I looked to the other glowing kid, who was sitting in the corner of the last cage, his knees tucked to his chest.

  “I want them to hurt,” he said, without looking at me. “Like Serra did.”

  New Quest: No Wolves, No Slavers, No Problem.

  Description: Clear the Wolves—and what lurks beyond them—out of the Bloodied Den.

  Reward: Experience and 100 Renown.

  Failure Penalty: -300 Renown.

  Decline Penalty: -150 Renown.

  Accept?

   Ezzie said,

  I couldn’t not see the blood, a red trail almost four feet wide that started at the front of the carriage and ran all the way into a nearby cave.

   Ezzie said.

  I ignored her and followed the trail, skirting its left side to avoid stepping in the mess of it.

   Ezzie said.

  I found the bushes she was talking about just a few feet from the trail, as well as the arm after a little bit of digging around. And the arm was definitely not attached to a shoulder.

  I grabbed the hand and tried to slip the ring free, but the index finger was bloated and stiff, the skin waxy and cold and unbending, and the ring wouldn’t budge. So I snapped the finger at the second knuckle and popped the ring loose.

  Ezzie gagged through the telepathic link.

   I said.

  <…nothing. I guess you’ve uh, done that sorta thing before, huh?>

  I shrugged.

  

   I said. I slipped the ring on, examining it at the same time.

  {Silver-lined Band}

  Grade: F

  Item level: 1

  Slot: Finger

  Quality: Common

  Magical Resistance: 0

  Durability: 12/12

  On Use: Casts {Lesser Silvering} on a weapon of your choice. Effect lasts 10 seconds.

  Charges: 1

  I stayed low to the ground and approached the mouth of the cave from the side, that way whatever was posted up inside the entrance wouldn’t be able to see me coming. I pressed myself flat against the wall and shimmied toward the opening.

   Ezzie said.

   I said, breaking into a walk.

  

  I shook my head and ducked into the cave. The air was moist and warm, so warm that the air was sticky and almost too thick to breathe, and the scent of iron was overwhelming. Moving deeper inside reminded me of the way that our slaughterhouse used to get in the middle of August.

  I had to dip into a crouch as the cave narrowed and hooked to the left. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, their sharp tips glistening with water, hopefully. A few drops splashed onto my neck as I navigated beneath the many fingers of rock. One of the larger beads dribbled between my shoulder blades and ran the length of my spine.

   Ezzie said.

   Seemed a bit odd to me.

  

  

  

  I kept moving, but heard the wolf gnawing on something well before I saw it. The huge animal was facing away from me, its nose pointed deeper into the cave as it crunched something red and white between its teeth.

  I holstered my stone dagger and stepped up as close as I dared, planted both my feet, wrapped both hands around the hilt of my serrated dagger and leapt.

  I drove the blade down into the top of the wolf’s skull, and by the time the rest of my weight followed through, the wolf was already dead. I rolled off the body and jumped back to my feet.

   Ezzie said.

  You hit {Blood-crazed Howler} for 92 damage (1.5x Stealth Multiplier) (1.5x Backstab Multiplier)!

  {Blood-crazed Howler} died!

  You earned 15 Experience!

   Ezzie said,

  Just as the Child had said, I found the latter wolves in the same kind of position: facing away from me, obviously distracted, and spread far enough apart that I had no trouble dispatching them one at a time, taking only minor damage along the way. For wolves, the things were surprisingly easy to sneak up on.

   Ezzie said.

  I picked up the pace, and the cave opened up maybe thirty feet down the tunnel. It was darker here—the opening sat at too sharp of an angle to get much sunlight—and it took a full ten seconds for my eyes to adjust to the point where I could see anything at all.

  I spotted another wolf near the center of the room, prowling away from me. It was bulky and almost hairless, shaped in a way that set me on edge, like it was a little too close to human.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  Then I saw the girl. Maybe six years old and crawling away from the wolf, her left ankle bent at a disturbing angle. Her sobs reached me then, quiet and desperate.

   Ezzie said.

  “Hey!” I said, and my voice echoed through the cavern.

  I’d just…panicked. The wolf stopped in place, pivoted, and fixed me with a pair of eyes that shone like liquid gold, luminescent in the dim cave. The beast cocked its head to the side, sniffing the air. Then it stood up on its hind legs.

   Ezzie finished.

  

  The werewolf howled and dropped back to all fours, sprinting towards me with unbelievable speed.

   Ezzie said.

  I looked at my ring and thought use, then glanced at my serrated dagger.

  You cast {Lesser Silvering} on {Serrated Dirk}!

  {Ring of Silvering} has devolved into {Common Silver Ring}.

  I glanced at the buff, too.

  {Lesser Silvering}

  Description: 10% chance on hit to inflict 5 holy damage on strike. Additional effects may apply to targets with silver vulnerabilities.

   Ezzie said.

  I dropped into a crouch, my weight on my back foot, the dagger in my right hand glowing with silver light. I watched the yellow eyes streak closer, zigzagging around the stalagmites that crowded the floor, blinking in and out of view as my line of sight was repeatedly broken. The creature reared up, so I jumped to my left as Ezzie had instructed.

  The werewolf’s eyes became yellow streaks as the creature blurred across the room and smashed face-first into the nearby wall, right where I’d been standing. It just stood there for a moment, stunned, little flecks of gold circling its head, so I drove my dagger into the base of its neck, going for the kill shot.

   Ezzie said.

  The werewolf torqued its upper body, spun, and backhanded me across the room. I hit the ground on my back and slid across the slick floor, my ears ringing as I came to rest against the base of a stalagmite. The little girl wailed off in the distance, her shrill voice bouncing off the walls and filling the cave with sound.

  The werewolf stalked forward, its breath coming loud and ragged. My serrated dagger was still buried in the back of its neck, so I palmed my stone dagger with my right hand and spat out a mouthful of blood. I tried to rise, but my legs wouldn’t cooperate, and my numb feet kept slipping and sliding against the wet ground.

   I said. Something was…off. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get to my feet in time.

   Ezzie said.

  

  I cut off as the werewolf stumbled, then stopped. It reached back over its shoulder and wrenched my dagger out of its neck with a loud pop. It took another step toward me, the tip of my blade glinting in its hand.

  A second step, a third. It was so close that I could smell rot on its breath as I tried to scramble to my feet, but there was nothing for it.

  My serrated dirk pinged against the ground, the noise ringing through the cave. The werewolf dropped to its knees, then fell forward.

   Ezzie said.

  Feeling flooded back into my legs at an incredible rate. As soon as I was able I jumped to my feet and approached the little girl, who’d finally stopped crying. Her face was lit with red light; the Constructor was scanning the loot that the werewolf had left behind. “You okay, little thing?” I said. She reminded me of someone, but I couldn’t place the name. One of the girls that had passed through the crew a couple years back.

  The girl nodded and reached for me with both hands, her fingers splayed wide. I scooped her up off the floor and she wrapped her hands around my neck, buried her face in my chest.

   Ezzie said.

  Passive unlocked: Daggers I

  Effect: You deal 2% increased damage with daggers.

  Next level: You deal 3% increased damage with daggers.

  Passive unlocked: Dual Wield I

  Effect: Offhand damage/miss penalties reduced by 10%.

  Next level: Offhand damage/miss penalties reduced by 20%.

  Passive unlocked: Throwing Weapons I

  Effect: You deal 3% increased damage with throwing weapons.

  Next level: When initiating combat, throwing weapons cause +300% increased aggro.

  Passive unlocked: Medium Armor I

  Effect: Stamina regeneration increased by 20% when exclusively wearing light armor.

  Next level: +5% armor bonus when exclusively wearing light armor.

  {Slaver’s Key} has been added to your keyring.

  Quest Complete: No Slavers, No Wolves, No Problem!

  Return to the Questgiver to claim your reward!

  Quest Complete: Faster Now!

  Return to the Questgiver to claim your reward!

  Quest Complete: Save the Children II!

  Return to the Questgiver to claim your reward!

   Ezzie said.

  {Copper Coin} x18

  {Copper Maul} (Two-handed Mace)

  Grade: F

  Item level: 1

  Damage type: Blunt

  Quality: Common

  Physical Attack: 14

  Magical Attack: 6

  Speed: Very Slow

  Durability: 70/70

  {Wolfskin Gloves}

  Grade: F

  Item level: 2

  Slot: Hands

  Type: Leather

  Quality: Uncommon

  Armor: 4

  Primaries: -2 to Dexterity, +1 to Constitution

  Durability: 18/18

  {Copper-linked Girdle}

  Grade: F

  Item level: 1

  Slot: Waist

  Type: Plate

  Quality: Common

  Armor: 5

  Durability: 40/40

   Ezzie said.

   I said.

  

   The belt was tempting too—as was heavy armor in general—but I didn’t want to lose the stamina regeneration boost from my medium armor passive.

  <…fine,> Ezzie said.

   I said.

  Something bled through the link from Ezzie’s end, but the feeling was muddled, a blend of hurt and shame and something else, something heavy that I couldn’t put a name to.

  Guilt flooded through me, but I did my best to put it in check. I didn’t owe her anything.
  I waited for a response, but when none came, I held my hands out for the Constructor, which was a little awkward, given that the girl I’d saved was still hanging off my neck. Her breathing had leveled out, and I was pretty sure she’d fallen asleep.

  But Ezzie worked the Constructor around the girl’s small body, and the gloves were a perfect fit—black and fingerless, a little worn around the palms—so I headed for the exit, grabbed my serrated dagger out of the puddle of blood the werewolf had left behind on my way out, and returned to the wrecked caravan.

  I jammed the key I’d found into the padlock that secured the first cage, and the hatch swung up with a resonant click. I opened the second cage the same way, and some unseen bell chimed four times. Another string of messages filled my vision:

  Quest Complete: No Slavers, No Wolves, No Problems!

  You have been awarded 100 Experience and 100 Renown.

  Quest Complete: Faster Now!

  You have been awarded 100 Experience and 100 Renown.

  Quest Complete: Save the Children II!

  You have been awarded 100 Experience and 100 Renown.

  Ding!

  Congratulations, you reached level 4!

  You have (6) stat points to allocate.

  Reach level 5 to select a Class Modifier!

  Quest Accepted: Safe Passage.

  Objective: Escort the three children safely to Hillcrest.

  Reward: 200 Experience, 200 Renown, Tiny Land Plot.

  Failure Penalty: -100 Renown for each child that doesn’t make it (more than 1 death will fail the escort and result in an additional penalty of 500 Renown).

  Decline Penalty: Quest cannot be declined.

   I said.

  Ezzie didn’t respond, so I led the children down the road; it seemed a safe assumption that Hillcrest was the nearest town, given the little golden X that had popped up on my map. The road was straight and narrow, bordered by steep, rocky cliffs to either side, and we made quick progress.

  When we were about halfway there, I spun around and did a quick head count to make sure that all three Children—including the one I was carrying—were still accounted for.

  I turned back to the road just as three red-plumed arrows buried themselves in the dirt. Nearly a dozen figures dressed in black appeared atop the nearby cliffs, their dark cloaks flying sideways in the breeze. I set the girl down and guided her behind me, then drew both my daggers.