They crept through the darkness in silence.

It wasn't the abrupt, total silence the monsters brought when they attacked. Their steps still scraped along the branches, and their armor and weapons made soft noises as they moved. None of them spoke, though Olivia and Clay easily fell back on the hand signs that Andrew had designed. The others were trying to pick up on it, though they were limited to pointing and broad gestures.

They made their way towards the trunk, descending along a bridge. Clay had motioned for them to pause and lie down once, as his ethereal senses had warned him of approaching monsters. He watched, eyes narrow, as dark shapes flitted through the shadows beyond the range of their torches. None of them paused or swung back towards them; instead, they continued on towards where they had hidden before, where another pair of lights glowed from the torches they'd left behind.

After he'd motioned them forward again, they crept along the branch, moving as quickly as they could. They moved through another hummer-eaten tunnel, and then emerged onto another descending branch, this time heading towards the tree that the Rhyme had pointed him towards.

This trunk seemed… different than the others. The size of the thing was much longer than its closest neighbors, and the tunnels at the end of each branch were much wider, almost the size of the city gates at Crownsguard. Darkness loomed in the openings; they appeared to pierce much deeper into the trunk than the others had. Clay studied the openings as they drew closer, wondering how many bugs had needed to chew such a large opening, and how many years they had worked at it.

They walked closer, pausing at the beginning of the opening. Their torches illuminated a portion of the place, but the tunnel was long enough that it didn't reach all of it. Clay felt his ethereal senses shiver in anticipation; there were monsters ahead, discernible even through the chaos of the Dungeon's tortured howls.

He led them forward, his eyes searching the darkness, until they reached the end of the tunnel.

There, he paused, uncertain of what he was seeing.

Just ahead of him, covered in the dust of ages past, the wood of the tree gave way to stone. The tunnel ended in a chamber, one that looked shockingly familiar. Overhead, an arched roof stretched nearly out of sight, with broad columns supporting it. Between the columns, he could make out the shape of walls to either side; they were tall, and large narrow windows were set into them, though nothing but blank wood was visible through the openings. He could make out the crumbled remnants of pews, all but decayed to nothing, scattered along the floor along with a coating of something that crumbled like dust and smelled foul.

It looked, for all he could tell, like some grand Rectory Shrine. If he squinted hard enough, he could almost see the alcoves at the far end of the hall, where the images of the gods would be located. How had this come here? Why was it so intact? How many years had it been here?

He shook off the questions as something stirred. It was a shadow hanging near the top of one of the arches overhead, and his gaze fixed on it immediately. Before long, he'd found another, then another. Clay quietly motioned for the others to look up; he could see their eyes widen. When he looked back, Clay tried to count the shapes. There had to be at least a dozen up there, probably more. Whatever they were guarding here, it was something beyond what he had seen before. Clay could almost sense the hunger coming from Olivia. A Shrine meant books, and books could mean…

Before he could think anything further, Syr Katherine stalked forward. She looked at Clay and motioned to him, Anne, and Natalie, and then pointed to the right side. Her next gesture was to Olivia, Xavien, Lawrence, and Jack, followed by a point to the left side. Then she gestured to herself and pointed down the center.

Clay grimaced, but he nodded, and they dispersed. The Ruffians stalked along with him, or on the other side behind Olivia. Syr Katherine hung back, still watching from the entrance. He saw some of the dark figures shift and twitch. Some of them seemed to be waking up.

He shook his head as they all took shelter behind the columns. Syr Katherine hadn't arranged for a signal; she was probably going to use an obvious one. For a moment, he considered dropping the Cloak so that he could prepare a [Chant].

Then, just as he was about to allow the [Chant] to lapse, the Dungeon turned its attention to him again.

Clay felt the pressure of the Dungeon bearing down against his Soul. It wanted him; he could feel the hunger behind the howling, the hatred within the multitude of voices. For the barest hint of a moment, he wondered if the Cloak would hold. He could see the others shaking their heads and crouching, as if bearing up under a similar weight.

Then the pressure eased, as if the Curse within this place had turned elsewhere. Clay let out a shaky breath, his gaze lifting to the ceiling. The monsters had stirred, briefly, but they hadn't awakened yet. They were all still safe.

There was a metallic clinking sound, back near the entrance. Clay turned, and saw Syr Katherine with her sword drawn. She tapped the tip of it against the ancient stone, making the same sound again. It was the signal.

Clay drew out his bow and arrow. He nocked an arrow and picked his target. It would be one of the smaller figures; he thought those were probably the silent ones. If they could wipe those out first, then their [Chants] would still be usable. His breath sounded rough in his own ears as he waited for the third tap.

It came, and he dropped the [Chant]. He instantly started the Canon of Rock, hoping that he'd finish it before the bats responded. Anne had her own bow and arrow ready as well; he could hear whispering from where Natalie was crouched. Across the hall, he could see Olivia's group moving. In his ethereal senses, the Dungeon's howls suddenly redoubled in force.

The Curse was turning its attention to him. It wasn't sure yet where he was, but it was looking. He could feel something like… shock?... in the sound of its rage, now, as if the sudden revelation of the heroes inside it had taken the thing off guard. He tried not to smile, even as the monsters above them woke.

Then Syr Katherine's sword tapped one final time, and the [Calculator] launched herself down the middle of the hall, aiming for the quartet of figures hanging above the gods' statues. There was no subtlety in her charge; her boots rang against the stones of the floor, and she passed his position moving fast enough that the wind whistled around her.

Clay didn't wait to hear the monsters' response. He drew and fired in the same smooth motion, sending a Pellsglade broadhead straight into the spine of the hanging bat above him. It split the air with a whistling sound of its own. When it hit, there was a sound like an axe splitting wood, and the figure above him went stiff. His fingers were already closing around the second arrow, ready to draw it out to fit it to the bow, when the bat's body went slack and dropped from the ceiling.

{Silent One slain! Soul increases by 150}

By the time the corpse hit the ground, the entire hall broke out into an avalanche of violence.

Anne put a shining sliver of power through the next nearest silent one, the arrow streaking away from her bow like a meteor in the sky. Natalie sent a whirling disc of fire curving up and into the next closest, even as she hurled javelins upwards.

Across the hall, Jack launched himself into one of the bats, having somehow climbed up one of the pillars. The [Knave] tore into it with his knives, even as Xavien stepped out and unleashed an incandescent torrent at another target. Olivia blasted another with a shower of ice, while Lawrence stepped out in front of her and made a sharp twisting motion, something that was echoed by the neck of yet another bat.

Yet Clay's attention was pulled away from all of them towards Syr Katherine. She had ignored all of the creatures above her, still sprinting for the far end of the hall. The bats were dropping away from their roosts, and his heart leapt into his throat as two of them turned towards her, their lethal intent immediately obvious. A horned one flipped away from the ceiling and beat its wings, obviously preparing a volley of blood-darts; at the same time, a massive nested one spread its wings, and the batlings clutching to its bloated form began to ignite.

He fired his arrow at the horned one without hesitation. It wasn't the best shot, but it hit one of the creature's wings and made its head dip for a moment, fouling its aim. Before it recovered, he dropped his bow and picked up his spear. Syr Katherine was still running for her apparent prey, even as the nested one's young took flight. If she was going to survive, he needed to stop them.

Clay's grip tightened on the spear. His foot dug into the stone floor, hard enough that he felt something crack. He pivoted, putting every bit of strength into the motion as he hurled the spear across the hall. The air cracked with the passage of the weapon; he saw the thing cross the distance in a heartbeat.

It struck the nested one and punched through the stretched hide; flesh and bone served as no protection as the weapon buried itself so deep that even the crossguards failed to prevent it from piercing further. The impact smashed the bat forwards. Massive claws lost their purchase on the ceiling above, and the nested one plummeted towards the floor. Behind it, the batlings it had sent after Syr Katherine abruptly detonated, their flames becoming a wall of brief, flickering pyres as they also fell.

{Nested One slain! Soul increases by 150}

{Might increased by 1!}

Clay didn't wait for the body to land. He shook off the sudden roar of the Dungeon in his mind and launched himself across the hall, running after Syr Katherine. The horned one that he'd shot twisted around to face him, and darts formed from the blood leaking out of the wound lashed out at him like whips. He ducked and dodged, feeling them come close as they smacked into the floor beneath or the pillars as he passed them.

The bat wasn't done yet, however. It retched, hurling even more blood out towards him in a fountain of death. Clay grimaced as he saw the darts form, too many for him to dodge completely.

Then the Canon of Rock completed, and a familiar sensation formed as the boulder took shape overhead. He barely allowed it to complete before he hurled it across the hall, aiming it directly at the center of the bat's chest. The stone projectile hammered its way through the incoming flood of darts, smashing them aside as if they were mere inconveniences.

The horned one's eyes widened in shock as the boulder bashed its way through. It had time to flap its wings just once before the stone slammed into its chest, crushing its ribcage like a bundle of twigs and sending it tumbling from the air.

{Horned One slain! Soul increases by 150}

Clay dodged to the side as the bat corpses struck the ground, vaulting over the dead form of the nested one. There were more shouts and explosions behind him, but he trusted that Olivia and the Ruffians would be all right. With the advantage of surprise and the ability to use [Chants] freely, they would do just fine.

He wished he felt as confident at Syr Katherine's chances, however. The adventurer had launched herself at the remaining creatures without a hint of hesitation, and what had resulted was a sight strange enough to make Clay pause for a moment.

Syr Katherine was weaving her way through wave after wave of greenish fire, which seemed to close in on her from all directions. The four creatures that surrounded her were hard to see in the flickering light, but they were… different from the other bats. Their faces were longer, and they had more than the usual two eyes, with some kind of curled tail that the others lacked. They surrounded her, fluttering and snapping at her when she drew close.

Yet the [Calculator] seemed to almost ignore them. She ducked beneath one stream of fire, somersaulted over another, and then darted forward to strike at what seemed like thin air. Her sword lashed out in a blur of multiple thrusts, all of which should have met nothing but empty space. Syr Katherine followed up with a lance of ice that seemed to shoot through another section of empty space, and completely ignored a creature that nearly took her head off with a well-placed bite. Had she been confused somehow?

Shaking his head, Clay drew his knife and charged in, reciting the Cycle of Return. He jumped, hoping to take one of the creatures by surprise. As he dropped towards its back, he saw it unleash another stream of fire that Syr Katherine dodged easily. She seemed to be absorbed in her own [Chant] at the moment, her movements a blur of impossible leaps and last-second dodges.

Then he plunged straight through the creature's back as if it wasn't even there. He landed on the floor and staggered forward slightly, his own surprise slowing his reaction. Clay saw his shadow suddenly put into sharp relief in front of him as a green glow built behind him. Syr Katherine lunged towards him, her eyes desperate despite their usual calm.

He reacted on pure instinct, diving forward so that he could get more distance between him and the flame. She nodded as he passed, placing a shield of air between him and a stream of fire that would have burnt straight through his armor.

Then she darted forward, streaking up in a single flashing leap that ended far sooner than it should have. There was a sudden, aborted chirp of agony, and the supposedly empty space became another of the long-faced creatures, rearing back for a moment with Syr Katherine's sword buried up to the hilt in a narrow eye socket.

She gave the weapon a single vicious twist, and the creature dropped towards the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. Clay blinked in surprise, remembering her words before they'd entered the Dungeon. Illusions, she'd said.

Then he turned his attention to the creatures in front of him. The ones that were supposedly in front of him. He gritted his teeth and threw himself forward, trying to guess where they actually were; he didn't know how Syr Katherine was piercing their illusions, but it didn't seem to be working for him.

Unfortunately, his guess only resulted in him leaping at thin air; he was forced to duck a gout of green fire a moment later. A creature snapped at him, and he swung at it out of reflex, surprised to feel an actual impact. Desperate to chase after the wounded thing, he charged after the thing, only for it to retreat and seemingly split into two identical versions of itself.

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Growling the words of the [Chant] in frustration, Clay continued to chase after it, until a wave of flame came at him from two sides. Faced with a split-second decision, Clay chose to dodge the one on the right, hoping the other was an illusion.

His guess this time was better. Supposedly deadly flame washed over him without harm, but the stream that had come at him from the other angle also seemed false, splattering over the stones without a hint of heat. He froze in surprise for a moment, his mind trying to rationalize what he was seeing.

Then a thread of invisible flame struck him across the chest and sent him skidding across the floor. Agony tore through him, and as he rolled to his feet, he could barely manage to lift his head. A shadow fell over him, but when he looked up, nothing was there.

A desperate lunge took him out of the way of a strike from an invisible opponent; Clay felt the snap of something's jaws right next to his leg. He scrambled along the stone floor, trying to get back to his feet as more flames chased Syr Katherine. Another wash of flame, visible this time, seared the stones ahead of him and hedged him in.

Then the Cycle fell into place, and his spear tore itself free of the nested one's corpse. It shot towards him, and he grinned as whatever invisible thing was hunting him suddenly veered away to avoid the weapon. He grabbed the haft and slammed the butt into the stone, pushing himself upwards. There was a brush of wind across his face, and he lashed out, swinging his spear in a wide arc to fend off the assault.

Beyond their desperate battle, the others were still fighting the remnants of the bats. He saw Lawrence deliberately step into an avalanche of bloody darts, only for the projectiles to disappear and stab through the horned one that had launched them. Anne danced aside as bomb bats exploded around her; another pair of shining arrows slew the nested one who had launched them.

Xavien, coated in flaming armor, seemed to laugh off more impacts, even as he battered another bat with flashes of lightning. Jack danced around the darts from a horned one before launching himself into its face. Natalie threw a javelin and struck another from the sky, the light fading from its overlarge eyes.

A little closer, Olivia sent yet another shower of ice spears into a flock of bomb bats, detonating them early. She lunged through the resulting smoke, her scythe held ready, even as the nested one she faced tried to retreat, one wing bent and broken by a spear that had slipped through the mass. Behind her, the skewered form of a horned one was pinned to a pillar, its head hanging limp.

He shook his head and tried to focus. If it blasted him out of nowhere again, he might not be able to get back up. Clay shifted, trying to see where the shadows were moving, to see where the light was coming from. If he could see the glow and judge the angle correctly…

There was a flicker, and the shadows in front of him vanished. Clay threw himself to the side, trying not to cry out as the movement pulled at his wounds. Heat flared behind him, even as he dodged through a wash of illusionary flame.

Clay rolled back to his feet, his heart beating fast with victory. As he crouched, however, he felt the wind from unseen wings drift across him, and realized that he hadn't escaped yet.

He stepped backwards, holding his spear so that anything charging at him would find its point in its face. Clay thought he heard a hint of an annoyed chirp and thought he could see something like another glow forming ahead of him.

Then Syr Katherine finished her [Chant], and a volley of ice spears suddenly struck out across the battle.

Four of them slashed towards Clay, and he jerked as they struck something invisible off to his right. One of the Guardians abruptly snapped into view, with two of the spears planted in its skull, before it fell to the ground.

Three others fell as well, each struck by at least two spears, some as much as four. As they died, their illusions vanished, leaving only a single creature left. It snarled, sending a wave of flame at her.

She jumped, leaping over the incoming fire. The Guardian's wings beat the air as it followed, its jaw wide to strike at her from below.

Then she seemed to plant her feet against a platform of air and jumped to the side. The Guardian paused, trying to pivot in place to follow her, only for the [Calculator] to change direction in midair once again. It unleashed another rush of flame, but none of it came anywhere near her except for one stream that she dove through without hesitation.

A third change, and she shot straight down like an arrow. She should have hit nothing—the Guardian seemed to be a full stride or two away—yet she gave a cry of victory as her sword slammed home. Syr Katherine hit the ground and rolled, pivoting to face the thing once more.

It was already dead, however. The false version of it faded as the real thing appeared, blood fountaining from its neck as its wings faltered. It gave one more burbling chirp before it fell, joining the others collapsed to the floor.

She straightened up, looking to where the others were just finishing their battles. Olivia was already rushing forward, ready to strike out as well, only to find that there was nothing left to kill. Xavien had paused to heal Jack, but the [Oracle] was also already on his way. Only Anne was left fighting something, but it was clear that the horned one she faced was already on its last legs. The battle was done.

Syr Katherine looked at him, concern and professionalism warring in her expression. "Sir Clay, is the Dungeon aware of us?"

He snorted. The howl of the Dungeon was practically tearing at him on a physical level. He wasn't sure if it was his newfound strength with his senses, or the fact that they'd likely just set the Dungeon's progress back by more than a decade, but they had obviously been noticed. "Yeah. It knows we're here."

"Then it is time we leave." She shook her head, looking over the devastated place. "I would have liked to search this area, but if we are discovered…"

Olivia spoke up, her voice a low plea. "Five minutes. Give me that long, and then we can go."

The [Calculator] looked at Xavien, who was kneeling beside Clay now. Healing rushed through his wounds, knitting up the seared flesh, and Clay grimaced. The [Oracle] looked back at her and shook his head. "I'm out. That was the last [Charm]."

Syr Katherine sighed. "It is too much of a risk, Syr Olivia. The Malus is likely to strike again before we reach the exit, and we aren't going to be concealed any longer. I sympathize with your desires, but it is too risky for us to—"

Clay spoke up, his words hissing beneath his teeth. The pain wasn't that bad, he kept telling himself. "Wait. Let me try something."

She frowned, but gestured for him to proceed. Clay forced the pain from his mind and focused on the Cloak. Syr Katherine frowned, but she held her peace as he sped through the [Chant].

This time, however, as he ran through the concealing [Chant], he repeated the amplified portion of it. Syr Katherine stiffened, as if she was going to stop him, but Olivia reached out and put a hand on her arm. The [Calculator] looked at her, and then back at Clay, her eyes wide.

By then, Clay had reached the end of the spell. He felt the modified Cloak settle over him and go further. The howl of the Dungeon in his mind went from an active, screaming focus to something so vague and muted that he could barely sense it at all. It was like wearing a blindfold over eyes he'd never had before.

The Dungeon's reaction was nearly immediate. He felt pressure building against the force of his [Chant], but the modified Cloak held firm without trouble. Clay maintained it a moment further before releasing it.

He looked at Syr Katherine and forced a grin. "Take the Ruffians and head for the exit. Syr Olivia and I will follow after we're done."

Syr Katherine opened her mouth to refuse and then paused. She studied his eyes for a moment before nodding. "So be it. As long as you share what you've learned and do not stay longer than you have to."

Clay opened his mouth to respond, and then a terrible, searing pain shot through him. It felt like the very structure of his body trembled, even as his Soul cried out in protest.

{Malus Refreshed and Reinforced! Receive an additional 40% damage from all sources for 24 hours.}

He blinked and looked at Olivia. She hesitated for only a moment before nodding.

Then he looked at Syr Katherine and smiled. "I think I can promise that, Syr Katherine. We'll see you on the other side."

The others had been gone for what felt like an eternity when they found what Olivia had been looking for.

It had been a silent, determined search through the remnants of whatever this place had been. Both of them had used the modified version of the Cloak, and they had remained quiet in order to maintain the [Chant] while they worked.

Their efforts had paid off. Clay had half-expected a group of bats to enter the hall immediately, but the monsters had not returned to the place yet. He felt occasional probes by the Dungeon as it searched for them, but its efforts eventually waned and the thing's attention was drawn elsewhere. Hopefully, the others had already made it most of the way out of the place by then.

In the meantime, he and Olivia had looked through the hall for whatever hints of records the place might have had. Based on the complete decay of the furniture, Clay hadn't expected much to be left. After all, the amount of time it took to break down and bury the remnants of the wooden benches must have had a similar effect on any scrolls or books hanging around. Even if the place had been some kind of Shrine, with the accompanying library, there couldn't be much left.

Of course, that wasn't the only problem. Whatever force had pulled the place here, it hadn't managed to draw it in completely. The building seemed to only be partially intact. They found at least two hallways branching off of the main structure that ended in a plain wooden wall. Another three doors had been only partially there, the hallways beyond lost to whatever process had formed this forsaken place.

Yet there were other things that gave them hope. One hallway continued for a while, with open space beyond its windows before the tree trunk's wood appeared. Olivia had rushed down the place, only to find what seemed to be part of an old kitchen, complete with crumbling cabinets, a large, marble table for food preparation, and even an empty, long dead hearth with a chimney that stretched up into a roof that had been replaced by grey green wood where stone should have been.

They had searched that place, finding nothing beyond a handful of plates and knives that had been left behind. Disappointed, they'd tried another door on the same side of the building, and found something far, far more important.

It was the library, or at least part of it. The hallway had been just a bit longer than the first one, and when they had opened the ancient, rusted door, they had found barely anything left of the place before it merged with the wood of the tree. A single shelf of books was intact, while the next one had been cut off halfway through, the pages of the books literally fused with tree-flesh.

Olivia had ignored those savaged tomes, however, and immediately began a frantic search of the volumes that remained. She had pointed him to the far end, and they had worked together to pile them up. She had made a search through each of them, looking for text and diagrams. Clay didn't know what she was looking for, precisely, but he dutifully packed several of the things away as she motioned for him to do so.

By the time she was done, each of them was weighed down with a half dozen scrolls and a pair of heavy, leatherbound books. Most of the others she seemed unhappy to leave behind, but she wrapped them up carefully as far from the wood as she could before they retreated back through the doorway. Even with the Dungeon's terrible presence around them, Clay could see the spring in her step as they made their way back to the main hall.

There, they found an unpleasant surprise. A thrumming noise filled the ancient hall, and a carpet of hummers covered the floor. Clay saw them moving over the remains of the fallen bats and grimaced; Olivia shook her head and made a motion with her head as if she was gagging. They scooted around the feeding insects, keeping to the far side of the walls so that they didn't accidentally crush one as they made for the exit.

Out in the darkened air, they crept along the first of the bridges, retracing their steps. They limited themselves to a single torch, one that guttered and spat as they made their way up. Clay didn't know how much noise the Ruffians and Syr Katherine had made on the way out, but he wanted to avoid as much combat as he could. Something told him that with such a severe Malus, even a single blow from one of the enemy would kill either him or Olivia instantly.

Fortunately, it seemed as if the Dungeon was either still reeling from the loss of so many Guardians at once, or that it was distracted by some other concern. They made it back to the tree where Clay had cast the Fool's Rhyme and set them on their current course, and from there, they headed back towards the entrance.

Multiple times, they ran across places where the bats had fallen, and found writhing packs of hummers doing their best to strip the flesh from their bones. Occasionally, they had to edge their way past or patiently stalk through the middle of them, trying not to scream as they crawled across their boots. Other times, they watched and waited as bats descended on the insects, picking them off and carrying them into the dark. The glowing moss occasionally flared as the bugs crossed it, or as they trod on it themselves.

It took far too long, but in the end, they reached the exit. They were starting across the last bridge, the shining light of the afternoon sun ahead of them, when they stumbled, their Souls trembling from a sudden attack.

{Malus Refreshed and Reinforced! Receive an additional 60% damage from all sources for 24 hours.}

Clay exchanged a look with Olivia and grimaced. Making it back to Dorthmead was going to be more unpleasant than he'd expected. All the same, he walked across the bridge towards the light of the real world. He remembered the wondrous song that had called to him from it and felt a vast sense of relief as he stepped through that doorway and back into the sunlight. With any luck, they would be spared a return for a very, very long time.

As he and Olivia staggered into the shadow of the strange clouds, they found Syr Katherine and the Ruffians there waiting for them. The still-smoldering corpses of a few bats were scattered around, but the lot of them looked more or less content. Anne launched herself at them, her face full of relief. "You're back! What did you—"

Clay held a hand up, his voice creaking a little as he spoke. "No tackles right now, okay? We're a little bit… fragile."

"As are we all." Xavien shook his head. "We decided to hold here and wait for you, but the bats are gathering their forces. Leaving would be a good idea."

Syr Katherine nodded, though her eyes were on the books that Clay and Olivia were carrying. "I agree, Sir Xavien. We should return immediately. Be careful; the Malus will remain in place until well into tomorrow." She looked at Clay, her eyes intense. "Once we return, then, there should be plenty of time for us to… talk."

Clay nodded wearily and heard Olivia snort next to him. He could have whatever arguments that the adventurer was planning once they weren't at risk of dying by tripping on a mountain slope… and possibly when he wasn't thinking about just how many bugs had crawled over him that day. With a weary sigh, he set off with the others towards Dorthmead. It had been a busy day.

"So, uh, how long were you all waiting?"

Jack snorted as he walked ahead of Clay, running a nonchalant eye across the terrain in front of them. They were already halfway down the ravine, and though they were moving a bit slower than they had before, it seemed like there wasn't going to be any problem getting home safely. Not with absolute devastation marching ahead of them.

Even as Jack chuckled, another group of senior bats attempted to strike at the group. They came howling in from the east, their fury obvious as they swooped in at the heroes struggling home below.

None of the Ruffians even bothered to look up from the slope. Olivia glanced in the monsters' direction, but she simply sighed when she saw that there were only a little more than a dozen of the things.

Syr Katherine looked over at the approaching threats, her expression briefly irritated. She muttered something under her breath, and a massive volley of ice spears lashed out at the incoming monsters, slicing through the air and intervening branches in a rising wave of destruction. The bats had only a heartbeat to respond, and then they were all tumbling from the air, dead and dying from the counterattack.

It was at least the third attack that Syr Katherine had dismissively swept out of her way. Something told Clay that it wasn't going to get any better for the monsters before they reached the safety of Dorthmead.

Jack finally responded, his voice laced with amusement. "Not all that long, I guess. We did run into a couple more batches of monsters on the way back." He lowered his voice. "I think Syr Katherine might have dropped her Cloak deliberately, to give the monsters something to track and hunt. They found us pretty quickly both times."

Syr Katherine glanced back at them, her eyebrow raised. "I did, Sir Jack. I believed it would be wise to offer the monsters a distraction, to avoid having their gaze turned elsewhere."

Xavien snorted. "And it just so happened to give her the chance to vent some of her frustrations. The rest of us only accounted for half of each group."

Anne laughed. "You're just jealous because she nailed one of those horned ones before you could." She looked back at Clay and grinned. "So, did you find what you were looking for?"

Clay looked at Olivia, and she shrugged. "We'll have to see once we get back. It still needs to be translated."

Natalie spoke up from the back of the group, her eagerness clear. "I can help with that, maybe. Do you think there might be any more [Chants] in those books?"

Olivia glanced back at her. "Perhaps."

"If there are any such things, I would need to make sure they were safe." Syr Katherine looked back, her expression cold. "I trust you would not object to my… advice on such things?"

For a moment, Olivia just looked back at her. Then she nodded, slowly. "As long as it is only advice, Syr Katherine."

The [Calculator]'s eyes narrowed, but before she could say anything more, another group of bats came winging in from the west. Clay felt a moment of surreal gratitude for the approach of the monsters as Syr Katherine's attention shifted to them.

Lawrence, walking quietly beside him, leaned over for a moment. "The next few days should be fun."

Clay groaned quietly, even as another shower of ice claimed the bats overhead. He almost wished they could head back to Dungeon instead. At least he could fight the monsters there.

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