Winston, along with the rest of the party, spun around, facing back towards the cave. The distant forms of the fleeing Caltheran miners were illuminated by a dozen lanterns. One after another, the flickering lights disappeared. And for each lantern that was snuffed out, so were the screams of one of the miners.

  The final cries of the miners echoed through the cave. From the sparse light provided by the remaining lanterns, Winston would see the occasional flash of movement as a Caltheran fled through the light.

  Just as the final lantern was snuffed out, the cries of the Caltherans stopped as well. Not a single one emerged from the darkness. The assembled hunting parties broke out in a panic, each falling into its own formations.

  “We have to help them!” Norra cried, her warhammer in hand. With it no longer strapped to her back, Winston could see the true size of the weapon. It was far larger than he thought, almost as tall as Norra herself.

  “I know,” Roderic said, “Move out!”

  The party, numbering less than a dozen, began to clamber down the stones. Winston watched in horror as the assembled warriors slowly moved towards the shadows. Several of them were wise enough to pick up lanterns, leading the groups.

  A squad bravely marched into the darkness, a lantern creating a golden orb of light around them. Winston tensed as they advanced, but nothing happened. The group advanced farther and farther, with the others following close behind.

  Then, they were gone. One moment, they were there, weapons drawn. And the next, they were gone, leaving a single lantern to clatter on the floor. A moment later, the lantern sputtered out as well.

  As the remaining warriors retreated, panic evident on their faces, a man stepped forward. He extended his arms, and from his palms, a glowing orb of fire shot out. It flew into the darkness, illuminating a significant portion of the cave.

  After a second of flight, a form flashed into the light for just a moment. Then, whatever had been hiding in the darkness darted across the illuminated cave faster than the eye could follow. A second later, the fireball was gone.

  Erynd launched an arrow in the general direction of the creature, but was too far away from the battle to be accurate.

  Roderic raised a hand, and the small group of Caltherans came to a stop. Erynd set Winston on the ground and nocked another arrow.

  “Retreat!” Roderic shouted to the warriors across the cave, “Get back to where the sun can reach!”

  Several Caltheran shouted the affirmation as they continued to fall back. Looking around, Winston found that Roderic had stopped them at the edge of where the light from the cave mouth could reach. If the beast wanted to get to them, it would have to step into the light.

  The rest of the warriors reached them a minute later, but their numbers had dwindled significantly. They were down to two-thirds of their original force, or about 40 Caltherans.

  There were cries of relief as the warriors reached the light. Most of them stopped retreating, but the mages and archers continued back. They clambered up towards the cave mouth, giving themselves a clear shot without the risk of hitting their allies.

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  “Did you send anyone to alert the rest of the camp?” Roderic asked.

  One of the warriors nodded. “We sent a few, but we don’t know if they made it.”

  “What about that mind mage that was stationed here? Could he send a message?”

  The warrior shook his head solemnly. “He was part of the party guarding the miners. His orders were to send a warning to us, which he did, a great help that was. His first priority wasn’t to send a message back to camp. We didn’t expect something of this caliber to come up, especially not this early.”

  “Who’s the highest rank here?” Roderic asked, still glaring into the darkness.

  “That would be me,” The warrior said, “I’m Initiate 5 and a Kareth. Not quite a Serath, but you’ll have to make do. You can call me Evric.”

  Winston narrowed his eyes at Evric, trying to inspect him.

  [Caltheran(Kareth) - Initiate 5]

  Winston sighed. He really had to figure out what the words in the parentheses meant. He’d seen almost half a dozen of them now, and he was beginning to lose track of them.

  His thoughts were interrupted by a scream as a dark form dashed out of the shadows. Before anyone could react, it snatched up a warrior and shot back into the darkness.

  Winston let out a cry of alarm as he looked at the shadows. He could swear that they were closer than they had been a minute ago.

  As if echoing his thoughts, the Caltheran named Evric shouted, “The shadows are advancing! Fall back! Fall back!”

  As the warriors retreated, eyes wide with alarm, the back line launched a barrage of fireballs and orbs of light, and flaming arrows. For a brief moment, they illuminated a distorted feline form. Winston saw that it was the size of a small car, but before he could look closer, the lights were gone once more.

  “It’s using a Soul Shard!” An archer cried. “It has to be at least an Acolyte!”

  “Silence!” Evric shouted. “We don’t know that yet; it could just be a skill!”

  The archer snorted. “Have you ever seen an Initiate-grade skill that powerful?”

  “Shut up!”

  Winston caught a movement in the corner of his eye. Squinting, he crept towards it. As he neared the shadows, he heard Erynd shout, but it was too late.

  “No! What are you doing?” Erynd shouted as Winston neared the shadows. Winston had made sure to stay a few feet from the border, but it wasn’t enough. The darkness stopped expanding in every place other than right before him. The shadows expanded and engulfed him.

  Yipping desperately, Winston tried to flee, his paw scrambling on the stone beneath him. Before he got more than a few inches, he was batted away. A massive paw struck his chest, sending him flying further into the darkness.

  Winston looked around in horror, trying to clear his vision. After a few moments of complete darkness, his vision was restored. Another Caltheran landed before him. In her hand was a small lantern that illuminated the surrounding area. The Caltheran’s eyes widened, and she drew her sword. Blood gushed out of a gash along the side of her torso,

  Winston tried to stand, but a sharp pain in his chest made his legs give out. He’d experienced pain before, but nothing of this caliber. Letting out a whimper, he collapsed.

  The Caltheran whipped around at the sound, but her eyes softened when she saw him. Wincing, she knelt before him. “Hey, it’s alright. I’ll protect you, don’t wor—”

  Her words were cut short as the creature made its appearance once more. There was a single flash of claws, and the woman’s head was severed from her shoulders. Blood sprayed over Winston as he stared up in shock at the headless torso of the warrior.

  burning passion. I've been at it for 45 minutes, and I'm still only on chapter 11...