The woods appeared to be living things, twisting and turning with every step. The trees were shrouded in mist, and the otherworldly, unsettling noises resonated through them. Each crack of a branch was a threat, each shadow a hidden menace. Kael's hold on his sword grew stiff as he peered out into the trees, feeling the foe was no longer probing them—now they were going to break them.
From the fog, chains burst forth like snakes, encircling Kael's leg and pulling him back. He struggled to retain his footing, sparks illuminating the sound of his sword striking the iron trap. "They've laid a trap!" he yelled, voice cutting, eyes burning with intensity.
Rina responded in an instant, calling forth a surge of power to shatter the chains. She sprang forward, claws cutting through the mist, taking down two assassins who had come out of concealed niches. "They're attempting to disperse us! Remain unified!"
Thargrim bellowed, thrashing his axe in great circles. He struck down domesticated beasts bursting from the foliage, scattering their bodies and howls amid the thick trees. "Ye think ye can shackle a dwarf? Try again!"
Lyrielle nocked arrow by arrow, each flying with lethal precision. Her sharp eyes picked up glimpses of the assassins' movements before the party could act. "The chains… they're designed to keep us apart. Prioritize coordination, or we get killed one at a time!"
Kael barked out commands as he deflected a knight's powerful blow. "Rina, flank left! Thargrim, protect the center! Elira, hold the rear! Move as a single unit!" Every swing, every cast, every parry had to be in tandem; one misstep could be fatal.
Elira's hands were golden as she danced among the party members, tending to their wounds as they battled, her magic knitting safety through the destruction. "I can only heal flesh, not terror. Don't fall apart," she whispered, her gaze fierce in spite of fatigue.
The fight was fierce and unforgiving. Chains wrapped themselves around arms and legs, dragging warriors towards concealed spikes. Assassins darted unseen, striking from the most unexpected places. Even the woods seemed in on it, roots twisting and branches slamming down.
Kael dodged beneath a flailing chain, parrying a thrust from a knight with a blow to the shoulder. Thargrim bellowed, breaking a tree branch across a charging attacker. Rina's energy blasts cut through the mist, blinding tamed beasts before they could spring.
Minutes seemed like hours. They were sheathed in sweat, blood, and grime, but the party would not give in. Gradually, their coordination took over the battlefield. Chains were broken, assassins were trapped, and monsters were routed.
At last, a stunned silence descended on the clearing. Gasping for breath, the party huddled together, battered but alive. Kael peered into the fog. "This was not a surprise attack. They're setting up something greater… and Azrak is in the middle of it."
Rina lowered her staff, panting irregularly. "He's the key… isn't he?
Kael's jaw clenched. "Yes. And we don't have much time. They'll try us again, but next time we'll be prepared for anything."
Thargrim planted his axe in the earth and shook off fatigue. "Bring 'em on. We'll teach 'em what it's like to meet us united."
Elira's eyes glowed softly in the fog. "They're patient… and so will we have to be. But the next step will determine us.
Fog rolled in again as the party pushed on, weighty hearts, weary muscles, but unbent will. Somewhere down the path, unseen eyes observed and calculated, biding their time until another attack. The Fractured Shadow constricted its hold, and the forest whispered hints at trials yet to be encountered.