"Damn it, these things again?" With gritted teeth, Darius eyed the approaching duskclaws and freed his rapier from its sheath. "Alright, but don't say we didn't try asking nicely!"

    "Less chatting, more smashing, pretty boy!" Focus locked on the nearest duskclaw, Arlo snatched up their hammer and sprinted across the hall. They reeled their weapon back and, crying out in anger, swung it into the creature's side. The impact split against shell plating to draw spurts of tainted purple blood, yet, to Arlo's dismay, the insect held its ground. "Okay. Kinda expected it to go flying when I did that."

    Not only did this duskclaw hang around, but the purple glow resonating in its many eyes seemed eager to return the gesture. It swiped out with its clawed front leg, then shot forward during the backswing to slam its body weight into Arlo's gut. The dragonborn tumbled backwards, smashing their head through a rickety dining table. Loosed from their hands, their hammer clanged against the floorboards, sitting helplessly out of reach.

    Shutting her eyes, Kerensa released a long sigh. "No use hiding and playing coy anymore, I suppose," she said, drawing a string of shadowy sigils in the air. With a snap of her fingers, slithering tendrils of deep red and purple fire burst out before her, burning hot without emitting any light. Her hands swayed with weaving motions, and their lengths spooled into a tangible mass. "Come, my pretty! Mother's calling."

    The necromantic energy fizzled and crackled, yet the shape refused to settle.

    Kerensa tutted under her breath. "Enough slouching, Trumpet. Don't make me come in there!"

    Lashed into obedience by Kerensa's tongue, the flames raged their hottest, then flashed out of sight. Where they had burned, there hovered a short skeletal imp held aloft by a leathery pair of carmine-hued wings. A faint magma-like glow emanated from within its crooked ribcage, the light graduating to exposed pockets of infernal lava pooled in its eyeholes. From its stout head jutted multiple pairs of curved horns, their deep purple edges as sharp as the hooked claws that looped from the creature's digits and wings. Black smoke puffed from the skull's slight noseholes.

    The imp rubbed at his fiery eyes, his drawn-out yawn bellowing off the mess hall walls. "Waist-deep in the middle of a bloody good dream, I was," he said as he stretched out his back, exposing the thick loops of red thread that bound his wings to his skeleton. A glint of reflected sunlight shot into his eyes, and he hissed and hid his face in Kerensa's dress. "You trying to be the death of me? What time do you call this?"

    "High time you got up and did something, precious, that's what," Kerensa answered, pulling her clothing free of the imp's desperate hold. She extended her arm, and the imp fluttered over to perch upon her limb as she gestured to the duskclaw opposite Darius. "Now, boy, see that vile thing there?"

    Trumpet squinted into the distance, his flaming eyes flicking between the creature and the rapier-wielding half-elf. Coiling his long, pointed tail of bones around his waist, he turned back to the necromancer. "Which one d'you mean?"

    "The bug, Trumpet. The one that's dared to drag its hideous no-face into our sight." Kerensa dropped her head into her free hand, then perked back up with a petitioning grin. "What say you and I teach it a painful lesson?"

    A chirpy whistle left Trumpet's dry lips. "We can do that, yeah! I love lessons about pain."

    "I know you do, you adorable little freak."

    Patting her familiar on the back, Kerensa rushed forward with a ball of twisted shadows in each hand. She fired them at the duskclaw, stealing its attention just as a sweep of her arms tore a sheet of pulsing energy from the shadows beneath the tables. As the necromantic blasts bit into its shell, the insectoid creature disappeared under a blanket of darkness, blinded to the imp that flew on a stream of sharp dark purple flame to slice straight through its stinger-tipped tail.

    Only Trumpet did not cut through anything. His flames spat and hissed between the creature's chitinous plates, yet the heat simply scratched at the soft flesh that hid beneath. Droplets of purple blood spattered the imp's arm, but clearly far less than he expected.

    Kerensa swallowed down a gasp, then readied two more shadow balls as the dark veil faded. "Again, boy! Keep at it!"

    Tailed by a twirling ribbon of flame, Trumpet pirouetted in the air and divebombed towards the base of the creature's tail. The imp fell within a lance's length of the duskclaw, and he tilted his glide to slice again. In an instant, the monster lunged to the side and swung its tail to smack Trumpet out of flight, flattening him against the nearest wall.

    Shock ripped through Kerensa's muscles as the mystical thread that bound her to her familiar frayed to little more than a sliver. "Trumpet! Get up!"

    She ran for the imp, only for a quick, sharp pain to bury itself in her back. Before Kerensa could cry out, a dense weight crushed her into the floor. The duskclaw had her in its hold.

    Shaking, Talwyn lifted her arms to fire a spell at the insect. The white-hot sparks of a lightning bolt clustered in her fingertips, yet as she flicked her fingers, a lump of cold, wet sludge thudded into her hand. A dull ache shuddered through her knuckles and along her arm, and the magical energy fritted away as quickly as it had arrived.

    From the entrance, Friese released the roar of a rabid beast. The duskclaws reciprocated, screeching as Arlo strained against the jaws of one and Kerensa floundered under the other's claws. Legions of lice circled and squeaked.

    Darius cursed and rushed for the door, rapier primed for a swift strike. "Get him down, Tangle!"

    "Way ahead of you!" Sliding beneath the hanging Friese, Tangle freed a bauble from her belt, shook it up, and tossed it into her enemy's face. The ball ticked, then ticked again as it crested the apex of its climb, then exploded into a cloud of sparkling dust. "Get dazzled, doofus."

    Though the monster that had been Friese was visibly eyeless, the detonation successfully scrambled his concentration. He plummeted to the floor as Darius arrived, and the half-elf stabbed out with his rapier, a trail of icy mist sparkling in his attack's wake.

    As quick as Darius was, Friese was quicker, and the transformed amari skittered clear enough to reduce the rapier's strike to a shallow gash along his side. He spun on the spot and kicked out at his opponent's dashing feet, knocking him off-balance. The half-elf fell, and Friese threw himself forward to pierce Darius' shoulder with his dark, wet claws.

    No cries of pain left Darius' lips. From his mouth, nose, and eyes came steady flows of grey, shimmering ooze, its bulk shaping to the contours of his face. His breaths escaped in choked bursts.

    Talwyn lined up another lightning bolt, this time aiming squarely for Friese's form. "Let us go!" she cried as the electricity leapt from her fingertips.

    Without flinching, Friese pulled his claws free and dashed at Talwyn. The flash of lightning shocked through his stomach, drawing a wild shriek, yet not slowing his momentum. Nimble and flailing, he threw his weight into Talwyn's chest and knocked her to the ground.

    The pain came before the realisation. Talwyn's flesh sizzled, and her gut twisted and burned to rid itself of some unknown invader. She looked down and choked back her nausea as Friese's claws sat inside her abdomen, colourless sludge leaking over her dress. As her mind caught up, a wad of the same slime heaved from her throat. Then another.

    While she had avoided asking Kerensa what death felt like out of respect, Talwyn figured she now had a reasonably good idea.

    Suddenly, the claws tore free, and Friese lashed around with a violent swipe. Tangle's glassy dagger hacked a chunk of ooze from his neck, and the amari slashed across her stomach before her second blade could follow up. The dryad yelped and tumbled to the floor, wincing in anticipation of a direct strike, yet it never came. Between her and Friese, a pulsing orb of pure white light sparked into vivid, blinding life.

    Friese froze in the light and, with both hands on his mould-claimed face, broke into an agonised, guttural howl.

    Nursing her gashed stomach, Tangle shielded her eyes and stared into the light. "That's one of my glimmer seeds," she said between gasping breaths as she pulled herself to her feet. "I think these yucky things hate light, you guys!"

    "Light, huh? I can do light." With a grunt, Arlo paused their furious punching of the duskclaw that snapped at their face. They seized the insect's head, stabbed its hooked jaws into their chest, and screamed hard enough to shake the creature's overstimulated antenna. As they bellowed, their dark eyes lit up like a golden sunset, and torrents of bright orange flame erupted from between their glistening copper scales. "This bright enough for you, bug?"

    The duskclaw recoiled, dark saliva spraying from its howling mouthpiece. Numb to their fresh wounds, Arlo rose, clasped the creature by its tail, and tore its stinger off with a blood-blazing roar.

    Across the hall, Kerensa kicked free of the claws that confined her and slinked over the lice-covered ground. "Oh, Trumpet? How are things?" she asked as she reached her familiar's side. The creature did not move, and she slapped the back of his head. "I can feel our bond, imp. I know you're not dead."

    "I wish I was. Living's bloody hard work," Trumpet said through a groan, peeling his wilted wings from the floorboards. "Can I go back now?"

    "In a moment, precious. Firstly, Mother needs light, and a lot of it." Settling the imp in her lap, Kerensa glanced up at the arcane lanterns over their heads. "These lanterns here – grab one and see if you can give it a little boost of sorts."

    "More cursed light, as if it's not blasted bright enough already," Trumpet muttered as he unfurled his wings and lifted from his master's grasp. Bobbing and bumbling upwards, he wrapped his small skeleton around a lantern, its magical blue light spilling over his smooth bones. Trumpet clamped his hands around the unit and pulled, yanked, and tugged with definitely some of his might.

    Through the sounds of scuffling, there was a screech of shearing metal, and the lantern broke free of its fixing. Trumpet cackled in victory and stuck his hand into the light's heart, feeling and fumbling around. Suddenly, the sparkling flames flashed, and a draught of flame shot out of the lantern's bowl. Throbbing blue lights bathed the mess hall's every corner.

    Kerensa grinned at the duskclaw that retreated from the light, its feet wading through racing lice. In her hands, the traces of remnant shadows slithered together to form a dark, needle-like lance shrouded in sinister mist. She raised her blast of readied energy, inky tears trailing from her blackening eyes. "Scared, are we?"

    The insect did not squeal before the shadows pierced through its deflating ovoid sac, a fountain of rich purple blood confirming its demise.

    Pulling herself off the floor, Talwyn swerved clear of Friese's flailing arms. She flicked her wrist and, as the amari noticed her movements, a ring of pale green lights sparked into sight. The creature screamed, too shocked to dodge the fresh green tree roots that sprouted through the floor and closed around his lower body.

    An icy breeze swept over Talwyn's face, amplifying the relief brought by the small shoots of warmth in her core. Rapier pierced through Friese's shoulder, Darius kept his eyes on her as a low light emanated from his palm over her wounds. "I've got you," he said, blinking the inky residue out of his eyelashes. His hand's glow faded, and hesitantly, he flicked away a chunk of dried ooze from Talwyn's chin. "So, puking weird creature gunk: bad time or worst time?"

    "I feel like I just got kicked from a horse and fell straight off a cliff," Talwyn replied as she scraped the dried ink away from her eyes. Fortunately, Darius' fine clothes carried even more horrific sludge stains than her own to alleviate the worst of her self-consciousness. "That's two times that I've been attacked somewhere you've led me, you know. Is hanging out with you always like this?"

    "I wouldn't say always," Darius said, yet the awkward tug of his collar definitely said something like 'yes, always, always has been, might always be'. Neither doubt nor exhaustion whittled away at the cheer in his eyes, however. "It's been a rough couple of days for us. But hey, third time's the charm."

    Talwyn snorted. "And who says there'll be a third time?"

    Even covered in dubious puked-up substances, the half-elf's warm smile glittered like fresh dew on soothing leaves. Strokes of gambolling light weaved across his irises, each one marking the elegant edge of a flawlessly cut sapphire. Up close, Talwyn saw herself reflected in their gem-like surfaces, and for once, being perceived brought no stab of panic. Like the wind or the weather, it simply happened.

    It took a harsh shriek to snap Talwyn from her staring. A heat wave engulfed her face, though judging by the pinkening of Darius' cheeks, the embarrassment was mutual. As she concealed her nervous smile behind her tousled hair, the smooth curve of Friese's transformed head reared into view. "Darius, look out!"

    Her companion did not turn around, instead rolling away from the unknown threat he recognised in Talwyn's glare and voice. She slapped her palm on Friese's slime-slick head and, with a grunt of discomfort, overloaded his mind with the panic that coursed through her body. The creature collapsed and rocked in agony, clutching the frosted hole on their shoulder, only to leap to his feet and scamper towards the window-bearing wall.

    Tossing aside the mutilated carcass of their foe duskclaw, Arlo grabbed their hammer from the ground. Fire licked at their purple-soaked muscles. "How is that asshole not dead yet? Just fucking hit him already!" they cried, and they reeled back with their hammer. The bloodied mithril weapon blazed through the air on a trail of spitting flames, swinging right past the nimble Friese who slipped comfortably out of reach. Left hanging and breathless, Arlo rolled their eyes. "Okay. Fair enough. Point taken."

    Friese launched onto the wall, a fan of mould and ooze spraying in his wake. Breaking from behind one of the few tables left intact, Talwyn thrusted her arm out and fired a column of pale green lightning. Her hair flew backwards as the surging electricity seared into the creature's back, yet it summoned no retaliation beyond a sickening gurgle and a jerking kick that smashed through the small window's glass. Wounded and outnumbered, Friese was no longer looking to fight, but to flee.

    Defiant, Talwyn raised both her arms, narrowed her sights at the amari's smouldering back, and channelled all her crackling energy forwards. Her breath hitched and her body tightened, bracing itself for the moon-bright bolt to burst from her hands. "Get back here!"

    Yet the lightning never came. Without a sound, the ravaged mess hall blinked away, and Talwyn's mass melted away until she floated in a tunnel of pulsing teal-hued beams. Nothing moved, but somehow, she could feel herself moving, pulled along by invisible tethers.

    Suddenly, the tethers released her, and the weight plummeted back into her body as she crashed into a hard, uneven surface. Shaking off the pains that shocked through her mind, Talwyn blinked to clear the dazed mist from her vision, looked up, and froze.

    Tall sandstone walls rose all around her, their dust-covered faces blazing in the growing morning sunlight. Beneath the whistling wind, strolling footsteps and creaking cartwheels brought the scents of humid sweat and transported spices. She was outside.

    And she had landed right on top of Friese. 

    Yeah, it's me again. Apologies for interrupting the much cooler adventures of the much cooler high fantasy people.

    So, Talwyn whooshes around sometimes. That's pretty cool, and definitely leagues cooler than fighting whatever the heck Friese turned into because *ick*. Also, am I imagining things, or was there a 'moment' between our magical horse girl and a certain boy-healer bard just now?...

    I hope you're having fun with the story! And that you have more fun chewing over the following questions, verbally or otherwise.

1. What did you make of Steele's trial? Was it a fair way to gauge Talwyn and Kerensa's fitness for the job ahead of them? What's your impression of the reclusive knight?

2. Though situated literally on top of each other, Trocari proper and the Misty Canopies differ in a lot of key respects. Which side of the city do you prefer? What do you make of the relationship between the two so far?

3. It seems Talwyn's a little homesick, and not just because she's been on the road for two years. How do you think her home community responded to her powers? Does her longing for home make her a better or worse fit for Steele's work?

4. We've seen a lot of new techniques, powers, and abilities these past few chapters. Do you have a favourite so far? (Yes, it's a geeky question, but we're all geeks here!)