Surprisingly, I didn’t have to venture far to find someone else. Maybe five minutes into my tree-top travel, I ran into another operative. This one I had never met before.

The two of us almost literally ran into each other.

I was grappling to another tree when another agent appeared in midair in front of me. My eyes widened in surprise at the same time that theirs did, visible through their mask. Just before we collided, I canceled my grapple and shot it back out at another branch in front of me. I jerked out of the way of the other agent just in time and stumbled another the new branch, as they landed at my original destination. I clutched my chest, panting from the adrenaline that was still running through my veins.

“You okay down there?” I heard a feminine voice call from above me. Shakily, I raised one fist to give a thumbs up, trying to calm down. Moments later the other agent landed in front of me. Casting an eye over them, I could tell that they were female from their silhouette, but I could tell little else. They had their hood up, while their mask was painted black with small curls of what looked to be white smoke over the cheeks.

Eyeing them for a moment, I extended my hand. “Hangman.”

“Wisp,” She answered, gripping my forearm with an answering nod. “I’ll be blunt. Do you know what the fuck is going on?”

I sighed, and answered her question with another. “Do you know what a Ward Break is?” At her answering shake of her head, I was unsurprised. Grey had told me long ago that it was a rare phenomenon, actively persecuted by the nations of Vereden.

Too bad the fucking Loyalists had no damn morals.

I briefly explained the phenomenon and my suspicions about how the Loyalists had manufactured multiple enhancement versions of it.

“Well…” Wisp said slowly. “Damn. So, we’re screwed?”

I shrugged as Fade stuck his head out from the depths of my cloak. Wisp reached out to scratch his head as I answered. “I have no idea. Are you the one that I was supposed to meet up with?”

She didn’t even have to answer. My location coin jerked away from Wisp, in the direction that I had been going. Judging by the glance that Wisp shot me, I’m guessing they felt it too.

“Guess not,” I said flatly. Turning in that direction, I looked over my shoulder. “You coming?”

“Lead the way,” Wisp inclined their head, gesturing forward.

Without another word, I got to work grappling across the tree-tops, Wisp following along behind me.

I noticed that they didn’t need to use a skill to navigate the canopy. They looked to be strong enough to just jump from tree to tree.

Yay for them.

…………………………………………….

Before long Wisp and I arrived at the designated meeting point that Headquarters had arranged for us. Landing on the forest floor, I was a bit surprised at how many people were here. There must have been dozens of people milling about in the small clearing, either speaking quietly to themselves or mending wounds. Actually, it didn’t even appear to be all Nocturne Division members. There were some regular Order forces mixed in with the sea of cloaks and masks, as well other what looked to be a few Healers.

Wait.

With a flood of emotion, I recognized a few people in the crowd. Letting Fade fall to the forest floor with a yelp and abandoning Wisp, I made a beeline for a female agent wearing a white painted mask with a blue teardrop running from one eye. They were standing next to a black-furred Gnoll wearing Healer’s robes.

The agent saw me coming. I saw their crystalline blue eyes widen first in shock, before softening in relief.

Whisper met me halfway, with the two of us clutching each other fiercely in near desperation. “Sylvia,” I breathed into her ear, relief thick in my voice.

“Nathan…” She returned just as quietly, nearly shaking in my arms.

The entire time I had been out there after the first Break, hiding in the back of my rings had been a sense of dread. I had known that Sylvia was assigned to the same task I had been, even if we had never run into each other. The idea that she could have been swallowed up by one of the hordes hadn’t been able to leave my mind.

I couldn’t describe the sense of comfort it gave me, to find her here.

The two of us remained in each other’s embrace for a moment, before we were interrupted by a cleared throat. Reluctantly parting, I found that it was coming from Renauld, whom Sylvia had been standing with.

The Gnoll looked a bit worse for wear, with his robes coated in both blood and dirt. His normally well-groomed fur looked like it was matted from the sweat of battle, fear, and exhaustion. Frankly, I hadn’t seen him this bad looking since he’d been rescued from Caer Drarrow.

Renauld smiled weakly at my inspection. “That you, Nate?” He asked in a quiet, hoarse voice. I wasn't surprised he had guessed who I was. It was pretty obvious who Sylvia would be so happy to see.

I nodded slightly, uncaring about giving away my identity like this. “What are you doing here? Whisper I can understand,” I said, looking between him and Sylvia. “But you? You should be with the host.”

Renauld shrugged tiredly. “I don’t understand everything, and it’s a bit hard to explain. But I think your boss is about to anyway.” He nodded towards the front of the clearing, where people were starting to gather.

My boss? The only two people I would consider my ‘boss’ were Grey and Hook. And I think I would have noticed if Grey were here.

Sure enough, when Sylvia, Renauld, Fade, and I joined the gathering group, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

Hook actually was here.

I had thought he was back at headquarters, personally helping to coordinate the Nocturne Division as their leader. But no, he had apparently been hiding among the host and had just never shown himself.

The dwarf actually looked worse off than even Renauld. There were huge rents in his clothes and armor with crusted blood dried along the edges. Pale, tender, freshly healed flesh could be seen through them. The beak on his avian themed mask looked to have been cracked off, leaving a splintered appearance to it, while even more dried blood crusted in his steel grey beard.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

There was a grim cast to the dwarf’s stance, as he waited for everyone in the clearing to gather silently.

Time to find out if we were screwed.

“We’re screwed,” Hook said bluntly, crossing his arms tightly.

Ah.

Well then.

“For those of you that weren’t there, let me catch you up to speed,” He continued direly. “A few hours ago, Nocturne command was made aware of a strange installation discovered beyond the periphery of the Army’s advance. Agents were dispatched to investigate it, and determine both its purpose and origin. It was identified as Loyalist in nature, due to the presence of a single Herztalian soldier acting as a guard.”

“What were these installations like in appearance?” A male agent I didn’t know asked cooly. It looked to me as if he had some kind of dog mask.

“I don’t know,” Hook said, shaking his hand. “The agent was unable to describe it properly through the communication coin. And yes,” He raised a hand. “Before you ask, I have a prototype two-way coin on me so Headquarters can keep me updated. It’s the only reason I’m out here with you ground pounders and not kicking my feet up. But it’s shoddy as all hell, so don’t expect your own just yet.”

They didn’t know what exactly had happened?

Well, I guess I could be useful. I took a step forward, drawing the attention of Hook and the other agents.

“I encountered one of these installations accompanied by another agent, shortly before it was activated,” I said simply. I felt Hook’s scrutiny sharpen. “I can describe what I found, if you’d like.”

Hook gestured for me to continue. “Go ahead, Hangman.”

“It was a modified Ward Stone, complete with plinth,” I said, crossing my arms as well. “Rather than repelling monsters, it was actively luring them in. The stone was projecting a barrier to protect the Loyalist soldier that was…waiting, I think. I have a measure of experience with Ward Stone runic arrays, so I took the time to inspect it. And after what happened when it fulfilled its purpose, I think I can make some conjecture.”

That was the beauty of Ringed Mind. I could devote an entire thought string to puzzling out a problem, even while I was running for my life or nearly gibbering in fear.

I started pacing in front of the gathered agents, gathering my thoughts.

“I think the lured monsters were meant to be used as fuel,” I said finally. “A normal Ward Stone fulfills its function while remaining whole, but not these. Think of these modified versions as essentially being bombs. These stones were created solely to enhance a by-product of their own destruction. That being the Breakage Effect.”

“Wait,” Another agent I didn’t know said. They seemed to be female and had a black and white pinstripe mask. “I think I’ve heard of that. It’s when a bunch of monsters are created out of nowhere…” She trailed off. Many people in the crowd shifted in realization before the agent continued. “Isn’t that super illegal?”

“Incredibly so. And recognized by everyone on both planets,” Hook said, a frown audible in his voice. He motioned to me. “Continue, Hangman. I want to hear this.”

I nodded, still pacing. “The Breakage Effect works by generating an artificial spawning period, created by the void left behind by wards when they’re broken. It’s sort of like…the way water will rush in to fill a punctured ship hull. When that Aether fills that void, monsters are born. A goddamned ton of them. What I think happened here is that these modified stones were first creating an enhanced void, as I noticed Aetherial absorption arrays on it. I think an area like that would work to increase the effect, if I understand my Aetherology correctly. Second, when the stone was broken, the spell that was programmed into the stone to go off at destruction rushed out and absorbed the lured monsters, instantly turning them into fuel. The spell then deployed, rising into the sky as I’m sure several of you noticed, and…somehow multiplied both the speed and generation of monsters. That, I don’t know how.” I finished, shaking my head.

I heard a murmured conversation between two agents when I was done. “When did we get a ward specialist?”

“I don’t know, but we needed one,” The other agent muttered back.

Was I a ward specialist? Possibly, now that I thought of it. Grey hadn’t exactly been lenient in his Abjuration lectures, back when I was first creating the Ward Breaker that would become my first Bond Breaker. I had needed to really understand Ward Stones and their arrays, to know how to destroy them. And it’s not like my education or lectures with the man had stopped, ever since we escaped Addersfield. We still had lessons on the subject on occasion. It just hadn’t come up.

Hook nodded sharply. “Thank you, Hangman. I’ll relay your observations to Headquarters. What became of the soldier that triggered the Break you observed?”

I blinked, startled. I had completely forgotten about him. “I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “I grabbed the other agent and booked it as soon as it looked like a Break was going to happen. Presumably, he was either torn to bits by the monsters or absorbed by the spell with them.”

“And who was the other agent with you?”

“Finch,” I said, heat entering my voice. I lifted my mask slightly and spit off to the side, to the surprise of the onlookers. “That bastard left me behind when the horde came. Ran off and left me to die. I only survived by hiding in the treetops.”

“Ah…” This time, I recognized the agent who spoke. It was the woman I had met on the way here, Wisp. “I…can confirm that Finch didn’t make it. When I found his…remains, it looked like he was KIA when the horde caught up to him. I don't think he was able to outrun them forever.”

Well…

I wasn’t going to celebrate his death, but I wasn’t going to mourn him.

Hook sighed. “Which brings us to what happened next. The break that Hangman observed wasn’t the only one. We can confirm that at least six others were set off along the path of the Army. Estimates put every break at generating over fifty thousand monsters, from aerial observations. These are just estimates, mind. I still have Sparrow out there trying to observe the movements of the combined horde.”

Over three hundred and fifty thousand monsters….

That was an order of magnitude larger than the entire combined forces that the Uprising could field.

A murmur of dismay swept through the people gathered in the clearing.

“When the horde finally hit the Army,” Hook said, ignoring the despair. “It came in almost literal waves. The rear guard was almost immediately cut off from the rest, which, unfortunately, comprised the forces of the Order of the Eclipsed Dawn as well as a sizable portion of the northern forces. Which is why there are a number of regular soldiers with us,” He nodded at Renauld. “I made the call to withdraw Nocturne Division assets from the host, when it looked like the battle had become a slog. However, let me reassure you of one thing. The Army of the Uprising has not been wiped out. It was hurt, but we're still in this fight.”

I let out a sigh of relief, as Sylvia next to me slumped in released tension. We both had people that we cared about in the host. The crowd was feeling similarly, with a note of ever-present stress fading from the air.

“However,” Hook said ominously. “Command has made the decision to cancel the planned siege of Elderwyck and Tlatec. As of this moment, the Army is in the middle of a fighting retreat back to the safety of Helstein. At the same time, they are deliberately keeping as much of the horde occupied as they can, and engaged with them there. They intend to withstand their own siege, and attempt to prevent this horde from overrunning the north and south.”

“Then…why are we out here, instead of with them?” Sylvia, or rather Whisper, asked slowly.

Hook let out a long drawn-out sigh then, and did something I didn’t expect.

He unmasked.

Reaching up, the older dwarf took off his fractured avian mask. Beneath, I was able to see the craggy features of a tired example of his people. The grooves and creases on his face resembled the crevices and canyons of a dusty valley, as much as they did wrinkles. His unremarkable black eyes underlined with heavy bags stared out at the gathered agents from their sunken sockets, as he smiled wryly at us.

“Because they might be occupied, but we aren’t,” Hook said grimly. “With approval from command, a decision has been made. A campaign against Elderwyck is still underway, even if it isn’t going to be a military one. As of now, these are the orders for the Nocturne Division. For the foreseeable future, we are going to be conducting a campaign of sabotage, infiltration, assassination, and guerrilla warfare against the Loyalist forces of Elderwyck.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, prepare yourself. Because we’re going to win that city from the inside.”