“You’ve got to be shitting me.” Finn drew another arrow from his quiver and fired it point-blank into the charging Kobold running at him. “They just keep coming. How are we supposed to kill them all.”

  “Beats the hell out of me.” Shae swept past him, waving her axe in an arc that managed to cleave two of the creatures cleanly in two. She flourished her weapon, glancing back at him to wink and Finn couldn’t help but admire the way her backside looked in her fitted leather pants.

  “Focus, Finnegan.”

  “Right.” Finn drew on one of his class skills. Since he was a ranger, he had been gifted the ability of deadly accuracy, firing more than one arrow to earn a simultaneous killing blow. The only downside? It needed to charge.

  “Twenty seconds,” he called, drawing back the string of his bow to his cheek. It was a practiced motion, one he’d been doing since he was a child. They say archery came naturally to most high elves, and despite his mixed blood, Finn had been no different.

  “Fifteen seconds.”

  Ten twisted, side-kicking a kobold so hard that he flew off the bridge, crashing to the ground below in a rattle of armor. They could do this. The next wave would only be five kobolds, and if they could hold them off, then they had a chance of making it to the boss room. The golden doors at the end of the bridge glowed.

  “Here we go!” shouted Shae, spinning to face the new threat. The doors parted and Several kobolds raced forward, but these were different than the others. For one, they were more heavily armored than their counterparts, and secondly.

  “Berserkers!”

  The kobolds ran towards them, strange battle cries echoing. They were wielding maces, some of which were glowing with a sort of reddish power. This wasn’t good. Bersekers were hard to kill, on account of their inability to feel pain when injured. Every blow would have to be a killing blow if they were to be brought down.

  “Shae,” he called, drawing back his string and sighting. “Now!”

  The warrior shifted and Finn let his arrows fly. They whizzed through the air, visible to him by their streaking blue lines as they zipped towards the enemy. One buried itself in the neck of a berserker, bringing it down. But the other shot wasn’t nearly as lucky.

  The charging berserker lifted its steel round shield, and the shaft hit it with a clang, bouncing off ineffectually.

  “Shit,” hissed Finn, reaching for his knives. The four berserkers were nearly upon them, and they were outnumbered.

  “I swear you lot would be lost without me,” said a voice from behind him. Finn nearly jumped out of his skin as something moved past him. Dean Thompson moved into the fray like a whirlwind, crippling one kobold with a kick to the kneecap and decapitating it with a swing of his sword.

  He spun, turning to block the incoming blow as another berserker rushed at him with teeth bared. Sparks flew as the sword and mace collided. The kobold wasted no time. Letting out another whooping war cry it went through itself at Dean, raining down a flurry of blows so strong that Dean nearly lost his footing.

  “You’re strong,” the man growled. Was that a note of approval Finn heard in his voice? Plucking another arrow from his quiver, Finn sighted and sent the shaft straight over his friend's shoulder and into the open mouth of the snarling kobold. It staggered, and Dean took the opportunity to stab it through the heart.

  The swordsman frowned.

  “Taking all my fun?”

  “Couldn’t just let you show off for the proctors now, could I?”

  Dean smirked as the last kobold tumbled down at his feet. He placed a boot on its head, holding it down while Shae made the killing blow. Shae brushed her hair out of her eyes and smiled at him. The prick.

  “About time you showed up.”

  ***

  Across the bridge, the golden doors of the boss room creaked as they slid open. The inside was dimly lit, and despite his attempts, Dean couldn’t make out anything within.

  “That was the last of them.” Finn pulled one of his arrows free from the eye of a kobold, examining the tip for damage before returning it to his quiver. “The boss's room must have triggered when we killed the last of the mobs.”

  Shae wiped her hair out of her eyes.

  “Then we’d better get moving. If the others show up now, it’ll be a race to the room. A shame, since we did all the bloody legwork.”

  She frowned around at the enemy bodies now scattered over the bridge. Dean grimaced.

  “Wait, none of you have seen any sign of the others?”

  Finn shook his head.

  “No. We first met up in a room off the main bridge. Neither Shae, Ten, or I have encountered anyone else during our time in the dungeon. Have you?”

  Dean hesitated.

  “Not anyone from the other party.”

  Finn’s brows drew together, and he opened his mouth to ask.

  “It’s a story for another time. Look, Shae’s right. We should move if we have any intention of winning and clearing this dungeon. I don’t know why we didn’t encounter the other party. As far as I know, simple dungeons have only two doors and aren’t as large as grand or hex dungeons. The chance of us not running into one another is…low.

  Shae shrugged, hefting her axe.

  “Maybe they ran into trouble. Either way, I’m not fussed. We secure this win, and I might even let Ten tall me into a few shots of that god awful swill.”

  “How dare,” said Ten, his frown deepening. “Is nectar of gods. You not understand.”

  “What I do understand is that that stuff burns a second time on the way out,” Shae grumbled, causing Finn to snort. They took a few moments to loot the corpses, Dean riffling through only the kobolds he knew he’d killed. After pocketing a few items, they moved towards the doors.

  They were larger than they had first appeared. Giant, hulking, and golden, they loomed so high they seemed to scrape the cave ceiling some forty feet above. Within the room was unusually dim, and Dean felt a prickle of unease as they approached.

  “This is it,” breathed Dean, adjusting his grip on his sword. The second we cross the threshold, we’ll be unable to leave again. We have only two options. Kill the boss or die trying.”

  “Well, that’s a cheery thought,” Shae sounded nervous. “I doubt the proctors would allow entire teams to die to a single boss… do you?”

  Dean hesitated, then shook his head.

  “I don’t know. But even if the proctors intervene themselves, there are only so many of them. By my count, there are currently six teams of four, with each team sharing a dungeon. That’s three dungeons spread over a fairly large zone. It would be impossible for two proctors to cover every single one.”

  Finn swallowed audibly, then tried to cover it up with a cough.

  “It’s fine. We’ve trained for this, the four of us. Day in and day out. With or without a guild, we know why we’re here. We know the risks of Adventuering, some of us more than others.” He nodded to Shae, whose eyes softened.

  “So I say we do this thing. We kill the boss, take the loot, and have a gods damned drink about it, huh?”

  He thrust out a hand, and Ten rolled his eyes.

  “Not doing,” he said. “Let us go and kick some ass.”

  Finn’s hand dropped sadly back down to his side, and Shae put a hand on his shoulder.

  “You’re so cheesy, but you’re a good man, Finn. If I were going to die alongside an idiot, I’d want it to be you. What do you say, Dean?”

  “I’d choose someone prettier, no offense, mate.”

  Finn’s answering grumble was drowned out as a sound emanated from within the boss's room. It was a low, deep rumble. Wordlessly, the party drew together in a defensive formation, and as one they started forward.

  The first thing Dean noticed was the temperature drop. It was cold in the room, cold enough that he could feel it prickling at his skin. The boss room itself was large, with a rocky ceiling that ended high above them in a dome shape. The floor beneath his boots was polished tile that formed a dizzying mosaic. Around the edge of the room were mounted torches, none of which were lit.

  “Where’s the boss?” whispered Finn, glancing from side to side in the round room. Dean shook his head.

  “I don’t-“

  “Look!” the cry had come from Shae. Dean turned, half expecting to see an enemy charging them but there was only Shae. Her eyes were fixed on a point near the wall, and as he stared, she lifted a hand to point. There was something slumped against the ground near the far wall. Something stained in red.

  “My gods…is that…” Finn’s voice seemed to fail him. But Dean had seen enough bodies on the field to know what he was looking at.

  “A corpse,” he whispered, lowering his sword. He took a step closer. Then another. The corpse, for that was indeed what it was, lay on its side facing the wall. It was in a bad state, bloodied and mangled as if crushed or beaten by some great force.

  “Warrior by the looks of it,” said Dean grimly, gesturing towards the fallen great sword lying several feet away. “I can’t say for certain, but I’d guess this poor soul tried to solo the boss himself.”

  “Solo,” Shae shook her head, looking away from the grisly sight. “But Why?”

  Dean was about to answer when the air changed. Behind them, the giant golden doors swung shut with such force that a gust of wind nearly knocked them off balance. Dean’s mana sense flared, and moments later, a single blue light popped into existence. Followed by another.

  The torches along the perimeter were lighting one by one, their ominous blue flames sputtering. From the center of the room came a rumbling.

  “Get ready,” he warned, backing up and raising his sword. His heart was pounding in his chest, but Dean willed himself to breathe. To focus. This was what he had come here to do. One way or another, things would end in this room.

  “Remember what we practiced,” called Finn, as he drew an arrow. The half-elf bowed his head muttering a blessing to the moon goddess, and Dean could have sworn he saw the arrow tip glow for just a moment before he turned back to his foe.

  A square of tiles had slid back, revealing a staircase that led into darkness. From that staircase came the enemy. Two heavily armored kobolds carrying spears came first and behind them…

  Emerald eyes seemed to burn from the darkness at the humanoid lizard creature ascended the stairs. It stuck out a forked tongue, tasting the air, and when its eyes landed on the party, it bared its sharp teeth in a serpentine smile.

  “Well now,” it said, its deep voice seeming to rumble the very ground. “I thought I smelled more human flesh. How kind of you to deliver yourselves to me.”

  It snapped its jaws, and its green eyes seemed to blaze with power.

  “Spread out,” said Dean calmly. “Keep moving and don’t let it catch you. We kill the little ones first, then focus on the big bastard.”

  The creature’s head cocked in his direction, and its tongue flicked out again.

  “Ahhhhh,” it said, closing its bony eyelids with a click as it inhaled. “You’re not like the others. That smell… You lack the scent of fear that taints the meat. Perhaps I’ll make a good meal out of you yet.”

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  Dean barely had time to react. One moment, the creature was standing twenty feet away. Then its emerald eyes snapped open, and it vanished.

  “What? Where the hell did it…” Finn started, but Dean was already moving.

  “Above!” he shouted even as he dove sideways out of the way. Seconds later, an impact struck the ground as the lizard warrior landed with enough force to crack tile. Dean rolled, coming up at the ready. No sooner had he regained his footing than he was forced to duck again. A blast of air hit him as the lizard struck out with its tail, the sharp barbs on the end snapping like a whip as Dean barely managed to avoid decapitation.

  Shit, it’s fast.

  He had been prepared for the attack, but the speed of it had caught him off guard. One of Finn’s arrows zipped towards the boss, pinging harmlessly off the thick scale armor of its neck.

  “Little humans,” growled the Lizard, lashing its tail once more. “You’re nothing more than a nuisance.”

  Finn managed to dodge the tail, but the boss reacted just as quickly. Twisting on its haunches, it threw out a powerful kick that caught Shae full in the chest. The warrior was lifted off her feet and slammed into the wall with enough force that Dean could hear the crunch of bone.

  “Shae!” Finn started for her.

  “Leave it,” Shae was pushing to her feet. She lifted a hand to her helmet, which now sported a heavy dent in the side, and pulled it off. It clattered to the ground.

  “I’m fine,” she said. “It broke my armor, not my bones.” She raised her voice, lifting her chin as she stared down the boss.

  “That wasn’t cheap, you fucking bastard. You’re going to pay for that, one way or another.”

  The boss only laughed, drawing itself back upright. The way it switched between humanoid and feral… Dean narrowed his eyes. Was this its fighting style? His mana sense was undulating, making it difficult to read his opponent's movement. But his analysis did give him one advantage.

  Monster Class: Lizard Warrior

  Race: Reptilian (sentient)

  Tier: Boss, superior

  So, that’s what you are.

  Ten let out a grunt as he spun, slamming a kick into an armored kobold strong enough to break bones. It stumbled into it’s fellow, and the two had to fight to untangle themselves.

  “You handle big boss,” said Ten, calmly. “I break small.”

  “Right.”

  Reaching into his pack, Dean pulled one of his potions from his pack, uncorking it with a pop. The lizard boss's head whipped in his direction as the amber contents flowed into its mouth. It had been one of the potions that Shae had gifted him at the medical wing, and Dean knew now was the time to use it.

  Potion of minor resilience, active. You take 10% less damage for a duration of ten minutes. Warning: side effects may include lethargy and muscle fatigue after the effects wear off.

  “Okay,” Dean said, his nostrils flaring as the potion burned its way down his stomach and into his bloodstream. His vision flared a bit, seeming to lighten, and he felt the aches and pains from earlier fade to a dull throb. This is what he needed.

  He could still hear the rattle of armor and shouts of the Kobolds as the monk battled them, but he’d given the other three exactly what they needed. An opening.

  “Buying time?” growled the boss, amused. “It will do you no good. All of you will die here. Crushed to a pulp, your bones stripped of meat. Warm, delicious-“

  Shae’s axe whipped towards it from the side. Faster than Dean would have thought possible, the boss dodged, spinning and kicking for her head. Shae ducked as the clawed foot snapped by, inches from her head. Those talons were long and sharp, and Dean had no doubt they were lethal.

  Finn’s second arrow was batted out of the air like an errant fly.

  “No no, that won’t do.”

  It launched itself at Finn, closing the distance between them in less than a second. Finn shouted as a scaly fist caught him in the side, knocking him to the ground.

  “Pulverize,” muttered the lizard as it leaped after him. “Break their bones and pulverize them.” Finn hit the ground hard, coming up on one knee. There was a bloody gash over his eye, but to his credit, he still had his fighting spirit. Yanking one of his curved daggers from the sheath on his quiver, he thrust it towards the boss, who merely deflected it with a scaled forearm. It lunged, forming its clawed hand like a knife blade as it thrust for Finn’s chest.

  It was the perfect distraction. Dean barreled into it from the side, dropping his shoulder as he had before and using the force of his sprint like a battering ram. Had he been an Adventuerer imbued with the power of his own essence, the move might have been enough to knock the boss off its feet. As it was, even Dean’s maxed base strength stat was barely enough to stagger it.

  The impact felt like colliding with a wall. Dean grunted from the impact but managed to keep his grip on his sword as he bounced off the creature's armored body. The boss staggered and, as they had practiced many times before in the training hall, Shae moved on. She leaped into the air, spinning to give her axe momentum.

  The blade slammed into the boss's outstretched arm, shearing it off at the wrist. The boss jerked backwards, its jaws parting in surprise.

  Now’s my chance.

  Dean stepped forward and thrust his sword directly at the boss's unprotected neck. Nothing happened. It took him a moment to realize that his blade had passed through empty air.

  It jumped?

  The Lizard warrior had leapt six feet in the air, avoiding his strike entirely. Dean realized his mistake moments later when it twisted and its barbed tail whipped towards him. He felt the rush of air moments before the strike hit him. His world flipped, and he caught a glimpse of the stone ceiling before the impact knocked the breath out of him.

  Dean slammed into the wall, his head slapping into the stone and making his vision spin. He barely had the presence of mind to lift his sword and block the next attack as the boss kicked at him. The flat of Dean’s blade caught the blow, but the boss's strength far outmatched his own as it bore down its weight.

  “Weak,” it hissed, its voice tinged with disappointment. “And here I thought you, of all of the others, would provide some form of entertainment.”

  Dean’s arms trembled as he fought the creature's superior strength. It cocked its head, green eyes gleaming.

  “Oh well. I suppose there is no sense playing with my food.”

  A bowstring twanged. A well-placed arrow sped across the room, and the boss reached up to knock it aside.

  “Useless,” it growled. “Why must you-“

  The second arrow caught it directly in the right eye. Dean couldn’t help but smile to himself. It was a skill Finn had picked up from his ranger class. The ability to shoot more than one arrow at different destinations. The boss shrieked, stumbling back. Dean felt the enormous weight of its leg lift off him and took the opportunity to suck in a breath.

  The potion had helped absorb some of the damage, but even so, he could feel pain as he scrambled to his feet. One of his ribs was bruised, maybe broken, and that barb had opened up a cut along his thigh between his armor. Blood soaked his trousers, but Dean didn’t have time to think about it.

  The boss stumbled backward, howling with rage as it gripped the shaft lodged firmly in its eye. Dean waved a hand to get Finn’s attention.

  “Leave its other eye,” he said. “Aim for its legs when it shifts forms. Cripple it, and give me an opening. Without an arm, it would be able to defend itself.”

  “Fuck that. I say we blind it.” The half-elf was breathing hard, but his grip on his bow was steady.

  “If you blind it, my paralysis ability won’t work. Besides, at that point, it will probably just flail around, and that kind of attack is impossible to predict. I need an opening. A chance to strike at it before it shifts forms.”

  “Forms?”

  Understanding spread across Shae’s face moments later as the boss leaped back to the center of the room. It lashed its tail, and Dean saw that the bleeding on its severed arm had all but stopped.

  “It’s going to try to regenerate the limb!” he shouted. “Don’t give it a chance!”

  The lizard hissed as it wrenched the arrow from its eye with a meaty squelch, revealing a gaping bloody hole.

  “Filthy humans!” it roared, dropping onto its legs. Its whole body began to shudder, and Dean felt a ripple in his mana sense.

  “There!” he said, lifting his sword. In the background, Ten had killed one of the elite kobolds but still battled with another. Even so, the monk turned his head, risking a glance behind him as essence burst out of the boss like waves.

  Dean felt the prickle of doubt settling in his stomach. He didn’t want to die here, not with everything he had left to do. He had to kill the beast, and he had to do it now. Wracking his brains, he thought back to what the monster volume he’d read had said about reptiles.

  Hardened scales resistant to metal alloys and fire

  Shae whipped her axe through the air, circling to the creature's side as Finn readied himself. Dean forced himself to focus.

  Heightened strength and sense of smell. Vulnerabilities…

  He blocked out the throbbing pain in his side, trying to picture the page in the book.

  Vulnerabilities…

  The lizard warrior’s body rippled as the thick scales on its sides seemed to flow upwards, forming a hardened shell.

  Ah, so that’s it.

  “Ready?” called Finn as he drew an arrow from his quiver. It was different than the others, with a larger head that seemed to glow. Dean nodded his head.

  “You two cripple it, then I’ll move in.”

  Right!”

  The essence in the room settled, and at the same time, the blue fire in the torches dimmed. Dean took up a stance, heart hammering when he realized it had vanished from the center of the room yet again. Where was it? He forced his breathing to slow, making himself feel not with his nerves but with his mind. Something rippled behind him, and his mana sense reacted.

  “Behind!”

  Dean threw himself sideways just as the creature lunged at him. Tiles shattered beneath its claws as the lizard warrior landed.

  “Fish in a barrel,” it snarled, its tongue lolling out. The force of its impact sent tremors through the ground, and it was all Dean could do to maintain his footing.

  “Why don’t you just give up? If you do, I might make it swift.”

  Dean backed away, maintaining his distance.

  “Ah, afraid are we? Where is all that bravado from before?”

  It lunged at him, and the speed was enough to make his heart leap into his throat. Dean danced aside, barely managing to avoid a claw slash to the face as the creature pursued him. Almost, they were almost there. He just had to avoid getting hit.

  “Always running away. Humans are all the same. Vermin!”

  “You’re one to talk.”

  Dean rolled under a kick, batting away the tail barb as it struck at him like a scorpion. The blow had enough force to make his arm rattle in its socket. All the while, he reached within himself to where his dormant trait waited.

  Behind him, he could hear Finn’s ability powering up. They had discussed this days before, sitting cross-legged in one of the private sparring rooms of the training hall. Ten had been lounging, only half paying attention. But Finn and Shae had been focused on Dean.

  “We don’t know what kind of boss we’ll be facing,” he’d said. “But we do know it will be like no enemy we’ve ever encountered. There will be a boss room, and the creature we fight will have buffs, passives, and maybe even latent abilities. We’ll need to adapt.”

  “You mean all of our training together won’t be enough?” Shae had sighed, wiping at the sweat on her brow.

  “No,” Dean shook his head. “The training is important, but more than that, we need synergy.”

  Those words echoed in his mind as Dean dodged and rolled. It was all he could do to run away as the boss pursued him with relentless ferocity. Had he been on his own, he might have been dead by now. Classless and without essence abilities, he’d have ended up another mangled corpse in this room.

  But Dean wasn’t alone.

  The torches sputtered again, blue light dimming and flickering. This time Dean didn’t panic when he saw the boss had vanished. Instead, he closed his eyes, casting out his mana sense like a net. He caught the flicker moments later, and spun.

  “Left!”

  Finn and Shae reacted in time, Finn dropping to one knee as Shae charged forward. The lizard’s eyes widened slightly with surprise at their new reaction speed, but it only bared its sharp teeth in response. Shae was the first to reach it. She swung her axe high, forcing the boss to rear back to avoid the swing. In doing so, it exposed its flank, and Finn took full advantage.

  The ranger let out a breath and released his arrow. It whistled through the air and ignited with a spark of blue. Moments later, it slammed into the boss’s inner thigh. There on the white underbelly, the scales were new and soft. The arrow penetrated deep, causing the boss to lose balance.

  It huffed in surprise, but not before Shae managed to drive her axe into the back of its armored leg. The armor itself protected the creature from any serious slashing damage, but slashing wasn’t the point. The boss's other leg buckled inward.

  And there it was, the opening he’d been waiting for. Dean ran forward, raising his sword in both hands as he plunged his concentration into his dormant trait. Heat flooded into his eyes, and he gripped his sword with renewed intensity.

  For all their planning, the boss was fast to recover. It reared, lashing out with its tail and swiping Shae’s legs from underneath her. She landed badly, and Dean winced inwardly when he heard her cry out. Her leg was bent at an odd angle, and Dean saw her roll sideways and attempt to crawl out of range.

  “Stupid vermin! Your struggle is pointless.”

  The boss bore down on her, limping on its injured leg. It was focused on its injured prey, but it had forgotten one thing. Dean.

  He charged, letting out a shout loud enough to draw the creature's attention from his friend. It had reared up on its haunches to strike, and now its soft underbelly was exposed. It seemed to reach that conclusion at the same time as Dean, attempting to drop back down to protect its underside. But Dean’s trick had worked.

  At his battle cry, the creatures' gaze snapped up, remaining emerald eye locking with his. That eye widened, and then froze. Almost immediately, Dean felt the resistance as the boss's body went completely rigid. He managed to hold it with his gaze, but only just.

  It strained against it; Dean realized it was strong. Stronger even than the rat king had been. The lizard warrior twitched. There was no time. Dean knew the risk, knew even as he charged what the cost of failure would be. Yet, he didn’t slow. As he neared the creature, its eye widened in panic, and it barred its teeth as it thrashed against the invisible bonds holding it.

  Dean felt the pressure of power against his own slam into him, and moments later, the hold of his ability shattered. The boss lunged at him, swiping a long, taloned claw towards him, but Dean was ready. He dropped to a knee, sliding beneath the blow. He could feel his ribs twinge, his sore muscles aching as he clenched his body like a coiled spring.

  His slide carried him beneath his enemy, and Dean prepared himself. Tightening his grip on the pommel of his sword, he rose from the slide, bracing his back leg. And then he thrust upwards with every ounce of strength he possessed. His sword struck the Lizard’s soft underbelly, piercing it through. Blood oozed from the wound onto the sword, and he felt it pulse beneath him as its damage increased.

  Now to finish this. Planting both feet wide, he roared as he wrenched at the hilt of his sword upwards. The Lizard screamed, and Dean saw a flash of movement from his right. His mana sense flared, warning him of the danger, but he knew he couldn’t stop. The barb pierced his shoulder, and the pain was instant. The Lizard warrior clawed at him, talons grating on the metal of his armor.

  Still, Dean didn’t let up. Blood and viscera poured over his gloves as he shoved the sword higher, cutting through the boss's torso with the sound of tearing flesh. The boss stopped shrieking. It hung limply, its jaws snapping as its remaining eye bulged.

  “That’s for all the humans you’ve killed,” growled Dean, twisting the blade. The creature shuddered, it’s jaws opening in a soundless scream.

  “Let this be a lesson to all those who dare to fuck with humanity. We are not weak.” He twisted again, and the Lizard jerked. “We are not prey. And if you threaten us, we will not show mercy.”

  At last the boss’s shuddering ceased. Its head lolled backwards, and the weight of the creature caused it to slide off his blade and onto the tile with a wet thud. Dean was breathing hard, his vision blurring. He’d cut the damn thing nearly in half. One of his fingers was twisted. Broken, maybe? It hardly mattered now.

  “Dean,” the voice came from somewhere to his right. He tried to turn, but found his legs were having a hard time obeying him. His hands felt numb. Damn it, why were they numb? Dean dropped to one knee as the world around him spun. He could hear voices above him.

  “He’s losing blood. Quick, get me his pack. Dean, you need to sit.”

  Dean shook his head, trying to clear it.

  “I’m fine,” he rasped, trying to rise. Hands gripped him and held him down.

  “No, you aren’t. Look,”

  Shae was pointing to something to his left. Dean turned and saw… the barb on the end of the lizard’s tail was jammed under his armor, the tip lodged between the joint itself.

  “You gotta be kidding,” he said, as he heard the pop of a cork. A glass vial was pressed to his lips, its contents glowing magenta. Dean swallowed the health potion and allowed the others to guide him to lie down.

  There were other voices joining his parties; one was rough, masculine, and strangely familiar.

  “Bind his wounds, stop the bleeding. We’ll need another health potion if we’re too…”

  The voices faded from his consciousness as Dean’s mind went dark. His last thought carried a tendril of fear. Am I dying again?