As they came upon a small clearing they saw a girl bundled up against the roots of a huge tree, her eyes widening in a mixture of surprise and hope as she saw them. That she was Bortib’s daughter there was no doubt: the fiery red hair atop her head was the same colour as her father’s. A great wave of relief filled Astrid at the sight of the child, and she wanted nothing more than to free the farmer’s daughter and be gone from these woods as quickly as possible. When they drew closer they saw that she was bound by thick vines, lashing her firmly in place.

Lann hurried forward and began to slice through the girl’s bonds with the Dreadblade while Astrid kept watch. When the bangle around her arm tingled, Astrid had no time to call out. The asghoul was ahead of her, its hand raised, deadly claws extended to slash into Lann’s back. Astrid raised her bow and loosed the arrow in a single fluid movement, sending the missile, not into the exposed back of the asghoul, but straight through the rear of that clawed hand, the power of the shot twisting the creature about and pinning the hand to the trunk of the tree the girl was secured to. Lann reacted in the same moment the arrow was loosed from Astrid’s bow. He rose quickly to his feet, instinctively swinging the sword up and round, so that its deadly edge carved clean through the monster’s forearm, which now hung from the tree like some terrible effigy.

The scream the creature let out sent icy shivers running through each of them. The asghoul looked from Lann to Astrid, then backed away, snarling and hissing as it clutched what remained of its ruined limb. It snapped its teeth in their direction, but it was clear to both that the monster was fearful in a way that it had not been before.

‘It can’t dematerialise now.’

Lann and Astrid spun around at the sound of a familiar voice. The god Storren stared across at the asghoul with open disgust. ‘It needs to be whole to do that. Separating the arm has trapped it here.’

Astrid was the first to react, confidence filling her for the first time since they’d set foot in the woods.

She pulled her bowstring back and took aim, letting the arrow go and watching as it found a home in the asghoul’s chest, sinking the creature to its knees. It screeched angrily at them, slapping at the arrow shaft and snapping it before swiping out with its remaining arm in an effort to wound the onrushing boy. But the black blade easily deflected the monster’s feeble attack, and when the dark weapon swung through the air one last time it was to separate the creature’s head from its body.