Only Lilly had enough Perception to see in the dark, although Edge could make out bits and pieces of his surroundings, thanks to his recent cycles and Penetrate Foliage.

  The shadowkiller took the lead while he brought up the rear, with Sasha and Mel positioned between them. It was spooky crossing the high-threat biome in the dark, but by this point they had made the trip several times and were familiar with the terrain.

  Despite a jump scare when a prowling beast made a close pass before deciding the crew was too tough to take, they made it through the Sweltering Green safe and sound. Before long, the fires of the jailbirds’ camp were visible in the distance.

  The hunters came to a stop where they could observe the scouts positioned along the perimeter, then settled down to wait for the changing of the guard. The Claws on duty always stopped to play a round or two of cards with the newly arrived lookouts and would be distracted for a few critical minutes.

  While they huddled between the ferns, Sasha used Enhance Hearing, and Melenia activated Enhance Vision, which would reveal anything dangerous before it reached their position, especially with Lilly’s Sense Motion added to the mix.

  I should probably pick up another sensory-enhancing skill soon, Edge decided. I love Penetrate Foliage, but I need something that will be useful no matter what kind of terrain I’m crossing and help detect threats from further out.

  He settled for pulling out his spyglass and cupping one hand behind his ear. When he focused, he was able to catch a few snippets of the convicts’ conversations. Most of them were complaining about being stuck in the jungle instead of raiding Puppet Town, which he took as an encouraging sign that Trapper’s people were safe for the time being.

  Eventually, he heard something interesting—an exchange regarding one of the Claws’ strike leaders.

  “Do you have any idea why Ella is so fascinated by ritual magic? Her rituals take a ton of mana, are incredibly labor-intensive, and one small mistake ruins everything. We have cores and badass skills—what’s the point of casting spells the old-fashioned way?”

  “I think she’s crazy too, but don’t let her hear you. The last person who made a joke at Ella’s expense was ‘volunteered’ to help test an experiment. There are still pieces of him stuck to the ceiling of her workshop.”

  Not long after, the next shift appeared. Just as the hunters had hoped, the jailbirds stopped to chat and gamble, playing cards with piles of beast parts serving as chips. Good. They’re not even pretending to stand guard.

  Once the prisoners were engaged in a particularly gripping wager, Sasha activated Silent Step, and the crew made their move. They weren’t planning to cross the camp just yet. First, they would scale the wall, then wait until the convicts who had finished their shift returned to their tents and anyone who was woken by their passage fell back asleep.

  With his heart pounding and adrenaline singing in his veins, Edge followed Mel, Sasha, and Lilly, creeping toward the crude palisade the Claws had erected. They made sure no one was looking, then hopped over the wall and ducked behind a pile of timber stacked against the barrier. Twenty minutes later, everything was ready, and they began their final approach.

  They stuck to the shadows and used obstructions to break up their profiles whenever possible. However, the last stretch of ground leading to the base was open, which meant they would have to simply walk up and hope no one noticed them.

  After several days of observation, the crew knew it was rare for anyone to exit the ramshackle building at this time of night. They headed straight for the front door like they belonged, so a casual observer would assume they were going about one task or another instead of infiltrating the facility.

  It was incredibly nerve-racking to be exposed in the heart of enemy territory, but despite his reservations, no one challenged the crew as they crossed the final few feet and got ready to head inside.

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  Just when the hunters were about to step out of the shadows, the door swung open and Tiburón stepped out. Edge’s heart leapt into his throat, but his survival training in the Savage Garden had honed his reflexes—taught him to freeze in place when he was surprised rather than flinching away.

  The powerful warrior looked straight at them while frowning in confusion. Edge was getting ready to hit the man hard and then make a break for it, buying the women as much time as he could.

  Tiburón took two steps toward the crew… then hiccupped and turned away, heading for his tent instead. It was obvious from the way he was weaving from side to side that the man was intoxicated, which explained why he hadn’t realized they didn’t belong. Edge doubted Tiburón’s inebriation made the warrior any less dangerous, or one of the Claws would have already taken a shot.

  Sasha looked terrified, and Mel had gone pale, but Lillian was cool, calm, and collected. She signaled for them to proceed—hands steady as a rock. Under the cover of Silent Step, the crew strolled into the building, then looked around to make sure they were alone. There was a series of adjoining rooms comprising the command center, but the hunters were headed down the hall and around the corner, where the jailbirds’ storeroom was located.

  Edge and his friends just had to deal with the guards on duty—who, with any luck, would be high on whatever Tiburón was using—and they would have a real shot at succeeding at their heist.

  Now that they were inside the base, the crew couldn’t afford to waste a second. This was the most dangerous part of the operation. If things went to shit, they ran a significant risk of being trapped inside the building and surrounded by enemies.

  Edge and Sasha took up positions on either side of the entrance—ready to ambush anyone who walked through the door, while Mel watched the doorways leading deeper into the base. That left Lillian to head toward the storeroom and deal with the Claws who were guarding the facility.

  The shadowkiller in a fox mask slipped down the hall connected to the storeroom, coming to a stop where the passage turned. While he listened for any sign of alarm, she flashed a hand signal indicating that the guards were where the crew expected them to be, and the operation could proceed as planned.

  She reached to her vest and unclipped a spherical magitech device the size of a cherry tomato. Lilly pressed a button on the side and rolled it down the passage. He heard a faint hiss as it released a cloud of aether-powered magic.

  Relief flooded through every cell in Edge’s body when Lillian signaled that the guards were asleep and wouldn’t wake up for the next twenty minutes. After listening to make sure no one was approaching, the crew proceeded to the next phase of their plan.

  Accompanied by his racing pulse, he crept around the corner and entered the hall leading to the storeroom. Along the far wall were a table and chairs—where two jailbirds were fast asleep next to a half-smoked pipe and a pile of cards. Lilly made sure the door to the storeroom was free of traps and detection skills, then opened it and stepped inside with the other hunters following in her wake.

  When they made it into the supply room, Edge started picking up the closest items and tossing them into his vault—adrenaline rushing through his arteries like a damn bursting. To save time, the women began sorting through the provisions and handing them over in order of importance. Each load disappeared after five seconds with a pulse of wind whose vacuum pop was muted by Silent Step.

  Over the next few minutes, he added to the growing pile of sundries and supplies inside his spatial storage. The collection of tools would come in handy while making it hard for the jailbirds to construct new buildings. Several canisters of copper-grade aether would strip them of the fuel they needed to recharge their magitech devices while letting his team refill their own.

  After Edge stored the big-ticket items, they focused on materials that would be difficult to replace within the jungle, including dried provisions, ropes, waterproof tarps, and dozens more—all thefts that would make living in the Sweltering Green miserable over time.

  He grabbed cookpots and tarps, ponchos and waterproofing supplies. Insect repellent, ropes, and pitons. Unfortunately, the Claws kept their most valuable items in their personal kits—including all their magitech devices, mana seeds, and consumables—but a lot of this stuff would be irreplaceable in the short term.

  When they had pilfered everything that was worth taking, Sasha signed that she hadn’t heard anyone enter the building and the way should be clear. With that, the hunters walked out of the base and into the night.

  As they darted into the jungle, no cries of alarm reached Edge’s ears, which meant they had pulled off a picture-perfect heist.

  When the crew was a few miles out, they stopped to make sure they weren’t being followed, exchanging high-fives and fist bumps as they internalized that their mission had been successful. Although it had been a dangerous operation, they had dealt the jailbirds a serious setback while topping off their own supplies in the process. When we make it to Trapper’s team, we will come bearing gifts.

  Half an hour later, they stepped into their cave—ready for a victory celebration. While tomorrow was uncertain and the future dyed in blood, today’s score was: Edge’s Crew: 1. Crimson Claws: 0.