A layer of mist billowed over the ground as Mave led Elisa and Corso through the thick, mossy, forests of Meric’s Morass. With her Black Rabbit training, Elisa stayed low to the ground and silent within the shadows. Her instincts from years of as an Anti-Rogue Operative told her to stay hidden and allow any enemy to be drawn out by her harekin teammates. Some considered using one's allies as bait to be reprehensible, and while that might be true, Elisa knew how to keep her teammates alive and make her enemies dead.

Corso ducked behind a tree and motioned for Mave to do the same. Elisa crept through the haze to get a better look at what Corso saw. Lo and behold, the game trail they were following led to a small grove, and at the center stood a figure in blue robes. It had to be Demetris, the Hydro Mage.

It was not clear to Elisa whether he saw them or not. He was faced away from them, so it was a safe bet that Elisa was still hidden, an opportunity she did not plan to waste.

Stalking from tree to tree, she pulled out her sword dashed towards the mage, however as she left the cover of the trees, the mist whirled around her, turning into a dense fog. She could barely see her own hands, nevermind her target or allies.

She tried to listen for signs of the mage’s direction. Crushed leaves, snapping twigs, rustling grass, anything that alerted her to where she needed to move. However the only sounds she could hear was that of her own heartbeat.

Thump, thump, thump…

“Elisa!”

Mave’s cry broke her concentration, but the sound was muffled and distant. How far away was she now?

“I see him, Captain!”

The whistling of an arrow shot past her ear and another whizzed behind her. The fog was too thick to see them coming, she would need to be on her guard as long as Corso had arrows.

“Corso, where in the bloody world are you?”

“Over here, Captain! I was sure I saw him, but he disappeared in this bloody fog!”

Elisa cautiously moved through the cloudy maze. Keeping her sword at the ready, she tried to keep her wits and her senses sharp. She couldn’t get frustrated like her partners. No, that’s what the mage wanted.

Finally, Elisa heard a new sound. The sound of rushing water. It wasn’t a constant noise like that of a river or stream, but came in intervals. It grew closer and closer until—

A massive force slammed into Elisa’s back. She flew forward and smashed into a nearby tree. She shook off her confusion and dizziness and scanned her surroundings. Nothing but the white fog. However, the fog moved—morphed. It swirled around into the shape of a hammer and then came down upon her with full speed.

Elisa rolled out of the way as the fog hammer slammed down and exploded into the normal mist again. She looked up to see the mage weaving his hands, as if conducting the clouds, themselves. As he circled his arms, the mist followed his movements, dancing and twirling around him until he thrust his hand at Elisa once more.

The rush of clouds crashed into her like a giant fist, sending her flying backwards. She tumbled to a stop and Mave’s hand dragged her behind a large stump.

“We can’t hide from him. Anywhere there’s moisture he can see us,” Mave whispered.

“Give me one clean shot, and I’ll end his miserable life!” snarled Corso.

“Wait.” Elisa pulled out her respirator. “He wants to play with haze? How about a toxic haze?”

Corso grinned. “If you can keep him distracted with those fumes, then I’ll do the rest.”

“Alright, but cover your mouth.”

Mave placed a hand on Elisa’s shoulder. “I’ll run out first and try to buy you enough time to get close to Demetris.”

Elisa nodded. “Be careful, Mave.”

Mave dashed from behind her cover. Elisa poked her head around the stump, watching as her harekin friend vanished into the mist.

A sound of crackling and a gust of wind echoed in the grove.

“Aaack!” Mave cried out.

“Mave!!!” Corso leaped from over the stump, his crossbow loaded. “I’m coming Ma—”

Another crackling of ice freezing over wood and Corso was silenced.

Idiot! Elisa cursed in her mind. She pulled out two bottles of vibrant orange liquid, similar to the type of poison she used in the granary. She stumbled with the bottles, clanging them together; sweat slid down the side of her face. Could the mage see that too? Could the mage see the poisons? Could he control the poisons? Could he take control of her very blood?

The more ideas that pumped through her head the slower and sloppier her handiwork became. Before she knew it the fumes were funneling out of the bottles and she was still behind the stump.

“Alanna’s black wings! Now I’m out of time,” she said through her respirator. “This better work!”

She ran from her cover and sprinted out to the middle of the grove where she watched the mage weaponize the mist once more. Elisa lobbed one bottle of poison. It shattered at Demetris’s feet and a plume of noxious gas rose around the mage.

At first the hydro mage attempted to manipulate the liquid within the fumes, but began to heave and cough as he inhaled the gas. He raised his arm in the air and rain began to fall.

Elisa did not have a moment to lose, she chucked the second bottle of gas just as the former was dissipating. Once more the fumes poured from the bottle around the mage.

“Corso, now!” Elisa shouted at the top of her lungs. But no flurry of bolts came to strike down the mage. Elisa frantically scanned for her harekin partners and found them unconscious and frozen to the trunks of two trees.

Elisa slid her sword and sprang forward to the mage. She reeled back her blade but was thrusted into the air by a force of mist.

The shadow elf grunted as she threw her sword at the mage. A last ditch effort. One that if she missed she would not be able to beat this opponent, not while his magic controlled the massive element of cloud and water.

Her eyes widened as the sword whipped through the air. Closer and closer it hurdled to the mage.

Demetris attempted to dodge to the side but cried in anguish and surprise as the blade tore through his shoulder and sliced off his arm.

Ice shattered at the moment his concentration broke.

Elisa landed hard on the ground and leaped to her feet.

“Corso, now!” she shouted once more. “While he has no concentration!”

Still no bolts, still no answer.

Elisa needed to take actions into her own hands. She dashed towards Corso’s limp body and scooped up his crossbow. A bolt was still loaded. Elisa had little training with crossbows, or ranged weapons for that matter, just the basic teachings as a child in the Black Rabbits. Everyone needed to be acquainted with those weapons. Mainly aiming and hitting a target from hundred yards.

A hundred yards is how much she gave herself. She shouldered the contraption and aimed it at the grimacing mage.

For the heart, not the head. The chest is a larger target.

She felt for the trigger and curled her index finger around it. She took a deep breath and held it; the only sound was her beating heart once again.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

She closed one eye. Setting all her focus on her target.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

She yanked the trigger and the bolt sailed through the air, striking the mage straight through his chest.

One shot. One kill.

The mage collapsed backwards. Dead.

Elisa dropped the weapon and rushed to Mave to shake her awake.

“Mave! Mave?”

The rabbit awoke groggily. She took a firm hold of Elisa’s hand. “I’m awake, mate, no need to rattle my heart out of my body.” She sat up and spotted Corso.

“Wake up, soldier!”

Corso wriggled from his stupor, slowly pulling himself to his feet. “Ugh, I feel like I slept outside naked during a bloomin’ snowstorm.” He looked over to the corpse of Demetris. “What of him?”

Mave kicked the mage’s limp body. “Hydro Mage down, I hope the rest are faring as well as we are.”

***

Spurts of jagged earth struck beneath Essie, Timber, and Quinn as they ran for their lives from rocks slinging through the air.

The three of them dove over a fallen tree as stone daggers pelted their cover.

“Hold still, Timber, I need to tend to that cut above your eye before it begins to burden your aim,” Essie said as she dabbed at Timber’s brow with a cotton swab.

“Hurry it up, Essie,” growled Timber.

Quinn peeked over the log to find that the Earth Mage, Gustav had halted in his pursuit. Stones orbited around him like he was a sun in his own universe.

“It’s no use Timber, even with both your eyes, you aren’t getting through his guard,” said Quinn. “There is only one way to break a stone, and arrows aren’t going to do the trick.”

Timber waited for Essie to finish cleaning her wound before replying to Quinn. “So what do you have in mind?”

Quinn pulled out a red stick of dynamite. “I’m not just a locksmith, I’m a miner too!”

Essie raised her eyebrow. “I thought you were fresh out of dynamite.”

Quinn smirked. “You think I haven’t been resupplying? Then you’re as crazed as my Uncle Seamus!”

Timber tilted her head. “Who’s Uncle—there’s no time for this!”

Quinn shoved it into Essie’s chest. “You’ll need to get close to guarantee a kill, so run up and fling it at his face!”

The sound of splintering trees and rocks erupted around them.

“Are you insane?!” Essie shouted over the commotion.

“We’re running out of time to debate this, Essie!” Quinn pulled out a match. “I still have a limp from my injuries and we need Timber to keep the mage busy with a volley of arrows.”

“But—” Essie tried.

Timber patted the elf on her fiery haired head. “You have this Es! I won’t let you down!”

“Right, I can do this! I can do this!” Essie repeated to herself.

Quinn struck the match against a nearby stone. “‘Atta girl, love!”

Essie took in a deep breath and scrambled over the log. She peeled through the forest and slid under stones whipping for her head. She nimbly dodged mounds of exploding earth. Arrows flew beside her, providing much needed cover.

I can do this! I can do this! I can do this!

The dynamite’s wick shortened with every second. Beads of sweat dripped down her nose as the brown robed mage grew nearer and nearer. She could see his eyes now, wide and full of fear. Sucking a chest full of air, Essie heaved the explosive at the stunned mage.

The earth mage did what little he could to protect his body from the surprise attack. A shield rose from the earth to catch the brunt of the blast, but the concussive force of the explosion sent him reeling into a tree.

Timber and Quinn dashed to a dazed Essie. Her ears rang, and her clothes and gloves were singed black with carbon. She groggily sat up.

“Did… we… win?” asked Essie. She had a pulsing migraine from the piercing sound wailing through her head.

Timber patted her on the back. “I’d say—” She was cut short as an avalanche of soil, roots, stone, and grass rushed after them.

Timber pulled Essie backwards. “Run!” was the last thing she said before she was swept under the weight of the tidal wave.

***

Essie clawed her hand through her grave of dirt and stone. She reached out and grabbed a large root and pulled her head and upper chest to the surface. Her right shoulder was dislocated and a large laceration poured blood over her eyes. She sucked in large portions of air and screamed at the top of her lungs.

“TIMBER! QUINN!”

Essie wiggled more of her body free when a figure shadowed her.

“Vell, vell, vell. Ve have a survivor after all,” chuckled Gustav. With a vice grip he yanked on Essie’s collar and lifted her to his face. “You are a cute looking elf, aren’t you?”

Essie winced and shifted her good arm behind her waist.

“It vould be a shame to kill you now, vhen I could have some fun torturing a little bird such as yourself.” He cupped her cheek and pressed his large thumb into her eye. “Vhat do you say, elf?”

Essie grabbed her dagger and held it tightly, still hidden from sight. “I’d say, screw you!”

With a swift movement, Essie jammed the knife deep into the side of his throat. The mage gasped, gurgled, and choked and blood bubbled and flowed out of his mouth. He staggered backwards and fell face first on the ground.

Essie dropped to her knees. She took the hilt of her dagger and used it as a bit to stave off her pain, as she pushed her shoulder back into place with a gruesome pop!

She spat through her teeth with a long groan. Rotating her shoulder as gingerly as possible, she flexed her right hand until she was satisfied she could take the pain and then began to dig.

She dug hard and fast, moving piles of dirt and stone. “Guys! Where are you!?” she screamed in panic. She heard the shifting of rocks behind her and a haggard cough.

“Here, Es!” Quinn crawled through the rumble. Timber pulled underneath his arm.

Essie ran to their side and quickly fell into her role as the squad medic. Inspecting for broken bones and any devastating wounds. Satisfied that they only had bruised and battered bodies, but nothing life threatening, she patched them with her bandages and laid them down on the softer set of terrain she could find.

“Let me build a fire. We need some rest before moving out again. Hopefully we aren’t the only ones that survived.”