Otto and the last of the Urzoth had to pick up their pace, and were not able to stop for the night. As the morning lit the northern hills, the horses began to breathe shallow and quick, occasionally snorting a cough. They protested the order to move more and more.

"They're exhausted. Look at them." One of the women said. Otto had not asked anyone's name. They all had told him, but he didn't care.

The Urzoth stopped to let the horses rest.

The countless Nu horsemen had first appeared behind them as a distant black line that stretched across the horizon, yet each moment seemed to draw them closer. The rolling hills had turned to a flat expanse of dead grass, then back into the foothills of some western mountain range Otto did not recognize. Joan was in sight, but the Nu were closing in. After the brief, restless stop, they were on the move again. The horses coughed their disapproval.

A few hours and their fastest riders will be on us, Otto thought, but he remained silent. Either the rest knew as well, or they were better off not knowing their peril.

"We'll skip the city, head for the docks and board a ship before they reach us! We can make it!" Ulrich shouted. The hardened, expressionless faces of the Urzoth did not respond, but something about hearing even that sliver of a plan felt good, even for Otto.

They pressed on, at one point trying to pile together in the wagon, but the weight slowed the horses to a crawl. Some had to walk.

Otto looked back again as the towering white walls of Joan neared. The Nu were closer, but they would make it. Fort Annius had been one of the most impressive sights, Otto thought, then the seemingly impenetrable city of Adrianople, but these white walls were striking even in their dire situation.

Why are we in such a hurry? Otto thought, seeing the archers patrolling the walls. We are likely to be slaughtered as soon as we get in range. They surely know what we have done, who we are. As he watched, the tiny silhouettes atop the white walls began to run to the opposite side of the city.

"They don't see the Nu behind us?" Otto asked to noone in particular. In fact he did not even mean to say the words.

"Yeah that is strange. They must be calling for more men." One of the women said.

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"They don't have enough men." Another added.

The foothills began to steepen toward the west of the city. The Urzoth remained on the flat ground to move faster, and had to approach the city more from the east. As they did, the Caspian Sea came into view, Ulrich was the first to recognize the otherworldly creature.

Only the head, neck and shoulders were above the water. An awful smirking expression sat on its gray, stone like face beneath a horned helmet of the same color. The whites of its eyes were visible even from the Urzoth's distant position, as were the glowing red around the beasts pupils. Its shoulders appeared to be armored in some strange material. Not quite a metal and not stone, it did not reflect light and was the deepest black. The beast moved through the water, forcing waves to crest in all direction as it approached land.

"What is that thing?" Ulrich shouted, too stunned to panic.

"Hey, hey I know!" A woman shouted, poking her head out of the wagon. "That's an Old God!"

"Yeah, it must be!" Another shouted.

Otto did not shutter as the others. He did not so much as flinch at the thing. He looked from the Old God to the shore. There were people, but something was strange about them. Otto could not be sure, but it appeared there were hundreds, perhaps a thousand or more, walking slowly, like the beast, out of the water.

"What do we do, Otto?" One of the men asked, sheepishly.

Otto did not answer right away. Though, for his own reasons this time, he did remember Brennus doing a similar thing when asked a question. Otto almost chuckled at the similarity.

"I think you were right. Let's go for the Tuculli." Ulrich said.

Otto turned to him, expressionless. "Do you? Well die there, then. Only before you do, hunt for elk that aren't there. Search for berries that aren't growing. Spend your nights sleepless in the snow, then suffer more till the world is done with you."

The Urzoth were silent, so Otto continued. He pointed west. "Hide in the mountains, it should be warmer than our forest. Warm enough to live till the Novissime find you." He motioned behind to the Nu, "or go see our friends back there. No. I'll head that way," Otto pointed to the Old God as it continued to rise out of the sea. "I choose death. The only proper death of an Urzoth. Maybe I will even take an Old God with me." Otto laughed for the first time.

Otto pulled at the loose end of a knot and freed a horse from the wagon. He hopped on its back and was at full gallop, leaving the rest of the Urzoth behind in moments. He was at the sandy shore among the creatures in minutes. There was no army from Joan. Otto was the first among them and rode through kicking at the creatures as they grabbed at his legs. They were people, cold and blue like ice, some in Legion armor wielding swords and spears, others in simple clothes of plebeians, clawing with their hands.

Otto kicked at them and trampled several before looping out of the fray. He leapt from the horse and with outstretched arms began to laugh hysterically. "It seems I have forgotten my ax!" He shouted as the creatures stalked closer to him at the same slow pace.

The horse fled.