Chapter 202: The Back Way In

Wednesday morning’s Combat Conditioning class had Arthur and Felix paired against Emily. Felix had to keep her away long enough for Arthur to land three blunt arrows on the padded target strapped to her vest.

Morwenna had banned movement skills for the exercise, which was proving particularly inconvenient for Arthur. Emily had already reached him twice.

"Try keeping her on your right this time," Arthur told Felix as they returned to their starting marks. "She keeps getting around your shield."

"I noticed," Felix grumbled, adjusting the heavy steel on his arm. "I’m the one she’s going around."

Morwenna blew her whistle.

Felix braced behind his shield, shifting his weight to cover his right side to intercept her flank. Emily feinted right, shoved the heavy iron edge aside, and slipped cleanly past his left shoulder instead.

Arthur drew Whisperwind, but Felix turned to follow her. The broad shield swung directly across Arthur’s view, blocking the shot he had been lining up.

"Felix, move your—"

Emily’s padded gauntlet caught Arthur across the shoulder before he could finish the sentence. He stumbled backward and triggered Shadow Step out of pure habit, dissolving into dark mist and reappearing several yards away.

Morwenna’s whistle sounded again.

"I said no skills, Vance," she called as Arthur lowered his bow.

"She was about to put me on the ground," Arthur protested.

"Then your partner should have stopped her." Morwenna turned toward Felix, who was still trying to catch his breath behind the shield. "And you need to stop following Thorne every time she moves. Make her come through you."

Felix wiped the sweat from his face. "She’s faster than me, Instructor."

"Which is why chasing her isn’t working. Reset."

Emily was already walking back to her starting position, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

Arthur returned to Felix’s side and retrieved another training arrow.

"Next time, I’m shooting through the shield," Arthur muttered.

Felix gave him an irritated look. "Next time, try shooting before she gets here."

After Morwenna dismissed the class, Felix found Arthur beside the weapon racks, studying the map from Tuesday’s quarry trip on his phone.

"You’re going back out there?" Felix asked, setting his shield against the wooden bench.

"Saturday, if Garrick’s available." Arthur showed him the marked bend in the ravine. "We found a trail leading into the old quarry. A couple of armed men were guarding it."

Felix leaned closer to examine the map. "Did you see what they were guarding, or just the sentries?"

"Just the sentries. But we saw another man changing shifts, and there was movement farther inside. Couldn’t get a proper count."

"And now you want my shield."

"Yes."

Felix rubbed his forehead. "You know we just got back from that shrine, right?"

"I’m aware."

"Good. Because I’d like to survive one weekend without Chloe having to put us back together."

"Come to Warehouse 9 after class," Arthur said. "Garrick can tell you what we found."

Felix considered the map for another moment before reaching for his heavy bag. "Fine. But I’m hearing the whole plan before we leave."

By the time Arthur, Emily, and Felix reached Warehouse 9, Sylvia was still sorting out Saturday’s assignments.

Garrick stood beside the main job board, arguing over a merchant escort that was supposed to take him east. Mira was nearby with two younger hunters, checking their climbing gear before sending them out to the practice yard. Sophia was cross-referencing a stack of supply receipts at her desk.

Arthur waited until Sylvia finished adjusting Garrick’s escort route before stepping up to the counter.

"I need Garrick and Mira on Saturday," Arthur said.

Sylvia set her pen down. "For Kaelen?"

"Yeah."

"And the bounty?"

"Still expired," Sophia called from the back desk.

"I’ll cover the expenses," Arthur offered.

"It isn’t just about the coin," Sylvia said. "Garrick’s merchant escort is already delayed, and Mira is supposed to be running drills with the new hunters. I need my people intact."

Arthur pulled Sophia’s annotated map from his pocket and spread it across the desk.

Mira looked up from the equipment rack when she heard her name. She came over with her broadsword strapped across her back.

"Saturday?" she asked.

"We’re going after Kaelen’s Company," Arthur told her.

Mira glanced at the map spread across Sylvia’s desk. "You actually found their trail?"

"Garrick did," Arthur answered.

"Then count me in. Those bastards have been hitting caravans for months."

Sylvia looked at Garrick. "And your escort?"

"I can push it to Monday," Garrick said, stepping up to the counter. "They’re still loading the heavy wagons anyway."

Sylvia turned to Mira. "What about the recruits?"

"I can run their drills on Friday instead," Mira said.

Sylvia looked between Garrick and Mira before answering. "Fine. But I want a proper account of what happens out there. And don’t expect me to cover the losses if you drag us into something stupid."

"The sentry post sits here," Garrick said, tapping the bend in the ravine on the map. "The approach is narrow. High rock walls on both sides."

Felix frowned at the paper. "My shield will catch arrows from the front, but I can’t move fast on a narrow trail without exposing everyone behind me."

Emily traced a finger over the green section of the map. "If they’re watching the road, go through the trees."

Garrick shook his head. "The slope is dead brush and loose rock. They’ll hear us coming down before we can even see them." He looked back at the terrain lines, tracing the ridge above the ravine. "The hidden trail dropped toward a lower stretch. There might be a second way down farther along the ridge, bypassing the first sentries entirely."

Saturday morning, they left the hired horses tied deep in the woods near the main quarry road and hiked up the ridgeline.

Garrick tested the loose rocks before putting his weight on them, guiding the group along the firmer ground near the tree line. Felix kept his shield angled carefully to avoid the pine trunks, letting Garrick set the pace.

Halfway up the slope, they passed an overgrown service track branching downhill toward the lower valley. Garrick pointed it out before leading them farther up the ridge.

They crested the ridge an hour later, crawling on their stomachs to the edge of a sheer drop overlooking the expanded ravine.

Arthur found three wagons among the quarry buildings.

Two were being unloaded near the old stone sheds, where several men were hauling sacks of grain and heavy water barrels. The third wagon stood beside a dilapidated workshop with its doors hanging crookedly from the hinges. Its original paint had been scraped away in patches, though a little green remained around the edge of a merchant’s crest.

Arthur focused Eagle Eye on the damaged lettering. The name was mostly gone, but the surviving mark matched the caravan description from Sophia’s robbery reports.

"Garrick," Arthur whispered, pointing it out. "That wagon’s probably stolen."

Garrick examined the scraped wood before turning his attention to the armed men moving around the sheds. "Then we’re in the right place. Where’s Kaelen?"

Arthur scanned the rest of the camp. There were a hell of a lot more supplies here than Arthur remembered. He couldn’t even tell how many people were working out of the place. Armed men in leather and chainmail mixed freely with ordinary laborers hauling grain. Near the center shed, a large man in a heavy coat was barking orders at a work crew. Was that Kaelen? The game version of his company had never needed this kind of logistics.

Mira joined them a moment later, keeping below the edge of the ridge. She pointed toward the far end of the quarry, where a steep dirt path wound behind the stone buildings.

"They’ve got a way out the back," Mira whispered.

Arthur saw two armed men walking up the rear path, leading a tethered horse toward the sheds.

Below them, two men walked beside the third wagon as it pulled away from the workshop. Their hands were tied tightly behind their backs. One was limping badly enough that the guard behind him had to keep shoving him forward.

Emily shifted closer to Arthur. "Those two," she whispered.

"I see them."

Arthur watched the wagon turn toward the lower dirt road. It was heading away from the main buildings, flanked by four armed guards and a driver.

Felix crawled up on Arthur’s other side. "We can’t fight everyone down there."

"I’m not planning to," Arthur told him.

Felix watched the guard yank the injured man forward again. "Fuck. We have to get them away from those bastards."

Arthur looked toward Garrick. "That road. Where does it come out?"

Garrick followed the wagon’s direction and pointed to a bend farther down the hill. "Past the old kiln. There’s a narrower stretch before the road joins the quarry track."

Arthur remembered the route from the climb. "The service path we passed. Does it reach the kiln?"

Garrick nodded. "It cuts down right behind it. We can beat the wagon to the bend."

"We’ll take them past the kiln," Arthur said.

The wagon had to take the long way around the quarry buildings. Even with Felix’s heavy shield slowing their descent through the brush, the group reached the lower road first.

Felix and Emily waited behind the remains of a collapsed stone wall just past the bend. Mira took the opposite side of the dirt road, her broadsword drawn, while Garrick watched the trail leading back toward the main camp.

Arthur stayed higher up the rocky slope, finding a clean firing angle through the trees overlooking the road.

The wagon rounded the bend at a slow pace. The injured prisoner stumbled again, and the guard hauling him along cursed as the driver pulled back on the reins.

"Move, damn it!" the guard snapped, giving the man another shove.

The prisoner staggered against the wagon, catching himself with his shoulder. The guard released his collar and stepped away, leaving Arthur with a clear shot.

He released.

The arrow struck the guard in the chest, sending him stumbling backward before he collapsed beside the wagon wheel.

Emily was already moving. She came around the broken wall just as the second guard reached for his sword, driving her gauntlet into his ribs hard enough to knock him off his feet.

One of the horses shied at the sudden violence, pulling the wagon forward with a violent jolt. The driver swore and hauled back on the reins while Mira charged the two guards at the rear. Her broadsword caught the first man’s hurried swing and drove him back toward his companion.

Felix reached the front wheel as the driver tried to draw a knife from his belt. He slammed the upper edge of his shield into the man’s leg, forcing him back onto the driver’s seat.

"Get down!" Felix shouted at the prisoners.

The uninjured man dropped immediately. His companion tried to follow, but his bad leg gave out just as the wagon rocked again. He struck the wooden wheel with his shoulder and collapsed beside it.

Arthur drew another arrow, looking for a clean shot past Mira. The two guards were still fighting her near the back of the wagon, and the horses were pulling against the reins.

Garrick’s shout came from the tree line before Arthur could settle on a target.

"Arthur! Above you!"

A brass whistle sounded sharply.

Arthur turned. On a concealed rock shelf overlooking the lower road, half-hidden by thick pine branches, two men were raising heavy crossbows.

The first bolt struck Felix’s shield with a loud clang.

The second buried itself deep into the wagon wood, inches from the wounded prisoner’s head.