Chapter 4: Bump in the Night

-PoV: Valeria-

As the night drew on, Valeria and the hired mercenary company prepared to turn in for the night save for a few guards to watch over the camp. Valeria tossed an empty bottle into the shadows and began to stand up while Anders prepared to extinguish their fire. Partly through the action Valeria paused, catching Anders' attention.

"What's wrong?"

Valeria's purple eyes cast off into the distant night. Her connection to the darkness called out to her. She could feel a disturbance in the surrounding shadows. Multiple forms moved through the dark slowly encircling the camp. A small smile made its way onto her lips as she sat back down.

"We're being surrounded. Let's see if your skills have regressed."

Rather than question it, Anders took it as a fact. He let out two whistles that echoed through the camp. A coded message used by the company to signal that they were going to be attacked soon and to be prepared. The surrounding Sarkaz paused their actions, and instead of turning in for the night, they took their weapons as naturally as they could and pretended to fall asleep.

****

-PoV: ???-

In the surrounding area, multiple individuals could be seen creeping through the dark. It was a rag-tag group made up of all sorts. Ursine with their small bear-like ears, Felines with sharp cat-like ears and elongated tails, and Lupos with wolf-like ears and furry tails. Their equipment was a mix of quality. Some looked ready to fall apart while others were seeing their first use. The green and gray outfits they wore were fit for outdoor travel and denoted their identities as bounty hunters.

A thin Feline man's eyes darted around as he nervously whispered to the bulky Ursine next to him. 

"Boss, are you sure this is a good idea? I hear Sarkaz are much stronger than the average person."

The leader of the bounty hunters brushed off his fidgeting subordinate with a grunt.

"You worry too much. It's true that Sarkaz have a strong body, but so do Ursine. Hell, Vouivres could go toe to toe with them too, so it's not like they're invincible. Besides we outnumber them three to one. Us Ursine can go one-on-one with them while the rest of you pair off and take them on together. Plus we have the element of surprise. Even if we don't have any casters, our crossbows will tear right through them."

The smaller man relaxed a bit at his boss' words. 

"I guess you're right boss. It's a shame they have so many guards out. Would have been much easier just to slit their throats while they slept."

The boss couldn't help but agree.

"True, but there's a reason Sarkaz mercs have their reputation. They won't slip up that easily. We'll just have to hit them hard and fast as they start falling asleep."

The smaller man could feel his nerves starting to act up again. So he spoke to distract himself.

"Why did that company even want them dead anyway?"

The larger man scoffed at the question.

"They stepped on that mining company's ego. Apparently, they took a contract and then broke it off almost immediately after. Really left the ones that hired them fuming. Now they want this lot dead to heal their bruised pride."

His companion's face blanked at the response.

"That's it?"

"That's it. Typically the more money someone has, the pettier the reason they have to kill someone. Enough talking, our people are in position. It's time to make our move."

****

-PoV: Sarkaz mercenary-

A mercenary sat up against a large rock near the outskirts of the camp pretending to rest, but an observant individual would notice that his eyes were slightly parted. His squinted eyes made it look like he was asleep, but he never stopped scanning his surroundings. His grip held tight on his one-handed axe handle below a blanket as adrenaline began to pour through his body.

He could spot faint signs of movement lurking inside the darkness making his mind work in overdrive to formulate a plan. The biggest concern would be ranged fighters. While most would undoubtedly target the night watch in an attempt to silence them before they can raise an alarm, it wouldn't be surprising if someone decided to take a shot or two at him while he was 'asleep' and unmoving. He would have to dodge any opening shots and then rush toward his foes. The close-quarters combat should prevent long-ranged attacks for fear of hitting their allies.

The man didn't have long to consider his options since bolts flew out of the darkness. The guards that were stationed around acted quickly and ducked behind pre-identified cover rendering the opening volley useless against them. Three bolts flew through the dark towards himself. However, the sitting position he was in made it difficult to maneuver. He threw himself to the right allowing one of the bolts to pass by and break against the rock. The second was parried by his axe, but the third embedded itself in his chest. Thankfully it missed the heart.

Grunting in pain the Sarkaz jumped up, let out a war cry echoed by the Sarkaz warriors at his back, and rushed forward. The attackers were taken off guard by the sudden shift. The Sarkaz response was far faster than anticipated, and their surprised reaction bought the mercenaries the few seconds they needed.

Brandishing his axe, the man rushed forward to meet his foes. His first opponent was a Feline man, seeing the rushing Sarkaz he attempted to raise his blade in an attempt to block his axe, but that proved useless as the Sarkaz raised his leg and kicked forward instead. The sound of bone crunching rang out as his victim flew backward toward his allies, breaking any semblance of a formation they had.

Not letting up, he continued forward swinging his axe at a Lupo woman. She attempted to block the strike but her weapon was more sharpened scrap metal than anything combat-worthy. The weapon warped under the force of his axe letting out an ear-piercing shriek in place of its wielder. She only had time to widen her eyes as the axe buried itself in her head, splitting it in two. Blood and brain matter sprayed out as her corpse dropped to the ground with horror forever etched on its face.

Sounds of screams, clashing steel, and Sarkaz casters flinging their arts filled the air. The battlefield quickly turned into pandemonium. No order to anything as chaos reigned. Before he could engage the bounty hunters who were still picking themselves off the ground, a red ball of energy flew over his shoulder into the group. There it exploded in a thunderous bang, the energy consuming the group sending blood and limbs flying across the field.

Immediately after, he saw a large hammer swinging in his direction out of the corner of his eye. turned his axe to the side he moved to block it. As the hammer impacted his axe, his arms felt slightly numb and he was being pushed back. The Sarkaz's eyes widened as he realized that his opponent was stronger than him. Opting to deflect the rest of the attack, he slightly tilted the axe head allowing the hammer to glide off to the side.

Turning his gaze to his attacker the sarkaz locked eyes with a hulking Ursine man. His eyes blazed with the fury of someone who had just lost a close friend. Raising his hammer with a speed surprising for a man of his size, the Ursine swung with ferocity. the Sarkaz was not to be outdone, however. His own weapon met his foe's and where he lacked in strength he made up for in skill. Metal clashed and rang through the air as they reached a deadlock. One swung and one blocked, back and forth.

This equilibrium was broken when a Lupo bounty hunter joined the fray. With the added difficulty the Sarkaz man found himself on the back foot. He could feel his breath getting ragged as the bolt in his chest started to catch up to him. It had likely hit a lung and had been leaking blood. Cuts and bruises began to appear on his body as a few attacks slipped through his defenses. The only silver lining is that there have been no ranged attacks from the other side since the initial volley, much to his confusion.

Just as he was hitting his limit a small projectile flew by too fast for him to identify and pierced through the Lupo's skull. Blood splashed across the ursine man's face forcing him to close his eyes for a brief moment. Seeing his chance, the Sarkaz pressed the offensive hard. The ursine managed to block the strike but was forced backward as the offensive picked up in speed and momentum.

Almost too tired to continue, the Sarkaz looked for an opening to end this fight. He didn't have to wait long. The Ursine seemed to trip over something on the ground as he backed up throwing off his guard. Not one to waste a chance, the Sarkaz pounced at the man, pinning him to the ground, and swinging his axe again and again. Deep gashes tore through his flesh as the sarkaz raised his axe up high and drove it down into the man below him.

Soon enough the bloody mess stopped moving and the Sarkaz stood back up. His face was growing pale from blood loss and his stamina was nearly depleted, yet he pressed forward. The fight was not yet over.

****

-PoV: Valeria-

Valeria sat upon her rock and her indifferent eyes gazed over the raging battle before her. Taking it all in she saw everything that occurred and brought a subtle semblance of order to the chaos. With a flick of her wrist, a shadowed tendril shot out of the ground and wrapped itself around a Lupo woman's neck. She only lasted a moment before a loud snap reverberated out. A tilt of her finger and a small spike of shadow borrowed through a different man's head. Another twitch of her fingers and a small bump of shadow appeared by the feat of an Ursine tripping him. He was soon finished off by a nearby sarkaz.

As her hand continued to dance, Valeria could only feel disappointment. The Sarkaz before her only had decent fighting skills at best. Even if Anders was a cut above them, it was clear he had regressed from the standard he should be at. Even worse however was that all of them fought as if they were individuals. There was no cohesion, no teamwork, no unity. It was infuriating. She wanted to berate them, to scold them. However, in the end, she just let out a sigh. It had nothing to do with her. Not anymore.

Soon enough the battle ended. Once the Sarkaz pushed into the dark they discovered that the crossbowmen were already dead. Gaping, bloody holes in their chests giving away the cause of death confused all the Sarkaz present except for Anders who gave Valeria a knowing look.

The battle ended just like that. No deaths were sustained on the Sarkaz side surprising the mercenaries. Any wounds were quickly taken care of with healing arts. Anders wanted to go discuss with Valeria, but when he met her eyes he already knew her thoughts. It cut deeper than any wound he received today.