Thank you very much for reading and supporting!

A quick question for those of you who have an opinion: This chapter ends with a cliff for Lucy. Would you prefer I continue with her POV in the next chapter, or jump to Andy for a chapter or two?

Thanks,

Plum

24 – No Quest Required

Lucy crouched behind the clump of tall, dry grass—she’d heard it called buffelgrass, and was pretty sure it was invasive. Whether true or not, it provided a good place to hide and watch as Denise approached the long column of marching soldiers. There couldn’t be any doubt that was what they were—soldiers. They marched in step; every single one of them was armored, and they all bore weapons.

Denise was going to attempt to verify their hostility. Lucy had wanted to do it, but the Sorceress had argued that she had some magic tricks that made it much easier. For one, she had a spell that made her appear to be standing several feet away from where she really stood. For another, she could briefly make herself invisible and use magic to sprint much faster than normal for a similarly short time—enough to make an escape, though.

A hundred yards ahead of Lucy, Denise stopped and stood with her hands on her hips, watching as the column of shining soldiers drew closer. She wore the translation charm in the hope that communication might avert what seemed like an inevitable conflict.

There weren’t any Dondalli with them for the same reason. Vince had presented an idea that couldn’t be ignored: what if the armored soldiers had a grudge against the winged people? What if the attack on Ganessa and Torfal hadn’t been as “unprovoked” as they’d claimed.

The soldiers were growing more and more distinct as they approached, and Lucy could make out their individual weapons. Something strange about them caught her eye. It took a moment’s staring before she realized what it was. It seemed the weapons were built into the armor. The soldiers weren’t holding their swords or shields or even their crossbows; they seemed to be attached to their arms. Lucy frowned. Something else seemed off.

It wasn’t until the soldiers came within fifty yards or so of Denise and then halted in unison that Lucy realized what it was—they were too much in sync, and they didn’t make any noise beyond their perfectly timed steps.

When the soldiers stopped and an eerie silence fell over the desert scrubland, Denise lifted her arm and called out something. Lucy couldn’t make out the words, but she heard her indistinct voice after a second. When a response came from the soldiers—a grinding mechanical sound that reverberated over the plain, Denise took a step back. Then, in unison, a hundred of the soldiers raised their crossbows and fired.

Denise seemed to stand stock still, but Lucy hoped it was just her magic playing tricks. She hoped the woman was already sprinting with a spell speeding her steps. The crossbow bolts hit the hard-packed desert soil in a thrum of drumbeats, and Denise crumpled. Lucy stood, lifted her bow, drew the string to her ear, and fired a flaming arrow. It split into two when she cast Double Arrow, and she watched as the two fiery projectiles arced into the sky, leaving a trail of smoke as they descended toward the column.

Before they struck home, she heard pounding footsteps, and then Denise was there, shimmering into existence. “Run!” she yelled, and Lucy nodded, but held up a finger. She wanted to see if her arrows would hit. Denise turned and also watched. They held their breath together as the fiery missiles fell. When they both struck home and two soldiers fell, Denise pumped her fist. “Yes!” She grabbed Lucy’s arm. “Now run!”

As the two women charged toward the foothills of the Santa Ritas, aiming for the ravine that would lead them up toward the Dondalli settlement, Lucy asked, “What did they say?”

“Well, first,” Denise said, glancing over her shoulder as she paused to breathe, “I said I wanted to talk.”

“Right, I heard that.”

“Then they answered—like five of them yelled at me at once. The charm translated, but I don’t think they said any words. It was like…” She shook her head and looked at Lucy. “Like code.”

“But what did they say?” Lucy didn’t try to hide her frustration.

“They said, ‘The Gavax have claimed this world.’ Then they shot at me.”

Lucy hopped over a small barrel cactus, then looked at her. “The Gavax?”

Denise shrugged. “That’s what I heard.”

“Any sign of prisoners?” Lucy asked.

The other woman shook her head. “I’m sorry, but no.”

Lucy scowled, and they ran in silence for a few minutes. That was when the System hit her with a notification:

**Congratulations, Lucy! You’ve slain two Gavax soldiers, earning experience toward your next Monster Slayer level!**

“They died!” she said.

Denise glanced at her, confused for a moment, then it clicked and her eyes widened as she nodded. “Good.” She sounded winded, but didn’t complain. As they rounded the ridge and found the faint trail that her party had made when they’d first arrived, they slowed to an easy jog.

“We still don’t know they’re coming here to attack the Dondalli,” Denise said. “Maybe they’ll keep marching south.”

“Maybe. I don’t think so, though. I think they’re looking to wipe out competitors, and, for some reason, they targeted the Dondalli first.”

Denise nodded. “Possible, I guess.”

When they reached the steeper section of the ravine and had to slow to a steady hike, Lucy looked up to her right, along the steep slope, where a stone bluff lined the narrow canyon. Dozens of large rocks and boulders were arrayed along its rim, though most looked at least passingly natural. To her surprise, Vince was the first ambusher to stand and wave, calling down, “How did it go?”

She shook her head and yelled, “Not good! I’ll come up.” Even as she shouted the words, dozens of other defenders came into view as they peered down the steep slope. Most of them were Dondalli, but Lucy also saw Benny, Janice, and most of the Militia members; they’d been gathering stones and boulders ever since they’d decided to make a stand.

She and Denise continued up the trail, hiking for several minutes until they came to a fork near the top of the trail—if they turned right, they’d backtrack to the high ridge where Vince and the others waited, and if they went left, they’d reach the Dondalli fortifications in short order. “You’re going to the village with Madi and the others?” she asked Denise.

“Yeah. I could help with the first ambush, but I only have so much mana. I’ll save it for whatever enemies get through.” She looked Lucy up and down. “Be careful, okay? Don’t wait too long to make a run for the settlement.”

Lucy smiled, shaking her head. “I’ll be quick.”

“Don’t burn through all your mana, either. Use the arrows the Dondalli gave you.”

“Are you my mom or something?” Lucy teased, clicking her tongue.

“Just be careful!” Denise unclasped the translation charm and passed it to Lucy.

“I will.” Lucy smiled at her as she fastened the chain around her neck. “We’ve got this. You saw those two I dropped—one arrow, and they were done.”

“I hope so.” Denise started toward the settlement, then paused and looked back at her. “It’s weird, don’t you think?”

Lucy narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “What?”

“Nothing from the System about this—no quests to defeat the army or defend the Dondalli.”

Lucy shrugged. “Maybe it’s waiting to see what’s going to happen. Anyway, we don’t need a quest to do what’s right.” When Denise nodded, she waved, turned, and jogged back along the higher ridge, rapidly gaining elevation. When she rounded a bend and saw the defenders lined up by their piles of stones or stacks of dark arrows, she hurried over to her spot near Vince, Benny, and Torfal.

The Dondalli warrior looked at her as she approached. “Was I wrong?”

“You know you weren’t.” Lucy raised her voice, turning left and right as she spoke, delivering the words to all the defenders gathered there. “They attacked Denise with no warning. Also, they said they’ve claimed this world for the Gavax, whatever that means.”

Torfal shook his head. “The word is unfamiliar.”

“Lucy, will you tell them all to keep down? If they blow the ambush…” Janice called from up the line, her voice a deep grumble.

Lucy once again raised her voice. “We have to stay hidden. Don’t attack until they’re deep into the ravine.”

Torfal nodded, adding, “If you alert the enemy before our trap is sprung, I will personally remove your wings!”

“How soon?” Vince asked as the Dondalli hunkered down.

Lucy shook her head. “Not long. It took us twenty minutes to run here. I’d say another twenty minutes.” As she spoke, she lay on her belly, inching forward until her head was beside a large boulder and she could just peer over the stony ledge. From there, she could see down into the ravine and out to the west. The Gavax would be coming from that direction, though she wouldn’t see them until they rounded the ravine mouth from the north.

“I see dust,” Benny said.

Torfal grunted, pointing. “They come.” The warrior’s wings thrummed in anticipation, but they soon calmed; the dust was still distant. “At least we know they’re coming this way,” he added.

“What did he say?” Vince asked.

Lucy translated and added, “It means they can’t attack the settlement from the other side; the approach is too steep.”

“Maybe they’ll keep marching right past the ravine,” Benny said.

“Maybe.” Lucy shifted, trying to get comfortable. Even if they could see the dust, it would be a while.

“Wouldn’t that be nice,” Vince muttered. “Rather not have to fight a war if we don’t have to.” Lucy couldn’t argue with the sentiment, and it drove home an important distinction for her. Vince was an annoyance—someone who didn’t necessarily agree with how she—or Andy—wanted to do things—but he wasn’t an enemy. He was there, ready to risk his life to add his arrows to the defense. Sure, he’d wanted to avoid the battle, but when he’d seen they all were staying, he’d swallowed his objections. She had to give him credit for that.

Torfal looked at Lucy and, in a low, rough whisper, asked, “Ganessa?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

His scowl deepened, and he looked away, fixing his ruby eyes on the ravine below.

Surprisingly quickly, they began to hear the stomps of the marching soldiers. Their pace was rapid—thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump. Even on the rock-strewn hillside, their timing was perfect. “They were moving faster than I thought,” Lucy said, as she caught sight of the first flickering reflections thrown by the soldiers’ armor.

“It’s loud,” Benny said, grasping a head-sized boulder.

Lucy put her hand on his wrist. “Easy. Let them get deep into the ravine.”

He nodded. “Just getting ready.”

“Guess they’re not going to pass by,” Vince said, spitting into the dry dirt by his knees. There was no arguing; the soldiers were indeed marching into the ravine, steadily advancing along the ravine floor toward the Dondalli settlement.

“Steady,” Torfal hissed to the defenders on the right, then, turning to the left. “Steady!”

Lucy and Vince were sharing a pile of long, dark arrows with fine, blue-feathered fletching. Lucy had an idea and hastily began stabbing the arrows into the hard soil so their fletching stood up—easy to grab. They had arrowheads made of hard, razor-edged stone, and they sank into the hard ground without much effort.

She’d fired some of the arrows to get a feel for them, and they seemed to fly true. In any case, she’d use them and save her mana—every fire arrow cost her five, which would add up quickly when there were nearly a thousand targets to choose from.

The soldiers’ stomps grew thunderous in the ravine, and the ground trembled slightly with each reverberating impact. Lucy fixated on some tiny jagged pebbles that danced with the cadence, but then Torfal hissed, “Ready!” and she snapped out of it. As the word passed left and right along the row of defenders, she inched forward, peering down onto the column of alien soldiers as they marched.

Their stomps were loud and rhythmic, but their silence otherwise was unnerving—no grunts, no commands, no battle cries. All she heard were heavy boots crunching together on the hard-packed ground. They were deep into the ravine, the head of the column well beyond the ambush point, and starting to curve to the left, up the ravine wall, toward the fork in the trail.

Lucy couldn’t contain herself; it was time, and she didn’t need Torfal to tell her. Before the Dondalli could call for the attack, she stood, drew an arrow from where she’d stabbed it into the ground, and set it to her string. She drew it back, slowly exhaled, and released, firing it at the leading row of soldiers. Before the arrow hit home, she had another nocked and drew that one back, too.

Torfal stood, hauling a bowling-ball-sized stone high. “Attack!” he cried, and then the world erupted into chaos.