The trail of blood cut through the muddy stones of the Risen Road, leading away from the broken corpses of supposed paladins and toward the roar of a nearby waterfall. Burnt grass and blackened earth marked every step of the path.

Behind the falling water, half-hidden among jagged rocks, stood a massive tiefling woman clutching at her chest. Steam hissed from the vents near her shoulders as glowing cracks spread beneath her skin like molten metal. Her breathing grew heavier, rougher—until flames suddenly burst around her in a violent ring of heat.

She groaned through gritted teeth, fire rolling off her body in waves before erupting outward with a thunderous flare that shook the stones beneath her boots.

Then she looked up.

Golden infernal eyes locked onto the figure standing beyond the flames. For a moment, she stared warily before straightening to her full height, smoke curling from her skin as the fire slowly faded away.

“Ahh... don’t worry about that. I’m good. Better than good, actually. Never been better.”

The last embers vanished around her. Her expression shifted as recognition suddenly hit.

“Oh, fuck me... it’s you. From the nautiloid.”

“Please tell me I found you before those so-called paladins of Tyr did.”