There are a few things that a barrage of arrows implies. Perhaps the most important conclusion I can draw is the level of development of our enemies. The heads are made of metal and the arrows themselves are uniform, implying skilled craftsmen with proper tools and workshops. That means our attackers, who I’m guessing are the estrazi, as it would be a little too ridiculous if another sentient force had somehow ambushed us, are more likely to be another race as opposed to intelligent manabeasts. After all, no matter how smart they are, manabeasts are still animals. They fight with their bodies. They don’t shoot arrows.

It also implies coordination. Khan threatened Alana with the possibility of the monsters of the north being led by an intelligent commander but we know we can’t trust anything he says. This adds a little more credibility to the claim. My ancestor’s journal proved they were intelligent and capable of negotiation. What this proves is they can cooperate to assault another force. Being smart doesn’t mean being good at war. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case for these people.

What it does call into question is their strength. Arrows, unless in the hands of monsters like Kierra, are the tools of the common soldier. Elite fighters fight with magic. Instead of a hail of flimsy projectiles, they could have blown our army apart with one good spell. I have to wonder why they didn’t.

Later. Now, I have other concerns. The least of which being those who were too slow to put up adequate defenses. The knights are already moving to cover them. More important are the enemies slipping past said knights. Something that would normally be incredible but they have an interesting advantage. I am tracking their progress as they sprint through the army through their pounding heartbeats but I can’t see them. No traces, not even footprints in the snow.

These bastards are invisible. I have no clue how and every explanation I can think of is horrifying. The best option is they have a master light affinity caster. One with such a mastery of the element they can cloak multiple moving entities, which is rather ridiculous. The worse option is that all these bastards have the light affinity and are shielding themselves.

Another thought I have to put out of my mind as I refocus on the battle. Geneva, can you take out the archers?

[Not from this distance. I believe they are readying another volley. If I am to stop them, I have to move now.]

…do it. I’m sure we can handle things here.

[As you will, my summoner.]

As she confirms my orders, two dozen purple limbs sprout from my body, two for each of the enemies I hear approaching. I lash out at their approximate locations as I roll off Alana.

She sucks in a deep breath as several of the sprinters gasp. Nine of the twelve are slapped to the ground by my tentacles, becoming visible. The other three dodge, hearts thumping fast as they skirt around me. Heading for Khan. He’s the only possible target.

I sprout two more limbs and reach for Khan who is still lying in the snow, trying to wriggle free of the rope binding him. Instead of grabbing hold of the James, they hit something solid. Something I also can’t see. A barrier of air? Someone with a second affinity?

Two of the heartbeats are no longer moving. Must be the ones who blocked me, and saints help me if that means they both have an air affinity, while the third reaches Khan. The scout grunts as he’s lifted into the air and put on what I guess is an invisible shoulder. His limbs start to disappear as his kidnapper’s spell spreads to him.

But the process is halted by Alana’s sword cleaving through what appears to be empty air. She sprinted forward when she saw my limbs shoot out, needing no explanation to figure out the situation.

Her target is revealed as they scream, a harsh, guttural roar that is definitely not human, blood so red it’s almost black painting the snow around them in a wide arc. Khan falls into the snow along with a blue scaled arm.

The rest of the injured estrazi is also scaly. And lizard-like. Especially its long head with its heavily accentuated brow, wide jaw, and small nostrils. Two small blue eyes with long slit pupils glance between Alana’s sword and Khan indecisively, a four-fingered hand hovering over its wounded arm while a long tail sweeps the snow anxiously.

“Go!” the fallen James shouts, his features twisted in fear, the most emotion I’ve seen from hit yet, as I change back to my prime form. While the estrazi I knocked down are being pressured by the knights, who were quick to react to the threats that were no longer invisible, the other two who foiled my attempts to grab the scout are still moving.

“As if I’d—" Alana flinches, throwing herself to the side. Kierra’ training shows, the future saint’s reflexes allowing her to dodge the unseen assault. It’s clumsy, made worse by the thick snow. I doubt she can pull it off again but she doesn’t have to. I’m there.

Using the frantic heartbeats to guide me, I grab one of the invisible attackers, nails shifting into claws. I tear away flesh, knocking my victim to the ground, before throwing myself at the second, tackling someone I can’t see to the snow and blindly raining blows on them.

Alana doesn’t wait to see if anyone else is going to target her. The kidnapper is gone from sight but they’re leaving behind a trail of blood. She is after it. A moment after she takes off, Bell races after her, a blur of orange. Good, she hasn’t forgotten her role.

“Lady Tome, please stop!”

I turn to Khan, sneering at his horrified expression. Is this bastard still trying to defend these creatures?

I ignore him, searching for the second heartbeat. Also no longer visible but a trail of blood is leading to the side. I leap after them. It takes moments to close the distance and I slam into them. As they come into view, I loop an arm around their shoulder, shuddering at the sensation. By the saints, why are they so slimy? I put aside my disgust as I drag the creature over to Khan, ignoring its futile attempts to escape. Its four-fingered hands are tipped with small claws that skate harmlessly off my skin.

I force the estrazi to kneel next to Khan, who squirms harder. “Somebody you know?” I growl.

“Lady Tome, please. You don’t understand what you’re doing. It’s not too late—"

“Oh, it’s too late. It’s far too late. I know it’s a little difficult to keep track of things but you see that?” I point to where the knights are putting down the last of the estrazi. “Your friends attacked us. If there was a chance of talking this out, it just got swallowed by a goliath. Good luck dragging it out.”

My captive hisses. To my shock, Khan hisses back in a poor imitation of the noise. Must be good enough because my captive quiets, growling softly.

Khan coughs before turning to me. “Listen to me. These are not soldiers. They are hands. The nameless. Their deaths are a shame but not enough to start a war. As long as you spare any estrazi with colored scales. You cannot harm them, under any circumstances.”

“You are really bad at reading a room. This is not the time for you to be making demands. This is when you start cooperating.”

“Tome.”

I look up to see a knight standing over me. A female knight. Her voice is a little ambiguous, especially through her helm, but I can smell her soap. Smells like some kind of flower. Must be incredibly expensive here in the north.

Her dark eyes move to the estrazi I’m holding before returning to my face. “We have subdued the enemies within the camp. What are your orders?”

Ah. With Alana gone, as her bannerwoman, I’m next in charge, aren’t I? “What’s our status?”

“The arrows were laced with a toxin of some kind. It hit a few of the acolytes and hunters. We created a shelter to protect them and the elf is tending to them.”

We can’t move with those idiots down. There’s also a nonzero chance that there is another ambush lying in wait in case the first failed. Or to do more damage once our guard is down. “Stay still, focus on defending the injured. Empty a wagon and send ten, no, a dozen or so knights that way.” I point in the direction Geneva ran ff. “Be ready for enemies but they’re not going into a fight. It’s clean-up duty.”

“Understood.” Her eyes move to Khan. Oof. No mistaking that look. She is disgusted by him and can communicate it clearly with just her eyes. “And him?”

If she had approached while Khan was pleading for his friends, it wouldn’t be hard to draw an accurate conclusion about his association with them. She can’t possibly know these things, or people as the case may be, are connected to the Lords of Winter but seeing a James beg for the life of any enemy is damning enough.

“We’ll let the duke deal with him.”

She seems to approve, nodding her head respectfully before running off. I turn back to Khan, who is hiding his face in the snow. Couldn’t face her glare, I suppose. Better get a hold of himself. He has a lot more of that waiting for him.