Syme knew that even an hour's worth of time is enough for the tracks of the retreating Imps to be weathered away by the harsh winds; at the same time, he knew he could reach the area within a days time. The Imps couldn't go far on their excursions for logistical reasons. So he sent a number of scouts, supposedly the fastest runners in the school. Six were sent. They were to be staggered. The first would run until he could see the Imps' settlement, then run back. A relay system was thus created, so that there was no chance of getting lost.

On the way, Nier dropped by and asked about Cily, who was still following closely behind Syme.

"Shouldn't you leave her behind?" he said.

"Hm? Why?" Syme replied.

"Y'know," Nier said, shrugging, "think about what we're doing here."

"I'm not sure what you're saying," Syme said blankly.

Nier sighed. "I'll say it bluntly then. We're going to go kill her people. We've already killed a few dozen of them."

"Do you mind?" Syme said, looking down at Cily. She just stared back. "I don't think she does. She's the one who followed me anyway."

"Well, if you say so," Nier replied uneasily.

It only three hours or so of marching before the camp came into sight. It was time to discuss battle plans. He called his Captains to a meeting, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He had forgotten how hot it was under the sun.

"What's the plan, General?" Ellen asked.

"How many troops did we bring and how are they distributed?" Syme replied, drawing a rough map of what the settlement looked like in the sand.

"All in all we have about 90 students. Ky has 20, Ally 15, Nier 40, and me 15." She bit her lip. "Sorry for the low numbers on my side."

"It's not really your fault," Syme said offhandedly. "It's unfortunate they're so unbalanced."

He looked up; the sun was setting. He had a choice, to attack now, or do a night raid. The latter seemed appealing for a moment, but he reconsidered. They're not disciplined enough, he reasoned. He can't risk it. Better to have more casualties now than risk disaster. He could afford it.

"We'll attack in thirty minutes. I want our front line to have 20 men. Nier, you'll be most of it. Ellen and Ally, you'll cover the flanks and act as reserve..."

The sun was setting now. Syme recieved the report later: on their side, 9 confirmed dead, 1 critically injured and likely to die, 5 injured beyond combat worthiness, 30 injured but still combat ready. On the other hand, they have 46 dead Imp bodies, the rest having fled. They did well, all things considered.

The engagement was relatively simple. Since they attacked in daylight, the Imps noticed and attacked a little ways away from the settlement. With the terrain mostly level, Syme had a hard time getting a good view, but he could see that, for once, the Imps were outnumbered. He estimated it was 90 to 60 or so. There was an opportunity then—though it was a little risky, he took Ellen's unit, which was acting as reserve, and placed on the left wing. Then, as long as the center would not break, his left would outflank theirs and roll the lines.

Now, Syme had them collecting loot, and the settlement proved to be bountiful. There was a well for one, which solved their water shortages, though it wasn't a perfect solution since it was so far away. There was food, too. The Imps made a kind of dry, tough bread from some grain, though no one could find any plants there. Additionally, there was a small cache of canned food, and there was only one place they could've taken that from.

The heavily injured and dead were escorted back immediately to the school. The rest would stay the night. They had brought materials for tents and could stay in the homes as well.

A student ran up to Syme, flushed and out of breath. "I found something, er, General. It looks like a cellar or something."

"Really?" Syme said, his interests peaked. "Have you gone in?"

"No, thought you might like to know first."

"Alright. I'll round up some people and you'll show us the way."

He told Nier to manage things in his stead, then took Ellen and some of her fresh troops to explore. He led them to a small, inconspicuous hut, then pulled aside a rough mat to reveal a hole. A rope ladder hung down into the darkness. It was a tight fit, but they managed to squeeze in. Ellen turned on a flashlight holding one of their precious batteries.

"Be careful," Syme warned. "Put away the shields, they're too big."

"Shh," Ellen hushed. "Do you hear that?"

They all quieted down and listened. A faint moan could be heard from down the tunnel.

"Enemies?" Ellen whispered.

"Sounds like pain. Let's keep going," Syme replied.

The moans grew louder as they went deeper in. Eventually, the tunnel opened out to a small dug-out cavern. Syme could hear Ellen gasp ahead of him.

"What is it?" he whispered.

"T-there's p-people, Syme. I... I s-see people, r-ropes, and, oh—" she sputtered.

"Let me see," Syme said, pushing his way ahead of him. There were two rows of humans, each bounded on the wrist and ankles with rope. Syme estimated that there were 20 of them, all naked, more girls than boys. He looked over; Ellen was still shaking, looking as if she was about to throw up.

"Get a grip," he said, shaking her shoulder. 

"B-but—" she said, looking at him with horrified eyes.

That was something Syme could never fully understand. The only thing that stirred in his heart was a sense of opportunity, that he could use this to rouse the students up even more. No disgust, no hatred, no terror. But that doesn't mean he couldn't pretend.

"We need to help them out immediately, and what're you doing? Shaking in your boots," he reprimanded.

She took a few deep breaths. "You're... you're right, I—"

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"I-is there—" a small voice said, but was quickly hushed. 

"Hello!" Syme boomed. "We're humans, just like you. If you'll stay put for a minute, we'll cut your bonds and get out of here."

There was an uneasy silence.

"Run, run!" someone hissed at last. "I don't know how you got here, but get away! T-they'll, they'll be back!"

"Who will?" Syme asked. 

"Those, those creatures."

"Up top, you mean?"

"Yes! Get out, while you still can!"

"Don't worry about that, they're all dead."

There was a silence, as if no one could believe what they were hearing.

"We didn't come alone. Come on, Ellen, let's cut them out," he said, waving to her with his spear out. Then, he whispered to a student, the one that led them there, to go back and prepare supplies for them.

Ellen nodded and they set out to work. The spears were only really sharp at the tip, but the ropes were thankfully thin. Still, it took a long time to cut loose even one person, and the pit festered with the putrid smell of urine, feces, and blood. When they released someone from their bonds, they didn't move, simply staying where they were with a dazed look on their face, completely silent. 

Finally, Syme cut the last person's bindings and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. They were still all there, looking at Ellen and him. Some of them were moving their limbs curiously or rubbing the spots where the rope had cut into their skin.

"Alright everyone," Syme said, realizing that they wouldn't do anything by themselves, "follow Ellen and me, we'll lead you out."

He saw a few people nod slowly. He had Ellen in front, while he stayed in the back to make sure no one fell behind. Many of them stumbled on the uneven ground, their limbs still weak, making the trip take much longer than it would've. At the end, many of them were too weak to climb the rope ladder, so Ellen had to drag them up. Finally, Syme climbed out the hole, taking a deep breath of fresh air.

Outside, there was a small commotion. The prisoners were on a tarp, food and water brought in front of them. They ate and drank desperately, though some had trouble seeing due to the sun. A circle of curious students gathered around them.

"What're you doing!" Syme yelled.

"Shut the hell up!" Ellen boomed.

Everyone quieted down. 

"I'm sure you're all curious, but I don't think they want to be gawked like zoo animals," Syme explained. "So, get the hell away from here! I'll have an assembly later. You can satisfy your curiosity there."

As the rabble began to disband, Syme walked over to inspect the rescued prisoners. He squatted down next to a gaunt girl with brown hair, wrapped in some spare cloth. 

"Hello," he greeted, trying his best to smile. "How's the food? I'm afraid we're not much chefs."

"I-it's v-very good," she said shakily. "N-nothing, I-I've had nothing for... for..." She grimaced and drew the cloth closer against her.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to ask you some questions."

She was silent for a while, then croaked out a "sure".

"Alright, feel free to ask me questions if you want too. Where were you originally from?"

"O-oakly, it w-was a prep-school. We were all here one day, I d-don't know how."

"Where you attacked by Imps?—er, that's what we're calling those creatures."

She nodded.

"Details?"

"O-one day, they just came rushing in, w-we didn't know what to do."

"I did notice there were more girls than boys. Did any of the Imps, y'know, do that?"

She shook her head.

"I see. Is Oakly near here?"

"I don't know."

"Were you send here immediately after capture or redirected?"

"I-I'm not sure, w-we were blindfolded... but I don't remember stopping."

"Do you think Oakly still has students left in it?"

She hesitated. "...I, I think so. I couldn't see anything, but some of the others talked about being rescued by their friends, so..."

He nodded. "That's it for now. Is there anything you'd like to ask me?"

She looked around. "Who are you people? Y-you're have the same weapons, and those big shields... it looks like something right out of a m-movie. And y-you managed to beat them."

"We arrived here from a school just like you did." He remembered his cover story. "Except for me, I wasn't from here. My school ended up like yours, but I escaped. I stumbled over to here and warned them of the Imps. Then we armed and trained ourselves."

"That's amazing," she said. "W-we didn't do anything like that. Everyone just kinda did their own thing, then, then..."

A group of students came over with the medical supplies they brought. Cily was with them.

"You have children with you?" the girl asked.

Syme took off her hat, revealing her horns. "No, she's an Imp."

The girl's eyes widened and she grew paler. Syme groaned. He'd forgotten that people react like that. Logically, it was natural to be scared of the race that captured and abused you. He made a mental note of it.

"Er, sorry." Syme asked, standing up, dragging a confused Cily with him. "Come, Cily. Let's, uh, not bother them anymore."

"W-wait," she said, reaching out her hand. 

"Hm? What is it?"

"N-name! What's your name?"

"Syme," he answered.

She hesitated for a moment. "T-thank you, Syme, and, and everyone else here," she said, looking around. No, thank you, Syme thought, looking at the pitying eyes around him. He didn't even have to lie.

That night he gave a fairly robotic speech he made up mostly on the spot about the rescued prisoners, ending with a call for vengeance. Everyone cheered.