Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave walked out into a wide-open valley, alone in spirit but not in fact. Excluding the thousands of blood-infused wind eels soaring above him as a cloud of death, he had the charming company of the Shadowlanders, playing the role of the lurking mountain lion ready to leap down upon him. In the back of his mind, he kept at close attention the blood echo positioned miles away. One of the good fortunes about being in an area where the enemy had no knowledge of him meant that he could call upon old tricks where necessary to gain an advantage.

And considering what he’d volunteered for, well… he would need every damned advantage.

Elenore’s blessing of connections didn’t function in this place, but they weren’t without methods to communicate long distance. There was a baby’s head on Argrave’s shoulder, and he was doing his best to ignore what it looked like as he listened to what it said—or rather, what its creator said, speaking through it.

“They’re just now starting to take the bait. You’re far enough away from us that they seem to be willing to try something. The horseman, though, isn’t getting any nearer,” Bhaltair said, conveying the details from the other members back at their base of operations.

Argrave’s gaze went upward, scanning the tall mesas cautiously. Their plan was rather simple—Argrave, alone, should poke out at the edge of the boundary, clearing the dark away to hide his true goal: baiting the enemy to attack. He told himself he was in no more risk here than he was back with allies. Well, perhaps a bit more. Or a lot. Regardless, Anneliese could heal his wounds no matter the distance, and if needed, he could still swap places with the blood echo.

“About ten… no, about a hundred… mmm…” the baby’s head trailed off.

Argrave looked at it, resenting the sight of the peach-colored thing tied to him with leg tendons. It looked like he had a twin brother absorbed in the womb on his shoulder. “What’s happening?” he asked Bhaltair.

“There’s about… it’s upward of about half a thousand, I’d say, and increasing. They’re approaching your position in groups of one hundred. It’s not like that first attack was. Anneliese’s scouting efforts with her bird say these could be considered full military squads, with leaders. They have fliers, some archers…”

“Archers?” Argrave repeated, feeling some fear. Charging beasts he could handle—he’d sparred with Orion enough to be confident in taking a close-quarters foe. Projectiles were another matter, doubly so projectiles coming from these freakishly strong opponents. One blind spot, and he could get a bolt through the back of the head.

“Yes. They’re taking a position on the plateaus, and—oh. You’re surrounded. But there is some good news. That horseman’s come back out. We don’t have a visual on him, but Roland’s confirmed it.”

“Alright. And what does that mean for the plan?”

“If you can hold out… we can cut off their escape back to the darkness, set up the ambush we’d planned,” Bhaltair said certainly. “We’ll help entrap the horseman. But at the end of the day, you’re likely the only one that can do any significant damage to him.

breath in this silent valley. “I’ll do

“I’ll tell everyone.”

shades of white and gray. But the darkness was always there right at the edge of his vision,

and Argrave looked. “Good luck. Now, I’m going

entire squadron of tentacle-faced monstrosities stood on the edge of the mesa, with bows of shadow drawn far. When they all fired at once, Argrave figured this is what it

over the past months, Argrave

attack. The projectiles pulverized the ground. He hovered just below his cloud of blood-infused wind eels, using them as shields. He took note of more opponents, but

looked upward, peering past his constructs. Fully healed of the gaping wound Argrave had caused, the one-eyed dragon of shadow had

from blind spots, and he took full advantage of their protection to completely block any attack from the archers as he rose to meet the dragon. Its smaller minions fanned out, casting a wider net, and

stopped his rapid

eye, and leapt downward with a spear of shadow held out to impale. Argrave moved to the side as quickly as possible, but in response the rider merely took aim and threw his weapon ferociously. Panicked, Argrave threw up a ward. It gave him just enough

moment in leaping forth at Argrave again, conjuring a sword as if from thin air. Argrave used the A-rank [Devil’s Claw], and a black

blood magic met an open maw, slicing straight through the beast. Moments later, projectiles soared upward from down below, and Argrave cast a brief glance to see the archers had repositioned. In the valley where he’d been, a ravening horde had appeared,

arrows couldn’t reach, stalling. Along

couldn’t actually contest him without sufficient time to prepare, and his skill ensured he kept pace with Argrave as he ascended easily. The only reason why Argrave managed to get

SET UP!” Argrave heard the baby’s head shout

competent allies, Argrave took the time to look up at the gigantic dragon. On the low end, Argrave had his wind eels descend upon those that had occupied the valley. On the high end, Argrave diverted his attention

matador, dodging fearsome bull rushes as he looked for the proper opening. His slowed ascent gave the other dragons time to catch up. Above, the gigantic dragon put some distance between them. Argrave could feel a surge of vitality delivered expressly by

its sword, Argrave decided opportunity had reared its head. He called to his mind the rather disgusting spell he’d prepared,

firmly, and bloody vines erupted from his fingers, seeking purchase in the knight’s steel-hard flesh. They dug in, bit by bit, pushing past that steel-like skin… but the rider took Argrave for a ride all the while. He slammed his fist into his face, time and time again. He kneed Argrave, and the spikes dug into his guts. He pulled on the sword like it was a joystick at an arcade machine, slicing

It was a parasitic entity that took root in whoever its caster touched, slowly