371 days until the Arkon Shield falls

Archmage,

The thralls, really? That is a bold move, but I see no cause to deploy them yet. I believe you are overstating the problem. Besides, the thralls cannot be ready. What is the status of their training?

—Supreme Mystic Lionel Biaxal.

It took us longer to pack and ferry all the zelium ingots across the moat than it had to clear the dungeon. But once we were done, we exited swiftly. We left the ore with the scouts, along with instructions to escort it back to Sierra come morning.

The trip back northeast was made in silence. Even reanimated, the broodworm moved faster than I could and, both to conserve my energy and speed us on our journey, I rode upon the undead’s back. It was not the most comfortable means of transportation, but it sufficed.

Our dungeon run, short as it was, had been a success. The others had gained between six and ten levels each, and more importantly, we had fulfilled our objective by reviving the broodworm.

Undead pets, as I knew, could take a pounding. The broodworm was especially well-armored too. No one expected the creature to turn the tide against the orcs, but with its help, I was hoping we would reduce the losses we suffered while we tried to keep the orcs distracted.

A few hours before midnight, we entered the hollow sheltering the expedition’s camp and found it almost deserted. Only Petrov and a few scouts remained. “You’re cutting it close, aren’t you?” the big captain said as he walked up to greet us.

Tara shrugged. “It took longer than expected.” She eyed the empty camp. “Is everything ready?”

“It is,” Petrov said. “Our people are in place, holding position a mile out from the orc camp, and the scouts you requested are waiting in the western pass.”

The plan itself was simple. Under Tara’s command, two squads of our stealthiest fighters would infiltrate the village and capture Gorkin and the settlement core. If we could manage it, we would ‘convince’ the gang leader to repudiate the orcs, but no one was comfortable banking on that.

Assuming we failed to persuade Gorkin to our side, the rest of Sierra’s forces, including me and the reanimated broodworm, would engage the orcs and lure them east through the mountains.

Once the orcs were far enough away, Tara would claim the settlement for the Forerunners. From that point on, all we had to do was keep the core in friendly hands for twenty-four hours. If only that was as easy as it sounds.

“Our forces remain undetected?” Tara asked.

Petrov nodded. “Our part of the plan went off without a hitch. The darkness hid our advance, and we reached our positions with the orcs none the wiser.” His gaze flickered to the undead broodworm as I slid off it. “I see you, too, were successful. Do we proceed with the second phase?”

“We do,” Tara said firmly.

“Good,” Petrov said. “Then, I’ll rejoin our eastern forces. Send word the moment you capture the core.” He paused. “And best of luck.”

Tara glanced at me as Petrov strode away. “Are you still sure you want to accompany us into the settlement, Jamie?” she asked softly. “It’s not too late to change your mind, and it might be safer for you if—”

“We discussed this already,” I said wearily. “You have a better chance of capturing the core with my help.”

Tara had been resistant to the idea of me being part of the infiltration force. The rest of our small party—minus the broodworm and spider queen—would be accompanying her, but she had argued for my exclusion. While it was true, I might slow her people down, I was the expedition’s most potent weapon, and if things went wrong, Tara and the others would need my help to escape the village.

The green-eyed captain sighed. “So be it.” She turned to the rest of the party. “Let’s get a move on.”

✽✽✽

Guided by a pair of scouts, our small party made its way north to the valley’s western entrance. The pass barely merited the name, being little more than a winding notch cut through the steep stony slopes. Cast in shadow by the looming crags, it was darker inside the pass than on the mountainside but, using gift of sight, our party had no trouble navigating through.

At the far end of the pass, we found two squad scouts waiting for us. Tara waved me forward. “Go ahead, Jamie.”

Striding forward, I touched each scout in turn, casting gift of sight on all of them. I would’ve been more comfortable infiltrating the settlement with a larger force, but Tara and Petrov had thought taking more men into the village was too risky. The two dozen men and women under Tara’s command would have to suffice.

“All done,” I said and turned my attention to the valley. Like Tara had said, the valley was lush and fertile but with few remaining trees. A few miles distant, I spied a forest of lights—the settlement. Set a little apart from it was a smaller but brighter grouping of lights—the orc camp.

“Move out, people,” Tara said, leading the way.

Remounting the reanimated broodworm, I joined the back of the line as we made our way into the valley in silence. Tara kept our company moving at a steady clip until the village’s walls came into sight. Then, she called a halt and turned to Giselle and me. “The worm and spider wait here,” Tara whispered.

I nodded and dismounted. Once we captured the core, Giselle and I would return to the two creatures and swing around the town to join forces with Petrov on the eastern side for the next stage of the plan. Assuming matters turned out as expected, of course.

The scouts, Tara, John, and Lance, were stretched out across the ground in a line, their gazes fixed on the distant village. We were still too far away for the guards to spot us, though, even if they were vigilant, which was likely not the case. After we saw to our pets, Giselle and I joined them.

Tara glanced at me as I dropped down beside her. “Send your familiar aloft and tell me what you see.”

Extracting Ash from my pocket, I cast gift of sight on the familiar and willed her into the air. Understanding what I wanted from her, the elemental climbed vertically, doing her best to subdue her golden glow. Once she had gained enough elevation that she would be mistaken for a firefly or some other tiny insect, Ash advanced towards the village until she hovered over its walls.

“There are two guards,” I whispered, my eyes closed while I shared my familiar’s sight.

Tara’s gaze sharpened. “Where?”

“One is about ten yards north of our position, the other twenty yards south. Both are sitting with their backs resting against the wall.” I frowned.

“What is it?” Tara asked.

“I’m not sure, but I think… they’re both sleeping—snoring, in fact.” I opened my eyes. “I think we can slip past unnoticed.”

Tara pursed her lips for a moment. I stayed silent, knowing the decision she wrestled with. The longer our presence went unnoticed, the better were our chances of finding the core. On the other hand, leaving the two guards alive behind us was risky.

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Tara turned to the scout sergeant on her other side and whispered something too low for me to make out. A moment later, two dark-clad figures rose from the ground and crept towards the village.

Reaching the wall, the pair leaped over. The wall, such as it was, had plenty of handholds on its stony exterior. While the rest of the party waited in silence, I watched through Ash’s eyes as the scouts approached the sleeping guards.

The two closed to within six feet of their targets before backing away. “They’re coming back,” I informed Tara. “The guards still sleep.” I sensed the tension ease out of her.

A moment later, the scouts returned and confirmed Ash’s report. “All right,” Tara said, addressing the company at large, “we sneak over the wall one at a time. Nice and easy, no rushing. Understood?”

There were affirmative nods all around.

“Let’s go then,” Tara said.

✽✽✽

All twenty-five men and women of the company scaled the wall without difficulty—even me. We had passed the first major hurdle with less trouble than any of us had anticipated, and our steps were light as we continued on.

With Ash and a screen of scouts keeping watch, we ventured deeper into the settlement. But we encountered no one else, neither villagers nor guards. Except for a few isolated and brightly lit buildings, which we gave a wide berth, the village slept around us.

In contrast, though, the hall at the village’s center was rowdy. Drunken screams, strange banging, off-key singing, and bright lights streamed out of the open windows of the first floor. The second-floor windows were shuttered close, but from the muffled sounds coming from them, they too were occupied.

“Don’t these clowns sleep?” I heard one of the scout’s mutter as, bent nearly double, we crept past the open windows. The comment made me smile, but it was a fair criticism. It was close to midnight, after all.

We made it to the alley bordering the village hall on the right without incident. It was the only side without windows and was thankfully dark. Crouching down, we waited while the scouts surveyed the building.

A short time later, the two scout sergeants gave Tara their report. “There are two ground-level entrances into the building,” the first said. “One at the front and one at the back.”

“Are they guarded?” Tara asked.

The second sergeant shook his head. “No, but the front door leads to an open area. It’s packed with armed gang members.”

“And the rear?” she asked.

“That’s the kitchen exit,” the scout replied. “It is also occupied. Not by gang members, though, only unarmed men and women. Cooks and waiters, most likely.”

“Even if the servants aren’t part of the gang, we can’t trust them,” Lance pointed out. “As slaves, they will be forced to call out in alarm.”

This was something we’d debated at length earlier, and we’d agreed that until the slaves were freed, we couldn’t trust them.

“Not good choices,” John muttered.

I nodded. Ideally, we needed to get to the gang leader before engaging in conflict. Once blades were drawn, the chances of our presence going unnoticed would diminish. “Did you catch sight of their leader, this Gorkin?” I asked.

The first sergeant shook his head. “No, but there are noises aplenty coming from the second floor.” His eyes turned cold. “A few screams too. Gorkin might be there, entertaining himself.”

I grimaced, catching the sergeant’s meaning, and didn’t enquire further.

Giselle glanced upwards. “What about from up there? Can we enter the building through the roof?”

The sergeant pursed his lips, then turned back to whisper to a pair of scouts behind him. “We just might,” he replied at last. “From down here, the roof appears flat. I’ll send a man up to go look if there is an entrance.”

“Don’t bother,” I replied after taking a moment to communicate with Ash. “My familiar has checked already. The roof is flat, and there is a trapdoor.” My eyes narrowed. “But how do we get everyone up there?”

“We have ropes aplenty,” the sergeant said. “If one of our climbers can make it to the top and throw them down, the rest of us should be able to make it onto the roof easily enough.”

I glanced upwards, sizing the building. At only two stories high, reaching the roof with dragon leap would not be too hard, but before I could volunteer for the task, Giselle spoke up. “I’ll do it.”

Tara looked at her sharply.

“Don’t worry,” the warren captain replied. “I’ve had plenty of recent experience climbing sheer walls to retrieve lost spiders. This will be easy.”

“If you’re sure,” Tara said.

“I am,” Giselle said, unhooking her weapons and leather surcoat. In nothing but a thin cotton shirt and pants, she stepped to the far end of the alley. All the buildings in the village were made of rough-cast bricks and set with mortar. As a result, the walls were not entirely smooth. Still, it was not a climb I would venture to try.

Giselle’s confidence proved warranted, though, and she climbed the vertical wall as nimbly as a cat scaled a tree. After an astonishingly short span of time, her lanky form disappeared over the edge and a moment later, a set of ropes uncoiled downwards.

“Now that was impressive,” John murmured from beside me.

I smiled in agreement.

Tara stepped up to the ropes and tugged on their ends. Satisfied they were firmly attached, the captain scaled up herself and gestured for the rest of us to follow.

John waved me forward. “You go first.” He grinned. “In case you fall, I’ll be there to catch you.”

I rolled my eyes but didn’t decline. As quickly as I could, I climbed up after Tara. Using the rope was a quieter means of reaching the rooftop than dragon leap, but it was undoubtedly slower too.

It took a few minutes, but eventually our entire force was crouched on the rooftop.

“I’ve peeked through the trapdoor,” Giselle whispered. “It leads into a small room on the second floor.”

“Is it occupied?” Tara whispered back.

Giselle shook her head. “The room was empty. It looks like a storeroom.”

Tara motioned a pair of soldiers forward. “You two go scout the second floor. Find me the gang leader, but don’t reveal yourself,” she warned.

The scouts bobbed their heads and made their way toward the trapdoor.

“Wait,” I said. Reaching out, I grabbed the second scout by his shoulder before he could get out of arm’s reach. “Hold out your hand.”

Tara looked on but didn’t interfere. The scout was perplexed but did as I asked. Recalling Ash, I placed her on his open palm. “Keep this.”

The scout looked down in fascination at the elemental seed, surprise and fear warring on his face.

“What is your name?” I asked.

“Kenny,” he replied, not looking away from the glowing familiar.

“It’s okay, Kenny,” I said. “Her name’s Ash. Think of her as a small robot.”

He bobbed his head uncertainly. “What am I to do with her?”

“Keep Ash concealed,” I replied. “She can’t help the light she emits and may give away your position otherwise. But if you need to send back a message, find somewhere safe and speak through the familiar. I will hear you,” I assured him.

“All right,” Kenny replied and placed the elemental seed in one of his leather vest’s pockets.

I watched the two scouts for a moment as they disappeared down the trapdoor. Ash will be fine, I assured myself, as will the scouts. Sitting down cross-legged, I schooled myself to wait like the rest of the company.

Someone sat down beside me. Glancing to my left, I saw it was Tara. “What happens if we can’t find the gang leader?” she asked quietly.

I took a second pondering my response. It was not the question that surprised me—I’d asked myself the same thing a hundred times already—it was that it was Tara who was voicing it. Was she worried? “We’ll find him,” I said, more confidently than I felt. “We have to.”

She sighed. “You’re right, we have to. Because without Gorkin, this mission is a bust.” Tara fell silent for a moment before continuing. “Things have proceeded more smoothly than I expected. I am surprised we got this far.”

I turned to look at her. “What?” I asked in mock disbelief. “You have no faith in my plan?”

Tara smiled. “Always trust crazy Jamie to come up with a madcap plan.”

I blinked. “‘Crazy Jamie?’”

“That’s what the soldiers call you,” she said, her grin widening.

I stared at her. “They do?”

Tara raised one eyebrow. “I thought you knew.”

I put my head in my hands and groaned. “No, I didn’t.” It seemed my appetite for risk was well known, and I could only imagine what else they said about me. I raised my head. “That explains a few—” I began.

I broke off as I felt a tug on one of the spirit weaves connecting me to Ash. My expression smoothened. Snapping shut my eyes, I sent my consciousness reaching towards the familiar.

“What is it?” Tara asked, sensing my sudden stillness.

“Ready the others,” I whispered, not opening my eyes. “The scouts have found something.”