Tsuta was mesmerized by a hummingbird flitting among the blossoms of a large trumpet vine growing below the overlook when Usha burst around the corner, out of breath.


    “Raven! What are you doing here? What’s the matter?”


    Raven was the nickname Tsuta had given Usha due to her black glossy hair – unusual for a dwarf.


    “Abbey attacked...fire…many dead” she managed to spit out between deep gulps of air, her hands braced against her knees as she doubled over from exertion. In only her fourth week, Usha and the other initiates hadn’t yet completed the rigorous physical training that was a cornerstone of Sifu’s curriculum.


    Tsuta handed her his waterskin and she drank greedily while catching him up between gulps on the attack, the situation at the abbey, and her instructions to retrieve those on watch at the beacons.


    She was panicked. Not surprising as it was likely the first time she had witnessed the violent death of those close to her, particularly at the scale she just described.


    He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.


    “It’s okay. Breathe. We’ll be all right. Sounds like the immediate danger has passed. You have to stay calm in these situations if you’re going to master your Ki. Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.”


    His calm tone and reminder of their core teaching helped Usha regain some of her composure as she drew a deep breath, her cheeks ballooning in long audible exhale. Tsuta slung his pack over his shoulder and grabbed his staff but stopped short just before turning the corner to the descending stairs.


    Realizing he had stopped, Usha turned to see him drop his things and move across the yard area to the beacon. Reaching down, he picked up two logs and a blue sphere and tossed them into the fire. Holding her gaze he said:


    “We can’t forget our duty to those who rely on us for early warning. Dangerous creatures have breached the pass, and they need to know.”


    Her eyes followed as he gazed skyward. Almost immediately, a thick ribbon of blue smoke began to ascend from the chimney. Though she knew how the beacons operated; this was the first time Usha had seen one of the flares in action. The column of dark blue rose rapidly, straight as an arrow, somehow unaffected by the wind. It was wrapped in a faint glow, giving off more luminescence than she expected against the overcast of the late afternoon. They watched in silence for a few seconds before Tsuta’s voice brought her back to the moment.


    “I always wondered how the flares could be seen at night. There must be a light spell included in the incantation – see how the smoke glows?” He retrieved his pack and staff. “Let’s go get the others”.


    Quickly navigating the descent from the beacon’s plateau, the pair of monks pushed southeast toward their first destination – the central outpost. Tsuta knew the terrain well and took the lead, threading them three miles through the foothills of the Glimmerstones. Constantly visible in the distance on their left, the stone structure of the Luminarium sighed a constant thin trail of black smoke. Tsuta probed the initiate for more information as they walked.


    “Tell me about the creatures that attacked us. How many? Did anyone recognize what they were?”


    “No one could name them.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, her eyes fixed on his heels. “There were two, and they must have been close to seven feet tall or more, slim build, almost like they were starving - skin stretched over bone, it didn’t look natural… and they had a big hook sticking out of the tops of their heads.” Her voice broke “With wicked looking claws on their hands and feet, and a long tail that ended in a sharp spike.”


    “You’re doing great” Tsuta reassured her “I know reliving the moment is the last thing you want to do, but it’s important. Did they use weapons or magic?”


    “I didn’t see any weapons, so I guess magic since they also set the whole abbey on fire.”


    Tsuta nodded almost imperceptibly in agreement before adding:Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    “There had to be more than two if no one was left alive to tell us about it. That means there are others still out there somewhere. So, the question is – what were they after and where did they go?”


    By the time they reached the base of the stairs at the central outpost, the late afternoon sun had broken through the cloud cover and Tsuta paused to wipe the light sweat off his bald head. Usha, however, was not in the same physical shape as the elf. Between her initial run from the abbey and the brisk pace of the second leg of their travels, she was spent. Plopping herself unceremoniously on the bottom stair, she lowered her head between her knees and sucked in several long breaths.


    “Tell you what Raven,” he said. “We don’t both need to go up there. You stay here and catch your breath; I’ll be back in a few minutes.”


    The dwarf raised her head momentarily to meet his gaze with a look of unspoken gratitude. Wordlessly nodding and closing her eyes, she propped herself against the plateau’s cool stone face as he moved past her and headed up the stairs to the outpost.


    More questions swirled around his brain as he ascended. Questions he decided against speaking out loud given the fragile state of his traveling companion. How had these creatures reached the abbey without warning? Were their sponsor nations to the east already under attack? Was this some kind of vanguard force pushing west and north? Why had no one warned the abbey? Or had they come from Siremiria through one of the passes? If so, why had no beacon flares been set off? Someone must have seen them coming.


    Although the outposts were identical in their construction, Tsuta noticed a stark contrast between the one he had just left and this one immediately upon rounding the corner onto the plateau. Wood smoke hung heavily in the air as the elf was confronted with the charred remains of the outpost shelter. To his left, the beacon too had been reduced to a pile of smoldering bricks and rubble. A familiar tingle of apprehension raced up his spine. He called out to the monks supposedly on duty. No reply. Stepping carefully around the front of the shelter’s remains to the overlook, staff at the ready, he peeked into what had been the building’s interior, fully expecting to find corpses. His focus moved quickly through the discernable shapes of expected objects – a blackened oil lamp, the remains of the meditation mat. Empty. Where are they? Looping around the blackened hull he cautiously inspected the beacon yard. Using the butt of his staff to pick through the rubble of bricks, mortar, and smoldering coals he found no sign of the occupants. The wood pile had been toppled; logs splayed across the ground. What’s this? The rear of the clearing behind the beacon was teeming with ladybugs. Hundreds of them, writhing and climbing over each other in reckless abandon, blanketed across the ground and the lower limbs of the trees framing the yard. The consistency with Usha’s account of the attack at the abbey made it obvious the hook-headed creatures had been here as well, but where were his brothers?


    Returning to the overlook, Tsuta automatically fell into the watch routine – scan the pass, the mountainside, the peaks – looking for any clue to help him understand how the outpost had been breached. Oh no. His stomach dropped. Directly below the overlook, two bodies in the white robes of the Luminarium lay twisted into unnatural positions, blood splattered across the rocky precipice that became their final resting place. It was what he didn’t see that the elf found most curious. Quickly returning to the shelter’s footprint, he carefully picked through the rubble until he found them - the charred remains of two staves he knew to be the standard oaken issue of the Luminarium. How were they set upon so quickly that they didn’t even have time to grab their weapons? Returning to the overlook, Tsuta closely examined its stone construction looking for any evidence of the encounter. The stone was very forgiving, so unsurprisingly, he found nothing. Not a fresh gouge or even a scratch to suggest a struggle. Whatever had happened here had taken the monks entirely by surprise and something had thrown them from the overlook, or they had chosen to jump. No chance they jumped. Either way, he and Usha needed to get to the southern outpost immediately, before darkness fell. Bundling the two blackened staves of his fallen companions with his own, Tsuta flew down the stairs back towards the resting dwarf below.


    Usha felt the vibrations of his return as she caught her breath, her dwarven senses finely attuned to stone and all its characteristics. Only one person and moving quickly - that can’t be good. She rose and turned to face the stairs just as Tsuta came around the descending curve into view.


    “We gotta go Raven!” he shouted as he closed the distance between them.


    “Why? Where are the others?” She asked somewhat confused.


    “Dead. We’ve got to get to the southern beacon before we lose daylight. We’ll need to run.” By this point, he had come to a halt beside her.


    Usha began to protest “But I don’t think I can…”


    Before she could finish the sentence, Tsuta muttered some words she didn’t understand, and his left hand began to glow and crackle. He had anticipated her exhaustion. Placing his hand on her shoulder the dwarf drew in a sharp breath as the healing magic coursed through her. To Usha, it felt like she had just awoken from a full night’s sleep. Instantly, the ache in her legs vanished along with the burning in her lungs. Incredible! She had never been the recipient of magic before.


    “Better?” He asked, holding her gaze.


    “Wow. Yeah, I’m good!” she nodded.


    With that, the two rushed off towards the southern outpost at a dead run disappearing into the lengthening shadows.