THE FORTRESS AWAITS
Fort Blackthorn stood like an unshaken titan, its thick stone walls reinforced with wooden barricades, watchtowers lined with archers, and mercenaries stationed at every gate.
The Iron Hounds were ready.
Or at least, they thought they were.
The night before had been uneventful. No attacks. No sign of Relay. Nothing but the usual patrols and the occasional grumbling of tired men waiting for a ghost to appear.
Inside the war room, Garrus Ironjaw sat at the head of a long table, fingers tapping against the wood. His officers surrounded him, their expressions tense.
“He hasn’t tried anything yet.” Lena muttered, arms crossed.
Drake exhaled, shaking his head. “That’s what bothers me. He should’ve done something by now.”
Garrus stayed silent. He was thinking. Calculating.
Relay wasn’t the type to wait.
He was the type to move.
And if he wasn’t moving..
Then he was already ahead of them.
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THE WARNING
A sudden shout shattered the uneasy silence.
“HEY! THERE’S—THERE’S SOMEONE OUT THERE!”
Garrus snapped his head up.
Footsteps pounded against the stone as one of the sentries rushed into the room breathing heavily. His face was pale.
“Outside the front walls- there’s someone standing there.”
Silence.
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Then Lena frowned. “Who?”
The sentry swallowed, his voice shaking.
“…It’s him.”
Relay.
The room went dead still.
Then..
Garrus stood up immediately.
“Everyone. To the walls. Now.”
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THE WATCHERS ON THE WALL
The fortress came alive.
Men rushed to their positions, archers lined up along the walls, and commanders barked orders.
And then..
They saw him.
Isaac stood in the open. Far enough that no arrows could reach him but close enough to be unmistakable.
A single figure, standing against the vast emptiness of the land beyond.
His black cloak billowed slightly in the wind. His mask remained unreadable, giving away nothing.
But his presence alone sent a ripple of unease through the gathered Iron Hounds.
Garrus stood at the edge of the wall, glaring down at him.
Lena gritted her teeth. “What the hell is he doing?”
Drake narrowed his eyes. “Why is he just standing there?”
Garrus didn’t answer.
Because at that moment..
Isaac moved.
He didn’t speak.
Didn’t gesture.
Didn’t make a sound.
He just started running.
Straight toward them.
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At first, the Iron Hounds weren’t alarmed.
It was one man.
One courier.
He was fast, sure but they had an entire fortress. They had hundreds of men, weapons, siege defenses.
But then..
One of the archers blinked, his mouth opening slightly.
And then he whispered, “…Oh, gods.”
Because behind Isaac..
The forest was moving.
A dark, twisting mass of shapes, eyes, and snarling maws.
A stampede of monsters.
Hundreds of them.
Ogres, wolves, trolls, flesh-eating insects, a wave of death crashing toward the fortress, drawn by the cursed scent still clinging to the courier leading them.
And at the head of it all?
Isaac.
Silent. Masked. Unstoppable.
He was bringing the end to their doorstep.
And he wasn’t stopping.
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THE STORM BREAKS
Panic tore through the fortress.
“MONSTERS! THERE’S A WHOLE DAMN HORDE BEHIND HIM!”
“GET TO YOUR POSITIONS!”
“BARRICADES! NOW!”
Garrus stared down at the sight, his mind racing.
Relay wasn’t just attacking them.
He was making them his target.
Not for a raid.
Not for revenge.
But because they had called him out.
And now, he was answering.
Garrus’s grip tightened on his weapon as the horde closed in.
Isaac’s plan was genius in its simplicity.
They had tried to make him come to them.
And now, he had.
But he hadn’t come alone.
He had brought the entire damn forest with him.
And the Iron Hounds were about to pay the price.