Tread Lightly

The vibrations burst our whole group into movement, all frantically preparing for the rapidly approaching battle. We all face the mouth of the cave in sync as we kneel to get low from the smoke that will soon emerge.

Virgil, on my right, pulls out his lever action rifle from his back while kneeling and starts loading it, running his hand over each of the seven bullets he puts it in. I recognize the action as Whetting, which allows each shot to be enhanced by Ether for a short period, something he didn't have to do previously with Vernon's Colt that did it for him.

In front of me, Vernon takes a few slow steps backward, gauging how far he can hold the Many Threaded Bubble. Then, the expert of Single-Threaded Ether puts out another arm and begins coalescing small white orbs on the ground in front of the blocked entrance.

I do my own form of preparation, although I don't know as many skills as them that are useful before combat. I do have one, however, Adrenaline Surge. I spend a few moments funneling a huge amount of Ether throughout my whole body, enhancing it in every way. I consider using Daydream, but I push the thought away. Only in emergencies will I let the Bloody Palm touch my mind.

Quickly, we all finish our preparations, Virgil closing the chamber and tube then setting it on his shoulder, Vernon placing over a dozen traps, and my skill reaching its apex for how much Ether I'm willing to waste per second.

Shortly after we do, the rumbling from within the cave grows even louder, and we can feel it throughout our whole bodies.

I yell to Vernon to back up from the entrance with Virgil, Dakota, who's behind me, and me.

"Get back here, Vernon!"

"Okay!"

He spins rapidly and jumps over the traps he placed before conjuring another bulb of radiance in his hand that only continues to expand as he reaches us. Then, together we all face the entrance, and now that Vernon is far enough away that his Bubble broke, smoke billows out from the cave alongside inhuman shrieks.

The rumbling grows even louder until I see a flash of darkness behind the billowing flap pushed by the exiting smoke.

"Here they come!"

We all tense together and ready ourselves as the first Amikuk breaches, a massive sandy lizard that is badly burned. The creature is at least fifteen feet long and three feet tall; it must be the 3rd Sigiled one.

Virgil's first action is to unleash the payload from his lever action rifle. Bullets fly rapidly toward the lumbering lizard. I flow a bit of Ether into the center of my pupils to confirm the Amikuks Sigil. But surprise reaches me from my Chain Eyes when orange manacles are reflected in them.

It's not the 3rd Sigil! Before I can tell either of them that, Virgil uses up all seven of his bullets, and Vernon lets out his charged ball of radiance. It slams into the giant lizard and creates an even bigger cloud of dust and smoke than what billowed out of the cave.

We're all pushed back a few feet as we stumble from the blast. Dakota is sent several feet back, even further behind me, due to his low weight. I look at Vernon in surprise at the power he unleashed and go to commend him, but he's on his knees, gasping for air with smoke coming from his hands. Makes sense. I'm sure the Ether he's used in the past ten minutes outdoes both Virgil and me twice over.

I turn my attention back to the fog of war, the smoke from both the blast and the inner fire. Rumblings return after a second or two as the humongous lizard emerges from the smoke. I raise my daggers as Virgil reloads frantically.

But before either of us do something to it, the lizard covered in fist-sized holes and bone-deep burns falls over, wheezing for air. We all take sighs of relief. The two brother's assault was enough to drop the monster.

The rumblings don't disappear; they only grow more frequently, if not even louder. I warn my team of what I see.

"That wasn't the 3rd Sigil! It was only a second. Probably a Soldier mix!"

Virgil nods and yells at his brother.

"Vernon! You got enough steam left to activate those traps on my call!?"

The younger brother, while gasping for air, heaves out an answer.

"Ye–ah!

"Good. Wyatt, take my rifle. I'll be the bait for the traps and keep them there long enough for the effects to hurt them."

Virgil tosses his rifle, and I catch it with my daggers still in my hands. Checking the tube, I see that Virgil only loaded five of the seven shots in. He really likes to give me guns that aren't fully loaded.

I get into the same kneeling position that Virgil did as he rushes through the smoke. His ability to see in the dark and Flicker will keep him safe even amongst the troop of lizards that are about to emerge.

And emerge they do, with such force that the smoke is knocked to the sides, momentarily clearing the sight of Virgil with flying mud, sand, and roots. Four Amikuks come out, the largest one with orange chains once more restraining it and three smaller ones with red manacles. Still no 3rd Sigil in sight.

The big one creates a lash of a rooty tendril and sends it flying at Virgil with a whip-like crack throughout the air. I aim at it and pull the trigger toward its face, trying to prevent it from hitting the man.

However, my effort is unneeded as Virgil steps into the vine whip and Flickers right through it, the man briefly entering the realm beyond. Then, he sidesteps around it and gets the creature to turn around and face him alongside the other Amikuks behind it.

Seeing this, I clutch a few shots with the lever action in my hand at the smaller ones, aiming at their faces. By the time I run out of bullets, the red-wrapped lizard on the far right falls still with massive holes in its face.

In the process of me slaying the lizard, though, Virgil has to frequently Flicker and phase through attacks from the other lizards. I glance at his younger brother when I see a faint line of light slowly form, connecting him to the bulbs of radiance under the lizards. That must be how he activates his traps.

The plan was to save the traps for more lizards than just the large one, and while we couldn't get the 3rd Sigil with Virgil's ball of radiance, we will get the smaller ones with the traps.

Vernon yells for his brother to clear the area so he can detonate the traps he placed.

"Get out of there, Virgil! I'm ready!"

A grunt comes from Virgil in understanding as he breaks away from the lizard with a clean dive and Flickers through a root that sought to entangle him. The second he clears the area of the traps, Vernon tugs on the glimmering line of light he holds in his hands.

Instantly my sight is filled with blinding light except for the shadow of Virgil, who stands between the traps and me, as over a dozen traps go off all at once. The sound, however, is quiet, for light alone doesn't provide an explosion. Instead, I just hear the cooking of flesh.

The light is so powerful from the traps that it cooks the beings inside of it, but it also cooks Vernon's brain as he lies passed out on the dirt to my side. The guy is always running out of Ether to spare, but I'm sure he'll be back up in a few.

Virgil comes back to me, breathless and red-eyed, one from the physical effort of survival and another from the mental effort of using Flicker. I hand him his lever action rifle back, and he immediately starts reloading it before using Whetting with a curse.

More rumblings come from the depths of the cave. Not all the lizards are out of the burning hole that exudes smoke.

The man gives me permission to take his brother Colt and use it for now.

"Take Vernon's Colt; better you use it while he's out like a light. We send a volley when they emerge, then go in together; sound good?"

I nod to the man, eager to fight and let off some steam; just shooting at them isn't enough, and I need some payback for the fucker that ambushed me.

"I'll grab it. Just cover me in case they breach early."

I hastily run, full of power from Adrenaline Surge, and slide over Vernon's unconscious body. My hand goes straight for his holster, and I grab his Colt from within, Mercy. Then, I feel movement behind me and see Dakota standing beside me at attention.

Pointing to the unconscious Vernon, I try to convey something to the little guy.

"Stay with him until he wakes up. Okay?"

The fox just turns his head at me before moving and standing on the passed-out man. That'll do. Just don't want either to be caught in the crossfire.

"Good. Stay."

The intelligent fox with the Commanche Sigil within him listens and stays with Vernon as I hustle back to Virgil. Then, I ready my aim at the cave with the vibration that seems to be incredibly close.

My Chain Eyes are still active, and my Ether flow is still diverted into three streams. The one much larger than the rest is Adrenaline Surge, the father of Physical Enhancement. And this ocular skill being active makes me even more worried as the rest of the Amikuks emerge from the burning cave with the frantic rumbling from inside coming to an end.

The final three Amikuks that exit are all 1st Sigils and appear to be young and small compared to the rest of the lizards, only five or so feet long each. Not only that but they are all severely burned and struggle to move, which makes our job of shooting them dead incredibly easy.

Our Ether-enhanced firearms punch through the skin of the Amikuks; Mercy, the Colt I'm firing, leaves behind trails of scorched scales wherever it goes. Quickly the three young lizards fall and leave Virgil and me confused.

His guess about Amikuks being nearby was correct, but the thought about the 3rd Sigil being the culprit was wrong. Is there really a Urayuli nearby? Virgil looks around, confused for a few moments before shrugging his shoulders, leading to a short conversation and break.

"Dunno. Maybe I was wrong. Damn. I was so sure. All the Amikuk should have been inside based on their hunting habits. There is a chance... No, that doesn't make sense. Never mind, we can check the inside after the fire burns out. The lizards might have brought gear from the dead people. We'll know for sure if they did it or not when we search their inner chamber."

I nod and start to move toward Vernon.

"Makes sense. I'll go wake up Vernon."

But Virgil shakes his head at me and stops me from doing so.

"Let him sleep a few. Otherwise, he'll wake up useless and unable to use Ether. You'll need his light to search the inside. Only I have night vision from my Sigil."

"Fair. I'll just eat a bit more. I think that might have been the easiest fight I've ever had. Most end with me almost dying."

Virgil laughs at this while he sits and reloads his lever action.

"Haha. Not all should be like that. A lot, but not all. You've just been punching above your weight class, Wyatt, and it never ceases to amaze. Not just that, but a tightly organized team is always better than solo."

I knock into him jokingly about the fight with the Bakwas, which was near death despite not being above his weight class.

"Yeah, well, what about that fight in Harmony Town? Sure, I was outclassed, but what about you and Vernon?"

Another laugh comes from the man as he shrugs his shoulders. The relaxed tone makes me drop my Ether flows and release the pressure on my mind from keeping them running.

"Not all enemies are the same. Undead and ghosts are some of the trickiest bastards to kill. Especially ones like Bakwas that can spread. If we had found it, I don't know, two months ago or so, it would've been a piece of cake. But once it had the whole town turned, it became a different beast."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Each of the Amikuks was far more dangerous than an individual slow Bakwa, but hundreds of them were compared to the ten or so."

"It's just the difference between quantity and quality. Humans outnumber demons at least a thousand or ten thousand to one but look as us, so careful and nervous of running into just a single one."

Our conversations continue for a few more minutes until Virgil walks over and taps his brother's head with his boot to wake him up. I guess he's had enough rest, according to the man.

"Psst. Wake up. C'mon, dumbass, wake up. I need your radiant personality to brighten up a cave."

"Huh… Whaa?"

Vernon slowly wakes up to both of us standing around him and Dakota sitting on his chest, staring straight at him.

"Did we win?"

Virgil and I laugh at the barely lucid man.

"Yeah, we did. The 3rd Sigil never appeared like Virgil thought, though.

He sits up and feels the absence of weight in his belt, then he looks up at us.

"Where's my Colt?"

I pull it out and hand it to him. It is his, after all, despite him using it the least amount.

"Here you go. Just needed a gun while you were out. I still haven't learned Whetting yet, and your Colt packs one hell of a punch."

"Of course it does. It's mine."

I sense a little bit of insecurity about other people using his weapons so often, but I let it slide and reach down a hand to help him up. Vernon accepts the offer, and I pull him to his feet.

Then, we all look to the cave, primarily out of flames, only releasing a small amount of smoke here or there. I inquire as to whether or not it's good to go into it now or not.

"You guys think it's good to go in yet?"

An immediate answer comes from both simultaneously, as even the exhausted Vernon gives me a negative response.

"No."

"Hell no. Smokes still coming out."

"Okay, then."

We wait for a few more minutes, besides Virgil, who uses this time to search the dead Amikuks for artifacts to no avail until the smoke reaches a trim enough level that it doesn't cloud our sight anymore when we walk in. Then, Vernon creates a small ball of light as he looks the Virgil and me.

"No more Ether is coming from me besides this right here. Just a warning. If we need to fight, it's all you guys and my Colt."

I wave him off. We already killed everything in here.

"Eh, no problem. Every lizard in here was already lured out and killed."

He nods, and then we delve deeper into the cave from the entrance. It takes us a few moments until we reach the spot where Vernon and I killed the first of the giant lizards. The whole area is unrecognizable, though. Not only was it already hard to see and remember in the dark, but the fire-hardened all the mud on the walls and made the sandy hole a genuine cave.

Slowly we make our way deeper from there, searching for signs that there may or may not be another Amikuk around. I'm crossing my fingers that there is indeed a 3rd Sigil capable of killing those people like that. Because if not, that means there is a Urayuli near.

In this case, Virgil and Vernon will likely leave me to escape because I have to see where the break is, or Johnny will kill me. The two upfront said that they would do so when they agreed to come with me, so there won't be any hard feelings, but I'd instead head back with them after completing the mission than without.

Eventually, after many twists and turns, we make it to the center of the Amikuk den deep underground. A vast cavern made of sandstone and hardened mud with a ceiling about seven feet tall above lay before us.

The single radiant light from Vernon's hands is all we have to search through this immense room covered in soot from the fiery smog. Because of this limitation, I stick with Vernon as we scour through the core of the cave.

Virgil goes off on his own to look around, and so does Dakota; both can see in the dark. I worry about Dakota going off on his own for a few minutes until I realize he's just sniffing wherever I walk and staying behind Vernon and me, not going far.

Gradually Vernon and I go through the den. Most of what we find is just bones, burnt meat, and scorched roots, but we do see some signs of human remains. A single human skull with an empty deringer, a single-shot pistol, sits underneath a large piece of hardened mud.

I pick it up and turn it to look it over. The gun is absolutely wrecked, completely unusable from both age and wear, but it's still a sign that we will find something in here.

Searching around the same area as I found the derringer, I find a pristine stiletto knife lodged into a piece of rock. The dagger resembles a black cross but is ornate in its construction. I pull out the knife and peer into it with my mind, sure that it's either an artifact or a manmade Claymore based on its condition.

And my guess is proven right. Within is a Sigil that speaks to my mind the word Isatai. No dark murmurs or whispers come at me, though, so thankfully, it's not an artifact. But not fully understanding what I found, I call over Vernon and Virgil.

"Guys, I found something!"

The two rush over and look at the slender crosslike dagger. I tell them of the Sigil with, Isatai. Virgil congratulates me on the find and tells me what it does.

"That's the evolved Comanche Sigil. I believe it grants incredible reflexes, senses and even moderately boosted healing. It even gives a slight sixth sense, like being able to sense whenever something is even just looking at you. I don't know what its Sigil skills are, though. I've only ever read its abilities in gear."

Curious to know how what he said is put into a dagger, I hold it up and push a bit of Ether into it. Instantly, I feel my senses grow exponentially more sensitive.

I can see a decent bit in the dark now, not perfectly, but much better than before. I can smell the blood of the dead Amikuks from here. The pungent odor makes me crinkle my nose in displeasure. I can feel the ruffle of my clothes grating against me annoyingly and hear the brothers' breathing.

But that's not all I hear.

I also hear another rumbling. One louder than even when the considerable lizard escaped from the cave toward us. A rumbling of many feet.

The torrential sound from my heightened senses originates from above our heads.

It comes from the ceiling.