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CHAPTER ONE
JAMIE
Together the warrior and mage trudge up the mist-shrouded hill, the mage’s glowing staff casting faint halos in the swirling haze.
“It’s been too quiet for too long,” the warrior mutters.
“You’re right.” From beneath the mage’s hood, a stray lock of fiery-red hair escapes, the colour a stark contrast to the grey all around the pair. “Stay on guard. I’ve a funny feeling you’ll be using that sword of yours before long.”
The two press on warily until the dark shape of a standing stone emerges from the gloom, looming tall and ominous before them. The warrior can just about make out others beyond it. A stone circle? He rolls his shoulders, a sharp crack breaking the stillness. “Looks like this could be a boss’s territory. Are you ready, Sass?”
The mage smirks and twirls her staff with a flourish. “Always ready to save your kilt-clad arse, Lochie.”
The warrior draws his broadsword from its sheath and continues towards the circle. He manages three steps before an unearthly howl shatters the quiet. The sound comes not from straight ahead but to the warrior’s right. He turns to look, and the mist there seems to coalesce, taking on a monstrous form. A massive spectral wolf materialises, its eyes glowing like twin moons, its ghostly fur rippling in an unfelt wind.
“Oh, balls!” the mage curses. “That’s the Cù Sìth. If that thing howls three times, it’s instant death for both of us—game over. And the howl count is already at one.”
The warrior settles into a fighting stance, his broadsword raised and ready. “Then we’d better put down this overgrown pooch pronto.”
With a bone-chilling snarl, the Cù Sìth lunges forwards, its massive paws leaving scorched earth in their wake. The warrior meets its charge head-on, his broadsword clashing against the beast’s infernal claws. Sparks fly as steel meets unholy energy.
“Incoming!” the mage shouts, and a volley of fireballs narrowly whizz past the warrior’s head, striking the hellhound.
“Bloody hell, Sass, you nearly hit me!” The warrior blocks another claw swipe with his sword. “I can’t focus on fighting this thing and dodging your pyrotechnics.”
“Oh, please. If I’d been aiming at you, you’d be a smoking crater by now.”
The warrior grins despite himself, parrying another blow from the Cù Sìth. In response the creature rears back and releases an otherworldly howl that echoes across the misty landscape.
“Shite, that’s two!” the warrior yells. “We’ve got to take this beastie out before—”
Suddenly a horde of goblins charges out of the fog, their caps soaked in crimson blood, their rusted blades held high. The mage, already several paces behind the warrior, retreats to safety, but the warrior is quickly surrounded, and the redcaps cackle madly as they close in.
“We don’t have time for this!” The warrior swings his broadsword in a wide arc, cleaving through three of the goblins in one stroke. “A little help here, Sass?”
“What’s the magic word?” the mage teases, even as she raises her staff high.
“Please don’t let me die a gruesome death at the hands of these ugly wee bastards?”
“Close enough!”
With a flourish, the mage slams her staff into the ground. A shock wave of force ripples outwards, scattering the redcaps like leaves in the wind. Several smash against the standing stones with sickening crunches.
“Show-off,” the warrior mutters, but there’s admiration in his voice.
Their reprieve is short-lived. The Cù Sìth lunges forward once more, jaws snapping inches from the warrior’s face. He stumbles backwards in the nick of time, but before he can steady himself, a surviving redcap pounces at him, its jagged blade tearing into his side.
“You wee gobshite!” The warrior drives his sword through the goblin’s chest then kicks its dying body aside. Grabbing a small vial from his belt, he uncorks it with his teeth and downs the healing potion in one gulp. That’s when he spots another sneaky redcap creeping up behind the mage. In a single smooth motion, the warrior draws his flintlock pistol, takes aim, and fires. The goblin’s head snaps back like it’s been yanked by an invisible string, and with a final gurgle, the creature crumples to the ground, very much dead.
“Saved your arse again, Sass!” The warrior turns back to the Cù Sìth, only to find it bearing down on him, a snarling blur of fur and fangs. “Oh, crap!”
At the last moment a shimmering wall of golden light flashes into existence before the warrior, and the wolf slams into it with bone-rattling force. Shooting a glance over his shoulder, the warrior sees the mage lowering her staff and sporting an insufferably smug grin.
“You watch my back, Lochie, and I watch yours. That’s what makes us a good team.”
The warrior nods and returns his attention to the boss. The wall of light is still protecting the pair, for now, but it’s already beginning to dim. That spell never does last long.
“I’m growing tired of this Big Bad Wolf, so let’s end him before he howls a third time.” The warrior wipes goblin blood from his blade. “Any bright ideas for taking him out, Sass?”
