Burke knelt and brushed the snow away from the dead man's face. There was a grim set to his jaw as he took in the sight. Hypothermia wasn’t the worst way to go.

“Poor bastard,” one of Burke’s subordinates said from behind him, “dying twice in such a short amount of time. That’s rotten luck.”

“Withers,” Burke said as he stood, “let’s get the body out of here.”

“Yes sir.”

The two low-ranked Wardens set to work wrapping the frozen corpse for transport back to The Gap, where they would hold a proper funeral for him and the two other mages they’d found. Burke pulled a metal flask from under his green trimmed cloak, screwed off the top, and took a deep pull.

They were barely a day's ride from their outpost and they’d already come across three of the displaced reincarnates, all dead. If Academy City had made any progress getting the rebirth points working again, he hadn’t heard of it. As his thoughts turned toward High Councilor Julian, he grimaced and took another swig from his flask before tucking it away again.

The pompous shit had tasked him to sweep the entire northern range with a dozen Wardens, knowing full well that it would take months. Most, if not all, mages reborn out here would die before he found them.

As they hoisted the body up onto the back of a cart, one of Burke's men appeared in the road. The recruit had acquired his teleportation ability after having been placed in Burke’s unit, and Burke had neglected to report it. Otherwise, the young man would have already been reassigned.

“Something to report?” Burke asked.

“Sir, a village of Tier 1s about three days' ride has been having trouble with a band of qek.”

The old warden snorted and shook his head. Whatever madness drove the non-magical inhabitants of Jetriser to build their homes in such an inhospitable place, Burke hoped it wasn’t contagious.

“Look around son. This is monster country. If they can’t handle a few qek on their own, then they should move south.”

“Yes sir, I said as much myself sir, but they were quite insistent that this not the usual qek rabble. Dozens of them attack the walls after sunset and there are more every night, sir.”

“Can’t be,” Burke said with a frown, “qek kill each other off if you ever get more than five in one place. Whoever heard of dozens of them in a pack?”

“No idea sir.”

“Did you see any of these giant packs?”

“No sir, they said they only come at night.”

“Any tracks?”

“I didn’t go beyond the wall to check, sir.”

On its own, the claim was worth investigating. Normally he’d have dispatched a Warden or two to the village to clear up the problem, do an investigation and bring back the report. Today wasn’t normal, however, and his Wardens had a job to do.

Strictly speaking, protecting the people who chose to live north of The Gap wasn’t their purpose. The Northern Outpost ostensibly existed to monitor and combat any monster threats that might come out of the northern mountain range. In truth, all the outposts, his included, were as close as Academy City came to occupying its non-magical neighbors.

“Did they have anything to say about our lost mages?” Burke asked, his voice suddenly tired.

“No sir.”

Burke grunted and then moved to the back of the cart and pulled out a map, spreading it out over the flat wooden surface.

“I want you to do a quick sweep along this route.” He told the young man, tracing his finger across the paper.

“But sir, I told them-”

“You told them what?” Burke cut him off, his tone cold.

“I- I told them I’d bring back help… sir.”

“We don’t have time for that, we have work to do.”

“Still as soft as ever I see.” The screechy voice of an old woman cut across their conversation. Burke's subordinate whirled on the spot raising his hand and conjured a series of long thin darts made of shadows.

The weight of the woman's magical presence crashed down on the pair of them, and every one of the bolts dissolved into nothing.

“What is it, Gurty?” Burke asked, not even looking up from his map, apparently unperturbed by the pressure she exuded in raw magic.

“Is that how you greet an old friend?” Gurty asked.

Burke turned to look at her, one incredulous eyebrow raised.

“We’re not friends Gurty, you’re a traitor. The only reason I’m not hauling you in is-”

“Because you can’t.” The old woman finished for him with a malevolent smile. Burke's jaw tightened as his eyes ran up and down her body.

“Why do you look like that?” He asked.

“I’ve been cultivating an image with the locals. Old Witch of the Wood they call me.” As she spoke, her back became less hunched, the skin of her face less droopy and lined. In the time it took to exhale, the old woman was gone, replaced by a handsome woman, much closer to Burke's middle-aged appearance.

“Have you seen any of our missing mages? The Rebirth-”

“I know what’s happened.” She told him, holding up a hand to forestall his explanation, and smiling like a shark all the while. “And even if I had seen any of them, do you think I’d send them willingly into Julian’s clutches? You and I both know what he is.”

Burke clenched his teeth so hard he was certain his jaw would’ve cracked if not for his gold-ranked body attribute. Gurty seemed to sense his agitation because she smiled all the wider.

“You won’t even deny it.” She said, Burke turned to face her properly now, letting the map roll itself back up.

“Raken,” He said to the young mage next to him without taking his eyes off Gurty, “begin your sweep.” There was a brief silence and Burke could tell he wanted to protest the order, though whether it was because of Gurty or the village he wasn’t sure. Regardless, obedience won out in the end and the man nodded, before vanishing into the air.

“And you two.” He addressed the remaining wardens who’d loaded the body they’d found. “Get this back to the Outpost and have the casualty count added into the next report.” These two also hesitated, but only for a moment. Without any obvious means of propulsion, the cart began to roll down the road, taking his last two men with it.

“What do you want?” Burke asked her once they were alone, his tone as flat as the look he gave her. Still grinning, she stepped closer.

“I just wanted to say hello, you never come north of The Gap anymore. I knew you were cold Burke, but refusing to help a village in need?” She admonished him.

“Why aren’t you helping them?” He fired back before he could stop himself. He hadn’t seen her in years and she could still get under his skin.

“That is not the role I’ve been given, Burke.”

“Role?” He questioned, then shook his head. “Still serving the Bitch huh?” He asked, hoping to annoy her, but she just chuckled.

“That’s no way to talk about a Goddess, not that she minds. You know Heth.”

“I really don’t,” he said, “wish you didn’t either.” He added, with only the barest hint of sadness in his eyes. For a moment, her too-wide grin fell into a more natural smile that had once been as familiar to him as the sunrise.

“It’s good to know you still care,” she said, “I was worried that Julian would crush all the humanity out of you eventually.”

“You’re one to talk, worshiping a Goddess like Heth.” The smile turned once more into that dark grin, and the glimpse he’d caught of his old friend was gone. “Just don’t let them die if you can help it.” He said, glancing at the place where they’d found the frozen body.

“If I can find the time, you’re not the only one with work to do.”

For a moment Burke wanted to know what work she could be doing out here, but as he looked her in the eye he had his answer. She was lost to madness. Consumed by zealotry as she pursued the favor of a fickle goddess.

“What about the village?” he asked, “Do they count as part of your work?” Gurty shrugged as her grin faded. He watched her change before his eyes, becoming withered and hunched, a short wooden cane appearing in her hand.

“I’m just an old lady,” She said, her voice reedy and annoying once more, “what am I meant to do about any of that?” She cackled in a way that set his teeth on edge as she faded from sight. In moments he was alone in the snowy forest.