"David, are you listening?" Elincia stood in the door frame that led to the old library of the mansion.

"Sorry, I was distracted by the book, what did you say again?" Bao lied, he didn't even know what the book in front of him was about.

"Geez, you have become a real bookworm! I always thought that peasants don't like reading, since it doesn't help them with farming but it appears that I was wrong."

"No, you are right. Exactly because most of them are like that, and maybe also because my parents couldn't afford to feed another mouth, that I left the village and came to the city." He cleared his dried throat

"I'm glad to see that you recognize the value of books," she turned around and was already about to leave when she changed her direction once again and came back. "Oh, I almost forgot about what I came here for. The guild master has summoned you to partake at a strategy meeting since you were present during the assault on the villagers and helped saving them from the bandits."

"When?"

"Now."

The streets were as empty as the food stalls when Bao and the elf rode across the city in Elincia's carriage, which is why they reached the guild faster than they normally would. Everyone who stood in the hall stared at how they rushed up the stairs, right into the meeting room, that to Bao's surprise, was nothing less than the guild masters personal office.

"If it isn't our friend Beansprout," greeted Nathan while Morell, who stood right next to him, refrained from saying anything unnecessary and greeted him with a simple nod in his direction.

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Bao nodded back.

Both of them stood right in front of an antique-looking desk, which was decorated with runes no one in that room had ever seen before. Behind it, on a chair several times bigger than the person sitting on it, rested a dwarf, his long beard reaching down to the floor. On his bald head reflected the sunrays which entered through the giant window behind him. Busts depicting all the previous guild masters stood on chest-high pillars, rowed up in front of the walls, staring right towards the centre of the room.

The dwarf, whose face still didn't decorate the sides of the room, cleared his voice loud enough for all attendants to turn their attention towards him.

"Now then, gentlemen," -the guild master looked past Bao, where Elincia stood- "and ladies. I summoned you here because I wanted to hear a more detailed report on what happened in the village in front of the city right before the stampede broke out."

Together, all three of them started telling the past events, beginning from the woman who stormed the guild crying for help, whereby they left out the small quarrel they had; to the moment Bao lost consciousness and Morell dragged him into the city while being chased by the monsters.

A short silence followed the narration, still under the unpleasant observation of the deceased guild masters.

"I... if I might say something, Sir," Bao interrupted the silence with a crackling voice. The dwarf nodded. "I... I don't think that this stampede is a natural occurrence, Sir."

"And why do you think that ehhh..." - he looked through some papers on the ancient desk-"David?" The fierce black eyes stared into Bao's.

"Well, this is the biggest city in the whole kingdom where the king resides. I don't think that even bandits are stupid enough to try to plunder a village near the said city. But what if they knew that all the soldiers would be busy with something else... a stampede for example?" Bao hoped he didn't say too much for his position.

The dwarf didn't show any emotions, at least on the outside. "Do you think that is a possibility, Nathan, Morell?"

"Yes, that could be a possibility. We also noticed that they must have undergone some kind of training and definitely weren't just some simple bandits..."

"Deserters." Said the dwarf.

"Yes or disguised soldiers."

"I see..., so a planned attack at the capital huh." The dwarf stroked his beard. "I want you to keep this information confidential for now. The culprit is probably still within the city walls and has an item that can lure monsters towards it. All the food in the city was confiscated and rationed so we will probably hold on for quite a while. If our defences hold on so long, that is. Until help from other nobles arrives, I'll personally assign you the quest to search for the mastermind and destroy the item which lures the monsters. As fast as possible and by any means necessary." The dwarf paused. "All our lives depend on it."

"And what if the plan came from the nobles to overthrow the king?" Asked Nathan.

"Let's just hope that won't be the case."