“Those little bastards wrecked the place pretty badly.” Cruz scoffed after bashing in the skull of a stray imp she found in one of the buildings when looking for survivors.

“Houses can be rebuilt,” Quentin hummed. “It’s the people that are important.”

“Luckily, the guards managed to hold up the demons long enough for most of the people to retreat behind the barrier,” Desimir explained as they neared the main market square of the town. “Although we still lost dozens of people who weren’t fast enough.”

“Looks like the main gate is still intact.” Regis let out a relieved sigh as he watched the slightly ajar gates that glowed with the familiar runes he had infused into them a long while ago.

A few of the guards accompanying the group hurried forward to climb the battlements and close the gate. It creaked shut and the soldiers gave a signal that they couldn’t see any enemy outside the walls.

“That’s one problem handled.” Galen noted.

“How many imps do you think are hiding around in the buildings?” Amanda asked her friends, earning a head shake.

“There shouldn’t be much,” Regis answered. “Judging by the way they threw themselves at the barrier, they were likely ordered to either capture the leader of the settlement or to kill the people. With everyone gathering at the manor, the imps and lesser demons should have been drawn there as well.”

“Either way, we have to make sure they’re all gone.” Desimir stated as he gave out his orders to the guards.

Half an hour later the entire town was scoured for demons and survivors alike. Regis and his companions stood beside the gateway, waiting for the last of the patrols to return with their findings.

“All clear, sir.” The guardsman told Desimir, the retired soldier giving a nod of approval.

“I guess that’s it,” Cruz shrugged. “Time to go home?”

“Yeah, the others must be really worried about us by now.” Amanda agreed.

“I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done,” Zola said from the side as she and Magda arrived, some of the guards escorting the two. “Without that barrier of yours, we would have suffered far more casualties.”

“It also helped that you’re good at killing those things.” Magda stated.

“It would be for the best if you kept your people under the barrier for tonight,” Regis said as he turned toward Zola. “If you plan to start the reconstructions immediately, don’t leave them without guards. We’ll check back tomorrow morning to see how you’re doing, okay?”

“We’ll try our best to organize everything as fast as possible, although I doubt we will get much done with the sun already setting.” Desimir stated.

“Go on,” Magda nodded toward the arcane gateway. “We’ll manage it from here on.”

“And thanks again,” Galen shook hands with the dark elf. “For everything.”

The outlanders said their goodbyes before stepping onto the rune-carved platform, its symbols glowing up before sending them back home in a flash of light. As the light subsided, they found a very lively Thornfell around them. The townsfolk looked nervous, clear evidence that news of their battle had already spread.

“Lord Regis!” One of the guards greeted him as a visible relief showed on everyone’s face after seeing that no one was hurt.

“How are things back here?” The dark elf asked the guardsman, earning a slight head shake.

“Nothing to report, sir. Things have been quiet since you left. That is if we don’t count the unrest caused by the attack.”

“That was to be expected,” Quentin joined into the conversation. “It’s not every day that a literal army of demons shows up in front of our gates.”

“We’re back.” Regis said after channelling some arcana into his far-caller and his ears began to buzz with the many voices that responded.

“Is everyone alright?” Asked Valerie.

“How are things over there?” Osmond inquired after a deep sigh.

“Did anyone get hurt?” Letty interrogated him through the magic earpiece.

“We’re all fine,” he started. “Mistfield got banged up pretty badly and they lost two or three dozen people, but we managed to secure the town and clear out the demons and imps.”

“Should we meet up at the manor?” Fabien asked the important question.

“That would be for the best. Just let me reassure people.”

Saying that he ended the call and his attention to the gathering townsfolk. Not knowing what to say, he decided to go with a semi-honest approach to not startle them far too much.

“Listen up, everyone! I imagine you’ve already heard about what happened at the mountain pass. Yes, we were attacked by a small army of demons and imps. And no, we weren’t the only ones.”

His word garnered a wave of hushed murmurs but no one interrupted his speech.

“Mistfield came under attack as well. Five of us went there after our battle at the pass and found their town under siege. They managed to defeat the enemy but not before suffering some losses. I wish I could say that this was a one-off attack, but I can’t. What I can tell you is that our walls stand tall and our soldiers are ready to face any such attempts. Soon we will ask the leaders of the larger towns and the church if they know anything of the matter.”

“Is there going to be another war?” Someone from the crowd asked, earning another wave of whispers as the people began to express their fear.

“I don’t know,” Regis sighed. “I’ve already spoken to a grandmaster magus and a bishop from Atraune previously and they promised to spread word of the danger. However, it will take time until action can be taken. These attacks were likely committed by forces that managed to seep through the church’s fingers. I can only say that hopefully, the people in high positions back in Ecragurne will act as soon as they can.”

“In the meantime,” Quentin spoke up. “We plan to double the guard shifts to make sure that the mountain pass stays ready for anything.”

“For now, continue your day as usual and I will call together a town meeting if we receive any information related to the matter.”

With the explanation over the dark elf and the others headed toward the manor with the others joining them on the way.

“You still suck at public speeches.” Cruz remarked with a few of the others nodding in agreement.

“I can’t be good at everything.”

“That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t practice at least.” The tomboyish elf sighed

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“I think it’s more effective this way,” Amanda chuckled. “His awkwardness makes him pretty convincing.”

“It gives him that ‘I’m trying my best here’ vibe,” Fabien said from the side as he and Mary joined the group. “People can feel a bit more at ease when they hear an honest if awkward explanation.”

“We can always switch places if you want to.” Regis grumbled, earning a theatrical reaction from the infernal man.

“And leave my poor wife to deal with all the work at the inn? I could never forgive myself.”

“That’s quite a roundabout way of saying that you’re afraid Mary would wack you in the head with a frying pan if you slacked off.” Valerie remarked as the team reached the rest of the outlanders who were waiting for them in front of the manor’s gates.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Mary argued. “What if the pan gets damaged by his thick head? What am I going to cook with?”

Her words were followed by a slight laughter from the people around her, all of them finding it funny except her husband. They entered the manor, heading straight to the dining room where they usually held their meetings.

“So how bad was it,” Osmond finally broke the awkward atmosphere. “I mean really, the honest truth. Not the public one.”

“At least a quarter of Mistfield is in ruins, the people are scared shitless and I have no idea if this was an isolated event or if it’s happening to everyone in Ecragurne.” The loremaster answered with a steadily darkening mood.

“Are you going to tell that... Master Felix about what happened?” Sophie asked with a worried tone.

“That was the plan. He and his bishop friend were quite sure about their chances of stopping the Argents and the Exiled Court. We need to know how their plan is working out so far.”

“You don’t plan on going alone, right?” Letty grabbed his hand, stopping him for a moment.

“I’ll go with him,” Quentin stated while sitting beside the dinner table. “Just in case there’s any trouble.”

“When are you going?” Osmond asked just as Dana the maid brought out some tea for them.

“I plan to go right after our little meeting. The sooner they find out what happened the better.”

“What about Zola and her people? Can we do anything else to help them?” Sophie inquired.

“Not unless you want to compromise Thornfell in the process,” Quentin shook his head. “We can’t send them reinforcements because we don’t have that many soldiers of our own to begin with. The same goes with supplies although we could spare some food with how bountiful the crops were lately.”

“We can do that,” Regis agreed. “And also some medical supplies. We have quite a large stash of potions to spare if I recall correctly and the next herb harvest should be in a few days. Right?”

“The plants should be ready for harvest by the day after tomorrow.” Letty stated calmly.

“I’ll take a few people and prepare the supplies by tomorrow morning.” Tristan spoke up from the side after staying quiet for a long time.

“Good. We already promised Zola that we’ll check up on them tomorrow anyway.” Quentin hummed.

“If there’s nothing else, then we should get going,” Regis said as he stood back up. “The sooner we get things done the sooner we can get some rest.”

“Just try not to get into a fight this time,” Fabien remarked with the others strongly agreeing with him. “Not on purpose anyway.”

“See you tomorrow then?” Amanda and Sophie asked at the same time.

“Sure thing. You go and get some rest. Seven knows we need it.”

With that the meeting had been adjourned, prompting the dark elf and the paladin to head over to the locked room where the loremaster’s gateway was hidden. The runes of the magic circle lit up, its power teleporting the two over to Atraune. As the light faded they found themselves standing in a very hectic reception hall. Mages of all ages were moving about in groups, soldiers with the emblem of the church assisting them in whatever way was needed.

“This doesn’t bode well.” Quentin remarked as the two walked over to the reception desk.

“H... hello.” A meek-looking young woman greeted them.

“Good evening,” Regis nodded. “Might I ask if Master Felix or Cedric is here?”

“Master Felix is away from the guild at the moment, but Sir Cedric is here.”

“Could you inform him that Regis Thorne is here?”

“Of course.” The girl nodded as she placed her hand on a small crystal ball that perched on the desk.

After a minute or so waiting later the familiar face of Cedric appeared from a nearby hallway.

“Regis,” the man called out to him, inviting him and Quentin toward a small room at the left side of the hallway. “What brings you two here?”

“We got attacked by a thousand-strong army of demons and imps earlier today.”

“You’re jesting, right?” The man asked nervously, earning a head shake from both of his visitors.

“We weren’t the only ones,” Quentin stated. “We went to check up on the town of Mistfield in the Vidal territory and they also got attacked.”

“Damn it,” Cedric cussed as he sat down on a seat in what turned out to be a classroom of sorts. “This is worse than I thought.”

“What’s going on here?” The dark elf inquired.

“We noticed earlier that the people seemed agitated and there were soldiers around as well.” The paladin pointed out the strangeness of the situation.

“We received reports throughout the day of settlements from the outer regions being attacked by demons. Master Felix and Bishop Emil left not too long to attend a meeting with some of the other grand magi and bishops.”

“So it wasn’t an isolated incident. Do you think it has anything to do with what we talked about recently?”

“That’s the only possible explanation,” the man sighed. “If only one or two small settlements would have been attacked then we might have thought that these were the actions of some stragglers that managed to evade the royal army’s attention, but we had more than two dozen such reports.”

“Divide and conquer,” Quentin stated after some thinking. “They’re trying to spread the church’s forces thin by providing a bunch of smaller distractions and targets.”

“Makes sense,” the dark elf agreed with his companion’s assessment. At first, I thought that they specifically targeted us due to the visit of Natalie, but it seems we were just a side dish. I guess the ones that attacked us likely split off the main force that was sent to attack Mistfield.”

“They probably wanted to wrap up the loose ends so that we couldn’t share whatever we learned with the church.” The paladin added.“Too bad they were late for the party.” Regis noted with a still anxious smirk.

“Not late enough to cause us trouble,” Cedric remarked. “The church has a duty to seek out any reported cultist or demon attacks and it seems that the Exiled Court is making use of that.”

“Is there any development regarding the whole... archdemon matter?” Quentin inquired, earning a dejected sigh from the spellcaster.“I only know of one nobleman the church has confronted so far secretly. The result was less than pleasant.”