The wooden stairs creaked under Ragnar's boots as he descended, Kalia close behind.
Sunlight slanted through the narrow windows of the hideout, catching dust motes in lazy spirals.
The smell of stale bread and old fire smoke hung thick in the air.
At the long table below, the others sat hunched over a rough map scratched into the wood.
Heads turned as Ragnar stepped into the room. No one spoke at first.
Their eyes said enough, relief mixed with something sharper.
Sarah stood quickly, dragging two chairs back with a scrape. "There you are. We saved spots."
Ragnar's stomach twisted. He'd slept like the dead while they planned, while Val rotted in a cell.
He forced a nod and sat, shoulders stiff.
Kalia settled beside him, her hand brushing his under the table, just a touch, but it steadied him.
He scanned their faces. "Tell me you've got something."
Aria leaned forward, elbows on the table.
"We split. Two groups. Block the north and south exits of the village. Pin them in, then crush what's left."
Ragnar's jaw tightened. "And if it's a trap? We divide, we bleed. One good ambush and we're finished before we start."
Silence dropped like a stone. Aria's mouth opened, then closed.
She exhaled through her nose. "...You're right. I can't argue that. So what, then?"
Ragnar felt every gaze settle on him.
The guilt burned hotter now, time to earn his place back.
He tapped the map once, hard. "We don't split. Main force, everyone, hits them straight on.
Draw every eye, every blade. Make noise. Be the storm."
He met Aria's eyes. "You and I slip through the chaos. We go for Rax. Cut the serpent head off."
Sarah's breath caught. "Just the two of you? Against Rax?"
Kalia's voice came quiet but firm. "Ragnar's evolved now. Stronger than before.
And last I knew, Rax's lot never crossed that line. They're still... ordinary."
The words landed oddly in Ragnar's chest. A cold prickle crawled up his spine. 'Ordinary.'
Why did that suddenly feel like a lie? He shoved the doubt down deep, locked it away.
He turned to Sarah instead. "You'll lead the main push. When the lackeys are broken, you find Val. Get him out. I'm counting on you."
Sarah's cheeks flushed pink. She looked away, then back, nodding once. "I won't let you down."
Ragnar shifted to Aria. "Be ready. The second they're distracted, we move."
She gave a single, sharp nod.
Night fell cold and moonless. The hideout emptied.
Kobolds gripped spears, goblins clutched short blades, scrawny, fierce, desperate.
They formed ragged ranks and marched.
Ragnar let one of the captured scouts slip away earlier that day.
The "traitor" would run straight to Rax with word of the coming army. Exactly as planned.
He and Aria shadowed the column from the treeline.
When distant shouts and steel clashed ahead, they peeled off, moving low and fast toward the chief's hut at the village centre.
The door hung ajar. Inside, shadows pooled thick. Ragnar's nostrils flared, something acrid, oily, wrong.
"Out," he hissed. "Now!"
He shoved Aria hard. They stumbled back through the doorway just as the world roared white-hot.
Heat slammed into Ragnar's back like a fist. Pain exploded across his shoulders. He hit the dirt rolling, ears ringing.
He pushed up on shaking arms. Flames licked the ruined hut. His shirt smoked.
"Where the hell does a fantasy creature learn dynamite?" he growled, voice raw.
A low laugh answered from the darkness to his left.
Rax stepped into the firelight, one arm locked around Val's thin chest.
A blade rested against Val's throat. A thin line of blood already trickled down pale skin.
Ragnar's heart lurched into his throat. Val looked like a ghost of himself, cheeks hollow, arms wasted, eyes sunken but still burning.
Ragnar rose slowly, hands open. "Let him go. What do you want?"
Rax tilted his head toward the burning wreckage. "How'd you know about the trap?"
Ragnar gritted his teeth. "Scent. My nose doesn't lie. I smelled your Baso."
"Baso." Rax tested the word, amused.
"Doesn't matter now. To got your brother.(Val), I need a Carriage.
Full of gold. Two strong horses. Or your brother's blood paints the ground."
Val's gaze locked on Ragnar's. No fear there, just tired defiance.
Behind Ragnar, Aria had already moved. Silent as shadow, she circled wide.
Ragnar kept talking, kept Rax's eyes on him. "You think gold buys mercy? After everything?"
Rax sneered. "I think, "
A dull thunk. Aria's club cracked against the back of Rax's skull.
The blade jerked. Rax staggered, snarling. Ragnar lunged.
He seized Rax's head in both hands. One sharp twist. Bone snapped.
Rax dropped like a sack.
Ragnar caught Val before he fell. Arms wrapped tight around brittle ribs. "You okay? Tell me you're okay."
Val managed a crooked smile. "Took you long enough, brother."
Ragnar's throat closed. He lifted Val easily, too easily. The man who once wrestled bears now weighed almost nothing.
He turned. Aria fell in beside him, breathing hard.
Ahead, the clash had ended. Bodies littered the square. Rax's rebels lay still or fled into the dark.
The survivors cheered raggedly as Ragnar approached, Val cradled against his chest.
Before he could speak, blue light flickered in his vision.
[Special Quest: Kill the elders who framed your brother Val]
[Rewards: Cloak of Concealment (Basic)]
Ragnar stared at the words until they faded. His grip on Val tightened.
Not over yet. Not even close.