the forest. Not human. Not exactly corrupted either. Something in between. Predatory. Intelligent.
"Specimens." Vera’s face went pale. "They’re hunting the area. Probably detected the fight, came to investigate."
"How many?" Liz asked, her voice steady despite the tension.
Marcus counted the signatures carefully. "Three. Maybe four. Moving in a search pattern."
"And they’re between us and the route north." Dain cursed quietly. "We’ll have to go around."
"Which costs us time we don’t have." Vera started folding the maps with quick, efficient movements. "If we miss tomorrow’s supply caravan, the next one isn’t for three more days."
Marcus made a decision. "Then we don’t go around. We go through."
"Through the specimens?" Mikael’s voice rose slightly, his scholarly composure cracking. "We barely survived Ashfang soldiers. These things are "
"Tier 4 at minimum." Vera finished, her tone grim. "Faster, stronger, harder to kill. And they work in coordinated packs."
"Then we hit them hard and fast." Marcus materialized Dagon, the blade appearing in his hand with a faint shimmer. "Take them down before they can coordinate. Liz and I handle the combat.
The rest of you stay back and stay quiet."
Liz drew her blade, the Bladecaster energy already beginning to flicker around the steel in blue arcs.
"Just like the convoy."
"Just like the convoy." Marcus turned to Vera.
"Which direction are they coming from?"
Vera closed her eyes, her Keeper’s mark beginning to glow faintly with pale light. She was reading the ley lines, Marcus realized. Using them to sense disturbances in the natural flow of magic beneath the earth.
Her eyes snapped open. "Southwest. Moving northeast in a sweep pattern. They’ll reach this clearing in less than ten minutes."
"Then we don’t wait." Marcus looked at the group.
"Dain, Mikael, Tobin take Vera and move north. Fast and quiet. We’ll draw the specimens south, away from your path. Once we’ve dealt with them, we’ll catch up."
"You’re sure about this?" Tobin’s skepticism was clear in every word.
Marcus met his eyes without blinking. "No. But it’s better than letting them catch us all together."
Another scream, much closer now. Then a wet tearing sound that made even Tobin flinch.
"Move." Marcus’s voice was flat. "Now."
The four freed prisoners grabbed their minimal belongings and moved to the horses. Vera and Mikael mounted one, Dain and Tobin took the other. They disappeared into the forest heading north, the sound of hooves fading quickly. Within seconds, the undergrowth swallowed them completely.
Marcus and Liz stood alone in the clearing.
"So." Liz’s blade hummed with barely contained energy, the blue light casting strange shadows across her face. "What’s the plan?"
"Make noise. Draw them in. Kill them fast." Marcus tested Dagon’s weight in his hand. "Then catch up with the others before anything else shows up."