They had been asleep for a short time. Pepe had been on guard, as they had agreed to rotate guard duty, but he had fallen asleep. He hadn’t meant to; it just happened. He woke to an unidentifiable sound. “Crud, I fell asleep. What was that?”

  “What was what?” Erin had woken up when he heard Pepe.

  “Some noise came from that direction.” He pointed toward the cart. It wasn’t far, but more than a few steps away.

  They went over to the cart and saw that the flap wasn’t covering it properly. They looked inside and saw some empty spaces; they had been robbed. “Ah, crap. Of course, it was on my watch.”

  They woke the others. Everyone was tired and half-awake as Erin and Pepe explained the situation. Ms. Tebesa checked her belongings and returned to inform them of what had been stolen.

  “Looks like we have to find them.”

  She nodded. “I’m sorry. It would probably be best if we left now. Even though it’s dark, the moon provides sufficient light to see by.”

  Once again, their lack of foresight had caught them unprepared. They weren’t ready to search at night; they had no torches or anything. They weren’t very good adventurers, it seemed. They had to improvise torches from branches, which took time—time that allowed the culprit to get farther away.

  It had been decided that Pepe would stay behind to protect Ms. Tebesa. Even though he was the one who had lost the items, he wouldn’t be joining the pursuit. Manuel smacked Pepe on the back of the head as they left; it was late, and they were cranky about having to get up in the middle of the night.

  Erin took the lead. His training was much better suited to this task; his tracking skills would be invaluable. He quickly found a trail of broken branches and a small, dirty rag dropped by whoever had taken the items. Whoever it was, they were moving fast, trying to escape with their loot.

  The group was moving, but not quickly enough. Manuel was making noise like a bull in a china shop. Bobby and Josh were hampered by their robes and weren’t moving fast enough either. Erin pointed them in a general direction and said that he would leave signs of his passage. He then sprinted ahead, making very little noise.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  They followed the signs Erin had left behind. Thirty minutes later, Erin stopped them, emerging from the darkness and startling the rest of the group. He put a finger to his lips, signaling his teammates to be quiet.

  “What’s going on?” they whispered as they gathered together.

  “I think I’ve found them.”

  “Them? It’s a group?”

  They moved slowly and silently toward the group, without torches, not wanting to give themselves away. This was beginning to look like it might end in a confrontation with whatever they were about to encounter.

  They peered into a small clearing. There were dirty-looking tents and pale-looking creatures. The creatures were going through the stolen items. One was larger than the rest, and the others gave it space. A smaller one reached out to grab something. The leader backhanded the smaller one, sending it flying a few feet, and snarled.

  The group backed away and looked at each other. “Um, what are those things?”

  “Looks like Maria won’t be able to help us with this one.”

  Manuel looked at his friends. “Looks like we don’t have a choice; we need to get those items back. Reinforce!”

  They moved out of the clearing, making little to no noise. The creatures were preoccupied with examining their stolen goods and didn’t notice the group approaching.

  “Mark for Death!” Erin selected one of the creatures and cast the spell.

  The leader stopped what it was doing, raised its head, sniffed the air, and looked to its right, spotting the group. It snarled and gestured to its underlings, roaring its displeasure at the intruders.

  “Blinding Light!” Bobby didn’t have many offensive spells, but he could use this one. The creatures roared and covered their eyes.

  “Taunt!” The creatures roared as their vision partially returned and charged at Manuel.

  Josh moved to attack. “Fireball!” The creature to the leader’s left went flying backward, motionless.

  “Bullseye!” Erin released his arrow. It struck the creature to the leader’s right, which stumbled, an arrow protruding from its shoulder.

  Three creatures, including the leader, had reached Manuel. The creature with the arrow had turned toward Erin and moved slowly, wary of its injury. Erin aimed again, and another arrow flew, this time striking the creature in the leg, further hindering its movement.

  The other creatures flailed at Manuel with their fists, but he was able to block them with his shield and keep them at bay with his sword. The leader, however, bypassed his shield and landed a solid hit on Manuel, sending him flying backward. The blow hurt, but he had no time to dwell on it. He saw the creatures advancing and knew he had to get up and ensure they remained focused on him.

  Recovering his footing before the leader could strike again, he blocked the blow with his shield. “Counter!” he yelled, slashing at the leader. However, the creature jumped back, and its lackey on the right took the brunt of the hit. The injured creature stumbled backward.

  While Manuel was busy defending himself, his comrades were working on the lone creature. Erin had been moving around the clearing to keep the creature off balance, casting “Aim” and nocking an arrow while Josh cast his own spell, “Thunderbolt,” releasing both attacks simultaneously. The thunderbolt and arrow struck the creature at the same moment, sending it crashing into one of the dirty tents.

  At this, the friends turned to their tank and saw him struggling with the three remaining creatures. The leader was the biggest threat; each blow from its fist pushed Manuel back. Of the other smaller creatures, the one on the right moved more slowly due to the gash it had received, while the one on the left harassed Manuel at every opportunity. Then, the smaller creature on the left landed a blow on Manuel’s sword arm, eliciting a scream from him.

  Erin sent another arrow flying, striking the injured creature on the right. This was followed by Josh’s spells hitting the same creature. But this took time—time for Erin to nock the arrow, draw, aim, and release it. It also took time for Josh to cast his spells—too much time. Everything could go wrong so quickly; one of them could be hurt, like Manuel.

  Bobby had been frozen by the situation. He watched his friends fighting the creatures, but he was too afraid to do anything beyond casting his blinding spell. He felt unable to contribute to the fight, which was frustrating. When he heard Manuel scream, he knew he had to act. “Heal!” he cried, raising his staff and pointing it at Manuel.

  He cast the spell again, and then again, watching his friend’s health increase with each casting. He felt better after doing so, able to move once again. He was still afraid; his friends’ screams had frightened him and shocked him into action.

  Manuel recovered thanks to Bobby’s healing. He had been terrified after receiving the blow; it had felt like a bone breaking, and he had heard a crunch. The pain was unbelievable—Regi hadn’t lied when he said they could feel pain. But his friends were there; he wasn’t alone. They would pull through, and he, in turn, would ensure that these creatures focused their attacks solely on him. He slashed the creature that the others had shot, finishing it off.

  They all saw the message indicating that three of the five creatures were dead. The last two—the leader, the most dangerous of them all—saw its lackeys dispatched and seemed to strike with renewed ferocity. Manuel continued to hold their attention, recasting his own special abilities to keep them focused on him.

  The fight continued, with the group firing on the creatures and the leader. But the leader was fast, dodging left, right, and then back. The team, wary of hitting Manuel, held back, careful with their attacks on the last two. They repositioned themselves, trying to find a clear shot before attacking again.

  Josh saw an opening and seized it. “Fireball!” he cried. The fireball flew toward the leader, its intended target. At the last second, the leader grabbed its underling, using it as a shield. The creature took the full force of the blast. The leader then tossed the fallen creature aside and continued to attack Manuel.

  Erin saw the injured creature begin to rise and shot it. It did not rise again. He turned to see Manuel swinging his sword, trying to strike the leader. The leader jumped back, looked around, and howled, realizing that all of its kind were now gone.

  This was bad; they had to take it down, and fast. Every second they wasted meant this creature could hurt, even kill, them.

  Manuel wouldn’t let his friends get hurt. “Reinforce! Wall! Taunt!” The creature looked at Manuel, murder in its eyes. “That’s right, come at me. I’m the one you want!” The creature charged. Manuel was ready and held his ground as the creature pushed and flailed at him with its fists. Each hit felt like he was being hit by a three-hundred-pound lineman, pushing him back slowly but surely.

  The creature realized it wasn’t gaining any ground and backed off. Manuel was exhausted, drenched in sweat, and in pain. But he would hold his ground. Even in its rage, the creature displayed a flicker of intelligence; it turned and began to charge at Josh.

  Manuel saw its intention and was ready. “No, you don’t! Hamstring!” Manuel slashed at its legs, opening a gash. The creature was slowed and turned to face Manuel once again. “Shield Slam!” The creature stumbled back a few feet.

  Josh felt a surge of alarm as the creature charged. He wasn’t just scared; he was terrified. He heard Bobby scream his name, “Josh!” But he had no time to respond to his friend. If Manuel hadn’t intervened, Josh would have been badly hurt. They needed to finish this now. He pointed his wand at the abomination and fired away: “Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!” In rapid succession, the fireballs flew at the creature. The first hit, and the creature stumbled; then the second struck. The third missed as the creature regained its footing and dodged it.

  They didn’t give the creature time to regroup. Behind Josh’s spells, arrow after arrow flew. An arrow hit the creature in the leg, one in the upper arm, and one in the side. The creature had burn marks and arrows protruding from its body, but it still wasn’t down.

  Despite all the damage it had sustained, it was moving more slowly, but to say it was no longer a threat would be signing their own death warrants. It continued to attack Manuel with even greater ferocity. How could the thing still be moving after all that?

  “Come on, you can do better than that! I’m the one you want! Taunt!” Manuel needed to keep the creature’s attention; they were so close to defeating it. “Come on, guys, we’ve got this! Let’s end it!”

  This gave them a much-needed boost in morale. Yes, they could do it. It was time to finish this and recover the stolen items.

  Erin buffed himself before taking aim again. “Marksman! Bullseye!” he cried, releasing his arrow. It flew true, but the creature turned its head at the last moment, the arrow impaling its eye. The creature’s head snapped back, and it collapsed. It was finally over; they had won.

  They collapsed where they stood, exhausted from the fight. This was going to be difficult; they had been hurt and scared, and it was nothing like a video game at all. The last fight had been easy in comparison. The creatures before their eyes began to disintegrate. Within seconds, they were gone—bodies, blood, everything. The leader was the last to disappear; where it had stood, only a bag remained.

  The battle had lasted only ten minutes, though to the participants, it had felt like an eternity. With the adrenaline now gone, they felt utterly exhausted. Bobby checked on Manuel and cast another healing spell, restoring him to full health. Manuel, now back to normal, felt a little stiff and sore from the fight.

  They searched the tents and found mostly junk, except for the last one, which was slightly larger—likely the leader’s. Inside, they found a few items: a ring, an amulet, and another small bag of money. This was the life of an adventurer; it wasn’t going to be easy. They hadn’t exactly signed up for this—well, in a sense, they had, but they hadn’t really been given a choice.