The trio settled into their makeshift seating and took their rest in relative silence. Occasionally, they could hear explosions and war horns in the distance, putting them on edge. Yet when they checked the windows for enemies, they saw nothing but empty, snow-covered streets.

  Davon split his attention between his friends while they waited.

  In typical Kai fashion, the warrior sat cross-legged on the floor, placed his axe in his lap, and relaxed immediately. If Davon didn’t know better, he would’ve thought Kai actually managed to fall asleep.

  Lyla, on the other hand, pulled out her spellbook as usual, but Davon noticed her movements were strange. He watched as the girl moved her quill with feverish speed, filling page after page with writing. She didn’t pause for a second, even when turning the pages.

  He considered asking her about it, but decided that interrupting her concentration would probably be a bad call when she was so deep in her research.

  Instead, Davon closed his eyes. He could feel the burn of exhaustion setting in, but did his best to fight against it. There was so much more to do before the day was done. He wasn’t going to let a simple thing like weariness slow him down.

  More concerningly, he could still feel the threads of his Reliquary straining against his mind. He realized just how heavily he’d been relying on his abilities over the last few days. It made him uncomfortable to think that he couldn’t keep leaning on them so much, especially now that their fights were growing ever more difficult.

  Davon stretched his arms, scowling at the slight ache in his muscles.

  We could fight Tenebris at any moment, and I’m starting to fall apart, he complained internally.

  His Reliquary did not reply.

  Sighing, Davon returned his attention to the street below. He didn’t know how to feel in that moment. His mind had become another battleground, caught between his desire for revenge and his inability to keep up with the required expenditure of energy.

  Then his musings turned to the rune gifted to him by his Reliquary. Incredible power, but for such a brief period of time. Would he even get to use it against Tenebris? Or would he be forced into using it earlier?

  Doubts then filled his mind, leading his train of thought onto an even darker track. If he did use that rune and died before the fight with Tenebris, what state would the war effort be in when he resurrected? And then, what if he still had to face the general later, without the rune? How would that fight go? What would happen afterwards?

  It was then that Davon spotted movement down the street from their temporary hideaway. A huge group of Crimson Reavers was making its way towards them, occasionally pausing to take in their surroundings.

  With an annoyed scoff, Davon silenced his thoughts. This was no time for doubts and second guesses. He needed to be in the best possible shape for any future battles, both physically and mentally.

  “Heads up, we’ve got company,” Davon whispered to his friends, drawing their attention to the window.

  The trio looked on in total silence as the procession of Crimson Reavers continued down the street. Davon counted at least fifty soldiers, a mix of all of the elite Crimson Reaver units they had faced so far.

  Kai shook his head and dropped back into a sitting position below the windowsill. “Yeah, there’s no way we’re fighting that.”

  “Can’t argue with that assessment,” Davon agreed, also leaning into full cover. “We’d need more Revenants backing us up if we wanted to take on that group.”

  Lyla watched a moment longer before ducking down out of sight. She stared into space, deep in thought.

  “Maybe…” she began, her voice as faraway as her gaze. Then she shook her head. “No, it’s hardly the time for measures as extreme as that.”

  “What’s on your mind?” Davon prodded.

  “I… you know the pattern you helped me uncover? The… runes? I thought it was a spell at first, but it isn’t. It’s… so much more than that.”

  Lyla’s eyes shone as she struggled to keep her voice to a whisper. Once started on the topic, she could barely contain her excitement.

  “It’s a framework,” she went on. “As in, what all our spells and abilities are derived from. It’s a… a… a new runic language. I've been researching it in every bit of downtime we’ve had. The potential of it… this could reshape magic as we know it. But it does come at steep price.”

  Davon raised a curious eyebrow. “Go on.”

  “Well, I could use it to conjure up some rather powerful magic. Enough to potentially wipe out that group of enemies.”

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  Lyla’s excitement suddenly fizzled as quickly as it had appeared. At the same moment, though, Kai’s face lit up with eagerness.

  “So what are we waiting for?!” The young warrior jumped up, ready to bring the fight to the enemy. “That would be a massive hit to their forces!”

  “The price, Kai. That’s what we’re waiting for,” Lyla snapped. “Conjuring such magic, even with a runic base as efficient as this, would require a lot of energy. Potentially enough to cause instantaneous overload.”

  Davon considered Lyla’s words, reminded of his own predicament with the rune gifted to him by his Reliquary. “So… realistically, it’s a last resort?”

  Lyla nodded slowly, her voice a strange mixture of fear and lingering excitement. “At least until the first time I try it, I have no idea how it would end.”

  “Then it’s not something we can afford in our current situation,” Davon concluded, settling back into his seat. “We let them pass, then we report back. See where Emma wants us from there.”

  “But, it’s something to consider going forward,” Lyla added as she pulled out her spellbook again.

  “I actually have something similar. Gifted to me by my Reliquary, no less.” Davon tapped the blunt side of his bow’s limbs, drawing curious looks from his companions. “A new rune. Something to give me an edge in combat. Could even be enough to help me defeat Tenebris, if the Reliquary is to be believed. Only… it will overload me once it’s done.”

  Silence fell as the trio let the words sink in.

  Finally, Kai spoke. “All these desperate measures… whatever happened to fighting carefully?”

  “That ship sank when two thirds of our forces were eliminated within two hours,” Lyla stated bluntly. “It’s gone. Along with the rest of our tactics.”

  “The situation really has gotten that bad, huh?” Kai tried to laugh, but it was a weak sound. “Guess I should think up my own desperate plan to sacrifice myself and take a whole army with me. Don’t want to be left behind… for brine’s sake, I need a drink.”

  “Hey, we see this through, and the drinks will be on me for a year,” Davon replied, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  Kai gave his friend a tired smile as he settled back into his makeshift seat. “I’ll hold you to that, Davon.”

  Davon returned his attention to the window. The contingent of Crimson Reavers had reached the street below the trio’s hiding spot, and the sight sent pins and needles down Davon’s spine.

  As the soldiers stopped in front of the manor, right below the window, a few Assassins stepped away from the main group to look around. That was when Davon noticed one of the Assassins go invisible. Thankfully, the snow on the ground still left a trail Davon could follow.

  A trail that was headed straight for the entrance of the manor.

  “Quick, come together!” Davon hissed, as quietly as he could.

  Spurred by his sudden panic, the other two jumped from their seats and rushed over to him. Ignoring the strained connection with his Reliquary, Davon invoked his Invisibility rune, cloaking all three of the Revenants.

  “Get against a wall and don’t make any noise!” Davon ordered as the trio split. A quick scramble of footsteps later, the attic fell into dead silence.

  At least, until Davon heard an unfamiliar set of footsteps creep into the room. The sound was almost imperceptible, even to the heightened sense of a Revenant. More obvious was the quiet breathing of the Crimson Reaver Assassin.

  Briefly, Davon was tempted to strike down the foe, but decided against it. If the Assassin didn’t report back, the main force would likely come looking.

  The tense seconds crawled by, Davon holding his breath so as to not give away any possible hint of his presence. Then the light footsteps sounded again, heading down the attic stairs and away from the hiding Revenants.

  When he was certain he couldn’t hear the Assassin anymore, Davon first drew in a long breath of air, then let out a heavy sigh of relief. The next moment, he dropped the Invisibility. He felt a physical strain in the back of his head release as soon as the enchantment was over.

  “A bit too close, that,” Davon commented.

  “We were lucky you were paying attention, honestly.” Lyla slumped to the ground, breathing heavily. “Let’s not have a repeat of that.”

  Davon crawled back to the window and peeked over. He watched as the contingent of Crimson Reavers walked slowly away down the street.

  “They’re moving on, thankfully,” Davon informed the other two, sliding down the wall into a sitting position.

  The tension is the air was palpable. Such a close call, particularly after their recent conversation, left all three Revenants on edge.

  What would’ve happened if they were discovered?

  Davon had no doubt that each of them would’ve jumped at the opportunity to save the other two, no matter how dangerous or suicidal the situation was. At least, he knew full well that if it came down to it, he would be willing to throw his own life away for even a chance of Kai and Lyla surviving. Especially after the weeks he spent scouting alone.

  A sudden smile flitted across Davon’s face. He was thankful for the Assassin’s brief intrusion. It had helped him clarify his thoughts on his Reliquary’s ‘last resort’ gift.

  Still, it worried him a little that both he and Lyla could do something desperate now. What if they did it at the same time, effectively wasting one or both opportunities to turn the tide in the Vanguard’s favor?

  But that was a problem for later. For now, they had to think about getting back to base in one piece.

  “I’ll be honest. Invisibility may not be an option for the way back,” Davon admitted. “Hiding from that Assassin there was already pushing my limits.”

  “We should be fine just keeping a low profile. The enemy should be too busy dealing with other teams to keep a close eye on the inner city’s busted gates,” Lyla assured him. She was trying to speak firmly, though Davon could detect a hint of uncertainty in her tone.

  He sighed and pushed himself to his feet.

  “Well, it’s as good a plan as any at this point. Let’s get going before that big group comes back around.”

  With exhausted groans, the other two Revenants joined him, and they left the relative safety of their hideaway.

  They had to travel slowly and carefully through the inner city. Still, moving from cover to cover, it wasn’t too long before they reached the gates. Davon was shocked to see those gates were completely unguarded.

  “See? I told you we would be fine,” Lyla whispered to Davon. She tapped his shoulder as she passed him, headed towards the gates. “Let’s pick up the pace now. I’m eager to get some re—”

  Before Lyla could finish her sentence, the earth shook under the weight of a massive object hitting the ground near them.

  Looking towards the source of the sound, Davon saw a cloud of ash and dust rising right where the gates used to stand. When it cleared, his eyes landed on the biggest war beast he had seen yet.

  Twice as tall as a regular war beast, the chainmail armor it wore did little to hide the fact that it was practically made of muscle. Its red eyes glowed through the eye-slits in its helmet as it gazed directly at the three Revenants.

  “You just had to say it, Lyla,” Davon groaned, readying himself for combat.